EORG: The Winning Formula

Formula 1 in racing games can be tough. In some games, formula race cars represent the most capable vehicles to use in racing/driving games. So every effort to make and introduce formula cars in games is worth it for the ultimate experience. A lot of games deliver on these experiences. Some others, not so much. This blog post is all about formula cars in racing games, especially in those not entirely concentrated on formula-type racing cars.

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Formula Cars in Games

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This part of the blog post takes a look at fictional formula cars in games.


Various racing and driving games have formula-type race cars to them in offering an ultimate racing experience.

To many people, formula cars represent the most capable and fastest cars to race. They are the machines that are the purest of racing vehicles. Anyone seeking the ultimate sort of racing usually look to formula cars and for good reason. There are those who believe that "real race cars do not have fenders." If that is the case, then the truest of race cars. Despite their performance capabilities, extreme care is needed using these machines. Formula cars are very fragile. You do not have the luxury of having strong bodies or fenders in wheel-to-wheel racing like you would with stock cars or touring cars or even prototypes. It doesn't take much to damage most formula race cars. So if you are going to race these machines for real or virtually, make sure you are very careful not to push these cars too hard.

For the life of me, I was never very good at any game featuring formula cars, especially Formula 1 games and F1 mods. Maybe it's the level of difficulty or me not taking full advantage of the handling capabilities of such cars. These racing machines still are among the best anyone can race. Even the most arcade-style racing games do a great job of showcasing the raw power and capability of such formula racing machines.

Do you NEED Formula Cars?

As many people consider formula cars to be the best of all racing machines, many of them will consider Formula 1 to be the premier category of not only formula car racing but also racing in general. Formula 1, however, is tough to pick up unless you have some sort of licensing deal with Formula 1 and from various bodies like the FIA, FOTA, and entities like them. Good luck trying to get approval to feature certain real F1 cars in games. Some have succeeded, but many others only wished they can get in Formula 1 machines. You can't even use the name "Formula 1" or "F1" in most cases because those too are licensed and copyrighted.

So what do you do when you want to provide those ultimate race car experiences but can't get your hands on Formula 1 or Formula 1 style cars? You make your own! You can still provide experiences even if you can't provide actually licensed content. As long as you can provide a sort of experience to others even without proper licensing, that is all that matters. Trying to provide as many racing experiences as possible through as many different disciplines is paramount in most racing/driving games for diversity and for enjoyment.


What you are about to see in the next section are examples of trying to provide formula racing experiences in games not entirely concentrated on formula racing.

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Formula Cars in Games: Samples

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I will offer descriptions and such regarding formula racing in games. Feel free to take a look around to see certain games that have dared to test racing formula cars.

Formula Cars: Gran Turismo Series.

Anyone who has followed the Gran Turismo series may have remembered seeing F1 cars first in Gran Turismo 3. Since Gran Turismo 4, Polyphony Digital supplanted their own formula race car. Gran Turismo 3 has about six formula cars to unlock. While they are not licensed cars, they do resemble a number of real F1 cars. For instance, the F687/S resembles the Lotus 97T. Speaking of the Lotus F1 cars, a later update for Gran Turismo 6 included a tribute to Ayrton Senna. Players of GT6 would be able to race two formula racing machines Ayrton Senna raced with including his go-kart from way back when.

Since Gran Turismo 3, the completely original Formula Gran Turismo car was the car for which people can enjoy formula-style racing. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Gran Turismo 5 both offered something many people didn't expect- two of Ferrari's F1 cars, let alone Ferrari in general. Because after all... Polyphony Digital is too concerned with kei cars and Skylines/GT-Rs than Ferraris, at least in the minds of lots of people. Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6 are both interesting cases as far as formula cars are concerned. Both games feature the Red Bull X prototypes. These are formula-style cars offering some of the ultimate race car experiences. They are not traditional formula cars in any sense, but they are more like the formula racing product Gran Turismo wants to offer to its gamers. You have to credit these machines as providing some identity and appeal to the Gran Turismo series. But to be honest, I think Gran Turismo should feature more "realistic" formula cars. We have Indianapolis Motor Speedway- so why not include IndyCar Series cars, cars from the former Indy Racing League, Champ Cars... and things like that? I would be okay racing Formula Ford and especially Formula 3. Gran Turismo could even go the extra mile (so to speak) and include Super Formula (formerly Formula Nippon) or maybe even some GP2 Series cars. The new Formula E would be great also. Just spice up the formula racing a bit. It is also possible Gran Turismo could feature some more smaller formula cars like Formula Vee, Pro Mazda Championship (which I've always known as the Star Mazda series), or maybe also the Skip Barber Formula cars.

