Developer - Playsport Games
Publisher - Sega
Platforms - Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, SteamOS
Release Date - Nov 9, 2016
Website -
http://www.motorsportmanager.com/
Steam store page -
http://store.steampowered.com/app/415200/
System Requirements
Windows Minimum
OS: Microsoft Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.5 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: nVIDIA GT 335M, 512MB or AMD Radeon HD 4670, 512MB or Intel HD 4000 series
DirectX: Version 10.1
Hard Drive: 16 GB available space
Mac Minimum:
OS: Mac OSX 10.10
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.5 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M or AMD Radeon HD 4670, 512MB or Intel HD 4000 series
Hard Drive: 16 GB available space
Linux Minimum:
OS: Ubuntu 14.04+, SteamOS
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.5 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: nVIDIA GT 335M, 512MB or AMD Radeon HD 4670, 512MB or Intel HD 4000 series
Storage: 16 GB available space
Windows Recommended:
OS: Microsoft Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core i5-3470, 3.20GHz or AMD FX-6300, 3.5Ghz
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: nVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB or AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2GB or Intel HD 500 series.
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 16 GB available space
Mac OS Recommended:
OS: Mac OSX 10.10
Processor: Intel Core i5, 3.2 GHz (i5-3470) [6 MB on-chip L3 cache]
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M [512 MB GDDR5 SDRAM]
Storage: 16 GB available space
OVERVIEW
Motorsport Manager is a simulation game where you take charge of an open-wheel racing team. Hire and manage your staff including drivers, mechanics, and designers. Build and improve your cars and team facilities. Tweak and tune your car setups during practice and qualifying as you prepare for the race, and manage your race strategy on race day.
Does the game have any real world licenses?
No, everything is fictional but there are some clear real-world parallels. For example, the three tiers of race series are essentially equivalents to F1, GP2, etc.
Steam Workshop support is planned in the future, so it won't be surprising if we see real world mods soon after.
Is this the same game as the mobile version from a few years ago?
While some of the basic gameplay mirrors the original mobile game, this version is greatly expanded:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIjKnOJHto4
From an interview posted on Red Bull:
Playsport Games Director Christian West says that the original mobile game drew in a lot of non-motorsport fans who enjoyed the strategy element.
The developers are keen to build on this with the new game and enhance the experience by adding a lot more day-to-day involvement aside from simply building cars. One of the biggest additions here is the ability to decide what new rules get the green light.
“As team manager, you’re also a member of the International Motorsports Association [IMA] alongside other team principles,” says Pearson. “Throughout your career, you can vote on new rules being introduced and whether they get approved or rejected. This theoretically means that by the time you get to next season, the game will have changed somewhat.” So, as a member of the IMA, you can bend the rules in your favour.
“If you’re really smart, and a bit Machiavellian, you can twist the sport to your advantage,” says Pearson. “So if you’re a small team and a rule proposal comes up to even out the prize money between the front-running teams and those at the back, you can try to force through the new rule – and when you get to the top, you can vote to change it back again,” he says.
MEDIA
Videos
Launch trailer -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHnYWoUKB5I
Changes from the mobile version -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIjKnOJHto4
Paul Di Resta advert -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBr59vhFM4I
Screenshots
Some of these are taken from a Youtuber's LP who has done a lot of Grand Prix World playthroughs and is currently running a blind LP of Motorsport Manager
here.
REVIEWS
Rock Paper Shotgun -
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/11/07/motorsport-manager-review-pc/
I’m unlikely to be hooked on Motorsport Manager for the rest of the year, as will be the case with Football Manager, but that’s mostly because I don’t particularly care for real life racing. It’s far from impenetrable if you don’t understand the sport itself though and the pit stops are a more immediately responsive tactical instruction than anything in Football Manager, which gives a good sense of direct control. Success is hard-won, a process of long hours developing headquarters and parts, as well as finding the right staff, but failure can be the result of a momentary loss of control or courage.
It’s a tough game, in which I often feel like I’m grinding my way toward the top rather than discovering brilliant new tactics or innovative strategies. That makes me feel a little distant from my team, and makes this a game to play while burning through podcasts in the background rather than to focus all of my attention on, but I’m enjoying the challenge. I feel like I earn my victories and the disasters are usually my fault as well. It’s hard to escape the sense that I’m always reacting, whether to the weather or the placement of a particular track on the calendar, rather than creating a team with an identity of my own choosing. Maybe that’s because I’m a terrible Motorsport Manager, but I think it might just be part of the job.
