Talk:Stingray Evolution (v5.3.0)/@comment-27123099-20170621221545/@comment-27123099-20170622152002

My comment is in response to several further down which stated that they had made it through 3.3 and 5.4 in the original version of this event with fewer than 18 upgrades and no skips. At the time of that event, the thought of skipping a race seemed completely foreign since most Special Events could be won with just R$ upgrades and bot management pretty easily. Not to mention that skipping is still a terrible strategy. But, due to the GC requirements to pass both 3.3 and 5.4, most players it appeared, opted to take the much cheaper route, and skip (at least 5.4, if not both) and completed Stages 6 and 7 with just R$ upgrades. This event was the first I can recall that contained a race solely meant to force players to upgrade.

Additionally, I agree with you that this flashback has changed as well. I'm at 17/31 and was fairly far behind the lead car in 5.4. I even added 3 additional upgrades as a test (2 GC and one follow-up R$ upgrade) and I hardly seemed to gain much ground. So, I restored to regain my GC, took my bonuses for Stages 1-4 and moved on.

This is frustrating though, the other flashbacks have played identically to the original ones, as far as I can tell. But, if FM is now going to make them harder, while simultaneously reducing the completion bonuses, they've taken away virtually any incentive to play them, at least for players who already own these cars. If you do not own the car, then it's advantageous to still play the flashbacks, otherwise, there's not much bother.