NFS Shift 2 Unleashed - Details

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Destinkeys
Without a wheel, I don't know how anybody can comment about physics accuracy.

If you aren't providing the same input you would IRL, how can you judge the outcome? Nobody drives a car with a gamepad.
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Yeah, I was something like that:

Grid Demo
With a pad: "Hey, that controls great! Let's try the wheel!"
With a wheel: "Hmm, something's strange... Wait a min... braking is optional in this game! Lame!" :yuck:

Shift Demo
With a pad: "That's uncontrollable! It's awful! But the sound is so great, the graphics gorgeous, there is Spa... Something tells me that with a wheel it's going to be good..."
With a wheel: "Uncontrollable again! Hmm let's tweak a bit steering sensitivity, dead zone.... AMAZING! I am off to buy it!" :) :D

GT5
With a pad: "Hmm, this should be good with a wheel!"
With a wheel: "Indeed it is! The handling is great! For some cars at least... Now if only it had better AI, sounds, damage and not be that sterile..." :ouch: :nervous: :ill:

So you can get an idea from a pad. But you really can't be sure. It seems though that SMS have fixed the constant sliding issue (that was most apparent with a pad) and was actually the main problem with Shift's 1 handling.

Still, Shift 1 continues to be my favorite racing game in PS3. And I agree, the handling could have been much better and some cars handle very bad. But there are some cars which are great and when you tweak steering sensitivity the handling becomes very good, racing is exciting and the feeling of speed superb! I am sure Shift 2 will fix the problems and deliver a great driving/racing game! :D

Oh, and I am awful at driving games with a pad! I can't judge braking points, amount of steering, etc... :D
I can't play driving games without a wheel! 👍
Nor can I play from a behind-the-car camera! :D
Btw, Shift's cockpit and hood view are both great and I am alternating between the two.
I am faster though with the hood view since you can judge better the position and size of the car.
I wonder how some developers thought that roof view would be a nice view... :ouch:
 
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vrooom
Yeah, I was something like that:

Grid Demo
With a pad: "Hey, that controls great! Let's try the wheel!"
With a wheel: "Hmm, something's strange... Wait a min... braking is optional in this game! Lame!" :yuck:
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Disagree with this slighly, although I know this is off-topic. But Grid felt arcade-y with a pad too, the steering was way too sensitive and it only really felt better if you turned every driving aid off which made the game feel siginificantly more solid but still not perfect in any shape or form.

Not everyone has the money to go out and buy a steering wheel, but I can tell if a game feel's 'sim' like with a pad. Generally I find that a wheel just allows you to drive faster because you have a more precise control of the various inputs.
 
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Speedster502
Disagree with this slighly, although I know this is off-topic. But Grid felt arcade-y with a pad too, the steering was way too sensitive and it only really felt better if you turned every driving AID off which made the game feel siginificantly more solid but still not perfect in any shape or form.
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I told you, I am REALLY awful with a pad! :D
I need all the help I can get and I am still crashing...

But with a wheel I always drive with all driving aids off.

Maybe it's because I play driving games with a wheel from my first driving games on PC...
 
Terronium-12
It probably got that score because of what the game brought to the table and how fun it was. Just sayin'.
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Yeah... +1.

You know, there are SOME people that need just a BIT more than good physics to enjoy a bad game.

You know, like some RACING, perhaps! And FUN!

BTW, I sort of agree/disagree with the physics comment. You CAN tell differences with a pad, certainly. But 'realism', that's exclusive to a wheel. Until they make cars with DS3's anyway (other than MIB2!) :sly:

While the game is smoothing your input, it isn't really YOU driving. SMS telling us they were taking off ALL input smoothing for wheel users was the best news I've had all year..!
 
Destinkeys
Yeah... +1.

You know, there are SOME people that need just a BIT more than good physics to enjoy a bad game.

You know, like some RACING, perhaps! And FUN!
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I see the point you're making but I wouldn't call the original a bad game. :lol:

BTW, I sort of agree/disagree with the physics comment. You CAN tell differences with a pad, certainly. But 'realism', that's exclusive to a wheel. Until they make cars with DS3's anyway (other than MIB2!) :sly:
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Define realism. The only genuine advantage you have with a wheel setup is precision, and even then there are pad users who are faster.
 
You all, PS3-Shift-players, should get the PC version and install the most interesting mods for Shift. You won't even consider getting Shift 2 unleashed. :D
 
I wouldn't go that far :)

It's very hard to mod Shift to be anything other than Shift-only-less-buggy or Shift-only-less-annoying. I am expecting them to go a lot further than just that :) - particularly the stuff they're talking about doing with upgrades sounds like it will resolve a lot of brick walls you run into trying to do more than that. Not to harp on about it, but the extent to which problems and limitations in the UI really limit what you can do to the game cannot be overstated and improving it goes a long way for modders.
 
