Now that the limited demo has been out for a couple of days now what
are your initial impressions?
Here are some of mine. BTW, I've been playing racing games since the
original Indy 500 on the PC. I am an avid GPL player and it is my all-
time favorite. For the latest "modern" F1 sims, GP3 and F1CS 2K are good
but they both seem to be missing something. The physics in F1CS are
great but I hate the graphics engine. Playing that game gives me a
headache. GP3 is fun but there's something about the driving feel that
feels very artificial to me. Of these two games, I play GP3 the most.
Now, my initial impressions of F1RC...
Graphics are very impressive. The best yet of any modern F1 sim. Almost
on par with SBK2001.
The two tracks (Monaco and Spa) are very accurate (I'm talking about
the elevation and the track layout...as far as specific stands and
building locations, there are a few minor errors at Spa but they do not
detract from the driving experience. Most importantly, like I said
before, the track is near perfect from what I can see based on in-car
video and the many years of watching these races on TV. Great job
there! Also, very good sensation of speed (apart from the wheel
textures with I think need more of a blurred effect; also the tarmac is
a little too smooth which detracts the sense of speed. The cockpit
graphics aren't the greatest but this isn't something I focus on while
racing so it doesn't really bother me. On the plus side, the viewing
position while in the cockpit seems perfect.
Physics/driving engine - First impression - I wasn't that impressed.
Although it's difficult to make a fair judgement on this area of the
sim based on the ABS/TC levels still being partially enabled in the
demo. Anyway, after some time with this (I've been playing since
Monday) I feel it's quite good. The car is easy to drive at normal to
moderate speeds but very difficult when pushing the limits (F1 pilots
have said this before when asked what it's like driving real F1 cars).
Driving this sim on the limit is quite exhilarating. Tip toeing
through Spa, flying around the corners at high speed as you feel the
car fighting for grip...pulling off that perfect lap in this game is
very rewarding. I don't think we should expect to match real world
track times in this game though. I've already done 1:45.xxx at Spa and
1:17.xxx at Monaco which are both faster than the real world times
times. Oh well, I don't care because I'm having a blast playing this
game!
I hate the engine and crash sounds. I hope these will change before it
goes gold!
So, am I going to buy F1RC when it comes out in March? YES! I'm playing
this more than GP3 and F1CR 2K and loving it! That should tell me
something I guess. Going back to either of these two games just makes
me want to play F1RC even more! Oh, BTW, it's still no GPL. I don't
think anything will ever beat this ageless classic. :-)
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
On Sat, 10 Feb 2001 01:41:54 GMT, [email hidden] wrote:
>Now that the limited demo has been out for a couple of days now what
>are your initial impressions?
>
>Here are some of mine
<snip>
Nice observations - have to agree with you.
I'm not sure if it's the incredible graphics or the overall feel of the
track(s), but this F1 sim is very impressive *so far*. I also like the
variability in the views - should help quite a bit with SA in a race.
Looking forward to it's release.
Ken
