Mike Lescault of Papyrus on NASCAR Racing 3

In the course of the last 12 months, Papyrus Design Group has faced some of the stiffest challenges yet to its reign over the racing-simulation world. However, to say that its most recent titles are showing their age would, by most accounts, be wrong. Judging by sales figures and continued interest, Papyrus still rules the roost when it comes to both open- and closed-wheeled North American auto racing.

But that hasn’t stopped the wheels of change from turning. Debuting this summer in the throwback sim Grand Prix Legends is the latest weapon in Papyrus’ arsenal, a physics engine the company maintains will change the way we all race. And just before Christmas of ’98, that very same engine will power the highly anticipated NASCAR Racing 3.

A third installment, you say? Well, yes. After all, with 2 million units of NASCAR and NASCAR 2 already distributed worldwide, the folks at Papyrus would be crazy not to try and three-peat.

On board for NASCAR 3 is much of the same cast and crew responsible for Papyrus’ past critical and commercial successes. Taking the point this time around is Mike Lescault, whose role as producer hasn’t changed much from IndyCar II and both NASCAR Racing games. IndyCar II and NASCAR 2 designer Matt Sentell fills the role of creative director, while NASCAR 2’s associate producer, Matt Marsala, is the game’s director.

And last but certainly not least, Dave Kaemmer, the driving force behind every Papyrus product from Indy 500: The Simulation to NASCAR 2, is the man responsible for the new physics model and most assuredly a whole lot more of what you’ll see and feel behind the wheel.

As of now, NASCAR 3 will be Windows 95-only and require a 3D accelerated Pentium at minimum. It appears Mac and console gamers are out of luck–at this point anyway. PC gamers, however, will see firsthand what 300,000 people hours (and the feedback of NASCAR champ Bobby Labonte) can do for a racing simulation. Lescault claims NASCAR 3 “will provide the most realistic modern-day racing experience ever simulated.”

We recently had the chance to grind gears with Lescault and discover what’s gonna make NASCAR 3 Papyrus’ most sophisticated sim yet. At this early stage we didn’t get to toy with the game, and the available artwork is, as you’ll see, somewhat rudimentary. Nevertheless, this is the first time NASCAR 3 has been previewed anywhere, so sit back and enjoy the ride.

Physical Racing

Make no mistake about it: Papyrus believes its newly designed physics model represents a bold step forward for race simulations. In development for several years, this complex new engine will form the basis of Papyrus racing games for some time to come. Nowhere is Lescault’s enthusiasm for the NASCAR product so obvious as when you get him talking about the game’s on-track dynamics.

Can you quickly sum up what it’ll be like to drive a NASCAR 3 car versus a NASCAR 2 car? What will you experience through high-speed turns that you didn’t before?

Mike Lescault: In NASCAR Racing 2, entering a corner too fast was not the big problem it would be in real life. Basically, all you would do is lay off the gas until the car slowed down enough so that you could accelerate out of the corner. In NASCAR Racing 3, entering a corner at too high a speed will put you in a lot of trouble. If you try the NASCAR 2 method of just letting off the gas, you’ll find yourself in the wall, as the sudden transfer of the weight to the front end of the car will leave your rear tires without the traction necessary to keep you from spinning out.

It sounds like NASCAR 3 will be even more difficult to drive than previous versions. Can prospective drivers expect to spend more time getting “up to speed,” so to speak?

M.L.: There will be a bit steeper learning curve for NASCAR 3 than NASCAR 2. However, once you learn exactly what the car wants, the satisfaction is just incredible.

Technically, what has Papyrus implemented in NASCAR 3’s driving model? How was the new model designed in comparison to the previous one?

M.L.: Our previous models were designed the same way all the other racing sim developers pull together their physics engines. We’d throw a car on the track and drive around, constantly making changes until it “felt” right.

With our new physics engine, we started by creating a virtual world that adhered to all the real-world laws of physics. Once that not-so-minor task was complete, everything else was pie. We have a list of over 60 variables for the cars in our game, including such things as spring rate, horsepower, track bar width, shock resistance, tire coefficients, engine power curves, weight distribution, and so on. All we have to do is find out the real-world attributes of a car. Once we have that, we punch them in, and the result is a car that drives exactly like its real-world counterpart would. If I knew all the attributes of my Mitsubishi Diamante, I could put them into our physics engine, and poof! I’m driving my car around the track.

