rec.autos.simulators

by **Will DeRiver** » Sat, 29 Dec 2001 10:24:31

> Ok, I was a troll yesterday night (local time was 2 AM) influenced by a
lot
> of Christmas beer and annoyed by this game (GPL) because of soundproblems
> (Windows XP <> SB Audigy), and none of the patches I found worked, the
game
> run slowly and unsteady framerate, because I did not know of the CPU-fix
> patch (the www.papy.com is still unavailable to me), but everyone wrote
> "Oh, a nice game, great game, good sound, nice graphics" aso, and I sit
here

> poor graphic, and too drunk to drive (even in a sim). Now the framerate is
> OK, but the sound is still not good. Clicks and crakles in the
enginesound,
> funny though, mostly when driving alone. I have now used most of the day,
> getting patches, new sounds, tested, but the FF is still "abnormal" I
can't
> get the right values, and the sound is still teasing me. The graphics is
> somewhat around a Quake2 standard, still a long way to RtCW. So I will
leave
> you with your GPL, and go back to GP3 Season 2000, and I will wait for
GP4.

I don't recall anyone caliming that the game is a gorgeous, perfect modern
(in pc terms) sim. It's far from it. Out of the box, it's ugly...hell, it
should be, the sim is three years old! PC power has tripled in that time! It
certainly was amazing three years ago graphically. Part of the beauty of
this sim is the support from the community. With all the stuff out there,
GPL can be turned into a great looking sim. From what i've read in numerous
places around the 'net, you're not the only one having problems with the
XP-Audigy combo...and not just in GPL at that.

IMO, by far the greatest reason a lot of us care so much for the sim is that
it's still the best, most pure simulation out there. Some are arguing that
F1 2001 is poised to take it's place, but i haven't tried it yet so i don't
have room to comment on that. I still suck at GPL, but it's still my
favorite...and this comes from a stock car nut. lol.
--
- Will DeRivera
- GPL Rank 105.63
- http://www.racesimcentral.net/
- http://www.racesimcentral.net/
- Hi, I'm a sig virus.
- Please add me to the end of your sig and help me take over the world.

by **Greg3** » Sat, 29 Dec 2001 12:06:45

Yep burn on the God of sims and watch the fur fly!!

Greg31
GPL rank...uhhhh...you mean without the Ring?

by **jason moy** » Sat, 29 Dec 2001 14:06:35

> But, nomatter how lousy I was, I still feel this almost religious thing some
> of you have about GPL. If you don't think this game is a gift from God, then
> you are off. And with all these patches, and repairs there has to be done
> for this game to run on a modern PC, I really wanted to know if it was worth
> it or not.

Hey there. I'm definitely in the minority when it comes to this
opinion, but I think the graphics in Grand Prix Legends are excellent
even in the original incarnation. The thing is, when designing a
driving simulation, you either need to sacrifice realism and detail in
the physics model or detail of graphics and sound. Most people won't
ackowledge that, but if you think about it logically you're dealing
with a finite amount of system resources. While a fast 3-D
accelerator will ease the load substantially, increased graphical
detail will still eat CPU cycles.

That said, I'll give you my recommendations for improving the
graphics. I can't offer help in the sound department because I find
the sounds to be excellent (even if the Coventry is a sample of a
small block Chevy).

First, check out legends of 67. www.legendsof67.free-online.co.uk
They have tons of great information on making GPL as close to the real
1967 Formula One season as possible. I use the graphic addon
recommendations they have listed for the original GPL tracks and they
work really well. I also would install GPL Season and the season file
with the Cooper/Honda fixes.

For cars, I recommend sticking to those being made by the GPLEA.
www.gplea.org They're free of clipping/texture problems and are
absolutely top notch. It's possible, I suppose, that there are cars
being made that look even nicer but with the GPLEA you know that what
you're getting is high quality. They're still working on the
Honda/Cooper patches, but I am confident they'll be great.

