SEGA TOURING CAR - BEGINNERS GUIDE INTRODUCTION Sega Touring Car for the Sega Saturn may be the most under- rated game to be released this year. It has received criticism from virtually all of the major gaming magazines in both the US, and in Europe. The principal complaints leveled against STC are as follows: 1. The game's frame rate is too jumpy. 2. The textures are grainy compared to other Sega racers 3. The learning curve is too steep. With these poor reviews in hand, I overlooked STC for quite some time. It was only when I began reading the very strong reviews on the internet that I gave the game a second chance, and picked it up. Well it's true that the frame rate is lower than we expect nowadays (about 20 fps). And it's also true that the textures are relatively grainy. But against that, we have an incredibly fast, incredibly deep racer with lots of detail, and virtually no pop-up whatsoever. It's been a hell of a long time since I've had this much fun with a racing game. Frankly, the game is the best Saturn racer since Sega Rally - and that's saying an awful lot. To be totally honest, if the frame rate were higher, I'd even rank this game higher than Sega Rally. In my opinion, it's that good. Unfortunately, many find a game with a steep learning curve to be too intimidating, and they don't give themselves a fair chance to learn the game's subtleties. With that in mind, I have written this guide to help those new to STC get into the game in a positive way. If I get some additional help from others out there in cyberland, I am perfectly willing to fully develop this piece of work into a full blown FAQ. But for, now, let's just call it a beginners guide. Sega Touring Car and AM Amex Both the Saturn and Arcade versions of STC were developed and produced by AM Amex. The director of this group, Tetsuya Mizuguchi was also responsible for Sega Rally (though at the time, he and his team were part of AM3). The AM Amex group was created to give the members of that team more creative freedom than was possible within the confines of the larger AM3 group. Mr. Mizuguchi in particular wanted to focus on very realistic racing experiences - with Sega Touring Car being the first, and perhaps the most high profile of the group's projects. The key word here is realistic. When AMA went to work creating STC, a tremendous amount of research was involved. In an interview in the UK's Sega Saturn magazine (April 1997, issue #18) Mr. Mizuguchi discussed some of this research: "All the staff watched videos and read magazines and books about Touring Car any number of times. They also went to see real Touring Car races. There were a lot of staff who rode as passengers in the Touring Cars, and all the main programmers were driven around some of the circuits by championship drivers. On top of that, we also hired a circuit for the day and borrowed some pro- race teamcars. We then drove around ourselves! The designers also went location hunting. They took their cameras to places in Germany and Finland etc, and saw various views from the circuits and lots of town landscapes and scenery". After significant development, Sega Touring Car was released in the arcades last year. More recently, it has finally made its way to the Sega Saturn in what will probably be the Saturn's final Sega racer. As promised, the game delivers an incredibly authentic racing experience the likes of which gamers rarely see. This authenticity does create challenges as the game's learning curve is steeper than most are accustomed to. In that same Sega Saturn magazine article, Mr. Mizuguchi describes the realism of the game's control: "The fundamental areas are real. However in order that it's easy to drive for everyone we've changed it a little. That's because the real cars are so difficult that probably no-one could drive them. We devised it so that as many people as possible could feel the atmosphere of the real touring cars. Thus we made it fairly mild." Mild perhaps compared to driving real racing cars, but still significantly deeper than most home racers. Over the following few pages, I will give some advice for the new owner of STC on how to get into the gameplay as quickly and deeply as possible. GETTING STARTED - PRE-RACE CHOICES There are a wide variety of different modes and options with Sega Touring Car. More than is typical for a racing game today. For the new racer, I strongly encourage going to the "Saturn Side", and kicking things off with the "Time Trial" mode. This will give you the opportunity to get accustomed to the game's physics without having the extra pressure of an actual race hanging over your head. But before you start that run, let's have a look at some of your pre- game options. THE CARS There are four cars that are immediately selectable in STC. They are as follows: Toyota Supra GT This rear wheel drive car has the best torque in the line-up. You really notice the value of this when you slow down too much for some reason, and need to catch up in speed quickly. Nothing rockets to top speed faster than the Toyota. Personally, I also like the appearance of the Toyota best as it reminds of the Sega Rally Celica quite a bit. I can't however recommend the Toyota for beginners. It's rear wheel drive setup and heavy engine power makes the thing very wobbly in the rear end. You will indeed find yourself spinning out quite a bit in this car until you get used to it. I recommend steering clear of the Toyota until you are quite experienced with STC. Mercedes C-Class The other rear wheel driver car in the game. It handles somewhat like the Toyota but feels a bit more stable. Against this however, it doesn't seem to have the Toyota's spunk. In total, I consider this to be the weakest car in the game - another one to steer clear of when you first pick up this game. Alfa Romeo 155V6TI This 4WD roadster has very nice "sticky" handling, making it a good choice for beginners. It tends to