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- Developer: Playmotorsport
- Publisher: Sega
- Genre: Racing management, strategy sim
- Release Date: 10th November 2016
- Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
- Game Supplied by: Sega
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Strategy games have always peaked my interest, and frankly it’s why I have a PC. Most other games I play on console, but when I heard about a mobile game taking the app stores by storm all about F1 strategy simulation along the lines of Football Manager I was straight on it.
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[su_spoiler title=”About Motorsport Manager” style=”fancy”]
Have you got what it takes to become the manager of a high-performance motorsport team?
Platforms
Motorsport Manager is a highly detailed, best-in-class management game for fans of motorsport. You’ll hire the drivers, build the cars and embed yourself in the dynamic world of motorsport.
Every single detail will need to be considered in order to push your way to the championship title. Split second decisions on the race track combine with carefully laid pre-race plans; everything from building and customising your car to race-day tactics will affect your path to either ultimate victory or epic failure.
Stop watching, start winning and take control as the manager of your own motorsport team.
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[su_spoiler title=”Motorsport Manager Features” style=”fancy”]
KEY FEATURES:
BUILD THE TEAM
–The Drivers. Your drivers have unique personality types, sparking drama within the team. Will you get the best out of them with tough love, or an arm around the shoulder?
–Location, Location, Location. The location of your HQ is all-important in this globe-spanning sport. Some drivers might find it hard to resist joining an Italian team…
–Pick the right people. Scouring the world for hidden gems is all the more satisfying when you find a young mechanic who can shave seconds off your pit stop times.
MASTER THE TECH
–The Factory. Build new cars and parts from scratch, then evolve the technology over multiple seasons to create the perfect driving machine.
–Thinking Ahead. Make the call on every part that goes into next season’s car. Get it right, and you’ll be in the perfect position come pre-season testing.
–Hone your expertise. Make detailed mechanical tweaks or choose your team’s recommendations.
WIN THE RACE
–The Race Weekend. Set initial strategy across practice, qualifying and race – and adjust your tactics according to on-track developments.
–Master the Pitstop. Risk it all with a high speed pit stop that could put you out in front of your rivals.
–Weather Systems. Dynamic and game-changing weather. Will you pit for intermediate tyres or hold out on slicks for as long as possible?
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If all that doesn’t have you clicking the PC download button then read on as initially after watching over 10 hours of other people playing this game on early builds I thought I knew it all and this was going to be a walk in the park making more money than Lewis Hamilton in Call of Duty.
So I chose my team, checked in on my staff, made sure I was happy with them, their relationships with my drivers, and their skill sets given I opted for a mid table team in the upper tier of the championship. (There are 3 tiers)
I checked my drivers and set to work on exploring the huge array of information, options and potential game changing decisions I neede to make.
Below is a breakdown of the screens on offer and the basics of what you can do in Motorsport Manager’s main dashboard:
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[su_spoiler title=”Home tab” style=”fancy”]
Team and driver information and standings. Your Chairman’s happiness, keep an eye on this as you could end up 1 race away from getting the sack. Team stats covering not just the car, but also the Drivers, HQ, Staff and Sponsors. Find out about the next race as well and prepare your teams build accordingly. Where is your driver in the championship standings?
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[su_spoiler title=”Player tab” style=”fancy”]
Change your appearance, again explore your chairman’s happiness with your management his team. Check other available jobs. Check your career history and bask in the glory of your trophy cabinet.
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[su_spoiler title=”Mail Tab” style=”fancy”]
The Unthinkable, read and action your emails.
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[su_spoiler title=”Car Tab” style=”fancy”]
Design new parts, fit parts and select which driver will try out those prototype parts. Ands very importantly improve the reliability and performance of your existing parts.
Change your car livery. Check the car’s stats
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[su_spoiler title=”HQ Tab” style=”fancy”]
See the true size of your empire and build glorious new buildings from Wind Tunnels to Test tracks and even when you’re that good, a Theme Park.
You can also upgrade your buildings.
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[su_spoiler title=”Team Tab” style=”fancy”]
See your whole staff here, check how marketable you have made the brand, Check your team’s overall stats and wealth and find out how you fair against other teams stats.
