Grand Prix 4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Grand Prix 4 | |
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| Developer(s) | MicroProse |
| Publisher(s) | Infogrames |
| Designer(s) | Geoff Crammond |
| Release date(s) | November 22, 2002 (v1.2)
Old versions
September 10, 2002 (v1.0)
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| Genre(s) | Sim racing |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows) |
| Media | CD-ROM |
| System requirements | 400 MHz Pentium III, 64 MB RAM |
| Input | Keyboard, mouse, joystick, steering wheel |
Grand Prix 4, released for the PC on October 9, 2002, is currently the last Formula 1 racing simulator released by the developer Geoff Crammond and the MicroProse label. Essentially serving as a graphical and seasonal update of Grand Prix 3 which had been released in 2000 the game retained the series' legendary physics engine. However it entered the market at a far less hospitable time than its three predecessors, and the game faced stiff competition from an alternative Formula 1 simulation from studios such as ISI.
After the criticism received by Grand Prix 3 for not advancing the series Grand Prix 4 featured a heavily revised graphics engine and updated physics including wet weather driving that even today is considered some of the best to ever feature in a motorsport simulation. Despite this the game still showed Crammond's oft-commented dated approach to game design.[citation needed]
- While it is possible to play the game on a LAN, internet gameplay was not possible, due to licensing restrictions. Some third party individuals managed to circumnavigate this problem later.
- The framerate locked and CPU heavy graphics were still a big issue with the series despite a completely revised graphics engine. However, the graphics engine proved to be very scalable and provides - compared to modern engines - state-of-the-art graphics. Even with models and textures multiple times the size of the original shipped materials, the engine works smoothly.
- The mod community faced similar frustrations with the track format and it took fully two years before the track format was truly "cracked". New tracks are now available for the game, including Jerez and three of the new Formula One tracks - Sakhir, Shanghai and Istanbul.
- When the game was initially launched, it had a few bugs. Most of these were addressed by an update patch which was later included with the retail game. Some third party programmers also addressed some of the remaining problems, and included enhancements which allowed the game to follow the updated rules of the Formula 1 championship.
- Many claimed that the stated "minimum requirements" were set too low and that they could barely get the game to run on a significantly more powerful system.
Although the game could be considered a relatively modest commercial success the chances of a further entry to the series could be considered slim to none due to the fact that MicroProse's parent company Infogrames dissolved the developer shortly after the game's release. Also the Sony Computer Entertainment brands exclusive licensing deal for Formula 1 games rules out an update with official stats. An Xbox port of the title had been planned for release in late 2002 before being cancelled in October of that year.
[edit] Today
These days GP4 is a commonly played game among F1 fans. There are several online communities around the internet, including GP4Spain, GP4Italia and Gp4Argentina. All these have members who spend days producing fabulous pieces of mod work. Gp4spain, with people like DjVass, E_Shummi, and a lot of other great modders, realeased few days ago, Gp4 3.0 Mod, one of the best Gp4 mod's made ever. Another examples could be, Rene Smit, who has gained incredible popularity in the GPx world for his tool, GPxPatch. This allows the user to add lots of additions to the game, which are mentioned in the main GPxPatch article. Other mods include the 2005 mod from GP4Italia, and the 1979 mod from the same site. It is rumoured that track editing will soon become easier due to the perseverance of some, including the famous Lo2k, widely regarded throughout the GP4 community as one of the best contributors to updates.
[edit] External links
- Grand Prix 4 at MobyGames
- Gp4spain - community site
- GP4Italia - Italian community site
- Grand Prix 4 - French community site (English version)
- GP4Argentina - Latin America community site
| Geoff Crammond's "Grand Prix" Series |
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F1GP | Grand Prix 2 | Grand Prix 3 | Grand Prix 4 |
