10 Things I hate about WipEout Pulse

[Dogg Thang]

After quite a lot of play, I have become completely certain that I really don't like (not going to use the word hate) that there are black and white runs of the same tracks.

It was a fear I had when this was announced - that I would find it hard to really learn the tracks to an instinctive stage because effectively two different tracks use the exact same landmarks. So on a white run, I see a landmark and my brain registers a turn. On the black run, if I see it and register the same turn, I'm now in the wall. It was said there would be some changes in the directions and, on a few tracks, there are but not many.

It didn't make a huge difference early on as I was just getting to know the tracks. But at this point, I should know many of them instinctively and this is where the different runs are causing a problem.

It affects some tracks more than others for whatever reason. Moa Therma, I know both black and white and I'm okay with them but then it's an easy track. De Konstruct looks identical throughout almost the entire race in both directions and I simply can't get to an instinctive stage with that one at all. I'm getting no consistency with it. Basilico White, I can get through on instinct. But Black takes three laps at least before I can settle my brain into accepting it's not the white run. And then if I go back to the White run, I can't do it.

On most of the runs, there seems to me to be a clear 'right way'. A stronger track.

I really don't need the game stretched out by giving me backwards runs. For me, it's just getting in the way, takes from the uniqueness of the tracks and causes problems at the later stages of learning the tracks. It's a feature I can very much do without.

[Au_Xtr3me]

Although I didn't really mind the black and white runs, I did feel increadibly disorientated flying them backwards

For me its not something I hate or like, its just there, couldn't care less.

Perhaps if they redesigned the black runs, to have a completely new environment but the same track, you could actually boast 24 unique tracks, there wouldn't be disorientation, and you would think the game is bigger than it really is.

[Dogg Thang]

Well that's one thing I thought when it was announced - if the black runs took place with completely different lighting, like a different time of day (like WO1) or even different season, it might create enough of a visual difference to completely seperate the runs in my mind.

[zargz]

give them more time, dogg. they'll grow on you (not literally!)

here's a tip - since pure almost the only land marks I pay attention to are the markings on the track

also when I learn new tracks I memorise them like this
basilico white - straight, easy right, S-es, long sweeping right, easy left, S-es, right, jump
left 90¤, straight(good for boost if you have it!), u-turn, easy left and back to start.

kinda like mcRae rally

the black run here is totally different from the white with the added magstrip
and even in the track where nothing has been added I feel it's a different track.

just do some more speed laps on them - you'll come around!

the last thing you can lose is Hope

[Medusa]

I missed one thing in my earlier post. I definitely HATE the number and amount of weapons in Pulse. It feels irritating to go over a weapon pad. I can picture the roulette wheel spinning mid-game from the 60-plus weapons...okay I'm exaggerating slightly.

On the same sort of thing, I have the AI set to medium and they are still totally suicidal - yesterday on a Rapier race there were FOUR quakes in a row - one immediately after the other - the announcer said "Quake, quake, quake, quake"!! I thought I was hearing an echo at first, but no, along came four successive quakes and subsequent AI eliminations. As if they wouldn't be hitting absorb after hearing the first two coming.
AI is sort of an oxymoron in this game.

[Sausehuhn]

Now i need a longer mix

Audacity could make your music track almost endless

[q_dmc12]

01.
Just Single Race and Tournament in Multiplayer mode. I really miss eliminator here. At least modes like Head-to-Head would have been possible because there are no weapons that may not target because of lag.

I have to second (third/fourth/whathaveyou) this, this is the one thing I am irate about - I hope it becomes available as downloaded content...one can only hope....

At least for adhoc if nothing else...

[phl0w]

That's why I only race the White runs properly. I was never a big fan of producers' cheating content just by making tracks reversible. They could have at least change the time of day as someone mentioned, like they did in WO1.
There's not even one track where the Black run is actually better (maybe Amphi due to its White version's poor trying to recreate the Gare d'Europe jump, which feels a bit pathetic to me). Now go figure.

[infoxicated]

You make some stupid sweeping statements sometimes phl0w.

The amount of time and effort that went into working out environments and tracks where two unique varients could be achieved was far from cheating - it was an attempt to get as many tracks as possible into the game with the limited art and design resources.

Now you go figure.

[phl0w]

They are supposed to be "sweeping", however, it's not my intention to generalise things. I only express my opinion and it is my opinion that reversible tracks are no valid content (afterall it's not a concern that only affects Pulse), at least not enough that allows one to boast about 24 tracks, no matter the "effort" put into them. There are many people out there and on these boards that crave those Black runs, but also many that could do without. I just don't like them, both reasons why mentioned in my previous post.
Besides, this is the "10 things I hate about Pulse" topic, right?

