Test Drive Unlimited: PC Version

[ArchAngel777]

I opened up my email today with a pleasent surprise. Atari introduced their digital download for this game before it comes out in the stores. I am download it right now at about 1200Kbytes/second. I should have the entire 3.5gb in less than 1 hour.

I have been waiting for this game for ages... Funny that the AT forums don't even have a single thread about it! This game and S.T.A.L.K.E.R are about the only thing I was looking forward to this spring! I'll let you all know what I think of it once I get home and get it installed.

 

[NYHoustonman]

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm a sim racer, I love games like GTL... but FOREVER my dream game has been one where you can drive street cars (this has the McLaren F1? Perfect. Enzo? OMG. SLR McLaren? Viper? 300C? Virtually EVERY car that I, as a car enthusiast, am pumped about?) around actual streets, rather than just race tracks.

Downloading it as we speak, although for some reason it's not going particularly quickly right now - probably lotsa people downloading it.

I've heard that the digital download version of the game crashes when you try to start a race, so hopefully that's fixed, but I am pumped about playing this game . Honestly, it almost rivals my excitement over finally playing Half-Life 2.

 

[40sTheme]

Is there a demo?

 

[NYHoustonman]

Not yet, otherwise I'd probably have grabbed that and waited for retail. Probably.

Download is down to 70KB/S now >.>

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: NYHoustonman
I'm in the same boat as you. I'm a sim racer, I love games like GTL... but FOREVER my dream game has been one where you can drive street cars (this has the McLaren F1? Perfect. Enzo? OMG. SLR McLaren? Viper? 300C? Virtually EVERY car that I, as a car enthusiast, am pumped about?) around actual streets, rather than just race tracks.

Downloading it as we speak, although for some reason it's not going particularly quickly right now - probably lotsa people downloading it.

I've heard that the digital download version of the game crashes when you try to start a race, so hopefully that's fixed, but I am pumped about playing this game . Honestly, it almost rivals my excitement over finally playing Half-Life 2.

You are gonna love it! I just got done playing it for 4 hours straight... Wow, the scenery... Totally awesome! Crap, now I have to get up for work. Me and my wife went there for our honeymoon 2 years ago and it looks just like it! I had my wife grab a seat next to my computer as I drove around the island is *our* Ferrari 430 Spider! Gawd, I love that car... The only thing I need now is the IR tracker thingy... Since you can look around... Waoh, I am so pumped about this game.

However, it is not without bugs... There are a few odd quirks here and there. Performance is perfectly smooth with my rig at 4XAA/16XAF @ 1280 X 768.

NY, maybe we can catch up online sometime and just free ride!

Edit ** BTW - the Island is huuuuuge... You would think this game was small since it is one of the smallest islands of HI, but there is plenty of road. I was cooking at around 130 - 160mph and it took me about 20 minutes to go form one end of the island to the other, it was almost too much for me to handle. I am satisfied with the force feedback and is really "strong" which is good. A lot of games make it feel like a limp wrist. Again, the island is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. Have fun!

Edit 2 ** This looks much better than the 360 version, not just because of the AA, but the textures look better, more clear. Overall the game is much clearner than the 360, for that I am happy. This wasn't just a shatty port.

 

[NYHoustonman]

Probably should have seen this coming, the game crashes instantly when I try to run it >.>
Guess I have some troubleshooting to do tomorrow .

One question, though... with your install, is there a folder called "Euro" under the main game folder? Wanna make sure I didn't accidentally download some foreign version...

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: NYHoustonman
Probably should have seen this coming, the game crashes instantly when I try to run it >.>
Guess I have some troubleshooting to do tomorrow .

One question, though... with your install, is there a folder called "Euro" under the main game folder? Wanna make sure I didn't accidentally download some foreign version...

Sorry to hear that :-( I also was crossing my fingers when I downloaded, hoping I didn't download a buggy POS dubbed as release version. I had a *few* issues where my machine would lock up when trying to run it. Once I actually got past it a few times, the problem went away (for now). This is one game that doesn't make a lot of sense, since each time my machine locked up in a different area. Kinda frustrating I know... But for what it is worth, I think if you reboot and give it a few more tries it should load. Maybe not, though...