Terronium-12
I see the point you're making but I wouldn't call the original a bad game. :lol:
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Sorry, didn't make myself clear. I was referring to GT5 as the 'bad' game!

Terronium-12
Define realism. The only genuine advantage you have with a wheel setup is precision, and even then there are pad users who are faster.
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No, IMO, the main difference between wheel and pad is the speed you can go from one hard lock to the other. And, if you can go faster (or as fast) on a pad, when you couldn't POSSIBLY go that fast IRL with a pad (no steering input smoothing IRL!), there goes the realism.

Especially when tire wear isn't modeled, being able to go hard lock to hard lock and back with the tiniest flick of your thumb allows you to do some VERY unrealistic things with the steering input.
 
Terronium-12
Define realism. The only genuine advantage you have with a wheel setup is precision, and even then there are pad users who are faster.
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I love this particular discussion because my experience from many different PS3/X360 racers gives impression that GT is the only series where majority of wheel users can be on-par with controller users.

Notice I said "majority" because there are always aliens who are trained to one particular method and they are fast purely because of their immense talent/training.

I have played all driving games I have in my PS3/X360 collection on wheel exclusively. However, my experience from numerous online sessions and leaderboards clearly says that pad-users are noticeably faster becaue driving model is not balanced towards equalizing differences in approach due to steering input speed or some invisible pad-buffers.

Name the game: Ferrari Challenge, SuperCar Challenge, Forza 2, Forza 3, Shift, Dirt, Dirt 2, GRID, RacePro.. on previous gen there was the same situation with all TOCA: Race Driver games, Colins, etc.

Only game that didn't favor controller users except Gran Turismo series was original F355 Challenge, PS2 version (Dreamcast game didn't support the wheel). Reason for that is that F355 Challenge was the only game that was developed from the wheel to controller, as GT series is doing since GT3.

I know pad-users represent majority of players and that driving model is crafted towards their better immersion. However, I really see no problem if studious would spend some more time in equalizing both input methods.

Not even to speak about some appropriate leaderboards/online racing filters, because consoles (games) recognize different input devices as part of game startup (wheel support libraries).
 
The main obvious realism improvement with a wheel comes when you have the wheel configured to rotates to the same number of degrees as the real car, and the steering lock set at the same number of degrees as the real car, you are driving it at the real steering ratio and it's (theoretically) the same amount of motion on your controller as would be required to steer the real car the same way.
 
PR videos always seems like big bullsh-ts by people paid to say that the game is "amazeball!", "Never seen Before!", "so acurate!"... bla bla bla.... and so on.

I hope it will remove a lot of wrongs from Shift1 and that the sound we hear is the real deal INGAME and not dubbed for the videos... some part looks really good (like the GT3 16 battling cars at the end)... but let's not be duped by some PR Bulls. Let's wait some reviews and some ACTUAL non doctored gameplay...
 
Damn.

Do you think someone actually pulled the EA execs off to one side and pointed out that if there was ever a time for someone to take over the "simulation-y" mantle from GT, that time is now? Do you think EA actually said "Go ahead, make it super-nerdy so that we can advertise off being the best simulation"?

I want to believe. I so want to believe. SMS can make that game. It looks good. It sounds good. It wants to be good. Do it EA. DO IT!!
 
Solve the overly exaggerated grip in corners from Shift 1, tone down the aggressiveness from the AI drivers and put back the normal hue in the colors in the tracks and I'm happy enough.
 
Looks good but it all sounds so familiar (= Shift's PR). Let's wait and see.

I wonder if the actual game footage from the above posted video clip is from console or pc.
 
Still bound by embargo today, but having played the game for 1,5 hours (of which an hour behind a GT pro wheel) a few days ago I can comment a bit on the new trailer posted above, it's pretty much like what I've seen on the console. It's probably still PC footage though, but imo the PS3 version looked really great.

Key thing I was happy about is that they improved wheel controls and the unrealistic constant sliding of the car from Shift 1 is pretty much gone. I actually stopped playing Shift 1 because I could not drive with the wheel and stay on de track because of it. I suspect any sliding I experienced now came from having traction control disabled (elite setting disables all assists) and the pedals being a bit too sensitive. The thriller night races are awesome btw. :scared:
 
Interesting blog concerning Vaughn Gittin Jr's involvement in the game.

Speedhunters
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As some of you may know, I was very involved in the original Need For Speed SHIFT and this year I had the amazing opportunity to increase my involvement for the release of SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED.

