rec.autos.simulators

Hi,

has anyone got GPL going on a laptop ?. I know it's not the best setup
but it's quite a fast one. My problem is the control select it only
accepts the function keys for the controls, which even when set do odd
things when I try to accelerate/turn. I am using the 1.0.0.0 version.

Also the screen flickers where the cursor is(was) but I suppose that's
another problem.

--
Ian

I posted this a while ago on the topic, when someone else was asking about
GPL and notebooks.  Since then, not much has changed.  The ATI Mobility 128
is still not shipping, so I can't say if this will improve things.  It has
only been announced in the Thinkpad A20p, a $4000 notebook that is not
shipping until July.  That's a huge chunk of change if you don't absolutely
need the 3D graphics power for work.  I couldn't wait any longer for a new
notebook (work pressures) so I have ordered a Toshiba with a Savage /IX
graphics chip.  Apparently the OpenGL support is quite good (for Quake games
at least).  I'll let you know if that works for GPL once I get it.  If it
does, that would be an added bonus.  If it doesn't, too bad, but after all
my notebook is for work primarily.

You can try to patch your version of GPL with the file available from
www.theuspits.com (and many other places) and this *might* solve your
control problem.

--- previous post ---

I'm a notebook user and sim racer.  The two are not necessarily compatible.
At the moment the answer to your GPL question is 99.9% no.  Your only option
is software rendering, and with the absolute fastest PIII notebooks, you
might get a decent framerate, but probably not.  3D acceleration on
notebooks is in its infancy.  The only 3D chips worth mentioning at the
moment are the ATI Rage Mobility and the S3 Mobile.  The ATI is in Dells,
Compaqs, Gateways and many others. The S3 is so far only in some Toshibas
and NEC notebooks.  The current ATI chip will handle D3D games reasonably
well, at lower resolutions, so you can have fun with Need for Speed, Midtown
Madness etc.  However, there is a bug which prevents Nascar 3 and Nascar
Legends from running in D3D on an ATI chip, so again, software only for that
title.  I have no experience with the S3 chip, so can't comment.  Apparently
it can toss around many more polygons than the ATI chip, but I should hope
so.

What does this mean for GPL?  Unfortunately, nothing.  With only 3dfx,
Rendition (which, if it wasn't clear from the preceding, is *not* available
in any notebook, and probably never will be) and OpenGL support, you won't
get it running with accelerated graphics on a notebook.  I'm 99.9% sure of
that.  S3 apparently has a decent OpenGL ICD, but I suspect it is tweaked
for Quake games and is not a proper, general OGL.  I have asked several
times about GPL on a Savage 4 desktop card, and no one has ever seen it run.
OGL on the current Rage Mobility is also mostly a Quake mini GL, and will
not run GPL.  I've tried on several notebooks, with lots of registry
tweaking.  It doesn't work at all.

Is there hope?  Perhaps.  ATI has announced a new chip, the Mobility 128.
It is already shipping in Apple Powerbooks, and has been benchmarked on the
sharkyextreme website.  It is very fast (for a notebook) and supports up to
16Mb.  Remember, the notebook environment is very tight for space, power
consumption and heat.  The Mobility 128 is based on the Rage 128, or Fury.
I have seen GPL run on a Rage Fury in OpenGL with good frame rates, provided
the mirror settings are tweaked.  So, this seems to be the only option.
When will it be available?  Good question. One rumour is that IBM's new
Thinkpads will roll out tomorrow (5/2) with the ATI Mobility, but others say
they will ship with the S3.  Other rumours say ATI is putting all their
effort into pumping out their newest desktop chip, and just trickling out
enough Mobility 128s  for the Apple market, and therefore the Mobility 128
won't show up in Wintel notebooks until Q3/2000.  Time will tell.

So for now, it's a no go (except for perhaps barely playable performance on
a really expensive PIII notebook in ugly software mode).  Maybe in six
months that will change, but by then there will be some D3D sims, which will
run on the S3 and Rage Mobility, that might make you forget it (GP3, WSC).

That's not to say that notebooks don't make good simming platforms. The one
nice thing is that they are portable.  I run lots of oldies but goodies like
N2, ICR2, GP2 and they look great on current mid-level notebooks.  For
control I use an Interact PC Racer handheld steering wheel (which packs
nicely for travel). I have matched my best steering- wheel GPL times on a
friend's desktop using this little controller, so it's quite good.  You can
also buy a gameport to USB adapter, and all notebooks have USB.  For a
surprisingly good sim in terms of GPL-like physics and driving feel, pick up
a bargain copy of SODA Off-Road racing.  I've put GPL aside for the past few
weeks to have fun with this one.  It runs fine in software on a mid-level
notebook, and doesn't look tooo bad.

cheers
Stephen

Is that the Savage 4 chipset in the Toshiba?  I know they are in
some laptops.  I have a creative Savage 4 in my desktop and have
not been able to get the GPL OpenGL patch to work.  I also have
a Voodoo 2 so it's not a problem.

The Savage 4 is better than the Voodoo 2 in some games in others
Glide is deffinatly better.

Chris

I couldn't wait any longer for a new

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If you aren't been able to make GPL run under OpenGL, why not try one of the
Glide Wrappers that are available? You can find most of them on
http://www.emulation64.com/glidewrappers.htm.

Let us know the results as this is one system that I am planning to buy and
GPL is one of my favorities games.

Brian

I don't know if using a glide wrapper will conflict with my
Voodoo 2 card or not?  I would presume it would.

Chris

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To the first poster's question, the Savege/IX is a low-voltage 0.18 micron
derivative of the Savage 4.  In operation it is basically the same.  I will
try the glide wrapper on the weekend if I have a chance.  I really would
like to get it running on the laptop, even if just for some lonely hotlaps.

Stephen