GRAND PRIX MANAGER - Stephen Fowlston/LAPD œ4.00
                       (F1 sim for ST)

               Reviewed by Piotr Tyminski

Again we've got something for management sims freaks and something
different this time, i.e.  we're not going football crazy again.

It's all about Formula I racing madness and it's probably the very
first time when the programmer doesn't put you straight into the
cockpit; in fact there's no way to get into the cockpit at all. This
time you have a chance to play big bosses of Formula I, those
shadowy creatures who make the whole thing go around.

The game was written in STOS by Stephen Fowlston and can be obtained
exclusively from L.A.P.D.  (you guessed, it's licenceware) at œ4.00
for two-disk set.  One of the disks contains the main program plus
other files, while the other is a customization program allowing you
to change the names of drivers, teams, etc., so you may end up in a
completely new Formula I environment, i.e. with all your best
friends listed as drivers in your team named "I LOVE AUSTRALIAN
BEER" or whatever.  The whole thing is mouse (drop down menus) plus
keyboard (inputs for selecting cars, etc.) operated and damn easy to
get used to.

Now, in case you expect some mind blowing graphics just don't waste
your time and stop reading this, since it's not MicroProse's
"Formula I Grand Prix" type stuff and the only thing you actually
get in this respect is some basic overhead view graphics for pit
stops and the race itself (in fact you do not even see the race as
it is, only the hottest moments, i.e. when your driver takes, or
loses, the lead, when your tyres got awfully worn out, etc).  But
it's all about management, so forget the graphics.

You start with selecting your team and there are 15 to choose from
including giants like McLaren, Williams or Lotus but crap ones
(er...  I mean less famous) are provided, too, in case you would
fancy bringing them to the top of the league.  In case you go for a
not-so-extremely-known team you get some more cash to start with
(usually œ 100,000 - 200,000 more) but everybody else starts with a
standard œ 1,000,000 wallet.  Then it's up to you to employ bunch of
experts for engine, aerodynamics, chassis, electronics and
transmission; they'll all come handy later on when new spare parts
will have to be developed/worked on.  There's also one pretty
important guy called Head Mechanic and he's responsible for smooth
pit stops - quite a vital thing for Formula I kind of things.  All
of them have to be paid and the more you pay the better specialist
you get, quite obvious, eh?  Finally you will need some drivers and
there are 40 of them begging you for employment (OK, it's not
exactly so, Senna would not beg you for that) - watch out for their
skills, temper (determines how hard on their tyres they are),
rating, age and, yes, the horrible wage. It may seem easy to employ
top guns right at the beginning (it's because you are able to afford
most of the luxuries at the start) but think twice before you do, as
they are equally fast in swallowing your money as they are on the
track.

Now you're theoretically fully equipped for the season but before
you rush to the first race there are a couple of things worth
checking out. You can check on car's status to see how your engine,
chassis, etc. is rated and through "teams/cars data" option you can
compare them to the competition.  If there's anything you don't like
you may put your experts to work straight away on new parts (this
takes time).  Research menu gives you options for developing/buying
lots of different parts; they usually come from couple of
manufacturers and in three versions with different rating and cost
so there's enough to choose from.  Once you get the part developed
you may test them (yes, thanks to "test new parts" option) in order
to push their performance beyond the limits.  If you're impatient
the handy option of "progress" lets you check when replacement parts
should be ready.

You can then check the data for the specific track in case you would
like to develop some smart strategy for making pit stops, etc.,
since this option gives you an idea about how long the race should
take and how many tyre sets would be needed. You can even test your
cars on particular tracks (this costs you money) to improve their
performance in certain areas.  This is quite handy as your drivers
can become familiar with various tracks before they start a real

race.  You should also remember that different tracks put different
pressure on different parts (nicely said).

And finally you are into the race.  Depending on how your drivers
performed in qualifying rounds they are assigned their positions for
the start and off they go!

Now, in case your drivers do not break their exhausts, damage their
chassis, blow up the engines, lose wheels, etc. they have a chance
to finish the race.  All the time you are presented with some
information which is constantly updated and deal with pit stops
(i.e.  who's making them), accidents, top lap time, time differences
between different cars and more.  If you think your driver is just
about to crash because of worn out tyres you can order a pit stop
with a single keypress.

And that's how it works through the whole season.  You win some
prize money and get sponsorship, too, but it all depends on your
performance.  In case you get really desperate you can even bet some
cash on top six finishing cars.  (tip here - invest only in one of
your drivers, the other one will surely become the no.  1 crap
driver in the world after some time with no spare parts, poor
engine, etc.  then the odds for betting will be tremendous and in
case you give him a decent machine to drive in he can even win the
race at the most unexpected moment - this can win you some cash so
feel free to bet on your bad drivers, really). New spare parts can
be developed at any time and can be freely swapped between your
cars.  Handy option of "finances/expenditures" gives you a chance to
see how far from total bankruptcy you are so watch out, as you may
be fired after just one season with a debt of two million pounds or
so.

Generally, this game would rather appeal to hard core management
sims fans.  Lots of data, figures, etc.  as well as original concept
make "Grand Prix Manager" a solid product.  You should be aware
though, that this game will not drive you crazy neither it will make
you sweat like some football management sims (those good ones) do.
It seems the main point of the whole thing is to survive financially
more than one season.  It is quite difficult and before you work out
a good way to do that there's enough fiddling with all those
numbers, etc. to keep you busy for some time.  But then I'm afraid
the game is losing its long term appeal once you work out how to win
races and earn cash.  This comes a bit too quickly so maybe the
author should think about incorporating some new features which
would make the game more challenging.

Anyway, at a budget price one shouldn't complain so much, so if
you're on a tight budget (and are into this kind of games) order it
now from L.A.P.D. You may get quite a nice surprise.