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Test Drive Unlimited 2 |OT|
- Thread starter CrunchinJelly
- Start date
Fox Mulder
Member
lol, I just saw that IGN finally got around to reviewing this game, and gave it a 5.5..
DownWithTheShip
Member
bkfount said:
Wow! Just one more sign that IGN had gone down the crapper.
What a terrible review.
See You Next Wednesday
Banned
DownWithTheShip said:
The impressions from most people aren't that positive for this game.
I'd say IGN is right on the money from what I seen of the game.
Fox Mulder
Member
DownWithTheShip said:
they talk shit about the handling and online servers being shitty. That's like the top two things people have always been complaining about. I don't think the handling is that bad, but the online servers pretty much kills the game for me.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I don't think it's too far off, especially when you read what he says. The fact is the sound does suck, several of the features have the feel of the dev reaching beyond their means, the bug-laden online functionality is only hopeful for those who already own the game, there is a shocking lack of common sense with even the simplest of execution, many single player races don't even seem possible to beat unless you pick the fastest car in that class, etc.
If I had to give the game an objective rating, I'd have to give it a "really fun 6.5" and I don't have a boner for EA like IGN does.
If I had to give the game an objective rating, I'd have to give it a "really fun 6.5" and I don't have a boner for EA like IGN does.
NullPointer
Member
That IGN 5.5 review seems reasonable to me. I expected a much better experience in TDU2 considering how long its been since the original game.
You've got to be a very particular kind of racing/driving fan to find this game completely rewarding. I still kind of dig it, but I couldn't recommend this game to anybody I know (or even strangers for that matter) unless their interest was specifically to drive hours on end in a gigantic open world, or if they're into the whole avatar/furniture/clothes aspect of things.
You've got to be a very particular kind of racing/driving fan to find this game completely rewarding. I still kind of dig it, but I couldn't recommend this game to anybody I know (or even strangers for that matter) unless their interest was specifically to drive hours on end in a gigantic open world, or if they're into the whole avatar/furniture/clothes aspect of things.
Neuromancer
Member
It should also be said, navigating in buildings or around the map is a real pain in the ass with a wheel. =\
betweenthewheels
Member
Pimpbaa said:
I find the full assist handling to be best for me but I keep feeling like i'm doing it wrong. I keep switching between sport/hardcore while test driving the Ferrari's but I can't drive em worth shit, keep spinning out cus I find it difficult easing up on the trigger.
37mb pc patch when I logged in today...
Updates it to v082 Build 3 after
The latest PC patch has been released, which contains the following changes:
Clubs are ready to be enabled and should be turned on soon
MyTDULife is ready to be enabled and should be turned on soon
Several connection problems have be corrected
Co-op multiplayer races are ready to be enabled and should be turned on soon
Weather when offline is now operational
Lancia with purple wheels has been fixed, and is corrected for players who are currently affected by the issue
Clothing options no longer disappear in dressing-rooms
Updates it to v082 Build 3 after
The latest PC patch has been released, which contains the following changes:
Clubs are ready to be enabled and should be turned on soon
MyTDULife is ready to be enabled and should be turned on soon
Several connection problems have be corrected
Co-op multiplayer races are ready to be enabled and should be turned on soon
Weather when offline is now operational
Lancia with purple wheels has been fixed, and is corrected for players who are currently affected by the issue
Clothing options no longer disappear in dressing-rooms
VibratingDonkey
Member
Other players stopped appearing at some point for some reason.
I like the game that's underneath all the jank and other stupid nonsense, but man...
And then a clone of my character appeared in the caravan.
And then the game froze.
I like the game that's underneath all the jank and other stupid nonsense, but man...
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I hardly ever write reviews because I feel like they are most often unnecessary. With most games a consensus is possible and does occur, and issues regarding what a game is and is trying to be are clear and thus can be judged more clearly. However, this is not at all the case with TDU2. It is an extremely divisive game, and that is mostly because it is divisive with itself. It sets extremely high goals that have never been attempted outside of the franchise, and I'd say many goals above the financial and manpower means of its development. In terms of ambition it is completely unrivaled, and while it has not lived up to all of that ambition, it has accomplished a lot that others have not. Because of that, I feel like this review has to be written in order to elaborate on what it achieves, what it fails, and what accomplishments are misunderstood as failures and why. As such, it will be different from your standard type of review.
The basis of the game can't be compared to any other franchise. Yes, there have been other open world racing games, but none have been based on real world locations. Crafting every turn according to your driving engine and writing a driving engine according to the turns are two entirely different projects. The team for TDU2 had to look at the roadmap and create a variety of driving challenges for it as well as a variety of cars with a variety of handling differences to suit not only the differing challenges, but the differing preferences of gamers. This makes the game initially seem terribly inconsistent, but as you invest more time into the game, I think you find which cars are suited to what sort of particular challenge. It doesn't have sim controls, yet it doesn't have arcade controls in the more popular traditions of Sega or Criterion. I would say it has arcade controls right in line with the Atari tradition, but with more control in your hands to feel a bit more like a sim.
