Oh man you are so FINISHED! I freakin rock at Daytona (or at least I did back in the day).

Dinosaur Canyon is also my favourite Track. I wish I'd kept a record of my fastest times around there now, but I was properly offensively quick. And I mean Cole Trickle levels of quickness.

I'm probably very rusty now, but I know the neural pathways are still there just waiting to be awakened.

IN SHORT BRING IT LIZARD BOY

I've never considered myself "good" at Daytona, so this should be a great experience. I remember nailing the two Saturn versions, not quite the same though. When is this due?

No idea when it's due - but can't be far off.

I'm fast on Dinosaur Canyon, ridiculously, offensively, ludicrously FAST! XD

BRING IT! BRING ALL OF IT!

http://s4.postimage.org/5ap2u7cla/Initial_Yoshi.jpg

Sing it Tak my bredrin - SING THAT SHIT!

I'm telling you the better have put the proper "Gentlemen Start Your Engines" back in or I'm going to be pissed.

I aim to pwn using the d-pad.

Can't wait for this! I only hope that: a. it handles like the original Saturn version, and b. I haven't forgotten how to play.

Funny how Dinosaur Canyon seems to be everyone's favourite; unlike Madbury, I actually took the time to take pics of my records before putting the Saturn in storage.

AM2 themselves are handling this - I guarantee it'll handle exactly like the arcade version. They've done a stunning job on all the ports so far, Virtual On and Afterburner Climax are testament to that.

The Saturn version was the closest to the arcade version so far - but it's safe to say this one will be 100% bang on!

It should be Daytona Arcade HD perfect. My times were set on a Daytona upright at college. I never really got on with either Saturn version and the DC incarnation was overly twitchy to be playable.

Let's face facts, this has been a long time coming, but the wait is forgiveable as Daytona is still a staple in many arcades and presumably still takes reasonable money. Not bad for an 18 year old game

I'm hyped, but I want the steering wheel with the force feedback stuff - wrestling with it was a big part of the fun back in the day.

I'll race tho if manz are up for the challenge

The force feedback on Daytona was pure magic, if it's supported I'd be tempted to get a wheel in for this alone! Provided you can still perform the Gear-Jutsu required.

I was on the emulator all day yesterday (on a 360 pad with the gears mapped to face buttons) - this game still makes every other arcade racer look silly. No other game makes drifting so satisfying. The way every single corner is it's own unique challenge which you're constantly working to improve upon ensures this game never gets old.

I've still got Beginner and Advanced down, but I've totally forgotten Expert T_T. There was a Youtube video of some brer driving the course like Neo. Need to try and find that, he was taking that 1st major corner (the one with the video wall) in 4th gear!

This is the one! It's obscene!

That's sick, but I think you can do that if you cut through between the pillars. If I'm thinking of the right point in the Expert track.

Face button map for gears is essential as you have to do so much block shifting in Daytona, especially 4 down to 2. Like you say it never gets old.

I never did work out the best line on the expert track for the long sweeping right hander with the cones at the end. I think my preferred line is to rub the wall and take out the cones, but you have to get a gentle rub otherwise you lose too much speed, tricky stuff.

Hopefully they will keep in all the cool stuff like stopping the slot reels and the Jeffrey poses.

O_o Just had an insane thought the arcade game has an endurance dip setting where the race lengths are massive and you have to worry about tyre degredation. Man that mode could be fricking brilliant in 8 player, with variations in pit stop strategy. Stay out longer, but lose corner grip or take the time hit and pit for fresh tyres.... PLEASE PLEASE let this mode be in there.

Yeah there are 2 extra modes in the test menu (Grand Prix and Endurance).

We never once used these when we were open (which is ridiculous) but we used to have sessions on Endurance when the place was closed. If I remember right, Beginner had 80 laps in Endurance!

Yeah that's about right. Iirc it's 80 for beginner, 40 for advanced and 20 for expert, so basically 10 x the normal arcade distance.

The pits are completely pointless in arcade mode as even if you've completely trashed your car (and its handling) you can never justify the time lost in a pitstop. I remember as a n00b heading down the pits by mistake a couple of times, which is uber-frustrating.

I really hope endurance is in there it could be absolutely mental on Live.

