How would you improve Val D'Esierre?

[+Cobra Kai]

Just wondering.

 

It's clearly not perfect, but I always thought it was comparable to the 3DO Road Rash, though obviously lacking quite a few components of that game, which unfortunately keeps it simply an average title.

 

There's something about the scrolling of this game that makes it hard to tell which direction you need to go. The control is good, but it's awfully easy to crash into incoming obstacles that you only have a split second to react to. I think what it is mostly, thinking of the superb N64 game 1080 Snowboarding, is that there are too many rolling hills in Val D'Eseirre, something the N64 game avoided with awesome results. I wonder if this Jaguar game would have been as fun if it was made so that you are constantly going downhill, with only short humps to cross over instead of actually travelling uphill.

[Gunstar]

I wouldn't want to compare it to a game like 1080 that came out much later and used a different type of graphic engine. I think there was some restrictions as to what the hills are like in Val di' Isere with it's special graphics engine, though it does have some good long slopes as well as those quick and nasty valleys. That "uphill" effect you are talking about is more of an illusion created by the static mountain picture in the back ground and a lack of downhill perspective on the oncoming objects that just look like they are coming straight at you like a car on a flat road. The flat sprite&bitmapped graphics should have had adjusting perspective to coincide with going downhill and on flatter areas and if going uphill too. The big dips/hills that you could jump on were like they were trying to employ a half-pipe effect in the middle of a downhill run. Still, they are exciting hills and the only time you can do a trick, so I like them, but there maybe should have been fewer of them and more small hills and jumps in the middle of the course. and the ability to do tricks on those and more than the one trick. But this game was the last of an old-school sprite based type of psuedo-3D graphics engine that had been used one the SNES and Genesis in games like F-zero and levels on Super starwars and Mario karts, etc. and similiar titles on the Genesis. The Jaguar added 16-bit color graphics and good hill effects and a blistering 60fps frame rate to top the game engines of old.

As for the difficulty in following the course, I think it was more a matter of color scheme of blues and whites that didn't have enough contrast to the edge of the course so it makes it hard to see where the edges are at, when you are "out of bounds." Super Burnout cycle racing uses a VERY similair engine as well, but also used much larger sprites for scenery, which would have also improve Val di' Isere if it had trees and whatnot as large as those in Super Burnout to be flying past downhill. Also in free ski mode there should not be as many computer skiers blocking your path, and then you should have crashed end over end along with them when you did collide, instead of the same slow-down effect as when you hit the dirt where there were bare spots (no snow) on the course. But it's still very fun and very fst and smooth and it is very possible to become a master of those Jaguar slopes and have a blast doing it.

 

The only thing really comparable between 3DO Road Rash and Val di' Isere are the sprite based course objects and trees, the roadway/course engines were made differently, Road Rash's roadway and surround landscape were textured polygon graphics while Val di' Isere uses a totally different type of graphics to form it's courses. Road Rash's buildings were also texture polygons and Val di' Isere didn't have any large objects like buildings.

 

For the graphics engine type, Val di' Isere was pretty cool and one of the best (Super Burnout is the best), but it could have had a little more variety in the downhill gameplay.

Edited October 23, 2006 by Gunstar

[ls650]

In most racing games, your thumb never leaves the accelerator button - you just pour on the gas and steer like mad. The thing I like about VSS is that unlike most racing games, you actually have to let up off the accelerator to win, especially when weaving through the slalom flags.

[Isgoed]

In my opinion, this awesome game needs no improvement.

There is the brake and sharpturn control, to make things easier.

 

Oh yeah, and there is the cool, refreshing fast paced music, that fits the game very well.

 

I also have 1080' on the N64, and strangely enough, this game does nothing for me....

[+Cobra Kai]

I would like to shrink the hitboxes for some of the obstacles. It's almost impossible to pass between two trees that have what appears to be a sizeable distance between them.

[Gunstar]

I would like to shrink the hitboxes for some of the obstacles. It's almost impossible to pass between two trees that have what appears to be a sizeable distance between them.

 

I know exactly what you are talking about and agree with you. But there is also many a time when I think I'm going to bite the dust and I don't, though not in the specific situation you are refering too with the tree-line across the course.

[Gregory DG]

Two words: More deer.

[Gunstar]

Two words: More deer.

 

And then a place to stop and shoot at the deer like target shooting in a winter biathalon perhaps?

With bloody deer exploding in pixal-shatter goodness similiar to FX in Tempest 2000 and Zero5? HELL, let's go the whole nine yards and since we have deer and gun in-hand anyway, how about the ability to shoot snow-bunnies and other people that get in your path! After all, we all know that the sight of deer prancing in the forest eventually leads to homicidal tendencies and murderous rampages, why not while skiing&snowboarding?

Edited October 25, 2006 by Gunstar

[Rick Dangerous]

Threads from the crypt! I knew there had to be a Val D'Isere thread somewhere! May as well bring it back over starting a new one.

 

I was playing some Skiing for the 2600 by Activision, which lead to me playing a lot of this, and I have to say it is seriously growing on me. The graphics are good (reminiscent of super burnout, but brighter), the music is good (also reminds me of the peppy tunes in SB), and the gameplay is decent(though slightly flawed.)

 

My initial frustration is that you can't really see very far down the course and it is thus easy to miss gates and go off the track and crash. It really takes a mix of familiarity with the controls(hard turns), anticipation of gate areas, and memorization to get the most out of this game.

 

Now I am really getting a kick out of it, and can't get some of the music out of my head!

 

Has anyone else's thoughts on this one changed after repeated play over the years?

[+save2600]

I always wished you could change the camera angle on this game. Had there been an option to raise it ever so slightly, so that you could see farther down the course, would have alleviated that last fraction of a sec turning decision you need to make. Truly is amazing what often gets overlooked and passed off as "good enough" in the gaming industry.

