Ubisoft Driver Remasters and the Impossible Fan Expectations

[@phloxie]

hoping for a driver 3 remaster someday, fixing the bugs and some annoying missions and it would be a good game!

[@AnxMa]

As a fan of og Driver and PoP Trilogy - sad to see the Ubisoft's situation; even though they took loyal, real gamers for granted. I recently made a John Wick style action montage using SC Blacklist stylish takedowns. Looks badass with music I chose. If only we got a JW game from Ubi. They had all the right tools already from SC and Watch Dogs. Too late now...

[@VortexStory]

But maybe we can get a Driver game

[@JayBirdBlu_117]

Remastering DRIVER will be Insane for us Fans!!! // #KeepDRIVERAlive

[@imbatman4905]

Yeah but do know UbiLAME? Don't dream kiddo, Santa Clause doesn't exist.

[@Kacpa2]

I really dont expect much, for classic Driver games what we have in Driver Syndicate is more of less what wanted. I would be more worried about horrible driving or sounds, given that Ubisoft kept on insisting that Watch Dogs was based of Driver, when it so godawful in those aspects that it's just impossible it even had anything to do with Driver SF at any point. If anything The Crew games by Ivory Tower felt somewhat closer. Driver 3 and Parallel lines only really need some polish and to look like the pre-rendered cutscens as, ingame visuals and animations on characters are quite bad. Given they made assets for cutscenes it wouldnt be too hard to have higher quality models used ingame in modern day, and with some sensible optimization.

[@M4V3R1CK_13]

Handling is key. Driver SF handling nailed it. Driv3r handling atleast on cars was good despite the flaws of the whole game.

[@YOEL_44]

Yeah, I think is the same game engine with some tweaks. That's the minimum for a remaster these days, after all, those were PS2 games, which can now run in a pen-drive sized computer.

[@Mutt377]

This was honestly a great take on what we should be expecting for a possible remaster of the OG Games. I don't think a remaster is gonna make it "perfect", more or less try and itch that nostalgic feeling we have. It's not gonna be the same as it was 20+ years ago when things first came out, but hopefully with all that time in between, we'll get something a little better suited for today. Exposure to those who may have never seen or played the OG's. A return of all the ones who did. Syndicate does a pretty decent job at some of the things we could expect, but it could definitely still be better in some ways too. We get to ask more "What if" questions with Syndicate, like how certain cars could look different with graphic changes, how things handle between cars and performance props, breaking certain programming restrictions like draw distance compared to the originals, etc. Not all perfect, not all good, but I like to think Syndicate has put itself amongst being a great Driver game like the rest of them. And the creative community behind Syndicate really draws out how awesome things could potentially be! Lots of inspiration to be had! Whatever the case may be, I'm just glad we might get something for the future of Driver! Great video as always Vortex

[@VortexStory]

Thanks, I don't make "reaction video" usumcnally so it was a mix of unscripted footage and me reading the prompter

[@jaffleyfifteen5912]

I just want to see a new driver title. Driv3r remastered would just be a dream come true though

[@Beretta980]

I don't have any expectations, just seeing the series get some love and spotlight is enough to make me happy. Remasters are a great way to get the ball rolling again.

[@VortexStory]

Well then, let's hope the rumors are confirmed

[@JasonMaloneStan]

The most impossible fan expectation is expecting Ubisoft to actually care about the Driver IP.

[@VortexStory]

@@JasonMaloneStan They confirmed in July 2024 that they were working on multiple Driver projects

[@LGLFanTeam12]

@@VortexStory But when they "confirmed" the live action adaptation, it turned out to be "a lie". Hopefully not for this one.

[@AuToMaNiAk005]

_Rayman and Beyond Good & Evil have joined the chat_

[@VortexStory]

The live-action adaptation was doomed because of the platform Binge that never launched. This is indeed when they cancelled it that they confirmed they had projects with the Driver IP. It makes sense that the Live-Action was part of a transmedia campaign at first.

[@RetroGamingX1]

I think that being realistic from Ubisoft you can't expect too much, if the 1+2 remaster arrives one day, hopefully it will be at 60FPS and with a better drawing distance since these games need it, saludos!

[@VortexStory]

Anything Driver in 2025 would be a dream (if it has the good handling)

[@РоманЮткин]

100%👍

[@GustavoReis-mundoWiihack]

Driver trilogy, please Ubisoft

[@VortexStory]

@@GustavoReis-mundoWiihack Duology *

[@C.I...]

The legacy of the driver series would not exist without the handling, - I think the handling of syndicate really doesn't suit this kind of game. It looks like Colin Mcrae 1 (car rotates around the middle) handling but with lots of grip. As long as the handling is the same as the originals or just as fun, then the remasters have every chance of success. The two routes to this that I can envision are: 1. Replicating the handling exactly plus improving it with better collision detection so that there is no need for the spinning inertia dampening in the original (the reason cars stop spinning mid-air), and improving what happens when cars end up on their side (infinite sliding on the side with little to no friction isn't all that fun in a game where it is an automatic game over). 2. Beamng style realistic handling (licensing the BEAMNG engine but with old car models would probably be the only way to achieve this, so probably not happening) The "art style" of Driver was heavy use of film photos from the real locations as textures, so it would be nice to see a modern interpretation of that kind of aesthetic; There are now programs that can take a photo texture and separate it into the texture elements needed for physically based rendering afterwards, so that would be cool to see. Especially fun would be to see how much low-poly driver models can be improved with modern texture tricks in that classic style.