As for tracks, I'm really picky. However, if you've just purchased
the game, I do not recommend getting addon tracks yet. Some will
argue with me, but for the first few weeks/months you'll have your
hands full just learning the 11 tracks that came with the game. Then
again, I've had the game for 2 years and I'm struggling with 1:31's at
Monza so I'm probably not a good person to make a recommendation here.
When you are ready for new tracks, check www.gplpp.com which has
links to every available track for GPL, as well as information on
tracks in development and so forth. My current favorites are the East
German tracks Andre released at
http://www.andre-gpl-texture.racesim.net/ Nothing comes close in
terms of professionalism and attention to detail.

I hope you're having fun with this game. There is not an open wheeled
sim available that rivals the realism of GPL, and having some pretty
images to look at makes it all the more enjoyable. Still, my biggest
advice would be to read through Steve Smith's wonderfully written
manual and practice until the subtleties in the physics engine start
to appear. Once you've reached that point, things start getting fun
and you'll see why we all make such a big deal over it. =)

Jason

by **David G Fishe** » Sat, 29 Dec 2001 14:17:32

Notice I haven't said a word. :-)

David G Fisher

> DGF is that you ??
> naah you have so much more class :)

> Mikkel

> PS: just kidding DFG... no offense intended.

> > I've got this "game" GPL for quite a while now, patched it to newest
> > version, but I really don't see why so many people think this is such a
> > great sim. It is ugly (compared to todays games) has a terrible sound,
and
> > these old cars are not funny to drive. My guess is, that it is just to
> show
> > off and say "I'm a GPL-driver". The support for Force Feedback is lousy
> > unless you spend hours and hours to tweak it to your wheel. That is
> because
> > the game is so old, that FF was not invented when this game was sold in
> > stores.

> > I'm NOT surprised there has never been a GPL2.

> > --

> > --
> > Mvh
> > E.L.

by **Andre Warrin** » Sat, 29 Dec 2001 17:39:59

Don't drink and post buddy..

Hmm.. it seems that you are not able to appreciate GPL for what it is
because you have all these problems. Just to show you how GPL looks
and sounds like after you correctly updated it, download and watch
this movie: http://www.racesimcentral.net/
It starts with the original GPL, and then step by step all the cars,
tracks and scenerys transform into the latest versions. Amazing
difference, believe me :)
The movie is 40mb though, I hope you're not on dial-up :)

Because for many of us GPL still delivers the best overall driving
experience and the most overall fun. I liked F1 2001 very much too,
even though it was very buggy pre-patch. But I hardly play it anymore,
simply because I can't play it online in a normal way. I had a couple
of online F1 2001 races and the quality was very poor with many bugs.
In GPL you have flawless online races with 20 players. Especially in
league races with experienced drivers this is a fantastic experience.

Exactly ;)

I still play Kick Off 2 on my amiga emulator.. simply because it's fun
to play.
Listen, I can imagine that a clean install of GPL looks very outdated
now, and combined with ff and sound problems AND the fact that it
takes quite some dedication to get the hang of GPL the overall
experience is not 'very funny' to you. But the way you look at
GPL-fans is ridiculous, stating we play GPL just to make an impression
on other people.

If you are willing to put the time in it, you will discover that GPL
is the best sim yet, unless you prefer Nascar more. If you quit that
trolling ***I'm sure you'll get all the help you will need here.

Don't be.

Andre

by **Tony Rickar** » Sat, 29 Dec 2001 19:30:04

Totally agree. However, there are several enhancements to the existing
tracks which allow GPL to look much better now we have faster computers
that can use the enhanced graphics over the original.

I am sure it is linked from some of the other sites you have been given
but here are some anyway:

http://www.racesimcentral.com/darkgreen.htm
http://www.bengpl.racesim.net/alskies.html

Yes it can take some fiddling to enhance the sim, but that seems par for
the course these days, the sim community is so strong & capable that
F1-2001 is full of add-ons and that has only recently been released. It
is amazing just what is being done for all sims.

Cheers

Tony

by **Morgan V. Woote** » Sat, 29 Dec 2001 21:47:16

Yes, the original Ferrari sound is awesome, if inaccurate. I've tried have a
dozen Ferrari sounds, but the original is the one I keep coming back to.

