Career / Story Mode in Sim Racing – For or Against?

[Haiden773]

Don't really care for them, because they usually get old after one or two seasons, but as long as their implementation doesn't steal development resources or time from the core simulation aspects, I don't have a problem with them being included.

Personally, I'd rather have the tools and functionality needed to create my own custom championships and tweak the grid at a really granular level.

 

[schlitty]

As much as we'd like to pretend it's real or a sim is somehow above a game, they're all games. Sports games at that. So I personally think every one should have a career mode. I play NHL games to simulate a NHL season. I want to be able to play a F1 season too. Or weird Brazilian stock car season. Or a season of whatever ACC is (with apologies to those that follow the class).

That said, I've never had interest in "story" modes with sports games. Save for something like Prize Fighter on SEGACD, I can't think of one off the top of my head I wanted to play. But I do think there's an audience for it.

Extra modes are always welcome. Play what you want.

 

[Trebormoore84]

I think this topic is entirely about context.

You wouldn't pick up a serious simulator with no skills or motivation to do so, your more likely to start with arcade games with a story and / or a sensation of progression from nothing to something, definitely how I started to progress and gain interest. Late nineties there was no online racing to speak of anyway and this is how all games were.

Similarly if you have progressed into serious sims, learned the ins and outs of car dynamics, setup, studied tracks inside out, you probably have outgrown career modes and want to race people as good or better than you. Although sometimes its also nice to get away from this and grind through F1 2018... nothing wrong with that.

However isn't iRacing itself a career mode though? Just saying...

And where is the bloody RF2 championship and points system already?!

 

[Helldriver]

Career / Story-Mode in Simracing? Well.....that depends, i guess.
Is the F1 Series from Codies really a simulation or is it a racing-game?

For example Gran Turismo 2 or 4, i loved them back then, doing all the license tests before buying a used cheap car and start racing. Games like GT need a story/career for sure.

But how about simulators like AMS, rF2 and iRacing? In my opinion it´s not needed. People just want to race online or hotlap offline. They should always put all their money and effort to the core of the sim.

 

[KittX]

Story - no, because I love simracing for randomness and lack of "gamey" scripts and mechanics.

Some versatile carreer is definitely a plus. Dirt 4, for example, IMO had very interesting carreer, with ability of participate in other teams' cars, buying your own used/new cars, creating team livery within a game, that's very cool. Much better than Dirt 2.0 carreer, IMO.
Games like Wreckfest would benefit from adding real life rules and elements to the carreer, including selling/buying raced cars from the opponents, or spending money on fixing the damage, especially if you could leave something worn or broken, with a chance of failing tech inspection before the race, or even between the races. That adds another strategy/randomness/versatile element to the gameplay.

 

[aphidgod]

Whatever makes these games (and don't kid yourselves, they're games) more rewarding to play offline and solo, I'm for it. I have a pathological aversion to online gaming with others, born of too much experience with it.

 

[michelforest]

The career mode in F1 is well done, but still needs a lot of improvement. The biggest problem is, of course, the fact that once you completed a season, you start the same season all over again: same calendar, the other drivers stay with the same team, etc. The only difference is the fact that the player can go to another team. I know that this is a contractual issue that Codemasters cannot change. But it would be nice if it was changed. Also, the way your standing within the team and with the other teams in the pitlane is measured is not realistic. If it was the same in real life, a lot of drivers in F1 would lose their drive very quickly. Finally, how come the player's car never has a mechanical issue (unless you reach 100% wear on the engine or gearbox?)

Finally, the "invitational events" , designed to allow you to drive the old cars, doesn't work. It wasn't a good idea last year, and it is still not a good one this year.

F1 2018 is a very well designed game and I enjoy it a lot. It's not in the same league as AC, ACC or R3E when it comes to the simulation aspect of the game.

 

[MotherDawg]

***** EDIT *****
It depends.

Console gamers who plays all kinds of games like Mario Bros. and drives their racing games in third-person on a game pad might love to lose their time with story lines that makes them the "center of attention" and, like the graphic of this thread shows, be "interviewed" by a programed toy... I guess if it sells... different strokes for different folks.

But on real sims, rF1, AMS, rF2 and iRacing, OOOPS !!! iRacing has a carrer mode Thank YOU... there is no need for a career mode much less a fake story line as the goal is not to waste time, it's when I have the time to sit at my rig, it's to practice and build a setup for the upcoming event of the league I'm in. It's no toy.

