History's Worst Sim - Spirit of Speed 1937

[@azarisLP]

Me: "Mom, can we have Grand Prix Legends?" Mom: "We have Grand Prix Legends at home." At home: Spirit of Speed 1937

[@leeevans3546]

I worked on this game as a play tester (for the publisher Hasbro). It had so much promise on paper but the developers just could not deliver. It was torn apart during testing as we were the same guys that had the pleasure of testing GP500 and Grand Prix 3 so we knew good racing sims. But Hasbro didn't care and released it anyway.

[@marcustrelle4898]

In the manual it justifies the bad handling as being realistic for the 1930s. Was this intentional or is this just an excuse?

[@leeevans3546]

@@marcustrelle4898 Obviously the cars would have been poor compared to modern cars but I think it was an excuse. It looked great for the time but it was all window dressing. Could have been a great game.

[@leeevans3546]

@@marcustrelle4898 I think that they just wanted people to know that these cars wouldn't handle like an arcade game. It would have been easier to make the cars handle well really. But obviously to code the poor handling well would also be difficult. There were so many "issues" with this game that it was never going to be good and released on time. Plus with Grand Prix Legends as the benchmark it had a hard act to follow. However Hasbro also had Geoff Crammond working on GP3 around this time. Imagine Spirit of Speed running on the GP3 engine and that would be a totally different animal. But GP3 was developed in house but spirit of speed was outside developer so would never have happened.

[@GameBoyyearsago]

@@leeevans3546 I Hope You Try Latest Games In Future : )

[@GrandPrixYannick]

Not gonna lie, back in my teens, I actually liked this game. The Tripoli version of this game I found actually quite amazing.

[@OldRacingGames]

Me too! None of the circuits are remotely accurate though.

[@RunningOn7CylindersYT]

Power of nostalgia, I loved Need For Speed undercover and TOCA/V8 Supercars Race Driver on PS2 when I was younger but now looking back at them, they ain't that good.

[@codyj1162]

Same. I really liked when I had the old dreamcast. ❤

[@PunishedV]

I wish there was a proper sim for pre war racing tbh

[@gabem.5242]

Try the 1937 mod for rFactor 1. ;)

[@mooreanonumbers]

There were a couple high-quality pre-war GP mods released on Assetto over the last 2 years, but yeah, more would be nice.

[@mooreanonumbers]

​@skinfullofdoom Some pre-WWI stuff would be great indeed. I know there is someone who wanted to commission a mod based on the 1916 IndyCar season recently, but whether this will ever become a reality is another question.

[@happy_camper]

A pre-war/inter-war sim is what my heart desires above all else.

[@dummyaccount9673]

There are some pre ww2 mods for AC

[@TheOriginalStix]

Well, there's one thing we can say about this game: It existed. With that said, now I want a full 1937 season mod for GPL, that would be awesome.

[@riderofthemark6661]

Yeahh 😍😍

[@golfo0011]

@@mattiapresti7295 no, impossible, I know people who have tried it

[@grnhy]

Or a great track pack for Automobilista :)

[@mattiapresti7295]

Ahah, I agree: I never played GPL, but doesn't sounds that around the 2005 it wasn't overtaken. Surely, probably the first game that could be called simulator, but saying that in 2010 (and ten, yess) it wasn't still overtaken, it's hard to believe

[@graysonbyass-rascoe4326]

@@grnhy i can just imagine my friend speeding around avus in a streamliner auto union at absolutely terrifying speeds i think that ams does great justice to historic cars!

[@rikki87sufc]

The Monza track is based on the layout used in the 1936 Italian GP. Used to love this game as a teenager! The challenges were great fun. Racing the Napier around Brooklands!

[@HawkOfGP]

Good call! Surprisingly enough the layout seems to match the one they used that year reasonably well.

[@sebamude]

Except the first two chicanes, they weren't used in 1936 I believe. The third chicane on the oval altough was used.

[@rikki87sufc]

@@sebamude According to motorsport magazine they were, but I guess we'll never truly know. 👍

[@sebamude]

@@rikki87sufc I looked it up on racingcircuits.info and there were no chicanes in the track layout. But sadly it's hard to find reliable sources from these early years

[@wabba67]

@@sebamude The old circuit database of the Racing Line has the chicanes (theracingline.net/racingcircuits/Italy/Monza1935G.html).

[@millennialchicken]

It's a shame pre-war Grand Prix cars have this as their racing game representative. They deserve better.