[infoxicated]

Yes. You're right, it is.

And you told us your dislike of the alternate tracks early in the first page of this thread, but here you are 22 pages later harping on about it. Now go figure.

[Frances_Penfold]

i was racing Moa therma white to reach the 70's and found a DJ mix of strictly 12 min; i only selected it into the playlist : so every attempts i did , i was thinking : " stay alive till the end of the music : come' on " ( 12 min = 72 zones of 10 sec ).

Now i need a longer mix

Heh, that's a really good idea. So is there a known limit to the length of an imported song? 'Cuz one could in principle make a montage of favorite Wipeout tunes that lasted 20 minutes or more and minimized loading...

I might try that this weekend

[rdmx]

It's simple with audacity! Just blend some songs together - instant long mix, circmventing the mp3 amount limit - only suitable for zone though.

[Asayyeah]

I used Audacity years ago to edit tracks and match them to my wipeout videos i uploaded. I am always using it also to record what i am listening through web radio ( mostly DI.fm ).
Very interesting free software ( thx sourceforge.net : don't forget to make them donations )

[Colin Berry]

maybe Amphi due to its White version's poor trying to recreate the Gare d'Europe jump, which feels a bit pathetic to me.

Little known fact to share with WoZone
The Amphiseum was originally designed for Wipeout Pure, it was designed to be Sinucit, but we were never quite happy enough with it, so put it on the back burner and chose the track that ended up as Sinucit. We returned to it for the Pure downloads, but again we didnt get it how we wanted it so it stayed in the back ground. Come Pulse time we returned to it as priority and tweaked it, the tilted long straights and horse shoe bend were redone slightly and we actually cut a 'stepping stone' section out.

The jump has nothing to do with Gare d'Europa, its like saying Talons Junction is trying to recreate Karbonis' start grid because they both have a start grid

In hindsight I probably wouldnt have done Black and White versions for every environment, but many of them work really well for me. But then in hindsight I wouldnt have included Outpost 7 in the game, yet many people like it, which shows you cant ever please everyone, so all you can do is put effort in and trust your instinct.


Incidentally, blue ridge was also Sinucit at one stage, and sinucit started life as hrm.. maybe sebenco.... Karl might know

[phl0w]

Now that is an answer I appreciate (and one that makes me feel guilty to "sweep" over certain aspects of the game at times).
Thank you for the inside scoop!

[Chrono]

Well you got the Amphi right because I greatly enjoy both white and black versions.

[Sausehuhn]

Well, speaking about jumps: I have to say I kind of not like the way ships handle in air. It's like they're just stones dropping to the ground. The nose-up that follows is even more strange (of course that's just my opinion!). There is no bouce at all, actually it just feels like the Florion Height drop in Fusion and even though ships can leave the track and they're not glued to it, I often get the feeling people are overacting when they say the old WO-feeling is back.
To me it's more Fusion than 2097.

Maybe the old handling won't come back at any time, but I would like to see the boucing back at least a bit more.

I always had the feeling people bashed Fusion's handling too hard compared to the critism that they gave to Pure/Pulse, because it actually isn't too different.

[Dogg Thang]

Not sure people could have gone hard enough on Fusion but I see your point. I think Pure and Pulse were huge steps in the right direction and, personally, I feel that's worthy of recognising and celebrating. No, it's not 2097 and I've never really understood why we can't go back to more that handling.

When Fusion came out I remember devs on the boards talking about the difference in the engine and that, effectively, they couldn't do it on PS2. With Pure, Colin mentioned that they couldn't get away with the flaws like going through track elements (which is absolutely right though I thought that just making objects solid would end that) so they couldn't go back to that. With the energy barriers, not sure that would be an issue now but I imagine that would have required a complete start from scratch for Pulse and that probably wasn't an option production-wise.

Ultimately, yeah, I think many if not most Wipeout players want the real AG feeling back but I think both Pure and Pulse have got the series back on track and, personally, I'm really happy about that. Like, we can all pick holes all day but they're damn good games. In my little personal opinion of course... I guess I just wish my '10 things I love' thread got as much attention as the negative version...

[Sausehuhn]

Oh I didn't say Pure and Pulse are bad games! No, really not! I love the games, don't get me wrong. When I post comments that talk "bad" about the games I don't mean the entire game is bad. I also didn't say Pulse's handling is bad, I just wanted to say what could have been better. Than, on the other hand, you cannot please everyone.
I'm just saying my personal opinion and surely not everyone thinks the same about it. That must be a boring world if it was like that, hm?