rec.autos.simulators

The thing that I don't get is the reason everyone on this newsgroup read the
review in the first place.  Most people read them to learn about a product.
That clearly wasn't the case in this instance, since almost everyone here's
mind is all ready made up about GPL.  From where I'm sitting, it appears to
be some kind of witch hunt to find everyone who doesn't agree with the
newsgroups opinion of this sim.  Whoever isn't a sim racing freak or who
doesn't live (if you can call it that) and breath Papyrus and GPL must be
taught a lesson.  But guess what.  Freedom of speech belongs to everyone not
just rec.auto.simulators folk.  I also don't buy fact you guys (and gals)
object because it was reviewed without having all of the manuals.  The
majority of negativity toward the review was hurled before that fact can
out.  And by the way.  Isn't that sort of like the pot calling the kettle
black.  You folks have been slamming stuff for years without ever seeing any
documentation what so ever.  Sometimes things are slammed without having
seen any part of anything (software included).  And I'm sure you've
influenced the buying habits of just a many new racers as Avault will with
their review.  Even though it's a sim, it still only a game. Try treating it
as such.

You're right, everyone has a right to their opinion. Ald if someone dpesn't
like GPL then be it. Thoug this guy is a reviewer who is ment to be objective
and even though he might not like the game, he should still point out the good
points (which the Avault review didn't) as well as the bad ones. That way
people can make up their mind about which of these good/bad points are
important to them. He could have esily fininshed with a sentence like "...I
hate this game but anyone who likes their racing games "real" will love it".
That states an opinion and stays objective.

Regards,
David

I agree David, I just looked at the review now to see what every one was
complaining about...  they do however have
---
[Editor's Note: Due to the fact that we were missing a vital game manual
when we reviewed Grand Prix Legends, and didn't realize it at the time, The
Adrenaline Vault will be re-evaluating the game in the next few days based
on this new information.
---
At the top of the review now if it wasn't there when you saw it before.
When I first installed GPL,  my wife had to use the computer to do a report
up for the morning,  it forced me to sit down and read the manual (both...
cover to cover...  twice,  I have to build her her own computer!).  I have
to say though, that I benefited from it, and playing the demo because I knew
not to expect an easy ride.    But I think the reviewer was out of his
element.  He did have some positive comments about it on the first page, but
he doesn't sound like a sim driver.  Let's face it, most people who would be
interested in GPL, would pretty much already have it, and those that want a
new 'driving sim' shouldn't be put off by setups and 'difficult' driving
model.  Aero keeps modern cars on the road and makes them 'easier' to drive
to a newbe,  well guess what,  no aero in '67.  And he kept referring to it
as a 'game',  and although it is at heart a game,  anyone that would enjoy
it, wouldn't refer to it exclusively as a game....

The first time I sat down with the full version I tried to go in to a turn
too hot and lost it...  so did the reviewer evidently.  I decided I needed a
lot of practice so I drove Spa in the Lotus for about 2hrs until I could put
in a clean lap (not a fast one...  just kept it on the black stuff)...  the
reviewer tried to mow down track officials,  and got cranky about that too.
Maybe he was looking for Carmageddon, I was looking for a sim.

I think AVault should have a policy like CGW does (or maybe did,  I haven't
looked at it in about a year).  Sim pilots review flight games,  RPG players
review RPGs.   That way the game gets reviewed by a sample of the potential
market.  Someone who plays Carmageddon, and Monster Truck Madness more than
Nascar, IndyCar, Cart or GP2  is going to have a heck of a time getting a
clean lap in their first sitting with GPL.  He did comment though "Finally,
they need to make the learning curve a little more forgiving so it is fun to
learn how to drive the car. Simulation fanatics will probably love this
game -- I just don't think that anyone else with a lower level of enthusiasm
will get much out of it."
like you mentioned and "I can't recommend this game to the majority of
people out there. If you like difficult, ultra-realistic driving games, then
by all means rush out and buy it. "   It was probably his first time with a
wheel too...  I remember it took me a few days to be able to drive Nascar
and IndyCar properly again.  He's probably used to a gamepad or the keyboard
from Carmageddon.  (I still can't believe that Nascar ever shipped bundled
with a game pad....  talk about a waste of time...)

Aside from harping on the negatives that were delivered from a
'non-sim-racer' I agree with the reviewers comments (particularly the ones I
quoted).  I would have had more fun, and probably would have been able to
progress to the full GP car faster if the driving model was more forgiving
in the trainers,  and not just having less power and torque.  And I think
he's right, you have to be a serious sim racer to be able to get enjoyment
out of the game,  because unless you're drunk with a half dozen of your
buddies,  spinning down the track and through the grass is just no damn fun.
I think he was right on with the marks he gave for the graphics...  they
aren't stunning like so many games that are coming out now that try to awe
you with eye candy.  Papyrus sims have always been that way,  they don't go
crazy on graphics that will take away from the driving.  And we've all
complained about the sound in some way.  Gameplay...  yes starts are a pain
when the framerate drops out...  that's why I personally run 3dFX at
640x480.  Music...  who cares?  Might have been nice in the menus but even
today there aren't stereos in GP cars...  let alone in '67 :-)  But the
intelligence and difficulty...  he's not a sim racer, and that's where the
'sim' shines.

I had a friend over last night who drives 1600's.  I thought 'I've got the
perfect game for you',  and I was right.  Took him about 15min in the
trainer to get the feel of the Canadian GP...  he already knows the course,
and knows how to drive.  He loved it.  But he did have the comment 'High
frustration factor eh!' Because the other cues aren't there,  just sight and
sound.  And after half an hour he was driving the full GP qualifying in the
top 10....  (took me 3 weeks to qualify anything higher that 18....  bastard
;-))  He's got a Mac though...  and sometime next week...  he's going to
have a PC...  a wheel...  and GPL.   (And I'm just the one to sell it to
him!)

Cheers

Joe Walsh

Wrong.  Folks here took issue not because the "reviewer" didn't like GPL,
but because he obviously didn't know enough about the sim's features to
review it honestly and coupled that with some outright falsehoods.  People
who like "realistic" simulations of any type have never seen the likes of
GPL before, and it is in our interests to see that companies like Papyrus
continue to make them.  Toward this end, it is *not* in our interests for a
highly popular game site to potentially reduce GPL's sales by publishing  a
half-baked review done by someone who obviously doesn't even know what he's
talking about.  And that, my friend, is what incensed folks here--the fact
that he didn't know what he was talking about.  Had he stated a dislike of
GPL from an informed position, you'd probably seen some grumbling, but not
much more.

Jerry Morelock

<snip>
 From where I'm sitting, it appears to
<snip>