EA delivers realistic, fun racing simulation for PC

ADVERTORIAL -- A new NASCAR season is under way, and the well-timed release of a PC simulation of NASCAR has been released by EA Sports. It's been several months since the console versions of NASCAR 2005 came out, and the PC version was delayed because the developers needed extra time to make the most realistic simulation possible for the established PC sim racers. Those virtual racers have been spoiled by years of quality NASCAR simulations from Papyrus for Sierra software.

EA knew that cloning the console titles on the PC would not impress this audience. So it re-branded the PC version "NASCAR SimRacing" and delayed the product until hardcore simulation could be delivered that would be a worthy successor to earlier Papyrus titles. To do this, EA had to change its design philosophies from earlier NASCAR Thunder titles, rebuild the physics engine from the ground up and integrate advanced features that dedicated sim racers would demand -- such as telemetry, detailed setups, state-of-the-art graphics and full field online play.

EA also secured the assistance of NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, one of the most talented drivers competing in the Nextel Cup. Newman gave extensive feedback to the development team, and his input is very evident in the final results.

The resulting game has a rather different feel than either EA's previous efforts or the Papyrus titles. When the car got loose in the Papyrus simulations, it was typically too late to save it. The car would just spin up into the wall. Newman's feedback was that the fastest cars are often the ones a little loose, as this would actually help the car turn, and the driver could modulate steering and throttle to get the optimal turn rate while maintaining speed in the corners.

To incorporate this feedback, EA made sure it simulated the effects of tires gradually losing grip, rather than snapping into an unrecoverable spin. It's still possible to get the car loose beyond your ability to save it (especially if you like to drive with two wheels below the white line), but now you can actually drive into and out of a certain amount of oversteer. You have to work the throttle and wheel to find the best tradeoff between slip and grip to get the lap times down.

You'll hear the sound of the tires beginning to slide on the asphalt, and it's up to you to find the perfect balance. You want to avoid having to slow down because the car is pushing high into the corners, but you also want to avoid losing speed because your rear tires are spinning and sliding too much, scrubbing off your speed (and wasting the tires). This makes the car feel more "alive" under you than it has in previous sims. It's quite satisfying, and results in white knuckle driving while trying to find that perfect balance.

The graphics also are top notch. EA has accurately modeled every NASCAR track, and in every way the detail has been enhanced to levels previously unseen. The fans in the stands actually move, the skies look photorealistic, and the track details are meticulous. Full surround sound audio also is provided, having come from digital recordings taken from the real cars.

EA also has folded in a career mode, and allows you to start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with a modest budget, a truck and sponsor possibilities. As you progress, bigger and better sponsors will come along, enabling you to invest in research, build better cars, and even sell themed merchandise. Your success (or lack thereof) on the track will affect how much money you make, and whether the bigger sponsors show an interest in you. The National Series (formerly the Busch Series) also is available to you in career mode. Any of these series are available in single race mode or online.

That brings us to perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the game. Finally, EA has made a title that will support full 43-car online fields, and a suite of GameSpy servers is up and ready for you to compete against online. Obviously, the quality of the racing is only going to be as good as your connection. If you want to race online, you'll need to have a broadband connection, and you will also be able to enjoy Voice-Over-IP capabilities with a headset. When I raced online, the game reported its ping times for me in the 43ms range, with 0 percent packet loss.

For non-Internet savvy people, this means that the online gaming was nearly rock solid, and very enjoyable. One of the problems with previous sims online has been that "lag" can cause cars to temporarily 'warp' into each other. There's nothing worse for a league owner than having to deal with angry drivers sending in race replays to prove that someone else took them out. Since previous games from Papyrus were very sensitive to contact, it only took a 'touch' from someone to put you into the wall or spin you out.

Often, one replay would show contact where the other replay would not. In NASCAR SimRacing, cars can bump and grind more, so even with the inevitable Internet "lag," you actually have the chance to save that car as it tries to wiggle out from underneath you. In situations that were previously race ending (and therefore "fun-ending"), you can stay alive and continue to race. This has to be seen as a big improvement. The famous phrase "rubbin's racin' " has never been more true.

Additionally, the game supports the full range of PC controllers, including force feedback controllers, so if you haven't bought a wheel and pedals yet, it is highly recommended. And there is yet another new addition to the series: head tracking support using the NaturalPoint Track-IR product (http://www.naturalpoint.com).

The Track-IR product is an infrared scanner that sits atop your monitor and senses your head movements and puts them into the game. With the new "Vector Expansion" module, it can provide up to 6 degrees of freedom in games that support it, including a variety of flight and driving simulations. EA added FULL 6DOF Track-IR support in NASCAR SimRacing. What this means is that when you turn your head left or right during the game, the in-car view pans left and right as you do so. Now you'll see that car edging up alongside of you. You can look left through the corners, which is exactly as it should be. You can lean closer to the wheel, sit higher or lower in the seat, or tilt your head left and right, and the game's virtual in-car view will follow along perfectly.

As I was told at Skip Barber's Racing School: "The hands follow the eyes." And finally, the "eyes" can move! I was amazed at the improvement in my lap times as a result. Instead of being stuck at my previous best 15.2 second laps at Bristol, with the ability to look ahead through the turn, I dropped my best time to 14.866s. Track-IR may not be an online racer's "secret weapon," but it sure helps!

Is the game perfect? Of course not. Although it implements all the latest NASCAR rules, including the "Lucky Dog" rule, there are glitches in the rules implementation. Unless you turn off the black and yellow flag options, you may find yourself running afoul of the rules quickly, either by not keeping up with the pace line or passing the wrong car under caution. The game is very intolerant and often makes detrimental mistakes on the calls, such penalizing you for passing a car under caution when said car is actually spinning out into the infield! EA is working hard to deliver updates to the product that address these issues, and these updates should be available for download soon.

The bottom line is that EA has brought a superbly detailed yet very fun NASCAR racing sim, and while it isn't perfect, it will pay for itself many times over in hours of enjoyment.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.