Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown - Showcase Impressions and Feedback

[@Ben-Rogue]

It definitely looks promising. Visually it's impressive and the handling looks like it's the right amount of sim for me personally...I just really hope they polish the game as much as possible and support it with big updates post launch, as the WRC games were always quite buggy and got dropped too quickly.

[@its_tender88]

It's deffinetly not dropping quickly like the wrc games 😅 Definitely a very exciting showcase, looking forward for the game

[@xXVibrantSnowXx]

It looks fking awful, way too flat

[@RedlineRossi]

The Alex Albon analogy was spot on Alan. Makes you stop and think when you put it that way. I loved TDU2 for the longest time. Wasn't keen on the 3rd version. But I'm hoping this will get me back into open world driving games again. IMO nothing came close to TDU2.

[@DOUGL4S1]

I do respect Kylotonn and I'm super happy to see TDU make a comeback. I also love researching Alpha builds of games and to be honest, the TDU:SC Alpha impressed me a bit. Tons of triple-A games even have alpha versions where the game is unrecognizable, not only in graphics but also gameplay. Some can't even be properly played, so seeing an Alpha build where 6 people can play together, none of them are experiencing game crashes and none of them are being disconnected is something to behold. Some open alphas can't even do that. That being said, while I loved the style of presentation they went for, I find it weird that they didn't practice the routes and races before the event so everyone playing would at least sorta know where they're going. If they did maybe you guys would have crashed less and we would have heard less from those "duhh handling bad" people. Not only I want to experience the handling for myself, but I'm expecting to begin the game on some less powerful cars that are easier to control than the ones that were given to you guys. I will say the only thing that got me a bit down so far were properties, but that was already said to be something that will be expanded upon after release. I think it would be cool if your Street/Sharps choice unlocked some unique apartments, maybe Streets could buy a warehouse where the living room is right next to your parked cars, or maybe Sharps can buy penthouses with views to the entire map. I'm not a huge fan of the Zaha Hadid-esque architecture of the hotel, specially for Hong Kong where realstate prices can go insane, and specially for starter players. Would be kinda cool if our first apartment was in some lower class building elsewhere and we were forced to store our early cars on storage garages, and we move to the hotel once we reach a certain level on the Solar Crown competition. But once again, I'm not 100% sure how the game works, if the devs can implement this or if they will add something similar post-launch, so I'll wait and see.

[@TeamVVV]

Great comment, agreed.

[@Afrikanxl]

I'm more of a Test Drive 4 and 5 type of gamer... but I'm happy and excited for Test Drive Unlimited fans.

[@antionelancelin6718]

I enjoyed Test Drive games especially the Off Road series. I played Test Drive 5 and 6 and both Test Drive Unlimited and also Test Drive Overdrive and Test Drive Eve Of Destruction on the PS2. I'm still skeptical about this game and i just wish that they get rid of the Always Online DRM and microtransactions, Can't stand it everytime when developers goes this route and destroy their games and fanbases. 😡

[@kram_mov6733]

I think some are dismissing the role houses played in the progression system in the original TDU. They weren't just a cosmetic menu system like in Forza Horizon in which your 100s of cars exist in some abyss. The main role they played was limiting your garage space and the number of cars you could have access to as you played through. You needed certain cars/car classes to complete events, which made choosing how to spend your earned cash, whether upgrading your garage spaces or collecting new cars, a tactical part of the progression. Seeing your hard earned cars physically displayed in your personal spaces was a huge bonus and contributed to the bond you built with your cars. And in late game, really curating your collection per garage. The lack of houses at launch wont make or break the new game but will certainly alter the original progression formula many loved.

[@TeamVVV]

Sure, there's a different approach to this game and many have used that aspect to attack it, somewhat unfairly given the limited gameplay available. In TDUSC your characters live in a different place, the houses will come later, that too will likely be a new approach. The garage system is yet to be revealed. Rest assured it is a full TDU experience and that experience will likely evolve in the coming years following release.

[@kram_mov6733]

@@TeamVVV As long as it's not the abyss garage system and has some progression system attached to it, it might at least suffice!

