The Search for the Perfect Race

Even after all of the simulation racing games since the very first Gran Turismo game on PS1, which I'm sure isn't the first ever, they still have one problem: dog awful computer A.I. and gamers that want to win all the time.

That sounds contradictory, but it isn't. When I play a racing game, I want to 1) win every race to complete the game and 2) get the cash reward. But I also don't want to race 4-9 laps of a track 2 laps ahead of the rest of the competition. See, winning isn't everything. I want to have a good time while doing it. I want to feel like I'm being challenged, but I don't want to lose 4 out of 5 races because I slip up.

This problem was first addressed early in video game racing with a term called "rubberbanding", where no matter how well you were doing, the competition was able to keep up with you. You would jockey for position the entire race, which may have looked like a more realistic race, but to the player felt like no matter what they did, they couldn't turn a real advantage, even when the A.I. wrecked completely off the track.

Online racing and leader boards are simulation racing's saving grace. Real people are the best competition. Racing against numbers like a time trial is competitive and indirect. Your free to practice as much as you want and post scores all day without being bothered by people hiding behind the veil of internet anononimity.

The Forza Motorsports series has tried to take strides in A.I. development from the opposite point of view: train your computer driver to drive for you. The technology is defunct now and was only in the first Forza game. The second Forza game replaced the Drivatar technology with a new model: pay to win. At any race you could hire a computer driver to drive for you. Depending on how much you paid for a driver afforded you that much experience and a probability of a win. Handing over 100% of your earnings from the race up front meant that you would most likely win the race. But as you watched the race go, you could see glaring driving mistakes and missed opportunities at every turn and corner.

Forza Motorsports 3 doesn't seem to tout any of this kind of fair-racing/assistance technology. Instead, they are continuing to push how many millions of polygons make up a car, how many cars are in the game (or different versions of the same cars, don't be fooled!) and what modes you can race in.

My question is when are we going to stop worrying about looks and options in a game that is supposed to be more about simulation than photo realism? Why advertise a racing game to be a simulation game if the only sense we're worried about duplicating in video games is sight? I want to hear that Turn 10 and Polyphony Digital hired outside artificial intelligence teams to program their games instead of hearing that now you can drag race and drift race the same stupid computer players. A change of scenery is nice, but if you're still surrounded by idiots...

Link: Forza Motorsports
Link: Gran Turismo

Turn 10's cat is out of the bag

Turn 10 has tweeted “We can’t wait to start blabbing about our next big thing.” There tweet along with the above photo (photo on let is out of Turn 10's house, and image on right is artists rendition of logo) has sparked the rumor that Forza Motorsports 3 is in the works.

I’m all for a new racing game. I just hope this series doesn’t turn out to be like the Madden series by tweeking the graphics and physics a little. Don’t give me a slightly updated version of the same game. But to think about it, what more can they give you that couldn’t just be in an update? You’re going to get more cars and tracks, all things that we wish for, but they could be updates.

I guess making you’re car more customizable would be great. I commend them for the label application techniques. But we all would like more visual add-ons to separate each car in a crowd. Maybe wide body kits, or the racing body mods like GT1 had for every car in there stable.

How about Turn 10 bringing us some rally. Everyone with FM2 was trying to create the perfect drift car. Give a reason to snap that rear end loose, for the race, not just for fun.

What is on your wish list?

Looking Forward to Dirt 2

I just read the preview build review of Dirt 2 by Codemasters.

One thing that has been seriously missing from my simulation racing with Forza 2, since parting from the PS2 Gran Turismo games, has been rally/dirt racing. I absolutely love sliding cars around and racing over jumps. I have been getting some kicks from watching the Summer X Games since they started including Rally-X.

I played the demo of Dirt, but after reading reviews I was turned off by the lack of on-screen multiplayer racing. True, it's more of a nod to time trial racing, like Pike's Peak hill climbing, but I like to have my option of smashing into people in real-time.

I'm putting this on my list for the next racing game to seriously check out.

Real F1 Racing Gets Updates, Turbo!

I'm a fan of all things moto. Cars, trucks, bikes. I don't follow much professional racing, but when an article in Wired talked had a video about the updates to the rules of Formula 1 racing, I was happy to watch. And surprised.

Among all the body sculpting, weight changes, engine rules updates was an interesting addition to the cars: a regenerative braking system that can be used as on-demand boost! I was immediately reminded of F-Zero and Mario Kart. Each car gets a total of 6 seconds per lap of boost, and more than 80 horsepower, to be used at the drivers descretion.

Straight out of the video game handbook!

Forza Motorsport 2: Car list (no suprises)

Well the list is out.

So far it looks on par with the latest outings of Gran Turismo. And that's too sad. That means there needs to be a third true-sim racer in the mix. Why?

Because there's no real sim racer for the everyday guy. Gran Turismo's first car list was something we all really appreciated. There are no more Honda Accords or Legacy Wagons. There was never a Nissan Maxima or Ford Probe, that's for sure.

Obviously these cars would have sucked, but the dream of taking our own cars and turning them into racing beasts will just never be realized in a racing sim. Sure you have your Need for Speed Undergrounds and Tokyo Xtremes, but that's all arcade fluff. We need a new racer on the shelves. We need a racer that puts us behind the seats of our Mercury Cougars and Ford Escapes, kick our baby seats to the curb, and lets us realize the impossible.