rec.autos.simulators

Thought I'd point out a few subtle NASCAR 2 features that you might not
notice right away:

1. AI cars now suffer from cold tires and tire wear. This makes pit stop
strategy much more interesting. I've come back from deep in the pack by
making a late pit stop for fresh tires.

2. Engine output is now affected by weather. No more 120 degree Talladega
races (thank goodness)! Your best times will now probably be in cooler
weather.

3. No more fumbling with the F3 screen trying to figure out how much fuel
to add on that last tank. The crew chief automatically setups up the fuel
stop.

4. Simpler F5 tire change screen. Hit Enter once, no tire change, again for
right sides only, again for left sides only, and then back to all tires.

5. The crew chief tells you when you have to pit for fuel. Your first
warning comes with 5 to go, and then again when your on your last lap. You
also get a warning when a tire is getting severely worn.

6. Hit Alt-O to have the spotter call out your lap times on each lap. This
is a replacement for the pit board in N1. BTW, you should get used to times
instead of average speeds, since the spotter always calls out lap times,
regardless of the setting in the Controls screen.

7. Hit Alt-L to have the spotter call out when the leader crosses the
start/finish line. This is a one-shot deal, so you have to press it each
time you want to hear the message.

8. The spotter will call out when the leader pits, very handy when making
those last minute decisions whether to pit or not.

9. On longer races, the spotter will call out when you reach the halfway
mark ("You're gonna get the crossed-flags this time around"). You also hear
20 to go, 10 to go, 5 to go, 2 to go and white flag.

10. Just like with MULTI, you can abort pit repairs in the F9 screen by
hitting Enter. The spotter calls out the pace car to help you decide when
to bug out ("Pace car is on the back straight").

Dave (davids) Sparks
Late Night League
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Oh, you also get 2-lap qualifying at the short tracks and Talladega. You
can thank Pat Campbell for that one, he was a regular one-man crusade!

Dave (davids) Sparks
Late Night League
http://www.sequoia-dev.com/Hawaii/latenite.html

Time to work on new setups!

: I havent bougth it yet, does it come with all the tracks or are you
: going to have to buy a track pack like in Nascar 1?

All the tracks from Nascar1 and the Track Pack are included.

--

Emory University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Nascar Setups Page: http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~ebusch/

Dave (davids) Sparks
Late Night League
http://www.sequoia-dev.com/Hawaii/latenite.html

<snip>

Couple things I'm disappointed about (I'm a stickler for details,
OK?):

1.      I was under the impression that when I wanted to qualify for a
race (champion season, at least) I would really have to qualify for
it!  I thought I had a possibility of getting bumped out of the race
if I qualified too slow!  

2.      no double-file restarts

3.      Who the heck put that darned wall up at Taladega? (I know its
to prevent cheaters, but hey! I need all the help I can get!)

I do like being able to add/remove who gets a shot to qualify for the
race tho, and adding my picture looks cool, too.

I also noticed that the cars appear easier to drive and set up! ("I'm
a driver, not a mechanic!")  with a couple less choices (Stagger,
front spoiler, fuel levels) and someone to actually tell me I should
pit (I'm dense, too.  :-) ) are benefits.  I love that spotter...

Anybody else agree?  Disagree?  Comments welcome.

--John Melair

They're not bugs! They're random features!