Grand Prix Circuit

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Grand Prix Circuit
Grand Prix Circuit Schriftzug.png
Studio Distinctive software
Publisher Accolade
Senior Developer Don Mattrick and Brad Gour
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 1988
platform Amiga , Amstrad CPC , Apple IIGS , Commodore 64 , Macintosh , PC ( MS-DOS ), ZX Spectrum
genre Racing game / racing simulation
Game mode Single player
control Keyboard , joystick or gamepad
medium Floppy disk , datasette
language English

Grand Prix Circuit is a Formula 1 - racing game , the first time in 1988 by Accolade was published. The game was released for Amiga , Amstrad CPC , Apple IIGS , Macintosh , Commodore 64 , PC ( MS-DOS ) and ZX Spectrum . It was developed by the Canadian game development company Distinctive Software Inc. , where Don Mattrick and Brad Gour were responsible for the game design .

Game flow

Before the start of the game, the player can choose between three different modes : training (time trial), individual race (with qualifying round) and championship circuit consisting of races on all eight racetracks. There are five different levels of difficulty to choose from. In addition to the choice of race track and vehicle, the number of laps can also be set. The game itself takes place in the cockpit view. A map of the route is shown at the top left, and at the top right is a display with lap times, placement and laps driven. In addition to the steering wheel, the cockpit itself offers various instruments, such as a speedometer . The vehicle also has two exterior mirrors in which you can watch what is happening behind you. During the switching process also is a gear shift in the lower right Bildschirmeck displayed. Apart from the simplest level of difficulty, you have to switch manually yourself. The vehicle suffers damage from collision with opponents or a tunnel wall. The game offers the possibility of pit stops , during which damage already sustained is repaired, but which is necessary especially with a higher number of laps by refueling and changing wheels . In the menu there are high score lists sorted by route .

Racetracks

The following eight tracks are available in Grand Prix Circuit :
The information on the length of the route and the number of laps are taken from the official manual.

country route Route length Number of laps Race distance
Brazil Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet ( Rio de Janeiro ) 3.126 miles 61 laps (1987) 190.693 miles (1987)
Monaco Circuit de Monaco 2,068 miles 78 rounds (1987) 161,298 miles (1987)
Canada Circuit Gilles Villeneuve , Montreal 2,740 miles 69 laps (1986) 189.007 miles (1986)
United States Detroit Grand Prix Circuit 2,500 miles 63 laps 157,500 miles
Great Britain Silverstone Circuit 2,969 miles 65 rounds (1987) 192.985 miles (1987)
Germany Hockenheimring 4,223 miles 44 rounds (1987) 185.832 miles (1987)
Italy Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 3.604 miles 50 laps (1987) 180,197 miles (1987)
Japan Suzuka International Racing Course 3,499 miles 51 rounds (1987) 185,560 miles (1987)

In the game itself, the routes are only given with a representation of the route, as well as the country name and the national flag . An exception to the country name is the Detroit Grand Prix Circuit , where Detroit is specified instead of USA.

The routes differ in the race in terms of route and background. The Monaco, Detroit and Japan routes also each contain a tunnel section. Apart from the tunnels and distant background graphics, the game only shows grass off the tracks.

vehicles

The real Formula 1 racing cars

The player can choose between the following vehicles:

The Ferrari racing car has the lowest top speed with fewer gears and easier controllability, while the McLaren scores with higher speed and acceleration, but is also more difficult to handle. While the advantages of the Ferrari come more to bear on winding roads, the McLaren scores with its higher speed on routes with long straights. The Williams F1 is in the midfield.

opponent

The opponents are the same nine vehicles in each race. They are fictitious, but the driver names are partly based on people on the development team. Gregory Kwok starts on the C64 instead of Vito Giuffre.

Wagon number Surname nationality Name example
88 Travis Daye Canadian
27 Bruno Gourdo Frenchman Brad Gour
1 Don Matrelli Italian Don Mattrick
12 Toni Borlini Italian
4th Vito Giuffre Italian
2 Peter Kurtz German
66 Cal Tyrone Americans
5 Tse Sakamoto Japanese
9 Nigel Levins English people

reception

reviews
publication Rating
Amiga Commodore 64 DOS Sinclair ZX Spectrum
64'er 8/10
ASM 9/12 10.4 / 12 8.4 / 12
Amiga joker 81% 68% 79%
Crash 53%
Power play 80% 78% 82%
Your Sinclair 73%

When testing the DOS version, the magazine “ Aktueller Software Markt” gave a high score for closeness to reality, but punished the sound. The Commodore and Amiga versions also score points with the ASM with their better graphics than the PC. The tester also emphasizes the breathtaking sound of the C64 version. The editor of Power Play only ascribes fun to the floppy disk version on the C64. Due to the long loading times caused by the storage medium, the game on cassette has the charm of a piston seizure.

