F1 2001/2002 DIFFERENCES GUIDE by Jamie Stafford/Wolf Feather FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM Initial Version Completed: August 4, 2002 FINAL VERSION Completed: September 21, 2002 ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== JOIN THE FEATHERGUIDES E-MAIL LIST: To be the first to know when my new and updated guides are released, join the FeatherGuides E-mail List. Go to http://www.coollist.com/group.cgi?l=featherguides for information about the list and to subscribe for free. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== CONTENTS Spacing Permissions Introduction Main Updates Additions Continuing Flaws Wrap-up Contact Information ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== SPACING For optimum readability, this driving guide should be viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier. Check for font setting by making sure the numbers and letters below line up: 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ============================================== PERMISSIONS Permission is hereby granted for a user to download and/or print out a copy of this driving guide for personal use. However, due to the extreme length, printing this driving guide may not be such a good idea. This driving guide may only be posted on: FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com, f1gamers.com, Games Domain, PSXCodez.com, Cheatcc.com, gamesover.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com, RedCoupe, InsidePS2Games.com, CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru, cheatingplanet.com, RobsGaming.com, neoseeker.com, ps2fantasy.com, and vgstrategies.com. Please contact me for permission to post elsewhere on the Internet. Should anyone wish to translate this driving guide into other languages, please contact me for permission(s) and provide me with a copy when complete. Remember: Plagiarism in ANY form is NOT tolerated!!!!! ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== INTRODUCTION First, I must state that this guide is inspired by a similar effort by Jeremy Watson in his NCAA Football 2003 for PS2 Difference FAQ, available at GameFAQs (http://www.GameFAQs.com). While I generally do not play games outside the auto racing genre, when I saws Jeremy's guide on the What's New list for August 4, 2002, the title caught my attention; reading through the guide revealed A LOT of useful information, all presented concisely. Such a guide is definitely useful for players of NCAA Football 2002 to determine if they want to upgrade to NCAA Football 2003, and I immediately found myself wondering why I had never before thought of writing a similar guide for EA Sports' F1 series, since I have already written a multitude of guides for these games. This is my opportunity to 'rectify' this oversight. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== MAIN UPDATES In F1 2001, all cars handled and performed in identical fashion; winning every race in a Championship season with a 'lesser' car (such as from the Arrows or Jaguar teams) was definitely possible, even on the most difficult settings possible. Cars handle and perform differently in F1 2002. This is heard in engine sounds, and definitely seen in top- end speed. F1 2002 also has a set of challenges that players must complete; the challenges for the 'lesser' teams (such as Arrows and Jaguar) are far easier than those for the 'greater' teams (such as McLaren and Ferrari). Most interestingly, the AI is different for each team; teams traditionally running at the back of the field will easily pull aside if the player is in a position to lap them, while 'greater' teams' cars are far more difficult to pass and also far less willing to be passed. The new Gamebreakers is interesting, but can be rather nerve- wracking. With Gamebreakers activated, exciting events during a race (i.e., massive wrecks) will instantly be replayed with a variety of camera views and in slower and slower speeds, effectively interrupting the race and possibly causing the player to lose all sense of rhythm and concentration. Also, as the player nears the Start/Finish Line on the final lap, all other sounds fade away and the colors shift, again to indicate an adrenaline rush; for those who drive largely by ear (especially those using manual transmissions who need to hear the engine to determine when to shift gears), this can be extremely annoying and perhaps even dangerous. In addition to updated teams and drivers (including the new Toyota team), F1 2002 has generally had its graphics enhanced for better colors and better reflections; similarly, the spectators seem more enhanced and more animated, including more flag-waving and bullhorn-blowing. Those playing with TV Panels activated will receive better television-style information at the bottom of the screen, including far fewer instances of 'blank' times separating drivers at a particular timing point. Circuit names have 'changed' from F1 2001 to F1 2002. For example, F1 2001's Spa-Francorchamps is now simply Spa in F1 2002. This also occurs with other circuits with long names. ============================================== ADDITIONS EA Sports Cards is the main addition to EA Sports' F1 series. Each of the eleven teams has six EA Sports Cards, which are collected/earned by completing certain tasks during Races, Team Duels, and Basic and Advanced Challenges. Not surprisingly, the tasks for the 'lesser' teams are easier than those for the 'greater' teams; for example, Toyota's Racing card is earned simply by gaining a place, whereas Ferrari's Racing card states the player must 'Lead race from start to finish' (which means that at NO time can another car get ahead by even a single pixel). Each team has six EA Sports Cards which can be acquired: Duration, Racing, Milestone, Team Duel, Basic Challenge, and Advanced Challenge. Collecting all EA Sports Cards at the Gold Medal level for a single team results in receiving enhanced cars