Need For Speed Shift 2 looking really good.

[kimokalihi]

I've been keeping tabs on the production of NFS Shift 2 Unleashed since I heard about it 2 or 3 months ago and it's coming along very nicely. I'm excited. I loved Shift but I thought the handling could be a bit more realistic and it looks like they've taken a lot of feedback from the gamers and also the drivers and it looks like they have addressed that issue and gone a lot more towards a racing sim this time around. Awesome. I think they've also revamped the entire drift mode physics so it's not ridiculous and feels real this time. My hopes are high.

They actually take the CAD information from the factorys and input it into the game for suspension geometry and things like that so it's not like they're just guessing on what it should feel like driving each specific car, it's actual data gathered from the manufacturer's on each vehicle. Sounds really promising. I think this may be the best racing game ever made. At least for my tastes. I don't care for gran turismo much. Shift is far more immersive which I think it's very important in a game.

They've got a guy from speedhunters working on the project making sure the game feels real and true to racing. He takes the comments from the speedhunters website and tells Slightly Mad Studios what the fans want and that's mainly better handling and physics, especially the drift physics.

They're also going to have engine swaps in this game. For instance I think you can drop a Supra engine into an AE86 if you'd like. That's cool.

NFS Shift 2 Unleashed Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iViVCqwIXOQ


Here's a speedhunters article on the game.

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/02 ... ysics.aspx

[AWD_addict]

I hope you realize Need for Speed (Electronic Arts) owns Speedhunters. That being said, I like Speedhunters and some of their content is really good.

Cool that they're getting feedback from real racers. The HUD display looks similar to Forza 3 though.

[Apex3]

Huge meh.

Shift sucked, this one doesn't look to be any better either. I don't trust EA to make racing sims, they just have no idea what they're doing in that respect. It's pretty clear from the trailer that the physics are unrealistic, I don't care what kind of data they're getting from the manufacturers. I'll stick with GT5, despite it's flaws.

[kimokalihi]

FC3S RX7 Article

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/02 ... -fc3s.aspx




NA Stock Car.






Drift setup.










Time attack setup.

You will notice that the wheels have visible camber here. I can 100% confirm that these are entirely based on car set up geometry. Any changes to the setup are instantly seen in-game. There is even a testing mode where you can make instant changes to the setup direct to the on-track car. This saves the trouble of having to reload the car/track each time you want to make changes and give you instant feedback on any adjustments.

They brought over the autolog system from NFS Hot Pursuit.

Autolog is a new feature BTW which first debuted in NFS Hot Pursuit. Once we connect as Autolog friends we will be able to asynchronously race against each other... meaning that we don't need to log into real time multiplayer sessions to compete. Rather, an in-game messaging system allows friends to compare times and leaderboards in different modes, tracks and car classes.

Works Spec.










Or if you prefer a new model.

[kimokalihi]

Here's the latest update on the game for anyone who's interested. It's a huge FAQ where they've answered a ton of people's questions from the speedhunters site. I know a lot of people didn't like Shift1 and I definitely didn't like some things about it but it was fun for me still but not fun enough to beat the whole career mode unfortunately. This time around it seems as though they've rebuilt every aspect of the game. No more arcade style.

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/03 ... tions.aspx

[mike-tracy]

Cool, I might just get it. I have played all and beaten most of the NFS series on the PC. Couple years back I bought the Logitech GT3 wheel & pedals, that was enough fun to play a few of them over, including my favorite, Porsche Unleashed.

[Apex3]

Hmmm, I have to say, looking through the pics and FAQ it does look fairly promising. I'm not gonna get my hopes up though.

Looks like the e30 m3 is in it though, so I'm sold.

[CAV3MAN227]

-It looks pretty good, but my money is on Forza 4!

-Joe

[kimokalihi]

Yeah no xbox for me. PS3 and PC. I mainly game on PC but I bought a PS3 for GTA4. If GTA4 hadn't come out I'd probably still have no console.

