Expectations from new F1 Game

TBH I don't have high expectations from CodeMasters and I think they 'll release a game with high level graphics, real F1 functions (like pitstops, Safety Car etc.) but will it be simulator enough, to satisfy the demanding community of F1 sim lovers?
GP4 is the last of a series of GP sims that were developed in cooperation with Arrows Formula One Team.
Codemaster is making just their first F1 game. It will be a miracle if it prooves to be better than GP4 in terms of AI and car physics.

_________________________
some of my GP4 works ...

SchueyFan schrieb:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Racervieh13 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > An integrated car editor would be nice ^^
>
> don't get your hopes up for that, modding will not
> be possible at all apparently.


That's what they said about GP4 when they released it :D

It took 5 years to start cracking the tracks for GP4 :P.

Where there's a will there is always a way. It might not be as easy but we will find ways. There are increasingly more and more great developers/artists/modders on this site and many like this site, keen for a challenge. So there is hope.

BUT: don't get your hopes up. Expect this first version not to come close to GP4. There are many reasons why I say that:

1. The same reason we expected GP4 to not be 'perfect'. They will undoubtedly put in the basics in this game, and put in long-awaited features steadily in the follow-up versions.

2. They won't have the same driveability for keyboard drivers as GP4. There haven't been any games before or since which have had near-equal steering help features, and I don't expect this to be the first.

3. Their games have been to arcade-like in the past, so it will take a few years of training/exercising and beta testing - in other words, selling it to the public so we report bugs - for them to really get up to scratch with the hardcore racers like us' wants and needs - maybe eve 5 years, you never know.

4. The game will have the 2009 season on there which will probably be available to GP4 players on this site even before their game is released(HELL I really hope I have a good enough computer to play all kinds of mods by then...), which means it will already be out-dated by the time it arrives, and the realism and detail won't nearly match any of the brilliant guys on here's work, because the guys on here do it for free and because it's their passion. Codemasters are sitting there before implementing a feature/detail and thinking 'will this make us the most money, or will that make us the most money?'. Time-saving will be huge on their side, even if it takes a year longer than planned they will still say 'we can't delay it another month now, we are losing money'.

5. Physics: Their games have normal car physics - F1 physics is a different beast altogether. That will take a while...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2009 09:32AM by Ho3n3r.

And features I will like - but not expect - in the game:

1. Fuel: Litres instead of 'fuel laps'. I want it as real as possible, so let me figure out my own usage per lap and fill up accordingly.

2. Fuel: Let us be able to choose our fuel mixture according to what we need at the time of the race. This will add to the fun.

3. Strategy: Let us be able to select our next pitstop's fuel load and tyres from a pause menu - the best way for this to happen is when you cross the pit-speed limit line, let the menu pop-up automatically. Also, none of this 'stops to go: 1, 2' or however many. If you choose an amount - IN LITRES - you must know if you will last till the end if it was your last stop. No automatic pit entry green light either. It must be manual.

4. Pit stop control: Full control by me. I want to manually switch on the speed limiter when entering the pits. And I want a stop-go penalty if I don't succeed in doing that correctly(speeding). Also, I want to stop manually at the jack.

5. Drive-through/Stop-Go penalties: This can easily be implemented, and more realistically than in GP4 too. When skipping a chicane(eg. Monza 1st/2nd corner) don't just penalise me there and then. Code it to determine whether I gained a position(s) by the end of the sector. If I did, penalise me accordingly, If I didn't, let me be.

Also, If I was in front of a guy by less than 2 seconds by the start of the sector, and I went over the chicane illegaly and I gained any time on him by the end of the sector, penalise me with a drive-through penalty.

There must also be some kind of penalty for just purely driving on your own in the middle of nowhere and skipping chicanes and gaining 3s a lap on the guy in front 60s ahead of you, and pulling away from the guy behind you at the same rate while he is 30s behind you. I say, if you skipped any chicane in a sector and you gained any time on the man behind in front of you and pulled away from the man behind you, you must also get a drive-through/stop-go penalty.

That will work much better anyway than GP4's system of the dreaded black flag(which I disabled on all tracks), and it will allow you to let the man pass you again/slow down to let them get away/catch up to you.

6. Safety Car: Actually, I don't want this, because this is a feature we are fortunate enough to live without in a game. I believe it just spoils races in real life and unfairly alters the results. So a no-go for me. The GP4 system is perfect in this regard - do the same in the new game.

7. Radio Communication: I don't give a toss - it won't add to the value for me.

8. AI Cars: At least the same as GP4, but pleaaaaaase, when they are getting lapped - by me or the other AI cars - please increase the distance at which you need to be from them for them to moooooooove by at least twice the distance it is in GP4.

9. Please try to make it crash-free, that's the least you can do. GP4 couldn't.

That's all I have to add for now.

