World Sports Cars

discussed in 900 posts, 1999-2004 · overall tone positive

Posts per month

Timeline

• 2000-01-10 A first look with 27 screenshots of West Racing's in-development World Sports Cars was published. The developers were targeting Q2/Q3 2000. thread post
• 2001-04-06 World Sports Cars developers Chris and Tony West gave a lengthy interview on the Track Talk internet radio show. thread post

Key threads

• World Sports Cars E3 footage and moving cockpit views 2000-05-14 · 60 posts
  Footage of the alpha of World Sports Cars from E3 excited many, and Marc J. Nelson, who drove it at Monza, reported that it showed promise. Discussion of whether the in-car view should move with the car's motion included a reply from developer Chris West, quoted by David L. Cook. Doug Milliken explained that Atari held a patent on moving cockpit views from Hard Drivin'.
• World Sports Cars first look and screenshots 2000-01-10 · 41 posts
  A first look and 27 screenshots of the in-development World Sports Cars sim drew excitement about its tyre-contact-patch physics and graphics. Sceptics recalled hyped sims that never shipped, such as the Can-Am and Trans-Am titles. Developer Chris West confirmed the suspension was fully modelled and that WSC had nothing to do with Ford Racing, and Scott Husted explained that Motorsims cancelled its Can-Am sim after the SCCA dropped the series.
• West Racing website countdown sparks WSC speculation 2002-06-30 · 93 posts
  A daily countdown with historic sports car images on west-racing.com set off speculation that World Sports Cars would be announced or demonstrated at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. David L. Cook later said a demo was unlikely, and Douglas Ellison likened the planned open sim to X-Plane. The thread ended in cat puns.
• WSC frame rates and the CPU cost of sim physics 2001-02-27 · 86 posts
  Posters discussed an interview claiming World Sports Cars ran at 45 fps on a Pentium II 450 and whether that would hold once physics was complete. A broad debate followed on whether graphics or physics consume CPU, console versus PC optimisation and GPL's 288Hz physics rate, with Ruud van Gaal saying physics took a small share in his sim. Comparisons were also made with F1 Racing Championship's physics and lap times.
• Who are the West brothers, and will WSC ever ship? 2001-08-13 · 84 posts
  A newcomer asked who the West brothers were and why World Sports Cars was so eagerly awaited. The question sparked a heated debate between sceptics who had given up waiting and supporters who pointed to movies, previews and EB's Q1 2002 listing. Others noted the brothers had never shipped a racing sim and mentioned alternatives from Bugbear and ISI, including a rumoured licensed CART add-on for F1 Championship Season 2000.
• Is World Sports Cars myth or reality? 2001-05-20 · 78 posts
  redTed told the West brothers to 'put up or shut up' after two years of World Sports Cars screenshots and no release. Others said a demo had been playable at E3 2000, that Empire had skipped this year's E3, and that the Wests should be left to work; Eric Cote said the physics and car count had moved on greatly. John Simmons and Gerry Aitken responded with heavy abuse, and the thread became a long argument over the tone of the original post.
• World Sports Cars: vapourware or alive? 2002-06-18 · 67 posts
  Andreas Nystrom asked for real facts about the long-delayed World Sports Cars from the West brothers. Douglas Ellison insisted it was alive and moving to DirectX 9 but said legal issues stopped him saying more, while others called it vapourware, and David Powell blamed publisher Empire. The thread later drifted into credit card offers.
• Is World Sports Cars vaporware? 2001-03-06 · 59 posts
  Responding to a question about WSC, GraDee called it an over-hyped sim with little to show after a year. Others defended the small West brothers team, noting videos, a PS2 port and publisher Empire's wish to release both versions together, while Shane Lowry said the code was nearly done. The thread also discussed racing sim sales figures, with GPL cited at about 40,000 copies.
• Leaked WSC in-car shots posted then pulled 2001-12-11 · 50 posts
  Ian Bell announced in-car WSC screenshots on SimBin, captured from the West brothers' webcam, then removed them hours later on request. Posters criticised the secrecy around WSC as alienating the community, while others defended the developers. The thread ended with confusion over whether the webcam had been moved or password-protected.
• Status of the long-delayed World Sports Cars sim 2001-02-26 · 47 posts
  Barton Brown asked whether World Sports Cars was vaporware. Others said development was ongoing for a Q3 2001 release but publisher Infogrames/Empire limited information. Developer Chris West corrected a claim that screenshots were not from the game engine, stating all were taken directly from the game.
• West brothers rule out a Goodwood WSC demo 2002-07-02 · 40 posts
  The West Racing site said there would be no simulator demo at Goodwood, but the project would be announced there. Posters said they would not buy into the hype until they could drive it, joked about features, and noted the online cars would be authenticated to prevent cheating. Jason Moyer recalled Dave Kaemmer praising their physics at E3 2000.
• Where is the WSC demo, and did GPL sell well? 2001-08-06 · 40 posts
  David Mocnay asked why the promised World Sports Cars demo had not appeared after a year. The discussion turned to GPL's commercial performance; Ruud van Gaal relayed via Chris West that Dave Kaemmer said GPL did well financially but NASCAR sold better. Others noted the US PC Gamer gave GPL 70% while the UK edition gave 92%, and joked about tyres versus tires.
• World Sports Cars release rumours: dead, delayed or moving publisher? 2002-02-20 · 39 posts
