barry@eos.UUCP (Kenn Barry) (04/30/88)
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What follows is a review I wrote for a local Amiga newsletter.
Seemed a shame to waste all that effort on a small audience, so I
figured I might as well post it here, too.
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Reviewed: Ferrari Formula One, from Electronic Arts, $49.95
-==-
Well, if you saw the last issue of the newsletter, you will know
that The Kindly Editor has been making my life miserable with his
demands for a software review. I've held out as long as I can, so here
it is. Now, Bob, will you let me play with my Amiga in peace?
_Ferrari Formula One_ is, quite simply, the best road racing
simulation I've yet seen. It is a detailed simulation of an entire
season of Grand Prix racing (the 1986 season), with accurate renditions
of 16 Grand Prix courses, plus a test track at the Ferrari home base in
Fiorano. The graphics are detailed and attractive, and provide useful
feedback. Sound includes not only the sound of your own engine, but the
engines of any other car you are close enough to hear, and the squeal
from your tires if you break them loose in a corner.
I make an important distinction between games and real
simulations. A simulation is a program that tries to accurately simulate
the real-world behavior of the thing simulated. Many driving games,
alas, do not qualify as simulations. The behavior of the car on the road
is too unrealistic, or the screen view is an overhead view instead of an
out-the-window view, etc. _Ferrari Formula One_ is a good simulation.
Your point of view is from the cockpit of your formula one Ferrari F186;
you have standard formula one instruments, rear view mirrors which work,
and an out-the-cockpit view. The handling of the car seems quite
realistic (though I confess I've never driven a real formula 1 racer).
The frame rate looks to be around 5 frames/sec., which is adequate for
driving.
But this program includes far more than just the races,
themselves. You must maintain your car, as well. Parts wear out
(quickly, in this kind of driving!) and must be replaced. Choices must
be made for the appropriate configuration of your car for each race.
Mauro, the head of your pit crew, will recommend settings for the
various systems, and so far I've found it wise to always heed his
advice. The gear ratios can be changed, as can the wing angles, tire
types (can be different for each wheel), and shock stiffness. The engine
can be repaired or replaced, and different ROMs can be chosen to control
the fuel system (for different fuel/air ratios). And these things
MATTER. A worn engine or an unsuitable choice of tires can make victory
impossible. Each course in the circuit is best taken on with a different
configuration. Weather is also included. A wet track on a rainy day will
require you to switch to rain tires, and take the corners much more
cautiously.
There are three levels of difficulty available. These control
the driving skill of your computer-controlled opponents, as well as the
likelihood of your car suffering a mechanical failure. At the highest
level of difficulty, you must also do your own shifting (the program
shifts gears at the correct times for you at the easier levels).
But the race, of course, is the thing. You run each race against
7 other drivers, all controlled by the program. Before each race there
are two practise sessions for familiarizing yourself with the course,
two qualifiers (your pole position in the race is determined by your
best lap time in the qualifiers), a warmup, and the race, itself. You
may choose to skip these if you prefer, however. I usually skip the
qualifiers and race from the back of the pack, since I find finessing my
way through the other drivers to be the most exciting and challenging
part of a race. The length of the race is settable, from a minimum of 18
kilometers up to a full-length Grand Prix, 2 hours.
And the race IS exciting! The sound and graphics create the
right atmosphere, and the sense of driving is extremely good. Attention
to detail is excellent. You can hear the other cars throttling back and
downshifting as they approach a turn, giving you valuable feedback on
when to start slowing, yourself. You can even see flame from the
tailpipes of the car ahead each time he downshifts, another valuable
cue. The rear view mirrors keep you informed of any car breathing down
your neck, as well as letting you watch for wear on your rear tires.
Control of the car is via the mouse. The right mouse button is
your gas pedal, the left is your brakes, and you steer with left/right
movement of the mouse. There are keyboard controls for shifting (at the
highest difficulty level) and for control of your turbocharger - higher
settings give you more horsepower, but cost you on mileage and engine
wear.
At your home base, Fiorano, there are some extra facilities not
available at the Grand Prix tracks (which all have garages for work on
your car). Fiorano has a test stand for checking your engine, and a
wind tunnel where you can test various settings of the wings (by the
way, if any of the Gentle Readers are surprised by wings on a car, look
at a formula 1 racer - they have 'em, front and back).
Playability is excellent. I've probably put about 30 hours in
behind the wheel, and can now usually win the races at the two lower
levels of difficulty, but the highest level is still very challenging,
and I suspect I will have to drive many more hours at that level to
become a top competitor. Successful driving techniques are basically the
same as they are in real life, as are penalties for sloppy driving.
Skidding onto the shoulder in a turn will cost you much speed, and can
lose you anywhere from a fraction of a second to a few second's time,
depending on how far from the course you stray. A spinout will cost you
even more time. And worst of all is a collision. A collision can put you
in the hospital long enough to miss many races. When I raced the full
season's events for the second time, I was struck from behind seconds
after the race at Hockenheim began, and penalized with 47 days in the
hospital, causing me to miss the next three races as well. You are not
actually constrained to run a regular season, with all the races in
order, but it adds to the excitement as you strive to achieve the best
record for the year. The program accumulates the points for all the
drivers over the course of the season, as well as a few other useful
statistics in individual races, like best lap time.
Well, any good review should include the negatives, as well, but
I find it difficult to think of many. Closest thing to a bug I
discovered was to have the frame rate slow way down when I was running
practise laps a couple of times. It would slow for a few seconds, then
return to normal, then do it again. But this has happened only rarely,
and has yet to occur while I was in an actual race. I've had the program
running all day at times, race after race and lap after lap, and have
never had it guru.
