Sports Car GT in 1998 challenges gamers to push a GT car to its limits on a variety of intense race courses. This game was made by Image Space Incorporated and published by Electronic Arts. It would be released on PC and even the PlayStation 1 (or PSone or PSX). This game is a memory in today's gaming realm. So to help discuss as much as possible as to why even bother with SCGT, I present to you this blog post. I want to discuss as much as I can about Sports Car GT and give you as much insight as possible as to why it is such a revered game.
This blog post mostly pertains to the PC version of "Sports Car GT," though I may mention the PS1 version.
Sports Car GT at a Glance
Allow me to introduce you to Sports Car GT (SCGT):
^ from: Amazon - Sports Car GT (PC Version).
Sports Car GT is really a breath of fresh air among racing games featuring licensed vehicles. For one, it isn't another NASCAR game or another game based on Formula 1. Sports Car GT is a simulation racing game featuring a variety of exotic cars. Your racing adventures in this game lets you race a number of American and European cars. You get to race on fictional and real courses around North America and Europe. Races can be run either on laps or time. You can actually adjust the level of tire wear and fuel consumption as well as damage. Before patches came along for SCGT, the damage was only mechanical. Races can be run under a number of conditions. Based on various tracks, these combinations were possible: day-dry, day-wet, night-dry, and night-wet. Almost all of the cars have lights on them to light up the darkness. Wet tracks have actual rooster tails of water getting kicked up as cars speed around race tracks. As many as 16 or so cars could race on a track (including yours). One patch allowed for as many as 24 cars to race at once at a track.
If SCGT was famous for one thing, it was a classic concept- take something great, then make it better with add-ons. That's right. The modding community was key in making Sports Car GT better than it already was. In fact, I can say that a future game- rFactor, would not be possible had it not been for the modding community who helped make Sports Car GT even better than it already was.
More than ever, Sports Car GT had an appeal among simulation racers that almost no other racing game at the time- even including the Need for Speed series- could equal or better. That was even if SCGT wasn't as pretty or as brash as the NFS series. Sports Car GT is more one of the most important racing games as far as the evolution of simulation games are concerned.
Now that you have insight on Sports Car GT, let me give you a brief overview of SCGT and what it has to offer.
Sports Car GT: General Overview
Let me tell you as much as I can about the more general aspects of Sports Car GT.
The Racing.
When you begin Sports Car GT, you can run a Quick Race format, a championship Season, or you can play online multiplayer. A quick race allows you to do one race with one of a few cars or any car from your Season play. You can set variables for tire wear, fuel consumption, damage, and more. Season Mode has you with fixed settings. You can buy and upgrade cars in this mode. You will run in separate championships to earn money towards buying better cars and upgrading your current ones. When you successfully clear one championship, other championships will open up for you. The only real control you have over championships is how many cars you want to race against and how long you want the races to be. If you prefer online racing, you can do so from the game's online racing suite.Most tracks allow for all possible options. All tracks are raced in the daytime, but some can be run at night. Some tracks allow for racing under dry conditions or wet conditions. True to sportscar racing, races are mostly set by time distance and not by laps. One important thing to note in races is when the Halfway Point is set. Once the race reaches the Halfway Point either on time or laps, the race is declared official. So if you exit a race after the Halfway point has been reached, you will DNF and not get any points towards the championship, nor will will you receive any money. So try to complete every race. You can't actually retire from terminal damage or anything, but just try to complete each race you take part in. You can always try a race again if you don't reach the Halfway point of the event.
There are four classes of competition in SCGT. From slowest to fastest: GTQ, GT3, GT2, and GT1. There is even a fifth class for when you successfully win the GT1 championship. The higher classes mean faster speeds and more unforgiving driving mechanics.
If your computer can't handle so many cars on a track at once, you may want to scale down the graphics or even have fewer cars on track at once.
The Cars.
The cars you race in this game consist of American and European manufacturers. You start off with 100,000 Credits and a choice of three different cars- the BMW M3, the Panoz Esperante, and of course... the Porsche 911. The Quick Race mode starts you off with either the GT3-spec BMW M3 and the GT2-spec Porsche 911. You will be able to race other kinds of cars later in the game once you start making more money. Other cars you get to race include the Saleen Mustang, many more Porsche 911s, the Vector M12, the Porsche 911 GT1, the McLaren F1, Panoz Esperante GT1, and the Mosler Raptor among many other cars.Each car can be upgraded with various upgrades. Your options include turbo upgrades, tires, weight reduction, brakes, suspension, and more. You can sell your car if you're short on cash. The cost of the car and all of its upgrades factor into how much you can get back when you sell your car. You can even tune your cars with a variety of settings at your disposal.
