Video game development is rarely about one man, but if it was, then Terence Groening should certainly get a mention for his contributions to the genre as the man responsible for the physics of Sportscar GT, EA’s PC F1 and NASCAR games of the early 2000’s, rFactor, rFactor 2 and every title and rFpro simulator that spawned from ISI’s engine.
This interview with RSC details his early life and career, through to him joining iRacing in 2021.
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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Originally working in military simulator design, this Michigan-based studio developed Zone Raiders for Virgin Interactive before moving to Electronic Arts for publishing their second PC title, Sports Car GT, when Westwood Studios (their SCGT development partner) was acquired by the software giant.
Known primarily for their mod-friendly SCGT and rFactor racing platforms, ISI also developed Formula One and NASCAR titles on PC for Electronic Arts, but perhaps their lasting contribution to the genre was the licensing of the isiMotor engine that allowed studios such as 2Pez, Blimey! Games, KW Studios, Motorsport Games, Reiza Studios, SIMBIN Studios, Slightly Mad Studios, The Sim Factory, Tiburon and rFactor 2‘s ongoing developer Studio 397 to begin with or release on an evolution of their software.
Another fork of the isiMotor engine, rFpro, continues to be developed and is used by a wide array of automotive companies for both road and motorsport simulation.
rF2 is a simulation designed to simulate any type of multi-wheeled vehicle of any era, supports modding directly, and features an advanced physics, suspension, and tire model.
rF is a simulation designed to simulate any type of four-wheeled vehicle of any era, supports modding directly, and features advanced 15 degrees of freedom physics, suspension, and tire modelling.
F12K2 is a simulation of the 2002 Formula One World Championship. It includes the 17 tracks from the season and allows the player to select from 11 teams.
Coming months after the release of F1 2000, the F1 Championship Season 2000 update was an attempt by EA to cash-in twice on the Formula One license within the same year in the same way some other sports titles were. The developer used the opportunity to capture what had happened during the season and include […]
SCGT is a simulation of the 1999 United States Road Racing Championship. It includes a mixture of cars and tracks that were in the series that year, were planned for the future, or added for value once the USRRC folded mid-season.
About RSC
A site by a sort of sim racer, for sim racers, about racing sims. News and information on both modern and historic sim racing software titles.
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Join Jon Denton, Tim Wheatley and Simon Croft as they discuss sim racing and racing games past, present and future.