Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled |OT| Start Your Engines!

[Alek]

Every time I play this game online I'm playing against people who are top 10 on the championship board. I just did a googling and found out that the game has SBMM, so that'd be why it happens so consistently I suppose.

Everyone I race with is like, holding USF for the entire lap. Doesn't matter how tough the track is, Oxide Station, Hot Air Skyway, Cortex Castle, they keep it. It makes it mad tough to compete.

I do win here and there, and I'd say my average position in these lobbies is perhaps 3rd or 4th, but often it's just very hard to keep up. The player that survives the first item box scramble can consistently win the race unchallenged. You get stuck in mid-pack and you can never make a pass because they're all packing missiles, as soon as you pass someone, they hit you with a missile or bomb.

My matchmaking times are also very long. Like 5 to 10 minutes sometimes.

 

[Phil32]

I managed to do two goals this past week: All N. Tropy times complete and Hard mode adventure mode complete. I'm not bothering with Oxide time trials, as those are too hard for me and I don't want my time to be devoted to that over more relaxing and fun Grand Prix events. As an aside, I think I'm in the top 5% Nitro point wise, so that makes me happy.

 

[Alek]

Is anyone up for teaming up and playing online? I find it a bit more fun if I have a party chat going and friends to play with. Sometimes there are nitro challenges for playing with friends too.

I assume acceleration is handy in multiplayer since it can be a clusterfuck with items

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Not really in my opinion. Once you've been hit by an item you've lost a shitload of time either way, and accel doesn't get you your sacred fire back, so I think the difference is quite negligible.

 

[RockmanBN]

Is anyone up for teaming up and playing online? I find it a bit more fun if I have a party chat going and friends to play with. Sometimes there are nitro challenges for playing with friends too.



Not really in my opinion. Once you've been hit by an item you've lost a shitload of time either way, and accel doesn't get you your sacred fire back, so I think the difference is quite negligible.

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I'm down If you're on PS4. Name is same is Era name

 

[Alek]

I'm down If you're on PS4. Name is same is Era name

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Sent you a request :)

 

[Ryuhza]

I do win here and there, and I'd say my average position in these lobbies is perhaps 3rd or 4th, but often it's just very hard to keep up. The player that survives the first item box scramble can consistently win the race unchallenged. You get stuck in mid-pack and you can never make a pass because they're all packing missiles, as soon as you pass someone, they hit you with a missile or bomb.

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Yeah, this is my issue with matchmaking. The design of items in this game doesn't mesh well with high level racing. And the original certainly wasn't tested for playability with 8 human players.

Really wish they'd implement cross-platform play and an itemless mode. And host migration, of course. Just a big update to the online feature set, dearly needed as it is the way to get coins.

 

[HibbySloth]

Really wish they'd implement cross-platform play and an itemless mode. And host migration, of course. Just a big update to the online feature set, dearly needed as it is the way to get coins.

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Two of my biggest wants. If cross-platform play never happens, then I would like to have my unlocks tied to some Activision account so I wouldn't have to start fresh on a new system. I currently play on Switch, but dread the idea of ever restarting on PS4, Xbox, or a PC version if it ever gets released.

 

[Alek]

Yeah, this is my issue with matchmaking. The design of items in this game doesn't mesh well with high level racing. And the original certainly wasn't tested for playability with 8 human players.

Really wish they'd implement cross-platform play and an itemless mode. And host migration, of course. Just a big update to the online feature set, dearly needed as it is the way to get coins.

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I think rather than splitting the community it's more likely that we get a rebalancing of the item distribution in the future.

At the moment most tracks have a problem where if you lose fire, then you've lost the race, and the main reason you lose fire is that you're getting hit by missiles. So I think they should focus on

1) Reducing the amount of missiles/bombs that players have available to them (remove 3x missiles and bombs entirely and reduce the frequency of the items)
2) Increasing the means in which players can regain fire (Increase the frequency of the turbo pickup in mid-pack)

By doing so, they'd create a catchup mechanic that wasn't disruptive (the boosts) as it would give people who were screwed over and lost fire, a chance to recover.