If it were up to me, I'd keep the Formula Gran Turismo car from Gran Turismo 4. However, I would make a new Formula Gran Turismo car inspired by today's crop of Formula 1 race cars. They may even try to bring back the fictional formula cars from Gran Turismo 3 but add some extra cars inspired by past F1 machines.

Formula Cars: Forza Motorsport Series.

There were never any formula race cars of any kind in the Forza Motorsport series until Forza Motorsport 5. Three different styles of formula cars were featured in Forza Motorsport 5- modern IndyCar Series cars, a modern F1 car, and a classic F1 car. The vintage F1 car is the Ferrari 315 raced by Niki Lauda in 1976. The Lotus E21 is the modern F1 car featured in the game. Forza Motorsport has also famously featured the Formula E race cars. Formula E is the series devoted to providing full-on pure electric race cars. I actually find it a bit surprising Forza hasn't featured any kind of formula car until Forza Motorsport 5.

JUST SO YOU KNOW... I actually thought of discussing what a formula-type race car exclusive to Forza Motorsport would be like. You may still see that as a topic of discussion in this blog in a future post. So stay tuned to "John's Race Space" if indeed I make that topic.

Formula Cars: ToCA Race Driver Series.

The ToCA Race Driver series broadened its motorsports appeal starting with ToCA Race Driver 2. The series has been predominantly about touring car racing prior to even the first ToCA Race Driver game. Formula cars in this game series ranged from the likes of Formula Ford to the Masters Grand Prix. ToCA Race Driver 2 was rather diverse with its array of formula cars. Racing the Masters Grand Prix cars was the ultimate destination in the game's story mode. The Masters Grand Prix was essentially the equivalent of Formula 1 based on the capabilities of these cars. The game does feature Formula Ford as one of the different formula series you can race. There is also a series called American 1000 in TRD2, and it is more along the lines of the IndyCar Series and the former Champ Cars.

ToCA Race Driver 3 has an entire discipline devoted to open-wheel formula race cars. However, there are also a few extra series featuring formula cars in some of the other disciplines. TRD3 allows you to start with go-karts and work your way to racing the BMW Williams FW27. You could even run an event in the Classic discipline that allows you to race different generations of Williams F1 cars. If you're feeling nostalgic, you can even race some cars like some of Mercedes-Benz's past formula cars and even the Lotus Type 49. If you want intense oval racing, take your open-wheel love to the Oval discipline and race the IndyCar Series in that game.

Formula Cars: GRID Series.

The GRID series from Codemasters features various kinds of formula cars. Excluding GRID 2, you could race a number of open-wheel cars in GRID and GRID Autosport. Nothing close to Formula 1 is among the formula cars. However, you do get to enjoy racing formula machines such as Formula J-1000, Formula Ford, Formula 3, and even the IndyCar Series. GRID is a series that is an evolution from the legendary ToCA series of games from Codemasters. However, GRID is more arcade-like. One thing to remember- you can still damage a formula car to terminal damage if you are not careful.

Formula Cars: rFactor.

rFactor offers three flavors of formula racing goodness. You can start off with the rTrainer cars, based on the Skip Barber Formula cars. You can then step up to rF3- the Formula 3 cars. I personally love racing these cars. Of rFactor's three main styles of formula cars, Formula IS is sort of the equivalent of Formula 1 in rFactor. You will need 2.1M Credits and a lot of experience to unlock and purchase Formula IS. Unless you want your own Formula IS car in rFactor, you can get the Team rFactor Formula IS car for free.

While rFactor has its own F1-style cars, you can race an actual F1 race car- the BMW Sauber F1 car. Of course, if you want a complete experience with formula cars, you can always download various mods for rFactor featuring all kinds of F1 seasons and drivers and such.

Formula Cars: Live for Speed.

When you first get Live for Speed, the only formula cars you get is the Formula BMW. There's nothing wrong with Formula BMW, but there are other kinds of formula cars available for you to race when you purchase other licenses. One of the first formula cars you get with the other licenses is the MRT5 after purchasing the S1 license in Live for Speed. The MRT5 is based on the Formula SAE race car of Canada's McGill University. It is an underpowered car mostly suited towards kart tracks and autocross tracks. When you purchase the S2 License in Live for Speed, you get three more formula cars to have a total of five formula cars to race. The Formula XR is one of the three formula cars offered only with the S2 license. It is a peppy formula car with very decent performance. One of the other formula cars in the S2 package is the powerful Formula V8. Even though the Live for Speed team is of three members, this team got the approval to feature the BMW Sauber F1 car. The inclusion of formula cars only adds to the already enticing appeal to this multiplayer sim racer.

