
Formula 1 Simulator, Commodore 16 and Plus/4, Mastertronic - 2C0058
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6/10
Summary
Formula 1 Simulator is not really a simulator on the Commodore 16 and Plus/4 – it is much more an arcade style racer. Unlike the Commodore 64 big brother, there is only one track to race around, albeit with some nicely defined background graphics, and it is still a high score game. The fact you can crash into the poles at the side does add to the challenge, but it is still a reasonably solid playable game, and sold so many copies on this format alone that it broke records.
User Review
( vote)The Commodore 16 and Plus/4 version of Formula 1 Simulator, like the Commodore 64 version, was coded by Shaun Southern, with on this version some extra graphics from Michelangelo Pignani. As such this was not the simulation you got on the Spectrum, Amstrad and MSX, but more of an arcade style racer. It is worth mentioning just how many copies this game sold on this format – 173,498 to be exact. More than any other Mastertronic game sold on the Commodore 16 and Plus/4, and more than any other Mastertronic game on format sales. In fact, there are at least six different variants on the cassette alone and two front inlay covers, with the latter showing C16/Plus 4 in the top right hand corner less easy to find.
The Atmosphere Is So Tense, You Could Cut It with A Cricket Stump
The original release was a slow blue screen loader, which had a PETSCII title screen depicting Formula 1 Simulator during loading. On the fast-loading Novaload versions, this is not present. Once the game does load, it goes into an attract mode, like the Commodore 64 version, and shows you around the track. You can see in the background an arched bridge, a suspension bridge, trees, mountains and even a castle as the car goes round the circuit. You will also see a marked difference – the backdrop is green, almost as if you are racing on grass. And the poles at the side of the road, which do make a difference as you will see. There is only one track, unlike the eight plus grand slam you can select on the Commodore 64 version.
The Car in Front Is Absolutely Unique – Except For The One Behind It, Which Is Identical
Once you press space, and after a small little tune the game starts. Your car is red, and like the Commodore 64 version, you need to complete eight laps within the time limit. However, all the cars in this version are all coloured red. It is as if it was reserved for only Ferrari cars. The cars do tend to come down the left and right sides and the centre, and so can usually be avoided. However, the poles at the side can also be crashed into, so instead of the track reducing your speed, this proves to be an extra hazard to avoid. Unlike the Commodore 64 version, you do need to press up to accelerate, with down to brake, left and right to steer and fire to change gear.
Anything Can Happen in Formula 1, and It Usually Does
The pace of the game is reasonable at full speed, with cars coming at you at a fair rate once you have hit full speed. While you do lose speed on the corners, you can steer to some degree to avoid the other cars. However, doing this a little too often can result in you hitting the poles on the side of the circuit, losing you more valuable time. The backdrop scrolls smoothly as you turn the car, with the bottom middle of the display also having some animation with the steering wheel as you turn. The status display is the same as the Commodore 64, showing speed, gear (lo or hi) lap you are on, score, and high score.
I Don’t Make Mistakes. I Make Prophecies Which Immediately Turn Out to Be Wrong
Once you complete a lap within the time limit, you will gain additional time, up to a maximum of 99.99 seconds, to then complete the next lap, with eight laps in all. Hitting the other cars or those outer poles results in a loss of time, with you often needing to press fire immediately to go back into low gear and get going again. You can sometimes be on one side of the road where two cars are and it can prove hard to avoid at times, but is it worth taking the risk and the time hit of slowing or will you just hit those poles once again? A dilemma which you may get incorrect.
I’m Going to Stop the Startwatch
Like the Commodore 64 version, the game ends when you either fail to complete all eight laps by running out of time, or when you do complete the eight laps. You will receive a bonus for the number of cars that have been overtaken, and if you do complete the eight laps, any time remaining is also added to your score, so definitely a case of getting the last lap as good as you can with the maximum time at the start of the lap, and this can mean a big score if you get it all right. This can prove a little trickier to achieve than the Commodore 64 version, however.
Graphics and Sound
The graphics in Formula 1 Simulator are of a reasonable standard for the system, although like the Commodore 64 version, the cars themselves are a sort of semi-overhead view that is not as well drawn as they could be. The track does move reasonably well at full speed and the scrolling backdrop is a nice touch with the bridges, castle, and mountains, as is the steering wheel on the display itself. The sound effects are functional, but the screeching noise of the brakes is not that realistic either, and there is a nice sound effect when you complete the game.
Final Thoughts
Formula 1 Simulator is not as such a simulator – it is much more an arcade racing game that has some of the ideas from Pole Position. It at least offers a good high score challenge, and although on this version, there is the extra hazard of keeping clear at the poles on the edge of the circuit, it still plays reasonably well and does provide a fair challenge to complete. The lack of circuits to select may mean the longevity is a little less, but it was still an iconic game for the Commodore 16 and Plus/4, and remains so to this day.
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I can still hear this game in my head. Pretty sure my brother finished it once. I never could.
This was one of the first C16 games I purchased with my pocket money back in 1985, and the first C16 game by the legendary Shaun Southern (Sout).
Discounting the later fan ports of Turbo Outrun & Stunt Car Racer which only runs on 64k machines anyway; This and Speed King are the only really good proper racing games on the humble 16k old grey breadbin, and both by Sout. Both uses the same game engine.
Although there is only one track compared to four on Speed King with less bells & whistles, I still enjoyed F1 more.
Perhaps it’s solely because both games are nearly identical, and so I wasn’t quite as enamoured with SK as I should have been. F1 holds the most memories for me.
Unlike SK, along with only a single track compared to four on SK, there is also no title screen but there is a nice attract mode which displays your last and hi-score.
The sound is as good as it could be with a nice jingle at the start of a race. It would have been nice to add a similar jingle when you complete the race though.
But there is a rather alarming sound effect as it converts the amount of cars you’ve passed into points, that only increases in intensity when it then converts whatever time remains too, depending on whether you completed all eight laps or ran out of time.
Either way it’s then back to the attract screen along with your final score. Hopefully the hi-score.
The cars themselves look okay, if all identical to yours and a little flat looking. I especially like the sound effect as the cars race by.
The white barrier posts also gives the game a nice three dimensional feel, and the graphics do make reasonable use of the colour palette with some simple but nicely drawn background scenery. It was great for its time.
If someone who never played either game asked me which one to play first, my head would recommend them Speed King because it adds so much more.
But for myself just out of personal bias nostalgia, my heart still lies with Formula One Simulator.
It’s Pole Position on the C16, and despite my slightly miserly score (as I feel there is still room for improvement as SK proved), it’s a true classic.
6.5/10