Sim racing

From Free net encyclopedia

Sim (simulated) racing is the collective term for computer racing games which attempt to accurately simulate race driving, as opposed to "arcade" driving games such as the Need For Speed series. In general, sim racing titles such as EA Sports' F1 Challenge '99-'02 and Papyrus' NASCAR 2003 are less popular than arcade style games, mainly because much more skill and practice is required to master them. For simracers, however, the payoff comes from the thrill of feeling like one is actually schussing a Formula 1 car through the streets of Monaco or hurling a NASCAR stock car around the high banks of Daytona.

With the development of online racing capability the ability to drive against human opponents as opposed to computer AI is the closest thing to driving real cars on a real track many people will experience. Even for those that do race for real many now use race simulators for training or just for fun. With further development of physics and improved hardware providing feedback the simulation gets ever closer to reality and the thrill of racing against people from all over the world.

Contents

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History

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Early years

The very first racing game with simulation pretensions was probably REVS, released in 1986. REVS was a Formula 3 sim by Geoff Crammond that ran on the 8-bit commodore 64 and BBC. But simracing is generally acknowledged to have really taken off in 1990 with the introduction of Papyrus Indy 500 on 16-bit hardware. With Indy 500 you could race the full 500 miles and a blowout after 450 miles would end your race!

The next major milestone was the release of Formula One Grand Prix (World Circuit in some markets) by MicroProse, also written by Geoff Crammond. This moved the genre along significantly. Multiplayer was made possible by allowing the drivers to take turns on the one hand, and racers could also hook up their machines for real online racing via a null modem cable, albeit only allowing two drivers to race. Offline leagues emerged and drivers would submit records of their off line race to compare with other drivers.

Papyrus followed up Indy 500 with IndyCar Racing in 1993 and F1GP was surpassed in all areas. Papyrus (Papy) later released more tracks and a final add on included the Indy 500 track plus a paintkit. Now drivers could easily customise their cars.

The first variant of Papyrus' NASCAR series was launched in 1994. In glorious SVGA (640x480) it pushed the PCs of the time to the limit. Suddenly 320x200 looked a poor option and NASCAR was the race sim of choice for anyone with a decent PC, certainly in North America. Moreover, the first real online racing started with NASCAR 1 using the "Hawaii" dial in servers. Online racing and to many "real" sim racing had commenced.

1995 saw the release of Indycar II, updating the first version with the new NASCAR graphics engine, although with great hype the successor to F1GP, Grand Prix 2 was released by MicroProse. Gp2 became successful not just because of its detailed and thorough simulation of the 1994 Formula 1 season, but also through the customizability that was achieved by the online community. A player could change everything about the game: drivers, teams, graphics, physics, carshapes, and eventually even the tracks. Offline leagues reached their peak with GP2 back in 1998.

Later that year NASCAR 2 was released, further improving the original and the numbers of sim racers exploded. The TEN multiplayer hosting service was introduced and the online sim racing community grew.

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Graphic accelerators era

Accelerated graphics cards made a huge difference and F1RS from Ubisoft was one of the first to utlilise the new technology in 1997. They provided with better texture mapping (especially antialiasing), particle effects (i.e. fog, rain and snow) and filters.

The second true milestone in sim racing came in 1998 with the release of Grand Prix Legends from Papyrus, based on the 1967 F1 season. It was outstanding in all areas but especially the physics and online multiplayer capability. For many their first real experience of online racing has been GPL or the later variants of NASCAR using the GPL based engine. The advent of a third party add on VROC (Virtual Racers Online Connection) for GPL allowed racers to join together online and race.

GPL did stretch the hardware of the time such that NASCAR 3 did not use the new engine as 40+ fields would not have been a realistic possibility. fans had to wait for NASCAR 4 and the subsequent releases of NASCAR 2002 and 2003 for a GPL based physics engine.

Eventually, after years of development, Grand Prix 3 was released, which was more modern in terms of its graphics and video engine and featured the same customizable structure of GP2. GP3 was ultimately a bit of a disappointment though, for much of the original GP2 that had long been outclassed was still apparent. Still, its similarity allowed easy track conversions back and forth.

Despite its age GPL has remained a top class sim even in 2005 thanks to a strong community updating the graphics to match the current cpu and graphics capabilities and loads of add on tracks of a high quality. Modding teams have managed to create new physics sets such that a 1965 variant is now available with many improvements over the original. GPL online leagues still race today.

Since GPL, ISI has produced Sports Car GT in 1999 and the F1 series starting in 2000, all under the EA publisher. Unlike Papyrus sims the physics are easily modified so a large community has developed modifying the ISI sims. One such modding team, Simbin, have created their own company and have released a full sim, GTR based on the FIA GT series. It is arguably the best sim available right now, although not for online racing.

For non-NASCAR fans the state of the art online road racing is probably still either GPL or the mods for NR2003, the most notable being the GTP mod.

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Third generation and future

Rally fans have a hardcore racing simulator with Richard Burns Rally, and GT/Endurance fans with GTR.

A small team is developing Live for Speed, which is in phase 2 of a 3-phase development cycle.

ISI have a new engine and have released rFactor, which again is a highly modifiable sim.

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Hardware

Sim racers are well catered for on the PC with a range of steering wheel, shifter and pedal combinations, some with force feedback, some very highly engineered (and pricey) to provide real life feel to brake pedals and so on. Several race frames are now available allowing the sim racer experience closer to sitting in a race car than a computer chair. In development are some fairly incredible hydraulic units that provide the real life feel of racing a car.

Enthustiastic sim racers have built some amazing cockpits combined with projecters or multiple screens to create a more lifesize environment.

The increased availability of broadband has improved the general connections and online racing is of a generally very high quality with few issues caused by a poor connection.

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Community

Many sim racing leagues exist and are a great way to get to experience close wheel to wheel racing online. A number of on line forums provide the community with a place to discuss sims including Race Sim Central

LAN racing takes place at organised events where racers can get together and race shoulder to shoulder and enjoy a social event as well as race. One of the best LAN Events is sponsored by Grass Roots Racin.

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Venues

Just in the last couple of years the technology is reaching a maturity that is enticing pioneers to establish dedicated race venues. Sim Racing Ltd in the UK is developing the concept of dedicated race venues for drivers and sim drivers alike. Their first offering comes in the form of a range of Drivers Challenge activities. Hyperstim are also opening a number of Race Centres around the world. Recently a new centre has started in Holland. This centre contains 20 dedicated simulators in LAN, using rFactor and GTR as main software simulators. See also: Simworld These activities are still relatively low key today but if developed properly they hold great potential for many more people to enjoy motor sport as a participant activity.

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Summary

Sim racing is an excellent way to meet people from around the world. A driver can come from anywhere and be successful. The language of most leagues is inevitably English, but drivers can easily meet people from many different cultures and backgrounds. Ultimately, everyone comes together out of their love for racing, competition, community and excitement. Sim racing is perhaps the greatest way for motor racing, to really reach out to every day people without the insane costs traditionally associated with the sport. It has outstanding potential for further growth and popularity.

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See also

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External links

ja:レースシミュレーション

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