Update For Need For Speed Adds Manual Transmission, Drag Races

[heirdeux]

The latest update for "Need for Speed" includes the much-requested manual transmission feature. Players will also get to play with two new Hot Rods and participate in drag races.

Update For Need For Speed Adds Manual Transmission, Drag Races : Read more

 

[turkey3_scratch]

When I played Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 over a decade ago I recall it having manual transmission.

 

[mortsmi7]

I guess they figured most people now days can't drive manual transmission. Most new vehicles don't come with it.

 

[dstarr3]

It launched without manual transmissions? Seriously?

 

[arielmansur]

I guess they figured most people now days can't drive manual transmission. Most new vehicles don't come with it.

That might be true over there.. but here in argentina, all mainstream cars have manual.. which sucks btw.. but whatever.. and only like 5% of vehicles come full auto..

 

[dstarr3]

I guess they figured most people now days can't drive manual transmission. Most new vehicles don't come with it.

I'll admit, I'll probably never own a manual car, just because having to do all my shifting in rush hour traffic would drive me bonkers. If I had the disposable income to buy a whole car just for joyriding, yeah, I'd go manual, but I don't have that kind of money to buy a whole car just for fun.

But I do have the money to buy a CAR GAME for fun. So why would a car game not have a manual setting? Just stupid. But why am I acting surprised that EA made a AAA game that missed the point. Just another in a long line of bloated-budget games that just aren't good enough.

 

[LaurieErick]

I am wondering that what more new feature will introduce for this need for speed game. It is really an amazing game. A drag race is also something different and unique on “need for speed” games.

Laurie Erick – Marketing Manager at http://jogosdecarros3d.com/

 

[rigurat]

Is it really simulating a manual transmission?

 

[rigurat]

I wonder how the simulation works. Is it really simulating a manual transmission compared to an automatic transmission? Or is the game still simulating whatever transmission the car has (simulated auto or manual) and letting the player shift the gears manually.

 

[FITCamaro]

That doesn't make any sense. A manual, from a game perspective, only differs in that the players shifts instead of the computer. What is there to simulate differently from the manual other than that in the real world, most cars with both a manual and automatic option have different gear ratios for each gear between the two. No you can't miss shifts in a video game, its doubtful they implemented different gear ratios, and it's doubtful they adjust the performance of the car to account for the lower weight from a manual transmission that a real car would have.

But as others said, can't believe they would release a car game without a manual option for the transmission.

 

[hang-the-9]

NFS Underground had manual transmission, bit too hard to race with though, for some reason was much harder than an actual car with a manual. Maybe because the setup was not as stable so you had to be careful how you pressed the pedal and sifter or the setup would slide. One of those full cage racing seat setups would likely be more suitable for manual shifting than just a wheel clipped to a desk.

I even got a racing wheel with a clutch to use with the game but after 10 minutes of playing with it I went with auto mode. Even shifting manually with the wheel pedals was not as much fun as just setting it to automatic.

 

[Avus]

still no in car view, specially for a game that has such a short car list...

 

[10tacle]

North Americans (US, Canada) have gotten away from manual transmissions over the last few decades. Call it laziness, call it manufacturers consolidating costs and cutting back on transmission options. In 1980, 35% of all new US-made autos (not trucks, cars) were sold with manual transmissions in the US. The most recent statistic I saw (~2014) was only 10% are sold with manuals these days. For foreign-made cars, especially European, that number is much higher. VW reports close to 50% of its Jettas and GTIs are sticks. I own both manual and auto vehicles, and driving a stick in a city where commute traffic is horrible is no fun. But the best anti-theft defense these says in America is to buy a manual transmission since kids aren't learning how to drive them anymore, heh.

In any event, for arcade racers like NFS, I see no reason for manual. As others said, it's just manually clicking up and down gears like moving an automatic shift lever...big deal. Racing sims on the other hand like iRacing, DiRT Rally, Project Cars, Assetto Corsa, and GTR2 have full clutch support for true rowing. If you have a wheel with a clutch and a side shifter it makes for some fun and realistic driving. Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a lot more realistic and fun with one. Sim racers like myself often prefer just racing with a controller on arcade racers instead of a wheel since the car physicals are so unrealistic anyway.

 

[hang-the-9]

Another big part of going to automatics is that recent transmissions are very efficient and have many more gears than they used to. In the 80s many automatics where 3 speeds or 4. Now you can find 5 speed automatics in basic family sedans and the MPG ratings are as high if not higher in some cases as the manual versions.

North Americans (US, Canada) have gotten away from manual transmissions over the last few decades. Call it laziness, call it manufacturers consolidating costs and cutting back on transmission options. In 1980, 35% of all new US-made autos (not trucks, cars) were sold with manual transmissions in the US. The most recent statistic I saw (~2014) was only 10% are sold with manuals these days. For foreign-made cars, especially European, that number is much higher. VW reports close to 50% of its Jettas and GTIs are sticks. I own both manual and auto vehicles, and driving a stick in a city where commute traffic is horrible is no fun. But the best anti-theft defense these says in America is to buy a manual transmission since kids aren't learning how to drive them anymore, heh.

