Sports Car GT

ISI/EA · released 1999 · discussed in 5,655 posts, 1997-2010 · overall tone positive

Posts per month

Timeline

• 1998-10-07 Electronic Arts' purchase of Westwood and Virgin's assets moved ISI's Professional Sports Car Racing to EA. post post
• 1998-11-22 ISI's Professional Sports Car Racing was renamed Sports Car GT and moved to early 1999. post post
• 1999-03-16 EA and Image Space released the Sports Car GT demo. post post
• 1999-04-21 The full version of Sports Car GT was released in the US. post post
• 2001-04-26 Lawyers for Tommy Bahama objected to a Trans-Am carset for Sports Car GT hosted by SimPaddock. thread post
• 2004-01-15 The SpeedSims modding site for Sports Car GT closed; the community moved to RSC and a new Renegades site rescued most files. post post

Key threads

• Tommy Bahama lawyers target SCGT Trans-Am carset 2001-04-26 · 50 posts
  Jan Kohl reported that lawyers for Tommy Bahama had written to SimPaddock over a 2001 Trans-Am carset for Sports Car GT. Posters debated whether non-commercial paint schemes infringe trademarks, with J. Todd Wasson arguing that licensing rights have real value to developers and others calling sponsors foolish for blocking free advertising. One poster said the SCCA had sold exclusive gaming rights for a Trans-Am sim, and the Ubi Soft add-on dispute resurfaced with some personal insults.
• Poster claims Porsche 911s never oversteer 1999-08-12 · 74 posts
  A poster calling himself Schumacher claimed Porsche 911s are designed never to oversteer and insulted those who disagreed. Many replied that lift-off oversteer is the 911's most infamous trait, corrected his description of mid-engined supercars as rear-engined, and explained understeer and oversteer. The thread became a long mockery of a perceived troll.
• Sports Car GT versus TOCA 2: which is better? 1999-07-15 · 43 posts
  A poster asked whether Sports Car GT was better than TOCA 2, and Thomas Ford argued SCGT was a true sim while TOCA 2 was not because of its limited garage. Randy Magruder and others challenged his definition of a simulator and criticised SCGT's track accuracy, especially Laguna Seca's Corkscrew. The rough consensus was that SCGT had better physics and setups while TOCA 2 had better tracks, with both seen as fun but not top-tier sims.
• Is Sports Car GT the best car simulator ever? 1999-08-11 · 37 posts
  A poster called Sports Car GT the best car simulator ever, prompting near-unanimous replies that GPL held that title. Jan Verschueren and others said SCGT's Porsches did not exhibit realistic lift-off oversteer, while some defended it in Pure Sim mode with setup changes. A side discussion covered how real teams measure tyre temperatures.
• EA launches Sports Car GT web page 1999-01-12 · 35 posts
  Arthur Axelrad announced EA's official Sports Car GT site. Some feared it would be game-like given EA's track record, while others who had seen it insisted it was a sim and noted it was developed by Image Space Inc. A side argument covered whether GPL's lap times and reliability are realistic.
• Is Sports Car GT a sim or an arcade game? 2000-01-14 · 25 posts
  Posters debated whether Sports Car GT was a real simulation. PowerSims's Scott Husted, who had raced a GT1 car, called it somewhere between sim and arcade, improved by patches, while others defended its handling and noted that real cars are far easier to drive than GPL's 1967 F1 machines. The thread drifted into tyre, suspension and American muscle car arguments.
• Is the SCGT Service Pack 3 worth installing? 1999-11-28 · 23 posts
  Jay asked whether the large fan-made Service Pack 3 for Sports Car GT, with Trans-Am and GT cars, was worth installing. Users praised it and said problems came from not following the readme. A request to burn it to CD led its creator, James Wohlever, to refuse on copyright grounds, which prompted a debate over freeware distribution rights.
• EA's Sports Car GT website and demo impressions 1999-03-10 · 21 posts
  The website for EA's Sports Car GT, developed by Image Space Incorporated, went up with a video, and the demo followed. Impressions were mixed: players found it much better than NASCAR Revolution but merely adequate in graphics, physics and force feedback, and some initially missed the hidden in-car view.
• Ranking favourite racing sims 2001-02-14 · 43 posts
  Sinjin asked readers to rank NFS Porsche Unleashed, Sports Car GT, Viper Racing, Grand Prix Legends and NASCAR 4. GPL topped most lists, with NASCAR 4 often second. Many posters added older favourites such as Revs, Stunt Car Racer, Night Driver and Indianapolis 500.
• RREVVED's SCGT sound pack released, then a spelling flame war 1999-05-27 · 39 posts
  Users praised RREVVED's new engine sound pack for Sports Car GT, despite early FTP connection problems. When a user asked why it replaced only 16 sound files, David Masten's correction of his spelling provoked an angry, profane response, and the thread degenerated into insults and arguments about online civility. One late poster noted the louder sounds made it hard to hear his own engine.
• Is oversteer overdone in Sports Car GT 1999-04-28 · 36 posts
  A player complained that any oversteer in Sports Car GT ended in an unrecoverable 180-degree spin. Others said slides could be caught with less countersteering, blamed low frame rates or setup, and argued that modern slicks break away more suddenly than GPL's bias-ply tyres. Critics also listed missing features such as tyre temperatures and lap lists, while SCGT fans praised its LAN play and split times.
• Sports Car GT demo review accused of being too positive 1999-03-17 · 33 posts
  Jan Kohl of The Pits invited demo feedback to pass on to Image Space Incorporated for Sports Car GT, but a reader accused the site's glowing review of reading like advertising. Others noted the game had already gone gold, said the developers could read the newsgroup, and generally found the demo good but not great.
• Newcomer loves Sports Car GT; told to try GPL 2000-02-01 · 30 posts
