Ridge Racer 3DS

[Tankshell]

As far as I know, these are the news ones -

Redstone Thunder Road. I'm convinced this is based on an old track but with a new look and a slightly different layout in one part. I just haven't bothered to get out the PSP version yet to find which track.
Silver Mountain Skyway. Someone else said this was reskinned from RR7 but I don't remember the layout from RR7 at all.
Oceanfront Cruise Way.

And I think that's it. Now I don't own RR6 but have played it so if one of these is from RR6 and I have forgotten, feel free to correct me. I don't recognise Midtown Parkway all that much either but I think I remember it from RR6. Not 100% sure though.

Redstone Thunder Road - I thought this was from the N64 version of Ridge? (there is defo a desert/canyon track shown in this youtube vid as he scrolls through the list: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX_KQ...eature=related)

Silver Mountain Skyway - Thought I recognised this as the Highlands track from RR7 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUk6c...eature=related) but on watching that track I don't think it actually is... but it still feels familiar!

Oceanfront Cruise Way - Can't place this track, but I distinctly remember an underwater tunnel section in one of the tracks from either RR6 or RR7 once again... but I might be wrong.

Anyway, still love the game!

T

[dvdx2]

Persevered, and defeated.

100% complete after 22 hours 54 minutes.

excellent m8

can i ask you when/if more music discs become available?

[Silvergun X]

excellent m8

can i ask you when/if more music discs become available?

->Open Spoiler<-

You unlock the SP Disc during the Expert GP once you've beaten the Pac Man car.

[Tankshell]

->Open Spoiler<-

You unlock the SP Disc during the Expert GP once you've beaten the Pac Man car.

->Open Spoiler<-

What is the SP Disc?

[Neon Ignition]

I really am loving this, I'm really early on still (Grand Prix 09) and I've only just had a race where I didn't come 1st on the first go which I think was due to rushing as I was almost at my bus stop so it's definately got an easy lead in but that's allowed it to make a much more enjoyable start than any racer that's come out in the last 12 months. I'm loving the almost Sega arcade vibe this installment has and even though there's only 15 courses they've stacked them out to create a lengthy single player which is nice given how bite size many of the 3DS launch titles are. It's very close to taken the crown for best launch title for me and I think I'll be there whenever Ridge Racer VIII hits.

[Dogg Thang]

So, the rubber banding...

Here's what I realised - in the Expert GP, and it may be the same for the others and I just didn't notice, nitrous is pointless. An enemy will match your speed exactly even if you let rip with the nitrous. It only adds more risk as it gets a little trickier to control, so there really isn't anything to gain. But similarly, if you are side by side with an enemy and they use nitrous, they don't seem to get any actual speed boost. You can stay level with them without using nitrous at all.

From what I can tell, however, slipstreaming does have an effect and can be very useful for passing cars.

The most amusing instances of rubber banding have come when I really mess up. I could be struggling to keep up with a car, it's neck and neck, then I slam into a wall, bounce several times and lose all my speed. And yet there's the enemy car right in front of me as if they were waiting for me, which is nice of them.

I don't mind rubber banding and I buy into the reason for it, but I do find myself wishing it wasn't so obvious.

[Silvergun X]

So, the rubber banding...

Here's what I realised - in the Expert GP, and it may be the same for the others and I just didn't notice, nitrous is pointless. An enemy will match your speed exactly even if you let rip with the nitrous. It only adds more risk as it gets a little trickier to control, so there really isn't anything to gain. But similarly, if you are side by side with an enemy and they use nitrous, they don't seem to get any actual speed boost. You can stay level with them without using nitrous at all.

From what I can tell, however, slipstreaming does have an effect and can be very useful for passing cars.

The most amusing instances of rubber banding have come when I really mess up. I could be struggling to keep up with a car, it's neck and neck, then I slam into a wall, bounce several times and lose all my speed. And yet there's the enemy car right in front of me as if they were waiting for me, which is nice of them.

I don't mind rubber banding and I buy into the reason for it, but I do find myself wishing it wasn't so obvious.

Yup. Spot on.

All the Expert GP races I won by not using any nitrous at all until the very final straight or final corner.

[Neon Ignition]

I've been playing this quite regularly and due to the length of the GP mode and the repetition I don't see myself finishing it but I really have enjoyed this a lot. I think I'll stick with it and trade it in for Portal 2 giving the 3DS a rest till Zelda hits. My pick of the launch games.

[rmoxon]

Yeah, I buy all these Ridge Racer games and Ive never completed a single one, they do drag on a bit.

As I think I previously mentioned in this thread It would be nice if you could skip the begginer GP's all together, maybe they could implement that feature in the next game as they are a chore for people whove played the series alot, but Im not holding my breathe.

[Party boy]

I think you mean breath! But yeah, I'm much the same with Ridge Racer, I think I kinda completd 7 and 7, but didn't do everything, same with Ridge Racer on PSP.

[rmoxon]

I think you mean breath!

No, I meant im not currently holding the latest copy of Breathe, the worlds most popular magazine about breathwork.

http://www.breathe-mag.co.uk/

[Dogg Thang]

Just completed the final race in the Expert GP. I took no pleasure in it whatsoever. The only time where what I did actually mattered in the race was on that final corner where, if I buggered up, it would cost me the race. I could bugger up anywhere else and it wouldn't matter. And, even not messing up on the final corner, it was an AI game of chance more than anything else - when I approached the finish line, was it a time the game was going to decide I moved faster than the enemies or when it would decide they moved faster than me. Because that's what it came down to. The game just decides at certain points to up or down speed as it sees fit. I got lucky. The car in front slowed down to let me pass just as I crossed the finish line.

But I could take no satisfaction in that.

A bit disappointing really. I feel like I want to actually be allowed compete and that's not what's happening here. Oh well. Some really nice tracks and overall a very well made game. But the rubber banding sucks ass.

[Dogg Thang]

Convinced that the Red Thunder Road track was based on the layout of an old track, I booted up RR PSP to see which one it was. The one I was thinking of was the mountain track from Rave - Greenpeak Highlands. But, while it does share some similarities in its basic shape, so I could see why it felt familiar, it's not the same.

But, man, I didn't do RR 3DS any favours by going back to the PSP version. While the colours are dull by comparison (I do like the bright colours of the 3DS version), the frame rate is so much better on the PSP version, the textures seem much higher, especially on the cars which look much better on PSP. The general effects seem better with nice lighting effects on the cars and tracks, effects which seem baked on for the tracks on the 3DS while the cars have this weird pixel reflection effect. And, generally, the PSP version looks smoother with either AA or just better textures making it all come together nicely whereas, by comparison, the 3DS version is incredibly jaggy and textures sort of have this old noise look as they get smaller and the renderer has to just choose one pixel over another - all or nothing. And all this on a six year old game.

I really shouldn't have done a direct comparison but it did leave me wondering, when the 3DS is being sold on effectively what is a visual feature (the 3D), if the 3DS is way underpowered compared to where it should be six years after the PSP. And, yes, when your main selling feature is a visual one, graphics do matter.

[gizmo1990]

Interesting to read that comparison. I too have wondered why the why the car textures are so low res, they really are appalling. I thought system ram might be an issue but afaik the 3ds has more than the psp doesn't it?

I'm still really enjoying the game though. The 3d might simply be an effect but it's certainly something that adds greatly to the racing experience.

[Dogg Thang]

Oh definitely. I don't mean to discount the 3D. I love the 3D and it works great on RR.