Grand National Expansion Pack's Gone Gold!
Papyrus has announced that their Grand National Track Expansion Pack,
based on the NASCAR BGN series, has gone to press as of October 1st,
and should arrive on store shelves as early as tomorrow October 16th.
The N2 add-on contains 10-BGN series tracks (and two "fantasy" tracks)
that include Fontana, Texas, S. Boston, Indianapolis Raceway Park, and
several others. 30-licensed BGN drivers will be included with the set.
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Notes:
CALENDARS:
Papyrus has implemented a clever calendaring system which allows the
user to select which series to run in (similar to selecting one a car
list). This will no doubt go a long way for those involved in off-line
racing leagues, as a schedule can be created apart from the ones
already in the sim.
GRAPHICS:
One of the first things you'll notice is how nice the graphics are.
Papyrus has done some rethinking on how the MIP's are mapped to the
various 3DO-files, and it's apparent in the apparent added detail.
Hickory, for example, has old-style catch-fencing in front of the
grandstands, as well as some extra background detail. Items that would
have been difficult with the first release of N2.
Also, some of the sky and horizon graphics have gone through some big
changes, and South Boston's shadow-trees at twilight is quite nice,
and is far more realistic than the night tracks in the original N2.
For those of you who waiting for a suitable California and Texas, your
time has come, as these are absolutely gorgeous! California has a very
"new" feel to it, and is a far cry from the imposter/MIS tracks now on
the 'net, with only a couple of errors and omissions. Texas has some
very intricate details in items such as infield buildings, and track-
side construction projects. All in all, you'll be spending quite a bit
of time (lots!) circling the tracks just to take it all in.
A full review will be posted here in the Sports Simulation Forum, iRACE
<www.irace.com>, and the Sim Racing News website.
Cheers!
Marc - SRN
Marc J. Nelson
Sim Racing Online / Sim Racing News / The Sim Project
http://www.racesimcentral.net/