The History of Hard Drivin' - Arcade documentary

[@SatanIceCream]

so perfect at the time -- polygons, feedback wheel, CLUTCH AND STICK, and 'real' dynamics.... what fond memories!!!!!!!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Absolutely, it was the first realistic driving simulator

[@CaptainFoufeu]

When I was a 15 year old freshman in high school in 1992-93, the arcade behind the school had one of the multi-screen versions that had the super stunt track. I played it every day. Eventually, I had recorded the top score on the machine, and only got better until only my initials filled up the entire top ten. The owner of the arcade asked if he could video record me playing the game as a tutorial. I certainly said yes, and while he recorded, I gave tips on it, such as speed and where to line the car up for certain stunts. I even beat my all time highest score while doing it! Every Friday, the arcade had a competition for a certain game in the arcade, and finally the week for Hard Drivin' came. Quite a few people tried to dethrone me, but nobody even got close to my lowest score on the top ten. Everybody was blown away when i actually played it, setting another all time top score. They just couldn't believe that I could drive like that at my age. The truth is, my dad had taken me out to drive in the mall parking lot since I was 8, and out on normal roads since 12. When I was 18, I raced production stock for my wealthy uncle in the private racing club he belonged to. That was lots of fun, but there was excessively difficult new driving training I had to undergo, as racing is quite different than normal road driving.

[@JustinMacri007]

CaptainFoufeu wow nice childhood story i remember this game we have to see if they can brijg it back with a whole new design system and stuff.

[@ChromeCobra]

Boy, shit is getting deep in here.

[@simonbealing]

Hard drivin was hands down one of the hardest arcade games I ever tried. I was only 12 back in 89 though! A driving sim with a wheel and pedals back then was fantastic. Great documentary, thanks for the trip down amnesia lane:)

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you for watching, glad you enjoyed it. I think the reason it was so hard is because it was a legit driving simulator. I love the game though and still do

[@mariomendoza6419]

I liked the fact it had a clutch on the arcade that was cool

[@mikequinn7835]

Ohh it was the hardest driving game Atari Games ever did...I agree with you on that. I played it back then too and the steering physics was hard to grasp at the very first turn I made in the game. The game later on had its 3-D engine or parts of it be transplanted to a later driving game in 1996 that they did called San Francisco Rush(which THAT game became a successful racing franchise for the home market shortly on the N64, spawning two games and a 3rd that also saw release on the Dreamcast in the early 2000's) in which by that time the company's corporate culture or business in the way they produced coin-ops more or less changed under WMS/Midway ownership.

[@tomyyoung2624]

Yes sxm rádio Aberdeen Wa right

[@ChannelZ3RO]

I had the Genesis version. I'd spend most of the time flinging my car off the loop, on purpose.

[@beniswenis9081]

so did i, tried to see how many seconds of air i got

[@HalloranIllustrations]

Absolutely loved this game. It was a game that you could never get mad at, even when you loose. The instant replays of the crash always had me laughing. A total stress reliever after a bad day.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Absolutely, it's a bona fide classic in my book

[@jhaymanmyles2226]

I remember testing this game before it was released. At my favorite arcade “goldmine” in newpark mall california there were some people out front surveying people about video games and offering a chance to test new a game. I signed a release paper and went to a location in the city of sunnyvale which is in the silicon valley. I was not told who the maker of the game was and got paid 20 dollars. There 15 other teenagers and we tested this game for about an hour. We were asked what we thought of the game and what name it should be called. We were all impressed cause this was different than any other arcade game we had seen. It was about a year later when it was released.

[@The757er]

Jhayman Myles what did you say the name should be?

[@broccolihart1]

You are a part of history my friend. Great story.

[@BrianMartin2007]

Jhayman Myles that’s awesome! I taught myself to drive and I was 12 when my mom let me driver her Mitsubishi Galant 5 speed. Almost got it to third gear when she told me to let my sister try (she was younger lol)

[@Afrikanxl]

@@The757er I'm guessing most of them said it was hard to drive 😉 since it was so advanced for it's time.

[@b0rg1010]

I learned to drive a car because of this game. It was the full cockpit version. I always used the clutch and manual gears.. I played it soo much in the arcades on Oxford road, Manchester, UK that my name would always be on the number one slot.. I would have been 16 at the time. Ahhh, great memories. Also, just just before the end of the lap was an off-road piece on the map where you'd drive round a single tower. 👍😉

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That's awesome, thanks for sharing your story.

[@stewartfullerton1965]

I owned the C64 version back in the day, it broke my heart. Never realised it was made in 3 weeks, its pretty much the C64's ET.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I knew the game was bad but it wasn't until I started putting this video together that I found out the game was made in just under three weeks. That's a great analogy comparing it to ET. LOL

[@RJARRRPCGP]

Yuck! That port is an epic fail! Even the one reported to be for the ZX Spectrum, looks better! Looks like the Amiga port, is likely the second-best.

[@scottbreon9448]

That was just a lazy port. Stunt Car Racer/Stunt Track Racer proved that a game like that COULD be done on the C64

[@UrbanLAN]

Thank you for this thorough review and race down memory lane. HD & S.T.U.N. Runner were my favorite arcade games. In 1990 I received a combo Christmas & Birthday gift in the form of an Atari Lynx with both ports. Both were amazing to me in their own right to have an arcade hit anywhere I roamed. Mastering HD with the laggy controls felt like a feat in itself, but whenever I reached a point of frustration, switched out to STUN Runner. The best part of any of this history is I still have the Lynx, collected many other games since (including Alpine Skiing), and enjoy them for what they are...classics! Subscribed!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you for subscribing,Stun runner on that portable was absolutely fantastic and was the only reason I purchased one. Thanks for sharing your story

[@Scripture-Man]

