Demo Available

[siread]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3477/3304137490_5ff8acfce5.jpg

This demo allows you to try a Quick Race in either Australia, Malaysia or China. The final version will contain all 17 F1 tracks and a full career mode. The real team/driver names will be changed in the final release.

At this stage I am looking for bugs, compatibility issues and feedback on the gameplay.

http://download.newstargames.com/NSGP/NSGPDemo0_9.zip

Controls
Cursor Key Left: Steer Left
Cursor Key Right: Steer Right
Cursor Key Up: Accelerate
Cursor Key Down: Brake

Space Bar: Show race info (positions, fuel, damage)
Escape: Pause/Options

You can reset the keys, change number of laps and so on in the options.

The Editor mode is also included but it is rather complex. Feel free to have a play with it but don't expect much support until after release day.

Enjoy! :D

[King Rob]

must admit i have been looking foward to seeing the new star take on F1,

:D:Ddownloading now:D:D


okay i have now driven my first race and already love it however i wish i was a better driver, a pitiful 18th place after being in 7th for most of the race.

[Cookie Monster]

Ahh, starting the day off with a NSGP demo release, hoorah :D I said on twitter i was gonna be one of the 1st to get my hands on it and by God I am!

[weiteck]

Having done a couple of races, I've noticed a few things immediately:


rumble strips slow your car down - they shouldn't
I changed the view to 'very high' but the setting wasn't saved and had to be changed again for the next race
I couldn't set the controls to use my joypad
performance of cars/drivers may need some tweaking to reflect 2009 season pace (e.g., McLaren have not looked very quick in pre-season testing, and Williams should probably be quicker than they are)

But it's awesome fun! You've come up with something really good, Si. I'd like to see a career mode demo sometime soon.

[King Rob]

My only problem so far aside from my lacklusture driving ability and the previously mentioned game pad issue is that occasionaly the game will jump slightly, so il be going around a corner and all of the sudden il be on the grass:P

loving the rain effect by the way

[Cookie Monster]

Looks great despite my 20th place at my first race controlling Raikonnen :D btw i changed camera height to low during a race and then no buttons would work, in the game options, pause menu or whatever.

@weiteck: you can try going to the settings folder in the NSGP folder and then open the Engine.ini and change the friction values to a more suitable value :)

[weiteck]

@weiteck: you can try going to the settings folder in the NSGP folder and then open the Engine.ini and change the friction values to a more suitable value :)

Yep, but this was just feedback for Si.

[Cookie Monster]

I was wondering can something be implemented so you'll see the time difference between you and the 1st placed (or 2nd or whatever i'm not THAT into GP :D) when you go past a checkpoint? e.g. you go past the checkpoint you see +00.01.569

[Fry Crayola]

It's great fun - I do love the rain effects, and it controls nicely. A few points though:

I ran out of fuel during my second race, and the game just sat there waiting for the race to end. Perhaps the race should end there for me rather than leave me sitting on the track? Even when everyone else has finished and thus I'm definitely last, it doesn't end until I manually quit.

Are there keyboard/pad shortcuts for the pits? It's slow going into the pits and having to reach for the mouse to change tyres.

Finally, the camera seems centred on your car. Although much harder to implement, it might be nicer if it showed more of the track ahead of you.

Still highly playable as it is, and I look forward to a full career. :)

[Ruejas87]

downloading now :D

ok I played 3 races

australia - 2nd with massa
malasya - 8th with hamilton (i hate him soooo much)
china- 1st with massa (horaay)

I didn't noticed anything strange so far, and i loved the rain efects: when you turn the car, the rain turns too; the water in the course (from time to time I can't see anything), and I loved the little detail of the red light in the car!

Si, I think you maked a great game and now i am really looking forward to this!

something more, when you enter the editor and make some change (track tiles) when you go back, i don't understand anything, and when you click exit editor it goes back to normal, but if you click no it still the same


http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/1716/error1rjd.jpg
there is the "bug"


http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/7839/error2t.jpg
and there it goes back to normal



PS: if there is sth you didn't understand, sorry, bad english

[condar]

Hey Si!

First time poster! I started playing NSS 3, loved it, and have been following NSG ever since! Personally, I enjoy NSS 3 and Sensational Soccer but wasn't a fan of NSS 4 (felt the controls were wonky on the keyboard, and have no gamepad). Played a bit of NSH, and was hoping that would get developed more, but here we are with a racing game!

Let me first admit I'm not a big follower of either soccer or GP racing - I simply enjoy playing your games :)

So here's my feedback on the beta build / demo!