In one sense it feels limiting, like you only have one realistic option for each challenge, but when I honestly consider other games, this is better. In other games I either only used one type of car for everything, like in Burnout, or I could use a variety of cars and it didn't make much of a difference because all of the challenges were so similar, like in Gran Turismo. At times I have felt like TDU2 became a bit of a grind, but really it was still offering far more variety than other racing games and doing so much more effectively. Add to this the various hitchhiker challenges, photography, wrecks, and merely discovering all roads, and you have plenty of ways to keep things from getting stale out of repetition. None of these are perfect, and I will get into why, but they altogether create a better environment of enjoyable gameplay over time than other games I have played. However I might objectively want to rate the quality of elements, the package altogether has already made me have more fun and play it more than any other racing game since Ridge Racer Type 4, so I would say it is better than the sum of its parts because of how they are put together.
Let's start with that exploration. It really is something. The two islands presented are really incredible, far greater than the world of Burnout or Midnight Club and certainly far beyond the limited race tracks of closed world games. The world has a very interesting effect in that it fills you with wonder and desire to explore, but at the same time creates a completely unreasonable desire in you to explore and interact with it utterly thoroughly, beyond a mere drive. There are limitations to how far games can go in general, and how far they can go with a limited development team and budget. This games makes you want it to be GTA4 or RDR, it makes you want to get out of your car and walk around, see more details and use items. It makes you want to go further with your photography, travel in other vehicles like boats or planes, walk around in the cities with other players, etc. The problem is that this would not only expand the development far beyond its means, but it would make the purpose of gameplay incredibly unfocused and cause your dreams to grow exponentially.
If a racing game dares me to dream of a game that has never been done and probably cannot presently be properly done by anyone, I'll count that as a victory, not a shortcoming. However, there are shortcomings in what the game is actually trying to do, not just in what you dream of the franchise someday doing. Exploring roads is a big deal in this game, and you will spend a great deal of time using the map and GPS system. Because of this it should have been top priority in design, but there are some little misses of big impact. First, a lot of roads can't bee seen until you are in full zoom, and yet this zoom level is very slow at scrolling and there is no way to adjust the speed. Slightly irritating, and yet the problem becomes bigger when you realize how much time you'll have to spend in this later.
Getting 100% of the roads is kind of a big deal in relation to unlocking the rest of the content in the game, yet you'll find that locating the last 1% to drive over is incredibly hard. I literally took 2 hours slowly combing through Ibiza Area 2 in order to find the last little bits of road I missed, but this could have taken 2 minutes if there was a way to highlight missed roads by that point. There is also a problem mostly related to Hawaii where the map doesn't show you where one road is actually passing over another, so you may quick travel to a location thinking you'll turn onto the road you need only to see it 50ft above you. At other times, you will be prompted to visit a new location on the other side of the map. Perhaps you don't want to drive that far when you could quicktravel travel 3/4 of the way on a road you already discovered, but you don't know where explored road turns into unexplored with the GPS path highlighting it. So you have to turn off the GPS goal, quick travel to where the explored road ends, then set the GPS goal again.
Aside from map issues, there is also a bit of trouble with the active GPS use while driving. It doesn't zoom out or adjust how far ahead it warns you of an upcoming turn in relation to your speed, so I would say above 175mph it becomes utterly worthless. Also, being based on a real-world map, sometimes your view is obstructed or it is visually confusing as to precisely where a turn is up ahead, so you'll want to rely on your GPS to clue you in. This is a bit tricky because the arrow indicating your car is massive, so it blocks the view of small curves and turns you are currently nearby. The location of your car is also related to the very bottom of the arrow, not the tip or center of it. I don't think anyone would naturally assume that, so it makes using it pretty awkward. This is a minor qualm for exploration, but becomes a bigger issue when racing opponents who seem to be completely familiar with a track you have never seen before. In a racing game with developer-imagined tracks they could have made it easier to visually navigate, but being based on real-world locations, the game has unique needs. With that overall design in mind, I have never seen a game of such a large scale with such precise and instantaneous quicktravel. It is an incredible achievement that nearly invalidates excuses for load times in other games.
Aside from just getting around, there are things to do. Photography challenges can be a fun diversion, and I don't want to play down how useful they are for breaking up the grind. They help you appreciate the more beautiful aspects of the game world and as you unlock visual indicators of their locations, they become more of a laid back pursuit, a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, some of these spots have a required time associated with them, and there is no on-going way to tell the time. This leaves you with the option of either continually pausing when the sun reaches the general place it would be at the required time, or simply waiting around at the location until you are allowed to take the photo. An always-displaying clock or the ability to set an alarm would have smoothed out this feature quite a lot. It also would have been nice to be able to name your map bookmarks to more easily remember which photos they are related to. Aside from this, a little qualm... as a photographer, I'll say it often limits you to poor framing of the subject. I guess that's only a problem if you have artistic discernment about those sorts of things.
