EA's NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup - Subaru Enthusiasts Car Club of the Sierras

sperry · 2004-10-26, 11:17 AM

Well, Matt ranted and raved and said we need to get this game... so while at Walbogs for Oil, I went and picked it up...

First, let me say that oval track racing is truely about subtley. It's about finding the razor sharp line between spinning out and plowing into the wall. It's about pit strategy and car setups. It's about knowing who's your friend out there, and who's not.

That said... EA's NASCAR 2005 is not oval track racing.

It's basically Need for Speed Underground, minus the rice and fun street tracks.

Granted, I'm a ex-NASCAR sim whore with a few seasons of very serious online racing under my belt, and granted I've only played through about half a season of Featherlight Modifieds in N2k5, but I think the game sucks.

Here's a quick laundry list of issues:

Garbage Car Setup options:
- F/R spring rates
- Wedge
- Rear wing
- Tire Pressure (and apparently in NASCAR, everyone uses the same air pressure in all four tires and the only trade off is grip/wear vs. top speed.)
- Gear ratios

So um, where are the corner weights? Caster? Camber? Toe? Tire temps? Individual air pressures? Spring rubbers? Bound damping? Rebound damping? Front air dam tape? ...these aren't complicated items. I *did* choose the play the game on the hardest level!

Speaking of game "rules"... I set the game up to be as real as I could... yet, I'm still not manually shifting (are Featherlights supposed to be automatics?), there are no yellow flags, I don't get to drive in the pit lane (it just auto drives me... which was nice when the computer rammed me into the pit wall 9 times at Martinsville while I lost lap after lap after lap after getting spun into the pit lane enterance.) Perhaps I screwed up the game settings and somehow picked "idiot arcade mode"... god I hope that's the case.

Now, as far as the driving. Remember when I said oval track racing is about subtley... well there's nothing subtle about driving in this game. I you go into the corner, it pushes. So you loosen the car up more and more with the limited settings (luckily there's a nice bar on the screen that exactly shows you how loose or tight the car is

). By the time you get a car that will turn in properly, it's loose as hell in the middle and out of the corner. And as far as I can tell, there's nothing dynamic about the handling... i.e. there's no difference in softening the front springs vs. stiffening the rears... they both make the car looser, in all situations. Basically weight transfer is not simulated... and that's pretty much the most importing thing about driving fast... managing your traction circle. It ain't in this game.

How about the racing? Well, according to the game itself: "The most important thing is your prestige". (Gee, I always thought the most important thing in racing was winning races... but I guess in N2k5, "it's not if you win by an inch or a mile, it's how famous you get doing it".

) So yeah, the game has this thing where your on track actions gain or lose you fans, as well as generate allies and enemies out of the other drivers. To be honest, the idea is really cool, but the execution is pathetic. For example: I bump draft a car down a straight. That guy's now my enemy due to the contact. 3 races later I work my way up to 5th, and get a nose along side him *on the outside* into a corner. The AI makes the "rival" driver litterally turn right into me instead of going into the corner... yes this guy FLIPS himself over me and into the wall because 2 weeks ago I tapped him.

And this is for 5th place with about 5 to go. No driver would risk his life and top 5 finish for payback... that shit usually happens on pit lane after the race.

I can only hope that the online racing will solve these issues, since you'll be racing w/ real people.... and IIRC, since the PS2 version of the game doesn't have online play... I would suggest only getting this on XBox.

And the tracks: Well, except for the laggy frame-rate (unacceptable in a console game BTW: it's not like I can upgrade my system) the real tracks are pretty decent looking... they can't match the Papyrus games, but they look good enough. However, they have *fake* tracks in the game. Gimme a break! There are thousands of real race tracks in the US for them to simulate... why design a "road course" that's 100 yards wide with massive banking and seaing for 500,000 people? I swear I was driving the track from F-Zero (the futuristic flying car game). C'mon guys, no need to invent lame tracks in a game about a real series.

