Would You Race Fictional Cars & Tracks, And Why Not?

Forza_Motorsport_2023_Maple_Valley_Raceway.jpg
Okay, so let me be clear from the beginning, I know the sentiment of the average sim racer. "Fictional is ew" is about on par with "no VR no buy". The main thing is trying to simulate real racing. That's sim racing, right? But with all the knowledge, creativity and imagination, so many beautiful fictional tracks and cars could come to life. Why would or would you not race them?

Famous racer and commentator Alex Brundle actually asked this question the other day. The brit tweeted the following:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1617301635805450241

And I have to say, it is a valid question.

I know from myself, though, the only race tracks I have not at all tried in RaceRoom, for example, were RaceRoom Raceway and the hill climb stage. Aka the only fictional tracks in the sim.

But why?

I don't even understand the reasoning behind it, to be honest, I just did what everyone said was the good thing to do, and that was to skip out the fictional tracks on RaceRoom.

However, as I said in the opening paragraph, with all the combined knowledge, creativity and imagination of the modding community, the greatest of tracks could become (virtual) reality. You may have never heard of them, but they could be more interesting to drive than the Nordschleife or Spa.

An Excursion Away From "Sim" Racing​

Come to think of it; it's only in the sim racing scene that such demands are being made. The much larger general racing gaming group has no such quarrels.

In most racing games, the player gets to experience something born completely out of imagination. Just take Need for Speed, one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. How many games in the Need for Speed franchise just feature real race tracks? Now, I get this is a very far stone's throw. So let's also take a look at something that hits a bit closer to home.

Gran Turismo is yet another gaming franchise among the most successful video game franchises of all time.

And what are the most revered tracks in Gran Turismo?

I have never played a GT game, yet I also know of Trial Mountain. And that is just one of the many great fictional circuits featured in the games, which I am led to believe.

Same counts for Forza. With the expected 2023 release of the new instalment, what was the first circuit they showed off in gameplay? Maple Valley Raceway. Another fictional track.

But let's get back on track because I would like to hear your opinion on the matter now.

So, tell me: Would you race fictional cars & tracks, and why not? Please, let us know in the comments down below!
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About author
Julian Strasser
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.

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Comments

D
Fictional tracks:

- Must look pretty
- Must be fun to drive
- Must fit an aesthetic
(Blackwood, for example, still one of the best fictional tracks in the world)

Fictional cars:
- Must look nice
- Must be nice to drive
- Must feel kinda realistic based on the car
- Must sound good
- Must have a feel to it, which is not easy to create as much as it is to replicate

its much harder to create a believable fictional car. I am not against them though, as long as they aren't made to be Speedracer's Mach 5 of 5000hp, 400kg, 3 ton of downforce at 40mph.
That's why i always drive my favorite fictional supercar, the Devil Sixteen.
 
Pepper606
I think the best way to approach this is to look at what is already happening.
Some of the best tracks for AC are fictional, I'm sure I don't have to list them.

But the cars...not so. Liberties are taken. I have a car in mind that was naturally intended to be the best, nothing wrong there. But it was given silly downforce and grip.
That's where the problem lies, who determines what's acceptable?
This is about sim racing? Fictional cars only just crossing the line is OK?
There's enough real cars, creating interesting tracks...OK!
 
DRDNA333
Fictional cars is a no go for me but i have no issue with fictional tracks but like real ones best!
 
Ale2Passos
I am going to say, without fear of being wrong, that it is more than certain that those of us who are 40 years old or older have started playing games like gran turismo for PS1, so the answer is yes, why shouldn't we run on fictitious tracks? Any new challenge is welcome.
 
N
Fictional cars are not total yes for me, but I understand for companies that can not afford licenses why they make them. Also they are opportunity for creativity, but in sim games stuff like Red Bull X2010-19, SRT VGTs and so on is bit too far from reality. Fun but should not race against others.

Fictional tracks and maps however are absolutely yes, but road or layout has to be grounded in reality (i.e. like real life circuits or cities, coastlines etc.) I also like when developers and modders make a circuit in a city/village/coast/hillclimb etc. which at first glance is not friendly for racing. Fictional changes to real tracks can be interesting, like the fake Suzuka in Project CARS games. Fictional tracks usually have more unique environments around the track itself but they can be distracting. Fictional tracks and maps are good for photographing including the ones not grounded in reality.