[@onnyghufrony1899]

Wow nice brand new test drive unlimited solar crown 3

[@timchronis1584]

Fantastic coverage as always, thanks for the preview!

[@supaG-1.0]

Looking really good, and you're looking quite sharp too Alan.

[@xPORKYxZR1x]

A game that feels like pgr? Im all for that.

[@SmithyMC]

Brilliant Video - We Waited a Long Time For Yours But well worth It! So Looking Forward to #TDUSU - A Proper Racing Game! Glad to say You Have Said It as it Is! The Haters need to go away as The Alpha Build Is Pretty Good Already! Sad that we are now in a world where hate seems to be the norm for any new release of a game. The rubbish thats being spouted for StarField this week is the same type of stuff. Looking Forward to your next TDUSC video already!

[@jamesbelcher9374]

The KT Team are doing a fantastic job, I can’t wait to play the new game, I’m still preordering 2 copies. I’ve played both of the TDUs and it’s for sure my favourite video game title, I hope there’s a nice blend of TDU1, TDU2 and new options in the final game. Bring on TDUSC….

[@rramos7488]

5:22-5:24 those cameras are really nice.....😶

[@benn87]

You're right. Many youtubers don't have a clue about game development. Neither do I, by the way.😁 But I try to do some research every now and then to get at least a basic understanding of it. You can't compare a big developer like EA or Playground Games with small indie studios. People do it anyway.

[@JackieLanceTenor]

People complaining and saying, "it looks arcade like Forza," I think is kind of a ridiculous complaint. I think if a studio of this size could match a similar driving experience of Forza would actually be a great thing. Personally, I don't want to play an arcade style racing game that has a physics model like Assetto Corsa or something. If I want to play a sim racer I'll play a sim racer.

[@Afrikanxl]

I watched this live. It was hard to concentrate on the gameplay when the host would coincidentally keep walking into camera view. Kept happening for some weird reason. Joking aside happy for you Alan. Best dressed on stage as well. 👍🏾

[@bushkilla7348]

Great video thanks for making it. Looking forward to the game and so true about Driveclub. That was a fantastic game in the end and sadly left for dead. Years later no-one has touched its overall graphics and weather effects. And that was at 30fps..

[@knightofcydonia07]

I was interested by it anyway, but this video has made me excited for it, so thank you for such a superb video, Alan. When you said there is subjective similarities between PGR3 and then Driver SF, it has left me feeling that this could well be the kick up the bum the racing genre needs - simcade games with depth to their handling. Not painfully exacting, but far from shallow. In the case of Driver, that was a massive hook to keep you going and unlocking the different vehicles.

[@TeamVVV]

Yes the races felt very PGR, while the Driver SF vibe is there. So much still to reveal.

[@steppinonastoop677]

i cant wait to play this its doing everything right, its what the crew wishes it could be.

[@stardayz88]

19:45 So Porsche Cayannes, whenever I go out, I'm guaranteed to see at least 2 or 3 of them. (P.s. i will be a fellow sharp)

[@TeamVVV]

Just wait until you see the final car list, some impressive machinery in there. These cars will be very expensive, so gamers will have to choose what works for them.

[@stardayz88]

​@TeamVVV I'm very excited for this game and the revving beasts it holds.

[@sungjin008]

hope the game is completed safely. I started to worry when I heard that developer Kylotonn had gone on strike.

[@TeamVVV]

Unfortunately lots of malicious news out there to destabilise the game for some reason. Haters gonna hate and all that jazz.

