You’ll need to be connected to the Internet to enjoy Nacon’s upcoming social racer Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown. This brand-new trailer, which shows the off-road areas of Hong Kong Island, demonstrates the breadth of experiences available in the upcoming game – and it also showcases its MMO aspects, which have been a big part of the property in the past.
“While driving, you always have other players around you, which creates a living, breathing city,” a press release reveals. “In Test Drive Unlimited, this love of cars is also experienced in the social aspect of dealerships and workshops where you can chat about your next purchase, the car of your dreams, and how you’re going to customize or upgrade it.”
Of course, this all comes at the cost of an always-online requirement: “For various reasons, these social features require an infrastructure that is constantly connected to online databases: leaderboards, races, inventories, moderation, live events, anti-cheat measures, and the overall game experience. An Internet connection is therefore required to play Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown.”
While it’s not a massive surprise for a heavily online-centric experience like this, it does mean you’ll be at the mercy of Nacon’s servers – and PSN to boot!
Still, it sounds like the racer is really shaping up. In a development note, the team points out that it’s still optimising the particle effects for this off-road gameplay, as it’s struggling to replicate the large dust clouds from its WRC games in a shared world, sandbox environment. “We’re still working on integrating and optimising these effects,” it admits. “It’s an important element of off-road immersion but also resource and performance intensive.”
That said, it’s confident it’s on the home straight at last: “Although a launch date has been considered several times, we want to take the time needed to ensure that your experience of Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown is as smooth, stable and fun as can be. Many of you have already pointed this out to us: take the time to release a game that matches your expectations. That’s why we’re working flat out on several aspects, including the stability of the server infrastructure and optimising the game’s performance.”
[source youtube.com]
Comments 28
And there goes my interest.
Such a strange trailer. Pretty visuals, but really sterile without any particles or dust being kicked up driving on the dirt roads.
Hmm. Anyway, I picked up Hot Pursuit remastered for 8 bucks. I’m good. See ya.
This sort of thing really used to trigger me and wind me up.
But then, as I've gotten (a bit) older I've come to the realisation that, when its switched on at least, my PS5 is always connected to the internet, literally always so I really don't see it as that big of a deal anymore.
If the servers are temporarily down for what ever reason, I'll just play something else. #1stworldproblems
I guess the only issue is years down the line when they turn the servers off. But the chances are I'll have no interest in playing it by then anyway.
@Member_the_game my thoughts exactly. Been saying it for a while.
No surprise there.
Anyone that played the original on Xbox 360 would know the social aspect was a huge feature for the game - having impromptu meet-ups around the crater or the resort/casino island, or just unofficial sprints around the island. It's what made the game so much fun - it was a social car game.
No issue with this approach, especially for such a connected game. However, it would be nice to have an upfront commitment to an offline patch in years to come when servers are shut down.
GT Sport received this recently, but later this month The Crew will become permanently unplayable... I loved that game.
That’s a bad deal. Having a game rely on servers means it lives on borrowed time from day 1
I understand if you want your game to be a connected one but give consumers the choice to have it online or offline there's no harm in it but having it always online does harm it and considerably decreases the value of your product as I am now renting it rather than owning it
Looks lifeless just like their previous games
Looks like I will be skipping this one
Sad that the game can't be more inclusive, but it does look like a banger.
@NinjaNicky ohhh OK gotcha. Thnx!
Straight up pass, I don't condone this kind of DRM out of principle 😤
Are arcade racers not a thing anymore with the exception of the open world ones I guess?
Always online a easy way to choose for you when you can't play your old games anymore. I'm not to bothered I'll just get something else.
I've been looking forward to this as I love HK but since I don't have PS+ I may have to pass if the game breaks as a result or is heavily built around social BS that I have no interest in.
@pharos_haven
We need a new, proper Ridge Racer so badly!
Online only? Guess it’d be stupid of me to expect a physical release? Only reason I didn’t get Alan Wake 2
I don't really see how a game needing to be online is much of a problem tbh. Especially these days
@WolfyTn that's a bad reason to miss out on AW2
@GeminiReign yeah no doubt they'll be shut off but chances are years from release when the player base is hardly there. Won't really make a difference in the long run.
As for the physical stuff 🤷 a few people still wants to own physical which I don't see the point in and haven't got a game on disc since early Xbox one ps4 because much prefer buying everything digital and using gamepass and PS now but each to their own on that
If there was PSVR2 support I would perhaps forgive the online requirement, but it doesn’t so I won’t.
