Do you use rewind feature in car games?.

Yeah it's a pretty awesome feature if I do say so myself. I mean I don't see anything wrong with it in singleplayer.

Say you race a track 99.9% perfect and you are in the lead, but then the last corner you turn you overjudged it and you crash into the side, seeing every car pass you... At that point it's great you have a rewind function.

I mean what's the alternative ? Either end up in last position or do the whole track all over again.

I only rewind when the crowd says bo selecta!

@R4gn4r0k: It's a really good way to allow the player to practice a particular turn rather than having to restart the entire race from scratch just to perfect one segment.

It's kinda a bit cheating, but on the other hand: if you have to keep restarting a race you'll always perfect the first segments or so and screw up on the later segments.

It's an inherent problem with racing games and I think the rewind function helps that a bit. A game can always limit your amount of rewinds so you don't just cheat your way through a race :)

I mostly forget about the option to do so but when I do remember and do it, I can't help but feel I'm cheating. :P

lol

now you made me look up that song xD

Used to, now I'm trying to learn how to play games like Forza with the training wheels off. I have no intention of buying a racing wheel, but I want to at least get competent enough at them on a pad.

@R4gn4r0k: Are there any repercussions for it? So if you use it are you docked any marks in an overall ranking?

It is cheating a bit but I think that's okay if it's not used in a competitive context like in multi-player.

Not in any of the games I played.

I've seen the rewind option pop up in games like Codemasters racing games (GRID) and the Forza Horizon series

@R4gn4r0k: I like the theory behind it. Reminds me of checkpoints in a way.

Races can be long and having to redo an entire track just to perfect one turn makes it difficult to actually practice said turn. Maybe it only makes sense in a training context but I still like the idea of it. :)

That complaint shows a bit of a lack of appreciation for the finer point of motor sports. Old racing games probably needed that mechanic more, because when you lost in that one turn in career mode, yeah you had to redo the race.

But modern career modes in games like Forza or what it was in PGR, are more like what career modes are in sports games. Yeah you have tons of incentives to win (obviously), but it's not this grand punishment of redoing everything when you lose, and getting effectively no progress. It's more like you accept the loss and move on to the next track. It actually makes endurance racing this richly rewarding thing, where you were on top of your game for the long haul, and yeah that thread that one missed turn in the closing moments can make it all go away is just as important to make that rewarding. The fact that you can blow it, at the snap of a finger.

It was honestly some of my favorite memories of Gran Turismo 3 or those old Nascar Thunder games on PS2, playing endurance races with a buddy. Those games had proper practice modes (although I thought so did Forza, in fact don't most racing games), for you to fine tune the car, and the car's handling characteristics would change over the course of a run. It was satisfying to race back n forth....and then royally **** up in the closing laps was soul crushing, but it makes the next win that much more satisfying.

Don't get me wrong the rewind mechanic is great, as a training wheel mechanic to get yourself out of any difficulty, if you want to just drive, get some wins, and achievos or whatever. But the richer game is definitely going to be learning how to play a game like this with all that stuff off. I'll probably make a go at that in Forza 7, since this time it should be on PC.

@jg4xchamp: Less of a lack of appreciation and more a lack of knowledge, Champ. :P

I haven't played a racing sim since GT3. I'm more thinking of this mechanic in theory rather than in actual implementation. I agree though, makes more sense in a training context. If I wanted to specifically practice a turn, I'd go ghost mode in training and rewind to the turn until I feel I've mastered it. It saves you stopping and reversing but also potentially losing the time you have against your ghost data.

In career mode, that's when you're putting that practice to the test.

Only when I'm trying to displace IP_Daily from the leaderboards.

Yes. Go crazy. I personally love the feature. I think it first showed up in GRID (correct me if im wrong, because I'd love to know the genius that thought of this).

Some games usually grade a score on top of the time and amount of assists you have enabled, or provide a finite amount of rewinds that you have access too. It's nice as a 'gamey' resource to manage your better sectors for a good player and does well to alleviate ruining a race on simple errors for less skilled players.

