Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed

EA · released 2000 · discussed in 1,928 posts, 1999-2010 · overall tone positive

Posts per month

Timeline

• 2001-12-05 EA announced that its EARacing online service for Need for Speed would close on 8 January 2002. thread post

Key threads

• Has GPL spoiled players for other sims 2000-04-04 · 123 posts
  A long debate asked whether GPL fans unfairly dismissed newer titles such as F1 2000 and NFS Porsche Unleashed. Some argued that the group is about simulators and GPL is rightly the benchmark. Others, including Colin and Paul Kierstead, said the total experience matters beyond physics. David G Fisher repeatedly mocked the 'same old' GPL crowd, drawing sharp responses from Pat Dotson and others.
• Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed early impressions 2000-03-19 · 50 posts
  After a complaint about warez links, posters agreed that impressions of leaked games were acceptable but posting URLs was not. Andre Warringa and others reviewed NFS Porsche Unleashed, praising its physics compared with earlier NFS games, its graphics and career modes, while some felt the sense of speed was weak from the dash view. Much of the thread covered how to complete the test-driver handbrake 360 manoeuvre.
• EA Racing online service for Need for Speed to close 2001-12-04 · 34 posts
  Roger Squires reported that EA's EARacing service for online Need for Speed: High Stakes and Porsche Unleashed racing was shutting down, which EA's site confirmed for January 8. Players started a petition and discussed hosting direct TCP/IP races instead. The thread also covered spotting cheaters, the Dirty Harry replay tool, and fast setups for Porsche Unleashed.
• Is NFS Porsche Unleashed a sim, and EA's CJ Martin drops in 2000-03-24 · 31 posts
  A self-described casual player asked whether NFS Porsche Unleashed crossed into sim territory, and most said it came close. EA Baltimore producer CJ Martin joined in. This led to speculation, which he would not confirm, that his team would make F1 2001 in-house, while others cited reports that ISI was hiring for F1 2001. Posters also noted how much calmer the newsgroup was than the flight-sim groups.
• Enthusiastic previews of NFS Porsche Unleashed 2000-03-20 · 26 posts
  Martin Ursua and others posted glowing impressions of NFS Porsche Unleashed, praising its handling, car detail and evolution and factory-driver career modes. Some called it the best driving game yet, while sceptics doubted any NFS title could satisfy sim fans. Posters wished for a Porsche 917 add-on.
• Ranking favourite racing sims 2001-02-14 · 43 posts
  Sinjin asked readers to rank NFS Porsche Unleashed, Sports Car GT, Viper Racing, Grand Prix Legends and NASCAR 4. GPL topped most lists, with NASCAR 4 often second. Many posters added older favourites such as Revs, Stunt Car Racer, Night Driver and Indianapolis 500.
• Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed: sim or arcade? 2000-04-26 · 31 posts
  Users disagreed over whether Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed had a convincing physics model. Some praised its Factory Driver and Evolution modes and called it EA's closest approach to a sim, while others complained of cheating AI and limited sliding. The thread ended with players swapping quick-race lap records.
• Wishing for a Gran Turismo 3-style street car sim on PC 2001-04-11 · 29 posts
  Alain lamented that PC sims lacked a street car equivalent of Gran Turismo 3. Replies suggested Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed as a sim-lite option, debated whether GT3 is really a simulation, and expected WSC to fill the gap.
• Recommendations for an easy, fun racing game 2002-07-31 · 29 posts
  A user wanted a racing game as good-looking as F1 2002 but without complex setups. Suggestions included Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, Sports Car GT, Viper Racing, TOCA 2, Colin McRae Rally 2 and Super 1 Karting.
• Criticism and defence of NFS Porsche Unleashed 2000-03-26 · 28 posts
  Marc Collins explained why he was returning NFS Porsche Unleashed, citing sound, handling and steering problems. Others defended the game's driving model, damage and factory-driver missions, and recommended Viper Racing to anyone who liked it. Radical Entertainment's Joe McGinn argued it was a big step forward for arcade physics.
• NFS Porsche Unleashed retail versus warez and handling 2000-03-23 · 27 posts
  rrevved compared his retail copy of NFS Porsche Unleashed with the warez version, finding file differences explained by Safedisc protection. Players praised its handling and price but debated the lack of throttle steer and the very wide roads. Barton Brown recalled how narrow Mosport and Watkins Glen were in the 1960s.
• Dead Voodoo 5 5500 and choosing a replacement card 2001-09-08 · 23 posts
  Larry Lindstrom's Voodoo 5 5500 failed, breaking Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed for his LAN group. Replies advised avoiding GeForce2 MX cards, explained GeForce2 variants, warned about ATI drivers, and suggested tweaking utilities; one warned that a new nvMax release triggered a trojan alert. Lindstrom returned a GeForce2 MX and considered a GeForce 3 for his Pentium III 600.
• Recommendations for racing games beyond Need for Speed 2001-11-02 · 23 posts
  A Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed fan asked for similar games and dismissed GPL as old. Replies recommended giving GPL another chance with its graphics updates and add-on tracks, plus NASCAR Heat with mods, Sports Car GT, GP3 and NASCAR 4. A side debate covered release dates and whether GP3's sales had disappointed Hasbro.
• Questions before buying NFS Porsche Unleashed 2000-03-23 · 22 posts
  A prospective buyer asked about dirt tracks, rally cars and handling in NFS Porsche Unleashed. Owners listed the many Porsche models included but said there were no rally cars. Some argued it modelled modern sports cars as well as GPL modelled 1967 F1, while others noted the lack of tyre lockup and throttle oversteer. Radical Entertainment's Joe McGinn said the AI appeared to use the same physics as the player.
• Recommending an easy racing sim for a former racer 2002-12-26 · 21 posts
  Jeffrey asked for an approachable sim and force feedback wheel for his stepfather, a former amateur sports car racer. Suggestions included NFS Porsche Unleashed, Sports Car GT with add-ons, Viper Racing, Rally Trophy, NR2002, GTR2002 and Dirt Track Racing. A 56-year-old former racer argued GPL best captured old-time racing.
• Games Domain 'driving test' rates NFS Porsche Unleashed highly 2000-05-23 · 21 posts
  John Bodin linked a Games Domain article that rated road-car games on stunts like donuts and 360-degree spins, with Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed and Sports Car GT tying for top. Several criticised the methodology as ignoring braking, slip angles and other fundamentals, and Tim O argued that Viper Racing was more realistic.
• NFS Porsche Unleashed factory driver missions and unlocks 2000-04-02 · 20 posts
  Players praised NFS Porsche Unleashed's Factory Driver mode while struggling with its handbrake spin tests. They swapped tips on cheats and trainers for unlocking all cars and tracks, noting that the 'cop car' profile hack worked with the retail version while another trainer was for the warez copy.

