The game isn't really playable in mame, the controls are crap due to that oddball steering wheel it used.
Even if it was working properly it's still Hard Drivin' so it still kinda sucks.
Oddball Wheel? Are u nuts?!
Hard Drivin / Race Drivin Sitdowns have the most realistic controls for a Driving game ever created PERIOD.
Everything that it had way back then, are things that the Sim Crowd is still having trouble getting their hands on for less than the $3000.
1) Race Drivins Force Feedback at Max level, could probably spin a small child like a rotisserie chicken. Its a massive motor, about 7" diameter, and weighs like 50#. Nothing else comes even close. Its not just powerful, but also smooth and accurate. No gears or slipping belts. Its Direct drive, and will outlast all other FFB devices by well over 50yrs. (with exception to replacing the motor brushes, which is easy and standard). Ive never seen one broken.
3) RDs wheel has a more true 6 wheel rotation. It does so using a thick metal worm drive that has end stops on it. It uses a 10-Turn pot for accurate positional data. The most recent SimRacer wheel that Id looked up, has a similar design, but its far less durable, and costs about $2000.
4) RDs wheel is huge. Standard game wheels, and even Sim wheels, are much smaller than typical car wheels. Most are plastic as well.. and just feel wrong.
5) RDs Pedals are again, a revolution in the industry. They were, as far as I know, the first to install vertically hung pedals in an arcade machine. Each pedal has a different spring mechanism, for a custom feel.
5a) The Brake, has a rubber compression part.. and gives additive resistance the further you press. The brake also used an actual pressure sensor, instead of a geared Pot... which is unheard of. As far as Id read recently... Sim fans are dying to get their mitts on true pressure sensors for their brakes. Theres some that exists, and they again, are very expensive. But the feel and precision, is what its all about.
5b) The entire pedal assy weighs about 20lbs. Again, robust. Heavy duty, and made to last forever.
5c) The gas pedal is smooth as silk, with no odd spring or creaking noises. The springs themselves, are very large and strong... and are pivoted in such a way to give the proper leverage for that wonderfully smooth control.
6) The Sitdown Shifter, is probably the best Arcade shifter ever assembled. In fact, I doubt any shifter for Sims compares to it. Unlike most shifters which use switches.. this uses dual pots. Switches fail a lot more quickly than pots, as well as create a lot of mechanical challenges for an assembly like this. Theres no clickity click, nor odd resistance, from Microswitches here. Even Optos fail more often than Pots.
The shifter has a perfect hand fitting wooden balltop, and a real shifter boot. The shifter has a special spring mechanism, that makes helps snap the shifter into and out of gear. The tension level is perfect. The shifter shaft, is fairly thin, which is much nicer than many other shifters... as thicker shafts tend to create tension in-between the fingers, due to you needing to spread them much further apart.
Additionally, the game features a function which can fire a solenoid off inside the shifter assembly, so that you cant just change gears without the clutch. Most Ops have turned this feature off... but for the experienced, is a nice added bit of realism. They sparred no expense on this majorly awesome assembly. Its also a heavy beast. Much heavier than the Pedal set, due to a near quarter inch steel housing. This thing will only require a Pot change once every +10yrs or so.
7) It was the only game I know of, that used a high power Magnet to keep the seat locked in place. You could use a seat-adjust button, to change it at any time. The magnet is under the seat assys floorboards. Theres a huge metal plate under it that it sticks to when charged. Unlike most racers, which have set distance seats, or have a rough spring loaded seat adjuster.. this method is butter smooth, even if its a bit over the top.
RD also features a near fully enclosure, which helps add to the experience. Turning your full attention to the game.
9) RD is one of the very few racers in which you actually NEED to use the brake... or you will fly off the cliff. Most racers, you can just let off the gas. Thats not enough for this game.
10) RD's physics were created by a guy who specializes in automotive / racing physics. Everything is considered, from air pressure in the tires, mass of the car, and much more. One time I actually landed on a single tire, which caused an actual spin from one tire to the next, as my car was literally doing a diagonal angle, flat rotational spin.
No other racer did this level of simulation before.. and only later, by Atari themselves, would create spinnoffs like SanFrancisco Rush. However, the controllers on that game were very generic.. and couldnt even come close to creating as good of an experience. Better graphics, cool secrets, and fun airtime.. but the game felt lacking because of the reduction in controls and inferior force feedback.
Daytona USA was probably the closest thing.. and I Loved that game.. but it still felt like a game.. where as RD was like an actual drive. A real experience.
11) RD was also one of the only (?) arcade games that required an actual Key turn to start the engine. I think that says a lot about the level of realism and quality in this design.
12) Ive heard special version of this game was being tested or used at the DMV, for tests leading up to getting their actual License to drive.
13) The game has ability to have (I believe), unlimited number of monitors. Ive seen a set up with 5 monitors. I was told, that each monitor can have its own perspective.
14) One version of the game had an extra stock car track, where you could race a linked player for a set number of laps. I think in this mode, a game could last 20min? My memory is a little fuzzy.
Although the graphics do not hold up, obviously.. What makes the game amazing, was how realistic the force feeback was... as well as the controller feel and precision. The physics also made this much more than its graphical look.
These things combined, supercede the visuals. Its also more fun to play than Rush, as a result.
As many of your will not have these controllers, (can a true 10-turn pot even be hooked up to a pc?) you are of course missing out of the best part of the game.
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Topic: BYOAC Racing Competition #3 - Hard Drivin' - Stunt Track:WINNER-TacticalChaos (Read 9713 times)
