1998 on rec.autos.simulators

1998 was the year of Grand Prix Legends. Papyrus released a Watkins Glen demo in April. After months of track-licence news, slipping dates and a warez leak, the full game reached North American shelves at the end of September and Europe on 9 October. Its brutal 1967 physics, Glide/Rendition-only graphics and online play set off some of the group's longest arguments. Fans built the VROC matchmaking service, and Papyrus answered TNT owners with beta OpenGL drivers. Elsewhere, the NASCAR Racing 2 3dfx patch finally appeared, Microsoft dropped CART Precision Racing, and Grand Prix 2 was pulled from sale over its licence. MicroProse denied that GP3 existed while Crammond spoke about it. Ubisoft followed F1RS with Monaco Grand Prix, Codemasters asked the group for TOCA 2 ideas, and Papyrus lost key staff as its owner Cendant fell into scandal and sold Sierra to Havas.

Browse all 1998 threads

What happened

• 1998-01-08 Microsoft released the final CART Precision Racing 1.0.1 patch, with AI, frame-rate and grip-model changes. patch thread post
• 1998-01-08 Sierra and Papyrus announced a new CART sim for spring 1999, with the CART licence extended until July 2003. announcement thread post
• 1998-01-10 Grand Prix 2 was withdrawn from sale after MicroProse's F1 licence expired at the end of 1997. business post post
• 1998-02-05 Papyrus cancelled the promised 3dfx patch for SODA Off-Road Racing. cancellation post post
• 1998-02-20 Ubisoft released F1 Racing Simulation patch 1.07, which added force feedback support. patch thread post
• 1998-02-20 The first Voodoo2 boards shipped, led by Creative Labs' 12MB card. hardware post post
• 1998-03-05 GT Interactive, Engineering Animation and the SCCA announced Trans-Am Racing '68-'72. announcement post
• 1998-03-06 ESPN lost US Formula One broadcast rights, leaving Speedvision with live coverage. real-motorsport thread post
• 1998-03-07 Geoff Crammond said in a PC Format interview that he was working on Grand Prix 3 as an evolution of GP2. announcement thread post
• 1998-03-15 Microsoft confirmed CART Precision Racing would get no further patches. business post post
• 1998-03-17 A beta 3dfx patch for NASCAR Racing 2 was released, and Papyrus confirmed it as official. patch thread post post
• 1998-03-20 Bethesda Softworks released Burnout: Championship Drag Racing. release thread post
• 1998-03-30 F1 Racing Simulation went on general retail sale in the US. release post post
• 1998-03-31 Operation 3Dfx posted an unofficial Glide DLL for CART Precision Racing that enabled a hidden 3dfx mode. mod thread post
• 1998-04-06 Papyrus released the Grand Prix Legends demo, with Watkins Glen in practice mode. demo thread post post
• 1998-04-12 Papyrus confirmed the first eight Grand Prix Legends tracks and 14 licensed drivers. announcement post
• 1998-04-15 Sierra Sports announced it had licensed the original Nurburgring Nordschleife for Grand Prix Legends. announcement thread post
• 1998-04-25 After Sim Racing News reported that the project had been shelved, Papyrus's Mike Lescault said a CART sequel on the GPL physics engine was still planned for 1999. announcement thread post
• 1998-05-13 Microsoft and Terminal Reality released Monster Truck Madness 2 in the US. release thread post
• 1998-05-29 At E3, Papyrus showed an alpha of Grand Prix Legends with Spa and the Nurburgring, plus an early NASCAR Racing 3. announcement post post
• 1998-06-05 MicroProse Europe stated that it had no GP2 sequel or other racing sim in development. announcement thread post
• 1998-06-11 MicroProse UK customer support stopped posting on the group after a row over its claim that GP2 editors were illegal. community thread post
• 1998-06-26 Grand Prix Legends slipped to late summer, and Monaco was confirmed as a track. announcement post post
• 1998-07-02 Codemasters confirmed TOCA 2 for Christmas, and producer Gavin Raeburn asked the group for feature ideas. announcement thread post
• 1998-07-14 Producer Mike Lescault left Papyrus. Papyrus later confirmed he had been fired and that Charley Bandes and J.R. Surprenant had resigned. business post post
