Lombard RAC Rally
Released: 1988
Published by: Mandarin Software / Europress
Developed by: Red Rat Software
Author(s): David Worrall, Christopher Barlow, Bryan King, Barry Armstrong, and Janette Armstrong.
Introduction
Rally games were rare back in the 80s, most likely because driving on rally stages against the clock just wasn't considered as much fun as directly competing with other cars. Lombard RAC Rally was perhaps the first one that took the sport and attempted to make it a proper simulation.
With a point of view behind the wheel, you take part in all stages of the famous Lombard RAC Rally in the UK. With both day and night time stages, vehicle repairs, snow, fog, and the ability to upgrade parts of your rally car, Lombard RAC Rally tried to do it all, and with some success.
The graphics were limited to 16-colour EGA, but with some nice features like the driver's hand moving to change gears and steering the car. Unlike late rally titles, the limitations of sound on PCs in 1988 mean it's PC speaker only, and no speech from your navigator. Instead, he holds a map showing you the route ahead.
Each stage of the rally is broken up into three legs, and each of these is timed individually, plus a total stage time is shown. A stage can take place in forest, mountain or open road. Before you can take part in the full rally, you need to drive at least five legs and win one prize. This then opens up the full end-to-end rally.
Overall, the game presented itself very well. The menus are nicely done with excellent authentic graphics. In-game, its not quite as pretty but remember, this was 1988 when PC gaming on the whole was rather primitive.
Driving itself can get a little boring before long, as there's insufficient variety in the scenery. On the plus side, the system requirements for this game are very low - it will happily run on an XT with Hercules or CGA graphics, though a 286 or 386 with EGA is recommended.
System Requirements
| System Requirements | 8088/8086 CPU, 512 KB RAM Graphics support: Hercules, CGA or EGA Audio support: PC speaker only Peripheral support: Joystick or keyboard. |
|---|---|
| Original Media | Two 5.25" 360 KB (DS/DD) floppy disks, or One 3.5" 720 KB (DS/DD) floppy disk |
| Installed Size (MB) | 542 KB |
From where can it be run?
Lombard RAC Rally can be run from floppy disk. Running RALLY.EXE prompts whether you want to run the game in EGA (press 1) or CGA (press 2) graphics mode. Dpending on your selection, it then runs either RREGA.EXE or RRCGA.EXE.
Copy Protection
The game has no copy protection.
How to Setup
There is no installer for Lombard RAC Rally. Just insert the floppy disk and run RALLY.EXE.
Problems
None have been noted.
Keys
Use the arrow keys and space to change gear, or joystick and the fire button to change gear.
To Quit the Game
From the Course menu, move down to the bottom option, 'Exit To Dos' and hit SPACE.
Supporting Documents
- User Manual (PDF)
Save Games
To save your progress, from the Course menu select 'Save Driver' and hit SPACE. On the right-hand side of the screen move up to the name and enter a unique name for this driver and hit ENTER. Then go down to the 'OK' option and change to 'Yes' using the left and right arrow keys, then hit SPACE to confirm.
Driver save games are stored in a file called <driver>.SAV, e.g. ANDY.SAV. These files are not text-readable or editable.
To load a driver, go to the Course menu and select 'Load Driver'. On the right side all saved drivers in the game's directory will be shown. Select one and hit SPACE. Then go down to the 'OK' option and change to 'Yes' using the left and right arrow keys, then hit SPACE to confirm.
Versions of the game known to exist
| Version | Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 1988 | Initial public release. |
Original Floppy Disk Contents
The floppy disks have no specific volume label. Here are each disk's contents:
Disk 1 of 1 (3.5" 720 KB DS/DD floppy):
Directory of A:\ |
|
Installed Directory Contents
Once installed, the following directory structure exists in the game directory:
Directory of C:\LOMBARD |
Game Review
I remember having this game back in 1990 on my first ever PC - a Hercules green-screen XT with single floppy drive. Rally games have been around since the 8-bit home computers, but Lombard RAC Rally was the first I had seen where the view was from behind the wheel (or more specifically, from the back seat!). It was incredible for the time and a first that depicted a complete stage of the World Rally Championship with the Lombard RAC Rally in the UK.
Lombard North Central had financially backed the event since 1977, alongside the RAC (Royal Automobile Club). With its 425 miles of scenic forest roads, difficult hills and curves, and variable weather, this final stage of the championship held across the UK was the most popular. In the 1988 rally, we saw iconic cars such as the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, Lancia Delta Integrale and Toyota Celica GT-4 test their mettle on the tough courses.
In this game, Mandarin Software did a decent job of capturing the spirit of the rally championship. Not only can you be the driver, you can change some settings of your car in the workshop, and you can earn money by taking part in a TV interview. The various rally stages are available to drive, with road, mountain and forest legs. The view is from just behind the navigator and driver - for the navigator, rather than hearing or seeing voice annotations like 'four right', or 'five left, don't cut', you simply see a map of the route and how far you've got to on a clipboard in the navigator's hands. On the right sits the driver whose hands move with the steering input and he changes gear when you do - a nice touch. The speedometer and rev counter also move according to your speed and engine revs as you would expect. The only other item that changes in the vehicle are the two clocks - the top one provides your total time so far across the whole rally stage, and the lower one on the clipboard gives you the elapsed time for the current leg.
The more cash you earn, the higher up the ranking you get, and you can spend that money to repair your car's bodywork, suspension, engine and tyres, as well as fitting new parts to improve the car.
The outside graphics are somewhat basic, with a graduating road surface to show forward motion and distance, and a graduating sky. In its 16-colour EGA, it looks rather garish but works fairly well. Something that Mandarin did to add to the realism was the inclusion of both day and night driving, and also inclement weather.
The sound in the game is, sadly, PC speaker only. Like other driving games from the year before (Test Drive, Grand Prix Circuit, etc)., there's no provision for the Ad Lib card, which is a real shame. Still, for its time, the beeps and bloops put into the game work well to give you the necessary indication of your current engine revs and when you're off the road or hit something.
The controls are simple - accelerate, brake, steer left and right, and change gears - and they do as you would expect. The game is quite accessible, even for a novice, and you do have the option to practice before going for the best time on a leg.
Overall, Mandarin did a good job of putting as much into the game as they could to represent driving in a rally. You can save and load a driver at a any point between legs so if you do mess up you can reload that driver from the last save you made, and this allows you to progress through the game more easily. It's not overly easy, and upgrading/repairing your vehicle actually becomes necessary as you go along.
Sound: Yeah, not great with PC speaker sound only, and no 3-voice audio for Tandy owners. Given that the Ad Lib card was out by this point, why didn't they program an audio option for it? 3/10
Gameplay: Driving gets a bit monotonous after a short while - there's really not enough difference in the scenery to keep you interested from one leg to another. The driving itself is basic, and since this is the biggest part of the game, it's lacking. The rest of the game adds some decent rally-related content that helps knit the whole game together into something more than just a basic driving sim. 4/10
Lastability: The fact you can save your driver's progress is a nice touch, allowing you to come back for more when you get tired of switching your eyes between the navigator's clipboard and what's going on out the window. Adding goodies to your vehicle with the money you earn also gives this game an edge when it comes to replayability. 6/10
OVERALL: 4/10