liked many things about GP3, but when F1RC was released, that took the F1
crown. No silly allegiances or biases towards developers and series from me,
regardless of what a few of you like to say. Completely the opposite.
F12001 clearly has better AI and sound than F1RC.
Graphics are excellent, but not quite as good as F1RC's, both in looks and
performance.
Multiplayer is better in F1RC with F1RC Relay, but we'll see what a patch
from EA can do. Ubi Soft was unable to develope it's multiplayer due to FIA
restrictions, so I do hope and expect EA to have better multiplayer if they
aren't under the same restrictions.
FF? We'll see what the patch gives us.
No ghost mode in F12001 which I miss a lot. Love it in F1RC. Didn't F1200/CS
have a ghost mode?
Are false starts included as they are in F1RC, because I can't find that
option?
Replay and camera views are much better in F1RC.
Track accuracy. F1RC is clearly more accurate, but F12001 isn't so far off
the mark that it ruins the experience for me. Some tracks are very good. I
do notice the lack of banking and camber at places like Monza when compared
to F1RC. F1RC tracks are identical to the real ones based on side by side
screenshot/pictures and video footage. The effects of the curbing in F1RC is
much more noticeable. There are sections of curbing in F1RC which I must be
aware of and use correctly or I'm off into the tire barrier.
Physics. Here's where I'm having trouble making up my mind. Right now, the
cars in F12001 feel similiar to GP3 in some ways (nothing like they did in
F12000CS). They feel too light and somewhat sloppy, even on a long straight.
I can hold my line and be much more precise in F1RC. I read many posts from
people at HG saying the F12001 cars suffered from too much understeer, and
they were right. F1RC gives a much more *** and physical driving
experience as you push the limit. The F12001 cars seem somehwat tame in
comparison. The sense of speed in F1RC is much higher too. I don't notice
any dirty air effects from the AI cars either, which is something done very
well and realistically in F1RC. The F12001 cars slide waaay too much IMO
(GPL'ers will like this I'm sure). I've caught some huge slides in just the
two days I've had it. Slides are fairly easy to catch too. I don't recall
too may slides like these in real F1 in recent years. In F1RC, you can slide
the cars but your fudge factor is smaller and you must be quicker. F12001
just doesn't have the ooomph that F1RC does. For comparison, in F1RC,
accelerating out of Pouhon and through Stavelot, along with the thrill of
Eau Rouge, is much more of a knife's edge challenge than it is in F12001.
The thing is, I won't be surprised if my opinions change with regards to the
F12001 car physics/handling. It could be the setups I've used so far aren't
good enough. I also am wondering about how the game is working with my
controller (Ferrari FF). The steering is so light (compared to F1RC
especially) that I think something must be wrong. Dead zone is zero, and
even with speed sensitivity set at 80%, a long, high speed straight feels
loose. Also, the excess wheel spin I initially experienced with F12001 seems
to have come from the fact that most of the travel of the pedal is wasted.
With the throttle pressed almost all the way down, I'm still in 1st gear and
doing 60mph. Sort of like having exponential throttle control in F1RC as
opposed to linear throttle. I've already gotten used to this, but the
situation could be a whole lot better. Braking is easier in F12001 than it
is in F1RC. Don't really have to worry about locking up unless I have the
gas pressed all the way down and am going very slow. In F1RC, braking is
more of a challenge, and I can even control the inside wheel with the brake
while turning.
So basically, right now, I don't know what the hell to think about this sim.
:-)
David G Fisher