Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by TheOutdriver97, Jul 7, 2020.

  1. Andy Kettler

    Andy Kettler Well-Known Member Beta tester

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  2. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    But still no gameplay footage...
     
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  3. Skybird

    Skybird Well-Known Member

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    No VR - no buy.

    Has it VR?
     
  4. rd.king

    rd.king Active Member

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    Just another grinder car collection game.
    Where you have to waste time on stupid side missions to get the cars you want.
    I don't want to go shopping, I just want to drive.
     
  5. Andy Kettler

    Andy Kettler Well-Known Member Beta tester

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    So you already have played it ? Interesting...
     
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  6. rd.king

    rd.king Active Member

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    That's what was described in the posted video.
    Didn't you watch it. ;)
     
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  7. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    I rewatched it and I don't have the impression you got.

    Or do you simply mean you will need to play the game to get in-game money to then buy a car you want? That's a part of how TDU games work. Yes, it's not the type of games where you start the game and then can select whatever car you like.
     
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  8. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1249970/view/3639508923218266317

    tdu-sc-1.jpg

    New info dropped a few days ago. The game won't throw tons of cars at you like other open-world games, instead it will be a TDU1/2-style process, with free walking in dealerships, looking at and interacting with vehicles, choosing paint colors, interiors, rims, test driving to try the car out. Sounds very promising. Some performance tuning will also be available.

    tdu-sc-2.jpg

    tdu-sc-3.jpg

    Not sure how to interpret this info from the official website regarding houses:
    upload_2023-3-5_4-57-47.png
    Will it be our only house? Or one of many?
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2023
  9. Andy Kettler

    Andy Kettler Well-Known Member Beta tester

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    Here we go:

     
  10. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    The screen is so cluttered with unnecessary stuff that it looks like NFS and nothing like TDU.
     
  11. Andy Kettler

    Andy Kettler Well-Known Member Beta tester

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    Guess what TDU from the 90's did not look anything like the TDU Unlimited games. People who think and expect to get the same games in a series as 15-20 years ago are delusional to me. Times are changing, constantly. Theres a saying i know in german "Geh mit der zeit oder du gehst mit der Zeit" ^^
     
  12. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    There were no TDU games in the 90s, they were just "Test Drive something", so the difference is expected.

    But this new game is named TDU and the devs talked a lot about how they are going to recreate key features of TDU franchise. Cluttering the screen with all that stuff goes against the atmosphere that made TDU unique and made it stand out from all the other open world racing/driving games.

    The issue is not that it looks different than TDU1/2, but that it just looks like a copy of very different videogame series and it doesn't improve the game's atmosphere and identity.

    Why can Diablo 4 look similar to Diablo 2 even though these games are 23 years apart, but a TDU game cannot?
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2023
  13. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    Also, no, they look surprisingly similar. The same HUD layout, the same "Three... Two... One... Go!" voice at the start of a race, nothing unnecessary or flashy while you're racing.

    Test Drive 6, from 3:00


    TDU1, from 10:55
     
  14. Stelcio

    Stelcio Active Member

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    upload_2023-7-13_1-9-18.png

    Literally a random screenshot from the video above. Sure, not cluttered at all in that low, mid-2000s resolution.
     
  15. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    You found the worst case, with Eliminator column which is only present in that one racing mode. Compared to TDUSC, where this column is there in a normal race.
     
  16. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    Although, looking again at the presentation, the screen is not as busy as it first looked to me. But overall impression of the driving experience just screams NFS.
     
  17. Stelcio

    Stelcio Active Member

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    Nope, the worst case scenario is a few seconds later, when it pops up checkpoint time gap on top of all that. ;)
    That's what I also thought. That said, I listened to a live stream from Alex VII, one of the youtubers doing the presentation, and he said that while driving may seem arcadish, it actually feels like a "proper simcade", "although not quite as good as Assetto Corsa, but better than The Crew or Forza Horizon". He said they didn't have enough time to practice, which made their driving chaotic, but he can't wait to try the game on the wheel. Wheel support should be good, devs are said to have wheelbases from as back as 1997 to ensure proper support for them.
     
  18. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, that was noticeable and really unexpected after they said they were "working with him from the beginning".

    No, I don't mean handling, but the overall impression, atmosphere. It didn't evoke TDU vibes at all. Instead it evoked vibes of a generic "modern" racing game with in-the-face entertainment and constant dopamine boosts.

    Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not shitting on the game for the sake of shitting. Since the game was announced, I had a lot of arguments with people who were critical and pessimistic for no reason. I was excited and had high hopes after reading Alain Jarniou's interviews, his vision of what made TDU games great, perfectly matched with mine. But there were already two major disappointments (small map and no houses), and this presentation only added another reason to be concerned about if we ever get a game that feels like an actual TDU game.
     
  19. Stelcio

    Stelcio Active Member

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    What elements exactly created such impression? All seemed fairly within the franchise's legacy.
     
  20. Maskerader

    Maskerader Well-Known Member

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    Good question. I had the rewatch some parts of the show and also watch Alex VII's video, but it's still hard to describe where "vibes" come from. Maybe it's just lizard brain being thrown off by the chaotic presentation and constant FPS drops, big glowing barriers along the race course, racing line, waypoint markers in direct contact with the game world, cars taking up much more screen space than what I'm used to in TDU1/2, while the game world feel much less open, "spacey", because the race was all in the downtown between tall buildings.

    I found out Alex VII is going to release a gameplay footage tomorrow, I hope it will show the game more properly.
     
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2023