10 reasons why Ferrari Challenge is better than GT5P

[Biggles]

Just be aware that the physics between the pal version of game and the na version are different.. The developers never saw fit to release the patch which fixed the physics to us pal users. There is a big dead zone problem when using a wheel (i use a dfp). Maybe to enjoy this sim it's best to play it with a controller.

I think this is backwards: System 3 did (finally) release a patch for the N.A. version of the game which, as I understand it, goes beyond the PAL patches. The FFB with a wheel is actually the best thing about this game IMO - after the N.A. patch, there is still a small dead-zone, which I find quite acceptable.

Well I finally got a chance to put some quality time in with this game, and while the presentation and graphics are nowhere near GT5's calibre, gameplay and physics wise it easily rivals GT5 if not exceeds it.

The cars feel more connected to the road than GT5, which still feels a bit artifically floaty and disconnected to me. That said, the physics are only marginally better, whereas the physics in rFactor or Live for Speed have been substancially more realistic than anything on the consoles for years, so it's nothing to write home about.

My favorite part of this game was the variety of real tracks, many of which we will probably never see in a Gran Turismo game. I'd say it's a worthwhile purchase for any Ferrari fan or sim enthusiast.

Hope to see you online slicecom, especially as you're a "local boy". I've never tried to compare FC to any PC sims, which I am not familiar with. I think the developers made an odd choice with the graphics, which are very rich, but not "realistic", perhaps in an attempt to reflect the Ferrari Challenge "tradition". The new game - Super Car Challenge - looks like it will have more conventionally realistic graphics.

 

[HAD2]

theres no way 'ferrari challenge' is better than 'gt5' ,
thats like saying 'saints row' is better than 'gta'.or 'battlefield' is better than 'cod'.
it just is not happening, no way!!!


GT5 FOR LIFE!!!!!!!! 👍

 

[jjaisli]

...I can only compare to the games I've played (no PC sims, because I've always been a Mac user ):

Biggles, didn't know you were a (fellow) Mac User. Do you remember Feral's Total Immersion Racing? It was really quite good. But, it was the only racing sim I ever owned before buying the PS3. And the only 1/2 decent effort at
a racing sim for the Mac.

 

[RussRobit]

This is my second post in this thread. In my first post I stated that after reading all previous posts it sounded like the game would be worth it if I could find it on sale, used or if it got demoted to greatest hits status. Well I found a used copy of for $40 CDN and I'm quit happy with it as an alternative to gt5p. It is no flagship game by any stretch, but the driving experience is quit good, once you get used to it. The graphics seem to be a full generation behind gt5p, but as stated before, the environment is quit rich. There is a noticeable dead zone in the steering and the on screen steering wheel has a noticeable delay relative to your inputs, but you get used to it. The sense of speed is good also, when you're going fast, you feel like you're going fast. The physics are different from gt5p, but that's not to say they're bad. The same slides that would cause you to lose it in gt5p can usually be recovered from in fc but not always, it's a little more forgiving. You do get rewarded for proper driving technique and severely punished for poor driving.
Last week I tried with a few of guy's over in the fc section to race online. I think they were all in Europe and I'm in Canada. Out of the I think 6 races we tried to run, I managed to connect to 2 or 3 but got dropped as soon as the race started. You can read about our efforts here https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=113044
I have only tried 3 driving sims/games on the ps3, grid fc and gt5p and in my opinion fc is the only sports car alternative to gt5p as grid is just plain rubbish.

 

[Zathra5_]

theres no way 'ferrari challenge' is better than 'gt5' ,
thats like saying 'saints row' is better than 'gta'.or 'battlefield' is better than 'cod'.
it just is not happening, no way!!!


GT5 FOR LIFE!!!!!!!! 👍

Yet another person who decided to post without reading the thread.

 

[Alex.]

shame that GT5 is the prologue of GT5, which of course will be miles better than FC.

 

[bevo]

The one thing about Ferrari challenge that is driving me crazy, is that in some of the challenge races, when the game first gives you control, it's in the middle of a turn. I have qualified first several times in the north american races, but when the race starts I am thrown to the middle of the pack, because the race starts right at the beginning of a turn. I know it's going to happen, but I can't seem to get used to it.

