Updated Classic Paint Scheme: Brett Bodine Quaker State Ford

I've been toying around with the idea of taking long-time sponsors and mixing classic elements with their new logos/the new body styles. Bredd Bodine's Quaker State car was a Buick, then a Ford he drove for Kenny Bernstein. Quaker State has since updated its logo, and generally runs fairly generic paint schemes for Kasey Kahne. Personally, I liked the older, solid colored cars. This is currently the car I'm running online (at least until I make my next one.)

More Graphics Glitches

I decided to have more fun with the graphics glitch you can create by taking a picture pointed at one of the TV screens.

I think I opened a Stargate

NTG: IL Talladega Setup

In keeping with the theme that there are scant differences between the current game and its previous iteration, I figured I would share my final setup for NASCAR The Game: Inside Line at Talladega, in order to provide a baseline for working on whatever tweaks have been made between the two games.

I can say that the new game seems to demand some softer rear tires for restarts, and a bit more sway bar in the front for drafting purposes. The current game also seems to tolerate quite a bit more dragging on the rear than NTG: IL, meaning there is more speed to be found. Still, if you're starting from scratch, this might be helpful. You should be able to get up to 202-203 MPH or so on your own with this.

TIRES:

Front Left:
Cold Pressure: 35
Camber: 8
Caster: 6

Front Right:
Cold Pressure: 65
Camber: -8
Caster: 6

Rear Left:
Pressure: 35
Camber: 1.8

Rear Right:
Pressure: 65
Camber: -1.8


Front Toe-In: -1/4
Left Rear Toe In: -1/4
Right Rear Toe In: 1/16

SUSPENSION:

Front Left:
Ride Height: 10.0
Bump: 71
Rebound: 40
Spring: 350

Front Right:
Ride Height: 10.0
Bump: 71
Rebound: 19
Spring: 350

Rear Left:
Ride Height: 5.5
Bump: 69
Rebound: 14
Spring: 460
Trackbar: 4.7
Rubber: YES

Rear Right:
Ride Height: 5.6
Bump: 69
Rebound: 14
Spring: 650
Track Bar: 4.7
Rubber: YES

DRIVETRAIN AND AERO:
Gearing: Cog B

Brake Bias: 59
Steering Lock: 14

AERO:

Tape: 100%
Front Splitter: 2.0

Front Bias: 52.5
Left Bias: 52
Wedge: Whatever it says (Should be around 49.3)

FRONT & REAR SWAY BAR:
Front: 850
Rear:  400

NASCAR '14 Paint Booth: Bill Elliott #9 Dodge Intrepid

As a Bill Elliott fan, one of my favorite custom paint schemes to make in NASCAR games is the #9 Dodge from his resurgent days with Ray Evernham before stepping back and semi-retiring.

To compare the differences between the previous game -- NASCAR The Game: Inside Line and NASCAR '14, I have included comparison shots of my own custom schemes from similar camera angles. One key difference is the shape of the cars. 

The top pic is from NTG: IL, the second is from the new game.

I still need to add the UAW logo for the new game, but I think this shows the subtle differences you'll face while working in the new paint booth. You don't have control over the spoiler on plate tracks since it's non-standard from the rest of the game. The clear "shark-fin" running down the left side is an improvement. The new contours of the various cars make it harder in the new game to run throwback paint schemes.

Overall, however, these are minor changes. The games are fundamentally similar, both in appearance and tools.

NASCAR '14 Texas Motor Speedway - Big Hoss Glitch

Charlotte first added a large LED TV screen to its backstretch, then Texas one-upped it with a larger screen a few years later. The NASCAR games have faithfully recreated theses screens, but they needed something to put on them. In all games so far, the shortcut has been to put whatever the player sees on screen. This has led to some amusing consequences when taking screenshots.

NASCAR '14 Paint Booth 3: STP #43 Ford

After testing out the STP scheme with a special Pontiac scheme, I decided it was probably easier to use the default game manufacturer templates. Since the 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team currently runs Ford Fusions, I decided to see how one of the older paint schemes would look on the current body style. 

Paint Booth 2: STP #43 Pontiac Paint Scheme

Exploring the paint booth in NASCAR '14 a bit more, it seems the brush creator is pretty much the same from the previous game. Creating a custom brush is the key to making logos that you will want to replicate in various parts of the car in order to make an accurate/true to life scheme. While there are areas they could have improved on, such as providing more fonts, or outlines for fonts and shapes, they haven't taken a step back either. Once you're experienced with using the basic shapes the game provides, it's not too hard to make whatever you want -- just kinda tedious.

Either way, I decided to go with a classic orange-side-panel STP car to first test my logo with. I also created a small Pontiac logo to go with the design. I chose the Toyota body type, because the shape of the nose seems to fit that of the old Pontiacs the best.

I think the nose can be crafted to fit the curves of the Toyota body style a bit better, and the STP logo still requires some work, but this provided to base for my next retro style paint sche,e.

First Paint Scheme Test: Bill Elliott Budweiser #11

It's become a tradition for me to test out the paint booth with a basic variant of this scheme. ETX has removed the need to "earn" basic shape decals how you needed to in NTG: Inside Line, reverting things to how they were in NTG2011, while keeping IL's interface. Otherwise, there seem to be few changes to the paint booth. They have changed up the pre-made sponsor decal list somewhat, and added a new "mirror" option for decals, which can somewhat help match up decals on the left and right hand sides of the car, but it doesn't work perfectly. Still, it's a welcome addition. One problem is you can't zoom out as far on the top down view or others, making placement of certain decals a tricky proposition.

Here's how the test went:

Another new feature of the paint booth in NASCAR '14 is the ability to write phrases in the text box with spaces. Previous games did not allow that. The "KING OF BEERS" phrase on the hood would have had to be three separate decals put down individually or into a custom "brush." Allowing spaces eases some of the old burdens of making a custom paint job in the game.

On the other hand, the new unique shapes to the cars makes it difficult, if not impossible, to simulate older car designs for these retro paint schemes. That's why I kept this as a Fusion, rather than trying to simulate a Thunderbird how I did in NTGIL:

I finally broke down and bought NASCAR '14. As a veteran of NASCAR The Game: 2011, as well as NASCAR The Game: Inside Line, my expectations weren't exactly the highest. In its tenure at the helm of the NASCAR games, Eutechnyx has proven itself to be the John Wes Townley of video game developers -- brief moments of promise punctuating routine screw-ups.

As always, there are a plethora of glitches and lazy decisions that hurt the game, but the online community is vibrant enough to warrant picking up a copy on sale.

This blog will be dedicated to my various observations, paint schemes, setups, tips, and tricks.