GTR Revival: Straight4 Studios Needs Your Help

Straight 4 studios.jpg
In the middle of developing its new game, GTR Revival, Straight4 Studios is looking for help as it determines the game's key focus. The team is seemingly looking at recreating one epic moment in motorsport history, but can't decide between four options. Now's your chance to shape a simulator.

Rising from the ashes of what was the team behind the legendary GTR 2, Straight4 Studios may sound like a thoroughly unimpressive name. Honestly, why not call it V12 or Flat 6. Anyway, the team has slowly been releasing teasers of its newest project and is now looking for help from the community.

Straight4 Studios, headed by Ian Bell, is currently working on its next venture GTR Revival. The game is set to follow on from the legendary status of the GTR series which focused on the FIA GT Series of its day. GT1 and GT2 cars roaring around some of the best circuits in the world certainly made the old Simbin titles great.

Still looking to focus on a fan favourite series and era, the development team is asking for the opinion of the community as to which specific moment in motorsport it is to recreate. Four options feature on the poll found on the Straight4 Studios website.

Late-1990s BTCC​

The late-1990s were an impressive time in the British Touring Car Championship. The Super Tourer regulations had just hit a point at which budgets were exceeding those of Formula 1, the cars were mind-boggling pieces of engineering and the drivers appeared to be super heroes.


Ever since the original TOCA Touring Car games, this is an era that has lacked representation in the simracing industry. However, a recent and popular mod in Assetto Corsa has brought this time back from the back of our minds.

A game focusing on the ins and outs of the Super Tourer era would be a fantastic proposition. However, the other periods mentioned in the poll have seen even less love in simracing's history.

Historic Trans Am​

Today, Trans Am is a relatively unknown form of purist motorsport. Massive V8 engines, H-pattern gearboxes and heavy chassis make for a NASCAR road course racing on steroids experience. But back in the championship's early days, around the late-1960s and early-1970s, the championship thrived with road-relevant muscle cars on the best American circuits.


Models like the Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang and AMC Javelin went head to head in a race on Sunday, sell on Monday ethos. While the V8-powered muscle cars dominated the over 2-litre class, European saloons took to the under-2-litre category. Alfa Romeos, BMWs and even Fiats raced on the same weekends as the big boys.

Straight4 Studios is offering the simracing community the chance to race in this era of motorsport. A niche national championship much forgotten by many, there must surely be a fan base out there that would love to see this idea come to life.

Can Am​

Much like Trans Am, Can Am was a regional series that travelled the North American continent. Motorsport fans may have heard of cars like the McLaren M8F and Ferrari 712M. These massively powerful, significantly light machines were absolute rocket ships, testament to what happens when you give manufacturers a near-empty rule book and infinite budgets.


Often surpassing the 1000hp mark in qualifying, these Group 7 cars raced around the North American circuit. Or they did until the sport became too expensive compared to other forms of motorsport around the mid-1970s.

The Canadian-American Challenge Cup thrived in the early-1970s just before the series began to tumble. This is the era Straight4 is interested in covering. Other than the odd impressive, yet uncontrollable racer, Can-Am and Group 7 have remained anonymous throughout the course of racing games. Could this be the series' time to flourish in the eyes of simracers?

1973 World Sportscars​

In 2023, we are entering a golden age of enduance racing. The FIA WEC and IMSA championship haven't seen such top-class participation in a number of decades. But fifty years ago, the sportscar racing scene was also seemingly living one of its greatest times to date.


Mixing Group 5 open top prototype sportscars and Group 4 GT racers, the series visited countless infamous events. Le Mans, Daytona, the Targa Florio and the 1000km of the Nurburgring. All these events were contested as part of the WSC and made for some of the most exciting endurance racing seen to this day.

This was also the last time Ferrari competed in the top class at Le Mans, surely making it worthy of representation in the simracing world. Other brands like Matra, Porsche, Chevrolet and Lola showed themselves throughout the 1973 season.

Which of these four championships and eras would you like to see as the focus for GTR Revival?
About author
Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

Comments

Hmm, I don't like this :thumbsdown:

"You have to choose one between your four sons".
While my sweetest of them all, my little daughter, has to be left and hidden in the closet meanwhile?

OK, I understand the 50th anniversary celebration of WSC 1973.
But speaking that decade, IMO WSC1970 and WSC1971 were better (and luckily we've had some monster rF1 mod packs for these for more than a decade now).

