GTR Is Set For A Revival

Article Discussion
GTR Revival.png
For those who have been around sim racing since the early 2000’s, the GTR series of titles are ones which are firmly etched on the brain.

For many, they are the titles that launch them into the world of sim racing in the first place. From GTR and GTR 2 through to GTR Evolution, the titles stood for realism and brought the world of FIA GT racing into our homes.

Join the conversation in the new GTR Revival forum here

For the last several years, there have been rumours, speculation and the occasional screenshot regarding a proposed GTR 3. However, these have been few and far between and have since dwindled into the background once more.

Today, an announcement has appeared which is completely out of the blue. @Ian Bell once head of Slightly Mad Studios and part of the original GTR development team, tweeted the news that he is working on a new title; GTR Revival.

Not only that, there are several other members of the original development team involved too including; Stephen Viljoen, Andy Garton, Stephen Baysted, Henrik Roos, Johan Roos and Vik Klomiets.

As far as the sim itself is concerned, there are no specific details just yet, but Ian Bell has promised that it will be a hardcore, no compromise title.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1572611186130096131

Will this be the GTR sequel that we have all been waiting for? Share your thoughts with us below as we await more information on GTR Revival.

(This is a developing story, more soon)

Updates​

  • RaceDepartment asked Johan Roos (ex-Simbin) for a quote if the above tweet is true and he replied: "Well I do not deny it but cannot comment any further than Ian already has written and that it sounds like one hell of a game by one hell of a crew".
  • Like
  • Haha
  • Wow
Reactions: AutisticPinoy989, Highbank, Adyl and 58 others
About author
Phil Rose
Phil Rose
A passionate sim racer with over 20 years of virtual and real world motorsport experience, I am the owner and lead content creator at Sim Racing Bible as well as a writer here at RaceDepartment. I love all forms of motorsport, especially historic motorsport, but when it comes to sim racing, I will drive anything!

More in GTRevival

Status
Not open for further replies.

Comments

Richard Wilks
Johnr777 said:
Hard to keep the argument going when you claim data isn’t important, and keep bringing GTR2 as the superior “simulation”.



AJ Weber again on physics, so another Project Cars clone… boat simulator coming up
Click to expand...
Data? What data? i Use data regularly. I know how important it is. Speaking of data, F1 2022 "correlates" braking points, full throttle points, and corner speeds much better than any sim around when it comes to an F1 car. So its the best simulator ever, am i right?

You see, this is the problem with people who believe the "simulation value" hype. This "value" can be whatever they subjectively decide, based on whatever criteria fulfill their confirmation bias.
 
Johnr777
Richard Wilks said:
Data? What data? i Use data regularly. I know how important it is. Speaking of data, F1 2022 "correlates" braking points, full throttle points, and corner speeds much better than any sim around when it comes to an F1 car. So its the best simulator ever, am i right?

You see, this is the problem with people who believe the "simulation value" hype. This "value" can be whatever they subjectively decide, based on whatever criteria fulfill their confirmation bias.
Click to expand...
And that’s your opinion. Which happens to be stuck in the early 2000s.

I think you are just on a mindset to try and win the argument, which is fine.

But it will end here for me, tired of dealing with people who think “simulation” is enough if it drives like it’s seen on TV, if the lap times are close, or if all the car liveries are right.

Enjoy whatever your “god” comes up with next.
 
Kenny Paton
Staff
Premium
Interesting that the press release mentioned modding being a central thing, also past and present sports cars could make it stand out from other games.
No doubt we'll find out eventually, until then it's all speculation and wishful thinking.
 
B
Premium
If Ian Bell can deliver rf2 physics engine and with U5 graphics then it could be an instant hit... a proper update to GTR 2 is a sure winner....

IMO PC2 could have been a great game if it wasn't for $hit FFB.
SMS delivered the best content of any sim by far at that time. Lets see what he can come up with this... one thing is for sure he has proven to can achieve a great deal of work in a short period of time.
 
mclarenf1papa
simrace2 said:
I think the reason people call GT3 cars slow is because of the way they make laptime. Like most modern racecars they are underpowered and over aero-ed. You add in traction control and abs brakes and they become boring cars, especially in a sim. It's also important to remember the evolution in tire technology when comparing them to older GT cars. If you put the GT1 cars of the past on modern rubber they would probably be several seconds clear of the GT3's. I agree that they're not slow, but they do lack something in terms of driving excitement.
Click to expand...
People say this and are still 4s/lap off of the pace. Any car is going to be boring if you're not driving to its actual limit. I think the thing with GT3s is that they're generally good cars, so it's a fairly soft edge and people don't realize they're off of it. The reality is that people enjoy driving bad cars on sims; in a lot of ways it's more fun. GT1 cars (post 90s) were worse than GT3/E cars; worse tires, worse aero, worse suspension, etc. People want nuance in sims because it keeps the cars interesting, where in reality you want to minimize that because it's easier (and less frightening) to drive near/on the limit. If the publicly available sims had better car models, this might be less of a thing, as there would be more nuance to the handling by default.
 
