F1 Fanatic round-up: 17/3/2010
Today I’m going to an event run by Codemasters where I hope to find out more details about their “F1 2010″ game for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. If there’s anything you’d particularly like to find out about it please let me know in the comments. Here’s the round-up for today:
Links
Schumacher return a big hit with German TV viewers (Reuters)
“The seven-times world champion’s comeback race was watched by an average audience of 10.5 million Germans on Sunday, compared to the 5.3 million viewers the season-opening event attracted last season.” I wonder how many of them took notice of the German driver who was leading the race?
Getting rid of aero in F1 – the counterargument (James Allen)
“Frank Dernie, one of the leading F1 aerodynamicists for the past 30 years, has sent me this note, arguing that the “overtaking problem in F1″ is not the aero, but the mechanical grip from the tyres and the lack of mistakes made by drivers on gearshifts due to semi automatic gearboxes. He advocates manual gearboxes and rock hard tyres.”
Comment of the day
Here’s a great bit of thinking from Jim N:
With people still going on about the poor performance of the new teams I thought I’d check on the first outings of the established teams.
Ferrari, Monaco 1950, 4 cars , +1 lap, +3 laps, DNF, DNF
McLaren, Monaco 1966, 1 car only, DNF
Red Bull (originally Stewart GP), Australia 1997, 2 cars, DNF, DNF
Mercedes (originally Tyrrell), Germany 1966, 2 cars, +1 lap, DNF
Force India (originally Jordan), USA 1991, 1 car only, +6 laps not running at finish
Williams, Spain 1977, 1 car only, +4 laps
Renault (originally Toleman), San Marino 1981, 2 cars, DNQ, DNQ
Toro Rosso (originally Minardi), Brazil 1985, 1 car only, DNFThe current crop of new teams seem to be in good company!
Happy birthday!
No F1 Fanatic birthdays today. If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
The FIA issued a double whammy rules change on this day last year by announcing the budget cap proposal for 2010 and claiming the 2009 championship would be decided by whoever scored the most wins. In the end neither proposal came to pass.
The Comedian 39 said on 17th March 2010, 9:20
How about drivers move around mid season? And customisable liveries with a sponsor list, like GRID & Forza.
Oh i could go on…
Untitled258 said on 17th March 2010, 11:56
Customisable Liveries wont happen. Its most likely that Codies will have a contract saying it’ll produce all the cars exactly how they are now, sponsorship revenue etc off the teams. I was reading that they had to get special permission off Ferrari to move the out board mirrors in board so they would actually be useful.
The Comedian 39 said on 17th March 2010, 14:07
Well… hopefully we can create our own team.. and allow driver movement etc.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 17th March 2010, 11:33
The Bahrain Grand Prix ‘rate the race’ poll is closed. After more than 6,000 votes it scored 4.587/10, lower than any race last year, the worst since Valencia 2008.
Rate the race: Bahrain
Valencia was least popular race of 2008
mfDB said on 17th March 2010, 13:38
I don’t think Bahrain 2010 was in the same league as Valencia 2008. I just think that everyone got so hyped up because of the new teams, the driver lineups, Shumacher and so on.
People expected it to be the most exciting race ever, but in reality, this track will never produce a super exiting race. Not to mention, some of the drivers were being overly cautious because they had not gone race distance with race fuel in that kind of heat.
It was more of a let down than a super boring race.
verstappen said on 17th March 2010, 19:31
Agreed, however to me this was also the case for Valencia, when I saw that track for the first time and heard that a lot of overtaking was expected, I couldn’t wait!
…so this year when we had a new section in Bahrain where a lot of overtaking was expected, I couldn’t wait.
(It also helped that Michael Schumacher came back, Alonso next to Massa at Ferrari, Jenson next to Hamilton, Vettel ending last season on a high, new teams entering the sport, proper qualifying, subthree second pitstops and no refuelling)
sato113 said on 17th March 2010, 17:37
bahrain 2010 was on the same level as abu dhabi 2009 in terms of actual racing…
Mike said on 17th March 2010, 11:50
Ok, I don’t have the funds to get a PS3 nor a X-BOX, and my PC couldn’t run such a modern game, but, I could push my brother into getting it, (which I’ve turned into an art) and therefore, I have valid ideas,
First, F1, in terms of manager games, struggles, GPM2, is very good, but, It is dated (1996), and even (Lord?) Ian Woolams mods can’t go much further I think.
