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Finally, after months of waiting I actually got to grips with TOCA Race Driver. A demo, of course. So what’s it like? Well it’s very good actually. The demo is only at the 80% complete stage so any faults can’t really be justified until the 23rd. What faults you say? Well, firstly the frame rate goes a bit odd when you’re among a lot of cars. Also there is various pop up and also cars in the distance magically re gain their bumpers that have fallen off, until you get up close to them; a kind of pop up. There is also some pop down as well which to be honest, really pleased me. Why? Because it was a problem in early development of the game. Since then, videos have suggested that the pop down has been sorted, meaning this is a early version of the game and therefore the other frame rate problems should have gone too.
Any more problems? Well kind of. When you hurtle headlong into a wall you still don’t seem to damage enough. Keep taking knocks and you will eventually end up with crap on wheels but not as soon as you would think. However, having said this the damage is excellent. The car seems to morph out of shape, lose bits, and in the end you are left with a battered up piece tin foil on wheels. In fact, no, you lose them as well. More on this later.
So then, the demo. It’s hard to believe that this isn’t practically the full game in it’s early stage. Kind of. Because when choosing your language, your choice reflects on what car you get to race, and what track. First I picked English language, because, err, I, err, is, is, err, English. Anyway, then the demo kicked off. You can look around the office at different things but you can only choose demo mode and options. So I chose demo mode and I was off. Straight away I was greeted by an offer for a drive and then a VERY nice cut scene. I had to do a lap around Monza in under 5.00 mins. So I hopped into the car on offer (some puny little Proton) and went on my jolly way. You certainly notice the speed. Trees and stuff whoosh by in a kind of Matrix style. The handling is a lot like the other TOCA games. Push it too much and you go skidding out. You can also pull off some nice donuts. I then smashed head on into a barrier. My front end got really crumpled but I was kind of surprised not to get a ‘retired’ message. Instead my car was slightly slower. Hmm. I finished the trial and expected it to be the end of the demo. But no…
Next I got another couple of cut scenes and then got the option of a one lap race around what I think was knock hill in the Lexus, with a full grid. It was here I noticed the slow down. Kind of spoiled it a bit but it was acceptable. First I smashed into the back of an Alfa and it got a bit of damage, again not as severe as I had expected. We continued to race, with cars spinning of and fighting adding a nice touch. When the 1 lap race finished I did feel a bit disappointed. Hmm. The demo reset and then I decided to play one more time. This time I chose ‘Australia’ as my language hoping for a V8 race. I got the same test and thought, ‘ah, no V8’s, but it is only a demo.’ That was until the race. I was in a Ford Falcon racing at, um, that track they used to race at Aus in F1 (Adelaid?). This time there was less pop up. It kind of seemed a different game. The frame rate held up well and the cars seemed to damage more. In fact, I battered my car up so much that there was nothing but an engine at the front, a brake disc one side, and a tireless wheel the other. The back was totally battered and the track was covered in mess. Very satisfying. I couldn’t still seem to get a ‘retired’ message but I did end up with an undrivable car that was limping at 20 mph with no steering.
So, it was very nice. I expect choosing German language will get you a DTM race and there is probably an American race in there somewhere. So on the demo you get about 5 tracks and 6 cars (Including the test car). Not bad. Also there is no time limit so you can mess around being a fool if you want. I certainly am still looking forward to the game; I just hope those things are ironed out.
Thanks for reading,
Nath.
NOW LETS START A COMPETITION! OVER TO YOU DAVE!
Any more problems? Well kind of. When you hurtle headlong into a wall you still don’t seem to damage enough. Keep taking knocks and you will eventually end up with crap on wheels but not as soon as you would think. However, having said this the damage is excellent. The car seems to morph out of shape, lose bits, and in the end you are left with a battered up piece tin foil on wheels. In fact, no, you lose them as well. More on this later.