Motorsport.com -
http://www.motorsport.com/sim-racing/news/motorsport-manager-review-worth-the-wait-848575/
Motorsport Manager is a great game on its own merit and a roaring success for a sub-genre that seems to be waking up from a long hiatus. Its price tag may seem steep to some, but it's got enough content and variety to justify it.
I couldn't tell you if this is game that can keep someone captivated for 100+ hours the way the best games in this genre can, but I can tell you that, if there's going to be a current-age motorsport management sim that can reach that target any time soon, this could be its foundation.
There's potential for improvement, yes, but Playsport has done an admirable job with the first installment – and it will hopefully move enough copies to justify many, many follow-ups.
F1 Fanatic -
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/11/07/motorsport-manager-the-f1-fanatic-review/
It goes without saying that fans of the original mobile version will greatly enjoy this expanded version, while anyone who may still enjoy the classic F1 management sims of old will be delighted with this new offering. But this is a game that require weeks or even months of investment to really get the most out of, seeing your team and the world itself slowly evolve as you gradually build towards conquering the world championship.
It’s been a long time since we had a game that allowed us to channel our inner Toto Wolffs. Ultimately, Motorsport Manager offers a deep, rewarding and fun gameplay experience that will scratch a long itch for armchair team principals across the world.
F1 Fanatic rating - 4/5
PC Powerplay -
http://www.pcpowerplay.com.au/review/motorsport-manager-takes-you-to-the-races,441537
There is always something going on behind the scenes in Motorsport Manager, and it always adds to the experience. I never felt cheated, even when things didn’t go my way. I think that speaks to how well things have been balanced, because it’s so easy to move too far in one direction or the other with any game that has this many systems interacting with each other. It’s not perfect; a few setup quirks, like increasing rear wing angle adding understeer, don’t make any sense and had me scratching my head trying to work out why they might design it that way. But in the grand scheme of things, Motorsport Manager does what I want it to do. It puts me on the pit wall, in the thick of it.
My championship chasing driver didn’t win the last race of the season, but they didn’t need too. They just needed to finish two points ahead of the driver on top, and that meant beating them by two positions. With five laps to go, strategy had played out so that both drivers were close on track with the championship leader being in front, trying to stay fast but also needing to save fuel. It didn’t work. With a lap remaining, the championship leader’s car choked one last breath before slowing to a crawl. With a lap to go in the last race of the season, my driver made the pass and finished 2nd, cementing his, and my team’s, first championship. The drama couldn’t have been written more perfectly, and this represents Motorsport Manager to a T.
WCCF Tech -
http://wccftech.com/review/motorsport-manager-review-one-race-at-a-time/
Motorsport Manager is certainly a huge improvement over its mobile predecessor, that much is certain. At the same time, it still feels a little too distant and hands-off. Of course, your actions have consequences and what you do will inevitably impact on your successes and failures. The problem then is that there’s only so much you can actually do. Even as you’re building yourself up, the major decisions are always reactionary. You’ll always base your real key decisions on the whims of the weather, your rider having a bit of a moan or the result of a vote.
All things considered, it’s a great game. It took Football Manager years to get to the same level that Motorsport Manager has started at. I just hope the sales will reflect the quality of the game. Costing £24.99/$34.99/€34.99 respectively, it’s not cheap, but it’s also not the usual full price for a new game. If you’re a fan of management games or a fan of racing, this is certainly worth picking up. The only problem is when you realize that you’ve not slept all night and you’re completely knackered. Still, it’s a small price to pay for such a good game.
Overall - 8.5
Although feeling hands off in the day to day running of the team as a company, the real joy of Motorsport Manager comes from your preparation for the races and the races themselves. Improving your cars but then watching them in the race, planning your pit stops and attempting to plan everything to the second makes for a tense and exciting, experience.
