Just so we can discuss the games and stuff, like the NFS one?
Too late! https://discord.gg/M5muYXD
Thanks to the IGN Wiki for this gem I noticed while looking up info on the game;
-Complete the first race of any tournament except for Ultimate. -Save game and reset PlayStation. -Reload saved game and enable "Full Race" and "Time Trials" options. -Select a car and compete in the Time Trial. -Quit Time Trial and choose to continue race ¿ without loading the previously saved game. -Select "Next Cup Race" to race with no CPU drivers. (Note: The vehicle used during the time trials will be the one driven in the Cup Race.)
What this accomplishes is that after the first race, every subsequent race you race alone with only traffic and cops, no AI drivers and you always finish in 1st. It costs about 1:30-2:00 in menus and loads (I'm kinda slow), but it completely rids the game of the most frustrating aspect, aka the rubber-banding AT that love to wreck right in front of you.
This adds at least 8 minutes to a run, and it may cause crashes on specific tracks (you just have to reload the game, go back into the time trial, and into the cup, but that's still a 1-2 minute loss).
However, it means that your placement in race one does not matter for the run, as you will win every other race, the exception being Pitbull cup (out of the first four) where it requires you to win the first race to progress, but you're home clear after that.
Saving is critical but time costly, as a crash or doing the glitch wrong may cause you to redo one or several races, or just end your run.
TT Glitch can be recovered, let's say you crash in race 6 of Pitbull Cup and your only save is the glitch save after race 1, and your run is basically lost. If you save after every race (or every other) you can reset the console, do the TT Glitch, and load your save, (even if the IGN instructions tell you not to) the glitch will still work and you will start on the race you crashed on, with no AI.
So with that info, let's update those instructions.
-Complete the first race of any tournament. (Championship, Era, and Challenge you can place anywhere, Pitbull you have to win.) -Save game and reset PlayStation. -Select a car and compete in a Time trial. UNPROVEN - [Note: The vehicle used during the time trials will be the one driven in the Cup Race.] (I do not have any proof of this, as I had chosen the wrong color Viper for the timetrial, and the cup save had the original color but the glitch still worked.) -Quit Time Trial (at any time, but as fast as possible is optimal) and choose to continue cup with/without loading the previously saved game.
That last point is the oddest thing about the TT Glitch and the thing that needs the most research. I had a moment where I didn't load, but had a save past the first race. It loaded me into the second race (instead of where I was) with no AI. After resetting and doing the TTG one more time, I loaded my save before continuing, and it put me at the correct race with no AI, working as normal, just that you were slotted into the correct race.
I'll continue to update as I play more and record more findings, posts on routing and cup order (if possible) to come, and another run attempt within the week.
Ended in tragic failure 2.5 hours in, due to fatigue, stream errors, and around 3 emulator crashes and 4ish resets? It's a rough run but the TT Glitch helps a lot.
If anyone else is interested in running this game I'd love to chat about it.