Racer, fully named ''Racer Free Car Simulation,'' is a

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...

and source available

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

simulator A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or process, whereas the s ...

that runs on

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

, and

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...

. Although ''Racer'' started out as a driving simulator, it also has features that are usually seen in racing games, such as racing against AI cars, or against human opponents in

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

mode. Its weak points, when compared with commercial racing games, is the absence of wear/damage physics or a career mode.

History

''Racer'' was first released on 29 August 2000. Over the years, a community has grown around ''Racer.'' The software itself is maintained exclusively by creator Ruud van Gaal. An important characteristic of Racer is its openness; The formats for cars, tracks and other data are documented. Furthermore, tools to aid in car and track creation are part of the release. As a result, a large number of cars has been created and published, in a large variety:

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, GT, vintage, trucks, daily drivers, luxury sedans...even a shopping trolley has been modeled. Likewise, tracks are available in various types, from true racing circuits to drag strips, mountain roads, and even a car park.

Licensing

The ''Racer'' software is free, in the sense of

for non-commercial users. While the

source code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...

of an older version (0.5) was made available under

GPL The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general u ...

, later versions are not under an

open-source license An open-source license is a type of license for computer software and other products that allows the source code, blueprint or design to be used, modified and/or shared under defined terms and conditions. This allows end users and commercial compa ...

. The cars and tracks have various forms of license, but can all be downloaded for free. Whilst one of the strengths of ''Racer'' is its open file format, perhaps one of its weaknesses is its closed-source stance and development team. The ''Racer'' community contributes to testing and suggesting features that should be added, but the development side of ''Racer'' is very much based on the amount of time the developers have to contribute towards it. This translates to infrequent updates of varying quality, but updates are often very

feature-rich In software, the term feature has several definitions. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers defines the term ''feature'' in IEEE 829 as " distinguishing characteristic of a software item (e.g., performance, portability, or functio ...

and inspire a new burst of energy into the development and modification of cars and tracks.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official Site

Official Forum

Add-on Cars and Tracks for Racer - site #1

Add-on Cars and Tracks for Racer - site #2

Official Romania forum of Racer with Add-on - site #3

- Forum racerowcy, forum, dodatki do racer, modele 3d !

Official Spanish forum with news of Racer, with English support too
2012 video games Racing simulators MacOS games Linux games Windows games Freeware games Open-source video games Racing video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Formerly free software Video games developed in the Netherlands Video games with available source code

History

Licensing

See also

References

External links