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Sim Racing, short for simulated racing, is a sub-genre of racing video game that seeks to replicate the experience of real-world auto racing within a virtual environment. This immersive form of entertainment has gained a substantial following among motorsport enthusiasts and gaming communities worldwide.
Sim racing involves the use of specialized racing simulation software and hardware peripherals to create a realistic racing experience. Unlike conventional racing video games, sim racing places a strong emphasis on accuracy, striving to recreate the intricacies of real-world racing, including factors such as:
Before arcade-style and sim racing split, there were early driving simulation games, like Namco's 1982 game Pole Position. Atari promoted it as very realistic Formula 1 racing at the time.
Sim racing really started to grow in 1989 when Papyrus Design Group made Indianapolis 500: The Simulation. This game, created by David Kaemmer and Omar Khudari on 16-bit computers, is often seen as the first true racing simulation for personal computers.
F1 Racing Simulation by Ubisoft was one of the first to use this tech in 1997.
Later, Microprose released Grand Prix 3 with a better graphics engine, but it lacked full online multiplayer. Modders liked it because they could use stuff from the older game, GP2.
In 1998, Papyrus released Grand Prix Legends, praised for its physics and sound. It became a hit and led to online racing with VROC.
Even though it's old, GPL is still important in sim racing. They improved the physics and made expansions for later seasons, like 1969.
In 1997, Wired magazine had an article about racing sims called "Hard Drive."
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