Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast Ps2 Vs Xbox
Twyla Plack
I recently got hold of a proper Component cable (ie not a cheapo fiver version with no shielding) for the OG Xbox and thought I'd give Outrun 2/C2C a spin on proper hardware because 2 runs like crap on the 360 and C2C is better but there are still a few small glitches that weren't present on the original hardware.
Got to say I was stunned at how much better the game looked via 360, it looks like they upped the internal resolution in comparison to the original hardware as the image quality in terms of assets looked so much better as the OG looked quite jagged in comparison. On the other hand both titles just ran a heck of a lot smoother with a solid 60FPS which was buttery but the image quality thing was so huge that I'm surprised no one else has ever commented on it.
OG Xbox is modded to output HD signal and I messed around with the settings to try 480p/720p/1080i and still the 360 looked way better.
Any ideas why? Interested to hear from anyone who has the necessary bits and bobs to see how their experience was because the last time I used the proper hardware was on an old school CRT and even when switching between both inputs running the same game on my 1080p TV now the leap is just so huge on the 360 that its like a half way remaster.
Yeah the Xbox 360 version does look way better due to the HDMI and 1080p support, that said there are quite a few different releases of Outrun 2 on Xbox and PS2, not least because AM2 did some of the Japanese ports and Sumo Digital did the western versions. Most of the earlier version don't have proper 16:9, looking at Outrun 2006 on Xbox the games supports widescreen, but the hud elements don't giving it a strange miss match.
It really is amazing how different/much better it looks on the 360. Before getting the OG Xbox out I was in rose tinted mode with memories of how it used to look on the CRT and felt the 360 version was a bit naff in comparison but when switching between the two its evident that the BC version is more than just upscaled as its definitely got some kind of anti alias filter along with a higher internal resolution as the assets looks so much better.
Side by side C2C is far closer in terms of overall quality of emulation even though I used to think O2 was the better game but now that has changed as well because aside from its huge frame dips via BC C2C just tweaks something already excellent into sheer awesomeness.
Has anyone got a modded 360 with the hacked/updated BC game pack installed? If so does that improve the framerate or are there any settings/config files one can tinker with to optimize it as its easily the most playable title ever.
Video out on the OG xbox is pure shit no matter the connection. I've tried everything going. It has a system level smoothing filter, that's why everything's so damn dark and blurry you can only bypass it with hacks. I can't find the link now but was looking into it last year.
The easiest way to play this as God himself intended is to get the PC version. It supports Xbox pads out of the box, you can force high resolutions using supersampling, and is so low demand you can run it on just about any computer imaginable. There are a couple of mods to make it more like the arcade experience (if you can be arsed) and don't forget to enable bloom
That explains why I never liked the PC version, bloom lighting! The lighting was subtly tweaked in C2C as well along with a slightly less vivid feel which is why O2 used to be my first choice all round. For some reason though I always, always, always found the OG Xbox version to be the closest in vibe to the arcade one with its chunky aesthetic which the PC one didn't have as (even without the lighting) it all felt a bit too clean at such a high resolution compared to the arcade version.
Ah, that makes a lot of sense because I did wonder why the DC looked so pin sharp in comparison when both used to be great on CRT. You learn something new! That link would be interesting to read as would any info on what MS actually did on their 360 remasters from a technical perspective because its obviously been improved as mentioned.
Yeah the GC used to look stunning via that "2 cables for the price of 4, now sliced into 1" lead that you needed for progressive but it made F Zero GX look so ace. The muddiness was why I avoided the PS2 (along with the bucketfulls of fog so many titles had on there) as it was worse than the OG Xbox and made so many titles look washed out which after the super vibrant DC was really quite meh.
The DC really was something else, way ahead of its time in so many respects. If anything I wish Sega would just optimize Reicast and create their own official DC portable with a digital download model and wireless multiplay complete with the old catalogue (whatever they could license) as the games still hold up in terms of visuals and play plus so many people don't even know what it is these days.
In all honesty, this is why emulation is so, so important. There's a tiny window in which publishers will deem old consoles viable for a mini-resurrection, which is basically when the original audience reaches middle age and hits peak mid-life crisis
Outside of this, no-one except you, me and the fencepost give a monkey's about proper, licenced re-releases. Well, that's a slight exaggeration: we're seeing a bit of a generalised boom in nostalgia right now but, I'd wager it's down to gaming becoming mainstream, and the people who put hand-in-trou to make them successful back in the nineties getting all misty-eyed for their youth.
There are back catalogues out there on stores, and remakes of mega hits, but the overwhelming majority of a system's titles can and will be lost to history without regular people curating them. I tend to back the devs of emulators with cold, hard cash these days to show my appreciation.
I bought Outrun 2 on more platforms than pretty much any other game - 2 on Xbox; 2006 on PC, PSP, PS2; Online Arcade. I still have Online Arcade on my 360's hard drive, and I still have the PC game (i.e the original physical disc I bought from Virgin Megastores, back when Virgin Megastores was a thing.)
2006 is a nightmare to get running on modern PCs, but I did have a look earlier this year - you need all manner of weird fan-patches and stuff... and even then there were issues recognising my controllers, but it can kind of be done. I feel like the PC version has the sharpest and smoothest experience but I'm equally happy playing on 360.
Yeah I really appreciate the 360 version of C2C now after the side by side, its nigh on the definitive version even though Online Arcade looked the best as its was true HD but a very barebones version of the game. PSP one was really impressive to be able to pocket the arcade experience.
Its crazy these games will likely never be remastered or BC'd on newer platforms due to the various licenses (Shell, AMD, Ferrari etc..) at play even though all Sega have to do is edit the graphics and get it out there. I'd buy it again on a current/nexgen platform in an instant as its got an endless amount of replayability.
This isn't entirely right, we did all of the versions released on console, Japanese ones included. Japanese releases were typically later than the Western ones which gave a little more time to optimise, plus we had various requests from SEGA and AM2 on those for their domestic market, but we still did the legwork.
I was always a bit disappointed with the 360 BC for C2C. It did something weird with the anti-aliasing of textures so for example the lines on the road weren't quite right, effectively it was forcing some kind of tri-linear filtering. Framerate is a little better, but at the expense of detail.
Trust me, we do still try to look at an update on modern consoles as well as getting it on the Xbox One BC (I tried again during Crackdown3 as I had a hot line into MS, without success sadly). License is generally the sticking point though, it'd be easy enough to remove the Shell and AMD adverts, but the Ferrari's, not so easy
I know I'm probably in a minority but I'd be equally happy to buy Nondescript Red Car Racing Game if it had a different red car but the feel of OR2 was intact Kind of like how Sega Racing Classic is just Daytona but they couldn't use the Daytona name. (Okay, not quite like that )
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