So then, the demo. It’s hard to believe that this isn’t practically the full game in it’s early stage. Kind of. Because when choosing your language, your choice reflects on what car you get to race, and what track. First I picked English language, because, err, I, err, is, is, err, English. Anyway, then the demo kicked off. You can look around the office at different things but you can only choose demo mode and options. So I chose demo mode and I was off. Straight away I was greeted by an offer for a drive and then a VERY nice cut scene. I had to do a lap around Monza in under 5.00 mins. So I hopped into the car on offer (some puny little Proton) and went on my jolly way. You certainly notice the speed. Trees and stuff whoosh by in a kind of Matrix style. The handling is a lot like the other TOCA games. Push it too much and you go skidding out. You can also pull off some nice donuts. I then smashed head on into a barrier. My front end got really crumpled but I was kind of surprised not to get a ‘retired’ message. Instead my car was slightly slower. Hmm. I finished the trial and expected it to be the end of the demo. But no…
Next I got another couple of cut scenes and then got the option of a one lap race around what I think was knock hill in the Lexus, with a full grid. It was here I noticed the slow down. Kind of spoiled it a bit but it was acceptable. First I smashed into the back of an Alfa and it got a bit of damage, again not as severe as I had expected. We continued to race, with cars spinning of and fighting adding a nice touch. When the 1 lap race finished I did feel a bit disappointed. Hmm. The demo reset and then I decided to play one more time. This time I chose ‘Australia’ as my language hoping for a V8 race. I got the same test and thought, ‘ah, no V8’s, but it is only a demo.’ That was until the race. I was in a Ford Falcon racing at, um, that track they used to race at Aus in F1 (Adelaid?). This time there was less pop up. It kind of seemed a different game. The frame rate held up well and the cars seemed to damage more. In fact, I battered my car up so much that there was nothing but an engine at the front, a brake disc one side, and a tireless wheel the other. The back was totally battered and the track was covered in mess. Very satisfying. I couldn’t still seem to get a ‘retired’ message but I did end up with an undrivable car that was limping at 20 mph with no steering.
So, it was very nice. I expect choosing German language will get you a DTM race and there is probably an American race in there somewhere. So on the demo you get about 5 tracks and 6 cars (Including the test car). Not bad. Also there is no time limit so you can mess around being a fool if you want. I certainly am still looking forward to the game; I just hope those things are ironed out.
Thanks for reading,
Nath.
NOW LETS START A COMPETITION! OVER TO YOU DAVE!
Page:
I think the demo is good, 3 tracks and 3 cars, not bad going.
It has a few jagged edges (literally!), can't wait for finished product in two weeks time, career mode looks fantastic.
It has a few jagged edges (literally!), can't wait for finished product in two weeks time, career mode looks fantastic.
Well, i've been on to codemasters and this is what was said....
Nath:
Will the frame rate better in the full game?
Will the damage have more of an effect in the game?
Can you actually trash your car so it stops moving in the game?
Will other cars retire?
Will the damage glitches on other cars be sorted?
Codies:
I've not seen the demo, so it's difficult to compare, but I'll try and answer as well as possible...
1) There's no frame rate problem in the release version of the game.
2) I think the damage is probably the same without the enhanced damage code entered.
3) Yes, but I've only done this with the enhanced damage code entered
4) Not seen any do this.
5) This is fixed in the final version.
So then, no need to fret. Clearly that really was an old sample from the game. Also there is mention of a damage enhancer. Apparently, this is something that can be switched on (using a code?) that will mean that damage effects your car in a much more realistic way. Also on the demo there is another code you can enable which allows you to have more realistic handling. Anyone got any idea about this?
Nath:
Will the frame rate better in the full game?
Will the damage have more of an effect in the game?
Can you actually trash your car so it stops moving in the game?
Will other cars retire?
Will the damage glitches on other cars be sorted?
Codies:
I've not seen the demo, so it's difficult to compare, but I'll try and answer as well as possible...
