rec.autos.simulators

Is it possible that some of the faster drivers (I saw a 193+
qualifying lap at Atlanta last night) have doctored their DRIVERS2.TXT
files?  If someone changes the DRIVERS2.TXT file of their current car
set so they have 999 power, aggression, and traction and 0 drag will
they retain these settings in a Hawaii race.  Or does the system assign
equal power, traction, drag, and aggression ratings to all drivers?

        Similarly are car makes taken into account in Hawaii races?  
Does the system know I'm in a Chevy, he's in a Ford, she's in a
"PantyAck" (Ken Squier) or are we put in a generic make for the
multiplayer races?

        OK, one more... how are the cars represented to each player?  If
I have CARS94 as the car set I see the CARS94 cars in the race.  So when
drivers say "Hey #5, nice race" is it possible that their #5 is actually
in another car on my screen?  I know that the MULTICAR car set is the
official car set to use but I prefer the real representations to the
fantsy cars in the MULTI car set...

Verbosely Yours,

Thanks,

Scott
--
Scott M. Petty

The info in "drivers2.txt" is primarily used for the AI cars.  For the
items which are of relevance for multiplayer driving, we validate the
values to keep the playing field level.   We will try to stay a step ahead
of hackers to assure that everyone has an equal starting point; to some
degree, we have to rely on the integrity of our users, but we're aware that
we will have to try to stay a step ahead of cheaters to keep the service
viable.

I suspect that, at higher experience levels, people will notice pretty
quickly if someone is getting faster lap times than their driving lines
indicate should be possible.  Our users have a pretty good idea of what's
possible to achieve in the simulation, and all the users I know seem to be
seeking fair competition, so this should be one of our best defenses
against cheaters.

You get to select the chassis and tires of your choice - the same ones you
normally get when driving single player (even though you don't get the same
car body you normally get single player).

When you _send_ a chat message, people will see the "#nn" message from you
which corresponds to the car they actually see.  Similarly, if you send a
chat message to "#nn Here is some chat", the message will go to the correct
driver even if that driver is using a different car set and they have a
different car number on their own machine.

HOWEVER - if you type "Hey, #5, great driving", everyone will see "#5" even
though the actual driver may be in a different car.  Thus, you should type
out the name unless you know everyone is using the multicar car set.

Charlie Heath
Papyrus Design Group

: Is it possible that some of the faster drivers (I saw a 193+
: qualifying lap at Atlanta last night) have doctored their DRIVERS2.TXT
: files?  If someone changes the DRIVERS2.TXT file of their current car
: set so they have 999 power, aggression, and traction and 0 drag will
: they retain these settings in a Hawaii race.  Or does the system assign
: equal power, traction, drag, and aggression ratings to all drivers?

I wonder if he warped?

I did a 179 at bristol due to this warp bug. If I were qualifying and I
warped and did a 179mph lap, would I get the pole ;)?

Later,
Ujj
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