We love racing games here, it's kind of in the name really.
However, when we first started on the road to sim-racing way back when, we didn't have the foggiest when it came to building a setup.
This may be why we're starting our setups 101 series. However, we think games and sims should do more to help the humble newcomer!
Make games accessible
Games should have a learning curve and skill gap of course, but they shouldn't require an engineering degree to understand what is going on.
We remember first starting out and being somewhat useless at adjusting camber and we certainly didn't know what a brake bias did.
However, the important part was our passion for motorsport and want to learn about all of these features. In fact, that's probably why we didn't quit the games and sims we played as soon as we started!
More than tips and tricks
More than anything, we think it would be important for this engineering jargon to be made new-user friendly. Just by using more conventional language!
Many sims already have a small description of what a particular element of a setup does.
However, for many new players this wall of text can seem off-putting and achieve the opposite of its intended purpose. We want to see a new feature which instead encourages players to want to learn.
Get watching
In our opinion, the best way to do this would be through a built-in video, akin to a tutorial.
Many players don't want to have to run straight to YouTube to build a good setup for their car. And even then, many setups are built around driveability, which applies directly to what a player is playing the game with.
Instead, this video tutorial could visually walk players through their setup, with a short breakdown of how this affects the car on track.
The visual element is one of the most important potential factors, as players would be able to see how their car could change.
Setups are fickle things, so the more players are able to learn about them, the better online racing experience had by all!