Pros
- Race days are incredibly tense, although reactionary they allow for great tactical decisions
- The political votes allow for games to be customized to you and every game will feel that bit different
- Each rider has their own personality, making them feel that bit more alive than you'd normally find in a management sim game
Cons
- The running of the team can become stale, particularly later on when there are no more HQ improvements to be made.
- The tutorial makes the first fifteen plus minutes of a game simply boring.
Eurogamer -
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-11-17-motorsport-manager-review
Such an approachable veneer disguises an otherwise complex, sometimes cruel and a little too often abstruse experience. Managing the strategies of two cars - and micromanaging each driver to boot - can prove to be a taxing task, and while it's satisfying to execute the perfect strategy there aren't quite enough tools at your disposal to balance out the frustration that often accompanies raceday. The feedback you're given by drivers is a little too obscure, the ability to read lap times and deltas a little too sparse to make chasing the perfect set-up anything other than a dark art.
It's perhaps the one area where the iOS origins hold it back and some friction begins to show - an emoticon being used as feedback from a driver after a practice session is no substitute for a proper data logger, something that's lacking here, as is the ability to save or copy set-ups which means there's often too much guesswork going on for any sense of strategy to truly bed in. A small shame, but as a foundation this is impressive stuff. Motorsport Manager's a couple of tweaks away from greatness, then, but it's far from a disappointment.
Comics Gaming Magazine -
http://www.cgmagonline.com/reviews/motorsport-manager-pc-review/
It’s quite a great time waster if you’re so inclined, and the little details like researching parts that fall into rulebook grey areas at the risk of failing scrutinizing checks is a nice touch. As is the inclusion of race-rigging through team strategies without the fear of penalty. Certainly, I’m anxious to see where the franchise might go with future iterations, but even for now, Motorsport Manager is a perfect opportunity to sit down, fiddle, meddle, and otherwise feel like you’re accomplishing something, all while someone else does all the real work. I sure as hell found myself getting sucked into it. Hey, maybe I really can do this.
8.5/10
Operation Sports -
http://www.operationsports.com/reviews/847/motorsport-manager/
Motorsport Manager, in my opinion, fits nicely as an entry level management sim. It’s easy to use with a very friendly interface accompanied by stylish graphics. As a game, it keeps the minutia under control, allowing you to focus on bigger decisions and the thrill of racing. Plus, it is challenging without being punishing.
Yet I predict the two biggest complaints will be regarding its depth and repetitiveness. While the intentional lack of intricate detail is a selling point for me, I couldn’t help but feel a little bored at times. Because there isn’t this steep learning curve, you quickly get an idea what you need to do to be successful. The game throws a lot at you to keep you on your toes, from unreliable parts to drivers joining cults, but it can’t quite escape the fix, race, and repeat cycle.
In all, however, I think Motorsport Manager is a high quality game that fills an overlooked niche on PCs.
Pros
Great visual style, clean interface, right level of challenge.
Cons
Can feel repetitive, races can take awhile, cartoony drivers.
Bottom Line
A charming, well-produced, and relatively entertaining racing management sim that despite some repetitiveness, doesn't get bogged down.
7.5/10
Cubed3 -
http://www.cubed3.com/review/3317/1/motorsport-manager-pc.html
Although Gregory Stokes hasn't managed to get his racing team out of 9th place, he still recommends that anyone who has an interest in being a Motorsport Manager to give it shot. It's a career that can be tailormade to suit anyone. All that's necessary is the right mindset. Naturally, they can't expect immediate gratification. There's also the possibility that they'll struggle to make any real progress. It does deliver a different sort of excitement, though; one that can't be found blasting alien invaders, or trading blows with a martial arts master. In the end, this is a career that revolves around setting goals and achieving them, while attempting to exceed expectations. The choices other managers make will differ from Greg's, which is what makes the experience so personalised and fulfilling.
8/10
GAF IMPRESSIONS
I've only played a few races, but so far I'm liking what I see. It's not as simple as the mobile game (where doing a one stopper guaranteed a race win every time), and it seems a lot of effort went into making sure the races are exciting. For instance, I was first in a race once, when it started raining and I decided to switch to Intermediates early, which was a mistake as the rain was too mild, and I ended up finishing fifth. There was really only one lap where the rain was hard enough to give me an advantage. The driver angrily asked me who the idiot that chose the tires was. My bad.
