This is a sub-page of Grand Prix Manager 2.
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This needs some investigation.
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A number of leftover files from the first Grand Prix Manager game exist within the files of GPM2.
Graphics#
Top-view car images belonging to fictional teams Cassini and Tsunami (which have new liveries in this game) as well as Simtek, a real team that went bankrupt in the middle of an actual 1995 Formula One season and thus does not appear in GPM2, as it was based on the 1996 season.
A picture of three FIA men in an official FIA panel/meeting, used when the player is caught running illegal parts in GPM1.
Five images used for newspaper headlines in GPM1. The first two are cropped versions of the FIA officials used in the picture above, for two different news items. (The second is used when the team is found guilty of running illegal parts.) The third, as described in NEWSPICS.TXT, is for the "team ecstatic" (world champion/top positions) condition/ending. The fourth is a picture of the team manager with an alcoholic beverage on the manager desk, showing some concern. The last one is the FIA Formula One World Championship logo for the "Welcome to Grand Prix Manager" entry at the beginning of the first season.
Newspaper background used in the end of the season/game.
Wind tunnel station from GPM1, complete with menu bar with the menu text in it.
GPM1 menu bar strip. The old file name, MTCSTRIP.PCX, is used by GPM2's used menu bar strip.
This particular graphic, the in-race menu bar, does not appear on its own; rather it is included in all track PCX files. GPM2's own menu bar (TRAKBASE.PCX) is shown at the top of those. The GPM1 menu bars were included likely because the tracks were tested in GPM1, or for compatibility purposes.
Text Files#
Advice Text#
All text files pertaining to the GPM1's in-game advice is still in GPM2's folder. There are no advice buttons in GPM2, except for one in Sponsor Deals screen.
ACQUIRE.TXT:
Acquiring technology from other teams can be faster
and less costly than developing it yourself. However,
car designs are closely guarded secrets, so first
you'll have to pay someone to get them for you. If you
find out that a rival team does have components you
want, you can either do a deal with that team (buying
the technology or swapping it for some of your own), or
try to acquire the technology, at no cost, by 'stealth'.BANK.TXT:
If your cash is running low, and you are not expecting
any fresh income from sponsorship or prize money,
you should think about asking the bank for a loan.
This should be a short term measure only, because
debt repayment on large sums will probably bankrupt
you. Beware, if you take out a loan on top of an
existing one, the bank will increase the interest on all
the money you owe. CAREXT.TXT:
Car aerodynamics are all about balance. You can either
set the car to run as fast as possible in a straight
line, or go for more downforce, which improves grip
but reduces overall speed. Try to find the right level
of downforce for the circuit you're racing at next. On
'power circuits' like Hockenheim go for straight line
speed, while on winding tracks like Monte Carlo look
for faster cornering. Also check tyre pressure and wing
balance to avoid steering problems.CARINT.TXT:
The ultimate aim of car construction is to make the
car as powerful and reliable as possible. Any
component failure can lose you a race. Keep an eye
on weight - don't fit a 100% capacity fuel tank if you're
planning plenty of pit stops. And always try to set gear
ratios as tight as possible, especially for slower circuits.
Finally, if the next race involves a lot of hard braking,
make sure you bias the brakes to the front of the car.DRAID.TXT:
These advanced electronic systems are costly and
time consuming to develop, but they will give you
an edge over any team which does not have them.
