Relaunched Formula Fusion to get name change to 'PACER'-June release

[blackwiggle]

The thing I like the best on that video was the very funny graphic saying 'Coming Soon'

[Concealed Sequence]

Yeah! 😂 😂 If only we knew how long it would be!!!

BTW blackwiggle, I've joined your Pacer AG community ☺

[T-301]

I was honestly not impressed by the physics when I played FF. The "floating" effect was barely noticeable, like they're just sliding along the track instead of actually reacting to the force applied when turning. At least I got some wallpapers out of it.

[blackwiggle]

You can adjust the AG effect of the craft in the CARD system once you have opened the respective cards up to use.
The AG effect can also be dependent on other craft configurations, like if you were to build a craft loadout that was specifically built for combat, with 'Heavy Hull' card employed, along with a few others, it's a balancing act.
It was frustrating when the CARD system first made a appearance, as it seemed just as you got your head around what seemed to be a pretty good configuration, there would be a update and some cards would be removed and replaced with others, or some CARDS effects would be amplified or lessened.

TBH I just tested till I found a overall CARD setup that could be applied to each craft so I could make it through Campaign, and left it at that, I probably could get a lot better performance out of the crafts if I did more testing and swapped a few things around, but in the back of my mind I knew the day would come when FF V2 [Now PACER] would be released, and a lot of things would have changed and I would have to do it all again anyway, so I just didn't torture myself doing it.
Besides, a lot of the CARDS seem to have little effect on one craft, but when applied to another, that effect is much greater, something you don't really find out unless you do a LOT of testing.

I have asked if there will be some form of craft testing area within the game, where you can quickly swap out different CARDS and see the difference more easily, without having to save the configuration, apply it to a craft then start a race to see the effect, it's the need to go through that laborious process that can put people off.

[Concealed Sequence]

In the Telegraph:

"4 APRIL 2019 • 3:29 PM
We've had Fortnite, Apex Legends and Red Dead Redemption 2. We've even had Tetris. The last-player standing battle royale is certainly gaming's en vogue mode right now, regardless of genre. Pacer is the latest game to put is own spin on it, a Wipeout inspired futuristic racer from Middlesbrough-based developer R8 Games.

Formerly known as Formula Fusion, Pacer looks to capture the anti-gravity racing of Wipeout and F-Zero. But its headline mode seems to be Storm: a battle racing, last-man standing event on an ever-shrinking track.

“This change in gear really does mark the next stage in Pacer’s progress,” says senior producer Steve Iles. “The game has changed significantly with a ground up re-coding of the core gameplay systems and inclusion of a wealth of new content.”

Pacer is looking to further rekindle the Wipeout spirit with a dance soundtrack featuring Cold Storage, who composed tracks for the original Wipeout released in 1995.

It certainly looks the part, with the latest trailer capturing the futuristic look that the anti-grav racers of the 90s evoked. Capturing that ethos will certainly garner it some admirers, though it will have to be at its scorching best to rival Fortnite and Apex Legends.

The two free-to-play shooters have popularised the battle royale genre, with Fortnite earning the most annual revenue of any game ever in 2018 with $2.4bn spent on microtransactions. Apex Legends, meanwhile, reached 50 million players in just a month."

[Lion]

What a weird article. It's like it's trying to serve two masters.

From the conversation about Storm in the RPS Rezzed stream though, it does sound really interesting.
A moving bubble of safety that gets dragged around the track and shrinks over time (is this tied to first? tied to the average position so people can't go zipping out in front and ending the round really quickly? will be fun to find out) so hitting someone with a weapon can cause them drop out of the safety bubble (the eye?) and into the storm, but a good pilot can catch back up.
I've seen racing modes that drop last place periodically, but something like this allows for all sorts of interesting stuff late in the game. If it's tied to first, then it's a little bit self-levelling. If it's tied to the peloton then when the eye gets REALLY small towards the end, I guess the pilots are gonna be side-by-side and bumping shoulders, competing for weapons pickups to decide the match? This could be really cool.

[blackwiggle]

Mate, sometimes it's worth being at the end of the earth as those in the Euro zone know it [New Zealand is basically + 11.55 hours in front of the UK GMT] like any press release supposed for the Uk, like we in Australia, we get it before the vast majority of WOzone readers, just because of the international dateline.......I don't consider this a Pres Release, by the way.....but LION is known for being factual with his posts, so I have no reason to doubt him

NZ/AUS tend to get the INFO about things first......if the above is true of PACER,.........interesting times ahead, guess we shall see eventually.

