For me 2006 marked a high point in sim racing. One year after ISI released rFactor, a team which was later to be known as Slightly Mad Studios released GTR2. In the space of 12 months they took the rFactor engine and added back in numerous features from previous sims, such as rain, animated driver arms and animated pit-crew, added in a few new features such as Livetrack, time-trials and a driving school. The new Swedish based team which took on the Simbin name, never really seemed to have the same drive and ambition. The RACE series did have some improvements (e.g. much needed wipers) but dropped many features such as day/night, livetrack, and animated pitcrew.
So things seemed to pretty much stagnate between 2006 and 2012. Kunos released Netkar Pro but this bombed as it was on-line only with very flawed netcode and had all fictional content. Plus it took realism to new levels but in an annoying way rather than a sexy way. What had been Papyrus stopped making conventional boxed games, called themselves iRacing and opted for a subscription service. The on-line service was certainly innovative but the simulation was very much a continuation of their NASCAR series of sims.
In 2012, after protracted development, rFactor2 burst onto the scene, though burst isn't really a good description. In spite of a long development period, it was released as a beta with many, to use the modern term, broken features. But they really were broken, not just flawed. It should have been the perfect sim. It took rFactor and added all the features people asked for, like rain, animations, a next-gen tyre model, dynamic track and chassis flex, plus "better" mod handling. But while pushing the boundaries forward in many areas, it was also unfinished, lacked some basic features such as a championship, and was difficult to mod for so mod teams stuck with rF1. And finally the graphics were poor. The decision to stick with DX9 made sense when it was made back in 2008, but by the time rF2 launched in 2012 it looked dated compared to other racing games released around that time.
And the release of rF2 as a beta marked a new era of sims released while they were still in development. The never-ending science experiment.
Another developer which opted to stick with DX9 was Simbin, which released RaceRoom in early 2013. It too was a beta. It didn't have broken features like rF2. It just didn't have features. No AI, no on-line racing, basically no racing. Literally a hotlap simulator. Except they said it wasn't a simulator but aimed at a broader audience. The game was free but most content was paid dlc, including bizarrely skins for the cars. Of course they added features over time. And what they did add was pretty good. The AI like all AI wasn't perfect but it was among the best. The netcode was also very good. And they set new standards for sound. But in terms of physics it was the old RACE physics but dumbed down. And no weather, no livetrack and no day/night. The attempts to attract the casual player failed. Simbin went bust and was reborn as Sector3. And they dumped the casual approach and went for the simulation approach.
AC followed this release-while-in-development approach and launched in Early access at the end of 2013. While rF2 had tried to push forward the simulation side of things, even if it wasn't entirely successful or finished, AC took a very different approach, learning lessons from the sales disaster that was NetKar Pro. First it had all-licensed content which was along the lines of a Gran Turismo but on a smaller scale. Secondly it had AI. But the approach to simulation depth was summarized by the Kunos mantra - "everyone wants to drive in the rain at night - but only once". So no rain, and no night. And indeed no pitstops, a 10 lap race limit, no engine temperature simulation, no brake temperature simualtion, no engine stalling and in general - quite a simplified approach to the physics. This meant the AI could use the same physics as the player, though the many other issues with programming good AI meant AC was never really class leading in this area. To be fair, while AC might not use the latest highly complex tyre model, the results were good and the FFB was good. And the graphics were very good. And the prices were low. And the use of all laser-scanned tracks without the iRacing premium was great. And many features were eventually added such as pitsstops and brake temperature simulation. And it was very mod friendly and modders flocked to it in preference to rF2. And it became the leading simracing title.
So picture the scene in mid 2015. rF2 had not been the big success of its predecessor, but had a hard-core group of fans who were confident in the superiority of rF2 as a sim with its super advanced tyre model, dynamic track, weather simulation and chassis flex. AC dominated the sim-racing market with another set of fans fiercely loyal to the brand and their physics heroes Aris and Stefano. And iRacing had grown steadily from its modest beginnings in 2008 and now boasted by far the largest on-line racing community and also confident in their superiority as a sim with Dave Kaemmer's long history in sims, their own super advanced tyre model and pioneering use of the best quality laser scanned tracks. But we had only one sim with day/night and one sim with weather (but broken).
