F1 2020 Sorularınız Cevaplandı: Klasik Pistler, Tasarım Editörü, VR
As the highly anticipated release of F1 2020 approached, racing enthusiasts and long-time fans of Codemasters’ acclaimed Formula 1 series flooded RaceFans with dozens of questions. We’ve meticulously gathered a selection of these burning queries and secured insightful answers directly from Lee Mather, the esteemed Formula 1 game director at Codemasters. This deep dive uncovers the intricate details behind F1 2020’s innovative features, addresses technical challenges, and offers a glimpse into the future of the beloved racing simulator. From the immersive My Team experience to the possibilities of virtual reality and cross-platform play, here’s everything you need to know about the game that promised to redefine the F1 gaming landscape.
The Future of Immersion: Virtual Reality in F1 2020
Why doesn’t the PC version support virtual reality since the engine can? Dirt Rally has VR support. Rick Hendrikse
Are we finally going to get VR? Sergio Perez
The allure of Virtual Reality (VR) in a high-octane racing simulator like F1 2020 is undeniable. Players consistently voice their desire for VR support, envisioning unparalleled immersion from the cockpit of a Formula 1 car. However, Lee Mather sheds light on the significant technical hurdles that prevent its immediate implementation. “It’s very difficult to bring a game that runs like Formula 1 with such an intense physics engine and graphics engine to run VR,” Mather explains. This complexity stems from the demanding performance requirements of VR, which necessitates rendering two distinct images simultaneously at very high frame rates to avoid motion sickness. Given the sophisticated physics and breathtaking graphical fidelity that defines the F1 game series, optimizing F1 2020 for VR compatibility is a monumental task. Consequently, Mather confirms, “So VR isn’t something we’re going to be able to do this year at the moment.” While this news might be disappointing for some, it underscores Codemasters’ commitment to delivering a polished experience, suggesting that VR integration, when it eventually happens, will be executed with the highest standards, rather than rushed.
Bridging Platforms: The Road to Cross-Play
“Will cross-platform play be implemented?” Jack Chambers, Dino Scopiche and Kendrick Lamar
Split-screen returns in F1 2020, hinting at broader multiplayer ambitions.
In an increasingly interconnected gaming world, the ability to race against friends regardless of their preferred platform has become a highly sought-after feature. Codemasters acknowledges this demand, with Mather confirming that cross-platform play is a “very hot topic of discussion” within the studio. The development team has been actively conducting “some trials and tests” to explore the feasibility of such an ambitious undertaking. Implementing cross-play, however, is far from a simple toggle switch; it represents a “really fundamental change to the underlying structure of the game.” This involves intricate adjustments to networking infrastructure, ensuring fair play across different hardware specifications, and navigating platform holder policies. While F1 2020 won’t feature cross-play at launch, Mather’s enthusiasm for the technology, referencing his personal experience playing titles like Call of Duty across various platforms, indicates a strong internal drive for its future integration. “That’s something that we’re doing a lot of very serious investigation into for the future,” he assures, offering hope that future iterations of the F1 game series might finally unite players across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
Forge Your Legacy: Delving into the My Team Mode
The My Team mode allows players to establish their own F1 legacy.
One of F1 2020’s most revolutionary additions is the highly anticipated My Team feature. This groundbreaking mode empowers players to transcend the role of a mere driver and step into the shoes of an owner-driver, establishing and managing the 11th team on the Formula 1 grid. This immersive experience allows for deep customization of the team, from its visual identity to strategic management, all while competing across a sprawling ten-season career. The My Team mode not only offers a fresh perspective on the F1 world but also introduces a host of interesting playing opportunities, particularly concerning driver recruitment and team development.
Recruiting Talent: The Driver Market
“Will you be able to sign F2 drivers in the My Team career?” Yuri
A crucial aspect of managing your own F1 team is the strategic recruitment of talent. Mather confirms that the entire Formula 2 field is available for aspiring team principals to scout and hire from the very beginning of the game. This opens up exciting possibilities for nurturing young talent, bringing your favorite F2 prospects into the elite world of Formula 1. However, securing top-tier drivers comes with a price tag, emphasizing the financial management aspect of the My Team mode. Players will need to carefully balance their budget to afford the drivers they desire. “There’s going to be a full driver market which you’ll obviously engage with as you play through the game,” Mather elaborates, suggesting a dynamic and evolving pool of drivers, mirroring the real-world F1 landscape, where shrewd negotiations and timely investments can make all the difference to a team’s success.