swerve a little less than the other cars, meaning you can keep it on the road a little easier. Against this however, I find this car a little difficult to power-slide and drift in. For this reason, it is not my personal favorite. Opel Calibra V6 Now here is my recommended ride. Full time 4WD means that you are very stable indeed. You still have a good amount of drift however which will let you get the most out of the game's curves. An excellent choice for beginners and my personal recommendation. Whatever car you choose, it is important that you CHOOSE a car. What I mean by that is this. Each of these cars handles quite differently. If you flip from one car to another, you will never feel that you have gained mastery over the game. You must master your chosen car on each track. Pick a car and stick with it (Unless you are very unhappy and want to try something different). TRANSMISSION Most serious gamers will immediately jump to the standard transmission. After all, we all know that you can't capture the best time possible with an automatic. Right? Well, maybe. Remember, this game is really tough. You should try thinking that you are really going to head out in an honest to goodness racing car. If I were given that choice in real life (and I wanted to race well), I would probably warm things up with the automatic - and I recommend that here as well. I have been playing this game for some time now, and have unlocked most of the secret modes, but I am only now slowly making the transition to the standard transmission. Believe me, you will get into the game much quicker with the automatic. CUSTOM OPTIONS You will probably want to stick to a pre-tuned car for your first few runs. However, once you have burned up a few tracks, the game offers you many customizable options to consider. They are as follows: 1 Final Gear Ratio This basically allows you to trade top speed off against acceleration. If you go for a larger gear ratio, you will have a higher top speed. If you go for a smaller gear ratio, you will have better high end acceleration. The choice is yours. Personally, I rather like the standard settings, so I don't play with this one too much. 2 Handling Do you want quick handling, or loose handling? You will probably find your driving to be quite jerky at first, so I recommend loosening things up a little for a while. The trick is, you can't loosen things up much if you still want to make the tight turns. A +1 adjustment is about as much as you need. 3 Tires Hard tires will last longer while Soft tires will give you better grip. Since the games don't last all that long anyway, I go for a slightly softer than normal grip (+1). I also find it helps me stick to those corners rather well. 4 Front and Rear Suspension There is a separate adjustment for the hardness of your front and rear suspension. I recommend moving these both together. My experiments with different settings result in cars that just don't feel "right" at all. Basically, a harder setting will give you tighter handling. A looser setting lets you drift and power slide a little better. I rather like the defaults so I keep these both at zero. 5 Brake Hardness How much stopping power do you want at your disposal? My theory is: When you are on the gas, you are ON the gas. And when you are on the brake, you are ON the brake. As a result, I like to have some serious stopping power at my fingertips. I set this one to +2. Now, there is something to be said for not messing with custom options at all. For example, if you want to place well with the "Global Net Event" races, you will have to use a default car. Believe me, switching to a default car when you are used to your custom baby is very difficult. CONTROL I haven't said this until now, but let me say it before you get onto the track. You will NEED to use either the 3D control pad or a steering wheel in this game. You absolutely need to have analog control or you can forget about racking up a good time. With that said, I have personally found that 3D control pad option "C" works best for me. This is the first choice where the shoulder pads are for shifting, nor for the gas and brake. Obviously this is a matter of personal preference more than anything. What is more than simply preference however is the "Volume Control" settings. At this screen, you can adjust both the maximum and minimum "volume" for your steering. The maximum volume is not terribly important, but what I really like is the ability to set a minimum volume. What that basically means is this. You can tell the Saturn how much you want to move the 3D control pad before you want it to register the movement as actual "steering". I set the minimum to about 8 percent. This little feature completely eliminates the "I can't go in a straight line" problem often associated with analog control. The game will simply not respond to tiny little variations in your steering input, meaning that you can drive straight, without wobbling. Also, let me give you a steering tip with the 3D control pad. Frankly, steering the way that Sega intended with that pad is next to impossible (putting your thumb in the middle with the pad at rest and moving it left or right). I find trying to work any game this way results in me swerving all over the place. Instead, I hold the pad directly down with my thumb. If you are down and in the middle, your car will go straight. To turn, simply ease the pad either left or right and your car will respond SMOOTHLY. This works for virtually all Sega racers by the way. IN THE RACE You have selected your car, your transmission, and set up your control options. You are now ready to try your first lap. As I mentioned earlier, I strongly encourage you to try "Time Trial" mode first - to get the feel of the game. Also, let's start off easy with the first course (The Country Circuit). There are a few racing principals which you can teach yourself in the Country Circuit before