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Ridge Racer Driftopia PC closed beta sign ups
- Thread starter CrunchinJelly
- Start date
chickdigger802
Banned
unbounded was actually decent. wish the drifting felt more like RR though... i'd hope the subtitle in this game would amount to something.
Good point, signed up (thanks guys). Waiting on that confirmation email...All done:
How soon?
Mutanthands
Member
Signed up. Lets see where this goes. Don't disappoint me, NAMCO.
I don't recall seeing any, and I think the only box to check was the one that says:
"I ACCEPT THAT NAMCO BANDAI GAMES MAY CONTACT ME CONCERNING PRODUCTS, NEW RELEASES, AND SPECIAL OFFERS"
Cheers man, shows you how concerned I was whilst signing up
Just to let you know, this is very much Unbounded. It's made by the same devs as that. Run the fuck away if you hated Unbounded though, whilst I would need to check, the cars seem to feel a bit lighter compared to that game. But it's not the old style you love so don't be expecting it.
UnluckyKate
Member
Downloading. Any impressions ?
Alex Connolly
Member
Feels like a plastic Unbounded. It's not bad, but not great. I dunno. Interested to see what people think of the F2P aspects...
UnluckyKate
Member
Holy cow, I just finished Unbounded last week... It's Unbounded but F2P... So same art, icons, tracks, cars, but you have to pay for them (or you can buy Unbounded for 5$ in the next steam sales and you'll have the full game)
or am I missing something ?
patrickthehedgehog
Member
So I wonder if the team who made the real Ridge Racer games is no more. This looks way too much like Burnout.
UnluckyKate
Member
Wow you have to pay each time you crash ? People, I'm out. Just get the full game. it's cheaper even at full price
...What?
Yeah the F2P stuff just makes me want to recommend Unbounded as it's a complete game, has user made tracks and is just better. The only thing I'm happy about this is that hopefully Bugbear are getting money to make something they actually care about like Flatout 3 (the real Flatout 3)
You have repair 'units' and each time you crash in a race you have to repair your car to restart which costs so many, it differs between cars. You for example could have 200 repair units and everytime you crash you have to use up 10 of them when restarting the stage. I think you can get them in other ways other than buying outright but yeah you have to pay.
You also have boosters which you get and put on your car such as a better grip, boost is twice as powerful etc. You can only apply one to a car before a race and they get used up. Also you can level up 'cars' and earn things as you level them up.
The races are against 'spirits' ie ghosts of other users as well, I don't see any option for racing against actual people but that may be in the 'full' version.
TBH it just feels like Unbounded bastardised a bit, even if you don't like Unbounded that game feels complete and is a lot of fun. The F2P elements just make me go 'ewww'
You have repair 'units' and each time you crash in a race you have to repair your car to restart which costs so many, it differs between cars. You for example could have 200 repair units and everytime you crash you have to use up 10 of them when restarting the stage. I think you can get them in other ways other than buying outright but yeah you have to pay.
You also have boosters which you get and put on your car such as a better grip, boost is twice as powerful etc. You can only apply one to a car before a race and they get used up. Also you can level up 'cars' and earn things as you level them up.
The races are against 'spirits' ie ghosts of other users as well, I don't see any option for racing against actual people but that may be in the 'full' version.
TBH it just feels like Unbounded bastardised a bit, even if you don't like Unbounded that game feels complete and is a lot of fun. The F2P elements just make me go 'ewww'
MadOdorMachine
No additional functions
Ken Kutargi formed a team called Cellius that made Ridge Racer Vita IIRC. Hopefully they're working on a full fledged RR game for PS4 and not some gimped version like the Vita game or Driftopia. I'd be up for FTP if was done right, but Driftopia and Unbounded is not Ridge Racer and the Vita game was multiplayer only.
He's talking about the repair kits you have to have to repair your car if you crash. The game even states that you can buy them or earn them in the game so I don;t know what he's talking about. As for the gameplay, it's pretty decent for Ridge Racer fare.
patrickthehedgehog
Member
It's really sad having the PS4 launch without a Ridge Racer game.
UnluckyKate
Member
Dude, you have to spend a virtual money to restart each time you crash. You have to restart the entire event and pay for it if you get crashed in the last turn by some random super agressive reckless IA
Goddammit, it's just Ridge Racer Unbounded plus random cards and silly timers for packs.
