hardjack79
21 April 07, 18:05
I'm wondering if anyone else has fond memories of this game, and if there is a worthy successor out there (from this decade). I've never found another game that delivered so much to think about from the race strategy and car conservation aspects of racing, which is really a pity.
I still play it with my mate on PSX (yes the 1st one, I don't know what it's like on other platforms) whenever we are in the same country because for excitement value it is just incredible. The amateur mode is not worth touching, but 'pro' opens a whole raft of race strategy dimensions.
First the bad:
* The physics weren't too flash
* The feel of the car was rubbish
* The graphics weren't even that hot in their day, let alone now
* Tiff Needle's commentary "Oh no! What is he doing?!" every 2 laps
* Some shocking bugs during pitstops where the car would get driven into the wall by the AI completely undoing all the repair work that necessitated the pit in the first place.
But the GOOD:
* The damage 'model' has only 5 locations for aero damage, but each can take either minor or severe damage and it makes a massive effect to the speed and handling of the car (to a level beyond many modern sims). Engines would fail if abused.
* The races were only 10 laps long (a lot for a PSX game) but the tyre and fuel use was so harsh that a no-stopper was very nearly impossible on most tracks. It seemed like we could pick from 1 or 2 (or even 0 or 3) stop strategies depending on how confident we were in quick lapping a given circuit, and the chance of a change in weather or damage.
* Changable weather conditions.
* Occaisonally there would be oil spilled on the track and the black and yellow flag.
* Tyres that started off cold, went through a sweet spot, then quickly deteriorated and could finally blowout if pushed hard for too long. And they would get dirty and lose grip for half a lap if you ran them off road (never seen that well implemented in a game since).
* Pretty decent opponent AI, some were agressive, fast, on different strategies, etc. And best of all they used to make mistakes, and break down in the middle of the circuit, and pass each other.
* The best thing was that fuel use, vehicle weight, engine temperature, engine revs, tyre use, and lap time all interacted wonderfully, making on-the-fly alterations to race strategy necessary in just about every race. This is where the fun really came in.
One of us would drive to the pace instructions of the strategist. The strategist would manage the fuel usage and engine temperature and lap times by defining the rev limiter setting. They would warn of dirt on the tyres or of increasing wear. If there was a spin, or damage, then we would have to rethink the strategy, maybe pit to fix the damage and change to a 1 stopper. Making these kind of decisions during the race was so much fun.
Like I said, I've never come across another game where these aspects were so critical to the race outcome, and more so than just driving fast for 10 laps. It is by FAR the most fun racing game I've ever played and really needed the brain power of two people to make it work.
Please let me know what you thought of it, and if there is a worth successor.
I still play it with my mate on PSX (yes the 1st one, I don't know what it's like on other platforms) whenever we are in the same country because for excitement value it is just incredible. The amateur mode is not worth touching, but 'pro' opens a whole raft of race strategy dimensions.
First the bad:
* The physics weren't too flash
* The feel of the car was rubbish
* The graphics weren't even that hot in their day, let alone now
* Tiff Needle's commentary "Oh no! What is he doing?!" every 2 laps
* Some shocking bugs during pitstops where the car would get driven into the wall by the AI completely undoing all the repair work that necessitated the pit in the first place.
But the GOOD:
* The damage 'model' has only 5 locations for aero damage, but each can take either minor or severe damage and it makes a massive effect to the speed and handling of the car (to a level beyond many modern sims). Engines would fail if abused.
* The races were only 10 laps long (a lot for a PSX game) but the tyre and fuel use was so harsh that a no-stopper was very nearly impossible on most tracks. It seemed like we could pick from 1 or 2 (or even 0 or 3) stop strategies depending on how confident we were in quick lapping a given circuit, and the chance of a change in weather or damage.
* Changable weather conditions.
* Occaisonally there would be oil spilled on the track and the black and yellow flag.
* Tyres that started off cold, went through a sweet spot, then quickly deteriorated and could finally blowout if pushed hard for too long. And they would get dirty and lose grip for half a lap if you ran them off road (never seen that well implemented in a game since).
* Pretty decent opponent AI, some were agressive, fast, on different strategies, etc. And best of all they used to make mistakes, and break down in the middle of the circuit, and pass each other.
* The best thing was that fuel use, vehicle weight, engine temperature, engine revs, tyre use, and lap time all interacted wonderfully, making on-the-fly alterations to race strategy necessary in just about every race. This is where the fun really came in.
One of us would drive to the pace instructions of the strategist. The strategist would manage the fuel usage and engine temperature and lap times by defining the rev limiter setting. They would warn of dirt on the tyres or of increasing wear. If there was a spin, or damage, then we would have to rethink the strategy, maybe pit to fix the damage and change to a 1 stopper. Making these kind of decisions during the race was so much fun.
Like I said, I've never come across another game where these aspects were so critical to the race outcome, and more so than just driving fast for 10 laps. It is by FAR the most fun racing game I've ever played and really needed the brain power of two people to make it work.
Please let me know what you thought of it, and if there is a worth successor.