Now what about the lifestyle aspect? Like the rest, it is rather give-and-take. It is kind of fun being able to change so much about your character and houses, but then the actual use of them greatly reduces their value. Sure, you can dress up your character a thousand different ways, but you never personally see your character until you walk into a new area. Would it be so troublesome to let us use a 3rd person camera? And I don't see a reason to turn the game into The Sims, but it would be nice to be able to sit down in chairs or take a dip in your own pool. It's also very cool to be able to have several supercars in a really nice garage, but that makes it terribly frustrating to not have any control over which garage those cars are in, especially when several of those cars end up being prizes from various accomplishments that you don't even want and can't sell. And while you can never sell those cars, you can't even sell cars you picked out unless you're strapped for cash or run out of garage space. As I said earlier, I want to merit this game for making you dream bigger rather than detract from it, but there are some ways where it even fails at playing by the limits it has.
In this aspect, I'm torn between whether I should think they did well in attempting more, or if they should have given it more focus. The cutscenes are absolutely terrible, last-generation sort of stuff, and they can't be skipped. I think the game is obviously trying to create an environment of satire, but that doesn't keep it from becoming irritating, especially in the repeated pre-race comments during championships. It does make you hate the other characters, making wins more satisfying, so I'll give it that much. A lot of this makes you think it would be better if they weren't included at all, but it does set the stage to keep the same format and hopefully improve execution in a bigger-budget following entry in the franchise. In this way, one needs to be understanding of the strategy of the developer and perhaps even pressure placed on them by Atari. Still, that doesn't change the fact that I don't want to even use half the cars because they sound so awful, and yet other cars sound great, so "inconsistent due to reaching beyond their means" is definitely how I would label the presentation.
Interaction with the game world can also be fairly inconsistent. You can ram right through signs and traffic signal posts, but light posts and a handful of curbs will bring you to a dead stop. Likewise, some shrubbery acts as a tiny ramp, while others stop you dead. This inconsistency also applies to the penalties for time trials and escort missions where apparently running into signs is okay but straying into the grass in an off-road truck is not. I understand that in general they want to promote developing the skills to stay on the road and not hit things, as these are essential to win challenges later on, but still, if the ability to fully explore the world is there, it shouldn't be so hampered. Though, this complaint isn't big because there isn't much to find when really far off into the wilderness anyway. That said, I do appreciate the return-to road teleport feature for times now and then that you might fall off a mountain or purposely head out and not want to take the time to get back.
There is a great level of thoughtfulness in other ways, too, like the ability to test drive cars before you use them. I really appreciate that because often a car with better stats won't drive in the way I like. Even though AI cars can sometimes keep you from really seeing how well it can push a 90 degree turn, it tells you more than enough to know whether or not you want to spend your money on it. Similarly, it's nice being able to take a tour of a house before you buy it. The ability to restart a challenge at any time is wonderful, even though sometimes you must because you aren't allowed to do things like check the map for a speed trap race to make a strategy. The ability to back out of a championship to do something else and resume later is great, even though it is unfortunate that you sometimes have to, like when it starts raining for a more challenging time trial event. Like everything in this game, there is give and take, but overall these two inclusions are hugely thoughtful, missing from a lot of other games, and far outweigh the detractors that necessitate them.
But hold on, despite how many words I just spent on describing the whole experience, I'm still leaving out half of it: Online play! That controversial decision to have an unfocused and and massive world to drive around in finds a great deal of its vindication in this side of things, and yet I haven't even begun talking about it. Why? Well... because I haven't begun to play it... because I can't. The game launch was completely and utterly botched. It really is inexcusable, so much that even if one never plays it until after the issues are fixed, they should still mention it in their reviews. Atari should be shamed for allowing it to happen and it really should have been tested more thoroughly and effectively. The team claims unexpected complications, and I know those do happen, but I also know they are prevented from a properly executed beta process. Whatever needs to be fixed in that process must be fixed for future games.
That said, what parts of the online format I can see are extremely promising. As with any game, playing online will help you find a cornucopia of douchebags, and even apart from that it is, um... interesting, to play with people of all countries and languages at once, but the nature of racing clubs seems like it will promote the proper and fun use of every feature they have included. If you are lucky and can get random people to accept a quick match, it is possible to dabble in these modes right now, and they seem like they could be very fun. Police chase is unfortunately terribly confusing and broken, but everything else seems wonderful. They are getting more heat for the botched launch than I have ever seen, and I can only imagine that is because people want to like the game and truly want the project to succeed. Because of this, I have faith that Atari will do whatever it takes to fix the problem, and I have read online that they even pulled people from teams of other games to help. They really are dreaming bigger than anyone else has with a racing game, so I can be more understanding as I wait.
