Spintires gets stuck in mud

I will dare to try to help in the hope that potential buyers in their purchasing decisions. As this review is ultimately construed is left to the reader.
Anticipating a warning: It is long, detailed and subjective.

Short to how I evaluate:
The current actual state (v. 29.10.14) is evaluated. Future updates, or fixes are not included because I take the view that, on the one part punished those bananas product mentality and secondly further updates voluntary contributions constitute part of the developer, which of course is nice and good, but not the current state of product concern. Means I'll no additional stars awarded, just because some epic S ***** is on the rise.
Considering also note that not every player has a functioning, let alone stable Internet connection, which you may not be able only benefit from it.
Then let me tell you that is not the decisive factor for me the price of the game. Should something rate automatically better just because it's not full price? Should we therefore free games, even if they are bad, do not criticize, but praise the same in the sky, just because they do not cost anything?
Nonsense.

Let you not the way the word "simulator" fool - according to the German official presenter in Spintires forum and the developers themselves, there should be no simulation. In an answer to my question, what should it be then, I wait until today.

Sodele, I say sometimes quite cheeky, with my approximately 32 hours as Steam qualified enough to be in order to give my opinion on the game. At the present time I have dealt with all the cards in single player on two levels of difficulty and the Red Star achievement unlocked. Thus, only those games I still missing in multiplayer mode. What can be surprisingly more difficult than in single player.

Let's get started!

-What Kind of a game? -
Spintires is, as already formulated the package aptly, an Offroad Truck Simulator. That alone says little about what is actually included, in this case an explanation:
In Spintires you sit down at the steering wheel of seven different vehicles, from small UAZ-469, on the well-known Ural-4320, to the mighty MAZ-7310, which was originally developed for rocket transportation and the like. Your task is to transport logs for export in the forests of Russia. Sounds pretty simple so far, right? False.
For paved roads are rare and you will mostly fight muddy substrates and raging rivers that hinder your progress and sometimes can even ruin your load and your day.
This is exactly the fabulous terrain deformation of incentive and sales slogan of Spintires.

-Gameplay-
In Spartan-held main menu you have the choice between single-player; Multiplayer; Control; Achievements; Settings to continue a saved game and the language. This brings me quickly to the essence, I speak first on the options.
Away from the usual graphics options and key bindings you can choose also whether you want to play with a gamepad or steering wheel.
What, however, operate in addition to the Xbox 360 controller, I do not know and because it constantly comes through loud forums to detection problems, I can tell you continue merely to nachzugucken previously in power, whether the gamepad or steering wheel is supported your election.
Personally I play with the keyboard and has had no difficulties. It controls quite comfortable, I think.

Now to the actual content of the game.
First you look for you from one of five but impressively large cards and then a difficulty. Specifically, casual game and simulation.
Differences are that you can escape in an emergency to a garage can be on the first level show a visible line when on the map marks a point and. In addition, you can fast-forward the time to fuel and the differential lock is also available in automatic transmission.
In simulation accounts for the above options, and fuel consumption, as well as the extent of damage in collisions are higher. For this, the differential lock can only be activated during transmission.
Have you chosen a card and a degree, it is also going on already. Oh, if there are additional settings? Approximately number of vehicles, time of day, strength of the streets, and so on? Unfortunately, no.

A tutorial there is not the way. One can indeed leave Show advice, but this does not explain everything. Complicated and sometimes frustrating to händelnde things like the crane even not at all. The printed manual included with the retail version, is indeed much more helpful, but not as the truth. Either you experimented around or seek help on the Internet.
Here is the part Oovee urgently need to catch up if they want to scare any beginner. The times when you will be as it was then thrown into the deep end Minecraft should hopefully be over.

Your usually begins with one to three vehicles in a garage. There damages are repaired, refilled tanks and you can install a lot of accessories. These include the various trailers, fifth wheels, cranes, etc. Each vehicle has its own selection.
And all the way, absolutely free!
That's right, there is no in-game currency. You have to pay for anything, all the parts are available from the start and make it also does not have one. What you then pray tell drives?
Ääääh further in the text!
As I said, it is fine with the keyboard controls. As usual WASD for steering, braking and accelerating and spacebar for the parking brake. With the number buttons to choose a few camera angles, with F1 calls it a 3D map and V activates the advanced options. So you can use the winch and the crane, determine the behavior of non-controlled car at the towing cable and more.
Here it begins to be complicated, as the hand brake is always dressed (always!) And no camera rotation. So you have every time out, turn the camera and press V. This could have been solved more comfortable.
Another thing: Why the car is capable of anything when he passed out only once, broken or without fuel, is beyond my knowledge. No winch, a crane, nothing. At least he still stands as wind point available.

If we are talking about the camera: I just do not know which is bes *********. The by Spintires or Devil May Cry (the old parts).
Not only are there hardly different perspectives (basically just above the shoulder, behind the trailer and back), it is extremely tricky and sensitive. A fine adjustment only works with a lot of patience. Should you ever work with the crane which is thanks to the camera of Horror. Aaaargh!
Cockpit perspective there is not surprisingly. I need not necessarily, but it would be for clarity makes sense if you want somewhere to squeeze through and need it to see exactly where you're going.

