secret diaries of a developer
Wed, 02/24/2010 - 8:24pm
This forum is a great basis for players to throw out impressions set ups ect. though it seems the developers could just have a thread explaing the ins and outs built into the game or shoot down incorrect perceptions.
help us out with bike set ups... what're YOU running?
is there a difference between bikes of the same class? does a suzuki corner better than a KTM? does the 250 2 stroke given identical settings put power to the ground the same as a 450 does?
is there really a code for a factory honda-esque 500?
just give us some little ins and outs of the game... it would add to player interest to try them out with a little faith that it's solid advice.
thanks, really cool game; huge step forward from all previous MX games.
shazmaster606
shazmaster606
Yes! Each one has a different base. Some will have more acceleration while others have more top end. Find out which bike fits your style.
Is each part different?
Rainbow/THQ/Stock parts aren't equal to the rest; however, the others are equal. The Kenda tires are equal to the Maxxis tires and the Pro Circuit Exhaust is equal to the Big Gun exhaust.
What set up does RBW_Checkerz448 run?
Let me be the first to say, I'm in the minority with my set up, most call me crazy and say it doesn't work for crap, but I run the same set up all the time on all my bikes supercross and for nationals. It certaintly works better in SX than nationals; however, it certaintly isn't terrible in the nationals. For Omnicross/Waypoint, I run the same set up with all top speed and for Freestyle I run the same set up with stiff suspension to absorb the massive landings.
Tires:
Super Sticky - all the way to sticky. Infact, on my 125 I picked the stock bike with the most bars towards sticky even. The key to going fast in Reflex for me is corners and traction. You won't be able to turn quite as sharp, and you may swap more violently because your tires are digging in, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to get more power to the ground.
Gearing:
Acceleration! I run my bikes all tuned to be all except 2 blue tuning bars towards acceleration. I tune my bike like this because it fits my smooth and steady riding style, I don't have to carry massive speed through the corners to keep the RPM's up because I have the acceleration tuning to help me get back up to speed upon exit. Clearning the first jump of a rhythm is the most crucial for me, and this helps with that. On nationals I lose a bit of time on the longest, fastest straights; however, I make it back up in the tight hairpin and off camber corners where I can accelerate out much faster.
Suspension:
All soft!
This is the one I probably hear the most people laugh at, but I run my suspension all the way soft except 2 light blue tuning bars stay on stiff. Why so soft? Well, unlike most players, I prefer my bike soaking up the jumps to help me stay lower, rather than getting the extra pop of stiff suspension to clear crazy gaps. I make up for the lack of pop by being able to carry more speed with the extra traction and grounded feel of the soft suspesnion. I also am able to soak up jumps and carry more speed over them to get me back on the ground smoother with more momentum. The weakest link? When the track is extremely choppy, sometimes the suspension will pack up and cause you to swap out hard; however, good line choice and smooth riding can easily avoid this one issue.
I run my brakes and steering on standard, simply because that's what I'm used to. Normally you'll see me online on the Blaze or Takashi 450f or the KTM or Takashi 125 2-stroke.
shazmaster606
here's another answer for you. there is no code for a Honda or any other OEM that you mentioned above.
'I saw this forum asking which 450 is best. Clearly there is alot of biased opinions, so I decided to test them all and see which one really is best. Why did I do this? Because I was bored. I completed career, have over a million dollars to spend on extra vehicles, and could'nt connect online at the time. Thats why I did this. All bikes were tested in the follow areas on varying terrain. Accelleration, Top Speed, Suspension, and Tire Grip. All of these tests were done the exact same way for each bike. They all had Stock OEM parts, completely untuned.
Suspension: For the suspension tests I tested at 2 national tracks. The soft and bumpy sand of Sandwick, and the harpacked, high-flying jumps of Pinetop. Sand: 1.Honda, 4/5. The Honda was amazingly smooth over the bumpy sand track. Even smoother than the Suzuki, which is what I thought would be the best. 2.Suzuki, 3.5/5 Slightly less smooth than the Honda, but still really really smooth. 3.Yamaha, 3.5/5 About as smooth as the Suzuki, but the Yamaha did one section with much more difficulty than the Suzuki, giving the Yamaha 3rd. 4.KTM, 2.5/5 I knew before the tests that KTM's are known for their very hard suspension. The KTM bounced and struggled around the whole track, but nothing a bit of tuning could'nt fix. 5.Kawasaki, 2/5 Clearly Not the bike you want to ride Outdoors. It would take alot of tuning to get this thing set for Sandwick and other nationals. HardPacked: 1.Kawasaki, 5/5 Completely opposite from its scores on the Sand tracks, The Kawasaki was hands-down the best bike on huge jumps. Even overshooting the biggest jump on the track, I still rode away clean. This is definetaly the bike you want for freestyle or SX. 2.KTM, 4.5/5 The KTM is the same deal as the Kawasaki, but slightly better on sand and slightly worse on hardpacked tracks. 3.Suzuki. 4/5 I was surprised to see how well the Suzuki performed on Pinetop when it was untuned. A very solid bike on all terrain. 4.Honda, 3/5 The Honda did about as well on hard tracks as soft tracks. You can get an aftermarket part to increase performance, but not much tuning is needed. 5.Yamaha, 3/5 Same as the Honda, but The Honda had a better overall score.