[@dracofenix3860]

Same opinion here, good concept, bad execution. I would love a moderniced, well made version of this game, althought i perfectly understand why a game like that doesnt appeal to the public..

[@ConfusedShelf]

Can I just say that, "If any of you have excitement right now, I caution you to stifle that!" is a bloody AMAZING way to start a video.

[@mdewulf0922]

“History’s Worst Sim” NASCAR Heat Series - *Are you challenging me?*

[@bruhbbawallace]

the heat series isnt intended to be a simulator, so the statement still stands

[@SahiPie]

@@mdewulf0922 You included the quotation for direct referencing, the man refuted its relevancy. Don’t move the goal post.

[@seamusmckeon9109]

NASCAR heat 2-5 epic

[@bruhbbawallace]

@@seamusmckeon9109 i wouldnt go that far homie

[@mdewulf0922]

@@SahiPie What do you mean, "move the goal post"? Also, sorry for making a joke. Not sure what's wrong with that, but as an 8th grader, sometimes some humor is needed in my life. Good day.

[@ultrahenk]

I gave this a try back in the day. It seemed to me that the performance of different cars was matched to different tracks so that slower cars (like the ERA and Bugatti) are actually faster at certain tracks than the Mercedes and Auto Union. Interesting design choice that makes sense from a gameplay point of view, but which of course has no place in anything pretending to be a sim.

[@mattmattmatt131313]

This is one of those games where you just wish the execution was better. There is a lot to like here, I like the presentation, the music, the menus, screenshots/loading screens, even some of the tracks, car interiors etc. It has character. But the driving, the performance just ruins it as a possible enjoyable title. I really wish somebody would make a worthy remake/spiritual successor to this game. Even if it leans slightly on the arcade side of things (think Wreckfest) I would be ok with that. I mean the fact that it is the only pre-war racing game deserves a buy automatically imo.

[@marcp.3900]

There's just no real market for a game like this

[@mattmattmatt131313]

@@marcp.3900 But there is always a market for yet another GT3 expansion in yet another sim :(

[@TeemoQuinton]

@@mattmattmatt131313 Modernity sells

[@wolfgangkrebl3056]

@@marcp.3900 Hm-not so sure that there are no fans of tbat era of racing. I for myself am a history buff and would be glad if there is a game that covers also the early times of racing.

[@wolfgangkrebl3056]

@untitled. Agreed, but then see it as a need for speed 1930. 😂

[@Autumnal_willow]

"And oddly enough, none of the 5 tracks which were raced... Are in this game at all."

[@nate567987]

to be fair the tracks were odd that year or manco

[@mahiru20ten]

To be fair, some of them were used in non-championship races of that season. (AVUS, Brooklands, Donington)

[@michaelsgarage6980]

Game looks pretty decent considering it was released 80 years ago

[@antispeed]

I was reading a biography on Enzo Ferrari a few years ago and it made me think how amazing a modern pre-war sim would be. Especially all of those long forgotten Italian street circuits like the Coppa Ciano and Coppa Acerbo.

[@johnedwards230]

The Monza layout was used in 1935-37, absolutely a genuine layout!

[@stephenbrown4211]

Yes I remember reading there was a chicane on the oval during that time

[@carsons5750]

"too much fun for how good it is" Dude, it's rare but terrible games can be lots of fun sometimes - whether it's because there's enough good core gameplay shining through, or just because exploring how broken it is feels like an adventure. I've definitely spent 'too many' hours on a terrible game or two in my time.

[@jumhig]

I have the Dreamcast version of this game. Its basically unplayable, especially if you have played a good racing Sim before.

[@jeffrielly]

LJN's last game, The Angry Video Game Nerd will tell you all you need to know about them.

[@Karmy.]

Yep

[@doritofan80]

Acclaim must have seen this game so bad they used the LJN logo to publish it on the Dreamcast

[@prostetnikjeltz6801]

Auto Union actually did race mid-engined cars in the 30s.

[@TOFKAS01]

And it was the foundation of the racing-level in the first Mafia-game.

[@fredphilips5320]

R-really, or it's a joke?

[@TOFKAS01]

@@fredphilips5320 Nope. When you play Spirit of Speed and Mafia 1, you have the same Physic, the same grafic and the same functionality (or the lacking of it). And I think if a game-developer would analyse the programming-code, he would see that its also the same code.

[@fredphilips5320]

@@TOFKAS01 Jeesus, i was thinking "damn, that's another level of racing in Mafia" because it looked soo similar in the texture and in the driving physics! Has anyboduly thought about converting Monza to Mafia TcoLH?