For some, it's all they do... why else do you think they're 2 sec a lap faster than you?

Personally, a story mode... like cosmetics and fashion, it's consumerism "gaaawrbidge".

 

[Jopamir]

The offline "career mode" is your race history: best laptimes, best finish for each track/car combo, # of pole positions, wins, etc

The progression of your career (offline) combines those things with raising the AI difficulty, length of race, rules used and assists used, with the ultimate goal being (hopefully) to consistently beat the AI at max difficulty with full rules (or the real world rules depending on series) and no assists.

Online career progression is similar, granted you start with more manageable cars and keep your expectations realistic; you WILL be a backmarker when you start. Without practice, you'll continue to be a backmarker even longer. With proper practice you'll improve, but not everybody can be Jim Clark, but nearly anyone can be a competent driver.

You may always be a backmarker, but the goal should be to gradually get faster through consistency and improved racecraft. It's not about being the best, someone will always be faster.

Lastly, your "story mode" is the actual interaction with the sim racing community...sharing or withholding setup tips, beef with other drivers, admins ("marshalls") who rain down praise or punishment depending on your actions on and off track...seriously, who needs an artificial story mode when we have you wild, crazy and opinionated lot to argue with 24/7/365?!

rFactor 2, AMS, iRacing et al have story modes...it's called forums.

...and I really wish that, if human and technically possible, here in RD, we had some kind of "story line", kind of registered "career" a record of all the events (Club races mainly...) we took part in and the statistics associated with them. But hey, that would mean Results Chart for each race, which is kind of a Tabu for the time being at RD HQ so...
(I said it again , sorry Bram).
Cheers

 

[apex11]

The career


Not all F1 drivers come from money. Ocon, Hamilton and Ricciardo come to mind.

Also, F1 always had drivers from wealthy families. Even in the early days.

Bit disingenuous that... Lewis's myth is of a poor upbringing but truth is his Dad had 3 business's but ultimately from 12 he was Ron Dennis's pet project so he had plenty of cash and support....
Ocon isn't racing in F1 anymore due to money (so proves my point)...but his parents may not be 200 million rich but they aren't poor either...
Maldonardo was backed by his government.
Even Senna (rich parents) needed money from Brazil, but at least he was humble....

To even get into karting at aged 7 you need serious investment. 100k a year upwards.
You can simply pay for better kit, training, mechanics.....on and on....

 

[Turk]

Managing a budget of a race team, crashes and damage having financial impact, off-track affairs can influence on driving style etc. Hmmm my imagination is running away with itself at some of the possibilities....

There are race management games out there, that's a whole other side of things that may not interest someone like me. But maybe the sim companies could team up with a company making a management game and somehow have the games feeding data to each other. You could even team up with a friend and have them do the boring management stuff while you win races.

Bit disingenuous that... Lewis's myth is of a poor upbringing but truth is his Dad had 3 business's but ultimately from 12 he was Ron Dennis's pet project so he had plenty of cash and support....

.....To even get into karting at aged 7 you need serious investment. 100k a year upwards.

Which would kind of explain why Lewis dad needed 3 businesses.

I did go to a go kart race in Dublin when I was thinking about buying a go kart a few years ago, it was kids racing but the equipment they had was insane. They were saying they could easily spend upwards of €30,000 and that's in Ireland were it's a very niche sport with very little infrastructure and nobody to impress.

The Hamilton's were poor by F1 standards, which is why it's so unusual to see someone like Lewis in F1.

 

[Miguel Batista]

Bit disingenuous that... Lewis's myth is of a poor upbringing but truth is his Dad had 3 business's but ultimately from 12 he was Ron Dennis's pet project so he had plenty of cash and support....
Ocon isn't racing in F1 anymore due to money (so proves my point)...but his parents may not be 200 million rich but they aren't poor either...
Maldonardo was backed by his government.
Even Senna (rich parents) needed money from Brazil, but at least he was humble....

To even get into karting at aged 7 you need serious investment. 100k a year upwards.
You can simply pay for better kit, training, mechanics.....on and on....

Motorsports are expensive for sure. My dad tried out for a motorsport team back in the early 80s and though apparently he was te best applicant he was unable to follow trough because they were looking for money and talent. And my father was not a poor man by any standards at the time.

 

[David Wright]

But on real sims, rF1, AMS, rF2 and iRacing, there is no need for a career mode ....