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[su_spoiler title=”Drivers Tab” style=”fancy”]
Check your drivers details, compare them against existing or new potential new drivers, perhaps even fire them or renew their contract. Better still scout some new talent.
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[su_spoiler title=”Staff Tab” style=”fancy”]
Same as the drivers tab, but with your Lead Designer, and race mechanics
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[su_spoiler title=”Scouting Tab” style=”fancy”]
Search their nationality, age, ability, Current team, series, cost per race, contract break, and when it ends. Run filters or search unemployed staff at a lower cost.
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[su_spoiler title=”Finances Tab” style=”fancy”]
The Chairman likes money, are you making enough? Do you have the budget, where are your costs currently overspent? And prepare for next years car by banking monies after each race to get the best car for next year
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[su_spoiler title=”Sponsors Tab style=”fancy”]
How marketable are you and your drivers, how long do you have with your current sponsors, or how many offers are you getting when you have space on your car? Choose wisely though as up front vs position rewards could be crucial in the long run.
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[su_spoiler title=”Standings Tab” style=”fancy”]
Check the full stats of your team and drivers against the opposition.
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[su_spoiler title=”Calendar Tab” style=”fancy”]
Which race is coming next, what traits does the track have, is the weather good or is heavy rain forecast? It’s not just about the race ahead of you, you have a season to plan.
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So how many of them did you read? If you read them all you will see the wide variety of tasks on hand and planning required to win at Motorsport Manager. Now blind luck may play a part as it did for me in the end a little but also taking things for granted can cause the ultimate humiliation of being fired in the first 10 races, Yeah I was fired can you believe.
I certainly got my act together after this and explored things in more detail and planned further ahead. I even got into the second seasons with my new team, only to realise I made mistakes in the previous season that destroyed my current season. WOW was I unlucky? Or just not paying enough attention to what mattered?
But all this is circumstantial, you may or may not get fired, you may or may not win races, but the goal is to win it all.
Progress through days/weeks after setting everything up and tweaking as the time passes. React to situations, and understand your drivers feedback during practice to set up the car just right.
During race weekends you are responsible for car setup, tyre choice, fuel levels and driving style. Monitor them closely though, don’t do too many laps on 1 tyre or style as you need to gain enough knowledge to achieve levels of understanding to unlock boosts for the race itself.
Races can be sped up to make things go that little bit faster but be sure not to miss an important notice or chance in the race dynamics, the weather could turn at any point and wreck your strategy, you could choose the wrong tyres and be pitting 3 times in 5 laps (honestly never happened to me) Controlling the race in 1st to 39 seconds behind in dead last really changes the future for you if you do it too often.
In essence that is it, a lot to take in and manage but as your knowledge grows and your understanding develops you will finds out what makes your teams tick and the staff perform at their peak.
Make the choice, manage the best in the top tier or manage near the bottom and build a team to challenge the best. Like every management game it is up to you how to play, all I can say is the more things changed for me, the more I enjoyed it and was more determined to succeed. Season after season I felt like I learnt something new and wanted to try it all again but better next year.
Graphically it’s far from great dependant on your PC’s power settings but honestly even with my current inferior GPU, I forgot about how it looked and just got on with managing.
Sounds are okay but as per any game like this you either have it on or off and run your own playlist. Personally I love the sounds as it just adds to the overall aura of the game.
You might have noted that I have not mentioned any licenses or affiliations, in a nutshell there are none, Not the FIA, Formula 1 on major teams like Mclaren Mercedes and no cameo appearances in combat apparel for Lewis Hamilton This is a unlicensed game which has allowed a great deal of flexibility to change the game to the developers liking, like Fuel addition, I love that part as it makes the race more interesting, add fuel and lose 0.3 seconds a lap or keep the fuel low and on the breadline. Sure a few team colours could be described and similar to well known teams but with the simple customisation of the livery this might not be the case.
If you need the FIFA like license, you won’t find it here but then you won’t find anything else this good anywhere!
SUMMARY
There is no doubt that the future potential of this game and areas for expansion and development are massive in future titles. For now it’s a great game, with enough to do to keep many racing fans glued to their screens for many hours to come.
I love the current elements included and have enjoyed my time so far. If it had a bit more depth it would get a 10 but for its first outing I implore you all to become a Motorsport manager.
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