So there you have it, my terribly mixed feelings over a game with mountaintops and valleys both literal and figurative. Overall I feel like its ambitions have made it much more than its flaws, and yet I can be completely understanding of those who disagree, especially if they quit early rather than keep with it for over 50 hours like I have. I think to really understand the wild beast, you have to consider the unique development challenges associated with the unique format it has. Once you do, you can be more understanding and tolerant of things you don't care for but which may be highlights for other gamers. This doesn't remove the many blatant oversights and lack of common design sense, yet you can't rightly deny that it also gives many other things that no game other than the first TDU has given. I think it is something that should be experienced, and an ongoing dream that should be supported. I won't give the game a number rating, but I will say that I think you should buy it, both to help Atari continue developing this dream and to experience this current form of it in full.
The basis of the game can't be compared to any other franchise. Yes, there have been other open world racing games, but none have been based on real world locations. Crafting every turn according to your driving engine and writing a driving engine according to the turns are two entirely different projects. The team for TDU2 had to look at the roadmap and create a variety of driving challenges for it as well as a variety of cars with a variety of handling differences to suit not only the differing challenges, but the differing preferences of gamers. This makes the game initially seem terribly inconsistent, but as you invest more time into the game, I think you find which cars are suited to what sort of particular challenge. It doesn't have sim controls, yet it doesn't have arcade controls in the more popular traditions of Sega or Criterion. I would say it has arcade controls right in line with the Atari tradition, but with more control in your hands to feel a bit more like a sim.
In one sense it feels limiting, like you only have one realistic option for each challenge, but when I honestly consider other games, this is better. In other games I either only used one type of car for everything, like in Burnout, or I could use a variety of cars and it didn't make much of a difference because all of the challenges were so similar, like in Gran Turismo. At times I have felt like TDU2 became a bit of a grind, but really it was still offering far more variety than other racing games and doing so much more effectively. Add to this the various hitchhiker challenges, photography, wrecks, and merely discovering all roads, and you have plenty of ways to keep things from getting stale out of repetition. None of these are perfect, and I will get into why, but they altogether create a better environment of enjoyable gameplay over time than other games I have played. However I might objectively want to rate the quality of elements, the package altogether has already made me have more fun and play it more than any other racing game since Ridge Racer Type 4, so I would say it is better than the sum of its parts because of how they are put together.
Let's start with that exploration. It really is something. The two islands presented are really incredible, far greater than the world of Burnout or Midnight Club and certainly far beyond the limited race tracks of closed world games. The world has a very interesting effect in that it fills you with wonder and desire to explore, but at the same time creates a completely unreasonable desire in you to explore and interact with it utterly thoroughly, beyond a mere drive. There are limitations to how far games can go in general, and how far they can go with a limited development team and budget. This games makes you want it to be GTA4 or RDR, it makes you want to get out of your car and walk around, see more details and use items. It makes you want to go further with your photography, travel in other vehicles like boats or planes, walk around in the cities with other players, etc. The problem is that this would not only expand the development far beyond its means, but it would make the purpose of gameplay incredibly unfocused and cause your dreams to grow exponentially.
If a racing game dares me to dream of a game that has never been done and probably cannot presently be properly done by anyone, I'll count that as a victory, not a shortcoming. However, there are shortcomings in what the game is actually trying to do, not just in what you dream of the franchise someday doing. Exploring roads is a big deal in this game, and you will spend a great deal of time using the map and GPS system. Because of this it should have been top priority in design, but there are some little misses of big impact. First, a lot of roads can't bee seen until you are in full zoom, and yet this zoom level is very slow at scrolling and there is no way to adjust the speed. Slightly irritating, and yet the problem becomes bigger when you realize how much time you'll have to spend in this later.
Getting 100% of the roads is kind of a big deal in relation to unlocking the rest of the content in the game, yet you'll find that locating the last 1% to drive over is incredibly hard. I literally took 2 hours slowly combing through Ibiza Area 2 in order to find the last little bits of road I missed, but this could have taken 2 minutes if there was a way to highlight missed roads by that point. There is also a problem mostly related to Hawaii where the map doesn't show you where one road is actually passing over another, so you may quick travel to a location thinking you'll turn onto the road you need only to see it 50ft above you. At other times, you will be prompted to visit a new location on the other side of the map. Perhaps you don't want to drive that far when you could quicktravel travel 3/4 of the way on a road you already discovered, but you don't know where explored road turns into unexplored with the GPS path highlighting it. So you have to turn off the GPS goal, quick travel to where the explored road ends, then set the GPS goal again.
Aside from map issues, there is also a bit of trouble with the active GPS use while driving. It doesn't zoom out or adjust how far ahead it warns you of an upcoming turn in relation to your speed, so I would say above 175mph it becomes utterly worthless. Also, being based on a real-world map, sometimes your view is obstructed or it is visually confusing as to precisely where a turn is up ahead, so you'll want to rely on your GPS to clue you in. This is a bit tricky because the arrow indicating your car is massive, so it blocks the view of small curves and turns you are currently nearby. The location of your car is also related to the very bottom of the arrow, not the tip or center of it. I don't think anyone would naturally assume that, so it makes using it pretty awkward. This is a minor qualm for exploration, but becomes a bigger issue when racing opponents who seem to be completely familiar with a track you have never seen before. In a racing game with developer-imagined tracks they could have made it easier to visually navigate, but being based on real-world locations, the game has unique needs. With that overall design in mind, I have never seen a game of such a large scale with such precise and instantaneous quicktravel. It is an incredible achievement that nearly invalidates excuses for load times in other games.
