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IndyCar Racing

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IndyCar Racing
The North American cover art for IndyCar Racing.
Developer(s)Papyrus Design Group
Publisher(s)Virgin Interactive Entertainment
Designer(s)David Kaemmer
Platform(s)MS-DOS
ReleaseNA 1993
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single player; Two-player (using null-modem cable)

Template:Current-GCOTW IndyCar Racing, followed up two years later by its sequel, IndyCar Racing II, is a racing game by Papyrus Design Group. It was released in 1993.[1] Papyrus previously developed Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, released in 1990.

The game was intended as a realistic simulation of CART IndyCar Racing, now known as the Champ Car World Series. It featured many contemporary drivers, chassis and engines, and eight circuits which could be raced individually or as part of a championship season. Subsequent expansion packs added a further seven tracks and, later, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (In contrast, its sequel did not gain the licensing rights to do so.)[2]

Development

Gameplay

The simulation offers the ability to race in single events or a full Championship season (made up of all the tracks installed and available on the player's computer); to take part in associated practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions; to set up and customise the car both on-track and in a dedicated "garage" feature; and to race head-to-head against another player by connecting two computers, either via modems running at at least 9600 bit/s or via a null-modem cable attached to the computers' serial ports.

Game Menus

Following a short title sequence consisting of cars racing at the Toronto circuit and an introduction from motorsport broadcaster Paul Page, the game's Main Menu is seen. From here, the following options are available:

  • SINGLE RACE
A full race weekend (consisting of the race preceded by any or all of the following sessions: practice, qualifying and pre-race warmup) can be undertaken at any of the tracks available on the player's computer. Variables such as race length, weather and similar reflect the most recent selections in the OPTIONS menu.
  • CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
This gives the opportunity to start a new season, or to continue the existing season with the next race weekend on the Championship calendar. The set of options selected at the start of the season, such as weather type and race length percentage, stay fixed throughout the season.
  • PRESEASON TESTING
An unlimited practice session on any track of the player's choice, allowing setup refinements to be made and track layouts to be learned.
  • CARS
Allows chassis and engine types to be selected, name and nickname to be entered and opposition drivers to be reviewed.
  • OPTIONS
Various graphics, sound and realism parameters can be changed here. The control method for driving and navigating menus (joystick or keyboard), and the calibration of any joystick, can also be set here. (Steering wheels and flight simulator-style yokes are also supported by the game, and could be calibrated in the same way.)
  • EXIT
Returns to the computer's desktop environment.

Race Menu

When a single or championship season race is selected, a sub-menu appears giving access to the Garage function for in-depth car setup, the Instant Replay controls, and the series of race weekend sessions. Any or all of the practice, qualifying or warm-up sessions can be skipped from this sub-menu.

Qualifying

There are two main types of qualifying session, and a third which is unique to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

  • Type 1: a ten-minute "open session" where the player could run as many laps as desired; the fastest lap time counted.
  • Type 2: two "flying laps" were run, with the better of the two average speeds counting.
  • Type 3: only used at Indianapolis. Four flying laps were run, and the average of the four lap speeds was used to determine grid position.

Type 1 is standard for road courses and street circuits, while Type 2 is used at ovals. Note that some circuits grade drivers by speed (in miles per hour), while others use lap time (in seconds).

In all cases, the player starts the qualifying session from the pit lane, and is automatically in last place on the grid for the race: as in the game's predecessor, Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, all of the opposition drivers' qualifying positions are pre-determined, and although some cars may be out on track during the player's qualifying attempt, they will make no further improvements to their respective lap times or speeds. Skipping the qualifying session leaves the player at the back of the grid.

Races

With the exception of Indianapolis, all races begin with a standing start with cars two abreast on the grid. Following the tradition of the Indy 500, cars are three abreast at Indianapolis. A "pit board" is shown on screen each time the player crosses the start/finish line, showing the following information:

  • Nickname, as entered in the OPTIONS menu
  • Current position
  • Laps remaining
  • Time (road courses) or average speed (ovals) of last lap
  • Number of next-placed car ahead (number of second-placed car if player is leading)
  • Interval to next-placed car, in seconds

A summarised standings chart can be accessed at any time by pressing <F1>. Races can be paused using the <P> key, or by pressing <Escape>. Doing the latter brings up a full standings chart, showing the track name, number of laps run, and a full set of details for each car: average speed of the leader, the interval between other active cars and the leader (in tenths of a second if the car is on the lead lap, otherwise the numbers of laps down), and the status of any retired cars. The race sub-menu can be accessed from this standings screen by pressing any key.