The possibilities for a manager game are endless, And if they were tied to a driving game, like this, with a good AI, It could become a hit with others who think like me.
(this could expand together with the driving part to create a truly great game)
On the driving side of things, A better damage model would be good, But to explain what I want most, I must tell a story!
My favourite race on a game of all time, was on rFactor, at Indianapolis in a 1988 March, I was doing really well, I had got a good position in qualifying, up in 9th, which as my car was down on power, I was happy with. On the warm up lap I was aware of the tyres cooling, but I really couldn’t do anything about it, When the safety car pulled of I found I had gotten a good start, and by the 3rd lap I had moved up to the 2nd group of cars. The Mclarens had bolted into the lead, and Mansell, The Lotus’ and the Ferrari’s were doing well. Most of the race went quite calmly, there was a hiccup when I almost overshot my pit box the first time I pitted, but I was lucky that time.
I was going quite well, as I managed the fuel quite well, so I was able to run quite long, a few laps more than the nearest cars, because of that, and a few retirements, I was up in 5th nearing the end, behind the Mclarens, Mansell and Piquet’s Lotus.
I then looked in the rear view mirror going around the first corner to check that I wasn’t being caught, I thought I saw smoke, At this point I check back in front quickly, I wasn’t far from another car (I think it was an Arrows) and thought it was coming from him, you see if he slowed down suddenly, I could be in trouble ^^, after another lap I (finally) realised that it was from me, I slowed down, trying to save the engine, I was so close to the end, 3 (I think) laps to go, My lead to 6th wasn’t great, but after that the gap was very satisfying, anyway, I lost sixth quite quickly, as I had slowed down a lot, I had been driving for almost an hour at this point so I was keen to keep it going and finish.
Last lap, 7th was close now, I was really nursing the car, Hoping (almost praying despite my agnostic religious preferences) that the car would hold, Then on the back straight, the car stuttered, and then a few seconds later, I lost power, I rolled to a stop and stopped on the inside of the track, at the start of the final corner of the race, I lent back, and I will quote my exact word “Bugger”.
That was a long story,
What I tried to show, Is that from the atmosphere the game created, allowed me to really fell I was racing, The work I was doing mentally to nurse the car home, watching always the cars passing me, unlapping themselves, trying not the overuse the engine watching the tyre temperature drop, watching the gap to 7th, made me physically tired afterwards.
That was a great experience, it ended up that I was classified quite high (8th), as many cars were at least one if not several laps down, so it wasn’t so bad in the end. but the experience, the atmosphere, the feeling I got afterwards, almost like a calm, was gratifying beyond words.
Oh I recently came 2nd at Spa ^^, (3rd untill I happily saw one of the Mclarens stopped on the side of the track)
So what do I want? It is not important to have top of the line graphics, 2009 had that and the impression is that it wasn’t anything special, What we need is detail, we need wind turbulence, tyre temperature’s, A damage model that includes gearbox failure (most retirements in F1 races are Mechanical failures are they not?) We need to have a pitlane where you drive though it, and if you overshoot or miss your marks the stop takes longer as the crew has to shuffle along, we need all the little stupid things that many wouldn’t think of, I’d like to get a punture after I hit a gravel trap.
Tech wise, all these are well within our grasps, it will only take a company to actually take the time to do it.
Now a few other things that I would like, but I don’t think are critical,
-A career mode with AI drivers moving teams, where the player CAN find himself like heidfeld if he A) does badly or B) is unlucky. With perhaps (this is a bit more out there) an invisible relations system, say, If you knock too many Ferrari’s out, they might be less disposed to sign you. As a rookie you could get a seat in Renault, but over time you have to improve if you wanted to keep it (Ala Piquet, Bourdais, etc etc.
