I thought this PlayStation Future preview of F1 2010 was entertaining. Nothing really new or remarkable was presented, however it got me to thinking that when the game is released, the boards will light up because of what is not in the game.
Now, before I go on any further, it’s worth mentioning some things that may not please some people, but you must remember this is Codemasters’ first Formula 1 game and these features can be expected in future F1 titles by the studio. There is no Safety Car, no formation and cool-down lap, and no mechanical failures, although AI can suffer it. The race will never be red flagged (in other words: stopped) although all the other flags are present in the game and have the according meaning.
But to be honest, with what F1 2010 is offering, who cares? There’s so much here you can’t cope!
I agree; there is always F1 2010 Championship Edition, F1 2011 Winter Testing, F1 2011 Rise and Fall of a Champion: Will Schume win again?, and of course the actual F1 2011 Formation Lap Edition. Expect Codemasters to capitalize on their license, recoup their investment in F1 2010, and of course improve the game.
Of course I am getting in front of myself, but this sort of reminded me of the “good old days” which were probably not as great as I remember. Oh well, I still cannot wait for late September when F1 2010 arrives, even if the Safety Car is missing!
The thing with the safety cars, and the formation laps and all the rest of it, is that there are examples of past releases that contained all of these features. Nobody ever uses them – Studio Liverpool have had a crack at those features in the past and not had any great success in making them a worthwhile exercise – and they don’t add that much to the experience, even for someone like me.
Having said that, if they were there I’d be thrilled. Until, that is, I’d used them a couple of times and switched them off. The one thing I would like to do, and I think Codies are implementing some kind of halfway house solution to this, is control the car in and out of the pits, hitting the limiter at the right time and then driving into the pit box. That’s a part of the race, a useful skill to pick up, and from my PC sim racing I feel it does make it that bit more immersive.
Adam – As an F1 junkie, I agree with you that I want these “missing” features in the game, but do I really need them? Or as you mention, would I really use them before switching them off?
There are all kinds of things that Codemasters could add – the pit entries/exits or a pit mini game for changing tires. All of these things make the game a deeper, richer experience. But do I really need them?
Once upon a time the answer was yes, and I would experience some sort anguish over these missing features. But not today – I am actually playing Afrika right now, so f’k me silly, I can live without a Safety Car.
I am sure we will see all of these items make the next release, and as you mentioned, Codemasters does have a little problem on their hands. Gamers expect these features because they have been in other F1 releases.
Honestly I am a little worried about F1 2010 because I have a feeling the team is working until the bitter end to get this one out the door. I could be wrong, but after a couple of years of development, it seems like the pace is frighteningly quick for a game due out in less than 8 weeks. Keeping my fingers crossed that my worries are misguided and unfounded.
My suspicion is that they’re at a more advanced stage than they’ve yet shown us. Perhaps that’s more of a hope than a suspicion – I’ve had my pre-order in for quite some time now – but everything I’ve read and heard to date suggests that they have an understanding of what the real enthusiast wants, which excites me. I know from DiRT and GRID (a game I recently re-purchased – I was horribly harsh on it first time around, and frankly very wrong too) that they’ll get the more accessible side down OK, but to hear them talking of tracks rubbering in, second-guessing the weather, looking after your tyres and your engine allocation…
If they do louse it up, I’ll be quite disappointed, but I’ve got more faith than I expected to have in Codemasters delivering a very playable console sim.
However it turns out, it’ll be better than Codies’ last F1 efforts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_C9HhoYPMQ&feature=related
I still have this game on cassette somewhere…