• ModNation Racers •

[kjb]

I will download that next time I play.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I finally had a chance to play this demo last night. Very fun game. Reminds me of Mario Cart with FULL customization.

 

[paskowitz]

If anyone here actually plays this game I made a Ford GT40 MKI and a Ferrari 330 P4. There are pretty exact so check them out.

 

[slims]

Patch coming soon. Looks like they'll be addressing the long load times and punishing difficulty among other things. Can't wait!

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/110/1109588p1.html

 

[magburner]

Patch coming soon. Looks like they'll be addressing the long load times and punishing difficulty among other things. Can't wait!

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/110/1109588p1.html

Finally! I will get back into this game. The excessive load times and the disconnects were enough to put me off in the beginning, it is nice to see that they are addressing that problem. It is also nice to finally be able to race with friends, though why this feature was not implemented in the first place is beyond me...

I never had a problem with the games difficulty though. Sure some of the race challenges were tough to complete, but I classed the difficulty level as a feature, rather than a hindrance. Seriously though, does this game need a 'casual difficulty mode', or do those wannabe gamers need to grow a pair?

If the bleaters are finding the 1-player game so difficult them maybe UFG should program a button into the interface, that, when pressed, flashes a message on screen that says 'game complete! Click for free trophies.'

Once upon a time, games were difficult by design, and if you couldn't complete them then it was tough luck! Oh how I miss those days...

 

[slims]

Definitely agree with you. I purchased it a while back when it launched. Played it and found it a good game but the load times do get to you. Had times when I'd just want to fire it up and play a quick race or two but have to sit through all the loading screens so what should just be 10-15 minutes of gaming turns into half an hour due to loading.

I think the 'Casual Difficulty' is nice for the people who simply want to customize karts and racers. There are people out there who would spend most of their time in the game in the creation station than on the track so the difficulty would help them unlock all the items quickly. It looks like it's only an option so for people like you and me who like a challenge we'd still get the normal difficulty. 👍

 

[kjb]

That sounds good. As far as the difficulty I have no problem with that but it does get frustrating when your in first place on the last lap and you get shot twice. You can use your shied for the first salvo but the second one always gets you I am glad they are fixing the load times that is outstanding.

 

[Joey D]

Hmmm maybe I will have to get the game again in the used rack. I traded it in because I thought it was overly difficult and it annoyed me. I understand people like a challenge but I see nothing wrong with offering various difficulties in a game. If you want it harder, then make it harder, if you want it to be easy then so be it.

 

[J-PaP]

I can understand why they are adding an easy difficulty to keep kids playing rather than getting frustrated. The game though really wasn't that hard to start with? The game was childsplay compared to motorstorm or wipeout hd which is the king of raining the wrath of the gods upon you on the last lap. So in a way I'm not happy about the easy difficulty coming out. I never felt it needed it.

 

[magburner]

So in a way I'm not happy about the easy difficulty coming out. I never felt it needed it.

I agree! I also think that putting a lower difficulty setting diminishes the efforts of those who have completed the game on the regular difficulty. 👍

 

[LaBounti]

You guys have to look beyond your own personal taste to say the game as a whole doesn't need it. Joey is a good example as well as others who found the game difficult at times. I may pick it up when I find it on sale.

It doesn't diminish any effort as the the easy mode is an option. When I play some game I start off on hard, Bioshock was a mistake but at least I tried

 

[J-PaP]

You guys have to look beyond your own personal taste to say the game as a whole doesn't need it. Joey is a good example as well as others who found the game difficult at times. I may pick it up when I find it on sale.

It doesn't diminish any effort as the the easy mode is an option. When I play some game I start off on hard, Bioshock was a mistake but at least I tried

Well a game beiing hard is sort of the point of it. No fun in having a walk in the park. Like I compared to Wipeout and Motorstorm in my last post. Those games are what you call hard.