Great video, thanks Patman! :) I often feel Hard Drivin' is overlooked by history - you don't hear much about it, and I don't know why. In my opinion, the game represented possibly the biggest ever advancement in videogame graphics, and the arrival of the machine in my arcade was one of the most memorable events of my childhood. Along with Daytona and Ridge Racer, these three games almost single-handedly defined the evolution not just of driving game graphics, but of all videogames. I remember going to the arcade, playing Hard Drivin, trying to remember the course, and coming home and drawing it all out. I spent ages obsessing over this game. It was beyond exciting! Oh and it was also the first REALLY expensive arcade game here in British arcades. Until then, games had been no more than 20p (about 36c) but Hard driving cost a whole pound per game ($1.80), so this really was a game-changer, and you couldn't just pour coins into it like with other games - you had to persuade your parents to give you the money! In the run-up to Christmas 1989 I was losing sleep at the prospect of owning this game on the Spectrum. Even if the game was nowhere near as good (it obviously wouldn't be), I just loved the game so much and wanted to own it so badly. I completely agree with you when you said you really need to sit in the arcade cabinet to get the real effect of playing this game. That's really true. Watching a video of the game running does NOTHING to capture the "realness" of the arcade game: the way all the controls felt, the feedback they gave, the vibrations, the noises of the road - the deep hum of the engine, and the sound system which gave you an immersive sense of being there. It's like you could just "feel" the road underneath you. Sadly, I never got to see any of the sequels in the arcade, despite eagerly anticipating them.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks for the comments. I know the game was a pretty big success but I don't hear a lot of chatter about it when it comes to retro gaming such as other classic arcade games. It absolutely was revolutionary at the time and it absolutely was one of the most expensive games to play at the time. It was only $0.50 over here in America but when most of the games were $0.25 it was a bit expensive. I would get a dollar maybe two from my parents and I had to make it last for at least a couple of hours. Four games of hard-drivin and it was gone. LOL I don't recall having this game on the Commodore 64. The first time I played it was on the Amiga and it was a pretty good conversion at the time despite the frame rate. The spectrum port was really good in my opinion. You absolutely had to experience this in a real arcade cabinet. Like you said watching a video of it does nothing for the complete experience. Race drivin was a great game. I loved the super stunt track and especially the corkscrew. Thanks for watching my videos, cheers

[@Scripture-Man]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Thanks :)

[@FreddPhucks]

I played hard drivin as a kid back at my local liquor store. They had Hard Drivin and Cruisin USA. Certainly was fun from what i remember. I didn't know there was a sega genesis port. I should definitely give that one a look. Another great upload Pat! 👏

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks for the comments, the Sega Genesis port is okay but the frame rate is not very good. Best to check it out on the midway arcade treasures 2 Compilation

[@FreddPhucks]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Is that compilation the one on ps2? I will check that out cuz that compilation is not very expensive

[@skylinefever]

@@FreddPhucks The Midway Arcade Treasures pack could be bought for the PS2 or XBOX.

[@FreddPhucks]

@@skylinefever Thanks for the info. I appreciate it

[@thork6974]

The old Underground arcade at UC Berkeley had an Airborne cab in 1993 and I loved it to death. I had no idea it was so rare, but did wonder why I never saw it anywhere else or ever again. It was a standup cab with a sort of cowl that folded out over your head to deliver surround stereo. The third level was a mountain path where you had to dodge boulders, and if you drove off the track you could keep going until you literally fell off the map, dropping all they way back down to the default game grid. I did that a lot just for fun. I hope someone out there has kept one of these in working order.

[@bOoStInVT]

I've learn how to drive and using stick shift from playing this game in my early teen years. My Dad took me out for my first test drive when I got my permit in his manual stick shift car. While driving he ask me if I had been driving his car when he not around due to me knowing how to stick shift. I said no I've learned it from playing Hard Drivin' '!!!!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL, that's hilarious. I learned to drive with the game outrun I but no clutch

[@Marzimus]

Classic!! 👍 Save the manuals- never go auto. 🤜🤛

[@broccolihart1]

That's hilarious.

[@Hellwyck]

I'm English so we're pretty much 90% manual gearboxes. Over here if you pass in an auto you can't drive a manual.

[@DTM-Books]

I to,d the same thing to my driving instructor back in 1990. He reacted with horror, as though I just confessed to murdering squirrels with a lawn mower. Grownups in my town were absolutely terrified of videogames.

[@thisfreakingguy3833]

I remember the music for the replays of crashes when I was a kid I laughed so hard I cried... needless to say it got my quarters every friday...

[@Daveybird]

Sounds like accident report music on the news.

[@TheMathius78]

THANK YOU, PAT!!! I love this series ever since seeing it in a seedy mall arcade in Indy. I'd always try to hit the cow to hear the digitized "moo" as well.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL, the cow was a must for me if I was playing on the stunt track. Thanks for watching

[@digitalmagicAR]

The arcade version was outstanding! Never got to play another version, but saw it advertised for NES hoping it would happen, but never did. A year later I got a PC and Test Drive III was released so that was the 3D driving game we got to have so much fun with. Great review! Never realized it got ported to so many systems

[@WalterDiamond]

Great video! I was 13 when Hard Drivin' came out and spent most of my paper route money on it. As a commented far down the page noted, the game could only be played for so long before it would just fall to pieces and glitch out. I recall it was over the 500,000 mark, which took about an hour. Race Drivin's physics would slightly different and would was able to break 1,000,000 several times on the Stunt Track. The real winner, though, was the Super Stunt Track. You could gain time and play forever. My PR was over 5 million, which took four and half hours. Did that at 15, and had never driven a car. I remain opposed to automatic cars to this day.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you. I have read a lot of comments from people who learned to drive stick on this game. Goes to show how realistic this game was. :-)

[@skierpage]

That's crazy. I just completed the Super Stunt course at California Extreme pinball and arcade game show and only got 82, 000. Please make a video with commentary of your techniques in a real cabinet or using MAME! It was such a struggle even getting to that super high crest after the corkscrew that I was never able to refine my technique on it.

[@ChrisRoth1972]

I remember playing sit down version of Hard Driven at Myrtle Beach.We were there for a week & I played Hard Driven every day! By 1990 I stopped playing video games for a decade so this is why I have never seen any home versions & learning about Hard Driven 2! I ❤️ your channel. The PS2 looks just like the arcade version! It’s harder to play I admit because all you use our buttons instead of a wheel & shifter.Thanks for the video

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you very much, glad you like the content. This is always one of my favorite racing games just for the fact that you could jump over bridges and go through loops :-)

[@AirDOGGe]

RACE DRIVIN' was my all-time favorite arcade game. I got so good at it that I was beating the clock on every lap by 2-3 seconds. 4 quarters to play. When you win the lap that the lap clock resets with a few more seconds as a bonus and you go around again. I could drive it all day on those four 25-cent coins if I wanted to. But eventually I'd get bored and crash it intentionally. The arcade I went to in Mountain View California in the late 70s through the early 1990s was a "Time Zone" and then later a "Bally's", and on occasion Atari would set up a prototype machine there for live testing. I remember when they had the prototype for STARSHIP there. The cabinet, controls, game-play and the video graphics were all like the production game machines but the graphics on the interior panels that surrounded the CRT screen were all done in colored felt tip marker pens, the solid colored areas clearly scribbled in to fill them. Production machines have smooth printed graphics around the screen. Another prototype I saw at the arcade for a few days was a pre-HARD DRIVIN' 3D driving sim. VERY simple wire frame graphics on a black & white video screen. The track was a basic figure-8 drawn with white lines as the track edges on a black backdrop, almost appearing to be floating in space. There was a horizontal line for the horizon but no other features visible in the distance, no trees or grandstands or anything. Very simple graphics to achieve high frame rates fro smooth motion. I don't even think one could see the nose of the car, but not sure. It was basically a free-roam 3D game map, as I could cross the white lines of the track edges and just driving in one direction across the totally blank terrain for 20-30 seconds and then turn around and see the track far in the distance. On various locations on the track edges they had short vertical lines sticking up like 2-foot-tall track edge markers, and if you "hit" one with the car a solenoid would strike the bottom of your wooden seat with a sharp rap as if you had run over something. This was the first true 3D-world game I had ever seen, much less touched. Physics were incredible as I could actually slide the car around turns. I can't recall what they called it and I have never found any info about it.. The game was gone again before the week was out and several months later Hard Drivin' appeared with real colored 3D graphics. I have no idea if the 2 machines were related or not. The prototype may have just been for testing the driving physics, I dunno. I've never found any info about it

[@Heat0ne]

Wow, this was my all time favorite game growing up. I still make sure I take down phantom photon every time I see it in an arcade. Thanks for all the great info on it!!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you for watching, that you enjoyed it

[@RJARRRPCGP]

I fondly remember this in an arcade during my late childhood! When in an arcade in Rutland County, Vermont, if not still right in Rutland, on route 4 east and possibly the arcade right in downtown Rutland, Vermont, too! I remember one day of me not wanting to stop playing it! It was a game-boom era at the time, which made sense, because the U.S. economy was very good during that period!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That's very cool, I was up in that area just a few years ago

[@brentboswell1294]

I was the kid at the mall arcade who got the high score, and beat Phantom Photon! I was 17 at the time, and I knew how to drive a stick. The younger kids used to gather 'round the machine when I played, it blew their minds that someone could actually drive a stick...

[@LogiForce86]

Still own an Amiga 2000 and a original copy of Hard Drivin' with box and all included. It's my first sim and proud of it, now I have a much evolved cockpit (all Fanatec gear on a Sim-Lab P1 chassis) myself compared to that which once was this first "sim racing" arcade cabinet. Many people acclaim Pole Position to be the first sim, but the first sim in the modern sense of the word that was complete including a cockpit view, damage model, real physics, force feedback steering wheel, 3 pedals and a fully working shifter... it's only missing a handbrake! Hard drivin' was way ahead of its time in my opinion. 😎

[@brentjohnson5171]

Im so thankful for this game and its successor. Because of it i became a better Kart racer, learned how to drive a manual before i ever had to touch a real one, learned how to find the best racing line, recover from oversteer, and made me feel comfortable when i started in SCCA and PCNA HPDE's. Sure, it wasn't perfect, and there was still (and is still) a bunch left to learn that can only be learned in a real car driven "in anger", but im so grateful that i was born in a time and place where it was available to me. Thanks for the video!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

This was the first time I ever drove a stick shift and thanks this video I'm hearing that more and more people had the same experience. It really was ahead of his time. Thanks

[@markmaisy4858]

Bit late to the party here, but wow, excellent video! I remember playing this in the arcade and it was simply mind blowing, couldn't get enough of it. Some of those ports were borderline 'criminal'. Just subbed😁😁👍👍

[@GrandCamino6]

Excellent video on my absolute favorite game series. I was 15 back in 1989 and learned how to drive a manual on the full sit down version of Hard Drivin’. It must have been 3 years later I hopped in a 1970’s Toyota Corolla with a manual and drove it on a dirt back road with friends like I had been driving a manual for years. It was my first time. I would love to own one of these one day to share the experience with my son. There was one playable Hard Drivin’ at the arcade casino at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk a few years back. Not sure if it’s still there or not.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you very much. It's always been one of my favorite games as well. I learned to drive with outrun a few years prior though

[@brycepunk1]

One of my favorite arcade games ever. Thank you for your video and channel.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks for the nice words, please subscribe

[@arau8310]

I during my college years I started working out and as part of my regimen I would run on the boardwalk that was near where I lived. There was an old arcade that had a Race Drivin' cabinet machine, so I would always stop to take a break by playing that machine. I got really good at it, and many years later- I purchased a partially working Race Drivin' cockpit version on eBay. It took a little bit of research and work, but I eventually got it working. That was over 20 years ago- and I still have that game in my mancave. I don't play it often, but I have logged countless hours on it over the years, and know all of the secrets, glitches, and exploits to get the best times. Revolutionary for its time. I read that Atari marketed and sold several for use as a police trainer.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It really was revolutionary for its time. A lot of people learned how to drive stick with the game. Thanks for sharing

[@westoncharm7467]

I actually learned how to drive with this game, as well as, 18 wheeler.

[@mattd2275]

Ridge racer for me!

[@floyd9572]

Taught myself how to drive stick on one of these machines.

[@NYCQuint]

Ditto!

[@MarquisDeSang]

I had the Race Drivin arcade (the complete and huge model). When I bought my home and moved the arcade, we lowered it in the basement. Sadly it got stuck there and at 600+ pounds, we had to remove and cut parts. In the end I salvaged all the PCB and components and destroyed the cabinet. I sold the parts to a collector. It makes me sad to think about this.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I can't believe the cabinet weighed that much. At least you were able to salvage something out of it

[@MarquisDeSang]

@jason9022 I wish I did built the house around it. The stairs to my basement are too high when they arrive at the door at the bottom. Yes I was dumb.

[@broccolihart1]

MarquisDeSang Oh darn...

[@nattila7713]

you animal !!!! ( :D )

[@MarquisDeSang]

@@nattila7713 The first day of my new job for an amusement company in early 2001, the boss there ask me to throw in the garbage 6 bran new Lazerdisc player. I did not have a car at that time and was too shy to ask to keep them. I was young and it was my first day on the job. 6x Laserdisc player BRAND new in unopened boxes and I put them in the garbage container. I don't like to think about that, but I saved 47 arcade PCB while working there, so at least some of our history is preserved.

[@jimbo-fk4dq]

Kid: Mom, can we go to the arcade? I want to play Hard Drivin' Mom: We got Hard Drivin' at home. *Hard Drivin' at home:* 4:41

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL

[@bluewingracing1051]

Best use of this meme to date :P

[@ryanneal6608]

M H

[@AchtungBaby77]

I feel your pain! When I received my copy for C64, I threw it out in disgust.

[@TigerBoyRS]

Another great one! Hard Drivin and Race Drivin were real Sims. I mean, I will love to the grave all Yo Suzuki's racing masterpieces at Sega, and also Ridge Race, from Namco. But this was something else. This was a simulator, I was 18 and taking driving lessons to get Driving License. So I guess it happened to me too... This game help me, and what a surprise, it was actually originally thought to be and aid for driving schools. Thanks for all the input on the ports, damn shame the C64 version. I had the ZX Spectrum version, and later Amiga, so just imagine me practicing on the ZX by the morning, then running to the Arcade after lunch. Big Arcade called "Meta" @ Costa de Caparica, Portugal. Videogames, beach time and sunsets in the early 90s. Cheers from 🇵🇹

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks. It was a huge deal when it first came out in the arcades because nothing had been done quite like it. If I ever do worst arcade conversion ever the 64 version will definitely be near the top

[@SlaughterDog]

As a kid, I loved playing Hard Drivin’, which was in the lobby of a local buffet. I had it on my Sega Genesis, but I was so enthralled by the arcade’s key, clutch, and shifter, I’d always choose manual and stall it out enough times at the start to rarely be able to finish a lap.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That is awesome, a lot of people have told me they stuck with the manual shift and this is where they learn to drive

[@jpcrafton69]

I fondly remember when Hard Drivin' hit the arcade at the local state university. The force-feedback wheel was a revelation, even though the speed was rather subpar compared to the super-scalar racing games. Still, the full 3D polygonal graphics were rather compelling. First time around the track, I over-jumped the drawbridge and subsequently wrecked. Later, when I saw the sequel Race Drivin' at the arcarde, I was overjoyed. The extra stunt tracks, as my 18-year-old-self said, "freaking sweet". Or maybe "killer". Something like that.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Yes, that's exactly my feeling when I first saw and played the original arcade cabinet. This was also the first Racing game we couldn't go full throttle around the track. You had to respect the speed limit signs otherwise like you said you were going to crash. I'm pretty sure I over jumped the drawbridge as well Race drivin was so cool when it came out, my absolute favorite was the corkscrew. Thanks for watching

[@Marzimus]

Or "rad dude!" 😂😂

[@Travelinmatt1976]

Race Drivin' had a secret track. If you loaded the original track and then when the game starts immediately turn left there is a circle track with a column in the middle.

[@kennethd4958]

These are the kind of videos I love.. I love seeing comparisons of the different versions of the same video game. So interesting to me.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I always found it fascinating as well

[@adesignersperspective]

just discovered your channel, and this is great! if you haven't yet, would love to see a documentary on the san francisco rush series too, which many people don't realize was actually developed off of what atari started with hard drivin' and race drivin' all those years earlier.

[@es-ed5ug]

I think most of us remember taking the stunt track and driving off the loop so we could see the replay

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL, I can recall doing that to :-)

[@fredzeppelin3969]

A fun trick for us later on was doing an elongated loop inside the tunnel on the Super Stunt Track ( in Race Drivin'). But the best part of both games, was booger-nosed kids couldn't just sit down and floor it around the track to get high scores. You had to DRIVE THE CAR proper.

[@AtariLegend]

Another really excellent documentary. I loved it. And that flying hard driving version, wow, how cool was that? Well done!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Yes, airborne was really cool and I wish they would've put that into production. It would be great to play that an actual cabinet. Thanks for the kind words

[@schmitty1944]

Excellent and very thorough review of my favorite arcade game of all time.

[@danbobdickson]

I've never clicked a video so fast.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL, thank you my friend

[@michaelfritts9839]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I had the GameBoy version of Race Drivin' and this brought back some great memories.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Could not believe how good that version was on the Game Boy

[@DCookStaVideo]

I loved the manual option, I'm sure that lead to my love of manuals now.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL, that was a great feature that they included

[@herbderbler1585]

I'm sad manuals seem to be a dying breed in the US. It's just so much more satisfying to control the drivetrain directly.

[@stphinkle]

The reason the console frame rates were low in a lot of the home ports at the time was because almost none of the consoles could replicate the arcade hardware. Hard Drivin used parallel processing of 7 different CPUs to generate the gameplay experience (68010, ADSP-2100, 2x TMS34010, TMS34012, 68000, TMS32010. Its successor, Race Drivin replaces one of the TMS34010s with a DSP32C, and adds a math ASIC. Many of the consoles have one or two CPUs of a lot less power: * Super NES: Ricoh 5A22 (65C816 derivative) Gameboy: Z80 NES: N2A03 (6502 deriviative) Genesis: 68000 and Z80 Atari ST: 68000 Atari Lynx:: 65SC02 Amiga: 68000 PC: 286, 38, 485

[@maxbehensky4645]

This is the real Max Behensky. This video gives me much more credit than is due. Hard Drivin' and Race Drivin' were developed by the Applied Research group at Atari, headed by Rick Moncrief. I was the lead programmer, but the crucial idea of making a driving simulator using real physics and the same sort of technology used in airplane simulators was Rick's. The rest of the group consisted of Jed Margolin (hardware engineer). Erik Durfey (technician), and Stephanie Mott (programmer, and my future wife). Everyone in the group provided ideas and helped in the design. Others at Atari made significant contributions as well. Doug Milliken helped with the vehicle model. The Wikipedia entry on Hard Drivin' has lots of good information. If you want to see a video of me a few years before I worked on Hard Drivin' (without a bag over my head), do a youtube search for "Atari Cambridge Research Part 4". With the exception of giving me too much credit, this is a great video, and the history is pretty accurate.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Hello and thanks for replying. Thanks for the info on all the other creators. Did you have a hand in the unreleased follow-ups? Thanks

[@c0rr0s10n]

I learned how to drive as a kid at the bowling alley with hard drivin' and today it shows. i'm a leadfoot daredevil.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL

[@mrwess1927]

Same

[@DarkpawTheWolf]

I was hoping you'd have a review of this. I LITERALLY learned to drive a manual trans because of this game. I had the shifts down pat, and when I bought my first car, it was a 5-speed manual...no problem. Also worth noting is that the girl that ran the arcade in my mall clearly didn't understand electronics. One night I was having some fun with it, popping the clutch, and she threatened to throw me out of the arcade because I was going to....get ready for it.....burn out the clutch on the game. lol

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL! That is too funny! Thanks for sharing :-)

[@panicfarm9874]

Had this on megadrive as a kid, had so much fun trying to get the best replay crashes

[@djwonderbrad]

I was stoked as a kid when I found this at Boardwalk USA, spent half the day on this game and my arms were sore as Hell from the feedback wheel 🤣🤣

[@skierpage]

This is very timely, last night I was at the California Extreme pinball and arcade game show playing Race Drivin' over and over with other attendees (hi, "Kid Dakota"). I completed the Super Stunt course (!!) and only got 82, 000, so the tales of people scoring a million are crazy. In the 90s arcades it was such a struggle even getting to that super high crest after the corkscrew that I was never able to refine my technique on it (I think shift into 4th and coast down the vertical drop). The game told you to use the clutch when shifting gears, but I think you can shift from gear to gear without penalty. I would use the Speedster but I think the original Roadster had less twitchy handling. In addition to being an early true 3D polygon game and a realistic simulator, Hard Drivin' was an early open world game. You could drive all over. I wasted money driving around the backs of buildings looking for Easter eggs. Besides the cow ("MOOO!") and the circular skidpad, you could hit the speed limit signs and they would immediately flatten with an unrealistic "KLANG". The physics was accurate until you crashed, and then the game would do crazy things like catapult the car backwards far faster than it was traveling, or spin for no reason. 11:03 I never saw a two-cabinet linked Race Drivin', that would have been so fun. Arcade-History says only 100 units of the Panorama three-monitor arcade version were made ($13,995 in 1991 dollars is $31,000 today). I never heard of a five-screen version, their page says "Several 3 and 5-screen versions of this game were modified for use as driving simulators for use by human performance researchers. For a time the 5-screen version served as a platform for a high-performance driving simulator program." Someone brought a prototype of Hard Drivin's Airborne to CA Extreme years ago, that was great. It's playable in MAME online at the Internet Archive's Internet Arcade.

[@kenkobra]

I remember when this game first came out the arcade owner told us it cost just as much as a car.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I read somewhere that it was very expensive so I'm not surprised

[@NathanLJustice]

My brother and I loved this in the arcade. We just loved to crash. I just found your channel. It's great!!!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you my friend, glad you enjoy my content. Please subscribe if you haven't already

[@pacman2k1]

stunts was my first game played on a PC(486 DX 50 with 8 MB of RAM). a dream became true! i still own some machines which run dos and i play it from time to time! it's just great! i can remember how many tracks we build and exchanged in shool for competition... :)

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Stunts was really really good. Like you said, the track editor especially was so awesome.

[@googleblows4016]

12:10 hahaha Well done! Thanks for including all the versions of this favorite so I can stop trying to find them myself.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Glad you enjoyed it, thank you

[@gregzielinski]

There are a lot of things that are still high end in the cabinet. The brake uses a strain guage which means it's not how far you push the pedal, it's how hard. Much like real brake pedal it takes up pretty quick but as you excert more pressure, the braking is harder. If I remember the swivel chair version locked the shifter with a solenoid unless you used the clutch. Also I think the steering was a 2+ turn potentiometer. The swivel chair also locked into place so you wouldn't swing out during game play.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks for the info. I'm not surprised considering started out as an actual driving simulator.

[@ChadKenova]

I can remember playing it on the sega genesis back in the day but always thought the arcade version with a clutch petal was cool. Its funny how many people today cant drive a manual transmission.

[@TexRobNC]

I'm pretty sure the original Hard Drivin was released with 3 screen support as well. I can remember playing SO many variations, standup, sitdown with single screen, sitdown with 3 screens off the top of my head.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It was released with three screens. I've never seen that one before though and would love to try it

[@skierpage]

​@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries11: 13 You say there was a five-screen version?!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

@@skierpage Yes arcarc.xmission.com/Web%20Archives/Jeff%20Andersen%20(Sep%2027%202003)/rdp/sb.jpg

[@nickcadwell1094]

I would love to see something like this done for Airwolf. That way you can feel like Stringfellow Hawk flying Airwolf, and your buddy can feel like Dom helping you inside the Helicopter.

[@pfmdude]

Atari Games also made game called Steel Talons. Same 3D polygon graphics. Pretty fun game.

[@hunter371]

It's probably one of the shortest games on the Genesis, but I really enjoyed playing this as a kid and making that cow moo. Never got a chance to play the arcade game but it looks awesome.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

The arcade game was much smoother.

[@jamesofficial6829]

I first experienced this on the GameCube and thinking how it was so ahead of its time being that the game came out 1989. I was really impressed with it for how old the game was.

[@thestarglider]

Correction - The Spectrum version was released by Domark Ltd, and programmed by Binary Design, not Tiertex.

[@LordmonkeyTRM]

See also the CPC version

[@martymissile]

It’s hard to believe now, but I remember doing the math back in the day and a buddy and I probably spent $1000 each playing this game, 50 cents at a time. Can’t be right, can it? Hard Drivin’ must have earned the title of world’s first driving sim for consumers. It broke new ground with its force feedback wheel and realistic physics. You know those physics were legit because they were advised by Bill and/or Doug Milliken, engineers and authors of the ‘bible’ of vehicle dynamics called ‘Race Car Vehicle Dynamics’. I remember dreaming about how fantastic such a game could become in the future, and here I am today, a sim racing hobbyist with an infinity better driving ‘cabinet’ on my desk that has cost me roughly the same amount I spent in quarters 34 years ago in that arcade!

[@sohchx]

I learned how to drive manual transmission playing this game and then went on to pass my license test driving a manual trans car. Thanks Atari!! I also have the upright version of Race Drivin in my arcade game collection. An absolute must have if you can fit it into your house lol

[@alobosk]

I actually,, swear to god, learned to drive with Hard Drivin'. And to drive shift stick. And I got my dad into the arcade to show him that game. After that moment my dad gave me the keys of the car. I drove back home that day. That important is this game to me.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That is awesome, thanks for sharing

[@RobbieStrike]

Playing on the arcade was fun to watch the crash replay's. I think this was the first polygon game I ever saw!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I believe that was the first one on display

[@bluewingracing1051]

Real great video and made me find this channel. What a joy! Great research and information on the sequels and ports. I hope I can find a way to experience this game on the Arcade, I'm making an exposition on the Azores and I wish people had the oportunity to try this :D

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the content so much. Hope you enjoy the rest of my videos Miley

[@bluewingracing1051]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Thanks :D I will for sure :D

[@johnz581]

Another game which was similar to this was released on PC called Stunts. You could make your own course, and the graphics were decent for the day. Of course it was digital steering so you could drive with a keyboard, but it was fun. The neat thing was you could make your own courses... I still have many of the courses I made back in the day, broke it out used dosBOX and got the old game working...

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I had that one back in the day but it was called 4D driving on the Amiga. It was fantastic for its time and you're right, it was fun making your own courses. Thanks

[@sky173]

Great video. I had a full-sized version of this game back in 2001. I found it for $400. I had to drive 1000 miles to pick it up, and it worked great. Sadly I had to move and sold it because it wouldn't fit in the new house. I wish I never did.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Holy cow, even back then that was a great price

[@bsquaredproductions7067]

I had an imported version of Race Drivin’ on the Sega Saturn that was pretty spot on, I was waiting for you to bring it up here.

[@tonycoffee7335]

I remember playong this game when I was very young.... I just crashed alot. It was the first racing game I ever played... thanks for the memory.

[@GothyCakesofficial]

The force feedback on the wheel in the original standing arcade machine is id say better than quite a lot of wheels of today it's impressive how truly next generation this game is and was.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Oh absolutely, it's one thing to tell people what kind of an arcade cabinet this was but it's another to try it out for yourself. It was way ahead of his time

[@skorpius752]

The arcade version basically taught me how to drive. I also had the Game Boy version. It was actually very playable and kind of amazing that they got it to run. i am sure it took an enhancement chip.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I don't think any enhancement chip was used for the Game Boy

[@maxington26]

I played this in the arcade... and on Lynx! And Amiga. Thanks for this video, it's really interesting to see all the other versions!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thank you, I didn't think the Amiga version was that bad. Of course it was not going to be as good as the arcade game. I was very disappointed in the Atari Lynx version with its choppy frame rate.

[@maxington26]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Me too!

[@themanwithnoname4723]

One of my first arcade memories... this and TMNT Arcade game... small arcade in a local drug store in Brunswick, Maine ... had to be 89 ... very impressive to a 8 yr old .

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I agree, it's still impressive today :-)

[@moiquiregardevideo]

The hard drivin CPU board was the most expensive. It was actually two large boards, each containing about 120 TTL chips. There was 3 CPU: TMS34010 for graphic DSP... For 3D computation Motorola 68010 for general computing. Despite all this, the refresh rate was probably 10 per second.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Thanks for the info, it sure made an impression on me

[@moiquiregardevideo]

Thanks for the thumb up. I was impressed by the capacity to create a real 3d world ; the first driving game that allowed to turn around, drive in opposite direction. I liked to crash the car on the loop and observe the replay of the accident.

[@mrjohnnyk]

This game was one of the most impressive games on the Sega Genesis. As a 90's kid I never really saw it in arcades since they must have all moved on to the 90's arcade racing games, but I had this game on the Genesis which was my first game console. As a kid who always had an interest in cars and racing games it was slim pickings back then when it came to good racing games. I remember Outrunners, Hard Drivin, and Virtua Racing being my 3 main racing games back then, and I played them all in that order. Outrunners being my introduction to racing games for the most part, Hard Drivin was something I played later and I remember being blown away by the 3D presentation. Sure the frame rate sucked but to a kid back then it was amazing to play a game like that and it was something I didn't think my Genesis was capable of. Towards the end of my time with that as my only console I got Virtua Racing after being blown away by a demo of it I played at my local Funcoland. This was back when they just had games setup in demo consoles and you could just go ahead and buy that game used right out of the demo machine if you really liked it. Good times, this was a real trip down memory lane.

[@rwentfordable]

What's also interesting it this documentary is 7 times longer than the entire content in the game.

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

13:00 - The thing with the Super Nintendo is that it _did_ feature 16 bit graphics, but the main processor was still mostly *8 bit.* The Ricoh 5A22 (according to Wikipedia, that is) _did_ feature a 24 bit general access bus, but the chip register bus was limited to 8 bit, and the clock speed of the CPU was throttled from 3.58 to 1.79 MHz for some uses. No wonder it was outperformed on CPU heavy tasks by the Amiga or Atari ST. And polygon graphics were almost exclusively rendered by the CPU in those days, something that was not changed until nVidia's first GeForce chipset almost 10 years later.

[@freeculture]

This obviously needed the SuperFX chip. As you can see from the PC ports, the stronger CPUs could do much better by software. The SFC architecture was cheap as you say, it was a typical cost reducing method to use a bus with half the bandwidth and add a wait state, that's what it was done with the PCXT after all, and the 386SX.

[@booyakafoo]

Absolutely loved playing this game in the arcade when I was a kid. Dropped a lot of quarters on it and never got any good from what I remember. I wanted the Genesis (or any console) version of this game so bad but could never find it. I would search the game magazine back pages that had the game shops with the full list of games and it was always listed there but if I called any of the shops they never had it.

[@rwentfordable]

You got lucky. This documentary is 7 times longer than the entire content in the game on the Megadrive.

[@heinous70]

In 1989 - 90, I was driving about 30 minutes to the other side of town to pump quarters into that thing. When it wasn't down, and waiting for a replacement potentiometer. I invested so much time and money in that thing, the only person that was any competition, was the guy that ran the arcade. He got to play for free. Didn't take long for him to figure out the fastest lap times would be achieved by crossing the Finish Line airborne. Very airborne 😂. He never gave me an exact price, but when I questioned, he told me it was about three times as much as the average arcade stand up. I remember wondering how long it would be before FF technology was affordable. I think the answer to that was about 8 years. Oh How Far We've come. I'm in my early 50s, and the recent thought of upgrading my 10-year-old equipment got me thinking. Not only how much longer I plan for it to be a hobby, but the amount of time I've already been into it, and where it all started. It was without a doubt, this game. Thank you for the content! It was an excellent history lesson

[@springwoodslasher79]

Played this for days when I was a kid. First arcade with stick and clutch. Had this on Sega and played it religiously.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It was essentially the first driving simulator

[@springwoodslasher79]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries I'm still into simulators today very heavily and it all started there. Thanks for the memories.

[@AlanAttack]

I love the way Patman is so kind to each version of the games he reviews....if this was my video i would be saying...."every other version is shit"

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Well I try to find something positive in everything I cover but sometimes it's just not possible.

[@Froggievilleus]

I remember my brother renting the SNES version and thinking his console was dying since the game ran so slow.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

LOL that's funny

[@RJARRRPCGP]

Heck, I saw SNES game FPS better than 12:50 while emulated on a 486 DX4 100, FFS!(or similar)

[@JohnSmith-qn3ob]

Same here, I loved the arcade version then was so excited when I saw it was on SNES. Then I rented it. The slow down problems have been fixed. Kinda funny how the SNES version was the slowest and now it's the fastest. See for yourself kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2rCZaCtmZyWj8k

[@GamingHistorySource]

Entertaining & informative ! :) You have my full endorsement ! Just learned about your channel from a comment on my video, Let's Compare ( Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge ). Excellent videos !

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I thoroughly enjoy your channel as well. Thanks for the nice words

[@chosenone101]

They should of used this game to pass driver's licenses back in the day! I loved this game!

[@davidgodinez5014]

You forgot to include the Sega Saturn port of Race Drivin. Only released in Japan but it’s a great port.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

I also didn't include the PlayStation one version either. I was running low on time with my video which is why I didn't include these two. The Saturn version is excellent though

[@victorvovchanchin361]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries what is the model of Ferrari on the thumbnail please if you know?