Formula Cars: TORCS.

The open-source PC game TORCS (The Open Racing Car Simulator) features a formula-style car you can race. It has been a while since I played TORCS, so I won't comment much further on its performance or of any races you can run with it. There are no licensed formula cars to speak of here.

Formula Cars: Speed Dreams.

Speed Dreams, the successor to TORCS, has some vintage formula cars from the 1930s you can race. Since these are very old, they are quite the fussbudget to try to handle properly.

Formula Cars: Project CARS.

One of the many categories of competition in Project CARS is the Formula discipline. There are three levels of Formula car in Project CARS: Formula C, Formula B, and Formula A. Formula C features the sort of grassroots or amateur level racing machines. Formula C features cars like the Dallara Formula 3 race cars. Formula B race cars are more along the lines of the GP2 Series cars. Formula A is the ultimate class with machines more like modern Formula 1 race cars. Of course, due to licensing reasons, it can't be called Formula 1.

Formula Cars: Total Immersion Racing.

If you were able to unlock it, you can access the Rockingham Champ Car and be able to race it in the game. Even though Total Immersion Racing is about sportscar racing, it is a bit unusual to see any kind of formula-type cars in this game. One last note- the Rockingham here is of the Rockingham oval in England, not the Rockingham oval in North Carolina.

Formula Cars: Grand Tour Racing '98.

Grand Tour Racing '98 allows you to race for one team complete with five different kinds of cars. Among the kinds of cars you race with are Indy cars. The Indy cars in this game are the fastest and most capable machines with top speeds north of 200 mph.

Formula Cars: Ridge Racer Type 4.

You wouldn't expect to see a formula car in a Ridge Racer game. However in Ridge Racer Type 4, there was a car from Grip car specialist Terrazi called the Terrazi Starlight. This car is styled like a 1960s Formula 1 race car complete with a glass canopy and one headlight. This is a Grip car, so don't think you can go sideways into corners with a car like this.

Formula Cars: Burnout series.

One of the last sort of games you'd imagine seeing any kind of formula car is in the crash-happy Burnout series. To my knowledge, this is the only Burnout game I know of that has formula race cars among the list of vehicles. When I researched this section, I learned formula cars have been in the Burnout games besides Burnout Revenge. It's a good thing Burnout is an arcade-style racing game, because if you tried to put a car through the insanity Burnout provides, your formula car would easily be a heap of scrap metal.

Formula Cars: RUSH Series.

The RUSH series is all about insane, unrealistic racing along with cars having gravity as if they were on the moon. One car you can unlock among the different cars is the Formula car. In "RUSH 2: Extreme Racing," collecting enough keys will get you to unlock the Formula car for the track where you found enough keys to unlock it for. The car is very fast but hard to control. So this would be along the lines of the extreme-style cars.

Formula Cars: Stunts/4D Sports Driving.

Stunts featured an Indy car among its lineup of cars. You could race the Porsche March Indy car in this 1990 PC racing game. It is the fastest car in the game. Even when you put it through the varied stunt tracks in the game, you can still enjoy pushing this car to the limit as scenery zooms by.


There are many more games that have had formula-style cars in them, but these are among some of the many different racing/driving games to feature such cars. The reason why I didn't include games like iRacing, SimRaceway, and RaceRoom in this blog post was because I wanted to focus mostly on fictional or non-licensed formula cars.

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The Winning Formula: Final Thoughts

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Formula cars in racing games offer some of the finest racing experiences in terms of speed and handling. Despite their performance, these machines can be difficult to control if one isn't adept enough to harness the full fury of such racing machines. Many racing/driving games have had their own formula style racing cars. There is no shame in not having Formula 1 in some racing games that could benefit from having them included. For the most part, including formula-style racing cars is the best any racing/driving game can do especially for those looking to offer great racing experiences. Many of these machines are the best of the very best. So when you see certain games or mods for certain games featuring formula cars, feel free to enjoy the raw fury of these machines.





I really want to do more of these "Elements of Racing Games" posts, but I never get around to completing many of them. Do stay tuned to "John's Race Space" for more posts of mine in various categories and of many things. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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EORG: Cross-Country

The idea of cross-country racing is nothing new. A number of games have attempted to provide the thrill of going across the nation. Specifically for this blog post is cross-country racing in the United States in games. Can you complete the task of completing a cross-country race? I'll be sure to feature some games to discuss this unique racing challenge.

