Great Idea for a driving game !!

Most of you will have used or are aware of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Probably the main reason for the unparalleled success of this sim is the ability it gives the user to download new aircraft, instrument panels and scenery created by ordinary folk, for free. New aircraft are designed, textured and defined using an add-on called Flight Shop. This is a simplified CAD-type program enabling a PC literate user to create anything he would like to fly. Here's the idea - Same principle but a driving sim instead of a flight sim. The basic game gives you a series of tracks (real or made-up, depending on licenses etc) and a selection of basic racers (F1, Stock Car, Touring Car, whatever) and - this is the important bit - the ability to design, texture and define the performance of new cars using a 'Flight Shop' type interface. The game would give you the option of a complete grid made up of 'your' car (I suppose there would need to be some way of varying the colours to tell them apart), either with identical performance or varying based on a parameter you define. Think about it - the possibilities are endless ! A complete grid of : vintage Bugattis, Historic F1 or Indy, 70's stationwagons, your own personal car, giant trucks, even ride-on lawnmowers !! I've designed instrument panels for FS98 and know how easy this is - why not do the same for your cars ? After all, you'd need to know what you're sitting in. Maybe you could even design tracks and scenery too - I can see it now.... Brooklands, Indy in the 60's, the original Nuremburgring.......sim heaven or what ! So come on Microsoft, Microprose, Papyrus, Ubisoft and the rest, how about it ? This would be worth millions ! You could be sure the 'fun' factor of racing round in ridiculous contraptions would have mass appeal, so you wouldn't just be supplying a niche market. Just send me my 10%, okay ? Phil

I have been thinking about an Auto sim, like FS 98, in which you can drive around in the entire world. I do not see a point in it except for sight-seeing. Yet, that would require a good 3D card, fast CPU, and a lot of RAM. Well, not even FS 98 has its own Flight Shop. Instead, any newly created planes and panels have to be converted for playing FS 98. I guess MS has to distribute something like the SDK for CART. Personally, I would rather choose which cars to drive then to create one from scratch. -- Victor Chan

Not a bad idea but I need a goal in games. FS98 is fun to play for about 10 min with each plane landing and taking off then I get bored. Lots of race games bore me too alot of the time. TOCA is the only game that looks interesting but the control is horrid-too quick steering even on low. Let me know when your game idea is done, if it holds my attention for more than 30 min then its good otherwise I'll move on.

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> Most of you will have used or are aware of Microsoft Flight Simulator. > Probably the main reason for the unparalleled success of this sim is the > ability it gives the user to download new aircraft, instrument panels and > scenery created by ordinary folk, for free. New aircraft are designed, > textured and defined using an add-on called Flight Shop. This is a > simplified CAD-type program enabling a PC literate user to create anything > he would like to fly. > Here's the idea - > Same principle but a driving sim instead of a flight sim. The basic game > gives you a series of tracks (real or made-up, depending on licenses etc) > and a selection of basic racers (F1, Stock Car, Touring Car, whatever) and > - this is the important bit - the ability to design, texture and define the > performance of new cars using a 'Flight Shop' type interface. > The game would give you the option of a complete grid made up of 'your' car > (I suppose there would need to be some way of varying the colours to tell > them apart), either with identical performance or varying based on a > parameter you define. > Think about it - the possibilities are endless ! > A complete grid of : vintage Bugattis, Historic F1 or Indy, 70's > stationwagons, your own personal car, giant trucks, even ride-on lawnmowers > !! > I've designed instrument panels for FS98 and know how easy this is - why > not do the same for your cars ? After all, you'd need to know what you're > sitting in. > Maybe you could even design tracks and scenery too - I can see it now.... > Brooklands, Indy in the 60's, the original Nuremburgring.......sim heaven > or what ! > So come on Microsoft, Microprose, Papyrus, Ubisoft and the rest, how about > it ? This would be worth millions ! You could be sure the 'fun' factor of > racing round in ridiculous contraptions would have mass appeal, so you > wouldn't just be supplying a niche market. Just send me my 10%, okay ? > Phil

>Not a bad idea but I need a goal in games. FS98 is fun to play for about >10 min with each plane landing and taking off then I get bored. Lots of >race games bore me too alot of the time. TOCA is the only game that >looks interesting but the control is horrid-too quick steering even on >low. I remember playing my first Flight Simulator on my old Commodore 64. I remember hearing someone say the same thing, "Its just blue on the top and green on the bottom, how much fun is that". Well with every great incarnation comes the inovation to make it better. My FS version 1.0 sucked compared to what we have now. But I would greatly applaud anyone who made an Auto Sim like that other fellow suggested...and I'd buy it too. Christopher Powers

Great idea !!! how about being able to throw a bike in as well - or would that make it too cumbersome and slow? But lets just add it to the wishlist.

Ever play Revs+ on the C64? It was a Formula 3 sim, black road circuits on green ground and a blue sky, bare on scenery except for a few curve arrow signs and meterage posts before corners, but it was quite realistic, with elevation changes and decent opponent AI, good physics modeling (first racing sim I'd ever seen where braking actually caused the nose of the car to dive with the weight transfer) with okay sound effects and a not too bad framerate, even with instruments (tach and gear shift) and opponent cars being displayed. Control options to run with analog and digital controls. I even still enjoy playing it sometimes. I heard the guy who wrote Revs+ went on to write some other racing sim... --- On Mon, 29 Dec 1997 02:58:30 -0600, "Christopher P."

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>I remember playing my first Flight Simulator on my old Commodore 64. I >remember hearing someone say the same thing, "Its just blue on the top and >green on the bottom, how much fun is that". Well with every great >incarnation comes the inovation to make it better. My FS version 1.0 sucked >compared to what we have now. But I would greatly applaud anyone who made >an Auto Sim like that other fellow suggested...and I'd buy it too. >Christopher Powers

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