Last edited:
V
Premium
stenovitz said:
Taste differs I reckon ;)

6-7 years ago I was absolutely thrilled making own full offline championship seasons of e.g. full grid 24-30 Gillette Vertigo team mod skins and mod variations.

I don't care if race cars are fast & furious or capt. slow.

Just immersion counts for me - and base model + sound mods + mod variations does it for me. Also depends on which track they're raced. E.g. at the much criticized Phonex GP layout back when it was on the F1 Calendar, the 1991 Phoenix GP mod works excellent for GP distance with max grid of Vertigos. Just an example.

Moreover, for me these GT years 2003-2004 is near the pinnacle of motorsports race- and supercars wise IMO.
Apart from dedicated track cars, take the Porsche Carrera GT supercar from these years as a good example.
I.e. Before boring times of paddlemania and later electronic nannies appered severely and old virtues of driving with H-stick and Heel&Toe skills behind the wheel did the difference. The standard package of GT cars I've had great fun with. Expecially the full DVD version including the Ferrari- and Porsche series.
All of those Porsches driven no-aids at twisty tracks are a great sim relief here :inlove:



VR is a blast in GTR2 and PnG mod, in relation to that the graphics engine is old. Become almost a weekly habit to VR drive in PnG Alfa Romeos @ Montagna di Pietra or likewise PnG cars @ the excellent and still continued refinement of Targa Florio :inlove: ('thanks' is so a little word, @GTR233 )

It would be a near endless novel if I were to write a personal wish list for classic- and vintage race cars and tracks for an upcoming "GTR3", especially when I love most of my +75Gb GTR2 car- and track mods.

Instead my wish would be that the sim will be just as moddable as GTR2, rF1 and AC.
And easily convertible of old mod heritage from GTR2, rF1, GTL, Race07 and other ISI heritage.
If so I don't care about the standard package was GT3 paddle cars (of which I would certainly not drive - however I drive some GT3 paddles in AMS2 for certain track combos which are great). Apart from the Gillette Vertigo it is at least 7 years ago I've raced the standard GTR2 package, but instead going bonkers in all the superb GTR2 car- and track mods, still out there for grabs.

That would be a big seller for me in that case.

For now, I'll give Ian Bell the benefit of the doubt.
And sorry to Ian if he is reading along here, regarding my previous salty comment in this thread.
It's just my bad experience of previous 'teaser announcements' of which seems as a new trend of which I cannot bear with any longer. It simply stinks.

Regarding the RD article with the names mentioned, I really hope there's serious work behind and something to look forward to. Because that team has done absolutely incredible things more than 1½ decades ago.

Edit: Not purely classic capt. slow here regarding GTR2 mods. Loved e.g. all the Le Mans prototype content from different car mods and mod packages and driven lots of Le Mans Prototype mods from years 1995-2000 though the years at fictive championship seasons, setting up combined Petit Lemans- and WEC series with japanese track spicers merging to full seasons reflecting the lovely years just post the incredible Group C era (of which I by the time raced a lot in F1C99-02 and rF1 mods).

Regarding Group C a "GTR3" could also be full Group C content reflecting specific season series both car- and track wise, and not just single picking as in AC, AMS2, etc.

I've written it plenty times before and I'll write it again:
A historic 1983 WSC season including the historic team lineup for each of the race events and thorough historical track work has been on my wish list for an official sim for more than quarter a century :inlove:
Just saying ;)
Click to expand...
There is a partial set for rFactor 2 of the 1983 WSC season.
The models are decent enough and they drive pretty well too, albeit, in my opinion, a bit tamed.
And a modding group is about to publish on the Steamworkshop a revised set of 1991 Group C cars (in cooperation with Mak Group, using their cars) to which they added the Peugeot, the Nissan and the Jag).
These have been fine tuned by an Engineer from Honda USA and a long time / senior mechanic in the american sports car scene (who are members of the modding team).
 
S
v4v474 said:
There is a partial set for rFactor 2 of the 1983 WSC season.
The models are decent enough and they drive pretty well too, albeit, in my opinion, a bit tamed.
Click to expand...
I've been racing all of those too - and my immediate impressions just driving out the pits were exactly the same.

v4v474 said:
And a modding group is about to publish on the Steamworkshop a revised set of 1991 Group C cars (in cooperation with Mak Group, using their cars) to which they added the Peugeot, the Nissan and the Jag).
These have been fine tuned by an Engineer from Honda USA and a long time / senior mechanic in the american sports car scene (who are members of the modding team).
Click to expand...
Wow, sounds great!

However, I'm specifically looking for a WSC 1983 season reflecting the team lineup for each of the events - and especially track work of track boundaries, curbs and everything, delivering an immersion of being behind the wheel by that season.
Most prominently behind Stefan Bellof's Rothmanns Porsche 956 #2 @ a genuine modeled bumpy and dusty 1983 version of Nürburgring Nordschleife. I.e. in addition where hotlapping targeting 6:11,13 makes sense.
Cannot fathom noone has come up with just this specific combo, witnissing fame YT'ers hotlspping a P962 or P956 round a modern and much, much more forgiving track version.
 
