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Sega Rally Online Arcade PS360 |OT| Contains 100% Real Mud

bumpkin

bumpkin

Member
I'm tempted to give this a whirl since I enjoyed Sega Rally Revo, but it's a shame to hear it's so scant on content. It's funny that someone mentioned how quickly the online community is likely to die out due to so little in the way of achievements tied to it. The online related ones are the achievements I know I will never get in Revo; I could rarely find people playing when the game was new and I imagine they're non-existent now. Although the last time I played Revo was when my nephews were at our place for a couple of hours... Did some versus races where I intentionally made mistakes and slowed down occasionally so my 7 year old nephew would stand a chance (and won a few times).

Out of curiosity, does the classic stage from the original SR have the original music? I miss having the game on Saturn; you could pop the disc in a CD player and listen to the music. Yay for redbook. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyilkMu2yew
 
D

Diablohead

Member
geebee said:
Didnt see it mentioned, but who developed this?
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Revo was Sega Racing Studio (i think that name is right) and they also built the SR3 arcade version, this is a port or something by Sumo Digital.
 
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Dandy J

Member
Yet another 30fps racing game from Sega, lol. Dunno why they made this instead of remaking the original Sega Rally in HD ala GTI Club. I'm still buying it since without a Championship mode I have no motivation to play, but's this is clearly a minimal-effort port.
Dreamcast2 said:
Is game over yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa in this?
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Yeah, the original one from SR1. Feels really tacked-on, this game doesn't deserve that jingle.
 
D

Diablohead

Member
Everdred said:
Anyone know how to get Andorra Racer and the Icelandic Racer? Only achievements left count on those.
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same, i'm thinking it's a set amount of races won or miles driven, those things unlocked stuff in revo.
 
D

Diablohead

Member
Not any more, F40 is beating my champ time by 1 second! must work on that.

Also already two obvious cheaters, all 3 races together will make 6 minutes xx, they have 4 and 2 minutes total... sega why are there cheaters already :|
 
D

Daigoro

Member
yeah this is pretty bare bones as expected. still, im a whore for Sega Rally and for $10 im gonna get my money's worth.

lol @ all of the 60fps complainers.

twinturbo2 said:
These achievements are so easy.
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yes they are. easy pickins on XBL today too. got those 5 wins in no time.

and the tracks are so dumbed down as well. so easy.

Diablohead said:
Not any more, F40 is beating my champ time by 1 second! must work on that.

Also already two obvious cheaters, all 3 races together will make 6 minutes xx, they have 4 and 2 minutes total... sega why are there cheaters already :|
Click to expand...

yeah i saw your name up there and figured it was you. nice work. yeah F40 is a killer. that guy can race.

suck about the leaderboards already. :/
 
D

Daigoro

Member
Diablohead said:
I claimed 1st back before bed last night, dunno how much longer I will bother with it since i've rinsed the game dry already.
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as soon as F40 gets it back you'll be back at it. quit kidding. :p
 
D

daviyoung

Banned
Suzzopher said:
What? Seriously? The game is pretty damn good.
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I really don't see what's to like about it. It's so unpolished and featureless. The handling's ok as far as Sega Rally goes but man, Sumo dropped a ball.
 
A

Aspiring

Member
I'm loving this. Granted I played like 4 quick races only but the graphics are nice and the cars handle well. Hopefully the online stats active and we get some more tracks as Dlc and I'll be a happy camper.
 
S

Suzzopher

Member
daviyoung said:
I really don't see what's to like about it. It's so unpolished and featureless. The handling's ok as far as Sega Rally goes but man, Sumo dropped a ball.
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Unpolished? Can you explain that? It's an 800 point XBLA release that has the same presentation as the full retail title of three years ago. Solid frame rate(ok so it's 30fps, but smooth as fuck) and it looks rather nice too.
 