Started up, and came to a nice, clean interface, which I really do appreciate. Very simple music, but sounds good and wasn't repetitive or annoying. Well done!
Selected the quick race option, and left the defaults - figured the tracks were self-explanatory, but again as I'm not a GP fan, I had no idea what the different drivers did - do they provide different 'attributes', as in some handle better, others are faster, or what not? Or will there be options to customize the vehicles in the game, and the drivers names are simply for show / recognition? Since this is a demo, I can understand that not being clear right now - but something you might want to clarify for release!
Controls were very easy to figure out (using a keyboard - see the previous note about not having a gamepad), and it only took a few laps to really get used to the speeds and handling of the car. Very pleased!
I started on the Australia track, and did "OK" my first race, coming in sixth. I immediately played it again and came in first, so the learning curve doesn't feel very steep - but I also felt it was a little too easy. I was wondering if there was a difficulty option, and found it after pausing the game and going to Options (along with a number of other nice options, including view height, laps, etc.). This wasn't apparent that this could be changed originally - can you add these options at the 'main' screen, so that it's more obvious they exist, and can be changed before starting the race?
Related to the point above, it seems a bit 'cheap' to have these options available to change mid-race - seems like this could be exploited. I realize I'm doing poorly in a race, turn the difficulty down, catch up, and change the settings so I win very easily. Naturally, this ruins the experience and is the choice of the player so it might not really be an issue at all, but will hopefully not be available in career mode.
I really like how simple the pit options are - the fact that it pauses to allow you to select tires and amount of fuel is very welcome, as it doesn't make you feel rushed, something I always had a problem in with other games 'pit' options / features.
Rumble strips, as another posted noted, cause the car to slow down - I was under the impression this shouldn't happen, or if it did, wouldn't be so significant.
Similarly, driving towards the edges of the paved surface causes your car to slow down - if your car is on the white line at the edge (about half of the car), and still on the pavement, you'll slow down as if you were off-road or on a rumble strip. Should this be happening?
I know you've noted this is an arcade style racer, not a simulation - but is there a 'rubber-band' effect that seems prevalent in most racers today? I ask because on my second race in Australia, I was doing outstanding with a huge lead - then all of a sudden, another car caught up to me, with a huge separation between us and third place. This seemed out of place, but I could have passed it off as a simple one-time occurrence. However, on my first race in China, I slammed into a wall after some unexpected curves - I was in last place and a significant distance behind. Nonetheless, I was able to catch up to the leaders in the pack (roughly fifth or sixth place) before the end of the lap. This leads me to suspect there is some rubber-banding going on - hopefully I'm just mistaken, or you might consider taking this out or being an option that can be turned off, as it's one of my biggest gripes with racing games.
The 'Show Info' in my opinion lasts a little too long when space is pressed. Maybe add the ability to toggle the info with space, or allow us to adjust the length of time the info is shown?
What effect does damage have on the car? I really noticed no difference after getting my 'damage meter' up to half other than trailing a significant amount of smoke. I seemed to be just as fast and handle just as well as before.
Will tires wear down and need to be replaced, or is that part of the damage meter? This didn't seem to be apparent in the 'Show Info' portions.
Editor was fun to play around with - I know you noted some support will come following release, but I was able to figure it out without too much difficulty after about 10-15 minutes. Again, nicely done!


I think that about sums it up! Sounds so far are decent, graphics are pleasant (I still love 2d games), and the gameplay is fun. No slowdowns or any problems with the game, but I have a very high end system, so I wouldn't expect any either. Very much looking forward to career and other modes! And, the 29th is the day after my birthday, so it might be a nice gift for myself :)

Thanks for your hard work, and another great game!
-condar

[Cookie Monster]

Aha, works properly on my Desktop so I think this game isn't very demanding?

[condar]

Just a couple quick notes as I've been playing a bit more:


This might be a minor graphical bug or intended, but when it rains (nice effects by the way!), and I get behind a couple cars, the 'spray' completely covers my car - on the other hand, a computer-controlled car in the same type of situation doesn't disappear entirely, but may fade slightly or flash (from slightly obscured to completely visible). I've posted a screenshot of this - my car is the circled one, while the computer-controlled car who is directly behind 3 cars is still very visible.
I believe the Record lap time is currently saving between ALL tracks - I was just racing Malaysia and noticed a record time of ~29 seconds (with a star next to it, which I assume means I completed it). There's no way anybody is completing a lap on there in 29 seconds :P I'd suggest making a unique Record lap time for each track.


Otherwise, still very much enjoying this demo!!
-condar

[siread]

Thanks very much for all the feedback guys. I will be fixing all the issues. :)

[Fry Crayola]

Si, what are the effects of using the wrong tyres for the weather? And also, when the rain stops, is there a period of time during which the track remains wet?

