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Unless you�ve had your head stuck in the sand the last couple of months, you are probably aware that a group of modders calling themselves Project Wildfire are working on a mod for NASCAR Racing 2003 that will add the Busch Grand National Series (GNS) and the Craftsman Truck Series (CTS). They will also be adding a SCCA Trans-Am mod at a later date (As a member of The Pits, I am obligated to mention that we too are working on a TA mod and few others ourselves!), but this preview focuses on the GNS and the CTS. The members of Project Wildfire include many names you would probably recognize from past involvement in the Papyrus NASCAR Racing Series and the same for their BETA testing crew.
I am not going to get into an overview of NASCAR Racing 2003 itself, as it has been done now numerous times at sites all over the web, so there isn�t much point in doing so. The interfaces and all the options are unchanged, other than a few new screen images for selecting the series you want to run. This preview is going to focus on a BETA release of the PWF Mod. This is worth repeating for some people to understand, B-E-T-A, which means there are items that were not complete yet and are still being worked on which I was not able to test. Neither the damage model nor the mirror for the CTS mod has been completed as of the time I received the PWF package from them. This was clearly documented in the information they provided us. They will have the damage model completed at the time of release.
So what exactly will this mod encompass? It will include new and accurate physics for both the GNS and CTS that ranges from differences in the suspensions, aerodynamics, center of gravity, weights, tires, and engines. The GNS will use the same car model as the Winston Cup model already in NR2003. Both the GNS and CTS will have over 40 new cars / teams as well as their corresponding championship season list. PWF will also include some new tracks with fast and qualifying setups for those tracks. With this BETA, I received Indianapolis Raceway Park, Nashville, and Milwaukee and let me say, they are very, very nice indeed! I really love driving the trucks at Nashville. The following is a list of all the tracks that will be available with the mod:
Bowman-Gray
- Evergreen
- Gateway
- Greenville
- Heartland Park
- Hickory
- I70
- Louisville
- Memphis
- Mesa Merin
- Milwaukee
- Milwaukee Night
- Myrtle Beach
- Nashville
- Nazareth
- Pikes Peak
- Portland
- Riverside
- South Boston
- Thompson
- Wilkesboro
One of the most important aspects of this Mod is that the new physics are being implemented in the EXE by Papyrus which will allow this Mod to be fully compatible for online racing on Sierra and OLR (Onlineracin.com). I expect to see a lot of online racing in the CTS as it is extremely fun to race in these trucks. Don�t take me wrong when I say what I�m about to say. PWF did a great job with the GNS series just as they did with the CTS, but the differences between the GNS and what we have now in NR2003 are not that great and although it is noticeable, it�s nowhere near the difference as it is racing the trucks � and that�s the way it should be as it�s accurate. So I�m not all that thrilled or �excited� about the GNS portion of this mod, as nice as it is, but I can�t wait for the Trucks to be done and available online.
I believe it was Bob Stanley from PWF that posted a great little article in their forums regarding the differences between the WC in NR2003 and the new GNS and CTS �cars�. So I�m basically just going to paraphrase what he said in that article. Setting up the trucks will take a little bit of getting used to. With less horsepower, the trucks will require some gearing adjustments as the power curve is different. The trucks will also have much more drag in the aerodynamics and the downforce is not distributed the same as it is on the cars. Bob also mentions that the trucks don�t turn in as fast as the Cup cars, but you can set them up looser and stiffen up the right side springs and swaybars to prevent the truck from rolling over too much. I definitely found this to be accurate as I was driving the trucks. I loosened the setup quite a bit to see if I could get the truck to respond in the turns quicker but I really had to kick up the swaybar to keep it predictable.
I found the GNS cars to handle extremely similar to the way the WC cars do. I imported a few setups of my own (No.. I didn�t say they were good setups, I only said they were mine!) and the cars handled very similar in most characteristics. I could definitely get on the throttle harder coming off the corners where in many cases I would loop the car if I did similarly in the WC. This probably has a lot to do with the shorter wheelbase of the GNS and the lower horsepower. Bob mentions in that post in the forums that the tire wear on the GNS will be slightly less than a typical run in the WC cars.
I do not have any direct information from PWF on their AI for the 3 tracks I received with the BETA, but I can say they were done very well. I had a lot of fun jockeying back and forth with the AI and could rub fenders without the other car either slamming me down or having them slam on the brakes. This was definitely the case with the CTS where I spent much more time racing with the AI at Nashville than any other track.
Well I hope you enjoyed my little preview into the Project Wildfire mod for NR2003. This may have been a BETA, but other than the items they disclose as not being finished, I couldn�t find any glaring absences of features or characteristics worth mentioned. I think most people who are looking forward to racing the CTS portion of this mod are going to be extremely pleased with the result of the PWF crew�s work. Again, I am not meaning to say that the GNS is done poorly. I just don�t find it as �significant� in terms of bringing something new to NR2003 as I do the CTS. So once again, let me say �Well Done� to those involved with this mod. I look forward to the final product once Papy finishes the final touches on the NR2003 patch. (No forthcoming wisecracks in regards to the length of time it has taken for the NR2003 patch.)
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