I know everyone is slagging this off but...

Something inside me makes me want to spend some money on it and play...

I just can't help but think it's a great idea for a game.

Any advice?

[Kruztee]

I think it plays well and was worth the money.

It's not a truck driving sim, but there are simulation aspects to it. The physics can be a bit screwy and the AI drivers can do some pretty silly things. The narrative is also a bit convoluted and the game has an overall very eastern european feel to it, but not to the point of ruining the whole experience.

The graphics are fine, and are the best you'll see in a truck driving game to date. Easily better than the 18WoS series. If you liked any of the 18WoS games, this is a step up in my opinion and a buy.

[coifanatic]

Don't buy. Save your 25 bucks for a worthwhile game. This game is NOT up to par with the 18wos series. IMO, the graphics are ok, but not great. The AI flat out sucks. The cops are all over you for everything, even when they do not see it. The driving is as hard to control as I've ever seen. And to top it off, last night while playing, the game stuttered so bad it was unplayable. And this is on a very good pc. DO NOT BUY!

[Ardbug]

Go for it Eddie, you obviously know there are quite a few technical quirks with the game, and that it isnt a hard core sim at all, so you wont be let down by it because you already expect trouble, and the game IS fun, despite me having run into every bug in the game (so it feels) I still have 17 hours played already, so something is good in there

[Chubz123]

I've played the game for 2-3 hours now and have quite a few thoughts about it.

PROS
- Graphics can be absolutely gorgeous
- Many types of cargo to deliver
- "Race" deliveries are really fun, even if the AI isn't incredibly hard to defeat
- Awesome truck customization at Repair Shops found at truck stops (interior, exterior, you name it, you can modify or add to it)
- Storyline makes you want to keep playing to see what will happen next and what new things you'll discover
- World feels really large, and you can see some cities in the distance - hundreds of individual structures - making for some incredible views
- Lots of different roadways, bridges, road structures, etc. to travel on and a large variety of scenery to see

CONS
- Truck handling can be very stiff and awkward
- Streets can sometimes be difficult to navigate and feature road blocks with few-to-no warnings until you are upon them
- Gamepad mapping can be tricky for several reasons (I use mouse/keyboard and can drive very efficiently)
- Rain effect, though visually impressive, isn't "heavy" enough to truly hinder vision (at least what I've seen of it)
- External camera view's mouse movement is very awkward and will, more often than not, wreck you as you're trying to readjust it
- Sounds are very weak, unlike the strong visuals

Overall, I've been impressed by it and can safely call it my favorite trucking game, right next to 18 Wheels of Steel American Long Haul. One thing you'll immediately notice makes a big difference in the gameplay is that there are literally no speed limits. You can drive as fast as you want - I've gone past 90 MPH - with no penalties so long as you stay in the road and don't collide with other vehicles. There are no stop lights, either, so you don't have to worry about constantly stopping, then starting. The police are also not as strict as the poster above me indicates, for I've made crazy turns that I shouldn't have, gone slightly off-road to turn around, and whizzed past police cars doing incredible rates of speed without so much as a buzz. If you hit other vehicles and cause damage, yes, you will have the police after you all the time. If not, they will ignore you. Really, is that so bad?

Another thing that was nearly a requirement for me to enjoy the first-person camera view was to press the "/" key on the NUMPAD so that it zooms completely out, because the default view is zoomed in far enough so that it feels as if the steering wheel is stuck up your nose. Once you're zoomed out and can see the steering wheel, your gauges, and entire windshield all at once, you'll be a far happier camper. Also, before you start your engine and pull out, use your mouse to look left and use the DEL/PG DOWN keys (and surrounding keys if needed) to adjust your mirrors. You'll be thankful later when you optimize your mirror view so that you can easily look left and right before changing lanes. The external camera view is excellent for changing lanes, too, although the mouse movement in that view is downright horrendous.

I tried playing with the Xbox 360 controller to begin with, but after spending a good while tinkering with the controls and realizing that I had no means of mapping them as I wanted, I decided instead to hop over to a standard Mouse/Keyboard setup. Since then, I've driven better than ever before after lots of practice. I use the WASD keys for gas, brakes, and steering, the mouse for looking around (at mirrors and surroundings in external view), the Q/E keys for left/right turn signal, and my CTRL key for the engine brake. If you're using the keyboard to drive and need to stop quickly or ease your way around tight curves, brake with S and, at the same time, either tap or hold CTRL to apply the engine brake all at once. This slows you down far more quickly than if you apply only the brakes, and if you rely only on the brakes themselves, you're going to be rear-ending and T-boning vehicles nearly every time you're in a must-stop situation.