1) There's no frame rate problem in the release version of the game.
2) I think the damage is probably the same without the enhanced damage code entered.
3) Yes, but I've only done this with the enhanced damage code entered
4) Not seen any do this.
5) This is fixed in the final version.
So then, no need to fret. Clearly that really was an old sample from the game. Also there is mention of a damage enhancer. Apparently, this is something that can be switched on (using a code?) that will mean that damage effects your car in a much more realistic way. Also on the demo there is another code you can enable which allows you to have more realistic handling. Anyone got any idea about this?
Hmmm, seems I was slightly wrong. You can only get BTCC and V8 racing. BTCC is crap, that seriously better be an early demo. Where as the V8 is better. Still massive slow down though. Anyway. There is 3 tracks on the demo. Monza, Brands Hatch Indy and Adelaid, with 3 cars, Proton, Lexus and Tickford Ford Falcon.
Meh !
It's Toca - course it's going to be good....
Went to shop at lunch time - No mag :(
Pah !
It's Toca - course it's going to be good....
Went to shop at lunch time - No mag :(
Pah !
I think we should contest all six tracks in the demo to find the overall TOCA Demo king !, will set something up on my Challenge post later tonight,
Second is the first loser !
Second is the first loser !
Sounds great, I can't wait to get the mag and try the game, finally for myself. It sounds pretty extensive for the demo, with the amount of traks and cars on offer, and those are the king of demo's I like allot. Now I've just got to find a copy of the mag somewhere, damnit I wish I had it now.
Finally, after months of waiting I actually got to grips with TOCA Race Driver. A demo, of course. So what’s it like? Well it’s very good actually. The demo is only at the 80% complete stage so any faults can’t really be justified until the 23rd. What faults you say? Well, firstly the frame rate goes a bit odd when you’re among a lot of cars. Also there is various pop up and also cars in the distance magically re gain their bumpers that have fallen off, until you get up close to them; a kind of pop up. There is also some pop down as well which to be honest, really pleased me. Why? Because it was a problem in early development of the game. Since then, videos have suggested that the pop down has been sorted, meaning this is a early version of the game and therefore the other frame rate problems should have gone too.
Any more problems? Well kind of. When you hurtle headlong into a wall you still don’t seem to damage enough. Keep taking knocks and you will eventually end up with crap on wheels but not as soon as you would think. However, having said this the damage is excellent. The car seems to morph out of shape, lose bits, and in the end you are left with a battered up piece tin foil on wheels. In fact, no, you lose them as well. More on this later.
So then, the demo. It’s hard to believe that this isn’t practically the full game in it’s early stage. Kind of. Because when choosing your language, your choice reflects on what car you get to race, and what track. First I picked English language, because, err, I, err, is, is, err, English. Anyway, then the demo kicked off. You can look around the office at different things but you can only choose demo mode and options. So I chose demo mode and I was off. Straight away I was greeted by an offer for a drive and then a VERY nice cut scene. I had to do a lap around Monza in under 5.00 mins. So I hopped into the car on offer (some puny little Proton) and went on my jolly way. You certainly notice the speed. Trees and stuff whoosh by in a kind of Matrix style. The handling is a lot like the other TOCA games. Push it too much and you go skidding out. You can also pull off some nice donuts. I then smashed head on into a barrier. My front end got really crumpled but I was kind of surprised not to get a ‘retired’ message. Instead my car was slightly slower. Hmm. I finished the trial and expected it to be the end of the demo. But no…
Next I got another couple of cut scenes and then got the option of a one lap race around what I think was knock hill in the Lexus, with a full grid. It was here I noticed the slow down. Kind of spoiled it a bit but it was acceptable. First I smashed into the back of an Alfa and it got a bit of damage, again not as severe as I had expected. We continued to race, with cars spinning of and fighting adding a nice touch. When the 1 lap race finished I did feel a bit disappointed. Hmm. The demo reset and then I decided to play one more time. This time I chose ‘Australia’ as my language hoping for a V8 race. I got the same test and thought, ‘ah, no V8’s, but it is only a demo.’ That was until the race. I was in a Ford Falcon racing at, um, that track they used to race at Aus in F1 (Adelaid?). This time there was less pop up. It kind of seemed a different game. The frame rate held up well and the cars seemed to damage more. In fact, I battered my car up so much that there was nothing but an engine at the front, a brake disc one side, and a tireless wheel the other. The back was totally battered and the track was covered in mess. Very satisfying. I couldn’t still seem to get a ‘retired’ message but I did end up with an undrivable car that was limping at 20 mph with no steering.
