Ridge Racer Unbounded $9 at Amazon (steam activated) WHEELS NOT SUPPORTED

[BadMouth]

http://www.amazon.com/RIDGE-RACER-Unbounded-Online-Game/dp/B00BM7JK6K/ref=dsvbl_item_2

Or bundled with 2 other games for $15

•Ace Combat: Assault Horizon
•MUD - FIM Motorcross World Championship
•Ridge Racer Unbounded

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BR0Q0II?t=slicinc-20&tag=slicinc-20&ascsubtag=n2viHo2MEeKdAh7tkVD5SgRH91_YH9U3_mIM_0_0

I think I'm going to cave and let my next driving cab have an internet connection.

I got some fairly recent driving games at Ollies Bargain Outlet recently if you have one of those near you.
Split Second, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit & Shift 2, for $3-$8 each.  Haven't even installed them yet.
They also had some sim racers that I already had.

[Fursphere]

Thanks for the heads up on the deal.  Its one I've been thinking about buying.

Steam can be run in "offline" mode - works pretty good.

[Generic Eric]

Wow! $29.99 on steam.

[isamu]

Not surprised at the price. 

This is an abomination and an insult to the Ridge Racer name/legacy.

The day Namco announces an In-house developed home grown Ridge Racer game for PC  with true RR gameplay/drifting, online mp and force feedback wheel support is the day I turn cartwheels down the street.

[Fursphere]

Not surprised at the price. 

This is an abomination and an insult to the Ridge Racer name/legacy.

The day Namco announces an In-house developed home grown Ridge Racer game for PC  with true RR gameplay/drifting, online mp and force feedback wheel support is the day I turn cartwheels down the street.

Funny - I grew up playing RR 1 on the original Playstation (I think I was about 13 when it came out?). I only recently played the arcade version (via MAME) and was like "that's it?"   The Playstation version had quite a bit more to do.  I my eyes the arcade version is a disappointment compared to the Playstation offering.

I've only played the Unbounded for a couple of minutes so far, but it doesn't seem bad.

[Howard_Casto]

If ridge racer had a legacy worth upholding maybe. 

I always thought the Namco racers were poor man's sega racers but that's just imho. 

The Mario kart arcade games would be the exception of course, but they had Nintendo breathing down their necks to get it perfect. 


Don't get me wrong, they are fun, but they aren't exactly masterpieces. 

[BadMouth]

I bought it, but haven't even downloaded it yet.  Previews look like they just slapped the RR brand on GRID.  Gotta be worth $9.

The crazy 90's techno music and the easy drifting is what I like about Ridge Racer.  It's easy to drive, but still hard to master.

[isamu]

If ridge racer had a legacy worth upholding maybe. 

I always thought the Namco racers were poor man's sega racers but that's just imho. 

The Mario kart arcade games would be the exception of course, but they had Nintendo breathing down their necks to get it perfect. 


Don't get me wrong, they are fun, but they aren't exactly masterpieces.

I acknowledge that some people do indeed feel this way. But you would have to be a die hard/hard core Ridge Racer fan to really grasp the appreciation we have for this series.

No they're not masterpieces per se, but there's a certain amount of charm to the game's simplicity and once you find yourself in-tune with the drifting mechanics you'll start to feel an addiction to the games that you never thought you would. I am speaking mainly about the first seven RR games, and not counting Unbounded or even the Nintendo iterations.

RR for PSP in particular, is by far my favorite racing game on a handheld system and it's not even close. The amount of content and tracks in that game is amazing. I've put no less than 400hrs into it. Ridge Racer 7 for PS3 is also sublime, for very different reasons among them being the introduction of the reverse charge nos system, which most casuals write off as a gimmick. But that's a whole 'nother discussion.

[BadMouth]

Finally got around to messing with this (all of ten minutes).
It does not support any controllers other than the keyboard and xbox360 controller. 

A driving game that supports no wheels, none, not even the G27?

There are workarounds to get a wheel show up as an xbox controller, but then you still don't have proper ffb.
Not worth buying unless you plan to play it with an xbox360 controller. 

