In the fourth and final Development Diary for Codemasters F1 2011 we get some insight on the highly anticipated Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Safety Car and how some of the other new functions such as KERS and DRS will change the gameplay. We also learn how tire dynamics will change and have an even bigger impact on race strategy than they did in F1 2011. With all the competition and strategically based realism changes that are going into F1 2011 it is starting to look like being good at F1 2010 won’t mean much! By the way, we think that’s a good thing! Stay tuned for our full review of F1 2011 coming soon!
The new Co-Op Championship Mode is arguably the biggest change in Codemasters’ F1 2011 from 2010. In Co-Op mode you and your friend can race on the same team as you battle for the constructors’ championship. However, you and your buddy are still in contention for the drivers championship as well. As it goes who ever is getting the faster lap times and winning races will become the team’s #1 driver and get all the upgrades first!
In the third development diary for F1 2011 Stephen Hood and Paul Jeal of Codemasters will tell you all about what you can expect from this new gameplay mode.
F1 2011 by Codemasters will hit stores at the end of this month and earlier this morning we got to join in on a conference call with Chief Game Designer Stephen Hood for a few last minute questions courtesy of Forty Seven communications. Here is a quick break-down of what we talked about:
Safety Car
The first thing we asked about was the addition of the Safety Car. we wanted to know what were the hurdles, if any that the team had to jump over to get the car in the game. According to Stephen there were a few roads that needed to be crossed as far as licensing with Formula One and with Mercedes Benz. In fact the team was already certain on including the Saftey Car weeks before it was announced, but they had to wait for the green light from both Formula 1 and Mercedes before they could make the announcement at Gamescom last month. Besides that they also wanted to be positive that they could implement the Safety Car in such a way that it would genuinely add to the game play experience instead of adding it in just to say that it was in.
Online Multiplayer Events
With games such as Madden and Modern Warfare there are sometimes online tournaments and other events such as double XP weekends. We asked if there were plans to do anything similar with F1 2011. The short answer is “maybe”. Stephen definitely has interest in organizing things like that for the players and the Codemasters team is already putting their heads together on possible online mutliplayer events but it is likely that we probably won’t see anything like this until F1 2012. Provided that Formula One gives the ok, there might even be events where players can race against the “ghost” of the real drivers based on their result from an event. For example trying to beat the total race time of Sebastien Vettel after his victory at a given track.
Forza Motorsport 4 and F1 2012
Time was running short at this point so we asked a double whammy of two quick questions. First, we asked Stephen what his thoughts were on Forza Motorsport 4 (coming out next month) and if he saw that game as competition for F1 2011. After some good natured ribbing Stephen admitted that he does not see Forza as direct competition for F1 2011 because each game is offering its own unique experience. As Stephen explains it, F1 2011 is for F1 fans and anyone who wants to try their hand at racing an F1 car while Forza is more about the car ownership and modification experience and lifestyle. We would have to concur on that.
Finally we asked if development has already begun on F1 2012. At this point there has not been any hard coding or design work done but F1 2012 is already in the conceptual phase and the team is already talking about what they want to add to the next installment but it is way to early to get any confirmed details.
And there we have it! Our last minute prod to the Chief Game Designer on what we can expect for F1 2011 and future games. If you haven’t done so already we would suggest you hit up Best Buy, Gamestop, or Amazon to pre-order your copy of F1 2012 before the first batch gets sold out! If you still need more convincing then stay tuned for our review!
The guys at Codemasters Birmingham have just released the first official gameplay trailer for F1 2011! Despite the video showing “work in progress” shots you can still immediately see the increase in detail of the environments, cars, and people over F1 2010 just like we mentioned in our first report on the new F1 game. We can’t wait to get our hands on this game again. We are hearing that there may be a possible U.S. promotional tour for the F1 2011 next month and we are already bugging the Codemasters team for an invite. You will be sure that if we get in we will bring you as much new info as possible on F1 2011 but in the meantime scroll down and enjoy the new trailer and new screen shots!