I will embed a few videos. Click on the links to view certain other videos on YouTube based on this blog post. Or click on certain videos in case embedding was disabled. All videos and links are provided for educational purposes.

--- EoRG: Cross-Country ---

One great challenge in racing games is to go cross-country. Many of the games featured in this post speak to that point and exhibit this challenge in their own unique way.

The challenge of cross-country racing is to endure long enough to go from one side of the country to the other. A number of games in history have focused on this task and offer you the most unique of challenges in going cross-country. Imagine the allure of going around seeing all sorts of sights going from one end of the country to the other.

Remember this post mostly is on Transamerican races. So that means games that have you racing either non-stop through the United States or featuring individual stages as part of a cross-country tour will be featured here. Here are some games to offer the challenge of cross-country racing:

Zippy Race (1983-1985).

You are on a motorcycle battling against cars in a cross-country race in Zippy Race. You're going from Los Angeles to New York City. You need to avoid crashing as much as you can to be able to complete the entire course.


^ "Zippy Race - gameplay"

Super Hang-On (1985).

Even though there is no legitimate tour of the United States with many real-world locations, one of the four courses takes you around America. However, part of me wants to believe you are maybe doing some stages outside of the USA. But... you're doing the United States of America in one of Super Hang-On's four courses.

(NOTE: turn up the volume)

^ Sega: Super Hang-On: Arcade / MAME - Senior / America Course

Turbo Outrun (1989).

Unlike most traditional OutRun games, you are on a set path to go from New York City to Los Angeles. All the while, you will go from New England to the Midwest, the Midwest to the American Southeast, the American Southeast into the Rocky Mountains, and then eventually into Los Angeles. You will be able to upgrade your car at the major checkpoints.


^ "Turbo Out Run 8'32''79 ALL"

Rad Racer 2 (1990).

Rad Racer featured eight stages that took you around the United States. You begin in Florida and go through various other locales like New York City, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and more. Try to clear the checkpoints to extend your run. Try the unique power trick to get an epic boost from a stand still.


^ "Rad Racer II - NES Gameplay"

Rad Mobile/Gale Racer (1990).

The game that debuted Sonic the Hedgehog was "Rad Mobile." Rad Mobile challenged you to race an intense 20-city cross-country race going from Los Angeles to New York City. You will be contending with a variety of different hazards in this wild cross-country race. You are also racing against 19 other drivers in this cross-country race. You will be going from the Pacific coast, through the Rocky Mountains, into the Midwest, and into New England. Certain cities have unique hazards and features such as rain conditions and night conditions. This game would see a home port for those with a Sega Saturn. For its time, this game was graphically impressive with its unique sense of 3D.

(forgive the introduction to this video)
VIDEO SAMPLE: Rad Mobile Arcade Game-Play

Full Throttle Racing/Full Power (1994).

A cross-country race featuring two different kinds of machines was provided in a game called "Full Throttle Racing." You could embark on a cross-country race on motorcycles or on jet skis. Your ultimate goal is to be the finest racer on a bike and on a jet ski. Are you that championship rider? You can upgrade your machines by collecting credits in races. You can also try to kick your opponents to throw them off a bit. Oh, and one last thing... you can actually damage your machine so much to where retirement can be forced. So be careful.

Gameplay - Full Throttle Racing SNES

Cruis'n USA (1994).

Cruis'n USA was a game that would usher in the power and performance of the Ultrs 64- which we'd know later as the Nintendo 64. In "Cruis'n USA," you embark on a wild cross-country race to go from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. What's the incentive and the endgame? You get to party with the President of the United States (who was Bill Clinton at the time of this game)! This game played very smoothly even if it wasn't as graphically impressive as another game around its time- Daytona USA. You could race individual stages or Cruise the USA.


^ Cruis'n USA

Need for Speed: The Run (2011).

The Need for Speed series took a different sort of turn in 20 when "Need for Speed: The Run" was released. In this game, you embarked on a cross-country race taking you from San Francisco to New York City. All the while, you are taking part in certain cinematic moments behind the wheel and even when not driving. This game wasn't too well received by certain people.

This video is NOT a gameplay video, but a trailer of the game:

^ Michael Bay's Need for Speed The Run TV Commercial


These racing/driving games exhibit some of the insanity of cross-country racing/driving. There are perhaps many more, but these were the ones to come to mind for me. Now for some Honorable Mentions...

Honorable Mentions...

