Formula 1:CE - Extras: F1TV: 'Watch a Race'

Digital-Nitrate

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I have been taking some time to explore some of the other aspects to the game and came across something called F1TV. At first glance I thought this might be actual footage from the 2006 season, but it actually allows you to setup and watch a completely AI driven race.

From the F1TV menu, Spectator Mode allows the following options:

SELECT CIRCUIT:

(default is Indianapoils, but they are in order of their 2006 season schedule)
Code:
 1 BAHRAIN	[i](Bahrain International Circuit)[/i]	Bahrain Grand Prix
 2 SEPANG	[i](Sepang International Circuit)[/i]	Malaysian Grand Prix
 3 MELBOURNE	[i](Albert Park)[/i]			Australian Grand Prix
 4 IMOLA	[i](Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari)[/i]	San Marino Grand Prix
 5 NURBURGRING	[i](Nürburgring)[/i]			European Grand Prix
 6 CATALUNYA	[i](Circuit de Catalunya)[/i]		Spanish Grand Prix
 7 MONTE CARLO	[i](Circuit de Monaco)[/i]		Monaco Grand Prix
 8 SILVERSTONE	[i](Silverstone Circuit)[/i]		British Grand Prix
 9 MONTREAL	[i](Circuit Gilles Villeneuve)[/i]	Canadian Grand Prix
10 INDIANAPOLIS	[i](Indianapolis Motor Speedway)[/i]	United States Grand Prix
11 MAGNY-COURS	[i](Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours)[/i]	French Grand Prix
12 HOCKENHEIM	[i](Hockenheimring)[/i]		German Grand Prix
13 BUDAPEST	[i](Hungaroring)[/i]			Hungarian Grand Prix
14 ISTANBUL	[i](Istanbul Park)[/i]			Turkish Grand Prix
15 MONZA	[i](Autodromo Nazionale Monza)[/i]	Italian Grand Prix
16 SHANGHAI	[i](Shanghai Int. Circuit)[/i]		Chinese Grand Prix
17 SUZUKA	[i](Suzuka Circuit 4)[/i]		Japanese Grand Prix
18 INTERLAGOS	[i](Autódromo José Carlos Pace)[/i]	Brazilian Grand Prix
RACE Distance:
  • 3 LAPS
  • 10% (default)
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 50%
  • 75%
  • 100%
WEATHER:
  • SUNNY
  • CLOUDY
  • LIGHT RAIN
  • HEAVY RAIN
  • VARIABLE
COMMENTARY:
  • ON
  • OFF
Once you make your selection, press "WATCH A RACE", and it will take you to the starting grid of the race.

After doing some experimenting, I found that the grid is randomly generated, but separated by four groups of teams/drivers:

1-6:
  • Ferrari - Felipe Massa
  • Ferrari - Michael Schumacher
  • McLaren-Mercedes - Juan Pablo Montoya
  • McLaren-Mercedes - Kimi Räikkönen
  • Renault - Fernando Alonso
  • Renault - Giancarlo Fisichella
7-12:
  • BMW Sauber-BMW - Nick Heidfeld
  • BMW Sauber-BMW - Jacques Villeneuve
  • Honda - Rubens Barrichello
  • Honda - Jenson Button
  • Williams-Cosworth - Nico Rosberg
  • Williams-Cosworth - Mark Webber
13-16:
  • Red Bull-Ferrari - David Coulthard
  • Red Bull-Ferrari - Christian Klien
  • Toyota - Ralf Schumacher
  • Toyota - Jarno Trulli
17-22:
  • MF1-Toyota - Christijan Albers
  • MF1-Toyota - Tiago Monteiro
  • Super Aguri-Honda - Yuji Ide
  • Super Aguri-Honda - Takuma Sato
  • Toro Rosso-Cosworth - Vitantonio Liuzzi
  • Toro Rosso-Cosworth - Scott Speed
However, I also discovered that there is a hidden feature that allows you to rearrange the starting grid any way you like.

