rec.autos.simulators

Dropped by EB today and found they had received 1 copy,got it for $37.99.
First if you have a card based on the 3dfx chipset the manual states to run the
game in low-res texture,so those of you that have washed out textures start
there.After figuring that out the game looks good,very similar to Burnout.The
***pit cam is very cool,definitely adds to the rush.The engine sound is pretty
beefy,a little too ambient down the strip though.The manual is a very skimpy 30
page jewel case insert,no additional info in the read me txt.Those of you that
have specific questions post them and I'll try to answer them after I spend a
little quality time with the game.Later
                                                 Dave

Dave,
Interesting that  you have to run the game in low-res with a 3Dfx
card. Do you know if this applies to a the new Voodoo 2 cards or just
to the Voodoo 1. Hate to think I spent my bucks on a 12 meg V2 card
and I'm stuck in low-res.
Also, think you could give a little bit fuller review (control issues,
lockups, tweaks to make it run better) after a couple of days? I'd be
interested in reading what people have to say after a few days of
playing around with it. I can never understand the "IT SUCKS" posts
after 30 minutes of playing .
Thanks
Richard

thoughts to the bandwidth when (s)he posted:

I believe the he said low res textures.  This to me would mean you have to
use smaller textures (16bit is the VooDoo's limit I believe) instead of
hi-res textures(24+bit).  This in no way affects SCREEN resolution which
shoudl be at least 640x480.  BTW I don't have the game I'm just explaining
what I think you misread about the original post.

-Pious_Peter

I bought the game and played a couple of hours last night. My initial impression is that the game is not designed to run on 3DFX hardware and that 3DFX support was added as an afterthought. It runs OK on my system (P6 200, 4MB Monster 3D, 64mb RAM) but the low-res textures required for 3DFX look washed out and 3DFX fog effects (header flames, smoke) do not work properly. The game renders these as ugly polygons and consumes an excessive amount of CPU when smoke is turned on. Each pass down the dragstrip is
loaded from scratch from the CD, which takes an exceedingly long time. Once a race finally gets loaded, game play is quite good, though there are are frequent graphics glitches. For example, the "water box" appears to float several feet above the track and, depending on the view, your car disappears up to the roof level as it drives through the water box. Also, in 3DFX mode many track objects appear with no textures. In other words, if you've visited Tantrum's web site and have seen the screen prints, be p
repared for a disappointment if you try to run this thing on a Voodoo I board. Voodoo II users might have better luck with the textures. Replays are also a problem. The game only stores about 1.5 minutes of action, so don't waste time staging after a burnout if you want to see the entire race in the replay. Replays have the same problem with loading textures. In fact, the overall graphics quality reminds me of the NASCARII 3DFX patch. On a system with Nvidia or AGP graphics (which is what this game appears
 to be designed for), it probably looks stunning. The audio quality is very good, though on my system the volume level drops noticably after about 3-4 races. Since I am not prepared to buy another video board just to run this game, I'll probably return it.

    I played the game all night, I was very impressed with the graphics and
sound. I have a Nvidia graphics card and ran it on Low res, but it looked as
much better than burnout.
    The tune-up was very realistic, if I through a ton of primary and
secondary in, the Funnycar would lose traction. You can get off and back on
the gas to try to hook it up and it grabs the track like John Force or
anyone else that really races.
    The crashes are great. I was late off the line on one pass, and was
catching the other car, but since I could not pass him, I turn and took him
out. Parts where flying everywhere. I also just touched the other funnycar
and the body cam off just like when Force was hit a year or so.
    I had problems with the Thrustmaster pedals not being seen.  But I had a
gamepad and it worked great. It is the microsoft 8-button, so I had gas,
break, chute, and shift all within a thumb's reach.
    The load time on my 300 mhz was ok, just like Hexen and other graphic
programs that I have played.
    I am looking for any setups that people have hopefuly in th 4.90's
funnycar and 4.5's topfuel

    Recomend getting it as soon as possible.

Joe

impression is that the >game is not designed to run on 3DFX hardware and
that 3DFX support was added as an
but the low->res textures required for 3DFX look washed out and 3DFX fog
effects (header flames, >smoke) do not work properly. The game renders these
as ugly polygons and consumes an

Well Travis if this is true, I'm gonna have to dog you :-) As it is now
there is absolutely no way I am even slightly interested in trying this
one. Burnout does seem better. Too bad I hate that style of drag
racing. NHRA, what a freaking joke.

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Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

Correct. The Voodoo is 16-bit. And this is totally acceptable if it
worked properly. Apparently it doesn't.

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Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

Err I mean Trevor, sorry bud :-)

Thanks, I guess I skipped over the word textures when I read the
original. I only read what I wanted to read. ;-)

added his/her thoughts to the bandwidth when (s)he posted:

NHRA is great, you should see it run on an AGP i740 card, the graphics
are awesome at the AGP resolution.
& I called about the pedals & there should be a patch very soon for
the pedal problem. Tech support was great!

On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 11:24:27 -0700, "Joe Smith"