straying onto any of the more difficult courses. Here are some of the simplest ones. 1. Watch Your Line In STC, as with real racing, it is critical that your car is lined up properly for each and every turn. That usually means going wide right before the turn, easing into the turn, coming close to its inside edge, and then drifting back out wide again immediately afterwards. This effectively minimizes the angle of your turn, allowing you to take them faster, and smoother. In STC, you can usually tell what the correct line is for the course by looking at the track. As in real life, the best line is the one most traveled which means it has the most tire marks on it. Look for the dark path on the track, and try to stay with it. 2. Don't Oversteer The most common mistake that newcomers will make with this game is oversteering. Forget about other racing games you have played, think about driving a real car. If you want to change lanes, how much do you have to turn the wheel? Just a little tiny bit. If you were to crank the wheel while bolting down the highway at high speeds, what would happen? You'd crash. That's exactly what will happen in STC. The game mimics real driving more than it does other racing games. You must move with small but deliberate movements. If you find that you are oversteering, you are probably looking at either your car, or at the track right in front of your car. Instead, try looking way off into the distance at where you want to go. If you look as far down the track as you can see, and point your car in that direction, you will indeed head in that direction. Remember, almost all the turns in the first track can be done with moderate steering. 3. Let Drift Be Your Friend, Not Your Enemy You will notice very quickly how fast this game is. When you hit the gas, within seconds, you are moving at a terrifying pace. A car that moves at these speeds will experience drift when you either begin to turn, or when you take your foot off the gas. The drift is that "floaty" feeling you get where you don't feel that you are entirely in control. You know that feeling from driving your own car. Remember that terrifying feeling you get when you are driving down the highway in the rain - and you suddenly notice that very gently, the car is drifting just a touch. It gives you the (accurate) sense that you are not completely in control of your car. That drift is a key component of this game. If you try to wrench control of the car back, you will almost certainly crash. Rather, let the drift happen, and try to control it gently so that it helps you as you drift into your next turn. I have found that you have to hit the brakes very rarely in this game. Usually, just taking your foot off the gas is enough - as long as you can make the ensuing drift effect work for you. 4. Don't Use the Brakes More Than Necessary The name of this game is speed. Your car will control best when it is moving. If you slow things down too far, you will have better traction - and believe me, when you are trying to make your way through a weavy course, that is not always a good thing. For example, let me offer you that in the first course, you will never have to use your brakes at all. In fact, you will rarely have to take your foot off the gas - as long as you keep to the best line. Currently, I only have to take my foot off the gas for a split second on the turn right before the straight-away, and the turn right after the straight-away. But I am convinced with more practice it is possible to run this course without taking your foot off the gas at all! Later on in the game - in particular with the Brickwall Town course - it will indeed be necessary to use your brakes, and to use them hard. But the early courses don't need much of that at all. 5. Make Full Use of Straight-Aways A buddy of mine is a real racing fanatic. He actually races those high performance karts in his spare time (the ones that go 80MPH). He once said to me that a car race is nothing but a series of turns, and drag races. That type of sensation is certainly accurately represented in STC. And as with any drag race, it is important to go all out. When you are on the gas - be ON the gas. Don't take your foot off during a straight-away - not even for a split second. Try to hold your sprint for as long as you can, until you need to take your foot off the gas, and make the drift ease you into the next turn. Of course with practice you will come to appreciate which turns can be done with the gas on, and which ones require that you take your foot off the gas (and which require that you actually hit the brake). 6. Race Your Own Race Once you move into the championship mode, you will be racing against very aggressive CPU cars. You will obviously want to win. Once that race begins, its important to remember that the race is really between you and the track. Try not to get too hung up about what your competitors are doing. Stay focused on the lines and strategies which you worked out in the time trial mode. The more you focus on the CPU cars, the more sloppy your driving will be. With these tips, you should get off on the right foot with this outstanding title. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I have some interest in pulling together a Saturn FAQ, providing that I get enough input from the STC experts out there. I will of course provide full and complete credit for any assistance. Thanks all, and if you have any thoughts or comments, please let me know at: wes.pringle@sympatico.ca - Wes This guide is designed to assist those who are new to Sega Touring Car. It is written by wes.pringle@sympatico.ca with references given to other sources where appropriate. Please feel free to use this guide on your (non-commercial) web-site as long as you don't edit or change the document in any way. Also, please let me know when you are going to use this document, as I like to seem them when posted. Thanks - Wes