D

Diablohead

Member
In arcade game only I would give this game a 6 "above average" because it's lightly entertaining and arcade racers are always good for time attacks, but outside of that the game is a stripped down version of the superior Revo edition, also the arcade tracks in this are edited to have less sharp corners, more flat out speed zones and overall very boring outside of Lakeside.

Might have worked ok in a real arcade with novelty force feedback wheel and chair but here, it's no where near outrun online arcade.

Sega Rally 1 and 2 are still more superior.

*edit* I would have given Revo an 8 or 9 if I had to review it but we all know how bad it sold anyway :( game was great.
 
D

daviyoung

Banned
Suzzopher said:
Unpolished? Can you explain that? It's an 800 point XBLA release that has the same presentation as the full retail title of three years ago. Solid frame rate(ok so it's 30fps, but smooth as fuck) and it looks rather nice too.
Click to expand...

What I played the graphics clipped something fierce; going over a bump or skimming a wall would sometimes reveal blankspace. The sound was choppy, the rev noises clipped too, the Game Over Yeaaahhh getting cut off was also big disappointment.

Maybe I expected more, I love Sega Rally and I love some of Sumo's previous work on download titles (i.e. GTI Club).
 
S

Suzzopher

Member
daviyoung said:
What I played the graphics clipped something fierce; going over a bump or skimming a wall would sometimes reveal blankspace. The sound was choppy, the rev noises clipped too, the Game Over Yeaaahhh getting cut off was also big disappointment.

Maybe I expected more, I love Sega Rally and I love some of Sumo's previous work on download titles (i.e. GTI Club).
Click to expand...

I didn't see/hear any of that.
 
K

KennyLinder

Member
daviyoung said:
I really don't see what's to like about it. It's so unpolished and featureless. The handling's ok as far as Sega Rally goes but man, Sumo dropped a ball.
Click to expand...

Sumo? They didn't make it. Did they port it?
 
S

Shaneus

Member
So, is it a port of the arcade, hybrid arcade/SRR or just completely modified SRR?

And when you can get Revo for ridiculously cheap (which sucks, it should've held it's value for far longer than it did) then what's the incentive?
 
D

Daigoro

Member
It definitly a dumbed down/stripped down version of Revo (which I'm a huge fan of), not including the new track. Its fun for what it is. But I'm sure it will be short lived. It nakes me want to finish up and head back to Revo.

Id certainly prefer to be playing this game on a sit down arcade cab with a nice wheel. But for $10 I'm not going to complain.
 
D

Demathe

Neo Member
Man, when I first heard about Sega Rally Online Arcade my heart stopped; could it be that Sega would release an online-enabled HD-port of SRC'95?

Kinda saw it coming that it would be a port of SR3/SRR though...

Either way, I still might download it when it's up on PSN, but I'll keep hoping for a SRC'95 XBL/PSN port. It's my fav racing game ever. I've still got a Saturn hooked up in the bedroom :)

btw, regarding the camera; can you change it? I know you can probably change between bumper/hood/chase cams but I want a chase cam that doesn't move left/right as if it's attached to the car. Like say if I start a drift into a right turn I want to see the right side of the car, like in the original Sega Rally. It looks way cooler and it gives me a better view on the angle of the drift.
 
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Diablohead

Member
Demathe said:
btw, regarding the camera; can you change it? I know you can probably change between bumper/hood/chase cams but I want a chase cam that doesn't move left/right as if it's attached to the car. Like say if I start a drift into a right turn I want to see the right side of the car, like in the original Sega Rally. It looks way cooler and it gives me a better view on the angle of the drift.
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That static camera is the only external in the game, sucks I agree but I guess it's like that to make wheel steering in a busy arcade a little easier.

Default control setup uses back as the view changer, pad layout B uses LB which I prefer.
 
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SmokyDave

Member
I had no idea this was even in the pipeline. Will grab a PS3 copy and try to relive my Desert glory days. If it's anywhere near the standards of Outrun HD or Afterburner Climax then I'll be happy as a pig in shit.
 
gunstarhero

gunstarhero

Member
Played it for a few hours, and the only honest complaint I have is the forgettable music.