[@pavelslama5543]

@@TOFKAS01 Mafia 1 actually had a very decent driving physics. The only thing it kinda lacked was the possibility to do powerslide.

[@1000sofusernames]

It was a brave move even releasing something as niche as this. Give them some credit for even getting this out.

[@johnbarrert3732]

Couldn't agree more 👍

[@Villoresi]

I mean, I guess I kind of have to be glad that someone tried to make a game for this period, but yeah, the tracks, and especially the cars, are rather a grab-bag. The graphics are period, and Sir Isaac Newton would like to have a word about the physics. By the look of it, we have: 1926 Miller 91 1927-31 Bugatti Type 35B 1927 Duesenberg Indy Car turned 1933 Duesenberg Single-Seater (Trossi, Straight) 1933 Napier Railton 1933-36 Bugatti Type 59 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3 (3.2) 1935 Alfa Romeo Bimotore (Nuvolari) 1936 Alfa Romeo 12C-36 1936 ERA Type B "Remus" 1936-37 Auto Union Type C 1937 Mercedes-Benz W125 1939 Mercedes-Benz W163 1939 Auto Union Type D 193x Bonner Special Indy Car 193x Watson Flyer Indy Car The Auto Unions are very much real, and while Mercedes-Benz certainly won more in 1934-39, with 33 major victories, the Auto Unions won a combined 22 major races in that same period. In 1936, Alfa Romeo actually had more wins than Mercedes-Benz, and in the 1934-37 window, racked up 12 major victories of their own. Alfa Romeo has perhaps the most famous Grand Prix victory of the era, when Tazio Nuvolari won the 1935 German GP at the Nurburgring, beating a combined 9 Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union GP cars in a horribly outclassed Tipo B/P3 (3.2). The Auto Union design came from one Dr. Ferdinand Porsche (yes, the same family that started the sports car manufacturer after World War II). The non-front-engine layout is well-known in many of the brand's most iconic models, going right back to the 356 that started it all. Dr. Porsche also designed the original, and yes, rear-engined, Volkswagen. Actually, the American and European cars did mix at least a few times during the period. The two most obvious examples were probably the 1936 and '37 Vanderbilt Cup races held at Roosevelt Field. It should also be noted that a Maserati 8CTF, 3.0-liter, supercharged GP car won the Indianapolis 500 in 1939 and '40 with Wilbur Shaw at the wheel. Famously, at the first post-War Indy 500 in 1946, he originated the command, "Gentlemen, start your engines!" In addition, the Maserati 8CTF won the 1946 and '47 Pike's Peak Int'l Hillclimbs with Louis Unser (yes, that Unser family) at the controls. The Napier Railton was a Speed Record car with an aero(plane) engine, which ran at Brooklands on a number of occasions. The Duesenberg took part in the "Dark Day at Monza", the 1933 Monza GP, in which Campari, Borzacchini, and Count Czaykowski were all killed. The Dues was fast, but Count Trossi fell out of one of the preliminary heats with overheating issues. The Bugatti Type 35 and its derivatives are likely the most prolofic model of Grand Prix, and perhaps dedicated racing car, in history. The various versions going on to the Type 51 had a cumulative several hundred units produced over several years. And the Type 59 was the car that gave Bugatti perhaps its last, major GP victory: Belgium 1934; the marque did continue to win in sports cars, including their Type 57 winning Le Mans outright in 1937 and '39. So far, I haven't found much of anything on the Bonner or Watson. The livery on the Watson looks like possibly one of Whitney Straight's color schemes, while the Bonner coloring bears some resemblance to Indy Cars that had Kennedy Tank sponsorship. I'll just post another comment about the tracks; this one's long enough already.

[@samhigtondotcom]

I had this as a kid and I absolutely loved it. I didn't have a lot of racing games at the time, so I had no point of reference to compare it to, which probably helped. I've been meaning to get it running again for a while now, but after watching this I think it's best I leave it as a happy memory.

[@christiaanspan7525]

Back in the days when this was released it was actualy one of my favorite racing games... I remember I played this alot on my sega dreamcast

[@riderofthemark6661]

That era of racing was so cool, i got a lot of mods of this era and race them in Assetto Corsa there's even a mod of Donington 1938 track. Quite amazing you should try it

[@MrWjb55]

also a 37 version for ams which i loved great to see how one of my local tracks has changed

[@grnhy]

@@MrWjb55 it's a shame we don't have tracks to it in good quality.