To do that, move the 'up' & 'down' D-pad keys to highlight the driver you want moved to a different spot on the grid. Then press 'X'. This should cause that name to be temporarily highlighted in green, and then dark blue. Now move the arrows to highlight the spot on the grid that you want him to be moved to, and press 'X' again. The two drivers that you selected will now switch places on the grid. Keep doing that until you have the exact starting grid you desire.

EDIT: (I tried this hidden feature in "QUICK RACE" mode and it works there as well! 👍 Now you not only don't have to always start in the back of the pack, but you can even send your least favorite F1 driver to the back instead... :D )

OK, so some might ask, what's the point if you aren't going to race? I can think of a couple right off the top of my head.

  1. I can see that it could be fun replicating the same weather and starting grids from the 2006 season, and see how close the race results are from the actual race.

  2. For gamblers, I can definitely see people setting up races at a party to run in the background, and for some of the party goers to place friendly (and perhaps not so friendly) wagers on the results.
While I had hoped the "WATCH A RACE" option was going to either show or replicate the exact races and results from 2006, considering that would require over 30 hours of pre-rendered/recorded footage, I can certainly understand why this was not the case. Still, it is an interesting extra feature.

EDIT: Oh yeah, one other thing, once the race starts, the default "TV MODE" (camera) setting is set at "Auto". A hidden feature, which also works with replays, and if you have been DNFed from a race due to damage and want to watch the rest of the race, is to manually control which of the eight different cameras to use by pressing the 'Triangle' button. To get it back to "Auto", you must press the 'Select' button.

In manual mode, you can also select which driver to follow using the D-pad buttons. 👍


BTW: F1TV is also where you go to play your saved replays, or replays from other players.
 
1 lap replays & F1 TV in general is a waste of SL's time, IMHO.
I'd much rather they would have put more time into Online mode, or making a FFB patch [knowing that it wasa GOOD bet Sony & Immersion would settle]
 
I have been taking some time to explore some of the other aspects to the game and came across something called F1TV. At first glance I thought this might be actual footage from the 2006 season, but it actually allows you to setup and watch a completely AI driven race.

From the F1TV menu, Spectator Mode allows the following options:

SELECT CIRCUIT:

(default is Indianapoils, but they are in order of their 2006 season schedule)
Code:
 1 BAHRAIN    [I](Bahrain International Circuit)[/I]    Bahrain Grand Prix
 2 SEPANG    [I](Sepang International Circuit)[/I]    Malaysian Grand Prix
 3 MELBOURNE    [I](Albert Park)[/I]            Australian Grand Prix
 4 IMOLA    [I](Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari)[/I]    San Marino Grand Prix
 5 NURBURGRING    [I](Nürburgring)[/I]            European Grand Prix
 6 CATALUNYA    [I](Circuit de Catalunya)[/I]        Spanish Grand Prix
 7 MONTE CARLO    [I](Circuit de Monaco)[/I]        Monaco Grand Prix
 8 SILVERSTONE    [I](Silverstone Circuit)[/I]        British Grand Prix
 9 MONTREAL    [I](Circuit Gilles Villeneuve)[/I]    Canadian Grand Prix
10 INDIANAPOLIS    [I](Indianapolis Motor Speedway)[/I]    United States Grand Prix
11 MAGNY-COURS    [I](Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours)[/I]    French Grand Prix
12 HOCKENHEIM    [I](Hockenheimring)[/I]        German Grand Prix
13 BUDAPEST    [I](Hungaroring)[/I]            Hungarian Grand Prix
14 ISTANBUL    [I](Istanbul Park)[/I]            Turkish Grand Prix
15 MONZA    [I](Autodromo Nazionale Monza)[/I]    Italian Grand Prix
16 SHANGHAI    [I](Shanghai Int. Circuit)[/I]        Chinese Grand Prix
17 SUZUKA    [I](Suzuka Circuit 4)[/I]        Japanese Grand Prix
18 INTERLAGOS    [I](Autódromo José Carlos Pace)[/I]    Brazilian Grand Prix
RACE Distance:
  • 3 LAPS
  • 10% (default)
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 50%
  • 75%
  • 100%
WEATHER:
  • SUNNY
  • CLOUDY
  • LIGHT RAIN
  • HEAVY RAIN
  • VARIABLE
COMMENTARY:
  • ON
  • OFF
Once you make your selection, press "WATCH A RACE", and it will take you to the starting grid of the race.