[weiteck]

I changed the view to 'very high' but the setting wasn't saved and had to be changed again for the next race

Disregard this - I was pressing ESC to dismiss the screen instead of the button. Remembers the setting fine when using the button.

The cars should perhaps have less grip in the wet than they do too, requiring more small steering corrections than in the dry.

[condar]

So, I think I can answer some of my own (and others) questions after playing even more (what can I say, I'm really enjoying myself!).


There is not a rubber banding effect as far as I can tell. I think the issues I were experiencing before were related to car damage (more on that in a second).
The drivers / teams / cars do appear to have slight differences - for instance, I was playing as the 'default' person (Hamilton) for a while and switched to Massa - Massa seems to have a slight speed advantage.
Australia is the easiest course :P I can win on Hard with little problem, yet struggle to win on the others at Normal.
Tire wear does not appear to be implemented at all.
Damage does have minor effects on top speed and acceleration. The higher your damage, the more noticeable. You can reach 'full' damage and still drive, although at that point you are barely moving speed wise. Damage does not appear to effect handling. Top speed seems to take a noticeable impact at around 25% damage.
Using dry tires in wet weather effects handling (i.e. on turns, you will have a significant slide / drift). Using wet tires lowers your top speed, but gives a significant increase in handling, especially in wet weather.
It appears the track stays 'wet' for a while following the end of the rain.


I wish we had a career mode already ;)
-condar

[Fry Crayola]

I wish we had a career mode already ;)
-condar

Ditto.

I just stuck on a 50 lap race on Malaysia and loved it. Finished 9th in the end (on Easy, I'm not much cop :D ) but led at one point late on. Longer races mean more pit stops and more strategy in that regard, and it's always heartening to see yourself zoom past those in the pits when you know you've got more fuel in the tank for a few more laps.

It did take over a half hour just for that one race though, so I guess I'll drop down to around 20 laps or so for my career when the game's out.

[MarcoGazpacho]

Here's my feedback:

1) Gamepad mode needed ASAP- I'm getting RSI on my right hand from using the keyboard!

2) The computer players are employing some very odd pitstop strategies- in a 10-lap Malaysia race, Nakajima went into the pits about four or five times, and I'm sure at the first stop he took *out* fuel from his car! Subsequent stops lasted about one second.

3) Maybe I'm just being a big loser, but the AI cars are *very* quick right after their pitstop- I was totally screwed into turn 1 several times from drivers fresh out of the pits, and this was with my undamaged car.

4) I'm not sure if all the sounds worked- when I was Nick Heidfeld in the BMW, there were sounds for me going off track (several times...), my engine, rumble-strip sounds etc. When I was Nakajima or Button, I just got intermittent engine sounds.

5) I'd play more, but my wrist is seriously hurting!

That's the negatives/bug reports, on the positive side:

1) AI is good- one car which got speared off at turn 1 and hit the tyre barriers knew how to rejoin the track correctly and quickly. The racing is also pretty good, and they take the right lines into corners.

2) Considering the relative simplicity of them, the tracks are well done and realistic. I'll be interested to see how Monaco and Singapore turn out!

3) The results are nicely mixed- in my Melbourne race, Kovalainen won, but in Malaysia, Barrichello won! Obviously, with the most unpredictable season in years, you may as well have a variety of winners.

4) The rain effect is lovely.

5) My wrist is feeling better...;)

[weiteck]

Can we expect a Mac demo soon, Si, or will that wait until after the PC version gets a full release?

[siread]

After the pc release I'm afraid. I'm really pushed for time and want the game finished for the 29th. :)

[Thor]

Well, I'm not fond of racings but I let my younger brother play the game. He really liked it but I've managed to drag out three things from him:
1) "There's no speedometer - it'd like to know how fast I'm driving"
2) "I'd like to have a hand brake - to stop as suddenly as it's possible and leave tracks behind the car" - something stronger as an alternative to the present brake
3) "After pressing the space there appears information about conditions of all the cars around me - it blocks out the view of the track" It seems to be a good opinion - the driver of i.e. Ferrari doesn't know in what condition is a car of a BMV driver, does he? ;)

[Cookie Monster]

delete me please

[condar]

Feast your eyes on http://tinyurl.com/nsgpvideo1 :D (HD available soon or so I hope)

To be honest, I think you do the game an injustice with that video. Had I seen that video first (instead of the one on the blog), I would never have even considered playing the game - the video makes the game look horrendously easy without any semblance of realism. Obviously, you've tweaked the Engine.ini file to change the friction settings (which is why you don't slow down on the grass, strips, gravel, etc.), but anybody not familiar with it would probably think, "Wow, what a joke - you don't even have to try. All the other cars are actually following a proper 'path' yet you can take simple shortcuts without any negative effects." Maybe it's just me, but I'd be extremely turned off by a game with seemingly no challenge!