The Tracks.
The tracks in Sports Car GT are a combination of real courses and fictional courses. You only get to race four tracks when you start out, but more will become available as you progress through the game (or if you use a certain cheat). Each of the tracks allow you to make pit stops if needed. Here is a look at the four tracks available to you when you first play SCGT:
• Chatham - a fictional road course that rides like an oval for the first half, but then becomes a somewhat tricky road course in the second half. Expect quick lap times in the fastest cars.
• Lime Rock Park - a very short and technical racing course in Lakeville, Connecticut, USA. Don't take this seven-turn road course lightly!
• North Point - a fictional technical race track that has a very technical flow to it.
• Sardian Park - a fictional road course that feels like a temporary street circuit. It has some interesting elevation changes to challenge your driving skill.
Once you get past these courses, here are some of a few more courses for you to challenge:
• Sebring - America's famed airbase turned race track turned 3+ mile racing facility. This track in Sebring, FL, USA will test you no matter what cars you drive around this venue famous for the 12 Hours of Sebring.
• Road Atlanta - famous for the Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta is a technical and fluid race track designed to push your driving skills to the limit.
• Desert Speedway - the game's only "roval," this is an oval with a tough infield road course.
• Donnington Park - This classic British circuit has many tricky sweeping sections and difficult corners- including the super-slow hairpin on its full course.
Those are among many courses in SCGT for you to race on.
Modding Community (PC Only).
You could drop in new cars and new tracks to expand the experience of Sports Car GT. This helps make the game even more enticing and satisfying and extends the amount of fun you can have racing in this game. Make sure to have all the needed files to successfully be able to play each car and track mod. Not every mod is ready to go as you downloaded them, so make sure that if you do have a problem that you're able to get it rectified and corrected so you can enjoy the mod in question.This concludes mostly a look at the PC version of Sports Car GT.
Sports Car GT: General Overview (PS1 Version)
The PlayStation 1 version of Sports Car GT was made by Point of View and not Image Space Incorporated. Many of the same dynamics of SCGT are there for the PS1 version, but it is not as addictive or as fun as the PC version. There are only six cars to a track (including yours). There aren't as many tracks as the PC version of SCGT. Unlike the PC version, the PS1 version of this game is rather heavy on lens flare effects. So while the PS1 version isn't as good as the PC version (I know because I actually owned the PS1 version before buying the PC version), many of the same cars and racing still make up the fun this game provides. Only thing the PS1 version has that the PC version doesn't is a hidden race track set in some city.Sports Car GT: Final Thoughts
Sports Car GT is a racing game that is a big part of the simulation racing crowd. Its appeal and charm makes it incredible even for a game of its time. What makes the game respect-worthy is what the game had to offer towards simulation racing. This game had beautiful graphics and amazing gameplay that few PC racing games could match for its time. For as much as this game gained so much popularity and praise, its future success wouldn't be possible had it not been for the modding community. That future success would come in the form of a future game called rFactor. But before rFactor, there was Sports Car GT. This is a must-own game if you care anything about racing games- let alone simulation racing games.
Previews.
You can view old pictures of Sports Car GT from ISI's website. Check it out:Sports Car GT | Image Space Incorporated
Here are previews I'd like to share of Sports Car GT. I tried to find the best possible videos to showcase both versions of this game. I'd like to thank these YouTube channels for allowing embedding of their videos (click on the links to view on YouTube if you can't view the videos):
^ "Sports Car GT (EA 1999) - PC gameplay"
^ "Sports Car GT - Gameplay PSX (PS One) HD 720P (Playstation classics)"
Special Request...
One member of the modding community has gladly retained a lot of the released mods for Sports Car GT. If you have Sports Car GT and want to install mods for it, please visit this site:RaceCarSim.com
Enjoy Sports Car GT!
And there you have it.
I hope I've done enough to convince you about Sports Car GT. If so, I have a favor to ask of you. I have included these items below so you can buy SCGT online and add it to your game collection. Please search for "Sports Car GT" using the links below and help support my work. I would appreciate your business and your cooperation:
• Amazon
• eBay
• Best Buy
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