Davide Nativo
Premium
Is planning your own pit-stops still necessary nowadays?
I am just back from a race. It isn’t important to know in which sim exactly, as this problem is a widespread issue among simracing and not present in just one title. I've spun twice during this race, as it has happened other times in similar conditions. Want to know why that happens? Because, I was more focused planning my future pit-stop rather than driving. I had to make 2, per mandatory rules, and I spun twice, one per each. It is pretty obvious, considering that driving competitively requires pretty much all of your focus, and be there thinking and calculating, multiplying and dividing how much fuel you should get aboard, which tires with which levels of pressure, when to enter, etc., is basically a recipe for disaster.
This happening frequently as I said, it got me thinking: is it really necessary? I want to simulate being a racing driver, not an engineer, and while I may understand the thrill of it, if I wanted to play some strategy game, I’d be playing some Total War, Civilization or else, which are all titles I very much enjoy. Even Motorsport Manger is on the table, as an option to mix strategy with motor racing is available nowadays. I don’t want to spend time thinking about stuff that, honestly, doesn’t compete to any racing driver in the world (aside from rare exceptions). As well as a crew chief, I want an engineer taking care of me while racing.
However, how to do so? Well, it is 2020. We are no longer in the early ’00. An AI running in the background, automatically and arithmetically calculating how much fuel I have left, how many stints do I still need to do, which tires would be best to fit on and telling me when to box, while it has taken care of all these details, is something very much doable today, I believe. Of course, it could be optional. Nobody needs to have it forcibly on if he/she really doesn’t want to, but the option should be there. Again, it’s 2020. I want to focus on driving, modern PCs (and consoles) have more than enough juice to run such an AI taking care of this stuff for me while I drive. Yes, it might make a mistake, ruin my race, but after all isn’t this what happens in real races too? It’s part of the game. For sure it will be better, however, than having to do something that I shouldn’t really be doing, as far as a simulation of being a racing driver is concerned. Most likely instead, it will do better than me in pretty much every case and scenario.
Simracing has made incredible jumps forwards in physics, graphics and sounds, but an aspect like this of the simulation is still anchored to the very origins of the genre. I think that it is time to change.
I would very much like to hear our readers thoughts about the subject, however, as I think it could make for an engaging conversation. Let us know what you think!
I am just back from a race. It isn’t important to know in which sim exactly, as this problem is a widespread issue among simracing and not present in just one title. I've spun twice during this race, as it has happened other times in similar conditions. Want to know why that happens? Because, I was more focused planning my future pit-stop rather than driving. I had to make 2, per mandatory rules, and I spun twice, one per each. It is pretty obvious, considering that driving competitively requires pretty much all of your focus, and be there thinking and calculating, multiplying and dividing how much fuel you should get aboard, which tires with which levels of pressure, when to enter, etc., is basically a recipe for disaster.
This happening frequently as I said, it got me thinking: is it really necessary? I want to simulate being a racing driver, not an engineer, and while I may understand the thrill of it, if I wanted to play some strategy game, I’d be playing some Total War, Civilization or else, which are all titles I very much enjoy. Even Motorsport Manger is on the table, as an option to mix strategy with motor racing is available nowadays. I don’t want to spend time thinking about stuff that, honestly, doesn’t compete to any racing driver in the world (aside from rare exceptions). As well as a crew chief, I want an engineer taking care of me while racing.
However, how to do so? Well, it is 2020. We are no longer in the early ’00. An AI running in the background, automatically and arithmetically calculating how much fuel I have left, how many stints do I still need to do, which tires would be best to fit on and telling me when to box, while it has taken care of all these details, is something very much doable today, I believe. Of course, it could be optional. Nobody needs to have it forcibly on if he/she really doesn’t want to, but the option should be there. Again, it’s 2020. I want to focus on driving, modern PCs (and consoles) have more than enough juice to run such an AI taking care of this stuff for me while I drive. Yes, it might make a mistake, ruin my race, but after all isn’t this what happens in real races too? It’s part of the game. For sure it will be better, however, than having to do something that I shouldn’t really be doing, as far as a simulation of being a racing driver is concerned. Most likely instead, it will do better than me in pretty much every case and scenario.
Simracing has made incredible jumps forwards in physics, graphics and sounds, but an aspect like this of the simulation is still anchored to the very origins of the genre. I think that it is time to change.
I would very much like to hear our readers thoughts about the subject, however, as I think it could make for an engaging conversation. Let us know what you think!
