The
EA SportsEA Sports is a brand name used by Electronic Arts since 1993 to distribute games based on sports. Formerly a gimmick inside Electronic Arts sports games, that tried to mimic real-life sports networks, calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as...
F1 Series consists of five
racing simulationSim Racing is the collective term for computer software that attempts to simulate accurately auto racing , complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings...
games based on
Formula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1, and currently officially referred to as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants...
motorsport. The games were released annually between 2000 and 2003, stopped selling, then continued in 2006. They were developed by
Image Space IncorporatedImage Space Incorporated is a video game developer in Ann Arbor, Michigan specializing in the fields of computer game development, "man-in-the-loop" simulator architectures, computer image generation, and entertainment systems integration...
(PC) and
Visual ScienceVisual Science, formerly Visual Sciences, was a computer and video game development company based in Dundee, Scotland. It was established in 1993 by Russell Kay, who was programmer of the hugely successful Lemmings games...
(Console Versions).
The Formula One games have a variety of 'driving aid' options that can be tailored to the users' own tastes. Thus, in terms of car handling, the game can play either as an arcade racer or a driving simulation.
After losing the official F1 licence from Formula One Administration Ltd. to a multi-year exclusive licencing contract between FOA and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (publishers of the competing
Formula OneFormula One was a series of computer and video games originally created by Psygnosis and more recently Studio Liverpool. It takes its name from the popular car racing series of the same name. Since 2001, the Formula One series has been made by Studio Liverpool with the FOA Official License...
series on
PlayStationThe PlayStation is a 32-bit fifth generation video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December ....
/
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
), ISI developed their final release hitting stores in 2003.
The
EA SportsEA Sports is a brand name used by Electronic Arts since 1993 to distribute games based on sports. Formerly a gimmick inside Electronic Arts sports games, that tried to mimic real-life sports networks, calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as...
F1 Series consists of five
racing simulationSim Racing is the collective term for computer software that attempts to simulate accurately auto racing , complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings...
games based on
Formula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1, and currently officially referred to as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants...
motorsport. The games were released annually between 2000 and 2003, stopped selling, then continued in 2006. They were developed by
Image Space IncorporatedImage Space Incorporated is a video game developer in Ann Arbor, Michigan specializing in the fields of computer game development, "man-in-the-loop" simulator architectures, computer image generation, and entertainment systems integration...
(PC) and
Visual ScienceVisual Science, formerly Visual Sciences, was a computer and video game development company based in Dundee, Scotland. It was established in 1993 by Russell Kay, who was programmer of the hugely successful Lemmings games...
(Console Versions).
Gameplay
The Formula One games have a variety of 'driving aid' options that can be tailored to the users' own tastes. Thus, in terms of car handling, the game can play either as an arcade racer or a driving simulation.
F1 Challenge '99-'02
After losing the official F1 licence from Formula One Administration Ltd. to a multi-year exclusive licencing contract between FOA and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (publishers of the competing
Formula OneFormula One was a series of computer and video games originally created by Psygnosis and more recently Studio Liverpool. It takes its name from the popular car racing series of the same name. Since 2001, the Formula One series has been made by Studio Liverpool with the FOA Official License...
series on
PlayStationThe PlayStation is a 32-bit fifth generation video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December ....
/
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
), ISI developed their final release hitting stores in 2003. Showcasing four full seasons of Formula 1 from 1999 to 2002, many people thought it would be a type of compilation of all the games previously made by ISI but in fact the title turned into a cult following platform for both modders and sim racers.
Before this release ISI often tended to make mistakes at the time of modeling the tracks, cars and sounds. ISI listened to the fans and fixed almost every single aspect from previous versions, most noticeable was the sound which proved to be the most realistic to date, it was later improved in 2004 in a 3rd party mod release; Also the cars models were changed and made from scratch for this release to make them more realistic. Track versions were created specifically for each season resembling the real circuits.
The use of simple text files for track, drivers and cars physics parameters lead to gradually make F1C, as it is known, into a powerful 3D racing platform which saw from year 2003 onwards the release of mods from independent developers who posted their work for free in their web sites tuning not only cars physics but circuit physics and of course release every time track dependent liveries and 3D models for the cars.
Modifications and hacks
EA Sports F1 Series was based around various known standards, such as text files for storing player data and an industry known format for circuit geometry. Many extra circuits were created for the series, especially F1 Challenge '99-'02
(often shortened to F1 Challenge
or even F1C). The complete 2003
European Touring Car ChampionshipThe European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organized by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004...
(ETCC) was released for free, as well as one Gran Turismo game released commercially. There were also mods in the "RH" (Ralph Hummerich) series for the following seasons, RH2003, RH2004 and RH2005. All three were released for F1 Challenge. Another mod group which also have done f1 seasons for F1 Challenge '99-'02 is the CTDP group (Cars and Tracks Development Project.) These are the biggest "rivals" for the RH Modifications as they appear to develop the game as well as update it.
Going back in time, F1 Challenge also served as the basis for the freely available 'F1 '74 '75 Mod' developed by a modding team called CREW. It provided a simulation of the numerous F1 cars of 1974 and 1975, including the championship-winning McLaren M23 and Ferrari 312T. Other great mods are the CK mods and the 1971 carset.
In June 2009 the is another free full mod called 1986/1987 V1.0 , it was originally released in January but the mod was initial and in May , it was released the V0.9 of this mod.
F1 Challenge has remained highly popular amongst sim enthusiasts up until the release of the successor
rFactorrFactor is a computer racing simulator designed with the ability to run any type of four-wheeled vehicle from street cars to open wheel cars of any era. rFactor aimed to be the most accurate race simulator of its time...
, a game self-published by
ISIImage Space Incorporated is a video game developer in Ann Arbor, Michigan specializing in the fields of computer game development, "man-in-the-loop" simulator architectures, computer image generation, and entertainment systems integration...
. As of
September 2005-Portal:Current events:- News collections and sources :* Wikipedia:News collections and sources.* Wikipedia:News sources - This has much of the same material organized in a hierarchical manner to help encourage NPOV in our news reporting....
, it remains to be seen whether F1 Challenge follows a natural decline or endures.
Recently there has been some updates to the game. Largely the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 mods.
Titles
- EA Sports F1 2000, released early 2000 on PC and PS
The PlayStation is a 32-bit fifth generation video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December ....
- EA Sports F1 Championship Season 2000, released late 2000 on PC, PS
The PlayStation is a 32-bit fifth generation video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December ....
, PS2, Macintosh
- EA Sports F1 2001, released late 2001 on PC, PS2 and Xbox
The Xbox is a video game console produced by Microsoft. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market, and competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast, and Nintendo's GameCube...
- EA Sports F1 2002, released mid-2002 on PC, PS2, Xbox, GameCube
The is Nintendo's fourth home video game console with Wii being fifth, and is part of the sixth generation console era. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and predecessor to Nintendo's Wii....
and GBAThe Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color...
- F1 Challenge '99-'02, released early 2003 on PC. Released as F1 Career Challenge on PS2, Xbox and GameCube
External links