FreeGameDev

I used to play STK 0.6 a lot - I mean, really a lot - it is one of my favourite games ever. I really mastered the game and now am only playing on hardest tracks against 7 opponents and no powerups. I was really excited when STK 0.7 came out - was mostly looking forward to new tracks. However, the new game has a completely different feel. Is it just me? It feels much less dynamic and slower... I was used to crazy chases, at speeds where I was barely able to control the car, spectacular crashes that could completely change the results of the race, lots of emotions & fun. When I now play 0.7 on my favourite Island track it feels much wider, turns are softer, taking over is easy, the race is just boring and mostly about collecting nitro and using it efficiently. I am really surprised that other people don't feel the same? is it just me? am I missing something about the new version of the game?

I had the same feeling when I started to play some 0.7 alpha version. After a while, I discovered that you're much slower on lower difficulty levels, so I changed to the hardest. Doing so, I didn't have this problem any more, but that definitely could be because I already was used to the "new" game.
So, it's quite possible you're right. Actually, the game now doesn't feel much challenging (except for tracks like the New Old Mine), so it may be you're right. I'll download 0.6 again (aah.. back to the bad graphics ) and see if I also can see what you're speaking of.


Crend

Btw, you can install old narrow Island track from addons (implemented in 0.7.2rc1) and have fun

I am also a fan of the hard tracks (that's why I uploaded the old narrow version of The Island as an add-on), but I don't think 0.6 is better in terms of gameplay. In fact, I would argue that 0.6 feels quite a bit slower than 0.7 (assuming one plays on the highest difficulty settings). The fact that some tracks are getting a bit easier is not surprising to me as STK will cater to a broader audience, including children/adolescents. Also, the AI is quite a bit better now and we've just gotten an integrated add-on manager, so what's not to like?

I can certainly sympathize with the fact that going from 0.6 to 0.7 takes some time getting used to. As I regularly tested the development version while 0.7 was shaping up, I didn't get that much of a "culture shock", but some things did take some time getting used to nevertheless. For example, different driving physics meant that I tended to oversteer for a while, since I used the skid button more than necessary. But later on, when I very briefly tested 0.6 again, it felt neither as fast-paced nor as refined as now. There are of course still some issues with the 0.7 version, and I've not always liked the changes at first glance. Overall I feel STK 0.7 is a very different beast than 0.6, while keeping the basics similar, almost like the change when I went from TuxKart 0.4 to SuperTuxKart 0.3 back in the day.

TL;DR version: 0.7.x is the best.