rec.autos.simulators

They are running the races in the 1967 season order, and as many as 18
drivers have competed in some of the races, conducted after hours over
the LAN at Papyrus using the latest build of the day.

I've been extremely fortunate to have been invited to participate, and
have run in all the races so far except the first, at Kyalami.

I've written race reports for the events I've participated in, and
posted them on my web site, at:

  http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Click on Reviews, and then on GPL, and follow the links to the race
reports and the pictorial storyboard of the Monaco race.  

The Monaco storyboard has over 50 captioned screen shots of the actual
Papy Cup race, extracted from the replay file of the complete race
(which is over 45 minutes long!)  See Matt Sentell, Dave Kaemmer, and
other top GPL developers in action on the stunningly rendered circuit
'round the houses, and see me make a very embarrassing blunder!

Enjoy!

Alison

-/- Walk Walker

Han Monsees

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                                        Cruyff over van Gaal

This message is transmitted on 100% recycled electrons

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What about during single player GP races?  Will the AI be able to use
Shift-R too? :)  If not, they'll be at a distinct disadvantage!  Or will
shift-R be simply disabled for the player during GP races?

Later,
John

Both wishes are fulfilled.  In Novice and Intermediate-level races,
Shift-R is available during both practice and race sessions.  In Pro
level and Grand Prix races, Shift-R is available during practice
sessions, but not during the race.  Blow your engine, or damage your
suspension, and your race is over.

Note that the damage model is more severe - and more realistic - in Pro
and Grand Prix races, while the cars are much more robust and less
easily damaged in the lower levels.  

Since I am sure someone will ask, I'll mention that a variety of race
lengths and difficulty levels are available as well.  Race lengths vary
from very short at the Novice level to full-length Grands Prix, and at
the higher levels, the AI are very, very tough.  If you win a Grand
Prix, you are *really* a good driver, and maybe Ron Dennis would like to
talk to you!  <grin>

All of the length and difficulty factors apply equally to single-player
and multiplayer races, and multiplayer races can include up to 20
players and/or AI cars.  I've seen as many as 18 cars in one race on
Papyrus' LAN, but please note that bandwidth constraints limit
Internet-based multiplayer races to only a few cars.  

I believe the AI cars suffer from the same damage constraints as the
human players; at levels where you can repair your car, the AI can too.

Since I am sure someone will ask about the AI, yes, they are very well
done.  In the final beta version I received, they were excellent, and my
understanding is that they have been further improved in the final
release.  No AI can quite compare with human opponents, but the AI in
GPL is very, very good.

Alison

I must say I was surprised that the Papy folks use this feature in
their league - I somehow imagined that the likes of Dave Kaemmer
simply don't crash. :)

I like this feature, however. I admit that I rarely finish a longer
race in any sim without spinning out once or twice. Having the shift-r
option allows me to turn on "realistic damage" and yet finish a race.
There *is* an incentive to drive properly since you will lose some
time when you crash. It just isn't "capital punishment". ;)

Having said that, I expect and hope that there will be an option on
the machine that hosts the game which says "allow shift-r" (or "allow
cheating", if you will) which can be dis- or enabled.

--
Wolfgang Preiss   \ E-mail copies of replies to this posting are welcome.

I too, enjoy reading the updates about the GPL racing going on now, but
since these issues were raised, thought I'd ask one...

Can the AI/etc be "tweaked" via "*.txt" files as per my other Papy sims?
(N1, N2, ICR2) Reason for asking is I simply do not race online, and I
like the ability to adjust the playing field so that I at least have a
chance to place well. (Frankly, I'm not that good at simming, but I do
have a lot of fun.)  Can GPL accomdate this?

Thanks for any input...

Andre

--

Neil Yeatman          
Ajax, Ontario, CANADA

Oops.  I think I was wrong about one point here.  In Grand Prix races,
Shift-R is not available in either practice sessions or the race.  It is
available in Pro practice sessions but not in the Pro race.

Alison

There is also a penalty associated with the use of Shift-R: your car is
righted (if it was rolled over) and all damage is repaired.  However,
brand new (cold) tires are fitted, and the tank is refilled with fuel to
the level at which you started the race.  So for a while after you hit
Shift-R, you'll be slow; it takes a lap or two (except at the Ring and
Spa) for the tires to come up to temperature and start generating
optimum grip.  And if you're 25 laps into a 30 lap race, you're going to
have 30 laps' worth of fuel on board again too, so forget about trying
to set fastest lap!

Also, when you have stopped and are ready to hit Shift-R (it won't work
while you are moving), if there is a car approaching the location where
you are, Shift-R will be disabled until that car passes.  So, for
example, if you qualify on the front row of the grid and make a demon
start, but go off in Turn One and rip off a couple of wheels, you'll
probably have to wait until the entire field goes by before you can hit
Shift-R and get going again.

After this happens a couple of times, you start getting a lot more
careful!

I think it's great that there are modes where Shift-R is available, and
modes where it isn't.  You are right that it's important in multiplayer
races to have disincentives to discourage irresponsible driving.  

However, don't underestimate the challenge involved in finishing a race
in GPL with realistic damage and no Shift-R.  Papyrus has run a number
of multiplayer races at the Pro level, where Shift-R is disabled and the
damage model is at the realistic level.  In a sizeable percentage of
these races, nobody finishes.

Alison

Dave withdrew from the race at this point.  He was running on a P-200,
and his frame rate at Monaco with all the other cars on the track was so
low that he found his car undriveable.

The following week, Matt got Dave a PII-400, and he promptly won three
races in a row.

This will, I am sure, raise a *lot* of questions about the minimum and
optimum platforms for GPL.  I'm posting a seperate message with a fair
amount of detail on this topic.

The Papy Cup is being run using the Intermediate Long race level.  In
this level, Shift-R is allowed during the race.

As I mentioned in another posting, Papyrus has also run a number of
races (outside the Papy Cup series) at the Pro level, where Shift-R is
disabled.  In a fair number of these races, nobody finishes.

Alison