Hmmm, where do we start? 8-)
First off you don't say in your message, but you *DO* have a wheel don't
you? Trying to drive proper sims without one is very hard, some people use
joysticks, but using the keyboard is almost a waste of time (Although I
used to drive GP2 using keys!!!)
At the very least you want an analogue control (wheel or joystick) device
rather than a digital one (keyboard), as these give you much more control.
And, as one of the keys to fast laptimes is smoothness, you need a good
controller?
The following applies to *ALL* sims, (and arcade games for that
matter?)......
Don't try to break any World record first time out on the track, it ain't
gonna happen!
Most sims have driver aids to help you learn the sim. TURN THEM OFF!!!
They will aid you to drive the car at first, but ultimately they will make
it a lot harder for you to learn to drive the cars properly in the long
term. You will get to a certain point using driver aids, then have to turn
them off, and at that point you will have to re-learn how to drive the
cars without the aids all over again!
It will be a little harder to learn the cars without driving aids, but
after the initial learning curve you will reap much bigger benefits cos
you will know how to drive the cars from scratch.
Most sims also allow you to use slower or trainer cars, or you can alter
the set-up to slow the cars down (reduce gear ratios, increase downforce,
add weight, etc). Now it may sound stupid to slow the cars down, but we
want a (relatively) slow car so that you can learn how to drive it? Once
you learn how to drive it, then you can make the car faster, or use the
faster cars that are available. If you start in a full F1 car, it will be
too powerful for you, and you will just spin off all the time and get
frustrated.
Ok, so we have a good controller, we have the aids turned off, we are not
trying to break world records, we have a slow car, good......Then we'll
begin.....
Pick a track, any track. Now stick to it (in GPL Monza is a good track to
start with?) Just drive around the track for a couple of laps, but don't
even try to be quick, just pootle around and try to learn the track
layout, and try to keep the car consistently on the track.
Keep doing this, trying to remember what corner is coming next, a left
turn? a right turn? short straight? long straight? all the time not
really trying to drive fast, but just trying to keep the car
consistently on the track without spinning off.
After a few laps (5 to 10?) you will become familiar with the track
layout. Now you can try to go a little faster, but we are still *not*
trying to break any records. What you *are* trying to do is drive a
reasonably fast lap, *BUT* ,still keeping the car consistently on the
circuit. When you do finally achieve this (you will almost certainly fall
off a couple of times first?) note the laptime, say 2:00:00 dead or
1:40:00 or 3:10:00 or whatever?
Now try and go out and beat *THAT* time, and we are not trying to beat it
by much? just by one hundredth of a second is fine, as long as we beat it.
And *ALL THE TIME* we are trying to consistently stay on the track.
Try this for an hour or so, and you *WILL* see your laptimes come down,
slowly but surely. And you will also be learning the track, almost
subconsciously, but you *are* learning it.
Every lap you are trying to brake into each corner, just that little bit
later, and hold the throttle through the corner as much as possible, and
on every corner exit you are trying to accelerate out of it that little
bit faster. You will also be learning where to change gear, maybe staying
in one gear through the corner, trying to change up a gear that little bit
sooner? The key here is smoothness. Try to accelerate and brake *SMOOTHLY*
rather than just stamping on the pedals. Try to gently steer into and out
of corners rather than yanking the wheel from side to side. Smooth really
does equal fast. Smoothness and consistency are the keys.
Using this method, after a good couple of hours (say 2 or 3) you should be
handling the car ok, you should know the circuit fairly well, and your
laptimes should have come down quite a bit since you first started?
If you use this method on every circuit, and with every car (and even with
every set-up change) you will really notice the laptimes come down fast,
and you will learn the circuits fairly quickly.
Other tips to use are to download set-ups from the web if you are unsure
of changing car set-ups yourself, (but the GPL default set-ups are not too
bad, and are certainly ok to learn with). Also download replay of fast
laps from the net, watch and learn. See where the fast guys change gear?
what gears they use? what speeds they reach? where they start braking?
where they start accelerating? and what line they use? Make a mental note
of these points (or even write them down) so you know what to ultimately
aim for. If they can do it, so can you!
You might also want to consider a hardware upgrade? Frame rates are *very*
very important in sims. The graphics must be silky smooth to give you the
best chance to control the car. If an upgrade is not an option, then try
to turn off any unnecessary graphics options or features to try and
maintain 36fps (in GPL) or as high as possible?
Lastly, don't expect too much too soon? It takes time to be fast, patience
is required and lots, and lots of practice. There are *NO* shortcuts when
using a real sim? Have fun while you are practising though.....
8-)
*Peter* 8-)