Aside from just getting around, there are things to do. Photography challenges can be a fun diversion, and I don't want to play down how useful they are for breaking up the grind. They help you appreciate the more beautiful aspects of the game world and as you unlock visual indicators of their locations, they become more of a laid back pursuit, a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, some of these spots have a required time associated with them, and there is no on-going way to tell the time. This leaves you with the option of either continually pausing when the sun reaches the general place it would be at the required time, or simply waiting around at the location until you are allowed to take the photo. An always-displaying clock or the ability to set an alarm would have smoothed out this feature quite a lot. It also would have been nice to be able to name your map bookmarks to more easily remember which photos they are related to. Aside from this, a little qualm... as a photographer, I'll say it often limits you to poor framing of the subject. I guess that's only a problem if you have artistic discernment about those sorts of things.
Now what about the lifestyle aspect? Like the rest, it is rather give-and-take. It is kind of fun being able to change so much about your character and houses, but then the actual use of them greatly reduces their value. Sure, you can dress up your character a thousand different ways, but you never personally see your character until you walk into a new area. Would it be so troublesome to let us use a 3rd person camera? And I don't see a reason to turn the game into The Sims, but it would be nice to be able to sit down in chairs or take a dip in your own pool. It's also very cool to be able to have several supercars in a really nice garage, but that makes it terribly frustrating to not have any control over which garage those cars are in, especially when several of those cars end up being prizes from various accomplishments that you don't even want and can't sell. And while you can never sell those cars, you can't even sell cars you picked out unless you're strapped for cash or run out of garage space. As I said earlier, I want to merit this game for making you dream bigger rather than detract from it, but there are some ways where it even fails at playing by the limits it has.
In this aspect, I'm torn between whether I should think they did well in attempting more, or if they should have given it more focus. The cutscenes are absolutely terrible, last-generation sort of stuff, and they can't be skipped. I think the game is obviously trying to create an environment of satire, but that doesn't keep it from becoming irritating, especially in the repeated pre-race comments during championships. It does make you hate the other characters, making wins more satisfying, so I'll give it that much. A lot of this makes you think it would be better if they weren't included at all, but it does set the stage to keep the same format and hopefully improve execution in a bigger-budget following entry in the franchise. In this way, one needs to be understanding of the strategy of the developer and perhaps even pressure placed on them by Atari. Still, that doesn't change the fact that I don't want to even use half the cars because they sound so awful, and yet other cars sound great, so "inconsistent due to reaching beyond their means" is definitely how I would label the presentation.
Interaction with the game world can also be fairly inconsistent. You can ram right through signs and traffic signal posts, but light posts and a handful of curbs will bring you to a dead stop. Likewise, some shrubbery acts as a tiny ramp, while others stop you dead. This inconsistency also applies to the penalties for time trials and escort missions where apparently running into signs is okay but straying into the grass in an off-road truck is not. I understand that in general they want to promote developing the skills to stay on the road and not hit things, as these are essential to win challenges later on, but still, if the ability to fully explore the world is there, it shouldn't be so hampered. Though, this complaint isn't big because there isn't much to find when really far off into the wilderness anyway. That said, I do appreciate the return-to road teleport feature for times now and then that you might fall off a mountain or purposely head out and not want to take the time to get back.
There is a great level of thoughtfulness in other ways, too, like the ability to test drive cars before you use them. I really appreciate that because often a car with better stats won't drive in the way I like. Even though AI cars can sometimes keep you from really seeing how well it can push a 90 degree turn, it tells you more than enough to know whether or not you want to spend your money on it. Similarly, it's nice being able to take a tour of a house before you buy it. The ability to restart a challenge at any time is wonderful, even though sometimes you must because you aren't allowed to do things like check the map for a speed trap race to make a strategy. The ability to back out of a championship to do something else and resume later is great, even though it is unfortunate that you sometimes have to, like when it starts raining for a more challenging time trial event. Like everything in this game, there is give and take, but overall these two inclusions are hugely thoughtful, missing from a lot of other games, and far outweigh the detractors that necessitate them.
But hold on, despite how many words I just spent on describing the whole experience, I'm still leaving out half of it: Online play! That controversial decision to have an unfocused and and massive world to drive around in finds a great deal of its vindication in this side of things, and yet I haven't even begun talking about it. Why? Well... because I haven't begun to play it... because I can't. The game launch was completely and utterly botched. It really is inexcusable, so much that even if one never plays it until after the issues are fixed, they should still mention it in their reviews. Atari should be shamed for allowing it to happen and it really should have been tested more thoroughly and effectively. The team claims unexpected complications, and I know those do happen, but I also know they are prevented from a properly executed beta process. Whatever needs to be fixed in that process must be fixed for future games.
