rec.autos.simulators

Below is the official press release from GT Interactive/Wizard Works about
Dirt Track Racing.  Sim racing is certainly entering a new era of features
and
capability with Dirt Track Racing and Nascar3 being rich in features.  What
shocked me was the price for Dirt Track Racing at only $19.99.

Don Wilshe

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
Contact: Darci Nagorski
 612/249-5180

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 FIRST-EVER DIRT TRACK CAR RACING GAME COMES TO THE PC WITH
 GT INTERACTIVE'S 'DIRT TRACK RACING' FROM WIZARDWORKS AND RATBAG
 Extremely Realistic Dirt Track Physics Add to Complexity of the Race -
 Keep a Hold of the Wheel or You'll Be Left In The Dirt

 MINNEAPOLIS, September 24, 1999 - GT Interactive Software's (Nasdaq: GTIS)
 Leisure Publishing Division is bringing a new form of car racing to the PC
 with the upcoming release of Dirt Track Racing from WizardWorks. Designed
 by Australia-based developer Ratbag, designers of the action-packed
 off-road racing game Powerslide, Dirt Track Racing captures the driving
 experience with incredibly realistic car and track physics, tuning and
 upgrading of vehicles and the progression through various series from
 hobby stock to late model class.

 "With more than 700 dirt tracks in the United States, this form of racing
 is the most popular amongst its competitors and the most visible form of
 car racing throughout the country," said Paul Rinde, senior vice president
 of GT Interactive's Leisure Publishing Division.
 "Dirt Track Racing is a very unique car racing game because it
 incorporates extremely sophisticated gameplay physics. All cars in a
 single race use the same physics engine, making it a very tight and
 difficult race because the other vehicles are racing right along side the
 player, all vying for a lead position."

 "Adding to the complexity of the race are the ever-changing conditions of
 the track," Rinde said. "Over the course of a race the dirt track will
 pack down, becoming hard and slippery, making driving that much more
 difficult."
 -more-

 WIZARDWORKS-DIRT TRACK RACING/2
 In Dirt Track Racing, players start with $1,000 in their pocket. With the
 money, players need to purchase their vehicle. They start in the lowest
 class of competition and will need to buy a hobby stock car for $500.
 Then by winning prize money and attracting sponsorships the player
 can purchase faster vehicles, racing parts to upgrade their vehicles and
 enter new classes of competition. Resource management and decision making
 are just as critical as driving skills if players want to escalate their
 careers, from amateur to professional.

 Dirt Track Racing also features 8 separate series of competitions (local,
 regional and national) of varying difficulty. Each competition has a full
 simulation of practice, qualifying, heats and main.

 Dirt Track Racing features 3 different play modes (in arcade or full
 simulation), including single-player racing only, career-mode and
 multiplayer (up to 10 players) over LAN and Internet. Other game features
 include:

 30 Tracks in 12 different race series:
 * Length (1/8th to full mile)
 * Banking (flat to 33 degrees)
 * Clay or dirt
 * Oval, D-oval, tri-oval, egg-shaped, figure 8 (with collisions)

 Three Classes:
 * Hobby or Pure Stock (cheap, no modifications)
 * Production Stock (more advanced, stock body, some modifications to
 mechanics allowed)
 * Late Model Class (professional, highly modified, fiberglass bodies)

 18 Vehicles across 3 classes:
 * Each vehicle has 5 paint schemes (a total of 90 paint schemes)
 * Players can choose the number they want on the car
 * When player's attract sponsorships the sponsor's logo will appear on
 the vehicle

 Resource Management (player's can spend their money for):
 * Purchasing new vehicles
 * Upgrades
 * Repairs
 * Entry fees
 * Tires and practice time on the track
 -more-

 WIZARDWORKS-DIRT TRACK RACING/3

 Endorsed by the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA), Dirt
 Track Racing will be available at retail outlets nationwide in November
 for a suggested retail price of $19.99 or through secure online
 transactions at www.gtstore.com <http://www.racesimcentral.net/. Just released
screen shots of Dirt Track
 Racing gameplay can be viewed at www.wizworks.com/product_art
<http://www.racesimcentral.net/

 Headquartered in New York, GT Interactive Software Corp. (Nasdaq:GTIS) is
 a leading global developer, publisher and distributor of interactive
 consumer software. The company maintains four divisions: Children's
 Publishing, Leisure Publishing, Frontline Publishing and Distribution.
 The company has publishing operations throughout the world with offices in
 the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Holland and Australia. GT
 Interactive also has seven internal development studios: Humongous
 Entertainment, Cavedog Entertainment, SingleTrac, WizardWorks, Oddworld,
 Legend Entertainment and Reflections. GT Interactive's ecommerce system
 provides secure online transactions through each of the studios' Web sites
 and www.gtstore.com <http://www.racesimcentral.net/. GT Interactive can be found on
the Internet at
 www.gtinteractive.com <http://www.racesimcentral.net/. WizardWorks can be
found on the Internet at
 www.wizardworks.com <http://www.racesimcentral.net/.

 Ratbag is a PC and console game developer based in Australia. Ratbag's
 last racing title, Powerslide, received many editor's choice awards and
 Racing Game of 1998 by IGN-PC and Sports *** Network. IGN-PC also
 voted Powerslide Runner-Up for Best Graphics (1998), second only to
 Unreal. Ratbag can be found on the Internet at www.ratbaggames.com
<http://www.racesimcentral.net/
 # # #

     This sounds too good to be true,and for $19.99  I wonder if the quoted
price was a mistake.

Joel Willstein

Okay, stop snickering already.

Given how popular NASCAR is, and how popular dirt-track racing is in gneral,
a racing game titled "Dirt Track Racing" will undoubtedly be very appealing
to all those Wal-Mart patrons who purchased a computer to get hooked up to
the Internet then purchased Deer Hunter as their first computer ***
experience, and are now looking for more equally-accessible games to play.
If you take the family to the local dirt track on the weekends during the
part of the year when it's not deer season, then you're probably going to
want Dirt Track Racing on your computer alongside your Deer Hunter game.

Excellent marketing strategy, methinks.

Given Ratbag's success with Powerslide's amazing physics model, I am 100%
confident that they will deliver us a title in Dirt Track Racing that will
be scalable enough to please the arcade fans who only have a keyboard to
drive with, as well as all of us top-end sim racing fanatics with our pricey
driving wheels and pedals.  They've got the ability to do so, anyway -- as
long as they don't dumb it down too much in favor of the Wal-Mart patrons.
I have a feeling that's not going to happen, though.

We'll find out soon enough.

-- JB

<SNIP SOME DRIBBLE ABOUT WAL-MART>

So, how far up in your ass do you have to be to make statements like
that Joel?

- James Wohlever

Techware Motorsports
http://techware.4mg.com/

FWIW, I don't think either Joel or I had anything up our asses, but I can
only speak for myself.

-- JB