[@Gollas4k]

Nooo you're dragging my childhood 😢 Used to play this with my dad all the time, I guess I was too young to recognize its' flaws...

[@absinthedude]

I couldn't actually find this when it came out. I really wanted to drive Brooklands in the Napier Railton and see what the Tripoli track looked like. I found it in the bargain bin a few years later for something like £3.99 and I still load it up occasionally. It fails as a sim, and given that Geoff Crammond's first two "Microprose Grand Prix" sims were already setting the standard you do have to ask exactly what they were trying to do here. I remember reading that they'd gone to Brooklands, Monthlery and Monza and electronically mapped the extant parts of the tracks to make them accurate. The idea of racing the Continental tracks in an Auto Union or Mercedes, pretending to race Nuvolari and Carraciola was wonderful.....but in the end it was a bit of a let down. I am not surprised you couldn't get it to work with a wheel and pedals as it was never designed for them, but your essential conclusion is correct. It can't decide if it's an arcade style racing game or a serious sim. Why all the publicity about it being so accurate, only to provide this? It appealed neither to enthusiasts of vintage motorsport (I've *touched* the Napier Railton and Prince Bira's ERA cars at Brooklands) or to kids wanting a fun race. Perhaps it needed two modes....arcade and sim? And more direction in the development, rather than this half way house. It gets some things right, the cars did slide a lot, they look fairly accurate and the tracks are mostly accurate but you correctly point out those curves in Avus as being wrong.

[@Villoresi]

The track selection is interesting. It's certainly appropriate to the period, and apart from the extra wiggle-waggles at Berlin's AVUS, the basic track outlines all look right. The Monza Florio circuit was used for the Italian GP in 1930 in its base form, with varying numbers of chicanes being used when it was utilized again in 1935-36 and '38. The 1934 race was held on a weird, short course using both the banking and Parabolica, with a hairpin on the pit straight, and 2 chicanes; it was absurdly slow by Monza standards. Brooklands hosted plenty of races, but after the 1926 and '27 British GPs, it never hosted anything quite at that level again. Donington finally hit prominence in 1937, with the German cars coming over in force. In both years, '37 and '38, it was won by Auto Union, with Rosemeyer and Nuvolari winning, respectively. Tripoli was a major race in 1933-40, though for '39 and '40, it was restricted to Voiturettes (1.5-liter cars). It was an effort by the Italians to take the event in their colony back, but in '39, Mercedes-Benz showed up with 2 W165s (or W163 Tripolis), and ran away to a 1-2 finish against the Alfa Romeo 158s and Maserati 4CLs and 6CMs. And Tripoli had been the site of a double fatality in 1938, when the organizers tried to run the GP and Voiturette classes together. Blind corners and large speed differentials were a bad combination, naturally. Someone else commented on Montana. Montlhery, like Monza, tried adding chicanes in 1935 to slow the Germans down, and then proceeded to make the French GP a sports car race in 1936-37. In 1938-39, the GP was held at Reims. Pau was the site of a German humiliation in 1938. Mercedes-Benz showed up, but had to make more pit stops, and couldn't just out-horsepower the opposition. In the end, Rene Dreyfus, driving a Delahaye 145 V12, beat the W154 shared by Caracciola and Lang. On top of that, Alfa Romeo suffered a major blow at the event. Nuvolari's car caught fire when excessive chassis flex on his Tipo 308 caused the fuel tank to rupture. He promptly quit the team in protest, and joined Auto Union later that season. I kind of covered Roosevelt in the other comment. Going back to AVUS, the 1937 Avusrennen saw the inauguration of the 43-degree banking and the prominent running of streamliners by both Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. With fairings over the suspension and long gearing, the GP cars could maybe reach 215 mph. The German streamliners were potentially good for 240+ mph. At the previous AVUS race in 1935, the Alfa Romeo Bimotore of Louis Chiron (5.8 liters instead of 6.3 for Nuvolari's car) managed to come 2nd behind Fagioli's Mercedes. And partly as evidenced by the above figures, yes, some of the game's power and/or top speed figures are a bit of a mess. The Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3 is probably good for 150 mph, while the 12C is good for 180 mph. The Bugatti Type 35B has 150 hp. The Type C Auto Union should top out at 195-200 mph, with the Type D doing 190 mph. Power on the Duesenberg seems low. The Mercedes-Benz W125 tops out around 200-205 mph, with the W154/163 around 190 mph. The championship rounds, as you seem to have researched a bit, were at Spa, Nurburgring, Monte Carlo, Bremgarten, and Livorno. Apart from those, recognized, major events included races at Tripoli, AVUS, Roosevelt, Pescara, Brno, and Donington. Unfortunately, I'm not aware that GPL has any of the 3 longest ones: AVUS (12 mi), Pescara, and Brno. And I think it's worth noting that Auto Union went to both Gavea (Rio) and Parco Sempione (Milan) in 1937, and were beaten on both occasions by Alfa Romeo. This is a good reference website: www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/main.htm

[@robossuperchannel9434]

Not the worse game I've played but it was disappointing.

