Subject: REVIEW: Formula One Grand Prix
From: [email-masked] (C. J. Coulson)
Date: 20 Oct 1994 19:34:34 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Formula One Grand Prix ("F1GP").
	Also known as "World Circuit."

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	A 3D simulation of Formula One racing, using the tracks and teams
from the 1991 racing season.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Microprose Limited
	Address:	Unit 1
			Hampton Road Industrial Estate
			Tetbury
			Gloucestershire
			England
			GL8 8LD

	Telephone:	(0666) 504399
	FAX:		(0666) 504331

LIST PRICE

	The list price is 16.99 (UK Pounds) for the re-released version. The
original version may still be available at a reduced price. I am using the
original release for this review.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		1MB RAM required (0.5 MB Chip RAM, 0.5 MB other).

		More RAM is recommended if you want to multitask this
		program from the Workbench.

		If you run the game from floppy disks, a second floppy
		drive is recommended.

		Runs just fine on a standard 1MB A500, and also works on
		accelerated machines like the A4000.

	SOFTWARE

		None.

COPY PROTECTION

	Manual keyword protection.  Before the program will start, you are
required to turn to Page XXX and enter Word YYY from Line ZZZ in Paragraph
PPP.  Only a total incompetent would fail to pick the correct word from the
manual; the directions given are that clear, unlike other games I could
mention.

	It may be the case that the budget version has no protection, since
the box the budget version comes in looks too small to fit the original
manual in. This is speculation however, as I have not seen what the budget
version provides.

MACHINES USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 4000/030/882 - 25MHz, 2 MB Chip RAM, 2 & 4 MB Fast RAM
	1 Internal 1.44MB floppy & 1 External 880KB floppy
	Seagate 120MB IDE internal hard drive
	Microvitec 1438 multisync monitor
	AmigaDOS 3.0
	ForceMonitor

	Amiga 500/000 - 7.14MHz, 0.5 MB Chip RAM, 0.5 MB Slow RAM
	1 Internal 880KB floppy & 1 External 880KB floppy
	Philips CM8833 15KHz monitor
	AmigaDOS 1.3

INSTALLATION

	The program will run from floppy disk or hard drive.  A custom hard
drive installer program is supplied.  No problems occurred during
installation, although the installer does not add some required ASSIGNs to
your startup-sequence.

	The installer creates a small file in the S: directory that must be
present in order for F1GP to run from hard drive.

REVIEW

	This is a fantastic simulation, and you should all go out
and buy a copy.

	Right, that's over -- let's get on with something else.

	Oh, you want more?  Very well.

	Imagine mounting a camera on the helmet of a racing driver and
filming him driving round sixteen race tracks. Now imagine being able to
take over and control the car at any time. F1GP allows you to have a driver's
eye view of virtually all aspects of a race, from initial practice through
qualification and into the race proper.  You have the ability to alter your
car setup, changing the tyre compounds, gear ratios, brake balance and wing
settings.

	The first thing to do is to replace the default drivers and teams
with the real drivers/teams, since for some odd reason the default data is
entirely fictional.  For those of you without an encyclopedic knowledge of
drivers and teams, a full list of the 1991 drivers/teams is provided, and it
is simply a matter of typing in the data yourself. Once this is out of the
way, you can select which driver you would like to be and then go burn some
rubber.

	There are five difficulty levels, with the computer controlled cars
becoming progressively faster as the level increases.  There are also five
driver aids that are made unselectable as you increase the difficulty.

	Level 1 - Auto Brakes.

		This aid will trigger the brakes in order to bring the car
	to the correct speed for corners. Thus, all you have to do is keep
	the throttle wide open and steer.

	Level 2 - Auto Gears.

		The computer will change into the correct gear for a given
	part of the circuit. It will not, however, change down in the event
	of a crash or spin, leaving you to change down before driving on.

	Level 3 - Self Correcting Spin.

		Using this will not prevent a spin, but it will make sure
	that the car is pointing in the right direction after a spin, so
	that you do not have to turn the car manually.

	Level 4 - Indestructible Mode.

		Yes, you read that correctly. Your Williams/Ferrari or
	whatever is now more robust than a main battle tank. You can now
	drive off, crashing into anything or anyone you like without
	worrying about bits falling off the car. Although it may be fun for
	a while, you soon begin thinking about real Formula 1 drivers who
	have been injured or killed, and crashing into other cars somehow
	loses its appeal.

	Level 5 - Ideal Line.

		This mode paints a white dotted line on the track to show
	what the game thinks is the best line to take. Bearing in mind that
	the program was developed with the help of the Footwork team, the
	advice is probably pretty accurate.

	There is a sixth aid which is also available, Suggested Gear, which
displays the gear you should probably be in at any point in the race,
assuming you aren't in any sort of trouble.

	So, if you are racing at difficulty level 3, you will not be able to
select auto brakes or auto gears.

