While the title of this blog post suggests vintage vehicles, this mostly can mean games with vehicles that are not considered current or modern.
Vintage Racing/Driving Game Inspirations
Let me give you an idea of vintage racing just for discussion's sake. Take a look at these videos to get an idea of what I am about to discuss in this blog post.
Vintage Sample: Pre-War Racing.
In researching this topic, there is one sim racing fan who wanted to focus on sim racing featuring cars before war time. This will have you convinced or intrigued at how there should probably be more games or mods focused on vintage racing:^ Donington Park 1938 Assetto Corsa Mod - More Pre-War Cars Please!
Vintage Sample: Power and Glory.
One of the most popular mods for GTR2 is the Power and Glory mod. This mod features a variety of classic vehicles to be pushed to their limits. Take a look at this video...^ Power and Glory V3 (GTR2 Mod)
Now that you have seen examples of classic/vintage racing, should there be more racing/driving games and mods focused on vintage-type racing? I will further discuss in the next section.
Should There Be More Vintage Racing Games?
The goal of almost any racing/driving game is to enjoy the thrill of operating a vehicle at various speeds across any number of challenges. That has been the goal of such games since their proliferation. While most people want to enjoy the latest and greatest of various vehicles, some prefer taking a trip back in time to where vehicles were not as advanced. Older vehicles have character that modern vehicles will not be able to instill.
There have not been a shortage of racing/driving games featuring older vehicles. For example, "GT Legends" from SimBin features various GT racing machines mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. "Grand Prix Legends" from Sierra/Papyrus features Formula 1 race cars from the 1960s. "Motor City Online" exclusively had you drive classic American muscle cars. The "Great 1000 Miles Rally" arcade games exclusively feature vintage race cars racing the Mille Miglia. You also have "NASCAR Legends," which mostly features NASCAR stock cars racing in the 1970s with some of the different drivers and tracks of that time. There are even some non-racing games that feature older vehicles you exclusively use. For example, "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories" had you operate vehicles from the 1980s and older. Older vehicles can also be found in car combat games like "Interstate 76" and "Interstate 82." These are only a small amount of games focused on classic racing.
The common method of implementing driving older models is to merge classic with modern. Almost any Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport is a prime example, where you have classic and modern vehicles competing in the same game under the same engine. "Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed" featured a mode where you race and own Porsches ranging from the first models to (at their time) the most modern Porsche models. The ToCA Race Driver series had a handful of races and championships focused on classic and modern vehicles. Even games like the rFactor series and Automobilista series have had a handful of modern and vintage Formula 1 machines, including fictional models.
All of this sounds entertaining, but one has to wonder why there aren't more racing/driving games with older models.
The Challenges of Vintage Racing Games.
How much does it matter to operate older vehicles in games? A whole lot, depending on who you ask and how much you are willing to bring older experiences to the masses. Some older racing games take place mostly with older vehicles on a mix of modern and classic venues. Some racing games fixated on older vehicles try to replicate the past as much as possible. For example, a game or a mod focused on Group C sportscars can feature race tracks at their time with sponsors and logos appropriate for their time. So the Mobil 1 logo then would have the red Pegasus rather than or including the basic Mobil 1 logo.It is also a challenge to try to be as accurate as possible. Unless you are thinking of vintage style vehicles with unrealistic handling and tuning, trying to accurately re-create older vehicles and older locations is a challenge in itself.
The Challenges of Creating Vintage Racing Games and Mods.
What makes such projects so hard? Well, there are number of variables that make implementing classic racing experiences. I will share a number of main problems.One of the first challenges of classic racing in games is understanding older vehicle operation. Older vehicles are tough to drive and do not make nearly as much horsepower as modern vehicles. It can be tough to replicate and implement the precise nature of certain older vehicles. Even a lot of the modern advances in automobiles will not be readily available in older vehicles. So you will have to take extra care in trying to properly race or drive certain older vehicles.
When it comes to locations, proper re-creation of actual locales for their time period is key. If you're trying to re-create sportscar racing in the 1970s, modern tracks like Singapore or Yas Marina Circuit would be inconsistent and out-of-place in trying to capture a vintage racing experience. Building vintage locales can be tough. You have to go by whatever material you can have access to. Some people go with pictures of old tracks and even videos of past races. The challenge, then, is to come up with as accurate of a representation of an old course as possible. This is not easy by any stretch. It is even worse if you have very little cues of a track to go off of. In addition to locations themselves, specific configurations resonate more with older racing fans than any modern configurations. Look at tracks like Circuit de la Sarthe, Interlagos, Spa-Francorchamps, and a number of other tracks. A lot of these tracks utilized a combination of a permanent racing facility and public roads. Australia's Mount Panorama Circuit used to not have the kink after the Conrod Straight.
Vehicles are as tough to implement. One issue is that licensing and proper testing are issues. One thing you don't want to do is trash a classic car. Trying to replicate proper handling of an older vehicle can be more risky than difficult. You can think of things like proper engine sounds, transmission settings, suspension settings, and more to implement to make older vehicles as accurate as possible. The ability to accurately replicate certain actual older vehicles can be a great challenge if you are thinking pure simulation. So most older vehicles are going to be devoid of things like anti-lock brakes, traction control, or anything of that nature.
On the licensing front, not many manufacturers are going to liberally let you trash their cars. Like in the Goodwood Revival, for example, if you wreck a classic car or do any rough driving, you may be banned from ever racing in the Goodwood Revival again. Most people do believe you should be able to trash ANY car in any game. People don't believe every car is sacred and not supposed to be wrecked. But of course, you have those people who want EVERY element of a vehicle to be intact- including damage.
Should There Be More Classic Racing Games?
It depends. Surely having a game focused on older vehicles and locations is different from the latest and greatest cars, but maybe not as many people are interested in a vintage-focused racing/driving game. It would probably be better to enjoy classic vehicle mods for racing/driving games if you are reluctant to enjoy both modern and classic vehicles. Maybe there aren't as many classic racing games as there could be for any number of reasons, including various licensing and implementation issues. If you feel there should be more of these style of racing/driving games, try to work towards having more of these games and mods available.Whether or not you think there should be more games or mods featuring older vehicles and/or older locations (as well as era-appropriate visuals), that's your call. At least this provides a decent discussion of classic racing games that I feel would be great to feature.
I hope you found this blog post to be a great one. I appreciate you dropping by! Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
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