Same, been following it pretty closely. It looks really good now! The fact that The Designers Republic also contributed to the development makes it a true Wipeout successor!
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PACER Console release thread: Contender reanimated! (new Wipeout style racer from R8 Games featuring former Wip3out devs)
- Thread starter Dunan
- Start date
Xbox release got delayed at the last second because they found a big bug or something, so they're going through cert again. They said it should only take 2 weeks.
Yeah that is strange.....Weird!
PACER
With the depth of a simulation and the excitement and combat of arcade racers, PACER® provides a true test of player skill, reflexes, and strategy. Choose from 4 speed classes ranging from 400 kmh - 1000 kmh, then engage in the Campaign or a single-player race via 8 different game modes...
store.playstation.com
here you go :)
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I'm a fellow F-Zero lover but this game is not very floaty compared to the PS1-era Wipeouts. People who love floatiness are going to be a little disappointed, as they probably were with WOHD a decade ago. It's not quite as on-rails as WO Fusion (made by different developers) was, but it's close.
I'm guessing that this is kinda the OT for this game now. Some impressions after ~5 hours played
- Visually it's great. I think some of R8's "amateurship" shows in the Formula Fusion tracks (idk how to put it but they're just not as interesting visually as the new ones), but there's some great sights to behold in this game. The same applies to track design, the FF ones are pretty plain and narrow in comparison to the flying spaghetti design of the new ones; which are also much wider thankfully, as it fits this game's playstyle more.
- Content-wise seems fine for the price. Lots of customization for your ship for both visuals and handling, 14 unique tracks is a good amount, the soundtrack is quite expansive (80 songs might be a bit overkill actually lol) but it's also pretty good quality-wise. Tracks can also be reversed, mirrored, played at night or any combination of the previous so that adds some extra spice to keep things fresh.
- Physics and controls in general is solid. The best way I could describe it, is imagine a slightly slower F-ZERO GX where you can only drift to turn, it takes some using to and I'm still not particularly good at avoiding hitting the walls but it's not like, say, Redout where the controls are very complex just for the sake of it. In fact there's no side-shifts or barrel rolls of any kind so it's a rather pure racing experience.
- Online I briefly checked and when it worked it was fun, but it errored out every now and then (didn't try the matchmaking which uses Dedicated Servers so maybe that's better, idk).
- I'm mixed on the whole loadout system. It's the same concept as Redout where you pick your gadgets before the race (although with many more gadgets and modifiers to play with), and while for normal races it works in letting you plan ahead since you always know which items you're gonna pick up, the combat modes don't work well at all with it since there's pretty much only a handful of weapons that are useful there. Speaking of that, it's also annoying that it only gives you a point if you kill the other racer instead of the WipEout way, since it means you can do 99% of the damage and if another racer damages that ship then, the point will go towards them instead.
- Menus / UI are pretty unintuitive. Hard to explain via text and it's really not a huge deal, but you'll likely have to toy with some of the options for a bit before you get the hang of them.
- The AI is pretty easy? Still in the early steps of the campaign but at least for now they're not that competitive and there's not a difficulty slider anywhere so I'm guessing it'll get harder as it progresses.
- Some technical blemishes keep the experience from being as smooth as it should be. Random bugs, crashes, sound cutting off or not playing, controller binds not working; it's not frequent enough that I'd call it broken or anything but it is noticeable. R8 is working on fixes to their credit, so hopefully it should be solved soon enough.
- While Ansel support is great, I'd much rather have a normal photo mode. The game looks really good
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Completely agreed on this; combat races so far have seemed like everybody is just using weapons on each other without having any way of knowing who's winning or losing, then a flurry of scoreboard action as multiple ships who had been at 10% or 5% get destroyed and racers start accumulating points in the only way they are being tallied. The points-for-multiple-actions system, with its bonus for being the one to eliminate a rival, was better.
If we can't have the old point system, it might at least be helpful to see a rival's remaining health percentage above their ship while racing so you know whom to aim for.
It could certainly be easier to get to some of the information the game is tracking. And I miss the incredibly detailed statistics that Wipeout games used to track.
