Dear reader,
Like all my new-years resolutions, I’ve always been slightly sceptical about my ability to remain consistent with, to commit to, and to not give up on this newsletter. However, for the last three Thursdays, I’ve left my house, walked into town and sat down in the same café to write up my deepest, darkest sim racing thoughts and feelings. I find the white noise of a café very useful to focus.
Well this morning, dear readers, the waitress behind the counter uttered those famous words, “the usual?” when I walked in… and it made my heart glow - I’ve made it! I’m a local, regular, bohemian, artiste, writing away in a café sipping on my chai, skinny, oat milk latte coffee feeling like a poet in Paris in the ‘20s, or an American novelist in San Francisco Bay in the ‘50s, perhaps just with more references to force feedback and frame rates and of course a healthy smattering of SEO optimised backlinks…
Still, I think it’s romantic.
Go grab your coffee, it’s a long one…
Tom Bunten, Traxion.gg
P.s. this edition is landing an hour later than usual due to some news being hot off the press from Sim Formula Europe - exciting!
3 New Games and a New Product!
It's been a surprisingly busy week in the sim racing world this week, we've got Sim Formula Europe in Maastricht playing host to some product reviews (and some exciting game gossip) AND a brand new game with a rare 9/10 review from Traxion!
Super Woden Rally Edge - 9/10 “Sublime”
Let’s start with some good news.
To those who have watched our content for a while, it will be no surprise that the team here at Traxion are massive rally fans. If you’re wondering which year Philippe Bugalski won two WRC rallies in a 2WD Citroën Xsara Kit Car or which World Rally Champion was already the Finnish National Ploughing Champion by age 18, you can bet the team here can tell you.
So, it’s been magical for me, a rally muggle, an uninitiated normie, to watch the team truly devour Super Woden Rally Edge with deep, deep joy.
Super Woden Rally Edge was created by a solo developer and, if using “fun” as your metric of success, it outperforms titles created by teams 100 times its size.
What does this title NOT offer?
Laser-scanned tracks
Hyper-realistic car modelling
Licenced tracks/cars
Tyre models more complex than the launch sequence software on a space ship
What does this title offer?
Pleasing visuals
Satisfying handling mechanics
Engaging gameplay loops
Memorable gaming moments
Fun
“ViJuDa has knocked it out of the park once again with his latest title, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the arcade rallying experience on offer. I've spent 10 hours completing the entire career mode, testing on PC & Steam Deck, and have also unlocked every achievement. There are a few QOL changes I'd make such as the ability to change pacenote timings or an "ironman" mode, but what is on offer from release is incredible.
The car handling feels really nice, and you can feel a huge difference between the slow and easy feel of the E class, where the brakes aren't used until the hard turns, and the powerful A class where the car screams and snakes through the tight courses. My favourite has to be the Pikes Peak-inspired circuit right near the end of the game, as I'm having a lot of fun trying to smash the world record”
I speak for us all when I say that I hope you get that world record Oasley! 💪
Clearly this game is not designed for the same core demographic that the likes of iRacing, LMU, Assetto Corsa etc are. I’m not saying that these simulation focused titles could be created with just one person, obviously.
I am, however, questioning whether sim racing titles could be guilty of straying a little too far from “fun”. If simulation is the aim, arguably, there is only one final destination for all titles as they inch closer and closer to true, 1 to 1 simulation of the real world.
So variety gives way to repetition, creativity gives way to science.
But does more real equal more fun?
Or, another way to frame this question:
If one guy can make a fun racing game, why do the larger, better funded studios often struggle?
I do wonder whether licenced cars and tracks, physics, puddle generation, rubber build-up, energy deployment systems, aero effects, accurate kerb heights and laser-scanned tracks all detract from the core value of a racing title - fun.
Of course, this suggestion could simply be the best evidence to argue that sim racing is more sport than it is game. The sliding scale between arcade, simcade, and true simulation is contested at best, totally subjective at worst. Are simulation titles right to focus on realism more than fun?
The truth as always lies in the in the grey areas, in the nuance, in the context and in this case, probably in the middle.
Forza Horizon, Gran Turismo and the F1 franchise are the best examples of titles that strive for realism whilst keeping a hand firmly on the tiller of fun & reward - and their player numbers would suggest this is the sweet spot for most.
All of this to say, we loved Super Woden Rally Edge because it was fun.
Got an opinion on this? Disagree with my thoughts? Let me know at [email protected] and I’ll feature the discussion next week.