After doing some experimenting, I found that the grid is randomly generated, but separated by four groups of teams/drivers:

1-6:
  • Ferrari - Felipe Massa
  • Ferrari - Michael Schumacher
  • McLaren-Mercedes - Juan Pablo Montoya
  • McLaren-Mercedes - Kimi Räikkönen
  • Renault - Fernando Alonso
  • Renault - Giancarlo Fisichella
7-12:
  • BMW Sauber-BMW - Nick Heidfeld
  • BMW Sauber-BMW - Jacques Villeneuve
  • Honda - Rubens Barrichello
  • Honda - Jenson Button
  • Williams-Cosworth - Nico Rosberg
  • Williams-Cosworth - Mark Webber
13-16:
  • Red Bull-Ferrari - David Coulthard
  • Red Bull-Ferrari - Christian Klien
  • Toyota - Ralf Schumacher
  • Toyota - Jarno Trulli
17-22:
  • MF1-Toyota - Christijan Albers
  • MF1-Toyota - Tiago Monteiro
  • Super Aguri-Honda - Yuji Ide
  • Super Aguri-Honda - Takuma Sato
  • Toro Rosso-Cosworth - Vitantonio Liuzzi
  • Toro Rosso-Cosworth - Scott Speed
However, I also discovered that there is a hidden feature that allows you to rearrange the starting grid any way you like.

To do that, move the 'up' & 'down' D-pad keys to highlight the driver you want moved to a different spot on the grid. Then press 'X'. This should cause that name to be temporarily highlighted in green, and then dark blue. Now move the arrows to highlight the spot on the grid that you want him to be moved to, and press 'X' again. The two drivers that you selected will now switch places on the grid. Keep doing that until you have the exact starting grid you desire.

EDIT: (I tried this hidden feature in "QUICK RACE" mode and it works there as well! 👍 Now you not only don't have to always start in the back of the pack, but you can even send your least favorite F1 driver to the back instead... :D )

OK, so some might ask, what's the point if you aren't going to race? I can think of a couple right off the top of my head.
  1. I can see that it could be fun replicating the same weather and starting grids from the 2006 season, and see how close the race results are from the actual race.
  2. For gamblers, I can definitely see people setting up races at a party to run in the background, and for some of the party goers to place friendly (and perhaps not so friendly) wagers on the results.
While I had hoped the "WATCH A RACE" option was going to either show or replicate the exact races and results from 2006, considering that would require over 30 hours of pre-rendered/recorded footage, I can certainly understand why this was not the case. Still, it is an interesting extra feature.

EDIT: Oh yeah, one other thing, once the race starts, the default "TV MODE" (camera) setting is set at "Auto". A hidden feature, which also works with replays, and if you have been DNFed from a race due to damage and want to watch the rest of the race, is to manually control which of the eight different cameras to use by pressing the 'Triangle' button. To get it back to "Auto", you must press the 'Select' button.

In manual mode, you can also select which driver to follow using the D-pad buttons. 👍


BTW: F1TV is also where you go to play your saved replays, or replays from other players.

Arggh! This just makes not having a PS3 even worse:grumpy:
 
Putting best at the back and worst at front is fun too. Gives some cool overtaking. I would like seeing crashes at F1TV, alltrough Alonso almost pitted Fisichella.
 
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