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One of the trophies - "Is that you, Purdisc?", granted for being "overtaken by a pilot who is already ahead of you", appears to be a reference to this Twitterer and a race he was involved in back in 2017:
I can't figure out what that actually means, though; when I first saw it I thought it was about being lapped. I got it after a combat race, which makes it even weirder.
I can't figure out what that actually means, though; when I first saw it I thought it was about being lapped. I got it after a combat race, which makes it even weirder.
I think if you're looking for a single player arcade racer you're likely to be disappointed with this one. The AI do not put up a good race, I have been playing for perhaps 3 hours and seen nothing but first place medals. I don't see the AI beyond the first 20 seconds of a race.
If you have any significant experience with the Wipeout series then I think you'll find yourself quite bored.
I bought some of the later tracks in the game for quickplay (you have to buy them with in-game credits) and bumped up the race speed to the max and then it provides a decent challenge (though I was still able to hit first on tracks I've never played). I loaded up a 'speed lap' event (where you kind of perform a time trial against other AI who race with you at the same time) and I could see that even the fastest AI here was 2-3 seconds behind my lap times.
I think in regular races there's some sort of banding which doesn't let them fall too far behind (as they always hover between the 500-1000m behind me mark) but it's still pretty underwhelming to play a racing game where I never get to see any of the AI. Every race is the same, I 20 seconds moving through the pack at the start, and then I never see anyone again. '
At times the highest speed class also feels too fast, as if the tracks aren't appropriately designed for the speed at which you're going. I was having to manage the throttle constantly just to stay inside the track. Perhaps that's the design intent but usually for these arcade racers it's pedal to the metal all the way. I'm rarely lifting off the accelerator in something like Wipeout or Redout, so it was odd to see that happening here but perhaps there was a mechanic I'm missing.
I like the idea of offering difficulty modes which make these types of games accessible to more players. I think games like Wipeout and F-Zero have been difficult to get into in the past because of their default, often immovable difficulties but here we have the opposing issue.
If you have any significant experience with the Wipeout series then I think you'll find yourself quite bored.
I bought some of the later tracks in the game for quickplay (you have to buy them with in-game credits) and bumped up the race speed to the max and then it provides a decent challenge (though I was still able to hit first on tracks I've never played). I loaded up a 'speed lap' event (where you kind of perform a time trial against other AI who race with you at the same time) and I could see that even the fastest AI here was 2-3 seconds behind my lap times.
I think in regular races there's some sort of banding which doesn't let them fall too far behind (as they always hover between the 500-1000m behind me mark) but it's still pretty underwhelming to play a racing game where I never get to see any of the AI. Every race is the same, I 20 seconds moving through the pack at the start, and then I never see anyone again. '
At times the highest speed class also feels too fast, as if the tracks aren't appropriately designed for the speed at which you're going. I was having to manage the throttle constantly just to stay inside the track. Perhaps that's the design intent but usually for these arcade racers it's pedal to the metal all the way. I'm rarely lifting off the accelerator in something like Wipeout or Redout, so it was odd to see that happening here but perhaps there was a mechanic I'm missing.
I like the idea of offering difficulty modes which make these types of games accessible to more players. I think games like Wipeout and F-Zero have been difficult to get into in the past because of their default, often immovable difficulties but here we have the opposing issue.
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In this age of games being released without manuals I'm left confused about some of the UI stuff. What does the ship icon at the center of the dashboard at the bottom mean -- it sometimes turns orange -- and what do the circles around it mean? It took me far too long to notice that the weapon on the left side was the one associated with L1, and the right with R1. Will we ever be able to carry more than 1 of things like tethers and waves?
The center icon means somebody close to you has a weapon I think? It's hard to tell.
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I'm appreciating the gentler difficulty curve this time around and have no problem with making things easy until players at least get to experience every course. My forays into F1000 and Elite were tough, and I'm still bouncing off the walls on the thinner courses, so I have lots of practice to put in.