That's totally sick. I was right about slotting through the pillars, but I don't think I've ever grazed that wall in 4th gear like he's doing. Neat trick, but the margin for error on the pillars is very slight and difficult to get consistently with 'enemy' cars compromising your line.

Apparently this has landed already!

Someone check their Xbox - and everyone needs to make damn sure to be available for online racing WIN!

Seems to be there:

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/DAYTONA-USA/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258410b1d

This is too mint! Cannot wait to get home!!! XD

I've been playing for just over an hour or so. Everything seems perfect from what I can see.

Add me in man -

I'll be on this every chance I get!

"Saur Dash UK"

\o/

I has a free evening

See you guys online later for some matchups... Don't expect instant win from me, but it will all come back eventually...

Great time for BT to have screwed my phone line up again...

Ah well, I'll have to see how android tethering fares.

Son of a.... I have a corporate schmoozing fest tonight, typical. I'll proxy purchase it so I don't forget about it (as if). I think I need more space credits anyways.

I think I already have everyone on my f.list here. I really hope the lag isn't that bad. Anyway, I'm 7-8hrs ahead of you lot so this can be a weekend only thing. Should we try to arrange a session for this weekend?

Currently hooked on thrashing the oval into perfection. I was driving the mrs insane with the repeated attempts last night.

I'm currently at 2'23"39, IIRC. I reckon I can take another 4 secs off that tonight.

...any good...?

Yes it's the best thing EVAR.

This is as far as I can tell a totally faithful arcade port with the HD refresh that was applied to the updated arcade cab.

Gentlemen start your engines is BACK too

Also the stupid mini challenge mode that they put into these games now isn't totally redundant as it basically trains you on certain key corners

Time trialing is there, 8 player online is in. Leaderboards, Karaoke mode, original and arranged BGM. Endurance is in with and without tyre deg. Mirror mode

The only slight quibble I have is there doesn't appear to be an option to put tyre wear on in multiplayer, which is a shame as I was looking forward to some tactical endurance races. Nevermind.

LOL I was plugging away at Beginner last night too on Arcade. Best I could muster is 2nd place on Arcade difficulty, which is shit, because back in the day I would never lose that race. I'm keeping an eye on your times don't worry

Also friended up a guy called SILV3R TAIL who has the fastest time on Expert at the moment. He was matching Saur on Advanced too, so hopefully will get some more matchups with him once I get my mojo back.

Yeah, that sounds brilliant, completely brilliant. I'm getting Saturn style awe wafting through my consciousness.

It just feels like Sega circa Dreamcast era again. Like they still love games and love the people who play them. You know like when you get the end credits of an arcade game and it says "thank you for playing". Like the distant memories of young love, suddenly reignited unexpectedly.

Oh and it's DAYTONA. FUCK YES!

Agree with Saur's comments on Live yesterday. Where is the marketing for this? Most people will have played this game at some point. With a little awareness of it's existence I would imagine this would rake in a significant income. Sega's marketing is dreadful. Coinciding it with the release window of Forza 4 was also probably not the smartest strategic move ever conceived.

It's highly unlikely that anybody at Sega Europe or America have any idea of how much Daytona means to people and the sheer numbers of people who played the game in the 90s. If they actually told people that this game was being released, or even (shock) throw some marketing at it - it would have gone down an absolute storm.

This game totally shows up modern racing games as overblown tedium. But like After Burner Climax before it, the game just popped up unannounced then will likely fizzle out before the end of the week.

Loving it for online racing for the time being though. I badly need to learn Expert again as I've totally forgotten how to drive the course. There are some massively skilled players appearing in the lobbies too - that Silver Tail guy Madbury mentioned is a BEAST!

How was the lag compared to 3G?

Wasn't a problem for me at all, I did notice certain players jittering all over the place, but they were few and far between.

But I was so far ahead in the lead in just about every race I didn't realise pay them any attention! XD

It would appear the Dash does indeed have teh skillz on this one. GIT!

Lag was in generally totally fine. Cars seem a little jittery and those on slow connection were popping up all over the shop, but it's absolutely playable with 8 players on good connections.

I was with Guardian Heroes last week. I even bought the Saturn t-shirt (for my avatar).

Cacky says they got the original dev team back together for this. Similar to the VOOT port. What I want to know is what the heck are these guys working on when they're not porting decade+ old arcade games to 360?

