Test Drive Unlimited (PC)... DO NOT BUY!
Discussion
I have sold about a dozen gaming systems in the last month. All running core duo or quad core, some standard, some overclocked. All running Nvidia SLi, some Vista Ultimate and some XP Pro - all 32bit.
All the software is legit and licensed, all the updates, and platform patches are applied, all have been tried and tested on every game I supply with them.
All 100% crash free with no problems. I would suggest that there is in each case either:
1) A problem with the hardware
2) A problem with the software
3) Sour grapes
In my considerable experience most issues can be resolved, but the higher the specifications, the more problems you encounter as the user becomes the beta tester for the drivers and patches. Also most games are predominently played by 14-25yr olds, who are most likely to complain and critisize.
All IMO
All the software is legit and licensed, all the updates, and platform patches are applied, all have been tried and tested on every game I supply with them.
All 100% crash free with no problems. I would suggest that there is in each case either:
1) A problem with the hardware
2) A problem with the software
3) Sour grapes
In my considerable experience most issues can be resolved, but the higher the specifications, the more problems you encounter as the user becomes the beta tester for the drivers and patches. Also most games are predominently played by 14-25yr olds, who are most likely to complain and critisize.
All IMO
I really want to get TDU on PC but i'm not sure if my pc is up 4 the job. Can you have a look through the specification and reply to give me on advice on whether or not to get it.
Dell Dimension 2300
Intel CPU 1.70 Ghz
1.69 Ghz, 256 Mb of RAM
Do you reckon i could push my luck and get the game on to it?
Dell Dimension 2300
Intel CPU 1.70 Ghz
1.69 Ghz, 256 Mb of RAM
Do you reckon i could push my luck and get the game on to it?
CJohnson said:
Dell Dimension 2300
Do you reckon i could push my luck and get the game on to it?
Unfortunately I doubt it. The CPU is a bit slow and I think the RAM would be a problem as well.
Just checking up on the web, the 2300s use Intel 845 chips for graphical duties, and they're so far off the mark it's not going to happen. To put it in perspective, I run it on a NVidia 6600GT, several generations beyond that, and that's pretty marginal as it goes.
beyond rational said:
I've only got one problem, any car that costs over $100,000 has had an extra 0 added to the cost so prices go from 0-99,999 then jump to 1,000,000-15,000,000
Are you using a no CD patch or a "borrowed" game?
If so there is your problem. It is widely known that using a no-Cd patch or "duplicate" of the game causes car costs to jump by adding a zero on the end.
You will find loads of cases of this on the official forums and I havent seen one case that isnt for the reasons I have stated.
Medic-one said:
Just spend over 2 hours playing TDU.
Never had any problem it since i uhm... bought
it a couple months ago. Applied this one cheat to give me loads of money, bought a huge mansion and about a dozen great cars and still enjoy the game very much, without any problems/errors.
And totally destroyed the object of the game in the process. I earned all my money and cars. I've now completed all the single player missions/time trials/deliveries. I own about 16 houses and over 40 cars. There is nothing more satisfying than buying something like an F1GTR with money I earned, not money I was given with a cheat.
that being said... it is a great game isnt it?
Civpilot said:
Medic-one said:
Just spend over 2 hours playing TDU.
Never had any problem it since i uhm... bought
it a couple months ago. Applied this one cheat to give me loads of money, bought a huge mansion and about a dozen great cars and still enjoy the game very much, without any problems/errors.
And totally destroyed the object of the game in the process. I earned all my money and cars. I've now completed all the single player missions/time trials/deliveries. I own about 16 houses and over 40 cars. There is nothing more satisfying than buying something like an F1GTR with money I earned, not money I was given with a cheat.
that being said... it is a great game isnt it?
I played it for about a month without the cheats, but only bought a couple of cars since i lost most of my money to speeding tickets by the bloody police.
And since i don't play it that much but did want to drive the fancy cars i used the cheats.
So if i fancy playing it for like 20-30 minutes after i come back from work at least i can drive a fancy car.
I just don't have the time and patience to go the official route of spending hours earning money and boughing and selling cars and stuff.
And it's a great game yeah indeed.
Ooookkkaaay here I go.
I was part of the open beta test where they were stress testing their servers pre-release.
The game has come along way since that beta, yes it is by no means perfect but its not simply a case of "the pc version is shit".
I have a miser spec Vaio C1Z, 1.66 Dual Core, 1gb RAM, Geforce Go 7400, i.e. bargain bucket video. It runs fine at 23 frames a second and I can hoon along in my Sagaris at 190mph with no issues.
For every one person complaining on the forum there are probably 10 or 20 off playing happily.
Plus most of the problems have been with the US download version, which I bought not 10 minutes after release. I and many others then couldnt play due to crashing to desktop etc
Atari admitted their screw up, and sorted it by releasing a patch, perhaps not as promptly as some would like but they sorted it. I for one got a box copy of the game from both US and UK Atari offices, the UK one being a week before official release!