[@teddyator]

The Miller and Mercedes W154 actually DID race against each other... at the most unexpected of places as well, the Brickyard. In the 1947 Indy 500 a Mercedes W154 M163 was entered by Don Lee and driven by Duke Nalon, the car later retired because of a haphazard piston repair from a few days prior braking.

[@andymb601]

That Monza layout was actually used. It looks weird lol

[@robertthurman9866]

The Monza layout is correct. At the time Monza had a low banked oval, not the high banking. The layout and all of the chicanes were to negate the speed advantage of the German cars. It did not work, they still won.

[@shoutykat]

I bought this when it was first released. I was so happy to get a pre-war racing sim. Then I played it. Sadness.

[@scottl.1568]

I never played this but I played a lot of driving games in the 90s and it seems generally okay...?

[@MrJohansen]

Not when you consider the other games out at the time. NASCAR Racing was released 5 years before this, and it was fun to drive in that game. Same with IndyCar Racing 2 (never played the first IndyCar Racing though), it came out in 1995 and was very fun to drive in. So in terms of physics, this game definitely is bad for it's time. Heck, _Indianapolis 500 - The Simulation_ from 1989 had better physics than this. In terms of graphics, it's seriously lacking there too. NASCAR Racing 3 came out the same year as this, and NR3 looked fantastic. Grand Prix Legends came out a year before this, and still looked much better (in my opinion). Not trying to bag on you or the game, this is just my viewpoint.

[@metallicarabbit]

looks like an OK simcade game from the 90s.... ofc its gonna be clunky dude

[@guyriela]

Those cars Could reach 300+ plus in the straight. The W125 has the highest speed on the german autobahn a 432km per hour. I would like to see this game in a mod in Like assetto corsa. The auto union type D is famous for it design with the enige in the back.

[@DanielTheFreak]

Under the "See also" section on Wikipedia it says "List of video games notable for negative reception" :D

[@hazy33]

Wonderful review! The Dreamcast Junkyard website & podcast tracked down the main guy behind this game as it had become a running joke and wanted to here about the development and what went wrong. All was going well until they mentioned the "what went wrong" and they were completely ghosted by the guy!

[@Eibarwoman]

Montana is based on the Trenton, NJ track that was used in IndyCar a long time ago and turned into a real estate development.

[@Quintinohthree]

Aside from featuring a right turn it looks nothing like Trenton.

[@Eibarwoman]

@@Quintinohthree Trenton is probably the most obvious influence with the otherwise oval shape with a right turn in there. But the left hand turns themselves seem to have been lifted from other tracks.

[@darkoneforce2]

Cars were nearly impossible to control, that's the stuff they got right.

[@JazHarveyRacing]

I've interviewed the developers who made this game - there was some great insight into the issues that plagued the game.

[@badgamehalloffame]

It's probably a long-shot trying to inquire about this through a KZbin reply; but was this interview ever posted online, and would you be able to link me to it? I'm under the impression that you're affiliated with The Dreamcast Junkyard, but I couldn't find sign of an interview regarding the game on there. I'm currently writing my own article on the subject of this game, and would love to be able to link to a developer interview as a source!

[@KLUTCHdot58]

It's a shame this game was so bad. The idea was excellent. Even fairly well presented. I had this when it came out and really wanted to like it but I found it unplayable!

[@PickledAxe]

I have sweet memories of playing this game around 2003. Looking back there is a lot that should have been better, but like GP Legends this game showed me cars and tracks I wouldn't have seen for years otherwise. Thanks for reminding me!

[@golfo0011]

The strange thing is that it was a beautiful game, beautiful cars, very beautiful circuits, but as a simulator it was a REAL SHIT: there was no way to drive, nothing, it did not work at all!!.

