wdao@girtab.usc.edu (Walter Dao) (12/28/89)
comparison of 3 filled 3d vector graphics race games :
- Power Drome
- Hard Driving
- Stunt Track Racer
1) Power Drome :
you are piloting a space ship that has to fly around a race track with
various obstacles and against various oponents.
Now that game had all the potential to be a very good one, the animation is
rather smooth but not fast. It revealed to be a very frustrating game
because of the way the ship is piloted. It is really hard to keep the ship
from hitting the wall and to keep it in the middle of the track.
I tried to like that game but I couldnt. I was to frustrated to enjoy it.
There is also the feeling that the track is smaller than what it is really.
(Ie : there is not much breathing room from the left side of the race track
wall to the right side. but when you look at the oponents ship passing
you by, you can see how minuscule their ship is compared to the width of
the track.).
thumbs down even though it could have been a fantastic game .
2) Hard Driving :
Arcade conversion. (so only 2 tracks - speed and stunt tracks).
like the arcade version but slower . smooth animation. (the instant
replay of your crashes are not as spectacular, tending to the dull side).
I played it a few time and found it a bit hard to control with the mouse
(skid party !!!).
Also after you have mastered the 2 tracks (quite easily done), there is not
much you can do . (I have heard the original arcade wasnt intended to become
an arcade game but was intended to become a real serious simulator... I
might be wrong).
the good points about the game is the decor ... (let's go sight seeing).
The racing itself is not very breath taking. ... imagine yourself at the
command of a real car .... that's it ... Simulation of something you can
actuallly do for real and which is not out of reach . yawn (sometime)
3) Stunt track racer : the best of them all .
smooth animation, faster screen update than hard driver (but less decor).
there are 8 tracks to drive on . and what tracks !!!! they look more
like roller coasters. go to fast and you are airborne. there are some nasty
slopes (you have to go up or down) and the feeling is pretty well rendered.
(while going up hill, I had a tendency to bend forward on my seat).
There are some nice obstacles like holes in the track that you have to jump
over (go to slowly and you splat yourself on the oposite side).
The joystick command is good, the track is not too narraw and if you get to
close to the edge, sparks appear near the exposed wheels, (chassis is
hitting the track).
not much decor to look at but your eyes are riveted to what is coming up on
the track.
After the hit and misses of the 2 previously cited games, this one
(remember : stunt track racer) is a "must Have" .
I have been impressed by very few amiga games (shangai,populous).
(do I hear Star glider II ? well I never did understand what to do in that
game. whenever I tried to read the thick novel/manual, I fell asleep)
well, STR is one of those games it is well worth the hard earned money
you are going to spend on it.
Walter (no I am not working for those guys)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: 3d race games .
Summary:
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Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Keywords: hue@netcom.UUCP (Johathan Hue) (12/30/89)
In article <7187@chaph.usc.edu> wdao@girtab.usc.edu (Walter Dao) writes: > >comparison of 3 filled 3d vector graphics race games : > >2) Hard Driving : > Arcade conversion. (so only 2 tracks - speed and stunt tracks). > like the arcade version but slower . smooth animation. (the instant My opinions on these games are pretty much the same as Walter's. I did notice that Hard Driving worked ok on an '020 at the store, and used the extra power to increase the frame rate. It wasn't worth playing on a standard machine, but was not bad on the 2500. -Jonathan
jcfst@unix.cis.pitt.edu (John C. Fossum) (12/31/89)
In article <7187@chaph.usc.edu>, wdao@girtab.usc.edu (Walter Dao) writes: > > 1) Power Drome : > you are piloting a space ship that has to fly around a race track with > various obstacles and against various oponents. > Now that game had all the potential to be a very good one, the animation is > rather smooth but not fast. It revealed to be a very frustrating game > because of the way the ship is piloted. It is really hard to keep the ship > from hitting the wall and to keep it in the middle of the track. > I tried to like that game but I couldnt. I was to frustrated to enjoy it. The animation is not fast? Try kicking your afterburners on sometime... that's if you can pilot it. I think you just pirated the game and have no idea how to fine tune your ship. Why don't you set your force field to center your ship up to 8 or 9 (when racing, hit 'C' 8 or 9 times). > thumbs down even though it could have been a fantastic game . Give me a break. Learn how to fly the thing then we'll hear the review. -Steve M. Suhy
donw@zehntel.zehntel.com (Don White) (01/06/90)
In article <21328@unix.cis.pitt.edu> jcfst@unix.cis.pitt.edu (John C. Fossum) writes: > The animation is not fast? Try kicking your afterburners on sometime... >that's if you can pilot it. I think you just pirated the game and have no idea >how to fine tune your ship. Why don't you set your force field to center your > >-Steve M. Suhy > Chill out Steve! This may just be a case of RFM! (Not BFP. Buy the F*****g Program.) I have a DEMO version myself. Not a PIRATE version. If you copy this program with workbench, you get a working DEMO program!!! It will only play the qualifying track, but that is enough to show me that this game has a good FAST feel to it. I will probably buy this because I had the chance to TRY what LOOKS LIKE 'just another racing' package. I would like to thank the PowerDrome people for this opportunity to try their program. They PURPOSEFULLY allowed a partial copy through workbench. Don White Box 271177 Concord, CA. 94527-1177 zehtnel!donw