rec.autos.simulators

Also, I don't know if anyone else has this, but there
appears to be a 'glitch' at Abbey corner. When I'm
racing AI cars the game will pause for a fraction.
Always at Abbey, and regardless of how many other cars
are around me. This can result in falling off the track
so I always back off too much at this corner.

--
Cpl Hicks

<Snip>

Drive the Ferrari :-) Seriously, stop doing the modern-style
"point'n'squirt" thing, and brake later and drift round pretty much
all the corners, keeping a fair amounf of throttle on throughout.
Forget a lot of what you know about simracing styles if all you know
is modern F1...

(BTW, you do have all the driver aids off, don't you? If not, turn
them off!)

--
"After all, a mere thousand yards... such a harmless little knoll,
really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

The GPL Scrapyard: http://www.btinternet.com/~gplscrapyard

--
The first ever pinball ezboard !!
http://pub7.ezboard.com/bpinball

SLIDE SLIDE SLIDE !!!!!

a year of practice.<g>

Seriously, don't worry about speed. GPL is a sim, not a game. So learn the
tracks, get consistent, race other people, save the replays and watch how
they do it. Develop your style and learn to adjust the setup of the cars to
suit it (Richard Nunnini's pages). Speed will come as a side-effect of the
learning process. Each time you improve your line or your technique, your
times will come down as a result and then the cycle starts over. I bought
"the game" september '98 and I'm still learning.

Oh, and BTW, it's customary to announce yourself breaking the 1m30s barrier
at Silverstone and Monza with a YASOMTA! -message (Yet Another Sub One
Minute Thirty Announcement). ;-)

Stopping distances with the steel disks / non-composite pads are something
you'll have to get used to. There is no real time to be found braking late
in GPL. See also Maxx' GPLEGS package at
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~epickett/gpl.html .

The key to a good laptime at Silverstone, for me, is to get a good exit from
Becketts and keep the speed up through Chapel. One doesn't have to move all
the way back over to the right to do this, in my experience.

Can't help you here. Other's have complained about more regular pauses on
this group. Try searching for "GPL stutters" on Google.

Jan.
=---

I'm not a huge fan of the gpl silverstone circuit, but good technique should
get you down to 1:30.xx & after that it's just limited by your ability to
control the car on the limit.

I usually put the brake bias around 54% or 53% and trailbrake to the apex,
then smoothly increase the throttle as I straighten out. It helps if the
revs are fairly low in the second part of the corner (after the apex) to
avoid fishtailing, so try a higher gear.

hth, Malc.

as this happens at the same spot each lap, its sounds to me like gpl
is trying to load up the graphics visible at (or just past) that point
onto the card, and there isn't enough room (memory) so it has to
shuffle things around a bit at that point.  this probably goes on all
the way around the track, but abbey is where lots of
buildings/grandstands come into view, and it'll be where you notice it
most.

try reducing the graphics settings (detail bias, track side objects ->
many, turn off a few of the textures) and see if this helps.  also try
removing updated graphics packs (if you have any installed.)  

dr martin

Strangely enough, I found the GP car easier to drive than the lower
powered cars. I could not keep the trainer on the track. Plus your
braking point is different for all 3 cars.

--
Cpl Hicks

Good luck,
Alex

Jan,
Pardon the interruption in the topic, but YASOMTA! (Thanks for the bit of
GPLore. Keep it coming.) My pb for Silverstone is 1:29.59; for Monza it's
1:29.37. Don't ask about rank; I'm still working on the 'Ring and Monaco.
BTW, Hicks,  I got my times by going sideways as often as possible!
Jim

I've not really messed around with setups, but I did try the Lotus
setup from LOR.

One thing I did notice about my wheel is that the accelerator and
brake are on the same axis. This means I can't apply them independantly.
Is this going to limit me, and is it possible to put the brake on axis2?
I'm using a TM Modena Pro.

--
Cpl Hicks

I have the Modena 360 (Non Pro) and yes you can have split axis.

You have to use the Thrustmapper which will let you progrem the various
buttons and axis.

Elrikk

Use the utility to set program the split axis, but disable it during play.
It will do strange things to your steering in GPL according to a member in
my FV league.

Jan.
=---

The trick is indeed not "upsetting" the chassis.

Not having split axis and driving RFB only will hinder you eventually, so
the sooner you start with split axis and LFB, the better. Like elrikk
pointed out, use Thrustmapper to configure your wheel, but don't leave the
utility enabled/running while you race.

Jan.
=---

To ease yourself into the GPL Experience, I'd start with fairly stiff,
forgiving setups.  They don't have as much mechanical grip (and zero aero,
for that matter), but they communicate a lot abt. what the car is doing (and
they feel racy), so they're easier to control.

As you get faster, you can wander into ***a like asymmetrical setups, low
rolling resistance, unstable toe values, "stab saves," ultra-low shock
settings (which force you to take a "set" each time you twirl the wheel, not
saw away at it), and various NASCAR-inspired "stagger" disciplines.

As Michael Hausknecht said, "Loose is fast."  Most of what you're trying to
accomplish with your setups is ameliorating the notorious Papy Push (without
losing front-end authority).  You need to find a setup that will allow you
to rotate the car into the apex with judicious use of trail braking.

And, no, at the limit, GPL is not a sim, it's a game.

--Steve Smith

Also if the rear breaks loose during last part of braking in a long corner
you might want to apply a lot of gas while maintaining the break pedal to
regain grip in the rear end. (technique very useful in N2002 with Looose
setups ;-)

Besides from getting the splitaxis working, the best tip I can give you is
to get GPLAI, and make the AI drive slower.
With the original AI, I push the car way to hard. With slower AI, I ride
smoother, and much faster :-)

/Carl