[TheFrostE]

Hey Ladies and Gents! Following up on Blackwiggles PS4 group (which youll see me in ) The Xbox Club is now live as well under the name "PACER AG RACING". Ill do my best to keep a connect here as well. Good to see you all again, catch you on the track this Summer <3

[blackwiggle]

Here's some video of a new track [AJURA] on PACER from Day 3 RPS sessions...Go to 39.42 of the video.........They are now saying console release will be before the end of Q3, so I'm guessing a JUNE release is optimistic to say the least.



Here's some neat news that I saw in the same thread as this video.

Quote: ignoring the X platform issues around Sony and UWP etc, we are planning to have Global and Platform Leaderboards for everything

[JFthebestJan]

they should release a Demo for it on all platforms, and make sure to get the gameplay right. that's the only way to convince players to invest money into this project...

that was what sony did back in the days with wipeout HD, i played the demo and was hooked after the first 100m

[blackwiggle]

They used to have a demo version on Steam, and I expect it might return for PACER, but as that was of a unfinished game, it was a double edged sword, and garnered as much criticism as it did positive comments.

As for the video above, all I can say is apart from the new track it doesn't seem, on the basis of that video, that much has changed.
It looks like the craft handling is still pretty much the same, but TBH you can't really tell until you get your hands on it......I didn't see much of weapons fire on the new track, so that's still a unknown quantity at this stage.

One thing that was emphasized, and should be noted for those that have yet to try the game, is that it differs from Wipeout in one major factor, and that is you can't keep you thumb fully depressed on the accelerate button at all times....well maybe on the slower speed classes on some tracks, but generally speaking it would be inadvisable, and suicidal with the fastest speed classes.

It's all about speed management, and keeping your crafts Health high enough to finish the race, and when you see the length of some of the tracks you'll realize that isn't going to be as easy as you might think.

It does help that unlike Wipeout, the accelerate button on PACER is actually a Throttle, and on a PS4 controller would be best mapped to either L2/R2 analog triggers, as that will give you the finest control.
Air brakes/braking works more like they did on the PSone Wipeouts, and side shift is achieved in the same manner, by using the opposite air brake to the direction you are steering, it's more of a Side Slide of the crafts rear end, rather than a true side shift.

[Concealed Sequence]

I'm getting hyped now! 😊

[blackwiggle]

Another big difference between Wipeout and PACER will be the TURBO.
On Wipeout you just pickup a single Turbo boost and it gives you a short spurt of speed.
On PACER you need to run over several Turbo pads to build up your Turbo Meter, you then get a Turbo Ready alert, but unlike Wipeout, the Turbo speed boost lasts several seconds, and it's effectiveness is relative to the speed you are already traveling.

You can use a Partially filled Turbo meter, but the effect is quite a bit less, you can also get a double Turbo, where the effect lasts even longer.

Again, your choices and tactics on Turbo use will need to vary both on track type, where on any particular track it is best to use, what speed class you are racing, what race type you are racing, and should you use only partially filled Turbo Meter or wait till it's full? or wait for a double Turbo ?......there is a LOT to consider, as using a full one when you are already traveling at top speed will make your craft shake and not be quite as controllable as it otherwise would be.

Likewise timing when to use a Turbo, and knowing when/where on the track your Turbo will run out is also knowledge you'll need to acquire, as you could start a Turbo on a long straight but find yourself traveling too fast at the end of it to make a turn.

As the Turbo pick up pads are not always aligned with the speed pads [sometimes on the opposite side of the track - Same goes for weapon/shield pickups], I doubt you will get the same situation as you can find in WO HD/FURY/2048, where somebody can just jump ahead and run over every speed pad and weapon pad, pick up all the Turbo's available and BR to victory.
It should be a LOT more of a even playing field, as tactics with pickup use are the difference between what pickup pads you WANT to run over V's the pads you NEED to run over to stay alive.

EDIT: For those that might of been wondering, PACER will be a download only game, at least initially.
Since R8 are now self publishing the game, it was deemed to be too big a financial risk to invest in the production of a disc version, they haven't ruled it out entirely, it will depend of the success of PACER if it happens......I'd hazard a guess and say it won't happen until at least a few DLC packs for the game have been released and they could be bundled like a GOTY edition.

[TheFrostE]

Has anyone from here gotten to go check it out over at Insomnia this weekend yet?

[Neccros]

Curious... My "Pacer" still loads as Formula Fusion even after a recent install... Has it been officially changed over or is it delayed?

[BlueWolf9498]

Curious... My "Pacer" still loads as Formula Fusion even after a recent install... Has it been officially changed over or is it delayed?

The new relaunched update hasn't been released yet, and from what i can tell, we are still far from release.