System 3's SuperCar Challenge (Large Images)
#1
Posted 27 March 2009 - 13:59
For those familiar with Eutechnyx & System 3's last cooperative effort, Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli, SuperCar Challenge will seem very familiar. Perhaps even too familiar as the more information that's leaked about SuperCar Challenge, the more it becomes apparent that it's not an all together new game but a highly evolved update to Ferrari Challenge. Indeed, every car and track which appeared in Ferrari Challenge will also appear in SuperCar Challenge, along with several new tracks and a slew of new cars.
At some point it appears as if the continuing efforts to patch and update Ferrari Challenge were abandoned and Eutechnyx went back to the drawing board. Indeed, Eutechnyx claims that many of the mistakes and errors made with FC have been corrected from the ground up. I'm also pleased to say that as a developer, Eutechnyx are keen to take ideas put forth on their website and implement them. Many such suggestions and improvements were made from Ferrari Challenge regulars who post on their forum and the fruits of their collective effort will soon be realized.
I make no secret of the fact that I was and am a big fan of Ferrari Challenge. Despite all of it's problems and short comings, the game did offer a number of very interesting tracks and arguably the best FFB system of any PS3 racing sim. SuperCar Challenge will build on this impressive engine with big refinements in graphics quality. They are now promising full on-line 16 player support with private lobbies and voice coms, something that Ferrari Challenge also claimed and was never fully realized.
Between NFS: Shift, SuperCar Challenge and the full version of GT5, 2009 looks like it may be a golden year for the PS3 and the sim racing community.
Images below. Further Images are available from Eutechnyx website. (One here) http://forums.eutech...ttach=291;image
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#2
Posted 27 March 2009 - 20:16
#4
Posted 03 June 2009 - 15:26
They just released dlc Nürburgring GP track and five new Ferraris for Ferrari Challenge
Full pack cost 5 euros and when it's downloaded cars cost 0 credits in game.
#5
Posted 03 June 2009 - 16:56
Side quote.
They just released dlc Nürburgring GP track and five new Ferraris for Ferrari Challenge
Full pack cost 5 euros and when it's downloaded cars cost 0 credits in game.
Yeah, unfortunately the DLC for Ferrari Challenge is for the PAL version only. NTSC users are left in limbo due to pending issues between System 3 and Activision (who marketed the game in North America).
#6
Posted 30 July 2009 - 13:18
#7
Posted 30 July 2009 - 15:53
Anyway, my point is, I don't think any suggestions from new Beta testers just joining the program will make it into the final product anymore, although I suppose they could be patched in later. The Beta is limited and meant to test on-line interaction only. But anyone interested in a 'first look' should certainly feel welcome to join.
#8
Posted 30 July 2009 - 16:01
Just done a 3 lap race on Nürburgring, I like the controls but why is the track flat? The second section is ok, but the first and third sections are totally flat unlike in real life.
/Viktor
Edited by Viktor, 30 July 2009 - 16:02.
#9
Posted 30 July 2009 - 16:43
Just like most of the "open beta" programs I suspect that it's more about promotion then anything else.
Just done a 3 lap race on Nürburgring, I like the controls but why is the track flat? The second section is ok, but the first and third sections are totally flat unlike in real life.
/Viktor
Yes, it's been a well documented complaint right from the beginning. And they have actually improved it in V1.22 as opposed to V1.21. But I think at this point it's not going to change much. Spa is much more accurately represented IMO. Although even Radillion looks much 'flatter' in the game than it does in real life. I suspect on replay the topography will be much clearer.
But either way, we probably shouldn't go into further details in an open thread.
BTW, the fourth JPEG in the opening post is from Mont Tremblant. It's not available in the Beta but it will be in the retail release and it was in their previous game, Ferrari Challenge. I don't know any current sim outisde of SCC or FC that features this track and I love it. It's just brilliant. the first long, high speed right hander is such a nail biter. Get it just right and you can gain a lot of time. But go just a little off line and it's a disaster. And there are several other challenging corners and elevation changes. I think this is tied with Spa for my favorite track. I'm so glad Eutechnyx is including this track in SCC as well.
Video here (in the wet)
Mont Tremblant Video
Edited by jaisli, 30 July 2009 - 17:05.
#10
Posted 15 August 2009 - 20:23
#11
Posted 16 August 2009 - 23:22
Got a decent hands-on and and you can read my report besides seeing a video of me playing it here http://www.vvvgamer....read.php?t=7706
Hi Alan,
Somebody from the Eutechnyx forum linked this review and I was going to comment in this thread but see you already beat me to it. It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride leading up to release. Accepting the fact that System 3 is a small publisher, I find the complete lack of promotion infuriating. It doesn't take a genius to realize that Supercar Challenge is going to be a huge flop simply because so few people know about it.