[@Xzibitfreek]

I get your defending of smaller developers but at the same time the game needs to be fun enough to enjoy in the first place which isnt always the case with a mediocre racing game. people who dont know the test drive series will look at this and think to themselves, this doesnt look too different from forza horizon and the crew. especially forza horizon is pretty much unbeatable at what it wants to be due to the huge microsoft budget, its a brilliant racing franchise, in my honest opinion easily the best one in the racing genre right now. there arent a ton of test drive fans left due to too infrequent releases. tdu1 came out 2005, 18 years ago. tdu2 came out 2011 and wasnt nearly as good as tdu1 and didnt have quite the same impact on the racing genre. the magic that tdu1 had, the things that made it ahead of its time, tdu2 didnt have that same magic and while tdu1 was ahead of its time, tdu2 may have been a little behind the time. regardless, a mediocre racing game isnt enough for many people, so it needs to do something that sticks out and im not sure wether this game does it. i love racing games just like you do alan, all sorts of racing games, started in the early 2000s with nfs underground and GT Legends to todays forza horizon and iracing, wether its arcade, simcade, simulation, i play them all. but i do need to admit that some of the mediocre racing games, i simply do not enjoy. the past few grid or dirt (not dirt rally) games by codemasters for example, theyre not bad games but theyre games i do not really enjoy either. the racing genre has become much less diverse, we have more and more investment into simracing as the sim genre is heading a positive direction, fm and gt still exist and do their thing, then you have forza horizon with the crew and some others which are simply a bit too similar to forza horizon with a huge gap in the arcade genre. so i personally want to see a good arcade racer again. we used to have burnout, flatout, ridge racer, nowadays we kinda hve nothing. im still baffled that we never saw a sequel to driver san francisco, a seriously brilliant and innovative game that time forgot because ubisoft pulled it off the digital stores rather quickly after release unfortunately. it does sound all negative but i am rooting for this game and i will give it a fair chance when its eventually released, so im definitely not writing it off.

[@TeamVVV]

Thanks for the comment, a few different things to unpack there. Firstly, I'm not into defending developers, but giving credit where it is due. Recognising their achievements with the resources and technology they have available. It's a completely different game experience from FH and TCM, so direct comparisons are misdirected. But I can see where some people see open world + cars = FH/TCM/NFS. For what its worth, the superficial characters, repetitive races and rather dull handling let FH down for me, despite the tremendous visuals. I'm confident this game will surprise people in just how good it is. I think the only concern is the impatience of some gamers to have every feature incorporated from the off. Like No Mans Sky, it will likely be a slow burn to meet its full potential. We'll have to see how the opinion evolves in the coming months. As for the racing genre, like all genres we are going through a creative drought. There are a lot of reasons for this, but that's a conversation for another day.

[@BillyStrangeAutoModels]

Man do I wish Driveclub would have launched in the state it was after 6 months. This looked promising, although my main critique while watching was that it felt like an odd way to showcase the game to the public for the first time. Everything else is/was hard to make out from our end as far as physics and what the gameplay and progression will be. I think it's hard for those of us who have been around a long time but don't have Jimmy B or Super Gt numbers...people just don't know who we are. So when we are giving our take, to those who don't know us it becomes "Who is this to tell me anything?". (I ran into it when I critiqued the latest iracing dirt build and even one of the devs had no idea that I helped develop the first version of dirt for iracing). Always enjoy your takes Alan, take care.

[@TeamVVV]

Thanks Billy! Yes I have seen that 'KZbinr's don't tell the truth' line, but of course then they listen to every word by the chosen youtubers they follow, irrespective of the truth.

[@JeremyBX]

Thanks for the reassuring words. Nacom has been so quiet on marketing that the community is developing concerns based on nonexistent information of the game. The paranoia is nuts. I'm guilty of it yes, but again, this video got my nerves down. Here is to Playtest #3.

[@GT-RTData9]

Been waiting for this one.

[@cloviskellermann4060]

Congratulations man, great review….do you know if the game will have camera options adjusted like WRC?

[@TeamVVV]

Thanks, I don't know yet as options aren't all in there, but hopefully we'll get the usual selection.

[@senicegy]

Will there be TV cam style replay cams for viewing after the race?

[@TeamVVV]

Don't know yet.

[@hariss9927]

How are the drifting mechanics ? Do powerful cars slip out if not careful etc ?

[@TeamVVV]

Not a drifter myself, but there is some nice weight transfer, so I should think it will work well depending on the car. We'll look at that aspect later.

[@Gaming-Legends007]

All I want to know is if it has an offline mode, like the original? Thanks 👍

[@TeamVVV]

I have no idea. Look forward to seeing the story mode later in development.