• 1998-07-24 Tantrum's NHRA Drag Racing went gold and shipped to retailers. release post post
• 1998-07-26 Three spectators were killed by a flying wheel at the CART US 500 at Michigan. real-motorsport thread post
• 1998-07-31 A MicroProse SEC filing listed Grand Prix III as under development. business post
• 1998-07-31 Ubisoft announced a successor to F1 Racing Simulation, later named Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2. announcement post post
• 1998-08-16 Microsoft's Motocross Madness reached US stores. release post
• 1998-08-28 A Grand Prix Legends demo build featuring Monza appeared on a magazine cover CD, and its track files were shared online. demo thread post
• 1998-09-04 Papyrus clarified its lineup: NASCAR Racing 1999 Edition with trucks for late 1998, and NASCAR Racing 3 in 1999. announcement thread post
• 1998-09-08 A leaked beta of Grand Prix Legends circulated on warez sites before release. business thread post
• 1998-09-12 Sierra announced Viper Racing, developed by MGI, a studio founded by former Papyrus staff. announcement post post
• 1998-09-21 EA released Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit for PC in the US. release post post
• 1998-09-23 Ubisoft released a demo of Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2. demo thread post
• 1998-09-24 Hasbro moved to take over MicroProse, publisher of Grand Prix 2. business post
• 1998-09-30 Grand Prix Legends shipped to North American retailers and went on sale. release thread post post
• 1998-09-30 MGI released the first Viper Racing demo. demo post post
• 1998-10-02 Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2 was released in the UK and Europe. Ubisoft held the North American release until February 1999. release post post
• 1998-10-02 Sierra's parent Cendant restated its 1997 earnings after accounting irregularities. business post
• 1998-10-07 Electronic Arts' purchase of Westwood and Virgin's assets moved ISI's Professional Sports Car Racing to EA. business post post
• 1998-10-09 Grand Prix Legends was released in the UK and Europe. release post post
• 1998-10-09 Codemasters released Colin McRae Rally for PC in the UK. release post
• 1998-10-09 3DO released TOCA Touring Car Championship in the US. release post post
• 1998-10-10 Microsoft's SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel reached stores, bundled with CPR and MTM2. hardware post post
• 1998-10-12 Act Labs began shipping its Force RS force feedback wheel. hardware post
• 1998-10-16 VROC, a fan-built web service for finding and hosting online GPL races, went live. online post post
• 1998-10-23 Papyrus posted beta OpenGL drivers for Grand Prix Legends, adding support for TNT and other non-3dfx cards, alongside a new Windows 98-compatible demo. patch thread post post
• 1998-10-26 Adrenaline Vault's 2.5-star GPL review provoked a backlash. The site re-reviewed the game at 4 stars on 6 November. community thread post post
• 1998-11-16 Papyrus/Sierra shipped NASCAR Racing 1999 Edition, adding the Craftsman Truck Series. release thread post post
• 1998-11-18 Viper Racing shipped to US retail. release post post
• 1998-11-19 Cendant agreed to sell its consumer software unit, including Sierra and Papyrus, to Havas. business post post
• 1998-11-19 PC Gamer UK reported that MicroProse no longer expected Grand Prix 3 before the end of 1999. announcement post
• 1998-11-22 ISI's Professional Sports Car Racing was renamed Sports Car GT and moved to early 1999. announcement post post
• 1998-11-27 TOCA 2 was released on PlayStation in the UK, and Codemasters put the PC version back to early 1999. release post post
• 1998-12-05 EA Sports released a demo of NASCAR Revolution. demo thread post
• 1998-12-14 3dfx announced it was buying graphics board maker STB. hardware post
• 1998-12-19 Ubisoft's Monaco Grand Prix patch 1.03 added a beta of its Game Service for internet racing. online post
• 1998-12-30 Thrustmaster's Force GT force feedback wheel reached retail. hardware post post