Any race (single or Championship) could be brought to a quicker conclusion by using the "Accelerated Time" feature. This was not documented in the game manual, but was described in the README.DOC "attention card" in the game's root directory. This feature was especially useful in Championship seasons where the player had crashed or blown an engine, and could not continue in the race. By pressing <Escape> to bring up the full standings chart, then pressing <A>, the player's car would be removed from the track and a DNF ("Did Not Finish") classification awarded; the rest of the race would proceed at six times the normal speed, with the words "Accelerated Time" flashing at the top of the standings chart to confirm this. Replays of the resulting on-track action could be viewed and saved in the normal way, and the race would count towards the Season standings. Results files would also be generated as normal.

Championship Seasons

IndyCar Racing allows the player to take part in a full series of race weekends at every track available on the computer, with results from each race counting towards the Championship standings. The game automatically creates a season schedule based on the range of tracks installed. The full 16-race schedule is shown below in the Tracks section in its correct order; those in bold are the eight available with the original release of the game (so Long Beach would be the first race of the season unless the expansion pack was purchased and installed).

At the end of each race, points are awarded on the following basis:

Achievement Points
Race Winner 20
2nd place 16
3rd place 14
4th place 12
5th place 10
6th place 8
7th place 6
8th place 5
9th place 4
10th place 3
11th place 2
12th place 1
Pole position 1
Most laps led 1
  • If there is a tie between two or more cars for the most laps led, the car which finished the race in the highest position is awarded the point.
  • Cars which crash or retire late in a race, and are still in the top 12 at the end, are still classified and awarded the appropriate number of points.

Race and Season results files

The game generates a result file, RESULTS.TXT, for each race, and an ongoing file, SEASON.TXT, for the Championship Season in progress. (Only one Season can be in progress at a time; choosing the NEW SEASON option from the menu screen will overwrite any existing results.) These files are stored in the game's root directory.

RESULTS.TXT contents

  • Track name and location
  • Number of laps
  • Weather conditions (temperature, wind, rain status)
  • Full standings for each car:
    • Position
    • Car number, driver name and chassis/engine combination
    • For the winner, average speed for the race
    • For other classified cars, interval to the winner (either tenths of a second if unlapped, or number of laps in arrears if lapped)
    • For unclassified cars, reason for retirement
  • Player's best lap (blank if no laps were completed)
  • The pole-sitter is identified with an asterisk

SEASON.TXT contents

For each completed race in the Season:

  • Track name and location
  • Number of laps
  • Weather conditions (temperature, wind, rain status)
  • Race date
  • Full standings for each car:
    • Position
    • Car number and driver name
    • Number of laps led
    • For the winner, average speed for the race
    • For other classified cars, interval to the winner (either tenths of a second if unlapped, or number of laps in arrears if lapped)
    • For unclassified cars, reason for retirement
  • Player's best lap (blank if no laps were completed)
  • The pole-sitter is identified with an asterisk
  • Winner of the point for "most laps led" is identified with a plus sign

This is followed by the Championship standings to date, showing ranking, car number, driver name and points.

Instant Replay Function

IndyCar Racing moved on significantly from the innovative but limited instant replay feature in Indianapolis 500: The Simulation. Whereas the latter offered a re-run of only the last 20 seconds of on-track action, and only from the perspective of either the player's own car or the leader, IndyCar Racing stores around an hour of footage from several different camera angles and for each of the active cars on the track. (Retired or crashed cars can no longer be selected for viewing after they are removed from the track.) Unlimited numbers of replays could be saved as well. There was no replay-editing function within the game; a third-party program, Editrpy, was subsequently written to perform functions such as copying and pasting individual laps into new replay files, exporting data from a replay into reports or spreadsheets, and producing files of speed and acceleration data for car. This utility can still be downloaded from fansites. [1]

The available camera angles are:

  • TV 1
A series of standard television-style cameras in fixed positions around the track
  • TV 2
Available on some ovals; lower and with a wider range than the "TV 1" cameras
  • IN CAR
A view from beside the driver's helmet, looking out over the right front wheel
  • GEARBOX
A rear-facing camera mounted to the underside of the car, again on the right-hand side
  • CHASE
A camera locked on to the rear of the car, just above track level
  • SKY
Above and slightly behind the car; locked on to it, as with the Chase camera
  • BLIMP
A very high-level camera which locks on to the car as far as possible

