Idea Info Name: The next Grand Prix Index: Primary Category: Racing Submitted: 10/22/2002 12:27:01 PM Written By: From Old Site Game Architecture and Design: A New Edition Book Highly Recommended !

Ok, these aren't exactly brilliant game ideas...but hey...today I was playing F1 2000 and I said...wouldn't it be better if it where like.... Therefore, I am telling you everything I think would make a F1 game better.
Ok.these are the ideas for the actual race.

When you complete all the sessions.including warm-up, you will have the race. However, you won't find yourself in the track. Instead you'll be in the garage. The camera gets a view from behind the car and you may also see the pitlane and the sky from this view. This will be the time to make decision! What decision? You've got to choose what tires and setup you're gonna make use of. You'll already have an idea from the previous sessions. However, this is different. With this view you may see the sky..as I said before. With the help of the weather forecast and the sky you're seeing, you can decide what setup you're gonna make use of. So, if you have the forecast, why will you need the sky? - Because it will be so realistic that sometimes the forecast won't be entirely right.therefore you may have a look a the sky.. Heheh.Like real life eh? Ok, so now you are in that view. You may see your crew realistically walking around, and when you make a change, you'll see them in action. However, it should be more smooth than another game I know. You'll also have the option to do a few laps..maybe 3 before starting the race. This isn't the warm-up. However, they're the laps that test the car right before the start.When you decide to go for a lap, you'll see the driver going into the car.realistically of course, putting in the steering wheel, and immediately afterwards, your view will either change to cockpit view or remain like it is if you chose the outside view. You'll then see the crew go outside the garage checking if everything is clear.and when it is, a crew member will give you the go-ahead.and you're off to the track to test. You would have around half an hour to do all this: testing and changing setups.

If you don't want all this you may simply choose the setup and advance time. However, to add realism, one should not advance time. When you come back after a lap, you'll see the pitcrew pushing you back in and when you're in, the view changes and you can see the driver getting out of the car. All this time must be used very wisely as it may effect the out come of the race. For example, the forecast says it's gonna be sunny J. However, the sky seems very dull, like it's gonna rain L . What are you gonna do? You can do a test lap with wet tires and another with dry/slick tires. You'll try to get used to them incase the weather changes during the race and you'll see how the car handles better. After testing, you'll have to decide. When you make up your mind, you just press confirm. The view immediately goes to the view you were before (changes if you were in cockpit view, stay the same if you were outsidecar view). 5/10 minutes before the start, a crewmember gives you the signal.you may now leave the pit to get to the grid. If you didn't decide yet, you are given a minute to make your decision. If even then you have decided, then you leave the pit immediately with the setup that you just were in. Even if it was hopeless. That makes the game extremely realistic. When you leave, you drive to the grid, not the computer. And if, when you trying to position yourself, you are about to hit some crew of another team (the crew members that there'll be around cars in the grid in the start), the computer takes over and makes sure you arrive to your grid position safely. Next, after you have positioned your car, a movie will come. This gets all the crew members of all the teams making the last adjustments. This will be a TV-style view. Every now and then, it gets a close-up of a car or driver. You'll also see your driver get out of the car. You will even see the tire warmers! To add realism, everything that you see on TV would be there, including the girls holding umbrellas! J When everything is set, all the crew leave and once again, your view changes to either the cockpit or outside views. The tension increases!!! Now, for the warm-up lap. You, too drive this lap! Yep, that's right you zigzag around the track. The amount of zigzagging is also very important. It helps you make better starts. So once again, realism pops up! Now, you can ask, I can bump into a car or into the Mercedes just for fun! J THINK AGAIN! If you drive into another car, then you get disqualified, and if you try to drive into the Mercedes, the computer won't let you. It will brake for you! Now once you've arrived at the grid, you have to stop your car in the right position. This may be a hard task. So, unless you're doing it right (which you will after some tries), the computer will take charge and stop where you should. (You can't stop on 1st place if you're actually 2nd as the computer will brake and drive the car to the right position - J ) However, if you are doing it right, the computer won't bother you at all.

Now for the race! A nice effect would be waves of heat...like in F1 2000, but more realistic. This time, no small screen comes up showing the lights. Instead you have to see them, even if you're far away! Like real life!

