rec.autos.simulators

Why NASCAR2 needs alot of work...

1>  Unless you have a "Rendition"  video card you can't play in hi res
mode which leaves you with 2D graphics.  Tech support, as rude as they
were, confirmed this.   I've got a Stealth 3D 2000XL w/ 4MB EDO ram
and I get pretty much the same graphics as a 1MB trident.

2>  The sound quality just plain sucks.  I've got a pentium pro 166,
32MB ram,  a sounblaster awe32-pnp, and TWO sets of Altec Lansing
ACS500 speaker systems - when I play the original NASCAR the room
literally shakes.  When I play NASCAR2 with the proper and same sound
setup all I get is FM quality sound (rather than the engines rumbling
they buzz)  Tech support says it's not coming out with anything to
correct this and its just the difference between the two games.  Even
if I had a rendition card to get the full 3D graphics the sound
quality is so poor I just can't justify the $50!

Basically they rushed to get this game out before Christmas and
neglecting many refinements and failing miserably!!!

I find the sounds to be more realistic than before.  They may not
be 512 bit stereo with 900 watts, but I can live with that.

The graphics are much better than before and the game has MANY new
features that make me overlook the small stuff.  Papyrus track
records show, they included/fixed a lot of stuff with N1, so why
expect the same with N2?  They don't exclude things to***people
off, they doit for apparently good reasons.  (sorry if you disagree)

good work on this one Papyrus!  By the way..it's $39.00 not $50. :)

--
Lannie Schafroth

        Well, I've got a set of Altec Lansing ACS-300's and I agree the sound
in Nascar 1 will shake the house.  All I do is just adjust the volume
knob.  I know it doens't vibrate my desk anymore but the spotter makes
up for it.  Besides, the spotter would be pretty tuff to understand
with all that rumbling.
        Now, if you've got the money for a P166, 32 MEG, an AWE-32 and TWO
sets of ACS-500's, then just get a real team going! ;)

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2>  The sound quality just plain sucks.  I've got a pentium pro 166,

Actually, you're wrong.  There is no FM sound in NASCAR 2.  The engine
sample is different.  So is the skidding sound.  They are still digital
sounds though.

Adam
Papyrus

zig

What I'm saying is the sound that N2 produces is definitely more
compareable to FM sound rather than digital.  I understand that it's
digital but it might as well be FM.  Basically the digital sound that
N2 produces is FM QUALITY!!  

zig

The Rendition cards use few features to improve the quality of graphics
in a game (not all of these are used in N2):

Bi-linear filtering: provides smoothing of textures by eliminating
pixelization
Sub-pixel correction: aligns texture maps correctly on polygons
Alpha blending: translucency and transparency effects (atmospheric
effects like smoke and fog)
Anti-Aliasing: smooth lines and polygon edges (remove stair-step edges)
Perspective Correction: Reduces polygon counts and texture warping
MIP mapping: multiple levels of texture details for different distances
Gouraud shading: Smooth interpolation of colors across a polygon

How any times does someone have to say this, Nascar2 is a 3D game no
matter what type of video card you use.  It uses polygon based graphics
which are 3D dimensional, although there also are some 2D bitmaps in
the game (like the pit crew).  None of the features of a 3D accelerator
can change the inherent graphics model of the game.

--

Emory University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
The IWCCCARS Project: Q & A Representative
Nascar Setups Page: http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~ebusch/

David Martin

The game is always in 3D mode (it's a polygon based game) regardless of
which exe you run or video card you have.  The Rendition 3D cards just
add some enhanced graphical features like bi-linear filtering.  The
people in the pits are always 2D bitmaps, having a 3D card does not
change the graphics model.

--

Emory University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
The IWCCCARS Project: Q & A Representative
Nascar Setups Page: http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~ebusch/

NASCAR2 is a 3D game (like Quake, Doom, VF, etc.) Your monitor is 2D, so
we project the 3D world onto your 2D screen and voila, you've got a
game.
This doesn't meant the game is 2D...
The only "2D Graphics" in the game are the interface screens, the
***pit
overlay, the fonts, etc. The rest is all 3D... What's the problem?

---Jim Sokoloff, Papyrus

---Jim Sokoloff, Papyrus

The digital sound is nothing like FM QUALITY. it has got to be a problem
with your card, like what somebody suggested, and thats the sound is
playing in fast foward. There Is NO FM sound, and it doesnt sound like it
either.  Have you tried manually configuring your soundcard in setup, or
even tried other cards? Try it, it could work.

The problem is that when I play N1 I get much better 3D graphics than
N2.  I would think that the 3D graphics should be at least as good as
N1 and not much worse which is the case.  OK so the graphics are 3D -
but the main thing is what you see on your  screen, and what I see is
poor 3D graphics which may as well be 2D.  Kinda like the horrible
digital sound of the engine which may as well be FM since thats the
quality sound it produces.

zig