> why dont all sim producers define a common binary/whatever
> format in which to store track data, then we could swap tracks
> from 1 sim to the next.
Because there is little to no advantage to the sim producer, nor to
the average customer of the game and there are substantial
disadvantages.
Let the circuits manage racing and the sim producers produce sims...
Not if you were willing to live with the lowest common
denominator. And since sim makers aren't, they would have every
incentive to "improve" the standard to allow their sim to work better
(giving their customers a better experience). And as soon as sim maker
#1 does, sim makers #2-#N HAVE to in order to keep up. Cartels don't
work in sim production any more than they work in oil production...
It's not so much political as technical. Some auto-related games (can
hardly call most of them sims) are "canyon racers", with defined
tracks and effectively cliffs on either side. Others are wide open
terrain with checkpoints. The optimal data structures for the former
are quite different than the data structures for the latter.
---Jim
