As of spring 2000, Papyrus Grand Prix Legends, published in 1998, represents the state of the art in racing simulations. You'll find a great deal of information about this brilliant sim on my comprehensive Grand Prix Legends site.
EA Sports F1 2000, developed by Image Space, Inc, is the best modern-era Formula 1 sim, in my opinion. There's more about this excellent sim on my F1 2000 page.
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In these pages you'll find comments and information about many racing simulations, including tips about where to get more information as well as products and freeware that will enhance your sim racing experience.
I've created a page for several major classes of simulations. On each page, I've grouped sims of that class into Recommended, Acceptable, Not Recommended, and Not Tested.
In general, the driving model, or car physics, is the factor which I feel is the most important in a sim. If I feel a sim reproduces real-world vehicle behavior reasonably well, I will probably like it.
Other factors, such as good Internet play, good AI (computer-controlled cars), good overall game design, well-designed menus and user interface, controller configurability, hardware compatibility, and the quality of sound and graphics are also factors in my decision. However, the quality of the driving experience is my most important consideration.
Recommended
The sims I recommend are the sims which I enjoy myself. These sims are the ones I like best in their class, although the recommended sims in one class may not be equal in quality to those I recommend in another class.
Acceptable
Sims in the Acceptable category, while not my favorites, are reasonably competent and have some redeeming qualities. You may enjoy these products even though I don't consider them the best in their class.
Sims which I originally rated as Recommended may move into the Acceptable category as new sims render them obsolete. Such sims are still good choices for older, less powerful computers, and can often be found for very low prices or in bargain bins.
Not Recommended
Sims I don't recommend are those which I've tried and found seriously flawed. If a sim or game doesn't feel to me like it is representing real-world vehicle behavior at least reasonably well, or its controls don't produce reasonably realistic responses in its cars, I won't use it and I won't recommend it.
Other flaws, such as poor AI (computer-controlled cars), lack of Internet play, high CPU demand, or poor sound or graphics may also influence my decision, but generally a poor driving model is responsible for landing a product in my Not Recommended category.
Not Tested
Generally, I will not test products which other experienced sim racers have reported to have very poor driving characteristics, or which have a theme which does not interest me.
Check my Miscellaneous Sims and Other Sims pages for notes about racing games not covered on the main pages.
Please see my ratings page for an overview of sims and how they stacked up (as of late 1997).
Refer to the How To section for specific details about hardware, controllers, and information about several of the sims which have been my favorites over the last few years.
See the Links page for links to other Web sites with much more information and add-ons for many of the sims discussed on these pages.
If you've purchased Papyrus CART Racing and tried to install it, you may appreciate the need for my installation instructions for this re-release of the classic IndyCar Racing II.
See my CART Versions page for details about the many different releases of this product, and my Add-On Tracks page for information about importing CART tracks into GPL.
Five years after its original release, CART/ICR2 is still the best simulation available for Indycars!