rec.autos.simulators

I was so desperate to play F1RS that I went and bought an Apocalype
3D card. I then found I needed a new 2D card, so I bought one of those
as well. (Expensive, but not as bad as buying the PC in the first place
just to play GP2!). Having installed F1RS, I'm having a number of
problems with it. I don't think the card is a problem, since Wipeout 2097
works fine.

1) Most annoyingly, the transparent colour on all the bitmaps is
set to black. This affects the trees, the wheels, the sky and can
make some circuits undriveable.

2) The menus take ***y ages to appear. What's the delay? I know I
only have the small install, but even the medium install didn't appear
to be any faster.

3) It doesn't always pick up my Thrustmaster steering wheel properly.
Even when I make sure I configure it in Windows, sometimes it doesn't
recognise it in the game. When it does, I can't use the Y-axis paddles
to accelerate and brake. (The default is to use buttons 1 and 2 for
accelerate, but I want to use thoe for the gears!)

The game itself looks beautiful, and if I can sort out these annoying
problems, I can see myself spending many happy hours playing it..

Oh, and just as an aside, is there any way to get Quake 2 to recognise my
card?

Huw

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The full install is the only way to go to get the menus up in a decent
time.

Try configuring it in the game by setting the keyboard for
gearchanges, and the paddles for accel/brake...THEN re-assign the
buttons to the gearchanges.

Try using the Power VR graphics setting

--
Nathan Wong          http://www.racesimcentral.net/~alfacors
                       - Super Touring - Alfa Romeo -

                            - V8Supercars - CART -

With all the various 3D card options, you have to be totally obsessed
to know what all the different types are and what the difference is.
What is Glide? What is OpenGL? I'm just pissed off with the computer
industry in general at the moment. What is the point of D3D if 3DFX
is faster? The cards are of comparable price.

It's fixed with patch 1.07.

I've now done that as well. It's an improvement, but still ***y annoying.

Er, how? Maybe I should have specified I'm using a GP1. The patch
has apparently solved the problems there as well. Basically, Ubisoft
originally released a product that wasn't fit to be released.

I have another problem now though - the wheel is far too sensitive.
On the configure screen, I've turned the steering sensitivity down to
minimum, and I'm still weaving all over the track, as the slightest
nudge of the wheel sends the car through 90 degrees. Corners which
were full lock in GP2 are a slight twitch in F1RS. Can anything be done
about it?

I have a Cyrix 166, 32 Megs, Full Install and D3D card. Well above the
minimum requirements, and roughly the recommended requirements. The
game is just playable in testing mode. In a race, even with all graphic
options turned off, it's unbelievably slow. So now I need to get a
233MHz PII and motherboard as well? ***ing hell, this is getting
ridiculous. If the game isn't playable with a setup above the minimum
printed requirements on the box, how are you supposed to know what
the hell you need? I feel a bit cheated. Oh well. back to GP2..

Thanks. I'm intrigued to know how anyone is supposed to know that
Power VR = Direct3D though...

Huw

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Glide is the API developed by 3Dfx. Any game which is coded for a 3Dfx
card is done through GLIDE.
Open GL (Graphics Library) was developed by Silicon Graphics. As per
the name, it's an open API, just that not many games utilised it. That
was until the release of the GL Patch for Quake, which opened a lot of
peoples eyes.
D3D is a Microsoft API and designed to work on all 3D cards. It's an
all-around solution. But it's not as specialised (yet) as GLIDE, or
even native Power VR/VR2 games.
Power VR is made by NEC/Videologic, and in some respects works better
than 3Dfx. You only have to see Ultimate Race and Wipeout 2097 to see
why. But its not well supported by programmers.
Unfortunately these days, price means diddly when you want the best.
3Dfx cards are very cheap now (in the US anyway), and now we have the
new Voodoo 2 which is second generation 3Dfx. There is new nVidia,
Matrox, intel and NEC/Videologic cards coming out. Comparable price
does not mean comparable performance from a video card.

nVidia Riva 128 (4mb only)
- very fast D3D, and is having Open GL drivers developed for it
- found in the Diamond Viper 330

3Dfx Voodoo Graphcs (4 and 6 mb versions)
- runs any 3Dfx game and any D3D and some Open GL like Quake1/2
- found in Diamond Monster/Orchid Righteous

3Dfx Voodoo 2 (8 and 12mb versions)
- runs any 3Dfx game, D3D, Open GL
- twice as fast as the older 3Dfx, but also twice the cost
- Creative 3D Blaster 2, Diamond Monster 2

Power VR (4 (and6?)mb versions)
- runs any Power VR games and D3D as well
- found in  Apocalypse 3D/Matrox M3D

Funny, coz I have a GP1, calibrated through windows, and setup in
F1RS, and that was it. I've never had the settings go strange, or
reveresed, or whatever.

What I did:

Setup the GP1 under Win95 as a custom race car controller
Started F1RS and went to configure screen
Set Steering left and right
Assign gearshifts to keyboard up and down
Set paddles for accel and brake
Set gearshifts to buttons on wheel

I'm assuming you calibrated it under the Win95 game controller panel?
Did you make sure to use full lock when calibrating?
You can adjust the steering sensitivity with the little "target"
button in the control settings panel in F1RS.

Mor ethan likely its your Cyrix at fault.
Cyrix 166 does not equal Pentium 166. I don't know the ins and out of
why, but i know its to do with floating point processing and the
Intel's ability to do it a heck of a lot better.
I run a P200MMX, 32mb ram (now 64), full install, and the game runs
fine.

Try running GP2 in SVGA with all graphics on and tell me you dont get
slowdown!

Power VR doesn't equal D3D.
D3D is not supported in Quake 2
Quake 2 supports Open GL, 3Dfx Open GL, Power VR, and software modes

3Dfx cards are great for any of the following games
Quake (GL), Quake 2, F1RS, Nascar 2 (3Dfx patch), Sub Culture,
G-Police, heavy Gear, the forthcoming Grand Prix Legends, the
forthcoming F1 by Eidos, Alain Prost Grand Prix, Psygnosis F1, Need
for Speed 2 special Edition, Tomb Raider 1 and 2, Mechwarrior 2 3dfx,
TOCA Touring Car Championship.

Maybe you can take your card back and say you're not happy with it.
Buy a Diamond Monster 3D or Canopus Pure 3D (has TV out and is 6mb!),
and you wil not be disappointed with either F1RS or Quake 2, or any of
the forthcoming F1 games.

--
Nathan Wong          http://www.racesimcentral.net/~alfacors
                       - Super Touring - Alfa Romeo -

                            - V8Supercars - CART -

But GP2 had plenty of options for playing with a lower end machine -
even VGA! F1RS needs something pretty hefty even with all the graphic
options turned off.

Thanks for your help with the cards. At least I _slightly_ understand
now...

Huw

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The point of D3D is that 3D is then available on several cards. In theory
this is great. But in practice it is in no way accurate. What MS did with
CPR is just criminal (IMHO) the game was created with Glide support
but MS apparently disabled it by not allowing that dll to be shipped with
the game. Forcing D3D on us the customer. I am starting to think those
Netscape and Sun CEO's are right.

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