Ploughing into clouds of smoke with yellow flags flying is no uncommon sight in sim racing. But to save racers from ourselves, should games put more effort into enforcing incident-affected areas? Should we be slowing down more? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Picture this. You are racing hard in a tooth and nail fight for position online. But out of nowhere, your crew chief calls out an incident ahead and a yellow flag graphics pops up on-screen. What is your first move?
At this point, real motorsport would mandate you slow your pace and do not overtake until you see the sign of a green flag. But in sim racing, this is rarely the case as safety is not as big a deal - or is it? Often, these brief yellow flag areas easily become large-scale pile ups because racers fail to slow down. Send it hard into a hazardous part of track and you will likely end your race.
This is exactly what happened in a recent video posted to X,by Mr Git. A somewhat minor incident at the front of the field became a full-grid pile up as slowing down is not an option online and those that do get rear-ended. With this video sitting among a long list of silly crashes, is it time sim racing developers figure out a new way of policing yellow flags?
But it is when others fly through clouds of smoke without a care in the world that even those trying to be safe end up with a DNF. It is all good slowing down, or simply lifting. But when Billy behind turns a collection of spinners into an autocross course, there is little one can do.
Yellow flags are visible in many racing games, but enforced in few. Image credit: Studio-397
Aside from the safety aspect of avoiding slow cars, the immersion-break of passing under yellow is sure to trouble some. Online, when competition is harsh, there is seemingly no option but to ignore yellow flags when you get the opportunity to overtake. But it certainly feels wrong when you do make a pass with another car beside the circuit. If a title enforced yellow flags properly, those wanting to immerse themselves would not be at a disadvantage online.
In the Codemaster F1 game series, the system may not punish drivers for not slowing down under yellows. But make an illegal overtake with flags flying and you will have to hand the position back within a certain time.
Flags flying in games adds to the immersion. Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Other titles such as iRacing provide an extremely sensitive damage model, meaning any bit of contact is near-guaranteed to have grave consequences. Although, take a look at any current lobby with the new rain system and you will realise that a fear of damage is not something iRacers experience too often.
Ultimately, the bare minimum for policing yellow flags in sim racing would be a system outlawing overtakes. But if a game encouraged players to lift off when incidents occur ahead, surely it would reduce the number of mass-pile ups we see on a regular basis.
What do you make of sim racing's simulation of yellow flag-affected areas? Can more be done? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Picture this. You are racing hard in a tooth and nail fight for position online. But out of nowhere, your crew chief calls out an incident ahead and a yellow flag graphics pops up on-screen. What is your first move?
At this point, real motorsport would mandate you slow your pace and do not overtake until you see the sign of a green flag. But in sim racing, this is rarely the case as safety is not as big a deal - or is it? Often, these brief yellow flag areas easily become large-scale pile ups because racers fail to slow down. Send it hard into a hazardous part of track and you will likely end your race.
This is exactly what happened in a recent video posted to X,by Mr Git. A somewhat minor incident at the front of the field became a full-grid pile up as slowing down is not an option online and those that do get rear-ended. With this video sitting among a long list of silly crashes, is it time sim racing developers figure out a new way of policing yellow flags?
Should Sim Racing Enforce Yellow Flags?
Obviously, not everyone will agree that sim racing needs better yellow flag enforcement. To many, the thought of ending a race early by contacting a slow car is enough of a deterrent. In fact, frequently will racers online just lift off the pace a bit when passing through a cautious situation.But it is when others fly through clouds of smoke without a care in the world that even those trying to be safe end up with a DNF. It is all good slowing down, or simply lifting. But when Billy behind turns a collection of spinners into an autocross course, there is little one can do.
Yellow flags are visible in many racing games, but enforced in few. Image credit: Studio-397
Aside from the safety aspect of avoiding slow cars, the immersion-break of passing under yellow is sure to trouble some. Online, when competition is harsh, there is seemingly no option but to ignore yellow flags when you get the opportunity to overtake. But it certainly feels wrong when you do make a pass with another car beside the circuit. If a title enforced yellow flags properly, those wanting to immerse themselves would not be at a disadvantage online.
How Would You Do It?
As with any issue in sim racing, there are many possible ways of tackling the yellow flag situation. In fact, several games already do a decent job at enforcing dangerous conditions.In the Codemaster F1 game series, the system may not punish drivers for not slowing down under yellows. But make an illegal overtake with flags flying and you will have to hand the position back within a certain time.
Flags flying in games adds to the immersion. Image credit: Kunos Simulazioni
Other titles such as iRacing provide an extremely sensitive damage model, meaning any bit of contact is near-guaranteed to have grave consequences. Although, take a look at any current lobby with the new rain system and you will realise that a fear of damage is not something iRacers experience too often.
Ultimately, the bare minimum for policing yellow flags in sim racing would be a system outlawing overtakes. But if a game encouraged players to lift off when incidents occur ahead, surely it would reduce the number of mass-pile ups we see on a regular basis.
What do you make of sim racing's simulation of yellow flag-affected areas? Can more be done? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
