SIM RACING

(Redirected from Racing simulator)

'Sim' ('simulated') 'racing' is the collective term for computer software (i.e. a simulation game) that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a driver must understand all aspects of car handling that make real-world racing so difficult, such as threshold braking, how to maintain control of a car as the tires lose traction, and how properly to enter and exit a turn without sacrificing speed. It is this level of difficulty that distinguishes sim racing from "arcade" driving games where real-world variables are taken out of the equation and the principle objective is to create a sense of speed as opposed to a sense of realism.
In general, sim racing applications such as ''Live for Speed'', ''Richard Burns Rally'', and ''rFactor'' are less popular than arcade-style games such as ''Need for Speed'', mainly because much more skill and practice is required to master them. Also, because of the demands on the computer system, race sims require faster computers to run effectively, as well as a somewhat costly steering wheel and pedals for gas and brakes. Most arcade driving games can be played with a simple joystick controller or even a mouse and keyboard.
However, for sim racers, the extra investment is worth it; the payoff comes from the thrill of feeling like one is actually schussing a Formula 1 car through the streets of Monaco or hurling a NASCAR stock car around the high banks of Daytona.
With the development of online racing capability, the ability to drive against human opponents as opposed to computer AI is the closest many will come to driving real cars on a real track. Even those who race in real-world competition use simulations for practice or for entertainment. Continued development of the physics engine software that forms the basis of these sims, as well as improved hardware (providing tactile feedback), the software gets ever closer to reality.

Contents

History

Early years

Graphic accelerators era

Third generation and future

Venues

See also

References

External links

History

Early years

The very first racing game with simulation pretensions was probably ''REVS'', released in 1986. ''REVS'' was a Formula 3 sim by Geoff Crammond that ran on the 8-bit Commodore 64 and BBC. ''REVS'' had a big fan base in England, but not so much in the United States. Sim racing is generally acknowledged to have really taken off in 1990 with the introduction of Papyrus' '' on 16-bit hardware. With ''Indy 500'' you could race the full 500 miles, where even a blowout after 450 miles would take the player out of the competition. This racing simulation was successful; it sold over 200,000 copies.
The next major milestone was the release of ''Formula One Grand Prix'' (AKA ''World Circuit'' in some markets) by MicroProse, also developed by Geoff Crammond. This moved the genre along significantly. Multiplayer was made possible by allowing different drivers to take turns, and racers could also hook up their machines for racing via a null modem cable. This only allowed two drivers to race. Leagues emerged where drivers would submit records of their single player races to compare with other drivers.
Papyrus followed up Indy 500 with ''IndyCar Racing'' in 1993 and F1GP was surpassed in all areas. Papyrus later released more tracks and a final expansion included the Indy 500 track plus a paintkit. Now drivers could easily customize their cars. ''IndyCar Racing'' sold around 300,000 copies.
The first variant of Papyrus' ''NASCAR'' series was launched in 1994. In SVGA (640x480) it pushed the PCs of the time to the limit. Suddenly a resolution of 320x200 seemed a poor option and ''NASCAR'' was the race sim of choice for anyone with a capable PC, particularly in North America. It was the first sim where cars no longer looked like boxes. It keyed in on sophisticated physics modeling. This is the sim where drafting/slip steaming was first modeled. This sim may not have started the sim industry, but it made it much larger. ''NASCAR 1'' sold over one million units. Moreover, the first real online racing started with ''NASCAR 1'' using the "Hawaii" dial-in servers and it was not uncommon for these early sim racers to have $300 to $500 phone bills. Online racing had seen its first true realization, and to many, this was the dawn of "real" sim racing.
1995 saw the release of ''IndyCar Racing II'', updating the first version with the new NASCAR graphics engine. In the same year, MicroProse released the successor to F1GP, ''Grand Prix 2'', to much anticipation. ''GP2'' became successful not just because of its detailed and thorough simulation of the 1994 Formula 1 season, but also due to the customizability that was achievable by way of the online community. Players could change everything about the game: drivers, teams, graphics, physics, car shapes, and eventually even the racetracks. Offline leagues reached their peak with ''GP2'' in 1998.
In 1996, ''NASCAR 2'' was released, further improving the original, and the number of sim racers exploded. The TEN multiplayer hosting service was introduced and the online sim racing community grew.

Graphic accelerators era

Graphics accelerator cards brought a new level of realism to the graphics and physics of sim racing games. These new graphics processing units provided texture mapping, antialiasing, particle effects (i.e. fog, rain and snow), and the capability to perform polygonal calculations faster, while taking the load off of the main processor. F1RS, from Ubisoft, was among the first to utlilize the new technology in 1997.
Another milestone in sim racing came in 1998 with the release of ''Grand Prix Legends'' from Papyrus, based on the 1967 F1 season. It was hailed as outstanding in all areas, but especially the physics and online multiplayer capability. For many, their first real experience with online racing was GPL, or the later variants of ''NASCAR'' that used the ''GPL'' engine. The release of a third-party add-on for