Onto this scene bursts a newcomer called Project Cars, produced by a team famous for an arcade racer called Need For Speed Shift. No widely-known physics guru to the fore, and with the sales pitch that sims are unrealistically hard to drive. And to be sold on console, when every PC simracer knows, there has never been a proper sim on console (Richard Burn Rally is of course conveniently forgotten). And yet it sold a million copies in its first month and went on to sell 3 million on all platforms. And it pushed simulation forwards (or at least back to where it was in 2006). It had day/night. It had weather. It had a super-advanced tyre model, It simulated brake heat affecting tyre pressures. It ran the physics engine at almost twice the tick rate of AC. And yes it was super-buggy, and yes while SMS worked very hard over 12 months patching it, it was widely felt to be left unfinished. And yes the default FFB was terrible (and FFB is probably more important than physics for many sim-racers).
Over 2 years later Project Cars 2 arrived. In many ways it was what Project Cars should have been, but in a world where it takes S397 four years to produce a new UI and it takes iRacing 10 years to do day/night we should cut SMS some slack. Again Project Cars pushed the sim-racing boundaries. Multi-layer brake thermal simulation (which Reiza are just getting a handle on), the effect of altitude on air density simulated, and more car setup options. Dirt, snow and ice physics that were very impressive for a first attempt. And perhaps the piece de resistance of PC2 - LiveTrack 3.0. Of course PC1 had livetrack but 3.0 really took weather and track inter-action to new levels. Of course there is nothing new under the sun and while SMS did pioneer the dynamic rubbering of racetracks back in 2004 with GTR, Livetrack 3.0 does adopt features which were in rF2 and iRacing but which is far more advanced as a package than either. Even ACC which on the surface appears to do the same as Livetrack 3.0 actually does it in a much simpler way. If you ever have time and haven't already I recommend Yorkie's videos on livetrack (episodes 26 and 27 which criminally still have less than 5K views) and the track temperature video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNiYDgv9I8w). SMS went to insane levels for Livetrack 3.0.
Now of course PC2 wasn't perfect. It was buggy, the AI was inconsistent, the on-line racing features could certainly be better, the sound was getting left behind, the default FFB was much better than PC1 IMO but still was a weakness even allowing for the very different opinions on what is good FFB. The penalty system was infuriating, and I'm sure the default setups being loose put off many. While Livetrack 3.0 is an amazing system, it defaults to being accelerated when the results are exaggerated, SMS seem to have left out quite a few track drains and the aquaplaning and rolling resistance in the wet need optimising. And of course the AI can't dodge puddles.
But for all its annoying flaws, PC2 offered an amazing range of racing experiences with 180 cars and 60 tracks in one package, and at £45 it was incredible value. While a good section of the sim-racing crowd hated the newcomer with a vengeance, and whether you liked the end results or not, the physics engine and live-track and weather system really pushed simulation forwards.
So here's to the 5 or so years of Project Cars in the racing sim market. Of course PC2 will remain around, and remain on sale. And of course we can look forward to a polished and developed Madness engine in the form of AMS2,, but I don't feel AMS2 will really worry the likes of Kunos and iRacing. Its just not popular enough. So while many are breathing a sigh of relief that SMS have abandoned the sim-racing arena, I feel the lack of a serious rival to Kunos and iRacing will leave the simracing community as a whole poorer. You will be missed.
I apologize for this eulogy being completely PC centric. Project Cars was never really just about race simulation on PC. Consoles and Forza and Gran Turismo were always a key focus. But I do not own a console so can't comment on how Project Cars impacted console based sim racers. I'm sure its effect is just as great or greater than its impact on the PC scene.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by cpcdem