Whether driveability is now realistic, I can by the fact that I've never driven a vehicle fleet in Russian forests, not judge. I prefer, however, videos about the reality for comparison, I would say yes. At least until it comes to asphalt roads.
Believe it or not, but the roads are fixed programmed as extremely hard mud. This is not one sinks Although a course, but you will leave as well as tire tracks on trails and also it goes the same way. This means that your vehicle very quickly begins to slip. If you were on the roads 100 km / h driving (In fact, only 20 felt it), you'd probably be at the slightest steering movement to oversized Beyblade.
Journey times quiet a small hill next to the road up and ensures that dig the wheels and drive as before. The asphalt will be deformed as well as mud.
Oovee when it comes, please improve.

It will inevitably happen that you get stuck somewhere. Then you can either pull out the winch to trees or other cars or turn on all-wheel drive and differential lock. The lock ensures each equally fast spinning wheels and is my experience after more effective than the all-wheel drive only, but that's just my subjective impression. And who now thinks to drive through just turned nonstop with two, will soon lie there with an empty tank. Well this may be possible on the lighter degree, but on simulation remains to be using this tactic faster than you can see. Especially with the MAZ-537 that will be carefully considered.

One must not forget the transmission, because the wise use can a lot less hassle. The peculiarity is that needs to be connected with the mouse, with the mouse pointer is the Hand. It has four settings, Automatic, 1, 1+ and backward. Automatic is suitable for beginning and especially on asphalt great for high speed. However, he turned down at the slightest slowdown and is without all-wheel differential and hard to use.
Here come the aisles 1 and 1+ into play. They are operated exclusively by hand and come closest to the first and second gear. Since they do not automatically change down and push steadily forward, they are perfectly suited to there to get anywhere where the automatic failure. A UAZ comes with 1+ even an extremely steep slope in no time high!

Your goal is now, with a truck and the proper attachment (for any kind of wood are different parts necessary) to drive a logging camp to boost timber and subsequently be delivered to the places of destination, namely sawmills. The mere act of receiving cargo may already sweaty and sometimes frustrating when you first turn in the middle of the square and then still have to grade position. This precision work is often asked.
Currently each sawmill applies in 8 charge points as handled. The score obtained will depend on the load of wood. Kurzholz brings 2, Mittelholz 4 and Barks 6 points. Since one by each destination has to move more than twice, the cards are unfortunately managed quickly. More on that later.

In between, you can unlock additional car in which they are found on the card and goes near her. Some one must also repair or refuel before you can start something with those. This goes beyond the protracted towing with specific accessories that are loaded with repair, or fuel points. During repair points can be reloaded at every garage, so tankers are always empty and must be filled at filling stations on the map. Inventories are inexhaustible.
So you can also unlock more garages by equipping its trucks with special workshop trailers and then transported them there. Each workshop requires 4 workshop points, where the followers bring exactly 4 points. There is a smaller version of it, while bringing only 2 points, but still can carry out minor repairs.

Then all enterprises supplies, you get nothing.
How to play on, until all the cards are done on two levels of difficulty. If you want, subsequently, in the MP (Beware griefers!) A few laps or ranmachen the remaining achievements.

Be careful: There is only one score. Should you start in between another card, the memory state is permanently lost.

-Music & Sound
Music there is not, but you can make do with well known music outside of the game.
The sound I find perfectly fine. Nothing earth-shattering, but fit. The engine sounds are truly implemented. Away from this, there is birdsong and the sounds of water, rivers and woodpeckers. ;)

-Grafik-
Can not complain, looks really good. Even the interiors are designed chic, so it's twice as bad without the cockpit view. Not to mention the water and the day and night cycles!
What is very nice also succeeded is the black smoke that comes out of the exhaust pipes. Although I wonder whether this huge cloud is realistic, but no matter.
For my part, I can only say: Hats off.

-Multiplayer-
The only differences to the single player, the more players that everyone has his own fleet (So for example, four Urals and four MAZ-537 can drive around) and you have to first accept an offer of another wind. Otherwise everything remains the same.
Sounds good on paper, but in reality it fails, however, as so often in the community and the technology.
From about five (I think) games I could finish none, because the director stopped after some time. If they go namely, all others are off the session. A host migration does not take place, and games can not be saved.
Even a self-hosted game on simulation was impossible because my team-mates suddenly just disappeared so. Before anyone asks, I have helped anyone unless he was (not at the other end of the card =) or not near another player within reach. Even from the river in river crossing I have drawn you. And yet, they soon left the game.
In addition you meet mostly on East Europeans who talk among themselves in their native language and English can hardly, let alone understand (of course, without it my racist). Not to mention the so often associated high latencies. And if you time lucky Spintires throws out one because of some error. Anyway, I has rather soured the public spaces.
Also playing with friends can be a test of patience for this reason. Of course, it makes a lot more fun with friends, if you can arrange neatly and so does the card in fast forward. But detract from the technical problems the fun enormous when one is well on the way to goal and suddenly flies out. If you get in again, you find yourself in front of the garage in the "production car" again.
Pure frustration.
All in all, recommended only with friends.