[Brian74]

Sorry badmouth, I should have given you a heads up about ni wheel or ffb support. I have it for the PS3 too, same thing.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

[Fursphere]

I want my $9 back.     

[isamu]

I warned you guys :

[isamu]

Keeping with the Ridge Racer theme, I feel like I could Rave Racer forever.

There's just something sublime about the handling in this game, as opposed to all the other games in the Ridge series. The way the car goes from  hugging the track to drifting tightly through a corner is nothing short of orgasmic. It's a far cry from the way cars handle in Ridge Racer V for the PS2, which I've also been playing a lot.

I don't know what happened but I used to think the car physics in RRV was pretty good. But now it just feels sloppy for some reason. I mean there is some sort of terrible input lag or deadzone or *something* that's killing the feeling for me. The cars in RRV just don't feel as nimble and responsive as the ones in Rave Racer arcade do.

I feel like I could play Rave Racer all day with these excellent car physics. Pressing the brake pedal to initiate a drift was something I wasn't really accustomed to at first, but it feels so good doing it now. You can really pull off some amazing slides with the correct driving line as you approach the corner. The City track in particular should go down as one of the greatest tracks in video game history. It's just flawless.

Oh and the narration from the guy/girl duo during the race is hall of fame worthy! Go go GOOOOOOOO this race is yerzzzz! :

Amazing amazing game. The day Howard eventually gets ffb in Namco games via Mame Hooker is the day I die and go to heaven.

[isamu]

[BadMouth]

I'll have to give Rage Racer more playing time.  I settled into RR2 for some reason.  Probably a music preference.
Also been playing them on Viva Nonno, so the handling might be night and day between that and MAME.

I think the handling is screwed up on console games because they were designed for joystick play.
Even with that, RR Unbounded doesn't even seem optimized for the xbox controller even though it's the only controller it supports.
It's got a fairly big deadzone and I find myself tapping in each direction with the analog stick.....so it's not much better than playing with a keyboard.

[isamu]

I'll have to give Rage Racer more playing time.  I settled into RR2 for some reason.  Probably a music preference.
Also been playing them on Viva Nonno, so the handling might be night and day between that and MAME.

RR2 has pretty good tunes. The game itself is good but it's more of a RR 1.5 than a true sequel. To me Rave should have been labeled as Ridge Racer 2, as it's much in line with what a true Ridge successor should be.

As for Viva Nonno, Y'know that may in fact be plausible. I haven't fired up Viva in ages but I'll do so later on today just for spits and giggles. Still a bit bitter over the author abandoning it like that but at least we got to play the games many years ago and the emu was ahead of its time. I just wish he'd release the source code or something, that way perhaps Howard could take the reigns as the new dev and put some FFB in that sucker!

I think the handling is screwed up on console games because they were designed for joystick play.

It depends on which console game you're referring to. The earlier RR PS1 and PS2 games have sweet analog steering since they were designed with the NeGcon/JoGcon in mind. I used to play Rage Racer for PS1 until I was blue in the face with a steering wheel and remember thinking to myself "Geezuz Kreiss....the car handling and drifting in this game is BONKERZ!" I then proceeded to play Type 4 and the drifting felt a bit too on rails. RRV with a wheel(that used the guts of a NeGcon controller) was excellent back then as well.

I think the reason RRV is feeling a bit sloppy at the moment is due to the fact that I'm playing it on the PCSX2 emulator. The emulator is making the game think I'm using a PS2 DualShock wheel when in fact I'm using my wheel via that xinput.dll file my bro gave me. So I think trying to steer properly with the wheel when the game thinks your using an analog stick is culprit of this issue.

Oh well back to playing some more.

[isamu]

Oh God just kill me NOW!



Reactions:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=538482

Namco just need to be shot and their headquarters burned to the ground for announcing this abomination.

Oh Namco, what have you done to my beloved franchise?

[Fursphere]

If its free to play you can't really ---smurfette---.   Unless it lacks wheel support like Unbounded.

Really, Unbounded doesn't seem like a bad game for what it is.  But since it lacks wheel support - I don't' even bother with it.

