ModNation Racers Loadtimes Potentially Crippling

Information courtesy of ArsTechnica

ModNation Racers is a beautiful, fast-paced take on the kart-racing genre. Taking away much of the luck of Mario Kart, it adds a much-needed hardcore element to this sort of racing game. But it also brings loading times... long, long loading times. People are mentioning this in reviews, but we wanted to show just how long it takes to get from the home screen to an actual race. Keep in mind that before we shot this video, we had installed the game to the hard drive...

[Nicholas Cage]

not worried

[-Alpha]

There was a similar issue in LBP, especially when playing online where the game would lag like crazy, especially if joining someone already in a game.

I think it's because the game can get taxing and it stresses the game to load everything. I don't particularly care about load times. IGN reported it but said that the load times ended up making the actual racing run without a hitch, so it seems to have a good purpose. However, notice the little hitches when he is in the ModSpot. They need to iron that out. It's because the game is online (you can see the other players ghost racing around like in Demon's Souls). LBP online was very jerky at times and I was worried about the same thing happening here.

I just worry about online lag, don't particularly care for loading too much. It seems to be the biggest problem with reviews pouring in which is unfortunate since it's not gameplay related.

[FACTUAL evidence]

Sorta knew Loading times were going to be a mess in this game. Every since i got into the beta, I just knew by waiting like 3 mins for things to load up was going to be a pain in the actual product. Still was a very fun game, but the load times were crazy.

[Philaroni]

I think many of this will be fixed in patches post launch. Keep in mind this is United Fronts first game so I cut them lots of slack.

[FarEastOrient]

Some of the preview code I've were slow to load but than they were faster on the retail version and after some patching. MAG, Little Big Planet, Demon's Souls, Socom Confrontation and even Assassin's Creed fell in there...

We seem to have survived after they fixed it, I just wonder how the finished product will act when it comes out.

I remember when trophies was loading slow, now they are a bit faster...

[thebudgetgamer]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[hatchimatchi]

louis c.k. rules!

[The Great Melon]

I enjoyed the beta, but the load times were killing me too. Hopefully the loads are shorter than what was in the beta. I really liked the game.

[blitz0623]

man that's a let down. I'm sure though a simple patch could make it better, but what do I know. Still looks to be an interesting game

[zoks310]

The game need time to load all of that custom data that's on the disc.

Really... he had to wait 3 minutes to play the game and he wants to bitch about it? Sounds to me like he was not too happy to play the game to begin with, he was just impatient?... I could be wrong.

This is the same thing that happens when you go to play a game online, you boot any online game from XMB/Dash and wait for it to load, then you go online and enter the online lobby, then you wait for the game to populate, and once there are enough people then the game starts. Load up any online game and measure the time for yourself, i bet that 90% of them will take you 3 mins to get to game play.

I have been playing games since the 80's, this is really not an issue, i have been through worse load times on most consoles and PC's that i have owned.

I played the beta and i gotta be honest, the load time to get to game play was about 50sec, roughly 1min, OK, but to add the XMB and possible game install into the clock and time measurement is just bullshit, this video was a setup.

[Fishy Fingers]

LBP online lag was a real pain in the ass. I've just been reading about the improvements planned for LBP2 (which sounds amazing) but they didnt mention anything about the online, hope thats sorted out.

Anyway, yeah, load times dont bother me to much, the longest of load times these days are but a fraction of those I used to sit through back in the day.

[talltony]

Got it off gohastings for 40 bucks! CAn't go wrong.!

[Max Power]

Same here, I can't wait to play this game.

[NegativeCreepWA]

I enjoyed the beta until I actually played a race, I didn't care for the way it handled at all. Great concept though.

I'll just wait for LBP2.

[InfectedDK]

I agree it's taking a bit long.
But the loading issue will not have an affect on whether I'll buy it or not.
I think I'll go for it at some time and buy it, the beta was cool.
Looking forward to see what they are gonna do with this title adding more weapons and stuff to it.

[sikbeta]

Don't Worry Guys, It can be Fixed, if Any-1 remember what Sony did with that Broken Bayonetta may Cry, they'll Fix the loading times in ModNation Racers too, Day One For Me...

