The online racing simulator
Quote from sil3ntwar :try reading my post next time

Lol, sorry.
Well, I'd read a whole heap of threads slagging it off before I got a chance to try it, so I knew I had to start my own engine, and the sound would be a bit ick.
So after a couple of false starts getting it to run ok (tip, set it to run fullscreen) I took the F1600 demo car for a few laps.
Physics wise it feels pretty good, the car demostrates predictable behaviour based on what you're doing with it. Much better than rFactor physics wise.
Kid's been taking too many of his LFS pills I think because it is in no way arcade nonsense.
Its very true that these days, serious physics engines are becoming so similar that there is no amazing revalation when it comes to the physics, but they are decent.
The rest of the package seems a bit of a let down though. It all lacks usability and is kind of frustrating to extract any fun from. It's so dedicatedly hardcore that half the time, its just pissing you off and making things hard for no obvious benefit.

I think one of the great things about LFS is that is has a perfect balance of accessibility and hardcore-ness.
dam, What is so special with this game?I looked it up and it looks like a Toca Race Driver 3 or Gran Turismo 4.
Quote from Rappa Z :dam, What is so special with this game?I looked it up and it looks like a Toca Race Driver 3 or Gran Turismo 4.

Toca and GT are buggy with difficult interfaces and reasonable driving physics? Someones got things a little backwards I reckon
Quote from Rappa Z :dam, What is so special with this game?I looked it up and it looks like a Toca Race Driver 3 or Gran Turismo 4.

nK Pro has similar hype but does actually have a physics engine although lacks a flashy menu illepall
Quote from Rappa Z :dam, What is so special with this game?I looked it up and it looks like a Toca Race Driver 3 or Gran Turismo 4.

2 words, Physics engine.......

Dan,
Shame the great physics engine is so poorly presented beneath all that crappy UI and other user related features. It is like being in two different worlds, where you have a crappy 'base' to try and figure out and learn what to deal with, then all of a sudden you have a pretty good game to drive later on.

From Netkar Namie to NkPro, it was 3 years, and that big step hasn't been all that pleasing like I thought it would. It seems like all these 'new' releases for games are getting more and more hype and hard hits from community reaction, people just expect way way more. That is why I am just so glad that LFS has a better approach to releasing their game. The game has already been released years ago, and it evolves every single year into a better and better product. The hype isn't extended over long periods of time, and it just keep going and going. It really holds its ground for when a new version/patch comes out, because you have something recent to base it off of, and it doesn't feel like an entirely new game that is so easily misjudged or missinterpreted. You KNOW what needs to be changed or done to LFS in the future everytime a new version comes out, and it helps the software evolve... God I love this tactic! Unlike sudden privateer and publisher releases that are put on the market as a single patch-less product, or with patches only coming to fix their obvious mistakes... but then later to release a newer game entirely. NkPro is at a slow start, and the pace and development plan has been set in stone for a while, Scawen has the simulation biz within his grasp
Quote :2 words, Physics engine.......

thnx. I never heard of this game until LFS so i wanted to see what it is.
GT4 i have but don't favor 'cause the views suck. I only have a demo of Toca and dam that game is shit.
more games should be released like lfs
Well, I guess I have the worst luck. Used all unlocks without getting anything done. Still say unlicensed. Everything in gui is made so hard. I haven't even been inside a car yet.

Still, after waiting till midninght for the release, noticing there is no special link nor manuals as promised and the game is buggy, more than my c++ coding exercises I am still willing to give an another go.

The thing that after emailing kunos about my problems (special characters in my name) he fixed them in 10 minutes. Twice.

Quote :I hope we can solve. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if it
doesn't work.

This makes me believe that there is hope.

I won't start bashing it yet.


Patience. My copy doesn't work at all.
You got it working yet? others seem to be having problems with W2K SP4 and Kunos has already said there will be a patch for the server pings issue (which apparantley are wrong).
I tried twice again and, no, it doesn't work. I'm using win XP home. All I can do now is play LFS
Quote from avih :it feels and looks very similar to namie 0.99. lack of polish with better graphics and colors doesn't make it polished.

