news:tth64s9rofk8ce@news.supernews.com...
> "Ivor Bigunn" wrote...
> > Ok, so i'm a GPL newbie.
> > So I spend an hour last night driving by ass off around Monza
> > in various cars, which are supposed to be significantly
> > different in performance. And in fact they are, 'cause I can
> > feel it: the Cooper is way down on power, but is easy to chuck
> > around, etc.
> I wouldn't say significant. There is an unmistakable difference in feel,
but
> in overall performance the difference only starts to tell much nearer to
the
> edge of the performance envelope. Like you sort of pointed out yourself,
the
> differences level out up to a certain point.
> > So here are my best laps:
> > 1:38.865 cooper
> > 1:38.661 eagle
> > 1:38.203 ferrari
> > What the F ??
> > How come I can reach 1:38 but no lower?
> > And in addition I recorded 3 other laps of 1:38 or 1:39.
> That is indeed a good question, one answer might be inadvertantly driving
an
> F2 (Advanced Trainer in the game) or an FD (GP chassis with Advanced
Trainer
> engine courtesy of Gem+). If that's not the case and you are indeed
running
> F1 (Grand Prix in the game) there could be dozens of things which
influence
> your performance. A lot of good things have already been said here (some
> destructive advice as well), but, as someone who's gotten where he is in
> simracing today the hard way (which is not that far ;-( ), let me try to
add
> some more stuff. Don't get me wrong, this is not the way I did it. I went
in
> at the deep end and nearly frustrated myself out of the simracing business
> altogether until I got smart and started working methodically. So this is
> how I think I could have gotten to my current level faster.
> An obvious one is setup, fuel load to be more precise. 45 gallons of gas
> weighs about 135kg, enough to take the edge off any car, especially on the
> default setup and in the hands of a relative novice. I recommend about 15
> gallons to practise on... that's enough to make the cars slightly more
> mellow untill you really get some heat into the tyres, but not enough to
> seriously impact accelleration and braking. I don't know whether you're
> running the game as is or not, but it's something experienced users would
> take for granted and is therefore worth pointing out.
> With that checked off, let's move onto controller setup. Wheel users
should
> use full linear in the control options, full stop, no debate. Whether one
> uses a fairly high steering ratio in setup + steering hack in core.ini or
> the reverse (low ratio and steering hack off) is a matter of personal
> preference and is dependant upon the following item. Force Feedback. There
> are many preferences as to how to set it up (general consensus has it to
> turn off centering spring for GPL, though), but a basic error most people
> make at first is to set it too strong to create an illusion of stability
and
> "to really feel what's going on". Wrong. Certainly at a stage where one's
> style/skill/car&track knowledge is not fully developed and one's
responding
> to the car more often than pre-empting it, there is no benifit to it other
> than immersion. Before economy of movement is learned/acchieved (even
slight
> corrections just eat up time, believe me) turn FF down (not off). That
stops
> it from feeding back into the steering and making the car harder to
control
> than it really is. Later, when you've got the car set up to suit your
style
> as well as to the line you want to drive and you're not as likely to
> overcorrect, you can turn it back up in increments to make subtle clues
> "louder".
> Tertio, pick a car and a Kyalami setup you're reasonably comfortable with
> and start practising, using only that car and only that setup (copy it to
> other tracks). Don't change a thing, just drive the tracks from a known
> base. Ferrari, Cooper or Eagle are your best bets for his stage IMO, as I
> find Lotus and Brabham are too nervous and unforgiving and the BRM, while
> nice to drive, is just too slow to keep this part fun. Honda might be good
> if it happens to suit your style. Continue until your times stabilise,
i.e.
> you can do 10 consecutive laps to within a second at will (3 laps within
10
> secs at the Ring) at a speed where any increase will see you starting to
> make mistakes. During this excercise try to concentrate on 3 things: 1)
what
> the car does right, 2) what the car doesn't do right, 3) how you would
like
> the car to handle in situations where 2) is the case.
