I was half watching the Spanish GP today, maybe less than half watching as it doesn't grab me the way it used to. But I was more or less listening to the commentary and picking up on something very common -
"Overtaking is almost impossible"
It rang digital bells, the familiar chimes of 'more cars than lanes', and thoughts of how adopting something that has sadly turned Formula 1 into a boring spectre of what it used to be could ever be considered any kind of 'improvement' to the simple fun of slot racing.
Concerning F1, apart from the anachronism of Monaco which is totally unsuitable for F1 racing, although the glamour aspect is unbeatable, the tracks are actually big enough for the cars.
The cars aren't too big for the tracks.
So what's the problem?
It seems that air flow control has become so super-sophisticated that the cars just cannot run in close proximity to one another. They trip up over nasty little eddies. (Good job Irvine is out of it now or he might sue!) There is a simple answer to this, I guess. But, whatever the reasons, the difficulty of overtaking seems to be the root cause for dissatisfaction with F1 and, if it is to maintain its popularity, overtaking is going to have to be facilitated as a priority. It might involve smaller engines to reduce speeds or limitations on aero devices or a myriad other possibilities , each progressively dafter. The point to be observed here is that to the overtaking restrictions that are automatically imposed by digital slots comprising more cars than lanes is going to be every bit as frustrating as in full size = a LOT less fun, except for a few truly dedicated enthusiasts who WILL enjoy this. I might very well enjoy it myself but I don't believe I am in a majority.
The other common proposal for 'improving' slot racing is the digital facility to impose fuel consumption/performance limitations and 'refuelling stops'.
In full size F1, I am not alone in thinking that there is little more annoying than seeing an obvious winner lose a race because of something totally unrelated to driving skill or car performance, such as a refuelling problem or a faulty wheel change. Yet people advocate these potential annoyances as an advantage presented by digital control. Seems like the very opposite to me - just more things to get annoyed and frustrated with instead of simply having fun racing.
Well, there you are, something to think and argue about!
I could have posted this on the Digital Board but it's also F1 related and gawdnose where it might divert in what will probably be a rough passage through your widely varying mind-sets and snappy retorts! So here it is in the PIT LANE, where so many races have been won and lost, rather than on the damn track where the winning and losing should really happen!
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"Overtaking is almost impossible"
It rang digital bells, the familiar chimes of 'more cars than lanes', and thoughts of how adopting something that has sadly turned Formula 1 into a boring spectre of what it used to be could ever be considered any kind of 'improvement' to the simple fun of slot racing.
Concerning F1, apart from the anachronism of Monaco which is totally unsuitable for F1 racing, although the glamour aspect is unbeatable, the tracks are actually big enough for the cars.
The cars aren't too big for the tracks.
So what's the problem?
It seems that air flow control has become so super-sophisticated that the cars just cannot run in close proximity to one another. They trip up over nasty little eddies. (Good job Irvine is out of it now or he might sue!) There is a simple answer to this, I guess. But, whatever the reasons, the difficulty of overtaking seems to be the root cause for dissatisfaction with F1 and, if it is to maintain its popularity, overtaking is going to have to be facilitated as a priority. It might involve smaller engines to reduce speeds or limitations on aero devices or a myriad other possibilities , each progressively dafter. The point to be observed here is that to the overtaking restrictions that are automatically imposed by digital slots comprising more cars than lanes is going to be every bit as frustrating as in full size = a LOT less fun, except for a few truly dedicated enthusiasts who WILL enjoy this. I might very well enjoy it myself but I don't believe I am in a majority.
The other common proposal for 'improving' slot racing is the digital facility to impose fuel consumption/performance limitations and 'refuelling stops'.
In full size F1, I am not alone in thinking that there is little more annoying than seeing an obvious winner lose a race because of something totally unrelated to driving skill or car performance, such as a refuelling problem or a faulty wheel change. Yet people advocate these potential annoyances as an advantage presented by digital control. Seems like the very opposite to me - just more things to get annoyed and frustrated with instead of simply having fun racing.
Well, there you are, something to think and argue about!
I could have posted this on the Digital Board but it's also F1 related and gawdnose where it might divert in what will probably be a rough passage through your widely varying mind-sets and snappy retorts! So here it is in the PIT LANE, where so many races have been won and lost, rather than on the damn track where the winning and losing should really happen!
