The original mafia is one of my all time favorites. As far as I know, (from one of the game designers) for the driving model they wrote some simple model that used the real world characteristics of the different cars, and they said that it could be possible to release a decent standalone racing game based on it. They also went to car colectors and tryed some of the cars out to get the feeling for how they handled. I still think they did a pretty neat job with that. Also there are other small details: for example if you hit the fueltank of your opponets car thy do run out of petrol. More so, the place where you hit the tank has an effect on how fast will it drain. You can also punch their tyres. So for example at the motel, you can shoot the tyres or petrol tank of your opponets car even before you went inside to make the chase a quick affair. As for the driving mission, it used to be nerve racking for me - I got to the lead, but then would usually crash somewhere and had to climb back up to the fornt. In one of the interviews on the games ten years aniversary ther lead designer said that the dificulty of the fair play mission caught trem by surprise, and he said that all you have to do is drive it kinda like a real car and not pedal to the metal all the time. After that I hadnt have problem with this mission anymore:)
I specifically recall one of the designers saying that they only tested that mission out with driving wheel peripherals, and not the regular gamepad, so they didn't fine-tune it to make it easier at all lol. But yeah, I played through it again on PC with a gamepad a few years back and didn't really have any issue with it. If you have knowledge of rudimentary vehicle dynamics (weight transfer, slip angle, etc) then it's pretty chill.
The main issue with race in Mafia was the abrupt change in car handling and speed. This race happens early in the game, where at this point you have been driving some remarkably slow vehicles that could barely reach 60 MPH in a long, winding straight. The game gives access to faster vehicles much later in the storyline. And then there is mission 5, where you're given the fastest car in the game. A car that drives over twice as fast as anything you have driven up to this point. Not only that, but you're given just barely enough time to get acquainted with the handling within city limits (the mission of stealing it is timed!) before being thrown into a race track. To win a legit, no-bullshit race. A race developed better than in many actual racing games. It was just so unexpected and out of place. You're playing Mafia. A GTA in 1930's. And now the game suddenly becomes a simcade racing game. Unlike races in GTA3 which had absolutely terrible AI and even a small child could win them.
Mafia, Spirit of Speed I love these games. Also The Saboteur has a fairly difficult race mission. Took me a few times to finish. But Spirit of Speed, I love the tracks. But Mafia and Mafia 2 are just perfect games. Keep up these videos, brings back memories :)
@@TimberwolfK The thing is, the actual car models in SoS are really good. The Mercedes and Bugatti you were racing are spot on. It looks like they just gave up quarter way and handed the whole deal to the interns. The marketing interns.
Sure enough, searching for "hardwar game" does not suggest your video, anywhere. So I typed "hardwar game timberwolf", and your video appeared at the top of the list! BUT, You tube also politely suggested I did I really mean to actually search for "haridwar game timberwolf" instead, so I clicked, yeah ok what if I had meat to search for that, and was presented with a one and a half hour amateur Rugby League match between Wolf Hunt and West Warriors from April 2020. You just imagine the hoards of non league rugby league fans, or rugby non league fans short, being exposed to in depth nostalgic retro game journalism for the first time in their lives on the back of an innocent youtube search. The magic of RUclips.
I didn't think it would be possible to jack-knife a non-articulated road vehicle 19:05 .To your credit however, Spirit of Speed appeared to award you with marks of 10 out of 10 (10/10) for most of the race, as displayed in the top dead centre, presumably for effort.
Thanks! I was amazed how well it had held up. The city is obviously from another age, possibly one with polygon rationing, but it really does play nicely.
Would you consider doing a full playthrough of the original Mafia? I love Mafia and I enjoyed watching you go through this mission (which really wasn’t as difficult as people made out - sorry 😂)
Ok, I could mock you for the driving but let's be fair here, you won. Instead I will mock you for "They'd rather ram you than.............................. overtake you" "They'd rather ram you than race you" IT WAS RIGHT THERE. Also crikey, that PC version of Spirit is even worse than the already incredibly iffy Dreamcast one. I didn't know it was possible for a corporate logo to look embarrassed but the Microprose one on that CD case is having a DAMN good try.
I am never happy with my driving, me playing AC in VR is inevitably accompanied by a series of loud, "need a taxi to the apex?" style comments from... myself. PC Spirit has a framerate advantage over the Dreamcast, at least. I think chronology-wise this is in that bizarre period where Hasbro seemed to be trying to kill off the Microprose franchises for reasons best known to themselves, it came out around the same time as all the weird X-COMs.
I never even GOT to the race. The bit before, where you had to steal the racecar, drive it across town to get it souped up, then drive back to the racecourse WITHOUT taking damage. Couldn't get past it. That Spirit of Speed 1937 looks terrible. So twitchy. You can't ACCENTUATE the positive with that. I like the IDEA of it, but not the execution.
Technically I couldn't even get to that bit! The shootout at the motel kept getting the better of me, I had forgotten quite how nasty Mafia was in terms of having the "realistic" limited ammunition and reloading of a later game, but still having the bullet sponge enemies of an earlier one. And yeah, Spirit of Speed was a real wasted opportunity. It doesn't look particularly bad for the time (albeit clearly developed on a budget), but they got 95% of the way there and missed out on even the most rudimentary level of physics to make it enjoyable.
The original mafia is one of my all time favorites. As far as I know, (from one of the game designers) for the driving model they wrote some simple model that used the real world characteristics of the different cars, and they said that it could be possible to release a decent standalone racing game based on it. They also went to car colectors and tryed some of the cars out to get the feeling for how they handled. I still think they did a pretty neat job with that.
Also there are other small details: for example if you hit the fueltank of your opponets car thy do run out of petrol. More so, the place where you hit the tank has an effect on how fast will it drain. You can also punch their tyres. So for example at the motel, you can shoot the tyres or petrol tank of your opponets car even before you went inside to make the chase a quick affair.