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I'm a frequent Sim player, and I truly believe that having a proper virtual driving experience translates to a shorter learning curve when the opportunity arrives to hit the track in real life.

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When I first played a beta of the original SHIFT game, I had a few sheets of notes and changes that I felt needed to be made. The original SHIFT was a great game overall, but only some of my suggestions could be implemented into it.

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I am very excited to announce that the team has implemented many of my suggestions and I'm hoping everyone is pumped on the new features.

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I can finally share with you some of the things I've been keeping under my hat for the past year or so. As you can see from the screen grabs (and previous related posts), it is very hard to tell you are looking at a video game. The graphics are simply unbelievable. In this shot you can see how the smoke is much more realistic now.

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The game's engineers and artists have done an incredible job with replicating my Formula Drift Championship winning Monster Energy Falken Tire Ford Mustang into the game. Not only does it look the part, but it's handling and throttle response are pretty much as crazy in-game as it is in real life. All players will have the opportunity to have my competition car in their garage and flog it, as it's the "Boss" car for the drift element of the game.

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There have been a lot of changes to Drifting in the game. We really focused on overall fun factor! With fun in mind, we swayed away from professional drifting competitions and tandem battles, instead concentrating on just going out and having the track to yourself to get crazy on. You can hotlap any track in the game as much as you want without the annoyance of being restarted just when you start getting in the groove. I expect everyone to be thrilled with the refined drift feel and how fun it is, even for the first time players. As you can see from the image above, the Ebisu touge course returns. How can you have drifting in a game without Ebisu Touge?

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There's also an all new "drift park" called the Nevada Freight Depot. I really pushed hard for an area where players can get familiar with their cars and learn the dynamics of drifting with very little boundaries. This ended up being a perfect place to learn and once you get the hang of drifting, it is a great place to go and freestyle and just have some fun! Hopefully we will have a real-life drift park in the future here in the States!

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Many of you will recognize this. That's right, you can now tackle Irwindale Speedway. This track is such a special place for me personally and for drifting worldwide.

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I was so pumped to see it in-game for the first time. Doesn't it just look so crazy? If I didn't know, I wouldn't be sure if Iw as looking at a real picture or not.

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Article Continued Here : Link
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I'm so close to being completely sold for this, the only thing that could sink this for me is the physics. And even still, they look pretty good from what I've seen so far. It's got everything I want, GT Racing, a good concise car list, a wide range of real world tracks and seems to capture the atmosphere of a real event. I can't wait to play it!
 
I guess a lot about whether Shift 2 gets accepted is whether they are willing to forget GT5's handling physics, and judge it on its' own merits. GT5 isn't perfect, no matter WHAT the fanboys say. Compared to iRacing and some other 'pure' sims, even the King comes up short.

I doubt that Shift 2 will go as far, either, but it is likely that its shortcomings won't be the same ones as GT5. But if people judge it by how closely it mimics GT5, you might see a lot of undeserved criticism.
 
EA has released new previews of Slightly Mad Studios’ upcoming Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed title, revealing several new cars.

The new batch of previews includes cars from Nissan and Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti, roughly half of the cars that will be included in the title have now been revealed.

Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed will include the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship & GT3 European Championship among lots of other racing content, new features include a new helmet camera, night racing and more realistic physics. The second Shift title will be available for the PC, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 in late March.
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Nissan Preview
 
That realism video is sweet, and I don't see any sliding going on there, except where it's meant to in the drift clips :)
 
SHIFT2 UNLEASHED || BAVARIA'S OFFERINGS

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Rod Chong has been really busy posting a lot of blogs on SpeedHunters.com about SHIFT 2 Unleashed. In his latest blog he talks about the BMW's in SHIFT 2 and the improved customization system. Here is a quick peek at the blog:

Hi guys. Well thanks for the hundreds of comments that you've been passing in my direction. The response to my SHIFT2 UNLEASHED blog posts have been so full of ideas, thoughts and questions that I've literally had to take a moment to figure out what to say. So for this blog post I'm going to try and dive in to explain some more detail first on the customization system which will hopefully answer some of your many questions.

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Now the whole customization system in SHIFT2 UNLEASHED is entirely geared towards building up your showroom model into a full-on race car. Although you can build grass roots drift cars, I should stress that the pathway we've laid out for the customization is not based around cosmetic street styling. Rather, it's all about performance and racing.
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Full article here: Bavaria's Offerings
 
That's everything I needed to hear. V10 twin turbo? Hmm, let me think about that...

Now we just need some solid, lengthy gameplay videos, and some more hands-on reviews by people not affiliated with EA/SMS. I'd like to see a VVV or ISR hands-on.
 
The realism video really makes it come across as the spiritual successor to GTR2. Cant wait for this to release.
 

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