It's difficult to say if this is as good as a driving simulation
could get on an Amiga. My guess is "no", but I hope no one ever asks me
to write a better one! It would be great if the frame rate were even
faster, and there are a couple of additional features I would have
liked. One would be a two-player mode, a la "Firepower" or the Amiga
versions of Flight Simulator and Jet. Another would be the option of
designing your own race track, or modifying your car to something
outside the formula 1 rules. Also, the program doesn't seem to know
about yellow flags, marring the realism slightly, and hills seem to be
unknown, or at least not indicated by the graphics; same for banked
tracks. Lastly, the program for some reason does not make you worry
about your brakes. The other major systems which are subject to wear
have this wear simulated, but your brakes are always fine, and require
no maintenance.
One really neat improvement would be if someone built an
automobile-style controller that could be plugged into the mouse port -
something with brake and gas pedals, and a steering wheel. I think that
"Ferrari Formula One" made an excellent choice of controller in using
the mouse the way they did, the best choice possible using the Amiga's
standard hardware, but a mouse is not a steering wheel. Any ambitious
hardware types out there?
Last but not least, some basics: the program is copy-protected,
using a key disk system; it can be backed up, but you must insert the
original on request when you boot the copy. The program runs fine in
512K or in systems with expanded memory, but it takes over the machine -
multitasking is out. I have not had the opportunity to run it on a 500
or a 2000, just a 1/2 meg and a 1 1/2 meg 1000, but I would assume it
runs equally well on all three machines.
Some people don't care for driving simulations. If you're one of
those, I'm incredibly flattered you've read this far. For everyone else,
this game is recommended.
- From the Crow's Nest - Kenn Barry
NASA-Ames Research Center
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ELECTRIC AVENUE: {most major sites}!ames!eos!barry
ARPA: barry@eoscosell@bbn.com (Bernie Cosell) (05/01/88)
I have to concur with the glowing review of FF1, but the tales of the reviewer's successes lead me to ask: is there some trick to getting your car as fast as the other cars? That is, since I hardly understand what's going on (and don't have the patience/skill to keep trying different combinations at random to see what they do), I just always go with "Mauro"'s recommendations. What I find is that I can virtually always negotiate the twisty parts of the courses as fast or faster than the other cars in the race, but they just zip past me on the straightaways (and I just can't hardly pass anyone). Is it just my imagination (supported by incompetent/marginal technique), or are there really some additional tuning/hints/tricks for getting a competitive car? (this all at the lowest difficulty). Thanks. __ / ) Bernie Cosell /--< _ __ __ o _ BBN Labs, Cambridge, MA 02238 /___/_(<_/ (_/) )_(_(<_ cosell@bbn.com
admiral%m-5@Sun.COM (Michael Limprecht) (05/05/88)
In article <24092@bbn.COM>, cosell@bbn.com (Bernie Cosell) writes: > I have to concur with the glowing review of FF1, but the tales of the reviewer's > successes lead me to ask: is there some trick to getting your car as fast as > the other cars? That is, since I hardly understand what's going on (and don't > have the patience/skill to keep trying different combinations at random to see > what they do), I just always go with "Mauro"'s recommendations. What I find > is that I can virtually always negotiate the twisty parts of the courses as > fast or faster than the other cars in the race, but they just zip past me on > the straightaways (and I just can't hardly pass anyone). Is it just my > imagination (supported by incompetent/marginal technique), or are there really > some additional tuning/hints/tricks for getting a competitive car? (this all > at the lowest difficulty). Thanks. I just got FF1 a few days ago and it's great! Understanding whats going on with different combinations can be tough but being an avid Formula 1 fan I've found a few tricks. First off, don't worry about your qualifying times, the other drivers a very quick and it will take alot of practice and FLAWLESS laps to catch them (I running ~ 4-8 sec behind them in full qualifying trim). Chances are you will be starting from the last row so work on your race setting. Most fast times are made in the straights and braking late for the corners so on fast long tracks (Rio, Imola for example) pick the highest gear settings, set your wings with a little less pitch (front at 2-3 down from top, rear at 4-5 down) and depending on the length of the race pick a rom setting with a better HP curve ( C or D ). You will have to watch yourself in the corners, brake harder and later then jump on the gas at the apex. The other cars will be faster out of the corners but you will fly past them on the straights. On race distance I've found that with a 18Km (3-4 laps) race you will not score well starting from the back row unless you make no mistakes. I've found a 36Km (7-8 laps) is good. It gives you time to make up ground and be patient about passing. Your hand and arm won't get to tired from the strain. After Rio and Jerez running a 36Km campaign I lead in the points standings with 15, winning in Rio and second in Spain. On other matters, Wouldn't it be great to have a steering wheel and foot pedals for this! My arm and hand are getting really stressed holding that dam mouse still. Any Ideas????
lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Fish-Guts) (05/06/88)
Mr. Limprecht writes in a previous article: > On other matters, Wouldn't it be great to have a steering wheel and foot > pedals for this! My arm and hand are getting really stressed holding that dam > mouse still. Any Ideas???? I may be missing something here, but couldn't one just buy a trackball or mouse, rip out the guts, gather together a steering wheel, dig out that old erector set from childhood days, and PRESTO! One would have a steering wheel. Now, there would need to be some gearing to make the steering less or more sensitive, and one would need to have some way of setting the wheel position initially (I think), but it doesn't seem too hard to me, given enough money and time. Might be kind of fun.... After that you need a fan to simulate the wind and set up to tilt your seat while going around the corners (ala Out Run) ;-). But seriously, I don't think mocking up a steering wheel would be too hard.... -Chris -- Chris Lishka /{seismo|harvard|topaz|...}!uwvax!uwslh!lishka Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene { lishka%uwslh.uucp@rsch.wisc.edu "My cockatiels control my mind!" \lishka@uwslh.uucp