[@VortexStory]

@@C.I... beamNG is impressive but not really fun when car chases are involved so route 1 would be better

[@YOEL_44]

​@@VortexStory You might be thinking of BeamNG as a whole, if you remove the crashes and only take the handling, isn't that fun?

[@fryncyaryorvjink2140]

Possibly unfortunately, every driver game added somewhat game changing features, so the whole fan base is split on what a driver game should be. They dug themselves a hole by innovating. As far as a rerelease of 1 and 2, which isn't anywhere near confirmed as far as I can tell, I'll be happy with better frame rate, resolution and draw distance, which is really the bare minimum. It would be nice if they add more cars, game modes, cheat codes, but I'm not getting my hopes up

[@folatti]

i don't expect much out of this but i will be happy new generations will get to play the classic driver games and maybe get a new wave of fans maybe ubisoft it's going to use this to test the reception and sales this gets and if it goes well we could even get a new driver game

[@jameswalkerparden30]

Remaster driver will be insane and fantastic for the driver fans make it happen and it will be a big win for the driver community onwards and ups

[@VortexStory]

That's correct

[@undercvr2485]

I personally don't think replicating the exact game from 1999, just with a better lighting system and smoother graphics is the way to go. ...although that seems like something Ubisoft would do.. I don't think that would hold up well to modern players. Nostalgic sure, but not exactly super fun compared to today's driving games. I think a complete remake would be a better path to go down, with detailed car models and a world with a real sense of life. maybe even some extra gimmick or mechanic like dsf?

[@kavinskysmith4094]

With the unreleastic driver game thing, with the driver syndicate and people not being fond of its visual style for a remake of the driver 1 thing, there is something to it, it needs to tone down the shaders and up the pixelation, and possibly reduce the color depth, as games of that time period had a certain amount of resources they could use and this even showed up with half life 2 where they went from 16 bit, to 32 bit with the pixelation capabilities around 2006, and it screwed up half the effects, like thanks to the limitations of the day, the art style and the shortcuts people had to take to make it work shined through and gave it its own unique flavor, and that is what people miss its ironically one of the things where, in order to make it look and feel right, you have to make it worse and even limit the frames to 30, rather than a 120 or even a 180, which modern PCs can do with old school games like that as its abit like restomodding an old car, restomodding is very good when it makes things you dont normally think about that aid the experence better, like say more reliable spark for the ignition, better cooling, and a better brake booster with some modified pads, and a new set of shocks to take the play out to make it feel new again but you do too much of that, and you ruin the charachter it and make it something its not as a matter of fact look up DRIVER (1999) Reimagined with Gen-3 AI: 'Photorealistic' San Francisco & Miami Gameplay and you'll see the stark contrast right away, and then look at the panavision 70 one in the clip at the very end and that's all down to the film quality its attempting to mimic, and then suddenly it looks right

[@ballbag]

Syndicate just feels totally wrong. The driving feel is crucial! I also dont think San Francisco really felt like a Driver game so comparisons to that are useless.

[@VortexStory]

Oh you Driver San Francisco was right on many points, even if not a carbon copy of the first games in terms of handling. Nonetheless, its absence is noticeable after 13 years and counting...

[@ballbag]

@VortexStory DSF was a fun game but it barely felt like a driver game at all. Licensed cars, arcade car physics, weird Reddit personality characters... Could easily have been branded as anything.

[@speedeespeedboi9527]

What exactly is wrong with the handling? All i notice is syndicate is more understeery

[@bassminotaur]

driver looks like gta vice city or gta 3 in some cases

[@hiimpubg360]

As much as I love the series and yes I do expect a remasters coming but I also think there is a possibility that it will be just a definitive ports of the original games on other platforms since both games have no PC ports (yes I know Driver 1 has a PC Port but it's too different from the original one so it doesn't really count) like it's the same PS1 games same everything except with fixes and gameplay overhauls

[@VortexStory]

Imagine DRIVER 2 on foot in 2025 for a new player tho

[@hiimpubg360]

@ Driver 2 already has on Foot feature you probably meant Driver 1 which I hope that happens as well

[@VortexStory]

@@hiimpubg360 I mean, how a new player would feel about the onfoot mechanics if they are left untouched in Driver 2

[@hiimpubg360]

@ oh well that would a be a disaster tbh if we are talking about Modern Days 😂

[@JimLast-gy9zy]

I have a question how can I play version iOS please answer me

[@VortexStory]

Emulate on PC with Touchle, driver discord version

[@autumnmaru]

Is it just for switch... I hope we get it for ps5...

[@VortexStory]

If (and If) the rumors are true, it should not be limited to the Switch but rather the impulse to go through with this project

[@codigoceropokemmo]

Nothing its good in Ubisoft's hands... Remember AC? Yes they used to be good unique games 12 years ago, and how many clonic games they released since? Almost 7... Mostly average but nothing unique I dont want Driver to suffer the same destiny I only have faith in the community they doing incredible proyects

[@umarqarni2277]

Yes, this is a better one classic enhanced edition for Driver1. Ther be honest the Redriver & Driver syndicate new graphic mod is awfully for me.

[@maulanaadrian9383]

I'm fine with the remaster as long as it's not a remake or another sequel after knowing Ubisoft gone woke and i'm afraid they gonna turn Tanner into black indian but genderless and Jones white asian but female and putting LGBT BS in it.

[@imbatman4905]

I'm pretty sure the car will have pronouns and the city will have non binary gender... HAHAHA.

[@VortexStory]

Actumcnally

[@YOEL_44]

Remember that it also has to be racially diverse and have some kind of female empowering moment