As for the driving mission, it used to be nerve racking for me - I got to the lead, but then would usually crash somewhere and had to climb back up to the fornt. In one of the interviews on the games ten years aniversary ther lead designer said that the dificulty of the fair play mission caught trem by surprise, and he said that all you have to do is drive it kinda like a real car and not pedal to the metal all the time. After that I hadnt have problem with this mission anymore:)
I specifically recall one of the designers saying that they only tested that mission out with driving wheel peripherals, and not the regular gamepad, so they didn't fine-tune it to make it easier at all lol. But yeah, I played through it again on PC with a gamepad a few years back and didn't really have any issue with it. If you have knowledge of rudimentary vehicle dynamics (weight transfer, slip angle, etc) then it's pretty chill.
The main issue with race in Mafia was the abrupt change in car handling and speed. This race happens early in the game, where at this point you have been driving some remarkably slow vehicles that could barely reach 60 MPH in a long, winding straight. The game gives access to faster vehicles much later in the storyline.
And then there is mission 5, where you're given the fastest car in the game. A car that drives over twice as fast as anything you have driven up to this point. Not only that, but you're given just barely enough time to get acquainted with the handling within city limits (the mission of stealing it is timed!) before being thrown into a race track. To win a legit, no-bullshit race. A race developed better than in many actual racing games.
It was just so unexpected and out of place. You're playing Mafia. A GTA in 1930's. And now the game suddenly becomes a simcade racing game. Unlike races in GTA3 which had absolutely terrible AI and even a small child could win them.
Mafia, Spirit of Speed I love these games. Also The Saboteur has a fairly difficult race mission. Took me a few times to finish. But Spirit of Speed, I love the tracks. But Mafia and Mafia 2 are just perfect games. Keep up these videos, brings back memories :)
SoS really deserved a better physics engine and controls, it's a really neat idea and I had a load of fun playing the Mafia race.
@@TimberwolfK I wished there was a follow up of SoS. No game like that really came out after that. Or that the game is mod friendly
@@TimberwolfK The thing is, the actual car models in SoS are really good. The Mercedes and Bugatti you were racing are spot on. It looks like they just gave up quarter way and handed the whole deal to the interns.
The marketing interns.
I don't think Saboteur's races are even half as hard as driving any decently fast car in Mafia over 60km/h.
Sure enough, searching for "hardwar game" does not suggest your video, anywhere. So I typed "hardwar game timberwolf", and your video appeared at the top of the list! BUT, You tube also politely suggested I did I really mean to actually search for "haridwar game timberwolf" instead, so I clicked, yeah ok what if I had meat to search for that, and was presented with a one and a half hour amateur Rugby League match between Wolf Hunt and West Warriors from April 2020. You just imagine the hoards of non league rugby league fans, or rugby non league fans short, being exposed to in depth nostalgic retro game journalism for the first time in their lives on the back of an innocent youtube search. The magic of RUclips.
I didn't think it would be possible to jack-knife a non-articulated road vehicle 19:05 .To your credit however, Spirit of Speed appeared to award you with marks of 10 out of 10 (10/10) for most of the race, as displayed in the top dead centre, presumably for effort.
Might have to play mafia now …cool vid
Thanks! I was amazed how well it had held up. The city is obviously from another age, possibly one with polygon rationing, but it really does play nicely.
Would you consider doing a full playthrough of the original Mafia? I love Mafia and I enjoyed watching you go through this mission (which really wasn’t as difficult as people made out - sorry 😂)
I'm terrible at all the non-racing bits! I can barely get through the motel shootout, let alone the later missions...
@@TimberwolfK aww well! If you don’t ask you don’t know haha!
Thanks for replying Timberwolf! :D
Ok, I could mock you for the driving but let's be fair here, you won.
Instead I will mock you for "They'd rather ram you than.............................. overtake you"
"They'd rather ram you than race you" IT WAS RIGHT THERE.
Also crikey, that PC version of Spirit is even worse than the already incredibly iffy Dreamcast one. I didn't know it was possible for a corporate logo to look embarrassed but the Microprose one on that CD case is having a DAMN good try.
I am never happy with my driving, me playing AC in VR is inevitably accompanied by a series of loud, "need a taxi to the apex?" style comments from... myself.
PC Spirit has a framerate advantage over the Dreamcast, at least. I think chronology-wise this is in that bizarre period where Hasbro seemed to be trying to kill off the Microprose franchises for reasons best known to themselves, it came out around the same time as all the weird X-COMs.
For sure its a better experience.
Yeah didn’t look hard to me either, but am also a driving game nerd
I never even GOT to the race. The bit before, where you had to steal the racecar, drive it across town to get it souped up, then drive back to the racecourse WITHOUT taking damage. Couldn't get past it.
That Spirit of Speed 1937 looks terrible. So twitchy. You can't ACCENTUATE the positive with that. I like the IDEA of it, but not the execution.
Technically I couldn't even get to that bit! The shootout at the motel kept getting the better of me, I had forgotten quite how nasty Mafia was in terms of having the "realistic" limited ammunition and reloading of a later game, but still having the bullet sponge enemies of an earlier one.
And yeah, Spirit of Speed was a real wasted opportunity. It doesn't look particularly bad for the time (albeit clearly developed on a budget), but they got 95% of the way there and missed out on even the most rudimentary level of physics to make it enjoyable.
of course it is a bad videogame. it is from 1937
I couldn't play the Spirit of Speed. it was unplayable
I dare to argue that the pc version of V-Rally 3 is worse than S.O.S.
Argh, don't give me potentially terrible games I haven't tried yet! I'm curious now...