That said, what parts of the online format I can see are extremely promising. As with any game, playing online will help you find a cornucopia of douchebags, and even apart from that it is, um... interesting, to play with people of all countries and languages at once, but the nature of racing clubs seems like it will promote the proper and fun use of every feature they have included. If you are lucky and can get random people to accept a quick match, it is possible to dabble in these modes right now, and they seem like they could be very fun. Police chase is unfortunately terribly confusing and broken, but everything else seems wonderful. They are getting more heat for the botched launch than I have ever seen, and I can only imagine that is because people want to like the game and truly want the project to succeed. Because of this, I have faith that Atari will do whatever it takes to fix the problem, and I have read online that they even pulled people from teams of other games to help. They really are dreaming bigger than anyone else has with a racing game, so I can be more understanding as I wait.
So there you have it, my terribly mixed feelings over a game with mountaintops and valleys both literal and figurative. Overall I feel like its ambitions have made it much more than its flaws, and yet I can be completely understanding of those who disagree, especially if they quit early rather than keep with it for over 50 hours like I have. I think to really understand the wild beast, you have to consider the unique development challenges associated with the unique format it has. Once you do, you can be more understanding and tolerant of things you don't care for but which may be highlights for other gamers. This doesn't remove the many blatant oversights and lack of common design sense, yet you can't rightly deny that it also gives many other things that no game other than the first TDU has given. I think it is something that should be experienced, and an ongoing dream that should be supported. I won't give the game a number rating, but I will say that I think you should buy it, both to help Atari continue developing this dream and to experience this current form of it in full.
Forgive me for not reading your entire post (I've skipped to the final paragraph) but I like what you've written. Will give it more time tonight, but I do think you're right... a lot of people seem to be dismissing this particular forest for the trees.
I've come to realise it's quite a deep game when I jump on to play for only 20 mins, only to quit a short time later to find that I've been playing for an hour.
I've come to realise it's quite a deep game when I jump on to play for only 20 mins, only to quit a short time later to find that I've been playing for an hour.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
One final note about the map screen. Have you noticed that to get the arrow to face in the direction you want, your cursor has to be on the side of the road of the lane heading in that direction? It was kind of pissing me off until I realized that, than I was like "oh" and now I appreciate what it tells you about the road format before traveling to it. Maybe the instruction book (which wasn't included on Steam, ugh) says something about it.
See You Next Wednesday said:
I say they were being SUPER GENEROUS. This is a really crappy game that manages to be WORSE than the original. The car mechanics are atrocious, collision is stupid, and it's not uncommon to be driving on a straightaway and suddenly have your car spin out for no reason.
I've tried a handful of cars and they all handle like crap and have weird idiosyncracies that are related to bad programming rather than car-specific physics.
The funniest part was that I heard (no patience to sit through the 30 minute credits myself) there were a grand total of three game testers credited for the game. I believe it.
Oh, and your impeccably coifed gay driving instructor claps like a mechanical monkey when you succeed. I thought that was funny.
betweenthewheels
Member
vireland said:
They're too ambitious for their own good. Every aspect in the game is under developed like they threw all these ideas in a blender and it came out a mess.
betweenthewheels said:
This is a statement I can get behind. The first one was pretty ambitious for its time, but it was closer to meeting the ambition in various areas. The new one fails to come close to meeting the obviously hyper-ambitious design doc on virtually every point, sometimes missing very spectacularly.
Shame, because with another year of development it could have been pretty cool - or at least playable.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I nominate myself for starting the GAF club because despite everything, I adore this game. If all the haters hate it so much, they should just stop playing and stop bitching up this thread.Shaneus said:
The Ascari A10 sputtering at the top end definitely has to do with a speed bug in the car, not a mere stat typo. I finally got 100% in Hawaii 4 so I could fully tune it and it still only goes up to 338kph. Good to know they have their eye on the bug because aside from the sputtering I could love the car, and it would be nice to have it go faster.
Bloodworth
Member
That spot was a house before they patched the game. I saved my money to get it, and when I drove back found the club there and the house moved down the hill to the beach.Dice said:
My favorite thing to do in this game is drive around and find interesting locations. I try to find a car with the least amount of tint in the windshield and is convertible... so I can pan my head around while driving to see things of interest.
What is a good car for this? I'd like a very clear windshield, convertible, and with as little frame around the windshield as possible. Right now I'm using this convertible Audi, but the rim is pretty thick on it.
I love being able to drive around Ibiza rendered in this much quality. It reminds me a lot of when I was scootering around Santorini in the off-season. Very similar environments, but a much larger island. Much like Assassin's Creed, it's so awesome to be able to fully explore such amazing cities and environments that are rendered so meticulously.
Anyways, here's a few of the things I've found driving around (sorry for the horrible quality):
A beach I found driving at the end of a road near the northern part of the island.