These games feature racing across the United States, but not as part of a true cross-country event. Here now are Honorable Mentions:

Formula 1: Built to Win (1990)
The Nintendo game "Formula 1: Built to Win" is an Honorable Mention since you can go across the United States to try to earn funds, buy cars, compete in races, and more. However, there is no cross-country racing action that is paramount to the relevance of this post. Also, you get to race a Formula One car outside of the United States. So this is a unique game I added as an Honorable Mention.

Road Rash 2 (1992)
Road Rash 2 did not have a proper continuous race through the United States, but you do race in the United States on motorcycles. Anyone who knows the Road Rash series knows it for no-holds-barred racing on motorcycles. Since it isn't a continuous cross-country race, I included it as Honorable Mention. You race in five different US states. You can also purchase a great variety of motorcycles to get a leg up on the competition.

Lamborghini American Challenge (1994).
The Lamborghini Diablo is yours to race around the United States. You can race in almost any of the game's different cities granted you have a proper license to compete in those cities. Races begin with you placing bets. The racing that ensues is winner-take-all.

RUSH 2: Extreme Racing USA (1998).
This game gets Honorable Mention because you are racing around the United States, but not in any kind of cross-country race. You race around various American locales like Los Angeles, Seattle, Hawaii (Honolulu), and New York City among others. The low gravity, brutal crashing fun of San Francisco RUSH finds its way into this Nintendo 64-exclusive game.

Driver: You Are the Wheelman (1999).
You do not go into any cross-country action in the very first Driver, but you do get to embark in intense action across the United States. Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are yours to drive around in wild action.

Midnight Club 3 (2005).
Midnight Club 3 takes place around three American cities- Detroit, Atlanta, and San Diego. As you are probably seeing as a theme, you are not doing any cross-country racing even though you race exclusively in the United States. "Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition" featured one non-American city: Tokyo.

The Crew (2014).
The Crew from Ubisoft features you having the United States to race around. There is no cross-country racing, but the game does feature re-creations of six major US cities: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, and New York City. There are also a number of other cities also implemented as part of this game's vision of the United States. Though "The Crew" wasn't well received by many, you still get a fairly good interpretation of the United States. You could also set up your own cross-country tour if you so incline.


That concludes this look at cross-country racing.





This post is over.

What are your favorite cross-country racing/driving games? Are there any other cross-country racing/driving games that wasn't included in this post that you like?

Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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EORG: Locations

You need tracks to put those vehicles on. Otherwise, you just have a bunch of vehicles with no place to go. Locations play a big role in the success of a racing/driving game. Where do you want the adventures to take place at? You don't want your precious vehicles to just stand around with nothing to do, don't you? So you need a solid assortment of locations for which your vehicles can perform and provide those memorable experiences.

Welcome to another installment of my "Elements of Racing Games" series here on "John's Race Space!"

--- Elements of Racing Games: Location Lists ---

A racing/driving game is nothing without location(s) for vehicles to take advantage of.

The ability to conduct your racing/driving across a variety of locations lends to immense appeal if everything is executed properly. If not executed properly, the various locations won't allow you to enjoy a varied and expressive experience. Some of the better titles in the genre allow you to interact with and play within various environments and in various locations. The reason why I am not using "tracks" to describe this element of racing games is because not every game features proper tracks. For example, the Midnight Club games let you race across the individual cities in the game with a number of different events scattered about. Also, some locations don't take place in the world we all live in.

Here are some more talking points on the issue of locations.

Locations: Environment Types.

It would be rather boring if most of your racing/driving took place in one location that doesn't differ itself environmentally. The same would apply if you had different venues, but with those venues having the same sort of natural features.

A diverse array of locations in regards to environment types would relate to being able to race in certain environments that are different from one another in some sort of way. There are certain schools of thought in regards to varying environments in racing/driving games. Let us think about "Sega GT" for example. While none of the tracks are real, the environments are vastly different from one another. You have everything from temporary courses to permanent race tracks. The environments, however, differ. You race in locations such as city streets in a modern city, desert, a snowy mountain, and even something similar to the Bonneville Salt Flats. So you never entirely feel like you've been everywhere.

Another example of mixed environments can be found in games like "Need for Speed 2: Special Edition." The locations are not real, but many of them feature a vast array of environments. Circuit racing games have their own appeal in regards to environments. You may have tracks situated in plains or in some mountainous settings. Of course, you also have venues around city streets and maybe even desert or arid climates. Some racing games in alternate settings may see certain post-apocalyptic scenes in a variety of climates and biomes. All of these items help add to the appeal of various environments for which to race in.