Worse, a crash takes you out of the race and you'll need to spend dosh (or wait - hmm not sure, maybe it'll recharge after a day?) for repair
packs, or you lose the car that you've been racing. That's BS, especially since occasionally you'll crash due to the usual: missed turns, getting fragged by the AI, or overzealous driving for the next turn. Disappointment-total.((
Worse, a crash takes you out of the race and you'll need to spend dosh (or wait - hmm not sure, maybe it'll recharge after a day?) for repair
packs, or you lose the car that you've been racing. That's BS, especially since occasionally you'll crash due to the usual: missed turns, getting fragged by the AI, or overzealous driving for the next turn. Disappointment-total.
((chickdigger802
Banned
so drifting still not good?
^that's what I want to know, won't be able to play it for another few days - does the drifting not feel a little more like classic rr?
Thank you! Just noticed it.
Thank you! Just noticed it.
Imo the drifting feels like Unbounded. The only good thing in the closed beta is that you can buy whatever the fuck you want in the store and not get charged for it. The courses I have seen so far are all from Unbounded.
I only played a couple races last night, I'll give it another shot tonight. I really don't like the repair kit thing, especially since both of my races went unfinished due to getting totaled by the insanely aggressive AI/ "spirit drivers". I was plowed straight into the wall during some nice drifts like the AI wasn't even trying to turn, just drove straight into my side.
I don't remember the last RR game I played so I can't speak to past RR, but I just picked up GRID in the Steam Summer sale and I feel like the drifting in that is way more satisfying than in this.
I don't remember the last RR game I played so I can't speak to past RR, but I just picked up GRID in the Steam Summer sale and I feel like the drifting in that is way more satisfying than in this.
darkressurection
Banned
Man, the F2P model in this game fucking sucks. For reference I really liked Unbounded, I though it was a great spin off of the RR series.
The way the game is structured makes you never want to actually take risks on the track because there is such a high chance to destroy your car, which is not an issue in a game where you can respawn/restart for free, but in this game you have to repair your car with repair kits and if you crash your car when you are out of them (and as far as I can tell you can only get repair kits by selling cars you get or purchasing them with money) you lose it forever.
I went ahead and got the super high price car pack since they aren't currently charging for anything during closed beta (although it still pops up the "hey we are charging your Steam Wallet" prompt which is weird, and it even sends a receipt saying you spend money even though it didn't charge anything.) and the "Mythic" rareness car is even less fun to drive because it is so fast and squirrelly that it is even more certain you are going to crash.
Like I said I really liked Unbounded and was by no means bad at that game, but everything in this game feels like it is setting you up to fail. It is closed beta, so they have time to change their F2P model and stuff before launch but as of right now I have already uninstalled it.
The way the game is structured makes you never want to actually take risks on the track because there is such a high chance to destroy your car, which is not an issue in a game where you can respawn/restart for free, but in this game you have to repair your car with repair kits and if you crash your car when you are out of them (and as far as I can tell you can only get repair kits by selling cars you get or purchasing them with money) you lose it forever.
I went ahead and got the super high price car pack since they aren't currently charging for anything during closed beta (although it still pops up the "hey we are charging your Steam Wallet" prompt which is weird, and it even sends a receipt saying you spend money even though it didn't charge anything.) and the "Mythic" rareness car is even less fun to drive because it is so fast and squirrelly that it is even more certain you are going to crash.
Like I said I really liked Unbounded and was by no means bad at that game, but everything in this game feels like it is setting you up to fail. It is closed beta, so they have time to change their F2P model and stuff before launch but as of right now I have already uninstalled it.
Mutanthands
Member
So...Driftopia. Certainly not classic Ridge Racer gameplay. Really should be called Flatout-topia or something. Doesn't seem to be a technical mess. The pay to play would be annoying, if it were in place. Just not into it.
GuitarAtomik
Member
Got to play a little bit this weekend but that's all I'm playing. The game itself is pretty solid but it's not amazing (never played Unbounded so I don't know how close to this it is). I have to agree that it's the "repair" system that kills it for me and pretty much all of it's problems stem from that.
It's just too harsh a punishment even for a free to play game. It might be ok if this was a racer like GT but you fully expect to crash one or two times in an arcade racer with boosts, takedowns, and destructible shortcuts and making you restart the whole race after one crash is ridiculous. It makes you not want to drive aggressively (when the game is obviously meant to be played that way) because any wrong turn or random element not only means you have to restart, but costs you space bucks that when depleted means losing your car completely (which gains experience and levels up). If they let you test tracks beforehand (they could make it so you just don't earn any XP or cards) this wouldn't be as big a problem either but you're forced to go in to each new track blind against the AI. I would bet the repair system is why you can't race other players as well since people could troll you out of your money so easily if they ganged up on you, and also why it's just one lap since it would be completely unfair to expect you to go more than one or two without crashing.
