In fact, almost every decision involves a sub-decision – and appropriate repercussions. Tire strategy is probably your biggest concern, as you instruct drivers to manage their fuel and rubber, or to push and chase the lead, before calling for pit stops – in which you can give your mechanics the risky hurry up or play it safe and slow. All while you’re also watching the weather, checking parts for wear and tear and generally flying by the seat of your pants.Ī lot of this detail is explained the first time you try it but, come the next weekend, it can all feel a bit unfamiliar, so much of the game – at least as you improve – is spent hurtling through proceedings with equal measures of effort and guesswork.Īs you might imagine, this is only more the case during races which, again, would do well to be longer. Then it’s on to qualifying, where you’ll pick the best setup, tweak it and sling the cars onto the track – where you’ll also be responsible for finding a gap of clear track in which your often temperamental drivers will try to set a fast time. Really, you only get two or three attempts to adjust downforce and suspension stiffness, send out your drivers and get their feedback before the session ends. There’s plenty to do here, but the timer is never on your side. It’ll start with a practice session – which is unfortunately short – where you get to try out setups and help your drivers improve their familiarity with the car and the way it runs. Motorsport Manager review: Plenty to micro-manageĪnd master is the right word because, come race weekend, you’ve got a whole lot of things to stay on top of. Start with a small team, gradually develop, eventually win races and you’ll feel like you’ve properly mastered the game. Though things can get a little repetitve – answer emails upgrade headquarters improve cars repeat – there’s also a gentle but fulfilling reward curve, which works best if you start with a less established team (you can choose any of the available teams when you begin, though expectations match their reputations). As in many a management game, it’s all on you to handle sponsors, driver happiness, research and development, travel, budgets and more – not to mention running the actual race weekends.Īfter a few in-game weeks of sheer panic, though, this is all actually more likely to pull you further into its clutches than to scare you away. Sure, the game walks you through everything when you begin, but this is done all at once – and there’s a lot to take in. It does mean, though, that you’ll need a degree of commitment to make playing Motorsport Manager worthwhile – something that isn’t helped by the relatively steep learning curve. While this can get overwhelming, it’s also thoroughly realistic, with very little hand-holding, despite the accessible feel of the interface and dialogue. Not that you’ll have much time to worry about little things like that, mind: like any good management game, Motorsport Manager makes you feel responsible for things. Motorsport Manager review: Get your bossy boots on It’s not a major distraction, particularly as the architecture and layouts of the circuits tend to match their real-world equivalents very closely – Doha, for example, is a thinly veiled Abu Dhabi fake – but it would’ve been an excellent final touch. The only shame? This is an unofficial game, so the circuits and cars themselves are similar interpretations of well known teams and locations. Rendering is excellent, with cars zipping around naturally – without a sense of things feeling overwhelming, even with time sped up threefold. That said, even in top-down Motorsport Manager feels truly immersive. If you’ve got the power to go full-scale, with crowds and full detail enabled, though, it’s definitely worth it. On an i7 MacBook Pro, we had to switch to top-down to avoid lag and jitter. You can play either in top-down or isometric view, with the latter sapping quite a bit of graphics power. It uses a heavy tilt-shift focus effect which won’t be to every taste, but it’s an incredibly detail-focussed interpretation of a Formula 1 race. Yes, there’s plenty to stay on top of (this isn’t one you’ll easily play with the TV on), but it’s all layed out very naturally.īetter, still, the racing simulation itself is absolutely divine. In races, for example, the simulation is delivered as an excellent combination of TV-style coverage – with a track map and driver positions – and in-depth data, including driver status, weather forecast and the like. From menus to tracks to graphics, the interface is clean and fluid, while the race simulations themselves are wonderful to look at.Įverything here feels like it’s been fully thought out. Straight off the grid, Motorsport Manager is an absolutely stunner. Motorsport Manager review: Racing simulation, beautifully realised
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