So to say they don't care is just plain wrong.
Oh, and by the way, Atari didn't make this game, Eden did. Atari are merely the publisher and marketing vehicle.
- Game crashes or drops to 1fps when using a force feedback wheel. - Well your previous problem said there was no wheel support? which is it? Does it not support your wheel?.
- Game crashes when using mouse input. - I use the mouse in the menus not for driving, its fine.
- Game crashes when using joystick input... actually the game crashes when you use ANYTHING USB. - Total and utter Codswallop. I use a USB joystick and have zero control issues.
Unfortunately not. Official forum posts indicate the game has issues with any USB inputs (from wired XBox controllers to wheels).
Works just fine with my PS2 controller via USB adapter, can map all 12 buttons and all 4 axes.
You know reading your posts again it sounds very much like you havent had half these issues being reported on the forum, most of which are driver related or can be fixed easily through tweaks of some sort or another.
I was part of the open beta test where they were stress testing their servers pre-release.
The game has come along way since that beta, yes it is by no means perfect but its not simply a case of "the pc version is shit".
I have a miser spec Vaio C1Z, 1.66 Dual Core, 1gb RAM, Geforce Go 7400, i.e. bargain bucket video. It runs fine at 23 frames a second and I can hoon along in my Sagaris at 190mph with no issues.
For every one person complaining on the forum there are probably 10 or 20 off playing happily.
Plus most of the problems have been with the US download version, which I bought not 10 minutes after release. I and many others then couldnt play due to crashing to desktop etc
Atari admitted their screw up, and sorted it by releasing a patch, perhaps not as promptly as some would like but they sorted it. I for one got a box copy of the game from both US and UK Atari offices, the UK one being a week before official release!
So to say they don't care is just plain wrong.
Oh, and by the way, Atari didn't make this game, Eden did. Atari are merely the publisher and marketing vehicle.
ThePassenger said:
CivPilot said:
- Game crashes or drops to 1fps when using a force feedback wheel. - Well your previous problem said there was no wheel support? which is it? Does it not support your wheel?.
- Game crashes when using mouse input. - I use the mouse in the menus not for driving, its fine.
- Game crashes when using joystick input... actually the game crashes when you use ANYTHING USB. - Total and utter Codswallop. I use a USB joystick and have zero control issues.
Unfortunately not. Official forum posts indicate the game has issues with any USB inputs (from wired XBox controllers to wheels).
Works just fine with my PS2 controller via USB adapter, can map all 12 buttons and all 4 axes.
You know reading your posts again it sounds very much like you havent had half these issues being reported on the forum, most of which are driver related or can be fixed easily through tweaks of some sort or another.
Edited by marfgtxx on Tuesday 8th May 00:11
marfgtxx said:
Oh, and by the way, Atari didn't make this game, Eden did. Atari are merely the publisher and marketing vehicle.
Heard that one before.
Eden are Atari's in house development team, they're website was a swine to track down but the games list & logo match. So yeah... just the publisher... and the developer. marfgtxx said:
ThePassenger said:
CivPilot said:
- Game crashes or drops to 1fps when using a force feedback wheel. - Well your previous problem said there was no wheel support? which is it? Does it not support your wheel?.
- Game crashes when using mouse input. - I use the mouse in the menus not for driving, its fine.
- Game crashes when using joystick input... actually the game crashes when you use ANYTHING USB. - Total and utter Codswallop. I use a USB joystick and have zero control issues.
Unfortunately not. Official forum posts indicate the game has issues with any USB inputs (from wired XBox controllers to wheels).
Works just fine with my PS2 controller via USB adapter, can map all 12 buttons and all 4 axes.
You know reading your posts again it sounds very much like you havent had half these issues being reported on the forum, most of which are driver related or can be fixed easily through tweaks of some sort or another.
You would be correct. I haven't yet been able to enjoy all of these wondrous bugs, glitches... nor have I managed to fall off the world which sounds like a laugh. Currently my legit copy of TDU has a cup of coffee on it and I'm considering turning it in to an ashtray. Because that really is all the CD is useful for. Other than inserting it in to the drive and watching Windows fall over (GPF in the Test Drive executable) repeatedly, the bink video's work so that's £20 for what 1min's entertainment? I can get cheaper drugs than that! Yes, it's a wonderful game and well worth £20... assuming the point of the game is to be devoid of any entertainment and full of annoyances.
I'd love it to be drivers. But it just isn't so. I'd hoped that CnC3 would keep me occupied whilst Atari. No, lets not soil that name... I loved my ST. Lets call these morons who they really are: Infogrames, renound for being crap, delivered on a patch. Well, they haven't. Sorry but the number of serious faults this game is showing would have me pushing the first patch out 1st May and follow it up in quick sucsession. And to be perfectly frank the rumour of a PC patch is currently just that, the same as the rumours of TDU2 being in development. I honestly do not expect a patch to appear this month or any other.