So IMO the repair system should be completely reworked. Maybe make it so repairs only let you continue the race and depletion doesn't destroy your car but makes it unselectable for a given amount of time (perhaps that is the case currently but that's not what they make it seem like). None of that would make it playable against other people though so really they need to drop it all together.
As for the actual game, I'm not too big on it. Like I said it plays pretty solidly but the destructible shortcuts are too obvious and too easy. It's not completely clear on what is destructible in the environment either (since stuff that normally wouldn't be in other racers like concrete pillars are) which makes you even more paranoid about crashing. So yeah, even if they fixed the f2p model they're using I don't think I'd be back.
It's just too harsh a punishment even for a free to play game. It might be ok if this was a racer like GT but you fully expect to crash one or two times in an arcade racer with boosts, takedowns, and destructible shortcuts and making you restart the whole race after one crash is ridiculous. It makes you not want to drive aggressively (when the game is obviously meant to be played that way) because any wrong turn or random element not only means you have to restart, but costs you space bucks that when depleted means losing your car completely (which gains experience and levels up). If they let you test tracks beforehand (they could make it so you just don't earn any XP or cards) this wouldn't be as big a problem either but you're forced to go in to each new track blind against the AI. I would bet the repair system is why you can't race other players as well since people could troll you out of your money so easily if they ganged up on you, and also why it's just one lap since it would be completely unfair to expect you to go more than one or two without crashing.
So IMO the repair system should be completely reworked. Maybe make it so repairs only let you continue the race and depletion doesn't destroy your car but makes it unselectable for a given amount of time (perhaps that is the case currently but that's not what they make it seem like). None of that would make it playable against other people though so really they need to drop it all together.
As for the actual game, I'm not too big on it. Like I said it plays pretty solidly but the destructible shortcuts are too obvious and too easy. It's not completely clear on what is destructible in the environment either (since stuff that normally wouldn't be in other racers like concrete pillars are) which makes you even more paranoid about crashing. So yeah, even if they fixed the f2p model they're using I don't think I'd be back.
SneakyStephan
Banned
And this is why the mention of f2p makes people reel.
Just because 1 out of every thousand (literally) f2p games has a good f2p system doesn't mean that the f2p tag next to a game isn't a near guaranteed death sentence to gameplay/game design.
EhrgeizVII
Member
This. They better make a real Ridge Racer for PS4 launch.
We don't know that for sure. I'm still holding out hope on the possibility that there's a true home grown RR announced for PS4 at either Gamescon or TGS. I'm holding a 40 Ounce in my hand ready to be poured over Ridge Racer's tombstone if it isn't
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Says I will receive a key so I assume I got in.
patrickthehedgehog
Member
I was going to at least try it out so I could give them some feedback on why I don't like this for Ridge Racer, but that just sounds miserable. Probably not worth an install.
PepsimanVsJoe
Member
I remember burning through dozens of restarts to finish many races in Unbounded.
Can't believe Bugbear would think this is a viable idea for a F2P racer.
Can't believe Bugbear would think this is a viable idea for a F2P racer.
CaptainRizla
Member
Not sure what's happening here but sometimes I start a race and the track doesn't fully load. On quitting the program and reloaded I'm greeted with a message saying my car is wrecked and I've given a chance to repair. If I say no then the car is put in the garage which I don't seem to have access to. The car is just gone...
Ah well, that's what betas are for but would like to know if I can get my car back.
Ah well, that's what betas are for but would like to know if I can get my car back.
Preferred ridge racer F2P game: basic game comes with one track from each of the home console versions of the game, and one basic car from each team. You can pay a small amount to unlock the following
- other courses from the console games
- tracks from rave racer in the arcades
- higher level cars from previous games
- handling styles from different ridge racer games (they changed quite a lot since RR1 on PS1)
- ability to 'play' each actual console game - eg all the tracks/cars/handling/progression from rage racer as a self contained item
- other courses from the console games
- tracks from rave racer in the arcades
- higher level cars from previous games
- handling styles from different ridge racer games (they changed quite a lot since RR1 on PS1)
- ability to 'play' each actual console game - eg all the tracks/cars/handling/progression from rage racer as a self contained item
FunkyLounge
Member
I get why NAMCO would do this but... This is not good for anyone.
FlatOut fans cry to have Bugbear free and make another FlatOut, while RR fans rage over what is being done to their beloved franchise.
Just develop RRs in house and let Bugbear fly.. This is (while understandable if the RR team is no more) not benefiting situation.
FlatOut fans cry to have Bugbear free and make another FlatOut, while RR fans rage over what is being done to their beloved franchise.
Just develop RRs in house and let Bugbear fly.. This is (while understandable if the RR team is no more) not benefiting situation.