Gaming
The best F1 racing sim is now available for iOS devices – find out how to come out on top.
Nothing gets close to F1 2016 when it comes to replicating wheel-banging F1 action, and now the Codemasters blockbuster is heading to mobile. Launched yesterday, it’s already available to download for iOS devices including the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, and it’ll be hitting the Android Google Play store in the next couple of weeks.
Porting the game from consoles to mobile devices has been no small task, and ditching the controllers and steering wheels for tilt controls or on-screen buttons will also take some adjustment from fans as well.
We’ve been talking to Louis Sisson, a developer at Exient, the studio that makes the mobile version of F1 2016, to get insider tips on how to hit the ground running, perfecting the perfect lap and making sure you finish on the top spot of the podium.
How do you actually control the game – what's the process for steering? How do you brake? Can you change gear manually?
The game features two different modes of control based around which steering input feels most natural to you – tilting the device, or touching the screen and sliding left/right to use a virtual steering wheel. For each of these options, you can then choose whether you want to have control of just the brakes, with the game taking care of the car’s acceleration automatically, which is ideal if you’re a newer player looking for a more casual F1 experience, or also take manual control of the acceleration too if you’re an F1 or racing veteran looking for that extra level of finesse.
Both the accelerator and brake are activated by touching in a designated area on the screen, so you don’t have to worry about finding the exact position of a button in the heat of an intense race! This is designed to complement the steering/braking mode you have active. So, for example, specifically on the Pro Tilt control scheme, the brake is activated by touching anywhere on the left-hand side of the screen, and the accelerator is activated by touching anywhere on the right. The game takes care of the gear changes for you, so you can focus all your attention on getting the perfect racing line and braking for corners at the optimal moment.
What do you find to be the quickest way around a circuit – is it using onscreen buttons, or do tilt controls offer an extra level of refinement that leads to quicker lap times?
It all depends what control scheme feels right to you as a player. During development, we have had very competitive lap times being posted using both the tilt and the touch control schemes, so there isn’t one that offers a particular advantage over another.
Really, the best thing you can do to improve your lap times is to learn the tracks and improve your skills to the point you are comfortable to try out the Pro-level manual acceleration variants of the control schemes. With practice, that extra control over the car’s acceleration will allow you to exit corners a bit faster, and maintain a good speed through the long twisty sections of the track.
What’s the fastest way of getting around corners?
When using the Pro control schemes with manual acceleration enabled, try feathering the throttle by having a few quick taps on the screen instead of simply holding it down. If you stick to the racing line, and employ this technique to avoid using the brake as much, you should be able to carry more speed through the corner to your exit.
If you are using any of the touch control schemes, try to keep your finger in contact with the screen when steering as much as you can – this will help you to maintain a smoother line through the corners.
Do you have any advice for people switching over from consoles – is there anything we need to know that could make us instantly competitive?
If you are an experienced console player looking for the most realistic F1 experience, I would recommend using either the Pro Tilt or Pro Touch control schemes, and setting both the braking and steering assist settings to ‘Low’ or ‘Off’ from the assists tab on the controls screen. This will give you the greatest amount of car control and allow you to utilise your driving skills to their maximum potential.
As the mobile game automatically takes care of things like ABS and Traction Control for you, focus on getting into a good rhythm on track – establish the ideal racing line and find the optimal braking points for each corner to succeed.
Also, be sure check out the Aerodynamics setting on the ‘Car Setup’ tab before the beginning of each event. Carefully adjusting the downforce balance between top speed or cornering speed based on the layout of the track you are playing will ensure you have the best chances of winning.
Finally, for those of you wanting to try your hand at the longer, more lifelike, races, make sure you have a good pit strategy in mind. Skills you learn in the console game, like choosing your starting tyre and carefully judging when to pit based on what’s happening on track, still come into play on the mobile version and can make all the difference in a close race.
There's no real moderation with onscreen buttons, so do you have any breaking tips? How do you stop the car locking up, or do you just hit the button and hope?
In terms of braking, the best thing to do is to make sure you are timing it correctly in line with that the racing line is telling you. Like the console version, this turns red when you should be slowing down – so when you spot it, as the game utilises systems like ABS automatically to help prevent you from locking up the wheels, just hold the brake until the line turns green again and you are ready to start applying the throttle.
What about starts – is there a quick getaway process to avoid clouds of wheelspin?
The game features traction control for such situations in order to minimise wheelspin when you accelerate off the line, so don’t worry about having to feather the throttle here. If you are playing on either of the Pro control schemes, make sure that you have your finger on the accelerator when the lights go out and you’ll be off to a good start. Otherwise if you are playing on the Beginner control schemes which feature automatic acceleration, then the game will take care of it for you. All you need to focus on is setting yourself up to carve a good line through the pack into the first corner.
Do you have any top overtaking tips?
A good strategy is to follow the line of cars in front of you as closely as you can, and when you are close enough to them, carefully time when you want to move to their side and go for the pass. Out-braking opponents going into corners, or out-accelerating them upon corner exits are some of your best opportunities – especially if you know your car has the slight edge in performance.
When DRS is activated, try to tail the car in front closely and hold-off on the overtake until the DRS zone. The extra speed you get when DRS is enabled down the long straights should allow you to get a bit further ahead of your opponent than you normally would, if you were overtaking elsewhere on the track.
Anything else we need to know, for those of us wanting to be the fastest straight out of the box?
Take into account all of these tips, jump into Time Trial, and put them into practice. Here you will have the track to yourself, so you can take as long as you want to refine your skills, and even see how you stack up against other players in the online leaderboards for each track.
The game also features Practice and Qualifying rounds before the main race – if you want to – in a number of modes, including the Season, so make sure you make the most of these to learn the track, compare your performance to the other drivers, and earn yourself a good starting position for the race.
F1 2016 for mobile is available to download for iOS devices now, and will be launching for Android in the next couple of weeks.
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