Grid Autosport is a 2014 racing video game developed by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Linux, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch and Android. It is the third game in the Grid series. It aims to move the series back towards "more authentic racing games" following the release of Grid 2, which Codemasters felt was not as well-received by the company's core fanbase as it was hoped for.[1] The developers consequently introduced major modifications to the handling model and built a lean, race-first oriented design for this title.[4]
Many critics who praised the game cited how Codemasters seemed to have "gone back to its roots", with aspects from its early games in the series.[5][6]
Feral Interactive, who brought the game to macOS and Linux,[7] also brought the game to iOS on 27 November 2017.[8] The Nintendo Switch version, also from Feral Interactive, was released on 19 September 2019,[9] and their Android version of the game was released on 26 November.[10]
In Grid Autosport, the player acts as a racing driver with opportunities to start and build their own racing career via the single-player Career mode, enter competitions with fellow players on the web via the multiplayer Online mode, customise their racing experience (vehicle, circuit, race type, difficulty, etc.) to their own tastes via the single-player Custom Cup mode, and play against each other via the multiplayer Splitscreen mode.[12] It is the first video game in GRID series not to feature Vehicle Customization this time in single player career as only featured in online mode.
The Career mode is divided into seasons before which the player each time has to choose between offers from the game's racing teams. The teams – including the best-in-the-business Ravenwest, making a return from Race Driver: Grid – each have different season objectives and sponsor objectives, the achievement of which earns extra experience points (XP) for the players besides those received for their results.[13] Online racing is conducted via RaceNet, Codemasters' community hub on which players can form racing clubs, earn XP and cash as they race and fulfill sponsor objectives, then use their earnings to purchase and upgrade vehicles. Soon after the game's release, they were also presented with sets of specific challenges, called RaceNet Challenges, announced by Codemasters.[14]
Grid Autosport emphasises the concept of racing disciplines, making them into the new event categories. There are five main categories: Touring, Endurance, Open Wheel, Tuner, and Street. During Career mode, the player picks a particular event in one of these categories, with each event (a string of races) making up a season.[12] Each discipline features markedly different cars and race types. The latter include standard Races, Endurance races with tire wear enabled, Time attack events, Drift events, and - as downloadable content (DLC) - Time Trials, Drag and point-to-point Sprint races. These are all accessible in Custom Cup mode as well, in which the player can also choose to participate in certain special event types, such as Checkpoint, Eliminator and Demolition derby.[15]
Focusing on providing a more realistic driving experience, the studio revamped its damage model, adding new elements, such as a wear and tear system, which means car parts lose performance through general use, and a suspension damage system. It also introduced a new team radio philosophy in which the player itself can request information on car damage, gaps, rival position and teammate position.[16] The player can also ask its engineer to instruct their teammates to attack, defend or hold their position.[1] By popular demand, Codemasters retained its unique Flashback feature from previous Grid instalments with which the players can rewind their races a few seconds and resume it earlier, if needed.[17] Cockpit view also made a return,[1] after being absent, very much to the dismay of the core fanbase,[18] in Grid 2. Aside from such elements, the developers generally decided to strip the game down and do away with everything that stood in the way of raw racing. These features included the Grid 2 narrator-driven career mode and superfluous menus.[19]
Cars
The cars in the disciplines of Grid Autosport are further divided into tiers and classes of various strength. Some of the highlights of the vehicles on offer are the contemporary BTCC (Class C), Stock Car Brasil (Class A) and V8 Supercars (Super Tourers) of the Touring discipline (e. g. Chevrolet Cruze and Holden Commodore (VF, as well as the present-day and classic GT cars of the Endurance discipline (like the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 (Category B) and the Ford GT40 Mk I), the Dallara DW12 chassis of the IndyCar Series (Formula A) from the Open Wheel discipline, American muscle cars (e. g. the Ford Mustang Boss 302), among others, representing the Tuner discipline and the likes of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport and the Koenigsegg Agera R (Hypercars) representing the Street discipline.[20] In total, including DLCs, the game features 103 cars. This is the second video game under Grid series not to feature Toyota cars and First in series to not to feature Chevrolet Corvette.[citation needed]
Tracks
In the case of the tracks, the main emphasis is on real-world permanent circuits which make up the majority of the courses in the game. These range from classics, such as Spa-Francorchamps, Brands Hatch, Mount Panorama and Indianapolis, to more modern facilities, like the Circuit of the Americas, Sepang, the Red Bull Ring and the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. City locations with fictionally lined, but mostly real-world streets of San Francisco, Paris, Dubai etc., and - as DLCs - fictional point-to-point tracks in authentic settings complete the picture.[21][22] In all, players are able to race on 15 real-world permanent circuits, 2 fictional permanent circuits, 7 street circuits, and 4 point-to-point tracks, including additional content, for a total of 28 locations with over 130 configurations.