So, it was very nice. I expect choosing German language will get you a DTM race and there is probably an American race in there somewhere. So on the demo you get about 5 tracks and 6 cars (Including the test car). Not bad. Also there is no time limit so you can mess around being a fool if you want. I certainly am still looking forward to the game; I just hope those things are ironed out.
Thanks for reading,
Nath.
NOW LETS START A COMPETITION! OVER TO YOU DAVE!
Any more problems? Well kind of. When you hurtle headlong into a wall you still don’t seem to damage enough. Keep taking knocks and you will eventually end up with crap on wheels but not as soon as you would think. However, having said this the damage is excellent. The car seems to morph out of shape, lose bits, and in the end you are left with a battered up piece tin foil on wheels. In fact, no, you lose them as well. More on this later.
So then, the demo. It’s hard to believe that this isn’t practically the full game in it’s early stage. Kind of. Because when choosing your language, your choice reflects on what car you get to race, and what track. First I picked English language, because, err, I, err, is, is, err, English. Anyway, then the demo kicked off. You can look around the office at different things but you can only choose demo mode and options. So I chose demo mode and I was off. Straight away I was greeted by an offer for a drive and then a VERY nice cut scene. I had to do a lap around Monza in under 5.00 mins. So I hopped into the car on offer (some puny little Proton) and went on my jolly way. You certainly notice the speed. Trees and stuff whoosh by in a kind of Matrix style. The handling is a lot like the other TOCA games. Push it too much and you go skidding out. You can also pull off some nice donuts. I then smashed head on into a barrier. My front end got really crumpled but I was kind of surprised not to get a ‘retired’ message. Instead my car was slightly slower. Hmm. I finished the trial and expected it to be the end of the demo. But no…
Next I got another couple of cut scenes and then got the option of a one lap race around what I think was knock hill in the Lexus, with a full grid. It was here I noticed the slow down. Kind of spoiled it a bit but it was acceptable. First I smashed into the back of an Alfa and it got a bit of damage, again not as severe as I had expected. We continued to race, with cars spinning of and fighting adding a nice touch. When the 1 lap race finished I did feel a bit disappointed. Hmm. The demo reset and then I decided to play one more time. This time I chose ‘Australia’ as my language hoping for a V8 race. I got the same test and thought, ‘ah, no V8’s, but it is only a demo.’ That was until the race. I was in a Ford Falcon racing at, um, that track they used to race at Aus in F1 (Adelaid?). This time there was less pop up. It kind of seemed a different game. The frame rate held up well and the cars seemed to damage more. In fact, I battered my car up so much that there was nothing but an engine at the front, a brake disc one side, and a tireless wheel the other. The back was totally battered and the track was covered in mess. Very satisfying. I couldn’t still seem to get a ‘retired’ message but I did end up with an undrivable car that was limping at 20 mph with no steering.
So, it was very nice. I expect choosing German language will get you a DTM race and there is probably an American race in there somewhere. So on the demo you get about 5 tracks and 6 cars (Including the test car). Not bad. Also there is no time limit so you can mess around being a fool if you want. I certainly am still looking forward to the game; I just hope those things are ironed out.
Thanks for reading,
Nath.
NOW LETS START A COMPETITION! OVER TO YOU DAVE!
Page: