The History of Scud Race.

On this episode of Race we look at the history of cult classic SEGA Model 3 arcade racer, Scud Race.
We look at its origins, it’s influence, it’s development, and of course … the gameplay itself.
If you want to try Scud Race, or any of the other SEGA Model 3 titles shown in the video, we highly recommend Warped Polygon’s excellent step-by-step set up guide for the SuperModel 3 emulator, which includes a link to download a pre-set ini file complete with best settings and configured controllers.
You can find that that video here:
• Sega Model 3 Emulator ...
Many thanks again to Laurent Comby from ‘Sega Dreamcast Info’ - you can find all the fantastic presentation content on their website:
www.sega-dreamcast-info-games...
And please check out Laurent’s KZbin channel for tech demo footage and more:
/ @segadreamcastinfo3971

[@autofox1744]

Speaking as an American, Scud definitely brings missiles to mind. That said, I don't think that would have hurt it over here.

[@LuSanification]

You had games like Quake and Tomb Raider being called cutting edge and then you had Scud Race and VF3... Sega was on another level

[@loganford3921]

I remember walking into the windmill arcade in Saltcoats Scotland and seeing Scud Race for the first time in 1997 and playing it was one my favourite arcade experience of all time. Sitting in the arcade moving cabinet and feeling the feedback from the steering wheel was bloody amazing and then reading gaming magazine that the Sega Blackbelt (Dreamcast) had a demo running Scud Race made me happy. Sadly Scud Race never made it to the dreamcaat or any console but here's hoping it will come home in the future

[@Jonziebal]

I could stare at the arcade running for hours

[@paulpatrick885]

Great video James - it must have been a labour of love producing this one. Scud Race is somewhat of a hidden gem but will always be fondly remembered by anyone lucky enough to have played it at an arcade in the 90s. This is pure Sega racing joy at its finest. Amazing that we can now play it at home, thanks to the wonders of emulation.

[@SEGAGuys]

Thanks Paul, you’re spot on, I had a blast putting this one together, especially digging into the origins of the BPR series - I’d never heard of it or seen any races televised, but to see the real cars in that footage was great! As great as it would be for SEGA to remodel the cars and remove the sponsors etc to bring a port home, it just doesn’t seem like something we’ll ever see 😢. Still, as you say, thank goodness for emulsion! Thanks for watching mate and for taking the time to comment and get involved. 💙

[@BloggosPow]

Scud Race was a favourite back in my local arcades. Felt so good to play. Surprised you didn't mention the Outrun 2 (or maybe coast 2 coast- cant remember which) tributes to the courses from SC that were unlockables. Someone ar sumo digital was a fan obviously!

[@GamerSpencer]

It was Outrun 2 original on the XBox. I reckon I Know who it was at Sumo Digital... :D

[@jackgray18]

"Some might find this odd, but I still look at Scud Race and think it's like something from the future." Not odd at all to me - I've always had the same feeling when looking at the game!

[@SEGAGuys]

Glad I’m not alone Jack! Thanks for checking out the video and taking the time to comment!

[@raymiecall]

I used to head down to Largs on a Saturday with a mate to play this, it just blew me away. Would also post up a time on Sega Rally (thanks Saturn) and always had a shot of G-LOC, which was in the R360 cabinet. Won't talk about the time it broke and left me literally hanging for ten minutes... 😂

[@s.spiegel3032]

It was such an amazing game. In Germany, Arcades where NEVER a big thing - and still aren't. Fortunately, I'm half Greek and thus we went to Greece a lot where Arcades were actually a big thing. I always loved arcades (and still do). I loved to hang around the arcades with my new, temporary vacation friends. We would watch others play games while our parents were eating and having boring conversations. Occasionally, they'd give us some 100 drachma coins (today approx. a mere 30 cents (€)) to bugger off so that we could play a few games. It's there, where I saw Scud Race for the first time. I was only 10 years old and the game just baffled me. It had sooooo much to offer. I mean the graphics of course were far ahead of their time. Everything was so detailled - even the driver of the car *moved* accordingly when steering. And this was before the release of the Nintendo 64, when Nintendo finally made the jump to 3D!!! Furthermore, you could _select the camera angle_ !! What? And then there was the 2 player possibility. You could actually drive against your friends - how crazy was that. And then there was the option to choose between automatic and manual transmission and use a freaking gear stick. And then the cars themselves, ofc. They included my (at the time) favorite car, the Dodge Viper. It was the ONLY car I ever chose. In short - it was amazing. And still is. Just this year I went to Greece. Unfortunately the Arcade world there has changed. Arcades there are very childish now and there are no more big titles to play. No more Tekken, Soul Calibur and the like. Many no name games where you shoot a water gun at a screen or other games of that sort. And what did I find among all the crap? Scud Race - and I bet it's the very same arcade unit from 1996.

[@JosephByrne]

They had a full 4 moving car cabinet at the Homerson Arcade in Scheveningen when I was growing up. I only got to play it a few times but I remember it feeling so fast, especially with a moving car. I looked up the Scottish usage of Scud. Good idea for a race format.

[@EvilFuGuru]

I can’t believe we never got a home port of Scud Race! Especially since it was shown running on DC hardware before it launched.

[@theartcrusader759]

Hopefully one day that build will get found and released on the internet so that it can be playable

[@segat-800]

You had to be there to truly appreciate how far ahead Scud Race was ahead of anything else at the time. Its not the same as comparing a 5th gen console racing game to Scud Race today rather than in 1996. Excellent video btw, always nice to hear the thoughts of a fellow Brit.

[@SEGAGuys]

Appreciate that mate! Thanks for checking out the video and taking the time to comment. - James.

[@user-rb5jj8ge2r]

True

[@Tracebebo]

Every now and again me and my buddies reminisce about this game, I'm usually the one to bring it up. I clocked in so many hours on this game at the local Chuck E. Cheese. They had it in there for a while! I remember probably the first time I played it was '97/98, I think by the time they got rid of it was maybe 10 years later or so. The other thing that interested me was bc they had the twin set arcade machines for this, when it would show the cars with different colorway. I definitely would still play this game even now if there were any local arcade places that had it, might have to do research on that one.

[@divx5372]

As a fellow Scot and a SEGA/AM2 lover, I played the hell out of Daytona and was mesmerized by that game and its graphics. So when SCUD Race came out on the Model 3 I was also mesmerized by the graphics but also, was very Disappointed by the fact that it never received a Dreamcast home port. I think the DC could have done the game well with a home port, especially if they went to town on it instead of the half-arsed version of SEGA Rally 2. Maybe someday SEGA will do a SEGA AGES arcade releases with some of its arcade games.

[@MikeBingo1]

They had this machine at my local karting way back when. God I'm old.

[@Daniel__Nobre]

Man, playing this, some air hockey and whatnot while waiting for the next round of lasertag.. fun times.

[@bobcharlotte8724]

Looooove Scud Race!❤❤❤❤ The sense of speed is unbeaten in Sega arcade racers.

[@SEGASaturnLad]

Great job James, another classic stuck in the arcades unfortunately. I do remember playing Scud Race at the local SEGA Park, sticky blue Sonic carpets, music blaring from huge speakers that had already blown and a large sit down Scud Race machine which moved as you turned the wheel, good times.

[@coprolalia8053]

Scud race definitely from the future 💯

[@darksynbios.i.1623]

One of the best looking racing games from Sega. As Saturn owner i was waiting for this to come on Saturn with Graphics Accelerator catridge, i was fucking hyped. Too bad never came on Saturn and on Dreamcast too…

[@carllavery4442]

Absolutely superb video James and very informative even for me who considers Model 3 games are amongst my all time favourites and this is very much up there amongst the best arcade racing games. It's crazy to think what we were playing at home compared with this in the arcade at the time

[@SEGAGuys]

Cheers Carl, means a lot as I know you’re into your Model 3 games. 🙏🏻 Glad you enjoyed it mate, and thanks for tuning in. 💙

[@cbh148]

You wouldn't believe how much of this game I played. I worked in an arcade in 2008 that had this game. With arcades well into decline at that point, it's no surprise that there was never more than 1 employee there at a time, so to pass the time w/o smartphones, I played every game I could. We didn't have too many great games, but we had Sega Super GT and Initial D (both twin cabinets). Personally, I liked Sega Super GT better and think Initial D is overrated (as a game. I love the anime.). I love drifting and even participate IRL (Nissan 240sx), so my favorite aspect of the game was that it had drift physics in it, which surprisingly somehow Initial D didn't (despite the entire crux of the franchise heavily revolving around drifting). I learned all the ins and outs of how SSGT's drift physics worked from logging countless hours on my shifts playing this game, always choosing the Porsche. My friend that also did IRL drift car stuff with me got hired at the same arcade later and we both got to where we could link the entire course in constant drift on all levels except that awful expert level that had zero flow. Tons of fun.

[@TheRetroMartin]

Here to learn about the game as ive never played it. In 1996 i had no arcades near me. And prior to that...well military bases werent known for arcades which is why i grew up 99% home console gamer. It looks amazing for 1996. Consider it came a couple of years before Gran Turismo as well. I know arcade tends to be better looking anyway but this utterly destroys it in terms of look and smoothness.

[@davmo72]

I first saw this in the late 90s while on holiday in Blackpool. It caught my eye in the same way Outrun did years before. The name made me laugh tho. Scud mags in hedges etc.

[@tomfum]

Great video. Man Scud race is such a good game, i have it on the M3 emulator but i cant get my controller working right with it, but man Sega really were the masters of this kinda stuff back then, i had this in a local arcade to me and would try play it when i could.

[@SEGAGuys]

Cheers Tom, if you check the link in the description to Warped Polygon’s video, he’s got a download link for a fully configured SuperModel 3 ini for both Xinput (Xbox controllers) and Dinput … every game setting is optimised along with their controllers including adding rumble, fixing sensitivity, etc. His video is also a step by step set up guide. Enjoy!

[@grahamkirk5110]

Great video as always, James. Had no idea Scud Race Plus existed, I love it!

[@alucart101]

Great vid, I love this game, used to play at Taunton services in Devon. I also miss Le Mans 24, another great Model 3 game. Amazing how you got Scud running so well, I always struggle with Supermodel 3, maybe you could do a vid on how to run it? Anyway, great vid, subscribed!

[@SEGAGuys]

Thanks Alucart! I put a link in the description to an excellent step-by-step guide by Warped Polygon on installing and setting up SuperModel3, including a downloadable ini file with pre-configured controllers and settings. 😃

[@alucart101]

@@SEGAGuys you're a star, thanks for that 😁

[@RobsonRoverRepair]

I always thought this was the true Daytona Usa 2, and Touring car whilst excellent and Daytona 2 also good for me this felt. Like the real future. To this day the music is my ring tone.

[@ShapeyFiend]

Dang didn't realise Nagoshi left Sega. Hope he gets the proper resources to make games he wants to do. Sega maybe made him do too many sequels in a row considering his talent level. I love Scud Racing handling. I wish I'd still access to a cabinet because it's hard to really recapture the feeling of it via emulation.

[@SEGAGuys]

Check out Warped Polygon’s video in the description mate, he’s got a fully optimised ini file that tweaks the controls on all the games, and it sorts out the sensitivity on Scud Race and adds rumble when using a controller. Still not as good as the arcade, but better than stock SuperModel 3. Thanks for watching!

[@charliehustle2591]

Absolute banger content gentlemen.

[@SEGAGuys]

Thank you Charlie! 💙

[@MiDNiGHTsEFFECT]

Great video! Enjoyed the wealth of information on offer! Cheers

[@SEGAGuys]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. 😃

[@TheV2EliteGamer]

Great video and very interesting.

[@SEGAGuys]

Thank you!

[@SEGARALLYCHAMPIONSHIP]

This is an excellent video, really well researched and very informative - absolutely loved it. What a shame this never came to Dreamcast, it looks like the Dreamcast could have handled it no problem as well. Lets hope Sega give us something really special with the Dreamcast mini, but a release on anything will do.

[@SEGAGuys]

Appreciate the feedback and kind words mate, glad you enjoyed it! 😃 - James.

[@goonerlee]

It's playable on PC just in case you didn't know :)

[@MisterBigMack]

Brilliant video as always James 👍

[@SEGAGuys]

Cheers bud. 💙

[@mikeclark4480]

Thank you guys for the content ! My old Sega heart really appreciates it

[@SEGAGuys]

No Mike, thank YOU for supporting what we do! 💙

[@mikeclark4480]

@@SEGAGuys Brother watching well made Sega content is the easiest thing I have ever done lol. Have a great day and thanks again

[@gc3k]

My favorite control/handling of any Sega racer

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

It would be nice to see these games get a home port, so we wouldn't have to resort to emulating them. At least with cars and sponsors, you can work around those legal hurdles by changing their brands to something else. That's how we were able to get Outrun on the Switch.

[@ninjapants7688]

Rebuilding the models from quads to polygons would have been simple as quads are literally just 2 triangle polys.

[@SEGAGuys]

Correct. We mention the Model 3 v Dreamcast specs in our SEGA Rally 2 video. There’s no technical reason for this game not receiving a home port, which makes it even harder to take.

[@markstanley9176]

Great video again. Really informative video and a Shame we did not get a dreamcast release.

[@ClockedIt]

Great video bud, always love a good retrospective. I mean us Saturn owners were being shown this game in our mags for ages heh, but playing it in the arcades was up there with Daytona 2 for me in terms of wow factor. Always loved how Sega made those cars rattle as they picked up speed, which greatly added to the sense of weight and thrill of speed. Surprised you never mentioned Outrun 2 as having Daytona and Scud Race homages, but I know how easy it is to forget things in videos like this. The reason why this game never came to DC I simply believed it was because as great as the game was, it simply wasn't as big as Sega Rally and Daytona, then other factors kicked in. Good stuff.

[@SEGAGuys]

Cheers mate, glad you enjoyed it. And don’t worry, the OutRun 2 unlockable course with the Scud Race (and Daytona 2) homage will be featured in a future edition of Race being worked on as we speak! 😃 - James.

[@GamerSpencer]

I've enjoyed the video, but you have missed a few points.. you CAN Race on the original circuits (sort of) on Outrun 2 on the XBox (And the Daytona USA 2 1 Lap challenge from Power Edition) so you sort of get it at home, use the Ferrari F40... and you're most of the way there! :D And Scud Race Plus you can also race with the 4 "extra" vehicles, select the Super Beginner track, and then hold START on the car selection, choose the Porsche to race as the Bus, choose the F40 to race as the tank, choose the Viper to race as the rocket car, and the McLaren F1 to race as, the cat! Then during the race, the start button beeps the horn on the bus, shoots with the tank, hits the rocket booster with the rocket car, and meows as the cat! Sega really throught the plus version through! :D

[@SEGAGuys]

Thanks for checking out the video and for taking the time to comment. The OutRun 2 “tracks” were left out of this one on purpose due to the (at the time) upcoming video on OutRun 2; feel free to check out Dan’s brilliant work on that one if you haven’t already. :) - James.

[@MrThunderwing]

Great video!

[@SEGAGuys]

Thanks Thunderwing! 💙

[@mikeclark4480]

Almost criminal this didn't see a Dreamcast release. Thank goodness for Batocera

[@SpartanX360]

Hoping some Indie ports this game on the Sega Dreamcast

[@theartcrusader759]

Well since a test build for the dreamcast does exist it could be possible one day if the build is found

[@josemiguel666]

Nice review! I love this game, loved it on the arcade and loved it at home. I used to play it with a lagitech g-27, it worked quite well! I wonder how it would work on a DD wheel??? Take care, good luck !

[@SEGAGuys]

Thanks Jose! 😃 I’d love to try it with a wheel, get that authentic arcade feel!

[@SetsunaTheFandom]

Ah, Scud Race, the one game responsible for my overfixations towards BPR Global Series and the influence of the mid-90s GT racing scene.

[@StewiesRetroGaming]

Morning me bro! Yeah the name Scud certainly doesn't say race to me bud hahaha Great video, never played this one at all and am gutted to say that. Looks incredible, misoc on point and certainly flows like Daytona. Yup wouldn't say no to a blast of it and to see it on home port in any form and if have been all over it. Really enjoyed this one 👍😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤟

[@SEGAGuys]

😂 Yes Stewie, you deffo wouldn’t race in the scud up here! If you haven’t already mate, checked out Warped Polygon’s SuperModel3 set up video in the description and get yourself some SEGA arcade racing goodness! Cheers bud!

[@StewiesRetroGaming]

@@SEGAGuys thanks bud think I'll do just that and let ya know how I get on. Cheers 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍🤟

[@Stubzgaming]

Excellent history of a game I had never heard of him but I am interested to check the links avaliable for pc , thanks 😃👍

[@SharkaBytes]

Cheers guys! I realized that I'd mixed up Scud Race with Rad Racer in my head xD But yeah, jeez, that would be mindblowing in 1996, still looks really, really good with all the shiny polygons. Crazy when you consider that filled shaded polygons moving at that speed was only a relatively recent thing and here comes Sega with reflective ones.

[@SEGAGuys]

Cheers Sharka, and yeah Scud Race has had this allure about it ever since I seen it, it was like the forbidden fruit of SEGA arcade games. 😂 To think it’s only a step 1.5 Model 3 game too, insane - James.

[@TechRyze]

The missing Model 3 ports are PRECISELY why I didn't bother with the Dreamcast. GTA III arrived in late 2001, and I went ahead and grabbed a PS2. Sega were too busy messing up for several years, and never stopped.

[@linkery]

I use to think this resemble outrun2 but I noticed it more resemble vertua

[@uncletom1971]

You're missing the music in the super beginner track / SCUD Race Plus.

[@SEGAGuys]

The music is there, I choose not to raise the gain and highlight the music on the Super Beginner track like I did with the other 3 tracks.

[@uncletom1971]

@@SEGAGuysI understand. It is kind of a whacky tune.

[@FloridaManRacer]

I beat Super GT on two quarters at 12 yrs old... Racing was what I wanted to do as a kid, and honestly, to that point in 1996, this was one of the more realistic feeling video game driving experiences you could have, until Ferrari F355 challenge hit arcades... I still play this in emulation with the Supermodel emulator and I've managed to get a thrustmaster t-150 sim racing wheel and pedal set to work in the emulation... It feels VERY close to the original arcade experience... Sadly though the emulation doesn't run the Rom without some graphical glitches...

[@SEGAGuys]

Yeah, I noticed there’s some glitching in the shadow beneath the car, but that’s some going at 12 years old to beat this … that’s the kind of stuff we love to hear at the SEGAGuys; the memories of these games growing up that make them special to you. Thanks for tuning in and commenting! 💙

[@1234_Flux]

I tried playing scud race on an emulator but the controls were so slippery I could barely drive and I would keep getting timed out

[@SEGAGuys]

Take a look at the video in the description, Flux. It’s by Warped Polygon, he has a download for a fully optimised ini file which includes optimised controls (fixing sensitivity and adding rumble). Definitely worth checking out!

[@DeviantDragonFurry]

Seeing this, it makes me sad SEGA have so many cool arcade games that never got a wider release. This game would be perfect for a home port on the Dreamcast back in the days. Sega are sitting on a treasure trove of arcade games. But they can't put won't release home versions of them. Kinda makes me wish Sony or MS would buy Sega and get them the licenses they need to release those old arcade games. Heck it could be its own series, Sega Ages collection could need a return. Bring back the Sega arcade games. We need more drift racing. Getting tired of all the serious sim racing games.

[@SEGAGuys]

While we’d love to see the games return, I don’t think Microsoft or Sony buying SEGA would make that any more of a reality. We have a podcast released last month discussing a potential Microsoft acquisition, which followed the news from the FTC trial that Spencer “seriously enquired” about acquiring SEGA. You can find it in our other videos if you want to hear our thoughts on SEGA being acquired. Thanks for tuning in and taking the time to comment!

[@DeviantDragonFurry]

@@SEGAGuys what sega need is maybe new management

[@Doubleohstevo]

@James OP Just curious what part of Scotland you from? Sounds like maybe around Falkirk?

[@SEGAGuys]

Glasgow, mate.

[@Doubleohstevo]

@@SEGAGuys Lol sorry if i offended you! My parents are from Glasgow. Brought up with nothing,ice inside the windows etc. Nice to talk to a fellow Scot. Hope your channel does well.

[@SEGAGuys]

@@Doubleohstevo No offence taken mate! Great to hear from a fellow Scot, and really appreciate the kind words. Thanks for tuning in, hope you continue to enjoy what we do!

[@divx5372]

I'm from Glasgow too, where did you used to go to play the arcade games? I used to go to a place called Booths which is still open today. It Had some amazing arcade games and there was also an arcade under the Central Station (threw the Tunnel) beside a pub that also had great arcade games which is where I first played a lot of SEGA arcade games including Daytona USA, VCOP, VF2 and Killer Instinct. @@SEGAGuys

[@SEGAGuys]

@@divx5372 My main port of call was Booths enterprises on Renfield Street, but the Mega Bowl in Clydebank also got some newer SEGA stuff in from time to time, as did Hollywood Bowl in Finnieston; that’s where I played the Model 3 Lost World for the first time. Booths is a shell now sadly, the basement which had the bulk of the arcade games is closed off and it’s all fruit/slot machines now. The upstairs pool room is also closed off and no longer in use. There’s an arcade bar in the lane next to Booths called Game Over but it’s never open. If you peek inside through the glass though, they have HOTD, OutRun 2 and a 4 player Daytona 2 set up! Hurry up and open! Great to hear from a fellow Glaswegian! Check out the main podcast episodes, Dan and I share a lot of our SEGA memories growing up, Booths is mentioned often. Cheers! - James.

[@j.goggels9115]

Sega Rally 2 doesn't run well on Flycast (unless your PC is a beast?) Scud Race never saw a console release because the Dreamcast couldn't handle the fast FPS.

[@SEGAGuys]

The tech demos running on a Dev Kit with 25% of the power of the final hardware make that last statement questionable. To suggest that’s the sole reason, if it even is one, is wide of the mark … there were several factors at play, as discussed in the video.

[@grantm902]

Being Scottish, surely nudity should come to mind when "scud" comes up?

[@SEGAGuys]

That’s why I said “look it up” when I mentioned Scottish and the word “Scud”. 😂

[@skynetcybernetics9058]

Looks really dumb how the back of the car is shaking up and down

[@ENFDO]

Dreamcast cant match Scud Race. Not even Ps2 could nor Xbox where u can see in Outrun ScudRace stages completely washed out.

[@SEGAGuys]

Match it? Of course not, but a respectable port? Most definitely.

[@ENFDO]

@@SEGAGuys dont think so. Scud Race was something from another dimension. The Model3 first step was built for it.