NASCAR Heat Evolution Available, Post Your Impressions Here

[legacyme3]

My first impressions are this is an ok, not great game, and that you should buy it, just to show there is interest in the developer continuing this series. They've made more progress in one game than the previous developers had since taking the reins.

My biggest qualm is that early on, no matter what you do in career, you seem to suck. I've been playing on Normal, and I am almost ALWAYS in the bottom 5 in qualifying, usually last, to the point I'm just skipping it now, so I can get to the race, where I have much more success.

I was placing low/mid 30s for a couple races, and then decided to be a bit more aggressive and try an arcady style. It worked wonders, I got to 20th in my next race, and placed 5th at Talladega in career, somehow. I found that the perfect race length for me was at 7% (I think it was 7?), where you can add caution flags and tire wear settings. It would give me enough time to make a charge from 40th to somewhere in the middle, while having enough time to hold off people behind me. The one qualm I had is that if you manage to get a yellow flag, some people will inexplicably pit, pushing you 2-4 spots up, and ensuring they fall out of contention for the race. With myself only finding one wreck I wasn't involved in (somebody spun out Chase Elliot, who was backwards when I passed him), there's clearly not much damage happening, so I don't know why they would need to pit.

I feel like the game could benefit greatly from more balancing at the beginning. Hardcore fans will like the challenge of starting as an absolutely awful driver, but casual fans are going to be turned off by the difficulty (even on easy mode, it isn't really "easy" to do well on the default settings, at the very beginning, if you are trying to race properly).

Overall, I'd give this game a 6.8 or so. It's solid, and definitely what I hoped to see, but this is not a sixty dollar game, if I'm being honest. I'd still plead you buy it so that the devs get the support to improve this in their second try. Plus, if the quick patch is any indication, they WILL be active with the game's development, even after it ships.

[Turbojugend]

Quote: Originally Posted by legacyme3

My biggest qualm is that early on, no matter what you do in career, you seem to suck. I've been playing on Normal, and I am almost ALWAYS in the bottom 5 in qualifying, usually last, to the point I'm just skipping it now, so I can get to the race, where I have much more success.

It's the whole "start with an awful car and improve it to move up through the ranks" design philosophy of Career Mode. It sucks because this isn't how NASCAR works (anyone can have a good/bad car on any given day), but without any lower leagues to progress through, it's the only way to add depth. If it was purely skill-based, you would probably win the Cup in your first season.

I'm noticing some serious issues with adaptive A.I. I was racing at Vegas in my career, I was in 22nd place when I got a black flag for entering pit road too fast. When I got back on the track I was issued a one track penalty and was lapped by several cars. As soon as I re-entered the race the A.I. cars slowed down to almost a crawl -- I was blowing them away -- until I got back to my original track position. As soon as I was there, the A.I. started racing competitively again. It was blatantly obvious what was happening, I haven't seen that type of rubberbanding since NBA Jam at my local arcade.

It also seems theres's almost a dividing line in the A.I. when it comes to track position in Career Mode. 21-40 are a breeze to get through, but as soon as I get to 20th, that's when things get competitive. This could also be a personal skill issue, I'm not sure.

That massive Day 3 patch gives me hope that these types of issues will be ironed out over the long haul. I hope someone at DMi is skimming these boards, I think we could unearth a lot of valuable info over the long haul.

[StoneCalf]

Quote: Originally Posted by Turbojugend

I'm noticing some serious issues with adaptive A.I. I was racing at Vegas in my career, I was in 22nd place when I got a black flag for entering pit road too fast. When I got back on the track I was issued a one track penalty and was lapped by several cars. As soon as I re-entered the race the A.I. cars slowed down to almost a crawl -- I was blowing them away -- until I got back to my original track position. As soon as I was there, the A.I. started racing competitively again. It was blatantly obvious what was happening, I haven't seen that type of rubberbanding since NBA Jam at my local arcade. It also seems theres's almost a dividing line in the A.I. when it comes to track position in Career Mode. 21-40 are a breeze to get through, but as soon as I get to 20th, that's when things get competitive. This could also be a personal skill issue, I'm not sure.

My experience is almost identical. Had the same kind of episode where I blew away the field for no other reason than but that the adaptive A.I. executing in a horrendous way. I really like the game, and have high hopes, but they have *GOT* to get that fixed.

