rec.autos.simulators

> F1 CE is the update to last year's very successful Formula 1 from Bizarre
>  Creations/Psygnosis.  There have already been extensive posts from the
>  hardcore F1 fans in Europe who have been banging at the PAL version, and
I
>  would recommend reading those.  My impression initially was that the
game does
>  not seem that different, and that acceleration is still not completely
analog
>  -- it's a rather peculiar analog/digital hybrid, where letting up on
pressure
>  decreases acceleration in drastic increments rather than a gradual
decrease.
>  And when you take your foot (or finger) completely off the gas, the car
just
>  stops, it doesn't roll to a stop.   This was a little disappointing to
me.

> Still, a little more time spent with the game reveals a number of small
but
>  significant improvements. Best of all as far as I'm concerned, despite
the
>  acceleration issue I brought up,  is that overall control with the
NegCon
>  seems much improved over last year's F1, and the CPU AI has been beefed
up.
>  The front end series of menus is also considerably better, and the
practice
>  mode actually makes good use of the second announcer:  he guides you
through
>  each circuit and lets you know what to anticipate, whether it be tricky
double
>  turns or long straights. Probably a frill for the F1 vet, but an
excellent
>  feature for newbies that helps with memorization of the track and
improvement
>  of times.  To satisfy the hardcore, you can hit "start" during your
practice
>  session and have access to telemetry readings for your last lap.

> The graphics, as I said, at first don't seem that different, but the cars
look
>  a lot nicer, though they still look somewhat "pasted" on  the road in an
>  external view (and even the nose view to some extent).  I booted up my
copy of
>  last year's F1 for comparison, though, and found the graphical
difference to
>  be more dramatic than I realized.  Much less pixellation and better
looking
>  textures on the whole.

> There is draw-in, as people have noted, but it didn't seem terrible in
the
>  initial circuits I raced.  There are more options for car setup, and the
>  overall feel of the racing and presentation remains exceptionally well
done;
>  even the second announcer, a feature I normally dislike intensely since
I find
>  it a frivolous use of developer resources, seems to blend in well.  The
CPU
>  pitting seems a little more realistic, though I haven't fully tested
this out
>  yet, nor have I yet come across some of the onerous bugs others have
>  mentioned.  The game is definitely more challenging, with damage
affecting
>  your performance much more significantly than in F1, so I would
recommend the
>  game for people looking for a challenging sim racer.

> I remember all the complaints Bizarre Creations received last year on
this
>  newsgroup.  I do get the impression that they listened and made some
notable
>  improvements and didn't just do the EA "reheat, repackage, add second
>  announcer, new rosters, and a few dubious new features" update.  The CPU
AI
>  seems much better and the element of damage makes the racing a very
different
>  experience.  Still, there will undoubtedly be issues raised by many, as
it's
>  pretty hard to get a really solid sim in a RAM constrained machine like
the
>  Playstation.  I would have liked a better in-the-car view myself.

> CART Racing from Sony is by the same folks who worked on Rally Cross and
worked
>  with Singletrac to do Jet Moto.  Anyone who's played those games knows
how
>  well these developers model vehicle physics, and how difficult the
learning
>  curves for their games can be.  CART is right along the same lines:  no
foot
>  on the accelerator and go, go, go.  You must take turns in ovals and
road
>  courses properly and precisely, and any collision or brush against the
wall
>  sets you back much more than your standard arcade racer, even in arcade
mode.
>  You're likely to find as you attempt to get going that you'll probably
have to
>  cut your races short at first and hit "restart", just like Rally Cross.
This
>  doesn't sound like much fun, but the arcade and rookie modes (with no
damage)
>  do a good job of allowing you to get comfortable with the feel of the
cars and
>  the courses.

> The cars look good and have a good feel (have a better feeling of weight
than
>  either F1CE or NASCAR), which is probably helped tremendously by the
>  authoritative sound in the game, which employs something called X360
from
>  Sony.  I have a pretty pedestrian surround sound set-up, but the cars
(once
>  you turn the generic metal music off) can really be heard in front of
and
>  behind you, and the bumping of and overtaking of other cars has more
aural
>  impact (maybe too much at times) than most other games.

> The biggest pluses for CART Racing are the sheer sensation of speed
combined
>  with the challenging simulation aspects, and the AI of the CPU
opponents.
>  Simulation racers can be great fun but can be a real chore, as anyone
who's
>  given a Papyrus sim on the PC knows, and of course frame rate has been
an
>  issue with those PC racers.  Frame rate in CART racing is terrific, and
the
>  CPU gives you a good challenge, even in arcade mode -- those cars go
after
>  you!.  In fact, the arcade mode is one of the most satisfying
combinations of
>  arcade and sim I've seen in this type of racer -- you don't have to take
into
>  account all the variables you do in a sim, but the car physics must
still be
>  taken into account as you make turns and attempt to pass.   It's as if
Namco
>  and Sega's AM2 developers joined forces with Papyrus to provide high
speed,
>  white knuckle excitement in the trappings of a sim.  The arcade modes in
F1
>  and NASCAR are really afterthoughts by comparison, where you can just
drive
>  over anything and everything and play bumper cars.

> The biggest minuses in CART Racing are the graphics and the rather
imposing
>  learning curve in simulation mode.   Sony in several of its games hasn't
>  hesitated to strip graphics quality down to provide more meat on the AI
side,
>  as evidenced by games like FaceOff 97, GameDay 97, and Jet Moto (Rally
Cross
>  was a great exception, though even there the cars looked odd in the
external
>  view).  The graphics in CART aren't terrible -- the cars mostly look
decent to
>  good, but the circuits have a very limited and washed out color palette
and at
>  least one road course I raced had some notable glitching and pop-up on
one of
>  the straights.  It isn't as bad as your average PC sim (prior to 3D
cards)
>  where you had little to no textures or background detail, however --
there's
>  good detail, it's just not very bright, unlike F1 most notably.  I'd
still say
>  that CART looks no worse than Andretti Racing (or much of NASCAR) and
even
>  manages to look as good as the original F1 in some instances.

> Another small graphics point:  as the car approaches (and exceeds) 200
mph, the
>  screen shakes noticeably and the fake sky ahead looks as if it may break
up.
>  I noticed this, but now I don't pay attention to it -- it may bother
some
>  people though.  I find the sensation of speed is well maintained, unlike
>  NASCAR where you seem to be entering some weird time warp at high speeds
and
>  nothing is moving.

> The front end in CART is outstanding, with difficulty options ranging
from
>  rookie to hard to URNOTE (I don't even want to think about the last
one),
>  arcade and simulation modes, as well as damage/no damage.  Driving with
damage
>  is quite difficult, though you can get some great crashes if you like
that
>  sort of thing. There are several car setup options, which are well
presented,
>  though (just going off the top of my head here) there may be slightly
less
>  customization possible than in NASCAR or F1.  Maps of the courses
highlight
>  passing points and trouble spots, a very nice touch. No on-the-fly
camera view
>  changes possible with the Negcon though.  You get very clear readouts of
laps
>  remaining, fuel, and position in the race for all angles, and the
in-cockpit
>  view seems more satisfying to me than in F1CE or NASCAR.

> The CART manual

>> How is it that you guys are playing CART Precision Racing? Are you
>> beta testers?

>Actually, they (and I, now) are discuissing CART World Series, a new
>PlayStation sim.  It is very well done, except apparently for the yellow
>flags....  I never do a full-length race - I can't afford to buy a new
>gamepad every time I want to race... ;-)