One important factor is that if a big collision occurs, the safety car will come out and you may actually see this car. Somehow, in other games, the safety car never comes out. You will actually see the marshals waving flags. Not a flag comes on the screen.

Ok, so once the race is over, you'll see crewmembers celebrating in the pitlane when you cross the finishing line. You can even see your members if you won! Like in real life.

Once again, you drive to the pits not the computer and while you're driving you'll obviously see lots of crowds waving flags etc.(more on them later) and marshals waving flags. But the best thing is this: If you come 1st , 2nd or 3rd , you will be able to make use of two keys. These keys allow your driver to raise his left/right arm.cool!!! So, while driving you can put your arm up in joy..like real drivers do!!! Once you return to the pits, you will either go inside if you're 1st, 2nd or 3rd or remain with the other's. Once again, the computer will take command if you do something stupid! You will then see a movie of the drivers' (1st, 2nd and 3rd) coming out and hugging each other, and anything else that they normally do. Afterwards you'll see the ceremony where trophies are given. You'll actually hear the national 'songs' and you'll see the champagne celebrations. This would be all life-like with camera views from helicopters, close-ups etc. However, if you come more than 3rd (like 5th for example) you'll first see your driver coming out and walking towards his crewmembers and then you'll see the celebrations mentioned above. If on the other hand you retire in the race (crash, penalty, engine etc.), you'll find yourself in the garage. You'll have the option to go outside in the pitlane and continue seeing the GP or finish the session completely. After the session is complete (both after retirements and when celebrations end),

You'll see like review of the whole GP. You'll see this with commentating. Even if you retired on the first lap, the review would be of the whole GP. You'll see crashes, overtakings, pitstops etc. After this, a screen tells you the points you have gained, and the total if you're in a whole season. You will then be informed of the next testing you have and where it will take place. (This is the testing that is done between GP's in various acks). OK, that's for the races. Now, for the pitstops.

First of all, you will be warned by your pitcrew (more on it later) when you need to pit. When you're pitting, you need to slow down by changing gears (more on it later J ). You will drive into position and if you're gonna do something stupid the PC takes control. However, you may enter on your own without help. Once there, you'll see your whole pitcrew (from your cockpitview) changin tires etc. All of them! And you'll see your tires goin out and you'll see the crew puttin new ones on. Is that clear? If you have to change the front wing, the pitstop will obviously take longer. The time also depends on the team. Important: Crewmembers of other teams are also seen in pitstops. Sometimes I wonder where the other's are! When ready, the lollypop person in front of you will tell you to put on 1st gear and then to go. Soooooooo life-like! That's all on pitstops. Now, for sounds.

Basically, there'll be sounds of the crowd, of other cars, and of the crew. It should be like F12000.where the crew informs you about all the important stuff that's goin on. Basically there's not much to say about sounds since there're already good how they are. But there's always room for improvement ,that's my moto!

Now for the other sessions.

Basically, there will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There'll be all the sessions that exist in real life. In qualifing, when you'll be in the garage, you'll see the monitor that shows all the statictics. Ok, all times are saved and the best laps are automatically saved. Basically, setups are always changed in the garage. The setup screen would be real easy to navigate and one can see the final effects on the changes, like F12000. The sessions are as long as the ones in real life are. When each session is over, you'll see an review of the results. These will include all the lap times. With each lap time, the setup is shown. In this way you can see which setup worked best. The setups can be saved so that you'll be able to refer to them before the race. The setup would include lots of info such as the temperature of the track, weather etc. Therefore, in the half-hour before the race, you may decide which setup would be best in those conditions. If you don't have a setup which has those conditions, then you'll have to find one at that time by doing the test laps. That's why it is important to do lots of testing with different setups in the sessions before the race. That makes it realistic.

When you're not in a session (in between sessions), you'll be in the team's 'office'. Here, you'll see the latest news, if any team wants you etc. News may include what tires they'll have the following year, news about an engine etc. Please note: this game will have a career mode.everything I have just said is included in this mode.

About the crowd. One can hear them shout etc. They'll have flags and some of them would be dressed the color of there favourite team. red preferably..hehehehe. They should add an amazing effect especially when you win.

Lemme see.what else?

That's all...I think

Hope you like it....

(Transferred from the old Game Discovery website)
Submitted October 2000 by

Marc von Brockdorff
rvb@maltanet.net