What real-life experience have you folks had that leads you to believe the new physics model is more authentic than anything prior? In other words, despite the fact that Papyrus is hyping it as wonderful, how does the paying public know it’s more realistic?

M.L.: One spin around the track, and it will become clear. At Papyrus, we send most of our engineers and artists to racing schools where they can learn exactly what it is like to drive a real race car. Additionally, Dave Kaemmer has raced in several different real-life racing series, and his goal has always been to make our next-generation physics model as realistic as possible. Dave is very, very pleased with the results.

What will drivers see to make them believe the weight in the car is moving about as they corner, brake, and accelerate?

M.L.: NASCAR 3 will feature a 3D cockpit that will model all of the movements of the car. We even go as far as to model the effects of g forces on the driver’s head, which is pretty neat when you slam into a wall at high speed. The cockpit in NASCAR 2 was pretty accurate, so it will look pretty much the same in NASCAR 3, although the gauges and other parts will be modeled in 3D. Drivers will be able to see their virtual arms, hands, wheel, and shifter in the game. This all adds to increased realism.

The Details

Obviously, there’s a lot more to a solid racing sim than great physics. Papyrus has always been a stickler for details, so let’s see what it has in store for the third game in the NASCAR series…

I’ve heard that the tracks will be rebuilt for the new game. Why can’t you simply use the existing tracks? And did you “walk” all the circuits for accuracy?

M.L.: Because of our new game engine, almost all of the tracks will have to be rebuilt. [Since] the new physics engine allows cars to become airborne and flip end over end, we need to make sure that the cars do not bounce out of the track and into the great wilderness beyond. The existing tracks were designed for a 2D physics model.

I personally haven’t walked all the tracks–that would be a lot of walking. But we generally send our artists out to each facility to walk the entire track and take photos and measurements. We really go the extra step to make our tracks as realistic as possible.

How many circuits will be included in the package, and what will they be? Can we expect to see Daytona this time around?

M.L.: We hope to model all the tracks in the NASCAR Winston Cup series, but we haven’t signed contracts with them yet, so I can’t specifically say which ones will be in the game. As for Daytona, that’s a very good question. Sega has the exclusive rights to the Daytona track for its Daytona USA arcade game, so it definitely won’t be included.

Any “fantasy” tracks?

M.L.: N3 will stick to the real Winston Cup tracks.

Can you tell me at this early stage which driver names will be included?

M.L.: We hope to have all the Winston Cup drivers in the game, although there usually are a few that don’t make it in. We haven’t signed anyone yet.

Are there any big changes to user options and the prerace drill?

M.L.: Drivers will be able to modify all the setup options that real Winston Cup teams are able to alter. This includes items such as separate spring/shock setups. The entire interface in N3 is being redesigned, so the garage will look quite a bit different than the one in N2.

Will N3 support force-feedback devices or movement simulators?

M.L.: We are still looking into force feedback and other devices of that sort; however, the hardware still has a way to go. Until important issues such as control latency are addressed in force-feedback devices, I think we will stay away.

One of the biggest problems in current and previous NASCAR games is the intelligence (or lack of it) when fast cars come up on extremely slow or stationary traffic. Heck, you can stop your car on the racing line only to have everyone behind you crank the wheel to the left and pull a diagonal parking routine. How has this been addressed, and why wasn’t it repaired between the original NASCAR and the sequel?

M.L.: We’ve realized the limitations in our AI in NASCAR and N2, and have taken steps to increase the “I” in AI for NASCAR 3. There were inherent limitations in our original game engine that prevented us from taking our AI to the next level in NASCAR 2. The AI in N3 should be the most realistic and competitive AI ever put in a racing sim, by far.

Any new developments in multiplayer NASCAR?

