Stunt Car Racer
Elevated track racing with ramps and head-to-head play.
Stunt Car Racer, released as Stunt Track Racer in the US, is a racing video game developed by Geoff Crammond. Versions for multiple platforms were published in 1989 by MicroProse under its MicroStyle and MicroPlay labels. The game received critical acclaim, with the Commodore 64 version's use of 3D vector graphics being met with particular enthusiasm.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Creative Assembly (MS-DOS)
- Publisher
- MicroProse
- Designer
- Geoff Crammond
- Released
- 1989: Amiga, ST, C64, MS-DOS, Spectrum; 1990: CPC
- Genre
- Racing
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Platforms
- Commodore 64
- Amiga
- Amstrad CPC
- Atari ST
- MS-DOS
- ZX Spectrum
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Races take place on an elevated track with no barriers, so driving off the side is possible. Many tracks have gaps that players can fall into, causing the vehicle to be hoisted back by a crane, costing time. Turbo provides a limited speed boost per race. The single-player league has four divisions of three drivers each, totaling twelve racers. Each division contains two tracks, making eight tracks overall. Division four tracks are easiest, with increasing difficulty in higher divisions. The goal is to reach and win division one. A season consists of four races; each driver races the other two on both tracks in their division, over three laps per race. Two points go to the race winner, one to the driver with the fastest lap. At season's end, the top racer in each division is promoted, and the last-place driver is relegated. Car damage occurs from hard landings after crests, wall crashes, falling into gaps, or hitting an opponent. Damage is shown as a crack in the frame at the top of the screen; if it reaches a certain level, the car is wrecked and the race is lost. Hard crashes create holes in the frame above the windshield, which remain for the season and accelerate crack advancement. Players can compete against computer opponents or, on Atari ST and Amiga versions, against another player via two computers connected by a null modem cable. Cross-platform play between an Amiga and an Atari ST is also possible.
Development and release
Geoff Crammond spent three years developing Stunt Car Racer, his second car-based title after Revs. The project began as a land-roving simulator for the Commodore 64 with randomly undulating terrain. After programming the car's suspension physics and testing, Crammond found driving off ramps most enjoyable. He added more ramps on a flat landscape but had difficulty locating them, so he placed them on a track, which he elevated to avoid driving onto the field. Track corners were banked to emphasize speed and the ramps as the main challenge. Though a magazine interview suggested inspiration from the arcade game Hard Drivin', Crammond stated he saw it only in the final months of development and it had no impact. The Amiga and Atari ST versions use polygon plotting instead of solid fill. An Amiga can connect to an Atari ST via RS-232 serial port for cross-platform play, thanks to Crammond's experience with Aviator. MicroProse considered adding up to eight racers and a track editor but ruled against both to avoid gameplay stutters. The ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC ports were by Pete Cooke; the MS-DOS version by Tim Ansell. The Commodore 64 version was later modified for use without a keyboard and released in the Power Play cartridge with Rick Dangerous and MicroProse Soccer. The Amiga and Atari ST versions were programmed by Crammond. A Jaguar port was rumored but never released. A sequel, Stunt Car Racer Pro, was announced in 2003 but never materialized.
Reception
The Commodore 64, Amstrad, Amiga, and Atari ST releases were highly praised by critics. Zzap!64 loved the Commodore 64 version's idea and its 3D vector graphics, with one reviewer calling it the most impressive program ever for that machine. ACE magazine also celebrated those vector graphics and the game's loading speed, saying nothing else on the Commodore 64 matched them. Commodore Computing International highlighted the vector graphics on a system not famous for 3D titles, plus the controls and challenge, and called it a mix of Hard Drivin' and Power Drift with its own twists. Amstrad Action described it as a "truly stunning racing sim" and among the best on the Amstrad CPC. The Games Machine thought the Amstrad port's colors were garish and that tracks blending into the ground and unshaded banked corners made it hard to see the road, but still praised the addictive, thrilling gameplay. Reviews for the Spectrum and DOS versions were mostly positive. Crash liked the graphics and fun but disliked the few tracks. Zero criticized the DOS port's missing track details and limited colors, yet found its speed and gameplay as exciting as the Amiga and ST versions. Joystick praised the animation but called the scenery dull. Your Sinclair's editors picked Stunt Car Racer as the 1989 game of the year. ACE ranked it among the five best racing games ever. Several magazines placed it on their all-time greatest games lists.
More in Racing Games of the 1980s
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