rec.autos.simulators

% I hope you can help me....

% Here is my problem.  I have a Formula T2 and a ACM game card both from
% Thrustmaster. I also have a Diamond MonsterSound card that come with a
% joystick port as well.  When I connect my T2 to the ACM game card the status
% in the DirextX 5 joystick panel always says "unconnected". If I unplug the
% steering wheel and connect my CH Flight Stick Pro, then I get the status
% "OK" shown even though I did not select the proper device yet. However, if I
% do select the proper device, I can properly calibrate the FlightStick and it
% works fine.  Why won't Windows properly detect my T2 wheel?

% Now here is the other half of the situation,  if I connect my T2 to my
% MonsterSound gameport and switch the joystick driver to the MonsterSound,
% then the T2's status is "OK" and I can calibrate without any problems as far
% as I can tell. When I go to play the trial version of Cart Precision Racing,
% the steering wheel responds but my gas and brake pedals do not do a
% thing....no response at all. Now I know that the pedals work because I do
% not have this problem under DOS when I play Nascar2 or any other racing sim
% using DOS. So this tells me that this is most likely a DirectX 5 problem or
% just a plain on Win95 problem. In fact, as far as I can remember I have
% never successfully got my T2 to work under Win95.

Apparently the method to get the T2 to work in CART PR is not straight
forward.  Are there any instructions in the readme file?  If not can
someone who has received the GOLD version already share this information
from the readme file?  Is your T2 one manufactured before November 18,
1996 (date code should be on the bottom of the wheel console)?  If so
try using the adaptor to put the pedals on the same axis as the wheel.

% To sum up,  I cannot get Windows  to detect my Formula T2 when plugged into
% the ACM gamecard.  If I use the MonsterSound gameport, Windows detects the
% T2 and it seems to calibrate correctly. However, when I go to play and
% racing sims under Win95, the gas and brake pedals do not respond.  I DID
% read the readme.txt file that came with the CPR demo and followed the
% instructions to the letter for the T2.  I am still having the problem and I
% am out of ideas to fix it. Also I did download the Propanel program from
% Thrustmaster's web site which was supposed to fix the problem but it did not
% help at all.  The propanel just says the same things the DirectX5 panle
% says.

Well, Win95 doesn't want to use your ACM card because the first gameport
it installed and reconginized is your MonsterSound gameport.  You either
need to disable the gameport on the soundcard (check in the Control
Panel -> System Properties -> Device Manager -> properties for your
soundcard and see if you can "disable" the gameport).  You may need to
do this via a software switch or a jumper (consult your soundcard's
docs).  If you can disable the gameport, remove the ACM gamecard entry
in the Device Manager and then re-boot Win95.  Now re-install your ACM
gamecard via the Add New Hardware applet in the Control Panel.

If the above does not work, you may need to actually remove the
soundcard  & ACM gamecard entries in the Device Manager and re-boot
Win95.  When it detects your soundcard as "new hardware" do not let
Win95 install it.  But first manually install the ACM gamecard as
outlined above.  Now re-boot Win95 and let it install your soundcard.
Again, if you can disable the gameport on your soundcard, do so before
you let Win95 install the soundcard.  Then go back and make sure that it
is disabled in the Device Manager.

Your controlling device must be ID #1 in the ProPanel setup for it to
be detected by Win95.  Also insure that the I/O address for the ACM is
at least 201-201.

% Please help.  I want to get CPR the day it hits the shelves but I am afraid
% that I will still have this problem and when that day come to get CPR, I
% will be very upset.

--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
     Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./.  [-  < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Thanks to someone who emailed me about this, the cure turned out to be
selecting the T2 without the adapter even though I have the adapter.  Then
my ACM card detected the steering wheel correctly and I calibrated and
played CPR without any problems.

:)

[snip]

Ok, I'm stumped.  I've got two sticks connected to the machine -- a
joystick as 1 and a T2 wheel as 2.  I've followed the instructions
in the help file about what to do to select between multiple
joysticks.  I've removed and then added the T2 as described in the
readme.  No matter what I do, the game insists on using the joystick
instead of the wheel to control the car.  Help!

[snip]
--
Kevin Jaget
kcjaget at sgi.net

I have not seen the demo yet but wanted to comment on this.  I heard
about this about a week ago that CPR would not have "real" yellow
flags.  That is why I have not even bothered looking at the demo because
I won't buy it.  If the sim missed this so bad then I have to wonder how
bad everything else is.

This is just my observation and is based on what I'm reading
here...which has told me I better wait awhile or not buy at all.

Brian

We are looking at all the issues being raised on r.a.s. and the private
forums and we will have some good news shortly.

The improvements we are working on are coming as a direct result of the
feedback we are reading.