[Christopher]

Kind of a no-brainer that games like this and LBP would have longer than usual load times for custom content. I do wonder why it takes so long to load in-house tracks, though.

As far as the video, it's a bit misleading. It is common in most games put out on both consoles to take about two minutes to get into the actual game area in which you can start playing.

So, this video:

~1m35s to get to start screen of game
~1m05s to select his character and select his course
~50s to load the race once you accept it and skip the intro video

So, that's ~50s of inactive time between races. If that's a huge issue, you shouldn't be playing games.

Of course, this is N4G, we'll start seeing people saying it takes 3m30s to load a single race in the game just because that's the total length of time it takes to load the game, select your character, select a race, and load the race.

@edit: based on my disagree already and the comments below... people already are claiming this a failure. People are idiots, some people claiming an 85 average for a game is a flop and others claiming a 50s wait between custom races is a failure. I wonder when people stopped loving games and started loving just their consoles?

[HolyOrangeCows]

That stinks. It won't RUIN the game, but it's gonna be annoying.

[Lifendz]

No probs here. 45 seconds of loading is no biggie to me. Then again I'm a guy that owned a Sega CD. Talk to me or anyone else that owned that WIlly Beamish game if you want to hear horror stories about load times.

[bruddahmanmatt]

Is this fool actually counting the initial startup time? I mean seriously, how stupid can you be? I have my fair share of games with some slightly longer than normal initial startups but it's never been a problem. Not like I can't get up to grab a drink from the fridge while I wait. Sheesh. The 45 seconds that it takes to actually get into a race is really the only thing he should be complaining about. Yes it's a bit longer than normal, but considering the absurd amount of custom content possibilities, I'm thinking most folks will be willing to accept a bit of longer than normal load times in exchange for all of the customization offered by the game.

[jjohan35]

The game looks awesome but they do need to patch the long loading times. The only acceptable long loading time to me would be right before the race when everyone is downloading the user-created level/map/track. There's no other reason why a game with simple, yet stylish graphics should take this long when LBP looked just as good and loaded in much less time.

Regardless I'm getting this game. I hope they will patch it soon, but it doesn't break the game.

[Brian5247]

But still, I am definitely not looking forward to staring at the screen for three minutes before I can actually start playing.

[DeathSyphon66]

That's just sad man, I won't be doing that, like ever.

[RememberThe357]

This was hard for me to watch. I gotta thank these guys for doing this. Hopefully they'll patch this up.

[Baka-akaB]

it was quite annoying already in beta , so definitively hopes it get patched release week , but its bearable

[Teehee]

A patch can fix that, get to working Sony!

[AliTheBrit19]

Wow, now I dont even feel like renting it.

[Homicide]

Rent it after they patch it up.

[AliTheBrit19]

Fair enough, if I do hear of a patch that fixes the loading times I'll check it out.

[Homicide]

They patched up LBP pretty quick, so I'm pretty sure they'll do the same thing with Modnation Racers.

The load times are awful, so I'm going to wait as well.

Edit: @below, I can name a lot of games that have little to none load times (Uncharted 2 & Resonance of Fate), and those that do have load times aren't ridiculously long as Modnation Racers.

[webeblazing]

i know right games hardly have long load time anymore damn u
*throws out most of my games*

[webeblazing]

yea isnt those mostly 1st party that dont mostly have loading now compare that to 3rd party. i know this anit 3rd party but there alot of them people dont pay no attention to and for you to say you aint gonna get the game only because that reason and dont pay attention to the rest is kind of funny and seem weird. o well maybe they patch it, its crazy how much content they put in this game.

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

Because you don't even own a PS3.

[SKCShifty]

I hope sony gets this fixed soon ModNation Racer is a great game. Back to my Mario Cart i'm playing with my friends.

Hey who disagreed i only have 2 bubbles so take it easy. We are all brothers at the end of the day so let's get along shall we.

[redDevil87]

You keep spelling Mario "Kart" wrong lol

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

Is not Sony, it is United Front Games. A 3rd Party Developer.

And yes, if you want a better Kart Racing than Mario Kart, there it is ModNation Racers.

[FlipMode]

That sucks, I hate loading times, still getting it though.

[Elimin8]

They will hopefully work on it..

[mookins]

I'm confident it'll be fixed.