What do you guys think?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2009 09:23AM by Ho3n3r.

That's a good list.

---

[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Nice comments and list Ho3n3r. Seams your a bit of a budding Ross Brawn, strategy obviously is a big draw in a new game for yourself. I would like the idea of the radio telling you how much time you need before a pit stop or what strategy the guy in front is on. Very hard to design i'm sure but I think that would give you a personal connection to the game.

sonofjorel88 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice comments and list Ho3n3r. Seams your a bit of
> a budding Ross Brawn, strategy obviously is a big
> draw in a new game for yourself. I would like the
> idea of the radio telling you how much time you
> need before a pit stop or what strategy the guy in
> front is on. Very hard to design i'm sure but I
> think that would give you a personal connection to
> the game.

Hehe thanks mate - yes I like the strategy and race playing out and different options part of the game - that's why I ALWAYS do 100% races - there are so many variables to take into account. And YESSS - I would love to be a race engineer/strategist or whatever you call Ross Brawn's job.

And the radio communications - yes that would be awesome the way you put it if they can do it that way and in that detail, but sadly I think we are a few years away. The new game's radio comms (if any) will be at most 30 % more complete than GP4's currently is, which was about 8-10% of what it could be in the 1st place, which would mean that it will only be 10.33-13% of what it could be in the new game, and if they spend any amount of time on that level of radio communications, they could just as well put that time into the game's driveability and tyre wear ratios.

That's a potential seller aspect of the game - but not in the near future in my opinion. If it can be improved and be much more interactive than in GP4 then it will be massive.

Another thing that would surely improve the game for me - as you mentioned - is if they could estimate the other guys' fuel strategies in terms of how many seconds a pit stop took so you can know from which lap onwards you must push and how fast before you pit to jump a certain guy - as Schumi used to do with Ross Brawn.

GP4 is fine for now in that I push like mad in the last 4 laps before I pit and hope for the best. This, however, is what I would call a 'lottery' guess. I want them to at least give me a 'he stopped for about 8 and a half seconds' so I can work out more or less how many litres he took on and thus how many laps he can do by basing that on the sort of litres used per lap normally for the specific track - yes the math and thinking during a race is huge for me - which would then be more of an 'calculated' guess.

Also, you could have(for less math and thinking during race orientated people - of whom there are many) the race engineer telling you 'He stopped for about 8 and a half seconds, which is roughly 70 litres and will last him 22-23 laps' or that kind of thing. You must though be able to select/deselect the level of communications as with the level of communications - like Amateur Radio level gives you all the information available, basically spoon-feeding you, while Ace gives you only the information F1 drivers get, or even less so that you can work out everything you need to know, thus making you a superb strategist and thinker.

???

Hmm, many of them I don't think the new game will have. I don't mean to dispel anyones hopes for this game, but I'm not to sure about it.

What I'd really like is a game like the new one from Codies, of rF2, but it would be OPEN SOURCE, so users and modders could develop their own addons and such like for the game, such as, if you wanted Radio Communication, but your friend didn't, you could download an addon, and put it in the game, while your friend doesn't download the addon, because he doesn't want it.

Much like Firefox I guess.

---

Order a giffgaff SIM from my link and get £5 credit, free!
Season 1 and Season 3 GPGSL World Champion!
Member of CTDP - Cars Tracks Development Program - 3D Carshaper

Ho3n3r Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And features I will like - but not expect - in the
> game:
>
> 1. Fuel: Litres instead of 'fuel laps'. I want it
> as real as possible, so let me figure out my own
> usage per lap and fill up accordingly.
>
> 2. Fuel: Let us be able to choose our fuel mixture
> according to what we need at the time of the race.
> This will add to the fun.
>
> 3. Strategy: Let us be able to select our next
> pitstop's fuel load and tyres from a pause menu -
> the best way for this to happen is when you cross
> the pit-speed limit line, let the menu pop-up
> automatically. Also, none of this 'stops to go: 1,
> 2' or however many. If you choose an amount - IN
> LITRES - you must know if you will last till the
> end if it was your last stop. No automatic pit
> entry green light either. It must be manual.
>
> 4. Pit stop control: Full control by me. I want to
> manually switch on the speed limiter when entering
> the pits. And I want a stop-go penalty if I don't
> succeed in doing that correctly(speeding). Also, I
> want to stop manually at the jack.
>
> 5. Drive-through/Stop-Go penalties: This can
> easily be implemented, and more realistically than
> in GP4 too. When skipping a chicane(eg. Monza
> 1st/2nd corner) don't just penalise me there and
> then. Code it to determine whether I gained a
> position(s) by the end of the sector. If I did,
> penalise me accordingly, If I didn't, let me be.

