rec.autos.simulators

About a month ago I was sorting through my old games and came across
my old copy of GPL. Just for a laugh I reinstalled it, bought myself a
wheel+pedals and set about actually learning the tracks this time
around (back in '98 I was far more impatient and had a much shorter
attention span)!

Anyway, then I came across the GPLEA website with all their great car
updates. On their site they had a link to all this VROC thing. So,
being the curious soul I am, I downloaded it and set about tweaking
GPL so it works better online.

But now I have a problem. I'm by no means the fastest driver in the
world. My GPLrank is something like +42 and the best I can do around
Monza with the Eagle (haven't tried the Lotus yet) is 1:28.7 or
something like that. Everyone else on VROC seems to have a negative
rank and be much better. The result is that I'm too chicken to join a
race for fear of punting people off or crashing in front of them (all
very likely, my consistency is somewhat poor).

So I guess I should ask what sort of standard is welcome online? Are
there any newbie servers where I could avoid annoying people? I don't
want to be an annoyance!

Thanks!

Andrew

Pick a track you're comfortable with.  Join an open race there.  Enjoy the
competition.  Rinse, repeat...<g>
Do a google search for GPL leagues, and e-mail the admin(s).  Ask them if they
have any minimum speed standards.  Most don't, but you may get bored if you're
constantly in last place.  It helps to run with at least a COUPLE of guys close
to your speed.  Trust me - I'm in the Masters of GPL league.  I'm nowhere CLOSE
to the level of competition of most of those guys.  But, there are a couple of
guys that I compete with every week.  Coincidentally(or not), those guys are
also in another league I'm in.  We have just as much fun fighting for 10-12th
place as the hotshoes do fighting for a podium...

Eldred
--
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
GPLRank:-1.680
MonsterRank: +334.169
N2002 Rank:+17.59

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

That's pretty fast for Monza, actually.  I'm only in the 1:27.9 bracket there,
and have a -35 handicap.  Focus on the other tracks a little more off-line, but
stick to the tracks you're comfortable with online for now.

-----------------------------------------
Dan Belcher
Webmaster,
http://simcrash.fameflame.dk

As long as you are polite and considerate to the other drivers you'll be
fine. Read the vroc rules of etiquette if you're not sure what that means.

Monza is very popular with newbies, it's the first track most people learn.

Consistency is more important than laptimes, if you can string together 11
laps at Monza then give it a go. You could always join a server & just watch
the race to see how it goes too. After a couple of times spectating you'll
want to race anyway ;-)

Malc.

First, don't worry about it; there's no real *** being shed on VROC.  You
want real carnage, you need to go Nascar...

I was nervous as hell the first time I raced GPL online, and ended up
winning the darned thing (only because I didn't crash).  And I still get a
bit nervous when I jump in an online race again after a layoff, which is
more often than not these days.  Your Monza pace is fine, but here are a few
tips.

Try to drive at a sustainable, in-control pace, rather than all-out, since
one crash will cost you all the tenths you've gained by pushing and more
(besides risking taking someone with you).  Save the kamikaze laps for
offline and/or qualifying, but even then don't try to dice with people in
qualifying.  It annoys the faster folks and is counterproductive anyway.
Better to slot in behind and school on 'em.

Watch your mirrors; if you're getting overtaken, you should generally hold
your normal line and let the passers choose their own way around you.
They're making choices based on what they think you're going to do, so don't
surprise them.  There are times when it's appropriate to ease out of the
way, but be careful to do it gradually, and only when the passer has room to
adjust.

Never weave back and forth on straights to block people, and above all, be
patient.  You'll get more enjoyment out of waiting a lap or three to make a
clean pass than you will from ten impatient stuffs that end up with one or
both of you going off.

If you see someone overtaking at a high rate, don't try to block them.
They're either a lot quicker or are going to crash and you don't want them
to take you out in the process.  You can wave at them in the weeds as you
drive by.

Discount ahead of time the fact that you're going to encounter some folks
who do the exact opposite of these suggestions, so that it doesn't bug you
too much when they inevitably show up.  Keep a few moron chips in your
pocket to toss out whenever you run across such.  They're out there, and
will make you feel like Jackie Stewart himself... ;-)

Lastly, have fun!