[@MasterControl90original]

The point is: was it a decent arcade racer? Was it advertised as an arcade game or a simulator? Being a game also for console i believe it was aiming to be arcade but believable looking and at first glance it accomplish this. I love the fact that the ai is not infallible and you see it crash spectacularly

[@golfo0011]

@@MasterControl90original The point is: did you try it? because if everything you know about this game is this video must seem like something, but in reality it was not driving at all, it was like trying to copy a Rebrant with the PC mouse

[@arfived4]

I picked this game up on budget in the late noughties, just because it had Brooklands in it. It was okay, once you got the hang of the cars handling like oil tankers.

[@3DWorldMan]

this is the best 1937 sim on the sega dreamcast!

[@llamathenerd1672]

Well, that's not saying much.

[@marcustrelle4898]

I read a comment by someone who showed this game to his dad and pretended it was the best game ever and that it was the game that everybody wanted. He said that his dad looked like he had lost faith in humanity.

[@Herschel0627]

wow I come back to see this awful game, not expect to hear Ken Block's name...RIP

[@happy_camper]

Dear game developers, PLEASE make a world class pre-war and inter-war era racing sim, with plenty of cars and locations used in various forms of motorsport. Imagine a sim that included the legendary grand prix cars and tracks from those glorious early years up to '37. Various Le Mans entries from each decade.. Various entries from the Indy 500, Isle of Man TT, Targa Florio, and Spa. Oh and a couple aero-engined autos would be nice to throw around the banking at Brooklands or along the beach at Pendine Sands.. and hell.. even throw in the 5 cars from the 1907 Peking to Paris! Oh and PLENTY of road cars too. Hispano-Suizas, Fiats, Alfas, early BMWs, Bentleys, MGs, Rileys, Austins, Sunbeams, a Lagonda 2 Litre Low-Chassis would be nice while you're at it... It would be such a special way to immerse oneself in another place and time. I know there must be talented people out there somewhere who are interested in this type of thing, right?

[@danielfindley6931]

We want 90 laps!!! Do it for your fans! JK 😆

[@codyj1162]

Had it on the dreamcast. Say what you will... This got me interested in vintage racing. I still love the subject to this day to the point of going to/photographing historic races, collecting little diecast race cars, and playing sims. 😊

[@BilobateDrip]

To be honest, I started dying laughing after half a lap, BUT, it seems like a gem I would've played and loved as a kid until I knew better.

[@farhadinho9]

This video makes me want to play Spirit of Speed 1937

[@lukecrowley571]

Twelve-year-old me quite liked this game at the time. 🙂

[@jacekatalakis8316]

I just want to point out I have abook on the history of Ferrari that shows 1920s-1930s era F1 carrs dealing with chicanes at Monza, so no, not that unrealistic really, it always looked to me like that was the 1950s Race of Two Worlds layout however, but I don't recall if that was ever used in the 1930s

[@DriftKing18594]

Typical Mercedes, always running away with the win

[@mikeblatzheim2797]

Right, so understandably they didn't use the Swastika flag for the German card (although they did use Fascist Italy's flag), but why did they decide to go with the modern-day flag of Berlin? Surely using the current German flag, which was also used from 1919 until 1934, would have been better?

[@Zero-37]

That's the flag of the Kingdom of Italy, instituted way before the fascist period. It should be noted however that the flags are being displayed improperly, as the flagpole is on the wrong side. That's flag desecration, I can't help but wonder how they didn't notice/know

[@mrwhiteshorts]

i had this game for the Dreamcast. It was poor there as well. So frustrating just trying to keep the thing on track to try to achieve one clean lap. I get the feeling from using all of the mods and games we now have, and that some pre-war cars werent all that different by the time the F1WC came along, someone can get a very decent sim going with these cars and these tracks (as well as the Nordschleife, Monaco and Spa etc).

[@johnny5805]

I bought a boxed version of that back in the day. I completely forgot about it. It looks much uglier than I remember. I remember thinking at the time it was 'photo-realistic' [cough].

[@andygorman858]

I bought this game when it first came out, it looked like just what I wanted….pre war racing at some historic tracks. What I got was a game that did have some amazing pre war cars (the Napier Railton was a monster to handle), but really bad physics with average graphics compared to GPL. The one thing that bugged me, apart from the lagging when you had more than three cars at more populated areas of the track, was the steering. It was either all or nothing and had a very fine line between sort of turning and sliding round the corner! This game could have been amazing…..could have. Maybe in the future we can get s dedicated 1937 sim…..but for now AC with the car mods will have to do….if only we could get the tracks, I used to love racing ground Tripoli in the Auto Union 9c!