While Martin Goldmann writes in the test of the Amiga version in the Power Play that the control with joystick affects the driving experience somewhat compared to key control on PCs, his colleague Heinrich Lenhardt recommends the joystick for one in the test of the MS-DOS version better driving experience.

"The programming team that gave the software scene the rather ominous racing game" Test Drive I "had a hit with" Grand Prix Circuit ". Here, too, the focus is on fast cars and roaring engines. "

- Anatol Locker : Power Play special issue The 100 best games 1989

The magazine 64'er from Markt + Technik Verlag speaks of the Commodore C64 version as a really good racing game with sophisticated graphics.

In the special issue No. 1 of Amiga Joker , which bears the title Simulations - The best computer games of all time , the realistic driving experience and the extraordinarily good 3D graphics are mentioned, while the sound is criticized.

The British magazine Your Sinclair has mixed feelings about the version for ZX Spectrum. The editors of the English-language magazine Crash even speak of a mediocre racing simulation that disappoints with its simple graphics, among other things.

The Cycles: International Grand Prix Racing

Grand Prix Circuit shows strong parallels to the title The Cycles: International Grand Prix Racing by the same development team and publisher. The Cycles was published in 1989. In contrast to the Grand Prix Circuit , motorcycles are driven there instead of Formula 1 cars. The game also provides three vehicles, nine computer opponents and five levels of difficulty and contains identical game modes. The track selection includes 8 tracks in some versions, 15 in others. The game engine has been upgraded so that The Cycles also represents hilly terrain, while the tracks in Grand Prix Circuit are exclusively flat.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Grand Prix Circuit (1988) DOS credits. In: MobyGames . Retrieved June 20, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Grand Prix Circuit. In: Gamespot . Retrieved June 20, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b Grand Prix Circuit for Amiga (1989). In: Moby Games . Retrieved June 20, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e Jeff Hoff: Grand Prix Circuit - The Manual for Macintosh / Apple IIGS . Ed .: Accolade . November 1989 (English, org.za [PDF; 3.5 MB ; accessed on June 20, 2019]).
  5. ^ Tim-Oliver Siegwart: Grand Prix Circuit - Retro Games. In: Mighty Games Magazine. March 21, 2016, accessed June 20, 2019 .
  6. ↑ a b Grand Prix Circuit review. In: Retro Freak Reviews. September 19, 2018, accessed June 20, 2019 .
  7. ↑ a b c d Patricia Wright: Grand Prix Circuit - The Manual for Amiga . Ed .: Accolade . May 1989 (English, gamesdatabase.org [PDF; 2.9 MB ; accessed on June 20, 2019]).
  8. ↑ a b Grand Prix Circuit . In: 64'er - The magazine for computer fans . Markt + Technik Verlag , 1991 ( winz-it.de [PDF; 871 kB ; accessed on June 20, 2019]).
  9. ↑ a b Torsten Blum: Grand Prix Circuit . In: Current software market . No. 9/89 . Tronic Verlag, September 1989 ( kultboy.com [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  10. ^ A b c Matthias Siegk: Grand Prix Circuit . In: Current software market . No. 4/89 . Tronic Verlag, September 1989 ( kultboy.com [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  11. ^ A b Matthias Siegk: Hockenheim has high season . In: Current software market . No. 2/89 . Tronic Verlag, September 1989 ( kultboy.com [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  12. ↑ a b c d C. Borgmeier: Grand Prix Circuit . In: Amiga Joker presents: special issue simulations . No. 1 . Joker-Verlag, Haar , S. 49 ( spokintosh.org [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  13. ↑ a b Martin Goldmann: Grand Prix Circuit (Amiga) . In: Power Play . No. 11/89 . Future Verlag , November 1989 ( kultboy.com [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  14. ↑ a b c d Anatol Locker: The 100 best games - Grand Prix Circuit . In: Power Play . Special issue 1/89. Future Verlag , 1989, p. 42 ( kultboy.com [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  15. ^ A b Heinrich Lenhardt: Grand Prix Circuit (C64) . In: Power Play . No. 4/89 . Future Verlag , April 1989, p. 58 ( kultboy.com [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  16. ^ A b Heinrich Lenhardt: Grand Prix Circuit . In: Power Play . No. 3/89 . Future Verlag , March 1989 ( kultboy.com [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  17. ↑ a b Grand Prix Circuit . In: Your Sinclaire . No. 58 . Future plc , October 1990, p. 20 (English, worldofspectrum.org [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  18. ^ A b Nick, Mark: Grand Prix Circuit . In: Crash . No. 82 . Newsfield Publications Ltd, November 1990, p. 51 (English, worldofspectrum.org [accessed June 20, 2019]).
  19. ^ The Cycles: International Grand Prix Racing for Amiga (1989). In: MobyGames. Retrieved June 20, 2019 .