Following on from our big written and video previews from the start of the week, we’ve another couple of things to do with F1 2016 going live today, starting with this quick, three lap race around the site of this weekend’s German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. Stick around for the somewhat unexpected and abrupt ending, as I race with Perez on a point…
Check back a little later today at 1PM for our interview with Lee Mather, principal game designer on F1 2016.
Update: Oops, the video sceduling went a bit wrong! Fixed.
camdaz
Good video, you were about 3 seconds slower than Hamilton’s lap about on par with the real world. Shame about the end.
Can you change when your KERS is deployed around the lap?
Stefan L
Nope. KERS is handled automatically for you, just as it was in 2015.
camdaz
I suppose that’ll be to make it a bit less complicated but it would have been nice to have it as an option especially when defending your position.
tonyyeb
I might be wrong but I don’t think real F1 drivers have that option mid-race do they? Other than changing harvest/deployment settings I thought I’d read that KERS is predefined before quali?
Stefan L
Yeah, I think things were muddied when they were still talking about “overtake” modes last year, which is putting the engine as a whole up a level, but direct control of the recovered energy isn’t really possible.
Avenger
Yeah, there is no manual control these days. ERS generally covers both MGU-K and MGU-H, and the different engine modes are usually uniquely programmed for each track by the team engineers.
It might be nice to have different engine modes to turn things up a bit if you’re under attack, but that’s already represented in the fuel mixes I think.
camdaz
The driver cannot control when ERS power is sent to the turbo but they can change when/where they want to send ERS to the driveshaft.
“Depending on his needs, the driver can also adapt electric deployment himself and unleash more power in a specific sector of the circuit.”
http://en.f1i.com/magazine/52167-how-does-ers-deployment-work.html
You quite often hear in commentary that a driver has learnt where they need to deploy ERS to defend against a driver trying to overtake.
beeje13
Yeah it’s a highly complex system, with more than one energy input (MGU-K/brake recuperation and MGU-H/turbine part of the turbo) and output (electric motor(s) directly affecting drive, and the one that can spin up the turbo).
Having 3 engine modes in the game is not an unrealistic simplification. It think it would still be good to have an overtake button like in real life. But with the corresponding fuel usage of course.
As an aside, I have heard no mention of engine wear. That was present in the f1 2010 game and it’s very relevant in todays formula.
kjkg
Ha what a gutter! Although with DRS, he wasn’t half catching up with you. Would have been tough to defend that!
Also, at the start when you touch someone and he gestures. Lovely wee touch. Is that new?
tonyyeb
No, previous games had that iirc.
Stefan L
Oh, he was, but that’s why I’d moved over to the right a bit!
As Tony said, those gestures have been around for a while. I quite enjoyed the indignant hand waving, when it was my forcefulness that caused the contact… :D
tonyyeb
I wonder if Vettel is just as sweary in game as he is over the radio in real life at the moment?
tonyyeb
“What was Kvyat doing?!” A phrase said a number of times this season already…
camdaz
Kvjat was trying to do what he’s been doing all season, so a good representation of his real world driving!
bunimomike
Kvyat is clearly a former traffic police officer taking out a “criminal” with the old left/right nudge of the rear-quarter to spin them… then apprehend them.
Your grand prix car was packed full of drugs.
Stefan L
Considering that I was racing as a Mexican, this is a clear cut case of racial profiling.