I've never seen much talk about the excess of crashing, the great
difference between computer and human cars in the wet (in terms of
gliding) and some tricks computer cars do against humans', all in
GP1. So what would people say about all of this? And how it behaves in
GP 2? Please, note, I'm not talking about the technical side of
programming, but just about of race conception.
Things like the missing grip for human cars in the wet in comparison
to computers', even if you use traction help. It seems the other cars
are on the wet but you're on the snow. So, you give gas but back
wheels just skid and any car behind will touch your back and slide you
out of track.
Whatever it be the circuit you have a good chance of being hit for
damage if for any reason you slowdown speed. The computer cars don't
respect any flipping flags even if ahead they have a good visibility
of your car. They seem to be attracted to hit mainly you. Also it's
impossible to avoid unespected crazy crashes in the pit area, even
with the best watch to avoid them; be it at the entrance (where
computer cars at your front like to stop suddenly seeking for a crash)
or exiting pit. Or sometimes breaking for cornering.
A computer car sometimes like to slowdown speed to make you loose
time when it senses you're just getting close at its rear. It doesn't
mind of also be loosing its time, even if it is relatively needing not
to lose time at all.
Finally, of all these tricks the most amazing is when you're leading
and get at the moment to make an overlap on the last car in the race.
Once overlapped it then gets an extra power and start to follow you,
not even needing be slipping into your stream ! And this way it keeps
at your rear passing over many cars together with you until it gets at
the 15th position in the race, for instance. Then it releases and
seems satisfied.
Acatually a real car could not make this move from the 26th position,
mainly for being it the most slow of a race.
If all the above is a chosen conception of how the simulator have to
behaves, then I think it should be changed in an effort to avoid a
permanet factor which decreases reality.
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I strongly assure I'm not trying to defeat the value of all that work
done in order to us to have Microprose simulators at all. Everybody
knows the overall excellence of them and life would be less
interesting with their absence. We're all lucky there exist people
doing long and constant work to make those simulators a reality and
I'm the most thankful for such good work.
When we talk about the things we dislike -- and we should -- we may
take a risk of wearing an antipathetic face. But we are also doing
something by our side, and this is positive to the simulators
engineers and all of us: that feedback is for.
I sincerely hope I'm bringing useful comments. And I desired be
stimulating other people to also bring their ones in.
Fernando Assis (Rio, Brazil)