TOCA 3 has arrived

[Al Craighead]

Hi all,

Well I picked my copy yesterday afternoon and after work spent most the night playing. As expected I'm impressed thus far. I think the graphics are as good as they get on the PS2, the engines sounds and tires squealing are great and thus far the game play is pretty good. I started out doing the "World Tour" on normal to get a feel for the tracks and to unlock bunch of cars. Except for a few exceptions I was able to run up front right away and qualifying on the front-row in most classes. The cars respond well to throttle and brake manipulation, with each car having unique characteristics. Now if only I could get a hand on a few of the twisty German tracks. I find it real hard to get into a rhythm. As has been noted beforehand you really get penalized for going off-course. Gravel traps pretty much stop your car and going into the grass, even by a little bit really slows you down. In addition, during qualifying if you go off-course by a small margin and don't slow down enough, the cpu takes away your lap. Had a couple sessions where I didn't get any timed laps, after pushing to hard in qualifying. Finally you can be disqualified for over aggressive driving. Racing a GT car I punted a guy after he kept breaking to early and next thing I know I black flagged and given 5-second penalty to my final race result. Cool. What winning eleven 9 (soccer game) and this going to be on the couch most of the weekend playing.

Cheers,

Al.

[Shayne]

I have TOCA 2, it's prety good game, the PC version....it even has the FF car.....

shayne

[MoonNerd]

Al - You mentioned Winning Eleven 9. I've got WE7 - a fantastic game. The only thing that bugged me was when I passed to a teammate, he would stand still for a moment while the defender ran forward to intercept the pass. Is that any better in WE9?

Thanks,
Rob

[Al Craighead]

Hey Rob,

I've bought every Winning Eleven since 7 and think each one is an improvement. In the latest version (WE9) the AI has gotten better, the ball physics are much better and I think the graphics are the best yet. Like most of the versions, it can be frustrating to play when you start, as your old tricks won't work and it takes a while to get used to the game play. What you really notice in WE9 is position is key for taking the ball away, sprinting with the ball will hurt your control and if the ball is not settled, your shots often go into the stands. Like every game it's not perfect though. Playing the computer you get called for a lot of fouls, though thankfully less cards now, the computer gets lots of through balls through no matter how good your defence is and finally you seem to get screwed on offsides compared to the computer. All in all lots of fun.

Well got get back to the track, so far I've unlocked the FF, FBMW and F1000 (equivalent to Formula 4's here in Canada). Hopefully will get the Formula Three cars soon.

Cheers,

Al.

[kbee00]

For us uneducated types, what is TOCA 3? Can it be used on PS2? Does it work with the logitech pro wheel? Compared to GT4?

[MoonNerd]

Here is a summary of the game, and here is the official site for it. It is available for PC, X-Box, and Playstation 2.

I can't answer the question about your Logi Driving Force Pro for certaqin, but guys on other forums have posted that it does support your DFP.

Hope this helps,
Rob

[Al Craighead]

To follow up on what Rob said, while TOCA 3 is availble on PC most people play on the consoles. I have it on PS2 and the only difference I've heard on the Xbox is the graphics are a little more crisp, because of the better processor. You can play with basic controllers, but using a steering wheel is the way to go. Yes, the Logictech Driving Force (the blus one) works, as that's what I use.

On a side note, once I've unlocked a few more cars and get a new ethernet cable I will race online and plan on trying to organize races with some of the gang from apex and other racers I know.

Cheers,

Al.

[kbee00]

Moonnerd - thank you for the info. I have registered with the site and will pick up a copy of the game asap.


With my fancy sim setup, it ought to be fantastic. Here is a pic of my setup. I am willing to help out anyone that wants one similiar - source the parts, supply assembly drawings, etc. Just say the word!!

Loren

future F1000 driver

[J Mabee]

Hey Al,
Count me in! Been playing it this week. Love all the different cars and era's. Never thought I'd see Gateway International road course on a game but here it is , that tells a little of how big the game is.

[kbee00]

Hi all,

I picked up TOCA 3 for PS2 and am having trouble with my steering wheel setup. I am using a Logitech Pro (with 900 degrees of rotation) and the steering seems very sluggish. For instance, on the go kart tracks, I can't control the steering at all - I turn the wheel and the kart's wheels feel almost delayed - I end up swerving back and forth and cannot control the vehicle at all. So the question is this: is there some setting within the game I need to do? or does the game not support this type of wheel. I have found that other games do not support this wheel - the only one I've found is GT4.

So if I have to get a different wheel - what do you guys suggest I buy?

Next question - using PS2 platform, can I somehow install or otherwise use the tracks I see mentioned in other posts? (VIR, Sebring, etc.) Or do I have to us a PC. If I DO have to use a PC -will this method work - hook up the wheel/pedals to a laptop, run the game in the laptop, hook up the laptop to a big screen via DVI.

That's all for now! Thanks for your help.

Loren

[Keith Carter]

HI Loren,
I don't have Toca3 yet so I can't answer your first question about the wheel, but you DO need a PC in order to add tracks (and mods). A laptop setup like you mention will work as long as it has a decent 3d graphics card in it to run the game.

[Eric Scheper]

My friends and I have been playing toca 2 ever since I got the Bob Earl setup with a Logitec wheel acouple years ago. I can't imagine playing without a wheel except for games like Isle of Man TT or maybe a quadracer game. We run toca 2 at 105-110% level and usually podium and get wins. Our favs are DTM and Aussie V8s and ofcourse we turn up the volume and sit in front of a widescreen, I have even worn my helmet a few times. Whats been added to toca 3 besides better graphics, like additional series and tracks ? We never mess with playing from level to level I'm not patient enough for that all you have to do is go online and find a source for the codes usually costs $5-10 so you have access to all cars and tracks. As soon as I can find the extra $50 I will be getting toca 3. Hell toca is the only racing I've done for quite sometime, not sure when I'll be able to get back in my REAL racecar.

[Al Craighead]

Hi Loren,

Sorry to hear about the steering wheel issues. I've read several people are having issues with the Pro version of the wheel. I have the older Driving Force wheel (the blue one) which has worked flawslessly thus far. As for modification, yes you need the pc version to do that.

Recently, I've begun racing online. Pretty fun, but would love to find some fellow racers to run against. I have the PS2 version, so if anyone is interested, let me know. Now just need to get a headset.

Cheers,

[Keith Carter]

I just rented Toca3 last week and will have it for a few more nights... Since my server is down and I won't be racing the F2000 sim until next week, is anyone up to try and race Toca 3 before it's due back Wednesday? I just played it for the first time last night and only got to try the gokarts. Those things are a blast! It still feels like an arcade type racing game compared to the PC sims like LFS2 and rFactor, but it would be fun to race online with some of you guys.

[JHandley]

Moonnerd - thank you for the info. I have registered with the site and will pick up a copy of the game asap.


With my fancy sim setup, it ought to be fantastic. Here is a pic of my setup. I am willing to help out anyone that wants one similiar - source the parts, supply assembly drawings, etc. Just say the word!!

Loren

future F1000 driver

Hey Loren,
I would like to build one of those setups. I would greatly appreciate any info you could share. Jeff