rec.autos.simulators

I have waited to produce a bug fix/feature wish list since I felt that this
is only possible after spending some time racing, editing etc.  I have now
reached a point where nothing new appears to happen ...
Here is the list in priority order ....

1. Save Race Weekend - at least between sessions.  This at a minimum will
allow the drivers to be randomized seperately for qualifying and racing and
thereby placing some of the better cars in the middle of the pack.  Saving
a race in progress also is high on my list in order to run 50-100% races
with all their pitting strategy etc.

2. Yellow flags pace car and AI car behavior problems.  There are many
instances where the pace car gets hopelessly blocked behind a group of
crashed cars.  The crashed cars refuse to get going because they are
waiting for the pace car - but the pace car's line is blocked and won't
move either.  There are also many cases where AI cars illegally pass under
yellow and cause the pace line not to form for the restart.  I have been
caught 1/2 a lap down to the leader on restarts at Dover and Talladega on
several occasions because the AI cars were not in correct order and thereby
refused to line up.  Of course, if I pass the cars that are not lining up -
I get the old black flag.  This stuff will put an end to a perfectly good
race.

3. Pace car's entry onto the track is too close to the start-finish line.
At some tracks - like Bristol - the AI cars go from 140 to 70 mph in 2
feet.  You - the human driver - can't stop that quick and barrels into the
back of the AI cars.  At Talladega you also have to stop hard to avoid
passing the pace car.  In N1, you would catch the pace car down by turn 3 -
much better.  In general, pace car and yellow flag AI behavior was better
in N1.  Is there a "track".txt file parameter for this ??

4. It appears at Talladega that the AI cars do not get a draft from my car.
 This is probably true at all tracks - but is most noticable at Talladega.
Once I pass an AI car that is running laps as fast as me - he them seems to
fall off.  It would be great to see the AI car also use the slingshot draft
to pass me back again.  With modified Tally AI - I notice that 38 equal
strength AI cars run close together lap after lap so long as I am running
last.  When I get in the middle - the AI cars behind me seem to loose the
draft.

5. The AI cars at Talladega will loose too much speed when cut off.  They
should just change to an open line if available and stay up to speed.  If a
line is not available - then they should drop off.  The problem this causes
is a seperation of the field - particularly when the human gets involved -
not driving the exact lines as the AI cars.  Are there any settings in
"track".txt or in the LP files themselves that may effect this ?  This
happens at all tracks - but causes the biggest problem at Talladega where
you want to run in the draft with lots of other cars.

6. AI cars should not pit near the end of the race unless their tires are
gone or they will run out of fuel.  You could define an out of fuel lap
count and an out of tires lap count and use these for end of race
decisions.  Also, when a yellow comes out during the race- the top cars
shoud pit together.  For example, currently you will see the 1st, 2nd, 4th,
and 6th place cars pit under caution and the 3rd,5th, and 7-10th place cars
stay out.  In general, this doesn't happen in WC racing.

7. Spotter needs to be muzzled after the yellow comes out.  He continues to
yell "go-low ... go-low".

8. Tweak the Rendition code to bring it to ICR2 levels.  The existing
Rendition support is great.  We know from ICR2 that it can be even faster
and better looking.

9. Sometimes the AI cars will make strange swirving moves etc. while
entering the pits.  This is mostly annoying - but sometimes they will
actually crash into you while you are parked in your pit during these
maneuvers.

Not too bad!  I find the bug count to be minimal and tolerable.  Some of
the pace cars, AI pitting and yellow flag problems due put and end to a
race - which can be frustrating.  However, a couple bug fixes and this is a
top notch product.  The developers should be proud and feel satisfaction
that they delivered on a touch schedule.

/THansen

if i could add something to your wish list i would want the problem with
crashing
and sliding down pit road or avoiding a wreck and going down pit road and
then getting black flagged when there is nothing you could do

What about a S3 Virge VX version too, for all the euro people like me.
And also, if i leave the pit slowly in practice, i get bashed by the AI
cars!

I understand the the S3 Virge 3D chipset is too slow to be a realistic
accelerator for N2.  No Rendition adapters in Europe ? - too bad.
I have not seen the problem leaving the pits.
/THansen

[snip]

I just wanted to point to Tom's post as an example of the kind of feedback
that is likely to generate a positive response from Papyrus. You'll note
that Tom doesn't make threats about never buying another Papyrus product,
he doesn't call it the buggiest piece of software ever written. What he
does is point out some flaws in the product, and in some cases, offers
reasonable solutions.

Thanks for a nice post, Tom. I hope we can see more posts of this caliber
from others, rather than the emotional outbursts that have plagued the
group over the last few weeks.

Dave Sparks
IWCCCARS Project: http://www.theuspits.com/iwcccars/index.html
Late Night League: http://www.sequoia-dev.com/Hawaii/latenite.html
Hawaii Handle: davids

Adding to thread:

Don't forget to give us humans back control of how much fuel to put in
the cars during pit stops.

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It's not a fix, but it's a wish for future games.  I don't mind the
present field size, even though it is smaller than realistic, but I do
think that it would be cool far championship mode to be able to have say
45 or even fifty people qualify with only 39 or so make it.  That way I
feel I am racing against everyone all the time.  That is one of my
biggest enjoyments of the game.  "Simulating" a race with the Winston Cup
drivers, all stars, Grand National drivers, etc.  I enjoy the game
greatly and mybe this can be considered for future N3, N4?  I just want
to re-emphasise the fact that this is not a problem with the game, it's
something that would be interesting to have.

Dan Sorek

Next thing ya know we won't be able to choose whether to take two or
four or no tires next pit stop....

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                    Send Them!  You _will_ be harrassed.
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David Martin

David

-=A=-

: I agree, control needs to be in our hands.  We should be able to choose
: whether we want to let the crew chief (computer) make those decisions.
: I don't believe that NASCAR rules say you must fill your tank at every
: pit stop.  We should be able to fill to any amount we want after the
: race starts.  So the fill line should be adjustable by us.  Then let the
: crew make sure the fill line isn't exceeded.

This is especially true at some tracks where tire wear far exceeds fuel
consumption.  I would rather come into pit and get a gallon or so over
what I know my tires can handle.  Hell, 1-2 seconds in the pits could be
a position or 2 on the track.

--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
     Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.

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I'd be happy with an Anti-Aliasing switch like in ICR2