The Heart of My Team: The Player as Driver
“Will you have to drive yourself or can you pick two AI drivers and just manage the team?” Bradley Downton
While the management elements of My Team are extensive, Codemasters remains firm on the core identity of F1 2020 as a racing game. Mather unequivocally states, “You have to participate as a driver.” This fundamental design choice is key to the experience, ensuring that players remain at the heart of the on-track action. “That’s key to us. It’s something that we always said we would do. We’re a racing game with a management element, we’re not a management game,” he clarifies. This hybrid approach perfectly blends the thrill of high-speed racing with the strategic depth of team ownership, offering players the unique opportunity to directly influence their team’s performance through their driving prowess. It’s a compelling addition that provides “all the flavour of running a Formula 1 team” while keeping the player firmly in the driver’s seat.
Emergency Signings: Fictional Drivers
“When creating your own team and choose a team mate is it only F1 and F2 drivers or can you create your own?” LiamTSH96
F2 drivers are available for hire, with fictional drivers as a fallback.
Even the most meticulously managed teams can face unforeseen challenges, particularly financial ones. Codemasters has accounted for such scenarios by introducing a third source of drivers: fictional talents. This option becomes available if your team is truly struggling and can’t afford to retain or hire a real-world F1 or F2 driver. “It might be that I’ve exhausted all options, I’m absolutely broke, I can’t even afford to renew the contract with my driver. At that point, we bring in one of the fictional drivers that we have – the drivers who drive the classic cars,” Mather explains. These fictional drivers, while not expected to set the world alight with their performance, serve a vital role: to keep your team operational. “And they’re not great so they’re not going to do the best job for you, but they’re there to fill a seat and to keep your team in business.” This thoughtful inclusion adds another layer of realism and consequence to the management simulation within My Team.
Unleashing Creativity: Team and Car Customization
“How customisable are the cars going to be in My Team mode and will you be able to customise the team overalls?” Jamie Hubbard
Extensive livery customization options allow for unique team identities.
Personalization is at the core of the My Team experience, allowing players to truly imprint their identity onto their new Formula 1 venture. The game offers extensive customization options, far beyond just selecting a team name. Players can choose from a wide selection of liveries for their car, a collection that Codemasters plans to expand post-launch. Crucially, players have the freedom to set the primary and secondary colors for their chosen livery, ensuring their car looks exactly as they envision. The personalization extends to the team’s attire, with players able to tailor the colors of their race suits and gloves. Beyond the track, the team’s environment also receives a custom touch. Given that facilities in Formula 1 are heavily branded, players can select colors for their team’s headquarters and various facilities. Finally, establishing a strong team identity involves designing a unique badge. Players can select a badge design and further customize its colors and even its style, with options for embossed or 3D effects. This granular level of detail ensures that every My Team creation feels truly unique and personal.
The Livery Editor and Sponsor Realities
“Will it have a livery editor for your own team?” Markus
Sponsor branding adheres to strict guidelines, influencing livery design.
While the My Team mode offers extensive customization, it operates within certain creative boundaries, particularly regarding sponsor branding. The in-game livery editing options are designed to allow for player creativity while maintaining a degree of authenticity and control. A key restriction is that My Team creations can only feature fictional sponsors. Mather explains the rationale behind this decision, highlighting the strict guidelines associated with real-world Formula 1 sponsors. “Basically you can’t see Shell and Petronas on a car together, you can’t go placing a Rolex logo in fluorescent pink, for example. There’s very strict guidelines around how companies handle their logos,” he states. Codemasters recognized that imposing these real-world restrictions on players would significantly limit their personalization options. By utilizing a broader range of internally created fictional sponsors, the developers gain more freedom to attach diverse goals to these sponsors and allow players greater artistic license in tailoring the aesthetic of their car without infringing on corporate branding rules. This approach strikes a balance between creative freedom and the realities of commercial partnerships in F1.
The My Team Car: A Spec Chassis
Can we make slight alterations to the ‘FOM car’ in My Team? Like nose shape, side pods, barge boards etc, even if only a few options. Stephen
Regarding the structural customization of the My Team car, Mather clarifies that the vehicle model itself is fixed. Players will not be able to make superficial alterations to elements like nose shape, side pods, or barge boards. “We can only have a limited number of vehicle models. The one that we’re using is the same model that we created in a partnership with Formula 1,” Mather explains. This means the My Team car is a ‘spec car,’ developed in collaboration with Ross Brawn and his team at Formula 1. It serves as the standard chassis upon which players can apply their unique liveries. This decision ensures consistency and fairness in the game’s competitive environment while focusing player creativity on the visual identity and strategic management aspects of their team.