[BadMouth]

Currently trendy dubstep music has a lot in common with the 90's techno in the original games.
Combine that with the original gameplay and I think they'd have a hit game.

.....or they could just slap the Ridge Racer name on an already existing generic engine.


I do have to give props to whoever designed the cars in Unbounded. 
It's a shame to see their talents wasted on a game with uninspired gameplay.

I really don't think the people making the game know anything about the gameplay other than that the cars are supposed to drift.
It needs to have crazy unrealistic cinematic drifts (without a cut scene) that are slightly too easy and leave the player feeling empowered.

Drifting properly to make it around a turn shouldn't be the challenge as it is with sim racers.
That part should be easy (too easy).  Very rarely are you fighting the track itself in the original games.
The challenge should come from trying to take better lines than the competition.

[isamu]

I really don't think the people making the game know anything about the gameplay other than that the cars are supposed to drift.
It needs to have crazy unrealistic cinematic drifts (without a cut scene) that are slightly too easy and leave the player feeling empowered.

Drifting properly to make it around a turn shouldn't be the challenge as it is with sim racers.
That part should be easy (too easy).  Very rarely are you fighting the track itself in the original games.
The challenge should come from trying to take better lines than the competition.

+1

[Howard_Casto]

There is a disturbing trend to turn all racers into sims, and it worries me.  It reminds me of the mid 90's when all fighting games decided they needed to add needlessly complex combos and that genre has never really recovered. 

It's really hard to find a true arcade racer anymore. 

[Fursphere]

There is a disturbing trend to turn all racers into sims, and it worries me.  It reminds me of the mid 90's when all fighting games decided they needed to add needlessly complex combos and that genre has never really recovered. 

It's really hard to find a true arcade racer anymore. 

So in your own words, define what an arcade racer is.   

To me, NFS Hot Pursuit and "The Run" qualify as arcade style racers.  And they're pretty new.

[Howard_Casto]

Any game where the drifting is required and more complex than Mario kart has went a little too far into sim territory.  I consider NFS an arcade racer, but having a single series carry the whole genre isn't exactly healthy.  If you don't care for NFS you are screwed as there isn't much else out there.  I'm kind of "meh" on the franchise, but then again I haven't picked one up in a good 5-6 years.   

[Fursphere]

Gotcha.

Speaking of which...  another on bites the dust...   http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/12/atari-closes-eden-games/

[isamu]

Gotcha.

Speaking of which...  another on bites the dust...   http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/12/atari-closes-eden-games/

Dang, that's crazy.

Not too surprised as the second game sold like ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

Anyway I think what Howard is trying to say is that there are no true PURE arcade racers in the vein of Daytona USA and Super GT anymore. The western devs simply don't "get it". If it's an arcade game these days it must have some sort of cop chases, destruction of buildings, or banana peel type attacks. It's why I still have SOME faith in Codemasters. GRID 2 looks very good and is a PURE arcade racer without all the gimmicks mentioned above. That and 90's Arcade racer should keep me pleased throughout 2013 as far as new games go.

I will say this.... if you really REALLY have a craving for true 100% unadulterated online racing that keeps you on the edge of your seat against clean drivers, then nothing beats iRacing, even though yes, it is a racing sim.

[Howard_Casto]

I think the 90's racer is going to be awesome, but then again it's going to get real out real fast.  I think it only has 3 tracks. 

Gimmicks are ok imho, but the focus needs to be having fun driving around, it seems like all the racing games today try to copy The Fast N' The Furious, which is ironic considering how old and outdated that film franchise is.  I don't care about drifting,  or heavily modified rice burners, or racing through a city (which I can't begin to explain how stupid of a concept that is... cities are specifically designed so you CAN'T go fast through the streets).... I just want blue skies and a bunch of fun courses to race on. 

[BadMouth]

90's arcade racer is up to 5 tracks, each with day and night versions.  Hopefully we'll also get to run them in reverse.

Sent using Board Express

[Howard_Casto]

Well that's certainly good news. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I really hope this game is opened up for modding.  The engine looks great and I could dust off my "skillz" from my quake modding days and make some more tracks. 

