Gp2 Version tested : 95% final beta
The review-part in the first part of the mag is precise and well illlustrated
and seems to be written by someone who understands sim-racing
pretty well. The most interesting part to me however, was to be
found in the second half - in the hints section.
Along with an informative driving guide it also includes
some technical information on the various cars and tracks.
On the matter of hardware they remarked that a Pentium 100 seems
to have difficulties displaying *all* textures in SVGA at a
reasonable frame rate ( especially in a race when other cars have
to be drawn as well ). Reducing the detail-level by a few textures
however, seems to have a big effect on the frame-rate and fast
Pentiums shouldn't have too big problems running it in
high-resolution.
Even *fast* 486-systems needn't go back to VGA - they can
utilize SVGA - if they only dispense of object- and scenery-
texturing.
The 12-lap rule during qualifying is implemented as is the
warm-up lap.
The game includes a "blackbox" which automatically logs
18 different values such as speed, revs, gear, throttle,
brakes, steering input and also the reactions of the
suspension. Two screenshots show that at least
4 of these values can be displayed simultaneously in
different colors. ( Red-blue-green-yellow )
( Two laps can be compared with each other. )
On the right-hand lower corner there is a box
that reads "Map" so we can expect to see the driven
line too...
The available cars have certain characteristics which
supposedly can not (!) be altered.
A William for example will always accelerate better
than a Pacific or Tyrell for example.
The exact values are as following :
Williams : 780 hp V10 15.000 rpm
Tyrell : 715 hp V10 14.000 rpm
Benetton : 755 hp V 8 14.300 rpm
McLaren : 735 hp V10 14.200 rpm
Arrows : 705 hp V 8 13.200 rpm
Lotus : 740 hp V10 14.000 rpm
Jordan : 715 hp V10 13.300 rpm
Larousse : 705 hp V 8 13.200 rpm
Minardi : 725 hp V 8 13.200 rpm
Ligier : 780 hp V10 15.000 rpm
Ferrari : 820 hp V12 16.200 rpm
Sauber : 730 hp V10 13.500 rpm
Simtek : 665 hp V 8 12.500 rpm
Pacific : 670 hp V10 12.800 rpm
I am not sure what to make of the rpm-values...
Do they represent the revs at which the maximum power
is available or do they represent the maximum revs ?
Other variables are not mentioned but I reckon that
there must be some or else we'll see lots of
Ferraris on the tracks of GP2 . :)
( Perhaps the Williams has better stability in corners or similar... )
Detailed track-guides along with the tester's setups,
laptimes and splittimes conclude the hint-section for GP2.
( setup notation : Front wing/ rear wing - gears )
The tester omitted the brake balance because
he believed that driving style influences this value
too much to be of any general conseuqence...
Interlagos, Brazil : 1:15.648
Splits : 0:24.312 0:57.562
Setup : 27/30 24,31,39,47,56,64
Aida, Pacific GP : 1:07.609
Splits : 0:22.714 0:42.333
Setup : 18/24 24,33,41,49,56,64
Imola, SanMarino : 1:23.848
Splits : 0:24.308 0:53.534
Setup : 26/30 23,30,39,47,53,64
Monaco : 1:14.997
Splits : 0:22.706 0:49.898
Setup : 59/63 21,25,33,39,44,52
Barcelona, Spain : 1:24.855
Splits : 0:23.989 0:57.606
Setup : 30/33 25,30,37,46,55,63
Montreal, Canada : 1:16.126
Splits : 0:27.722 0:54.394
Setup : 18/21 21,25,33,48,56,64
Magny-Cours, France : 1:17.965
Splits : 0:21.339 0:50.004
Setup : 10/14 25,33,40,48,55,63
Silverstone, UK : 1:29.266
Splits : 0:25.134 0:55.542
Setup : 17/20 27,35,43,47,55,64
Hockenheim, Germany : 1:40.200
Splits : 0:30.500 1:02.300
Setup : 05/07 30,37,44,51,59,67
Hungaroring, Hungary : 1:17.455
Splits : 0:24.149 0:50.733
Setup : 24/29 22,31,39,47,56,64
Spa, Belgium : 1:49.253
Splits : 0:33.709 1:16.444
Setup : 26/30 24,33,41,48,55,65
Monza, Italy : 1:26,213
Splits : 0:29.311 0:59.072
Setup : 24/25 24,32,39,45,52,63
Estoril, Portugal : 1:21.445
Splits : 0:26.515 0:52.692
Setup : 22/25 25,31,37,45,54,64
Jerez, European GP : 1:23.318
Splits : 0:27.002 0:51.745
Setup : 24/30 21,29,38,46,54,63
Suzuka, Japan : 1:37.223
Splits : 0:32.869 1:07.901
Setup : 19/20 23,32,39,47,56,64
Adelaide, Australia : 1:13.451
Splits : 0:25.032 0:45.364
Setup : 27/30 21,30,39,48,56,64
All tracks are shown as screenshots and show the
layout from bird's view. ( Eau Rouge is implemented
in it's "original" ( 235-270 km/h ) form.. phew! :)
Starting the race seems to be as easy as in F1GP v1
since you cannot make a false-start as the controls
work only after the green light is on.
About bugs : Plenty, but that is understandable
since it is only a beta-version. They will be fixed
( naturally ) for the final release.
The tested version showed some odd visual
effects when your car collided lightly with another
car on the track. Everything that was in memory
was then displayed on the screen resulting
in a big mess....
Release date : Not given
Ok, guess that covers most of the interesting stuff
in the article.
Regards.
IV
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Ivanhoe 'Tacho' Vasiljevich Student of Technical Physics at the
- http://www.racesimcentral.net/~e8925403
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