Retirements

Mechanical failures could eliminate opponents from the race at any time. Breakdowns occur only in the pit lane; an affected car will pull into its pit and be removed (rather than staying parked with its engine off for the rest of the race, as in Indianapolis 500: The Simulation). The problem that caused the retirement is shown on both the summary and the full standings charts. A wide range of retirement types are possible:

Brakes Clutch Electrical Engine Fire
Flat Tire Fuel Pump Gearbox Halfshaft Handling
Header Mechanical Oil Leak Rear Wing Shifter
Suspension Valve Vibration Water Hose

Crashes

Similarly, any opponent could crash at any point during the race (although subject to various constraints noted below). If the "yellow flags" option is chosen from the "OPTIONS"/"REALISM" menu selection, yellow flags will be waved immediately and a period of driving at reduced speed with no on-track overtaking will commence. Pit-stops can still be made during caution periods, and indeed if a crash occurs close to a standard pit-stop "window", the majority of cars will usually take the opportunity to pit. Likewise, cars can retire due to mechanical failure during a caution period.

Racing under green-flag conditions recommences some laps later (varying from track to track) when the leader enters the home straight. Crashed cars show "Crashed" next to their number and driver name on both the summary and the full standings charts.

Criticisms of the crash "model"

Analysis of the crash "model" programmed into the game showed several differences from that found in Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, most of which took away a degree of realism rather than improved it.

  • Unlike in Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, in which opponents could crash at any point on the track - and in various ways (understeering, oversteering, sliding, or even veering into walls on straights) - it quickly became obvious that there were specific points on each track at which opponents would crash; moreover, these incidents would always be very similar in style. Most common was the standard "partial spin", with the rear of the car sliding out; apparent loss of traction on exiting slow corners, causing rather unrealistic slow drifts into walls or grass run-off areas, were also notable. The Long Beach track was a good example; the only two locations accidents ever occurred at were the entry into the right-hand sweep at Shoreline Drive, and the Turn 5 dogleg.
  • Similarly, the amount of damage caused to cars by these accidents was often minimal or non-existent. A fast car crashing at Turn 5 at Long Beach might make contact with the opposite wall with its right rear wheel, potentially causing suspension damage; slower cars, however, tended to nestle on this wall or even land short. On wide tracks (such as Cleveland) or those with large grass run-off areas (such as Portland), cars would generally end up stranded and undamaged in an area where, realistically, it should be possible to recover to the racing line from.
  • The relatively unspectacular nature of crash incidents compared to Indianapolis 500: The Simulation is partly related to the lower speeds at most circuits. Even at high-speed ovals, however, crashed cars tended to land safely off the racing line - often "sticking" to the outside wall even at sharply-banked ovals. In Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, wreckage would often travel a long way both forwards and across the track, creating a significant danger for following cars and more realistically reflecting the behaviour of cars which have lost control at high speed. Multiple pile-ups were a common feature of Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, whereas most incidents in IndyCar Racing are single-car.
  • Another factor reducing the likelihood of multi-car crashes in IndyCar Racing is the almost immediate removal of wreckage from the track. In Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, wreckage would not begin to be cleared until two full laps had been run under yellow-flag conditions; thereafter, except in the case of very large crashes, one car per lap would be removed. This meant that even under caution conditions, cars could still hit wreckage and prolong the incident. In IndyCar Racing, however, a crashed car is removed from the track a few seconds after coming to rest, although the yellow-flag caution period always lasts for at least 2 laps (depending on the length of the circuit).
  • The behaviour of other opponents immediately after a yellow flag comes out is not entirely plausible: slowing down from racing speed to "caution speed" seems to happen too quickly, and cars will often be able to stop completely on the track when the racing line is blocked, only resuming again when the wreckage is removed.

Options Menu

A range of changes could be made to gameplay and appearance through this menu. "Controls", "Realism", "Graphics" and "Sound" sub-menus were available.