[BadMouth]

Well that's certainly good news. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I really hope this game is opened up for modding.  The engine looks great and I could dust off my "skillz" from my quake modding days and make some more tracks.

The game was built using Unity.  It's over my head, but if you want a project for next winter:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#/content/10

If you wanted to do a simple driving game, you could build an updated version of Desert Bus! 

[isamu]

Well that's certainly good news. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I really hope this game is opened up for modding.  The engine looks great and I could dust off my "skillz" from my quake modding days and make some more tracks.

Adding additional custom tracks to a game like 90's racer would be SWEET! Especially from someone like yourself who is already familiar with what it takes to make a good arcade racing track. However, if the game is somewhat successful Pelikan13 will probably add a few extra ones anyway. Future looks bright for this game!

Don't let any of these sidetrack the Outrun2k6 project though 

[Howard_Casto]

Unity is the engine I've already been looking into on my own.  There's very little programming involved, it's mostly a lot of level editing and asset creation with a little bit of scripting thrown in for good measure. 

As you noticed from the tutorial, the amount of assets needed to make even a modest level is staggering.  I think as a community we could make something, but starting from scratch, it would be a massive undertaking for a single individual. 

On the desert bus front I've always wanted to do an endless racer, so it isn't as silly an idea as it sounds.  A scripting system would be needed to randomly deform the road and put objects in the area, but as a concept it would be pretty fun to make something where you can drive for hours on end, as long as it isn't one long straight road. 

[Fursphere]

Just a quick note.

I got this game (steam version) working with my Logitech G27 this morning using the x360ce setup.  I need to tweak it more, and then get the wheelauto centering stuff working with the Logitech profiler.

But....   it works just fine.

If you need help doing it yourself, just ask.

And using x360ce - any game that supports a gamepad (xinput / xbox 360 controller) but NOT the wheel - I bet I can get it working using thie method.

Pinnacle Game Profiler - http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/ - looks like it can some very similar things, but its payware ($25) and actually crashed on me a few times.

[Warborg]

Ridge Racer Unbounded Bundle was on sale last night on Steam for $8.99 so I picked it up...  I played for a little while this morning, and I gotta say I didn't much care for it...  For me it wasn't so much about racing but was more "Car Wars"...  I think I'll still to the NFS franchise, or Dirt, etc...

[Fursphere]

Ya, its more like Mario Kart (or Blur I guess?).

I haven't played it much - I just wouldn't expect that my steering wheel wouldn't work with it. 

[isamu]

Just a quick note.

I got this game (steam version) working with my Logitech G27 this morning using the x360ce setup.  I need to tweak it more, and then get the wheelauto centering stuff working with the Logitech profiler.

But....   it works just fine.

If you need help doing it yourself, just ask.

And using x360ce - any game that supports a gamepad (xinput / xbox 360 controller) but NOT the wheel - I bet I can get it working using thie method.

Pinnacle Game Profiler - http://pinnaclegameprofiler.com/ - looks like it can some very similar things, but its payware ($25) and actually crashed on me a few times.

x360ce is a wonderful program! I don't use the standard version that you're using so may I ask, do you get any rumble or ffb in the game on the version you're using? My version was custom written by Racer_S a few years ago, simply because the normal version by Tapico didn't support rumble or ffb at that time.

[Fursphere]

The "front end" that basically programs the .INI file for you sees the FFB properties of the wheel.  So I'd assume its just a mapper of mapping the current rumble calls to the wheel's rumble calls.   I haven't messed with it that much.

That Pinnacle program might do it too, but I'm not paying $25 for it.

[isamu]

The "front end" that basically programs the .INI file for you sees the FFB properties of the wheel.  So I'd assume its just a mapper of mapping the current rumble calls to the wheel's rumble calls.   I haven't messed with it that much.

That Pinnacle program might do it too, but I'm not paying $25 for it.

I remember using Pinnacle years ago and it crashed a alot. Maybe this vergin is more stable. I'll see if I can give it a try. If it does what x360ce does but better than that will be interesting.