NFS16 Does not utilize Physics engine, An experts opinion
Hello, My name is Shane Drake, or Draklore on most forums and social media...
Normally I wouldn't bother posting this, I would simply refund the game and just move on with my life. The problem is that I can no longer refund the game because it has been more than 24 hours since I first launched the game. Mostly because I experienced an install problem that took me the better part of 3 days to solve (0xc000007b error), and despite the game not even making it to the loading screen, Origin considers the game as "launched".
So now that I own this... game, I will share how I feel about the handling and game play. Take it as whining, constructive criticism or just ranting.
The graphics in this game are excellent, and it was the trailers for the game that really drew me back to the NFS series, which I hadn't played since the original underground. I am playing this on a 3440x1440 monitor and it really looks fantastic. So with photo realistic visuals, I was expecting some semi realistic handling... unfortunately the cars handle as if the laws of physics simply do not exist. The way the cars move seem to be pre programmed animations that you simply initiate by pressing a button. I hate to say it, but even GTA5 has more realistic car physics than this game.
The Handling in NFS16 is very comparable to the handling in IOS racing games. Any Phone racing game for that matter, where you have to tilt the phone to move the car. If you want to "initiate" a drift, you flick the phone and the cars will start their cartoonish slide into the corner. that is exactly the kind of handling and interaction you have in NFS16.. which on a phone with integrated low level graphics and CPU, is acceptable. but on a "next gen" or PC in 2016, it is downright unforgivable.
The cars move like you are playing mario kart, and I would say it is acceptable handling for a 12yo who is just getting into racing games. but if you have ever played any kind of driving game, you will be sadly disappointed.
And you might be saying "but Draklore, it's Need For Speed, they have always been arcade racers, and not sims. besides turn off drift assist and stability assist"
First off, I want to say that I was aware that Need For Speed is known for arcade racers, but there are a lot of series and companies that have evolved and grown up, take the Dirt series which when they released Dirt Rally, really gave a huge surprise to the SIM racing community after so many arcade games. After seeing the art style and direction of this NFS I really thought this would be different, and if it wasn't I would simply return it. Furthermore, I upgraded the handling of my cars, and turned off the assists. this mildly helped. but the problem remains. your input and what the car does is largely disconnected. You pull the handbrake to "initiate" a drift animation.
The car and its movement doesn't seem physically connected to worldspace it exists in. Hit a jump, the car does a Jumping animation, hit a wall, the car bounces in a predetermined animation. Do a drift, the car pitches into a pre determined angle and moves along the road surface in a pre determined fashion until you run out of road or stop the animation. you don't have any control over the angle and your input only determines when these animations start or stop. If there were any kind of actual physics involved with how the cars moved, than why are all of the car movements just pre determined animations?
Besides the fact that the game is quite clearly a poor XBox port, I'm guessing the biggest reason they decided to go this route is because it is easier to program for. The game play is much more predictable if people cannot exploit the physics of the game (because there are none). If every jump makes the car move in exactly the same manner. or if every collision makes the car bounce or crash in the same way than there is little work for the CPU or coding for a physics engine (lets not forget this is using the frostbite engine after all). Its easier to make a scoring system for drifting if the only thing it has to calculate is speed and distance, the game would run better on older CPUs and better on the consoles. And besides, these games are not sims.. right? so who cares how the cars handle! The whole game is a cliche and a joke to the enthusiast community, and that would be forgivable if it was enjoyable to play. When you turn off "drift assist" it says something like "so you think you can drift". except all this does is eliminate one of the ways you can initiate or execute the Drift animation, a slap to the face of anyone who isn't 12 dreaming about their first car being a Rocket Bunny BRZ.. I highly doubt anyone at Speedhunters or Hoonigans is playing this game thinking how it recreates the feeling they get when in car.
If all of that didn't convince you that this game doesn't have any handling physics, check out my Volkswagen Golf. It's a FWD car that I am having a blast winning drift events with. Because in their rush to get this game to market, EA forgot to disable the drift function for FWD cars like my VW.... Ooops!
But what would I know about Drifting MK1 Volkswagen's? A lot actually, and I'm fairly certain it takes quite a lot of work before you can get your FWD car to drift around a corner, unless you are a lazy game developer.
I've included a snapshot of me drifting my Mk1 in game, and a picture of my actual Mk1 that I drift (RWD Conversion etc). What's sad and ironic is that this game is largely an endorsement for Speedhunters and hoonigans (two companies that have played a large role in the success of my popularity in the community) yet the game is just another arcade racer that seems to be pandering to scene chasers and people who do not have a licence or any idea how cars actually work. I guess that's probably a large reason why Need For Speed Underground was one of my first racing games, but my last NFS title.
Oh Well, let me know how you feel about the game and its mechanics
If you want to see more of my Mk1 check out the feature on Speedhunters, or my instagram @Draklore
-Shane Drake
