My First (Simracing) Car
- Thread starter Davide Nativo
- Start date
Penske-Chevrolet /
Indianapolis 500: The Simulation
man, I've played this game for hours & hours
Indianapolis 500: The Simulation
man, I've played this game for hours & hours
The little Lotus Elise in GTR2.
WhOoouu... I can't remember which my first of the three, maybe Williams tooThe Williams in Accolades "Grand Prix Circuit". It only had 3 cars but I had so much fun.
Ghoults
Lasse Luisu
First sim racing car. That is difficult because I'd need to define what was the first sim I played. But since the question is posed in form of "Where it all started ... for you?"...
I think the first racing game I played was either grand prix circuit or the test drive: the duel with the f40 and 959. I was a young boy back then and I mostly preferred the gran prix game. I think I mostly drove around imola because it was the easiest track and only one I even knew. But it did definitely start this racing sim hobby for me. Back then I did not have a computer at home so only way I got to play these games was at friend's house So in the end I did not even play them that often but the music from both games have eternally been etched into my memory.
From there on I went with consoles. I only got the first computer in our home at 1998. In the meanwhile from those early pc days to '98 I had couple of consoles. Nothing much stands out from that period as a racing game except one game. Gran turismos. It was probably the first racing game where car handling felt and looked somewhat realistic. Of course it was not a sim per se but very good for what it was.
But then on my pc I had games like sportscar gt, viper racing and grand prix legends. I was not a huge fan of the sportscar gt physics back then (tires lost too much grip at higher slip angles) but the game was good enough for me to buy my first wheel. It was super odd at first to drive with a wheel but of course so much fun when it finally clicked. At first I played lots of sportscar gt and viper racing but when I got my grand prix legends it changed everything.
A lot of people have said that gpl was difficult to drive. But for me it made more sense than the viper racing or sportscar gts. The tires had grip even when the car begun to slide which was unheard of in the sportscar gt where the tiniest slip could send you into uncontrollable slide. People generally say the first time they drove a car they spun it right off after touching the throttle. I was amazed that you could controllably spin the rear tires! Accelerate from standstill with the tires smoking. Could not do that in other games. It was so far ahead of everything else when it came to even trying to get the most basic car handling right.
With gpl I did not try the demo when it came out because 60s f1 cars was not that interesting. I wanted gt cars. But when I drove it was just so much fun. I felt like I missed out a lot by not trying it sooner. Once I got the demo I had to go buy the game asap.
Over the years I played tons of gpl so it is the game that was the first sim. The game that started it all was probably grand prix circuit but even with best intentions that game doesn't much else than nostalgia value anymore. But I can still drive gpl on modern pc and understand how it was the start of the sim racing era. It is 3d, it works great with a wheel and it drives well enough to resemble a modern game.
I think the first racing game I played was either grand prix circuit or the test drive: the duel with the f40 and 959. I was a young boy back then and I mostly preferred the gran prix game. I think I mostly drove around imola because it was the easiest track and only one I even knew. But it did definitely start this racing sim hobby for me. Back then I did not have a computer at home so only way I got to play these games was at friend's house So in the end I did not even play them that often but the music from both games have eternally been etched into my memory.
From there on I went with consoles. I only got the first computer in our home at 1998. In the meanwhile from those early pc days to '98 I had couple of consoles. Nothing much stands out from that period as a racing game except one game. Gran turismos. It was probably the first racing game where car handling felt and looked somewhat realistic. Of course it was not a sim per se but very good for what it was.
But then on my pc I had games like sportscar gt, viper racing and grand prix legends. I was not a huge fan of the sportscar gt physics back then (tires lost too much grip at higher slip angles) but the game was good enough for me to buy my first wheel. It was super odd at first to drive with a wheel but of course so much fun when it finally clicked. At first I played lots of sportscar gt and viper racing but when I got my grand prix legends it changed everything.
A lot of people have said that gpl was difficult to drive. But for me it made more sense than the viper racing or sportscar gts. The tires had grip even when the car begun to slide which was unheard of in the sportscar gt where the tiniest slip could send you into uncontrollable slide. People generally say the first time they drove a car they spun it right off after touching the throttle. I was amazed that you could controllably spin the rear tires! Accelerate from standstill with the tires smoking. Could not do that in other games. It was so far ahead of everything else when it came to even trying to get the most basic car handling right.
With gpl I did not try the demo when it came out because 60s f1 cars was not that interesting. I wanted gt cars. But when I drove it was just so much fun. I felt like I missed out a lot by not trying it sooner. Once I got the demo I had to go buy the game asap.
Over the years I played tons of gpl so it is the game that was the first sim. The game that started it all was probably grand prix circuit but even with best intentions that game doesn't much else than nostalgia value anymore. But I can still drive gpl on modern pc and understand how it was the start of the sim racing era. It is 3d, it works great with a wheel and it drives well enough to resemble a modern game.
Oh, God...
Microprose's GP2 and GP3 1999, GP3 was so excellent, you had the opportunity to learn F1 tracks at the time when finnish Mika Häkkinen was champion, driving with GP3 wasn't so realistic but ok. I found Grand Prix Legends (GPL) many years later 2003 and since only driven a real simulators...
As one or two others have mentioned the first "racing sim" was Grand Prix on the Amiga.
I also played Indy 500 on the Amiga too. Good choice @Peter Geivaerts
From there I remember Indycar (both 1 and 2) by Papyrus and the other Grand Prix games.
I suppose I only really got into that genre again when I got the PS1 and started on Gran Turismo, TOCA occupied quite a bit of my spare time as well now if I remember! lol
From there I remember racing on the F1 EA Sports games but got hooked on the GTR mod (which then became the standalone game). RSDG did some great sportscar mods, as well as Virtua_LM for the series as well.
Visuals are incredible now of course, but the one thing that made these games special was the completeness of them. There was something cool about doing the Grand Prix in the order as the real season at the time, collecting points, competing in the virtual championship. Apart from the Codey's games it's something that's really missing in modern titles I think. Ok, online racing is the main thing and I understand that but there are lots of us that prefer to race offline as well.
I also played Indy 500 on the Amiga too. Good choice @Peter Geivaerts
From there I remember Indycar (both 1 and 2) by Papyrus and the other Grand Prix games.
I suppose I only really got into that genre again when I got the PS1 and started on Gran Turismo, TOCA occupied quite a bit of my spare time as well now if I remember! lol
From there I remember racing on the F1 EA Sports games but got hooked on the GTR mod (which then became the standalone game). RSDG did some great sportscar mods, as well as Virtua_LM for the series as well.
Visuals are incredible now of course, but the one thing that made these games special was the completeness of them. There was something cool about doing the Grand Prix in the order as the real season at the time, collecting points, competing in the virtual championship. Apart from the Codey's games it's something that's really missing in modern titles I think. Ok, online racing is the main thing and I understand that but there are lots of us that prefer to race offline as well.
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Forgot about that one! What a classic. I managed to get all the addon discs for my Amiga as well. When I sold them some years ago I was amazed how much I got for them, just shows what a great and well loved title it was.
Corvette C6 GT1 in GTR Evolution (around Brands Hatch) ... good times ...
Gran turismo 2 skyline
Penske-Chevrolet /
Indianapolis 500: The Simulation
man, I've played this game for hours & hours
Ditto - we're old!
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