[@inkysteve]

The tyres are too fat, they used to have skinny taller wheels.

[@ShodaiGojira-xn3xk]

They actually did race Monza like that in1938, i also believe this would be a decent arcade game if they marketed it as one, it's a horrid sim, but pretty fun.

[@stenovitz]

Didn't know the existence of this ..simcade..no arcade is the right word until now. But nomatter how awful it is, I'm very fund of the idea of covering the 1937 Grand Prix cars and circuits. Auto Union Typ' C has been my all time favourite car for decades, and I've tried all kind of different mod attempts for rF, AC and so on, but still a lot work to do. A thorough new game - or even a large "season patch" for modern sims like for instance the older Power&Glory package for GTR2 and brought for the entire 1937 field and the tracks by then, not only the GP tracks, then I'm definately on it! 1910s-1930s cars and - tracks are my drive.

[@triumphstagdriver]

I tried the demo back in the day. 'Twas bloody awful.

[@ryanward6386]

I think the Monza layout used in this game was a result of the three fatalities that occurred in 1933 on the high speed oval. This oval was different than the one the grand prix series used in 1955 and part of it was abandoned after 1933 but some was still used until the war if I'm not mistaken.

[@TOFKAS01]

The nazis said that the italians wanted to slow down the german cars in favour of the lighter italian cars. But well, just nazitalk perhaps.

[@fredscratchet1355]

Haha hilarious, luckily we bought GPL and not this at the time.

[@golfo0011]

I bought both the same day, this one stayed in the drawer, GPL lasted me for years

[@stevezeoke]

There were lots of bad console racing games at that time. F1 games even dipped for a year or two. I played PS1's GT1&2, F1 97, CART, and this. Consider the console graphics of that time. This was lovely for Sunday afternoons after getting mildly worked up by Barrett-Jackson auctions and Nuvolari documentaries. Posh.

[@chungus3925]

THE BEST RACING GAME I'VE EVER PLAYED!!!

[@wendigockel]

The developers really didn't do their research. They labeled Bugatti as an Italian manufacturer. Sure, they couldn't use the Swastika flag for the German cars, but I never would have thought of using the flag of Berlin to represent Germany!

[@Chris-ce7ve]

I actually liked the game back then and had some fun playing it. Maybe it is a bit unfair judging the game by modern standards

[@alonebysunset]

bruh, the Sega version was the bad one, the PC version did reasonably, don't ever speak the words "dreamcast" in the context of this game *spit*

[@QOTSAPT]

I played this, what a let down..Pau sounds like P+eau.

[@FezzantPlucka]

Have you ever tried the 1937 Grand Prix mod by Tin Shed Racing? It's available for Automobilista and a few others I think.

[@3Dsjk]

There was a Formula 1 game for the Sega Genesis that had ‘sceneries’: a certain driver stopped for tires on lap X and passed 7 cars in 12 laps, something like that, and you had to do the challenge. They might have been based on real-life races, but it’s been 30 years, I don’t remember lol

[@nate567987]

they were based on 1993 as that game f1 beyond the limit was based on 1993

[@danielemerson312]

" a certain driver stopped for tires on lap X and passed 7 cars in 12 laps, something like that" - Sounds like Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1957 German GP.

[@Brunnen_Gee]

It's funny what you said about the AI having no concept of you existing, because that's still a thing in modern, new games.

[@GPLaps]

haha, too true

[@wolfgangkrebl3056]

As a really big fan of microprose i bought the game when it came out. I installed it on my pentium 75 and was totally embarrassed. So slow like a slideshow. Years later i saw it again in a sell-off bin at my local gamestore for 1 euro including the big box and manual. With a smile on my face i bought it and installed it on my k6-2 400 and it worked perfectly. Surely sometimes it crashes and the steering is still ehm something you have to get used to but still playing the game. And my microprose collection is complete again. :)

[@slipangle3027]

This game was published by LJN on Dreamcast. That should tell you all you need to know.

[@metallicarabbit]

PUBLISHED not developed

[@slipangle3027]

@@metallicarabbit ...yes, that is, indeed, what I said.

[@CrazyHenkie777]

Well I was like: this can't be that bad! Untill the actual racing started...........

[@numpty123]

Can't wait for Spirit of Speed 1939: Bewegungskrieg.

[@freejrs]

I remember discovering this and getting excited for it! Then discovered it was extremely weird. Shame but still great to see some of those classic tracks featured in a game.

