My fastest time on the Watkins track is 11.75 with the lotus and all realism
turned on, but that was mostly a fluke, usually 13-14 with crashes every
couple laps.
I just have no idea how to proceed from here; I'll spare you the whining
complaints. Any tutorial urls for newbies like me or advice would be very
appreciated.
rms
Buy the game, and don't give up!
Thanks,
Alex
> My fastest time on the Watkins track is 11.75 with the lotus and all
realism
> turned on, but that was mostly a fluke, usually 13-14 with crashes every
> couple laps.
> I just have no idea how to proceed from here; I'll spare you the whining
> complaints. Any tutorial urls for newbies like me or advice would be very
> appreciated.
> rms
the best advise I received was :=
1) drive slowly to make sure you are always on the track
( you can go faster as you progress)
2) never jam brakes nor throttle
3)slow into corners
fast out of corners
( also known as slow in fast out )
4) Go straight into Grandprix cars, don't bother to
learn other cars as you will start the learning curve
all over again.......
5) GPL cars are like ladies
Treat them gently and coax them to do what you want
It works for both :-)
> Buy the game, and don't give up!
> Thanks,
> Alex
> > Ok, I'm very good in NFS5 and decided to try the GPL demo. I got the
d3d
> > patch also, getting 36fps on my system, and using a T2 wheel.
> > My fastest time on the Watkins track is 11.75 with the lotus and all
> realism
> > turned on, but that was mostly a fluke, usually 13-14 with crashes every
> > couple laps.
> > I just have no idea how to proceed from here; I'll spare you the whining
> > complaints. Any tutorial urls for newbies like me or advice would be
very
> > appreciated.
> > rms
And as someone once said:Practice, practice some more, and then practice again.
:)
best of luck
Ken MacKay
Halifax, Canada
GPL Handicap +103.25
> My fastest time on the Watkins track is 11.75 with the lotus and all realism
> turned on, but that was mostly a fluke, usually 13-14 with crashes every
> couple laps.
> I just have no idea how to proceed from here; I'll spare you the whining
> complaints. Any tutorial urls for newbies like me or advice would be very
> appreciated.
> rms
In addition, it helps to stick with the same car. Try them all, and stick
with one you prefer for a while. The cars are noticeably different, so
chopping and changing can be a hinderence. Use the trainers at your peril,
and lose all the driving aids. Be very patient.
--
-Ace-
Vintook
> > hi
> > the best advise I received was :=
> > 1) drive slowly to make sure you are always on the track
> > ( you can go faster as you progress)
> > 2) never jam brakes nor throttle
> > 3)slow into corners
> > fast out of corners
> > ( also known as slow in fast out )
> > 4) Go straight into Grandprix cars, don't bother to
> > learn other cars as you will start the learning curve
> > all over again.......
> > 5) GPL cars are like ladies
> > Treat them gently and coax them to do what you want
> > It works for both :-)
> In addition, it helps to stick with the same car. Try them all, and stick
> with one you prefer for a while. The cars are noticeably different, so
> chopping and changing can be a hinderence. Use the trainers at your peril,
> and lose all the driving aids. Be very patient.
> --
> -Ace-
The thing that separates GPL from other racing games is that when you
finally finish a race in 10th place or so you'll jump for joy!
>My fastest time on the Watkins track is 11.75 with the lotus and all
realism
>turned on, but that was mostly a fluke, usually 13-14 with crashes every
>couple laps.
>I just have no idea how to proceed from here; I'll spare you the whining
>complaints. Any tutorial urls for newbies like me or advice would be very
>appreciated.
>rms
While you are learning, get all your braking done while you are going
straight. Only after you have slowed sufficiently to make the corner should
you turn in. If you do this, you will find that you are able to keep the car
on the track much more often. Only after you have sufficiently mastered this
should you attempt "trail braking".
Also, go to Alison Hine's website and pick up her Cooper/Coventry setups.
These setups really make the car easy to drive.
http://simracing.com/alison/gpl/
Good luck,
Dave Ewing
Of course, not everyone agrees. :-) Controlling weight transfer is the
largest part of car control, and this is done through proper use of gas and
brakes. Andretti Sr is fond of saying that he's amazed at how many drivers
still think brakes are for slowing down the car. It's never too early to
start learning.
Definitely. I think her Ferrari setups are easier to drive, and far more
competitive, but both are good starting points.
But, my first and foremost concern was to always drive the correct
line to program my brain, and to stay on the track no matter what.
Smoothness and throttle control seems to be the key here. BTW, I
drove the first 5 laps or so at half throttle or less just to get used
to the unbelievable torque of the GP car.
But, I can understand the frustration. The first time I tried the
game a couple of years ago, I ran off the road repeatedly and gave up
in total disgust. But, definitely buy the game (got mine at Media
Play for $9.99), and either keep pecking at it or try an easier sim
(TOCA2, SCGT, MGPRS2, F12K was my progression) for a while to build
up to it.
On Thu, 6 Jul 2000 12:03:25 +0800, "* Leong"
>the best advise I received was :=
>1) drive slowly to make sure you are always on the track
> ( you can go faster as you progress)
>2) never jam brakes nor throttle
>3)slow into corners
> fast out of corners
>( also known as slow in fast out )
>4) Go straight into Grandprix cars, don't bother to
>learn other cars as you will start the learning curve
>all over again.......
