Grand Prix 2
- For the article about the GP2 racing series, see GP2 Series.
| Grand Prix 2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | MicroProse |
| Publisher(s) | MicroProse |
| Designer(s) | Geoff Crammond |
| Series | Grand Prix |
| Engine | enhanced Grand Prix engine |
| Platform(s) | PC (DOS) |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Simulation racing game |
| Mode(s) |
Single-player Multiplayer |
Grand Prix 2, sometimes known as "GP2"[1] and sold in the American market as Grand Prix II,[2] is a racing simulator released by MicroProse in 1996. It was made under an official FIA license[3] that featured the Formula One 1994 season, with all of the circuits, teams, drivers and cars. The cars were painted with liveries reflecting the races that did not allow tobacco and alcohol sponsors (e.g. 1994 British Grand Prix).
It had 3D texture mapping and SVGA graphics,[4] as well as an early but realistic physics engine.[5] A large community of GP2 enthusiasts formed quickly and still exists today. Grand Prix 2 is recognized as one of the definitive racing simulations of its era.
Gameplay
The game is a simulation of the 1994 Formula One season[6] with all 16[6][7] circuits from the 1994 season and 28 drivers in their 14 teams. Unlike the real 1994 season, where teams changed drivers and sponsorship liveries repeatedly, the game has a consistent driver list and set of liveries throughout, which reflects that of the 1994 British Grand Prix. As a result, Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, who both were killed during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix are not present in the game. The liveries for each of the cars are also based on their appearance at the 1994 British Grand Prix, where all teams ran non-tobacco livery. It includes all parts of a Formula One weekend, including practice, qualifying and racing. It also included a championship mode which simulated the entire season.
There was no "arcade" mode in Grand Prix II, per se, but it included the ability to turn on and off such things as indestructibility. There were seven major functions called "driving aids" that could be turned on or off:[8] steering help, braking help, automatic turn-around (has the car face forward after a crash), indestructibility, racing line help, automatic shifting and traction control.[8] The game had five levels of difficulty one could choose from, and the higher the level, the less options for driving aids one could turn on or off.[9]
There also is a "Quickrace" function that lets the player jump into a race without having to go through the perfunctory qualifying session. The quickrace option was customizable, allowing a player to race as many laps as desired and allow the player to set their grid position.[10]
The player selects the car they will drive among the 28 seats available, supplanting the driver who originally raced in that vehicle.
The game had multiple camera angles, including a simulated TV coverage angle. A player can control his or her car from any of them, but the primary angle used was the first-person cockpit angle.
The cars can be customizable in myriad ways through the setup function. Car setups could be modified to high detail with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
Usually people raced as single player. The game also offered multiplayer and modem-linked gaming.[11]
A race can be played in turns, with different players driving different cars in the race.[12] Gameplay in this mode has one player at a time driving their car in the race. Instead of a split screen game, The computer simulates the driving for the other players' cars when they are not being controlled by one of the players waiting their turn.
The game also featured a replay function and save game feature.[13] The replay function showed the last ~30 seconds of racing and included the ability to save replays. It did not include an edit function.
The save game feature allowed players to save their progress in the game
The game also replicated engine, gearbox and electronic failures. This meant cars not only could crash, but also have flames or smoke shoot out of the backs of their cars from engine failure, to which they raced around the circuit damaged for a limited time before parking at the side of the road or in the pits. This was the first to simulate visual car failures; as in 1989's Indianapolis 500: The Simulation cars fell out of the race but went to the pits and parked permanently when a car failure was present.
Grand Prix II did not include wet weather conditions.[14] There also was the lack of a 'black flag' system replicating Formula One regulation penalties for course cutting, instead slowing the car down for a limited period of time if the course is cut through.
Teams and drivers
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Circuits
Development
The game was developed by Geoff Crammond as a follow up to 1991's Formula One Grand Prix (which was known as World Circuit in the US).
It was the first[5] serious racing simulation programmed with all three axes in it—i.e. the ability for vehicles to get airborne in the game. (1990's Stunts and Stunt Driver featured this ability, but were not racing simulations of a series.) However, GP2 lacked the feature of having a car flip over entirely, which not yet was seen in hardcore racing simulations. In some cases, the game would crash if the car was about to overturn. Microsoft's Monster Truck Madness (1996), simulating monster truck racing, may have been the first to have that feature.
