rec.autos.simulators

I must be missing some "posts".....I can't believe its nearly 2 pm in the
afternoon (East Coast)....and there are no posts regarding the awesome radio
show yesterday, "Track Talk".......with Chris Crosby doing the emcee
chores.......Guy Wilson as his able assistant (word is...Guy wore his short
skirt and high heels....so he got the job of Chris' assistant...because of
his "legs."  .....lol...)....interviewing and fielding call-in questions
with Chris and Tony West (from England)....for nearly 5 and 1/2 hours!

If you listened to it all......(which I did...while working on building a
new computer...it was a perfect backdrop for building a new "race
box").....you were left with several impressions:

    1.  Chris and Tony West are dedicated to WSC....and what ever it may be
called in the future....dedicated to it becoming a "universal" racing
simulation software encompassing all forms of auto racing on all types of
tracks.  What will get initially "released" as WSC-Box....that's what I'm
now calling it.....by Empire.....will barely scratch the surface of what
this sim will eventually become.

    2.  Chris and Tony are funny.....even when not trying to be funny!

    3.  They have a "can do" attitude about WSC that is amazingly
refreshing.......as opposed to some companies who only say, "can't do
that....take it or leave it."  That's becoming tiresome!

    4.  Unlike some companies who try to "block and stop" innovation from
the talented "hackers" in this sim racing community....Chris and Tony not
only desire this communities' help.....they will work with you and encourage
you....help you with your "WSC-project" as much as they can!  That's
refreshing too....and virtually guarantees WSC - post "box"....will be "king
of the hill" for a very long, long time!

    5.  If......in all of the eventual "history" of WSC.......jump ahead a
couple dozen years if you like..........if only half of what was discussed
yesterday for 5 1/2 hours gets actually implemented in WSC......it will
boggle your mind!  And, my sense is.....after listening to the entire
show.....almost **all of it**.....will get implemented!!!!

    6.  "Track Talk".....rough around the edges as it is......is a total
winner!  I will be a regular listener from now on!

    7.  Guy Wilson is like "Radar" on the old M.A.S.H. TV show (or
movie).........need a piece of equipment?  Ask Radar......it shows up in 20
minutes....installed and working perfectly......no matter what it is you ask
for!  .....lol.....  Guy did a great job of fielding the phone calls....and
the "chat questions" whispered to him on VROC.....and Chris Crosby did a
great job keeping things moving along....questions clarified....and the
sometimes difficulty with the clear understanding of "answers or
questions"......far less annoying than it could have been.

    8.  Two years from today.....there will be only one sim installed on my
"race box."

    9.  Pro racing over the Internet will definitely happen.....and the
money will approach that of real world racing eventually......and NROS will
have nothing to do with this becoming a reality!  It will be WSC that
facilitates this happening.....and all the talented people in this sim
community today will make their contributions along with Chris and Tony.

    10.  WSC will be an incredible financial success.....for everyone
involved with it......despite the fact that no one associated with its
creation and evolution.....cares about money.  That's the "free enterprise"
system at work....at its best!

    11.  Eric Cote's enthusiasm for sim racing is contagious!

    12.  The "***" GPL sim racing community members deserve much more
"recognition" then they are now getting.

I was totally entertained......yesterday......and informed and encouraged
and delighted........for nearly six hours!

Thank you,

Chris and Tony,

Chris Crosby,

Guy Wilson,

Eric Cote,

and every one of you guys in the GPL sim community!

My regards,

Tom Pabst

snip

<<< 8.  Two years from today.....there will be only one sim installed on my
"race box.">>>

Think it will be out by then?? Seems like I have been hearing about WSC for
a long, long time..

--
Don Burnette
D Burnette in N4

Some people do nothing wrong.
The problem is, they do nothing.
And THAT is wrong.

I was one of the 100 or so that sat through the entire 4 1/2  hour(!)
interview and I must say that it was thoroughly entertaining.
Chris, Guy, and the Wests should be HIGHLY commended for putting that all
together.

If you listen to the whole interview and are not impressed you need to have
your head examined.
This sim will be the most significant piece of software ever created for sim
racing in the next 5-10 years.

Completely scalable graphics engine
GPL quality physics
Number of cars only limited by hardware
Number of windows/viewports only limited by hardware
Online play with nearly unlimited settings
Actual pit crew and driver changes, all online and live
Track conversions/building in WSC will be a snap (I predict all F1CS, SCGT,
NASCAR Heat, and possibly GPL tracks imported within 2 months of release!!)
Car painting/modeling tool will be released.