Locations: International and World Tour.

Being able to traverse the world is always a great thing. However, what qualifies as a proper World Tour depends on where all you can play the game at. Some games offer a multitude of locations for you to play the game in. Differences among the various locales are always special in making you feel part of an expansive world instead of one place where everything seems too similar. What I like to do is think of locations in a racing game (or almost any game) as breaking up the world into three international regions:

Pan-America: North and South America
Mediterranean: Europe and Africa
Asia-Pacific: Asia and Oceania

Some games have an international locale while others are a true world tour. What is the difference between the two? Consider the following:


"International" Defined
I define "international" in racing/driving games as going from one country to another. Locales may vary, but most games with an international feel don't really take advantage of all three international regions I discussed prior to this brief section. Some games with international appeal may be exclusively in one international region, or they may have one or two regions represented, but not all three. One example of an international style racing game is "Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli." You race in that game in North America and across Europe, including Ferrari's native Italy. There are NO race tracks in the Asia-Pacific region in that game. So this is more an international style game than any real world tour. Another example of international is in Gran Turismo 2's Euro-Pacific races. Once you clear the Nationals in GT2's official races, you advance to the Euro-Pacific ranks where you race in venues in the United States and Europe, and then United States and the Pacific. You stick to two regions but not yet take on the entire world in a World Tour.

Speaking of world tour...


"World Tour" Defined
Think about something like the Formula 1 World Championship for example. The series is actually global in the various venues they compete in. You can't have a World Championship without representation from an entire world of competition. Not every country has to be represented, but just enough to supplant some sort of World Championship is just fine. Paramount to a true World Championship of locations is being able to visit various parts of the world.

A true World Championship type game is one in which you visit three or more venues scattered across all three international regions. An example of a true international game is "Midnight Club 2." You play the game in three different locations. Each of which, are one location within the three aforementioned regions- Los Angeles (Pan-America), Paris (Mediterranean), and Tokyo (Asia-Pacific). Though you play in one location per international region, every region is properly represented. This is my idea of a true international game.

Some racing games offer a world perspective in locations, vehicles, and drivers. This post has been about international appeal in terms of locations. Gran Turismo 4 was about the best showcase in various international locales with many different nationalities of car as well as various street courses worldwide. Maybe that's why I sometimes think of and want to play Gran Turismo 4 again.


• What is TRUE International, Then?
A real international type racing/driving game incorporates all three regions through locations and/or vehicles. At least one element from each of the three international regions I specified help determine proper World Championship and international material. So a ten-race championship with eight races in the USA followed by a round in England and another round in Japan would qualify (to me) as a "World Championship" or being truly international even if a majority of the races are run in one specific region.


Now you know about locations ranging from world venues to different environments.

--- Vehicle Lists: Final Thoughts ---

When it comes to making vehicle lists for racing/driving games, the best practice is to include as many vehicles as possible to deliver any number of experiences. It is a better practice to allow each of the vehicles to be utilized or customized to one's liking unless you're trying to make the different vehicles unique in their own way. The best racing/driving games allow you to enjoy multiple experiences with a vast collection of vehicles. A solid vehicle list is a start. What included vehicles and the extent of their usage can equal the difference between a solid racing/driving game and those racing/driving games that seem like missed opportunities. Make sure you get to use as many different vehicles as possible to enjoy the full experience offered by various racing/driving games.





I hate that I've taken so long to properly complete an "Elements of Racing Games" blog post for my racing/driving game blog. This is actually something I tried to complete many times before but never successfully completed. I kept putting it off and not knowing what to type up. Fear not, though- the series is live as of this post! Want to discuss this topic? Here is a question for you:

How important are vehicle lists to you? What racing/driving games make the most of the offered vehicles and offered experiences? What would you suggest in regards to vehicle lists?

I hope to continue this series and offer more content in this category. So make sure you're Subscribed and Followed if you enjoyed your time here. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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EoRG: Vehicle Lists

A racing/driving game is only as good as the vehicles in it. Whatever vehicles are chosen to fill a roster of vehicles depends on a number of variables and goals to reach in a game's design. Such a game's success can depend entirely on its vehicles and the experiences offered in it. This blog post takes a look at vehicle lists in games and the importance of them can mean for a racing/driving game.

Before I Begin...

People, I want to apologize in advance. Why? I have been trying to come up with my "Elements of Racing Games" series for so long for this blog. Every time I feel closer to wanting to release a topic in this series, I either put it off or don't complete my posts. Today is a win for me as I finally introduce my series on elements of racing games. So...