Controls

  • SET CONTROLS allows the selection of keyboard or joystick (including driving wheels and yokes) for controlling the car, and the keys or joystick buttons used to accelerate, brake, change gear and reverse.
  • CALIBRATE JOYSTICK brings up a standard calibration screen for the X- and Y-axes of the input device.
  • For gear shifting, either AUTO-SHIFTING or MANUAL SHIFTING could be selected.
  • Likewise, either AUTO-BRAKING or MANUAL BRAKING were available.
  • Two steering styles were available: while joystick and keyboard users were advised by the manual to employ NON-LINEAR STEERING, the option of LINEAR STEERING was available, being more appropriate for wheel or yoke users.

Realism

  • RACE LENGTH is expressed as a percentage of the full race distance as defined in the data file for each track. Any length between 1% and 100% of full distance can be chosen.
  • YELLOW FLAGS can be turned on or deactivated. Under NO YELLOW FLAG conditions, cars will continue to race at full speed when a crash occurs.
  • CAR DAMAGE determines whether the player's car can be damaged by contact with walls, fences, other cars or similar. The game is more sensitive than Indianapolis 500: The Simulation in respect of contact, especially with walls; even light contact at relatively slow speeds, especially if it is at an angle, can cause tyre damage. Deflation of one front tyre renders the car more difficult to drive, but recovery to the pit-lane should be possible; damage to a rear wheel, or more than one tyre, will prove terminal. Very heavy or high-speed contact with walls or other cars can cause tyres to fly off altogether, and also results in a blown engine.
  • WEATHER can be determined by the player (CONSTANT WEATHER) or by the simulation (RANDOM WEATHER). Temperature, wind speed, wind direction and rain are the variables that can be changed, as follows:
    • Temperature: between 50°F (10°C) and 120°F (49°C), in intervals of 1°F
    • Wind speed: between 0mph and 30mph, in intervals of 1mph
    • Wind direction: any of the eight cardinal and ordinal directions
    • Rain: either on or off
  • OPPONENTS can have their relative "strength" altered, and the maximum number can also be determined. This is described under Opposition Drivers below.
  • A PACE LAP can be included or omitted.

Graphics

The simulation uses texture-mapped 3D graphics. As it was released at a time when not all computers would have been able to display its graphics to the fullest possible extent while still maintaining a suitably fast and smooth frame rate, the ability to set AUTOMATIC DETAIL or MANUAL DETAIL, and to change the frame rate, was included.

  • If AUTOMATIC DETAIL is selected, the minimum frame rate must be specified, between the limits of 10 and 15 frames per second.
  • The MANUAL DETAIL option allows all of the following variables to be turned on or off as desired, in order to optimise the trade-off between speed/smoothness and graphic quality/realism:
Grass Texture Asphalt Texture Other Object Texture Grandstand Texture Wall Texture
Horizon Front Wheels Texture Car Bodywork Texture Smoke and Dirt Skidmarks

Sound

In-game sounds and music can be toggled on or off.

Car Setup

Opposition Drivers

Depending on the circuit, up to thirty-two opponents would be on track alongside one's own car. The majority of these were real IndyCar drivers who had competed in the 1992 CART world series; some additional names were invented to make up numbers at circuits which needed the full set of opponents.

Opponents could be viewed from the game's main menu by selecting "CARS" then "OTHER DRIVERS". By pressing <Enter>, the following details of each driver could be scrolled through: driver name, home city, country, car number, chassis and engine. A picture of the car would rotate at the same time.

Menu selection "OPTIONS"/"REALISM"/"OPPONENTS" allowed adjustment of the maximum number of opponents at each track - from none to 32 - and their relative strength. The latter was expressed as a percentage, from 75% to 125% (default value was 100%). Each car was assigned a minimum and a maximum engine power value (notionally equivalent to brake horsepower), between which their performance could vary from race to race; this was controlled by a random variable within the game. Each car's values, as defined in the CARS93.DAT data file and the accompanying DRIVERS.TXT file, were based on the "opponent strength" percentage being 100%. If the player changed this, for example, to 75%, every car's set of minimum and maximum values would be multiplied by 0.75; the random variability from race to race would still apply within those limits.

By editing the DRIVERS.TXT file in the CARS93 directory, the player could change opponents' names, locations, car numbers, chassis/engine designations, the chassis and engine names and the minimum and maximum engine power values. This could alter gameplay radically.

