I was lucky enough to have a play on the latest GTR demo at Donington on Sunday and promised BHMS I would share my thoughts with anyone who is interested.
I had heard from other reports (E3 and recent Simbin interviews) that the physics had been developed a lot further since the Press Demo so I got to the GTR tent early, eager to get behind the wheel!
Release Date
The promo stuff in the tent said 'Late Summer' as we already knew, and 'Winter' for Xbox. I couldn't tie Simbin down to a date but when I mentioned I had heard September, they nodded! I asked if they were planning to release another demo version and was told yes, probably. This is great news because we need to have a good look at an AI/multiplayer version.
The GTR Promo tent looked pretty cool and big-budget! - Game play on one side of the trailer and promo shop and GTR babes the other!
The Promo set up
The set up was a row of 6 cool looking race seats all with Logitech Momo Racing Force wheel/pedals. They were all linked by a LAN. Groups of 6 people were given a few minutes free practice time so it wasn't a proper race. Cars available were the Lister, Viper and Saleen (with finished cockpit) and Porsche GT3 RSR and Morgan in N-GT. I didn't see a Ferrari 9 . The demo was enabled with Simbin's new 'Live Track Technology', but to be honest, there wasn't enough track time for me to really notice anything.
The Lister on track
OK, before we start I do drive without aids on, but I'm no pro! - The session was only enough to get about 4/5 laps in and I really needed to do 40/50 get a good feel for the car and track! I drove the Lister so I could make a comparison with the Press Demo. The car was certainly a bit more of a handful than on the Spa demo. Were the physics better? I hear you ask - well, I just couldn't tell in 4 laps, but it definitely felt like I needed to go easier on the gas and gentler round the corners. In my opinion, laptimes with the new physics will be slower, or should I say, more realistic. Force feedback was all there, but didn't feel to me as good as the press demo - but I do use a Momo Force (good ol' red one) at home - the new Momo Racing Force wheel just can't touch it.
The Track
To me, there are some noticeable differences between the new GTR track and the one I am used to in EA mods (which I think the original Simbin team also built) - a couple of examples:
As I threw the car round the final left-hander of the craner curves, there really wasn't much road left before you brake for the right-hander into the old hairpin - this section of the track felt shorter than the F12002/F1C track. Afterwards I went and had a good look at the real thing and watched drivers race it and yes, I think Simbin have got it spot on!
I braked way too late coming into the final corner before the pit straight (Goddards) because I didn't see the kerbs in the distance until it was too late - not what I'm used to from the FI 2002/F1C track (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). Again, I went to have a look at the real corner, and it's true, the bend slopes away from you all the way around to the pit straight, so you have to brake before you can actually see the corner.
I think these are good examples of where Simbin's commitment to using GPS to aid their track modelling really makes a difference.
Overall, it was great to have a play on the latest demo version. The track and other cars look fantastic, but that's what we've come to expect from Simbin. 4 laps just isn't enough though! - so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get a new demo release soon.
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Comments :
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| Author: Marko Sabotin |
28-06-2004 |
Well, nice GTR news from you !!! :) (I suppose, they didn't "give" you new demo-version haha?) Looking forward to see the pictures ! By
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| Author: tobster81 |
28-06-2004 |
nice report, but where is all the footage??
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| Author: Dre |
28-06-2004 |
Hi, Could you give more info about the lan-session. Did it function well? How is it setup? and what framerates did you get?
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| Author: GTRone |
28-06-2004 |
....AND??????? Where's the juice? We already know the track is accurate. Tell us about the AI / multiplayer / ANYTHING. Give us some MEAT.
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| Author: Jonathan |
28-06-2004 |
kinda lacking info, anyway anything is better than nothing.
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| Author: Jure Zagoricnik |
28-06-2004 |
I will ask Chris to go more in-depth with the "review". I will also add pics when I get home.
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| Author: Steve |
28-06-2004 |
I went to Donington yesterday and made a few visits to the GTR tent (not just to look at the girls !!!).. Althought I didn't have a go on GTR as there were huge queues every time I went... it looked and sounded awsome (the sound was much better than the demo). Shame I didn't get a go... but hey there was real racing to watch !
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| Author: Emil J |
28-06-2004 |
The donington track and alot of other tracks Simbin "released" weren't made by them. They where converted from the EA game Suberbike 2001. I'm really looking forward to driving all the fresh made tracks, Spa is curtainly awsome.
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| Author: Vykos |
28-06-2004 |
I'm still waiting for some serious experience on the multiplayerpart. How does it felt? Could you doo door scratching, side by side driving and stuff? Lagging, warping, anything noticed? On the other hand, it was just 6 machines in a LAN....
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| Author: Toots |
28-06-2004 |
:old: tell us about multi, thx.
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| Author: shavey |
28-06-2004 |
well! ... I opened up a can of worms there didn't I !!. OK guys... all good questions (and thanks to Emil J for the info re source of track) , but how much 'juice' can I give you from 4 laps?! Let me tell you that I really really really wanted to have a good scrap with the other drivers... door to door... but remember that in the queue with me were race-goers not sim racers. I had them all from uncles and grandads to 8 year olds!!! I don't think many managed to get their cars round a single lap.... but when they were spinning in front of me...yeah baby they looked goood!! I didn't talk techie LAN stuff with the Simbin guys cos it's all over my head but it all ran really smooth. They didn't have the demo set up for a race start, only free practice session so I don't know what would have happened with 5 other cars in view. Don't know FPS but it all looked good. They used LCD screens though which I dont think bring out the best in the graphics. What I didn't get to do was race 5 of you guys!! ... and that's what it really needed to get the answers you all want. Guess I'll 'see' you on the grid when they release a multi-player demo hopefully soon. Thanks for your comments.
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| Author: Luis Ferreira |
28-06-2004 |
To me the good news is that the new physics model will allow more realistic lap times. From what i saw in the FIAGT site the best lap for Spa is around 1:24 and not 2:00 as some people have been achieving now. Hopefully the new model will make things better for bad drivers like myself. Cheers!
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| Author: Dark John |
29-06-2004 |
(OFF TOPIC) I really like the keyboards at the back of the stands. "Hmm, this guy is good... lets shift the brake balance a bit to the rear... like 20/80" :P
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| Author: SuperFreak |
29-06-2004 |
Maybe I missed some info, but I read somewhere earlier that SimBin will release the GTR right at the Donnington week-end, now... ?
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| Author: VxDError |
30-06-2004 |
1.24 at spa? Where did you read that Luis Ferreira? UFO cup racing? :) F1 lap record is around 1.50 !!! GTs were in the 2.10s, NGTs in the 2.20s last year
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| Author: Zaboo |
05-01-2005 |
excellent Article ;)
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