rec.autos.simulators

Given my abysmal current rank (259.740), it's obviously time I learned all
tracks instead of habitually selecting Monza when I'm feeling racey
(oo-er!).

So, out of interest, in what order did my fellow r.a.s.ers learn the tracks?
It's probably fair to assume that most of us already 'knew' the 'Glen,
although personally I had little patience when I got the demo (was regularly
GP2ing at the time) and therefore still need to practice my braking points.

I'd be interested to know who left the 'Ring 'til last (most of us?!).  My
learning curve has basically gone:

Watkins Glen
Monza (for a bit)
the 'Ring (for a bit, then bottled it)
Silverstone (being a Brit, I guess)
Monaco (soon realising I've always been ***at Monaco, form F1GP onwards,
even though I love the place and even dragged my wife there on our honeymoon
;-))
back to Monza (where I've been too long)
Now trying Rouen (and yes, I AM currently scared of T1 and Nouveau Monde)

I had to post times at Kyalami, Mexico, Mosport and Zandvoort to record a
GPLRank, hence them being dreadful.  Wonder why I've left these tracks 'til
last?

Please note by 'learn' I don't mean 'conquer', as all my times other than
Monza will testify!

On a completely different note: I just wanted to say that it's a beautiful
day, it's was my birthday yesterday (s***t! 32!!), and I've finally got
'round to downloading Papy's D3D patch; it's amazing what it's done for my
Celeron 433, Voodoo 3 2000 setup.  I'm <sniff> SO happy!!

Jonesy

Remove "ANTISPAM" when replying.

GPLRank-(cough) 259.740

Thanks,
Alex

Jesse Black

--

"Sideways, Slideways, and Every Other Ways"

Monza
Silverstone
Watkins Glen
Spa
Rouen
Kyalami
Zandvoort
Mexico
Mosport
Monaco
Nurburgring

The D3D patch incorporated a Z-buffer that for *some* setups appears
to be faster than Glide.

In my case (full 3D wheels, V5 2xFSAA 1024x768, conservative detail
slider) the D3D was a measurably better, and let me use high-res
dashes that hadn't been released in split format.

Don't know who clued me in originally, but the 3do hack to the wheels
that reduces detail closer in the view also makes a huge difference.

HTH,
Kendt

I took the following route to the tracks:
Monza - til I got comfortable with sliding the car about, recovering
from getting the car *way* wrong, etc.
Watkins Glen
The Ring! - Not even close to knowing this track, but I couldn't
resist giving it some time.
Rouen - Lots of off-line racing here, I really like this track - T1 I
just lift right before turn in - it's a blast!
Spa - My favorite from way back in GP1-2 days (albeit in dif config)
Ran through all the other tracks to get GPLRank times, and discovered:
Kyalami - hated this track at first - it felt too slippery, but I
really enjoy the rythm I get into when I'm "on" at this track.

Right now I'm readjusting to GPL with the GPLShift patch and my
ActLabs.  It disables the "auto-blip" of the throttle on downshifts,
and unless you get the revs matched (or mash the clutch (button) in
panic) the back end of the car can get *very* squirrelly.

Right now I drive the Ferrari (love the sound!) with Allison Hine's
setups.  Started in the Cooper though.

1 month until ISDN :)!!!!  I've got a machine all ready for a race
server.  Anyone interested in an "Also Rans" league?

Kendt

I drove the tracks in roughly the following order:

Glen, still my favorite track.
Spa, great, but starting to get slightly boring.
Mosport and Kyalami nearly made me cry they were so frustrating. Kyalami's
like an ice skating rink. Mosport's turns are just plain ridiculous. Love
them both now.
Monza has never done much for me.
The Ring. On and off. Almost below 9:00 now. Only drive it on the weekends,
when I have plenty of time.
Zandvoort.
Rouen and Silverstone.
Mexico gets a bad rap. But I confess I'm starting to love it. I raced 19 AI
cars in the Eagle last night and had a blast.
Still can't drive Monaco.

--Jeff

<snip>
<snip>

You *what*???

--
David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.92; Monsters of GPLRank h/cap +282.87)
The GPL Scrapyard: http://scrapyard.9ug.com
"After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll,
really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

<snip>
<snip>

1) Monza - but I'm becalmed in the mid-28s now, and can't see a way of
really improving without radically altering my driving style. And,
let's face it, Monza is only there as a slipstreamer blast...

2) Spa - was my favourite track from the start, and still is. You
never, ever get tired of it, and it's one of the few tracks that is fun
to hotlap *and* gives good racing.

3) Silverstone - for a while I was really quite good at this (if you
call mid-to-high-1:28s good), but I've neglected it a bit recently in
favour of Rouen.

4) The Glen - probably has less of an emotional hold over me than it
does the Americans here, but it's still fun, and all the more so since
I changed from Lotus to Ferrari here.

5) The Ring - "learnt" may be the wrong word, but this is about where I
first got round in one piece. Had to do almost two laps, too - no
Ringtrainer in those days! I'm now *fairly* confident of getting round
in under 9 mins in any car, though with the BRM it's pushing it.

6) Kyalami - I tend to improve in fits and starts here - plucking up
the courage to go just that little bit faster at one corner, getting
round OK, trying it again, crashing...

7) Mexico - I can't do it fast to save my life (my PB is still in the
1:51s), but at least I can do it without barrel-rolling now.

8) Mosport - It's fun, but ***y hard to get right. I end up on the
grass here more than anywhere else.

9) Rouen - yes, this late. I hated the hairpin so much I hardly drove
it at all for ages. What a mistake! I've gone back to it now, and I
*love* it - I'm still not very fast (1:59), but sliding the Ferrari
around is huge-grin time!

10) Zandvoort - yuk. One tiny mistake and you're on top of a sand dune.
And it's too narrow to overtake safely. I can't see why people rave
about it - to me it's like Monaco without the walls.

11) Monaco. Still can't do it in under 1:30. 'Nuff said?

--
David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.92; Monsters of GPLRank h/cap +282.87)
The GPL Scrapyard: http://www.racesimcentral.net/
"After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll,
really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

I tried the Glen and Monza as demos, but after buying the game I went
straight to the Nurburgring and stayed there, it was weeks before I
checked out the other tracks and I don't remember the order, it was
all about the Ring for me.

Don Scurlock
Vancouver,B.C.

GPLRank -12.23
MonsterRank 116.92

Come see how you rank, at the GPLRank site
http://gplrank.ringlord.com/

--Jeff

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +25.37...F2 +151.26...

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

<snip>
<snip>

Oh well - to each their own, I s'pose. Spa has been my top track from
the start, and has never lost this position.

--
David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.92; Monsters of GPLRank h/cap +282.87)
The GPL Scrapyard: http://scrapyard.9ug.com
"After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll,
really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.