Because reasons? If GT Sport/7 and any others already have awkwardness of exploits/cheating and grinding preventions players find what difference does it make. Oh they offer people grindy games, patch what they don't notice till players have videos up about how to get past things well why not just not make it grindy then.
Sure for save sharing/editing or more I get why it's here but still. They want money from us, to grind it out. Maybe not make the game grindy and people would save editing/share less hmm, genius idea there. Sigh.
I mean to me I was surprised by how much half of the game of accessible events are so I just ended the game there to prove to myself hey, I could beat the game, or just prove right here I don't have to finish it because half the events don't even have to be done. That's a lot of player flexibility there to make a game THAT easy to get by in NFS Shift.
In WRC 3 it looked easy then was a bit challenging. I still beat it though.
Forza Motorsport 8/Series consoles, doing online singleplayer turned me away as it is besides it's terrible marketing and eh progression system.
GT Sport's offline was good enough of content access with a save to now reworked offline singleplayer for the better, how many studios are going to do that. Barely I think.
I grinded for cars to get those to have at least 1 I can access in all GT League/career mode events for offline that's it, because the dealership had to be patched to make it usable in the current 1.69 singleplayer. How would I have any idea they would make the game accessible offline. I wouldn't.
1.68 and prior it wasn't accessible offline. XD Like talk about stupidity not just about server side saving to prevent cheating of cars and event progress much.
Server based DRM doesn't make it any better and servers cost a lot. These companies are hilarious. It may help in some cases for progression, save file editing/sharing, hacking and more but does it really work for the cost then better DRM practices they could put in place and updates not just oh updates and a server to annoy players? They has to be other solutions right? Or get better people to come up with better DRM not Denovo outsourcing DRM or better DRM practices people can come up with but oh it takes too long and shareholders want their money. Hmm I see the issues here they have to go through get the product out but put half hearted DRM methods in, a server will do and updates.
For online multiplayer sure but I mean singleplayer gamers suffering too just for the intended experience. Let alone people that fall off the game then are committed to it or even caring to buy the game at all.
Sure a percentage may, saves being sent around/edited and people that want cheats (god mode in some games because those players are bored, when that's what arcade mode is for, pick a car and go and have fun with the preset dream cars/fast cars then progression based) has been a thing in the past sure, but how many do not a lot of people?
I care about fun progression that I want to play through as a trusted player and within the intended experience (unless it's cheats the devs left in the game like years ago of course but I don't use cheats as they mostly aren't the kind of thing that changes the game to me in a way I care).
I don't care about 'the perfect game', to me these perfect game mentalities make me not want to buy the game because the cutscenes, the slog of gameplay and more is so boring. I play legit every time.
I can replay old games with far more flexible game design, less linear experiences (racing games that aren't open world I mean but have menu/reward progression that's not linear, I'm fine with other linear games if the gameplay and balance of new and old mixed in is fun) of past GT games due to their progression design. I can't with newer ones because they are so gated (GT5 and Forza Motorsport 6 levels of BS but worse to tuning shop garbage) behind perfection, roulettes (worse than Forza Motorsport 6), and linear boredom/other nonsense.
Games get bigger in scale and also keep sucking due to annoying decisions in the progression/modes. Being linear sure makes sense and more control over it then an open world (more that goes wrong due to little details in the corner somewhere). But this is an open world racing game no a menu/drive around circuits one so hmm.
I have no interest in dream cars, I do about game design in racing games and if the game design sucks your not getting a sale from me and that happens to be most modern racing games, only few I've picked up new (Grid Legends) or pre-owned (most due to times I come across them unfortunately, most of 6th/7th gen as most 8th gen racing games suck with the worst progression I've ever played or seen and gone nope no thank you).
I wasn't going to buy this game anyways as not into open world racing games but still eh.
I will not put a single cent in a game that i will not be able to play anymore when the servers will be closed.
@KundaliniRising333 Finally someone who also noticed that as well no one even brought it up in the trialer or anywhere else it was reported
Test Drive Unlimited on 360 also has a solo mode though we're it would just switch off players being in your world so why can't they do the same. I remember because I played it to death on 360 it was a brilliant game just driving around and collecting the cars
Test Drive 2 on Steam was taken off years ago but if you got it you can still download it which I've done in the past it. It's an awful game compared to what 1 was but even though you can't buy it on steam when you install you still have to activate the game in order to play to Atari servers and it still works on that bit. I don't think online was working though I always switch it off but TDU2 handling and looks oh man it was like a PS2 game upscaled
@KundaliniRising333 glad you said it I was like that isn't something you want to show off lol
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