Dirt Track Racing

Ratbag · released 1999 · discussed in 1,585 posts, 1997-2008 · overall tone positive

Posts per month

Timeline

• 1999-09-24 GT Interactive's WizardWorks announced Ratbag's Dirt Track Racing as a $19.99 budget title. post post
• 1999-11-04 WizardWorks released the Dirt Track Racing demo. post post
• 1999-11-19 Ratbag's Dirt Track Racing reached US shelves at budget price. post post
• 1999-12-31 PowerSims.com named Dirt Track Racing its 1999 Sim of the Year. thread post

Key threads

• Avault's 2.5-star Dirt Track Racing review divides readers 2000-01-04 · 43 posts
  A poster attacked Avault reviewer Bob Mandel for giving Dirt Track Racing 2.5 stars. Several regulars agreed with the review, finding the tracks samey and the graphics and physics weak, while DTR supporters, notably Pete, cited Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s endorsement and real racers in the beta group. Exchanges between Pete and Ron Ayton became openly insulting.
• NASCAR Racing 3 versus Ratbag's Dirt Track Racing 1999-09-05 · 36 posts
  John Bodin asked NASCAR fans whether they were more excited about Ratbag's Dirt Track Racing than NASCAR Racing 3. Many were keen on DTR's new classes and career mode, and a Ratbag poster confirmed it would include an online spectator mode. A debate followed over whether paid, centralised services like TEN beat free matchmaking such as VROC.
• Debate over the Dirt Track Racing demo's physics 1999-11-07 · 34 posts
  Ron Ayton said the Dirt Track Racing demo felt more like driving a speedboat than a car, and several agreed. Others, including beta testers, said the full game's setup options and physics made a big difference and explained how to throw a dirt car into a slide. Remco Moedt withdrew his claim that Ratbag was targeting arcade players after it was explained that the demo used fixed setups.
• PowerSims names Dirt Track Racing 1999 Sim of the Year 1999-12-31 · 33 posts
  PowerSims.com announced Dirt Track Racing as its 1999 Sim of the Year. Some readers disputed the choice, preferring Rally Championship 2000, GPL, NASCAR 3 or GP500, while others praised DTR as accessible, stable and fun online. PowerSims's Scott Husted explained that RC2000 was excluded because it had not yet been released in the US, and a brief spat over American tastes ended in apologies.
• Poor engine sounds in Dirt Track Racing and sims 1999-11-05 · 23 posts
  Players complained about the engine sound in Ratbag's Dirt Track Racing, and some said speaker and bass settings improved it. The discussion broadened into why sim engine sounds rarely seem real, with explanations such as looped and pitch-shifted samples, microphone placement and small sound budgets at developers.
• Ratbag's dirt track late model and sprint car sim announced 1999-07-14 · 22 posts
  A poster noticed news of a late model and sprint car racing game from Powerslide developer Ratbag, due in November 1999. Fans debated whether its figure-8 track belonged in a serious sim, and a poster apparently from Ratbag said figure-8 was a side feature and the focus was on simulation. Much of the thread became reminiscences about real figure-8 racing at short tracks such as Riverhead.
• Which racing sims work best online 2000-04-13 · 32 posts
  A newcomer asked which racing sims worked best online. Recommendations were GPL, NASCAR Racing 3 and Dirt Track Racing. David G Fisher omitted GPL, which led to a childish name-calling exchange with Andre Warringa.
• Dirt Track Racing tops US sales charts again 2000-02-14 · 23 posts
  Don Wilshe announced that Dirt Track Racing was the only racing sim in the US top 20 by unit sales. Many replied that sales say nothing about quality and accused him of using the group for marketing, while others defended DTR and his help to users.
• GPL compared with Ford Racing and Dirt Track Racing physics 2000-01-23 · 20 posts
  A poster called GPL the pinnacle of driving sims but argued that the poorly received Ford Racing had promising physics, and ranked DTR with Viper Racing near GPL. Replies disputed DTR's physics on banked tracks, agreed Ford Racing's physics were its best feature, and drifted into small European cars.
• Letter to Avault over Dirt Track Racing review 2000-01-04 · 20 posts
  Mike Grandy posted his letter to Avault criticising Bob Mandel's racing sim reviews and urged others to complain. Several readers replied that DTR's cars really did feel like they floated, while Wayne Hutchison, a real dirt racer, found it realistic. A side argument followed over whether DTR's demo, which disabled setup changes, fairly represented the full game.

Busiest threads

• Avault's 2.5-star Dirt Track Racing review divides readers (20 posts about it)
• PowerSims names Dirt Track Racing 1999 Sim of the Year (18 posts about it)
• NASCAR Racing 3 versus Ratbag's Dirt Track Racing (15 posts about it)
• Dirt Track Racing tops US sales charts again (14 posts about it)
• Debate over the Dirt Track Racing demo's physics (12 posts about it)
• Re: DTR -- random thoughts & a brief first impressions (11 posts about it)
• Dirt Track Racing - Ugh! (10 posts about it)
• DTR first impressions (9 posts about it)
• GPL compared with Ford Racing and Dirt Track Racing physics (9 posts about it)
• Re: Sprint Car Racing-------AVOID---they screwed it up! (8 posts about it)
• My favourite DTR screenshot so far (8 posts about it)
• DTR rox.. but... (8 posts about it)
• DTR impressions (8 posts about it)
• DTR framerate? (8 posts about it)
• Re: Tracks in DTR Sprints (7 posts about it)

Sentiment by year

Each post that discussed the sim was rated from −2 (very negative) to +2 (very positive).

Who talked about it most

Don Wilshe · 87 John Bodin · 80 (unknown) · 70 MadDAWG · 43 jbo.. · 36 (unknown) · 35 Tim Deatherage · 19 ymenard · 19 Pete · 18 btgoss · 14 Andre Warringa · 14 Don Hancock ( · 14 Bendito · 13 Doug Gordon · 13 john moore · 13 Peter Hooper · 12 Chris Bloom · 12 Schlomo4 · 11 Doug Appleyard · 11 Michael Barlow · 11

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