Again, I know Si said this isn't a true simulation - but I think people expect some semblance of realism, and that video doesn't convey that.

Anyway, that wasn't directed as a personal attack in any way - I just think you're giving the wrong impression with that video.

-condar

[Cookie Monster]

oops you're right... i forgot i was using an edited engine.ini, will delete now and hopefully refilm WITH audio this time.

[condar]

Thanks Cookie Monster - looking forward to the new one!

Although I must say, I didn't go looking for any .ini files until I watched the video, so it was beneficial :)

Personally, after a bunch of tweaking, I made the following modifications to the Engine.ini file (in your Settings folder in the directory where New Star Grand Prix is):


fric_rumble
Original = 0.9755
Modified = 0.9825


fric_grass
Original = 0.958
Modified = 0.925


fric_gravel
Original = 0.938
Modified = 0.9825


Personally I like these settings because:

The rumble strips / gravel (edges of the tarmac) only make a negligible difference to your speed, so they still help somewhat when cutting corners and still encourages you not to drive on the edges on straightaways.
You're encouraged to avoid cutting corners over the grass / sand as there's a significant slowdown caused in most cases (admittedly you can still hit the grass for a short time on some of the sharper corners without much of an impact, which I think is ok).
You avoid taking huge risks on some turns, as if you go off the track, you take a significant hit to your speed, oftentimes dropping at least one or two positions just getting back.

I find the above changes a bit more enjoyable, as I've had many closer races on my favorite track (so far) of Australia, with myself trailing the leaders of the pack by a few lengths, and looking to shave off just that extra tenth of a second to catch up and then make the big move - sometimes it works and I end up winning, other times I fail and end up dropping another position or two. To me, this has been a lot more exciting then simply messing up while trying to pass effectively on a turn, hitting the grass, jumping right back on the track and being able to try again at the next turn.

Additionally, using these settings, even on Normal on Australia, I've rarely lapped anyone as I had been doing previously. Plus, although the leaders of the pack (Lewis Hamilton et al.) are nearly perfect most of the time, they still occasionally mess up, bumping a car in front of them or taking a turn too tight / wide, and then they hit the grass and are penalized just as effectively. This allows for some more varied results in a race (i.e. who places where).

I would like to be able to modify the damage setting if at all possible, but don't think that's available currently. I feel hitting walls / other cars should have a bit more consequence than it does currently.

Also, just as a quick note, be careful when making changes to the settings in the Engine.ini file - minor changes in the numbers can make a huge difference. I'd suggest modifying the friction numbers in particular by no more than 0.1-0.2 at a time, and adjusting from there (for instance, setting a friction level at 0.5 makes it almost impossible to drive). Anyone know what the fric_wall setting is for?

Enjoy all, and thanks Si for such a great game! Please make sure it's released on the 29th :P

-condar

[hellboy1975]

Great fun with the demo so far. You can count me in for a purchase at this stage!

My only criticisms are that I'd like to see less penalty for hitting the ripple strips and going past the white line on the bitumen, and probably more of a penalty for going well off the track.

Perhaps the penalty for hitting ripple strips could be less about losing speed, and more about receiving damage?

[siread]

The fric_wall is redundant. I changed the collision system.

You take more damage on the hard level but I can add it to the ini for release. :)

[Cookie Monster]

http://i41.tinypic.com/30sttft.jpg

woot Si, rooting for you at this point! Any help needed just shout :clap:

[br8nd4n]

I tried Condar's edited Engine.ini and found the new settings much better. It now rewards good cornering - driving the correct racing line and clipping apexes, and punishes wild driving styles and corner cutters!
Good work Si and Condar!

[kimifirst]

guys you are great.I'm wating for the full release.It will be something awesome.You made F1 to be on the track again

[FattySock]

Si, just to get our mouths watering... could you give us a quick rundown of the features you expect to have in the full version career mode?

Will it basically be a case of getting signed by different teams dependent on your performance during the season (do well, and Ferrari come knocking, do poorly and you're stuck driving for Force India)?

Or is it still along the lines of NSS with outside interactions, training (dunno what you'd do in training tho?) etc etc building up abilities/reputation before the big boys come knocking?

*Sorry - put this in the wrong forum... not srue how to move it? Should have been in the "Official Thread" area*

[siread]

You can choose the team you race for in the 1st season but after that you will have to accept offers based on your performance.

There are no skills to build but there are 4 relationships to manage. You'll learn more when I put up a new beta later. :)

[siread]

New demo:
http://www.newstarsoccer.com/newstarforum/showthread.php?p=89147#post89147