I really, really hate that. It almost ruins it for me.
Other than that though, it seems to be a very fun racing game. I too wish more GTP members would buy this game. It would be great for setting up large GTP events. The private rooms alone make it a much better online game then gt5p.

One other great thing about FC. When you accelerate, it really feels like your accelerating. To me, it almost feels like you're being pushed back in your seat. That is one thing that gt5p lacks, and FC is the first game I have played that gives me this sense of power. It may not be like this for everyone, but for me it really helps the game out.

 

[Biggles]

Do you remember Feral's Total Immersion Racing? It was really quite good.

I did play Total Immersion. It's what convinced me to buy an X box as I realized it made more sense than waiting for decent games to arive for the Mac!

The graphics seem to be a full generation behind gt5p

Everything looks "behind" GT5P, but FC's graphics do look "next-gen" IMO, they just don't look "realistic".

The one thing about Ferrari challenge that is driving me crazy, is that in some of the challenge races, when the game first gives you control, it's in the middle of a turn

You do get used to it eventually, but it is a badly designed feature.

There is a noticeable dead zone in the steering and the on screen steering wheel has a noticeable delay relative to your inputs, but you get used to it. The sense of speed is good also, when you're going fast, you feel like you're going fast. The physics are different from gt5p, but that's not to say they're bad. The same slides that would cause you to lose it in gt5p can usually be recovered from in fc but not always, it's a little more forgiving. You do get rewarded for proper driving technique and severely punished for poor driving.

I don't think there is a "delay" - but I know what you mean. I think the good thing about the physics is that the increase sense of weight transfer, forces you to take into account the momentum of the car in a different way to GT5P.

One other great thing about FC. When you accelerate, it really feels like your accelerating. To me, it almost feels like you're being pushed back in your seat. That is one thing that gt5p lacks, and FC is the first game I have played that gives me this sense of power. It may not be like this for everyone, but for me it really helps the game out.

As I've said, IMO in FC you get a more physical sense of driving than you do in GT5P.

 

[myke6699]

One other great thing about FC. When you accelerate, it really feels like your accelerating. To me, it almost feels like you're being pushed back in your seat. That is one thing that gt5p lacks, and FC is the first game I have played that gives me this sense of power. It may not be like this for everyone, but for me it really helps the game out.

That sensation is pretty subjective because I get the same feeling when I play GT5P but I'm not about to say that I don't get the same when I drive a car in FC because I do. To me it comes down to the rest of my senses and graphics being the most tangible quality to any games, Prologue has it over FC when it comes to transporting me to a realistic (or hyper-realistic) world. As much as I try to deny how much I dislke the graphics in FC, but everytime I turn the car and ot would come to a stutter, it takes away so much enjoyment from the game. I'm glad to hear that in the upcoming game, Eutechnyx will eliminate the graphic glitch.
As I am now without a PS3 (which has gone to console heaven and it would be awhile before I can afford another one), all I can say is that enjoy whatever game that turns you on because if you were in my shoe, someone with a Logitech G25 and nowhere to plug it into, it's a pretty sad state.

 

[MJH]

I think this is backwards: System 3 did (finally) release a patch for the N.A. version of the game which, as I understand it, goes beyond the PAL patches. The FFB with a wheel is actually the best thing about this game IMO - after the N.A. patch, there is still a small dead-zone, which I find quite acceptable.

it's not opposite, system3 did eventually release a patch for the na version which fixed the deadzone problem. It's just that they never released it for the pal game.

 

[Biggles]

it's not opposite, system3 did eventually release a patch for the na version which fixed the deadzone problem. It's just that they never released it for the pal game.

Yes, I misread the meaning in your original post & took it to mean the opposite of what you were actually saying, which is quite correct...

 

[slicecom]

shame that GT5 is the prologue of GT5, which of course will be miles better than FC.

How is it a shame? GT5 won't be here for a long while, in the meantime we can play a game that has more realistic physics than GT5. I don't see why anyone but a Gran Turismo fanboy would be upset about it.

 

[dazzi]

I doubt Gt5 wont be here for a while id be putting my bet that buy december of next year which is like 3 days away we will all be playing GT5, we have to remember how long Gt5 has actually been in development for something like since the end of 2003 when Gt4 was in its near completion stage back then Gt5 was "Next Gen GT project" which turned into GT HD in 05 which turned into Gt5 in 06., dates even futher back then this in 2002 PD said that GT4 would be the last Ps2 edition of the game so already then they started getting a rough idea on this game, no matter how hard it is to make a Perfect game as GT we must remember this is a large and experienced development group and anything over 6 years of developing one game would be absurd, and never trust people who say that prologue is the amount of ingame content they have got done , im sure they have much much more its just that they wont say a word about it.