Development
Grid Autosport features several licensed cars from various racing disciplines, such as the Ford GT40 Mk I.
Grid Autosport was announced on in April 2014 via the official Codemasters Blog, less than a year after the release of its predecessor, Grid 2.[1] Producer Toby Evan-Jones revealed in an interview that the development of the new title began as soon as the development of Grid 2 came close to a finish, which occurred in the spring of 2013. Evan-Jones had this to say on the short development cycle between the two games and the general intentions with Grid Autosport:[23]
Historically we've kind of alternated between [the Dirt and the Grid series, but] when we put [Grid 2] out we stood back and took stock and there was a lot of stuff the dev team wanted to have in there in terms of optimisation, new features and generally improving things. At the same time there was a fair amount of feedback from the fans with regards to what they wanted, so additional touring car content, the return of cockpit cam and more of a nudge back to simulation rather than arcade. We though[sic] (…) we'd keep it rolling.
—Codemasters Producer Toby Evan-Jones
The game eliminated the so-called TrueFeel handling of Grid 2, but it did not simply return to the handling of Race Driver: Grid. Codemasters used a new, improved version of its previous model, better simulating how grip falls away, when the player approaches the slip angle of the tyres. Decision to use the new model, which was tested by Autosport magazine experts and racing drivers, was made on 23 January 2014, which was followed by applying it to each car's grip falloff graph and re-tuning the vehicles' individual handling characteristics. According to the company, the shift caused the most difficulties in modeling the behaviour of open wheelers and American muscle cars. It also necessitated re-doing the AI benchmarking work, which was well-underway by then using the old model. The game was built using Codemasters' in-house EGO 3.0 engine.[24]
Graphically, Grid Autosport benefitted heavily from optimisation and fine-tuning of said long-standing engine to achieve better performance on low-end machines, while on the other end, support for DirectX 11 features enabled the programmers to improve renderings, especially grass and light, from Grid 2.[25] Feral Interactive ported the game to OS X and Linux.[26] The online multiplayer system was also among the areas that Codemasters decided to overhaul compared to Grid 2, based on fan feedback. The framework of earning XP and cash to purchase own vehicles and garage slots was a result of community criticism towards the previous framework in which the player had a ladder, laid out in advance by the game, to unlock cars. Feedback deemed the old approach too easy to complete. As for the extremely tight development schedule, involving less than twelve months, lead designer James Nicholls said:[19]
Many developers will tell you that the toughest bit of making any game is that initial phase – getting the technology and the tools to the point where a whole team are really moving through the gears and producing at full speed. (…) GRID Autosport already had the team and the technology ready to go.
—Codemasters Lead Designer James Nicholls
For car audio, the team used up to 16 mics mounted in- and outside real cars. Changes such as camera position and damage affect the sound.[27][28]
Technology
Codemasters collaborated with Intel on certain technology within the game including high-end visual optimisations, DirectX 11 support, touch-screen input, tablet gaming support and "WiDi" (Intel's wireless second-screen technology). Details were disclosed during a 2014 interview[29] with Toby Evan-Jones (Producer) and Richard Kettlewell (Senior Graphics Programmer).