-Why The point deduction? -

Very easily:
Apart from one or two Achievement a few filthy statistics and you get nothing at all. NIX! No new cards, no new cars, no nothing. WOW, I am motivated to keep going!
Now you can of course ask whether the game ultimately fun and what drove me to reinzustecken 32 hours. And I do not feel the game as bock hard as propagated by many.
Do not get me wrong, it has Spintires real in itself and beginners will curse and scream when their vice is buried for the umpteenth time somewhere helpless or has lost its charge. But once you get the hang halfway, the game loses much of its horror and it goes down to a maximum of challenging levels. And I've also started a bloody newbie and also often have to grumble, but otherwise? Ural out, by 1+ pure and loose flaky.

More than three hours, I have never needed a map, in the simulation mode even partly under two. All in one I was faster finished simulation than with casual game. And yes, I have usually omitted the MAZ-537, in so far as it was possible and I the KrAZ has not pissed. I want to on the raison d'être of individual trucks at the site did not discuss, but for me there is effectively only the UAZ, the Urals and the MAZ-537th If you consider that Langholz transportation are pointless because the 8-point limit, you can still cancel the MAZ.
Thus, I have only two, for which I have a use, because the rest is simply useless, except for the support of seven vehicles. But that's just my humble opinion.

Back to the question why I persevered the then 32 hours. Well, probably because I did not see thrown out the window my 20 rubies and it was fun indeed.
Yes, I had brought to the finish or me out of a seemingly hopeless situation but to have saved my great joy because a charge after a long struggle. That's the main thing, right? Right. But it has long-term fun?
Thus we come to the biggest problem in my opinion of Spintires: long-term motivation and scope.
First of all, I have to look with a magnifying glass to the promise of long-term motivation of fans. If this is to be anew to plunge again into the mud, although the cards are always the same and in some maps sections even suspected of Copy & Paste comes up, simply because it is so beautiful splashes and general so tricky, then yes. I, however, prefer it to be paid decently for my troubles. Statistics and achievements do not count for me. There must be something tangible, such as new maps or cars.
Right now, I wonder what I'm doing that at all, wenns in the end is nothing. Makes it clear in any way fun, but still. It is not motivated.

Next, the content, currently the largest source of endless disputes between critics and fans. Critics say the few cards, vehicles and the sole timber transport were little, even too little for the price. Fans on the other hand feel that it go in to the experience in itself and one should set their own goals. Thrice guesses about which faction I belong.
Although the fans, of course not like it and you probably mangled me for it, but five cards, seven vehicles and only wood is not much. Whether this is for the price in order to be seen, for yours truly is not of relevance. I can be just full price games have hundreds of hours of fun as with Free.
The developers are so few and it's a low-budget titles, no excuse can be. Where you would end up if we each hingerotzte indie game with the team is small and their product cost take so little protection and may invalidate any criticism? If a game is bad, it is bad. Point.
If only the problem with the motivation not think I could have even ignore it.

I find that Spintires must compete with the competition as a trucking game and in the respect denied the game unfortunately completely. It stands out only because of the physics and plugs into all other areas of the competition loose in the bag. Which is sometimes even cheaper to purchase.
If at some point a 18 Wheels of Steel come out with the same physics, Spintires would sink into insignificance. Only the terrain deformation as a unique selling point is not enough, because it has to offer even more. How about more maps, vehicles, or an economic system?
Self-set goals for the odd indeed prolong the fun, but make no mistake about the lack of extent of time. There are people who want to have predetermined objectives rather that they can process, rather than themselves what to look for. The then sit there, once they have managed all the cards and ask yourself: Uh, that's it now?
Since Spintires should urgently reloading.

Last nor would add the multiplayer, which significantly eases the fun through the grisly public games and the technical problems.

For these reasons, I can give extremely well-intentioned 3 stars the game only. If I had had a bad day, it would have been even 2.

-Fazit-

Spintires is not bad, not at all. I think it's actually good and it might for what it does: simulate intensive.
Just enough for me that alone is simply not made because it still is not right all the trappings. But others do not give already satisfied me. Because, on the whole it's a tech demo with some gameplay in it.

I'm trying to say the least:
Spintires is for people who are purely comes to the experience of Offroadens. All other but who do not want to play for "nothing", more than just Offroaden and Holztransporte expect and where the gaming experience plays a subordinate role, should be looking for something else.
I count myself among the latter.

Oovee is a cross ingenious tech demo succeeded, which shows perfectly what's inside even in the Havok engine. Not more.
True pity would not the crux of the long-term motivation, I would have recommended ST.

But I seriously wonder why I want to start the game even if it is not motivated anyway.

I thank everyone who has taken the time to read these chunks and hope to have helped in the purchasing decision.