head(I don't know if they really had them in the REAL Life GPL, but
its in the game if you look).
Tom Wardell
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
>I'm still having a lot of fun with the demo and spend more time with
>it than is good for me. Also, I still can't drive the car. But I'm
>getting better. Now, I have learned how to burn the car, at least. ;)
>Here is something nice I noticed in the meantime: the demo has an
>almost Linux-like approach to transparency regarding settings. Not
>only are many configuration files in plain ASCII, they are also
>commented in detail. You don't need a Hex editor to change some
>parameters, you don't even have to figure out what a cryptic setting
>(a la "blap") means! The settings have self-explanatory names and
>tagged-on descriptions. I expect a lot of fun stuff 3rd party
>enhancements coming soon. Thanks for taking this path, Papyrus!
>I know the demo is announced as pre-alpha (I only wish the "gold"
>versions of other games were as finished as this demo), but I have
>reason to believe that the folks at Papy want our feedback. Allow me
>to list a few things that aren't perfect with the demo:
>- Installation:
>The program installed just fine and worked instantly for me. The unzip
>and installation routine, however, left a lot of unnecessary files (37
>MB) lying around in my C:\windows\temp directory, wasting space on the
>harddisk.
>Furthermore, I'm a bit ***about the structure of my subdirectories.
>I have different hierarchies for games and application programs, and
>would have loved the demo to reside in c:\games\autosim\gpl. The GPL
>demo wants to insert "sierra" in the path. It would be nice if the
>installation program of the final version allowed to precisely specify
>a destination directory.
>- Graphics:
>Mike Lescault warned that the unaccelerated graphics aren't optimized
>yet. I see a strange flicker once or twice per lap (no, I don't mean
>when I'm somersaulting in a burning car, but during normal operations
>;) There's another graphics glitch which is a bit distracting in the
>replays. In TV camera view, the car changes its shape when coming
>closer. This sounds funny and looks funny, especially since one of the
>shapes seems to hover a few inches above the ground.
>The tires sometimes vanish in the guard rails. During replays using
>the rollbar camera (what roll bar, BTW?), the driver's arms don't
>change gears.
>- misc:
>Whenever I change graphics settings during a lap (i.e. go to replay,
>change settings, go back on track), the program records a lap time of
>1:36. I was puzzled at first when I couldn't remember driving that
>fast in the G3 car...
>O.k., now for a short wish list:
>- There is a problem with assigning functions to keyboard keys and
>non-English keyboards. 'Z' and 'X' are perfect for head panning on a
>US keyboard, but on the German layout, the 'Z' and 'Y' keys are
>exchanged. Not very ergonomical, I have to say. The problem becomes
>even worse when you use ';' as a key, for instance, since ';' is
>SHIFT+another key on some non-English keyboards. With a DOS game, one
>could simply leave out the german keyboard driver on the start disk,
>but with Win95 this can be troublesome. Maybe there is a way to read
>the keyboard directly instead of using the language specific Win95
>driver? I'm sure this problem occurs with other foreing language
>keyboards too. If one could freely assign game functions to keys, it
>would be less of a problem, but some keys are reserved for the
>multiplayer interface.
>- Thrustmaster, I want a clutch pedal for my T2. :) I found myself
>pushing the brake when changing gears. It took a while until I
>understood that I was unconsciously looking for a clutch. Blame this
>on the realism of the sim: if I have to ease off the throttle to
>change gears (just like in real life), my reflexes expect having to
>use the clutch too. BTW, did the real drivers back then use the clutch
>to change gears?
>- It would be nice to have a key that brings the gear lever into
>neutral instantly. And one for reverse. It makes no sense having to
>shift back through the gears all the time to finally reach reverse on
>an H-type gearbox. And don't you dare asking why I need the reverse
>gear so often. ;)
>- Likewise, it would be nice if the little guy in the car choose
>neutral by himself when the car has stopped for more than one or two
>seconds.
>- Another wish that could bring me into trouble, but could we have a
>top-ten list of best laps in the different categories. [I can hear the
>mob now: "Burn the arcadish heretic!" :) ]
>That's all I can think of right now. Please, RAS folks, don't crucify
>me for pointing out that some minor details of the demo or program
>could be improved! It *is* pre-alpha, that's why I'm offering
>constructive criticism.
>--
>Wolfgang Preiss \ E-mail copies of replies to this posting are welcome.
>Uni des Saarlands \ and U.S. law. You have been warned.