Oh, and just an example of how friggen retarded this game is... when you turn it on for the 1st time, it dumps you straight into the game:

You're rolling in your Viper down the street when low and behold, Jimmy Johnson (or was is Matt Kenseth... either way I've already tried to block this whole intro out of my head) rolls up next to you in *his* Viper (OMG!!).... (yes the game's sponsored by Dodge, I think later you get to oval race SRT-4's... no joke.) Anyway Jimmy Kenseth revs on you and you have to street race him!! (How awesome!!

) Once you beat him, he calls your cell phone to tell you: "Hey man that's some sweet driving, you should drive my Featherlight Car...." GODDAMN THAT IS SO FRIGGEN GHEY. 1) If I already can afford a Viper, I'm probably not some young kid that needs a ride in a Modified series... 2) How does Matt Johnson have my phone number? 3) fuck 3, there is no 3. 4) What the hell does a street race (on the widest street EVAR) have to do with showing off oval track talent?

ARGH!!! There are sooooo many issues to list! I guess I was just expecting more of a simulation with some of nuances of real circle track racing. Not some arcade game for kids... (Zach will love this game). EA's F1 2002 is so much better and truer to the sport than this game. However, it might be fun to play networked with a buch of real people... but the "career mode" is laughable.

The only saving grace of this turd is that it makes me want to get back into real NASCAR simulations on my PC. I think I need to get that old hunk of shit computer up and running and install Papyrus' NASCAR 2004.

MattR · 2004-10-26, 11:23 AM

Hahaaha! You are killing me....

Seriously, thanks for trying it out, I'd like to check it out on your XBOX, sounds like I'll skip it for my PS2. Too bad it's all screwed up...that's a bummer..

Good idea on the NASCAR online racing though..,.

Damn.I love stock car racing.

sperry · 2004-10-26, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattR

Hahaaha! You are killing me....

Seriously, thanks for trying it out, I'd like to check it out on your XBOX, sounds like I'll skip it for my PS2. Too bad it's all screwed up...that's a bummer..

Good idea on the NASCAR online racing though..,.

Damn.I love stock car racing.

Well, that was a rant fueled review. I didn't list any of the good parts. It's actually not all bad... but it misses the mark sooo badly on the stuff that's important to me in a NASCAR sim that I had to blow up on it. You should certainly check it out sometime. Multiplayer will definately be fun (assuming the game has system link) if a few of us get together and drink-n-drive.

dknv · 2004-10-26, 11:35 AM

We need our own game builder. Or a big company to open source, where they build the venues and allow talented independent programmers to build 'agents' that the public can buy as add-ins and use as their own team or fleet. (ala Sims)

AtomicLabMonkey · 2004-10-26, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sperry

Anyway Jimmy Kenseth revs on you and you have to street race him!! (How awesome!!

) Once you beat him, he calls your cell phone to tell you: "Hey man that's some sweet driving, you should drive my Featherlight Car...." GODDAMN THAT IS SO FRIGGEN GHEY.

Best review evar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sperry

The only saving grace of this turd is that it makes me want to get back into real NASCAR simulations on my PC. I think I need to get that old hunk of shit computer up and running and install Papyrus' NASCAR 2004.

We should all jump in N2004 online... I need to install XP on my comp. and get everything running again. Once I've properly schooled both of you on how to drive a stock car around an oval track, we can fire up the Trans-Am mod and I can school you on how to drive a road course too.

MattR · 2004-10-26, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

We should all jump in N2004 online... I need to install XP on my comp. and get everything running again. Once I've properly schooled both of you on how to drive a stock car around an oval track, we can fire up the Trans-Am mod and I can school you on how to drive a road course too.

That's a whole hell of a lot of confidence there...

I'm interested.

Also, I just noticed Scott's "Matt Johnson and Jimmie Kenseth"

Brilliant!

sperry · 2004-10-26, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

Quote:

Originally Posted by sperry

Anyway Jimmy Kenseth revs on you and you have to street race him!! (How awesome!!

) Once you beat him, he calls your cell phone to tell you: "Hey man that's some sweet driving, you should drive my Featherlight Car...." GODDAMN THAT IS SO FRIGGEN GHEY.

