rec.autos.simulators

Is this game worth buying ?
What about graphics, gameplay, multiplayer .... ?

Greetings

Martin

A seperate section allows you to jump right into pre-defined scenarios
or open fighting areas on various tracks. Best of all they included
their track editing tool, so there are already some great public
domain tracks appearing on the web.

It has built in Internet multiplay, incredibly easy to use. Just log
onto the net, start the game, select the multiplay/Intnernet option,
and yo can directly join or host games - including using the new
tracks you've downloaded. Cheating's a bit of a problem but they've
promised a patch for it. There's also a patch coming for D3D support
if you have a 3D card.

This is one game that is definetly worth the $ I paid for it.

Joe McGinn
===================================================
Author of Inside LotusScript, available August 1997
http://www.browsebooks.com/McGinn/
===================================================

Activision gets big marks for releasing such a program - they have
showed that Papyrus refusal to release their own program for Nascar is
completely unjustifiable. Like Nascar, the I76 editor is very complex
and not suited for most users, and is undocumented and unsupported.
But as is obvious to everyone but Papyrus, not everyone HAS to be able
to use it. Even if only a few dozen people become experts with it (as
is the case with I76) public domain tracks will be created.

For the life of me I can't understand why companies like Papyrus
deliberately choose to limit the appeal and longevity of their racing
titles by refusing to provide track editing tools. There's just no
good reason for it at all, as Activision has proven.

Joe McGinn
===================================================
Author of Inside LotusScript, available August 1997
http://www.browsebooks.com/McGinn/
===================================================

I second that!

...
|> or open fighting areas on various tracks. Best of all they included
|> their track editing tool, so there are already some great public

I just got my copy of I76 yesterday, and I was interesting in trying out
this feature.  I will admit that I was too busy playing to read the manual
cover to cover, but I did scan it for any mention of mission editting
and couldn't find anything.  I also searched the install directory and
CD's as well as the various menus and didn't see anything obvious.  Can
someone tell me how to get to the track editor?

  Thanks!

    ...Lance

--


IBM Microelectronics                  ICQ UIN: 216830
Burlington, VT                          Phone: (802) 769-7104 (tie 446)

I'll second and third all that has been said so far,
I have'nt tried out the track editor for I76, but it is a perfect
idea. Activision is coming from a Mechwarrior state of mind and so
they already have some idea of what the gamers want, in my opinion
thats also why the driving model and general interface turned out so
nice, instead of thinking about pure racing sims they were looking at
the big picture.
I was a beta tester for this game and I've got to say it's one of my
favourite games of all time.
It's not perfect, but not game is. I would definitely pick it up.
Guaranteed fun, if only to see Taurus come out of the Quick E Mart
with Slurpees and strut across the parking lot....

Raevyn

"A friend of mine suggested I try America Online, I said 'But I already
have
a computer...'"

Good race at the Brickyard, (Old'Indytrack guy in rec.autos.simulators)
                             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ =ymenard now!!!
SPEED- http://www.nascarnet.com/~speed
     [===]   Go Rubens Barrichello, Jacques Villeneuve,

     | ! |   And all you that thinks that Jacques Villeneuve is
      |!|    from Canada, your right!! He's from St-Jean sur le
      |o|    Richelieu, 30 minutes from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

    [--I--]      
       v  
Fran?ois Mnard "Wasupe LeGrand"
May the force be with you, always!!
Que la force soit avec toi, jamais!(for you French people)
Excuse me for my poor English(I'm French speaking)

Joe McGinn
===================================================
Author of Inside LotusScript, available August 1997
http://www.browsebooks.com/McGinn/
===================================================

Yeah, but I still suspect that copyright protection is the real reason.

"A friend of mine suggested I try America Online, I said 'But I already
have
a computer...'"

Joe McGinn
===================================================
Author of Inside LotusScript, available August 1997
http://www.browsebooks.com/McGinn/
===================================================

Joe McGinn
===================================================
Author of Inside LotusScript, available August 1997
http://www.browsebooks.com/McGinn/
===================================================

: I think copywrite issues are the main thing preventing Papy from
: realeasing their track editing tool. I can think of no good reason why
: they wouldn't want us to have it otherwise.

The real good reason is the reason Papyrus has been giving for the last
3 years.  There really aren't any tools per se (sp?).  Over the years, I
have done some programming and hacking.  Many times I used odd ball this
and that software packages and kludged together some bare minimum
utilities which no one else could have been able to use easily.  These
were just simple projects.  I am sure that Papyrus, from their past
comments, is doing the same thing on a grander scale.  Some of the art
programs they are using I am sure are "off the shelf", but I bet most of
everything else is coded as needed, with a klunky front end (if it even
has a "front-end").  

Now I will admit that for a company that is in the business to "create"
real-to-life simulated tracks, it doesn't make sense to not have "easy"
to use software to produce the product.  But, I also understand the
realities of the way they do it.  How many months do they want to invest
in re-writing their track building tools every time they alter their
overall engine and design?  How much money do they want to "sink" into
this project?  One that would require many months of "man hours" to
create (and then maintain and debug).  I am sure that the bean counters
are telling them that to make money you don't throw it away on things
that won't make money.

Don't get me wrong.  It would be wonderful (and do-able) to have a
public track editor.  But, this isn't Quake, it's not Doom, it's not
even Monster Truck Madness.  A simple, oh look here is a bunch of 3do
files that when patched together look like Daytona would be easy.  But a
piece of code that incorporates the traction, effects of
elevation/banking, etc. would be a lot harder to create.  This is one of
the reasons I don't think we will see a track editor from any REAL sim
for a long time yet.  But, it would be nice if Sierra decided to fund
such a project.  As a matter of fact, it could be in their own best
interest if they plan on continuing to "produce" future sims.  But
again as the sim engine evolves it would require more man hours be spent
evolving the track editing tools.

One more point, Papyrus isn't holding out on a track editor program so
they can make money selling "track packs".  From what I understand,
their Track Packs didn't generate any return in the past.  And I
wouldn't hold my breath expecting one for NASCAR2.

--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
     Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.

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