Finally, I'll provide some closing points and links to screenshots of some of the beautiful scenery I've already encountered:
- No speed limits, no stop lights, radio stations and crazy rock music make this game a more light hearted, arcadish trucking game than the more strict, by-the-numbers 18 Wheels of Steel games.
- Racing against other drivers and running from the police, considering there is no speed limit, is downright wicked
- If you have the computer to crank up the graphics, nearly everything, especially vehicle models and interiors, is top notch and looks as if it came from a AAA company
- The RPG elements (truck stops with cutscenes, a storyline, and your typical gas, repairs, rest truck simulator attributes) give the game longevity and excellent replay value
- Although things such as delivering cargo and even getting gas are more streamlined to the point of requiring no careful driving, the game is still fun because of the other great things it has going for it
- 18 Wheels of Steel Haulin' or American Long Haul is an excellent, more realistic alternative to this game. But this game is still incredibly fun in its own right!

SCREENSHOTS (All max settings, 1440x900, 4xAA, 8xAF)
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3259/photo0002yh.jpg
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/4633/photo0004q.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/710/photo0011gs.jpg
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2127/photo0029t.jpg
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/3958/photo0034z.jpg
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9485/photo0047wb.jpg
http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/7965/photo0049.jpg
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/5581/photo0056g.jpg
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/2347/photo0065zi.jpg
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/905/photo0067d.jpg
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/9794/photo0071.jpg
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/899/photo0073mp.jpg

[Kruztee]

Originally Posted by Chubz123

SCREENSHOTS (All max settings, 1440x900, 4xAA)

Might just be the JPG compression but Rig & Roll anti-aliasing looks like it's not working for you. You've got some nasty jaggies there. Try and override the R&R application settings by using the anti-aliasing feature in your ATI or Nvidia control panel.

4x anti-aliased R&R screenies should look something like this:

http://a.imageshack.us/img709/7967/photo0000h.jpg

Hope this helps!

[TrippleD]

Originally Posted by Chubz123

I've played the game for 2-3 hours now and have quite a few thoughts about it.

Nice review. Well thought out thanks.

I for one have been looking at this title. I have both 18wos Long haul and Extreme Truckers and enjoy them.

[Chubz123]

Originally Posted by Kruztee

Might just be the JPG compression but Rig & Roll anti-aliasing looks like it's not working for you. You've got some nasty jaggies there. Try and override the R&R application settings by using the anti-aliasing feature in your ATI or Nvidia control panel.

4x anti-aliased R&R screenies should look something like this:

http://a.imageshack.us/img709/7967/photo0000h.jpg

Hope this helps!

Thanks, I'll definitely give that a shot! I didn't realize how the jaggies were until you pointed them out. You're right that the AA definitely doesn't appear to be working as well as it should, if at all.

[Chubz123]

UPDATE:
I've re-uploaded a whole new bundle of screenshots, this time with forced AA and AF so that they look much prettier than the ones I had before. I also think these do the game even more justice because they feature some things not shown in my older set of screenshots. Special thanks to Kruztee for pointing out the lack of AA in those older screenshots so that I could come back even stronger!

So that you don't have to scroll upwards to the post I'm referring to in this thread, here's the same set of links as above:
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3259/photo0002yh.jpg
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/4633/photo0004q.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/710/photo0011gs.jpg
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2127/photo0029t.jpg
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/3958/photo0034z.jpg
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9485/photo0047wb.jpg
http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/7965/photo0049.jpg
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/5581/photo0056g.jpg
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/2347/photo0065zi.jpg
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/905/photo0067d.jpg
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/9794/photo0071.jpg
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/899/photo0073mp.jpg

Hope you guys enjoy the beauty of Rig'n'Roll!

[Ardbug]

Nice pics Chubz, I cannot rep you again so soon though

Cheers for the responses...

Think I'm going to wait until it's on sale. But I defo want to buy it.

[TrippleD]

Originally Posted by eddieskyclad

Think I'm going to wait until it's on sale. But I defo want to buy it.

Same here.

[Bonder]

Originally Posted by Chubz123

I've played the game for 2-3 hours now and have quite a few thoughts about it.