A perspective on ruined wall I found by driving across these really narrow embankments above salt pools near the airport.
Nice sunset I saw when cruising down a mountain.
A tower I saw up on a hill that I drove up to.
A great view
Sunset over the hill one of my houses is on. Notice the pixelated airplane flying by.
Sun almost gone behind same hill. The environmental effects in this game can be astounding.
What is a good car for this? I'd like a very clear windshield, convertible, and with as little frame around the windshield as possible. Right now I'm using this convertible Audi, but the rim is pretty thick on it.
I love being able to drive around Ibiza rendered in this much quality. It reminds me a lot of when I was scootering around Santorini in the off-season. Very similar environments, but a much larger island. Much like Assassin's Creed, it's so awesome to be able to fully explore such amazing cities and environments that are rendered so meticulously.
Anyways, here's a few of the things I've found driving around (sorry for the horrible quality):
A beach I found driving at the end of a road near the northern part of the island.
A perspective on ruined wall I found by driving across these really narrow embankments above salt pools near the airport.
Nice sunset I saw when cruising down a mountain.
A tower I saw up on a hill that I drove up to.
A great view
Sunset over the hill one of my houses is on. Notice the pixelated airplane flying by.
Sun almost gone behind same hill. The environmental effects in this game can be astounding.
Dice said:
Man that was quite a long drive from the airport to get to the dealership.
When I walked into the showroom I actually laughed at how perfect the Ariel was. This is exactly what I was looking for. I didn't realize I could find a car with no cockpit whatsoever. You can even see the road going by under your feet. Thanks for the suggestion! This thing is awesome.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Taking a jump at 250kph and ending up tumbling down a mountain in Oahu in cockpit view with that thing is awesome. There are a couple places perfectly suited for doing so. I've actually spent a decent bit of time finding the perfect spots to jump off mountains. That car is like the Enzo, it immediately pitches hard when you jump so landing causes it to flip and roll like crazy.
Here is a fun thing to do for everyone: Get yourself a nice supercar and head to that long straight road by the airport in Oahu. Go into chase cam but hold the stick so you're looking right at the front of your car. See how many cars you can dodge at 300kph+ while not seeing a single one of them coming. It's pretty intense, my record is five. I should probably beat the A3 soon to unlock new cups, but I'm having too much fun just dicking around. I'm kind of apathetic toward cars left to buy so I'm going way chill.
Here is a fun thing to do for everyone: Get yourself a nice supercar and head to that long straight road by the airport in Oahu. Go into chase cam but hold the stick so you're looking right at the front of your car. See how many cars you can dodge at 300kph+ while not seeing a single one of them coming. It's pretty intense, my record is five. I should probably beat the A3 soon to unlock new cups, but I'm having too much fun just dicking around. I'm kind of apathetic toward cars left to buy so I'm going way chill.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Man I hate tail missions, I've always hated stuff like that in any game. I bet all the pickup missions I have left are tail missions. I'm such a baller I would honestly rather buy each person their own new car so they can stalk their girlfriend themselves. I'd even get them some dope-ass ride like a Ferrari California so they can pick up chicks when they find out she's a cheating bitch. Just give me the discovery points and we'll call it a day.
Edit: Man, no game has made me want a new video card just to have it in better quality. Apparently my 5850 isn't enough to fully beast this thing but a 6970 is...
Edit: Man, no game has made me want a new video card just to have it in better quality. Apparently my 5850 isn't enough to fully beast this thing but a 6970 is...
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
The Alfa Romeo Internazionale or something. The Alfa that isn't the Mito. LOL.Dante23 said:
Thank you both, I'll try these, but I think I got the hang of it with the Volkswagen, I was getting high speeds, but also a few penalties for going out of the road. I'm braking a lot more now and the timer seems more forgiving. I didn't know that you can participate in the cup with tuned cars : P.
Edit: Holy crap, I chewed off 8 seconds of the ref time with my un-tuned Golf. : D
Edit: Holy crap, I chewed off 8 seconds of the ref time with my un-tuned Golf. : D
vireland said:
Actually, I played the crap out of TDU1 while waiting for my veyron pre-order to show up. TDU2 is head and shoulders better. Graphics, control, scope, sure - the online is borked, but the driving mechanics are awesome.
Go to the ferrari or RUF, pagani dealer to see what the REAL cars handle like.
There's a reason people shell out big bucks for exotics. Well..they dont suck.
Dice said:
Yeah - what he said. I was having loads of trouble with the VW GTI, then i grudglingly tried the brera. The Brera hooks up in the front much better and while it accelerates slowly, it can get up there in speed given enough road.
