You have no idea how happy I was when I found out you could mod NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup. I've been busy exploring this game for the past 8 or so hours, and I don't regret it one bit.
In NASCAR 06, you can plug in a USB headset to talk to your crew.
If you decide to be a little "creative" with your language, you'll be reprimanded for it, up to and including (apparently) being fucking fined for it.
A representative from
@RaceSonoma
tells me that the track has replaced the tire barriers at the inside of Turn 11 with a permanent wall, in an attempt to reinforce the track boundaries.
#NASCAR
| πΈ:
@BrianofCortland
,
@TobyChristieCom
Are you ready to Rock?
Yes, EA left the night version of Rockingham unused in NASCAR 06. Not a version re-textured with Mr. Clean branding or anything like that, just the plain old North Carolina Speedway under the lights.
Unused Thunder Plates from Chase for the Cup - let's go! First up, recycled Ward Burton schemes from NASCAR Thunder 2004. Even though they're from an older game, EA still updated these plates to CftC's Thunder Plate background.
NASCAR 06 unused Thunder Plates - here we go!
First up, this blue Mark Martin car. This one actually doesn't appear in the final game, so it's the first time we've had a completely cut paint scheme represented with a Thunder Plate.
Unused Thunder Plates from NASCAR Thunder 2004 - go!
The interesting thing about these plates is that all of these paint schemes are unlocked by default in the final game.
More unused NASCAR game stuff? Sure, why not? This time we have Kenny Schrader, Travis Kvapil, and Terry Labonte's Cup schemes - along with photos for Kvapil and Labonte.
Well, now...
Looks like Paul Menard and Hideo Fukuyama's paint schemes also went unused in NASCAR Thunder 2004. They only exist as rookie-striped textures, though, which made getting images for them a real hassle.
Apparently the version of PCSX2 I'm using has microphone support. And since NASCAR 06 has voice inputs as a feature...
Yeah, you know exactly where I went with this.
NASCAR 06 typically doesn't have test sessions or contract offers for the fantasy Nextel Cup cars, so it takes a long time to get to Cup.
However, all these test sessions were simply left unused; by re-enabling them, you can get a chance at a Cup ride significantly faster.
Not sure why I didn't post this earlier, but here's Bill Elliott's
#91
Stanley Dodge from NASCAR 06, complete with his photo. He was left unused in the final game, though you could still see his car in some of the tutorial videos.
So, Sawmill Speedway was left unused in NASCAR 07 (kinda). This is Redwood - an unused track from that game. Interestingly, this track's map is a "reversed" version of Sawmill, like you're running the NT04 version backwards.
Here's the pace car from NASCAR Thunder 2003. I had to "cheat" to unlock it, since this particular plate (Plate 78) is bugged. You can't unlock it through completing challenges, cheats, or by winning championships.
That being said, I think I might know what's wrong.
So, I've figured out how to change race names in Chase for the Cup. It is absolutely tedious and awful, but it is at least possible. It's the small things, you know?
And at least I was able to copy the race logo over from 07.
Here are some unused track logos from NASCAR 06. We have a blank placeholder, Red Ball Raceway (the name for UPS in CftC), and, most interestingly, Sears Point - the name for Infineon prior to 2002.
Looks like Redwood isn't the only track in NASCAR 07 with weird AI lines.
This is the Race the Truck 325 at Meadow Creek, normally inaccessible. My car drives at a normal speed, but all of the AI cars drive like an absolute bat out of hell around this short track.
In the prologue cutscene for NASCAR 06, you can see the 2004 paint schemes for both Scott Riggs and Terry Labonte.
Dale Jr.'s car also uses the Chase for the Cup "JR Motorsports" logo instead of the full Dale Earnhardt, Inc. version that was actually featured in 06.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Lately, I've been going through the files of NASCAR Thunder 2002. First up, unused audio files for Bobby Hamilton Jr.'s and Jimmie Johnson's 2001 Busch Series rides.
Here's something a little different today - Harry Gant's paint scheme from the NASCAR Thunder 2003 beta. It looks to be based on his 1992 Mac Tools Busch Series ride.
Gant was actually a selectable driver in the beta version, but was removed for the final release.
How about some more cut NASCAR game content? This time, we have Tony Raines and Kasey Kahne from NASCAR Thunder 2004. Raines being cut from that game is pretty well-known, but I did not expect to see his car, number, and even photo still in the game files.
Mark Martin's 2006 truck was apparently supposed to be in NASCAR 07.
This truck is almost identical to David Ragan's truck, but, if you look closely, you can actually see Mark's signature on the name rail, so this is a different texture.
Before -> After
I've been doing some more experimenting with CFTC lately - been replacing the career mode create-a-car schemes. They look surprisingly seamless.
So Carl Edwards is in NASCAR 07 (kinda).
All of Edwards' car textures from Total Team Control were left unused in 07. You can tell they're his 2005 cars because they all use the Ford Taurus. For the 2006 season, Ford started fielding the Fusion.