PROS
- Graphics can be absolutely gorgeous
- Many types of cargo to deliver
- "Race" deliveries are really fun, even if the AI isn't incredibly hard to defeat
- Awesome truck customization at Repair Shops found at truck stops (interior, exterior, you name it, you can modify or add to it)
- Storyline makes you want to keep playing to see what will happen next and what new things you'll discover
- World feels really large, and you can see some cities in the distance - hundreds of individual structures - making for some incredible views
- Lots of different roadways, bridges, road structures, etc. to travel on and a large variety of scenery to see

CONS
- Truck handling can be very stiff and awkward
- Streets can sometimes be difficult to navigate and feature road blocks with few-to-no warnings until you are upon them
- Gamepad mapping can be tricky for several reasons (I use mouse/keyboard and can drive very efficiently)
- Rain effect, though visually impressive, isn't "heavy" enough to truly hinder vision (at least what I've seen of it)
- External camera view's mouse movement is very awkward and will, more often than not, wreck you as you're trying to readjust it
- Sounds are very weak, unlike the strong visuals

Overall, I've been impressed by it and can safely call it my favorite trucking game, right next to 18 Wheels of Steel American Long Haul. One thing you'll immediately notice makes a big difference in the gameplay is that there are literally no speed limits. You can drive as fast as you want - I've gone past 90 MPH - with no penalties so long as you stay in the road and don't collide with other vehicles. There are no stop lights, either, so you don't have to worry about constantly stopping, then starting. The police are also not as strict as the poster above me indicates, for I've made crazy turns that I shouldn't have, gone slightly off-road to turn around, and whizzed past police cars doing incredible rates of speed without so much as a buzz. If you hit other vehicles and cause damage, yes, you will have the police after you all the time. If not, they will ignore you. Really, is that so bad?

Another thing that was nearly a requirement for me to enjoy the first-person camera view was to press the "/" key on the NUMPAD so that it zooms completely out, because the default view is zoomed in far enough so that it feels as if the steering wheel is stuck up your nose. Once you're zoomed out and can see the steering wheel, your gauges, and entire windshield all at once, you'll be a far happier camper. Also, before you start your engine and pull out, use your mouse to look left and use the DEL/PG DOWN keys (and surrounding keys if needed) to adjust your mirrors. You'll be thankful later when you optimize your mirror view so that you can easily look left and right before changing lanes. The external camera view is excellent for changing lanes, too, although the mouse movement in that view is downright horrendous.

I tried playing with the Xbox 360 controller to begin with, but after spending a good while tinkering with the controls and realizing that I had no means of mapping them as I wanted, I decided instead to hop over to a standard Mouse/Keyboard setup. Since then, I've driven better than ever before after lots of practice. I use the WASD keys for gas, brakes, and steering, the mouse for looking around (at mirrors and surroundings in external view), the Q/E keys for left/right turn signal, and my CTRL key for the engine brake. If you're using the keyboard to drive and need to stop quickly or ease your way around tight curves, brake with S and, at the same time, either tap or hold CTRL to apply the engine brake all at once. This slows you down far more quickly than if you apply only the brakes, and if you rely only on the brakes themselves, you're going to be rear-ending and T-boning vehicles nearly every time you're in a must-stop situation.

Finally, I'll provide some closing points and links to screenshots of some of the beautiful scenery I've already encountered:
- No speed limits, no stop lights, radio stations and crazy rock music make this game a more light hearted, arcadish trucking game than the more strict, by-the-numbers 18 Wheels of Steel games.
- Racing against other drivers and running from the police, considering there is no speed limit, is downright wicked
- If you have the computer to crank up the graphics, nearly everything, especially vehicle models and interiors, is top notch and looks as if it came from a AAA company
- The RPG elements (truck stops with cutscenes, a storyline, and your typical gas, repairs, rest truck simulator attributes) give the game longevity and excellent replay value
- Although things such as delivering cargo and even getting gas are more streamlined to the point of requiring no careful driving, the game is still fun because of the other great things it has going for it
- 18 Wheels of Steel Haulin' or American Long Haul is an excellent, more realistic alternative to this game. But this game is still incredibly fun in its own right!

SCREENSHOTS (All max settings, 1440x900, 4xAA, 8xAF)
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3259/photo0002yh.jpg
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/4633/photo0004q.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/710/photo0011gs.jpg
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2127/photo0029t.jpg
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/3958/photo0034z.jpg
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9485/photo0047wb.jpg
http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/7965/photo0049.jpg
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/5581/photo0056g.jpg
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/2347/photo0065zi.jpg
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/905/photo0067d.jpg
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/9794/photo0071.jpg
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/899/photo0073mp.jpg

Can you elaborate?

[blackforce]

DON'T WASTE your money this is the worse trucking game ever made for real, and everyone been waiting on a dammn patch, what a rip off, 18 wheels games are much better, the rnr site the admin is a dumb ♥♥♥ usa trucker, trying to tell everyone how good this crap is. this game will never be patch and if it is, nothing will ever get better with this game.

Originally Posted by TrippleD

Nice review. Well thought out thanks.

I for one have been looking at this title. I have both 18wos Long haul and Extreme Truckers and enjoy them.