Do you not realise rF1 has a career mode? Its crap but its there. iRacing? Can I just jump in and drive any car? Hmm - I thought I had to start in a basic car and earn points to allow me to drive in a more difficult car? Sounds like a career mode to me.

Other "real sims" with career modes include Richard Burns Rally and GT Legends.

 

[apex11]

There are race management games out there, that's a whole other side of things that may not interest someone like me. But maybe the sim companies could team up with a company making a management game and somehow have the games feeding data to each other. You could even team up with a friend and have them do the boring management stuff while you win races.

Which would kind of explain why Lewis dad needed 3 businesses.

I did go to a go kart race in Dublin when I was thinking about buying a go kart a few years ago, it was kids racing but the equipment they had was insane. They were saying they could easily spend upwards of €30,000 and that's in Ireland were it's a very niche sport with very little infrastructure and nobody to impress.

The Hamilton's were poor by F1 standards, which is why it's so unusual to see someone like Lewis in F1.

I imagine Ron Dennis saw Tiger Woods and what he did for Golf and grabbed Lewis as fast as he could, chucked the best kit at him and the rest is history...
Mod Edit: removed as offensive.

 

[David Wright]

Dave Kaemmer on Grand Prix Legends

"Unfortunately, we had to change the design of GPL in order to ship it on time, and instead of starting in the equivalent of a Formula Ford, graduating to Formula 2, and only then to a Formula 1 car, we allowed people to jump right in to the F1 car with no training time. It was like putting a novice skier at the top of an iced-over double black diamond and saying, "Have fun!" Needless to say, many people didn't. My regrets are that we didn't postpone shipping until the 3D hardware market settled down a bit and until we had finished the experience ladder design, ..."

So GPL, the daddy of all sims, was planned to have a career mode. I do wonder if the the prejudice against career modes in sims would exist today if GPL had included the career. Certainly today in iRacing you have to start in the equivalent of a formula Ford (the skippy) and can't jump straight into a Lotus 49.

Personally I am a fan of career modes. They do give me the incentive for "just one more race" which I find missing with most sims which don't have a career mode. Of course there are bad/boring career modes, I'm not looking for a "grind" and I'm not into buying updated parts for my cars as part of a career mode, nor am I looking for a story or to talk to the press. I do like progression and unlocking cars/tracks as a reward. I acknowledge that producing a good career mode is difficult and perhaps impossible to make it appeal to everyone.

 

[Cristian Haba]

Grinding no interest
Career mode no interest
Game play no interest
I play every day and the only motivation I ever need is a working wheel and working VR goggles.
I can do the rest on my own.

Says the guy with the name (and avatar )that pays homage to probably the greatest Career Mode of all time:
NFS Porsche Uneleashed

Cote D'Azure coincidentally was my favorite track in that game, best time I got in it with the '95 993 911 Turbo was 1:55.46. Was top of the charts with that for a very very long time.

Career mode in a game done right like NFS PU was, by Electronic Arts Canada (the real MVPs), then the game is an absolute joy. Would fire that up again, now my RTX 2080 might hit 60 fps in it at 720p, might.

 

[Bruce Banner]

Without a career mode I'd have no interest in the game whatsoever . I don't do online gaming of any description . It doesn't interest me . Neither do I want to do a season as one of the drivers like we got with 2015 .

 

[Turk]

I imagine Ron Dennis saw Tiger Woods and what he did for Golf and grabbed Lewis as fast as he could, chucked the best kit at him and the rest is history....
Mod Edit: removed as offensive.

I very much doubt that Ron Dennis saw a black guy doing well at golf and thought he could pick some random black kid and he'd be brilliant at motor racing, that's very far fetched and more than a little racist. You don't just throw million of pounds at a kid under the assumption that black people are better at sports than white people.

The fact is Tiger Woods was a good golfer, Lewis Hamilton is a good driver because they put the work in.

I do think you could turn just about anybody into a decent driver with training but it's another level of dedication and talent to become the best in your field.

 

[Cote Dazur]

Edit

 

[Knoxstar]

I don't see why all (story mode, career mode and or neither) can't co-exist in the same game/sim. If it were all sim there wouldn't be many choices out there as the profit comes from the game side. We're still a niche genre it would appear when compared to other genres so developers would turn to other more profitable types probably.

In short, I'm fine either way. That would never be the determining factor unless it was poorly done.