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Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 08.09.2017, 09:21
by ismael
This is a kind of off-topic talk but I think it fits here nonetheless. Those of you who have been playing the F1 games for Playstation by Codemasters, how do you compare the playability of those games against GP2 and the 2 successors?

Back in the day, I really felt that the playability of GP2 was superior to the first F1 playstation games of the time, and even for PC, like the F1 2002. For sure, the graphics and extra options of F1 2017, classic cars, blabla, are awesome, etc. (GP2 also have classic cars through this site and forum 8) ) but my question is about the reality level of actual gaming, of the driving and the way the car feels. Through the years I hear the critics saying that the playability is not that realist, although the F1 2006 for PS had a lot of fans for it.

What do you think?

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 08.09.2017, 21:24
by Michael82
It is a very important question. After all those years we can't see another simulation like Gp2. It is a real simulation.. and even if gp3 and gp4 are good there is a lack of feelings.. Currently, the codemasters games are beautiful.. but boring and too much arcadly.. Gp2 is simple and unique... it is the best.

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 17.09.2017, 17:30
by rremedio
I think GP1/2/3/4 are still superior if you need to play with a keyboard. If you use a gamepad, modern games will be better. With a wheel, modern sims are much better.

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 20.09.2017, 23:00
by ismael
Those are interesting insights - eventually I'll end up getting a wheel to some PSX model to play with my kid in the future. Although GP2 allows us to have more than 200 tracks (my estimate)... Well, I didn't quite tried Assetto Corsa nor rFactor, anyway.

But there is another issue. Do modern F1 games have the same kind of set-up complexity (and challenge... I can already beat a teammate with 16184 grip in Suzuka in 50% Race Distance - not tried 16384 yet) we find in GP series by Geoff Crammond?

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 21.09.2017, 16:28
by rremedio
Most of my experience with "modern" sims comes from rFactor. There is a great number of tracks and mods (aka carsets in gp2 :mrgreen: ), comparable, maybe greater than GP2. Quality varies a lot and since the physics are very different for each mod, the fun you can have also changes a lot (in GP2, physics doesn't change very much, if at all). rFactor is probably the closest thing to GPx when it comes to custom content variety.

Setups are more complex than GP2 setups and tbh I only scratched the surface in understanding how to properly use them. In terms of challenge, you can adjust it in the game and you can make more adjustments outside the game if the in-game adjustments are not enough. This can make the AI as fast as you would like, but the AI is still inferior to the GPx games AI, including GP2, when it comes to behaving in a "civil" way. Some mods took their time adjusting the AI so it drives better, but those are rare.

Automobilista is a game based on the same engine as rFactor (there are many games based on that same engine, such as GTR2, GTL, Race and others) and it has better physics and much better AI. They often release free DLC, all of fantastic quality, and I would recommend it over rFactor. I haven't played it that much because it is a little heavier on the PC and mine is very low end (but still lighter than more modern games like Asseto Corse, pCars, rFactor2 or iRacing).

If you want to join online races, I'd recommend iRacing as its (expensive) subscription and driver classes models make sure you won't face that many crazy drivers that like to ruin other peoples races. The other option is to find a good league for any of the other games. Just avoid public servers with random people, as those are usually carnage.

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 24.09.2017, 21:32
by roland ratzenberger
ismael wrote:
20.09.2017, 23:00
Those are interesting insights - eventually I'll end up getting a wheel to some PSX model to play with my kid in the future. Although GP2 allows us to have more than 200 tracks (my estimate)... Well, I didn't quite tried Assetto Corsa nor rFactor, anyway.

