F1 2012 Is F1 2012 a sim?

[Craig Hume]

Been seeing some people throwing the word "sim" around when it comes to F1 2012.
I have only tried the demo etc, and was wondering your thoughts on it all.
So give a Yes/No and reasoning

 

[Senad Subasic]

Depends on how you define a sim

It simulates driving an F1 car, so yes.
It features simplistic setup options, so no.

No clue how it drives, but I expect it to be accessible. I doubt most of us would be able to take an F1 car around a track in real life, or around a corner even , and everyone has to enjoy the game.

 

[Roy Sutton]

F1 2012, just like 2010 and 11 are not sims, they are a mix of arcade and simulation. CM want to keep the game accessible to all racing fans and people who have never played a racing game. Turn off all driver aids to experience a more life like simulation, but it won't replicate the exact car behaviour of a real F1 car but then F1 2012 doesn't claim to be a real simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulators, and Train simulator does. Anyone who purchased this game thinking it would be a real simulator will be very annoyed, but then a demo was released for 2012, so everyone could easily see for them selves how much was acrade and how much was simulation.

 

[Ho3n3r]

The term is slightly relative. Compared to rFactor, GSC, Race 07 etc. it is very arcade and basic. However, compared to Need For Speed, it's very realistic.

Look, what happens on the track itself in terms of pure driving, staying on track and making mistakes, it is not too bad compared to sims.

However, if you go into setups and throttle being cut because you went off-track etc., it is ridiculously simplified, but understandably so, to make as much money as possible.

Regardless, the thing that bothers me the most about it is the amount of bugs already being reported, and the amount that has been stood over from 2011, and even 2010.

 

[cryptedvick]

The term is slightly relative. Compared to rFactor, GSC, Race 07 etc. it is very arcade and basic. However, compared to Need For Speed, it's very realistic.

Look, what happens on the track itself in terms of pure driving, staying on track and making mistakes, it is not too bad compared to sims.

However, if you go into setups and throttle being cut because you went off-track etc., it is ridiculously simplified, but understandably so, to make as much money as possible.

Regardless, the thing that bothers me the most about it is the amount of bugs already being reported, and the amount that has been stood over from 2011, and even 2010.

I just noticed this! what the hell CM?!?

The game seems like a simple copy of F1 2011 with a few modifications. ala COD franchise. I cant believe they STILL havent introduced flat spots to tires and some other basic stuff. If I go on grass and I fill my tires with it and then suddenly brake on asphalt, the wheels lock but when I start moving them, no flat spots, not even the grass didnt move from the contact with the asphalt .. ridiculous. Lazy bastards. I was expecting so much more

 

[Peter]

Reminds me of a song from the Pet Shop Boys " It's a sim" or something like that.

 

[Tom]

I just noticed this! what the hell CM?!?

That's one possible solution to corner cutting, uh?

 

[woz9us]

It's somewhere between a sim and an arcade game, but I would say more towards the arcade end of the spectrum. Codemasters have always aimed their games at the casual race gamer, because that's where the profit lies.

As someone who only currently has access to a control pad, I like games that are not a strict sim game, as your thumb and fingers just won't do the job, but as an f1 fan, f1 2012 is perfect for me, although easy to play, still feels rewarding when you put in that perfect qually lap .

I do think Codemasters have been lazy with 2012, too many things haven't changed since 2011.

 

[cryptedvick]

That's one possible solution to corner cutting, uh?

Seriously? going off road unintentionally and I find myself that the car automatically cut my throttle. Felt like Alt + F4 right there.

 

[Senad Subasic]

I cant believe they STILL havent introduced flat spots to tires and some other basic stuff.

If that's basic stuff to you, you have a bright future in the gaming industry

Up until recently, there were only two, full on sim games, that have had flat spots.
Race series doesn't have it, rFactor doesn't have it, GTL doesn't have it... I'm not sure if even iRacing has it.

 

[Trevor Randall]

I fear that online races will be decided by who best avoids being pushed off the road, if that means that the car automatically cuts the throttle.

 

[wantSteer]

Depends on how you define a sim

It simulates driving an F1 car, so yes.
It features simplistic setup options, so no.