SB

As daft as it sounds the pressure of having someone in your mirrors waiting
for you to fall off adds a whole lot to the experience. Just get some
online laps in without trying too hard to get the feel for it.

Cheers
Tony

pez

1:28 is better than any time I've ever posted at Monza, and in any
chassis.

Those guys are mostly euro dudes with no other game wrth playing.

Be a man, join the race. Many others with less ambition join and drop
out, allowing you to place higher than you would have. Don't join to
win, join for the fun of competition.  I ran GPL for 3 years straight
and only won 3 or so races in that entire time.

best I can do around

only 1 28 7!!!   I've had the game since it came out, and my pb is 1 28 9.
you just can't make some people happy.  :o)    seriously, just practise the
other tracks.  remember, its not always the fastest driver who wins, but the
most consistant.  Just get in there and race.  the first race is always the
hardest.  after that its just fun, fun, fun.

steve

What Steve and the others said... consistency is key. Hit your marks and
don't do many unpredictable things and you won't be barred from many races.

Also, there's only one way to learn how to race and that is to do it. So get
in there and do it. The journey (and the serious ***ion) have only just
begun!!

Jan.
=---

<snip>
<snip>

(I ought to make it clear that I'm talking about pickup races here, as
I don't do league racing.)

At Monza, not-punting-everyone-else-off-at-T1-standard will put you
well ahead of the game immediately! Seriously, 1:28.7 in the Eagle is
pretty good - my GPLRank is -10 and my equivalent PB is only 1:29.1, so
basic speed isn't going to be an issue for you.

That being so, I'd say that you might benefit from more practice at
some of the other tracks. Spa is an excellent track, as it's very fast,
flows nicely, is relatively easy to remember and can produce some
memorable online races. It also seems to have a high attrition rate,
even amongst the top drivers, so there's no need to be alien-fast. Even
3:30s, if consistent, will often be enough for a good points finish.

If it's of any use, I wrote a little introduction to VROC back in 2001
- it's nothing special, but generally what I say there still holds:

http://www.btinternet.com/~gplscrapyard/vrocguide.html

Most importantly of all... HAVE FUN! :-D

--
Above address *is* valid - but snip spamtrap to get me to *read*!

Your fastest time is a second faster than I have ever done at Monza. I have
often been out paced at that track yet I have also won many a race there in
Vroc because I stayed on the track the whole race.

You will always get those drivers that think the chequered flag is just
around the very first turn of the first lap and if you wind up in a wreck
because of them then you have nothing to worry about. Just try the next
race.

I have had better and more exciting races trying to hang onto someone in
front of me than I have had out front on my own.  Trying to race or outbreak
the car in front without wrecking him is best racing fun of all.

If you are frightened to race on line.... build a bridge.... and get over
it. You'll never regret it

Nigel

So after crawling around the track, using all of the practice time I
managed to qualify around 17th with a time of 1:31.5. I've never been
so nervous sat on the grid at the start! As a result, I managed to
totally bog down on the line and everyone else sped away. Oh well, at
least I hadn't hit anyone I thought to myself! That soon changed at T1
though. When I arrived there was a huge pile of burning cars awaiting
me! After everyone had frantically shift-R'ed back on track I was soon
left behind again. However, I gained quite a few places by attrition
and passing people stuck in the sand at the Parabolica :)

Just when I thought I was doing well though, disaster struck. My
pedals somehow managed to go out of calibration and I could only get
2/3rds throttle. At that point I decided to retire before people
encountered my mobile chicane! Still, was the best fun I've had in
ages. I'll definitely be pitching up for more races in the future!

Andrew

Hi.

Forget the advice from the previous posts. Their intention is ok,
but they know nothing. Watch a few races online, only Monza races of
course, the others don't matter, and you'll find out the only
important thing is to be first in turn 1. The rest of the race is
meaningless.

Cheers!

Remco

Disclaimer:

:-)

Cheers,
Ron