Motor City Online
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Motor City Online
- Platform: IBM PC Compatible
- Release Date: October 31, 2001
- Genre: Racing
- Style: Mission-Based Racing
- Similar Games: Need for Speed Series
Game Description
Motor City Online is the first entry into a genre that is many a racing fan's dream come true: a massively-multiplayer-online racing game. EA has developed this title, creating a consistent, ever-present world where wheels speak louder than words, and the path to glory is lined with oil-stained pavement and the smell of burning rubber. In Motor City Online, fans will enter a world based in the drag-racing culture of the 1950's, with some modern anachronisms tossed in to boot.Motor City Online gives players the ability to jump online and race against other people around the globe by beginning on the bottom rung of the racing ladder. Only by proving themselves on the racetrack and saving their hard-earned pennies will they get to drive the better rides the game has to offer. Players begin with the option to choose from a host of different characters to play, like the buff greaser, the racing square, or go-go girl. Next they choose their starting car from three options (the '57 Bel-Air, Fairlane, or Ranchero). Then it's off to the tracks to try and talk their way into the different races available.
There are four different race types Motor City Online has under its hood: Street, Circuit, Time Trials, and Drag Races, which can be raced three different ways. Players can choose the Open race, where all racers wield their own cars and the purses are larger; the Sponsored races, where players must choose from a more even set of cars for the action; or Club Races, where the various teams in MCO race against each other in their own souped-up speed machines.
As they progress, players earn money enabling them to modify their cars or buy completely new ones, garner experience points that open up new circuits and new cars to them, and be recruited into one of Motor City Online's racing clubs for a little group rivalry. But even with thousands of players online at once, only one can be declared the fastest. So you'd better put the pedal to the metal -- you've got a long road ahead of you.
~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
Motor City Online has all the chaos one might expect from an online racing game, but there's a method to the madness that keeps it from being a complete wash-out and makes it an intriguing, though frustrating, experience. A host of tedious problems attend the rather shaky and under-tested interface and game environment set-up, but once past them, gameplay boils down to just you, your opponents, and the road.The main problem, not unexpectedly, is latency. Racing is a precise sport where mere milliseconds can separate winners from losers. Lag, especially between broadband and modem users, creates huge problems for any given race and affects the physics, timing, and general look and feel of the game. Cars far back in the pack may suddenly appear in front of you, disappear completely, or hop high into the air for no particular reason. Unfortunately, opponent connections can't be checked until the race actually starts, making the problem unavoidable.
While gradual progression in an online game is normal, the game should have a well-developed curve to assist players as they gain levels, money, and cars. Motor City Online fails on this crucial level, thanks to the disproportionate difficulty in some methods of early advancement over others. For example, finding an open race is nearly impossible due to the low number of horsepower classes, and most gamers aren't willing to put up their money when it's probable they'll race against a far superior car. Chances are your first races will be against those who've been playing the game for quite a while, putting you at a distinct disadvantage.
The alternative is to run sponsored time trials to earn money, since it's fast and far easier than going up against computer opponents in open races, which is a common occurrence since it's rare to find enough humans to complete the field. Also, sponsored cars are much easier to handle than those you begin with, but this method detracts from the pleasure of learning to drive and tune your own cruiser.
Despite all of the complaints, though, once you get into the racing aspect, you find an intense and fun experience, even if the designers have taken liberties with the physics and dynamics of the classic cars. It's fast-paced and furious, and being able to play against other gamers throughout the world gives gameplay an added thrill. In this area, Motor City Online gets just about everything right.
Visually the game isn't spectacular, but the visceral experience of racing is caught nicely by the graphics and models. The cars are well represented and stylized from the golden age of automobiles, and on decent systems, racing is quick and smooth. While music styles vary, the selection is somewhat limited, though not obnoxious.
Race fans who romanticize the 1950 powerhouse vehicles straight out of Detroit will enjoy Motor City Online. The attendant problems may mar the experience for casual gamers, and the influx of future online racing games with better latency controls may well leave the servers barren.