 

[MJH]

Yes, I misread the meaning in your original post & took it to mean the opposite of what you were actually saying, which is quite correct...

no problem lol. I really do want to like fc, but the problems with the pal physics, online problems and lies by the developers have really turned me off this game. I'm one of those guys that got a ps3 only for gt5, so i had to think long and hard before buying fc (not to mention dealing with the guilt about buying a different driving game lol.) i'm sure i'll try fc again though, maybe with the controller (never raced with a controller). Scc sounds promising though.

 

[DaveTheStalker]

What I do like about FC is the FFB model. You can feel brake lockup when you are at full speed and lay hard on the brakes and chatter comes in as you slow down if you maintain hard braking, grip on the cusp of being lost and then sudden no control during the slide until the proper correction is made, tire wear can also be felt. This is a level above GT5P, IMO.

The saving grace for FC is online. Just as ToCA 3 has what GT4 lacked, FC has what GT5P is missing; private rooms, semi-private rooms, LAN, full voice capabilities without being forced to use Team Speak, and of course room options. The downside, is the one night I went looking for an online race, there was NONE!!!

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=112827

FC's adjustment system is crap. I can't do anything to get the car to feel right. Using the default settings is better (for me) than adjusting anything at all. As I said before in my first post, my main gripe is the braking. I like to brake late and brake into turns. With this game, doing so will surely snap your rear end around or have you plow through the corner.

As for sound, if you get into the grass, even one side, you hear a VERY fake "shhhhhhh". Engine sounds are not realistic. The wind is not as pronounced as GT5P or NASCAR 09. There is not strong indication that you are in the draft.

I'm on a long term rental and have the option to buy for $22. I may do so.

 

[slicecom]

FC's adjustment system is crap. I can't do anything to get the car to feel right. Using the default settings is better (for me) than adjusting anything at all. As I said before in my first post, my main gripe is the braking. I like to brake late and brake into turns. With this game, doing so will surely snap your rear end around or have you plow through the corner.

While I agree that its adjustment system is bad, your braking style is poor driving and you would probably be faster if you changed it.

I remember watching a show comparing Schumacher's driving style to other drivers. They looked at the telemetry and saw that Schumacher actually braked much earlier than the other drivers, but braked lighter, thus causing less wear on the car, and maintaining a higher speed through the turns. I think we all know how successful this style was for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk2p2nRK-p4

 

[bicycleshorts]

it's not opposite, system3 did eventually release a patch for the na version which fixed the deadzone problem. It's just that they never released it for the pal game.

Could anyone confirm this? Particularly with the G25.

If it's true, that essentially wipes this game off my list - I have been looking for a 2nd hand version for the past month or so.

 

[Biggles]

One of the things i particularly like about FC is that it obliges you to pay attention to the momentum & weight transfer of the car. Braking late tends to throw the balance of the car off as you approach the apex & generally results in a lower exit speed. Braking early allows you to control the balance of the car going into the apex & allows you to get back on the throttle earlier. Although it can be useful to late brake in order to out-maneuver an opponent, as IRL, it is a risky thing to do & never seems to result in a faster lap time.

The downhill corners at Spa particularly reward control of the balance of the car, but the most spectacular corner in the game has to be T1 at Mt. Tremblant - a long, high-speed, off-camber, downhill, multi-apex corner that threatens disaster & requires complete concentration every single time you take it. It's bloody brilliant!

I don't know how much experience you have online slicecom & Dave, but one of the great things in FC is to get in a race with a well matched opponent & see how you can race lap after lap, one second apart, with small changes in the time difference at each corner depending on exactly how you take the corner, until one driver makes a significant error & lets the other driver in. At that point, you begin to realise that there is more to the physics of FC than first meets the eye.

Engine sounds may not be accurate - I can't speak from personal experience, but they certainly are raw & meaty. No real "wind sound", pathetic "grass sound", but the drafting is perfectly done IMO. Just as IRL, it forces you to stay close on the leading car's back in order to take advantage of it. It works exactly as it should in the game & makes you question why on earth PD continue to have the exaggerated drafting effect in Prologue.