It included more extensive physics and included image mapping over the 3D model of the car to show vehicle liveries, a feature that emerged in racing simulations with Papyrus' 1993 IndyCar Racing.
Features
There are many features that caused the game to be hailed positively:
- Advanced SVGA Graphics Engine - The visuals were nearly unparalleled at the time due to the SVGA capable of rendering the then-high-end 800x600 resolution.
- Unparalleled AI and Physics - Grand Prix 2 was said to have featured elements from both an arcade racer and racing simulation. Similarly aged offerings such as Power F1 were perceived as inferior despite being fairly impressive games in their own right.[5]
- Extremely accurate circuits - Circuits were often highly detailed and, at 800x600 resolution, were once described as feeling "photo-realistic".[5]
Critical reception
Critics hailed Grand Prix II as stunning and the class of the field for Formula 1 simulations. At that time,
Grand Prix 2 was nominated as Computer Games Strategy Plus's 1996 "Racing Simulation" of the year, although it lost to NASCAR Racing II.[15]
Grand Prix 2 and its predecessor, collectively, were named the seventh best computer game of all time by PC Gamer UK in 1997.[16]
Cracking the Code / Modding community
Because of its revolutionary true-to-reality style, programmers began to crack the code. The first known Track Editor was built by Andy Barganski, and a collection of new circuits built using this editor were published (commercially) by Instant Access Int Ltd. René Smit and Frank Ahnert created Gp2lap, that read the track files from the hard-disk instead of the CD, so track editing would be possible. Paul Hoad programmed the Gp2 TrackEditor, the CarEditor and the JAM Editor (texture importer/exporter) with the help of many beta testers, too numerous to be named here. As soon as tracks and cars became editable, the GP2 modding community began to grow. New track commands allowed better-looking, more challenging circuits and with less bugs. Many racing leagues were created with customized cars and helmets (the car liveries pack is called a "carset") and modified engine power.
Another breakthrough came with possibly the most used editor in the history of the game. Steven Young's GP2edit added an unrivaled easy-access carset maker. The simple UI and the range of the program meant that anyone could use it without prior knowledge or having to use multiple programs. As more versions were released, the programs power increased. Menu helmets, ingame helmets, sounds, pit-crew colours, track textures & adverts, team & driver performance, camera angles, tyres and even the number position on the car could be edited.
Steven went on to create GP3edit for GP2's successor Grand Prix 3.
References
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/grand-prix-2
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/grand-prix-2/cover-art/gameCoverId,1929/
- ↑ http://grandprix2.de/nostal/presse.html
- ↑ MicroProse. Grand Prix II Reference Manual (game manual). First Printing, June 1996. U.S. edition. Page iv.
- 1 2 3 4 "Grand Prix II for PC Review". GameSpot. CNet Networks. 1996-08-05.
- 1 2 MicroProse. Grand Prix II Reference Manual (game manual). First Printing, June 1996. U.S. edition. Page 1.
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/grand-prix-2/screenshots/gameShotId,8816/
- 1 2 MicroProse. Grand Prix II Reference Manual (game manual). First Printing, June 1996. U.S. edition. Page 20.
- ↑ MicroProse. Grand Prix II Reference Manual (game manual). First Printing, June 1996. U.S. edition. Page 21.
- ↑ MicroProse. Grand Prix II Reference Manual (game manual). First Printing, June 1996. U.S. edition. Page 25.
- ↑ MicroProse. Grand Prix II Reference Manual (game manual). First Printing, June 1996. U.S. edition. Page 105.
- ↑ MicroProse. Grand Prix II Reference Manual (game manual). First Printing, June 1996. U.S. edition. Page 109.
- ↑ MicroProse. Grand Prix II Reference Manual (game manual). First Printing, June 1996. U.S. edition. Page 37.
- ↑ http://www.simracingworld.com/content/51-grand-prix-3-review/3/ SimRacingWorld - Grand Prix 3 review
- ↑ Staff (March 25, 1997). "Computer Games Strategy Plus announces 1996 Awards". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
- ↑ Flynn, James; Owen, Steve; Pierce, Matthew; Davis, Jonathan; Longhurst, Richard (July 1997). "The PC Gamer Top 100". PC Gamer UK (45): 51–83.