For some reason I can't pin down the drifiting technique in this game. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't.
 
S

Superfrog

Member
daviyoung said:
Maybe I expected more, I love Sega Rally and I love some of Sumo's previous work on download titles (i.e. GTI Club).
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Me too, the problem is that Sumo's earlier racing titles were more polished than the most recent ones. Just look at Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing -- great game, but they fucked up the framerate (not even locked 30 fps). That just killed it for me.

SR Online Arcade is properly polished EXCEPT the lack of locked 60 fps. It's still fun, but 60 fps would have been the major achievement for me, the icing on the cake.

Even though the specs of the SR3 arcade hardware seem to clearly outdo the 360 hardware, I don't see any technical stumbling blocks that would have prevented locked 60 fps on 360/PS3. Maybe the available development budget for the port just didn't allow for the extra optimization time.
 
K

KennyLinder

Member
Superfrog said:
Me too, the problem is that Sumo's earlier racing titles were more polished than the most recent ones. Just look at Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing -- great game, but they fucked up the framerate (not even locked 30 fps). That just killed it for me.

SR Online Arcade is properly polished EXCEPT the lack of locked 60 fps. It's still fun, but 60 fps would have been the major achievement for me, the icing on the cake.

Even though the specs of the SR3 arcade hardware seem to clearly outdo the 360 hardware, I don't see any technical stumbling blocks that would have prevented locked 60 fps on 360/PS3. Maybe the available development budget for the port just didn't allow for the extra optimization time.
Click to expand...

Getting the 360/PS3 versions of the original game running at 60fps was out of the question.

The deformation tech in the game was crazy, if you watch the credits sequence in the original 'Revo game you'll see the game stripped down to polygons - there are squillions of them (I can't remember the exact number now, but it was hundreds per inch). Drawing all of those DEFORMABLE polygons really hammered the game, and as a result the trackside art and framerate took the hit. 60fps was always planned and we really tried to get the game running at 60fps but it just couldn't be done. We even considered dropping deformation at one point so we could run at 60, but by that time the marketing had started and one of the games USPs was the deforming track.

When we worked on the Arcade version (SR3) we optimised the deformation allowing LODing on both sideways and forward draw (only forward was possible in time during 360/PS3 development), but when we looked back it still would of not been enough to run the game at 60fps. We also optimised the fuck out of the game. We squeezed what we could.

Interestingly, the game would run at 60fps perfectly happily if the game ran in 480p. We approached one of the console makers about the possibility of releasing the game with it being 30fps @ 720p and 60fps at 480p. We were told it we were not allowed to do that, so we took it out. This wasn't a feature as such, just that the game was uncapped during one point in development and we noticed it whilst testing OSDs etc on a SDTV.
 
N

nocturnedelight

Member
I would be more willing to buy SR95HD for 1200 than SRO for 800. I'll probably wait for a Deal of the week or something. I already have a few other things higher on my list of things to get (like Deathsmiles 2X).
 
S

Superfrog

Member
KennyLinder said:
Getting the 360/PS3 versions of the original game running at 60fps was out of the question.
Click to expand...
That absolutely makes sense (and thanks for the insights, very interesting read!), I was referring to the XBLA game which seems to be a port of SR3 Arcade for the most part and also lacks the deformation tech. Do you think that theoretically it would have been easily possible to run that game at 60 fps on 360/PS3?

I'm just wondering why Sumo couldn't achieve this. They for sure have the skills, so I assume there were rather strict budget/time limitations on the part of Sega.
 
Upsidedown Fuji

Upsidedown Fuji

Member
KennyLinder said:
Getting the 360/PS3 versions of the original game running at 60fps was out of the question.