 

[Biggles]

Could anyone confirm this? Particularly with the G25.

If it's true, that essentially wipes this game off my list - I have been looking for a 2nd hand version for the past month or so.

It seems that the final FFB patch was never released for PAL users. But, on the whole, PAL users don't seem to complain about the "deadzone" issue, so it's possible that the earlier PAL patches substantially fixed the problem.

For some reason, it's now possible to get the game, new, in the UK for less than 20 pounds - which seems like a really good deal.

 

[Hun200kmh]

I don't know how much experience you have online slicecom ...

Back in the days of Pro World Events (High Speed Ring, GTR vs F430), slicecom's white F430 was a terrifying sight on my GTR's rear view mirror, and - if he got ahead - a very hard opponent to follow, even with the help of RBE and "a mile long drafting"!

Never met him in later GT5P online events, I think, but if Slicecom plays FC and enters the 2009 online event, I guess the canadian flag will be even more dominant than I already suspected you would make it

 

[Biggles]

I'm pretty sure that the Div 1 drivers will prove equally fast in FC, so I'm curious to see how long it will take before they leave me behind at FC & if they will be able to match the times of the fastest FC racers like Sarrinen69 & boysnake.

 

[Lofasz]

I just stumbled across this thread. Nice writeup Biggles. I think we agree on just about all aspects of the game. I think FC is best with the DFP, while GT5P is best played with the new DFGT. Luckily, I have both. Hope to race you in FC online soon.

Here are my favorite cars so far (not including the ones I've yet to unlock, but eagerly anticipate):

575 GTC
F355 Challenge
F430 Challenge

Here are the cars that I really want, but don't have yet:

512M, 512S, 333SP, 250LM, 250 TestaRossa, "Daytona Coupe", and others that I can't remember right now. I'm not terribly interested in the F50. The F40 and FXX should both be interesting though. It will be fun to race you guys online, with all these different cars.

I really hope they include an F1 Ferrari, in their next update, whenever that is. Any Ferrari F1 car, from 1970 onwards, would be cool. It would make racing at Spa even more enjoyable.

 

[Biggles]

Unfortunately, the F40 is pretty disappointing in FC. I prefer the F50 or the FXX. My favourite cars are probably the 355 Challenge & the 360GT. The 575GT is also fun - one of the most difficult cars to drive fast, it has big HP without the aerodynamics to keep it easily under control.

 

[machscnel]

Anyone know why F1 cars were not included ? It just seems pretty odd considering Ferrari's dominance in the F1.

 

[bicycleshorts]

For some reason, it's now possible to get the game, new, in the UK for less than 20 pounds - which seems like a really good deal.

From which shop? It's still over £35 on the PS3 everywhere I've seen.

 

[MJH]

From which shop? It's still over £35 on the PS3 everywhere I've seen.

i got my copy of ebay for about 15 quid. Also check out the pre owed at places like game. The physics are bad for me with a dfp, but i believe hun uses a gt25 and finds it ok.

 

[MJH]

Anyone know why F1 cars were not included ? It just seems pretty odd considering Ferrari's dominance in the F1.

i think the game is intended to compliment the ferrari challenge race series.

 

[P1]

From which shop? It's still over £35 on the PS3 everywhere I've seen.

£15 brand new

Link

 

[machscnel]

I just bought this game (Ferrari Challenge), mainly due to reviews from this thread and I have to say, I'm pleasently surprised. I would not dare to call it better that GT5P for reasons I'm sure we all know by now (not a full game etc).

In saying that I beleive anyone who owns GT5P should at least have a go of FC. The physics are different from GT5P, but not in a bad way, still very sim. The amount of tracks is fairly good, with a nice variety from Europe and America. The cars are wonderful. Even though they are all Ferrari, there is enough difference that it doesn't worry me (everything from stock standard to FIA GT cars). And don't forget the rumoured DLC, but don't hold your breath on that

Overall I would recommend this game to people who like GT5P. It will help alleviate some of the boredom everyone seems to whinge about.

 

[bicycleshorts]

£15 brand new

Link

What! My local Game store in Edinburgh is still selling it for £40 I think, £30 pre-owned :| . I will order it tonight, I think.