rec.autos.simulators

Shoot im havin a blast and my FPS never gets above 15.  Its just a matter of
perspective.  GPL is for the diehard sim racers,  guys like me that love that
era of Grand Prix racing, and some guys that just love racing.  If you sit down
and just give it some time im sure you will see just how much fun it is.  I
will soon be getting a 3dfx card and im sure i will enjoy it even more at 36
FPS.  

As for D3d...yes it is the wave of the future and i have it on my comp.  But
really its ahead of its time.  Wait for GPL2 (if there is one) and im sure it
will support D3d.

Brian Short

Ah!. I didn't know that Graham Hill incarnate subscribed to this newsgroup! It
is truly amazing how many people out there seem to have had experience driving
a 1967 vintage F1 car! It must be so, since they keep telling us neophytes how
little we understand about  racecar driving techniques and physics!

The truth is that this that no "simulation" including GPL is really very
accurate since the G-forces and seat of the pants feel that a driver feels when
driving a car are not represented here.

By the way, who can really quantify that the physiscs model is all that
accurate? Certainly the crash model is highly unrealistic. I've numerous times
( more than I can count!) crashed my car in ways that would have positively
destroyed a real vehicle. However, the GPL car will fly upside down and do
spectacular spins and loops but remain essentially intact (yes, I'm on
realistic damage!)

I also happen to run through the "ghost" spectators seemingly with no problem
either. Also, while we're on the subject of realism, since when has a race at
Spa been held where some wet weather hasn't occurred? Why no rain effects?

While I'm nitpicking here, I might as well touch a little on the manual: in a
word, mediocre at best. There are glaring omissions in this thing that are
frankly quite hard to believe. How can the writers leave out references to the
Ferrari?- licencing problems?; how is in the game then?

Poor references to the use of the gauges; unclear and confusing references to
how to tune the car ( you should not have to be a race car mechanic to
understand this aspect).

All in all, I'm not confinced that this supposed state-of -the -art realism
exists or is really all that necessary to create an enjoyable and rewarding
race simulation, certainly not at the price that seems necessary in terms of
hardware and time that GPL  requires.

For me that is the quantum leap represented by GPL - the feel it generates.

I do not know if the physics model is accurate - just that it provides far &
away the best sensation of driving on & over the edge than any other
simulation I have tried.

Graphics, sounds & AI will always improve as programmers learn new
techniques & hardware progresses. Getting the feel of driving through a
computer simulation without access to mechanical devices (like a full blown
hydraulically operated simulator) to my mind is far more difficult to
create.

Papyrus deserve the credit for GPL. IMHO GPL is truly a milestone in auto
sim history.

Tony