Still getting it.

[thief]

I remember someone, possibly IGN, mentioning its 15 to 45 seconds, closer to 45 for intensive levels. Which is ok really, not much longer than Mass Effect's elevators. What really helps this game is that the track creator is so easy to use.

[dizzleK]

how bad is somebody's a.d.d. that they can't sit still for a minute or 2? it's a small price to pay for next-gen gaming like this. the game is loading an immense amount of stuff, cut it some slack.

[peeps]

"it's a small price to pay for next-gen gaming like this"

some would say that next gen gaming has allowed us to have minimal loading. it's just poor design choices imo. sure you get used to it but it's 2010 so to have extreme loading times like this is unacceptable imo.

otherwise it is looking like a good game, but with what is essentially a part game, i'm sure people don't wanna be sitting through loading screens.

[Baka-akaB]

except he means "next gen" gaming as in an actual new generation of game ... not just the same thing prettier .

Mod's concept of mixing such level of customisation and a mario karet clone is definitively more original than most games , and should vastly excuse such an inconvenience

[spunnups]

Still getting it, but why would they ever release this game the way it is?!? I don't understand, push the release back a month or five and get it fixed. They have, i'm sure, lost a ton of sales because people just plain don't like to wait. This is a disaster. Like i said, im still getting it. Hopefully they patch but, if they do, that does nothing for PS3's not hooked up to PSN.

[spunnups]

Let me add that I bought LBP Day 1 as well and it was plagued by some of the same problems. LBP initial loading time wasn't bad, the only bad part until they patched it was loading other people's levels they created while being partied with 2 or more people. . Some of those took awhile.

[Skyreno]

long loading wont effect me >> Game is Awesome

[EXID]

this game looks sweet but i'm praying to god that they can fix this with a patch... there's no way i'm buying this if it takes 3+ minutes to get into race... for its defense though, the starting one could've been his internet connection~ that happens to gh sometimes when it's trying to connect to their servers, so hopefully that first one was the result of that.

[insomnium]

problem. Most of the loading in the vid is a one time deal while booting up the game. I don't think it's that serious to wait 45 secnds between levels. The starting up load time in KZ2 is also quite long but it really doesn't matter if you get to play the game without tecnical problems (meaning framerate drops and such).

[anonymous]

I love MNR but i've set up an appointment with its doctor

[peeps]

i quite enjoyed the gamplay and customisations etc but i remember when playing the beta the load times as well as lag in the lobby area was pretty bad. the frame rate also felt pretty slow for a racing game.

it was a shame because it was a game that looked great on paper but after playing the beta i was unfortunately put off.

[hatchimatchi]

I could give two craps, the game looks awesome and i'm not gonna let some guy's youtube video sway me from a purchase. I'm not that impatient or riddled with ADD that I can't wait 3 mins in order to enjoy a great game.

[Myst]

Isn't there an install feature on this game? Not that it matters from what I've seen I'd say I could potentially get Modnation racers depending on my finances this summer. So far it's on my list of things to buy just a matter of when I'll be able to get it.

[Homicide]

There is, and this video shows the load times with the game installed. It's kind of long - 30 to 40 seconds, - and they can get frustrating if the races take a minute or two to complete.

[Myst]

Thanks it was after I posted this that I saw the install time, but then it hit me. Even with the install why was it so long?

[zack61]

That is just embarrassing sony better fix this asap.

[despair]

Strange is that Greg miller on the early comments section for his MNR review said no HDD install but they said it has HDD install.

But the actual race took 35 seconds to load according to the video just the initial startup looked long and from his unable to connect to server error I saw then some of that initial time would be spent trying to connect to the servers and I know how long that can take when its unavailalbe in some games.

Hopefully by retail launch the online hiccups from this review version will be fixed. My guess is the startup time will be cut considerable with a quick connection to the server.

[Slient Knight 9]

guys if you could sit through loading screens on metal gear solid 4 watching old snake puff away, this is a piece of cake maybe eat some while waiting?

[Myst]

May not be the exact analogy I was thinking of but honestly yes. The time it takes to load up could be used to find food real quick or even to get settled in or what not.

[Dramscus]

They said they were playing the game through a review code which means not off disk I'm pretty sure loading off disk will be at least slightly better.