Enhanced Career Mode and Race Options
The Full F2 Experience
Are we able to do a full F2 season in the career mode? Josef
A full F2 season provides a realistic stepping stone to F1 stardom.
For players who crave a more authentic journey through the motorsport ladder, F1 2020 introduces a significant enhancement to the career mode: the option to complete a full F2 season before making the leap to Formula 1. This highly requested feature allows aspiring champions to hone their skills and immerse themselves in the competitive world of F2 racing, mirroring the real-world progression of many F1 stars. Players also retain the flexibility to skip F2 entirely or opt for a shortened F2 experience, completing just a few races before transitioning to the main F1 championship. This adaptability ensures that the career mode caters to a wide range of player preferences and time commitments.
Flexible Race Distances and Season Customization
Will we be able to choose the exact race distance rather than having the choice of 3 and 5 laps, 25, 50, 100% of the race distance? AXenikos77
While F1 2020 brings many new features, some elements remain consistent with previous iterations. For instance, based on the preview version tested, there hasn’t been any change to the race distance options, which continue to offer choices of 3 or 5 laps, or 25%, 50%, and 100% of the full race distance. This structured approach ensures a balanced and predictable racing experience for all players.
“Can you choose which 10 or 16 races will make up a shortened career season?” JDWrighty
One welcome addition for players seeking a more condensed F1 experience is the ability to fully customize shortened career seasons. If opting for a 10- or 16-race season, players have the freedom to hand-pick which circuits from the full 22-track calendar they wish to include. This level of control allows players to craft their ideal championship, focusing on their favorite tracks or challenging themselves with a specific selection of venues.
A Nod to Nostalgia: Classic Tracks, Physics, and Cars
The Challenge of Classic Circuits
The intensive development of new tracks precluded the addition of classic circuits.
Are there any classic tracks in the game? IwanThomas
Will classic circuits be included (Hockenheim, Istanbul, Imola etc) be included and possible to include in career mode? JDWrighty
Are we going to get classic tracks? AlexM_49
If F1, when it resumes, races at a venue not on the original 2020 calendar, will it be added to the game in an update? Ryo Gazuki
The desire for classic Formula 1 circuits like Hockenheim, Istanbul, or Imola resonates strongly within the community, offering a nostalgic trip down memory lane. However, F1 2020 does not include any ‘classic tracks’. Lee Mather explains that the primary reason for this absence is the immense development effort required to create new circuits from scratch. For F1 2020, Codemasters undertook the arduous task of building both Zandvoort and Hanoi, two entirely new venues for the season. “Tracks are a vast undertaking for us,” Mather emphasizes. “Building two tracks in a year is a significant amount of work.” He further elaborates on the scale of this effort: “Roughly a track [takes] around a year of man-hours to build. So to build two tracks, obviously we have a team of people that work on them. It’s still a huge amount of effort and time that it takes to do that.” While classic tracks have been featured in previous generations of the game, the focus for F1 2020 remained firmly on bringing the official 2020 calendar to life with unprecedented accuracy, leaving no development bandwidth for additional historical circuits. The question about future calendar changes being added via update is not explicitly answered, but the complexity of track development suggests this would be a significant challenge for a mid-season update.
The Pursuit of Realism: Physics and LIDAR Scanning
“As graphics are getting to the point of photo realism, any chance Codemasters will start to offer a ‘more realistic’ physics mode and laser scan the tracks?” Sergio Perez
LIDAR data was instrumental in meticulously recreating the Zandvoort circuit.
The quest for ultimate realism in racing games often leads to questions about advanced technologies like laser scanning. Codemasters indeed utilized laser-scanned Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data for the meticulous recreation of the Zandvoort circuit in F1 2020, demonstrating their commitment to accuracy. However, Mather cautions against viewing LIDAR as a universal panacea for track development. While the technology is powerful, its application across all circuits, especially those already in their extensive library, presents significant limitations. “We do have LIDAR data for other circuits, but to obviously rebuild an entire track from that data again is another year of man-hours to do so,” he explains, highlighting the immense time and resource investment required for such an undertaking. Furthermore, the quality and method of LIDAR data capture can vary wildly, meaning it’s not always perfect. “There’s a lot of people [who] say LIDAR’s the silver bullet and it’s great, it’s amazing. It’s not always the case: The quality varies, the way that it’s captured varies, it’s not always perfect. We’ve certainly had LIDAR data that would have given us tracks that weren’t as good as the ones we have in game,” Mather reveals. For Zandvoort, the LIDAR data provided a fantastic starting point, but it was still complemented by CAD data and extensive reference footage. This intricate process underscores that building a circuit is a multi-faceted endeavor where LIDAR is a strong foundation, but far from the “be-all and end-all.”