On some of the courses I'm having the experience you're having -- as soon as I get out ahead of the other ships, they never get close again, and I win easily. But there are others where it takes me many tries to succeed, particularly the "eliminate other ships" challenges; I can't see how anyone could ever eliminate more than 10 in one session, at least not with the base weapons. (Which reminds me, the game should really introduce you to the advance weapons and features better. Each team will have a specific weapon that they'll make you race with, but I haven't been taught anything about the other ship types and the modifications to the different weapons.)
And this is trivial, but some of the ships have a number 0 on the side or front; will we ever get to put our own number on the ship? I don't care about logos, but for whatever reason I want a number. In F-Zero GX I used up all four custom graphics on digits on each side of the ship ^_^;
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Oh, that's useful! This game doesn't have the helpful British woman telling you what weapon you are being threatened with, so that would be a good addition.
The combat ones are different yeah.
They feel kind of bad compared to their execution in Wipeout though. Perhaps I'm missing some mechanic here but in Wipeout HD you can turn your ship around with a button press, and you also have a 'track position' indicator for all of the other ships. Those two things make a big difference for this style of event as they let you hunt down ships much more easily. Wipeout also credits ship damage and not just ship eliminations.
The issue with those events in the end comes down to the same problem that they have in Wipeout, in that it's kind of random how well you perform. In this game especially since it's only crediting the last hit on a ship (the elimination) you can be flinging projectiles out and have other ships stealing your eliminations. Ships that are at low HP do start smoking, but I've never managed to see that clearly on any ship other than my own.
Weird!
Here's a link to the US store too -- because it seems like the search is broken there as well. Maybe a good idea to have these links in the OP.
PACER
With the depth of a simulation and the excitement and combat of arcade racers, PACER® provides a true test of player skill, reflexes, and strategy. Choose from 4 speed classes ranging from 400 kmh - 1000 kmh, then engage in the Campaign or a single-player race via 8 different game modes...
store.playstation.com
I'm really enjoying the game. Settling into it at a slow pace, but I'm really enjoying the campaign structure; how it goes through "training", then you choose between a few teams, etc. etc. The garage stuff and experimenting with loadouts is fun to mess around with.
The different modes are also fun; particularly enjoying elimination.
Early race in the game and I was still rather wobbly. I noticed how in these games when I start out I'm really twitchy at first as I figure out the handling model, then slowly my inputs become more smooth and controlled. It's a nice transition.
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Good old PSN store search for new indie games strikes again!
wowww it looks gorgeous!!! Seeing some forest environments too which is nice - I was missing those during the HD/Fury era.
Ahh that's unfortunate about the single player being light on content. Was hoping for a meaty campaign with competitive ai like wipeout's
I think it might be quite long. I'm not sure. It doesn't lay things out so clearly in front of you like the Wipeout games do. But I imagine you'd get many hours out of it, and eventually, it'll become more challenging too.
It's for the early hours, probably a good half of the campaign, it's never that challenging.
If you haven't tried it, I'd get BallisticNG, that game is fantastic if you like Wipeout games. Less visual spectacle than something like Pacer though.
Huh. I've been with the series since the original PSX game, and I don't feel this way. I've only been playing it moderately though, a few races here and there between life stuff. But I don't feel bored by it yet.
I mean more, not challenged than bored. Bored is more subjective. I think if you're into Wipeout and you're the type of person that has say, the elite medals on Wipeout HD, then there's almost no challenge here.
No, it waits for the AI to finish all their laps in a speed run event, it doesnt leave predicted times but instead waits forr everyone to finish unlike some other games that have a time attack mode with a full grid, not that many do that usually.
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I added this to the OP for people who can't find the game. Good addition!
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So err...Sony. Fancy contracting these guys to do a Wipeout 1-3 collection?
I'll have a PS5 arriving in a few weeks. Is a PS5 specific version likely? I'd be happy to get the PS4 version if not, but I'd rather hold out.
I'll have a PS5 arriving in a few weeks. Is a PS5 specific version likely? I'd be happy to get the PS4 version if not, but I'd rather hold out.
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Some UI questions: when you're doing the series of challenges for each team, the screen shows your Speed Class, Medals, and Goal Success. What does "Goal Success" mean? It doesn't refer to passing each goal, because I have 0/7 for several of them despite having finished in the top three in all events and moved on to the next team's event.