Best review evar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sperry

The only saving grace of this turd is that it makes me want to get back into real NASCAR simulations on my PC. I think I need to get that old hunk of shit computer up and running and install Papyrus' NASCAR 2004.

We should all jump in N2004 online... I need to install XP on my comp. and get everything running again. Once I've properly schooled both of you on how to drive a stock car around an oval track, we can fire up the Trans-Am mod and I can school you on how to drive a road course too.

Meh, Trans-Am mod... we should run the GTR mod for F1-2002.... at Seca.

And, I'm in for some N2004, but I think the power supply on my computer ate it... that shit-box won't even turn on these days. Also, if we could rig up a way to play old-school N2, we could get a lot of SECCS people that have slower computers in on the game... 'course, I'm not sure if there are even servers any more for that. Didn't someone make a 3rd party N2 server after TEN shutdown?

AtomicLabMonkey · 2004-10-26, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattR

That's a whole hell of a lot of confidence there...

I'm interested.

Well, I do have an online league championship and more race wins than I can count under my sim-racing belt... *buffs fingernails*

Actually, the last time I counted it was over 100 league race wins...

The old-school online racing around 1998 was pretty fun.. I got to race against Dale Jr. in a couple races and placed higher than him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sperry

And, I'm in for some N2004, but I think the power supply on my computer ate it... that shit-box won't even turn on these days. Also, if we could rig up a way to play old-school N2, we could get a lot of SECCS people that have slower computers in on the game... 'course, I'm not sure if there are even servers any more for that. Didn't someone make a 3rd party N2 server after TEN shutdown?

Honestly I don't think it's worth doing if it's not N2004... I went back and tried N2 again after N4+ came out and it's just a night and day difference on how immersive they are... N2004 isn't perfect, but it's pretty close. N2 just feels like an arcade game. There aren't any N2 servers left either since that was all TEN-run.