Some extra tid bits of information that I caught:

The code is still somewhat in pieces, they are currently putting a demo
together for E3 in May
Alpha testing to begin soon after.
Initial release should include 8 tracks
Featured vehicles will include cars from the '50's to the '90's
(They have a "load" of cars modeled, licensing is the only hold up)
A street car or two may be added to the initial release (they mentioned the
Ariel Atom!)
The tracks are getting better(!)
A pace car will be included
New and exciting add-ons will be available for years after the game is
released with a rally pack expected to be one of the first.
The clutch has been modeled in great detail
The staccato sounds awesome and it's not even done yet (120 different sound
emitting points on the car!!)

These guys are the real deal. They are sim racers just like you or I and
understand what it takes to create the ultimate all-purpose racing sim.

It sounds like they still have about a year to a year and a half of work
left (they mentioned some difficulty with weather, dirt, and differential
modeling) but when it comes be prepared to have your socks knocked off.

<snipped>
| Think it will be out by then?? Seems like I have been hearing about WSC
for
| a long, long time..
<snipped again>

They did hint at their current schedule:
From now to mid-may  they are piecing together all current work into a
playable demo for E3 (they mentioned the code is still somewhat in pieces)
After that they need to wrap up all major physics/modeling stuff and work
with Nvida to update to the various graphics enhancements found in DX8.

They mentioned that an alpha version would be hopefully made soon after E3
and that they will announce when they need Beta testers. Somewhere along the
line licensing issues need to be wrapped up and a demo would most likely
soon follow.

My guess is that we've got a little over a year till the demo and should
probably see the game released Christmas '02.

I'd be far more happy with a game that doesn't live up to the wildest of
expectations, but *is* the next reference, rather than some of the stuff
we've seen released over the past year which have one well implemented
feature, but fall several marks short of the current reference in other
departments.

Jan.
=---

First  off, if you knew anything about the developement of this sim you
would know that it was originally started in Glide, they are re-writting all
of the orginal code because Glide is now dead. They've got basically one guy
coding this entire sim and advances in technology (DX8!) )are slowing them
down because whole sections are constantly being re-written to keep the code
up to date.

Second, how can you say that they are "jawing with the media" when they have
decided to sit out E3 to work on the sim. If you were in their situation are
you going to tell me you wouldn't take the week off and hang out in Las
Vegas? I'm sure you wouldn't. These guys are aren't going so that they can
dedicate that time to working on WSC.

From who? 300 or so sim racing fans?

Before you post another ***y comment I suggest you remind yourself that
there are only 2 guys working on this entire project.
Next time you exit out of a session with GPL take notice to the list of
people who contributed to making that sim. There are about 100 names in the
credits with about 50 of them directly resposible for the coding, physics,
modeling, and graphics. And how long did it take to develop that sim?

Someotherdude heeft geschreven in bericht ...

So it looks like a long wait but it actually is not.
Most other simdevelopers have been working on it
for years before we know a new sim is on the horizon
and they seek publicity just before release of a demo.
The West's came out in the open not for publicity but
to find out what you "the ***simmer" would like
to be in it.
So we have known of this sim from the very early beginnings
which usually we wouldn't have known about at such an early
stage.
Another point why it takes longer than what we are used to
is that the West's are a two men team opposed to the usual
big group of developers and specialists at other companys.

I for one am happy that they are willing to listen to us
and have our idea's vented before they reached the stage
of a demo or final.
Because than most idea's would be just that, idea's of what
could have been.

The purpose of the tracktalk radio show was not for publicity
reasons but because they where invited to answer questions.
If they wanted publicity there are far better ways than to be
in a radioshow, in the middle of the night for hours, with only
120 or so listeners.

I stayed up all night (Holland) for the show and enjoyed it very
much and lots of questions where answered and also even more
idea's where brought up.
And since I thought some where brilliant idea's I wouldn't mind to
wait even longer.

With their aproach you can't simply say "put up or shut up"
because they want to build what "we" want so they have to ask
first.

Sure, it can still flop, but so what.
They didn't ask for any pre-payment also I don't have any stocks
so just let them work as they like for as long as they like.

But sofar I don't think it is taken much more time than a "behind the
screens"
sim would've taken, build by two men.
And I like their openness and willingness to build what "I" want.

Hans van Dam

--
-- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard>
-- May the Downforce be with you...
-- http://www.ymenard.com/
-- This announcement is brought to you by the Shimato Dominguez
Corporation - helping America into the New World...

Thanks