NFS Shift

[Dom]

Could be a bit of fun, lets see if the physics are up to scratch on the pc version

http://www.virtualr.net/category/need-for-speed-shift/

[jeffareid]

Playstation 3 review, states that game isn't sim-oriented like "Forza", may not bode well for the PC version.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/102/1023568p1.html

[Dom]

Ah pity, I think it could be good with some mates. I want to see those grpahics in iRacing.

[EZeemering]

Could be fun with friends indeed. Been doing GT Prologue a bit lately. Tho it's a horrid sim it is good fun.

[jeffareid]

NFS Shift uses a variation of the gmotor2 engine. The tools used to modify Simbin games have been now modified for NFS Shift. Currently the mods are in a state of flux, since the .bff files contain numerous internal files, making it difficult to combine mods. On alternative is to use a command line parameter that uses the sub-files instead, but then you have to "unpack" the entire set of files for the game for this to work (which also slows down game startup).

There are discussions and/or links at RSC, LFS, nogripracing, virtualir, and xentax (not much at the official ea forums about this stuff yet).

Link to a mod that reduces or eliminates (two files in this zip) the in car blur at speed. Replacment file(s) for IGPHASEACTIVATE.bff. Using the "unpacker", I've confirmed that this only changes 2 paramters affecting cockpit blur in that file.

http://members.cox.net/savefiles/speed_dof_mod.zip

If nothing else, a lot of players are learning Nordschleife that have never seen it before, and some are pretty good at it. Wondering if there will be any "crossover" effect of NFS Shift players moving on to more sim-oriented type games.

Some of you guys here need to see how you compete with the faster NFS players. I don't know if NFS Shift is PC and/or controller senstitive. Fastest Nordschleife times I've read about are low 6:20's. I'm stuck around 6:36 with the works Z06. The grip level is 8.3% higher in "normal" mode than "pro" mode (multiplier of 1.3 versus 1.2), so the fast times are normally done in "normal" mode, and assist on or off depend on the car and track. ABS is always off. Traction control is off or low, and stability control helps on bouncy tracks. Road America times run around 1:53 (I'm 1:54 with Zonda R, 1:55 with works Z06). I ran a 1:10.580 at Willow Springs with the Zonda R, which is competitive so far.

I use two joysticks for gaming, left for throttle+brake, right for steer, and without the force feedback, I'm probably steering too much, resulting in some understeer (yes NFS Shift models this, but it's subtle compared to other sims). I have to memorize my inputs for the higher speed turns. Plus the cars seem to yaw a bit, probably due to my inputs not being smoothed out by the force feedback. May get a wheel again, but it's a pain to clamp onto my desk, since I have to remove the center drawer, and use a rag as filler to get the clamps to work.

[Dom]

Ive seen quite a few mods for it now Jeff, how many online though?

[jeffareid]

Originally Posted by Dom

Ive seen quite a few mods for it now Jeff, how many online though?

I don't know. I rarely play any game online anymore. I tried it before the patch was released, but only saw a few players online. The leaderboards are showing activity though.

I'm still trying to figure out car setups to see if anything has much effect on lap times. So far, zero downforce seems to help, since downforce doesn't seem to be improving cornering grip. Since there's no engine temperature, zero radiator opening should be best. Decreasing fast bump and increasing fast rebound seems to help with the bouncy cars.

I did make a 100% complete (all offline badges) savegame.

http://rcgldr.net/nfss/nfss.zip

[jeffareid]

I tried online again, not a lot of players online during USA evening, but the European players mention there are quite a few players online during their evening time.

There's also a world record site, hosted by some Russian group:

http://wrecord.com

Shift doesn't seem to be attracting many, if any, of the sim-oriented players, or at least I don't see any names I recognize on the leaderboards. The world record site just got started, so maybe some might show up there eventually. I'm a bit curious as to how well a good sim-oriented player would do against the traditional NFS players in NFS Shift, which is about halfway between the older NFS games and a true sim oriented game.

[Dom]

I have the game, but the steering is so 'odd', feels like a massive deadzone and linearity is messed up. Any idea when is the patch coming out?

[jeffareid]

Originally Posted by Dom

I have the game, but the steering is so 'odd', feels like a massive deadzone and linearity is messed up.

The default setup for wheels is a massive deadzone and non-linear. You need to change this in the options - gameplay - adjust control menu. I'm not sure if you can do this with the controller specific setups, or if you need to scroll to the right to get to the "generic wheel" setup. I set the deadzone to 0% and steering sensitivity to 50%, since my controller (two joysticks) software already includes a deadzone (I set that to 2%).

Any idea when is the patch coming out?

According to this graphics peformance review with the patch, late Novemember:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/...performance_iq

I forgot to mention that the world record site includes a cheat detect client that also has a telemetry feature, showing sector times and a map, although I haven't figured out how to use it to compare laps or if it can compare laps. It stores a history of your runs, allowign you to manually compare laps.

http://wrecord.com

[Dom]

I think i'll wait for the patch, its a bit frustrating, gfx and sounds are awesome however.