Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

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OlivusPrime
dirty sailor
Posts: 177

Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#1 » Mon Mar 27, 2023 6:02 pm

In terms of content, Daytona USA 2001 is a standout representation of the classic arcade game. It has a good selection of cars, all of the tracks from the various versions of the original game (plus some exclusives), gorgeous graphics, and even an online multiplayer mode, which I'm sure you guys are excited to experience again just as much as I am.

However, the one issue of the game that has come under frequent scrutiny over the years is its handling. Many feel that, out of the box, the game doesn't quite feel like the arcade version, and players have come up with their own settings and techniques to try and recapture how the original version felt to drive.

Tonight I decided to try my hand at directly comparing how the Dreamcast remake handles in comparison to the arcade original... using what I had on hand. Of course, ideally I'd be jumping between an arcade unit and my lovely modded Race Controller wheel, but logistics prevent this dream from being a reality. Instead, I compared the great PS3 port of Daytona USA with the Dreamcast game, with the following controls:
  • Using each console's standard controller
  • Using the Hornet on automatic (I reckoned gear changes would allow for too much variation)
  • Driving Dinosaur Canyon on time trial (a nice mix of bends and straights, with no CPU cars in the way)
  • Camera view #3 (behind car, close) (in retrospect, 1st person might have yielded a more direct comparison, but it seems most play in the camera view I tested)

Firstly, I was surprised that the analog sensitivity on the Dreamcast version wasn't as far off as I thought, at least in comparison to the PS3 version on a pad (the 360 version may vary further). The Dreamcast version's sensitivity can be set in increments from 0 to 9, and is set to 9 by default. I found 6 to match the PS3 version's handling the closest.

Something that players also don't tend to discuss is that the tyre choice in the Dreamcast version also has a big effect on handling. The handling of the PS3 version (which should be identical to the arcade) sits somewhere in between the "medium" and "medium-soft" tyre types. "Medium" makes drifting feel pretty much like the arcade, but is slightly slippier in subtle movements than in that version. "Medium-soft" makes subtle movements more accurate, but drifts are harder to pull off. I wound up sticking with "medium", but you should definitely test both to see which you prefer.

There are some minor fundamental differences in how both games handle, which mean that they can never be brought perfectly in line with each other, but in the end, I was surprised at how close they felt in direct comparison after minor tweaking. Ideally though, both could be compared using steering wheels for the most accurate Daytona USA experience.

But what are your thoughts - how do you feel about this game's handling? Have you come up with any adjustments of your own to improve your driving?

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mistamontiel
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Re: Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#2 » Mon Mar 27, 2023 6:18 pm

I wish gears were just upshift+downshift instead of every face button

I heard keeping the analog frontwards helps steer

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dark
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Re: Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#3 » Mon Mar 27, 2023 9:50 pm

mistamontiel wrote:I wish gears were just upshift+downshift instead of every face button

I heard keeping the analog frontwards helps steer



I would prefer this myself because its what I'm used to, but I understand that enthusiasts of the arcade game routinely shift from gear 4 to 2 in order to better line up powerslides in the turns. I bet it was for this reason that sega has done the face button route that they did for this game. Would have been nice to have both control options though.

Sakuragi
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Posts: 23

Re: Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#4 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 10:09 am

You know in the key configuration menu you can change the buttons to have gear up and gear down. You can put A for gear up and X for gear down like in most Dreamcast games. You even can put accelerate and brake to face buttons and gear up and gear down for L and R. A lot of critics for this game can be corrected easily by the option menu.

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Ragfish
St.Jimmy
Posts: 393

Re: Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#5 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 11:52 am

I honestly just leave the controls at default since that's how I'm used to playing this port. Pushing the analog stick upwards at all times makes it a lot easier to make tiny precise movements, although it's uncomfortable as hell.

OlivusPrime wrote:Something that players also don't tend to discuss is that the tyre choice in the Dreamcast version also has a big effect on handling. The handling of the PS3 version (which should be identical to the arcade) sits somewhere in between the "medium" and "medium-soft" tyre types. "Medium" makes drifting feel pretty much like the arcade, but is slightly slippier in subtle movements than in that version. "Medium-soft" makes subtle movements more accurate, but drifts are harder to pull off. I wound up sticking with "medium", but you should definitely test both to see which you prefer.