Busiest threads

• Are GPL fans rude and intolerant? (18 posts about it)
• Ranking favourite racing sims (17 posts about it)
• Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed: sim or arcade? (17 posts about it)
• Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed early impressions (14 posts about it)
• Questions before buying NFS Porsche Unleashed (13 posts about it)
• Enthusiastic previews of NFS Porsche Unleashed (13 posts about it)
• NFS:PU some thoughts ! (12 posts about it)
• Has GPL spoiled players for other sims (12 posts about it)
• NFS5 graphics - stunning. (11 posts about it)
• How many racing sims do you have installed? (10 posts about it)
• Re: NFS PU vs GPL (10 posts about it)
• NFSPU + V2 SLI = 1024x768 in glide. Heres how (10 posts about it)
• Re: NFS PU green smoke (10 posts about it)
• Criticism and defence of NFS Porsche Unleashed (10 posts about it)
• Games Domain 'driving test' rates NFS Porsche Unleashed highly (9 posts about it)

Sentiment by year

Each post that discussed the sim was rated from −2 (very negative) to +2 (very positive).

Who talked about it most

(unknown) · 128 Stephen Ferguson · 52 Jan Verschueren · 36 Andre Warringa · 36 Roger Squires · 32 Larry Lindstrom · 32 rrevved · 28 GTX_SlotCar · 25 John Bodin · 24 Jone Tytlandsvik · 23 Joe62 · 23 ymenard · 23 Jeff Reid · 20 Michael E. Carver · 20 o)+> · 20 don hodgdon · 19 Ice D · 18 Todd Walker · 17 Rich · 16 Alex Kihurani · 16

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