	Once you have selected a difficulty level and driver identity, it is
time to go racing. There are three options. The first is to practice on any
circuit without any other cars being present.  This is probably the best
mode to begin in, since it allows you to get the hang of the controls.  Once
basic control is established, it then allows for as much altering of the car
setup as you like, as well as getting used to the circuit layout.

	After practising, you'll probably head for the single race option,
which sets you up with a full race scenario, but which is totally
independent of any race season you may be running (see below).  This option
allows you to race against the other 25 cars and it provides a useful
introduction to such important aspects as qualifying, grid starts,
overtaking etc., none of which can be practised in the practice option.

	The final option is to begin a full, 16-race, championship season.
This is the ultimate option, since you must race on every circuit, not just
the ones you happen to like. Points are awarded as in the real sport, and a
running tally is made of all driver points and finishing positions.
Championships can be saved to disk for continuation at any time, and it is
possible to run multiple seasons simply by having multiple season data files.

	One final "difficulty" option I should mention is the race length
option. You have the ability to select any race length from 10% to 100% of
the real distance; so if you just want a quick race, you could go for a 10%
race, which on most tracks would be about 6-7 laps. A point to note, though,
is that race lap records will be recognised only when set in a 100% length
race, although qualifying lap records will be recognised regardless of the
length of race qualified for.

	An interesting point is that you may skip any of the pre-race
options, such as the two practice sessions and even the qualifying session.
If you skip qualifying, you are placed in 26th place, which is not exactly
realistic, but at least you can jump straight into a race, even if it means
starting at the back of the grid.

	Control of the car is handled by either a digital or analogue
joystick, or the keyboard. Personally, I prefer the keyboard, since changing
gears is a bit difficult to achieve smoothly on a stick. Changing up
requires the stick to be pressed forward and the fire button pressed, and
changing down requires the joystick to be centred and the fire button
pressed.  If your stick has a long throw between centre and forward/back,
the time taken to move the stick to the required position for gear changing
can be critical.  At least with the keyboard, you can change up or down very
quickly.  I also think that the analogue stick code does not decode the
stick position entirely correctly. Even though there is a stick calibrate
option, once calibrated, the motion of the car does not feel right,
especially steering.  Note that the key controls are non-definable, but the
preset keys are not too bad at all.

	The game screens are all in NTSC resolution.  Anyone with the
necessary hardware to run in NTSC mode should do so, since the game looks
much better when filling the entire screen.  For multisync users, the menu
screens are promotable but the 3D display is not, so you will still need a
15KHz display to play the game. Note that the menu screens are system
friendly and can be flipped with the Amiga-N and Amiga-M commands.  If you
have Workbench 3, the screens can also be dragged around with the mouse if
you have Screen Drag enabled in Prefs/IControl.

	Whilst the menu screens are displayed, the game multitasks, although
it seems to do a busy wait, since Workbench is far too sluggish for the
program to be multitasking perfectly. Having said that, this entire review
was written with F1GP sitting in the background.  It makes review writing so
much easier being able to flick between review text and reviewed program
without having to reload the programs all the time. All I'm saying is that
you probably should stop any graphics rendering or MPEG encoding before
running F1GP (unless you have a very accelerated machine).

	If you are running on a slow machine, like a 7MHz 68000, you'd
probably want to reduce the graphics detail. There are three settings which
progressively remove background detail without affecting the track detail.
Unfortunately, on the Monaco circuit, reducing the detail means removing the
tunnel roof, which looks really sad, especially when the tunnel is possibly
the most famous single section of any circuit (and certainly the most
inspiring section to drive towards).

	The graphics themselves are rather good considering the age of the
game. Although there is no texture mapping, bitmapped graphics are used to
good effect on things like the trackside marshals and corner countdown
markers. The polygons are used well, with the cars looking quite detailed,
and they don't turn into undefined blobs as they recede into the distance
either. If you have the processing power to run in full detail, the
trackside detail is rather well done too, with grandstands, camera positions,
trees and bushes and background buildings, especially on the street circuits
like Monaco. (I like the Monaco circuit. :-))

	The manual states that the circuits were modelled partly by
examining in-car video footage from races, and it shows. If your TV stations
show Formula One races, you should try racing the circuit in F1GP before you
see it on TV and compare the in-car footage from the TV. It is quite
pleasing to know almost instantly where the real car is on the circuit
simply by looking at the circuit ahead and the trackside objects.

	There is no simultaneous multi-player mode; i.e., no split screen or
serial link up. There is an interesting option, however, whereby as many
drivers as you like can be marked as being human controlled. During practice
and qualifying, each human driver is given his/her own sessions. During the
race however, each human driver is allotted X laps, where "X" is the total
number of laps divided by the number of human drivers. Thus in a 50 lap
race, with two human drivers, the first driver will drive for the first 25
laps, then the second driver will take over for the last 25 laps. When a
human designated car is not being controlled by the human, the computer
takes it over.

