NASCAR '14 Patch Coming Soon, Details Included

[BurghFan]

Details for the upcoming NASCAR '14 patch have been released on the ETX NASCAR Facebook page. No release date has been announced.

• Fixes for various freezing issue experienced by some players
• Fix to sound issues experienced by some players
• Changes to aggressiveness of AI to give players greater control over levels
• Tweak to difficulty setting to bring AI closer to selected level (want the full NASCAR experience? Select 100% for real-life scenario or dial down for less intensity)
• Increased yield when lower difficulty level selected
• Adjustment to Darlington and Kansas race lengths
• Fix for pitting issues experienced by some players
• Fix for private lobby issues experienced by some players
• Fix to ensure results achieved are accurately reflected
• Fix for decal / paint issues experienced by some players

This patch will also include an update to bring in the new qualifying and chase format rules announced early in 2014 by NASCAR and will include all 43 current Sprint Cup drivers. For those playing as Nationwide drivers these cars will remain in game for you to enjoy.

Source - ETX NASCAR Facebook

[Aggies7]

Sounds good. Excited that they are adding the new qualifying format and chase set up with the patch.

[TCrouch]

I've officially given up hope on this series. After playing more of Nascar 14 on my PC and a bit on PS3, I've had to come to grips that this is aimed at an audience entirely different than me.

It's moderately fun with a controller and no added tire/fuel wear, but when you try to treat it as anything other than a nice fun little semi-believable diversion, frustration sets in like few other games.

Through so many versions, if they could (or wanted to) fix it by now, it would have been. I don't care about any more patches or updates or promises. I kept holding out hope for years that this would shape up, but it's been the same crap every release. Put something out that drives pretty well, looks pretty, and passes the 'new game smell' test. Then you race it 10 or 15 more times, and warts show.

By the time you reach your 30th race, you've seen more head scratching bugs and unexplainable things than you can even remember to list.

I'm through trying to defend the potential or wait for them to magically "get it" and fix everything. It's not going to happen, because they're not aiming to satisfy players like me. They drive their own damn league with controllers, which should have told me something up front, but I kept hoping.

That was on me. No more excuses. This is on them.

[BurghFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by TCrouch

I've officially given up hope on this series. After playing more of Nascar 14 on my PC and a bit on PS3, I've had to come to grips that this is aimed at an audience entirely different than me. It's moderately fun with a controller and no added tire/fuel wear, but when you try to treat it as anything other than a nice fun little semi-believable diversion, frustration sets in like few other games. Through so many versions, if they could (or wanted to) fix it by now, it would have been. I don't care about any more patches or updates or promises. I kept holding out hope for years that this would shape up, but it's been the same crap every release. Put something out that drives pretty well, looks pretty, and passes the 'new game smell' test. Then you race it 10 or 15 more times, and warts show. By the time you reach your 30th race, you've seen more head scratching bugs and unexplainable things than you can even remember to list. I'm through trying to defend the potential or wait for them to magically "get it" and fix everything. It's not going to happen, because they're not aiming to satisfy players like me. They drive their own damn league with controllers, which should have told me something up front, but I kept hoping. That was on me. No more excuses. This is on them.

So I guess racers like you are the hard core sim racers that use wheels then? I can't even drive a real car and have no desire to use a wheel and am perfectly comfortable using my DS3 controller. Furthermore, I know nothing about setups or how to manage tire wear effectively or how to keep my engine from overheating on certain tracks (The latter being a large part of the reason I race with damage off). I have been racing mostly with 60% AI (lower on some tracks), 2x tire wear (1x on short tracks), and 2x fuel and have been enjoiying the game immensely.

Though the AI is a tad aggressive at some tracks and I've found Martinsville to be virtually unraceable (best finish of 39th and that was on 30% AI), it is still much improved from Inside Line. I like racing with cautions off since I'm not very good and tend to accidentally (or intentionally in the case of Jimmie Johnson ) wreck cars and I like the challenge of having to work back up through the field if I mess up and fall back. In IL you spin 1 car and the race would degrade into a giant cluster**** of a wreck inevitably leading to a red flag when a car got knocked on its side or roof and green flag pitstops were rare at most tracks. In 14, the cars actually know how to recover from getting spun and avoid wrecking into slowed cars and red flags are very rare.

[TCrouch]

Yes, I have multiple steering wheels, a massive racing rig, and race it for realism. You are who the game is designed for, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Cautions off, lower difficulty, etc. I'm trying to run at 90% or higher difficulty, and I can qualify fine. Practice fine. But when they get into a race, they will just steamroll down into the inside groove, no matter where you are. If you come in a hair too hot and drift up half a lane, they force their way under you. If you try to play it cautious and brake a bit earlier to stick it on the apron, they run you over from behind.

Lower difficulty with no cautions is exactly what I mean when I say it can be fun. But for me, it's sort of like a cartoon rendition of NASCAR. It sort of resembles it in a Looney Toons, ACME kind of way. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the game the way you want--mess up, get shuffled back with no yellows, then charge back up through the field on a low difficulty. Whatever works.

But when you try to race it as realistically as possible, where a single second lost on pit road, or on your in/out lap can prove the difference between first and 15th in a longer race, the crazy AI and erratic behavior just don't cut it.

The fact that we're still playing a 12 year old PC game for our sim kicks (NASCAR Racing 2003 Season) says a lot.

[RustedWalleye]

I like the diversion that this NASCAR series brings. I too always enjoyed the true sim racers (the aforementioned NASCAR 2003, and especially enjoyed playing Grand Prix Legends, but I just don't have the time to dedicate to those anymore. These are a nice diversion, not a lot of investment, and it is nice just to be able to hop on the track and race without putting a ton of thought into things.

I don't think we will ever see a console racer that matches up to what we had on the PC back in the day.

[TCrouch]

DALE! What's up, brother!?!?

And yeah, it's definitely a diversion. Oddly, it plays better on PC with a PS4 Dual Shock Controller than the 360 controller for me. Can hold a line better with the slightly longer sticks and better trigger throw. Go figure.

But I will never expect to get anything close to realism out of this series. That's not a problem in and of itself, as fun can be had just banging around and not caring about damage or realistic lap times/strategies.

[RustedWalleye]

How are things going for you Terry? I come out of my cocoon once in a great while. Still read the site at least the front page almost every day, and try to browse the forums a couple of times a week. I'm probably one of the oldest members of the site with so few posts! That even goes with being behind the scenes for a while.

Sports gaming and gaming in general got so frustrating for an older gamer. I always considered myself a gamer that had a broad tastes, but so many of those tastes have dissipated over the years with everything coming out looking like the other.

NBA 2K series is still one of the best in the biz. MLB is right there, and with getting a Vita last year from my new wife as a present I played more MLB then ever before. I actually played through 2 seasons, every game, and almost 7 seasons of Road to the Show.

Still haven't taken the dive into the next generation, but I honestly am leaning towards the PS4, mostly for MLB, but I think Sony may have gotten things a little more right this time around. Takes a NASCAR thread to bring up every other subject huh?