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?
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Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

Comments

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.
Don't forget the '66 and '71 CanAm mods for GPL (you can find youtube vids for them).
gpl_canam_66.jpg
 
My favorites were
CanAm 1969-1971
BTCC Late 1990s
GroupC 1985-1990
DRM Gr5
ETCC 1970-1974
IMSA 1975

No Formula Cars
 
Hours of research or reading all comments is impossible.
I'll post about what I like and hop someone can tell me what series is closest..


Tracks: Mountain- tracks or real country roads, like:
Tagra Florio.
AC mods (names forgotten).

Cars: Analog feel and control, like:
2000 Mazda 323 (road).
1070 Alfa-Romeo Guilia.
1980 Lotus F1 car.

Ps, to drive tail-happy American beasts, you might need a motion-simulator, still I'll buy such a sim and adapt to it.
 
Premium
Hours of research or reading all comments is impossible.
I'll post about what I like and hop someone can tell me what series is closest..


Tracks: Mountain- tracks or real country roads, like:
Tagra Florio.
AC mods (names forgotten).

Cars: Analog feel and control, like:
2000 Mazda 323 (road).
1070 Alfa-Romeo Guilia.
1980 Lotus F1 car.

Ps, to drive tail-happy American beasts, you might need a motion-simulator, still I'll buy such a sim and adapt to it.

The Gran Turismo series. it' has oddball iconic racing cars, mundane road cars, a few iconic classics, and Trial mountain, what more could you ask for?
 
Unpopular opinion,

OP FWD feel ATROCIOUS in sims, modern R3E's WTCR and AC's 1990's BTCC? horrible torque steer.


What feels awsome?
A low-powered Mini Cooper race-car in AMS1, or a 1990's road car in AC.
 
90's BTCC for sure is #1. Historic Trans Am is #2.

For me anyway.
 
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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.
Thanks to you I just discovered can am mods for AC and GTR2, I'd been expecting them for years and just stop waiting and they have been made!!! Amazing, I need to try that.
 
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.
Motorsport Games has the WEC/Le Mans license in hand already. So no place for S4 to go in that arena.
 
Premium
Well, just because I personally would like to get faster cars in the main sim, group 5 or 6 from the 70s, prototype C from the 80/90 :D.
But I'm not against 60s cars. Maybe the 50s cars a bit too slow as a game main content.
As you get older you'll understand the the mind and limbs work at different speeds than they used to, for me a Lotus Cortina is fun bumper to bumper, however a VW IDR at Nordschleife at full chat is an action destined for the hospital.
 
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As you get older you'll understand the the mind and limbs work at different speeds than they used to, for me a Lotus Cortina is fun bumper to bumper, however a VW IDR at Nordschleife at full chat is an action destined for the hospital.
It's a type of racing enjoyable in a different way. GT Legends was all about this it was great.
But I think that a GTR game should be the next step, endurance and powerrful cars.

Something which could please almost everyone would be getting the licence for this :
It is basically GT Legends with more categories and more years !!!
 
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It's a type of racing enjoyable in a different way. GT Legends was all about this it was great.
But I think that a GTR game should be the next step, endurance and powerrful cars.

Something which could please almost everyone would be getting the licence for this :
It is basically GT Legends with more categories and more years !!!
Oh, so a GTR Revival title including gentlemans' prototype sports car series :thumbsup:
 

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Angus Martin
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