	This is somewhat of an odd mode of play, since only one human can
take part in the start of the race, which is generally the critical part.
Then just as the first player is getting settled into the race, the computer
announces that the next player is to take over, meaning not only does one
driver have to leave the game, but the incoming driver is dropped into their
car in the middle of the race. I don't think Nigel Mansell would put up with
it.  Basically, I'd avoid the multi-player option at all costs unless you
want fights when its time to change over drivers.

	Note that all the game data refers to the 1991 season. Thus, not only
are some circuits in the game no longer used in real life, but also most of
those that are used have now been altered in some way.

	And now, to round off this section of the review, a list of the
circuits provided in the game:

	USA        - Phoenix
	Brazil     - Interlagos
	San Marino - Imola         (RIP Ayrton Senna, Roland Ratzenberger)
	Monaco     - Monte Carlo
	Canada     - Montreal
	Mexico     - Mexico City
	France     - Magny Cours
	Britain    - Silverstone   (Yeah!)
	Germany    - Hockenheim
	Hungary    - Hungaroring
	Belgium    - Spa Francorchamps
	Italy      - Monza
	Portugal   - Estoril
	Spain      - Barcelona
	Japan      - Suzuka
	Australia  - Adelaide

DOCUMENTATION

	The primary manual is a typical Microprose affair:  165 pages of
information split about half and half between program detail and general
information about Formula One racing. Some rather useful diagrams of all the
circuits are included.

	Secondary manual is a technical supplement for the Amiga.  It is six
pages long, deals with installation and controls, and lists the actual
drivers and teams from 1991.

	A keyboard guide is included, which is a small piece of card with
controls printed on both sides.

	An even smaller bit of card held a message pointing me in the
direction of a README file on Disk 4, containing the latest news about the
program.

	Note that this all refers to the ORIGINAL release of F1GP.  Based on
my experiences of budget releases, I would be surprised if the budget
version included all or any of the above. Having said that, the re-release
is being handled by Microprose rather than a third party budget distributor,
so maybe the documentation will be of a decent standard.

LIKES

	I like the amount of detail in the circuit models and the fact that
the computer controlled cars don't drive perfectly. They crash, spin and
drive pretty much as you would expect given the driver and car in question
(for instance, Alain Prost is a far better driver in the game than Pedro
Chaves -- I hadn't heard of him either).

	I also like the ability to multitask a certain amount and the
ability to use the program on my A4000 without having to resort to all
manner of "degrader" programs.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

	There is no simulation of mechanical failures at all. In other
words, you cannot run out of fuel, have an oil or water leak, blow your
engine, have a sticking throttle etc. etc. The only problems simulated are
damaged front and rear wings, and damaged tyres.

	I really hate the multi-player mode.  Why Microprose couldn't just
have done a serial link I do not know.

	Microprose seem to have shelved the idea of releasing a data disk
containing new circuits, as they are now working on an all-new version of
F1GP.  Unfortunately, some rumours are circulating suggesting that F1GP 2, as
we shall call it for now, will be a PC-only game. If this is going to be the
case, then I will be very annoyed.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	The only other circuit driving simulator I have used on the Amiga is
Indianapolis 500. Whereas Indy 500 is faster and does simulate more
mechanical aspects of the car (like fuel loads, etc.), it is just a one
circuit simulator. F1GP offers the ability to race on sixteen circuits, all
of them different.

	I'd say if you like racing, get both, since they are now both
available on budget release. F1GP is more of a playable simulation, whereas
Indy 500 is more of a realistic simulation, but is consequently not quite so
enjoyable unless you are very interested in racing.

BUGS

	There is only one bug I am aware of, and even that may not be a bug
as such, rather a poor implementation decision.  When approaching a corner,
the car tends to turn automatically into the corner even if you are not
activating the steering controls. The effect tends to be minimal and you
soon get used to it.

	Though not a bug, you should be aware that the introduction sequence
is not AGA compatible. Since this sequence can be ignored entirely, this is
not a major problem, although the hard drive installer assumes you want to
see the sequence all the time. You will have to alter the startup script
manually to load the game rather than the introduction sequence. Running from
floppy requires no such action, as you simply boot from disk 2 instead of
disk 1.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	Any support that may have been available is now long gone, as I
bought F1GP when it was originally released in late 1991.

WARRANTY

	Unknown.

CONCLUSIONS

	F1GP is a most excellent and playable simulation that does not
require a well-equipped Amiga to run.  It is especially tempting in its new
budget release form. If you are interested in driving simulations, then it is
a most worthwhile purchase with many months/years of gaming contained
within.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Aw heck, you can do what you like to this text. Fold it, spindle it,
mutilate it, read it even. But spare a thought for two drivers, killed this
season after so many years of fatality free racing:

	Ayrton Senna, Roland Ratzenberger - rest in peace

- Chris Coulson
  e-mail: [email-masked]

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