about the longevity and overall goodness of GPL in recent threads,
combined with the fact that I've been away from GPL for the past few
months except for the occasional lap at the Glen or Mexico just to
check out various graphics tweaks on my system, I decided to break out
the old girl and do some laps. The amazing thing I noticed is how
drastically different the game feels with the 1.2 patch. I installed
the patch about the time I got heavily involved with DTR, and since FF
doesn't really interest me, I quickly drifted away from GPL
altogether.
Today, though, I spent a significant amount of time with GPL, and the
difference is amazing -- in short order, I was within a second of my
own personal best at Mexico, but the ease with which I got there was
amazing. Either DTR has made me a better driver, or the 1.2 patch has
made GPL much more forgiving and driveable. I'm not using FF, BTW --
just my trusty old TSW2 *without* split-axis pedals. Mexico is a very
demanding track, and, strangely enough for a guy who loves ovals so
much, it's pretty much my favorite (that and the Glen would be my top
two). Still, I found myself getting RIGHT into the game with no
problems, and it felt GOOD -- far better than I remembered, in fact.
After a afternoon's worth of wheel time in GPL, I have to say that if
it had been released with whatever tweaks are contained in the 1.2
patch, it would have gone over MUCH better, IMO.
I still think the learning curve is a bit high, and Papy could/should
have made some concessions to make the game more accessible to the
novice players (a difficulty slider like Ratbag included in DTR would
have made a world of difference in the final sales figures, I would
wager), but all in all, DTR truly IS the pinnacle of automotive
simulations.
That said, I really don't think that the GPL engine could be as
successfully applied elsewhere. I have read posts where folks have
complained about how "dead" N3 feels in comparison to GPL, and I fear
that if a NASCAR sim (or even a CART, IRL, or modern F1 sim) was made
using the GPL engine, it still wouldn't have that magic "feel" that we
all love in GPL. The magic, I believe, comes from the responsiveness,
nimbleness, and lightness of the cars being modeled, plus the fact that
there are NO aero aids involved. The cars involved in the 1967 GP
season are a far cry from anything before or since -- there's a purity
involved with GPL that just won't be equalled for quite some time, I'm
afraid. If N4 uses the GPL engine, a lot of people may be fairly
disappionted, but it won't be the game engine's fault.
I've mentioned DTR, and I really feel that the physics in DTR are
pretty darn good -- maybe second only to GPL (and maybe Viper Racing).
The difference is that the Stocks, Pro Stocks, and Late Model cars
being modeled in DTR are VERY different automotive beasts than the 1967
GP cars being modeled in GPL. In fact, if the GPL engine was used as
the basis for a modern Late Model dirt racing simulation, I think we
would all be surprised at how much it would feel like the current
incarnation of DTR.
Maybe with N4 we'll have a chance to see if GPL's magic feel can be
translated into modern-day racing machines, but I really believe that
GPL's magic is unique. If you're into flight sims, just imagine if the
Falcon 4.0 physics model was used as the basis for a B-2 bomber
simulation -- the bottom line is that even if the end result was
inherently good, it just wouldn't be the same, and it just might lack
some of the "magic," if you will, that makes Falcon 4.0 the definitive
combat simulator that it is.
Okay, enough revelations. I'm beginning to even bore myself, so, now
it's time for the heresy . . .
After playing around with GPL for a while, I decided to fire up the
Ford Racing demo that I'd installed a couple of nights ago. I played
around with it a little when I installed it, and while I did find it to
be pretty disappointing, it did manage to feel a bit more satisfying
that the SoS demo, so I figured it warranted a second look just to
determine how BAD it truly is.
The heresy lies in the fact that, despite the unanimous agreement here
from others that it truly does stink, I think it truly may have some
potential. True, the sounds suck, but if you look through the game
folders you'll find that they use a single WAV file for the engine
sound, which would be easy enough to change. Now, granted, you would
still be stuck with a single engine sound for all the cars, but a patch
could surely be developed that would point to different sound files for
each different car in the game. The way I see it, this "single engine
note" problem is on a par with SCGT's "single dashboard for all cars"
faux pas.
The dashboard issue brings up the second major failing, IMO -- the lack
of an in-car view is a MAJOR problem, but, still, it seems like this
could be taken care of in a patch. All that's needed is a new camera
angle (easy to do), dash overlay graphics (equally simple), and you're
driving from the right view, which would be a major improvement.
Of course, while the folks at Empire are *** the folks at Elite to
develop a decent patch, they might want ask for a joystick tuning
feature, too. Viper Racing still has the best joystick tuning
capability bar none, but even something as simplistic as what's
included in SCGT would be a great improvement. This is the one area
where Ford Racing really falls down, IMO (besides sound and driving
view, that is) -- the steering has too large of a dead-zone, and it
feels too non-linear off-center for me. Then again, a lot of that
could be the driving view -- I've NEVER been able to master the chase
view, so it could just be me.
Now, all of this may sound like I'm out in left field, but the REAL
heresy is yet to come -- based on my wheel time in Ford Racing after
playing around with GPL, I have to say that even though I really don't
like the steering response, the engine sounds, or the driving view, I
do think that Ford Racing seems to have a much better physics model
than NFS3 or NFS/HS, and it may be as good or better than SCGT, and
(here's the REAL stretch), it just MIGHT be nearly as good as Viper
Racing (and therein lies the heresy). Even as it is, I really think I
like the Ford Racing demo better than I did the entire Andretti Racing
game, but, then again, that's not really saying much, is it?
The reason I think there may be hope for Ford Racing is this: Imagine
if the Viper Racing physics engine was used to model a relatively-
benign 135-hp Dodge Neon with front wheel drive instead of a fire-
breathing Viper, then imagine yourself in chase view mode with the
game's default controller tuning values, and I think that the end
result might feel quite a bit like the Puma in the Ford Racing demo.
Sure, there's no damage in the game, but the car seems to handle quite
a bit more realisticly than the cars in NFS, and the physics model
seems to be sound based on the fact that I've seen the car tip on 2
wheels in a fairly realistic manner after clipping a wall or another
car under the right circumstances. In this regard, the Ford Racing
physics model seems like it might be a little better than the GT3
physics model in SCGT, which seems to have either too much traction or
too much gravity to allow for the type of "tippy"-ness that would be
found in a relatively-modest car like a Ford Puma.
So, can the "Friends of Elite" were to come out with a patch that would
add individual sounds for each of the vehicles modeled, plus an in-car
view with proper dashboard displays for each vehicle, AND a controller
calibration/tuning utility, THEN I think the Ford Racing game might be
able to rank up there with the likes of SCGT, Viper Racing, and Dirt
Track Racing, rather than reside in the Hall of Shame with titles like
Spirit Of Speed.
So, is anybody from Ford, Elite, or Empire listening? If so, give us
some glimmer of hope -- and give us a patch to cure some of these
ills. What's needed isn't earth-shattering or show-stopping -- it
WOULD take a small miracle (like, say, a complete re-write of the code)
to make SoS halfway decent, but all that Ford Racing needs is a few
tweaks, I daresay, in order to put it in very good company indeed.
Okay, that's enough for now -- anybody else have any thoughts on this?
-- JB
Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
Before you buy.