[Davoh]

Hopefully a patch can fix the load times but considering this video was done with data installed it shouldn't take over a minute to go into a single player mode. Doesn't mean that it's not gonna be a great game, I'm still gonna get it and still going to enjoy it =)

[SlipperyMooseCakes]

I remember from the beta the load times were terrible. The game is pretty cool though.

[yoghurt]

the reviewers seem to be able to cope, I think IGN said 10 - 50 seconds

if the game is good enough you'll put up with it - and by the looks of things it is - day one for me

[alphakennybody]

wow if that made you not buy , its beyond pasthetic.I've played many games with worse loading time before and no one bothered pointing it out:/

[divideby0]

^ totally agreeded...those who use this for not buying the game, had no interest in buying it in the first place..sure its an annoyance, but its not a game breaker...some forget the load times with ME1 and that was still a great game..

[Solbadguy]

Thankfully I got picture-in-picture.

[jalen247]

That is absolutely ridiculous United Front Games. You guys have to patch that...very shameful...

[bjornbear]

as if a long load times are the worst thing in games xD

i agree, its tedious but im sure they will try to fix it, but it doesnt deter from the GAME so its not a big problem =/

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

And people will get used to it, in the beginning tedious. But will get used to it.

[ChronoJoe]

This video was nice clarification though. The way people have been speaking, this ruins the game. Many games feature relatively long load times, little big planet for example takes around 30-40 seconds to load. If you actually watched this takes around 50, not 3 minutes.

50 to load up a track, 15 to go to the modspot. That's pretty sweet considering how content rich both of which are. The initial load does seem excessive, not going to bother me since it's a one time deal.

I don't see the complaints on how it takes 2 minutes to load a map on Killzone, or how it takes 40, not to mention perhaps 5 more with the crappy matchmaking, on Uncharted. Maybe you play those for longer per load but the load times are also respectively higher.

Hopefully they can cut them down a little with future patches, but this certainly isn't gonna bother me, especially when I have plenty games with the same thing going on.

[tiamat5]

Not that bad. I heard it only takes about a minute or so to load

[xg-ei8ht]

I'll probably still get it, but it does not hurt the media chipping in to moan about something. It might just get fixed quicker.

[Chubear]

it's getting 9 ratings instead of 9.5 :) lol

People know load times is something that can/will be patched up as time goes on. This sort of thing changes nothing. Those that were going to get it will and those that are hating and pretending they're not getting it... will anyways lol

Best Kart racing game to grace this gen and long load times at launch ain't stopping no one from it's awesomeness :D

[CellularDivision]

Oh no! This is horrible. This game will now suffer in sales and will be regarded as mediocre.
Oh wait... its on PS3. Its ok, all is forgiven.

It Only Does EVERYTHING!!!
It even forgets mediocre games.

[fr3d0]

so i guess this is of concern to people who quit the game after each race and relaunch from xmb

in other words the load time here is exagerated and isnt nearly as long once youre in game

personally if a game is sufficiently awesome i couldnt care less about loading times

[madpuppy]

with all the loud sighing. we get it, the load times are long no need to express your exasperation
over and over again.

[subzero-08]

Kind of disappointing, but it's not gonna stop me from buying this game. Hopefully the load times can be improves a bit through an update.

[KayoticKiller]

So, according to the individual that created this video, they said that they had to install the game on to the PS3s HDD, however, the install file wasn't shown? So, how do I/we know that the game was actually installed on to the HDD, or does MNRs require an HDD install? Also, if you notice, a message is displayed that says "cannot connect to network" or something along those lines? So, I wonder if the game is try to connect to the "network" in the background while it is initially loading up? Also, I wonder if the user is using a final build of the game? Another poster brought up a good point as well, what are the load times like once you get into the game? Are they just as long or does it only take that long to launch the game from the XBM?!?

[SpikeSpiegel]

Play Soldier of Fortune on the Dreamcast and then complain about long load times.

[rob6021]

Start up time is really nothing to me, I just go get up take a piss, get a snack/drink whatever, surf the web for a bit, lots of things to occupy the start up time.. The in game loads will be frustrating though, makes you wonder if the massive customization makes that something you can't get around. LBP wasn't the fastest loading game from what I remember.