In an unusual move this week, Endurance Motorsport Series has opted to make it absolutely clear to potential players that their game will in fact, not deliver simulation-level physics.

Instead:

Now, I really like this approach.

It may have become abundantly clear by now to those of you who have read a few of these newsletters that I am not what you would call a “hardcore” sim racer. I love iRacing, I love Assetto Corsa but I also love the Formula 1 franchise, Gran Turismo and Circuit Superstars.

I expect that Endurance Motorsport Series’ decision to publish this statement was driven partly by the fear of ending up in what we might call “the uncanny valley” of racing game titles.

What the hell do you mean? Uncanny valley? Speak plainly sir!

Not being a pure physics-based simulator, but also not being a controller-first arcade game leaves this concept somewhere in the middle between the two: the uncanny valley.

Simply by including licenced cars and tracks; opting for photo-realistic graphics; focusing on endurance racing and having elements of engineering and race strategy woven into the gameplay, the game may be interpreted as some as “hardcore”.

And yet, by not having a 120HZ physics engine, marble generation, puddle characteristics, inner-inner, inner-outer, outer-outer and brake drum thermal mapping, some may interpret this game as “arcade nonsense”… you know who you are…

And so, the game studio finds itself in the strange position of having to declare itself “out” in terms of its placing itself among the hardcore elite sim racing titles so that it cannot be judged as such.

I think this is smart. Without this declaration, they open themselves up to reviews which state something like “great concept, fun racing but let down by poor physics”. Or, “tyres do not evolve properly on the out lap, therefore this is an unserious attempt at an endurance racing game”.

I feel like I’m pre-cynic-ing the cynics. (I might keep a log of all my made-up words)

But here’s the really clever part:

If you’re not a hardcore sim, and you’re not an anime, mad-max style, turtle shell shooting arcade, what are you?

The answer historically has been “sim-cade”, often accompanied with a 🤡 emoji…

And so how do you refer this uncanny value where 80%+ of the market reside? You rebrand it. The term “sim-lite” is fantastic. It tells the driver exactly what to expect: elements of physics-based handling but with some complexities that are deemed to be unnecessary removed.

Those who like a more accessible experience can get excited that they’re not being thrown in the deep end and those hardcore among us won’t get upset that the physics is undercooked.

AND, they didn’t have to use the word “sim-cade”.

Reading the quote above, it seems Endurance Motorsport Series is hardly going to feel like Mario Kart. It reads like a well-considered list of relevant variables that can play into the gameplay narrative of an endurance racing title, without the unnecessary detail that the purists might consider a minimum requirement because “realism”.

Perhaps I’ll eat my words, perhaps this will turn out to serve neither the purists, nor the casuals. But my instinct says that this will be an engaging approach to racing physics that leaves room for the development team to focus on what’s important - the gameplay.

Project Motor Racing and Rennsport are both scrambling to fire out post-release updates to salvage their game’s reputation, re-energise their player bases and recover their relevance post-launch.

In this week’s Traxion Control Podcast (releasing tomorrow), we ask whether or not studios are leaving hype (and revenue) on the table by choosing to release too little at launch.

Later this week, our Editor-In-Chief, (other) Tom, heads to Munich to a mysterious Rennsport event where we're expecting to hear the details of a major update. Meanwhile, Project Motor Racing have just released its 1.6.0 update:

The word “cutesy” is perhaps a little overused when describing indie games. But it sums up indie developer 3D Clouds’ retro formula 1 inspired game nicely. For an F1 fan looking for some casual, nostalgic fun - it fits the bill. Or rather, it now fits the bill.

On launch, there were a few frustrating hiccups that forestalled our enjoyment. As summed up nicely in this review video 👇

However, defined by Traxion as its “most important” update yet, Formula Legends has now seemingly addressed most of the major limiting issues. If you haven’t yet tried this game - maybe now is a good time to pick it up?

We’ve all been there, you spend 2 hours making the race poster for Facebook, you agonise over the server settings, you’re ready to broadcast your race on YouTube and then only 6 drivers turn up.

Install the Grid Finder Discord bot for free to manage sign ups, send reminders and post your results in your discord server.

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.