Here's something cool. In Chase for the Cup, one of the oil tanks at IRP has an unfinished render of Ron Hornaday's car plastered on it (I amped up the brightness to make it easier to see).
In NASCAR Thunder 2003, there are unused MRN audio files that suggest New Hampshire was supposed to have its own version of an infield road course - a track that wasn't in the final game.
I just noticed that the "8" and "1" in Dale Jr.'s
#81
in NASCAR 06 use different-colored outlines, and I just know I'm not going to be able to un-see it.
Also, I'm pretty sure the blue Menards car only ran in 2004; same with BLabonte's Banquet car with the different number font.
Huh. Turns out Travis Kvapil has a fully-textured Tide driver model in NASCAR 07. Really makes me wonder just how far into development his stuff got before being cut.
Here we go again. It's all of the possible package sponsorship offers from NASCAR Thunder 2004. It's mostly the same as NT2003, but there are a couple differences here and there.
I've been meaning to do this for a while. Here are some of the unused placeholder textures from NASCAR Thunder 2004.
Here we have unused Busch Series Chevrolets: the 8 (w/ alternate), the 63, and the 92. You can even see the 63 and 92 have unused placeholder number icons.
I think I'll wrap up the sim here. 52-year-old Ricky Rudd edges out Jimmie Johnson by just 2 points to win the 2008 Winston Cup. Jimmie won and led the most laps at Atlanta, but Rudd was able to finish 2nd and lead only one lap himself, which was just enough to take the title.
Here's another artifact from NASCAR 06's tutorial videos. In the "Interactive Crew Chief" and "Team Management" videos, Boris Said drives for MB/Sutton Motorsports by himself. In the final game, he drives for MB2, and is teammates with Riggs and Nemechek.
Dale Earnhardt's "Legacy" car from NASCAR Thunder 2004 made a brief appearance in one of CftC's "NASCAR 101" videos, despite that car not appearing in the final game.
I don't know how many people are into modding NASCAR Thunder 2003, but here's something cool - a custom
@michael_mrucz
paint inspired by Jimmay's 2012 Brickyard 400 winning Kobalt scheme.
I was looking through Chase for the Cup's unused pit boxes, and I found one that was labelled "NASCAR Thunder 2005". Probably a placeholder name or something that was shelved early in development.
Tiburon Superspeedway was always a night race in NT03. I've tried playing with some settings, and now it can be either a day race, or even take place at sunset. It even has daytime lighting. Still trying to figure out how to turn those square lights off, though.
Got some more unused stuff from Chase for the Cup right here. Here we have the No. 53 Pipe'N Hot Busch Series Chevy, and the No. β Ford.
These are labeled as back-up cars in-game, so they're probably meant to be used when something goes wrong.
I'll do a sim-through of NASCAR Thunder 2000, because why not?
And, DAMN, did we have a close point battle for 2000 - Labonte edges out Jarrett by just 5 points.
In case anybody was wondering what of Dale Sr.'s is left in the game, all that's left are these placeholders. They were probably meant to be his 1995 All-Star car, 1998 All-Star car, and 2001 Shootout car - all of which were also in Thunder 2004.
Dale Earnhardt's "Legacy" car from NASCAR Thunder 2004 made a brief appearance in one of CftC's "NASCAR 101" videos, despite that car not appearing in the final game.
Remember that unused Redwood track from NASCAR 07? Well, I found an AI line for it that kinda works. The AI still have a tendency to go off-road and overdrive the corners, but at least it doesn't take me 5+ minutes to complete a lap now.
In the Chase for the Cup trailer, Dodge Raceway Stadium was set at dusk, rather than during the day.
Also, the wall in the background says "If It's in the Game" here, but "Grab Life by the Horns" in the final game, so it's more like "EA Raceway Stadium".
And don't think it's just Cup schemes that were cut. We also have A.J. Foyt IV's 38 Dodge, as well as Bobby Hamilton Jr.'s Corky's truck. So that's two games now the Great Clips 38 has been cut from.
In the Daytona 507.5 challenge in NASCAR 06, one of the cars is driven by the career mode driver-for-hire Jack Knight. His car texture is all screwed up, seeing as it's the
#152
truck from Chase for the Cup plastered on a Chevy body.
Since today is the day
@SledgeLIX
's NT2000 mod comes out, I figured I would go ahead and share my memory card with my "100%" save file, that way you don't have to unlock everything to fully enjoy the mod.
There's also these unused placeholder schemes - alternates for Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip, and an unused
#1
car. I'm not too sure what they're supposed to stand in for - probably schemes from Thunder 2004, if I had to guess.
So, I think I figured out what causes the "KHI glitch" in NASCAR 06, and it has something to do with replacement drivers.
Sometimes, when you leave a ride at the end of the season, another driver will swoop in to take your spot (like Wade Davis in Evernham's
#19
Modified).
The mods just keep on coming, don't they? I found Randy LaJoie, Jason Keller, and Jack Sprague's 2005 cars all unused in NASCAR 06: Total Team Control. I didn't paint these - just moved a few pointers around.