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1999 or 2001 Racers?


le717
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Sometimes, you’ll hear people speak of a 1999 or 2001 release of LEGO Racers. This might confuse you, for you have never heard of two different releases.
 

“What are the differences, if any? And which one do I have?â€

 
There are differences in the two releases, and while they are very subtle, one of them can make a big difference if you plan on modding LEGO Racers.
So, what are those differences?

  • 2001: Removal of copy protection
  • 2001 Removal of trophies on licenses
  • 2001: Tighter racing physics (you don’t turn as smoothly, bumping into other racers has a larger effect…)
  • 2001: Removal of development code to play without a compressed LEGO.JAM

It is the last change that makes a 1999 release more valuable to modders, and normal players may want a 1999 release too, if for nothing else but the better physics (even if “you have to put the CD in your computerâ€).
 
So, how can you tell which release you have? This small checklist should do it.

  • Does you game disc look exactly like this?

    disc_image.jpg

  • Is there a file called LEGORacers.icd living beside LEGORacers.exe, like this?

    racers-icd.png

  • Does your Racer’s license have trophies on it, kinda like this?

    truck_driver_9.png

If you answered “Yes†to all of these questions, they congratulations! You have a 1999 release of LEGO Racers! In fact, the disc image is the only confirmed 1999 release. If your disc does not look exactly like that, then you have a 2001 release. There are a few releases that look very similar to the 1999 release, but they are not a 1999 release. ;) Some examples of a 2001 disc would be:

 

  • lr_2001_silver_disc.jpg
  • LR1_Green_Disc.jpg

 

“I don’t have a 1999 release! Do you know where I can get one?â€

 

Easy-ish. The only way to get a 1999 release is to check eBay, Bricklink, and Amazon for listings, but even then, you may have issues. You’ll have to check the seller-supplied images or contact the seller and ask if the disc looks like the image above, or if the game ever came in a big box (only the 1999 release came in a box; the 2001 was jewel-case only). In addition, once the 2001 version came out, all subsequent re-releases have been 2001, which greatly dilutes the pool of 1999 copies. However, if you look carefully, you can find a 1999 release of LEGO Racers, and can finally enjoy the game as it was originally released! :D

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Brickulator

If you answered “Yes†to any of these questions, they congratulations! You have a 1999 release of LEGO Racers! In fact, the disc image is the only confirmed 1999 release. If your disc does not look like that, then you have a 2001 release.

It might help to include images of 2001 discs, my 2001 copy is very similar to that 1999 image, apart from the logos. That could easily confuse people if they think they have the disc you showed but don't have trophies or anything.
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RobExplorien

2001: Tighter racing physics (you don’t turn as smoothly, bumping into other racers has a larger effect…)

On what kind of tests or sources is this based on if I may ask?

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Mr. Eight-Three-One

Jamesster said he once warped in both versions, in the same spot each time, but landed in a different place both times. I just gave it a try using the demo version, and I can confirm it -- though it seems like the difference here is that you slow down a whole lot more when you bump into things in the 2001 version. The difference is really negligible to me, but if some people like it...

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Brickulator

It might help to include images of 2001 discs, my 2001 copy is very similar to that 1999 image, apart from the logos. That could easily confuse people if they think they have the disc you showed but don't have trophies or anything.

Adding to this, Brickipedia actually lists the 2001 disc I have as the "original release disc". So it might be best to just forget the "if your disc looks like this it's 1999" thing D:
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Adding to this, Brickipedia actually lists the 2001 disc I have as the "original release disc". So it might be best to just forget the "if your disc looks like this it's 1999" thing D:

RRU is far more in-depth than Brickipedia. The positioning of the graphics are different on the discs. Perhaps you could try and round up pictures of the different types of discs.
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lol username

Adding to this, Brickipedia actually lists the 2001 disc I have as the "original release disc". So it might be best to just forget the "if your disc looks like this it's 1999" thing D:

Brickipedia is amazingly unreliable, you could create a whole wiki about the incredibly blatant errors it's produced... I won't derail this topic with stories about the horrors I've seen there, but it's anything but a trustworthy site.
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Brickulator

I'm not doubting Brickipedia's unreliability, I've spent plenty of time complaining about it myself. What I'm saying it that the innacurate Brickipedia article combined with this...

  • Does you game disc look like this?

    disc_image.jpg

If you answered “Yes†to any of these questions, they congratulations! You have a 1999 release of LEGO Racers! In fact, the disc image is the only confirmed 1999 release. If your disc does not look like that, then you have a 2001 release.

...is only going to confuse people. IMO, it should either be made explicit that a 1999 CD will be identical to that image, rather than just "look like this", or "If you answered “Yes†to any of these questions" should be changed to "If you answered “Yes†to all of these questions".
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Adding to this, Brickipedia actually lists the 2001 disc I have as the "original release disc". So it might be best to just forget the "if your disc looks like this it's 1999" thing D:

Brickipedia is amazingly unreliable, you could create a whole wiki about the incredibly blatant errors it's produced... I won't derail this topic with stories about the horrors I've seen there, but it's anything but a trustworthy site."Scooter is the only character with the Octan logo on his torso."

That was my first clue that it was unreliable. I mean, did whoever wrote that even PLAY the game?

I mean, it's corrected and moved to Turbo Charger now, but DAMN!

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It might help to include images of 2001 discs, my 2001 copy is very similar to that 1999 image, apart from the logos. That could easily confuse people if they think they have the disc you showed but don't have trophies or anything.

Adding to this, Brickipedia actually lists the 2001 disc I have as the "original release disc". So it might be best to just forget the "if your disc looks like this it's 1999" thing D:

...is only going to confuse people. IMO, it should either be made explicit that a 1999 CD will be identical to that image, rather than just "look like this", or "If you answered “Yes†to any of these questions" should be changed to "If you answered “Yes†to all of these questions".

Tutorial updated to reflect this error, and added some 2001 disc images (more to come). I've used your disc image, hope you don't mind. :)

As for Brickipedia saying you have a 1999 release, not anymore! :P While that place is as inaccurate as everyone says, I was the one who added many of those images in the gallery. The 1999 release was just being fully discovered, and since it was a green disc, I thought it was a 1999 release. I've gone and fixed that already.

I'll get onto the other errors later. ;)

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