Fresh off all of the Canadian chaos F1 returned to Europe over the weekend for the European Grand Prix, which actually takes place in Valencia, Spain to be exact. Naturally due to the location, there were a ton of Fernando Alonso fans in the house. In fact there was so much red in the stands you’d might think they were in Italy instead of Spain. No matter what place Alonso was in when ever he drove by a grandstand the crowd did the wave! It was a pretty awesome sight to see. Unfortunately, he got shut out of the front row during qualifying. When it got down to Q3 Lewis Hamilton and the two Red Bull cars put laps together that just barely edged out Alonso. When Q3 finished Sebastien Vettel got pole position in a spectacular fashion by breaking the course record with his lap of 1:36.975. Mark Webber completed the Red Bull front row lock-out with a 1:37.163, and Lewis Hamilton got the third spot next to Fernando with a lap of 1:37.380.
Once the race got started Vettel did what he does best and ran away from everyone (hes starting to get really good at that). So the real battle was happening behind him between Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, and Fernando Alonso. For a breif moment it looked like Webber had something for Vettel but Mark’s battle with Lewis slowed him down. This is exactly what Fernando Alonso hoped for as he closed in on the Brit and the Aussie. Hamilton started to suffer serious tire issues and could not keep up the fight with Webber. This allowed Alonso to pick off Hamilton and then later on he took down Webber for 2nd spot which gained an uproarious reaction from the crowd. Unfortunately, Fernando did not have anything for Sebastien as the young champion built up a 10 second gap while the others were battling behind him. Vettel eventually went on to take the victory and officially lead every lap while Fernando Alonso came in second and Mark Webber took third spot with Hamilton taking fourth.
Vettel’s win at Valencia significantly increased his points lead. His grand total as of now is 186 while the closest behind him is a tie between Mark Webber and Jenson Button who both have 109 points each. With the season at the half-way point can Hamilton, Webber, Alonso, or Button catch up to the young German and turn the championship into an actual fight? I guess we have a whole half of a season to find out but it really is starting to look like Vettel’s championship to lose.
The weekend was another big one for motorsports fans. Indy Car was doing twin 275 mile races in Texas, Prototypes were in the middle of a 24 hour battle in LeMans, and F1 was attempting to put on a show for racing fans in Canada. I say “attempt” because about 20 laps into the 70 lap race the skies opened up and began dumping gallons of water on the fans, the drivers and the track. The rain got so bad that the race had to be red flagged (stopped) for about an hour and a half as they waited for mother nature to finish her emo-fit. However, before the red flag there was already a bit of action on track, the biggest was when Jenson Button accidentally took out his own teammate Lewis Hamilton as Lewis attempted to make what was either a brave or fool-hearty move on Jenson down the straight. Jenson moved on Lewis and busted his left rear wheel effectively ending his weekend. So that was one car down before the rain even started!
Once the rain let up later on the race resumed and suddenly all the mid-packers were injected with “go fast” juice as Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, and Felipe Massa all began to put pressure on Sebastien Vettel who was up front (of course) and put pressure on each other as they fought to get to the front. No one was sure how the weather was going to play out once the rain let up so each team were taking gambles on what tires to use. Should they stay with intermediates? Go to full slick? Stay on wet tires in case the rain came back? It was a regular tire shuffle as the teams tried to anticipate what mother nature would do next. Most teams switched to intermediates while some took a gamble on slicks as a dry line started to form on the track. Button and his team were among those who decided to stay on intermediates which paid off in spades for the British driver as he made it from mid pack to the front putting pressure on Sebastien Vettel for the lead. On the last lap Vettel finally succumbed to Button”s onslaught and made a mistake in a braking zone allowing Jenson to pass him half way through the last lap and move on to take the win. Vettel recovered and was able to hold onto second place thus protecting his points lead and his teammate Mark Webber got past Michael Schumacher for the third spot on the Podium.
This is only the second race that Sebastien Vettel didn’t win all season so despite being taken down by Jenson Button the young German is not sweating it too much but it was certainly exciting for fans to finally see someone else have at it for a change!
Will we see another driver step up and take it to Sebastien? We have to wait about 10 days to find out when F1 heads to Valencia Spain for the European Grand Prix on the 23rd. Stay tuned!
For a full Canadian GP post race report check out SPEED.
