rec.autos.simulators

I always found games like INDYCAR 2 and some other racesims virtually
undrivable on streetcircuits because the lack of precision with my T2 wheel
(even with new pots and mega-hardware). GP2 was the only game that really
responded fast to gameport input.

U guys raceing ICR2 for years: just tell me how you did it?
I raced NASCAR 2 and INDYCAR2 on the ovals a lot, but street circuits and
even road circuits were unrealistically hard because of slow gameport input.
(don't give me this 'racecars are hard to control nonsense' .. I know!)
Even at slow speeds the cars react VERY slow..

Still there have been racing leagues out there for ICR2 all this time....
Amasing.

--
Don Burnette
Dburn in N3 and Legends

I had a friend over once and I told him my wheel was broken.  "Look," I
said, "when I calibrate it, the thing doesn't move everywhere, it just sits
still.  It has to be broken."  I was joking, but he frowned and started
checking cables and such.  Then I explained to him and he became very surly.
He had his own, non-PDPI-driven system to go home to...

I'm not saying there is a great difference in game play, though.  Although
it's mighty nice to race down the Ring's straight and not have to worry
about jitter bringing you off course.  But I am saying, the difference in
performance is very great.  The PDPI doesn't compare to any other gamecard
on the market.  And I also don't understand why it's not more popular.

-Laurens de Jong, The Netherlands.

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.

--
       ..... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .....

       .                                                 .
       . "Don't argue with idiots. They drag you down to .
       .   their level, then beat you with experience."  .
       ..... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .....

they only last around 4 weeks, but, when u have a "crapola" wheel like
mine (homemade) thats what u have to put up with to do the fastlaps
:o))))

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

...pics of my wheel and pedals.... which alot of ppl on ras would not
have seen yet :) But ppl on vroc would have seen.

Just in case u didn't know, this wheel powered me to 3rd in the gpl
champs league last season, only just behind the alien (greger) and the
hotlap freak (wolfi :) ....mmm powered may not be the approriate word
:o))))

Anyway, a pdpi and optical pots do not make a "huge" difference. I've
owned many gamecards, and the sblive is on par with the pdpi, or the
thrustmaster.

Sure, they are a little smoother, but really, that doesn't make a huge
difference to the laptimes. I should know... I can do WR laps when I
feel like it :)

But yeah, i get your point... thats the reason i made a wheel. The
commercial wheels on the market aren't very good.

Ian

/\
But no hotlaps recently cause i'd rather get drunk or play quake :)
/\

On Sun, 2 Jan 2000 17:32:41 +0200, Toni Lassila

Nigel

--
Redline Race Controls      

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Nigel of Lakewood Motorsports
Hamilton
New Zealand

--
Scott Moore
Sports *** Network
http://www.racesimcentral.net/***.com
Powersims
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

The PDPI is absolutely jitter free but unfortunately it is limited
to a resolution of 8 bits (range 0-255, with my wheel the usable range
is ~50-200). The SB live jitters slightly but have better resolution
(GPL calibration shows ~50-400, and the jitter actually improves
the percieved resolution somewhat beyond that). When driving in GPL,
my subjective feel is that the resolution limitation of the PDPI
makes the SB live as good or even better. On a slowish computer the
PDPI might be better though (because of the lower overhead).

      _
Mats Lofkvist

/Chrille, hates hazzle

Try an MX300, it has the equivilant of a PDPI built in to the soundcard.  In
your joystick properties you can chose between standard gameport and Monster
Sound II gameport.  That being said, the difference is quite subtle on my
system.  I ran an SBPCI64 for six months and never worried about jitter at all.
 It was there when I calibrated, but I never worried while running down the
Ring straight.  Maybe you need better shielded cables on your wheel, or
re-arrainge the wires behind your desk so they don't run parrallel.

Don McCorkle

     I would think that the governing reason is price vs available funds.

Joel Willstein

You are SOOOOO wrong there dude. MX300 doesn't have filtering, flagging, or
many of the other built in benefits of the PDPI L4. The MX300 simply has an
additional chip onboard that simply converts the analog signals into digital
signals. It still disables interrupts to do this, and spikes from ambient
electrical current in the air around you (particularly behind your puter)
will still cause jittering. A simple A->D cannot differentiate between a
spiked reading and a consistent reading.....

Cheers,

Shumi

There are a number of factors that caused the popularity of the PDPI L4 to
not reach it's full potential.

First we have to look at the timing of the card's entry into the
marketplace. It was launched in 1998 during a global decline in gamecard
sales. The most obvious factor governing this decline was the introduction
of USB and it's now full support by the operating system (Win 98). This
caused a lot of controller manufacturers to simply look at the USB port as
the means of connection since Microsoft did a good job marketing it
(although it has a lot of advantages as a whole, and can be much more in
performance should it be implemented correctly).

The popularity of FF has also been a factor. The PDPI L4 only supports
"analog" controllers, and FF controllers typically send their signals in a
native digital format that the L4 does not comprehend coming in. In fact
most FF controller manufacturers use the USB port (MSFF being the last to
make the change over).

Then we have the ugly factor that has been the main reason for my
appointment. Quite frankly.... there are too many people who do not
understand what the Standard Gameport does to your system. It taxes it
through the nose (regardless of CPU power), and is extremely susceptible to
jitter. They simply don't realize that it was invent and remained unchanged
since 1981! USB has changed a lot of the taxation issues but not effectively
solved the more important jitter issue. So in the end it is public ignorance
(in a kind meaning of the word) that has doomed the achievement of potential
sales/popularity for the L4.

Another important factor is the admitted overall lack of marketing of the
product. PDPI is a very small company who happen to currently specialize in
interface technologies. However, we do not possess some of the "marketing
funds" these game controller companies and soundcard companies do. As the
guy who now decides where the currently limited marketing dough goes, I can
tell you that we will not be focusing on the L4 in terms of marketing. We
have bigger things in the works and the game controller industry will never
be the same after we initiate our plans.

The past 7 months of my tenure has been to find an investor who can realize
our potential. I finally found it and we are in the process of closing the
deal (should be done by mid-January). This will make PDPI a fully
operational game controller manufacturer with the ability to mass-produce
(which is the key to lower per-unit costs to the end-user).

This means we will inititate our USB interface that we have completed R&D
on. We have done for USB what we did for the gameport. We have carried over
ALL of the functions of the L4 that still makes it superior to USB in it's
currently found configurations, and adapted it to USB. Meaning... we can
tackle the Jitter issue the exact same way we did on the L4. Meaning... we
can remove the jitter, which means we do not have to cut into the
positioning resolution to combat it. We can read a "full positioning
resolution spectrum" without having to worry about Jitter. Which means we
already have an advantage over other configurations in regards to precision
and performance.

Then we factor in the mandate that I am currently exercising. We are
listening to YOU, designing for YOU, and have been paying very close
attention to NGs like this one (among others) for answers to our design
questions... the end result should be a controller for each genre that is
custom designed to meet the enthusiasts and leisure users alike. With an
affordable price tag to boot. We know what's wrong with the other
wheels/sticks... and will make sure we avoid the same mistakes whilst adding
a few of our own bonuses to boot.

We will be on store shelves, and available around the world in such retail
outlets. The products will be accessible, and the company will be doing it's
best to give back to the Sim Communities in mainy forms (other than just
making a good controller...).

Rest assured Karl..... you will be hearing LOTS about us very soon :)

Cheers,

Shumi
PDPI