We hope many of you will recognize changes that have been made as a direct
result of one (or several!) of your postings here over the last week or so.

But it is hard to deliver the sim "everyone wants" if we don't know what
"everyone wants".

Perfect products are rarely delivered first time - most of the racing sim
category is in their 2nd incarnation (not including patches) - how were the
very first versions of these?

If you look back, I think you'll find there was much heated debate on r.a.s.
about every new sim released in the last 5 years - even ones that are now
regarded as "classic".

Debate and feedback is good. It encourages improvement.

The worst crime would be for us to assume CPR1.0 is perfect and to ignore
the feedback - and we can assure you we are not doing that.

Try the demo, post your thoughts (warts and all) and see what happens. Can't
hurt?

This is encouraging.

Cool.

Well I would think everyone wants good framerate. I guess I am little
bothered that you need a 3D card to bring the performance up to 2D
standards. And that is with no other cars on the track. I would be very
interested to see what my P5-166/3dfx machine will do with a full field.
With 4 cars the framerate drops below 20fps. When I practice alone,
framerate is over 25fps. While I am starting to warm up to the demo,
my suspicion is that with a full field CPR will be unplayable even with
3D hardware support enabled. This is sad.

Actually Indy500 the simulation and even IndyCar Racing were pretty
good in my opinion.

Thanks for understanding.

--
Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

I think what's needed is a Wally Dallenbach AI. :-)

Anyway, it would be nice if the sim could decide local/full course
based on the serverity of the incedent on a road/street course.
Not easy, I know. you would need to know the locations of
the flag stations, figure out when a driver is past the
problem, etc...

Second flagging thing that got me screwed up was the white flag
(For reference, I have worked Flagging and Communications at
several CART events). Just as I'm coming out of the second part
of the 'screw, I see a waving white flag. I start looking
immediately for a slow/support vehicle. by turn 11 I fugured out
it was for the last lap. I would think you would get white for the
last lap when you crossed S/F.

I know it's a minor nit. However, as the resident King Hiro in this
sim, I do appreciate the blue flags! :-)

--
                                | Dave Vollman
  Cogito, ergo stipendium       | Lucent Technologies, Naperville, IL

                                | Lucent would never let ME speak for THEM!

On Thu, 6 Nov 1997 23:42:09 -0800, "Dean (CART Team)"

Every other product that I can remember also suffered the same minute
dissection here that CPR has, some more favourably and some less. The
problem that you specifically have is that you are releasing your
first product into a group (r.a.s.) that not only has very high
expectations (based upon other more mature products), but that has
become used to particular styles and methods of doing things. For that
reason it is particularly tough for CPR to carve it's niche.

It seems (to me at least) that the developers listened quite carefully
to the discussions here or on other forums about what people would
LIKE to see from a sim, since many of the things which have been
complained about in other products are already in CPR - either good
research or just very lucky for a first product! If the feedback here
is acted upon in the same manner then the final product should be very
impressive indeed.

Have you considered formalising a suggestion procedure? Perhaps a WWW
page where people can make improvement suggestions, and as suggestions
are made they can be added to a list along with how many people
requested it. That would give an on-going idea of what people are
dissatisfied with. OTOH it may be better to keep that in-house, but it
would be good to know what sort of things are being looked into.

Well, thanks again for the participation of you and all the other
guys, and I'll look forward to the good news which you hinted would be
coming in the future...!

Cheers!
John

You know after all these years, that sim has some areas that has just
not been matched, even by it's own makers.  The AI in I500 is still as
sharp as any AI you will find.  I would guess that is because I500 only
had to deal with 1 track, 1 carset built inside of the EXE unlike modern
sims that have tracks files, car files...etc.  I may be wront but I have
still not seen a sim that the AI will pit for an unscheduled pit stop
like they do in I500.  The AI could pace around wrecks and wrecked cars
would stay on the track.  A 5 car pile up would produce close to 5
caution laps.

I like all the new sims but I500 still has a place in history for sure.
The only time it was patched was to make it run on faster computers
because people were still playing it 2 years down the road.  :>

Brian

   Truly sporting.  Refresh my memory, doesn't the blue flag mean "you
are about to be rear-ended"?  :)

Before you send me UCE, I know what you're thinking...  Did he complain
to five or six postmasters last month?  Now, you must ask yourself one
question: "Do I feel lucky?"  Well, do you, punk?

The Blue flag means "there's a race going on, and you are
*not* part of it." :-)))

--
                                | Dave Vollman
  Cogito, ergo stipendium       | Lucent Technologies, Naperville, IL

                                | Lucent would never let ME speak for THEM!

"two years down the road"?
I still haul it out occasionally and I originally bought it back in the
dark ages :-)

Runs perfectly beautifully on an old 486SX that I still have!

Bruce.