I liked namie for the different "feel" it has, it's good driving experience, but i don't see any reason to shell money on this. namie has so many tracks, with a bit lesser graphics. but it's namie.

well overhyped imo.

ps,
and why the heck do i have to spend more than 5s to find out how to get out on the track???

In real life, you have to know how to start the car, it doesnt just start by magic. So in this game, which is trying to be realistic, you have to learn to start the car ... Apparently people here like realistic games, but still like it "arcade" enough for the magical engine to start itself illepall

Without these features (learning to start the car, flat spotting tyres and having to change them otherwise they're still flat spotted, pitboards, having to wait for repairs etc) this would be just another game ... at least they arent afraid to try new things
Quote :In real life, you have to know how to start the car, it doesnt just start by magic. So in this game, which is trying to be realistic, you have to learn to start the car ... Apparently people here like realistic games, but still like it "arcade" enough for the magical engine to start itself

IMO the problem with that wasn't that you had to use two switches, but the fact that there was nothing there to say which two switches to flick and in which order. If I hopped inside a reasonably expensive piece of race driving kit with a "new" starting mechanism I'd expect to be told how it works before hand in case I damage the ignition for example (illepall)
Somebody here who wants to buy my netKar PRO alotofbugs vers. 1.0?

You can save 10€. I want to sell it for 25€..

Crap game...illepall
Quote from L(Oo)ney :Fcuking hell mate, dont be afraid to say what you really feel. Let it all out before it eats away at you.

Btw, has the video posted above been speeded up? It looks like its running 10x faster then it should be..

Well thats our Kid isn't it.

I tryed slowing it down, its still looks a naff
Quote from VALE 46 :Without these features (learning to start the car, flat spotting tyres and having to change them otherwise they're still flat spotted, pitboards, having to wait for repairs etc) this would be just another game ... at least they arent afraid to try new things

I think this "ultra realism mode" goes a bit too far that it starts to affect the game's usability too much. Like if you want to change some setting the car setup more than one step it needs 5 minutes to do it. This is still supposed to be a game. illepall

On the other hand that kind of things could be great for leagues... but this is far from even being able to play on public servers at all.
You don't have to run in ultra realistic twidle your thumbs and wait mode.

Should there be pitboards in SP?
I tried the nK demo last night and, frankly, the physics and force feedback are excellent. Both are better than LFS, in my opinion. And that's saying something, because I don't think there's much that can even compare to LFS in these areas. We'll see how LFS compares after the physics patch. At that point I think both games will be on fairly level footing.

The sounds in nK are horrible by default. *IF* you can fiddle with the settings enough, and IF you have the right hardware, they can sound amazing though. There's a thread on the nK RSC forum about sound requests and one of the posted sounds is just fantastic. Kunos has said he'll put the other sound package back in for the first patch in a week or so. Personally, i think he should stick with what he's got and just make it work a little better on a wider variety of systems. Debugging and developing two different sound systems is just asking for problems.

The "Full Mode" shows real promise, especially for league play. It's going to totally change the way sims are handled when damage and tire changes take place in real time, or when your tires are flatspotted and you don't have any spares left.

The suspension damage model seems pretty good, though engine damage doesn't seem to be in. I wasn't able to blow my engine, even going from fourth to first.

Aside from the physics and force feedback - the rest of the game needs a lot of work. The UI is horrible and there are tons and tons of bugs - many of them showstoppers that CTD or freeze the game completely. Not having a tach, speedo, or gear indicator in the demo is just ludicrous. Also, the clickable cockpits are high on 'cool factor' but low on usability. The way that button/key mapping is handled needs to be rethought and every function needs to be assignable.

