F355 Challenge

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advanR

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Caved and bought this at $50 with 2nd runner today. was going to wait for a better price. Waiting this long is long enough, besides Im really enjoying racing games now.

I just got finished playing for about 2 hours. It is not at all a disappointment. My expectations were very high, but damn this is a good game. So far I have just ran hot laps at monza. What I really like is that I know half of the circuits that are in the game already. It is nice having real tracks. I hope gt4 has many more.

The physics are good. Not gt good, but good enough. GT is just silky smooth with everything. The way in gt that you feel the grip through the tires, the body lean if any in corners, and tire noise is what makes gt "feel" so right.

Perhaps it is because I am new to the game, but I like the nervousness I have in f355 when driving the cars. In gt I can hop into anything with total confidence and just haul ass. Some if it though, is attributed to what I love about the game.

No ABS. Havent tried the game with it yet, the second I started playing I disabled ABS, TCS, and ASM (they call them different, forgot what). Anyway, with no ABS you have to know how to brake. If not braking distances are very long, steering input while locked up just gets you in a worse situation.

Something I have just recently started using in GT is trailbraking (IMO helps quite a bit. Ive found a way to quit all of that sliding I usually drive with. smoother IS faster. FYI, not trail braking in some situations, and just jumping off of the brakes all of a sudden, will cause a bit of oversteer. That oversteer scrubs speed.), here the need is more pronounced, in gt it is easier to get around it or forget it all together. Dont do it and you start sliding mid corner, which is not easy to fix.

Also the attitude of the car while sliding is a bit different. Almost like rally mode in gt. I kind of feel that on asphalt tracks in gt, if theres any oversteer or any type of sliding, its quickly remedied by doing whatever countersteering you need to do. All together gt just has too much grip. Rally mode with the wheel however is ****ing crazy. Smooth drifts, sometimes the tail comes out too much, so you give slightly less throttle and countersteer more. Then if the situation requires it, the cars weight will swing in the other direction. Its very hard to explain what I feel, but this same attitude is present in f355. Drifting is slow, and with more experience I will get rid of all traces of it in my laps of this game, but the way countersteering and throttle input come into play is beautiful. Like I said just like rally in gt3, if youve used a wheel with gt you know what I mean. It really feels like you are drving a car.

Everything is more sensitive. Braking in a straight line is the only way possible here. Any small input will result in a **** up. Saving a spin is tougher also. Braking in general is tough, you must be able to brake full without locking up. The way you work your way up after getting familiar with the car is very realistic. You can barely hear the tires starting to squeel when you are braking with full force. If you hear more or less squeel you know you need to modulate the brakes. I could probably use work on this, but the brake pressure I apply while preparing for a corner is hard at first, then let up if sound gets louder, then as it quiets down add a bit of pressure. haha. Anyway, I would have to say that is what it is like in real life when racing a car without ABS.

I have read in reviews of this game how insanely hard it is. It isnt. Reviewers had said that you would need a lot of practice before you could complete clean laps consistently. Some even said it was just made unrealistically hard to simulate a complex racing sim. (I hate games like this and believe f1 2002s crappy sliding physics is a perfect example) I was afraid of this when I bought it. Gladly its not like that at all. Well, after 10 laps getting familiar with how the game handled, I had it pretty well. No more crashing. In the next 10-20 laps I was bringing down my lap times and becoming more consistent. Considering how long it took me to master GT, this wasnt hard. (im not saying its easier than gt in any way, just kind of that even sim racing is a skill, develop car control and racing skills in gt and it will transfer to other things.) I was amazed how natural the car controlled in this game. The car slid and I could catch it almost perfectly, doing with the pedals and wheel what was needed to not spin. I attribute that to a bit of racing experience, and GT. Oddly enough, I attributed my ease of transitioning into real racing to the hours spent playing GT.

You can put this into the review section if youd like. Its not really a review with a rating and all of that. Just my thoughts on the game, and how it compares to GT3. As I started writing it I started rambling into a large post.

Anyone else play this? Arcade, dreamcast or ps2 version? What did you think?
 
I have heard quite a lot about this game. Previously made in the DC, F355 Challenge just features one car, the Ferrari F355. What is so attracting about this game is the fact that is a simulator, the physics are up to real standards. The graphics are good but pale in comparison to GT3, but the game still is good.
 
the graphics are good enough that you dont have much to complain about. They just arent amazing.