[@Torquenbeans]

@@victorvovchanchin361 probably a 512 Testarossa or some model Testarossa

[@victorvovchanchin361]

@@Torquenbeans I thought it was f 40

[@taylorberry1735]

Actually, Race Drivin’ (Sega Saturn) was also released in the USA

[@chiefbigtoe7260]

Can you find one these for sale somewhere? Or well they all trashed ???

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

There are still some out there but very expensive

[@WhatHoSnorkers]

I had this on the Spectrum back in the day... and played it in the arcade too! It was interesting because if you let go of the steering wheel it would centre itself!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Absolutely, the spectrum version really wasn't too bad. Much better than the horrendous Commodore version

[@sheiladikshit5110]

i bought a hard drivin' sit-down as a teenager in the mid 90s, basically learned how to drive on it. nearly perfect experience, aside form the lack of clutch/brake feedback.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That is very cool

[@mindyabusness5253]

If you can find one... where? I would love to try this again now that I actually know how to drive. I remember never being able to get through the loop or to the first checkpoint. Like ever. I always played it on manual transmission and I just remember having so much trouble accelerating and always running out of time.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

A lot of arcade still have this game specifically fun spot and galloping ghost arcades

[@billysmidway7032]

I have a full sized cockpit version in my arcade, Billy’s Midway in Hawthorne NJ. I have a gameplay video here on KZbin as well.

[@billysmidway7032]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYSQZXutlNeMobc

[@cawleygamma]

The computer ports were not released by US Gold - they were released by Domark. I’d have to check if Tiertex had anything to do with the C64 port, but I do know it was not released as a stand alone full price title. It was included on the TNT compilation and later as a Hit Squad budget release.

[@nathanshaw9688]

I saw this many years later in a random gas station. I thought it was a ripoff of "Stunts" for the PC. But I guess "Stunts" ripped this off.

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Yes, stunts came out afterwards

[@stevenboisvert1767]

Does anyone know what the game at 1:10 is called? I have flashbacks of playing it but cant' recall or find any screen shots that look like it. Thanks!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Power drift

[@stevenboisvert1767]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Yes! How did I forget this game for so long? Thanks! I'm going to go figure out a way to play it right now!

[@igiveuponhumanity9238]

I can't believe nobody else has mentioned this about their times & scores, but my skill on the $.25 one at Lou's Supermarket and the $.50 one at PuttPutt was so good that I made the program glitch many times, causing a "ghost" car to randomly fly across the sky and all the sound effects to play in a row. I actually got the phone number from the credits at the end of the game, or maybe the company name and then number (I can't remember, but it was lllllllong before Google), and *called the company in Japan and asked to speak to engineers about it.* I looked up how to connect overseas calls by looking it up in the front pages of the phone book (which few people even know about anymore). The Japanese receptionist actually went to the effort of finding someone who spoke English, who then translated my questions to pose to the engineers. That person asked for my number, but I *said I would hold* because I was calling from a car dealership where a friend worked and he hated the boss, and figured out that if you picked one of the 14 available phone lines and hit "hold" twice and it started blinking rapidly, it would bypass the receptionist who would usually have to place long-distance calls for callers. I have NO idea how much money the call cost the dealership, but Glenn and I took great pleasure knowing that we were taking money right out of the owner's pocket. Anyway, after a ridiculous amount of time on the phone and on Hold, the only answer we got for the glitches was "we don't know why."

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Wow, that is insane. I can't believe you actually Were able to get in touch with the company long before Google existed. Too bad you didn't find out why it was happening.

[@igiveuponhumanity9238]

PatmanQC - History of arcade game documentaries ~ true story though, I swear! If anyone who replies here still has one of the original arcade versions, they could actually provide the phone number that rolls in the "end credits" at certain points. The number didn't pop up at the end of every "insert coin" demo, but with patience, it could be seen. There were names & job titles on screen, too. Hell, I'd love to see a KZbin video of just the credits!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

@@igiveuponhumanity9238 If you play the game on Mame you would be able to find it

[@igiveuponhumanity9238]

PatmanQC - History of arcade game documentaries ~ I have absolutely no clue what that is! I am low-tech and behind the times, by choice. I just do this KZbin thing for nostalgia and mindless entertainment. Cheers though!

[@skierpage]

Atari Games headquarteres were in Milpitas California at the time, so I'm not sure why you telephoned Japan. Namco of Japan had a controlling interest, but I'm pretty sure the Drivin' games were holy developed in California.

[@ProfRockPR]

Thank you for this. I was looking for the name of the game and AI helped me get to, and now I stumbled upon this jewel of a video. Awesome!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Fantastic, glad you enjoyed it. Not One of my more popular videos but I always enjoyed this game. I might have to go back to visit it at some point. Thanks for the nice words especially on Twitter :-)

[@PromoMIAR]

What is the name of the Game near the start with oversized characters on kind of Buggy's?

[@raymxslappedyall3660]

The music on the instant replay for genesis was the awesomest

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

It is really good

[@AchtungBaby77]

Just discovered your channel Pat. Great video! And believe me, playing this game on C64 as a young kid, it felt a heck of alot less than minus five frames per second!

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

Welcome aboard! The spectrum version didn't turn out so bad. It's amazing just how horrible the Commodore version really was

[@Afrikanxl]

I was lucky enough to have this right around the corner of our apartment in San Francisco. Billiards Palacade. I had the whole scoreboard to myself, since I figured out a way to keep extending time. Great Video, I did not know about some of these home ports. I've been doing so much research to get into sim racing.. got the wheel... got a seat... got some racing games.... but now I've shifted attention to see if I can play this instead with my setup. 😆

[@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries]

That's fantastic. My brother-in-law is also into sin racing and has the steering wheel, gearshift, paddles etc. of course he races stock cars in real life as well

[@Afrikanxl]

@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries that's so cool!!!

[@manuhonkanen2111]

I had the C-64 version on cassette. I taught that the difficulty of the game was because it was so hard!