Details On Final F1 Manager 2022 Patches And Subsequent Adolescent Reaction

Edit: Frontier made a “clarifying post” on this that I have reported on here. Though I am not sure it helped.

Frontier have posted an update on the F1 Manager subreddit detailing the final update or two of the game, and that they will be soon moving onto the next F1 Manager 2023 product.

It was taken negatively, of course, because the community set their own expectations sky-high and apparently that is somehow Frontier’s fault rather than their own.

What is coming:
– Visual updates to car models (they currently all use the same base 3D model, I think?)
– Visual updates to car liveries.
– Fuel usage during qualifying fixed.
– Estimated race time fixed.
– Game optimizations.
– More F1 Manager titles in the future.

What isn’t coming:
– Anything you’ve made-up yourself that they never said was coming.
– A fix for some erratic/slow blue flag reactions from opponents.

Let me tell you about my history with Frontier: I backed a space game on Kickstarter many years ago that I had wanted to be built by someone for my entire adult life. The design and features looked amazing and upon launch I was satisfied that they were heading in the direction of their design and had a decent roadmap for it. Then the community who had not wanted the game Frontier were making got loud, real loud, and started to lobby for changes to the overall experience a player could have with the game; Frontier listened, Frontier changed the game, and nobody wanted that game.

With F1 Manager and the four games Frontier are licensed to produce, they will have a set budget and game development cycle they have to adhere to, or they literally lose money and time they can spend on the next title. The game isn’t broken, far from it, and whatever you decided this game needed could easily make it into the 2023 edition unless you make them take that budget away. Do you understand who is going to lose if they listen to you? Everyone.

While I understand there are some issues, I firmly believe that F1 Manager 2022 is a solid base game with no actual game-breaking issues. It also has a decent amount of features that were good enough for me to enjoy it from day one. It’s been missing some things since release such as Sprint Races, Driver Academies, etc, but nobody said they would be in this product – and I set my expectations accordingly. Maybe that’s part of the reason I’m taking the news that they have moved onto creating a bigger and better F1 Manager 2023 as a good thing, because I’m certainly not expecting them to just update the cars or any new tracks that appear on the calendar in that title. I don’t want F1 Manager 2022.5, and I’m really hopeful that Frontier will ignore every single one of you to avoid doing so.

Full text of the reddit post:

Hey everyone :)

Thank you as always for your continued support and activity in the F1 Manager 2022 community! With the US GP now in the rear-view mirror, we wanted to let you know about upcoming plans for the game.

Our team are currently working on an update for F1 Manager 2022 that addresses more player-reported topics. This includes multiple visual updates to the car models for the official F1 teams. We’ve further differentiated their look by implementing some of the key characteristics of many teams’ 2022 designs, including car parts and liveries. Also, we’re making positive changes regarding fuel usage issues during Qualifying sessions, and amending instances of incorrect ‘Estimated Race Time’ calculations, amongst other optimisations.

This next update for F1 Manager 2022 will be the last significant update that addresses player-reported feedback, or suggested changes and additions. Any potential updates following this would be minor patches that do not noticeably affect gameplay. To ensure upcoming F1 Manager projects realise their potential and meet the expectations of both our team and our community, the development team’s focus must move fully onto projects beyond F1 Manager 2022, after this upcoming update.

Ever since we started to form the F1 Manager community, we’ve listened to and taken actions on your feedback and opinions whenever possible – and that will not be changing. Key reports and requests around F1 Manager 2022 from the community that are yet to be resolved will continue to be prioritised as we create future iterations in this franchise. With that mind, please keep sharing your thoughts in all the usual places, as we’ll be tracking them during development.

Myself and u/SteveFromFrontier will continue to be active across all our channels, after the final update and beyond, to answer questions, create content, and generally hang out with our players. We love seeing your stories, reading suggestions, and nerding out about F1 with you all, so that won’t be stopping.

We’ve said this many times before, but THANK YOU for continuing to be part of the F1 Manager community, and joining us on this journey from the very beginning. F1 Manager 2022 is just the start, and we can’t wait to share more with you in the future!