I have only run hotlaps so far, but I am excited at trying to keep such consistency lap after lap while fighting other drivers. I just hope to god the ai isnt trash.
 
I might pop this into the review section.

Thanks for the comments, AdvanR - like you, I was waiting for either a price reduction or a second hand copy. I was definitely going to buy - I tried a rental copy a months ago and was pretty impressed with the physics model (it's no stunner graphically) and the racing - it's pretty hard core.
 
I have played the Arcade version at the, well, arcade :) with the multiplayer multscreen play. I havent lost yet, and have my picture in the Arcades hall of fame ;). I think its a great game. I too have rented it and did the same thing as Advan (turning off the ABS and crap). Might buy it :D...
 
one thing that makes the game refreshing compared to gt3 is that there are different tracks. IMO the tracks are much better, and its just more fun racing on real tracks. Sepang and nurburgring are awesome. GP tracks are much more fun to race on. A lot of varying quick corners. Camber and elevation changes. Its cool because I know some of the tracks already, from playing gp4. I also really suggest gp4 to anyone who has a quick computer, wheel, and loves f1. The ai and track detail are amazing. I have been to indy, and seen the other tracks from onboard camera, and they are so similar. It adds a lot to the racing when you feel like you are there.
 
Is GP4 a big improvement over GP4? I've done a fair degree of customisation in GP3 and I don't particularly want to lose the changes.
 
what type of cosumization? patches and stuff? Cant you install both? GP4 has a lot of customization also, but I know it doesnt have as many.

GP4 is quite a bit better. The physics were probably only changed a little. AI is improved a bit probably. But the main improvement is definately graphics. If you are happy with gp3 you might consider sticking with it, but for me, not owning gp3 (i have played demo though), spending the $15 was definately worth it.
 
Stuff like 3rd party tracks, I've customised a car skin, set-ups, that sort of thing. When I update the graphics card I might think about it.
 
This game was actually better looking on the Dreamcast back in the day. I loved the style of gameplay and the physics as well, but couldn't bring myself to take it seriously because of how the collisions were handled.
 
Thats what kinda stopped me buying it again, mainly because I saw it and thought 'wow that looks awfull' it looks pretty nice on the DC and aracade (although I think they use the same chipset, I think) but it just looks Jagged and blocky on the PS2. Also us Euro users get it in sqished -25% speed Pal mode. On the DC I had a Japanese copy, which had an online racing option, that didn't work mainly because you had to subscribe to it.

I think i'll just pop over to the arcades to play this, or maybe buy another dreamcast.
 
I kind of like the way collisions are handled, because it really discourages the bumper car type **** you see in gt3. That grid on the top of the screen is really good for letting you stay away from the other cars. I dont find myself cursing the game very often with the way it is. If I hit a guy and end up turned around I can only get mad at myself for doing it. Its much better having consequences when you hit, rather than having bumper cars. I was amazed that f355 found a way to make a racing game with no damage model to work great. I didnt think it was possible.
 
that game is freakin awesome! it's a really good simulator...i played the arcade where i get a 6sp shifter w/Clutch...you won't get into gear if you don't clutch...it's that or shifting like GT games with the buttons....but prefer shifing like the real thing..got to try out things i've always wanted to do like heal-toe shifing/double clutching/ and much more....even burn outs when i know i'm not gonna win anymore...
 
I picked up a very cheap second hand copy a couple of months ago. It is very hard core - sliding the car definitely hurts times. I've snuck a third at Monza, but battle at the other tracks. You need to be very disciplined with braking points and applying power, or you'll slide. I can imagine a few more 'arcade' focussed gamers getting pretty frustrated with it.
 
I had the DC version with the MC2 steering wheel and it was just a brilliant set-up. I kept my DC just so I could continue to play F355. The online deal wasn't the greatest because you just raced a time trial and then the server overlaid your runs toghether as a replay but it was fun none the less.

I still pull out the DC about once a month for a few runs around Suzuka or Monza.

I've heard there is still a small group of people who play online on certain nights but I can't remember where I saw that info and can't find anyone online.

Don't know about the ps2 version, I've heard the experience is not on the same plane as the DC version.
 
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