I don't know if I have a Euro folder... The IP changed on my home computer and I forgot to grab it, so I can't get into it at the moment. When I can, I'll let ya know.

 

[jim1976]

I absolutely adore the game..

Though I'm a serious race sim guy and I hate NFS series there's something in that game that has addicted me..

Amazing scenery, very good combination of elements from some driving games, wide variety of tasks to be completed plus I like the fact that you can actually drive next to other players online in the same map beyond the MP challenges..

I've done 15% of the game I've moved to a good house with a garage for 8 cars, and own 3 cars thus far.. An Audi TT, a Nissan 350Z and the Murcielago LP640 which I'm a big fan of..

 

[MBrown]

How does it look compared to the 360 version?

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: MBrown
How does it look compared to the 360 version?

I already mentioned how it looked compared to the 360 version.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: jim1976
I absolutely adore the game..

Though I'm a serious race sim guy and I hate NFS series there's something in that game that has addicted me..

Amazing scenery, very good combination of elements from some driving games, wide variety of tasks to be completed plus I like the fact that you can actually drive next to other players online in the same map beyond the MP challenges..

I've done 15% of the game I've moved to a good house with a garage for 8 cars, and own 3 cars thus far.. An Audi TT, a Nissan 350Z and the Murcielago LP640 which I'm a big fan of..

I am a serious race sim fan as well (GTR2 is awesome) but this game isn't terrible... It isn't 100% accurate, but it is pretty good. Breaking seems to vary between the vehicles, which is how it should, the turning seems pretty well. It isn't GTR 2, but I certainly wouldn't called it an arcade game...

I still can't get over how huge the island is. They say there is 1,000 miles are actual drivable road in the game... Check out Pearl Harbor!

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: NYHoustonman
Probably should have seen this coming, the game crashes instantly when I try to run it >.>
Guess I have some troubleshooting to do tomorrow .

One question, though... with your install, is there a folder called "Euro" under the main game folder? Wanna make sure I didn't accidentally download some foreign version...

Yes, there is a folder called Euro in my main game folder.

 

[NYHoustonman]

Got it to work . I, by some twisted chance, started the install package again (was going to reinstall, but I was going to wait for an uninstall to begin it...) and the SecuROM thing came up... I activated the game, and it works! Had to alt-tab out and frantically click cancel on the uninstall, though :x. I've only gotten through the first race, I went with the Saturn Sky, which seems to be a decent car.

 

[jim1976]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I am a serious race sim fan as well (GTR2 is awesome) but this game isn't terrible... It isn't 100% accurate, but it is pretty good. Breaking seems to vary between the vehicles, which is how it should, the turning seems pretty well. It isn't GTR 2, but I certainly wouldn't called it an arcade game...

I still can't get over how huge the island is. They say there is 1,000 miles are actual drivable road in the game... Check out Pearl Harbor!

GTR2 is very very good.. But I remain a loyal fan of Richard Burns Rally.. Nothing beats in sim imho
I've unlocked the bikes as well and got myself a Ducati.. From cars I got a Ferrari as well and I'm definitely heading for a McLaren F1 now..
This game is a major addiction ..

 

[ArchAngel777]

Awesome... Well, we should all hook up tonight or something and go riding around town... Have to get your gamespy ID's. Game has me so pumped... Can't believe how smooth it runs on my system. I may not upgrade my system this year after all. It seems like it can handle anything coming out today even.

 

[jim1976]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
Awesome... Well, we should all hook up tonight or something and go riding around town... Have to get your gamespy ID's. Game has me so pumped... Can't believe how smooth it runs on my system. I may not upgrade my system this year after all. It seems like it can handle anything coming out today even.

What's your name in your profile in the game? Not sure if I have a gamespy profile..