Rumour vs reality

Threads to read

• Papyrus announces the Grand Prix Legends demo
  Papyrus's Mike Lescault announced a playable Grand Prix Legends demo for April 6, featuring Watkins Glen in practice mode to showcase the new physics engine, with native Rendition and 3Dfx support. He explained the exclusive release on OGR and plans for mirrors. Users reported it ran well on modest machines such as a P133 with a 3D card.
• Papyrus and Sierra announce new CART sim for 1999
  Online Gaming Review reported that Sierra and Papyrus would produce a new CART sim for spring 1999, with Sierra holding the CART licence until July 2003. Fans welcomed the return of Papyrus to CART, though Randy Magruder warned against over-romanticising Papyrus. The thread became a comparison of Papyrus, MS/TRI and Ubisoft, and whether ICR2 had been neglected.
• Papyrus responds over the late NASCAR 2 3Dfx patch
  Joe McGinn demanded to know where the NASCAR Racing 2 3Dfx patch promised for early 1998 was. Papyrus's Adam Levesque explained the no-win situation over release dates and gave a status update, which was widely welcomed. Former Papyrus staff Jim Sokoloff and Steven Traver explained why patches carry support costs, while the thread became heated over Nosferatu's abusive posts.
• How online racing sims should handle physics and latency
  Christer Andersson proposed ideas for future online sim architecture. Former Papyrus developer Jim Sokoloff explained that physics needs higher rates than graphics and should run on a fixed timebase decoupled from frame rate, that each client in Grand Prix Legends runs its own physics, and discussed extrapolation and cheating. Doug Milliken described how Atari's Hard Drivin' separated physics and graphics processors.
• Geoff Crammond confirms work on Grand Prix 3
  A PC Format interview reported Geoff Crammond was working on GP3 as an evolution of GP2. The news reopened debate over GP2's slow-motion approach when the CPU is overloaded versus dropping frames. The thread then argued at length whether racing sims are 'just games' or genuine simulations.
• Arguing over whether GPL is undriveable or realistic
  Charles Mak claimed the GPL demo was undriveable and unlike real 1960s F1, while most replied the cars genuinely drifted and that he needed practice or better controller settings. Real racers such as Matthew Knutsen and a father who raced in the 1960s endorsed the feel. Doug Milliken discussed force feedback and Jim Sokoloff suggested better drivers were simply faster.
• Nurburgring Nordschleife confirmed for Grand Prix Legends
  A post relayed Sierra Sports' announcement that it had licensed the Nurburgring for Grand Prix Legends. Fans reacted with delight, joked about memorising its 174 corners, and wondered how the long track would fit in memory. Others traded tips on videos such as Derek Bell's "In Car 956" and footage of the 1967 German GP for learning the circuit, and someone gave July 1998 as the expected release date.
• Rumour Papyrus shelved CART sim, denied by Mike Lescault
  Sim Racing News reported a rumour from 'reliable sources' that Papyrus had dropped plans for a CART sequel to IndyCar Racing II, and fans protested, asked for a petition and debated licences. Papyrus's Mike Lescault then posted that Papyrus planned to release a CART sequel in 1999 based on GPL's physics engine, which brought relief. Marc Nelson noted that 'planning' did not guarantee the game, and Jim Sokolov pointed out the CART licence was probably not exclusive.
• Is current force feedback good enough for racing sims?
  Pat Dotson asked why developers said consumer force feedback was not good enough for sims. Owners of the Ultimate Per4mer wheel praised its effects in CART Precision Racing and POD, while sceptics wanted real road feel rather than bump effects. Trevor Thomas, a racing-controller maker, said proper force feedback needed a $1,500-2,000 wheel, Jim Sokolov explained the motor and power-supply limits of $100 devices, and Doug Milliken, a consultant on Atari's Hard Drivin', noted Atari's patent on force feedback in driving games.
• Randy Magruder's Gran Turismo review sparks PC vs console debate
  Randy Magruder posted his Digital Sportspage review of the US Gran Turismo, saying PC racing collections had become 'second rate'. The long cross-posted thread debated the lack of damage, whether replays should count toward the graphics score versus Need for Speed III, and whether GT was a sim or arcade game. It later degenerated into insults between Playstation and PC fans over gamepads and controllers.
• MicroProse denies Grand Prix 3 plans, fans dispute it