Right, but it can be either a sim or not a sim, because if you take that first approach ("It simulates driving an F1 car, so yes.") then you can call Quake a sim, because it simulates .... killing or using a gun, or Mass Effect a sim, because its simulates ... talking to people.
To me virtual racing can be grouped in categories:

• Professional simulators (like those F1 teams are using)
• Simulators

-iRacing
-rFactor
-rFactor 2
-Richard Burns Rally
-NetKar Pro
-Grand Prix Legends

• Semi-sim (simplified sim)

-Project CARS
-Shift 2
-GTR 2
-Race (series)
-F1 Challenge '99-'02
-SCANIA Truck Driving Simulator

• Arcade sim (arcade with some sim elements)

-GTR Evolution
-F1 2010
-F1 2011
-NFS Shift
-Colin McRae Rally (series)
-TOCA Race Driver (series)

• Arcade

-WRC 2010
-Need For Speed (series)
-Burnout (series)
-Dirt (series)
-Race Driver GRID
-F1 2012 demo

It's just from top of my head, its not a comprehensive list, just the games I have played in my lifetime so far. I am posting this to give some guys a perpective, cause there are some that feel very offended when people don't want to call F1 2012 a sim.

 

[Alberto Casado]

(A bit off topic) I might be the distance of the years, but I still have very fond memories of Toca 3, and sometimes I wish the F1 series would have been developed by those codemasters.

Is it me or it really was some decent game? I have to look if I still keep the installation files (I had the GOG version but the page lost the license).

 

[Alberto Casado]

If that's basic stuff to you, you have a bright future in the gaming industry

Up until recently, there were only two, full on sim games, that have had flat spots.
Race series doesn't have it, rFactor doesn't have it, GTL doesn't have it... I'm not sure if even iRacing has it.

I think that some of those sims (rfactor, iracing) want to include that effect in a very serious way in new versions. So the sim alters the geometry of the wheel and you get the handling affected by it and so and so.

But you don't need to go that far for getting some convincing results, it wouldn't be to difficult to implement:

- increased tyre wear (proportional to the meters you slide), I think this is fairly common, and it could be that even F12012 has this (CM says, but I need more proof that just that). Previous versions tyre wear seemed pretty much independent of your level of abuse
- canned vibration on the steering (when you make a block over a certain threshold of length) to simulate a serious flatspot
- canned handling problem (such as decreased front grip) connected to the previous

Each and all of these can be done without needing rocket science or reimplementing whichever physical model they have.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

-Project CARS

-Shift 2
-
GTR Evolution

.

How on earth does either Shift or pcars score better than GTR Evo?.....that's just crazy

 

[Markus Neumann]

Seriously? going off road unintentionally and I find myself that the car automatically cut my throttle. Felt like Alt + F4 right there.

Best new feature in F1 2012. If you don't like to get punished, don't break the rules

I fear that online races will be decided by who best avoids being pushed off the road, if that means that the car automatically cuts the throttle.

The penalty system seems much harsher than in F1 2011. If you push someone off, you definitely get a penalty. And in races on Race Department, nobody is pushing anyone off anyway

 

[wantSteer]

How on earth does either Shift or pcars score better than GTR Evo?.....that's just crazy

Like I said, its for people to whom games like F1 2012 are simulators, if we start discuss this list we would never stop. Cause while first and last group is indisputable, second and third may be, I myself see it a little bit weird to see Shift and GTR Evo next to CM F1 titles, some of them have more sim elements in them than the others, but generally they are on the same level. And then there are personal opinions (like GTR Evo in my case ) - that would make such discussion endless... or worth its own thread

 

[Ryan Vickery]

That little list of "wantSteer" is all kind of backwards and jumbled up, it is absolute trollbait. To me F1 2012 (demo*) is less realistic than the 2011, but to others they think 2012 is more realistic.

I don't think they are simulators because they are not, they don't simulate/calculate all of the physics dynamically in real time, but they are semi-simulations, realism aimed racing games.

 

[Ho3n3r]

Trollbait, lol

But seriously wantSteer, while we applaud the effort, that list needs some work.

F1 Challenge is alongside rFactor, as the game is basically rFactor 2002 with official mods - a predecessor, if you like.

 

[wantSteer]

Sure it needs some work, it wasnt meant to be some kind of official list, it was put together by me, with my experience, my way of thinking and so on. To make it "less mine" we would need to discuss it. Like F1C - rFactor case you mentioned: yes, its the same family - EA F1 titles - rfactor - SimBin games, (and even Shifts - PCars to some extend); but it doesnt mean those games are equaly simulators, or semi-sim, or arcade; F1 Challenge, while most realistic from all F1 games, was developed under EA "evil" eyes, it was dumped down a little, while with rfactor ISI was free to do it properly, just like SMS are now with PCars (whether they will do a sim or not remain to be seen). And then Rfactor was a base for a pro simulator some F1 teams are using - I wouldnt put it in the same group as F1C just because engine is from the same tree.