What The F1 2018 Game Needs To Become A Success
Last year's F1 2017 game was considered one of the best F1 games to date, which means that F1 2018 has a lot to live up to.
F1 2017 brought the F1 video game franchise up to date. Prior to F1 2017 the game lagged behind other racing games in graphics and user involvement. F1 2017 brought a much improved career mode and historic cars.
Today F1 2018 was announced to be released on August 24. The announcement didn't include any specific features or gameplay screenshots, but a more in depth career mode and more classic cars have been promised. The game appears to be a continuation of F1 2017 rather than a complete redesign.
The slogan for the new game is "Make Headlines" which has led to speculation that interaction with the media will be brought back into the career mode. This feature has been seen in F1 games before, but not in recent years. The feature could lead to more off-track action over the course of a race weekend .
More classic cars will satisfy many fans who thought that there were some classics that weren't included last year. Legendary cars from older time periods, such as the sixties and seventies, could also make appearances in the game.
There are undoubtedly more new features coming that will be announced at a later time, but here are some options and game modes that could add to the massive improvement that F1 2017 was.
No Halo
It's extremely hard to argue that the halo improves the visual aesthetic of the cars. Most fans are already used to it, but the cars definitely look better without it. It is simply a safety device that is not necessary in a video game. However, some fans may still want the halo in the game for added realism and immersion.
A simple option in the settings menu would solve this issue. Fans who want the halo can have it, and those who don't can simply turn it off. Turning off the halo will also help the casual player's visibility. If the player does decide to have the halo the graphics recently introduced by FOM could help the appearance and functionality of the halo.
Weekend League
This concept is similar to the game mode on FIFA where players compete during the week to qualify for the games that take place that weekend. Codemasters could make a similar game mode work for F1. Players have ten online races (with a minimum of ten people in each race) to score a certain amount of points to qualify. Once a player has qualified there will be live races for each range of points (division) scored during that week.
This mode keeps fans engaged throughout the week. It could also be tied into the ever-growing F1 Esports competition. The league would also be perfect for expanding the online capabilities of the game. Currently, there are only two online game modes, open lobbies and online championships. The weekly league would also provide a way to rank drivers based off of skill through the various divisions, rather than the current method based off of experience.
Team Management
The Motorsport Manager series has showed that there are fans that enjoy being in complete control of the team. Currently, there isn't an officially licensed F1 manager game. This would be a massive addition to the next game and it is unlikely, however, the mode should be considered in the future.
If the mode was added it would create a unique opportunity for the player to drive and manage for the team. Codemasters would also be able to make more profit after the initial sale of the game with in-game purchases.
F2 in Career Mode
Currently, you begin your first season of career mode with any team you wish. Adding a shortened version of the F2 season before you progress to F1 increases the realism. Your performance in F2 could also influence what teams you can drive for. Once again this is unlikely to be added to F1 2018, but it would be great to increase the variety of formula cars available in the game.
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Comments (7)
Online needs a lot of improvement. GT sport have got online racing so right. I’d love to see F1 adopt some features like events and the qualifying process. Also the sportsmanship rating are a great way to separate the shunters. Also disabling collisions for the first two or three corners to let the pack spread out.
How many online races have a collision at T1?
ALL OF THEM!
Some kind of league would indeed be a great feature next to esports, since only a handful of people can actually make it into the qualification races
I've purchased every version of this game since launch BUT that ended with the 2017 version. There are so many missed opportunities that I am no longer willing to drop $80 (CAD) on this game. There is so much time wasted with prior to every race having to open the laptop, wait for the agent, go into settings, go back then go to FP1. Just get me to the damn track. Either make the "agent/manager" experience interesting or let us skip it. The weather is another. Why can't we change the settings on weather. It would not be unusual when I play to have three or four races in a row in the rain. I get that in "real life" weather is unpredictable but there should be settings to customize it for the person who paid almost $100 for a game. This game could be incredible instead of mediocre but alas, I don't suspect much will change this year.
What seems to have been overlooked by all of the pundits, soothsayers, backseat drivers, and other purveyors of ultimate wisdom is this: Formula 1's recent transition from sport to business. I am not referring to Liberty Media's recent purchase of F1. Rather, I am referring to the subtle transition from "bare-knuckle" racing by a rowdy group of privateers and playboys to "business" teams: teams who pay more attention to a bottom line rather than a finish line; rules that limit every aspect of racing to promote "fairness" rather than to just protect life while encouraging "all-out, no-restriction" competition; an administration that tries to find ways to entertain fans and thus increase the "take" from each race. In other words, administrate a business rather than referee a sport. This transition has happened to every major sport today: American baseball, American football, American basketball for sure, and probably the rest of the world's sports as well. "How do we attract more fans?" the administrators ask. "What do fans really want?". "Are we projecting a responsible-enough image when it comes to using Earth's resources?". That is to say: appearance, not substance. The fan knows what's real, what's raw, what's un-processed. A shrieking V-12 F1 engine at full-rev is real, raw, and unprocessed. A current F1 power plant is the antithesis of real, raw, unprocessed. The fan's ears tell them that, and the fan's heart is not satisfied with what the ears are transmitting to it. And that is the problem with the current state of Formula 1.
Here's me thinking I was the only one who was gonna write about the announcement.... great article Josh!
Hahaha thanks