 

[garkon]

anybody care to post some screens of this game on the PC. I've been playing it on the 360 for about 2.5 months, absolutely love this game. I'd like to see how much better the game looks on a pc though(no complaints on how it looks on the 360, but i'm sure my pc can do better), hope there is a demo when it's released, so i can really see how much better it looks. Do pc and 360 players get to co-exist? at work, or i'd look myself.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: jim1976

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
Awesome... Well, we should all hook up tonight or something and go riding around town... Have to get your gamespy ID's. Game has me so pumped... Can't believe how smooth it runs on my system. I may not upgrade my system this year after all. It seems like it can handle anything coming out today even.

What's your name in your profile in the game? Not sure if I have a gamespy profile..

Might want to get one... They even say that if you don't login into your gamespy that the profile will be offline and you will be missing many features, including missing the end of the game on top of all multi-player functionality.

Anyway, my profile in game "Gabriel-Grinstead". Look me up in game....

 

[jim1976]

Originally posted by: garkon
anybody care to post some screens of this game on the PC. I've been playing it on the 360 for about 2.5 months, absolutely love this game. I'd like to see how much better the game looks on a pc though(no complaints on how it looks on the 360, but i'm sure my pc can do better), hope there is a demo when it's released, so i can really see how much better it looks. Do pc and 360 players get to co-exist? at work, or i'd look myself.

I'll try and post some screenies later.. but if you google it you'll find a lot.. And trust me, because I've played both the 360 and the pc version..PC looks vastly superior..

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
Might want to get one... They even say that if you don't login into your gamespy that the profile will be offline and you will be missing many features, including missing the end of the game on top of all multi-player functionality.

Anyway, my profile in game "Gabriel-Grinstead". Look me up in game....

Ok I'll try to make one account, though I'm not offline I can see other players online.. I can't play any MP challenges yet though.. Can you?
I'll probably play again in 2-3 hrs,maybe I'll see you in..

 

[NYHoustonman]

As far as I can tell, multiplayer functionality isn't live yet :\... For whatever reason I can't check 'Gamespy ID' next to my ID (it happens to also be my username for Gamespy).

I'm halfway to affording the McLaren, and I have the Viper, 300C, Mustang GT, and Camaro Z28 in my stable... I'm definitely enjoying this game .

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: NYHoustonman
As far as I can tell, multiplayer functionality isn't live yet :\... For whatever reason I can't check 'Gamespy ID' next to my ID (it happens to also be my username for Gamespy).

I'm halfway to affording the McLaren, and I have the Viper, 300C, Mustang GT, and Camaro Z28 in my stable... I'm definitely enjoying this game .

I was able to login to my gamespy account with no problem. However, I agree, the multiplayer functionality doesn't appear to be well played right now. However, I do see people online as I drive. There is one major irritation thus far... Sometimes drivers will purpose ram me and then I will go flying off the road... I dunno, that has always bothered me about these games. Sad part is, the motor cycle ramed my ferrari and I was the one that lost control, wiped out while he kept driving on at 200mph... :-( Thumbs down for that. I wish there was an option to "ghost" so to speak, so that anothers collisions do not affect you.

 

[Slickone]

I watched a video of this on youtube awhile back of some people playing multiplayer on the 360, that looked like a lot of fun. Reminded me of playing NFS3:HP multiplayer with a friend. Good times.

Are the screenshots that gamespot uses the same for the PC and 360? I downloaded a few and A-B'd and they were identical.

 

[jim1976]

So I created a new profile with a gamespy ID.. I have started all over again but anyway..
Well ArchAngel777, you can see others also if you are what the game considers offiline, but you can't see the MP challenges.. What do you mean that you cannot play any of them? I haven't tried anyone yet..

Anyway my name's the same in the game.. Jim1976.. Look me up

 

[RedBeard]

Hmmmm... I haven't played a test drive game since test drive 2/3??
The series really took a dump after that.

But this looks pretty sweet!

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: jim1976
So I created a new profile with a gamespy ID.. I have started all over again but anyway..
Well ArchAngel777, you can see others also if you are what the game considers offiline, but you can't see the MP challenges.. What do you mean that you cannot play any of them? I haven't tried anyone yet..

Anyway my name's the same in the game.. Jim1976.. Look me up

Awesome, hopefully I will see you on tonight and have a friendly cruise...