> Heavens, no. GP3, except for the weather effects, is just an evolutionary
> step from GP2.
> I'm not saying that N4 doesn't have all these new physics, I'm just saying
> that it's a bit wasted on the ovals. For the more casual player (and that is
Wasted on the ovals? I assure you Mr France will disagree with that. His
accountants will most definitely disagree. Millions of race fans in America
will disagree. Hundreds of thousands of sim racers will disagree (although they
disagree on so much that is probably the biggest understatement of all), and the
accountants at Sierra will most definitely assure you it is not a waste.
What NASCAR, Sierra, Papyrus, every sponsor/driver/crew member and TV
CEO/producer/marketer will tell you is that NASCAR Winston Cup racing sells.
The better it's done, the better it sells. By virtue (if you want to call it
that) of the power of the greenback - and don't underestimate that power, it is
certain that it isn't a waste.
Incidently two of the three races that draw the least amount of attention on the
Winston Cup circuit happen to be the road courses at Sears Point and Watkins
Glen. Rather telling that they can't draw the interest while the rest of the
season gets a very good return on the investment.
As a personal opinion, I've long had GPL and always lamented that the physics
were 'wasted' on the road courses. From a technical standpoint, it's much more
obvious that the physics were closer to reality in GPL vs N2/3, and it is much
more of a challenge to drive, but it also took a lot more processing power which
is why we of the oval community and our relatively large fields had to wait to
get the physical model until this time.
I'm certainly glad the day finally arrived for me to enjoy the most accurate
physics model available (my isn't that an ever changing title) for my beloved
ovals.
My opinion certainly, but if you note one thing about Papyrus it's that they
dropped CART (with it's road course/ street course / oval mix) and concentrated
on NASCAR. Business decision, pure and simple.
I'd say about 70% of what I've learned about sim racing has been rendered
useless by the new model. Mostly because the AI isn't nearly as predictable as
it used to be, the rest because the car doesn't behave like the old ones did.
There is definitely plenty to learn for those who want to take the time out to
learn.
Simple solution. Ditch the wife and kids... Just kidding. That does pose a
problem and I'm afraid that's something that they might have to address...
Ok, not so simple.
According to one of my co-workers (who used to work for Roger), he can be a bit
of a tyrant to work for. As I don't do beer, I'll take you up on a virtual Dr.
Pepper.
Lucky dog for getting to go there. That was something to see even on replays.
And knowing that Geoff survived. I'm glad it was Geoff in that truck and not
his son. I don't know if Geoff would have forgave himself had it been his son
and he didn't make it.
Oh, my wish list for N5 will include the correct qualifying format for the 500;
a method of 'forcing' a grid (like for setting the 125s/ the Shootout/ the
Winston) and a paint kit that will allow you to rotate the stamps...
I'd reccomend the release of the paint kit about 2/3 weeks prior to the release
of N5 to give folks time to do paintjobs while waiting for it to ship. - Small
peeve there.