But what about celebrating a certain 40th anniversary happening late may this year?
1983 WSC
1983 Nürburgring

Any Bell ringing?
What if I mention laptime 6:11,13?

Hunted by simmers for now more decades. But in all the wrong race cars at wrong decade track versions.

Speaking the latter, alot oversee how much a track evolve during decades, though slopes are more or less the same. But there are universes of difference between 2023 Nordschleife, 1983 Nürburgring and 1957 Nürburgring (apart from the latter includes +2,1K Zielstrecke).
Remember Micha via his YT channel some years sgo explained how Nordschleife evolves even from year to year, and especially when doing track service/replacement of track surface (as happening for the time being).
As an example, just take the natural evolvement of 'the dip' into Schwedenkreuz, entailing a totally different optimal approach.

So let's celebrate Stefan Bellof.
Let's celebrate the #2 Rothmans Porsche 956
And let's celebrate an authentic 1983 Nürburgring.
Some real authenticity for hotlappers.

And let's celebrate the rest of the grid that weekend, soom 40 years ago.

In a worked-through modeling with prime aim of autentic immersion.

OR

If it still stands to the words that GTR Revival "will be the most moddable sim ever seen", just leave this task to the fabulous and luckily still growing modding community out there :inlove:

Then it's absolutely fine with me a sim title followed by a close battle 90ies BTCC pack, or even a presumable more easy task of re-modelling the 2003-2004 FIA GT Season. Could even be with minimal track portfolio. If just the title is backed up by modding availability.

But what I really, really like:
That official sim developers have opened their eyes for preserving motorsports history through simracing :inlove:

I've read nay-say simmers mentioning historic sim content will drown in modern eSport focus.

I look at it another way.
It's also about presentation.
Just think of loading screen vids of e.g. huge rF1 mod packs for F1 1991 season with Murrey Walkers incitating voice and Massive Attack's signature music of the time in the background, or the 1970 WSC pack by CSGT viewing infamous battles between famous manufacturer sports car vehicles encapsulated in The Persuaders theme graphics -and music, or similar F1 1979 pack to George Harrison's "Faster" while displaying epic battles, unbearable situations, etc, already leaving the simmer with tons of emotions even before chosing car, track and event.

You don't have to be a historic motorsports fanatic and know every detail. If just the presentation is present to lurk you in, backed up by a convincing sim authenticity, delivering tons of soul and, e g. experience that jumping from car to car in historic times is a difference way morw huge than ditto jumps between modern day optimized single seaters or GT race cars.

Then add some real challenge, driving at venues on tracks not with perfect asphalt, forgiving curbs, but quite the opposite. And the first time experience for the new kid on the block, that he/she suddenly experiencing the sense of actually being in charge and feeling of control of a squealing, uncontrollable beast on a demaning historic track, getting an eye opener.

That's my hope for simracing future.
(or if I should limit it down, a focus by the Straight4 team and future GTR Revival modding community).

Just my 2 cents.
 
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Voted BTCC, because it's a Motorsport Series I really like!
But I hope the other Series will come as DLC at some point.
 
It's like a choice between:
1. Pcars
2. Pcars 2
3. Pcars 3
4. Pcars 4 GTR Revival.
;):D
 
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It really just seems like they've lost the plot already, in my opinion, GTR2 was solid because I was focused on one series and simulated that series really well, and that just so happened to complement a lot of sportscar mods, this modern "Throw like 2-3 cars into a sim sandbox" approach just doesn't do anything for me
 
What used to really PISS ME OFF with GTR2 was allllll the effin F1 fans. Make F1 cars for GTR2, They said. Make F1 tracks for GTR2, they said. The PITSTOPS were over a minute long!!!! It was the least suited title to mod F1 and yet......
 
I'd vote Can-Am only for the 917/30 beast! I'm not particularly divided, I'm more about the modern cars anyway so this is kind of over my head and the variety of tracks matter more than the car. As long as the AI is great and the game is stable and the user experience is good, I'll be interested.
 
All would be interesting to fans of historic racing.

Transam would be easiest, the period from late sixties to early eighties. A wide variety of cars but with well balanced performance.