Tracks like these are my favourite type of fictional racetracks for sim racing. Road is not too far from reality and environment is wonderful but not distracting.
 
Helldriver
Dr. Death said:
Fictional tracks:

- Must look pretty
- Must be fun to drive
- Must fit an aesthetic
(Blackwood, for example, still one of the best fictional tracks in the world)

Fictional cars:
- Must look nice
- Must be nice to drive
- Must feel kinda realistic based on the car
- Must sound good
- Must have a feel to it, which is not easy to create as much as it is to replicate

its much harder to create a believable fictional car. I am not against them though, as long as they aren't made to be Speedracer's Mach 5 of 5000hp, 400kg, 3 ton of downforce at 40mph.
That's why i always drive my favorite fictional supercar, the Devil Sixteen.
Click to expand...
That also what i think.
 
S
DRDNA333 said:
Fictional cars is a no go for me but i have no issue with fictional tracks but like real ones best!
Click to expand...
I second this opinion. There are tons of cars, so there is no reason to create some fictional. I want simulation and fictional cars just don’t fit in. But fictional tracks are something different - if they look like real circuits. In GT and Forza after few iterations I almost see them as real tracks, as they are already well known. I am looking forward to race on Maple Valley track :)
 
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T
Imagine a lush landscape with beautiful nature and sightseeing points like to be found for example in Call of the Wild. Imagine to have in these tracks of an original, creative layout and realised with a design competence like to be found in Bilsterberg, Fonteney, Sachsenring or Suzuka. Imagine to have an AI competently negotiating the turns and corners and delivering you a fight door to door, bumper to bumper. Or if you prefer: MP.

And then tell me you would not like to drive there because reasons 1.) X, 2.) Y, 3.) Z , and then havign to consider this, and be concerned of that, and then because of, and not to forget that...

Hear only my thundering laughter. ;)

Sorry that I leave here, I have some driving to do.
 
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J
Tend to agree with the ok with fictional tracks, not so much cars, line of thinking.
 
D
Dzul said:
Blackwood... Westhill... Fern Bay... Live for Speed had funtastic fictional tracks and some of their cars were great too. So YES and YES to this question... and looking at some replies here we've all been doing it in some title or another. :coffee:
Click to expand...
Is Blackwood fictional? I've been around it so many times I know it like the back of my hand!
 
JDTF
IMHO, what makes sim racing so exciting and appealing to me (and some of us) is that the idea of driving cars that most of us can't even come close in real life. And the idea of driving a car that actually exists is reinforces that feeling of realism. So, fictional tracks, yeah, maybe. But fictional cars? A big nope for me...
 
IceColdBeard_24
Ever heard of the term mimicry ? My goal as a sim racer is to drive real world cars that I would never drive in my lifetime. I don't care about fake cars and fake tracks on simulators

Arcade games with a controller ? why not :)
 
Kevin Troschinski
Premium
I must admitt i am a real "realisic-fanatic".

So i do never drive fictional cars or tracks. I even dislike fantasy driver names or car liveries :rolleyes:

And i know i make myself life harder and of course i do miss some great track content.
But thats the way i am :whistling:

EDIT: Ok i have to confess i drive fat-alfies Fonteny as the one and only non-real racetrack.
 
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RichardHessels
GT-Alex said:
Not only some fictional tracks are absolute masterpieces that are more interesting and fun to race on, but there's also a lot of potential in them for the real world that is currently unexploited. You could model a track in a game and host competitive races on it to test a layout and see how it fares in regards to safety and raceability before building it in real life.
Click to expand...
That's already being done nowadays. Or do you think Tilke would only produce a fully functional AC track for the screenshots?

;)
 
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Cote Dazur
Everybody should do what they enjoy, fictional or not fictional.
For cars I have zero interest in sim driving a fictional car. Most of the "real" cars in so many sim are already fictional enough.
For tracks, one of my favorite thing in a sim is to have access to all those existing tracks, past and present, even real roads. driving there or racing a "real" actual or historic grid, is a main reason for my interest in sim racing (almost) every day.
Learning a "real" track is one of the attraction, using different "real" cars type once I know the track, is also an endless source of pleasure to me.
in a day and age of lidar, laser scanned tacks, I believe fictional track, are a thing of the past for sim and should only be seen in "Arcade" racing game, the like of GT or Forza.
 
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