At the moment it's just a nightmare to be honest. If you're in 6 place and you get 3 x missiles all you're going to do is ruin the race of 3 people in front of you, leaving first and second a clean break. That tends to happen early and then the race is over.

It doesn't help that many races are only 90 seconds long. They're over before you know it, so bad luck on first lap often leaves no chance to recover. I think they should give some of the tracks the 'baby park' treatment, wherein players get more total laps to compensate the short lap duration. I'd be happy to play 5 laps on tracks like Roos Tubes and Crash Cove.

 

[RockmanBN]

I think rather than splitting the community it's more likely that we get a rebalancing of the item distribution in the future.

At the moment most tracks have a problem where if you lose fire, then you've lost the race, and the main reason you lose fire is that you're getting hit by missiles. So I think they should focus on

1) Reducing the amount of missiles/bombs that players have available to them (remove 3x missiles and bombs entirely and reduce the frequency of the items)
2) Increasing the means in which players can regain fire (Increase the frequency of the turbo pickup in mid-pack)

By doing so, they'd create a catchup mechanic that wasn't disruptive (the boosts) as it would give people who were screwed over and lost fire, a chance to recover.

At the moment it's just a nightmare to be honest. If you're in 6 place and you get 3 x missiles all you're going to do is ruin the race of 3 people in front of you, leaving first and second a clean break. That tends to happen early and then the race is over.

It doesn't help that many races are only 90 seconds long. They're over before you know it, so bad luck on first lap often leaves no chance to recover. I think they should give some of the tracks the 'baby park' treatment, wherein players get more total laps to compensate the short lap duration. I'd be happy to play 5 laps on tracks like Roos Tubes and Crash Cove.

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That or items should not kill your fire but slow you down. Fire or reserves should be hurt by your own mistakes like bumping into walls.

 

[Qwark]

Just had a weird glitch on Electron Avenue. Took the shortcut jump over the 2 laser walls, but the game must've thought I went out of bounds because it told me I was going the wrong way after that. Kept going and the first lap didn't count at all, so I was pretty much a full lap behind everybody else. Dang, I was doing pretty well too.

 

[Cyber6x]

Just had a weird glitch on Electron Avenue. Took the shortcut jump over the 2 laser walls, but the game must've thought I went out of bounds because it told me I was going the wrong way after that. Kept going and the first lap didn't count at all, so I was pretty much a full lap behind everybody else. Dang, I was doing pretty well too.

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I had a similar thing happen to me online as well! Don't remember if it was Electron Avenue though

 

[Fuhgeddit]

I cannot do the gingerbread joyride shortcut to save me life.

 

[Jimnymebob]

I cannot do the gingerbread joyride shortcut to save me life.

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Which one?

 

[Fuhgeddit]

Which one?

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i guess both of them lol

 

[Qwark]

i guess both of them lol

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The first one I don't have any trouble with, I just drift boost immediately after that jump with the Wumpa crate, and just try to squeak under that slope and land on top of the gate. I hit it like 90% of the time.

The second one though, I can't hit it unless I have a turbo, and even then it's like 50%, that one's hard.

 

[selfReg]

i guess both of them lol

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they're somewhat tricky but ultimately I think you just need to have Blue Fire. For the first, I just get the angle to jump straight over the gate basically. For the second, I have more success when I'm powersliding into it, usually going to the right.

 

[Ryuhza]

I think rather than splitting the community it's more likely that we get a rebalancing of the item distribution in the future.

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That's why I mentioned that it should come with cross play and host migration, to mitigate that issue. I don't think changing item distribution is going to do much. Almost all of the items overwhelmingly benefit first place versus everybody else. Like you said, once one person takes the lead, the game is usually done thanks to items pushing the competition back. Items only function well in games with very little reserve usage. That's why itemless mode is the simplest solution short of restructuring/balancing items entirely, which I think should be saved for a sequel.

 

[ZeoVGM]

"Collect 20 Wumpa Fruits in a Single Race in Oxide Station"

"Complete Lost Cup"

But the Wumpa Fruit challenge literally only works in the Single Race mode and not when you play the track in the Lost Cup.

Guys. Guys.