But there is another issue. Do modern F1 games have the same kind of set-up complexity (and challenge... I can already beat a teammate with 16184 grip in Suzuka in 50% Race Distance - not tried 16384 yet) we find in GP series by Geoff Crammond?


hello to all mate.. i have bought f1 2017 for ps4... the truth is that it is a great game. as far as the playabiliti is concerned i believe that gp2 still remains the best. as far as the ai the matter seems quite difficult to answer.. f1 2017 is almost an arcade game if you set the ai difficulty up to 70%.. but if yoy set the difficulty from 80 to 110% the game and the ai is quite challenging and difficult. thats why i am making the post to ask something. is there any way to make the game even harder by altering the grip parameter??? please ismael explain this to me.

and last but not least i believe that gp2 still remains one of the most complete and greater f1 seems.. no matter that i have f1 2017 , i still play gp2 to death

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 26.09.2017, 13:55
by ismael
This is quite related to this topic viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1101&p=16648&hilit=6th#p16648 but the how to do it, is simple: is with GP2Edit, exporting changes to your GP2.

First you select "Selected Team Power" option to use your selected teams' engine horsepower. (in GP2Edit it's Performace > Car Settings > Selected Team Power.)
Then, you choose to play the original GP2 carset or customize a new one with the hundred options available here. Each drivers grip can be changed, so you could also play the original 1994 carset but setting Schumacher a little higher than the 16384 he has.


By playing the original carset, I think a big challenge would be to play Verstappen, because you would race against Schumacher (grip 16384) with the same horsepower, rather than the +30 hp the game "naturally" gives you.

I still have the idea to do it, but I'm in a customization "mood" now. Last season I was able to score more points than a teammate with grip 16184, although he scored more often than me. (Having low rear wing set-ups is great for hotlapping but no so great to win 50% race distance. Those people who said in the internet "Oh, in GP2 you just put Rear Wing 1, a small change in the gear ratios and you're very fast" were not about long races.

I'm doing a third season now where I'm reproducing the conditions of the original game. I have the best engine and I have a teammate with grip 15984 (same as Hill in original GP2) and a rival with grip 16384 and -30 horsepower (same as Schumacher in original GP2). I'm supposed to win the championship with ease, because I understand 50% race distance set-up way better than in the late nineties. (I can share the car set data here, later.)

If I'm successful, next season I'll have a teammate with 16384 and let's see if I'm able to win the championship.


(You could also place Ayrton Senna in the original 1994 carset, give him grip 16384 and try to beat him in the other Wiliams. Or even better: place Senna and Schumacher at Williams, both with 16384, and try to win the championship in a Ferrari, with the +20 horsepower you'll have.)

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 10.10.2017, 10:09
by roland ratzenberger
ismael wrote:
26.09.2017, 13:55
This is quite related to this topic viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1101&p=16648&hilit=6th#p16648 but the how to do it, is simple: is with GP2Edit, exporting changes to your GP2.

First you select "Selected Team Power" option to use your selected teams' engine horsepower. (in GP2Edit it's Performace > Car Settings > Selected Team Power.)
Then, you choose to play the original GP2 carset or customize a new one with the hundred options available here. Each drivers grip can be changed, so you could also play the original 1994 carset but setting Schumacher a little higher than the 16384 he has.


By playing the original carset, I think a big challenge would be to play Verstappen, because you would race against Schumacher (grip 16384) with the same horsepower, rather than the +30 hp the game "naturally" gives you.

I still have the idea to do it, but I'm in a customization "mood" now. Last season I was able to score more points than a teammate with grip 16184, although he scored more often than me. (Having low rear wing set-ups is great for hotlapping but no so great to win 50% race distance. Those people who said in the internet "Oh, in GP2 you just put Rear Wing 1, a small change in the gear ratios and you're very fast" were not about long races.

I'm doing a third season now where I'm reproducing the conditions of the original game. I have the best engine and I have a teammate with grip 15984 (same as Hill in original GP2) and a rival with grip 16384 and -30 horsepower (same as Schumacher in original GP2). I'm supposed to win the championship with ease, because I understand 50% race distance set-up way better than in the late nineties. (I can share the car set data here, later.)

If I'm successful, next season I'll have a teammate with 16384 and let's see if I'm able to win the championship.