Nice ideas but people would sure get sick of it soon enough and want it disabled

I can't see the casual gamer wanting any of theses options so I don't expect to see any of them in the new game tbh, I'd get sick of them myself eventually I think

Codies are sure to make a mainstream game, expect the 2010 cars from the first race, rules from race 1, drivers from race 1, maybe if they feel like it they'll make an update later on with newer cars or drivers but expect to pay for it

As you said earlier the game will be outdated by the time it's released and will be that way until Codies make an update or the game can be modded

If you look at all of the PS F1 games from 1995 up to 2006 then think how many innovations there were in terms of gameplay, you'll find not a whole lot changed, imho the games got worst after 95 and 97 with 99, 03 and 05 being the only exceptions

95 and 97 were just class games and 99 was awesome as it had the safety car, bonus stages and all of the drivers from that season, 2003 was a great change after the EA games from 2000 and was actually a good racing game. Then 04 was awful but 05 had the career mode which I thought was great if not too limited and had epic intro with Muse

I would really like to see a good game from Codies but realistically I don't see it being able to challenge GP4 or rFactor

I look at it this way, since getting GP4 in 2007 I've never played another F1 game, that's pretty damming of the old games

Cheers

---

Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions

The Codies game will be based on the 2010 season on the PC XBOX AND PS3. The psp and wii versions will be based on 2009 so I don't think it will be out dated. I understand what your saying about the casual gamer, but if you look at games like tiger woods, which has ball spin, club selection, an attribute earning system etc.. all these things gave the game depth. That is a game that I would never normally play and I don't even like golf, but the attraction with the mini systems gave me a reason to keep playing. Another example would be the NHL series franchisee mode, its a good addition and gives depth again to a sport that I don't watch but really enjoy the game. The new F1 game will need to attract the casual gamer and the first game will need to be good with something different for the casual gamer. I think the idea of strategy and radio communication is a way to take it to the next level. A casual gamer who has no interest in F1 outside the gaming world needs a bit of depth after they have got sick of causing big crashes and after they've won a million quick races. In order for the game to have playability in the long run it needs depth and I believe they will do something different to keep its playability.

something i would really like in a game is aquaplaning, its probably impossible tho to get it in a game but if want it to be realistic then this has to be a feature. i really don't think this game will be realistic it will be the same as race driver is arcady with a silly simulation mode. aquaplaning, safety car and proper flag rules with an option to turn off the blue flags as a single rule change.


__________________________________________________________________________





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/14/2009 09:45AM by torana_05.

Well let's rather call my list a 'wishful thinking' list than a 'wishlist'.

Those are only things that I would like personally in the game and - with my so-far limited career and experience in programming - can be fairly easily implemented in the new game.

However, I do not for one moment expect any big amount of features to be in the game...

Some of those things are not up to the driver. They have engineers that calculate the litres per stint and all these other things. You can't seriously expect normal virtual racers to have to blindly run on a track just to discover how many litres are consumed per lap when driving all-out or at a slower pace. That would be extremely boring for us. The stuff you said exists in GTR 2, rFactor... the only difference is that when you select your fuel (in litres) it gives how many laps that is (you can add varying levels of fuel and still be in the same lap, for example, the only thing is if you overdrive you may not reach the pitlane if you have your litres be the bare minimum for X amount of laps. Everything else, like stop/go, following pit limiter and parking at your spot are done by you.

Just a quick note on the Online side of things, you may not need the source code for GP4. I have very little knowledge of C++ but a separate program and DLL could be made to allow us to play online. If I get that bored once I leave school, which is next Friday. I may just look into it .

Just a quick note on the Online side of things, you may not need the source code for GP4. I have very little knowledge of C++ but a separate program and DLL could be made to allow us to play online. If I get that bored once I leave school, which is next Friday. I may just look into it . Just imagine how great it would be to play GP4 online..

Lucky, Matty, I guess you must be in Year 11?

Yeah, playing GP4 online would be quite something...

*dreaming*

---

Order a giffgaff SIM from my link and get £5 credit, free!
Season 1 and Season 3 GPGSL World Champion!
Member of CTDP - Cars Tracks Development Program - 3D Carshaper

Friends....

Codemaster always it was ARCADE They look colin mcrae, fuel, and the new game of F1 will be equal of Arcade game, this way of simply. For that they love the simulation, GP4 it will continue many years more...

Jaques.

Actually, I read somewhere that codemasters was willing to make a more sim type game for the Xbox, PS3 and PC versions of the game, while making sure that it could be played casually as well. Much like Gp4 is in a way.

Anyway, I wouldn't be so quick to shoot it down like this. I personally am looking forward to a F1 game that has good graphics for a change. If they give us a relatively good sim with full race weekends and 100% races, I'm already happy.

msater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lucky, Matty, I guess you must be in Year 11?
>
> Yeah, playing GP4 online would be quite
> something...
>
> *dreaming*

Nah Year 13 .

Anyway, I ain't promising that I'll do it, but I MIGHT have a look into what it involves.