 

[Alek]

That's why I mentioned that it should come with cross play and host migration, to mitigate that issue. I don't think changing item distribution is going to do much. Almost all of the items overwhelmingly benefit first place versus everybody else. Like you said, once one person takes the lead, the game is usually done thanks to items pushing the competition back. Items only function well in games with very little reserve usage. That's why itemless mode is the simplest solution short of restructuring/balancing items entirely, which I think should be saved for a sequel.

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Yeah that makes sense, cross play would certainly help, but I still think you'd just end up with one dead mode as people gravitate to the other. I also think that you're generally better off fixing something rather than removing it, so working on a balanced item set for regular play just makes more sense to me.

I agree that all of the mid pack items that players get essentially benefit the guy in first place, but I do think that the boosts could help address that. I think tweaking, iterating and seeing where you're at makes sense.

Because without items, I don't think kart racers are all that interesting. Traditional racing games have a lot of depth that comes from mechanics like collisions, slip streaming, and attacking / defending with racing lines, but CTR doesn't have any of those interactions (aside from squashing, which I think hurts the gameplay most of the time). So I think if you want that then you're better off playing time trials.

They should make time trials more interesting. I don't know why you can't race your nearest ghost. Am I missing something there? I don't think you can right? Only staff ghosts and your own?

 

[TheOGB]

I didn't know this existed until just now (and apparently it didn't exist until a day or two ago), but here's a page with a bunch of tips and guides for getting into speedrunning CTRNF. It also has many of the video guides explaining mechanics and tech like drifting, blue fire, and air braking from the community.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

I wish local multiplayer yielded more points and even rewarded the other players with points that go towards unlocking stuff of THEIR choosing (but stays unlocked for the main player) or something. Or everyone's points pool to encourage real players and not dummy opponents to use towards unlocks.

My wife has joined my 2 kids and I and she doesn't game. So playing 4 player split screen more than anything should feel more rewarding when we're trying to unlock new skins for everyone. I don't like telling the kids they have to watch me do some solo online races to gain more coins or GP xp.

 

[Papertoonz]

wow it got back up to million, that's impressive

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Hope I'm still in the top 5% (despite my paltry score lol).

So this being my first grand prix and it coming to an end, when do we start hearing from the devs? I did see that the circus event ended Dec. 8 and the Winter fest started the 12th and there was a trailer uploaded on the 10th. Is it reasonable to assume they've all been like this? End Sunday, trailer Tuesday, Grand Prix Thursday?

 

[Papertoonz]

Hope I'm still in the top 5% (despite my paltry score lol).

So this being my first grand prix and it coming to an end, when do we start hearing from the devs? I did see that the circus event ended Dec. 8 and the Winter fest started the 12th and there was a trailer uploaded on the 10th. Is it reasonable to assume they've all been like this? End Sunday, trailer Tuesday, Grand Prix Thursday?

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this one started a day earlier then the usual time, it usually went trailer/info on Wednesday and GP Friday but for some reason they changed it

there is also the fact that we should getting a new road map for the next 3 upcoming GPs this week as well which last time showed up on Tuesday

basically by Tuesday we should know what's going on

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

this one started a day earlier then the usual time, it usually went trailer/info on Wednesday and GP Friday but for some reason they changed it

there is also the fact that we should getting a new road map for the next 3 upcoming GPs this week as well which last time showed up on Tuesday

basically by Tuesday we should know what's going on

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Excellent, thank you. We're excited here (my kids and I).

We spent this morning watching the past GP trailers and data mine vids lol.

 

[Fuhgeddit]

This game is great. Really just love spending time playing it and buying items in the store.

 

[Arta]

Just over a year after I found out what CTR even was, it's one of my favorite games period. It also makes a great gift to buy for anyone just for the entertaining characters (if not for being able to just pick up and play).

I hope the next Crash game and CTR sequel push the envelope even further with design and content.

 

[selfReg]

absolutely love the fact that so many people are still playing this game. I finally finished the GP a few days ago, and yet I still find myself wanting to turn on the PS4 and do time trials and whatnot. CTR2 man, give it to me!

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

If anything, this game is so jam-packed with personality that it's making me want a Crash series and/or a game that lets me play as or interact with all or most of these characters. Maybe an updated Crash Bash/party game with new ideas. Love this world and I've felt this way when I first played the remake Trilogy.