Following the logic of if a game is too hard it should be patched to be made easier then games like Street fighter should have been made easier because lots of people like myself had a lot of trouble playing that game (I for one couldn't get past the 2nd stage thats how hard I found that game) or Killzone 2 should have had veteran difficulty made easier because a lot of people found it hard.

Making the difficulty easier does diminish effort as the trophies earned are part of the effort. Now once the patch is out someone could have the same trophies as me but they finished the game on "easy" while I did it on normal. Anybody looking at our trophies though would assume we exerted the same effort when we obviously didn't. If anything the Modnation devs should add the easy mode but make the trophies unattainable on easy. That would be fair.

 

[Northstar]

The thing you have to keep in mind about ModNation is that it's marketed towards children and other casual gamers who may not want an extremely challenging game. This is why I think all games should have some sort of difficulty options as the ones without settings ruin it for some people as it can be too easy or too hard, either of which can suck the fun(the whole reason we play video games) right out of the game.

 

[magburner]

Making the difficulty easier does diminish effort as the trophies earned are part of the effort. Now once the patch is out someone could have the same trophies as me but they finished the game on "easy" while I did it on normal. Anybody looking at our trophies though would assume we exerted the same effort when we obviously didn't. If anything the Modnation devs should add the easy mode but make the trophies unattainable on easy. That would be fair.

Exactamundo J-Pap! 👍

The thing you have to keep in mind about ModNation is that it's marketed towards children and other casual gamers who may not want an extremely challenging game.

Being a child has no bearing on how good you are at a game, In fact I would say that it is a benefit.

I started playing games when I was 7 years old, almost 30 years ago now. Back then, it was unheard of to have a game depreciated because of age or playing style. You were either good at the game or you sucked. If you couldn't master it, you simply moved on to the next game and hoped for the best. 👍

Nowadays though, it seems that buying a game somehow gives you automatic right to completing it; It shouldn't, but that is the mentality of gamers these days. I tell you, casual gamers will be the death of the gaming industry!

 

[Joey D]

You guys do understand that some people have fun when a game is easy right? This is why all games should offer scalable difficulties. If you want to make it difficult set it on hard. Want to make it easy? Set it on casual. Want a slight challenge? Set it on medium.

If I'm spending $60 on a game I should be able to play it however I want, and if I want it to be easy because I like the story or whatever behind the game then so be it. Some people find winning all the time fun. I can't understand why this is a difficult concept to grasp.

 

[G.T.Ace]

No problems with the loading times actually, they are long, but I can live with them.
Difficulty is indeed kinda hard in the challenges, but to be hones, hey, it plays like a videogame, like a real videogame, where you have to work for rewards and there are tons of rewards, from Karts to editor stuff, fantastic! Although I agree, a different difficulty level would be good too, but I hope you won't get the same rewards then.

EDIT: I'm not that good by the way and have some problems too here and there, but come on, finally a really rewarding game! Can't remember when was the last time I played a game with so many unlockables.

 

[Joey D]

Why shouldn't you get the same reward? You paid for the whole game didn't you?

 

[G.T.Ace]

Because there wouldn't be any real rewards anymore (especially with the online features). If you think the game is too hard for you, don't buy it, or wait till it gets cheaper, or live with some consequences when you want it easy.

This is annoying nowadays in videogames, I don't know any game except MNR from this console generation where I was actually rewarded for playing the game properly, unless with Trophies, yey, can't use them in-game for something so what?

 

[Joey D]

High horse much?

If you have scalable difficulties you can make a game as easy or as hard as you want it, not to mention what is difficult for one person might be a cake walk for another. I personally find the drums on Rock Band to be quite difficult, yet my buddy can sit down and crank out any tune on the hardest setting. Should I not be allowed to buy the game because I can't play a certain aspect of it well?

Games are entertainment devices, if you find something easy to be entertaining then so be it. If you find something difficult to be entertaining, then so be it. I personally found MNR to be overly difficult and the waiting times to be ridiculous. I loved the track and cart creator though and was disappointed that I wasn't having fun with the game, so I traded it in towards something I would play. If the game would have had an easier difficulty then I would have probably kept it and continued to enjoy it.