#12
Posted 19 August 2009 - 23:12
#13
Posted 20 August 2009 - 01:13
I truly thought that they would make an effort to learn form the mistakes they made with Ferrari Challenge. And instead it's just the opposite.
#14
Posted 01 September 2009 - 13:06
From the Times - 4/5
From The Sixth Axis - 9/10
And a 8/10 from VVV Gamer. I'll save you the obvious plug Alan and post it myself.
I don't want to say too much more until I've played the final version myself. But if you liked Ferrari Challenge, you'll probably like Supercar Challenge. With GT5, Need for Speed:Shift & Dirt 2 all within sight, this is a little gem from a small developer that could easily be overlooked. If you have a PS3 and want a game that does a brilliant job of simulating balance, weight transfer and the feeling of understeer and grip levels through the steering wheel, it truly deserves a look.
#15
Posted 01 September 2009 - 16:10
#16
Posted 13 September 2009 - 19:29
I received my copy of Supercar Challenge in the mail yesterday from GAME. I put the disc in the PS3 and played the game for about 4 hours straight. Here are my initial, early impressions.
The Good:
Load times have improved over Ferrari Challenge, especially the initial start-up. It was interesting to see all of the menus finally opened up and not locked as they were in the Beta. The first thing I did was run through them to see exactly what the options were and develop a familiarity with the controls and flow.
The options and features are MUCH improved over Ferrari Challenge. A perfect case in point, when running a time trial, you now have the option to change the car, change the track, or change the car and track. It's a welcome relief from having to back out to the main menu in order to restart. What's more, the car starts a time trial session on a tear, negating the need to do a full 'warm-up' lap in order to set a competitive time. As a developer, Eutechnyx has clearly listened to it's fan base and there are many welcome changes for the better.
But none of these changes are as welcome as the most basic and fundamental part of the game. Compared to the public Beta, there is a significant difference in the feel and physics of the cars. And it's truly for the better. Using a G25, I was amazed to feel how much smaller the deadzone is and how much smoother the cars are to control. Gone is the loose, disconnected feel. Done away with is the ponderous, guess work in transitional moves. It's wonderful and I love it. Great job guys! But it goes deeper than that. Eutechnyx clearly spent time further refining the cars. After running the first Challenge round and earning some money, the first three cars I purchased were the 355 Berlinetta, the 348 Challenge and the 250 GTO, all of which were available in Ferrari Challenge. Every one of these cars has been slightly tweaked and refined. They feel completely transformed and I couldn't be more thrilled. The 355 in particular has truly been given a new life. I was very critical of the handling characteristics of some of the road cars in Ferrari Challenge and felt that the team had simply gotten things quite wrong. This has been corrected in a big way. The 355 with all assists off is quite squirrelly, especially when under power but the way the four tires interact with the road has been completely remapped and it feels much more realistic. It's tricky but predictable and the way the suspension now reacts with the curbs is simply wonderful. I would buy this game just for this car alone and it was never one of my favorites.
Likewise, as much as I liked the 'classic' cars in Ferrari Challenge, I feel the 250 GTO in Supercar Challenge is now much more representative of a real 60s automobile. It's much more lively and interesting to drive with levels of detail in it's suspension movements that were simply glazed over in FC. It now requires more than just balancing the throttle and controlling the oversteer. The sense of weight seems to move back and forth and forward and back in an extraordinary way. I also had a chance to drive the F40 during the "invitational" Challenge event and noticed an equally impressive improvement in the car's behavior. It sounds better. It looks better. It feels better. The car is much more controllable in oversteer conditions (if you have a light touch) and seems much more three dimensional compared to the F40 in Ferrari Challenge.
Without going into too many details, I also purchased the Corvette, unlocked the McLaren SLR Moss & 599FXX--all of them are a lot of fun and interesting to drive. As a big fan of the ALMS series, it was a blast to drive the Corvette. Going down the back straight in Montreal in the playseat with the buttkicker going and the surround sound system screaming, my entire room was shaking! LOL! The 348 Challenge now feels like a genuine race car. Shifts are improved and the car feels much more 'lively'. I'm so happy that the Eutechnyx crew went back and refined these cars and truly for the better.
Although I had only limited time to try it, I'm very impressed with the new replays. They give you so much more control compared to the one-way shows we had in Ferrari Challenge. At any time you can pause, fast forward, reverse, take a picture or alternative in real time between different views and vantage points. You can therefore review an incident from various different angles over and over again. It's brilliant.