I only delayed getting CTR until the holidays because I've heard it was tough and I wasn't in the mood for a challenge at the time or pre-occupied with something else. But I'm enjoying my time, having just completed the GP the other night with 3 days left. Knowing it's doable when I started late has me excited for the next one.

I posted those masks I made for my kids... my latest project was turning a Polar mystery mini funko figure into Pura for my 4 year old who loves that character haha. It's a bit rushed but he loves it.

 

[Ryuhza]

Final score locked in

Bring on the next

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Based on some videos and articles I've read, looks like drive style wasn't an option at launch? Hiw was the reception to that and the ability to switch when it came?

I ask because when I looked up how to unlock Penta, it was said he was the best speed character for time trials because of his smaller size. And then a vid comparing it to MK8 and the mention of not being able to select who you want without worrying about drive style.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Based on some videos and articles I've read, looks like drive style wasn't an option at launch? Hiw was the reception to that and the ability to switch when it came?

I ask because when I looked up how to unlock Penta, it was said he was the best speed character for time trials because of his smaller size. And then a vid comparing it to MK8 and the mention of not being able to select who you want without worrying about drive style.

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People were defintely excited about it, and it helped increase the variety of characters online.

I don't really remember Penta being used too much on time trials, defintely not the go to he was on PAL/Japan CTR. I'd say Dingodile, Big Norm, and Ami were the go to speed characters.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

People were defintely excited about it, and it helped increase the variety of characters online.

I don't really remember Penta being used too much on time trials, defintely not the go to he was on PAL/Japan CTR. I'd say Dingodile, Big Norm, and Ami were the go to speed characters.

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I'm glad for the change seems like a no-brainer or maybe should have been tied to Kart style if they really wanted to limit it.

If a Jet Moto remake ever comes (please), I'd like a similar approach. Or the ability to select which size bike you want.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

I like that the Engine Swap feature exists outside kart customization as well. So we don't feel forced to play with a certain set because it's better than others.

 

[Unicorn]

I'm glad for the change seems like a no-brainer or maybe should have been tied to Kart style if they really wanted to limit it.

If a Jet Moto remake ever comes (please), I'd like a similar approach. Or the ability to select which size bike you want.

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oh god, Jet Moto needs a revival so bad!

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

oh god, Jet Moto needs a revival so bad!

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It's something I always think about. I imagine what the water segments of Hot Shot (among others) could look like with every generation that comes and goes.

And dual analog controls.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Oh man, F these N Tropy times. Forcing to drive one way while initially offering multiple driving styles that mean nothing when it comes to the approach you're supposed to take SUCKS from a design standpoint. Yeah MAYBE I'll get it if I keep trying over and over but this shit isn't acceptable for my kids to expect to do and have fun and be rewarded with the unlocks. I don't care if there's some kind of purist thing going on here, let a medal or something show your skills. Not unlocks.

 

[Unicorn]

Oh man, F these N Tropy times. Forcing to drive one way while initially offering multiple driving styles that mean nothing when it comes to the approach you're supposed to take SUCKS from a design standpoint. Yeah MAYBE I'll get it if I keep trying over and over but this shit isn't acceptable for my kids to expect to do and have fun and be rewarded with the unlocks. I don't care if there's some kind of purist thing going on here, let a medal or something show your skills. Not unlocks.

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Haha this reminded me of Jet Set Radio. Impossible to get certain Jet ranking without just playing Gum because characters with lower spray can capacity inherently earn more points.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

My boyfriend actually managed to beat all the Oxide Times using the Turning Engine.. while Speed is certainly a more viable way to do the ghost times, is not impossible to beat with other classes

 

[selfReg]

Oh man, F these N Tropy times. Forcing to drive one way while initially offering multiple driving styles that mean nothing when it comes to the approach you're supposed to take SUCKS from a design standpoint. Yeah MAYBE I'll get it if I keep trying over and over but this shit isn't acceptable for my kids to expect to do and have fun and be rewarded with the unlocks. I don't care if there's some kind of purist thing going on here, let a medal or something show your skills. Not unlocks.