 

[G.T.Ace]

Should I not be allowed to buy the game because I can't play a certain aspect of it well?

You are allowed to do whatever you want, but if a game is too difficult for you that's your problem and then I say "don't buy it". Yes, games are entertainment devices and if you don't find a certain game entertaining because of the difficulty, play something else, or otherwise you will ruin the entertainment for other people like me, who love that you have to "work" to get things unlocked and actually even if you can't unlock everything, the game still offers tons of content, directly at the start, far more than most other 60$ titles.

EDIT: If you would tell me that you have a handicap and can't play the game at all because of the controls or anything, okay, that's something else and I could understand this (I can't play games with complex motion controls for example), but because of a difficulty level? Man, play the game and try to get better, practice.

 

[Joey D]

You are allowed to do whatever you want, but if a game is too difficult for you that's your problem and then I say "don't buy it". Yes, games are entertainment devices and if you don't find a certain game entertaining because of the difficulty, play something else, or otherwise you will ruin the entertainment for other people like me, who love that you have to "work" to get things unlocked and actually even if you can't unlock everything, the game still offers tons of content, directly at the start, far more than most other 60$ titles.

Have you ignored everything I've said?

With scalable difficulties you can make the game so it's challenging for you to unlock things based on whatever skill level you are. It's not ruining your fun, it's making fun accessible for everyone. Understand?

MNR is a good game, why shouldn't I be able to play it and enjoy it at the difficulty I want? Especially since making a racing game easier or harder is a pretty simple thing to do after the developer has completed the game. They just speed up or slow down the AI opponents.

And really MNR made you unlock quite a bit of stuff, that was sort of the point behind the game. Most of it was not unlocked from the beginning.

EDIT: If you would tell me that you have a handicap and can't play the game at all because of the controls or anything, okay, that's something else and I could understand this (I can't play games with complex motion controls for example), but because of a difficulty level? Man, play the game and try to get better, practice.

Ummm I have a life outside playing video games, I'd like to be able to pick up something fun and entertaining and play it for a couple hours. I don't have time to spend hours upon hours getting good at something like a video game.

 

[G.T.Ace]

Where's the fun in unlocking things with a certain difficulty if I meet someone online who has more stuff than me who made it the easy way? I will know that the "hard work" was for nothing because I could've made it easier, that's stupid and exactly what I hate about this gen. What is so bad about a game, where you have to be good at to finish it? Why can't a game be challenging? Why do you have to make every game accessible for everyone?

Like I said, if you get a bit less unlockables on a lower difficulty you could still enjoy the game, but someone who is better than you at it gets more, this is how it should work.

And yes, most of the stuff is locked in the beginning, but you could still create fantastic tracks for example, or race online, or split-screen, or whatever and the first couple of races really aren't that difficult and you already unlock a lot of things.

 

[Joey D]

Considering nothing in the game that is unlockable gives you any performance advantage I don't see why one would be upset if they met someone online with everything unlocked that played it on an easier difficulty. And really if you are so hurt that someone got it easy for them in a video game, I pity you when it comes to real life because that's pretty much how the world works.

Games sole purpose are to entertain, nothing more. Why shouldn't entertainment, especially clean entertainment like MNR, be accessible to players of all skill levels? Hence one again why I said there should be scalable difficulty so you can set it where ever you see fit.

And I paid $60 for a game, I don't want to unlock things, I want the whole game to be accessible to me.

 

[magburner]

Why shouldn't you get the same reward? You paid for the whole game didn't you?

Buying the game does not give you an automatic right to share the same rewards as someone who has taken the time and effort to learn the game. Unless, you have take the same time and effort to learn the game. 👍

Some people find winning all the time fun. I can't understand why this is a difficult concept to grasp.

Winning IS fun, but only when there is satisfaction in knowing that it was worthwhile doing in the first place! If everyone can win, then it is not worth winning!