I have rewinds on if the game has them, even as someone that plays with manual transmission, as I enjoy the added feel, activeness and skill floor it offers and I also have anti-lock breaks and traction control off as I love the range in precise control that the combination demands. Having to master those and perfect it is so satisfying with rewinds, as it allows you to divide something as minor as a corner into a tighter and more focused encounter. An encoutner that you want to perfect, where it be you're contextually being smooth with your tyres or pushing for time, as opposed to just being weighed down by the duration of the session and passing it by due to some risk of failure.

I get that rewinds can somewhat dilute the tension and pressure of race, but I think the pro's outweigh that con.

Unfortunately I sometimes do, depends on my mood and it's not something I'm too proud of but I've played so much Forza over the years that over time it really has become just a matter of enjoying the game for me, so if I feel like I messed up on a corner because of a little side distraction, I don't feel bad about using the rewind feature because I just don't feel like restarting the course, sometimes my time is limited too. Of course I cannot use it online so when I play competitively I focus a lot and it feels more exciting as a result, and that is another thing is that if you use it too much you remove that excitement somewhat.

You know when you are going down a stretch over 200 mph weaving in and out of traffic, it's thrilling because of the fear of crashing at any moment, but if in the back of your mind you have that safety net of "oh I will just do a rewind if I crash", it removes some of that excitement, and that is one thing I am careful of not doing too much.

I think the key is not to rely on the feature too much, you have to learn the basics well and for example in Forza you will usually get some kind of penalty to your lap time if you use it(exclamation mark near your lap time), and that will bring your leaderboard position down a lot. So at the end of the day it can be a useful tool to help alleviate some of the frustrations of crashing into a wall near the end of a course, etc. but just be wary of not relying on it too much because mistakes is part of the game and learning process... I know a lot of people do not even touch it, it will also add penalty to your credit winnings.....so it's a matter of preference overall, if it helps you enjoy the game why not, but just be wary of the flip side and try playing without it sometimes, see what you prefer.

Absolutely not, NO. I hate the rewind feature in any game that uses it, you don't get to rewind real life.

If you make a mess of things then you learn to drive better next time. Rewind is for those that are too lazy to learn how to drive correctly so they use a crutch, it annoys the hell out of me.

Crashes are a part of racing, you're not going to win or even finish every race.

If I were in charge no racing games would have it, learn to drive or don't, it's your choice.

I use it a lot in Forza Horizon 3. Nice feature since i dont have to go back and re-do the race especially when ive completed a hard challenge. Another penalty is any skill chain points are reset. FYI, you can't rewind in multiplayer, only during single player in FH3.

XD I'd like you to make a youtube series in which you play games and at unexpected moments shout "You can't do that in real life! In real life you'd be gone!"

I get your point tho. It taketh something away. Or rather, it creates a new type of racing game that is not so much about capturing the experience of an actual race but gives us a more relaxing, comfortable take on racing. It's sunny outside. Let's grab a soda, lean back and race a little. I never tried it but it sounds like Bob Ross Racing to me. Where we don't crash, we just make happy little accidents.

Um, it's optional. So no need to not have it. Nobody is forcing you to use it. And those that use it, are nixed from the leader-boards. It's also not available to use in online racing, obviously.

exactly. I don't like it in general, and try to avoid the siren call to abuse it, but it's a good way to actually get better at the game. And if you're playing SP... there aren't many reasons not to use it for at least that purpose

Oh yeah I definitely use it, well most times at least, it depends on the situation. I love the feature and happy when it's implemented. The beauty of it is that it's entirely optional so those that don't want to use it don't have to. Features like this allow more people to enjoy games.

It takes away from realism because you can't do that in real life? Does that mean Call of Duty should switch to one shot and your dead campaign, requiring you to start the campaign over because you can't take 5000 bullet hits in real life?

Next thing you know they will take the monsters out of Pac Man because you can't eat Monsters in real life.

The only punishement is really if you do a really long track, and you just screw up at the end. Because you misjudged the corner or your speed or whatever.