Yeah, I found it a little strange too. It seems that you have to finish 1st in each event to really move the goal counter up. It is a little strange though -- I swear there was one case where I had 3/5 goals, with 3rd place in one of the events. I then redid the event and placed first, but I was still at 4/5 goals. Then I had to do it a third time, placed 1st, and only then was it 5/5. Maybe I missed something specific, but it seems the progression calculations are a little strange.
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I don't think it's golds, because right now I'm doing the Izulu challenges (and am stuck!) and out of the three events I've completed, I have one each of bronze, silver, and gold, but have three of seven goals completed.
I'm also noticing that you don't seem to be able to go back and join a different team when you get stuck in a situation like this. I can't even come close in Izulu 4 ("Second Race") and would like to try a different challenge. Part of it is that this ship is hard to pilot, but really the problem is my lack of talent. I can't even finish above seventh!
There is an "Other contracts" option in those screens, I believe. Square button or something like that. Watch out for it at the bottom of the the track selection page of the team you are currently in.
F-Zero physics is more like a vehicle attached to 'rails' rather than 'hovering'. It's just a different driving model, but they're both still futuristic racers.
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I'm not seeing this anywhere; the square button doesn't seem to do anything. I'm looking at the "Set Three" selection, then the four races I have access to, and I can't press Square here at all. Once I select a race, I can press Square to bring up the garage.
I also don't see the alternate goals anywhere.
It's ok, we were once in the dark, until we saw the light that is Wipeout.
So i've been playing the game on two platforms, and:
PC:
- Ultrawide resolutions don't seem to be hor+, and i haven't found a way to fix it yet.
- I would like for the resolution scaling to go past 100% so i could supersample within the game itself.
- I can't lock the framerate without the game having some weird stuttering here and there, like the camera is shaking. Tried with vsync on the nvidia panel, tried with Freesync, and with RTSS (which doesnt even attach itself to the game). It is really weird.
PS4:
- Played some online matches and the game crashed in two of them. Hopefully the newest patch fixed that already.
- The game runs and looks really good on the Pro.
Both:
- They need to add private slots to online lobbies.
- They need to add checkboxes to the UI so we can keep track on which races we completed the team goals.
- They need to add cooldown to the weapons on multiplayer races (because good luck right now racing against pilots spamming mines).
- The AI difficulty is really low.
- Coming from Formula Fusion, the new tracks are decent.
I'm enjoying the new content quite a bit.
EDIT: I forgot something. They need to add the option to control the ships with dpad on PS4.
PC:
- Ultrawide resolutions don't seem to be hor+, and i haven't found a way to fix it yet.
- I would like for the resolution scaling to go past 100% so i could supersample within the game itself.
- I can't lock the framerate without the game having some weird stuttering here and there, like the camera is shaking. Tried with vsync on the nvidia panel, tried with Freesync, and with RTSS (which doesnt even attach itself to the game). It is really weird.
PS4:
- Played some online matches and the game crashed in two of them. Hopefully the newest patch fixed that already.
- The game runs and looks really good on the Pro.
Both:
- They need to add private slots to online lobbies.
- They need to add checkboxes to the UI so we can keep track on which races we completed the team goals.
- They need to add cooldown to the weapons on multiplayer races (because good luck right now racing against pilots spamming mines).
- The AI difficulty is really low.
- Coming from Formula Fusion, the new tracks are decent.
I'm enjoying the new content quite a bit.
EDIT: I forgot something. They need to add the option to control the ships with dpad on PS4.
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I'm really bad at this. I did well in the first chapter. (Where you pick one of 3 teams). The second time I keep coming second. :(
I'm happy for Wipeout fans as they have had so many choices the past few years. However I wish there was a futuristic racing game that matched the handling (and heck, boost mechanics) of F-Zero. :(
Might want to look at Super Pilot on PC for something similar to F-Zero
As for Pacer, I have definitely enjoyed my time with but im starting to notice some issues with it myself.. the speeds of the vehicles that can be reached is WAY too fast for some track to even be remoutely fair haha
technically it still exists but is now run by a single person I believe, specifically the founder Ian Anderson.
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