About the Label: "Elements of Racing Games"

Blog posts under this label are part of my "Elements of Racing Games" category. Here, I look at a number of different issues and elements prevalent in a number of racing games. This is more like the inner workings of most racing games. These posts include certain elements and even breakdowns of certain racing/driving games. The main goal is to hopefully get you to appreciate certain games more by breaking down everything in an analytical manner.

--- Elements of Racing Games: Vehicle Lists ---

Will the vehicles in a racing/driving game have enough for all kinds of experiences, and how can such games take advantage of these vehicles?

The kinds of vehicles you can use in a racing/driving game help establish the sort of character and tone a game of its genre can have. Having a diverse array of machines can either enhance or dull the experience. Many racing/driving games try to offer as diverse of a collection of vehicles for as many different experiences as possible. If a game lacks having an acceptable amount of vehicles, how far you can actually enjoy a game will vary. So it is therefore important for games to have as diverse of vehicles as possible.

Some games don't have as diverse a vehicle list. Such examples include something like most cartoon kart racing games. A lot of the characters in such games are basically equal so your choices are limited on the vehicle choosing front. The reason why I named this as "Vehicle List" rather than "Car List" is because not every racing/driving game is exclusively cars. For example, "Test Drive Unlimited" (except the PS2 version) has featured motorcycles in addition to cars.

So what difference does having a solid vehicle list make? Here are a number of talking points on this matter...

What is in a Vehicle List?

A list of vehicles in a racing or driving game can set a certain character to each game. A general question to ask is, "what do I need to make my game stand out?" One may also ask what vehicles would fit the game best. It is best to have a vehicle lineup that is suitable and not random or out-of-place. For example, a monster truck racing game would NOT benefit by having a Ferrari to race in the game.

Certain games benefit with certain kinds of cars. Take a look at the ToCA Race Driver series in the PS2/Gamecube/XBOX generation. The three games in that series featured various race cars of various performance levels. In addition, real-world racing series have been part of the games in this series. While none of the ToCA Race Driver games were never about one specific series (though the ToCA namesake is all about touring car racing), there are certainly a vast array of cars for you to race as hard as you like besides touring cars. To that end, you could do any number of racing with any number of vehicles. You might find yourself racing high-performance sports cars then find yourself behind the wheel of a formula race car. So you never feel really stuck racing certain kinds of cars or only being able to race/drive a certain kind of vehicle more than others.

Making Vehicle Lists Interesting.

Without a decent list of vehicles to use, you will have a hard time trying to sell a game that features a diverse array of drivable and usable machines.

People have bitched (yes- I actually used that word) in constant Gran Turismo titles about the lack of Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini. Almost as if these are the only car companies that matter. The primary problem has lied in there being a good assortment of cars... only missing those that most car enthusiasts care about. Gran Turismo HD debuted Ferrari, and Gran Turismo PSP debuted Lamborghini. Those who defected from GT4 to Forza Motorsport 1 were pleased seeing all three represented makes. When Gran Turismo 6 came along, one of the most unique vehicle experiences was offered with the inclusion of the lunar missions with that 1971 Lunar Rover.

One game that has an interesting array of vehicles is "ToCA Race Driver 3." Besides the different street cars and race cars, you even race monster trucks, dune buggies, and even ATVs! Various vehicles all feel different. Having all of these different experiences adds to the appeal of racing in this game.

Sometimes, the oddball sort of vehicle list can spark all kinds of interest. "Enthusia Professional Racing" is a great example. Enthusia had a number of Multipurpose vehicles (like vans and SUVs) as part of the in-game lineup of cars. Of course, the average or mainstream racing game fan probably would never want to race a van or an SUV on tarmac circuits. Just because you can not feature a certain kind of vehicle in certain racing games doesn't mean they lack any sort of fun factor in their inclusion. My only problem with Enthusia was that I wish there were more racing vehicles to choose from and a few other kinds of racing machines. Racing games that offer such unique experiences makes you wonder how you would be able to race/drive certain vehicles under a game's certain physics engine.

Authenticity.

Licensed vehicles always bring a level of authenticity to any list of vehicles in a game. If you are unable to secure any licenses to any real vehicles or real racing machines, does it hurt the authenticity? It depends on who you ask.

If the goal is to secure racing machines of a certain series but have to resort to non-licensed material, the authenticity is hurt to a certain extent. One example would be in "GRID Autosport" with the featuring of the Dallara race cars in the IndyCar Series, but with no licensed drivers or teams. In the case of racing series you're trying to mimic, authenticity can be key. But when you are unable to come up with an experience because of certain licensing issues (or maybe you want your own unique experience), some game developers resort to fictional cars and fictional series heavily based on certain real-world styles of racing. An example of this would be the Formula cars in Project C.A.R.S.- Formula C (Formula 3), Formula B (GP2 Series), and Formula A (Formula 1).

