Targa Florio for GPL

March 12, 2010 5:54 PM

After years of meticulous research of historic documents, mapping, modeling, texturing, and trying to convince a video game released in 1998 to do something it was never intended to be capable of, the 72 kilometer, 567-turn Piccolo circuito delle Madonie was released as a community add-on track for Grand Prix Legends last September. The track was home of the Targa Florio from 1932 to 1936 and 1951 to 1977, and is made up of curving, winding mountain roads in the Sicilian countryside, and is beautifully recreated in the game. Best of all, it's absolutely free.
posted by clorox (21 comments total)

Regarding the last link: It's a little unclear, but the 1965 mod update is not optional if you wish to use the 1965 mod.

Also, if you don't want to use the 1965 mod at all, you have to get the 1967 update. Follow the steps in this order: 1-6, install the '67 update, 9, 10.
posted by clorox at 6:06 PM on March 12, 2010

your picture links don't work
posted by irisclara at 6:23 PM on March 12, 2010

Formula 1 Simulator
posted by netbros at 6:30 PM on March 12, 2010 [3 favorites]

Finally, something that makes me want to become a gamer.
posted by alfanut at 6:34 PM on March 12, 2010

irisclara: Thanks for letting me know. Pictures can be found here.
posted by clorox at 6:50 PM on March 12, 2010

Is there a modern analogue to GPL? I mean, it was great it its day, but it's 12 years old now. Still I don't know another game that has anywhere near so many free add-on tracks. I used it to train local tracks for club racing, but it'd be great to have its modern equivalent with modern graphics. And cars. Lots of club racing cars, from Spec Miata to F Production to Formula Ford to Spec Racer Ford. Just shoot me a txt when you're done.
posted by LordSludge at 6:53 PM on March 12, 2010

I don't play the game, but I wish I did. I've loved the Targa Florio since I first saw The Speed Merchants.
posted by asusu at 7:38 PM on March 12, 2010

LordSludge: "Is there a modern analogue to GPL?"

The GNU GPL?
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 8:02 PM on March 12, 2010

Is there a modern analogue to GPL? I mean, it was great it its day, but it's 12 years old now

Yeah, imagine, a legal construct that's over a decade old. Ancient history. I mean, some of us were in elementary school back then!

Clearly, it can't still be relevant to modern times.
posted by Malor at 8:07 PM on March 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the link update. Those are some great pics. I'm not into video games but I love watching old Grand Prix racing. This road track shows why.
posted by irisclara at 9:01 PM on March 12, 2010

Yeah, imagine, a legal construct that's over a decade old. Ancient history. I mean, some of us were in elementary school back then!

Did you not actually read the post or did you forget a hamburger tag?
posted by eyeballkid at 10:00 PM on March 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

I would love to see some driver's view videos of this. Heck, I'd watch a few laps of the whole 72 mile track as ambient video. And I want that simulator. So awesome. I bet that would be fun for flight sims, too.


(Hey, nerds, they're talking about "Grand Pre Legends" not "general public license". The original Gnu GPL is a bit over 20 years old now.)
posted by loquacious at 10:23 PM on March 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

Nice ...very nice.

The Targa is one of my all time favorite races. And I came very close to being hired by Papyrus back in the day to work on the follow on to GPL, but that fell through at the last minute.

I still have a very nice racing controller, but I just got too damn tired of futzing around with computers for an hour before I could run a race.
posted by Relay at 10:44 PM on March 12, 2010

loquacious: Here's an onboard replay of a lap by the current record-holder:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Relay: I had no idea they were going to make a GPL 2! Do you happen to know anything about what was planned?
posted by clorox at 11:42 PM on March 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ugh, not doing well with links today. Part 4
posted by clorox at 11:45 PM on March 12, 2010

The modern equivalent (though gpl is still going strong) is probably Rfactor Which has a ton of user generated tracks and cars with new ones appearing very regularly.
posted by ham at 12:27 AM on March 13, 2010

Also, some of the leads on Grand Prix Legends bought the GPL tech and used it as a base for iracing which is as close to a GPL sequel as we will probably ever get. Though, unfortunately, Iracing is a rather expensive, closed system which can't be modded by the community.
posted by ham at 2:45 AM on March 13, 2010

I propose not turning random old racing games into acronyms when there's going to be a name conflict with something much more popular and well-known.
posted by floam at 5:12 AM on March 13, 2010

I propose we read the links before commenting.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 6:26 AM on March 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Sorry, yeah "GPL" means "Grand Prix Legends" in a racing sim context -- I didn't even think about the GNU confusion. And I've switched over to console gaming anyhow -- less flexible, but sooo much easier to use.

(And sorry for the "GNU" acronym, but anytime I try to write it out, I'm stuck at my keyboard for hours and hours and hours...)
posted by LordSludge at 10:30 AM on March 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Clorox, yeah, there wasn't going to be a GPL 2, but they were going to use the same physics engine for either a CanAm sim or a dirt track sim.

I was pulling for the CanAm version myself, but that all came to naught.
posted by Relay at 2:19 PM on March 13, 2010