[@caprise-music6722]

Great video! Agree with pretty much everything. p.s So many sad-a** people out there with nothing better to do then hump each other along the hatetrain-tracks. It’s hard for me to hold back about this topic. Anyway, I’m so excited. TDU 1 is my favorite driving game of all time. Imo it wipes the floor with anything else. Super excited for this game. It’s looking good so far

[@maxthunder2]

I mean it looks okay so far.

[@observantmonkey4055]

Not that atari doesnt have their foot on the neck, im happy that they can take their time with some fresh air and talent. Nitpicking, but it would have been nice to have custom gauges. Also the next showing needs to be more intentional/informative. And it wouldnt hurt to get some pictures of the island features a lil

[@TeamVVV]

Absolutely, in the coming months all of those questions will be answered and addressed.

[@Unreal5Dev]

Some people just look for any reason to bitch and complain.

[@Tdudrivetime]

Good constructive video Alain, Have you heard anything about a community racing center in the game like the one in TDU2?

[@TeamVVV]

Thanks! Nothing yet, but as a guess, I'd assume most of what is in previous TDU games is going to return in some form as they want this to be a full TDU experience. The question will be, when. As the game will likely evolve substantially over time.

[@adamlink-sq4vr]

I hope test drive good whe. It comes out can't wwite to try it

[@Dzidza1978]

Hi Alain, did you get any news regarding steering wheels compatibility? The game is shaping up to be awesome 🙂

[@TeamVVV]

Not officially, but I have tested with a wheel and it was great! They've taken what they have learned from WRC.

[@Dzidza1978]

That's great to hear, thx@@TeamVVV

[@iwound]

Bikini car washes are in watch dogs 2. i didnt faint once.

[@dgxxtreme]

IT NEEDS CAR CUSTOMIZATION!!! ITS THE ONLY WAY THIS GAME WILL COMPETE!!!

[@netlawman2001]

Are they supporting telemetry out?

[@TeamVVV]

No idea, but I doubt it. That's more of a hardcore sim racing feature in the main.

[@BluebirdSim_MJChelsea]

If anyone criticize a game in ‘alpha’ stage it’s simple. They know nothing about game development. For a AA game studio with and ALPHA STAGE GAME still outperforms many AAA games to date and it’s not even done yet. If you don’t like it don’t buy it simple. Ignorant and stupld people will always be themselves. They were indeed brave to show Alpha on such a showcase and I respect them for being ‘different’ from the rest of AAA dev studios everyone and everything so scripted where they can give you trash and people still buy it lol people will buy TDU SC they just want to make noise

[@RidgeRacer]

So tell us, what new games r coming out on da ps2?

[@TeamVVV]

"Da", you mean 'the' PS2? Great console, great games.

[@RidgeRacer]

@@TeamVVV Just poking a bit of fun at one of those SMS comments on the telly, from when you were checking out NFSU :) But you're right, great games, great times.

[@TeamVVV]

Ah right I see, yeah I've had a day of it.

[@OhGeeWhy]

at this point I will gladly accept anything that is not Forza Horizon and Horizon-esque progression. Either Crew or new TDU or any other wanting to join along. Im just super skeptical about modern day games with their aggressive monetization and progression hampering to nudge you to buy season passes, or stronger cars for real money. Driving games never really worked with F2P systems and that is the only thing that potentially scares me away from playing them. As for Forza Horizon, it ain't my thing and its just sad that is the only choice for open world arcade-y driving game these days.

[@gogofapo01]

There won't be any season pass, and from what we say in term of paid content on TDU2, I'm far from scared even though more than 10 years separate them

[@Glowingtomato]

The progression is literally what will decide if I but the game or not. I want to work my way up and have buying a new car be an actual decision instead of just getting them handed out like candy on Halloween.

[@OhGeeWhy]

@@Glowingtomato From Alans words it does implies that the game will want you to invest into your vehicle and in progression to grow in and learn the car, combine that with WRC's physics it definitely sounds interesting enough but time will tell how will the game progress. Im not too worried about houses being added post launch, as long as driving is good and progression is decent and has a good variety of cars to play around with while trying to retain TDU's similarities and spirit.