for that team. One of the most interesting additions is the slipstream/drafting indicator, located on the right side of the screen. When the player is in a position to catch an aerodynamic tow from another car, the slipstream/drafting indicator lights up in gradually-darkening colors from yellow to dark orange. The darker the color (and the higher the lines are on the indicator), the more speed has been gained by using the slipstream/draft. Suddenly pulling out of the slipstream/draft slingshots the player's car forward appropriately, accompanied by a lessening of all sounds other than the howling wind to simulate an adrenaline rush. This in itself is a rather unique and addictive aspect to F1 2002. ============================================== CONTINUING FLAWS Without question, FIA Rules is the main continuing flaw in EA Sports' F1 series. This is still significant enough that it is virtually impossible to play with FIA Rules activated :-( The main areas of concern here are the speed limit and the issue of Passing Under Yellow. Fortunately, the game has been updated so that the flags waved by the corner workers are much easier to see; also, when applicable, the appropriate flag icon is shown at the top of the screen. However, once the Yellow Flag is displayed, players are NOT given enough time to slow to 130MPH or less, which results in a Stop-Go Penalty. Similarly, should a Yellow Flag suddenly be displayed while the player is racing side-by-side with someone else and the player's car overtakes the other by a single pixel, the player is slapped with a Stop-Go Penalty for Passing Under Yellow. A major complaint about F1 2001 - with its introduction of very detailed car set-ups - was that these set-ups could not be saved (like in Gran Turismo 3, which allows car set-ups to be saved to files separate from the main game progress file) for later use; this meant manually recording changes made and manually entering these changes for every race. Unfortunately, F1 2002 STILL does not permit saving car set- ups to separate files; however, the newest version of the game does save the last-used set-up, so if a player wishes to participate in events at the same venue multiple times consecutively, there is no need to change set-ups. The AI is FAR too aggressive, especially on standing starts. Even if I qualify P1, I almost ALWAYS get tagged from behind, which puts me off the track and eventually at the very back of the field by the time I can recover. The 107% Rule STILL has not been implemented. The 107% rule designates that those unable to qualify within 107% of the Pole Position (P1) qualifying time cannot participate in the race. Over a year ago, I briefly discussed this issue with a developer for EA Sports' F1 games, and was told that this was to ensure that the player can ALWAYS participate in a race. However, this is a very important rule in F1 racing and should DEFINITELY be implemented, either permanently or via a game option. F1 2002 still does not include Intermediate Tires. The same racequeen is used for every team and for every driver at the beginning of a race; only the team uniform changes. This is true no matter where the race is held; one would expect to see Japanese racequeens at Suzuka, Malaysian racequeens at Sepang, French racequeens at Nevers Magny- Cours, etc.; sadly, this is not the case. However, the racequeen's uniform is certainly rather interesting for the BAR team :-) The PlayStation/PSOne version of F1 Championship Season 2000 included Training Mode, which taught newcomers to F1 games how to safely drive each of the seventeen race venues, complete with real-time interactive commentary. Training Mode needs to be brought back. Periodic radio updates on the points-paying positions would be helpful, as it is not always feasible to safely watch the World Feed (television) information at the bottom of the screen. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== WRAP-UP The official FIA Web site (http://www.fia.com/) has a lot of good information pertaining to F1 racing, including the current season's race schedule, rules and regulations, and links to the official Web sites of most of the courses used. The FIA Web site is available in both French and English. I also strongly suggest visiting Formula1.com (http://www.formula1.com/) for F1 news and race information. This is a FAR more interactive site than the FIA site, including games, Flash-based virtual laps of each circuit, team and driver information, extensive cross-linking between articles, screensavers, quizzes, and much more. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== CONTACT INFORMATION For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc., or to be added to my e-mail list for updates to this driving guide, please contact me at: FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM; also, if you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful to you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/) using the above e-mail address. To find the latest version of this and all my other PSX/PS2 game guides, please visit FeatherGuides (http://www.angelcities.com/members/feathersites/). The latest version will always be posted at FeatherGuides, while other Web sites may lag behind by several days in their regularly-scheduled posting updates. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== ======================================================================= Wolf Feather Jamie Stafford ======================================================================= Just as there are many parts needed to make a human a human, there's a remarkable number of things needed to make an individual what they are. - Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_ ======================================================================= What isn't remembered never happened. - _Serial Experiments Lain_ =======================================================================