  Asked about Grand Prix 3, Mark Rich of MicroProse Europe stated that neither Geoff Crammond nor MicroProse had plans for a GP2 sequel and that MicroProse remained Crammond's exclusive publisher. Posters cited a PC Format interview in which Crammond discussed a new game and attacked MicroProse's support for GP1 and GP2. A spoof post in Crammond's name added confusion, and the matter stayed unresolved.
• MicroProse rep calls GP2 editors illegal, sparking backlash
  A question about whether GP2 cars differ in performance drew Mark Rich of MicroProse Europe, who said they did and that third-party editors were illegal and could break the game. Regulars who had used GP2Edit and track editors extensively disputed this and challenged whether he spoke for the company. He confirmed he gave the official customer-services line, and the group argued that community add-ons had kept GP2 alive.
• Proposal for a moderated group for sim developers
  After Mark Rich was flamed, Harald van Santen suggested a space where developers could post without being attacked. Papyrus's Mike Lescault said a moderated group would make developers more willing to post because his words were often twisted. Todd Heckel of Engineering Animation introduced himself as working on TransAm Racing '68-'72, while some argued developers should simply face criticism.
• Codemasters asks newsgroup for TOCA 2 feature ideas
  Codemasters' Gavin Raeburn announced that TOCA 2 was in development for Christmas 1998 and asked the group what features they wanted. Dozens of suggestions followed, including better wheel support and calibration, car setups, mirrors, realistic damage and failures, a removable ghost car, a track editor and proper US distribution. Raeburn later said he had compiled about 70 points, most already planned, and that TOCA 2 demos would appear around October.
• Defence of CART Precision Racing sparks long flame war
  A long-time player wrote that CART Precision Racing was better than its reputation, prompting a 134-post fight. Microsoft beta tester David G. Fisher insisted CPR veterans were top drivers and critics knew nothing of real CART cars, while Randy Magruder and John Wallace detailed specific flaws such as missing rear downforce, imprecise control and wall-contact behaviour. Insults flew on both sides, while others noted Microsoft had dropped support for the title.
• Alison Hine reports on Papyrus's internal GPL race series
  Beta tester Alison Hine published reports of the 'Papy Cup', an internal Papyrus race series used to test GPL. She explained that Shift-R repairs are allowed only at lower difficulty levels and carry penalties, and said Dave Kaemmer withdrew from one race due to a low frame rate on a P200 before winning three in a row on a PII-400. Testers said each car is modelled differently, with the Lotus fastest but hardest to drive.
• GPL lacks TNT support; Papyrus releases beta OpenGL drivers
  A question about running GPL on an nVidia TNT card started a long argument over Papyrus supporting only 3dfx Glide and Rendition rather than Direct3D or OpenGL. Critics called it a business mistake and complained the box misstated requirements, while defenders said buyers should choose hardware for their software and that D3D was poor during development. The debate ended when Papyrus posted beta OpenGL drivers for GPL, and Eric Busch of Papyrus said the patch had been in the works and they would look at Permedia2 issues.
• Is GPL's internet multiplayer poor?
  David G Fisher argued GPL's online play suffered from warping and frequent disconnects compared with CPR and MTM2. Many others reported good 20-car races via VROC and blamed specific connections, ISPs and hosts, with core.ini tweaks offered. The argument became testy over beta tester claims that Papyrus was uninterested in online play, which testers including John Wallace and Mike Laskey rejected, and Eric Busch explained the Papy Cup testers were initially blocked by firewall problems.
• Avault gives Grand Prix Legends 2.5 stars
  News that Avault had rated GPL two and a half stars provoked a letter-writing campaign and ridicule of reviewer Craig Miller, who admitted a passage on music was pasted from his Red Baron 3D review and said Sierra had not sent him the Four Wheel Drift manual. Some posters agreed the review fairly warned general gamers about GPL's difficulty, while others said it misjudged the target audience and ignored the trainer cars and aids. The thread later drifted into a long argument over whether flying a fighter is easier than driving a 1967 F1 car.
• Is GPL too difficult or simply realistic?
  Lawrence Edwards argued GPL was harder than real 1960s racing given limited practice in that era and asked for easier options. John Wallace and others said difficulty reflects the reality of racing cars, and John Klemantaski, who raced a 1967 F3 car, offered first-hand comparisons. Christer Andersson questioned some aspects of realism, and tips on adjusting AI strength were shared.