N'Gai Croal
|
Dec 9, 2008 03:30 AM
Midnight Club Los Angeles, developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games
UPDATE AND CLARIFICATION: Rockstar Games has just
forwarded us a copy of the email blast they sent out earlier today
about the patch being issued simultaneously for Playstation 3 and Xbox
360. Here's what the email said:
A title update is currently available for both the Xbox 360 and
PLAYSTATION 3 versions of Midnight Club: Los Angeles. The Xbox 360
update adds support for additional leaderboards for tournaments on the
Rockstar Games Social Club, broader multiplayer match searching, and
upgraded streaming and performance. The update also brings improved AI
balance to adjust dynamically to user skill level.
Separately, the folks at Rockstar wanted to clarify that players
were never required to play red-level races in the pre-patched version
of the game. We regret the confusion.
***
Despite our use of the word "patch," in the headline,
let it be known that the fine gentlemen and ladies at Rockstar Games
prefer to say "update." We learned this yesterday when we stopped by
Rockstar's Manhattan offices to chat with Rockstar vice president of
development Jeronimo Barrera about the company's recently released
racing title Midnight Club Los Angeles. Apparently, inexperienced
gamers were struggling to progress through the game, and just as Rockstar is doing for PC gamers
who've complained of problems with Grand Theft Auto IV, console owners
of Midnight Club Los Angeles will have their troubles wiped away with a
patch, er update that goes up today for Xbox 360 owners and at an as
yet unspecified time for PS3 users.
"Obviously, we
like to listen to our fans," says Barrera. "We've done a bit of tuning on the
dynamic race structure so that early on, it will be easier for novice
players to get to the later races." Asked how they achieved this,
Barrera says they wanted to keep it feeling natural, so they focused on
how and how often the computer-controlled cars screw up on turns and
intersections rather than on the rubber-band approach to A.I. that typifies many racing games. The tweaks, we're told, cover roughly the first third of the game.
We
remarked to Barrera that every game teaches the player how it should be
played from nearly beginning to end. So how would this instructional
process be affected by the update?To read the rest of our post on Midnight Club Los Angeles, click on the link below.
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