  A poster asked again for the World Sports Cars release date, provoking jokes about how often it is asked. Andre Warringa linked rumours that WSC was dead, while Ruud van Gaal said the West brothers had split from Empire over its push for a more arcade-like game and quoted Chris West saying the future had never looked better. Others reported that West Racing might have filed for bankruptcy and that a Sierra publishing deal was unconfirmed.
• Will World Sports Cars draw players away from GPL? 2001-06-13 · 38 posts
  Craig Jones asked whether WSC would hurt the GPL community. Some said they race GPL for its realism and would move to whatever drives better, others that GPL's era and tracks would keep it alive alongside a modern sports car sim; Gregor Veble and Kevin Gavitt noted WSC would be open to editing and was due to include a 1967 Ferrari F1 car, and a claim that WSC lacked online play was corrected.
• New World Sports Cars screenshots stun readers 2000-07-07 · 36 posts
  New World Sports Cars screenshots on SimHQ amazed posters with their apparent polygon counts and anti-aliasing. Some suspected pre-rendered images, but WSC developer Chris West confirmed they were in-game shots taken on a PII 450 with a Voodoo 5 at 1600x1200 with 4x FSAA, and Kenneth Verburg reported a modest minimum spec. A side spat broke out over Bruce Kennewell correcting others' English.
• WSC development update and DirectX 8 requirement 2001-07-19 · 34 posts
  Eric Cote of SimRacingMag posted an article on the state of World Sports Cars development agreed with Chris West. He confirmed WSC would use DirectX 8 exclusively with W-buffering, so Glide would not be supported, though Voodoo cards could still run it through Direct3D. Readers asked about a demo, which Cote said was up to publisher Empire.
• Satire: will WSC go the way of Trans Am Racing? 2001-06-27 · 34 posts
  John Bodin posted a satirical warning that the eagerly awaited World Sports Cars could be dumbed down like Trans Am Racing, which ended up as a Dukes of Hazzard game. Tom Pabst played along by claiming Empire had turned WSC into a Starsky and Hutch title. Side discussion debated whether the Voodoo5 improved GPL frame rates over the Voodoo3, with most concluding CPU speed mattered more.
• World Sports Cars Lotus Esprit preview video 2000-09-15 · 33 posts
  A video of a Lotus Esprit GT1 in the upcoming World Sports Cars sim was posted, drawing enthusiastic reactions to its reflections, exhaust flames and sound. Developer Chris West clarified that it was captured on a P2-450 with a Voodoo 5500 at 4x FSAA, locked to 30fps. Much of the rest of the thread covered how to play the .m1v file, including on Linux, and whether a 450MHz PC could handle a full field.
• Codemasters announces TOCA Race Driver 2001-07-27 · 33 posts
  Haqsau pointed to Codemasters' announcement of TOCA Race Driver as an alternative if World Sports Cars failed to appear. Some judged it arcade-like from its PS2 version and screenshots, while others urged waiting for a demo. Posters noted the PS2 version of WSC was being made by Razorworks separately from the West brothers' PC version.
• World Sports Cars E3 movie impresses 2001-06-13 · 32 posts
  A 39MB video of World Sports Cars at Brands Hatch, shot off a monitor at E3, was shared. Viewers were impressed by the track detail, cars such as a Panoz and a Group C Mercedes, and apparent time-of-day lighting, though some thought the cars looked slow and noted the lack of sound, skidmarks or damage; it turned Andre Warringa into a WSC believer.
• Edge magazine interview previews World Sports Cars 2000-05-26 · 32 posts
  Idav typed up an Edge magazine interview with Chris and Tony West about World Sports Cars, covering an open format for third-party add-ons and interactive pit stops reminiscent of Pitstop II. Readers were thrilled, and Ed Solheim posted scans of the magazine's pictures. Questions followed about tyre wear modelling and system requirements.
• World Sports Cars: licensing, editors and paid add-ons 2000-05-30 · 30 posts
  MichaelJP worried that World Sports Cars' older prototypes and GT1 cars might hurt its appeal. Others expected modders to add cars quickly, although Ed Solheim quoted Chris West saying the car and track editor would come later as an add-on. Kevin Gavitt and Bruce Kennewell then debated whether selling new seasons or car sets as full games is fair.
• Amazon listing shows World Sports Cars due September 2002 2002-01-20 · 28 posts
  Kirk House reported an Amazon listing showing World Sports Cars from Sierra due in September 2002. Posters explained that Vivendi owns Sierra and distributes Empire titles, so a publisher change was not implied, but most refused to believe in WSC until it was on shelves. David Buttery posted a much-praised spoof of the original press release in archaic English, and veterans recalled early modders Gerhard Lingenberg and Neil Jedrzejewski.
• What comes after GPL and WSC in sim realism? 2000-08-17 · 26 posts
  Loosay2 asked what the next big advance in sim racing would be. Gregor Veble said GPL's main physics gap was true suspension movement, which WSC was expected to address, while others suggested aerodynamics modelling, dedicated physics cards, motion devices such as the MotionWare head unit, and VR headsets. The discussion mixed serious ideas with jokes about fans and brain-altering devices.
• New World Sports Cars screenshots and licensing delays 2001-05-21 · 24 posts
  Leroy linked new WSC screenshots supplied by Chris West. Posters asked why only six cars were shown and what happened to the promised demo; Eric Cote, who said he spoke to Chris West daily, explained that 18 cars were built but manufacturer and track licensing handled by Empire was causing delays, and that the developers were surprised by an Empire mention of May 2002. Others discussed how licensing negotiations work.
• West brothers interviewed about WSC on Track Talk radio 2001-04-07 · 23 posts
