Last week, the Miami Grand Prix venue announced plans to expand with new circuits. Is this something the F1 Games and by extension the rest of sim racing aim to follow? Have your say in the comments.
Following three successful years running its event in the surrounding areas of the Hard Rock Stadium car park, the Miami Grand Prix is looking to expand its facilities with the goal of welcoming a wider variety of championships.
The race's organiser, South Florida Motorsports, announced last week that four new layouts will be built within the Miami International Autodrome, ranging from a 2.3km layout to the 4.52km Extended Marina Loop. All fitting within the 5.41km circuit used for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix, the aim is to initiate wider use of the venue throughout the year, starting with Ferrari Racing Days taking place on the 4.52km circuit two weeks after the main GP.
Miami International Autodrome to get layout expansion. Image credit: South Florida Motorsports
After a while, you will end up getting bored of the existing content offerings in any game. But clearly, there is a simple solution for pushing that fatigue back by at least a few weeks.
Around 20 years ago, GTR2 was released as the official game of the FIA GT Series with its combination of GT and NGT cars. Covering the 2003 and 2004 seasons, the game featured 15 circuits. However, many of those including Donnington, Hockenheim, Valencia and Oschersleben, featured multiple layouts. As a result, one circuit could easily provide a selection of different racing challenges.
This is an art that many titles today overlook, so perhaps it is time for the likes of ACC and Le Mans Ultimate to offer alternative circuit layouts. Whilst offline AI racing is all about replicating the real thing on full-length layouts, the online racing scene can always do with fresh content. Indeed, this is something iRacing offers with every track where possible providing greater variety.
Do you think sim racing games should put more effort into offering alternative layouts? Let us know in the comments.
Following three successful years running its event in the surrounding areas of the Hard Rock Stadium car park, the Miami Grand Prix is looking to expand its facilities with the goal of welcoming a wider variety of championships.
The race's organiser, South Florida Motorsports, announced last week that four new layouts will be built within the Miami International Autodrome, ranging from a 2.3km layout to the 4.52km Extended Marina Loop. All fitting within the 5.41km circuit used for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix, the aim is to initiate wider use of the venue throughout the year, starting with Ferrari Racing Days taking place on the 4.52km circuit two weeks after the main GP.
Miami International Autodrome to get layout expansion. Image credit: South Florida Motorsports
The Case for Alternative Layouts in Racing Games
In the world of racing games, we frequently hear outcry regarding the low number of circuits available to race in certain games. Be it the repetitive nature of Assetto Corsa Competizione's online racing cycle or the unchanging churn of the Formula One calendar in F1 24.After a while, you will end up getting bored of the existing content offerings in any game. But clearly, there is a simple solution for pushing that fatigue back by at least a few weeks.
Around 20 years ago, GTR2 was released as the official game of the FIA GT Series with its combination of GT and NGT cars. Covering the 2003 and 2004 seasons, the game featured 15 circuits. However, many of those including Donnington, Hockenheim, Valencia and Oschersleben, featured multiple layouts. As a result, one circuit could easily provide a selection of different racing challenges.
This is an art that many titles today overlook, so perhaps it is time for the likes of ACC and Le Mans Ultimate to offer alternative circuit layouts. Whilst offline AI racing is all about replicating the real thing on full-length layouts, the online racing scene can always do with fresh content. Indeed, this is something iRacing offers with every track where possible providing greater variety.
Do you think sim racing games should put more effort into offering alternative layouts? Let us know in the comments.
