PC & XBOX Gameplay+

this mod edits the surprisingly open game files to:
- make the handling WAY better, more responsive and slidey made to be as similar to the ps2 version as i could get it to be
- make the police more present and aggresive
- makes the ai racers be an actual challange (WIP)
- make the close camera more modern
all adding up to make the game feel way better and more comparable to the ps2 version when it comes to core gameplay

OUTDATED showcase video
new showcase video

ALSO WORKS ON XBOX!

let me know of any issues, especially car specific ones since i could have missed some
PLEASE COMMENT MORE ON THINGS I SHOULD IMPROVE!!!!

discord: fish.nugget

REQUEST!!!!!
IS ANYONE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT NFS MODDING AND COULD SOMEHOW EXTRACT THE CAR STAT VALUES FROM THE PS2 VERSION
ME AND PROBABLY EVERYONE ELSE TRYING TO PLAY THE OTHER VERSIONS WOULD BE INSANELY GRATEFUL!!

UPDATE!
ALL CARS SHOULD NOW WORK FINE! YIPEE, the thing that broke them was extremely long numbers( eg 1.99999998), they were all rounded up so everything should be fine, still let me know if any issues arise from this

another update! (i should really start numbering these)
more handling tweaks... cars are lighter and should now be more responsive and generally more similar to the ps2 version
tweaked racer ai, now should be easier but still harder than vanilla (original hardcore ai is still available in the mod if you want it)
tweaked cop ai a bit, i dont think it ended up doing anything but might aswell mention it
edited camera, i halved the dampening on it so the sense of speed is WAY better now, everything feels way faster with it and its generally more dynamic

ADDED PS2 STYLE HANDLING (previous handling is still included)
my pc game install broke so i had to test it on xbox
pretty much the same as the previous version except with almost no dampening on the steering, making it way more like the ps2 version

XBOX UPDATE! (sorry for not updating much recently!)
renamed ps2 handling to xbox handling since its meant to be used on xbox and honestly still isnt very similar to ps2 handling (game broke on my pc so i can only test on xbox for now, ill try to get it working again soon though)
added experimental xbox handling, way more responsive and bigger turning radius, made from scratch,
its still similar to something between forza horizon and NFS 3
these xbox versions should work on pc but they werent tested there and if on a pc i recommend using a controller since no dampening makes you always understeer!!!
big thanks to IsaacElite for telling me about the pc, keyboard specific issues, ill try to have them fixed sometime soon but for now ill make some xbox versions

simplification update
simplified some things.... the edits now edit much fewer values while having a bigger effect in handling also making it more like the ps2 version (i think) its much driftier, more responsive and front wheels practically never lose grip, let me know if this is better, i personally love it (elise, vx220 and speedster might need some tweaking tho, theyre kinda meh).
removed all other options, the handling is just as is and nothing else, much less confusing

stiff update!
this ones very VERY experimental, but very needed. one of the biggest things that i found that caused the "floatiness" of the handling in this game was the "Damper", its purpose is to literally do that, to dampen the car's body and make it floaty. but disabling it completely caused the car to jump and the suspension to oscillate like crazy. so to fix this i had to make the suspension MUCH stiffer (around 4 - 5 times more than vanilla) which might make the handling feel a bit diffrent, but with the big advantage of the car body moving more naturally and more similarly to the ps2 version, it vibrates more instead of the floating in the vanilla version.
i definetly need some feedback on this one, but having less dampening is definetly something i wanna have in this mod.
all that + i disabled rear abs for all cars, should make every car drift more, which is always good

some tweaks for the stiff update... applied the lesser dampening on ai and other stuffs
added newer showcase video
cars weight was reduced massively for better and more ps2 like handling. this could also make them unrealistically faster

ai update, should be a good bit harder now, built off of the old hardcore ai edited to be even harder, i think its fine enough for now, ill be looking into having good ai now since handling is done now i think
and on the topic of handling, i did some tiny edits to it, just a little bit driftier now since the version before felt too much like ps2's classic handling, now its closer to extreme

Comments

IsaacElite10 (July 01, 2026 @ 23:50)

If you notice the improvement, but the AI is unbalanced, I imagine it will be difficult for you, the slower classes of cars are much more difficult, but the faster ones are much easier, to put it ironically, it will not be easy but if it turns out well and is already 100% enjoyable, they already deserve recognition, you have potential, I just hope you achieve it and it requires a lot of patience if it motivates you to do it.

IsaacElite10 (June 29, 2026 @ 06:02)

Oh right, I forgot one detail: the gearbox and speed in the PS2 version are much more consistent, but the PC version is nonsensical since it goes through speeds that have nothing to do with the gearbox.

IsaacElite10 (June 29, 2026 @ 05:37)

I found that change interesting and fun, but the serious problem is that it becomes too easy. That effect that makes it so fast that even the AI of the police and racers can't catch you gets boring, there's no challenge at all. Some cars barely make a difference, like the Ford Mustang Cobra R, but others, like the McLaren F1 LM, become a breeze and a joke. I think a more faithful modification of the car's performance is possible, not necessarily overly realistic, just enjoyable.

IsaacElite10 (June 22, 2026 @ 22:30)

If you think it's fine like this, I agree; it's user-friendly and forces you to master it, and once you do, it's satisfying.

fishnyugget2018 (June 22, 2026 @ 13:06)

im trying to make it the same as extreme, normal on ps2 is already similar to the vanilla handling on other versions so it doesnt make as much sense trying to replicate it