  A newcomer praised Sports Car GT and was urged to try Grand Prix Legends. Tracey Miller argued that GPL's 1967 setting undermined immersion and that SCGT's modern cars and car creation offered more, which led to a long debate about whether a historic setting makes a sim less real, with comparisons to WWII flight sims.
• Recommendations for an easy, fun racing game 2002-07-31 · 29 posts
  A user wanted a racing game as good-looking as F1 2002 but without complex setups. Suggestions included Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, Sports Car GT, Viper Racing, TOCA 2, Colin McRae Rally 2 and Super 1 Karting.
• Sports Car GT versus Viper Racing 1999-04-27 · 26 posts
  A Viper Racing owner asked how Sports Car GT compared. Many preferred SCGT for its variety of cars and tracks, pit stops and AI, especially using the advanced options editor's 'pure simulation' mode, while others found its AI too timid or preferred Viper's physics and force feedback. A side argument arose over whether GPL's cars are harder to drive than the real ones.
• What the 'Interval' timer means in Sports Car GT 2000-05-16 · 25 posts
  Bruce Kennewell, who had bought Sports Car GT in a bundle without a manual, asked what the 'Interval' display showed. Several replies explained that it shows the split-by-split difference between the current lap and the best lap of the session, and he found the PDF manual on the CD. The rest of the thread was teasing about his typos.
• Sports Car GT demo with full-grid and all-cars hacks 1999-04-08 · 25 posts
  Players shared hacks that unlocked all cars and a full grid in the Sports Car GT demo, and some declared it the modern racing sim to beat, praising its AI and driver changes. Others were unimpressed, citing weak force feedback compared with Viper Racing and no proper internet play, and maintained GPL was more realistic.
• SCGT add-ons praised; warez admission sparks piracy row 1999-05-25 · 24 posts
  Arto Wikla recommended the Advanced Options editor, a slick-grass add-on and Greg Hill's real engine sound update for Sports Car GT. A poster then admitted using a pirated copy and asked why a patch would not work, drawing angry replies and a debate over piracy, staggered US/European release dates and UK pricing. Jack Rambo asked Greg Cisko to tone down his language, which led to a terse exchange.
• Discovering Sports Car GT and fixing its sound balance 2000-05-13 · 23 posts
  Bruce Kennewell discovered Sports Car GT and enjoyed it but wanted the player car's engine louder. Others pointed him to community sound packs and to editing the .wav files referenced in the vehicle files, and explained that damage graphics were disabled at manufacturers' request. They also discussed add-ons, long endurance races and demo compatibility.
• Was Sports Car GT recalled from stores? 2000-05-18 · 22 posts
  Andrew Turner was told Sports Car GT had been recalled or discontinued. Dave Henrie explained that 'recalled' usually means a title has moved to budget packs, and others noted it was widely available in bargain bins. Henrie also recommended community add-ons such as the SP3.0 car pack to improve the game.
• Will more RAM stop scenery pop-in in Sports Car GT and Heat? 2002-02-27 · 22 posts
  A poster asked whether upgrading from 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM would stop scenery drawing in late in Sports Car GT and NASCAR Heat. Replies doubted it and blamed draw distance limits, while debating memory limits in Windows 98 and XP. The poster later reported a noticeable improvement after the upgrade.
• Missing in-car headlights in SCGT sparks offensive-username row 1999-05-08 · 22 posts
  A complaint that Sports Car GT's headlights are not visible from the cockpit at night was answered briefly (press H; lights only show externally). The thread then turned into a long argument over a poster using the handle "Hakenkreuz", with Greg Hellman calling it offensive and others debating free speech, tolerance and whether to simply killfile the poster.
• Recommending an easy racing sim for a former racer 2002-12-26 · 21 posts
  Jeffrey asked for an approachable sim and force feedback wheel for his stepfather, a former amateur sports car racer. Suggestions included NFS Porsche Unleashed, Sports Car GT with add-ons, Viper Racing, Rally Trophy, NR2002, GTR2002 and Dirt Track Racing. A 56-year-old former racer argued GPL best captured old-time racing.
• SCGT environment-mapping artefacts and qualifying slowdowns 1999-05-26 · 21 posts
  A Voodoo2 owner reported colored blocks on cars with environment mapping enabled in Sports Car GT and frame-rate drops in qualifying. Suggestions included lowering car textures one notch and installing the 1.551 patch, and others compared Glide versions and overclocking. Ian Parker traced his own force-feedback slowdown to an incompatible VideoLogic sound card, prompting a sound card recommendation debate.
• Games Domain 'driving test' rates NFS Porsche Unleashed highly 2000-05-23 · 21 posts
  John Bodin linked a Games Domain article that rated road-car games on stunts like donuts and 360-degree spins, with Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed and Sports Car GT tying for top. Several criticised the methodology as ignoring braking, slip angles and other fundamentals, and Tim O argued that Viper Racing was more realistic.
• Is Spirit of Speed 1937 worth buying? 2001-03-12 · 21 posts
  Most respondents said Spirit of Speed 1937 had poor physics, though John Bodin found it enjoyable with a joystick dead-zone utility and praised some track accuracy. Others recommended a 1930s car set for Sports Car GT, and posters gathered historic car specifications to make its physics files more realistic.
• Reviewer defends negative Sports Car GT demo review 1999-03-25 · 20 posts
  The author of a website review that panned the Sports Car GT demo for having only one track defended himself, and posters mocked his spelling mistakes. Others argued that most racing demos include only one track and questioned the point of reviewing demos as stand-alone products.

