TOCA RACE DRIVER 3 ('demo' and 'delay' threads merged)

[nickyf1]

same with GT4

[Sodemo]

It seems the more footage I see of TRD3, the more it looks like an update of TRD2:

On the whole TRD3 seems slightly improved in every area. The one thing which has got worse is the sense of gradient on courses, some sections like Cascases @ Oulton Park and Pilgrims Drop @ Brands don't feel like the drops in altitude they should be.
The tracks appear to be slightly more accurate, however there is a huge bump in the middle of les combes, which doesn't exist in real life, there are more huge bumps on the way down Cascades @ Oulton Park, which again, don't exist. Silverstone, On the outside of Club corner, Codemasters have put gravel & grass instead of tarmac run off, which again, is incorrect.

Brands Hatch appears to be mostly correct, or "decent" enough, except Dingle Dell. Im not sure what on earth they were trying to do, is it the 1987 corner, is it the 1988 revision, is it the (2004?) revision, who knows, but which ever version it is, its a mess. It looks like its trying to be the 1988 revision with the "jump" which forces you to run wide, but there is no outside kerb, and the track doesn't twist, its just a standard right hander with a big inside kerb you launch off, not what Dingle Dell was or is now at all.

This is me probably being a bit anal in considering these major faults, but if it effects the way the game is played, then they are faults. Don't they employ any kind of motorsport consultant or an adviser to check these things?

[Hazza]

So...

In other words it's pants?

[Sodemo]

Originally Posted by Hazza

So...

In other words it's pants?

I wouldn't say its totally devoid of merit, it should be a lot of fun, its just mighty frustrating when they can't get such a rudimentary and vital part of motorracing games (being track layout) correct.

I suspect the vast majority of people buying TRD3 will be oblivious to the fact that the tracks are a pale reflection of their real-life counterparts.

There are quite a few games on the market which have excellent track maps, Gran Turismo 4, GTR, Grand Prix 4, all have accurate tracks.

[Chris Gray]

Originally Posted by The Monster

IThere are quite a few games on the market which have excellent track maps, Gran Turismo 4, GTR, Grand Prix 4, all have accurate tracks.

The only thing with GT4 is that the AI is a bit on the poor side, whereas the TOCA series always have (slightly) realistic competitors. All games have their downsides, but getting tracks maps wrong does seem a bit stoopid. Still, the more I play the TRD3 demo the more I want to buy it.

[Sodemo]

Yep, I concurr. The AI on GT4 is rather bad.

Its a pity that Thruxton hasn't made an appearance since TOCA 2 Touring Cars in 1998 (did it appear on TOCA Race Driver 1, im not sure?). The thing is, that in all the incarnations of Thruxton that I have played, the cars are just way way too grippy. On the game you can take every corner from the exit of Segrave to the Club Chicane flat out, this is of course totally wrong as most cars have to lift around the back of the circuit.

Usually into Noble you have a slight lift, then into Goodwood a brake - maybe down a gear, then into the menacing Church, which again is a dab on the brakes possibly down 1 gear - heart in the mouth moment. There is none of that on TOCA 2, its totally easy flat all the way...

[Chris Gray]

No Thruxton hasn't been on since Toca 2. The one thing I am looking forward to in TRD3 is the fact that the cars don't appear to handle on rails, and therefore you can't take corners flat when they require a downshift in real life. The first corner at Philip Island is a classic example: in TRD2 you could take that virtually flat even though the cars did 212mph on the straights! Nice to see snetterton back though.

[Sodemo]

Originally Posted by Chris Gray

No Thruxton hasn't been on since Toca 2. The one thing I am looking forward to in TRD3 is the fact that the cars don't appear to handle on rails, and therefore you can't take corners flat when they require a downshift in real life. The first corner at Philip Island is a classic example: in TRD2 you could take that virtually flat even though the cars did 212mph on the straights! Nice to see snetterton back though.

Whats annoying is that the "Sim" mode appears to be more arcadey than in TRD2. Its virtually impossible to spin the car unless you go onto the grass. There are no "moments", no back end stepping out unexpectedly requiring a fast opposite lock twist of the wheel / stick etc. Even when putting the power down out of a slow corner there is no throttle balancing required as the rear end sticks like glue. I want to be forced to hacksaw away at the wheel to get a fast lap, they should be a handful to control, the cars just behave too much, its just no challenge.

However at least the Pro Sim mode looks a bit better, with spinning cars a plenty. Its a pity that the physics seem to be barely altered from TRD2, however it does look better, even if its only say 10% better.

[Hazza]

Well at least that sounds better than Rd2, where the method was to hit the apex of the hairpin, then point it at the exit and floor it, where the back end would step out and, from a standing start, you would then powerslide out to the end of the corner.

[Halsey]

Originally Posted by The Monster

It seems the more footage I see of TRD3, the more it looks like an update of TRD2:

On the whole TRD3 seems slightly improved in every area. The one thing which has got worse is the sense of gradient on courses, some sections like Cascases @ Oulton Park and Pilgrims Drop @ Brands don't feel like the drops in altitude they should be.

Oh dear, that sounds ominous. The footage I've seen of Bathurst looks reasonably good... Except for, as you've said, the gradients appear to have been watered down. This has made me think what they might actually have done in TRD3 is sneezed on the (useless) physics engine to give it the most miniscule of changes to perhaps make the cars feel slightly less like cardboard boxes with clag wheels, and compensated for their lack of physics engine by flattening out the areas in circuits they know would be problematic (ie, cars flying through the air).