~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
Despite the flaws, if you can find people online to race, you'll get your money's worth. It's exhaustive and sometimes dull, but the good outweighs the bad.~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
Graphics on higher end systems offer great atmosphere and feel, but the game doesn't ooze with visual panache like some others in the genre.~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
The good variety of music and sounds, though somewhat limited, is not intrusive over the long term.~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
Assuming you enjoy the gameplay, there's plenty of replay value as you try to improve skills and build a great car. The multiplayer online aspect is great if you can find the players.~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
The only manual available is online, and it's outdated.~ Jon Thompson, All Game Guide
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Motor City Online
| Motor City Online | |
|---|---|
 North American boxart |
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| Developer(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) | May 11, 2001 |
| Genre(s) | MMOG/Racing |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) |
| Media/distribution | CD-ROM, download |
| System requirements
PII 333 or equivalent, 64 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 8 MB VRAM, 800 MB, DirectX 8.0 |
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Motor City Online was a racing massively multiplayer online video game released by Electronic Arts on May 11, 2001. The point of the game was to buy classic cars (mostly American muscle cars) ranging from 1930s to 1970s models, tune them up, and race them against other players. The game went offline on August 29, 2003 so EA Games could focus on their current online game at the time, The Sims Online. EA, however, developed a new online racing game, called Need for Speed: World. Many fans of Motor City Online consider Need for Speed: World a Spiritual successor of Motor City Online, although EA has denied any direct link between the two games.[1]
Originally conceived as part of the Need for Speed series under the title Need for Speed: Motor City,[2] all single player elements that may have been developed for the game were discarded in favor of an online-only model. The game featured some role-playing video game elements, such as levelling up after completing tasks (e.g. winning races), and a functional, supply and demand economy for players to get involved in.
Aside from EA focusing on The Sims Online, another contributing factor to MCO's demise was the game's technical setup. Lag, as with most online games, was a problem, with cars acting unpredictably during times of high latency. Falling subscription rates (from an alleged peak of 36,000[3]) and a lack of new interest in the game eventually led to its downfall. Previous Motor City Online users were offered access to The Sims Online, Ultima Online, or Earth & Beyond.[4] However, while Motor City Online was dead, an MCO fan developed Motor City Offline, a version of the game designed for play offline. It contains 34 converted car models from the original game. Motor City Offline was built using a modified version of the NFS High Stakes engine.
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Contents
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Cars
The vehicles featured in Motor City Online were all American models, ranging from coupes, coupe utilities, sedans and station wagons of the 1930s to 1950s, to muscle cars from the 1960s and 1970s. Later in the games life, 3 classic truck's were available. Most of the vehicles could be cosmetically modified by chopping the roof, removing bumpers, which gave the vehicle an additional suffix on its name (i.e. "Ford Ranchero Chopped", "Ford Coupe Bumperless & Fenderless") painting the car different colors or with Scalloped/Flamed paint jobs. You could also add little trinkets like fuzzy dice, and even change the sound of the horn. Convertible versions of certain cars were available, as well as specialty and ultra rare paint jobs on cars. These paint jobs couldn't be purchased from the modification shop, the car had to be purchased with the paint job already. Some of these cars came as shells only if they were particularly rare. The cars in the game are as follows:
Note
At the end of the run of Motor city online, two foreign cars were available. One was the 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The other was the 97 Toyota Supra. Both cars were equipped with V-8 engines, and were made to be rear wheel drive in the game. This caused a lot of controversy amongst the MCO purists who believed that any car going into the game should be true to its real life mechanics. So outfitting a FWD Import with a V8 engine and RWD was ruining the experience. By the time these two cars were released EA had already announced that they were shutting down the game. They were experimenting with import cars as an attempt to attract a wider variety of players.
Awards
- E3 2000 Game Critics Awards: Best Racing Game
References
Notes
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