Release
Grid Autosport comes in two versions – a standard edition and a special edition, the latter of which is called the Black Edition; it includes an extra vehicle (a Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Coupé Black Series), extra sponsors and extra liveries for both offline and online modes.[30] Pre-orders for Grid Autosport by retailers began as soon as the initial game announcement was made. Steam pre-orders went online a week later than planned in May 2014, but all of those who pre-ordered the title via Steam received the Black Edition at no extra cost compared to the standard edition. Those who owned Grid 2 received a 10% discount and a free copy of Dirt Showdown as well.[31][32]Grid Autosport was officially released on 24 June 2014 in North America and 27 June in Europe across all three current-gen platforms, PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[1] The OS X and Linux port was released on 10 December 2015 by Feral Interactive.[2] Lead designer James Nicholls confirmed that the game would not make it onto next-gen platforms given the tight timeframes the team worked with during the development process.[19] However, the Xbox 360 version became backwards compatible with the Xbox One in June 2018, four years after their game's release.[33]
Updates and downloadable content
The game received downloadable content packs until November 2014,[34] usually once in every two weeks. The majority of these can be broken down into two main categories: mini expansions and car packs. Codemasters put out three mini expansions for this Grid title. Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated one of these was the Touring Legends Pack as it featured two new real-world circuits – Donington Park and Silverstone, five classic BTCC touring cars from the mid-1990s and new single player championships (outside Career mode).[35] Another mini expansion, called Sprint Pack, introduced the Sprint race type to the game, besides featuring four fictional point-to-point tracks and more extra championships.[36] The third one, the Drag Pack, introduced the Drag race type, three drag cars and nine single player championships.[37]
Car packs, of which there were three as well, included the Best of British Pack, which contained three British-originated vehicles, e. g. the McLaren F1 GTR,[38] the Coupé Style Pack, that offered four new coupés, such as the Hyundai Genesis Coupé,[39] and a Road & Track Pack, which added two road-going cars and two racing cars to the game.[40] There has been a number of additional DLC available to the game. For example, a Season Pass was created with which the player practically subscribed to the above six packs at a discount rate. A High Res Texture Pack boosted game textures up to 4K resolution and was made available to download with the base game at the launch for free.[41] A Premium Garage Pack was also released, adding five additional garage spots for online play, and the Black Edition content was later sold as a standalone DLC pack as well.[39] Additionally, a free Demoman Derby DLC was released exclusively on PC, which includes two skins from Team Fortress 2, and consisting a different environment and billboards which are also based on Team Fortress 2.
The studio released Boost Pack, a small piece of code to boost career and online XP progression, for the same price as the car packs.[42] Controversy followed as Codemasters Community Manager Ben Walke commented the reason behind the already criticised move was simply that "it sells".[43] Continued patch support of the game saw the developer team repeatedly addressing various emerging save game corruption issues, online playlist issues, etc. They enabled the Time Trial race type (which was missing from the base game due to prolonged technical difficulties),[41] added Oculus Rift support and a virtual rear-view mirror (although, in the case of the latter, only for PC).[44]
The game received generally positive reviews. Metacritic gave it an aggregate score of 78/100 for PC and 75/100 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[45][46][47] Critics especially praised its more authentic handling model as well as its stripped-down approach to racing and excellent damage system.
The Career mode gained widespread approval for being "simply about winning races and mastering various driving styles" with the ability to switch between disciplines letting the player "go as focused or as broad as [he or she] likes".[53]GamesRadar+ felt that having a nominated opponent provided "a decent sense of rivalry (…) which gives races more meaning (…) and the experience is richer for having clear rivals to beat".[52]Eurogamer called Online mode "a comprehensive suite", one which "a series of [car] mods and upgrades lends persistence" to.[50]Game Informer said that it "offers slightly more freedom [than the Career mode]" and its feature set is varied.[51] The online playing experience was considered "smooth, with no drop outs or lag experienced".[15]
In terms of handling, the reviewers emphasised that the game "still straddles the line between simulation and arcade", but it "definitely leans a little further on the side of realism [than most Codemasters games]" and "it's a significant improvement on Grid 2's awkward dynamics".[6][50][53]Edge noted that it "offers considerable depth" and its "lively feedback makes for an intense, and satisfying, drive". Despite that, it is "still approachable" and Luke Reilly from IGN found the model to be "fairly forgiving".[5][6]
