I hate how much this game relies on an internet connection to operate. I have a 100% reliable, 50mb fibre optic connection, but if there is a hiccup with the server, even navigating some offline menus can be badly delayed and clunky.
I was struggling quite badly in some online rooms last night. Online menus repeatedly got stuck for 10-15 seconds, especially when trying to tune or select a vehicle, and frame rate and screen tear were abismal to say the least. I also suffered a few disconnects. However, when jumping into other rooms, things can be fine and run as normal, even when you join the same host again.
On the other hand, I noticed something very strange a few days ago, in a very good way that took some getting used to. It was when I was hosting my own room.
For starters, when people joined or loaded, it was all done almost immediately. Options to change track, settings and regulations never blanked out for more than half a second at any time, and when searching through the garage or tuning sheets, all the menus popped up immediately, no gradual fade in like normal, and the cursor was flicking through like a breeze.
That's not the strangest nor best part though. What I had notcied is that the physics and controls felt very different. They were super, super sharp and sensitive. Included in all this was the frame rate, it was running sensationally - faster than I've ever seen it before. There was no screen tear whatsoever, shadows had no jaggies or pixelation, neither did smoke or dirt clouds, in which the clouds of smoke and dirt generated and flowed much more quickly than usual..... the list goes on. It really was as if the PS3 had just been seriously overclocked.
I saved a couple of those replays to try and see if it would capture these positive effects when watching offline or not. I've yet to get around to doing that though, I'll have to remember later tonight.
