rec.autos.simulators

by **Haqsa** » Fri, 05 Dec 2003 07:00:35

So how about a challenge for best lap time on the 'ring in PGR2? I'm not
going to participate quite yet because my times are ***but I would really
like to hear what other people are capable of. Post best lap, what vehicle
you used, and just for fun put down what type of controller you had and
whether you used chase view or bumper cam. Also if anybody knows, what is
the best time posted on Xbox Live?

by **G_Mone** » Fri, 05 Dec 2003 07:58:15

I just ran a ghost challenge (the only way I could find to run the 'ring) in
the saleen S7. My time was 7:36.499,
the ghost was from "Tiny" in a TVR Cerbera speed 12 with a time of 6:12.884.
My xbox live name is GE0.

by **Dav** » Fri, 05 Dec 2003 09:59:25

>So how about a challenge for best lap time on the 'ring in PGR2? I'm not
>going to participate quite yet because my times are ***but I would really
>like to hear what other people are capable of. Post best lap, what vehicle
>you used, and just for fun put down what type of controller you had and
>whether you used chase view or bumper cam. Also if anybody knows, what is
>the best time posted on Xbox Live?

6:58 in the Enzo from the circuit challenge mode. I'm sure I
could do quicker (though I was twitching for a half-hour
afterwards as is). This was on a borrowed XBOX and rented PGR2,
both gone now. So, I guess it'll be my best for a long, long
time.

Std S controller, in-car view (not "bumper" which I consider to be
the lower of the two first-person views). Could never drive worth
a damn from a chase view.

by **Haqsa** » Sat, 06 Dec 2003 04:06:30

I just looked up the real life record at
http://www.nurburgring.de/?rubrik=rekorde&lang=eng and it's 6:11.130 by
Stefan Bellof in a Porsche 956. This was a race lap and may have been a
slightly different track configuration, but it's interesting to see that the
PGR2 times that people are getting are not completely unrealistic.

6:12.884.

by **Dav** » Sat, 06 Dec 2003 10:56:45

>I just looked up the real life record at
>http://www.nurburgring.de/?rubrik=rekorde&lang=eng and it's 6:11.130 by
>Stefan Bellof in a Porsche 956. This was a race lap and may have been a
>slightly different track configuration, but it's interesting to see that the
>PGR2 times that people are getting are not completely unrealistic.

I turned an 8:01 with the M3, and without a bobble near the end,
it would have been about a 7:55, with room for improvement. Real
car time is about 8:30 (full course, not BTG). So, not horrible,
but I'm sure I'm 20-40 sec faster in most cars in PGR2 than real
life. PGR2 has pretty high grip levels. I do like the feel of
the steering by throttle. Perhaps also overdone. GT3 in
comparison is much less throttle-sensitive.

by **Steve Simpso** » Sat, 06 Dec 2003 16:56:38

GT3 by comparison almost feels like traction control is stuck on....even
when it's turned off....

by **Alan Bernard** » Sun, 07 Dec 2003 06:06:50

There's a***pit view in PGR2? Or are you talking about something else?

Alanb

by **Steve Simpso** » Sun, 07 Dec 2003 09:18:20

Sure. There's no pretty picture of a dash and a wheel in front of you but
it's not like that really adds anything to the experience - other than
blocking your view a bit.

by **Dav** » Sun, 07 Dec 2003 10:54:36

>> > Std S controller, in-car view (not "bumper" which I consider to be
>> > the lower of the two first-person views). Could never drive worth
>> > a damn from a chase view.

>> There's a***pit view in PGR2? Or are you talking about something else?

>Sure. There's no pretty picture of a dash and a wheel in front of you but
>it's not like that really adds anything to the experience - other than
>blocking your view a bit.

To elaborate, there are two first-person views, one lower than the
other. The low one might honestly be called a "bumper-cam". The
higher one is the normal no-dash full screen view. So, by the
usual definition of "cockpit view" which I'll take means to show
the dash and part of steering wheel, no it doesn't have it. Nor
does it show any of the front bodywork.

I do wish these games have some fender and just a bit of dash to
add some, err dash to the graphics. But honestly, the full screen
view works just fine. Not a show-stopper for me.

As a graphic flare, you can see bits of the interior and dash from
external views. And what you can see does look very authentic for
each vehicle.

by **Steve Simpso** » Sun, 07 Dec 2003 11:25:24

Yeah, F355 Challenge did it very cleverly - just showed the top of the
steering wheel & dash...

by **Haqsa** » Mon, 08 Dec 2003 01:22:59

I don't really like any of the views in this game. That is its one major
weakness IMO. Neither the bumper view nor the driver view are high enough
to see in traffic and both have much too narrow an FOV for tight corners.
With the chase views you can at least tell where you are on the track, but
it is almost impossible to follow the line from a chase view, particularly
around blind corners. They have gone up orders of magnitude in detail level
and fully modelled the***pit, but they couldn't give us a***pit view?
At the very least a roof cam would have been nice. And what happened to the
FOV adjustment that was in the previous game? That was a nice feature, but
it is apparently gone now.

by **Dav** » Mon, 08 Dec 2003 02:48:24

>I don't really like any of the views in this game. That is its one major
>weakness IMO. Neither the bumper view nor the driver view are high enough
>to see in traffic and both have much too narrow an FOV for tight corners.
>With the chase views you can at least tell where you are on the track, but
>it is almost impossible to follow the line from a chase view, particularly
>around blind corners. They have gone up orders of magnitude in detail level
>and fully modelled the***pit, but they couldn't give us a***pit view?
>At the very least a roof cam would have been nice. And what happened to the
>FOV adjustment that was in the previous game? That was a nice feature, but
>it is apparently gone now.

Most of my troubles with the game arise from viewing difficulties
too. But I can't say I attribute it to the view choice alone.
I'd certainly appreciate a wider FOV option. My main problems
where in night races where I often had no clue as to where the
track was going!

Are the view options any different on a 16:9? I'm considering a TV
upgrade and will likely go to 16:9. Wonder if I'll realize a
major benefit in games like PGR2, GT3, GT4.

Well since returning my friends XBOX, I've returned to GT3 and
while I still love that game, I find I'm missing PGR2. Maybe when
the XBOX hits $99...

by **Kevin** » Mon, 08 Dec 2003 09:08:47

View options are the same for 16:9 or 4:3. However the game detects 16:9
and scales to it!

by **Steve Simpso** » Mon, 08 Dec 2003 13:31:31

The game seems muchs clearer in 16:9 mode. I guess it's due to the increase
in vertical resolution for the same given track area....

by **Dav** » Mon, 08 Dec 2003 13:37:37

Just to make sure...
Since 16:9 is wider for the same height, I'm assuming (hoping)
that this means you will get a wider field of view to left and
right. Is that correct? If it is not, that means that the screen
is stretched. So either the aspect ratio would be wrong, or the
top/bottom are cut off. Is this correctly done (ie, added
left/right detail, not stretch) with this and other XBOX and PS2
titles?

rec.autos.simulators

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