The game's artificial intelligence (AI) behaviour was said to be a success, at least in part. The computer-controlled opponents' "defensive driving lines, late-braking overshoots into hairpins, and fiendishly clever cut-backs" can make "a normally disappointing 8th place finish (…) just as rewarding as a win".[52] As for their speed, it is heavily dependent on difficulty levels, of which the lowest allows the player to "thread through 16 positions over the course of three laps with little resistance", while on the hardest "you can spend a whole race exchanging 13th and 14th positions with another car".[5]
PC Advisor praised the "immense" variety of cars present in the game as well as the inclusion of "plenty of classics".[57]Kotaku added that the "more experienced players will appreciate the subtle differences between their fleet". The title's damage model was critically acclaimed as the above review highlighted that "each car [is] responding accurately to collisions" with the crashes having "a massive effect on performance".[15]Edge deemed the system a "triumph".[5] The introduction of tyre wear (in Endurance events) was also welcomed – GamesRadar+ wrote that "it becomes so integral to the driving process, you'll find yourself looking for the [tyre life] percentage indicators in other modes every time you hear the wheels slip".[52]Grid Autosport has a "generous selection of tracks", in which "real-world circuits are the focus" at the expense of "unforgiving (…) and tight" street circuits.[6][50][57]
The general graphical qualities of the game were lauded as "magnificent" and "lovely" with "incidental details [on the race track that] make for an engaging race-day atmosphere" being particularly impressing.[15][50][52] As for the game interface, Edge hailed its "pared-down design (…) with simple, clean (and fast loading) menus".[5] Similarly to graphics, the most positive aspects of sounds were the details; the "nice ambient effects" and the "small touches such as being able to hear the commentators over the track" that make the experience "more immersive".[6][57]GamesRadar+ found the new system of being able to request information on the pit channel useful, claiming "you can rely on aural feedback (…) for maximum authenticity".[52]
By far the most heavily criticised feature of the game was, ironically, the returning cockpit view. It is, while "incredibly welcome from a gameplay standpoint, (…) visually they're a slapped-on eyesore, blurred-out in an attempt to hide the lack of detail".[53] IGN remarked that they "lack any working dials or mirrors".[6]
Several reviews mention that they found the AI to be, depending on discipline, too aggressive, so much so that "having an AI take you out at least once a race is (…) to be expected".[55][57]Edge elaborated that "they don't always concede in the same way a human driver might, sticking to their chosen route even though you legitimately out-braked them into a corner".[5] Leaving out pit stops also left some of the critics puzzled. IGN said "it's a bizarre omission (…) that quietly undermines a lot of what Autosport does right", pointing out that suffering a puncture leaves the player with no option to repair the damage.[6]
Eurogamer warned that the content-wise excellent Career mode can feel "long and drawn-out" and that "progress in GRID Autosport is slow".[50]GameTrailers added that "the whole experience feels rather clinical".[53] The reception of the request-based team radio was also mixed with GamesRadar+ arguing that "the pit audio repeats itself far too quickly and doesn't always make perfect sense".[52] Finally, a number of reviewers noted that a lot of cars and tracks are re-used material from earlier Codemasters titles, which feels "stale".[15][53][54]
Related Research Articles
Feral Interactive Limited is a British video games developer and publisher for macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows platforms. It was founded in 1996 to bring games to Mac and specialises in porting games to different platforms.
TOCA Race Driver 3 is a racing video game developed and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable and OS X. It is the sixth game in the TOCA series. The game features several fully licensed championships, including the DTM series and V8 Supercar championship. This is the last in the series to have TOCA in its title as following on from this TOCA was dropped in favour of just Race Driver, which later became the Grid series. Despite featuring the name TOCA in its title, the game did not feature the British Touring Car Championship. The game received positive reviews, frequently being compared favourably to Gran Turismo 4 and Forza Motorsport, in the aspects of cars on track, collision and wear damage.
Race Driver: Grid is a 2008 racing video game developed and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, arcade, Java ME and OS X. It is the first game in the Grid series.
F1 2009 is a video game based on the 2009 season of the Formula One motor racing series. It was released on the Wii and PlayStation Portable in November 2009 for North America, PAL region and the United Kingdom. The game was also released on iOS on 14 December for £6.99. The PlayStation Portable version was also available as a download from the PlayStation Store from 16 November.