MONOsim - What’s this then? A new game? Sort of…
Tom Harrison-Lord, our man in Maastricht, our roving reporter has been trying a brand new game at Sim Formula Europe, the lesser-known MONOsim:
There's a brand new driving simulation set to release this year that has, so far, flown under the radar.
It's called MONOsim and it's the work of David Hatton – who works on rFactor Pro – and industry veteran Marcel Offermans.
The latter announced a new project, The Last Garage, in 2022 and has been working on various iterations ever since. Later in 2026, MONOsim will be the first commercially released title using this new technology.
As the name suggests, the BAC MONO sports car will be the central focus. In fact, it will be its only vehicle, working closely with the Liverpudlian manufacturer.
Then there will be a handful of circuits, an ice track and a road, with leaderboards and online multiplayer. 1000hz physics too, naturally.
The stated aim is to make a great small simulation, and then let's see what the future holds...
Heusinkveld Go For The Gap That Exists
I’ve spoken about this on the Traxion Control podcast (re-launching soon… I promise) a few times: the sim racing hardware market is getting increasingly saturated. This is great news for us sim racers. More competition, lower prices, more urgency to innovate.
And it’s innovation that Heusinkveld has embraced with their latest product, the DisplayDash, being showcased right this very second at Sim Formula Europe. Our very own Editor-In-Chief, Tom Harrison-Lord is on the ground there getting the inside scoop on the product.
Heusinkveld DisplayDash
Heasinkveld were the pedal guys, the industry leaders, for years. Until at Sim Racing Expo in Dortmund they showcased their new wheel. We spoke to Heusinkveld owner, Svend van der Vlugt about the most recent broadening of their portfolio.
“As sim racers we want to design products which we want to install and use in our own simulator! One challenge we noticed: it’s easy to lose track of what every button does, especially since functions can change between cars and type of software. Therefore we decided to design a product which uses a display to give dynamic context to typical physical sim racing controls: physical input, digital” context!
Can AI make you a faster sim racer?
Built by Driver61 (Scott Mansell), Trophi.ai is trying to do just that. We’ve all been there, we get a couple of hours to dust of the rig and jump into some ranked sessions, but this week the track is one we’re unfamiliar with. Trophi.ai will help you get up to speed faster, with live, AI-powered voice coaching.
Brake a little later here, get back on the power a little later there… you know the drill
Get 50% off with our exclusive link
More Stories from Sim Formula Europe in Maastricht
Donkervoort Debuts in The Last Garage
While MONOsim will be released, The Last Garage's underlying project continues, with B2B projects for the Dutch army and rally training, for example. A two-year research project is underway with Dutch sports car creators Donkervoort, and one model was used in-sim for the final for SFE's esports competition
Fictional VCARUS Finally Hits The Track
In 2022, Florian Haasper had a dream - a fictional GT3-style race car for sim racing, without the need for pesky Balance of Performance or licensing. Now, four years later, it has been made, alongside a new track, in The Last Garage specifically for the final of VCO's ERL competition.
Japanese Drift Masters, not a game on most people’s radar, but a game not without merit. A very noble venture to do justice to the genre of drifting - no qualms there.
However…
They had a semi-viral moment yesterday when they decided to pit themselves against the might, the splendour, the cult-like goliath of…Forza! The comments were not kind!
Damage limitation was required:
Is there really no such thing as bad publicity?
News Highlights This Week from Traxion.gg
Our AI Pledge
If you’ve ever read a Traxion.gg article, you’ll know that the writers over here all have very distinct voices and opinions. It’s this character and sound that I think makes Traxion special.
Human creation is becoming a rare commodity with which the media seem to trade less and less. But not at Traxion. We don’t use AI to write our articles on the website, and I pledge to you, that I will never use AI to write this newsletter.
Are sim racing titles becoming less "fun"?
Last week’s poll results
Last week I asked whether you were a flight simmer, tempted to be a flight simmer or vehemently not a flight simmer. This poll really blew up! It’s the most votes we’ve had (in our long prestigious history of 4 newsletters!).
The results: 47.5% of people don’t flight sim and don’t think they would; 30% of people do flight sim and the remaining 22.5% of voters don’t flight sim but want to.
So it’s fair to say that most people who voted either already flight sim, or want to.
Want to get involved with Traxion Control?
Got a question for our editorial team? Perhaps a point you’d like to make? Maybe even you’ve spotted a mistake in this issue?
Send your submissions by email to [email protected] and we’ll include them at the bottom of each edition.