[@TeamVVV]

Obviously you didn't listen to a word I said and just stick to incorrectly assuming cars are 'handed out like candy' for whatever reason.

[@DJ_Shenanigan00]

Will we be able to play poker at launch?

[@TeamVVV]

No, as with TDU2, the Casino will come in DLC later.

[@DJ_Shenanigan00]

@@TeamVVV that's really disappointing

[@pieterbalk-ht7kq]

Great to see you post again @Team VVV Glad you were there as a normal, adult reviewer as the rest were all morons with childish names behaving like a bunch of itiots. I am still sceptic, very sceptic about this game. Looks odd and a bit boring actually. But you played it and can better tell. But I am quite bored by all these racing games with an “open world” in Forza Horizon style. That game and franchise has become stale and so will all these clones I am afraid. I just wait for WRC (now propably 24 like I predicted before!) and Assetto Corsa 2 and for the rest I will keep enjoying my old(er) race titles like F1 23, Project CARS 2, Dirt Rally 2, ACC and might be stupid enough to buy Forza Motorsport. Just to see how the f***ed this one up.

[@TeamVVV]

Yes this is very early Pieter, and it is a game that will evolve over time. I know what you mean about open world racers, it's why I don't tend to play them myself. Hopefully TDUSC can reignite that flame. Yes, looking forward to seeing the new WRC, it is very hotly anticipated.

[@rachiekats4147]

I just hope it doesn’t have the immature aesthetic that forza horizon and the crew have. I still boot up tdu2 to this day and im super excited.

[@TeamVVV]

So, FH and TCM use a PR style vibe, it is all very superficial. TDUSC will go in a different direction, following the vibe of previous titles.

[@rachiekats4147]

@@TeamVVV keep up the good work!

[@88Opportunist]

It just seemed like they didn't really have anything to show. I was expecting them to show off 1-3 events but it ended up as mostly just random faffing about. Virtually none of the positives you talk about came across in the footage. Definitely didn't help either that one spends the first 5+ minutes just figuring out what everyone is driving, wish they would have made that clearer with a manufacturer badge or something, especially considering there was nothing identifiable in your camera view. Thanks for doing this, was very informative.

[@TeamVVV]

Yep, I agree they should have shown more of the actual TDU experience in the game. Unfortunately as a gamer at the event, you just rely that the post-production fills in all of those blanks. It didn't, so plenty of blanks still remain to fill in over the coming months. As anyone who has played it will tell you, the game looks far better behind the scenes than the showcase reveal, so I'm confident opinions will change. TDUSC might also be a good example in future on the dev process and how games change and evolve in those last few months of development.

[@pahasaradias]

19:55 xD

[@Ryzza5]

It's sad to see this game already suffering a similar pre-launch reception that Project CARS had to endure. And yet when it went away, suddenly voices came out of the woodwork praising it. I guess the common trait is letting the community know about your game super early. Having a moving release date probably also confuses some people as to where they think development should be by now.

[@TeamVVV]

Strangly there appears to be a concerted attack on this game, you'll see it from the 'just like Forza Horizon' or 'get cars like sweets' attention seekers. Where that attack comes from? There are lots of possibilities.

[@sysakPL]

If it will handle well and have cool things to do it will be a winner. Looking forward to something different to forza horizon. The crew motorfest hasn't hit the mark for me.

[@Ryzza5]

Hello presenter.

[@TeamVVV]

Hello Viewer!

[@VR-Emcee]

I hope they add VR then it's a day 1 purchase

[@TeamVVV]

It would be awesome but alas no chance, there are other more pressing areas for development. Then you've got the technical limitations.

[@VR-Emcee]

@@TeamVVV that's a shame. We have an abundance of vr sim racers but no top quality open world diving games to explore in vr

[@benwilliams5760]

There's a good reason for that- The technical requirements and sheer amount of game to render in an open world racing game vs a closed circuit racer are wildly different. One day it'll happen though.