2004-10-26, 11:17 AM	#1
sperry The Doink Real Name: Scott Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 20,335 Car: '09 OBXT, '02 WRX, '96 Miata Class: PDX/TT-6 The way out is through	EA's NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup Well, Matt ranted and raved and said we need to get this game... so while at Walbogs for Oil, I went and picked it up... First, let me say that oval track racing is truely about subtley. It's about finding the razor sharp line between spinning out and plowing into the wall. It's about pit strategy and car setups. It's about knowing who's your friend out there, and who's not. That said... EA's NASCAR 2005 is not oval track racing. It's basically Need for Speed Underground, minus the rice and fun street tracks. Granted, I'm a ex-NASCAR sim whore with a few seasons of very serious online racing under my belt, and granted I've only played through about half a season of Featherlight Modifieds in N2k5, but I think the game sucks. Here's a quick laundry list of issues: Garbage Car Setup options: - F/R spring rates - Wedge - Rear wing - Tire Pressure (and apparently in NASCAR, everyone uses the same air pressure in all four tires and the only trade off is grip/wear vs. top speed.) - Gear ratios So um, where are the corner weights? Caster? Camber? Toe? Tire temps? Individual air pressures? Spring rubbers? Bound damping? Rebound damping? Front air dam tape? ...these aren't complicated items. I did choose the play the game on the hardest level! Speaking of game "rules"... I set the game up to be as real as I could... yet, I'm still not manually shifting (are Featherlights supposed to be automatics?), there are no yellow flags, I don't get to drive in the pit lane (it just auto drives me... which was nice when the computer rammed me into the pit wall 9 times at Martinsville while I lost lap after lap after lap after getting spun into the pit lane enterance.) Perhaps I screwed up the game settings and somehow picked "idiot arcade mode"... god I hope that's the case. Now, as far as the driving. Remember when I said oval track racing is about subtley... well there's nothing subtle about driving in this game. I you go into the corner, it pushes. So you loosen the car up more and more with the limited settings (luckily there's a nice bar on the screen that exactly shows you how loose or tight the car is ). By the time you get a car that will turn in properly, it's loose as hell in the middle and out of the corner. And as far as I can tell, there's nothing dynamic about the handling... i.e. there's no difference in softening the front springs vs. stiffening the rears... they both make the car looser, in all situations. Basically weight transfer is not simulated... and that's pretty much the most importing thing about driving fast... managing your traction circle. It ain't in this game. How about the racing? Well, according to the game itself: "The most important thing is your prestige". (Gee, I always thought the most important thing in racing was winning races... but I guess in N2k5, "it's not if you win by an inch or a mile, it's how famous you get doing it". ) So yeah, the game has this thing where your on track actions gain or lose you fans, as well as generate allies and enemies out of the other drivers. To be honest, the idea is really cool, but the execution is pathetic. For example: I bump draft a car down a straight. That guy's now my enemy due to the contact. 3 races later I work my way up to 5th, and get a nose along side him on the outside into a corner. The AI makes the "rival" driver litterally turn right into me instead of going into the corner... yes this guy FLIPS himself over me and into the wall because 2 weeks ago I tapped him. And this is for 5th place with about 5 to go. No driver would risk his life and top 5 finish for payback... that shit usually happens on pit lane after the race. I can only hope that the online racing will solve these issues, since you'll be racing w/ real people.... and IIRC, since the PS2 version of the game doesn't have online play... I would suggest only getting this on XBox. And the tracks: Well, except for the laggy frame-rate (unacceptable in a console game BTW: it's not like I can upgrade my system) the real tracks are pretty decent looking... they can't match the Papyrus games, but they look good enough. However, they have fake tracks in the game. Gimme a break! There are thousands of real race tracks in the US for them to simulate... why design a "road course" that's 100 yards wide with massive banking and seaing for 500,000 people? I swear I was driving the track from F-Zero (the futuristic flying car game). C'mon guys, no need to invent lame tracks in a game about a real series. Oh, and just an example of how friggen retarded this game is... when you turn it on for the 1st time, it dumps you straight into the game: You're rolling in your Viper down the street when low and behold, Jimmy Johnson (or was is Matt Kenseth... either way I've already tried to block this whole intro out of my head) rolls up next to you in his Viper (OMG!!).... (yes the game's sponsored by Dodge, I think later you get to oval race SRT-4's... no joke.) Anyway Jimmy Kenseth revs on you and you have to street race him!! (How awesome!! ) Once you beat him, he calls your cell phone to tell you: "Hey man that's some sweet driving, you should drive my Featherlight Car...." GODDAMN THAT IS SO FRIGGEN GHEY. 1) If I already can afford a Viper, I'm probably not some young kid that needs a ride in a Modified series... 2) How does Matt Johnson have my phone number? 3) fuck 3, there is no 3. 4) What the hell does a street race (on the widest street EVAR) have to do with showing off oval track talent? ARGH!!! There are sooooo many issues to list! I guess I was just expecting more of a simulation with some of nuances of real circle track racing. Not some arcade game for kids... (Zach will love this game). EA's F1 2002 is so much better and truer to the sport than this game. However, it might be fun to play networked with a buch of real people... but the "career mode" is laughable. The only saving grace of this turd is that it makes me want to get back into real NASCAR simulations on my PC. I think I need to get that old hunk of shit computer up and running and install Papyrus' NASCAR 2004. __________________ Is you is, or is you ain't, my con-stit-u-ints?

2004-10-26, 11:23 AM	#2
MattR El Matador Real Name: Matt Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 10,660 Car: 2012 Toyota Tacoma Class: ?	Hahaaha! You are killing me.... Seriously, thanks for trying it out, I'd like to check it out on your XBOX, sounds like I'll skip it for my PS2. Too bad it's all screwed up...that's a bummer.. Good idea on the NASCAR online racing though..,. Damn.I love stock car racing. __________________ "Dallas..We have a problem.”

2004-10-26, 11:35 AM	#4
dknv EJ207 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: 39n53, 119w90 Posts: 2,698 Car: RX-8 Class: CS maybe	We need our own game builder. Or a big company to open source, where they build the venues and allow talented independent programmers to build 'agents' that the public can buy as add-ins and use as their own team or fleet. (ala Sims)