By the way, 20fps on a Go 7500GS is pathetic. Especially considering the draw distance on the game looks to be similar to borrowing Mr. Magoo's eyes. I have a 7500GS and am expecting 30fps+ will all the goodies, if SupCom can do 'everything on' (as can CnC3 and everything else) so can TDU... unless you are also saying the game has serious technical issues as well?
Right I'm off to make an ashtray.
Passenger, it was a 7400 Go(the uber basic pov spec card) and 23 fps. Didnae mention a 7500, nor 20 fps.
That said if you know some wondrous tricks to make it run newer games with a higher FPS, do tell.
Saying that I mainly play HL multiplayer, and it manages 200fps just fine there.
Eitherway, it runs fine and I'm playing happily, I'm sorry your not, perhaps you should get a refund rather than defiling your game? however satisfying that may be.
Have you thought about talking to the support team about getting a key for the download version in exchange for your DVD copy? I understand that people have had less issues with the patched DL version.
That said if you know some wondrous tricks to make it run newer games with a higher FPS, do tell.
Saying that I mainly play HL multiplayer, and it manages 200fps just fine there.
Eitherway, it runs fine and I'm playing happily, I'm sorry your not, perhaps you should get a refund rather than defiling your game? however satisfying that may be.
Have you thought about talking to the support team about getting a key for the download version in exchange for your DVD copy? I understand that people have had less issues with the patched DL version.
marfgtxx said:
Eitherway, it runs fine and I'm playing happily, I'm sorry your not, perhaps you should get a refund rather than defiling your game? however satisfying that may be.
I can exchange it for... another copy of the game. But I can't get a refund as... I might have copied it. Seems to be the standard polict of stores these days unfortunately. I can ebay it for a loss... or turn it in to an ashtray and Tortuga a version to patch up... if they ever release one.
marfgtxx said:
Have you thought about talking to the support team about getting a key for the download version in exchange for your DVD copy? I understand that people have had less issues with the patched DL version.
Infogrames support is legendarily bad; it's worth a shot I suppose however... if I download it and doesn't work I'm back to square one and lumbered with Infogrames 'DirectDrive' system which is.... known to go bang regularly.
To be honest looking around the forums, people with 6000 series cards are running rings around yours. I'd suggest drivers but well; the game seems exceptionally twitchy to that sort of thing.
And yes, I still stand by my original statement that this game isn't worth the money asked for it. I'll add that it would be best to wait until it's been patched a few times and THEN test it out.
Edited by ThePassenger on Wednesday 9th May 23:33
ThePassenger said:
Infogrames support is legendarily bad; it's worth a shot I suppose however... if I download it and doesn't work I'm back to square one and lumbered with Infogrames 'DirectDrive' system which is.... known to go bang regularly.
I see your point, its worth a go tho IMO, I would call and talk to UK support, they had my replacement copy of TDU with me overnight and as I mentioned a full week before the UK release. I ended up with two extra copies as Atari US sent me one too, different key on each. Must eBay them.
BTW, whoever told you that you cannot refund it is stretching the truth by a long shot. You are entitled to refund on the product for pretty much whatever reason, even if they only give you store credit, and given the fact that its not actually fit for purpose, as in it doesnt work, you should have them over a barrel.
Getting in touch with Trading Standards may prove a touch of light relief after the hassles you've had with the game.
ThePassenger said:
To be honest looking around the forums, people with 6000 series cards are running rings around yours. I'd suggest drivers but well; the game seems exceptionally twitchy to that sort of thing
I would change driver but I've yet to find a better one for my Vaio C1Z, being a Sony "aftermarket" driver support is somewhat lacking. I did try installing one custom driver but it seemed to force TDU into adding a vaseline-esqe soft focus on the game, which I couldnt disable without putting the stock driver back on.
Must admit too I'm not entirely sure if mine is a 128mb with 128 available if needed from the system RAM, or if its a true 256 card. Different sites give different specs
As I say tho it only seems to be TDU which has a lower than normal framerate, still playable tho at 23fps so I havent looked very heavily into tweaking it.
Edited by marfgtxx on Thursday 10th May 18:15
Edited by marfgtxx on Thursday 10th May 18:17
ThePassenger said:
Must admit too I'm not entirely sure if mine is a 128mb with 128 available if needed from the system RAM, or if its a true 256 card. Different sites give different specs
Normally the 7000 series have their own RAM. But really easy way to tell. Right click on My Computer and select Properties.
The first tab should have some gumf about your system... including the amount of physical RAM. If it's missing 12MB... you know it's stealing RAM
I think I might just do the Trading Standards thing; store credit would be good... if it's active until the CnC3 mission pack appears
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