[@tykamen5588]

He reminds me of that race mission from the first Mafia game but somehow worse

[@gertdalemans8053]

Monza was actually raced like that

[@SyntaxErr0r247]

I want this game just for the LOLs and crashes

[@lordadz1615]

Wasn't this made by ljn no wonder it sucks

[@9fmradisapratama]

Laughs in Big Rigs

[@miles11we]

I highly doubt this came out in 1937

[@hecksters423]

11:20 That's a long foresight, considering today's layout

[@Thebrainymonkey]

I bought this back in the day, bloody awful. I played better racing games on the spectrum.

[@PaperBanjo64]

ZX Spectrum?

[@DisarmingBaton]

That weird Monza layout was used a few times for Grand Prix racing in the 1930s so it isn't totally unrealistic, but the in game model is pretty bad and it shouldn't have so many chicanes. AVUS wasn't perfectly straight, but it seems like the game's track map has a lot more turning than there was in reality. 1930s Auto Union GP cars (types A-D) really did have the engines in the back, but it didn't catch on elsewhere for a long while.

[@Villoresi]

For the Italian GP in 1935-36, they used the Monza Florio circuit, and it really did have 4-5 chicanes. The Italians, like the French had tried to do at Montlhery in 1935, attempted to limit the advantage of the German cars; it didn't work. At least this version of Monza isn't as painful as what they tried in 1934. Take a look at this website: www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/main.htm

[@latkagravas5142]

Now I see why I couldn't succeed in this game 20 years ago. Back then I didn't have a wheel and I thought that this game was so hardcore sim that it's impossible to play it with a keyboard.

[@acmarston]

Would be good if GPL had a mod for this era.

[@ErikGPL]

There is one in the works, but I don't know how far they are.

[@Villoresi]

@Anthony Petro Admittedly, Spa '67 took something like 8 years, so it's certainly possible they're still working on it. I don't envy the task they'd have for such a mod. Depending on what they include, you could have both cars and tracks that don't exist in any other sim that you need to try to recreate. Even if you just confine it to the 5 championship rounds, Spa needs tweaks at Eau Rouge, Malmedy, and Stavelot; a more period version of the Nurburgring would be good; there really isn't an accurate version of Bremgarten presently; and there's no rendering of Livorno currently. In terms of the cars, at the bare minimum, you should be looking at the Mercedes-Benz W125, Auto Union Type C, Maserati 6C-34, Alfa Romeo 8C-35, Alfa Rome 12C-36, and Alfa Romeo 12C-37. Maybe you toss in the Maserati 6CM and ERA Type B to represent the Voiturettes.

[@nate567987]

@@Villoresi and many would want more tracks

[@Villoresi]

@@nate567987 Certainly. In 1937, Mercedes-Benz and/or Auto Union went to at least 15 circuit events (14 circuits, given the Eifelrennen and German GP were both at the Nurburgring). GPL has mods for Tripoli, Milan '37, Roosevelt Field '37, and Donington, but yeah, just to fill out those events from that year, you'd need new builds of AVUS (12 mi), Gavea, Pescara, Livorno, Brno, and Cape Town. With the expanded slate, the Maserati V8 RI would then also be an accurate historical addition. And taking minor liberties, you could include the Bugatti Type 59 4.7 (59/50), too. I have a smattering of other, period circuits on my wish list: Lobethal, Australia San Sebastian, Spain Tre Fontane (Rome) Montenero (Livorno) Chimay, Belgium Vram, Sweden

[@henkvandercingel4062]

I have never been able to get this game to work in windows 10. Could you please provide a link to the patch you used?

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

3:00 This could be it. Page 14: www.helenahistory.org/Fairgrounds%20History.pdf and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana_State_Fairgrounds_Racetrack

[@cpt_nordbart]

I wonder why the German cars use the flag of Berlin.... Yeah I know that austrian guy changed the flag somewhere after 1933... Still odd to me

[@velocitaaa]

Honestly looks painful to drive on.

[@juliusfucik4011]

I think this game looks amazing for 1937 ! Sorry

[@hazy33]

Lol!

[@napoleonbonaparte7172]

Its bad tbh but this is the only game that involve old racing cars on mobile emulator

[@TOFKAS01]

Yes, the onyl alternative is the 1937 mod for several simulators.

[@edwardburek1717]

That game looks rough - it needs an Assetto Corsa makeover.

[@matth1589]

I was so hyped for this game and it was such a massive disappointment.

[@squid667]

The spirit of LJN.

[@smoothie2629]

A catchy soundtrack tho