Races are fun, there's a practice session where you can fiddle around with the tires, wings, gears and brakes and then get driver feedback to adjust them further. They also give you buffs based on what you do (if you focus on Race Trim, you get a race performance modifier. If you use Mediums, the driver performs better on Mediums, etc.). Qualifying (at least in medium format) is a single session, and once again gives you feedback so you can switch the set-up if needed.
Races themselves give you a bunch of options, you can turn up the engine modes and tell the driver to be harder or easier on the tires to gain an advantage. It works out pretty well, I had one of my drivers go mild during the first stint which allowed me to get 2 extra laps out of the Supersoft tires, during which I had him push hard and it moved her up from 4th to 2nd after her stop. So that was satisfying. If you let the driver push too much though, the car gets very unreliable.
The only thing I'm not to sure about yet is the way development is handled. Basically you develop parts by focussing on certain elements, you can have "risky" development, which might give you a penalty after the race during scrutineering, but they have you building a part, which you can then fit on just one of your cars. You just get a big list of all the parts you've build and assign them to one of your cars.
All in all, it seems to be a worthy successor to GPM2, though. If you enjoyed that, you'll enjoy this.
Loving this game so much. Started with the worst team and I'd recommend people do that at the start as there's no expectations and you can learn everything, then bail out or try to make them good.
So far in the European Series and in my second season, I have a shot of getting 8th in the constructora after getting some podiums, but I've just got a new designer and decided to focus on next years car. Got two great engineers too, a test track and a level 2 factory and I'm going to replace my older driver who's been there from the start with my reserve. He's up to 3 stars now with 5 potential.
So far, we've voted in a Beijing race for next season with ultra wide slicks. I'm using all my voting powers to block random grids right now as the reverse grid suits my position. Really want to get the design lab up to level 2 before next season and try and go all out with the season 3 car.
I'm loving this game. I spent 13.3 hours in just three days with it, which is rare for me. But it's a little easy, isn't it? I started with the European Racing League (the lowest of the three divisions) with Silva Racing, which is a decent team (not the best, but goodey) and it didn't took so long for me to start winning races here and there, and i managed to win my very first championship. Then I moved up to the Asian League and I'm doing kind of great (okay, one of my drivers is doing great. The other one sux). My driver Amanda Cavalcanti finished in 5th in the first race, and 1st in the second (and my last) race.
BEST GAME ACHIEVEMENT:
UPDATE - DLC announcement and workshop support!
There is a breakdown of patch 1.23 notes below:
Added Steam Workshop functionality.
A team’s fan base will now increase when that team is performing better than expected.
AI cars that have experienced a part failure mid race will now correctly return to their garage.
Drivers that should perform better when pushing for the lead will now correctly experience a boost.
Fix to unlocalised driver personality traits.
AI cars now make smarter decisions on when to pit to fix a part.
AI cars now scale their pit strategy lap calculations based on the player’s selected race distance length.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/415200/discussions/1/133257324790772468/
On Friday 22nd March a physical edition of Motorsport Manager will launch for PC, Mac and Linux, in a limited number of territories*. The boxed version will include all DLC that has been released to-date, together with the latest piece of DLC being announced today - the all-new GT Series!
The GT Series DLC will be ready to download on Wednesday 22nd February for £5.99/$7.99/€7.99. The GT Series expands the world of Motorsport Manager by adding the thrilling new challenge of managing a closed-wheel racing team. Managers can fight it out in two series, the proving ground that is the GT Challenger Series before stepping up to the prestigious International GT Championship. Both championships will be populated with new teams, drivers and staff.
On Wednesday 22nd February there will also be free DLC that allows players to Create Your Own Team. The player will be able to customise their team colours, name, logo and uniform. The update gives the player greater control by allowing them to create and personalise their very own team, and to be their own chairman. And did we mention it's free?
Players will need to visit the Motorsport Manager Steam Store page to download the new pieces of content. We’ll also be delivering Patch 1.3 that will be automatically downloaded to all players of the game, that will deliver a range of much-requested balancing and stability fixes.
Mark next Wednesday in your calendar. It's a big one.
* Physical edition will be available in the UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Nordics, Australia, Poland, Hungary and Benelux.