E3 2011 is underway in Los Angeles and I have made it my personal mission to get as much info on all the games and accessories relevant to gear heads as possible. So, of course I paid a visit once again to the Codemasters crew to get the scoop on F1 2011. Unfortunately, due to FIA stipulations I could not get any video of the game in action but I do have a lovely collection of screenshots that you can view below (just click to enlarge). I also have tons of info on F1 2011 and what you can expect. Let me just say, any notion that F1 2011 is just going to be F1 2010 but with the new cars and liveries should be nixed right now. The Codemasters Burmingham team made a whole host of upgrades and changes to improve the F1 experience and add even more authenticity to the new title. What changes did they make? I am glad that I pretended that you asked that..
New Looks The first thing you are going to notice is that there is a lot more visual details put into F1 2011 vs F1 2010. The racing environments are much more detailed with nuances like more realistic foliage around the tracks, current and accurate representation of each teams garage, faces of the mechanics and crew look more realistic, and they have even added the “Parc Ferme” celebrations after qualifying sessions and races. F1 2011 continues to use Codemasters’ patented EGO engine so expect more top notch and dynamic weather effects in addition to all of the other environmental detail.
Improved handling The Codemasters crew has taken all the feedback from F1 2010 players and made improvements to the car dynamics and handling to make driving the cars more true to life. If you see Vettel go over the curbs at turn 3 in Valencia then you will be able to go over the curbs there as well in the game without having to worry about your car unexpectedly spinning out. To further aid in making the handling more realistic Codemasters obtained data from Pirelli to make the tire dynamics as close to the real thing as possible. All the tires that the drivers are currently using will be available in F1 2011.
Current rules and innovations All the cars in the game will be as representative of the real cars as possible. Most of all KERS, and the new DRS (Drag Resistance System) will be included. However just like in real life players will only be able to use those features per FIA rules. No fantasy KERS boost for the entire race or using the DRS on the first lap!
Multi-player much improved The first major multi-player improvement for F1 2011 is the ability to do 2-player split screen mode. With most people owning decent sized HDTVs these days, going split screen is much more feasible now than it may have been before. Now you do not need to hop online for a quick race against your buddy. My favorite new Multi-player feature is Co-Op career mode. This is the icing on the cake of realism for F1 2011. In F1 2010′s career mode you went through the entire season as a driver competing against your teammate for the attention of your engineers. However in F1 2010 that teammate was the computer’s AI. In the new Co-Op mode your teammate can be a friend online and you go through the season together! In fact you can play it out exactly the way the FIA does. Join up with your buddy on Friday for practice, come back the next day for Saturday qualifying, and race on Sunday! You can share data and set up info as well, although you will probably be less likely to share your data once you get to the tail end of the season and realize that only one of you can be champion.
F1 2011 on the go A while back I gave you wind of the announcement that F1 2011 will be coming to the new PlaystationVita (formerly Sony NGP) handheld as well as the Nintendo 3DS. I spoke with the Codemasters team on that today and they informed me that the handheld versions are being worked on by another team and will be much more accessible versions of what you would expect on consoles or the PC. As suspected the 3DS version WILL be in 3D! While there is not an official release ETA for the PlaystationVita I was told that players can expect the 3DS version to be available in November 2011 which is a month after the console and PC version is released.
Press Release:
F1 2011™ is the sequel to the BAFTA winning FORMULA ONE™ videogame from Codemasters®, the developer and publisher of award-winning racing games. Developed under Codemasters’ exclusive worldwide agreement with Formula One World Championship Limited, F1 2011 will come complete with all the official drivers, teams and circuits featuring in the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE World Championship™.
With a new focus on multiplayer gaming, including co-op Championships and split-screen mode, F1 2011 will invite players to ‘Be The Driver, Live the Life, Go Compete’ with a range of innovations, improvements and enhancements on and off the track. Set to be the most enthralling season yet, the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP features two new circuits in India and Germany, new drivers, rules, tyres as Sebastian Vettel seeks to defend his title.
Developed using Codemasters’ EGO Game Technology Platform F1 2011 will deliver an unrivalled FORMULA ONE experience that puts players into the heart of the world’s most exciting sport, powered by cutting edge graphics, advanced physics systems and integrated network play.
Go Compete! F1 2011 builds extensively on the multiplayer options from F1 2010. Split-screen racing is included for the first time in a high-definition FORMULA ONE title. Competitive online racing is extended with 16 players going head-to-head in GRAND PRIX™ with up to 8 AI drivers added to simulate the full grid of 24 drivers. An innovative new co-op Championship enables two players to lead their favourite FORMULA ONE team to Driver and Constructor glory across the course of a FORMULA ONE season. These enhancements are complimented by additional quick fire modes including Time Attack.