I think the A7 cup is all about training you in the ways of FF understeer and grip - essentially, DONT mash on the gas or the front wheel swill never hook up. I sense that the next lesson (er cup) will do this with RWD cars. Its really great game design to pull you in slowly like this and show you the ropes.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
It's simple, really. Does it hurt you so much to let go of the gas? Do you lose so much speed? Certainly not as much as hitting a wall or driving in the dirt. But that doesn't mean you have to slam the brake, either. You can let off one and press on the other just a bit and see massive results. Doing a bit of transfer in approach then letting go of both in the middle and applying progressively more gas heading out can get you through a 90 degree turn in 3 gear or sometimes 4th if you find the right line. These are all racing game basics, but it seems like many don't know the basics.
Of course, later with the supercars you do want to learn how to slam the brakes to maximize speed in the straightway and slow down just enough just in time to maximize the time you spend speeding. Things also get tricky when taking turns over bumps at high speeds, but if you simply take the approach of restraining yourself enough to maximize average speed, that should guide you. I don't think I've found a turn that you can't get through at 100kph with the right line or maybe drift, so that is a good standard to hold for yourself.
I've never experienced this "random" spinning out with any car in the game. Do people realize the engines on these things can push the wheels harder than their torque to push the heavy car forward? Do they realize that if they are going over 300kph and weave while going over a tiny irregularity in the road it can make the tires hit wrong angles when they touch the road again and lose their grip? Do they realize that letting go of the accelerator so that tire speed can equalize with the inertia of the car helps them regain control? There are so many more things that should be common sense but people bitch about them like they are a mystery.
Of course, later with the supercars you do want to learn how to slam the brakes to maximize speed in the straightway and slow down just enough just in time to maximize the time you spend speeding. Things also get tricky when taking turns over bumps at high speeds, but if you simply take the approach of restraining yourself enough to maximize average speed, that should guide you. I don't think I've found a turn that you can't get through at 100kph with the right line or maybe drift, so that is a good standard to hold for yourself.
I've never experienced this "random" spinning out with any car in the game. Do people realize the engines on these things can push the wheels harder than their torque to push the heavy car forward? Do they realize that if they are going over 300kph and weave while going over a tiny irregularity in the road it can make the tires hit wrong angles when they touch the road again and lose their grip? Do they realize that letting go of the accelerator so that tire speed can equalize with the inertia of the car helps them regain control? There are so many more things that should be common sense but people bitch about them like they are a mystery.
British Monsoon
Member
I think it's because on one hand the game feels very much like an arcade racer, yet on the other hand there are distinct nuances to each car that you wouldn't expect to find in an arcade racer. Such as each car having a sweet spot for the rev meter when leaving the starting line, the difference between cars in this situation feels far more pronounced than even in a sim racer like GT5. Also, some of the cars are much more varied than you'd expect in terms of how difficult they are to control - going from a Vantage to a MacLaren is like night and day, as while the MacLaren almost drives itself the Vantage has a tendency to spin if you don't feather the accelerator when trying to power out of a corner. At least in my experience.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
My issue with some cars isn't that they are unwieldy, but that they just fail to compete. Having a top speed you never see because it takes too long to get there is worthless, and having shitty brakes is not complimented by low turning ability. With some of them you can drift pretty well, but that is a different style, not a truly competitive alternative, especially with pedestrian cars on the road. It's nice the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport has a high top speed, but anyone using it better damn well hope there are long straightways if they want to beat a Pagani Zonda Cinque, and if it's all turns like the mountain roads a Ferrari Enzo or 458 Italia could probably beat it.
Looking at these sorts of things, most of the posted challenges right now are completely lame as they're just designed for the fastest car win. We need to think of some interesting challenges that actually require technique for our club when they open up. With the ability to limit them to a certain class or model, there will be better opportunity to make use of these other cars and test their limits competitively since they don't so well fit the single player races.
Looking at these sorts of things, most of the posted challenges right now are completely lame as they're just designed for the fastest car win. We need to think of some interesting challenges that actually require technique for our club when they open up. With the ability to limit them to a certain class or model, there will be better opportunity to make use of these other cars and test their limits competitively since they don't so well fit the single player races.
Workaround for the problem from official forums
1) Download these two files:
http://patchserver.testdriveunlimited2.com/final/20110218191951/TestDrive2.exe.z01
http://patchserver.testdriveunlimited2.com/final/20110218191951/TestDrive2.exe.z02
2) Put them into your TDU2 Install Folder (Not My Documents but the one you chose when you installed the game). There should already be some files in that folder, amongst them TestDrive2.exe.zip:
TDU2-Install/DownloadCache/20110218191951/
3) Start the launcher. It will redownload some files and then start unpacking. The patch should be complete.
1) Download these two files:
http://patchserver.testdriveunlimited2.com/final/20110218191951/TestDrive2.exe.z01
http://patchserver.testdriveunlimited2.com/final/20110218191951/TestDrive2.exe.z02
2) Put them into your TDU2 Install Folder (Not My Documents but the one you chose when you installed the game). There should already be some files in that folder, amongst them TestDrive2.exe.zip:
TDU2-Install/DownloadCache/20110218191951/
3) Start the launcher. It will redownload some files and then start unpacking. The patch should be complete.