physics to scare the shit out of me. And it does. On the other hand, it was
no fun whatsoever when I first tested it. It was too damned difficult. It
had the brakes of my old rear wheel driven '76 Opel Manta 1.6 S with broken
brake calipers and worn out tires, which in Scandinavian icey roads (during
winter), - despite its 75 bhp engine, is quite a challenge.... 400 ++ bhp???
Just like in real life with my '76 Opel Manta, the tracks in GPL demands
more skill than this driver can deliver... Which puts me in the rails. Again
and again. That part is cheaper in GPL than in real life, though :-).
Before GPL came to my attention, I drove Colin McRae Rally (CMR). It was my
first "sim" experience, and it was love at first sight. I could wag the cars
tail more easily and more securely than with my old '76 Opel Manta. I felt
like an expert instantly. Later I learned, by looking at the stage times and
during online racing, that wagging my tale stole valuable seconds. Then I
tried to minimalize the wagging.
Point is:
The average, unskillfull person loves to wag the cars tale. If a game lets
this person do just that, and at the same time beat the game's AI, then that
person will but that game. Later on, focus is being set to achieved race
times. By this point, tale wagging is minimalized. Efficient driving becomes
the goal.
In GPL, you cannot beat the AI without efficient driving (my driving stilll
isn't efficient enough). In CMR you can win without truly efficient driving
as long as you keep the car on the road. I guess this fact is the reason for
GPL's rather lousy commercial success, as opposed to CMR.
Besides: 1967 F1 cars are ugly. Rally cars are not.
Conclusion:
If somebody developed a game as "easy" as CMR, but with an option for GPL
physics, then I would have the best from both worlds. That game would truly
be the game to have. In fact, I would see no need for buying another game if
such a game excisted.
Papyrus: You have done *the* game of the last century. You are king of the
hill. It's a undisputed fact. Exploit the fact. I'd love to be exploited!
Use the knowlegde you (l)earned when developing GPL to wipe out any
competition in the racing sim arena. Your physics modelling is amazing!
Exploit it! Give the americans their silly oval track racing. Let then have
their dumb ass dragracing. While you are at it: Give them tractor pulling.
Then you can make Touring Car sims for us europeans. Or Rallycross sims.
50$? 100$ No problem! Your brand appeals to people who can, - and is
willing to, pay such a price for a challenging racing sin. Your target
should be would-have-beens 30 years old ++. We can afford it. And we (at
least I) are willing to pay for it!
Comments?
Jon