It's not really fair that way that one screw up, one tiny failure costs you the entire championship.

Ok, perhaps it's fair in real life, but this is still a video game we are talking about. Winning is not the most important thing for sure, but a game punishing you that hard for such a small error, is a bit overdoing it.

Like I said: it's kind of inherent to racing games as a whole, but the rewind mechanic can work if it's not overdone :)

I have kids...a cat...a wife...a business. You'd better believe I don't get a chance to game uninterrupted very often. So...yes...I use the rewind feature when time calls for it.

I don't use it as a crutch though...if I take a bad corner, I take a bad corner. But if I'm mid corner and my cat jumps on me...yeah, I'll rewind if I wreck.

It's a totally fair punishment, that's the game. Last laps, hit your marks. In modern games, the career doesn't make you replay the race or whole circuit if you failed. You just move on to next season or circuit or whatever. It would be no different than failing to win the Superbowl or NBA title in your first season in career, only to make a run at it again the next season.

What's unfair and unsatisfying about it? Because a championship is a series of races, so you had multiple chances to build enough of a lead going into the final race, in theory you could have made your points in other races. And in a racing game, yes winning is the most important thing because the format is inherently competitive, that's what a game is, but yes if you are simulating the effects of a race, to a game, yeah you bring in all the stuff that makes the act of racing satisfying. And part of it, is the danger that you can always just blow it. That's what would be thrilling about trying to carry an absurd amount of speed into the final corners while leading a race. That constant feeling that you've walked a tight rope and consistently nailed it.

I didn't say the drop the mechanic, I obviously use it, but the mechanic is exactly what it is, it's an easy mode, a get out of jail free card. If you don't want to play the game for a richer racing experience it's fine, but there is absolutely a value in the player being punished for missing that final corner with the race on the line. Nothing about it is unfair. In fact it's exactly that aspect that makes multiplayer so engaging in these games.

I wish every game had a rewind button.

Usually, in games, when I see an easy way, I almost certainly take it.

But racing games are few exceptions.

not really a fan. im not against the feature for those who do want to use it but i dont use it.

i remember trying it in grid and using it to clean up some mistakes and it made any victory feel very hollow. if you mess up on the last corner of the last lap and lose a lot of places well....thats motorsport. if you need to practice then use time trial.

but its an optional feature so its not a huge deal if its in the game.

Since it was introduced in Forza 3, I've used it religiously. There is no reason to spend over an hour running a perfect race, to spin out on the last corner before the finish and get 2nd or 3rd place. It's a waste of time to do it all over again. I'm not a perfectionist, nor highly competitive, so it doesn't matter to me.

If I want leaderboard times, I don't use it. You also get a financial reward bonus for not using it IIRC.

Yeah pretty much all the time.

Yeah, because I'm a filthy casual. :P

Seriously, if I'm in a 10 lap race and screw up near the end, I'd be annoyed to have to start over.

Like him in that bike race. I cant remember what race it was but saw it this morning on the news and I was still half a sleep. Any way the leader started celebrating and waving his hands passing finish line thinking he won the race when there was another lap to go and him finding all other bikers riding past him. In the end I think he finished 28th. I bet he wanted the rewind function then. :P

I appreciate the feature and only use it if I need to. It actually allows me to play more of forza horizon 3 since I don't have to keep restarting the race if I screw up. Some of us have busy schedules and the feature makes for more efficient gaming since not having to always restart allows me to race more events.

I don't think I have played a racing game with that feature, so no. If you mess up a turn badly try to make up for it if you can or do better on the next lap or restart the race.

Yup, as often as I need to. Racing games are far from my forte. I only play them with my RL mates, most of whom are anything but hardcore gamers.

If the game is eye candy I do. Have studied 3D, so have an extra appreciation for good graphics

No. I don't hate the feature, I just don't like using it.

No, but I don't dislike the feature.

Even if it costs me greatly, I still progress. Sure, I lost the race and possibly even championship. But I learnt from the experience.

I just quit when I know I made an awful mistake that I can't come back from.