This table shows the full set of opposition drivers - real-life drivers are in bold:

Car Driver Country Chassis Engine
1 Bobby Rahal United States Lola T9300 Chevrolet C
2 Scott Goodyear Canada Lola T9300 Cosworth XB
3 Al Unser, Jr. United States Lola T9300 Chevrolet C
4 Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Penske 93 Chevrolet C
5 Mario Andretti United States Lola T9300 Cosworth XB
6 Mick Richards United States Lola T9300 Cosworth XB
9 Raul Boesel Brazil Lola T9300 Cosworth XB
10 Arie Luyendyk Netherlands Lola T9300 Cosworth XB
11 Keith Raton United States Lola T9300 Chevrolet C
12 Paul Tracy Canada Penske 93 Chevrolet C
14 Will Fletcher United States Lola T9300 Cosworth XB
16 Stefan Johansson Sweden Penske 92 Chevrolet C
17 Dominic Dobson Germany Galmer Chevrolet A
18 Jimmy Vasser United States Lola T9200 Cosworth XB
19 Doug Hanson United States Lola T9200 Chevrolet A
21 Jeff Andretti United States Lola T9200 Buick
22 Scott Brayton United States Lola T9300 Cosworth XB
23 Vernon Taylor United States Lola T9300 Cosworth XB
25 Mark Smith United States Penske 92 Chevrolet B
26 Mike Groff United States RH001 Chevrolet C
36 Stan Green United States Lola T9200 Buick
40 Roberto Guerrero Colombia Lola T9300 Chevrolet C
50 Chris Bentley Italy Lola T9200 Chevrolet A
51 Danny Sullivan United States Lola T9300 Chevrolet C
59 Eddie Cheever United States Lola T9200 Buick
75 Jack Stevens United States Lola T9200 Cosworth XB
77 Todd Miller United Kingdom Lola T9200 Buick
80 Al Unser United States Lola T9300 Chevrolet C
87 Larry Dean United States Lola T9200 Chevrolet A
90 Lyn St. James United States Lola T9300 Cosworth XB
92 Didier Theys Belgium Lola T9200 Buick
99 Fred Jones United States Lola T9300 Cosworth XB

Tracks

The game originally featured eight tracks (idenitifed in bold in the table below). An expansion pack was later released containing a further seven tracks; these were all subsequently made available online by fans. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was later released as another add-on.

Details below such as track lengths and names are those used in the game at the time of its release. The "Rain?" column indicates whether or not wet practice, qualifying or race sessions would randomly occur if the "random weather" option was selected from the OPTIONS menu. (Oval and tri-oval circuits did not hold races during wet weather; the game reflected this by never permitting rain at such circuits, even if the "random weather" variable was activated.)

Tracks shown in bold were supplied with the original version of the game. Championship seasons run on computers where the expansion packs were not installed therefore ran in this order: Long Beach, Milwaukee, Portland, Toronto, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nazareth, Laguna Seca.

Race Location Circuit Name Type Length Laps Rain? Qualifying
1 Australia Surfers Paradise Street circuit 2.795 miles 65 Yes Type 1
2 Phoenix Phoenix International Raceway Tri-oval 1 mile 200 No Type 2
3 Long Beach Long Beach Street circuit 1.59 miles 105 Yes Type 1
4 Indianapolis Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval 2.5 miles 200 No Type 3
5 Milwaukee Wisconsin State Fair Park Oval 1 mile 200 No Type 2
6 Detroit Belle Isle Park Street circuit 2.1 miles 77 Yes Type 1
7 Portland Portland International Raceway Road course 1.95 miles 102 Yes Type 1
8 Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Temporary circuit 2.37 miles 85 Yes Type 1
9 Toronto Exhibition Place Temporary circuit 1.78 miles 103 Yes Type 1
10 Michigan Michigan International Speedway Oval 2 miles 250 No Type 2
11 New Hampshire New Hampshire International Speedway Oval 1.058 miles 200 No Type 2
12 Elkhart Lake Road America Road course 4 miles 50 Yes Type 1
13 Vancouver Pacific Place Street circuit 1.677 miles 100 Yes Type 1
14 Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Road course 2.25 miles 89 Yes Type 1
15 Nazareth Pennsylvania International Raceway Tri-oval 1 mile 200 No Type 2
16 Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway Road course 2.214 miles 84 Yes Type 1

Reception and Popularity

References

  1. ^ "The Story Of Papyrus Racing Games". GameSpot. CNET. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
  2. ^ Gord Goble. "PC IndyCar Series Review". GameSpot. CNET. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
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