--

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan Vincent Wooten
System Specs:
http://personal.lig.bellsouth.net/lig/m/v/mvwooten/system.txt
-----------------------------------------------------------------

> > Disclaimer: *Caution!*, this reply may contain sarcasm.
> > > has a terrible sound,

> > Hmmm... a matter of taste perhaps and a soundpack does wonders. I can't
> even
> > remember what the originals sounded like.

> Jan if you can't remember the awesome original Ferrari sound... SHAME on
you
> !
> That is still the sweetest sounding ride in any game ever.

> Mikkel

by **Andre Warrin** » Sun, 30 Dec 2001 00:00:30

On Fri, 28 Dec 2001 06:47:16 -0600, "Morgan V. Wooten"

>Yes, the original Ferrari sound is awesome, if inaccurate. I've tried have a
>dozen Ferrari sounds, but the original is the one I keep coming back to.

I use Sam Dobies Ferrari sound, it's better than the original imho,
more raw power sounding. I don't have an url but I can mail it to you
if you want..

Andre

by **Jan Verschuere** » Sun, 30 Dec 2001 03:16:15

Well, call me a heretic, but I replaced it. IIRC I found it to be a little
"flat" compared to the meatier, more animal-like Ferrari sample I'm using
now (don't remember who made it). It's pretty similar, but is throatier and
has a rawer exhaust note.

Jan.
=---
"Pay attention when I'm talking to you boy!" -Foghorn Leghorn.

by **Jens H. Kruus** » Sun, 30 Dec 2001 03:27:54

<Snip!>
Meaty? Animal? Ah, I know the sound: "Moooooooooooooo....!" or is it:
"Oink...Oink....Oink...!"

by **jason moy** » Sun, 30 Dec 2001 16:23:47

> Totally agree. However, there are several enhancements to the existing
> tracks which allow GPL to look much better now we have faster computers
> that can use the enhanced graphics over the original.

> I am sure it is linked from some of the other sites you have been given
> but here are some anyway:

> http://www.racesimcentral.com/darkgreen.htm
> http://www.bengpl.racesim.net/alskies.html

Wow thanks. I've been looking for hi-res textures for the original
tracks, and so far what I've downloaded fromt those sites are nice.

Now I just need to find hi-res textures/popup fixes for the Nascar
Legends and Nascar 1999 conversions. Any suggestions? Thinking
about replacing my copy of Nascar 3 also if I can find a hi-res/popup
fix for IMS, preferably with completely revamped graphics to reflect
1967.

Jason

by J » Tue, 01 Jan 2002 17:41:59

Hi Sven,
You are forgiven if you promise to spend some more brain on your trollings next
time <g>

About GPL: Since you canot run the full show, you miss alot. I admit that the
standard GPL-edition (V1.0, no FF, no addon cars, tracks, gimicks) must look
very lousy nowadays. Hell, the sim is already 3 years old....

You should get your rig running first (I'm having a similar setup BTW and tons
of probs too):
Get the latest 4in1 (for a via chipset) and the 23.11 drivers for the GF3
Switch on AGP x 4, switch off any FSAA
Try to get the soundcard on an extra IRQ, this should solve a lotta stutter and
cracklings.
get GPL 1.2, 3D-wheels and the GPLEA carsets. Don't download addon tracks now,
you get lost.
At 1024 x 768 the sim blows your mind, even nowadays.

Cya
Jens

BTW:
XP 1600+, GF2 GTS 64 DDR, SB something 128, 256 MB, always a sixpack in reach
here

>Ok, I was a troll yesterday night (local time was 2 AM) influenced by a lot
>of Christmas beer and annoyed by this game (GPL) because of soundproblems

<snip>
---------------------------------------------
LWFF Ball Bearing conversion at:
http://jensschumi.tripod.com/

GPLRank: -14.82
Monsters of GPL: sub 95

rec.autos.simulators

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????

Why GPL - show off or swank????