Grand Prix 3: the four-years-in-the-making patch to GP2 (true!)

part two - facts / truth

Direct to the point: GP3 is way less than you see advertised. GP3 is far, very, very far from being a viable GPL alternative. But GP3 is not as bad as it will first look... Here is the story...

As you can read in the 090700 update, the 1st promotional video released for GP3, was enough for many people to get afraid of "a big GP2 patch". Now, that you can get your hands on the final product, it is obvious than in the last four years, HASBRO did the most impeccable marketing campaign, using and abusing of the Geoff's name, promising promises that weren't kept.

Here is a list of what they promised and of the corresponding truth, that you'll SPOT minutes after installing the software:

#1

Geoff Crammond, in several interviews stated: "GP3 features a whole new 3D engine".

The verdict?

You buy the GP2 game engine with 3D hardware support. Absolutely nothing more. There is no photo realistic rendering! I played the game using a Geforce 2 GTS and a 3DFX Voodoo 5500, and in both cases you see "cartoon" graphics. The background is photo based, but the game itself, the 3D objects, the computed stuff, is cartoon. Sure it looks great and it can probably get as superb as today's references (Need for Speed 5, GP Legends), but why write "photo realistic"?!

Go sell soap, you marketing dudes! Grab some 1280x1024 screen shots and then print them on small areas of the game's box... Consumer's eyes will need too much attention to spot the fraud.

#2

The development team is working on "the most realistic game physics ever seen".

The verdict?

Well, you buy E-X-A-C-T-L-Y the same physics that were on GP2. Even the hotlaps suffer from similar bugs... Plus, lap times are FAR from accurate: if your processor occupancy [PO] is, for example, 200% (unplayable - this is an easy example) during the entire lap, then you would have taken twice the time of a regular 100% PO lap, yet, you'll get a 50% downscaled time... This artificial trust on the operating system's clock can have surprise effects, after a long gaming sessions: notice how your clock lost accuracy.

Time is physics. And time in GP3 is not measured with top accuracy - basically, they use GP2 code, which is fine, if your not too serious about sim racing. Grand Prix Legends should have been an example for GP3 developers!

#3

"The software mode is there for low end systems".

"The game should run perfect on an average PIII@500 machine", as written in most magazines.

The verdict?

What is perfect? If perfect is 15 fps, then yes, GP3 is perfect on a P3@500. However if you expect higher frame rates (25.6 is the max it can do, like in GP2...), then you'll probably need a P3@700 and a 640x480 hw accelerated resolution, if you are to avoid sudden slowdowns due to accidents.

The 25.6 fps limit is a total scandal! It is EXACTLY the same limitation GP2 imposed and it does not make sense in nowadays games, at least when you have hardware that is capable of much more.

#4

"GP3 [...] puts everything else to shame", wrote the (now not so) great UK edition of PC-GAMER.

The verdict?

There are many racing titles MUCH BETTER than GP3 these days: GP Legends is unbeatable, of course, but ELECTRONIC ARTS' F1 2000 is also better on all TECH aspects, though NOT as playable. It is almost offensive the way PC-GAMER writes its GP3 review, constantly remembering how they dislikedF1 2000 and not being honest to their audience.

GP3's strong point, and a VERY STRONG one, is the weather system. It is top fun to race with changing weather conditions! This adds a novelty you won't find elsewhere and a step forward that represents the only real core improvement in Geoff's latest.

Honest: GP3 is a big weather + 3D hw support patch to GP2. It has the same menu system, the same cartoon engine graphics, the same 25.6 fps limit, the same hotlaps bugs, the same un-accuracy on laptimes, and debuts bugs that MAKE YOU SCREAM: IT LOOKS LIKE THE TESTERS NEVER PLAYED THE GAME WITH A STEERING WHEEL!! Just notice that the most popular steering wheels are NOT supported!

The game only recognizes any device's first two axes, meaning that the accelerator and the brake pedals are shared... Amaze yourself with the "testing" that GP3 had. Bah! No "testing": just patch, patch, patch, then release.

I bet that months or years from today, someone deeply involved in the game, free from NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements) will pop out and confess the truth you are reading now.

Yes, the GP3 game, the GP3 marketing campaign, and the GP3 press reviews, show - like nothing else did before - how PERMEABLE-TO-INFLUENCES, the games' industry is.

GP3 is an amusing game. The weather system is super great and new. Everything else is GP2 aged. What a shame.

Read the 1st part of this article on update 280800.