rec.autos.simulators

  Not _quite_ on topic but any GPL fans who were not at Coy Historic
festival, Silverstone this weekend missed a real treat.  Some
magnificent racing and some authentic cars from the era.  I've probably
forgotten half of the GPL relevant stuff but, to a GPL fanatics the
highlights would perhaps be:

  1) Seeing (and hearing) a '67 BRM in full flight with the engine
roaring.  (Alas it wasn't the beloved H16 - there was a 67 H16 on
display).  Incidentally - I noticed that the V16 BRM has a slightly
offset steering wheel - which the H16 in GPL doesn't.

  2) Seeing an ex-Jim Clark Lotus 48 F2 fighting with the big boys in
the Pre 72 GP and Tasman race.  It came in an extremely creditable
fourth running against guys with wings, slicks and twice the engine
size.  Beautiful car and brilliant drive.  I got a good view of it in
the garage before the race and it really was a thing of beauty.  It was
unbelievably nimble round the corners of the complex.  (Now there's a
section that would make '67 silverstone incredibly difficult).

  3) GPL being played on a widescreen TV in one of the pit garages with
the driver sat in an actual Lotus***pit - not sure what lotus it was
but it looked pretty much like "the real thing" (Lotus 49) to me.  I
didn't get a chance to show off my "skills" - don't think I'd have
fitted into the***pit easily anyway - being quite tall and broad - but
it was great to see.  [I couldn't help wincing watching someone drive
Monza - you KNOW when someone is a good couple of seconds past their
braking point].

  4) Jacky Ickx (did I spell that right) driving round on one of the
demo laps - alas he didn't race.

  5) Bright orange ex-Dan Gurney Mclaren was raced.  (and it was a
really weird looking beast big wings slick tyres).

  6) Also a lovely ex JYS BRM H16 was on display.  I think it was the
'67 model but I'm not sure.

  I presume there were some other people on this group about for that
weekend so they can catch me on anything I've missed or got wrong.  It
was a great great weekend.

  There was also a huge presence from the upcoming Microsoft game
"Spirit of Speed" which looks like it might be a real winner.  It was,
of course, hard to judge how "sim" it was...  but a few things that
could be told:

  They're pretty damn serious about marketting it - they'd sponsored the
pre-war sports car race and all the cars were carrying "spirit of speed"
stickers.  The screen shots which were played on the big diamond screens
all weekend looked pretty beautiful - to me it looks like it'll be a
better looking game than GPL is.  Obviously, hard to judge the physics
of the thing but it's a good sign that in a short interview on
Silverstone TV the guy did mention that the physics had to be extremely
detailed "to deal with the banking at brooklands for example".  Tracks
mentionned included Brooklands and Avis and one other I didn't quite
catch - sounded like montreux (but I'm not familiar with the 30s tracks
so I don't know).  They also said that if it was successful then it
would be a series with 50s cars a probable next release - release date
October.  I'm looking forward to it.

--
Richard G. Clegg     Only the mind is waving
Dept. of Mathematics (Network Control group) Uni. of York.

www: http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Monthlery (spelling?)

--
* rrevved at mindspring dot com  

  Guy I saw driving was going round Monza - wore a floppy brown felt
hat. But they seemed to leave it on Monza for a while - I guess because it's
much easier so I saw a few people drive that course.  Looked fun - did
you find what the chassis they were using was?

--
Richard G. Clegg     Only the mind is waving
Dept. of Mathematics (Network Control group) Uni. of York.

www: http://manor.york.ac.uk/top.html

So we're talking a sim content like TOCA2 at best?? -Where is simracing
going if even Papy can't seem to better themselves (re: Nascar 3)?? Are we
reduced to hoping Geoff can bring home the goods (fat chance IMO)??

Jan.
------

So we're talking a sim content like TOCA2 at best?? -Where is simracing
going if even Papy can't seem to better themselves (re: Nascar 3)?? Are we
reduced to hoping Geoff can bring home the goods (fat chance IMO)??

Jan.
------

So we're talking a sim content like TOCA2 at best?? -Where is simracing
going if even Papy can't seem to better themselves (re: Nascar 3)?? Are we
reduced to hoping Geoff can bring home the goods (fat chance IMO)??

Jan.
------

So we're talking a sim content like TOCA2 at best?? -Where is simracing
going if even Papy can't seem to better themselves (re: Nascar 3)?? Are we
reduced to hoping Geoff can bring home the goods (fat chance IMO)??

Jan.
------

So we're talking a sim content like TOCA2 at best?? -Where is simracing
going if even Papy can't seem to better themselves (re: Nascar 3)?? Are we
reduced to hoping Geoff can bring home the goods (fat chance IMO)??

Jan.
------

So we're talking a sim content like TOCA2 at best?? -Where is simracing
going if even Papy can't seem to better themselves (re: Nascar 3)?? Are we
reduced to hoping Geoff can bring home the goods (fat chance IMO)??

Jan.
------

Yes, SOS looked good when I saw it at E3, but I do think they're aiming
it at a bit broader market than GPL. I found the car, an Auto-Union, much
easier to drive than a GPL car.

I will buy it though, and I hope someone converts GPL's Nurburgring so we
can re-create*** Seaman's famous victory just before the war:-)

- Michael

: Yes, SOS looked good when I saw it at E3, but I do think they're aiming
: it at a bit broader market than GPL. I found the car, an Auto-Union, much
: easier to drive than a GPL car.

  Well, perhaps I'm a bit unique but I do believe that it's problems
with GPL's physics model which make it so difficult to drive -
specifically I think there's something peculiar about the way they have
calculated tyre grip when the tyres are at an angle and also the
assumption about a totally rigid chassis.  My feeling was pretty
much confirmed (to my mind) by what I saw at Coys.  In the hands of
drivers who I'm sure are extremely competent but are nonetheless mainly
gentleman amateurs with extremely limited test time * the cars looked
much more controllable than GPL cars.  Can you imagine in a GPL style
car being able to overtake round the outside of Luffield even at
"taking it easy" pace - and these guys weren't taking it _that_ easy.

  In short, I don't believe it's a bad thing that "Spirit of Speed" will
be easier than GPL - it may still be more "realistic" and it may not.
Let's wait and see.

  Oh, if anyone's interested, I timed the Ex Jim Clark F2 Lotus 48
(this has the 1.5L engine) at 1.53 round modern silverstone (which must
surely be much tougher and slower in those cars than the 67 Silverstone).

  * This is not meant to sound disrespectful - the racers were extremely
good - but many of them were on that track for the first time in cars
they don't race often.

--
Richard G. Clegg     Only the mind is waving
Dept. of Mathematics (Network Control group) Uni. of York.

www: http://manor.york.ac.uk/top.html

If the era to be depicted is the mid-to-late 1930s then advance/retard,
pumping of lubricant and pressurizing of fuel tank, outside mecahnical brake
on rear wheels etc. should not be part of the sim.
What you are thinking of sounds more like the mid-to-late 1920s.......when
the Bugattis were at their peak.  Is this the period that they are
representing, or is it the 1930s?