[sh3-rg]

Truly is amazing what often gets overlooked and passed off as "good enough" in the gaming industry.

 

That or it's what's keeping it running at 60fps - the fact that they don't have to let you see further down the course

 

(I have no idea, not played it since the 90s probably, enjoyed my brief time with it).

[Austin]

The inclusion of so many hills is the game's biggest problem (that and it lacking a 2P split screen mode). The game has you bouncing up and down so much it can begin to feel nautious. On top of that, the developers decided it was a good idea to start placing checkpoints after a series of hills. Not only does it require memorization to make it through many of these, but if you miss them you end up running out of time.

[+save2600]

I hear you about the 60fps thing and if that's truly the case, what a crummy compromise. Hampering the gameplay like that for a little smoother scrolling.

 

Too bad a similar compromise wasn't made for Checkered Flag. Think everyone would be in agreement we'd take fewer view options, for a smoother frame rate.

[Austin]

I hear you about the 60fps thing and if that's truly the case, what a crummy compromise. Hampering the gameplay like that for a little smoother scrolling.

I don't think the hills are there to keep it 60fps. It is 60fps even when the ground is flatter and littered with objects. I believe it was just a poor design choice.

 

I have always viewed Val D'Isere more of a game inspired by OutRun than anything else (when played in the Free Ride mode anyway). As such, had they taken more hints from that game (like less hills) it would have turned out better. I really like Val D'Isere, but the few design issues it has can make it really frustrating.

[+Cobra Kai]

I've never been able to finish the freeride mode. There's still a couple of legs I just can't finish no matter how many times I try. This game is tough. Anyone finish Freeride mode? Go ahead, spoil the ending for me I don't care, I'm resigned to never completing this game. Still fun for me though, I prefer it to Super Burnout.

[Austin]

I've never been able to finish the freeride mode. There's still a couple of legs I just can't finish no matter how many times I try. This game is tough. Anyone finish Freeride mode? Go ahead, spoil the ending for me I don't care, I'm resigned to never completing this game.

 

Haha, I'm right there with you. I've tried, but never successfully completed the Free Ride mode.

[Rick Dangerous]

I have found Giant to be the most playable mode. Free ride I will have to keep working on, but yes hard not to run out of time without basically memorizing the whole mountain .

[NeoGeoNinja]

Val D'Isere, imo, is one of the Jags stronger titles that often gets overlooked.

 

Once you sit down with it for an hour and get used to the course layouts and get your reaction times down, you can really start to have a lot of fun with this game.

 

It's definitely a challenge though. Some of those courses took me a good few repeated tries to finish...

[Austin]

Once you sit down with it for an hour and get used to the course layouts and get your reaction times down, you can really start to have a lot of fun with this game.

 

Yeah, you really have to work on the reaction times. It's an arcade-style game at heart, so it requires twitch-like reflexes to play it well. Arcade-style games have always been my favorite, so that said it never took me any time to adapt, but it is fast paced and others will probably have to adjust.

[JagChris]

This game got a lot of good reviews back in the day.

[Rick Dangerous]

Val D'Isere, imo, is one of the Jags stronger titles that often gets overlooked.

 

It's totally a sleeper. This is the only unique "Val D'isere" thread on AA and it only got like 7 comments. Years later people have quite a bit more to say about the game and that's because I think it's aged well with respect to the jags library as a whole. Its a game thats pretty awesome once you figure it out.

 

 

Yeah, you really have to work on the reaction times. It's an arcade-style game at heart, so it requires twitch-like reflexes to play it well. Arcade-style games have always been my favorite, so that said it never took me any time to adapt, but it is fast paced and others will probably have to adjust.

 

Someone mentioned earlier that you have to "let of the gas" as part of the regular gameplay. Totally agree and it makes it more nuanced than other titles on the jag. Mastering the quick turn is also key. If you hold it for more than half a second it sends you careening into the woodline. You need to just give it a few light taps to give you that extra needed sharpness to your turn.

[+doctorclu]

I love Val D'isere. Of the various Jaguar games, this was one you could pick up and just go. No steep learning curve, good gameplay.

[Rick Dangerous]

Since this thread is entitled "how would you improve Val d'isere" I suppose I would add one more thing.

 

I think the jump feature is nice. It would be great if they had added a handful of tricks you could do with the d pad when jumping. Like an iron cross on skis or a stalefish and indy on the snowboard. Similar to 1080, to could have one trick mapped to each direction of the dpad. I'm not thinking like 20 tricks or anything, but realistically with the dpad, 4-8 tricks could have been possible.

 

I think in certain modes that would have upped my enjoyment of the game a little bit.

[Austin]

Since this thread is entitled "how would you improve Val d'isere" I suppose I would add one more thing.

 

I think the jump feature is nice. It would be great if they had added a handful of tricks you could do with the d pad when jumping. Like an iron cross on skis or a stalefish and indy on the snowboard. Similar to 1080, to could have one trick mapped to each direction of the dpad. I'm not thinking like 20 tricks or anything, but realistically with the dpad, 4-8 tricks could have been possible.

 

I think in certain modes that would have upped my enjoyment of the game a little bit.

 

They would have had to re-tweak the whole game if they implemented tricks. Either that, or they would have been just as pointless as the "YEAH!" sound your dude makes when you jump at the peak of a hill. Pretty much just for show, and doesn't add much to the game at all.

[Major Havoc 2049]

Pull off a trick on a super jump and get two seconds added to your time. VSS is one hard mo-fo near the end. A play mechanic that adds a few seconds here and there would be nice. I can't remember if I finished VSS or not...