 

[NLxAROSA]

Buying the game does not give you an automatic right to share the same rewards as someone who has taken the time and effort to learn the game. Unless, you have take the same time and effort to learn the game. 👍

Personally, I like a system like in the GT PSP challenges. Even if you suck, it's still quite possible to get bronze on all challenges. But getting gold really takes effort. And no difficulty sliders there, save a few driving aids (which actually hinder you to get gold). So anyone can complete the game that way, but there is a clear distinction between the top and bottom players.

Blur does the same in single player, you can challenge your PSN friends for scores in the single player events, but it will show the difficulty at which you played a certain challenge in the online boards. Again, you can complete the entire game and unlock everything at 'easy' level, but it will show.

Both systems are non-restrictive as far as unlocking content is concerned, the distinction is in the leaderboard and/or trophies.

 

[G.T.Ace]

But Trophies and leaderboards give you nothing for the gameplay.

Buying the game does not give you an automatic right to share the same rewards as someone who has taken the time and effort to learn the game. Unless, you have take the same time and effort to learn the game. 👍

Winning IS fun, but only when there is satisfaction in knowing that it was worthwhile doing in the first place! If everyone can win, then it is not worth winning!

Totally agree.

 

[slims]

Personally, I like a system like in the GT PSP challenges. Even if you suck, it's still quite possible to get bronze on all challenges. But getting gold really takes effort. And no difficulty sliders there, save a few driving aids (which actually hinder you to get gold). So anyone can complete the game that way, but there is a clear distinction between the top and bottom players.

Well technically MNR is kinda the same in terms of the career item unlocking and progression. It's not that difficult to progress through the career mode with the minimum requirement of just getting a podium finish in each race and a 1st place in the final race in each series.

 

[NLxAROSA]

But Trophies and leaderboards give you nothing for the gameplay.

True, they don't give you extra items/upgrades/etc. But I don't see this as a problem; I certainly don't give a hoot if someone that finishes a game at the lowest difficulty gets the same stuff as I, while I have finished it at the highest level. The only thing that matters to me is my performance, I don't care about anyone elses. I don't see how someone elses performance will negatively affect mine. Even if it doesn't show in game or in the leaderboards, you will still know you're the better player. 👍 But maybe we should take this discussion to another thread as it's not limited to MNR?

 

[G.T.Ace]

You forgot this, which I also already mentioned:

Winning IS fun, but only when there is satisfaction in knowing that it was worthwhile doing in the first place! If everyone can win, then it is not worth winning!

Where is the satisfaction in unlocking things for the track editor on a hard difficulty when anyone can do it on an easier one? And where is the motivation? And as slims mentioned, progressing in the game itself isn't that hard actually, just unlocking all the stuff can be quite difficult and I think that's good and I hope this won't change with the new difficulty level.

 

[FoolKiller]

I am actually torn on the difficulty issue.

The old codger part of me wants to say, "Most people never saw more than two levels in Donkey Kong, and we loved it." That part of me also feels that the Internet generation is hurting a developer's ability to design their game as they want. The game comes out and then the Internet comes alive with complaints about controls or difficulties and no explanation that the developer intended that will satisfy. Eventually, we get a patch "fixing" these things. This is probably the fifth game I have seen given a difficulty patch.

Now, this one doesn't bother me as much as some games based on old-school mechanics, like tower defense games. Those games were supposed to be hard.


But on the other hand, nothing drives me crazy more than getting stuck on a game and feeling like I missed out on something just because I wasn't good enough. In a game like this, where you are rewarded by unlockables, I think there should be a handful of things reserved for a hard mode only. Other games do something similar by giving you a different ending that fills in a bit more of the story, but you wouldn't be lost without it.


There has to be a balance somewhere, I just don't know where it is. The main thing I ask is that if I have a choice and select normal (thinking that was the developer's target difficulty) I not wind up with either lobotomized or Super Soldier AI. That tells me that the developer's idea of what should be normal, or average, is not in line with mine.