60 Hours in F1 Manager 2022, It Has Long Grown Boring

F1-Manager-2022-273438.jpg
I was excited when F1 Manager 2022 came out. I truly was. 60 hours in, that is but a faint memory. As the achievement hunter within me drives playing the game onward, the joy has been drained.

You might remember me writing a piece praising F1 Manager 2022 back in October. 2 months later, my opinion has very much shifted. I am not excited by the prospect of F1 Manager 2022 anymore.

It has become a drag to collect 'em all (the achievements). And I'm only missing one more, arguably the hardest to get, as it requires tenacity and endurance.

Have your pit crew reach 100 in any performance rating.

But achievement talk aside, what is the problem with F1 Manager 2022, really?

Problem 1: A Lack of Diversity​

And no, diversity does not refer to the background of the different crew members, where I'll have you know I hired very diversified in my most recent play file with Aston Martin.

The problem is the lack of playing diversity. It feels like nothing more than pressing a few buttons and then getting out the popcorn while watching your driver do the work. I have even started to watch series on the side, unfortunately watching YouTube videos somehow doesn't really work for me, as the videos get choppy. I guess my RTX 3070 is not powerful enough to run F1 Manager 2022 and YouTube at the same time.

It's just a too-repetitive process of dealing with your team throughout the season.

Problem 2: A Lack of Challenge​

I just had my first win with Aston Martin. Second Season, Miami GP. Yes, it was a rain race, but that doesn't deter the fact that Pierre Gasly dominated that race under my guidance.

You would think that for something like F1, which is supposed to be the height of everything motorsports, there would be a bit more challenge. A bit more than just having to design new car parts without sense or reason to dominate the standings.

That was also the reason I stopped my campaign with Alpine after a few seasons. Dominating everything, even with F2 drivers like Jack Doohan at the helm just doesn't feel right.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure Frontier Development had some thought go into balancing and making this game accessible for everyone, but accessibility is not the answer to it all.

How about different difficulty settings? Were that to be a possibility for the 2023 version, I might buy that when it comes out. I am looking for a challenge, not a walk in the park.

Problem 3: The AI doesn't Feel Right​

Simply put: If you are going to have a game that solely relies on the AI doing stuff, make the AI good. You have a fixed set of tracks and a fixed set of cars. Take some time developing the AI for the situations it will face.

But don't forget to improve the off-track AI as well! I read somewhere that the AI only use 1 part development slot. I don't know if that's true but that would explain why the game is so easy.

All in all, I have grown to be disappointed by F1 Manager 2022. There is potential there, as for me there is in the entire niche of motorsports management simulation. However, that potential has yet to be exploited.

Have you continued playing F1 Manager 2022 these months? What are your opinions about the game now that is has been out for a while? Let us know in the comments down below!
About author
Julian Strasser
Motorsports and Maker-stuff enthusiast. Part time jack-of-all-trades. Owner of tracc.eu, a sim racing-related service provider and its racing community.

Comments

D
I think racecar manager sports games can't really be that addicting like Football Manager or Out of the Park. The most addicting about these two game is scouting talents, and mold them into great players, so you can grow as a club and become the very best (or whatever you fancy). I think if F1 wants to succeed they need to look at FM or Out of the Park a little more. Specially buying/hiring drivers, mechanics, etc etc etc. Even the Match Engine as well.

@Ole Marius Myrvold
What are those rookienumbers...?
ps. Doesn't include all these hours on Xfire... Remembers Xfire...
 

Attachments

  • Naamloos.png
    Naamloos.png
    254 KB · Views: 55
Last edited by a moderator:
I hate it when people dive into a game with completely unrealistic expectations and wrong mindset.
I'm sorry but such is the nature of management games. They are boring. Managing is boring. Especially for an "achievement hunter".Why are you even playing this anyway if you're looking for "achievements"? You should be playing games that are full of them, like action or rpg games or whatever. Tons of achievements to hunt in such games.
It's like me finding Sims boring and bad, because i can't shoot at anything or drive around town at full speed, getting chased by cops etc. Oh right, i should be playing GTA. Turns out Sims is a fine game for those who want the Sims experience. Get my point?
 
Last edited:
I switched to using Ai team and noticed they don't even use the parts they have designed or research. This is why the game is so easy and boring.
So it's boring because it doesn't make it even more easy and boring for you by giving the AI control? OK...
 
Last edited:
Staff
Premium
I now have a question: are ‘F1 Manager’ from 2000 or Grand Prix World any good compared to this? Do they have in-race tactics?

F1 Manager from 2000 is not a good game. There is a reason why it took over 20 years to get a new F1 Management game. Grand Prix World is very good.
What do you mean with in-race tactics?

I'll also toot my own horn here and refer to part 3 and 4 of the article-series about the history of F1 Manager games. Especially part 4 which covers F1 Manager from EA (2000) and GPW.
Part 3: https://www.racedepartment.com/news...tory-part-3-the-golden-era-of-microprose.738/
Part 4: https://www.racedepartment.com/news/f1-manager-games-history-part-4-the-beginning-of-the-end.740/
 
@Ole Marius Myrvold Thanks for the links—I forgot that I've seen the articles on the front page.

‘In-race tactics’ for me are swapping the tires at the right time, looking at what the other teams are doing, going faster or slower to spend or conserve the tires, this kind of stuff. Every F1 weekend, I listened to commentary on all of this and got an insatiable itch to do some of that myself—preferably separately from driving the car, but still with some on-track action going on, not just calculating the outcome from the drivers' stats.

It seems that I'll need to brush up on 90s rules and get on with games from that time, instead of what I'm more familiar with.
 