I also have identified that dividing line you referenced where as soon as I work my way up to around 20th, my progression either stops or gets to a point where I'm basically within a place or two of where I'll finish. And again, for no other apparent reason but predetermined programming. They should include options in career mode to turn off adaptive A.I., and be able to set the CPU strength to a percentage, or something. I'm beginning to not like this "adaptive A.I.". Before the game released, I posted that I hoped it wasn't a fancy term for rubberbanding, but unfortunately that's all it appears to be....

[brandon27]

Quote: Originally Posted by Turbojugend

It's the whole "start with an awful car and improve it to move up through the ranks" design philosophy of Career Mode. It sucks because this isn't how NASCAR works (anyone can have a good/bad car on any given day), but without any lower leagues to progress through, it's the only way to add depth. If it was purely skill-based, you would probably win the Cup in your first season. I'm noticing some serious issues with adaptive A.I. I was racing at Vegas in my career, I was in 22nd place when I got a black flag for entering pit road too fast. When I got back on the track I was issued a one track penalty and was lapped by several cars. As soon as I re-entered the race the A.I. cars slowed down to almost a crawl -- I was blowing them away -- until I got back to my original track position. As soon as I was there, the A.I. started racing competitively again. It was blatantly obvious what was happening, I haven't seen that type of rubberbanding since NBA Jam at my local arcade. It also seems theres's almost a dividing line in the A.I. when it comes to track position in Career Mode. 21-40 are a breeze to get through, but as soon as I get to 20th, that's when things get competitive. This could also be a personal skill issue, I'm not sure. That massive Day 3 patch gives me hope that these types of issues will be ironed out over the long haul. I hope someone at DMi is skimming these boards, I think we could unearth a lot of valuable info over the long haul.

The AI in career mode is definitely screwed up. They way they've made your car so poor, is... bad. I get it, as someone else said, it adds to the depth and challenge, but they got a bit carried away with it I think. You're so... terrible.

It's strange though, you can qualify 38th. But once the race starts you fly by those cars that all out qualified you. Right up until you hit around 25th and up, then its like you hit a brick wall. It's strange. Also, I find it odd... they promote this adaptive AI thing which is pretty cool, but then in career that goes out the window and its just easy, normal and hard. Huh?

[JohnDoe8865]

You guys are breaking my heart but thanks for the honest impressions. I almost pre-ordered this and even now as I'm reading impressions a part of me wants to buy it so bad. But with the single player AI handled so poorly, I just can't do it. Maybe if they patch up that and some of the other issues, especially simulation braking issues with a gamepad that I've been reading all over the internet, I might pick it up down the line.

[Stormyhog]

Quote: Originally Posted by NYJin2011tm

Thoughts on Thrustmaster T80 racing wheel?

I have the wheel & for the price I paid it works pretty well. Now this wheel is more of an entry wheel with really no bells & whistles. You get no force feedback at all & the pedals are plastic that tend to slide at times. I don't have Nascar Heat so can't say if it's compatible with the game but I would assume it would be. I've had fun with it when I had project cars & works well with F1. Just don't expect the features from a high end wheel. I'm a casual racer & didn't want to invest to much into a wheel so I picked it up when I saw it on sale.

[NYJin2011tm]

Quote: Originally Posted by Stormyhog

I have the wheel & for the price I paid it works pretty well. Now this wheel is more of an entry wheel with really no bells & whistles. You get no force feedback at all & the pedals are plastic that tend to slide at times. I don't have Nascar Heat so can't say if it's compatible with the game but I would assume it would be. I've had fun with it when I had project cars & works well with F1. Just don't expect the features from a high end wheel. I'm a casual racer & didn't want to invest to much into a wheel so I picked it up when I saw it on sale.

Thanks! Yea I don't care about force feedback and all that. It's on the list as a compatible game. Pedals I have a spot where I don't think it will slide. I have a tight budget so I just want something basic.

[Turbojugend]

For anyone who needs to know, getting a Speed Rating of 3 or higher at any track unlocks a new driver challenge. I'm doing this in lieu of Career Mode until they get the A.I. issues straightened out.

And oh yeah, you can totally pass on the apron at Daytona and Talladega and get away with it. I just ran a race at 'Dega where I passed nearly every car on the track with all four tires over the line.