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.
RSC contains a database of 153 developers, 467 software titles, 374 cars, 42 bikes, 242 tracks and more...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.
RSC Podcast Episode 7 – Management Simulations, F1 Managers, Always Used To Be Better?Join Jon Denton, Tim Wheatley, Simon Croft and guest(s) as they discuss sim racing and racing games past, present and future.
RSC contains a database of news items. Our #OnThisDay page shows current day and current week of years past...
RSC contains a database of videos back to the 1980s catalogued as intros, laps, trailers, unboxings and more...
RSC contains a database of emulated software you can play in your browser...
Mike Lescault of Papyrus has shared a current track list and driver list with the community via Thor on the rec.autos.simulators newsgroup. His post confirms Kyalami (South Africa), Mexico City, Monza (Italy), Mosport (Canada), Rouen (France), Watkins Glen (USA) and Zandvoort (Holland).
What’s interesting on this list is Rouen, which hosted Formula One in 1952, 1957, 1962, 1964 and 1968. This does raise a query on exactly what season the sim is to be based off, but Bandini (listed below), died after the Monaco Grand Prix in 1967.
The driver list (below) is interesting, and suggests that Ferrari, Brabham, Lotus, Honda and Cooper may appear as cars.
Thor’s post text:
Here is the promised track-listing for GPL.
(Just received it from Papy’s Mike Lescault).Bear in mind though that this is NOT a COMPLETE list; only
those tracks for which the licensing negotiations are done
are listed:Kyalami
Mexico City
Monza
Mosport
Rouen
Watkins Glen
ZandvoortThe same is valid for this list of featured drivers:
Chris Amon
Lorenzo Bandini
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Joakim Bonnier
Jack Brabham
Jim Clark
Ritchie Ginther
Dan Gurney
Graham Hill
Denis Hulme
Jacky Icks
Chris Irwin
Jochen Rindt
Pedro Rodriguez
Jo Siffert
GPL is a simulation of the 1967 Formula One World Championship. It includes 11 tracks (10 from the real-life schedule) and allows the player to choose from seven period cars.
