Hi guys,

I'm a new member and this is my first post here, I think.
I have a question about Codemaster TOCA Race Driver 3. Back then I only played it for a short time because I didn't have a wheel and this one was awfully difficult to play with keyboard. Recently I purchased a Logitech Driving Force GT and reinstall TOCA3. And here goes my question after playing it again for 3 straight hours:

Is it just my rusty driving or the AI drivers in this game are suicidal? They don't have any apparent interest to avoid collision with me or another AI drivers. All they care about is just the optimum racing line, and they'll go there even if I was already there. I never survive a single open wheel racing in one go because of this. If this is indeed a known "bug", is there any patch to correct this AI behavior?

Other than my Driving Force GT stops giving me force feedback after pitting, this AI problem is the only thing keeping from really enjoying TOCA3. Thank you for the help.

Sounds like typical arcade racer AI to me.
The two main types are either as you describe, to stick to the racing line no matter what or to try to take out the player by any means rather than racing for the win.
Its one of the many reasons I stick to race sims rather than arcade racers.

P.S. welcome to the forum.

So, it's not a bug, it's just TOCA3 is an arcade racing game? I always thought this one was a racing sim.. No wonder I could take out Brands Hatch Turn 3 full throttle; I remember braking before and using 2nd gear in "Race 07" there.
Anyway, thank you very much ^_^

I should reinstall RD3 sometime. I never raced the AI much but I played RD2 & RD3 online a LOT when they were still "current"...they might not have been "sim" but they were a hell of a lot of fun.

Yes, I personally think TOCA3 is a fun to play racing game, the cars are somewhat easier to drive than, say Race 07 or NR2003, but doesn't feel as arcade as NFS series, and you have tons of different cars to drive..or crash; I'm pretty sure racing it online will be very fun.
If only those mindless AIs don't start banging into me on every turn..

I enjoyed them so much I even had the Nintendo DS game - "Race Driver: Create & Race".

Had a track editor so you could build your own tracks.

Unfortunately the AI in that game was so weak that even at the highest difficulty, starting from the rear, I could win by 15+ seconds, every race.

I guess I can't reinstall - Win7 not supported by the version of Starforce that RD3 requires, no updates available to fix it. Codemasters official response: "Sorry, you're out of luck."

Forza Motorsport 4 (for Xbox360) will have some major AI improvements sim racers would appreciate. And some further tweaked physics and new tire model.

FWIW, if you try out SimBin's GTR2, you might find some very enjoyable AI and a more sim-like experience, since the game is based on rFactor code.

So for in rFactor, I've only found one truly good AI presentation, and that is for the DRM Revival v1.10 mod. That's truly good AI.

TOCA 3 was a heck of a lot of fun. The AI is out for themselves, so to speak, and will crowd you into some bad spots like you aren't even there. I'd say it's above a common arcade racer though, other than the immense variety of racing it offers. The really nice thing about it is the damage system. No arcade racer is going to get you to take care of your car like TOCA3 does. Can't imagine how many times I've lost gears in there.
Physics take getting used to, and the wheel support is a little odd, but once you get going with it the game really is a blast.

TOCA 3 is on Steam, usually for a couple of bucks. That's where I got it for pc. Works fine on 7, doesn't have the SF issue.

Pick up NSF Shift 1 and mod it with the Overhaul mod at nogripracing. I could turn laps on that thing all day long. The best Nordschleife I've found so far.
Hold off on 2 until it gets another patch or two.

Sadly, it looks like RD3 isn't available on Steam anymore.

I bought it in the last Codemasters racing deal on Steam - though I had it on disc already.

I much preferred RD2 tbh - but it won't work - or even install - on anything after XP (CM weren't interested - very much like their response to Lugnut (but at least they do respond and have even helped me with registry tweaks for the RD series before).

To the point - after years of driving it with the XBox gamepad, I tried using a FFB wheel last week and it was really horrendous! I will never do that again - the gamepad rools for RD3

And yes, the AI are kamikaze sadistic barstewards.

FH

OOT, ah, you have that one too, sir? Yes, yes, GTR2 is the only racing sim where you have to turn right but still have a lot of competitive fights from start to finish (and don't forget Race 07 too).


But they take it too far, IMHO. Hit the gravel two or three times and you'll have some kind of suspension problem already. I don't think race car suspensions are that weak. Then again, for a "sim-oriented" arcade, its damage modeling is indeed very nice.


Still..I think that respond ("Sorry, you're out of luck.") is kinda out of line. They could have said it in a more polite word. Lugnut, if I were you, I'd have a little chat with that costumer service officer personally.

That wasn't the direct response, just paraphrasing

I could always try Linux. I actually dual-boot ubuntu & win7, and according to WineHQ it runs.

Sure enough, it runs under Linux

I just got done racing online. Still as wild as I remember.

It has me thinking I can get it working under 7. I'll post more once I've had some time to tinker.

And it's working. That didn't take as long as I thought.

Yeah, I'm quite sure I have had it working on Win7 64 before (from the DVD) - I just couldn't remember any details, so didn't want to create any false hope.

FH

Well, without going into too much detail, Starforce wouldn't work...period. So there was no way to launch the disc verification, then the game afterward.

So, I had to remove starforce and then circumvent the verification use an "alternate" method of launching the game.