Jeff Reid wrote:
> I wouldn't say it's dead, but the thrill is long gone. Racing sims
> have been around since 1999.
<snip>
> The racing sims will improve, but the newness is gone. There isn't
> going to be any sudden leap in the physics or the graphics, just
> a steady progression over time. There will be more competing titles,
> splitting up the field.

The sudden leaps you describe took place before 1999, for me Indy 500
being the first in 1990.

If you look at the developments in the early nineties - F1GP, ICR,
Nascar, ICR2, GP2 etc. the improvements with each title were great,
rendering previous titles obsolete (providing you had the hardware to
run them). Major physics changes, move from VGA to SVGA, sound card
development (the first Soundblasters over Adlib cards!), move to
accelerated graphics cards (Rendition, 3dfx etc.) plus a major leap in
processing power.

I do agree with the splitting of the field though, to grow sim racing it
needs to move out of its niche grouping. The answer probably lies with
better organisation and a more outward facing approach. Which would
appear to be the way we are heading in 2007.

In 1999 I believe it only seemed to be flourishing because the
relatively few sim racers were all in VROC together!

Cheers
Tony