Wow, this sim is turning into a thing of beauty. After downloading the
base package and adding the patches, I'm utterly and totally amazed. It
seems like I can actually race now instead of fighting the car. It's
almost as if it's a completely different game (physics-wise), all
together. :)
The base of the recent package can be located here (I'm not sure how
long it'll be up):
http://www.racesimcentral.net/~taronkai/rr052b3.zip
Instructions and links to the subsequent patches can be found in the
Racer forum at RSC.
I do, as always, have a few minor complaints.
1. We still see smoke while spinning the tires off pavement.
2. Related to the above, we still hear the pavement skidding sound off
of pavement.
3. There seems to be a direct link between the RPM's and the speedometer
output. It's especially noticeable when the car is moving backwards and
the tires are spinning.
and finally
4. IMO, the setup screen is kinda lousy. I never knew if my input was
accepted or not, so I had to jump from the screen into the game to test.
It took me a little bit to get things situated. I'd absolutely love a
similar controller setup screen like we see in Papy titles. The ease of
use is unbelieveable, as most will attest to. Basically, a format where
you click on a tab to declare which axis controls said function. A new
window pops up to set up said axis with a function, etc etc. For finer
calibration, have a button to click to access those features. I admit to
being utterly confused as to what those fine tuning sliders were for in
Racer. Perhaps a 0-100 range slider would be more useful (smaller number
means smaller dead zone, larger means higher dead zone). Same idea for
the axis sensitivity/delay/whatever, IMO. Right now, it's a bit
difficult for me to drive since my X axis is so sensitive within the
game. But, hey, it's better than no controller setup screen at all (as
with previous versions).
One last thing, which isn't much of a complaint...but a nitpick. There
isn't an "Option" tab at the main screen. I can understand having to
edit the gfx file for screen resolution, full screen and other basic
items. But for the more complex, and to save people time from digging
around in files, it would be great to have an options screen for these
things.
Just my 25 cents worth here. All in all, I love what his program is
developing into. I'll be damn sure to spend a lot more time with it, now
that I'm able to get a better feel of driving the car. Kudos to you for
developing Racer, Ruud. :)
-Will