rec.autos.simulators

   after seeing a lot of positive messages here about Viper Racing I
picked up the game and I have so say that overall I'm quite
disappointed.

  Its not like the game is specifically bad ... its just that overall I
find it lacks a certain 'something' and there are a few _really_
annoying niggles like dumb AI cars that ram you off the tracks and the
unrealistic way you go flying if you hit a cactus or signpost.  Those
sorts of things really spoil the game for me.

   The handling seems to me to be extremely poor as well,  but then
since I've never driven a real race car maybe this is what a Viper is
like at high speeds.  If this is true to life then I'm glad I don't have
to drive a Viper.

   The graphics are 'OK' ... I run at 1024x768 and they are certainly
pretty but also seem quite 'minimalist' to me and artificial looking.
The in-car view makes everything look really slow and I find that I
prefer to use the 'suspension' view which gives a better feeling of
speed and much more screen area.  I much prefer the look of Toca2 or
Midtown Madness.

   Just about the only thing that really impressed me was the force
feedback which seems to be better implemented than anything else I've
seen.  Its still not perfect,  and I have to admit that it doesn't
convey to me the feeling of the tires losing grip in sharp turns,  but
it does seem to generally respond very well to things that happen in the
game.

  I live in a German speaking country so my version has been totally
'germanified' meaning that I can't read the manual and have difficulty
understaning many of the on-screen options which would certainly stop me
from getting the most out of the game.

   Does anyone who's a fan of the game have some tips on how to get the
best out of it?

Gavan
--
There can be only one.............

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Herwig

I agree with a lot of your comments - it doesn't grab you the
way GPL does, there isn't much actual racing in my experience.

What made it worthwhile for me was the career mode - working
your way up through each level is quite exciting. Oh and the
multiplayer mode on a lan works really well.

Regards, Greg.

   I'll take another look at the crashes but it seems to me the problem
is that the computer cars do not try to avoid colliding with you when
you are in front of them.  It's like they simply cannot see you.  For
example:  If I travel far ahead of a car and then slow down for a tricky
bend or climb,  its extremely likely the car following me will catch up
and drive straight into the back of me.  This happens almost every time
I play - I get ahead on one part of the course but as soon as I hit an
area where I am slower (like any bendy stretch of road) the computer
catches up and procedes to try to drive straight through me.

   Yes,  you can see the other cars spin and crash which makes a nice
change to many  racers where the computer cars just zoom around the
course 'on rails'.  But that still doesn't excuse the fact that they
apparently pay no attention to you if you are in front of them and going
slower.

   And then theres those damn trackside obstacles like cacti and
roadsigns that cause you to go cartwheeling if you hit them - I mean,
how unrealistic is that?  Given that the car has an extreme tendency to
drift outward on corners its incredibly frustrating to have the car clip
a roadsign or piece of cactus on a corner and have the thing go spinning
into the air.  And thats on 'simulation' setting!

   Also,  the car seems very unresponsive.  If the back end starts to
slide out and I correct it with opposing lock,  its like everything is
happening in slow motion and the whole thing just oscillates out of
control.  It feels like the physics are more or less accurate in
principle,  but they are too 'slow' if you see what I mean.

Gavan
--
There can be only one.............

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Schumacher

I have to disagree about the AI, though. As the other guy said, watch
the replays and ask yourself: did the AI car have a chance to avoid
the crash? The AI opponents are not the most considerate drivers, but
they obey to the same laws of physics as your car does. They try not
to hit you, but sometimes it simply can't be done.

If you start in career mode, you have a 'standard issue' Viper which,
I guess, is even less usable for racing than a real Viper would be on
track. But when you collect some money and buy the add-ons, the car
gets better.

[snip]

Rest assured that even native speakers of German have a hard time with
this 'localized' version. The translation of the menues is often
pretty misleading, if not outright wrong. F.i., one of the effexts
options reads "Spiegelungen", which would mean 'reflections'. But what
does "Reflexionen" (the next point on the list) mean then? As it turns
out, "Spiegelungen" toggles the rearview mirrors...

Start a career, get used to the car and try to get up into the next
category. Improving the car and finding better setups later on is fun.

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

[snip]

My favourite is the german version of NFHSH, were they refer to "dead zone" as
"Todeszone". Really.:)

Greetings,
Andreas
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Worueber man nicht reden kann, darueber muss man schweigen."(Wittgenstein)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi!,
What I feel is that the default setups are all totally wrong. I have tweaked
them almost opposite to get the feeling right - Viper really should be
relative easy to drive (front engine).

Hard front and soft rear is the basic thing. The setup I start experimenting
is (for slow tracks)
bump 90 front 20 rear
rebound 40 f 80 r
springs 40 f 20 r
rollbars, low power 85  f 80  r, high power 90 f 70 r
wings, low speed 100 f 100 r, high speed 80 f 85-90 r

Feel free to try these,

Tapani

The AI is great too; generally they are very
cautious and they don't overtake unless sure
of their path.

The graphics are fine at 1,024 x 768 on V2SLI
and so is the force feedback.

T.

   Thanks for the help,  I'll have a go at inputting these (after I get
my German/English dictionary out!) and see if it enhances my experience.

Gavan
--
There can be only one.............

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   Yes,  that got me too as a lot of the words didn't seem to mean what
my dictionary said they would.  It's too bad theres no way to make it
revert to English - there is an option for 'language' in the config file
but if you change it,  the game automatically changes it back to
'German'.  At least the copy of Unreal I got with my SBLive allowed you
to pick either English or German as your in-game languages.

   These localised versions seem to be quite often poorly translated,
not compatible with patches and late (due to the need to translate).
They should code games with a configurable language file instead of
hardcoding the text into the games.  That way people could enjoy them in
any language and patches would work with everything.

Gavan
--
There can be only one.............

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To get the most out of Viper
drive in bumper view
play with set-ups, makes a huge difference
get to at least the PRO level, it gets much better
when you can afford better parts.
the rest should take care of itself.

To get most out of GPL
Wait 'til they invent a CD writer/eraser
that can erase any CD and then you can use it
to back up your files to it.

Don Scurlock
Vancouver, B.C.

Maybe you need more practice then.

--
Cheers!
Graeme Nash

http://www.karisma1.demon.co.uk
ICQ# 11257824

"Keyboard error or no keyboard attached. Press F1 for help"