rec.autos.simulators

Hi,

I've recently got hold of TOCA 2 - another arcade game marketed as a
simulation, but there you go...

Anyway, the brightness level on the game seems quite low and I wondered if
there was any way of raising it a bit so I can actually race properly
without squinting at the road.

Obviously I've turned up the brightness and contrast on my monitor and
looked for patches (only one found, which is track-fixes) but to no avail.
I've even tried adjusting the gamma of my monitor in Win95, but cannot do
this.

Here's some 'puter specs :

P200 (non-MMX)
64Mb RAM
3Dfx Voodoo 3 2000 gfx card
Win95 SR2
TOCA 2 English version

The symptoms :

Overly dark graphics - e.g. on test track (airfield) can only just tell
different between grass verge and road - similar on all tracks and all
camera views.

Of course, this may actually be normal. Does anyone else find everything a
bit dark?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Plus, does anyone know if there's a way to remove selected scenery and
objects to improve game performance - sky, trees, etc. I'm getting sick of
arcade games not giving you any control over what's displayed. Or car setup,
for that matter.

Thanks for any help,

Graham
________________________________________

British Motorsport thru the Camera of an Enthusiast
-----> http://www.racesimcentral.net/ <-----
________________________________________

Spectating Tips, A Bucket O' Links + Free Web Design

I have the asia-pacific version. I don't think the version will be the
problem though. I've seen lots of different comments made about the game and
yours would be the first in regard to being able to see clearly.

You are correct about the patch in regards to track fixes. It also has other
fixes, mainly to assist internet play.

I have a TNT1 card and absolutely no problems.

You can speed the game frame rate by reducing the drawing distance to say
200m or 300m.
Adjust the graphic detail settings to low. You can't get rid off the scenery
though. There's further advance graphic settings that can be turned off..eg
shadows, skid marks, grass kicking up etc.

Car setups are there which I'm sure you know. It may appear basic, but it
takes a quiet a bit of trial and error to get it right.

If you go into Codies chatroom
http://www.codemaster.nildram.co.uk/chat/chatmid.htm or visit
http://blitzsports.com/racing/TOCA2/ or
http://w1.456.telia.com/~u45604922/index.html

You will be able to post there as well.

Good luck.

I had this problem too. On my P233MMX it was a bit on the dark side with a
Voodoo2, But on my new PC it was fine (PIII450). Oddly enough my mate has a
Voodoo 3 2000 upon which T2 doesn't work on either my machine or my old one.
I use a V3 3000 & have no problem.

 Three words mate - Upgrade, Upgrade, Upgrade.

Sod all use if you can't afford it I know, been there myself, but words of
wisdom all the same.

On Wed, 29 Dec 1999 20:30:21 -0000, "Graham Ilott"

I think you're being a bit harsh there. It is one of the best "racing"
sims around... It's not marketed as a SIM per say more like an arcade
game. It just happens to have a huge FUN FACTOR and great "feedback"
via sound and visual cues as to what the car's doing. It's no GPL but
it's emminently more accessible as a result.

My Voodoo 2 was extremely dark in Toca 2, and I guess the V3 is
similar in that its default gamma is very low. You should be able to
adjust the gamma in the display properties. My TNT2U is far brighter
by default, but either way it does help to brighten things up a little
to make it easier to see the road.

There is a patch out which is a must have - check the codemasters
site.

No real tips for performance sorry - I haven't had to play with much
along those lines.

As for setup - the trick is generally to zero the downforce... being a
little less aggressive on the corners as a result, and perhaps stiffen
the suspension. There's a lively following on

http://blitzsports.com/racing/TOCA2/

Cheers,
Dave

hate to tell you but the problem is in your puter
as mine works fine
the graphics are really good
sorry

* Joe_Blow *

I shouldn't need to upgrade if people make shoddy gfx cards/ drivers/ games.

I shall contact Codemasters and see if they can do a fix.

On the subject of setup, my experience of TOCA 2 is that changing the setup
makes hardly any difference to handling.

Cheers,

Graham
________________________________________

British Motorsport thru the Camera of an Enthusiast
-----> http://www.british-motorsport.co.uk <-----
________________________________________

Spectating Tips, A Bucket O' Links + Free Web Design

It certainly does the best job of 'simulating' touring car racing than
any other title available.

Everything from the graphics and AI to the force feedback is spot-on.

Shame about the poor sounds however.

--

Best regards,

The Phoenix

I don't know if this will help, but it could have been overlooked. The
original Monster 3Dfx card  (from Diamond) had a gamma adjustment
feature in the 'properties' dialog box for the display (found by right
clicking the desktop, choosing 'properties', then clicking on the
'Monster 3D settings' tab). This allowed one to adjust the gamma with
sliders. I don't know if the newer versions still have this feature or
not. But, it could be worth checking into.
Later,

Tony Long
(reply email address is bogus)

[snip]

What!!! Sorry have to disagree here.

If you make the *right* changes, the cars handling is almost
transformed, and laptimes really start to tumble. Its no GPL, but the
set-ups *DO* make a difference.

Try using and car with the default set-up and accelerate down any long
straight, note the maximum top speed that the car hits.

Now go back to the car set-up screen, max out the gear ratio's so that
top gear is as far to the right as it will go. Now go back out on the
track and drive along the *same* long straight, and see what top speed
you hit. Is it different to before?

Yep, it *is* different! it should be fsater. Now go back to the car
set-up screen and reduce the downforce to zero, go back and drive the
same bit of road again. Is the car even faster now? Yes again!

Do you still think changing the car set-ups hardly makes any difference?

You can see the same sort of effects, by changing braking, suspension
and downforce. The changes can improve cornering, (more grip) improve
starts (less wheelspin) and improve racing overall.

8-)

*Peter* -  http://www.cix.co.uk/~peterpc/home.html