Some people feel there is no excuse to not have actually licensed vehicles and personalities. There have been racing games that feature fictional drivers and fictional manufacturers, but they have different names that seem similar to what they represent in real life. There may be cases in which going for actually licensed material is maybe TOO GOOD for a certain game. I can think of the first two Midnight Club games for this example. Both games featured cars based on or similar to certain real life machines. Another example is "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero," one of a number of games featuring proper-looking replicas of real world cars, but without the proper licensing. That would all change in the series starting with "Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3." Also, every Grand Theft Auto and Burnout featured fictional cars closely resembling certain real world vehicles.

Some even would feel the same way about utilizing a certain license with quality content. One example of this would be the usage of NASCAR and the World Rally Championship in Gran Turismo 5. You aren't racing actually licensed races or events with either NASCAR or the WRC. In fact, NASCAR is referred to as the "NASCAR Series" in Gran Turismo 5, and you are only racing NASCAR Cup cars. A full-on NASCAR license would mean you get to race a majority of the tracks NASCAR runs including the various other top NASCAR series. A full-on WRC license would mean you get to race all of the World Rally Championship rally events and even compete with a number of real drivers from the series.

Authenticity only matters based on what you're trying to go for in terms of making a proper collection of vehicles for players to use in games.

When Is a Vehicle List Good Enough?

The vehicle list for a racing/driving game is only good enough as long as the game completely provides the needed machines to make a list work. What is the point of including certain automobiles or machines if they can't be utilized in any sort of way? There was one time when I saw someone say online that if a certain car is included in a Gran Turismo, that one DEMANDS damage, as if it is a vehicle's only purpose is to be destroyed. Such people forget the fact that there may be some people who actually like a vehicle someone else may entirely loathe. For example, I never cared about the DeLorean made famous in the "Back to the Future" movies, but I would NEVER demand it be in a game just to destroy it. In other words, it is like saying you only want a certain person in a game so that you can kill him/her over and over again. It's rather classless.

You also have the issue of if a vehicle list is sufficient enough for that game. Gran Turismo games are often heralded for having a vast array of cars to choose from; however, some feel the quantity is hurt by the quality of having too many of the same car. You have other cases such as the likes of games like "Project C.A.R.S." or a lot of Forza Motorsport titles that don't have as many cars as most Gran Turismo titles. The biggest faux pas would be to seemingly have so few vehicles to where it seems like you've used everything. What you want to have is as many different vehicles as possible to where it doesn't seem like you've raced/driven everything with nothing new to experience. If a game offers very little in being able to drive almost anything offered in the game, the game ends up getting repetitive and dull quick.

Some PC games have the best advantage in regards to various experiences. In games where people make their own custom content, people can basically MAKE new experiences by taking advantage of the game engine and come up with unique vehicles to use in a racing/driving game. Some games are good enough with their collection of included vehicles; some just want to add to it by all accounts. So you have that added bonus for already good racing/driving games as well as the added precedent of adding more material to make it better than stock, so to speak.


These are the majority of thoughts of mine in regards to vehicle lists.

--- Vehicle Lists: Final Thoughts ---

When it comes to making vehicle lists for racing/driving games, the best practice is to include as many vehicles as possible to deliver any number of experiences. It is a better practice to allow each of the vehicles to be utilized or customized to one's liking unless you're trying to make the different vehicles unique in their own way. The best racing/driving games allow you to enjoy multiple experiences with a vast collection of vehicles. A solid vehicle list is a start. What included vehicles and the extent of their usage can equal the difference between a solid racing/driving game and those racing/driving games that seem like missed opportunities. Make sure you get to use as many different vehicles as possible to enjoy the full experience offered by various racing/driving games.





I hate that I've taken so long to properly complete an "Elements of Racing Games" blog post for my racing/driving game blog. This is actually something I tried to complete many times before but never successfully completed. I kept putting it off and not knowing what to type up. Fear not, though- the series is live as of this post! Want to discuss this topic? Here is a question for you:

How important are vehicle lists to you? What racing/driving games make the most of the offered vehicles and offered experiences? What would you suggest in regards to vehicle lists?

I hope to continue this series and offer more content in this category. So make sure you're Subscribed and Followed if you enjoyed your time here. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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