M.L.: Well, our new game engine is client/server-based, which allows for much more robust multiplayer gaming. If you are driving around the track alone with a few AI cars, and you decide to come into the pits and go to the garage screen to make some changes, those AI cars will still be out there driving around on the track. What this allows us to do is let other people connect to your machine and race, even when you are away from the track mucking around in some setup or options screens.

Are there any “career” modes?

M.L.: I don’t think a career mode will make it into the game. Then again, you never know when NASCAR Manager [a companion program developed in 1996-97 but never released] may rear its ugly head again.

To put it simply, why would someone want to blow their dough on NASCAR 3 if they already own NASCAR 2?

M.L.: The new Papyrus physics model will do to racing sims what Doom and Quake did for first-person shooters. Basically, we’ve taken a stock car and put it into the computer. The new game engine will make as big an impact on the racing sim industry as Indy 500 did when it was first released.

Graphics Question

Nearly two years have passed since the release of NASCAR 2, and in that time race sims such as Papyrus’ Formula 1, Microsoft’s CART Precision Racing, and Ubi Soft’s upcoming F1 Racing Simulation have really gone to town in the 3D graphics department. However, Papyrus assures us NASCAR 3 will be up to the challenge.

Can we expect faster frame rates and more texturing to convey a better sense of speed? What about 3D support and special effects?

M.L.: We will offer native Rendition and 3Dfx support, and we hope to include D3D support for all other cards. It is too early to give you frame figures, but on a mid- to high-level machine with a Rendition V2200 card or a 3Dfx Voodoo 2, you should get over 30fps. The faster frame rates that 3D accelerators give us, coupled with rich 16-bit graphics, should provide drivers with an unmatched sense of speed. Our 3D cockpit also models the suspension movement as you drive over bumps or shift gears.

Weather is something we don’t want to do until we can really do it right. We do not plan on adding lens flare to NASCAR 3, although we will include smoke, dust, dirt clumps, and dynamic skid marks.

Tell me about auto aerobatics. We’ve already seen some questionable flying cars in other sims, but Papyrus has held off saying it wanted to get it right. Do you have it right?

M.L.: We’ve done it right. No one who sees the new game engine will be able to disagree. Basically, we’ve had to model all the real laws of physics. This makes the sim very floating-point intensive. The NASCAR 2 physics engine ran at 15 hertz, but the new physics engine runs at 288 hertz, meaning 288 updates per second for far more depth. And yes, high-speed collisions can result in end-over-end somersaults.

Can you address the controversial issue of fire?

M.L.: With the high importance NASCAR has given safety issues in Winston Cup racing today, cars rarely catch fire anymore. While we realize that it does occur in rare instances, we would rather focus on the competition that real NASCAR racing offers instead of the unfortunate consequences that can endanger the lives of real Winston Cup drivers.

How has the rearview issue been addressed this time around? Still going with the split mirror?

M.L.: We’re still looking at the rearview issue, but I think we’ll stick with something along the lines of what we had in NASCAR 2. We do plan to offer drivers the ability to pan their view left or right; however, we’ve found this to be very disorienting in practice. Generally, this feature will only be used when the driver of a spun-out car needs to look to the right or left before reentering the racing line.

Have you implemented any changes to in-car audio for NASCAR 3? If so, where did you get the sounds? Did you microphone the real thing?

M.L.: Sound is another area where we realized we needed to devote more attention. For the previous games, we sampled all sorts of sounds, but for NASCAR 3 we plan on taking samples from real Winston Cup cars so we can provide a much more realistic audio experience.

Can we expect voice recognition for driver communication with the spotter/crew chief or competitors? And, truthfully, wasn’t that Ned Jarrett’s voice in NASCAR 2?

M.L.: Actually it was Ron Gaines, who works for Bobby and Terry Labonte’s Busch teams. We plan to enhance the spotter/crew chief in NASCAR 3, although we will stick with the same basic functionality that was in NASCAR 2. We do not plan on including voice support within the game, but we hope to be able to support third-party voice-recognition software.

A Final Thought

We’ll leave the last word to Dave Kaemmer, who, by anyone’s standards, is a visionary in the world of PC racing: “I am just really excited to see this new physics engine in our NASCAR game. I can’t wait to power slide off the corner at Martinsville. It’s going to be a total blast.”