** Ubisoft F1 Press Release **

Hi guys, As promised, here's the Ubi Soft press release for F1... =) Cheers! Marc J. Nelson Sim Racing Online / Sim Racing News / The Sim Project http://members.aol.com/simracing COMPANY CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACTS: Shawn Roberts S&S Public Relations, Inc. 415/547-4000, Ext. 231 Lauren Finkelman/Sophia Chee FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UBI SOFT RACES AHEAD WITH EARLY LAUNCH OF F1 RACING SIMULATION Available Online For The Holiday Season, Expected to Hit Retail Early 1998 SAN FRANCISCO (November 12,1997) - Rushing forward for the holidays, Ubi Soft Entertainment today announced plans to launch F1 Racing Simulation for PC CD-ROM months ahead of schedule. F1 Racing Simulation will be available for purchase exclusively from Ubi Soft Entertainment's Online Store this holiday season and will then be available at retail in early 1998. Racing enthusiasts can order F1 Racing Simulation at Ubi Soft's web site at [link lost in import] or through it's toll free phone number 1-800-UBISOFT. "We are e***d to release this fantastic F1 game online for the holidays. The recent F1 season has generated incredible demand for an accurate and true-to-life title like F1 Racing Simulation," commented Laurent Detoc, Vice President of Ubi Soft Entertainment. "F1 Racing Simulation was developed to satisfy the most demanding racing enthusiasts." F1 Racing Simulation is a licensed product of the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA), allowing gamers to race as one of the 22 actual F1 drivers from the 1996 season on 16 tracks precisely rendered from the real-life race circuits. The superior artificial intelligence ensures that racers will drive as they do in real life- - emulating trademark driving styles! Created by Ubi Soft Entertainment's development team in France in collaboration with F1 Renault engineers, the game was crafted to deliver ultra-realistic accuracy. F1 Racing Simulation offers over 12 ways to customize the vehicles to achieve maximum performance. Players can adjust the settings for car performance variables including wing downforce, suspension, settings, brake balance, wheel camber and gear ratios. The game is further enhanced with changing weather conditions and real life radio communications from the pit. F1 Racing Simulation requires a Pentium? 120 (Pentium? 166 recommended) with a 3D graphic accelerator card (optimized for 3Dfx Voodoo - all other cards are supported via Direct 3D). The title will be offered at Ubi Soft's Online Store for $44.95. For more information, call Ubi Soft Entertainment at 415/547-4000 or visit the company Web site at [link lost in import]

I called 1-800-UBISOFT, and the sale rep informed me that it will be available in Europe December 10th and will have the 1996 F1 statistics. Also that it will be available in Canada and the US in March 98, with updated statistics of the 1997 season. I personally dont understand their sales approach. Why dont they just ship the game with 1996 stats now EVERYWHERE? They can sell an upgrade at a later date with the 1997 stats, and any other enhancement/additions they want. They will be missing the Christmas season in Canada and the US. There wont be much competition for 3D enhanced racing simulations, and they can really sell well (especially since Canada has rekindled their interest in F1 racing since Jacque Vellenue won the title). Oh well, I guess some companies dont like money.

I called too. The rep told me that the title *MAY* ship in the USA before the end of the year. They are taking pre-release orders now. I personally do not do the pre-release thing so I didn't order. He would certainly not give a firm date, but said they would contact anyone who pre-ordered if it was not going to ship this year. -- Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

Frameratewise I agree. The AI in the demo is just horrid. If that is not fixed in the game, a disaster could happen. If the AI is fixed, it may be the driving sim of the year! Also, just for yucks I ran GP2. Man is it terrible in comparison, graphics and frameratewise. I have a P5-200MMX and I get 100% occupancy. But after playing the UBI-F1 demo there is just no way I can deal with GP2. So my copy of GP2 is for sale for $20. Any takers? -- Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

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>>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE >>UBI SOFT RACES AHEAD WITH EARLY LAUNCH OF >>F1 RACING SIMULATION >>Available Online For The Holiday Season, Expected to Hit Retail >>Early 1998 >>SAN FRANCISCO (November 12,1997) - Rushing forward for the holidays, >>Ubi Soft Entertainment today announced plans to launch F1 Racing >>Simulation for PC CD-ROM months ahead of schedule.

I talked to a Ubi rep on their 800 number 11/13/97 and he said it could be ordered from their web site starting 12/10/97. So it will be available in the states prior to the end of the year. Jeff

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> Marc, > here's one solution that has worked for me in the past. Just order > direct from Europe. They are more than willing to send the sim to you > for a few extra bucks postage. Heck, right now the dollar is strong and > the exchange rate is pretty good. In all seriousness, I loved the demo > and will wait and in December call the *** Superstore on Tottenham > Court Road, London. Give 'em your VISA number and be racing a week > before Christmas! > All the best, Mike Davis

You should call next week! At least in Germany the game is supposed (ok, it's still not a fact, but pretty reliable) to be available on Monday, November 17. l8er ronny -- |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

A few cool items... Due to licensing, there's no 'net play inside the game, but when I asked about the 8-player IPX and Kali, they said "no comment." =) The sim should be available to the Euro-market on the 21st. Ubi Soft is currently shipping copies to reviewers as I type, and I should have a US version in my hot-little hands by Friday...I just picked up a Monster 3D, and I can hardly wait for the fireworks to begin!! =) Cheers! Marc - SRN

On Thu, 13 Nov 1997 14:46:09 -0800, "Mike \"LongHorn\" Davis"

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>> >It still doesn't say when exactly the game will be availible for sale here >> >in the US. This holiday season is not specific enough for those of us here >> >in the USA who are considering purchasing it off the shelves in Europe and >> >having it shipped here to decide if we should just get it on-line instead. >> >Will the on-line sales coincide with the retail release date in Europe? Will >> >the product ship immediately thereafter? If there is anyone from Ubisoft >> >monitoring this group, this information would be greatly appreciated. >> I called 1-800-UBISOFT, and the sale rep informed me that it will be >> available in Europe December 10th and will have the 1996 F1 >> statistics. Also that it will be available in Canada and the US in >> March 98, with updated statistics of the 1997 season.

The game can be mail ordered from Ubisoft's US 800 number, and will ship between 10 and 15 DEC. 1-800-ubisoft. Exactly what the *&*& they're thinking, I haven't a clue. Jeff

Any predictions when the in-depth online review will be available? JoH Please remove *anti-spam* from the email when replying. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When everything else failed, we can still become im- mortal by making an enormous blunder.... John Kenneth Galbraith =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Nearly complete. However, I'm hoping John Wallace will give some thoughts too, as he's the GP-guru of SRN. ;) Cheers! Marc - SRN