Busiest threads

• Sports Car GT versus TOCA 2: which is better? (22 posts about it)
• Is oversteer overdone in Sports Car GT (21 posts about it)
• Ranking favourite racing sims (19 posts about it)
• How many racing sims do you have installed? (17 posts about it)
• Poll of favourite racing games for fun and realism (16 posts about it)
• Is Sports Car GT the best car simulator ever? (15 posts about it)
• Newcomer asks which sims and wheel to buy (14 posts about it)
• EA launches Sports Car GT web page (14 posts about it)
• Favourite tracks across all racing sims (14 posts about it)
• Sports Car GT demo review accused of being too positive (13 posts about it)
• SCGT hardware questions (12 posts about it)
• Discovering Sports Car GT and fixing its sound balance (12 posts about it)
• Sports Car GT demo with full-grid and all-cars hacks (12 posts about it)
• Sports Car GT versus Viper Racing (12 posts about it)
• SCGT - Why is Native 3dfx slower than D3D (12 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

Dave Henrie · 430 John Bodin · 68 Greg Cisko · 68 Jason Monds · 60 Haqsau · 58 TlgtrProd · 57 Chris "Hollywood" Schletter · 52 Tim 'Sundown' Traylor · 49 Tim O · 47 ymenard · 46 EldredP · 44 (unknown) · 44 Arthur Axelrad · 44 Ruud van Gaal · 43 Chris Bloom · 42 GTX_SlotCar · 39 James Pickard · 38 Joel A. Willstein · 37 Nos · 36 Larry · 35

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