F1 24 Preview – How new suspension, tyre models & ERS will overhaul the physics & handling

thesixthaxis.com:

When it launches in just over a month, F1 24 will bring with it a significant overhaul to the series’ physics and handling. Codemasters says that every year, granted, but this year they really mean it with a big year-on-year update that introduces new suspension kinematics, revamps the tyre model, adds rake to the aero model, puts more ERS control in the hands of the player, and more.

When most developers talk about suspension, it’s generally the necessary suspension of disbelief that a gamer needs to really invest themselves in a game’s narrative. For racing games, though, it’s all about the fragile-looking array of rods that connect the main body of a car with the rapidly rotating tyres that are (if everything’s going well) the only things touching the tarmac.

In many racing games, the suspension gets to hide underneath the bodywork of the vehicle, but once you get to an open wheel category like Formula 1, the suspension is there for everyone to see. F1 24 looks to capture all of that much better than the last few games with all-new suspension kinematics.

Senior Creative Directo Lee Mather said, “I always think one of the most obvious [real world example], it’s just a visual that stands out, is a car taking Eau Rouge. As it hits the bottom and the car’s compressed, you’ve got that massive compression and see the sparks, but then as they’re cresting over the top and onto the Kemmel Straight, you can see that significant movement in the suspension as they’re heading up the hill. You’ll often see that on TV in slo-mo, so you can really see there’s more travel than you probably expect there. That’s now something that’s pronounced in the game.”

This will be a complete and more dynamic simulation of an F1 (or F2) car’s suspension than before, capable of calculating dynamic camber and toe while driving, figuring anti-dive and anti-squat into the game’s model, letting heave and roll be handled individually, and using a more realistic centre of mass and inertia through this.