From a creative perspective the whole horrible mess that is Sega should be taking a lead from the arcade side of the business, which appears to be the only part of Sega that turns out the goods time and time again. I'm not saying make only arcade games (financial suicide probably) but get the magic of those games into the home console output.

Some of the stuff in Too Spicy for example could be easily built into a completely unique lightgun shooter for the console market.

Anyone able to recommend a 360 wheel that would be suitable bearing in mind the block shifting requirements in Daytona...

Got 500 Euros buy the Fanatec, I think you get a gatet shifter and crazy ass pedals for that. Wonder if the game supports it.

Yeah, they hired back a bunch of AM2 and 3 dudes around the time of the VOOT XBLA port (which then fed into the Force port too). It's really interesting as I follow a lot of the team on twitter and they were all pretty much vibrating with joy trying to keep the Daytona port secret.

SEGA Japan have cottoned onto this though as, bar the Force port, these releases are making them good money (VOOT 5.66 was one of the best selling XBLA games for a good while). It will be interesting to see what they pick next, though there are rumours again of a new arcade VO game in development.

Really enjoyed playing this last night with Madbury. Still totally crap at the game though. I have fond memories playing this with Saur in SEGA World and him trying to teach me how to not be a total spacker (didn't work unfortunately). Good times.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/segaamerica/6280493706/

^^^

New Blue Sky Wallpaper GET!

Alright then - so how do you play Daytona?

Start with Beginner circuit, just like outrun2 Daytona requires a combination of grip and drift driving techniques. Beginner has a couple of corners where you need to grip and one corner (after the slot reels) that pretty much teaches you everything you need to know about drifting in the game. Management of speed is crucial at all times, but more so in a drift as drifting too fast for the corner will result in a horrible understeer and a crash.

If you read the advanced tips in the How to play section that will give you a pretty good grounding.

Fundamental technique is to rapidly block shift between a lower gear than you need to break the traction of the rear wheels and then rapidly shift back to the higher gear. So block shifting between 2 and 4 for example. On beginner you can try a variety of techniques. I was playing around with a 1 to 4 shift on the final corner last night (no brakes) and a braking in with a 2 to 4 shift (seems faster).

Fundamentally you need to get the car turned in much earlier and faster than you think is possible, clip the apex and then power out of the drift (gently) at corner exit.

On beginner if you find yourself understeering into the wall on the final corner try initiating the drift much earlier. you'll notice that you're able to carry 180+mph through the turn and wind up somewhere near the wall (hopefully heading in the right direction) with the earlier turn in. Then iterate from that point so you're turning in a bit later each time, but maintaining the line and exit speed.

the handling emphasises precise throttle control over braking (which is more on or off in Daytona).

One more thing, which I'd never noticed until Saur pointed it out (although it is in the advanced tips) is you can rocket start on Advanced and Expert by holding rpm between 6500 and 7000 foot on the brake and then release the brake precisely as the lights go green.

Oh and keep half an eye on the speedo so you're making a note of the speeds at which you're in or out of control. I'm used to playing in miles per hour, selectable from the options. Saur is clearly faster than me on Advanced by some margin, so he might be able to give you better pointers. I can see where I'm losing out to him though and there's a couple of places where his line is not quite as good as mine

Those corners on Advanced are a science and you can always push for more speed through them. There are 4 corners in Advanced which I have a very specific method for taking them without losing much speed. I have no idea if this is the "right" way of doing this, but it's always been fast for me.

The first is a medium right after the tunnel. The key here is the entry, make sure you're cutting deep into the corner from way outside - then shift to 2 then 4 in rapid sucession. You're aiming to keep the speed above 300KM/H here. The entry angle has to be bang on, this corner is what makes or breaks a race for me as it's so ready to plough straight into the wall. You want to be turning through the corner as much as possible on entry, you only shift the car's angle ever so slightly with the gear change - just enough to keep off the grass.

The next medium right you take by cutting in deep from the outside then shifting 2 to throw the back end round, then 3, 4 as you exit. The car will drift when you shift to 2nd, but try not to let the speed drop below 280KM/H. You won't be able to take the this corner using this method unless you enter around 300K. Once you get the hang of it you can shift 2, 4 to hold on to a little more speed. If you're slower on entry (anywhere below 260KM/H), shift to 1, then 3, 4 throw the car round instead.

