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From: doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee)
Newsgroups: net.micro.cbm
Subject: (long) Game review: Racing Destruction Set
Message-ID: <720@terak.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Sep-85 16:31:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: terak.720
Posted: Tue Sep 17 16:31:11 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Sep-85 01:23:39 EDT
Distribution: na
Organization: Calcomp Display Products Division, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Lines: 147

Racing Destruction Set
Electronic Arts
C-64 Disk ("flippy" disk -- uses both sides)
List $35?   Discount $21

Another Grade A program from Electronic Arts.  Those folks better
watch it, or they're likely to end up with a reputation they'll have
to uphold :-)

[Sorry the following description is so lengthy.  This is a very complex
and ambitious program.]

Start with the premise of a computer-simulated slot-car set.  If you
can't find anyone to race the second car, the computer will race against
you (at three skill levels, with "learning").  Put two windows on the
screen -- the top one for "player 1", the bottom one for "player 2 or
computer".  Each window shows a 3-D perspective view of the section of
the track that the player's car is running on.  (Note for the semantic
purists -- I presume that the view is isometric, not perspective :-).
As the cars run around the track, the two windows smooth-scroll
independently.

Now provide 50 pre-designed track layouts -- 15 original creations and
35 replicas of race tracks from Riverside to Monza.

Add on the ability to modify the track layout, and to create all new
layouts.  And a facility to save and reload the new creations.

There are some nice things about a computer-simulated slot set.  Like
it doesn't take up the whole kitchen table.  And you don't have to go
running around to pick up your car when it flies off the track.

But the best thing is that you can do things with a computer simulation
which are impractical in real life.  And here the authors of Racing
Destruction Set have gone hog-wild.  Where do I start...

The cars can run both directions on the same piece of track.  "Dead
ends" closed with a loop to turn the cars around are possible.  The cars
cars can be started in opposite directions, so that they'll have to meet
head-on somewhere on the track.

Both cars are chosen (independently) from any of ten possibilities:
Indy/Formula 1 open-cockpit open-wheel racer, NASCAR stock car, Can-Am
sports car, stock Corvette, "street" racing bike, "dirt" bike, Baja Bug,
Jeep, pickup, and one more I'll mention in a bit.  After selecting
the type of car you're going to race, you select the engine and tires
you want.  These choices determine acceleration, top speed, weight, and
traction for your car.

The track doesn't have to be "pavement".  You can have part or all of
it be dirt.  Or ice-covered.  You could run dirt bikes on the L.A.
Coliseum supercross course, or put Baja Bugs in an off-road race.

Tired of conformity?  What if the Coliseum supercross course was
actually on the planet Mercury, with its lower gravity?  The traction
would be lower, but the jumps spectacular.  You can put your track on
any of ten planets/moons in the Solar system from the Moon to Jupiter to
get different gravity effects.

As long as we're planet-hopping, we ought to change the scenery around
the track.  There are four backgrounds available: track, motocross,
abstract (a simple pattern of lines), and lunar (craters, that is).

Now that we can put the track on the Moon, and surround it with craters,
we need an appropriate vehicle.  The tenth kind of car you can race is
the "lunar rover".  So there you are, racing lunar rovers on the Moon.

Did I make it clear that these choices are independent?  You can have a
dirt bike racing against a Baja Bug on the Road Atlanta circuit with
abstract background scenery and Moon gravity, if that's what you want.

Bored with just racing around the track?  Liven things up by making your
car "mortal".  Running into other cars or running off the track will
then damage your car, reducing its performance (note: on a track with
jumps or hills, your car can be damaged to where it can no longer get up
the hill!).

Just finished watching "The Road Warrior" for the 15th time?  Change
from "racing" mode to "destruction" mode.  Add "crusher" fittings to
your car to make ramming the other car more effective.  Add armor to
help protect against the other car.  Carry some land mines or some
oil (to make oil slicks with), but do take care not to run into your
own traps.

Back to earth... here's more info about designing/modifying the track.

The track is laid out in an 8X8 area.  Each section can be straight,
a 90 degree turn, a crossover (at the same level, as in "an accident
waiting to happen"), a fork (straight plus 90 degree turn), empty, or a
start/finish line.  All sections have at least three basic attributes:
height (0 to 4 units), width (1 to 3 lanes, on the crossover pieces the
two roads can have different widths), and surface (paved, dirt, or ice).

In addition, certain pieces have special attributes.  A straight section
can have either the width or the height vary along its length.  Besides
the obvious use to transition between track sections of different widths
or heights, these can be used to produce jumps or chicanes.  The width
or height is independently adjustable at seven points along each section
(the two ends plus five points in between).

On the variable width pieces, the center lane is always present, you
can take away the left lane, the right lane, or both.  On the variable
height pieces, you can change the height by up to 2 units between any
two adjacent points.

The start/finish line pieces have an attribute which determines how the
cars are positioned at the start of the race.  These are:  both facing
left, both right, car 1 left and car 2 right, vice versa, and no cars at
all.  This last option is used for independent finish lines such as on
the "dragstrip" track.

--- Comments:

Very well done overall.  At first it's a little hard to get used to
controlling the cars with the joystick, but of course you learn.  The
graphics are excellent, but I do wish that Electronic Arts would spend
a few minutes picking out colors that don't smear when using the C-64
with a TV instead of a monitor.  The best graphic effect is when a car
hits a jump too fast, and goes tumbling over and over.  Really cute.

The sound is also excellent, although many would claim that reproducing
the buzzing of slot cars qualifies for the "Dubious Achievement of the
Year" award.  At least you can turn the volume down :-)  The authors
must have put far too much work into the little musical number that
accompanies the title screen; it's very good, but has nothing to do with
racing or anything.

Electronic Arts uses a "fastload" software package provided by Commodore
and it seems to work.  The Racing Destruction Set is actually a bunch
of different programs, and much loading goes on when switching between
menus (remember, there are *lots* of options).  They had to use both
sides of the disk to fit everything on -- the first side contains the
initial boot-up stuff plus the descriptions of the 50 pre-defined track
layouts; everything else is on the "back" side.

Problems:  the only big problem I've had is a strange bug which occurs
occasionally; suddenly the cars go much faster, don't corner very well
at all, and if they go off the track the program can't remember exactly
where the track is positioned and the view in the window is wrong.

In any program this ambitious you can expect to find a few details out
of place.  What struck me was that on most of the pre-defined replica
track layouts, the cars are pointed the wrong way at the start of the
race.  I guess the authors don't know that as a rule of thumb, the cars
go left around ovals and right around road courses.  Picky, picky.
-- 
Doug Pardee -- CalComp -- {calcom1,savax,seismo,decvax,ihnp4}!terak!doug