Grip: To test the grip of the bikes, I again went to 2 tracks. Sandwick's loose and deep sand, and Prairie Valley's slippery hardpacked track. Soft terrain: 1.Kawasaki, 4/5 The Kawaski's had amazing grip in the soft stuff. Tune the suspension to go with it and you will have a very fast bike. 2.Suzuki, 3.5/5 With the Suzuki's naturally sticky tires, i knew it would be able to perform well in soft terrain. And it did just that. 3.Yamaha, 3.5/5 Another tie between Suzuki and Yamaha. Suzuki takes the overall for getting the better position in the soft stuff. 4.Honda, 2.5/5. The honda slid around the sandy track alot. But, if you can tune it right with some maxxis tires, combine that and the excellent suspension and you have a true contender. 5.KTM, 2/5. The KTM must truely be a SX bike only. Maybe thats why its the 450SX-F! Hard Terrain: 1.Honda, 4.5/5 The Honda did extremely well on Prairie Valley compared to Sandwick. It had amazing grip on hardpacked terrain. 2.Kawasaki, 4/5 The Kawasaki clearly is the most all-around bike when it comes to grip. great in soft stuff, great on hardpacked. 3.Suzuki, 4/5. Tied with the Kawasaki, but the kawasaki had a better suspension rating on hardpacked, giving Suzuki 3rd place. 4.KTM, 3.5/5 average performance for grip on the hard terrain. 5.Yamaha,3.5/5, tied with the KTM, but like the Kawasaki-Suzuki tie, KTM got the better suspension rating on hard stuff.
Accelleration:For this i just timed how long it took them to get down the Pinetop starting straight. It really was a good distance to test accelleration. As I guessed, all of the bikes would be really close, but there was a clear winner and a loser. 1,Kawasaki, 7.5 seconds. The most powerful bike. period. I even noticed it when i rode. 2. Suzuki, Honda, and KTM all got 8 seconds. Only 0.5 seconds difference between them and the Kawi, but 0.5 seconds could be the difference between getting the holeshot and getting ran over by 11 other riders online. 3.Yamaha. 9 seconds. 1.5 seconds back from the Kawasaki. The bike really felt underpowered compared to the other 450's when riding.
Top Speed:To test this, i went to Hillsgrove, NY, and timed how long it took for the bikes to get from the mud at the beginning to the water all the way down the east side. 1.Kawasaki, 23 seconds. A full second faster than anyone else, this bike has the most power of any 450, hands-down. Take this and its incredible suspension and grip ratings on the hardpacked tracks, you have the ultimate SX bike. This bike seems to have the hardest hit in the mid to high RPM range. 2.Suzuki, 24 seconds. The Suzuki has the hardest hit in the low to mid RPM's of any bike. with the right Accelleration over Speed setup, it could be the fastest 450. 2. Honda, 24 seconds. Tied with the Suzuki, The Honda has tons of power in all RPM ranges. 3. KTM, 25 seconds, I was actually expecting a faster time from the KTM, but it was definetaly a 25. like the Kawasaki, it gets alot of power in the mid to high RPM's. 4. Yamaha, 25 seconds. Loses to the KTM due to slower accelleration. Gets a good amount of power from all RPM's, but still feel's underpowered compared to the others.
Overall: And the best 450 in Reflex is... 1.Kawasaki, 25pts. Clearly the most dominant bike. 2.Honda, 22pts. An excellent all-around bike. An average place of 2.3. 3.Suzuki, 22pts. My personal favourite. With the right setup, it could be the best nationals bike. Lost to the Honda by the average finish position. Suzuki had a 2.8. 4. KTM, 16pts. A good SX bike, but not a good overall bike, unless you like to do alot of tuning. 5. Yamaha, with 13pts. Didnt finish all that well in any event, and felt really underpowered.'