[@Ryzza5]

@@TeamVVV Someone needs to be the first to do an amazing open world game with good handling and VR. Hardware will catch up over time. DLSS is also a big help these days. I hope to see it as a post-launch update.

[@giveaway6314]

I like they had courage to show the game at this stage but it does not look as if it is even running 30fps and it seems to be running on PC as well.

[@TeamVVV]

They had the courage to show a live recorded event with an Alpha build, so let's put our hands together for that. Obviously you aren't aware of the development process, early builds of games are not optimised as aspects are brought together before the polishing stage.

[@BandW1897]

I really liked old Test Drive 1 & 2. Not really played any Unlimited games.

[@BandW1897]

Btw, great video. Lots of information. That showcase left bad taste and maybe they should be more clear about game. Your take give hope for final build.

[@shalawsorchi]

This is not a Test Drive game as long you can’t buy mansions. Period!

[@TeamVVV]

Can you imagine how boring game design would be with that approach. It is a Test Drive game, they are allowed to make changes to game design, it's called evolution.

[@waider]

And what were mansionq bringing to the gameplay. It was cool back then as a feature because it was never seen before but now there is no point implementing that.

[@martinpatterson9015]

It's Why I'm waiting for The Option to Be Added

[@bfcricky]

Test Drive existed long before TDU

[@Dral.09]

I think is important... any simple thing that's uncommon on a racing game makes the difference on TDUSC, isn't it supposed to make a difference? Not just be another mainstream racing game?

[@scrustle]

The whole idea of arcade = bad really needs to die. It's done so much damage to the discussion of racing games in general. And I swear people have got worse at understanding the realities of game development in more recent times too. I guess it was always bad, but it does seem to have got a lot more aggressive and entitled in more recent years.

[@observantmonkey4055]

Idk what's going on in the schools now but comprehension skills are very poor now. How many showcases put the work in progress text up only for ppl to completely ignore it? No reasoning g skills to be found with a lot of ppl now. Anywho I'm confident they will get close to their vision. Many features were tried and sought after in the last two and now that the tech is available, I'm hyped to see the final product.

[@gstrdms]

presenter a gyatt

[@aneural]

32:15 is this your first time arguing against hard headed gamers? Better get used to it lol

[@TeamVVV]

Alas no, but I've been in this game a long time and I'm now better equipped to call it out.

[@72TheScarface]

honestly, i don't think the way this game was showed,really did it a lot of good.... and there is a racing line, so i don't think you guys were really "racing without knowing the breaking zone"...

[@TeamVVV]

Nope, that was highlighted in the video. Yeah, it's hard for you to understand the situation without being there. Tracks we don't know, racing line and graphics not finished, random traffic in the way, getting used to the incomplete handling etc.

[@heybos4640]

There is this sort of mentality where if its not forza its bad and "graphics".. You know forza horizon 5 and even motorsport pushes so much how great their graphics are yet the games keep disappointing time and time again. Yet very little people pick upon that. And then when they do the same thing with their next game people wonder why. Well its because the graphics is what sells. Its like a shiny wrap. And these guys have done that for many many years very succesfully working under Microsoft. They 're very skilled at marketing and they have the budget ! Also graphics is such a collective term. I honestly think they're very good for TDU , especially night time and they're not even the final version.

[@martinpatterson9015]

Disappointing that You Can't Buy Boats With Garages and Mansions at Launch I'll Wait For a Sale Before Buying This is a Deal Breaker For Me honestly

[@TeamVVV]

Sure, it's not the game for you. The initial focus is on building an amazing location and the driving bit.

[@MultiEma25]

The city looks so dead

[@TeamVVV]

It's unfinished.

[@aneural]

I don't care bro look at any Forza horizon or TC maps, at least this game will have a large map with a large city in the Hong Kong atmosphere it'll be amazing driving on the highway with a beautiful view and many many roads to drive on. If you are nitpicking, no game will be fun.

[@jarigustafsson7620]

not interested on another forza borefest.

[@TeamVVV]

Another troll or attention seeking comment wrongly comparing to Forza. All very odd, where do you get this nonsense from?