  Tom Pabst praised a four-and-a-half-hour Track Talk internet radio interview with WSC developers Chris and Tony West. Listeners reported no release date was given but a demo was planned for E3, while sceptics called WSC vaporware and defenders cited the tiny team rewriting code after Glide's demise. A tester later said he had driven WSC and found it a real sim.
• Joke claim that Empire dropped World Sports Cars 2001-06-28 · 20 posts
  A poster took Tom Pabst's joke that Empire had replaced WSC with a Starsky and Hutch game at face value. John Bodin clarified that the original post was satire, though Empire really was making a Starsky and Hutch game. The group then piled on with invented spin-off titles.
• Total Immersion Racing revealed as World Sports Cars successor 2002-09-26 · 20 posts
  Steve Smith posted screenshots of Empire's Total Immersion Racing, seen as what became of the West brothers' World Sports Cars. Readers found it arcade-like and lacking a cockpit view, though Razorworks' flight-sim pedigree was noted. Doug Ellison said it was new code, and Dave Henrie concluded it reused WSC's licensed cars and tracks.
• World Sports Cars ECTS video turns into slang debate 2000-10-13 · 87 posts
  Francois Menard posted an ECTS video of World Sports Cars with an onboard view and urged Papyrus to release movies instead of screenshots. Bruce Kennewell objected to him speaking for everyone, and the thread became a long off-topic discussion of Australian slang, 'Poms' and gender roles in Australia.
• What is Papyrus working on, and N4 damage complaints 2001-12-08 · 69 posts
  A returning poster asked why Papyrus had nothing new for Christmas. Replies expected a NASCAR 5 early in 2002, with an anonymous hint of an open-wheel console game, while posters mocked WSC's endless delays and Ruud van Gaal insisted it was still in development. Much of the thread argued over NASCAR 4's damage model and whether repaired cars run unrealistically fast, plus etiquette on hacked superspeedway servers.
• Demand that the West brothers show WSC progress 2001-08-22 · 64 posts
  A poster demanded the West brothers give real news on World Sports Cars or admit problems. Many replied that the developers owe nothing and that the community created the hype, while sceptics said the Wests' own promises justified frustration. Carol Bekker said she had driven demos at trade shows, and the thread ended in petty insults over typos.
• World Sports Cars screenshot reactions 2000-06-07 · 54 posts
  Posters reacted to a World Sports Cars screenshot of two cars at Brands Hatch, with Scott Husted noting it was old and lacked anti-aliasing. Karl Zosel called it hype and claimed to be downloading a demo, but later admitted it was the F1WGP demo. Much of the thread drifted into Amiga nostalgia and jokes about missing driver heads.
• Is WSC vaporware? Info blackout frustrates fans 2001-12-10 · 53 posts
  Cyril Ma asked whether the West brothers' World Sports Cars was vaporware. Jan Verschueren insisted the developers owed nobody anything and that an information stop was in effect, while Andre Warringa and others wished for status updates. The thread devolved into arguments, including David G Fisher mocking Jan's word 'bagatellise' and a spat between Fisher and EldredP.
• Why do people ridicule Racing Legends as a hoax? 2002-07-13 · 39 posts
  Douglas Ellison asked why critics treated Racing Legends as a hoax when the Wests had a working engine and had shown it to people. Joel Willstein restated that WSC remained vapourware and the Wests had a poor record, while others said the Wests needed support rather than cheerleading. The thread drifted into jokes about GP4 being satanic.
• Todd Walker's public apology to the West brothers 2001-05-22 · 39 posts
  Replies to Todd Walker's public apology to the World Sports Cars developers praised his gesture and urged patience, with many saying they would wait as long as needed. Some remained sceptical that years of screenshots meant a game was near, while others discussed whether WSC should cater to less hardcore players than GPL did, for example with a ghost mode, and pointed to a long radio interview with the Wests.
• Another 'what's the latest on WSC?' query 2001-12-11 · 38 posts
  DStamper asked for the latest on WSC, prompting groans about the fifth such question in two days. Andre Warringa recalled his disappointment over the never-released GPaL utility, and posters debated whether WSC's car selection from different eras still made sense. Ruud van Gaal said a D3D port was working and an information stop was in place.
• How much would you pay for World Sports Cars? 2001-05-23 · 37 posts
  Doug Hook asked what people would pay for WSC, suggesting $99.99 if the demo was good. Most said $35 to $50 was the realistic limit and that overpricing would doom sales, others joked or said they would pay more, and some suggested separate standard and pro editions. The thread drifted into banter.
• WSC vapourware sceptics challenged ahead of West announcement 2002-07-10 · 34 posts
  Douglas Ellison named people who had called WSC vapourware, expecting them to back-pedal. Sceptics replied that nothing had shipped and the Wests had cancelled projects before, and redTed exchanged insults with Gerry Aitken. Jokes followed about space sims and the site's 404 car.
• Will WSC be optimised for Pentium 4 over Athlon? 2001-07-20 · 32 posts
  Olly Greenfield asked whether World Sports Cars was being optimised for the Pentium 4. Eric Cote said it supports SSE and is enhanced for SSE2, blaming AMD for not supplying developers with chips. The thread degenerated into an insulting AMD versus Intel argument between Charlie Buscher and 'Bill and Ben'.
• World Sports Cars feature list impresses fans 2000-05-29 · 30 posts
  A feature list for World Sports Cars posted on BHMotorsports, citing five years of physics work and a dynamic centre of gravity, excited readers. Shaun Robinson contrasted it with GP3, where every car handles the same for the player. Most replies were jokes about Arrows cars and over-excited fans.