Well made management-games are quite addictive. 60 hours for a management-game is not much at all.
Yes, for sure, especially FM. I used to clock up mad hours in them too. :D

I don't think F1 is open to the same features and qualities that make FM so engaging and long term [or used to be, in my case]. As someone says, the database of players and the passage of time (plus formations, tactics, changing clubs) aren't something with an equivalent in F1. In real world, ok some of the F1 chiefs are "stars" too but it isn't the same role as a football manager and the scope for decisions is necessarily vastly more limited.

I can't imagine what could even be in an F1 management sim that would make it more sophisticated and enjoyable. Mind, I can no longer get into FM - I no longer feel a connection with the tactics and the whole financial aspect is too limiting (and, frankly, dull (I left accountancy in real life for a reason!)) :D
 
Staff
Premium
@Ole Marius Myrvold Thanks for the links—I forgot that I've seen the articles on the front page.

‘In-race tactics’ for me are swapping the tires at the right time, looking at what the other teams are doing, going faster or slower to spend or conserve the tires, this kind of stuff. Every F1 weekend, I listened to commentary on all of this and got an insatiable itch to do some of that myself—preferably separately from driving the car, but still with some on-track action going on, not just calculating the outcome from the drivers' stats.

It seems that I'll need to brush up on 90s rules and get on with games from that time, instead of what I'm more familiar with.

Ah. Not much of that kind of in-race tactics no. EA's is even more shallow than F1 Manager 22 and has less stuff to do. It is quick though, and with engine swaps, sponsor swaps etc. it can feel a tiny bit different from playthrough to playthrough. But again, there is a reason why it took over 20 years between the two F1 Manager titles. EA basically destroyed the market for it with their managergame that never even got a patch.

Many of the 90's game are correct in terms of rules - which meant you have to choose tyre compound and stick with it. So it's not mixing it up during the race. SC isn't a thing, so it's not that much to play around with during the races. Grand Prix World is quite slow during races as well, so it will take time.
Especially GPW has it huge advantage off track, in the negotiation process.

Yes, for sure, especially FM. I used to clock up mad hours in them too. :D

I don't think F1 is open to the same features and qualities that make FM so engaging and long term [or used to be, in my case]. As someone says, the database of players and the passage of time (plus formations, tactics, changing clubs) aren't something with an equivalent in F1. In real world, ok some of the F1 chiefs are "stars" too but it isn't the same role as a football manager and the scope for decisions is necessarily vastly more limited.

I can't imagine what could even be in an F1 management sim that would make it more sophisticated and enjoyable. Mind, I can no longer get into FM - I no longer feel a connection with the tactics and the whole financial aspect is too limiting (and, frankly, dull (I left accountancy in real life for a reason!)) :D

I feel for an F1 Manager game to be insanely good, you would need to move away from F1 Manager, and somehow get it to be an FIA Racing Manager, where you also have support series, WEC etc. That way it will be somewhat similar to Football Manager in terms of different "leagues" and structures.
Should also open up for teams to leave/enter (hello Grand Prix Manager 1 and 2), suppliers to leave and enter (hello Grand Prix World). Have a huge driver pool (hello TeamF1, F1 Manager Pro) and a proper possible junior programme.

Imagine if you could start out as a small team in F4, sign sponsors, work to get a bigger budget, move the team into F3, maybe keep both. Have jr.teams pay you to run their drivers, save up money, trying to get to enter F2 and in the end, F1. Maybe you try to negotiate a deal to enter F1 with factory support from Hyundai (just to take a fairly random manufacturer that somehow have been linked to F1 and IndyCar(!).
The rules in F1 (and F2, F3, F4 etc) are there, there are possibilites for new teams. Opening up for that in a management game would be crucial.
Even better would be the "FIA Racing Manager", where you could be a part of LMP2 etc. as well.

To keep running it as a "locked" F1-only thing, will not be something that lasts for years. It would be the same as having a Premier League management game released now. It might be really good if you take "all" the Football Manager resources and just focus on Premier League. At the same time, it is just Premier League, that wouldn't last.

I genuinely believe that an F1 Manager game can be great, but it needs to be done properly, and FIA/FOM needs to understand the immense difference between a management-game and a racing game in terms for freedom.
While licensing seems to have gotten more complicated over the years, I don't get how you could have sponsors etc. swapping between teams in the 90's, and not even sponsors being a part of F1 Manager 22...
 
Imagine if you could start out as a small team in F4, sign sponsors, work to get a bigger budget, move the team into F3, maybe keep both.
Yes, good idea. Absent that sort of thing there really doesn't seem much more that can be involved.

Mind you, I'm not against 'just pressing a few buttons and watch what unfolds' - so long as it's interesting, your choices make a difference and there are emergent and convincing events that follow from it. I like games that give me time to drink and smoke. :D
 
Staff
Premium
Mind you, I'm not against 'just pressing a few buttons and watch what unfolds' - so long as it's interesting, your choices make a difference and there are emergent and convincing events that follow from it. I like games that give me time to drink and smoke. :D

Me neither. I can still fire up EA's F1 Manager and have fun for some hours. Not because the game is that great... or that good. But due to the "EA News" rumours stuff, and as it is quite quick to play, it is a bit fun at time to try to manage the "impossible teams" (Arrows!!! Williams and Sauber).
 

Latest News

Article information

Author
Julian Strasser
Article read time
3 min read
Views
14,848
Comments
30
Last update

What's needed for simracing in 2024?

  • More games, period

  • Better graphics/visuals

  • Advanced physics and handling

  • More cars and tracks

  • AI improvements

  • AI engineering

  • Cross-platform play

  • New game Modes

  • Other, post your idea


Results are only viewable after voting.
Back
Top