-F1 World championship on my N64 had me race as hill in 97 hungoring, and Ralf in germany on a charge, that is a good idea for a challenge mdoe, as it is more relevant than any gamey idea’s i have seen in other games (2002 on Wii for one)
The problem here is that they must wait untill later in the year to release it, so I think it won’t happen.
I consider myself the type happy to do 50 laps to get an extra 2 tenths, So I would like to be able to do so.
Thanks for reading if you got this far! I’m going now… honest ^^
Mike said on 17th March 2010, 11:51
Holy rattlesnakes in a sausage factory
that was a long post.
Seriously if anyone actually reads it I’ll buy you a present, socks seem popular these days.
Cacarella said on 17th March 2010, 12:47
Only made it to the third paragraph
Sorry :(
Joey-Poey said on 17th March 2010, 16:37
I’ll take argyle, thanks
slr said on 17th March 2010, 17:36
I had to skim read through that. So I wouldn’t have taken all that in.
Spud said on 17th March 2010, 17:55
I read it and I agree completely!
Brilliant post. I’d love to see all those small, unpredictable things that happen that can completely mess up a race.
And the challenge mode on F1 World championship on the N64 was great. (I think I got 98, I could never get the last two points for the Jerez 25 point-er).
Anyway a challenge mode like that would be good.
Actually I’ve just thought of a “Classic” mode they could put into the game where you could race as Jackie Stewart of Graham Hill or Ayrton Senna etc., on some of the old circuits like the old Monza, Spa, Hockenheim.
Maybe that’s asking a bit too much aswell, but here’s hoping!
Mike said on 18th March 2010, 2:37
Classic modes are always thwarted by FOM management, simply put, the makers aren’t allowed to do it,
F1 06 on ps2 has some old cars, but apparently It took a lot of effort for them to be able to do that.
Oh and in my defence…. I was quite ill last night, in fact, I didn’t remember doing this, not a bad read, good on me ^^
RandomChimp said on 18th March 2010, 22:31
That is the best recollection of a game experience I have EVER read. I agree totally with all your points, you sir are somebody I would get along with.
Cherie said on 19th March 2010, 6:00
I like the career mode idea and the mechanical failure ones too. It will definitely make the game more real and show that F1 is more than just racing.
Untitled258 said on 17th March 2010, 12:11
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/14253207/fia-forumla-one-world-championship/videos/F1_2010_DevDiary_7000kbps.html;jsessionid=2t23wtf7vg3ma
First look video of f12010 on IGNuk
ajokay said on 17th March 2010, 16:22
Also on Computer & Video Games:
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=239495
Bien said on 17th March 2010, 15:23
Is the F1 game coming out in the US? It would be a shame if it was Europe only… I see the Wii version going for 60-80 USD.
Spud said on 17th March 2010, 16:39
Does Codemasters licence cover other FIA formulae??
If so then how about if they include a feature in the career mode, (assuming there is one!), where younger drivers from lower series get to graduate up in the ranks, while other drivers in F1 get to move around to different teams.
There could be a “transfer list” of drivers for you to select from.
Also, in career mode, would it be possible to have the races in a different order each year, while adding in a new race for a couple of the seasons aswell.
While I liked F1 CE, I found it to be a bit monotonous every time a new season came around and we’d have the same drivers, in the same teams, on the same tracks.
It was a bit like Groundhog Day sort of…
A little bit more variety would be nice.
And as others have said, safety cars are needed.
Also, if a car is set up with a high or low downforce setting, the graphics need to reflect that aswell.
Hope I’m not asking tooo much……
Cacarella said on 17th March 2010, 17:09
Can you ask them if they’ll send me a free copy? ;)
Aoxomoxoa said on 17th March 2010, 18:54
Two things Kieth
Will the game be as moddable on the PC as the simbin titles? Be a shame if it isn’t – there are some awfully good modders out there. Plus one should be able to add new tracks etc.
Secondly I always felt the previous F1 titles didn’t really get a handle on the physical sensations felt by a driver – or their effects at least. Vibration, bumps, g forces and the like all have a perceptible ‘visual’ effect that can add a whole lot to the immersiveness…
Envy you – wish I could be there for the event myself :)
Cheers
Chaz said on 22nd March 2010, 17:50
Food for thought… thanks Jim N….