Overall, this sim shows real promise. If Kunos can manage to fix the bugs, make the sound system work as well on a Sound Blaster as it does on an Audigy, and fix the key/button assignments, he'll have a hit on his hands. As it stands now, I'll be waiting for the first patch at minimum. More likely, I'll be waiting for the first user-made Tin-top since three open wheelers just doesn't do it for me.
So game that wants to be the "Professional online racing simulation" totally fails the online part? And the demo doesnt really impress me much, the LCD display doesnt work (demo feature?). Options arent user friendly, totally crap, "stick up/down" and these boxes turning to red WTF? After you did figure out the start button in cockpit and get on the track it isnt that bad actually, car feels ok and there are all kind of vibrations on the wheel wich isnt that bad. But I wouldnt buy this, atleast in its current state, all these litle crappy things like the missing rev and speedometer and unfriendlyness towards user just puts me off. And this is suppose to be online racing simulation, and "professional" one and you cant test it in the demo? Its early to judge but LFS just beats this with variety off cars and tracks and even with SOUNDS! Maybe the only thing which was good was the damage, but because nKp (silly writing) only has these singe seater boxes it must be much easier to make.

It has potential, but this was a dissapointment

Im sorry we even thought nK would be compared to LFS

:bowdown: :lfs:
Finally I got my copy running!

So far I'm adequatly happy with what I have seen. No comments for the physics yet, driven only about 10 laps...

What I like:
- Customer service. Even though it took about a day to get it running I'm very happily surprized how quickly Kunos replied to my emails and gave more unlocks. Defenately a big +.
- starting the car. In the beginning it was a mystery but knowing that there may be some "hidden" buttons it was actually a 20 second task for me. Me likes! Didn't need to check from the manual.
- stalling the car. Oh yes, this is what I have wanted to see!
- No stupid tire wear/tire temp/damage huds! After I hear strange noises I can't check from some menu if the car is broken.

What I don't like:
- gui
- controller setup. This was actually pretty easy, because I didn't even try to use the control panel inside nkpro, I just edited the ini files Took about minute
- steering lag is heavily fps dependant. I have to use 1024x800 on my AMD64 3500 + Gef7800GT to get it bearable. But it's nothing major, just annoys on the faster cars.
- Bugs. Can't load setups. Sound jumpiness sometimes, though it works ok on my comp. Gonna try multiplayer tonight just to check if it works at all.

All in all, more like an pre-pre-alpha release if comparing to bulletproof LFS. Another week or two wouldn't have hurt.
Quote from ajp71 :You don't have to run in ultra realistic twidle your thumbs and wait mode.

I'm sure I wasn't in the "FullMode" but it still needed 5 mins to to some certain changes in setup.

Quote from Cue-Ball :The "Full Mode" shows real promise, especially for league play. It's going to totally change the way sims are handled when damage and tire changes take place in real time, or when your tires are flatspotted and you don't have any spares left.

Start dreaming about league playing after this is playable on public servers.

Quote from Blackout :So game that wants to be the "Professional online racing simulation" totally fails the online part? And the demo doesnt really impress me much, the LCD display doesnt work (demo feature?). Options arent user friendly, totally crap, "stick up/down" and these boxes turning to red WTF? After you did figure out the start button in cockpit and get on the track it isnt that bad actually, car feels ok and there are all kind of vibrations on the wheel wich isnt that bad. But I wouldnt buy this, atleast in its current state, all these litle crappy things like the missing rev and speedometer and unfriendlyness towards user just puts me off. And this is suppose to be online racing simulation, and "professional" one and you cant test it in the demo? Its early to judge but
LFS just beats this with variety off cars and tracks and even with SOUNDS! Maybe the only thing which was good was the damage, but because nKp (silly writing) only has these singe seater boxes it must be much easier to make.

There was a way to get LCD in the demo, I think you had to watch a replay and then somehow get to get car in the replay.
Quote from deggis :I'm sure I wasn't in the "FullMode" but it still needed 5 mins to to some certain changes in setup.

Check this is unticked, if your talking about online then it would depend on server options.

Quote :
There was a way to get LCD in the demo, I think you had to watch a replay and then somehow get to get car in the replay.

I think you have to press R, R, F3, F3 in replay I never tried it in demo mode though.
Attached images
fullmode.png
Quote from ajp71 :Check this is unticked, if your talking about online then it would depend on server options.

It was unticked and I was in trackday mode.

Fixing the car didn't need 10 mins to do... weird.

NetKar Pro [v1.3 released]
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