>5) GPL cars are like ladies
>Treat them gently and coax them to do what you want
>It works for both :-)
>> Don't expect to be any good for the first 3 months ir you'll drive
>yourself
>> utterly crazy and be severly pissed off. I didn't do ANYTHING on the
>> internet for GPL until about 3 months of playing it. The physics just
>hooked
>> me, and the challenge was great and fun. I didn't get frustrated because
>in
>> GPL, I was satisfied by rapidly imporving. When you first get the game you
>> improve very fast, and that's what kept me in. Now online races and
>GPLRankm
>> and the physics, again, kept me in.
>> Buy the game, and don't give up!
>> Thanks,
>> Alex
>> > Ok, I'm very good in NFS5 and decided to try the GPL demo. I got the
>d3d
>> > patch also, getting 36fps on my system, and using a T2 wheel.
>> > My fastest time on the Watkins track is 11.75 with the lotus and all
>> realism
>> > turned on, but that was mostly a fluke, usually 13-14 with crashes every
>> > couple laps.
>> > I just have no idea how to proceed from here; I'll spare you the whining
>> > complaints. Any tutorial urls for newbies like me or advice would be
>very
>> > appreciated.
>> > rms
Jim D.
>My fastest time on the Watkins track is 11.75 with the lotus and all
realism
>turned on, but that was mostly a fluke, usually 13-14 with crashes every
>couple laps.
>I just have no idea how to proceed from here; I'll spare you the whining
>complaints. Any tutorial urls for newbies like me or advice would be very
>appreciated.
>rms
> > While you are learning, get all your braking done while you are going
> > straight. Only after you have slowed sufficiently to make the corner
> should
> > you turn in. If you do this, you will find that you are able to keep the
> car
> > on the track much more often. Only after you have sufficiently mastered
> this
> > should you attempt "trail braking".
> Of course, not everyone agrees. :-) Controlling weight transfer is the
> largest part of car control, and this is done through proper use of gas and
> brakes. Andretti Sr is fond of saying that he's amazed at how many drivers
> still think brakes are for slowing down the car. It's never too early to
> start learning.
Agreed. Alison's Ferrari setups are great. I guess I think of the Coventry
setups as being easier because they were a real breakthrough when they first
came out those many months ago.
Dave Ewing
--
*****************************************************
David A. Ewing
*****************************************************
It's important for you to download (or create) a *drivable* setup, otherwise
you'll get very frustrated. The sites that Don Hodgdon mentions are great
sources for setups and setup tutorials. My personal favorite is Ricard
Nunnini's site ( http://website.lineone.net/~richardn/.). Sometimes when
you're working on a setup you may wonder how anyone could drive those cars.
Just keep in mind that it is possible to create a setup that results in a
very drivable, and fast, car. It's just a matter of creating a setup that's
right for your driving style. It does take time and a lot of laps to
discover what each setting really does for you.
Once you find a good setup and you have *raced* and know Monza (the usual
first track for newbies) like the back, front, and side of your hand, you
may want to try online racing (may?!!). It's important to be prepared before
you jump in to a race. Besides reading the online racing sections of Don's
list of websites, try running some laps offline for a awhile shortly before
you join a series of online races. Run a few laps on cold tires keeping to
the right side of the track only. Then pit and start again but this time
keeping to the left. Then run on the racing line. I can't sress enough how
important it is to be able to keep to your line with ease. If you can't keep
your line then adjust your setup or driving style or just slow down a bit.
Make sure you know your braking points from whatever side of the track
you're running on. I find the most difficult part of online racing is
braking for that first lap, first turn. You want to be conservative to avoid
creaming the frontrunners (ok assuming you don't get pole :-) ) but you
don't want to be too cautious and get rear-ended. Make sure your brake bias
is set for maximum braking effectiveness. When I'm alone on the track I
brake deep and hard and let off in the corner (trail braking). However in
the first lap traffic I hang back a *bit* and watch for the car in front to
brake. Right away I brake, gently at first to give the hotshoe in back a bit
of warning :-) , then I brake harder closer to the corner.
Well that's my 5 cents. Welcome to the wonderful world of GPL. Good luck!
Hope to see you on the track some time.
> My fastest time on the Watkins track is 11.75 with the lotus and all
realism
> turned on, but that was mostly a fluke, usually 13-14 with crashes every
> couple laps.
> I just have no idea how to proceed from here; I'll spare you the whining
> complaints. Any tutorial urls for newbies like me or advice would be very
> appreciated.
> rms
All too true. I can remember blowing perfectly good laps by playing it
"safe" and going slower into corners than I knew I had to, only to spin and
wreck, contrary to any apparent rhyme or reason. :-)
Understanding and controlling weight transfer is the key. (Gas on, and get
the weight back over the rears, to explain this strange phenomenon our
intrepid newbie will surely have noticed by now.) There is nothing so
fearsome as continual misfortune that you don't understand and can't
explain. Spinning out from going *too slow*, of all things, rubs strongly
against the intuition we hold from a lifetime of driving on the street. Now
that it's been explained, Mr. Newbie can get on with his life and learn how
to conquer it. I can't think of a better way to explore this than to
trailbrake, excessively and improperly at first, and then hopefully more
successfully.
I never thought of hotlapping as a reasonable course for learning. Maybe
it's just me; I was (and am) so darned awful at it. To each their own.
Laptimes will come down with skill and experience, no matter how it's
gained. I think learning the basics first is still the right way, but it's
not the only way, given that it's just a sim. After all, we don't suffer
downtime when we explore the limits too aggressively...
Yup. Full agreement there.
I'll give those big white whales another try, now that Eldred's not
breathing down my virtual gearbox at the moment. <Obligatory Eldred
content.>
Michael.