New Circuits for 2011. Two stunning new additions to the race calendar extend the number of circuits to feature in F1 2011 to 19. Players will be able to debut ahead of the drivers on the Buddh International Circuit, the home of the first FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF INDIA and players will be able to test themselves on the iconic Nürburging circuit for the first time in High Definition, as this legendary track returns for the 2011 season.
Be the driver, live the life. From the paddock to the track,F1 2011 takes players closer to the experience of being a FORMULA ONE driver than ever before. A new Parc Ferme area, an expanded and revamped Paddock, new Pit Lane, celebration and reaction cinematics and an enhanced media interaction system fully immerse players in the glamour, pressure and excitement of being a FORMULA ONE driver. Players progress from rookie to FIA FORMULA ONE DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPION in an extensive career mode where gamers fight to become priority driver and shape the development of the car by performing well in races and earning performance upgrades.
All the cars, all the stars. Fully licensed, F1 2011 features all the drivers set to contest the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button. All 2011 teams are represented including Ferrari, Red Rull Racing, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Lotus Renault GP in their iconic black and gold livery.
KERS, DRS and more! F1 2011 includes all the new rule changes set to make this year’s season the most exciting yet. F1 2011 debuts DRS (Drag Reduction System) – the new system which enables drivers to adjust the rear wing on the car to give a boost of up to 10km. KERS also returns, giving players an extra 80BHP for up to 6.67 seconds, enabling drivers to blast past rivals. Combined, these systems encourage close wheel-to-wheel racing with new options for both defence and attack. This season’s new Pirelli tyres are faithfully simulated in the game, and if players push their car too hard they may experience a range of authentic new damage failures.
Full Day / Night Racing. The 2011 FORMULA 1 ETHIAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX comes alive with a full day/ night transition which recreates the special atmosphere at this unique track. Every one of the existing circuits from the 2010 roster has been given a complete visual overhaul. New atmospheric effects, including dynamic clouds, compliment a weather system which features an advanced rain model that affects on-track grip. Powered by the EGO Game Technology Platforms, F1 2011 pushes forward the graphical standard of what can be achieved in a racing game.
The world’s greatest cars, the most exciting racing.Building on the heritage of producing award-winning racing games for over a decade, Codemasters is uniquely placed to realise the spectacle and exhilaration of racing 200MPH+ FORMULA ONE cars for all fans. F1 2011 can be tuned for players from a wide range of skill levels, from the casual gamer to the hardcore simulation enthusiast and those in between, with a range of differing skill levels. A huge range of vehicle variables can be tuned to suit each player’s unique driving style, or drivers can entrust their Race Engineer to set their car up and head straight onto the track. F1 2011 will support a comprehensive range of racing wheels for the ultimate racing experience.
Unprecedented authenticity. Codemasters has used its unprecedented access to the world of FORMULA ONE to connect the development team directly with FORMULA ONE teams and tyre manufacturers. Extensive consultancy has taken place with a range of FORMULA ONE professionals, including race engineers, mechanics and drivers. This has been combined with real world data including CAD and on-board telemetry to deliver a race experience complete with authentic handling, accurate circuits and precisely modelled racing cars.
EGO powered FORMULA ONE. F1 2011is being developed on the EGO Game Technology platform, evolved from the award winning EGO engine. Enabling Codemasters development talent to share tools and technology across Studios and Central Technology teams, the EGO Game Technology Platform empowers Codemasters game designers torealise their creative visions across multiple platforms featuring cutting edge graphics, powerful AI, advanced physics systems and integrated network play.
The memorial day weekend was huge for motorsports. Here in’merica we had the Indy 500 going on, and just down the road in Charlotte, North Carolina the good ol’ boys were having the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600. But before all that the F1 guys were going head to head on the streets of Monte Carlo for the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix AKA the most glamorous race on the F1 calendar. This is the race that all the billionaires bring their yachts out for, and jewelry companies do promotional stunts like encrusting Lewis Hamilton’s and Jenson Button’s helmets with diamonds. However Monaco is about more than just rich and powerful, there was a race going on too!