Colin McRae: Dirt 2 is a racing video game developed and published by Codemasters in 2009, first for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360, and then later for PC platforms. It is the sequel to Colin McRae: Dirt. Dirt 2 is the first game in the series since McRae's death in 2007 and the last to feature his name in the title. It is also the first and only game in the series to be available on a Nintendo home console and the last game in the series to be released on handhelds.
Dirt 3 is a simcade racing video game developed and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released on 24 May 2011 and is the first game in the series without carrying the Colin McRae name. A sequel, Dirt 4, was released in June 2017.
F1 2012 is a video game developed by Codemasters based on the 2012 Formula One season. The game was released in September. It uses the EGO Engine. This was also the first game by Codemasters released under their "Codemasters Racing" label, which was used until 2016.
F1 Race Stars is a video game developed by Codemasters, released in November 2012. It is a kart racing game loosely based on the 2012 Formula One season, with circuits redesigned to feature loops, jumps and short-cuts. It is a spin-off from the traditional Formula One video games, and is the first kart-racing game developed by Codemasters. The player is able to choose cartoonish versions of Formula One racing drivers, such as Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen, Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, and Pedro de la Rosa. Codemasters have described the game as being designed to emphasise entertainment rather than simulation. A Wii U port under the title F1 Race Stars: Powered Up Edition was released in January 2014.
Grid 2 is a 2013 racing video game developed and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. It is the second game in the Grid series. Feral Interactive released the Reloaded Edition for OS X in September 2014. The sequel, Grid Autosport, was released 24 June 2014.
F1 2015 is a racing game based on the 2015 Formula One season developed by Codemasters. Released in July, it features the team and driver line-ups from the 2015 season, including the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. It also features all the drivers, cars and circuits from the 2014 season. It is the last game from Codemasters branded under the Codemasters Racing label and the first title in the F1 series released for eighth generation consoles.
Dirt Rally is a racing simulation video game developed and published by Codemasters for Windows. A Steam Early Access version of the game was released on 27 April 2015, and the full version was released on 7 December. PlayStation 4, Xbox One and physical PC DVD versions were released on 5 April 2016. The Linux and macOS versions, developed by Feral Interactive, were released in 2017. A sequel, Dirt Rally 2.0, was released in February 2019.
F1 2016 is a racing game which is based on the 2016 Formula One season and was developed by Codemasters Birmingham, published by Codemasters, distributed by Deep Silver in North America and Ubisoft in Japan. The game was released on 19 August for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows. The game was also released for iOS, Android and tvOS on 10 November. A Mac version by Feral Interactive was released on 6 April 2017.
Dirt 4 is a simcade racing video game developed by Codemasters for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in June 2017, and for Linux and macOS in March 2019 by Feral Interactive.
F1 2017 is the official video game of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship, released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows on 25 August. The game includes all of the twenty circuits, twenty drivers and ten teams competing in the season. The macOS version, developed by Feral Interactive, was released simultaneously with the other versions, a first in the series' history. The Linux version, also by Feral Interactive, was released on 2 November.
Grid is a 2019 racing video game developed and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in October 2019, and for Stadia and Amazon Luna in November 2019 and October 2020 as a launch title for each system, respectively. It is the fourth title in the Grid series. A sequel, Grid Legends, was released on February 25, 2022.
F1 2020 is the official video game of the 2020 Formula 1 and Formula 2 Championships developed and published by Codemasters. It is the thirteenth title in the Formula 1 series developed by the studio and was released on 7 July for pre-orders of the Michael Schumacher Edition and 10 July for the Seventy Edition on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and, for the first time, Stadia. The game is the twelfth main series installment in the franchise, and it features the twenty-two circuits, twenty drivers and ten teams proposed in the provisional 2020 Formula 1 World Championship.
F1 is a racing video game series by Codemasters under the EA Sports banner since 2021. The series holds the official license of the FIA Formula One World Championship, with the FIA Formula 2 Championship available since the 2019 game. A total of twenty-two games have been released to date, with the series' latest installment, F1 24, released in May 2024.
Grid is the racing video game series developed by Codemasters and published by Electronic Arts. It's the successor of TOCA Race Driver series.
Grid Legends is a 2022 racing video game developed by Codemasters and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fifth instalment in the Grid franchise. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on February 25, 2022. On January 12, 2023, the game was released for Meta Quest 2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