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I mean ultimately we're talking about one character and one skin for that character. I wouldn't sweat it right now. It's kind of a bummer for beginners I guess but I feel like having something cool to unlock is nice motivation. And yeah I beat all the Oxide ghosts with Accel (Coco).

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

I mean ultimately we're talking about one character and one skin for that character. I wouldn't sweat it right now. It's kind of a bummer for beginners I guess but I feel like having something cool to unlock is nice motivation. And yeah I beat all the Oxide ghosts with Accel (Coco).

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I'm struggling to maintain drift on Crash Cove. It just isn't fun constantly countersteering on straight aways and I hate that this is a thing to do officially rather than being what separates pros and non-pros online.

I'm just looking for more to do outside of adventure and it'd be nice if just good driving lines, drifts and shortcuts did the trick. Not sideways wheelies back and forth all lap.

 

[Unicorn]

I'm struggling to maintain drift on Crash Cove. It just isn't fun constantly countersteering on straight aways and I hate that this is a thing to do officially rather than being what separates pros and non-pros online.

I'm just looking for more to do outside of adventure and it'd be nice if just good driving lines, drifts and shortcuts did the trick. Not sideways wheelies back and forth all lap.

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I'd say some of the newer tracks added are better about being more focused on lines. Those early stages are so open, probably to allow for crazy snaking. Mario Kart DS people must be in heaven though.

 

[selfReg]

I'm struggling to maintain drift on Crash Cove. It just isn't fun constantly countersteering on straight aways and I hate that this is a thing to do officially rather than being what separates pros and non-pros online.

I'm just looking for more to do outside of adventure and it'd be nice if just good driving lines, drifts and shortcuts did the trick. Not sideways wheelies back and forth all lap.

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I still think for the most part playing at the medium level is enough to get a lot out of the game. Again I sort of view the time trial ghosts like a bunch of side quests, and playing on hard mode is purely for the challenge.

I will say though I would be interested to see how the CTR engine evolves if a sequel comes to fruition. I think it would be cool if the boost and reserve system stays, but with reserves lasting longer in general so the track designs can be less wide open and fast moving straightaways can be more of a thing. As the ring rallies have shown, it is exhilarating to be driving super fast without having to boost.

 

[Phil32]

I'd say some of the newer tracks added are better about being more focused on lines. Those early stages are so open, probably to allow for crazy snaking. Mario Kart DS people must be in heaven though.

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At least a player doesn't have to jostle their thumb on the D-pad to perform turbos while drifting in CTR like they did in Mario Kart DS, I guess. Ha

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

I still think for the most part playing at the medium level is enough to get a lot out of the game. Again I sort of view the time trial ghosts like a bunch of side quests, and playing on hard mode is purely for the challenge.

I will say though I would be interested to see how the CTR engine evolves if a sequel comes to fruition. I think it would be cool if the boost and reserve system stays, but with reserves lasting longer in general so the track designs can be less wide open and fast moving straightaways can be more of a thing. As the ring rallies have shown, it is exhilarating to be driving super fast without having to boost.

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Yes! I do like the ring rally speed boosts.

My initial post was just my crankiness and sore thumbs after being unable to to do it. I'll probably not try often enough to get it and that bums me out. Hopefully the next grand prix holds my interest and the family doesn't tire of playing. If they do, game dies for me.

I still wish coins were more abundant in local multi. Not sure why being on their servers, raising their bills(?) nets more points but oh well.

 

[Unicorn]

At least a player doesn't have to jostle their thumb on the D-pad to perform turbos while drifting in CTR like they did in Mario Kart DS, I guess. Ha

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i still do a lot of wiggling - more to fine tune turning trajectory, but a lot of it also feels remnant from nearly 2 decades of mario karts that had the system.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

Tomorrow we most likely will get details on the next Grand Prix and the roadmap for two following months

 

[Mirage]

Thought this was interesting and I've never had ps+ this year so I never played online.

 

[selfReg]

Thought this was interesting and I've never had ps+ this year so I never played online.

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pretty much my story as well. For a game as simple as it is, few other games have engaged me like CTR lol.

 

[Mirage]

pretty much my story as well. For a game as simple as it is, few other games have engaged me like CTR lol.

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It's a very rewarding game for the effort you put in to it.