Iconic Machinery: Expanding the Classic Car Roster
Are we going to get more classic cars other than what is in the Schumacher DLC? Aaron Hutt
The Michael Schumacher Deluxe Edition offers exclusive classic F1 machines.
For fans of Formula 1’s rich history, the inclusion of classic cars is a perennial highlight. F1 2020 did not disappoint, significantly expanding its roster of iconic machinery. Beyond the exclusive classic cars featured in the Michael Schumacher Deluxe Edition – which include the legendary 1991 Jordan 191, 1994 Benetton B194, 1995 Benetton B195, and 2000 Ferrari F1-2000 – the standard version of the game also boasted an impressive lineup. Players could get behind the wheel of a diverse collection of F1 legends, spanning various eras. This extensive list includes: the 2010 Red Bull RB6, 2010 Ferrari F10, 2010 McLaren MP4/25, 2009 Brawn BGP 001, 2008 McLaren MP4/23, 2007 Ferrari F2007, 2006 Renault R26, 2004 Ferrari F2004, 2003 Williams FW25, 1998 McLaren MP4/13, 1996 Williams FW18, 1991 McLaren MP4/6, 1992 Williams FW14, 1990 Ferrari 641, 1990 McLaren MP4/5B, and the iconic 1988 McLaren MP4/4. This carefully curated selection allowed players to relive some of Formula 1’s most memorable moments and experience the evolution of F1 technology firsthand.
The B194 and the Legend of Traction Control
Does the B194 have a secret traction control code? Clay Woolcock
A fun, albeit cheeky, question regarding the notorious 1994 Benetton B194 and its alleged secret traction control code was also posed. While the historical debate around the real-world car’s capabilities persists, the in-game version of the B194, according to Codemasters, does not feature any such clandestine code. But then again, the reviewer hadn’t driven it yet, leaving a humorous, open-ended thought for players to discover themselves.
Conclusion: A Feature-Rich Racing Experience
F1 2020 delivered a comprehensive and engaging Formula 1 racing experience, packed with new features and significant enhancements based on community feedback. From the groundbreaking My Team mode that allowed players to forge their own F1 legacy, to the expanded career options and an impressive roster of classic cars, Codemasters demonstrated a clear commitment to evolving the series. While certain highly requested features like VR and cross-play faced technical challenges that prevented their inclusion in F1 2020, the transparent communication from Lee Mather underscores the development team’s ongoing investigation and future ambitions. The game’s success lay in its ability to balance authentic F1 simulation with accessible gameplay, all while pushing the boundaries of what a Formula 1 video game could offer. The responses shared here represent a fraction of the many questions posed, and Codemasters remained dedicated to addressing more as the game matured, reinforcing the strong bond between the developers and their passionate player base.
Video: We Answer Your Questions on F1 2020
For those who prefer a visual rundown, a comprehensive video addresses more of your questions about F1 2020. Dive into the gameplay footage and listen to further insights from the developers themselves.
More videos from our first play of F1 2020 were published shortly after this Q&A. Find them all on RaceFans’ YouTube page:
Subscribe to RaceFans on YouTube
Note: All images and footage displayed represent the game in an unfinished state at the time of publication.
How F1 2020 Was Tested
To provide an accurate and in-depth review of F1 2020, the game was rigorously tested using high-performance hardware, ensuring optimal fidelity and responsiveness.
Fanatec Elite F1 Set steering wheel and pedals
Logitech G29 and G27 steering wheel and pedals
NVidia Geforce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card running the game’s maximum detail settings
Where to Buy F1 2020
Experience the thrill of Formula 1 with F1 2020. You can purchase or pre-order various editions of the game through the links below:
F1 2020 Deluxe Schumacher Edition (PS4)
F1 2020 Deluxe Schumacher Edition (Xbox One)
F1 2020 Seventy Edition (PS4)
F1 2020 Seventy Edition (Xbox One)
F1 2020 Seventy Edition (PC)
RaceFans earns a commission on products sold via the links to our affiliate partners above, however you are not charged any extra. See here for more information.
