Sony is gearing up to drop the mighty Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on PS3 this side of Christmas, and when you're competing with that franchise, you can't afford to churn out any rubbish.
System 3 knows this, and that's why it seems to be making every effort to make Ferrari Challenge as realistic, yet as fun as possible. To that end, it drafted in the help of professional GP2 race driver Bruno Senna (that's F1 legend Ayrton Senna's nephew, fact fans) to help out with development.
Senna has been involved in the development of the game since the beginning, so we sat down for a chat about exactly what he's been doing to help, and to take an interesting look at the world of racing games through the eyes of a professional racer.
"Check me out."
What was your main contribution to the development of Ferrari Challenge?
Bruno Senna: I have lots of experience with real race cars so they invited me to go and help to develop the physics of the game, make the game feel as real as possible without losing the enjoyment.
If the game is too hard nobody will want to play it, few people will be capable of playing it and it therefore becomes a niche game. The real objective is to make a game that everybody can play but still be a good representation of how the physics really are.
What I've been doing with the game, from the start, is to really get the basics working, make the car handle nicely and make it feel like a real car. Once that was done we went into fine-tuning, modelling the cars mainly around the handling of the Ferrari 430.
I've been doing lots of work with the physics suspension, ABS and traction control in the game - just trying to refine the handling of the cars.
You briefly mentioned the common issue of striking a balance between realism and fun. So you would you say it's not good for a racing game to be too realistic?
Senna: There are some games that are simulators. But when you're in a real race car, it gives you cues as to what it's going to do. So, when you go into a corner you might feel it move slightly, you know it's going to over steer.
In a game, if you go into the same corner with the same oversteer, you won't be able to catch it because by the time you realise it's happening it's too late. And that's because it takes roughly two or three times longer for your brain to realise what's going on just from sight alone, than when you're in the car and actually feeling it.
The important thing is for the game to be realistic enough for it to feel like the real car does, but at the same time the game needs to be forgiving enough for you to catch any mistakes you make and react to the car's actions in time.
Senna: I never got around to playing that. I've just never got the opportunity, but it's also because I prefer to race in single-seaters rather than touring cars - that's what I do in real life. I think you feel more connected to the car when driving a single-seater, so the Formula games are my favourite.
You mentioned previously that Gran Turismo HD - from one of the most highly regarded racing series to date - gets the handling of real cars all wrong. Could you tell me about that?
Senna: It's a good game but the biggest misrepresentation in GT HD is the Ferrari 599. It's overly difficult to drive, even if you put racing tyres on. It's almost as if the car has far more power than it does in real life. And the controller is really sensitive so it's not so easy to input the exact amount of power you want out of the car. It becomes a bit too hard to be fun.
I love Gran Turismo - I have the fourth game and I've play it loads, and some of the cars are really good in the game. I think one of the most realistic re-creations of a car in the game is the Golf GTi and one of the Audis. They have the exact amount of oversteer as on the real car.
Have you ever used a racing videogame to prepare for a race in real life?
Wii Screenshot
Senna: I have done it three times this year! I didn't know Monaco, Hungary, or Turkey. These three circuits were completely new to me so I played on a videogame and learned them. Monaco was my best qualifying result of the year so far.
What game did you use?
Senna: I use different games. I use Formula 1 06 on PSP sometimes - the most important thing is to get the right circuit model. So the last three corners of the Monaco circuit changed from GP4 in the GP2 race this year, so it's most important just to see how the new corners are, rather than playing the game with the best handling.
Actually, it can work against you because, for example, if you don't drive on a particular track for, say, two years, but you play it loads in a game, when you do come to race on that course again you miss all your [braking point] references because the physics in the game are totally different to real life. Especially if you're driving a different type of car in the game.
So if someone's an expert at Forza or Gran Turismo, how good or bad would you expect them to be in real-life racing?
Senna: It's completely different because, no matter what game you're talking about, the developers make a mathematical model of a tyre and it's effect on the road. And so the way it behaves is always the same. Games are detailed but the difference is that in a game, the type temperature is specified, and so is the course temperature and the amount of grip on a tyre.
But in real life you have undetermined changes in things like type temperature and pressure, course conditions, and things like this. There's only so much you can do in a game.
Do you think games can ever get that realistic?
Senna: They could do. I think that as you get more powerful computers they can keep track of how the tyres work more and simulate the car's handling very well. Games simulate the dynamics of racing very well, gears, engines and all these components. But tyre modelling isn't yet perfect, because it's hard to know constantly what's going on, on the surface of the tyre - millimetre by millimetre.
Wii Screenshot
To wrap up, how does the Wii version compare to the promising PS3 version in terms of that illusion of realism with the free-hand tilt-operated steering wheel control configuration?
Senna: It's difficult because the problem with having a steering wheel in mid-air is that you have no feeling of weight, so sometimes you turn more or less than you want to. It's a case of getting used to it, and the motion sensors of the Wii are really good - they're better than the PS3 motion controls.
Still, however, I would prefer to play Ferrari Challenge with a steering wheel or buttons.
The Wii version doesn't look bad except for the lights. They look horribly textured instead of actually being a light source. It's not even like it can't do light sourcing.
Live For Speed is still about the best sim money can buy. It has some flaws at the moment with regards to collision detection, but the handling of the cars, the tyre models (at high speeds, gets a bit odd at low speeds), body roll, weight transfer, etc all modelled amazingly well. Not bad for something developed by a 3-man team. Forza 2 seems to have the best balance between sim handling and arcade pick-up-and-play, although no terminal damage or car flips lets it down a little. I understand that Race07 isn't bad either, and GTR2 isn't far behind in terms of physics, but I've never gotten into them that much.
The Wii version doesn't look bad except for the lights. They look horribly textured instead of actually being a light source. It's not even like it can't do light sourcing.
Live For Speed is still about the best sim money can buy. It has some flaws at the moment with regards to collision detection, but the handling of the cars, the tyre models (at high speeds, gets a bit odd at low speeds), body roll, weight transfer, etc all modelled amazingly well. Not bad for something developed by a 3-man team. Forza 2 seems to have the best balance between sim handling and arcade pick-up-and-play, although no terminal damage or car flips lets it down a little. I understand that Race07 isn't bad either, and GTR2 isn't far behind in terms of physics, but I've never gotten into them that much.
I would say the shaders of the Wii, or lack thereof is the reason for the bland lighting. My fav car game is Gran Turismo, but ive completely lost interest in the franchise since theres still no definate plans for proper damage. I think forza 2 looks cool, havnt played it yet though. Didnt like GTR2 on the PC, just too much sim for my liking
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