Using softer tires definitely gives your car more grip, which is handy for when you're using the faster cars with less grip. My favorite combination is the rule of the 9th car with soft tires. Even still, I always found this version more slippery and less forgiving than the arcade version in terms of handling (contrary to the saturn version whose handling was much more forgiving than arcade).

mistamontiel wrote:I wish gears were just upshift+downshift instead of every face button


You can configure the controls to work this way in the options menu, but it's not recommended because you really need to have that 4 way shifter for good control over your drifts

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OlivusPrime
dirty sailor
Posts: 177

Re: Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#6 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 1:41 pm

mistamontiel wrote:I wish gears were just upshift+downshift instead of every face button

I heard keeping the analog frontwards helps steer

dark wrote:I would prefer this myself because its what I'm used to, but I understand that enthusiasts of the arcade game routinely shift from gear 4 to 2 in order to better line up powerslides in the turns. I bet it was for this reason that sega has done the face button route that they did for this game. Would have been nice to have both control options though.

As Sakuragi mentioned, you can actually assign gear up/down or any of the 4 specific gears to any button on the controller. This makes for some interesting flexibility - for example, newer players might appreciate having gear up/down on X and A, and then having gears 4 and 2 on Y and B, in case they want to practice those 4-2-4 shifts.

I have heard of the trick of pushing the analog stick upwards, and it's an interesting workaround to soften the sensitivity, but as Ragfish said, I just find it far too unintuitive and uncomfortable to use in regular play.

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dark
Shark Patrol
Posts: 2077

Re: Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#7 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 3:10 pm

Thanks for the insight into the options menu tweaks. It has been some years since I played the game so didn't remember (maybe never knew) changing the gear select was an option.

Sakuragi
rebel
Posts: 23

Re: Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#8 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 3:32 pm

Would have been very difficult to play with wheels without gear up/gear down.

For sensitivity I remove near all the bar when I play with the gamepad but leave it full when I play with the wheel. Work only on the European and American releases.

Arcade and Dreamcast Daytona need some time to master but it's a very great game after you know how to drift with gears.

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OlivusPrime
dirty sailor
Posts: 177

Re: Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#9 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 4:57 pm

Sakuragi wrote:For sensitivity I remove near all the bar when I play with the gamepad but leave it full when I play with the wheel. Work only on the European and American releases.

Funny you should say this - I reapproached this experiment tonight with my Race Controller, to see how I could get it handling.

I compared maximum sensisitivity with minimum on the wheel, and actually couldn't notice any difference between the two (or at least, no discernible difference), which makes me think that the sensitivity option only affects controllers and not wheels. Perhaps an oversight by the developer, as the sensitivity was a last-minute addition, or perhaps they thought it was only necessary for controllers (seeing how the analog stick has a much shorter physical throw than a wheel).

Once more, I tried different tyre options as well, and actually found that the harder tyres in this instance suit a steering wheel better. I've gotten quite comfortable with medium-hard tyres using a wheel, but hard tyres also seemed to perform acceptably and are certainly an option for those who prefer them.

Of course, most of this is speculation in terms of accuracy to the arcade unit, as there isn't one locally for me to compare to. Having said that, I watched some footage of some arcade gameplay that included footage of the players themselves, and noticed that the arcade game seems to have much lower sensitivity than the Dreamcast version using a wheel. For example, the players were quite consistently hitting full lock on the second turn of Three Seven Speedway, when on the Dreamcast you needn't go anywhere near that to make the turn. Again, very speculative, but food for thought.

Sakuragi
rebel
Posts: 23

Re: Daytona USA 2001 Sensitivity/Handling

Post#10 » Tue Mar 28, 2023 7:17 pm

I Never had the official wheel in hand, how is the dead zone/band on this game with this wheel ? With the Ferrari and Mad Catz Mc2 it's huge but with the later you can correct this. Mc2 is detected like a gamepad and not a wheel, by default it is not very sensitive. Did you Know that you can play Alien Front Online with the official wheel ? You have to select the last configuration in the option menu.

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