rec.autos.simulators

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// Microsoft CART Precision Racing FAQ 1.00
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// Last revised on 8/4/97
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Section I : Who's Who
Section II : Frequently asked question list

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// Section I : Who's Who...
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Microsoft CART Precision Racing is developed by Terminal Reality Inc.
for the Microsoft Corporation.  CART Precision Racing utilizes content
that is under license from Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc.
Additionally CART utilizes a proprietary game engine that is under
license from Terminal Reality Inc.  Microsoft, Precision Racing are
either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in
the United States and/or other countries. CART and the CART logo are
either registered trademarks or trademarks of Championship Auto Racing
Teams, Inc.

Browse here for more information:

 CART's Home Page:              http://www.racesimcentral.net/
 Microsoft's CART Page:         T.B.A.
 Terminal Reality's CART Page:
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

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// Section II : Frequently asked questions...
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1.  What is the release date?

 X-mas, 1997.

2.  Will there be a pre-release demo?

 Yes.

3.  Will it have 3dfx support?

 CART Precision Racing was used to develop the "DrawPrimitive"
function in DirectX5.   It will support 3dfx, Rendition, and any other
3D accelerator that supports Z buffering with 4MB of memory.

4.  What tracks will it have?

 All 17 tracks from the 1997 PPG CART World Series.

5.  Since this is a commercial product and cannot have cigarette or
tobacco adverti***ts, will there be a paint kit included in the box?

 CART will not initially ship with a paint kit, however, an editor
will be released shortly afterwards that will allow full editing of the
product.  If you can't wait that long, any utility that reads/writes the

POD file format (such as the current MTM editor) could allow instant
editing of any data/art in the game.

6.  Which drivers will be present in the game.

 Most drivers and cars will be in the game.   This will be user
editable directly from the shipping product.

7.  Is CART Precision Racing an arcade game?

 CART is a complex 6 degree of freedom simulation.   It is the first
race car simulator to accurately model tire forces - if you take a look
from
the top of the vehicle and steer the car slowly, you will see that the
car
actually turns on the front wheels, instead of pivoting in the center.

8.  A garage with 50 settings?  I don't want to play this complicated
game!

 Yes, the garage in CART has over 50 realistic settings.  Unlike
other racing simulations, CART will ship with a good default setup for
each
race track.   If you wish to customize your car for your own particular
driving style, you can use the "Garage Wizard" to make this process
easy,
or tweak the settings yourself.

9.  What kind of computer do I need to run CART?

 Pentium 60, 16MB.   We recommend a Pentium 150MMX, with 32MB of RAM
and a 3dfx card to achieve 30hz performance in 640x480x16.  CART will
also
work just fine on a non MMX Pentium, and has special support for Pentium
Pro,
Pentium-2 and AGP.

10.  Will CART Precision Racing have multiplayer capabilities?

 Of course!  CART supports up to 2 people via modem to modem,
or up to 8 via an IPX network or internet connection.  CART will also
support the Internet *** Zone.   Modem or internet play will require
at least a 28.8K modem.

11.  Will there be any more screen shots available?

 Keep checking www.terminalreality.com and for continual updates
of information, as soon as it becomes available.

12.  I already own other racing products.  Why should I buy CART?

 No other computer racing simulator has support for the latest
3D accelerator,  modem and internet play, realistic dash &
instrumentation,
and true 6 degrees of freedom physics all in one product.   Not to
mention
the fact that any game setup option can be changed at any time from the
menu bar, instead of having to backtrack through multiple layers of
menus.

13.  What if I don't have a 3D accelerator, will I still be able to
play?

 CART supports 320x200, 320x400 and 640x480 resolution with Terminal
Reality's all new proprietary "PhotoTexture" graphics engine.   Even
with
software rendering, the "PhotoTexture" system allows for true 24-bit
color
texture maps, with pixel-for-pixel raytracing of shadows, and specular
highlighting of race cars.

%  Pentium 60, 16MB.   We recommend a Pentium 150MMX, with 32MB of RAM
% and a 3dfx card to achieve 30hz performance in 640x480x16.  CART will
% also
% work just fine on a non MMX Pentium, and has special support for Pentium
% Pro,
% Pentium-2 and AGP.

Am I reading this right?  16 colors?  What exactly is 30hz performance?

% Reality's all new proprietary "PhotoTexture" graphics engine.   Even
% with
% software rendering, the "PhotoTexture" system allows for true 24-bit
% color
% texture maps, with pixel-for-pixel raytracing of shadows, and specular
% highlighting of race cars.

24-bit color, but only 16 colors?!

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

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

Regards,
Pierre Robitaille

I don't think it's 16 colors, but 16-bit colors, or 65000+- colors.

30 Hz = 30 FPS. Update frequency for screen.

This is proably something that increases the 16 bit color resolution
to 24 bit.

It can't be 16 colors, the screenshots are well above that. Although, I,
for one, am happy that Papyrus will not be maiking the next CART
simulation.

--

Vikram Dighe

"30hz performance" refers to the frame-rate of 30 fps (same as Rendition
version of ICR2).

--
Bruce.
(at work....well, at "place of employment", anyway!)