M
gianlucaP said:
I remember that modding was also discussed in the WMD back then and the devs said that wasn't possible to allow it in pCars 1, because of the legal problems that this could have caused.
Kunos with AC and ISI/S397 proved that wasn't a problem at all. Both encrypted their official content and let the community free to create content from scratch, and to use some of the official assets in some cases.
Click to expand...
Friendly reminder that Ferrari required Kunos to configure the F1 cars so that you can't run them against different opponent cars.
 
P
mclarenf1papa said:
People say this and are still 4s/lap off of the pace. Any car is going to be boring if you're not driving to its actual limit.
Click to expand...

From all the people that could come up with this "argument", it's quite surprising (negatively) that it's you saying it.
 
B
v4v474 said:
There is a partial set for rFactor 2 of the 1983 WSC season.
The models are decent enough and they drive pretty well too, albeit, in my opinion, a bit tamed.
And a modding group is about to publish on the Steamworkshop a revised set of 1991 Group C cars (in cooperation with Mak Group, using their cars) to which they added the Peugeot, the Nissan and the Jag).
These have been fine tuned by an Engineer from Honda USA and a long time / senior mechanic in the american sports car scene (who are members of the modding team).
Click to expand...
Hey there friend, could you please shed some light on that Group C/Mak Corp mod update? Where can I find some info on that?
This is my all time favorite mod, and practically the only thing I drive.
 
P
There is also the WSC 83 Automobilista mod, which is amazing to drive and race. Done by one of the most active voices at this thread :)
 
V
Premium
bozakn said:
Hey there friend, could you please shed some light on that Group C/Mak Corp mod update? Where can I find some info on that?
This is my all time favorite mod, and practically the only thing I drive.
Click to expand...
You need to join the CMS Discord. Just check the events announced on the S397 Discord.
They are just finishing a 1991 WSC championship.
The Mak cars are also being visually updated.
The scratch made cars are still under development, so visually still needing improvements, but going in the right direction.
 
R
gianlucaP said:
I remember that modding was also discussed in the WMD back then and the devs said that wasn't possible to allow it in pCars 1, because of the legal problems that this could have caused.
Kunos with AC and ISI/S397 proved that wasn't a problem at all. Both encrypted their official content and let the community free to create content from scratch, and to use some of the official assets in some cases.
Click to expand...
With all the content included, pcars2 did not really need modding. And as I yhink how difficult it srrms to code cars in the madness engine, I'm not sure mods would have received hifh quality physics and that modders would have followed.

And SMS not following its own game after a short period, I don't see why this company would have followed mods developments and helped modders. Definitely, it was a good idea to stay away from modding.

I don't think Bell can't deliver a good game. Pcars2, after some tweaking of the ffb (even jjmust within the game UI, after hours of testing though), is really enjoyable and has the best content and features ever done in a single sim.

Bell can deliver a good sim, he's a competent money maker. What he is not is a customer oriented business man and someone able.t9.finish what he has started. Pcars 2 is still an unfinished game (unconsistent AI, mandatory automatic clutch, broken puddles, broken pace lap...) and worse, it has lost one great feature, the real time weather. At launch the full game was something like 90 euros, it is a lot of money., ypu can't let down ypur customers when they havr paid that price for your product. And it will be the same way, Bell won't change his personnality. He isbnot able to run a company in the long term, pcars3 was the result of a bad vision of the sim racing market. He has for sure his place in a development team, but absolutely not in the business area, he won't respect the customers, learn the lesson. Before getting any interest in this new project, I'd like to know who are the shareholders of this new adventure.

EDIT : don't get me wrong, Pcarz2 is one of my most played games and sims, but the few issues in it really break the immersion. Speaking about 90s GTs, currently this is THE game to.get.
 
Last edited:
AndyC709292
PiotrGT said:
As someone who still keeps GTR2 on my drive - I'm interested.

I just hope it's not just a bit of hype followed by complete silence again... :whistling:
Click to expand...
I actually bought and installed it in the past few months!
I did a bit of reading up on it, and there are a few mega-mods that really improve the game, so I installed them on the way through!
Certainly, it's not a current game as such, and AC with the same cars as mods is possibly a better drive; but as a package it's excellent and many games could learn from this and Race07 in terms of features and general usability.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest News

Article information

Author
Phil Rose
Article read time
2 min read
Views
42,491
Comments
286
Last update
Join the discussion

Share this article

What does easier access mean to you?

  • Free access

    Votes: 95 71.4%

  • Better structured events

    Votes: 36 27.1%

  • Better structured forum

    Votes: 25 18.8%

  • Standard game content

    Votes: 25 18.8%

  • No 3pa registration pages

    Votes: 28 21.1%

  • Too casual

    Votes: 10 7.5%

  • Other, please post

    Votes: 7 5.3%
See comments…
Back
Top