> Now head on over to Richard Nunnini's pages
> (http://website.lineone.net/~richardn/index.html). While you can read them
> now and perhaps get something out of it, reading them after practising
will
> see you reading with a purpose, which will carry their message across more
> clearly. Depending on which setup you chose at the start you might be
> shocked to read certain parameters should be more or less "locked in" by
the
> attributes of your car. On the one hand you shouldn't really worry about
> this, as nothing about setup is written in stone, certainly not in GPL
where
> you can't damage the car by running a "wrong" setup on it (through just
> driving it, going off is not good using any setup). On the other hand,
> "correct" settings enhance your car's ability to stick to the road, while
> "wrong" ones deteriorate it (but perhaps resulting in a seemingly more
> comfortable car to drive). As ever compromise is the name of the game.
It's
> better to sacrifice something and be consistent than have a theoretically
> really quick setup you can't keep on the road.
> Once you've digested that more practise follows. But now the pattern is
"I'm
> changing *this* setting, because I want *that* aspect of the handling to
> change in *this* way". Change one thing at a time (or keep the setup and
> pick another car with a more natural tendency to exhibit a certain
> characteristic) and warm up the car before making an assesment. Be aware
> that to use a certain setting, a slight change in driving style might be
> required (the purpose of the earlier "dumb" lapping is to help you
envisage
> that change, as you can't do what you can't "see" yourself doing, see also
> "further reading"), which in turn might prompt another setup change and so
> on. The real learning begins here and never ends. The incremental benifits
> will get smaller, but the journey of discovery remains and this, to me, is
> one of the best aspects of GPL.
> > I mean, I had prepped myself by watching the Greatest Auto
> > Racing Movie ever made -
> > Yes, Viva Las Vegas, - to absorb some tips from the King! (Not
> > quite clear what formula Elvis was racing in, but none the less,
> > very instructive). And those close-ups of Anne-Margaret's chassis!!
> > Maybe I need a different training regime?
> While there may be some things to be picked up from the King, showmanship
> for one, I wouldn't recommend him as an example in (simulated)
motorracing.
> If you find yourself wanting to increase your knowledge of real and, by
> extension, simulated motor racing (cars may be virtual, but the demands
and
> pressures of racing are similar), here's some recommended reading.
> Carroll Smith: "Drive to Win" and "Tune to Win". Anyone who hasn't read
> these is at a disadvantage when taking to the track. Keep in mind though
the
> information in these books pertains to *aero* cars and therefore is not
> totally applicable to GPL.
> Paul Frere: "Sports Car and Competition Driving", covers some known
ground,
> but reveals some real life consistency tricks which don't cost a lot in
> terms of lap time.
> Piero Taruffi: "The Techique of Motor Racing and" Dennis Jenkinson: "The
> Racing Driver". Read about the drivers who inspired the GPL era generation
> and realise this era forms the late stages of the driver and early
> beginnings of the designer being a major factor in dictating the speed of
> the car. Also note the discussion on the amount and the distribution of
> effort in "The Racing Driver", also known as the "10ths-principle".
> Keith Code: "Twist of the Wrist I & II", or the zen of motorracing. Keith
> Code discusses bikes, but, in part one, teaches you to think about your
line
> and your technique and, in part two, how to efficiently distribute your
> attention in a racing situation.
> Mike Spick: "The Ace Factor", haven't actually been able to aquire this
one,
> but I have it on good authority it is insightfull for developing a winning
> attitude, for, weird as it sounds, if you don't truly believe you can win,
> you won't.
> If you have a technical/scientific background you might also enjoy (though
> applicability to sims is minimal) Carroll Smith's "Prepare to Win" and
> "Engineer to Win" (which are most notable for making one realise racing
cars
> are designed and adapted to be driven in a certain way) and Milliken &
> Milliken's "Race Car Vehicle Dynamics" (find out how GPL works!! ;-)).
> Anyhow, HTH.
> Jan.
> =---
