Video game development is full of names that have made groundbreaking steps you’ve never even heard about. Shawn Nash is a behind-the-scenes pioneer responsible for SODA Off Road Racing’s incredible physics, Papyrus’ graphical advancements and iRacing’s use of laser scan data for the physical track surfaces.
This interview with RSC, published in 2021, details his early life and career, through both his own company, Papyrus, Electronic Arts, to his time at iRacing.
If you ever played Papyrus’ seminal Grand Prix Legends then you’ve read his name. Rich began working as a tester on NASCAR Racing (1994) and was with Papyrus at the end. In this interview, published in 2022, we discuss his time at the legendary studio and the design of Grand Prix Legends, including initial feelings of hurt at not being asked to join iRacing.
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An extremely uncompetitive car that is famous for its engine as much as anything else, the 1967 BRM P115 was heavy, suffered poor handling and was dumped for 1968 in favor of the much more competitive P126. The car was designed to carry BRM’s complicated H-16 engine, which was supposed to help the balance of the car, but a high center of gravity and the added weight literally outweighed the benefits.
First seen in sim racing with Grand Prix Legends (1998).
It’s best not to try to conquer the BRM until you’ve conquered every other car first, it’s slow and (to a rookie) utterly unresponsive. Only when you learn to keep the revs up high and the rear tires spinning does the handling becomes more responsive and you begin to use it.
It’s the heaviest car in GPL due to it’s engine which although very powerful, doesn’t deliver enough to propel what’s affectionately called ‘The Pig’ at the needed speed to compete on slower tracks. The faster tracks do release the BRM a little and it does (eventually) get a good top speed.
Not recommended for a beginner, the BRM is the worst possible choice, it can be lots of fun to drive – and feels fast – until you see you’re 5% slower no matter how hard you try.
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