I figure I'm going to buy Dirt3 and Shift 2 so I should probably just get the racing wheel so I can really enjoy it. Also I think I can get my friends and gf to play racing games if they don't have to use a controller.

[CAV3MAN227]

-I actually dont have a console either. I'm waiting to see if they do some kinda xbox/game bundled deal... game and console! (I heard GT5 was a big let down)

-Joe

[kimokalihi]

GT5 never looked good to me.

[Apex3]

GT5 is a great game, if you had fun with previous GTs you'll definitely like 5, but the content is flawed. They're slowly building it into a complete game though, they've already released two pretty big updates.

I noticed on the FAQ it said the team that made GT Legends made Shift 2, does anyone know if they also made Shift 1?

[kimokalihi]

Slowly building it into a complete game LOL. They've been slowly building it for several years. I did not enjoy the older GT games.

[CAV3MAN227]

-I played all the GT's to GT4 then got an xbox. after that, never went back to playstation!
-Joe

[Apex3]

Slowly building it into a complete game LOL. They've been slowly building it for several years. I did not enjoy the older GT games.

Well I'm not gonna lie and say it should have been released as is But it's still fun. Personally I don't like Forza at all.

[kimokalihi]

Never played Forza since I don't have an Xbox. The main reason I liked Shift was because it was the first game I actually enjoyed the in-car view. Normally I can't get into that and play with the view from behind the car and with that view you just can't appreciate the speeds. With Shift 2 they've improved the view and made it more realistic with the look to the apex and movement of the camera with the drivers head. It's more immersive which is what makes video games fun for me.

[CAV3MAN227]

-Well as NFSS2 sounds and looks great, I always found the series to be more of an arcade than a simulator... unrealistic speeds, but maybe there headed that direction, i dunno! (correct me if I'm wrong)

-Joe

[kimokalihi]

I definitely wouldn't say the series is headed in the direction. Every time they have a new NFS game out it's a different studio that makes the game and they all make it the way they believe a NFS game should be. If Slightly Mad did the NFS games from here on out I'm sure it would be geared mostly towards sim racing. The next game to comeout will probably be a POS like Carbon.

[CAV3MAN227]

- I still think need for speed underground 2 was the funnest one!

-Joe

[Apex3]

No way, Hot pursuit 2! For PS2, the other versions blew.

[AWD_addict]

-It looks pretty good, but my money is on Forza 4!

I agree!

[kimokalihi]

Another Q&A update: http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/03 ... ssans.aspx

[zagarus]

NFS Porsche Unleashed and High Stakes were thee best NFS games back in the day. Once again the older Colin Mcrae 04 and 2005 were some of the funnest rally games, Dirt 1 and Dirt 2 just made them stupid easy to play (CM04 and 05 actually took time to get good at), I will say I enjoy Shift 1 but as everyone else the handling physics sucked, will try shift 2 soon enough, and Dirt 3 will still be enjoyable...They just need more rallying in it and less Ken Block shit.

Oh and F1 2010 is fun.

[kimokalihi]

Yeah I agree. Cut out the Xgames BS and Ken Block influence and Dirt 3 could be a promising game. Dirt 2 sucked balls. Dirt 1 was fun but not fun enough to finish the game. NFS Shift 2 is alright. I bought it and have only played maybe 3 hours tops. Haven't played it in over a week. I think it's partially because I hate playing with the controller and can't afford the $250 racing wheel and won't settle for anything cheaper.

I will say that the drift handling is so hard I couldn't even get the car to drift right at all. I spent a good 45 mins trying to learn how to drift the car on the practice course and I felt like I was worse at the end of all that then I was when I started. It was so frustrating I gave up and haven't played since. I swear it's harder than in real life. The throttle is crazy sensitive and it's as if you're either full throttle or no throttle at all times making it very difficult to control. I imagine with the racing wheel with the clutch it should be much easier but who knows.

[Falken-18c]

i think need for speed underground 2 was the best out of the need for speed series nfs is just geting worst. i use to buy nfs the same day it came out but i stoped after prostreet because they suck DAMN EA FOR SHUTING DOWN NFSU2