Busiest threads

• Will World Sports Cars draw players away from GPL? (22 posts about it)
• Who are the West brothers, and will WSC ever ship? (14 posts about it)
• World Sports Cars E3 footage and moving cockpit views (12 posts about it)
• Is World Sports Cars vaporware? (11 posts about it)
• WSC frame rates and the CPU cost of sim physics (10 posts about it)
• WSC Force Feedback (9 posts about it)
• World Sports Cars: vapourware or alive? (8 posts about it)
• Demand that the West brothers show WSC progress (8 posts about it)
• Is World Sports Cars myth or reality? (8 posts about it)
• Tom Pabst defends the West brothers over WSC delays (8 posts about it)
• Are GPL fans rude and intolerant? (7 posts about it)
• World Sports Cars: licensing, editors and paid add-ons (7 posts about it)
• World Sports Cars E3 report and fears of dumbing down (7 posts about it)
• Leaked WSC in-car shots posted then pulled (6 posts about it)
• Codemasters announces TOCA Race Driver (6 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 · 46 David Buttery · 34 Ruud van Gaal · 31 ymenard · 27 Douglas Ellison · 23 Simon Brown · 16 David L. Cook · 14 Andre Warringa · 14 Olav K. Malmin · 14 Jan Verschueren · 13 Michael Barlow · 12 Pat Dotson · 12 Joel A. Willstein · 11 Ian Bell · 11 Kai Fuller · 11 GraDee · 9 Gregor Veble · 9 Tom Pabst · 8 Haqsau · 8 (unknown) · 8

Search the archive for World Sports Cars