rec.autos.simulators

There are at least two companies waiting in the wings that may be poised to
unseat the current leaders:  Ratbag and Motorsims.

Ratbag's Dirt Track Racing should have a wide range of appeal (oval tracks
with late-model stock cars) and a broad audience (it will feature an arcade
mode, but the default mode will reportely be pure sim) -- AND it should be
the first race sim ever (I believe) to offer a "spectator mode" for
non-participants.  Ratbag's first virtual racing title, Powerslide, was a
very solid entry into the arcade racer with a physics model that's better
than many titles that claim to be "sims."  These guys could set the industry
on its ear.

Motorsims is also a strong contender, with their AMA Superbikes and Can-Am
titles on the horizon.  Motorsims has a strong background in online ***,
so the AMA and Can-Am titles may distract quite a few people from places
like TEN and VROC.  Any NASCAR title will always have a dedicated following,
but if Motorsims does it right, N3's online capabilities may pale in
comparison.  Plus, Motorsims is also plugged-into the concept of a
"spectator mode" for non-participants, so this is also going to be a big
draw for their titles.

There are othe developers and other titles brewing right now, but Ratbag and
Motorsims may be the first to show the current leaders that it's not safe to
just rest on your laurels when you're on top.

No matter what the outcome of all this, it looks like we're going to be the
winners -- based on the diversity and sophistication that we're beginning to
see in race sims, we may one day look back and refer to this time the golden
age of sim racing.  I know I'm e***d!

-- John Bodin
    Publisher, The IRL Insider Magazine
    http://www.racesimcentral.net/

<snip>

Now that the SCCA has killed off the USRRC and the Can-Am once again, I
wonder if there will be a Can-Am sim, or will Motorsims line up a license
agreement with either Bill France and his new Grand American series or Don
Panozs' ALMS.

don

[|]-(_)-[|]

I would only add to your list of contenders those "Viper" guys over at MGI.
They have a new "deep pockets" publisher and have been quietly but diligently
working away almost since the "close" of the Viper Racing project on their new
"baby."  Promising to be a motor racing simulation "blockbuster," look for a
beta ready to go in Q1 to Q2 time period next year.  Remember, these are the
same guys who quietly produced the #2 physics model simulation.....Viper
Racing.....to Dave Kaemmer's "king of the hill" GPL p-model.  No one else has
come as close to GPL as MGI......and frankly, its my opinion there isn't even a
#3 p-model (at this time) on the market.

This all sort of reminds me of the television industry in 1955.  Color TV won't
even be out for a couple more years.  And Sierra is acting much like the guy who
44 years ago said, "Huh?  Color TV?  No way, people will never want color on
their television sets.....its just a passing fad at best.....the "market" just
isn't big enough to justify it!"  Wouldn't it be cool if Sierra could do all of
sim racing a huge favor and actually fire Dave Kaemmer.....and give him, as his
"parting gift"......give him the "rights" to his p-model to do with as he
pleases!  Heck, they don't seem to value it anyway, nor do I think they intend
to use it at any time in the near future (don't look for it on the N2000 or N4
release......they'll surely come up with another excuse why they couldn't put it
on that sim too).

Thanks John, keep that good stuff coming!

Tom Pabst

We may have seen our last "3 years in development" GPL type of quality
sim. I don't believe it's coincidence that both Hasbro and Sierra
dumbed down these latest offerings to rush them out the door. The real
bad news is these games are going to sell.

They will sell partially because of the reputation of the GPx and
NASCAR x series, but also since they are by default the best simulators
of the motor sport they are simulating.The two companies will come to
the conclusion that dumbing down was a great idea, and dumb down their
next releases even more.

The future of sim racing depends not on good sale for these two
offerings, but on the sales of newcomers like Dirt Track Racing and AMA
Superbike. If arcade gamers shy away from the "sim" platform, or sim
enthusiasts shy away from the lack of a big name racing series being
simulated, then another wrong message will be send to game publishers:
the sim market is dead.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

Hena

Geez, I forgot all about the MGI guys -- I would KILL to know what they are
working on!  I also agree with you about their efforts on Viper Racing --
VERY excellent physics engine.  I'm still playing with Viper Racing quite a
bit -- I ran a 20-lap race against 15 AI cars last night at Rock Island for
the CompuServe Viper Club, and MAN was that an experience!  GPL isn't the
only sim out there with a lock on 4-wheel drift; I can tell you that because
there was plenty of that going on last night at Rock Island! <G>

-- JB

There's a definite attraction to games that have a major-league tie-in, to
be sure; F1 and NASCAR sims will always have their markets, but given
licensing problems, etc., that come with major-league affiliation, I think
we're going to see more and more "brown bag" racing titles.  Flight sims
don't have licensing problems:  ANYBODY can be "the official flight sim of
WWII," but only a chosen few can obtain the NASCAR or F1 license.

Still, when sims like Viper Racing can bring us a variety of tracks, good
AI, great physics, and awesome racing all with a single license, there's no
reason to believe that it couldn't be done sans license altogether.  I
believe that DTR will feature "generic" street stocks, but from the screen
shots I've seen, they sure look close enough to old Chevelles, Buicks, etc.,
to be satisfying to me.  If the racing is good and the sim aspects are
top-notch, I don't think it needs the "NASCAR" label to be a success.  Part
of the secret lies in finding something that appeals to the masses, and
something that is more accessible to Joe Average than GPL (both from the
appeal and the difficulty standpoint) -- and a GOOD sim with a scalable
difficulty level plus a built-in "arcade" mode definitely could be
accessible across the board, regardless of your skill level.

I think you're right, though -- we may never see another GPL.  And that may
not be all bad -- if they can manage to produce things that are GPL-caliber
with a broader range of appeal, then then sim racing might finally begin to
really prosper.

-- JB

Whilst I agree with much of what you say, I'm not quite so negative about
the longer term outlook. In fact a short term reduction in interest in
cutting edge sims from the major publishers could easily prove very
beneficial in the longer term....

Cheers,
Richard

I know I am looking forward to DTR. (But we have already established that I
am the consumate ugly American) And I think it will have a wide appeal. If
the competition is good people will play. I remember a great game for the
Amiga (and PC I think) Stunt Track Racer. Totally unrealistic, but a great
game, excellent to play in a null-modem race. If games have that level of
fun AND have some real-world physics it seems likes it's a can't miss,
regardless if you are lucky enough to have real dirt oval racing in your
area.
Personally I don't think a game like AMA will have such a broad appeal. I
haven't been to any bike races, but they suffer from the same problems that
all road racing suffers from, low attendance. (At least here in the states.)
Goodyear publishes some figures for some racing series, they don't cover the
AMA however, I guess Goodyear tires are not used that much in the AMA.
Here is the link to that information.
http://www.goodyear.com/us/racing/98attend.html

I would also like to know if anyone knows the web site that has a list of
upcoming racing/auto-sim games. I seem to remember seeing this, but I have
lost the link. I heard that Infogrames has some type of demolition derby
game on it's schedule, and would like to find out more about this. I also
had heard about a Legend car sim. I thought from MGI, but I could be wrong.
--
The Mocker

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Thanks,
John

Gee, that last statement reminds me of rick from the TEN newsgroup with all
his Y2K doom prophecy!

I doubt it.  Maybe not from Sierra or Papyrus, but there are still others
out there willing to do such a thing.  Not to mention, developers come and
go all the time.

I think thats being a bit drastic.

With the new consoles coming out that rival the capabilities of PC's,
it make not be too long before the entire PC *** market dries up,
but that's another discussion.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

-- JB