Unfortunately, Driver Aids are also subject to more
FIA rule changes than any other area of Formula
One car construction. It is possible that your massive
investment could result in you having equipment you
cannot legally use. ENGINE.TXT:
The heart of any racing car is its engine. Modern F1
engines are lighter and more fuel-efficient than ever
before, and are capable of generating up to 750 brake
horsepower. Most teams have to buy their engines,
and this can be one of the biggest single costs a team
ever has to meet. The top teams, however, receive
free engines, plus massive technical support from the
supplier, in exchange for advertising. The value of
this kind of support cannot be over-exaggerated.FACILITY.TXT:
Owning customised construction facilities is the
hallmark of a top F1 team. The benefits of facilities
are tremendous. Computer Aided Design (CAD)
systems cut down the time involved in all Design
work, while Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM)
systems save Engineering time. A Carbon-Fibre Unit
enables you to build your own in-house Internal parts;
as does a Manufacturing Unit with in-house External
parts. Using a Testing Rig will improve your car's
overall performance, while building a Wind-Tunnel
will save you having to rent one whenever you
need an indication of how fast your car is. FUEL.TXT:
Your engine requires the correct blend of fuel to
run at its optimum performance. The fuel companies
recommend which engines their fuel should be used
with, and you should try to use the right kind of fuel
for the engines you're running. If you can't manage
this, you should use the highest quality fuel you can
afford. The fuel companies can only support a limited
number of teams each season, so you might not be
able to enter into a contract with your first choice of
supplier.INSURANC.TXT:
The FIA insists that all drivers are covered by third
party insurance, but anything else is up to you. Injury
cover means that if your driver is hospitalised, all his
medical bills and wages will be paid for while he is
recovering. Loss cover means that should your driver
be unable to work for you again, you will receive a
large lump sum to cover his contract. Though motor
racing is now safer than ever before, it is still a
dangerous sport and you should take care to cover
any eventuality.MERCHAN.TXT:
There's no big money to be made from merchandising,
but any cash we do make is at no cost to ourselves.
Also, the more successful our team is, the more money
we can make from such licensing. All the items on the
shelves are goods manufactured by other people, who
want to pay us for the rights to use our team's name.
All the team goods on the right are made and paid for
by ourselves; however, they're good for promoting our
image and help to attract sponsorship.NEWCAR.TXT:
It is vital that you complete the design of your new
car chassis before the end of this season. If you
don't, you'll have to start next year's season using this
year's technology, which means you can expect to
see your cars being out-performed by practically every
other car on the track.RANDD.TXT: (%s are names of currently banned driver aids)
Note: the following Driver Aids are currently illegal:
%s
%s
%sOFERDEAL.TXT:
How well you perform here will decide the future of
your team. Areas marked 'Most Costly' should be
sold for large bids only. Areas marked 'Cheapest'
are worth a lot less and so will attract lowest bids.
The value of all areas will increase or decrease
with your team's performance. So if you think the
team is going to improve, don't sell off all your best
areas too soon for too long. If, on the other hand,
you expect a down-turn in performance, sell off as
much as you can as quickly as you can.SECURITY.TXT:
Ultimately, Formula One racing is a competitive
business. Each team invests millions of dollars in
cutting edge research, and car technology is a closely
guarded secret. It is important, then, that you hire the
best security group you can afford. Low security can
mean information on your car designs, and even on
specific components, being made available to other
teams. Good security contacts will also be able to
help you with any 'enquiries' you yourself may wish
to make about your rivals. SPARES.TXT:
Incredibly powerful engines, state-of-the-art tyres
and carbon fibre components are all key elements in
the construction of a Formula One racing car. But
without the hundreds of standard spare parts needed
to hold these elements together, a racing car
wouldn't move two feet let alone two miles. Basically,
you should buy the best parts you can afford - you
wouldn't want to lose a race because of a badly made,
deformed wing-nut, would you?SPONS.TXT:
A strong commercial department is vital if you
want to survive in Formula One. If you don't find
sponsors, you'll never get the money you need to
compete with the best. Sponsors are interested in
two things: success, and teams who put in a lot of
effort trying to attract the sponsor's attention.
You should also look into merchandising - team
goods, which cost us money but raise our profile, and
money-earning licensing deals.TESTT.TXT:
Testing is expensive but vital if we're going to
become a top team. It helps us set up the car to
achieve the results we want, and to make sure that
the car can go full race distance. We can fine tune
any improvements we've made to the car - if we
don't, new components won't give us their best.
Finally, testing helps me learn circuits, and gives
me and the pit crew a chance to practise!TYRE.TXT:
In setting up a tyre contract, you should be looking
to buy the best quality tyres possible. The tyre
manufacturers are constantly seeking to improve the
quality of their tyres by keeping abreast of
developments in tyre design and composition.
Unfortunately, these modifications are not always
successful, and so tyre quality can vary from year to
year. For this reason you should try not to commit to
a manufacturer for more than one season at a time.Helmet Editor#
HELM.TXT contains strings for helmet editor utility for the first Grand Prix Manager.
