Anyone Else Enjoy Playing Checkered Flag?

[+madman]

6 hours ago, phuzaxeman said:

I enjoy Checkered Flag on the lynx.  That's the version that rules.  

The Lynx also has a superior version of Blue Lightning.

[agradeneu]

The lead programmer improved a lot since CF:

 

https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,66050/

 

 

[JagChris]

22 hours ago, cubanismo said:

Agreed. I think it's beautiful graphically, and the frame rate is more or less par for the time it came out. Sound is meh, but completely adequate. Besides the controls, it has one other serious flaw though: The A.I. It must have been hard to come up with an algorithm that randomly makes all the computer-controlled cars come to a halt for no reason, but they pulled it off.

I like it graphically as well. It's really nice in some areas in that regard. But yes the AI seems ridiculous like they wait up for you. On 3D0 NFS sometimes it seems the X-man does something similar.

 

It's a shame. The graphics are really intriguing in some areas. With more work it may have turned out to be a VR killer.

Edited January 10, 2021 by JagChris

[+Sauron]

Checkered Flag is one of those games where once every 5 years or so I come back around to it to see if there's any way I can extract even the slightest bit of fun out of it. And it usually takes no longer than 5 minutes or so with the game for me to suddenly remember that it didn't work all of those other times I tried it, so it's futile to try it again. 

 

[+CyranoJ]

Just now, Sauron said:

Checkered Flag is one of those games where once every 5 years or so I come back around to it to see if there's any way I can extract even the slightest bit of fun out of it. And it usually takes no longer than 5 minutes or so with the game for me to suddenly remember that it didn't work all of those other times I tried it, so it's futile to try it again. 

What you are saying is... its the KFC of Jaguar games...

[+Sauron]

Just now, CyranoJ said:

What you are saying is... its the KFC of Jaguar games...

No, that would be insulting to KFC, which actually has some decent items on the menu.

 

 

[Austin]

4 hours ago, Sauron said:

Checkered Flag is one of those games where once every 5 years or so I come back around to it to see if there's any way I can extract even the slightest bit of fun out of it. And it usually takes no longer than 5 minutes or so with the game for me to suddenly remember that it didn't work all of those other times I tried it, so it's futile to try it again. 

Pretty much my experience in a nutshell.

[PeterG]

On 1/10/2021 at 2:50 PM, agradeneu said:

The lead programmer improved a lot since CF:

 

https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,66050/

 

 

Interesting. I wasn't aware that he also was coding Highlander. So he is responsible for two games on the Jag that tried to be like some titles on other systems but only a lot worse and not very much fun to play. Way to start a career. But looks like it kinda worked for him.

[agradeneu]

1 hour ago, PeterG said:

Interesting. I wasn't aware that he also was coding Highlander. So he is responsible for two games on the Jag that tried to be like some titles on other systems but only a lot worse and not very much fun to play. Way to start a career. But looks like it kinda worked for him.

Naughty Dog started their carreer with "Way of the Warrior" - veryhumble beginnings of a great studio.   

[PeterG]

2 hours ago, agradeneu said:

Naughty Dog started their carreer with "Way of the Warrior" - veryhumble beginnings of a great studio.   

Also true. ?

[Pete5125]

Way of the Warrior was another game that looked and sounded amazing for the time, everything was their except the controll lag was bad so much so it was impossible to play, easier to play than checkerd flag atari jaguar.  Which you control by doing slow taps in the direction you want to go,just like using a steering wheel in real life.

 

If you can somehow get past the bad controll you are treated to a 1 player game with empty pit stops and a cheating computer.  Not much to recommend, but if controll was fixed it was close to the sega genesis vr racing port.

[+cubanismo]

Alright, I loaded Virtua Racing on a Genesis/Megadrive emulator, and I have a horrible memory. It has 3 tracks, not 1. It even has split-screen 2-player I'd completely forgotten about.

 

I didn't do any scientific comparisons, but it seems like the FPS is about the same on average to Checkered Flag. That said, it seems more steady in Virtua Racing, like they locked it at 15 or 20fps or something near there. So while Checkered Flag starts to chug when you get a few AI drones on the screen, Virtua Racing stays smooth. The 2-player split screen even seems to be the same FPS as the single player mode. Also, the controls are tight, and the AI cars behave more or less like cars, and never stop to wait for me. Pretty solid game after all these years. I was way off on the details, but my warm fuzzy memories of enjoying it thoroughly were correct.

 

However, I'd say it falls short in comparison to Checkered flag in both graphics and sound. It looks like it has about 16 colors total, and some youtube videos on the SVP chip seem to confirm that. They made the most of them with some dithering that maybe looked OK on CRTs, but looked awful on the flat screen TV I was using. The draw distance on Virtua Racing is terrible. The number of polygons on screen is... more than I can count on my hands, but maybe not more than I can count if I use my feet too. And the sound... Oh god make it stop. I hadn't remembered it being that bad, but when you have both engines constantly humming in the two player mode, it's mind-numbing. I'll take Checkered Flag's sound any day.

 

Overall though, Virtua Racing is still the better game. I'm still enjoying Checkered Flag lately, but playing Virtua Racing just made me want to try to get an emulator playing Daytona USA, and while I got it working after an hour or so of messing with terrible incomplete ROM dumps from sketchy websites, the experience was still meh due to crappy emulator input handling, and ultimately I spent the night playing World Tour Racing on a CRT, so I'd say that's the real winner here.

[JagChris]

What emulator were you using for Genesis stuff? I find the Kega Fusion emulator to be excellent. 

 

Maybe someday if you get bored and need a change of pace you can poke around the checkered Flag sources see if there's anything you can do. 

[+cubanismo]

1 hour ago, JagChris said:

What emulator were you using for Genesis stuff?

I think it's some backend of unknown (to me) origin in the RetroBoy app. The emulation has been flawless thus far, and the UI is OK, which is pretty high praise for apps on Android TV.

[KevinMos3]

On 1/8/2021 at 1:49 AM, cubanismo said:

You're all going to think I've gone insane, and maybe it's the fumes, but I've been playing a lot of Checkered Flag lately...

This happen to anyone else, or should I seek help?

I used to enjoy it, but only with manual transmission.  I noticed the rubber banding AI pretty early on, and used that to keep a reasonable speed in 3rd and 4th gears to keep control of my car while still winning the race.  Played all the way through once... only took the time to do it once though.  I still like the graphics and would like to play it again soon.  I haven't spent quality time with my Jag in a long time.

 

On 1/8/2021 at 11:36 AM, madman said:

I'd rather play Club Drive.

That's another one I always loved and had a lot of fun with, especially in 2-player mode.  I also enjoyed exploring and going places you aren't really supposed to by abusing the gas and stabilize button.