How Frontier Developments went from rollercoasters to F1 Manager 2022

With the release of F1 Manager 2022 it marks an important moment in the history of Cambridge-based Frontier Developments – its first motorsport-derived title in 27 years of video game development.

Based within an industrial estate entitled the ‘Science Park’, Frontier is located within an imposing building that features an equally intimidating reception area shrouded in security and NDAs.

This home to smash hits RollerCoaster Tycoon, Elite Dangerous, Planet Zoo and Jurassic World Evolution.

But, on the face of it, these have little to do with the high-speed, high-stakes, world of Formula 1.

“At Frontier, we’ve built a reputation for developing deep management and simulation experiences,” explains Andrew Fletcher, F1 Manger 2022’s Game Director.

“F1 is a sport which thrives on depth and detail, and it offers us a lot of opportunities to visually present that data in a way which both die-hard fans and newcomers to the sport will hopefully enjoy.

“We’ve got several F1 fans throughout the company, including myself and a huge number of the team working on the game, so for us, it’s been a bit of a ‘pinch yourself’ moment.”

The resource management of balancing incomings with outgoings is where the real parallels between Frontiers’ latest effort and back catalogue are most clear. A key component that will ultimately decide your fate, be that in Planet Coaster or F1 Manager, juggling your team’s ability to appease sponsors, pay wages and simultaneously invest in car development is pivotal.

In order to make this balance seem authentic, the creative team first gathered vast swathes of statistics.

“For the driver ratings, we’ve used real-world data from various sessions to inform each of the nine performance values, to ensure we’re replicating the sport closely,” said Fletcher.

“Part of the challenge is in separating the performance of the driver from the performance of the car, which we’ve also considered. So, for example, with the ‘cornering’ performance rating, we looked at historical qualifying laps and specifically the drivers’ performance in the most corner-heavy sectors.

“In addition to other relevant data, such as how often drivers exceeded track limits during flying laps, we used these sector times to understand who can successfully carry more speed through the turns.”

When you first play F1 Manager 2022, it’s the attention to detail that really strikes a chord. Historical stats…