There is no denying that sim racing has come a long way over the years. Full rigs featuring automotive-grade wheels and pedals were unthinkable not too long ago - and going back even further, the best many could do was a joystick. Today's trip down memory lane takes us right back to that era with a title that ahead of its time when it was released in 1996 - it is the starting point of many a sim racer's careers: Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 2.
Following up on the first iteration of the series simply called "Formula One Grand Prix", GP2 was the first title of the franchise that was officially licensed by the FIA and Formula One, featuring the 1994 season. All 16 circuits of the season were present, as well as all 14 teams that competed in it.
All 16 circuits of the 1994 Formula One season are present, but not all of them feature the safety changes made that year - Jerez, Estoril and Silverstone do, Spa-Francorchamps, Catalunya and Montreal do not.
Of course, 14 teams meant 28 cars - but as F1 had a 26-car limit in place, this ruled out two drivers per race weekend, just like it did in real life. All 28 cars would compete in the two qualifying sessions - one on Friday and Saturday each - to make the grid, the two slowest drivers did not make the race. Usually, positions 27 and 28 were reserved for the Pacific team, which only qualified for five races in the hands of Bertrand Gachot, and two in those of Paul Belmondo in 1994.
Same Helmet, Different Name
While driver lineups changed frequently in 1994 due to the tragic Imola weekend, drivers being injured in testing, sponsorship or other reasons, they stay the same in Grand Prix 2. The game's driver lineup is that of the 1994 British Grand Prix, which is where the cars' liveries are based off of as well. However, it is possible to rename each team and driver in the menu, so even though the drivers' helmets would not change, different drivers could take their seat in name.Grand Prix 2's game modes ranged from quick races to full-distance championships including authentic weekend structures.
Accurate weekend structures let players experience full F1 weekends if they so chose, but sessions could also be skipped. Apart from single race weekends (called Non-Championship Race), players could drive in Quickrace mode (with a previously set length and grid position), Free Practice, a full season and online multiplayer via dial-up connection. Local multiplayer was possible either via LAN connection or in hotseat mode, where players would take a pre-defined amount of turns with their own car on the same PC.
Revolutionary Graphics & Physics
What really set Grand Prix 2 apart from the competition was the on-track action, though: The game featured realistic physics for the time, as well as 3D texture mapping and SVGA graphics, making it a challenge for many home computers to run it well at the time. The circuits are fairly accurate for the time, with some elevation changes not quite being represented as they were. Overall, they were believable and featured key trackside buildings and objects.Big crashes carried big consequences - almost every part of a car could break off.
The realistic driving physics meant that small mistakes or a kerb hit at a wrong angle and speed could have dramatic consequences in the form of rather big shunts, highlighted by the extensive damage model: Cars could shed their wheels and bodywork, even to the point of just the monocoque remaining. Plowing through a gravel trap too fast could also lead to losing a front wing, and lost parts had a noticeable effect on the behavior of the car.
Fire! Fire!
Random failures were also part of Grand Prix 2: A number of mechanical gremlins could be enabled, so electrical failures, blown engines that started with white smoke before transitioning to grey one and a full-blown fire later, suspension failures and more could put a car out of the race, no matter if it was the player's or an AI opponent. Once stopped, a 2D marshal would appear and push the car to the closest barrier, where it would be lifted off the track by an invisible crane.The depth of the setup menu was similar to even today's racing sims.
Under the hood, an extensive setup menu which even included telemetry made it possible to adjust a car to all the circuits and its driver's liking. This was unheard of at the time, with even the wear of the wooden plank on the car's floor being simulated. Different tire compounds were available - although no wet weather tires were present due to the absence of a weather system, which was later introduced in Grand Prix 3.
What it did feature, however, was full pit crews waiting for you once you came in for a stop. Although your team was static and in 2D, this was a nice addition to make the pit lane feel less empty - plus, they even wiped your visor (not that dirt would accumulate) with a squeaky rag, the sound of which is probably etched into the minds of anyone who has ever played GP2.
Calling Grand Prix 2 a trail blazer is no exaggeration: There simply was no other game that simulated an F1 race - or any other type of race, for that matter - as accurately as Geoff Crammond's second entry into the iconic series did. The level of detail is astonishing for a 27-year old sim, and the passion the developers had for their project can be felt in every inch of it - even the menus, which featured a catchy, guitar-heavy soundtrack and photographs of the real 1994 F1 season.
Grand Prix 2 spawned a modding community that is still active to this day and laid the groundwork for its wildly popular successors Grand Prix 3 & Grand Prix 4, never mind much of the sim racing genre as we know it today. Its cars even got ported to rFactor and Automobilista in the Grand Prix Evolution mod, which also features Grand Prix 3's car.
Editor's Take
Grand Prix 2 holds a special place in my heart even though it did not mark the starting point in my racing game career - that title goes to Formula One on the PS1. While my family did not own a PC when I was growing up, my childhood best friend's family did, and as I spent significant parts of my childhood at their home, we poured enormous amounts of time into playing GP2, being obsessed with Formula One at a young age already. I even still remember winning my first race against the AI at Imola, using Christian Fittipaldi's Footwork as I loved his helmet design.The sim continued to accompany for even longer when I got my own (used and not very powerful) PC for my 10th birthday, and as we did not have internet access yet, multiple seasons of renamed drivers in cars that suspiciously resembled those of 1994 resided on my hard drive - probably up until 2004. Despite more modern games being available on PlayStation 1 and 2, which I also played, GP2 continued to draw me in.
Later on, I made the jump to Grand Prix 4 and found its modding community, which again saw many hours of my life poured into it. It is safe to say that the Grand Prix series by Geoff Crammond had a big impact on my passion for motorsport and sim racing - and Grand Prix 2 was such an essential part of it that I still randomly get the main menu soundtrack stuck in my head over 20 years later.
