Grand Prix Legends 2004

[Mike D]

hxxp://www.bhmotorsports.com/download/6447

Not a new game, just a compilation of lots of patches and mod's from the GPL community.

There are only a couple of games that can stand up to the test of time. Thanks mostly to modders. Grand Prix Legends was released in 1998 with the most realistic racing physics model ever. It also sported great graphics for 1998. But times have changed, and while most titles slip away into the archives of gaming history, this one can still be played today and it will blow away any other racing title since. Be it the physics model or graphics, this one reigns supreme.

The above link is a great place to start, but the add-ons for this title are too numerous to mention. With hundreds of graphical updatates, hundreds of new tracks, cars, everything. The community is one of the largest gaming communities around (at least for keeping a title alive) and it constantly breathes new life into GPL.

If you are a racing sim fan, this is the grand-daddy of them all. This one is not for the faint of heart, however. It's HARD. Taking you back to 1967, when cars had no wings to keep them on the track. If you wanted to survive a lap in these v10 and v12 light-weight beasts, you had to use the brake to slowdown, the gas to gain traction, the wheel to "drift" around corners. There was no such thing as a "lead-foot".

Driving through the city circuits as fans, telephone poles, street signs, and buildings just a few feet away (if you don't actually hit them that is) gives you no better sensation of speed in a racing simulation.

Give it a shot...if you dare!

[condors]

best driving game ever

[Calis]

Is it the best because of the amount of realism?

I've always heard how wonderful it is, but I'm not much of a racing game fan and I stayed away from it.

Anything else that makes it stand out as the greatest? Such as career mode or something?

I might try to snag a copy even though I'm relatively sure I won't like it. Heard too much praise on it.

EDIT: Reading a bit more on it, probably be best if I passed. Way over my head. Doesn't sound like it has much in the way of realism options either eh?

[condors]

the driving part of the game makes it feel more like a real racing game than any other i have played. You need to "learn" how to drive the cars. I guess its not for everyone but its my favorite Papy game ever (shame there won't be anymore)

[Mike D]

It is definately a niche racing game. Grand Prix Legends is to Auto Racing Sims what FOF is to Football games, sort of.

It does not feature any career building. It's a snapshot in time of the 1967 season, but the goal is not character development. It's you (the player) development.

You can enter your times into the GPL Ranking system (which has thousands of drivers entered) and see how you fair against them.

GPL2004 is free, the hundreds of add-on tracks are free. The only thing you would ever need to pay for is the tracks that come with the game. But you can really pass on those if you want (I prefer the '67 tracks to all else).

It's frustratingly fun, but when you can get competative times around any of the circuits, you really begin to feel like you have mastered something. It's pretty cool.

[Calis]

Cool, thanks. I'll give it a try.

Going to be painful, but I have a sick fetish with banging my head against the wall learning sims.

Didn't know that this GPL2004 thing was readily available for those without the game, so I'll give 'er a shot for sure.

[Mike D]

Here's a resource if you want to get some expert help or are looking for fixes, add-ons, or upgrades.

hxxp://forum.rscnet.org/

The Grand Prix Legends forum is almost as busy as FOFC and it's 95% on-topic. :eek:

http://forum.rscnet.org/

Some solid advice to begin with.

1. Break slowly, and pump brakes gently if you get a tire lock. Tire lock means you have lost traction and will slide ride off the track.

2. Apply gas steadily and lift off the gas when you shift. Apply gas while going around turns, it helps with traction.

3. Heat your tires up by going around the track once to get more traction.

4. Lower the ammount of gas in the tank for better handling.

[RebelMan]

Great racing sim. It'll take a while to get used to without the use of the ideal racing line. Nevertheless, I must say that I have enjoyed all of the Papyrus simulations: GPL, and the Nascar series. Too bad that Papyrus had to fold. :(