It's just a theory, so please, please, please Codemasters, prove me wrong when I buy it.

But as I've already said, I really don't think they're interested in taking the time to make a game that tries to simulate actual car racing (a la gtl, lfs, gp4), which to me is a shame. Apart from profits (sounds stupid, I know), I'm not sure what Codemasters had in mind when making this game.

[Sodemo]

Originally Posted by Halsey

This has made me think what they might actually have done in TRD3 is sneezed on the (useless) physics engine to give it the most miniscule of changes to perhaps make the cars feel slightly less like cardboard boxes with clag wheels, and compensated for their lack of physics engine by flattening out the areas in circuits they know would be problematic (ie, cars flying through the air).

That is EXACTLY what I think.

They haven't done much at all to the physics engine, so therefore were "forced" to reduce the gradients to stop the cars flying through the air, as they are still using the same inherent physics model from TRD2.

Even from the horses mouth when I asked about the physics engine in TRD3, the Codemasters forum rep stated that the TRD3 engine had been "tweaked" from TRD2, make of that what you will...

[Raglanparade]

So we should expect to do Bathurst laps in a v8 supercar at 1 min 45 secs.

[Sodemo]

PC multiplayer demo due "this week" apparently, rather late though I would say...

[tator2001uk]

radio controlled car view/size of cars hehe

Scalextric style racing where you only use throttle and brake and aslo others, saw them in a magaizine on the shelf in newsagents!!


any one else seen these, roll on payday

[Sodemo]

Multiplayer PC demo is out...

http://www.3dgamers.com/dlselect/gam...rdemo.exe.html

http://files.filefront.com/ToCA+Race.../fileinfo.html

[Sodemo]

Well, played the online TRD3 demo, its "OK". However, why are all the cars bouncing about 12 inches into the air along the straights like they are on pogo sticks?

I saw a car have a spasm going into the hairpin, tyre smoke, bounced about 3 feet into the air, with lots of tyre squealing, hmmm.

[JABWOA]

Well, aparently it's out there, somewhere.
$60k question from me is: can you use any vehicle on any track? ie- can I run a V8SC on a European DTM track?

[Halsey]

I believe that was one of the features they were advertising. Whether it's true or not remains to be seen.

[Nado]

Originally Posted by JABWOA

Well, aparently it's out there, somewhere.
$60k question from me is: can you use any vehicle on any track? ie- can I run a V8SC on a European DTM track?

Yeah, you can, but it has to be unlocked.

[JABWOA]

Oh Bugger, might be worthy of a purchase then, how to explain the missing funds...
(how does it compare to V82? most reports are saying its better...)

[Nado]

I like it a lot better than number V82, especially with Pro-Sims on, and the Open Wheel racing is a lot more fun especially with Formula Audi and Formula BMW (the only two Formula's I've driven). Karting is also fun for a little bash.

[Halsey]

My friend bought the game earlier today, and brought it around because I'm the one with a dvd drive.

So. The time has finally cometh, perhaps one of the most hyped racing games (afaik) was out, and the time had come to see whether it a sound $90 investment, or whether it was just Toca Race Driver 2.1. First impression is that it's going to take a depressingly long time to complete, depending on how you choose to do so. This can be both good and bad. The next issue is having to wade through the most dull series you can possibly imagine in order to unlock and play the more enjoyable series. But enough of that - the big question is how well it plays.

Sadly, this snippet sums up my first impressions perfectly.

Originally Posted by The Monster

However, why are all the cars bouncing about 12 inches into the air along the straights like they are on pogo sticks?

My answer is I simply don't know. I suspect that it's a combination of the tracks being insanely bumpy (it's quite incredible the way they've managed to make [what should be for that matter on some tracks, too] a perfectly ordinary piece of tarmac so uneven). Coupled with suspension that is harder than any substance currently known to man, and the game isn't looking all that appealing... And just when you're starting to wonder how they could possibly make it worse, you clip a ripple strip.

Oh, and I might throw in an honourable mention to the gravel traps that are more effective at arresting car speed than concrete walls, and the flag system that black flags you for sneezing on the car infront while travelling in a totally straight line, accelerating (so not in a braking zone). Yet when you cannon into the side of someone it's perfectly legitimate. But the thing that I feels takes the cake is the way they slap you with a time penalty when you're deemed to have gained an unfair advantage by outbraking yourself and running wide onto the grass on the outside of a corner. Perhaps someone else can make more sense of that rule than I can.

I could continue to mention how the AI have reached a greater level of retardedness, and the new physics really don't seem right - the cars & steering feel as though they actually have some weight to them, but the cars I've driven (and that number is admittedly low) all seem to be on rails.
But all of that aside, it's still a fair amount of fun, and I'm sure I'll get a decent amount of entertainment out of it.

I'll end on a high by not describing what the go-kart looks like, and finish off by saying it's fair to say that it's another step in the right direction, but you just can't help thinking that it could have, and should have been so much more than it is.

[Spudgun]

Funnily enough I was reading The Sun Newspaper today (look, I didn't buy it, it done the rounds around the office!) and they reviewed it and gave it 93%. From what I'm reading here 'nuff said!

[speedy king]

The game is bloody good.

Ruble strips? Thats hows they feel in real life

[safc_fan89]

BBC ceefax gave TRD3 a rating of 8/10. A one-page review of it that provided no relevant information at all <doh>

In general, the reviews seem quite good.