Snake79 wrote:Yes, by time attack I meant the speed challenge rankings. I remember posting a few times and I was around the top 100 on some of them. It was slightly disappointing as I thought I would be higher, but not bad when you consider how many thousands had taken part.
My car of choice was the Celica GT-FOUR which wasn't the fastest in the lineup but the one I settled on at the top end of the game. I don't think I downloaded any ghost car times and I didn't participate in the message boards. My use of the online features was minimal really, having to share the internet with the telephone line meant I didn't go online as often as I would have liked. I had the game for months before I actually used the online features as I wanted to complete the game first. I think everything was up and running by then.
Watching that video, I can clearly see how broken the Kudos scoring system was and how it could be abused. It's a shame really as they had clearly put a lot of effort into the whole game and the unique scoring system.
Thanks for the reply Snake79. Some of the later Speed Challenge entries may have been fake as it's apparently very easy to hack an MSR game save (no protection) and adjust your times accordingly. You may have also had Action Replay/Xploder DC users to contend with. I know the Dreamarena competition times were real as I (just) managed to surpass them:
https://msrdreamcast.blogspot.com/2013/ ... ion_3.html. It would have been nice to see what the fastest times were before Dreamarena closed down however it may have been difficult to separate the real from the frauds.
Actually, I find the Celica GT-FOUR to be the fastest car on certain tracks. I also mainly use the Supra (best top speed), the EVO 6 (good in wet weather) and Skyliner (good on twisty technical tracks). I always race using manual transmission and ABS off (except in Speed Challenge where I have no choice but to use automatic with ABS on).
I never went online with MSR back in the day (2000-2002). Although I bought the game at launch, I didn't play it properly until late 2007. Didn't really have enough racing game experience in the early days to get the best out of MSR; more of a fighting game and Crazy Taxi player at that time.
You can still enjoy MSR's Kudos/Street Racing mode if you aim for a happy medium between Skill/Style/No Penalties. Just don't expect any record scores. While changes could have been made to prevent the exploits (ie capping Style points unless you also get high Skill points/No Penalties bonus), there is only so much you can do with the source material. I think Project Gotham's Kudos system got it right as it's much more fleshed out with the real time points, combos and medal progression. You really were rewarded for driving well. Granted, there are also Kudos exploits in PGR (spinning in circles, sliding from side to side) but you still need to be a good player to get the best results.
Snake79 wrote:Looking at that early version, it is actually is closer to the first Project Gotham Racing on the original Xbox than MSR. That too has less trackside and city detail than the Dreamcast, ran faster and smoother (which would be expected as the Xbox was more powerful), had more noticeable suspension travel and the cars could leave the road. In some ways the first PGR did improve on MSR but I never liked it as much. New York during the day was particularly difficult as the roads were pitch black from the shadows cast from the buildings. I would often mis-judge a turn or miss it completely as I couldn't see the road clearly. The cars were also a lot livelier and easier to oversteer, so despite it being the follow up to MSR, it did feel like a totally different game. MSR just felt right.
The only thing MSR and PGR1 have in common is that they share some of the same tracks. Other than that, it's a completely different game (not surprising as PGR1 is basically a complete rewrite). The physics in PGR1 are more complex and nuanced than those found in MSR; cars now have significant weight transfer so you have less control during a turn/slide. You really need to get your braking, gear changing and speed right before turning otherwise you will spin out or hit the barrier. I personally miss MSR's unique handling but I understand why PGR1's physics are the way they are
The main reason MSR's cars did not leave the ground in the retail version was down to vehicle manufacturer's orders. If you play the MSR Opel Challenge/Special Version demo, the cars do leave the ground on San Francisco although it has no effect on the driving physics. I think Microsoft had a hand in getting the manufacturers to relent on this for PGR1 and to also allow vehicle damage (although the latter is somewhat superficial).
MSR's night lighting is generally better than PGR1's (minus the headlights) although both games suffer from too much darkness.
Ironically the physics in the Dream On demo version of MSR (Tokyo Time Attack) have more in common with PGR1 that they do with the retail version of MSR. For example if you turn your car and release/reapply the accelerator, the car will begin to slide in the MSR demo and PGR1. However this can't be done in retail MSR; the best way to take a corner is to turn and brake together while alternating the throttle. If it's a sharp turn you may need to add a touch of handbrake or release the accelerator completely. I made the following video showing this in action:
https://youtu.be/zP05qv7dT-k
For further reading, you may wish to look at my MSR review (made in 2011) and PGR1 review (made in 2020) on this site:
MSR:
https://www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/vi ... php?t=3880
PGR1:
https://www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=13477
MSR back online (2020):
https://www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/vi ... =3&t=12872
