rec.autos.simulators

Is there any EASY way to add your name to the side of the car like the AIs
have?  I want it to be there on replay just to satisfy my ego as I fly
around Monza in 1:31 (one year and still no sub 1:30 lap-- yet).  Thanks for
the help,
David

I created a custom paint job for the Eagle with my own name on the side (and
my company's logo), as well as a three color stripe up the middle.  I did it
in Corel Photoshop after using WinMip to get to the car images.  It was
pretty easy.

It was a long time before I broke 1:31 at Monza as well.  I followed Everett
Paddock around for a few laps one day and realized I wasn't going anywhere
near deep enough into Parabolica.  As the .wav file says "Hold onto your
butt!".  Now I'm running 1:29's.  You can do it!

--David Cook

Getting thru turn 1 (Curva Grande) well is one key, go in easy and hold a smooth
line, as more laps are made pick up the speed thru the turn a bit, do not go in
so deep that you are fighting to hold a good smooth line. The last turn
(Parabolica) is also a good place to pick up time, try running the Cooper a
while, it can go deep before braking, then move back to your prefferred car and
just go in deeper. Different setups will be more or less stable under braking.
fyi a default eagle with less fuel can run 1:29s, the cooper is slower but a
great tool for trying different driving techniques.
JM

The easiest way to put your name on the car is to have, not patches, but
car skin updates by other people. Then run them through winmip which is
download able everywhere i think. Ah hell, want me to just send my,
Hill's, and Clark's lotus bitmaps to you to play around with them.
Providing your a lotus person, if not download car updates off of
websites. Again run winmip. Then open them in windows paint. Zoom to the
larger view and work with it.

"Easy" doesn't come to mind with this procedure, David!
Firstly you have to unpack the car file and then "un-MIP" it so that you can
actually view and work with the large number of images that make up the complete
car.  You will also need to create a sign (I use Paint Shop Pro) for your name
using an existing one as a template.
Once you've done that it's simply a matter of converting back to MIPs and, if
you want to tidy the car folder up, repacking all those MIPs and what-have-you
into a DAT file.

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My ego made me do this too! However, if you use Adobe Photoshop to
manipulate the images, they open strangely and wouldn't convert to MIPs. I
found I had to open the BMPs in Paint Shop Pro then cut and paste them into
Photoshop. You need to do the reverse to save them out before you convert
the BMPs back to MIPs. You can get WinMip at www.the-fastlane.com amongst
others.

A question: does anyone know if it is possible to statically assign car
numbers (for league racing)? Then everyone could have a custom paint job...

mm

I still am NOT understanding this... Example:  If I have to start braking 300
feet from the corner in order to make it safely, how can I *possibly* go any
deeper into the corner???  I *already* feel like I'm on the edge...

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

Well, as an alternative, you could try braking a little earlier <g>.
Seriously, it's how much speed you are able to carry into, through and out
of the corner that has a much greater effect on lap times than how late you
are able to brake. Braking earlier & smoother means that the car is better
set up for the corner.

Cheers,
Richard

That was MY argument for braking where I did for T1 at Monza that time
too Rik, but you claimed I braked WAY too early, and we all remember
what happened don't we ? :-)))

Have a nice Christmas Rik, and give my best to Jon and Mark if you
"bump" into them :-)

Beers and cheers
(uncle) Goy

Eldred,

You really sound like a happy camper when it comes to GPL. You must love that
game!
Please relax, I'm facing the same problems too: Still at 1.31.16 and still in
love with the game. Can't understand either how I possibly could brake any later
for any curve any how. Either I'm not braking enough which results me ending up
at the side of the road or I'm braking too much which leves a pretty skidmark on
the road. Please let me know whenever you have that Golden Hint which does it
for you (since I feel I'm in the same league that one should work for me too 8>)
)

Anyhow herewith wishing you and everybody else in the GPL community all the best
for the coming next year and a very merry christmas.

Jan.

J.H.Hovius.vcf < 1K Download

One thing to note: I have just realised (I'm ever-so-slightly-slow) that my
"technique" of grabbing lower gears as I enter the corner (a hangover from
GP2) unsettles the car very badly (surprising, that. Just like a real car
;-) and I can now brake much deeper into corners by just using the brakes,
deep enough that I don't get punted off the track by the AI entering the
Outer Loop/T4R at WG. I sometimes even avoid them going into the Parabolica.

cf.aol.com>:

Use the latest version of Spygirl with its great new sync feature and compare
your braking to some fast downloaded laps. Are you braking as late as they are?
Besides, don't get too caught up with going in as deep as possible on every
turn,  yes it will give you your best one off hotlap, but it's a dicey
technique to try and be consistent with.  What is important to get into is
trail braking into the corner,  which is NOT about slowing down, it's about
turning the car.  A SLIGHT application of the brakes from turn in point to
somewhere before the apex, shifts the weight forward, which makes the front
stick better,  and therefore turn harder, and unweights the rear,  making it
oversteer, and turn the car quicker.  This gets you pointed out of the turn and
able to get ON THE GAS sooner,  which is way more important the going in deep.

--
Don Scurlock
Vancouver,B.C.

While on this subject. Something I've wanted to do is to make the Lotus
windshield clear to improve visibility of the road. Could this be done ?
Has anybody done it ?

--
Don Scurlock
Vancouver,B.C.

Looks like you are really determined not to let me forget it <ggg>

Thanks, same to you too. Haven't seen much of Jon since he went to college,
guess he's discovered a real life or something <g>. Mark's been rushed off
his feet recently and hasn't done any sim racing for a while as a result,
spending what free time he gets killing people in Rogue Spear - on the
whole, that seems preferable to doing so in his job ;-).

Cheers,
Richard

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions.  I know I'm close to the sub
1:30 (my personal best is a 1:30.17 with the Eagle and default setups), and my
technique right now is to slide into parabolica and half way through the turn
before getting back on the gas.  With a little more practice I'm sure I can do
it consistently and shave another couple of tenths somewhere on the track.  Keep
your eyes out for the lavender helmet on VROC.
David