The deformation tech in the game was crazy, if you watch the credits sequence in the original 'Revo game you'll see the game stripped down to polygons - there are squillions of them (I can't remember the exact number now, but it was hundreds per inch). Drawing all of those DEFORMABLE polygons really hammered the game, and as a result the trackside art and framerate took the hit. 60fps was always planned and we really tried to get the game running at 60fps but it just couldn't be done. We even considered dropping deformation at one point so we could run at 60, but by that time the marketing had started and one of the games USPs was the deforming track.

When we worked on the Arcade version (SR3) we optimised the deformation allowing LODing on both sideways and forward draw (only forward was possible in time during 360/PS3 development), but when we looked back it still would of not been enough to run the game at 60fps. We also optimised the fuck out of the game. We squeezed what we could.

Interestingly, the game would run at 60fps perfectly happily if the game ran in 480p. We approached one of the console makers about the possibility of releasing the game with it being 30fps @ 720p and 60fps at 480p. We were told it we were not allowed to do that, so we took it out. This wasn't a feature as such, just that the game was uncapped during one point in development and we noticed it whilst testing OSDs etc on a SDTV.
Click to expand...


Very interesting points. I wonder if some of the framerate faithful that canned this game earlier in this thread would have accepted a lower resolution option at full 60fps. I played the demo and it seems to drive fine. I like what I played but the game just seems so bare. I don't think I'd play it much after unlocking stuff. At least with Outrun Online it had a lot of fun and very challenging mini games to try outside of regular races.

If I come across a little extra money to spend I might pick it up anyway since its priced fairly enough. If any of my friends on my buddy list pick it up, I may get it then too. At least I know I'll have at least one person I know to challenge on occasion. :)
 
K

KennyLinder

Member
Superfrog said:
That absolutely makes sense (and thanks for the insights, very interesting read!), I was referring to the XBLA game which seems to be a port of SR3 Arcade for the most part and also lacks the deformation tech. Do you think that theoretically it would have been easily possible to run that game at 60 fps on 360/PS3?

I'm just wondering why Sumo couldn't achieve this. They for sure have the skills, so I assume there were rather strict budget/time limitations on the part of Sega.
Click to expand...


Hold on, the new XBLA/PSN game doesn't have deformation? Does it not have any at all, or is it reduced? I can't play it until tonight to see for myself. If it's gone totally then yes 60fps would be possible IF they reduced the crazy poly count of the tracks which would require time and effort and access to the original track 3D files (which they might not have had?).


Regarding the port:

Well I would assume that the port that Sumo did was basically a very quick port with no real time to try and squeeze 60fps out of the game on console. It probably ran badly at 60fps so they capped it at 30fps knowing that would fix it.

Would the development time (cost) be worth it? Sure we would like it, but would it make the game sell more copies because it now runs at 60? Probably not worth it on a cost versus sales scale.
 
D

Dandy J

Member
Yeah I thought the same thing when the game was announced. If they spent the extra time and effort, they probably would have had to set the price at 1200msp, which they knew wouldn't fly because most people would look at the game as Revo under a different title. I'm just surprised Sega didn't just have them re-do SR1 like they did GTI Club, that makes way more sense to me.

KennyLinder said:
Interestingly, the game would run at 60fps perfectly happily if the game ran in 480p. We approached one of the console makers about the possibility of releasing the game with it being 30fps @ 720p and 60fps at 480p. We were told it we were not allowed to do that, so we took it out.
Click to expand...
...
 
S

Superfrog

Member
KennyLinder said:
Hold on, the new XBLA/PSN game doesn't have deformation? Does it not have any at all, or is it reduced?
Click to expand...
I was assuming it's a direct SR3 Arcade port and therefore doesn't have any deformation. It seems to be at least heavily reduced.

I'm not 100% sure though because I could only play the trial version for a few minutes so far (1 car, 1 track, 1 lap). And since the trial only lasts for one lap, you don't drive as long for the deformation to really have an effect. Rumble effects are still there, the same applies to the tire tracks. They could just be bump-mapped textures, though.

We'll see, I'm gonna play it extensively next week. Looking forward to reading your analysis. :)
 
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