As usual Sebastien Vettel started from the pole so I’m not even going to talk about qualifying since that dude just can’t seem to be stopped in that area. Starting behind Vettel was Jenson Button who had a good showing in qualifying and behind them in row two were Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso. When the lights went out the group put the hammer down and took off into turn one and for the most part it came off clean. Hamilton got roughed up while being passed by Michael Schumacher while Vettel was busy running away from Button.
On lap 10 Hamilton pulled a brilliant move on Schumacher in the Ste Devote part of the track and took his position back from the legendary German driver. Then later on Hamilton got in trouble for punting Felipe Massa and then Pastor Maldonado. Both infractions earned Lewis penalties from the stewards but neither one was harsh enough to affect his race position. Where was Sebastien Vettel while all the craziness was happening mid-pack? He was busy extending his lead over Jenson Button. However Vettel’s gap started to fade as his tires were staring to give up on him. He had only made one stop for the entire race so far and it looked as if the team was actually going to attempt to push him to the end of the race that way. Just when it seemed that Red Bull’s gamble was going to go bust on them Vitaly Petrov had a hard meeting with the wall at the “swimming pool” and brought out the red flag. Luckily the Russian driver was conscious and talking as he was taken away in the ambulance. The red flag allowed Vettel to come back in and put super soft tires on to restart the race with and retain his lead. Alonso was able to get around Button for second place and the race ended in that order with Vettel taking the win, Alonso coming in second and Button scoring a third place finish.
It is starting to look like Vettel is on his way to a succesful repeat of his 2010 championship… For a full Monaco GP post race report check out SPEED and stay tuned for the Canadian Grand Prix on June 10th!
E3 2011 is coming up in less than two weeks and I am on a mission to bring you info on all the racing games, peripherals, and other car related video game awesomness I can. Today, I am showing you the official box art For F1 2011 (below) and our own rendering (box art above is NOT official) of the F1 2011 Nintendo 3DS box art. F1 2011 has also received an official release date of September 20th 2011 so mark your calendars. Just like F1 2010, F1 2011 will be released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. The real newsworthy part is that Codemasters also plans to bring F1 2011 to the Nintendo 3DS and the next generation Sony handheld, the “NGP”! So, not only can you have F1 racing on the go, you can have it on the go in 3D! FRESH! The release dates for the handheld versions have not been announced yet but we will try to dig that out of Codemasters when I pay them a visit at E3 2011 for a hands-on demo of F1 2011 so stay tuned for that in the near future!
f1 2011™, sequel to BAFTA Award-Winning FORMULA ONE™ video game, confirmed with September 20th ship date
The Official Game of the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™ Coming to HD Consoles and PC in September with New Handheld Platforms to Follow
LOS ANGELES – F1 2011, the sequel to the fastest-selling FORMULA ONE game ever released, will race into stores across North America on September 20th 2011, Codemasters® announced today. F1 2011, the follow up to the BAFTA award-winning F1 2010™, is in development at Codemasters Birmingham for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC Games For Windows®.
Bespoke handheld editions of F1 2011 are also in production for Nintendo 3DS™ and Sony’s next generation portable entertainment system (NGP), each designed to take advantage of the new platforms’ unique capabilities; specific release dates for the handheld editions are to be announced.
In F1 2011 players will be challenged to ‘Be the driver, live the life, go compete’, with wide-ranging technical and gameplay advancements on and off track and vastly extended competitive and co-operative multiplayer components. F1 2011 will feature all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the highly anticipated 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including the current FIA FORMULA ONE Drivers’ World Champion Sebastian Vettel. The 2011 season also sees the debut of the 2011 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF INDIA at Delhi’s Jaypee International Race Circuit and the return of the iconic Nürburgring to the calendar.
In production at Codemasters Studios Birmingham, F1 2011 is being developed using the EGO Game Technology Platform, Codemasters’ proprietary tech that powered the critically acclaimed, 2 million-plus selling F1 2010™, GRID and currently driving DiRT 3. To get all the news straight from the studio and to win the chance to play F1 2011 ahead of its release, race over to www.facebook.com/formula1game or follow the team on twitter at www.twitter.com/formula1game.
American based Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg fans can now rejoice! Henri Lloyd has officially launched the U.S. version of their Mercedes GP Petronas apparel website! Now you can click over and start picking up team gear like hats, shirts, and more accessories that will be available soon. I’m personally digging the new hats myself!
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