The Bad:
The most important part of Ferrari Challenge to me, or any racing game for that matter, has been it's physics engine and Force Feedback implementation. And Supercar Challenge seems to have nailed it. There's no tire wear or pits stops, as we long since knew, but I'll take what I can get and relish it. But one area where I'm quite disappointed is in the graphics. Yes, there has been noticeable improvement over FC as far as the in-cockpit graphics and certain aspects of the track and surrounding area.
But frankly, I'm terribly disappointed in the background images. Simply put, they're awful and the faux forced perspective doesn't work. I know it's a cliche to say it, but it's worse than a PS2 game. I don't know if this was done on purpose to preserve the frame rate and be able to dynamically switch views, but the compromise is all together unacceptable. I'm sorry but it's horrible. The 'top view' of the car during replay mode is particularly bad with the entire car looking like a pixelated mess from the late 90s. It's probably not possible to correct something like this and we just have to hope that Eutechnyx's art team does a better job on future titles because this really detracts from the game like a fly in the wine. Unfortunately this poor graphics showing also extends into the game as well with low resolution backgrounds mixing together with well rendered high resolution foregrounds and it goes as well together as oil and water. Why are their mountains in Montreal??? Please, get them out of there. The mountains and backgrounds at Mugello in Ferrari Challenge looked like a work of art by comparison. And if one looks at the mountains in GT5P, the art team should be embarrassed to release something like this into a game that otherwise has such wonderful attention to detail.
Likewise there are a lot of little touches that I was hoping would be corrected from the Beta. I always assumed that awful world map and small front graphic of the DBR9 were just temporary for the Beta and would be replaced with higher detail images and nicer backgrounds. If this game had come out in February we could accept that it was rushed. But I hope they something about this in a patch. Granted it doesn't add anything to the actual gameplay but it's like driving through a slum on your way to a nice hotel--it just leaves a bad taste. The opening video in Challenge mode is a nice overlay and shows what could be done. And get a decent map. LOL What is this? A 9K GIF image?
I also wish there was a clearer way to turn assists on or off before an off-line event starts. Once they're set, they're set, although perhaps that's not a bad thing. But I realized upon starting the first Challenge event that I had left the racing line and ABS on max and had no way to disable it except to exit.
And upon trying to leave the showroom after purchasing two new cars, the PS3 froze on me and I had to do a hard reboot. Things like this are a little troubling.
And I don't quite understand the need for a "Leaderboard" and a "Champion List". I forgot the actual names. But the list that shows the top 100 times where you can choose the track and car, etc is enough. I don't see the point to have two.
Over All:
After a few hours with this game, I feel much, much better. I've been somewhat silent lately in regards to SCC. I must admit, I was rather underwhelmed with the Beta and I'm thrilled to see that the final release is much improved. I can now proudly and confidently recommend this game with no footnotes attached. Even to my Ferrari Challenge loving friends who are still sitting on the fence.
I'll post more when I've had some time with it.
#17
Posted 10 October 2009 - 21:11
I've taken the liberty of creating a 4 stage event using the oldest car in the game, the 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, which will take place next Saturday, October 17th. Please CLICK HERE for more details if you're interested.
I hope to see some of you jon in.
#18
Posted 16 October 2009 - 16:26
From the System3 website, it looks like the same crappy graphics engine, with low-res car modeling and poor environmental lighting. They apologize for it all over the website.
There really is no excuse for this on the PS3 platform.
More of the same for the PS3.
Why doesn't someone just make a proper endurance or multi-class racing game?
#19
Posted 19 October 2009 - 12:59
Recap, including video, available here.
Those interested in GP Legends and a PS3 might want to give it a hard look.
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#20
Posted 26 October 2009 - 21:24
The complete race recap including video is available over on GTPlanet by clicking here.
There will likely be more of these events coming up in the month of November. Please send me a PM if you're interested in joining.
And for goodness sakes, can a moderator please change the thread title to read 'images'.
#21
Posted 26 February 2010 - 19:15
Side quote.
They just released dlc Nürburgring GP track and five new Ferraris for Ferrari Challenge
Full pack cost 5 euros and when it's downloaded cars cost 0 credits in game.
Side note again.
Ferrari Challenge got recently new update for PS3 as 5 additional cars and Riviera track.
#22
Posted 27 February 2010 - 13:20
Side note again.
Ferrari Challenge got recently new update for PS3 as 5 additional cars and Riviera track.
Yup. So now, every (Ferrari) car and track available in Supercar Challenge is now available in Ferrari Challenge. I don't expect any more at this point. And still nothing available for the NTSC market unfortunately.
FWIW, Supercar Challenge is getting a new downloadable update early next week which should fix the ride height bug affecting set-up changes and a huge improvement to the AI for off-line racing. So five months after it was released, it's finally going to be the game it should have been at release. With the last batch of updates, it's still arguably the game with the best combination of realistic physics and private lobbies in PS3 Land.