Canam would be great, but here the performance varies wildly. Recreate the "golden years" of early seventies and it's the "Bruce and Denny Show" - drive a McLaren or lose. Go for earlier seasons and it would appeal mainly to fans of history... how many newcomers have heard of a '68 Shadow? Go for later season and it's lost its glamour, lower powered sport racers and many cars similar to Transam.

'70s Sport Cars are well represented by many LeMans mods already, but wouldn't be unwelcome.

Might I offer an alternative - '50s sport cars. I was hoping this was the direction the P&G mod would move, instead of into the seventies. The only other mod we have is the LM55 mod for GTL (an easy conversion to GTR2) containing Ferrari TR 250, Maserati 450, Aston Martin DBR1 & 2, Mercedes 300, Jag C & D. Add to this Cunninghams (where Shelby got his start), Lister Jags, Lister Corvettes, Reventlow Scarab, Devins, Allards.
 
More people are voting for Late-90s BTCC than 1970-72 Can-Am cars??? Are you people NUTS??? 1th 1970-72 Can-Am series, if created by these guys would be fantastic. We already have plenty of race sims that are representative of the type of racing you'd get from 90s BTCC, and also World Sports Cars for that matter. But the beasts that existed within the 1970-1972 Can-Am series would be like noting ever created in sim racing by a quality sim studio.
Like the 1970 Shadow Mk1!

 
none of them, i want them making a current day racing sim, not a purely historic one.
like for example the WEC championship with all the prototype classes and gt's.
 
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None of them... BPR, 90s JGTC, 80s/90s SCCA/TransAm, Group 4/5, Group C, ALMS are much better and popular

If any of those options wins, please have the decency to rebrand your game TC Revival because your are going very far from GT cars. If I had any doubt, now I know, I won't buy this.
You're quiet wrong on this, Group 4/5 and Prototype C are parts of the WSC championship (at different years though). That's why WSC is the best choice for a GTR game, between these 4 options. Can Am cars are quiet unique and could be considered as GTs.
 
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Premium
More people are voting for Late-90s BTCC than 1970-72 Can-Am cars??? Are you people NUTS??? 1th 1970-72 Can-Am series, if created by these guys would be fantastic. We already have plenty of race sims that are representative of the type of racing you'd get from 90s BTCC, and also World Sports Cars for that matter. But the beasts that existed within the 1970-1972 Can-Am series would be like noting ever created in sim racing by a quality sim studio.
Like the 1970 Shadow Mk1!

I mean I get the love for those. But would they really work in a racing sim? Can you recreate these old monster correctly, and would doing this make for good simulated racing? From what I know about Can-Am, it wasn't really wheel-to-wheel racing, you had cars dominating, if they survived a race.
 
none of them, i want them making a current day racing sim, not a purely historic one.
like for example the WEC championship with all the prototype classes and gt's.
Surely you can see the fun in historic racing series, the lack of safety rules, big old engines & lots of sliding around.

Take me back to the 70s and 80s!
 
I mean I get the love for those. But would they really work in a racing sim? Can you recreate these old monster correctly, and would doing this make for good simulated racing? From what I know about Can-Am, it wasn't really wheel-to-wheel racing, you had cars dominating, if they survived a race.
True, but to me simracing has always been far more than just the wheel-to-wheel-bangers competitive aspect.

It's an adventure, recreating a state of mind filed with immersion of the soulfull days.

And strictly sim-wise, Can-Am and Trans-Am mod packs for several sims have proven trustworthy delivery for more decades now.
 
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More people are voting for Late-90s BTCC than 1970-72 Can-Am cars??? Are you people NUTS??? 1th 1970-72 Can-Am series, if created by these guys would be fantastic. We already have plenty of race sims that are representative of the type of racing you'd get from 90s BTCC, and also World Sports Cars for that matter. But the beasts that existed within the 1970-1972 Can-Am series would be like noting ever created in sim racing by a quality sim studio.
Like the 1970 Shadow Mk1!

Ok I mentioned 90ies BTCC in my first post in this thread.
But that was an answer more to be read like "it doesn't matter, I don't care whether official title followed is by 90ies BTCC, if just the sim lives up to being fully moddable".

Otherwise I'm with you.

Apart from I already have plenty fun for life ages in several Can-Am and Trans-Am mod packs for primarily GTR2, rF1 and AC. And far more than classic BTCC stuff.

So as other pins out, e.g. a 1950s sports car series would be nice.
 
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