(You could also place Ayrton Senna in the original 1994 carset, give him grip 16384 and try to beat him in the other Wiliams. Or even better: place Senna and Schumacher at Williams, both with 16384, and try to win the championship in a Ferrari, with the +20 horsepower you'll have.)


you are very right ismael .. for the wing aspect i talk about.. rear wing to 1 is perfect for one goof qualifying lap.. but if you are a man who love long races ,,, above 60% then this setup means disaster.. you can have some quick laps but in total you lose your faith in the integrity of the car... i can describe many monents where when i tried to push the car oversteered like crazyy. and as a consequence i ended up in the gravel trap

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 11.10.2017, 18:35
by ismael
I was doing a 50% RD in Tsarskoye Selo, the Russian fictional track by Andreas Schulz, with two very, very high-speed right corners 1 and 2. Qualifying with rear wing 1 was flat, easy, very nice. In the race, not so much - eventually I lost the rear a couple of laps before the pitstop.

Now there's the challenge.

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 11.10.2017, 23:38
by roland ratzenberger
thats what i am saying .. right now i am playing a 2000 simulation in gp2 . i have played some non championship races at 100% distance to see how the the carset is (btw i strongly recommend to download the Danket's Season 2000 Final Carset from Daniel Ketteringham). i will start this championship in november because this is the time where i could relax and play gp2 as much as i want...So i played a non championship race at brazi .. at qualifying with 1 rear wing i have set an extraordinary flying lap. THE DIFFRENECE WAS 0.001 FROM HAKKINEN 0.002 FPOM COULTHARD AND 0.009 FROM BARRICHELLO \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ . Then i decided to go to the race with the rear wing set to 1.. i made a good start retaining first position , for 10 laps i have a strong battle with hakkinen,, in the 10th lap after the senna S in my try to push the car to the limit the car oversteered pushing me to the grass.. the result was to rejoin the track at 18.. i quit that race,, but that was exactly what we said.. YOU CAN NOT HAVE A COMPLETE AND SMOOTH RACE WITH THE REAR WING SET TO 1 ... IT IS IMPOSSIBLE [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X [-X

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 17.10.2017, 10:14
by Michael82
Ben Collins talks about Gp2 and Project cars 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJs-9li4Gt0

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 03.12.2017, 23:02
by roland ratzenberger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3xNZxgEuJI&t=2s
just watch this video , and most important pay attention to the last minutes of the video

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 08.12.2017, 12:00
by ismael
I didn't watch it full, but payed attention. My thoughts:

- He's not a "dedicated" racing gamer (he might try other racing games but he has videos of many other kind of games), so it's alright he's racing only in amateur level... he was third in an Amateur level championship.

- Just like in this other famous recent video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xyiL1exnjM&t=2s, his game is too accelerated. Really seems this is a feature/issue of modern machines dealing with DosBOX somehow. After several hours of trying I think I have managed it in my current machine.

- His opinions are interesting. However, when he says that F1 2017 as all the Career Mode and practice sessions, and etc. - I think that the Career Mode is exactly one of the things lacking in GP2, for obvious and good technical reasons at the time. He says he wants to "sit and race" and that's very much the definition of arcade gaming - anyway, with GP2 you can do anything, from quickraces to 100% race distance. This is an amazing feature of the game - you have simultaneously arcade gaming and advanced set-up options (yesterday I inverted the dampers values and for the first time I don't feel much understeer in Microprose Imola's variantes, especially Alta.)

Again, I think that if we think that playing GP2 is free - I mean, it doesn't require a monthly subscription, as it seems its the next businee model for gaming - and using the mods is free, thanks to the effort of the community, it may compare really nicely against modern options. (And I have yet to test proper LAN gaming).

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 09.12.2017, 01:13
by roland ratzenberger
what i want to empasize is that he says that he enjoys more playing gp2 than f1 2017..and that despite the 21 years difference gp2 can compare and even BEAT ( to my mind ) the modern and more sophisticated games like f1 2017.. This is the amazing fact for me

Re: Playability and realism of GP2 compared with today's games

Posted: 09.12.2017, 15:42
by ismael
Oh, that's for sure ;-)