// helmet editor text
// driver names - these will have been translated for the game
// in code
Please put the Grand Prix Manager CD in %s and try again.
This program allows you to change the drawings of the driver helmets which appear in Grand Prix Manager.\n\nYou must first use a drawing package, e.g. Microsoft Paint, to create a PCX picture 64x64 in size. You
then use this utility to change the picture normally displayed. If you want to revert back to the original graphics, choose revert from the menu.
First you must load the details of your driver set-up. This information is saved in a Grand Prix Manager configuration file - the one you get with the game is called DEFAULTS.GCF.
Now you should load the PCX file for the replacement helmet.
Exit the Helmet Editor and run Grand Prix Manager to see your new helmet in use.
A problem was encountered while trying to add the new helmet graphic. Please try again.
This will exit the Grand Prix Manager Helmet Editor.
Sorry, could not allocate enough memory to load the requested Grand Prix Manager config file.
Sorry, could not allocate enough memory to load the Grand Prix Manager\ndriver helmets file.
Sorry, could not create a file for the updated driver helmets.\nThe new helmet graphic will not appear in the game.
// dialog box
Grand Prix Manager Driver Helmet Editor.
Drivers
Please select the driver whose helmet you wish to change. Double click on the name or use the OK button to confirm your selection.
&Cancel
&OK
// menu
&Click Here
&Change Helmet
&Revert to old helmets
&About
E&xitDeveloper Memo#
NEWSPICS.TXT contains a developer memo from an unknown developer, directed to Edward Grabowski, about newspaper pictures, again for the first Grand Prix Manager game. Not all of those pictures mentioned here appear in the final version of Grand Prix Manager.
Ed,
Here are the news stories, as of 21/08, and the pictures required. Those
marked with '-' mean "do not have, but could create from existing gfx
easily", a '+' means "got the news paper gfx" and a gap means "no gfx at all"
(?) means not sure if this picture is completely suitable.
News story Picture idea
Welcome to GPM - Main title picture/scene from intro fli
LEAVE
Rule changes - Scruitiners, cropped
PLEASE IMPLEMENT
Driver unhappy + Sad driver (two versions exist, one showing hand over
face, the either with back to camera. Preference?)
IMPLEMENT
Driver on top of world Happy driver
GARY TO DO
Driver 1st win As on top of world (?)
GARY TO DO
Driver 3 wins As 1st win (?)
GARY TO DO
Team head championship Manager with results sheet (think Gary did this)
IMPLEMENT WITH BACKGROUND
Team money troubles Manager behind desk (think Gary did this)
IMPLEMENT WITH BACKGROUND
Driver takes title Happy driver with cup
USE CUP PICTURE
Driver takes 1st title As "takes title"
USE CHAMPAGNE
Team takes title manager with cup (Gary got?)
IMPLEMENT WITH BACKGROUND
Team 1st title as title
Engine man. consider line-up (?)
GARY TO DO
What's happen to team ?
Team surging ahead ?
Team are cheats Manager at desk with inset scruitiners in dream
bubble.
IMPLEMENT
Driver unlucky Sad driver (other version of "driver unhappy)
IMPLEMENT WITH BACKGROUND
Easy win 4 driver happy driver
RE-USE GARY PIC
Driver dominant Duplicate happy driver (?)
RE-USE GARY PIC
Driver 'arrives' Happy again ?
USE CURRENT DRIVER PIC PLUS A BACKDROP
Driver injured Ambulence/stretcher etc
GARY TO DO
Manager succeeds at team+ Manager with money at desk
IMPLEMENT WITH BACKGROUND
Team sacks manager Manager distraut at desk (Gary?)
IMPLEMENT WITH BACKGROUND
Team: no money Manager with lose bank notes (Gary?)
IMPLEMENT WITH BACKGROUND
Manager retires Country house, manager with pipe & slippers
USE PHOTO-CD
Team ecstatic Club scene #1 \
GARY TO DO
Team statisifed Club scene #2 |- Gary done ?
GARY TO DO
Team despondent Club scene #3 /
GARY TO DO