The next is a left hairpin. You want to cut in really deep from the outside, into the ditch while shifting to 1 to initiate a drift - then 3, 4 as you exit. You should be able to take this corner without dropping below 270KM/H once you nail it.

Final one is a sweeping medium right. I come in from the outside and sharply steer in with a shift to 2 while braking to swing round, then shift straight to 3. The magic spot to release brake for me is around 288KM/H, and I'm accelerating during the drift while in 3rd - ready to shift to 4 on exit.

- and Mads, as soon as I clock you taking a better line I'm nicking it! XD

SURVIVAL MODE

People need to get on this ASAP. I swear it's pure crack, I'm sat here at work today with a numb fore finger in my right hand because of it.

Anyone got any strats for 777 Speedway? I'm up to 21,000+ but I'm wondering how some people are getting up to 100,000+! My initial techniques after one night are to get all the cones onto the track during the first and second laps in order to get the +1 sec extensions each time I happen to subsequently clip one. Once my tires start to fade during the 11th lap I'm in trouble of wheel spins all the time. From what I can tell entering the pits to rectify that loses you too much time and scores a certain game over not long afterwards.

What if I play like a total lamer and skip out the power-sliding? If I simply ride the walls and play safely will my tires still wear down?

I notice I get +15secs checkpoint bonus sometimes for my lap (instead of the usual +8)... Doesn't happen all the time though regardless of perfect laps.

I'm not leaving this game until I'm in the top 50 of everything. I can see me playing it more now than ever before.

I'm really eager for 8player 80 laps endurance with tire wear on, and catch-up switched off.

This is great, I can't play this at all. I had it down on the Saturn, but I can't find it on this version. I was surprised the Advanced Tips have basically everything!

Not tried survival yet that sounds absolutely mint

Lightbulb moment this morning and a possible long forgotten strat for 777, based on the Extra Challenge mode (which is teaching you even if you don't realise it!). The cone run challenge suggests that you can cut down the pit lane every lap as a short-cut. I've not tried it yet, but I suspect it will work and have a feeling I used to do this in the distant past.... Could be way wrong though. Going to try it tonight

@Saur Your line through the 4 corners you talk about is way better than mine. Particularly the left hairpin, which I recall I used to try to grip that corner with throttle control not drift it, your meths for the other 3 are roughly the same as mine although I used to do something odd in the 2nd of the 4 that I've fallen back into doing now effectively doing something like a 2-4-3-4 or something equally lame. I need to get that sorted. However your line through the beginning part of the course in the lead up to the tunnel is a little 'lazy', probably because you know you can rinse those 4 corners. there's still time to be had in those long sweeping grip corners, by hugging the inside of the long right and then sweeping to the left (just avoiding grazing the wall) before entering the tunnel (again on the right side where you can hug the wall). In doing so you save a bit of distance and you can shave some tenths or hundreds off.

Yeah, it works. You have to be clinical on the approach though or else you either eat grass or end up in the pit.

I've played this more than Forza 4, which says a lot for me. It's pure perfection.

Survival Mode is the stuff of legends, I'm going to enjoy getting stuck into that. First 9 laps, my tires completely died on me and I couldn't figure out why. Doh. Pitting at the right time seems to be key too.

I haven't even seen Survival Mode yet T_T

If you guys hadn't pointed it out I would most likely never have seen it! I'm totally content playing one course. I'm getting faster on Advanced, that method I posted up has gone out of the window.

The first of the corners, I pretty much had down, quick a quick 2, 4 shift and you go round with minimal speed loss.

The second is where things have changed. I've been entering that corner completely and utterly wrong. Now I dive into the inner wall waaay early - and quickly shift 2, 4. I'm now taking this corner at over 300KM/H (was about 290KM/H before).

Hairpin remains the same, anywhere above 270KM/H is all good.

The final right hander is where the magic is happening. I've been swinging in from the outside and shifting 2 (plus brake), 3 then 4 on exit. But after watching the top replays I see it's ALL about starting from the inside, then inertia drifting into the corner with a 2, 4 shift. There are heads taking this corner at over 300KM/H! I've been content with 270-280 for years! XD