In any event, for arcade racers like NFS, I see no reason for manual. As others said, it's just manually clicking up and down gears like moving an automatic shift lever...big deal. Racing sims on the other hand like iRacing, DiRT Rally, Project Cars, Assetto Corsa, and GTR2 have full clutch support for true rowing. If you have a wheel with a clutch and a side shifter it makes for some fun and realistic driving. Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a lot more realistic and fun with one. Sim racers like myself often prefer just racing with a controller on arcade racers instead of a wheel since the car physicals are so unrealistic anyway.

 

[dstarr3]

In any event, for arcade racers like NFS, I see no reason for manual. As others said, it's just manually clicking up and down gears like moving an automatic shift lever...big deal.

If you shift poorly, you go slow. If you shift well, you go fast. It's another element of control, skill, and difficulty for the players that want it. Regardless of how realistic or arcade-y it is, it still impacts your driving ability, and you have every chance of driving faster in manual than with the game's automatic transmission.

 

[soccerplayer88]

In any event, for arcade racers like NFS, I see no reason for manual. As others said, it's just manually clicking up and down gears like moving an automatic shift lever...big deal.

If you shift poorly, you go slow. If you shift well, you go fast. It's another element of control, skill, and difficulty for the players that want it. Regardless of how realistic or arcade-y it is, it still impacts your driving ability, and you have every chance of driving faster in manual than with the game's automatic transmission.

Might make for an interesting mechanic if you use Manual and "shift well" you could get a small speed boost as a reward.

 

[dstarr3]

In any event, for arcade racers like NFS, I see no reason for manual. As others said, it's just manually clicking up and down gears like moving an automatic shift lever...big deal.

If you shift poorly, you go slow. If you shift well, you go fast. It's another element of control, skill, and difficulty for the players that want it. Regardless of how realistic or arcade-y it is, it still impacts your driving ability, and you have every chance of driving faster in manual than with the game's automatic transmission.

Might make for an interesting mechanic if you use Manual and "shift well" you could get a small speed boost as a reward.

I can't think of any titles, but I want to say there were some drag racing games, or games with a drag racing component, that had a mechanic like that. "PERFECT SHIFT!" and then you get a point bonus or speed boost or something.

That feature would make a game far too arcade-y for me, but I'm sure it's been done before.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Another big part of going to automatics is that recent transmissions are very efficient and have many more gears than they used to. In the 80s many automatics where 3 speeds or 4. Now you can find 5 speed automatics in basic family sedans and the MPG ratings are as high if not higher in some cases as the manual versions.

North Americans (US, Canada) have gotten away from manual transmissions over the last few decades. Call it laziness, call it manufacturers consolidating costs and cutting back on transmission options. In 1980, 35% of all new US-made autos (not trucks, cars) were sold with manual transmissions in the US. The most recent statistic I saw (~2014) was only 10% are sold with manuals these days. For foreign-made cars, especially European, that number is much higher. VW reports close to 50% of its Jettas and GTIs are sticks. I own both manual and auto vehicles, and driving a stick in a city where commute traffic is horrible is no fun. But the best anti-theft defense these says in America is to buy a manual transmission since kids aren't learning how to drive them anymore, heh.

In any event, for arcade racers like NFS, I see no reason for manual. As others said, it's just manually clicking up and down gears like moving an automatic shift lever...big deal. Racing sims on the other hand like iRacing, DiRT Rally, Project Cars, Assetto Corsa, and GTR2 have full clutch support for true rowing. If you have a wheel with a clutch and a side shifter it makes for some fun and realistic driving. Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a lot more realistic and fun with one. Sim racers like myself often prefer just racing with a controller on arcade racers instead of a wheel since the car physicals are so unrealistic anyway.

Actually most sedans now come with 6 speed transmissions (7 if you count reverse as its own) and automatics are more efficient and if in a straight line drag race faster at shifting than any human can.

For the average person a automatic makes more sense. It allows people to do less and pay better attention. Most automatics these days also have a SelectShift so they have a semi manual mode. Not the same, yes, but it can be fun to rive with.

That said, the important cars tend to still have manual as an option or just manual. That is one thing I am giving props to Ford on. For example, the Focus ST and RS come only with a manual transmission and no automatic available, which makes sense as both are higher performance vehicles.

With all that said, they should have had it as an option in the first place since most of the cars they have in there have manual as stock with auto as an option.

 

[FITCamaro]

Any good manual owner will be able to outrun the comparable automatic due to the decreased weight.

But yes the move away from manuals is due to sheer laziness on the part of drivers. And I'd make the case that manual owners are paying far more attention to the road than automatic drivers. You can't play on your phone in traffic when you have to shift.