rec.autos.simulators

>Planning on setting up a home LAN this summer

>Nascar99 is a must, therefore a Windows-only solution will not do

>Prefer a setup that does not require me to pull cables

>Any suggestions???

>---------------------------------------------
>"Today's problems were yesterday's solutions"

>        Delete the 999 to email

<snak...@geocities.com> wrote:
>I just picked up a D-Link Network-In-A-Box kit from Fry's Electronics for
>$60 (10 mbps, the slow kind, but plenty fast for games)  Since both
>computers are next to each other, there was no cable pulling :)  I also have
>a little text file I ended up writing on how to make the PCs see each other,
>since it was a pain and some of my friends got the same kit too (it's not
>hard once you have the settings, oh, and Windows 95 and 98 don't like each
>other.  Works much better if both are 98.)  I run the Nascar99 DOS
>executable in Win98 with no problems.  Here are my computers:

Patrick Shumar <pat...@bealenet.com> wrote:
>What you game you been playing.  I have only experienced two of the problems you
>mentioned.

>R. II wrote:

>> From: Ron Riekens II (on behalf of self, and several drivers in a top 10 league)
>> To: All Sierra Development Staff involved in creating Nascar Racing 1999.
>> Re: Use of Customers as Beta Testers (Report on "testing" thus far).
>> CC: Numerous Sim Racing League Directors, the rec.autos.simulators
>> newsgroup, Sierra tech support.

>> Dear Sierra,
>>         Many, many of us, have purchased your software known as Nascar Racing 1999
>> Edition in anticipation of being able to have full Craftsman Truck physics,
>> as well as presumably better quality in the BGN and WC physics and AI
>> behavior while awaiting the release of Nascar Racing III, or 2000, or
>> whatever it is being called these days.

>> At this point I feel safe in saying that many of us feel that 1999 Edition
>> would have been better named Nascar Racing Y2K.

>> This program, as we in one of the top 10, indeed recently listed at or near
>> top of list, offline sim racing leagues in the world feel, has far more
>> bugs, and indeed, more serious bugs, than its parent version Nascar Racing
>> II. And yet to date we have seen little or no indication of any patch in the
>> works toalleviate these problems which seriously degrade playability, and in
>> fact may even have potentially harmful effects for some computer systems!

>> Below you will find brief, yet still clear summaries of the problems which
>> at my request, have been reported to myself in less than a 24hr period. Many
>> of these I have experienced myself as well. These are commonly occurring
>> bugs and problems experienced by a large percentage of simulation drivers
>> and do not apear to be isolated incidents. There also will be found some
>> word for word quotes of received messages from persons who have approved my
>> use of their full info in this letter, and in some cases still have replays
>> and or documentation of the bugs available on request as evidence to these
>> problems.

>> Please read the whole listing as there is further info/discussion following
>> the listing.

>> The errors/bugs are not listed in any order of severity, but more in order I
>> received them in.

>> Hardware Problems:

>> 1:      Sim suddenly shuts off, dumping back to the Win98/95 desktops. (this is
>> on same systems as last year with N2, (multiple systems listed which had no
>> N2 problems last year)).

>> 2:      Graphics in some turns stutter in 3dfx & rendition modes. (this occurs
>> under Win95/98 with a large variety of system configs from the basic to top
>> line setups).

>> 3:      High pitched audio making sound effects sound like "chipmunks" in 3dfx
>> under DOS mode bootup on Win98 system, if boot first into Win98 and don't
>> play any sounds before running it works ok.

>> 4:      Sound driver probs with Win95/98 booting to desktop, often requiring full
>> shut down to restart.

>> 5:      Loss of sound followed aprox 1-2 minutes later by hard lockup of system
>> requiring full power off restart.

>> 6:      All AI stop behind pace car in turn 4, player still able to drive around
>> field, system records no further continuation of stats. The only solution
>> found thus far was to shut down & restart.

>> 7:      (so far known to happen at Rockingham): 2 occurrences of system shutting
>> down and rebooting on its own when F2 screen displayed in the in car view,
>> same system no probs reported if don't use F2 key.

>> 8:      Screen blanks while sound continues.
>> 8a:     Screen blanks and sound stops.
>> 8b:     Screen turns purple and sound stops.
>>         (all required full system restart)

>> Again, these problems have been reported as occurring on everything from
>> base line systems, to full blown brand new systems with maxed sound, video,
>> hard disk, and ram. Many of these systems functioned with absolutely no
>> problems reported when running N2!

>> AI Code Related Probs:

>> 1:      Cars stopping suddenly in various turns at green flag then rapidly
>> speeding back up at start of race and occasionally on restarts.

>> 2:      On last lap of cautions AI in mid pack will suddenly stop for a beat,
>> then continue on rapidly. They stop far too fast for player to keep from
>> ramming if is in correct pace lap position.

>> 3:      Pace car will fly past player at an apparent speed of "mach 2" (reported
>> by many people with that description, also occurs with an occasional AI racer).

>> 4:      Pace laps at over 200mph.

>> 5:      After green flag pit stop every car stops on the apron coming out of turn
>> 1 & won't continue.

>> 6:      In turn 3 after a caution AI car flys up off apron at 45 deg. angle and
>> T-bones player at 75mph+. On review of replay all AI cars which were on
>> apron did same thing, continuing on to bounce off outer wall with no damage
>> except to player.

>> 7:      When viewing replays of qualifying laps full AI field reported to be seen
>> sitting on track with player car driving through them, cars not seen during
>> actual lap, only in replay (ghost cars).

>> 8: AI cars observed crashing, then after yellow when go back to review
>> replay the cars are still on track being driven through.

>> 9:      Caution comes out, players finds whole field plus pace car stopped just
>> past start line. player stops and gets creamed by AI car. After player pits
>> to repair damage returns to track and whole field still sitting on track by
>> starting line.

>> 10: On cautions when player slows to follow line AI car blows through player
>> at high rate of speed, destroying player car but no damage to AI car. (also
>> happens on pit road)

>> 11: AI cars blowing past player under caution, in frame by frame replay
>> driver and most AI advance aprox 2-3 feet of track in 1 frame, the speeding
>> AI car will clear entire back straight at Taladega in 4-5 frames (while all
>> other cars advance aprox 1 car length!)

>> 12:     Spotter calling player to move ahead of a AI car, AI won't yield correct
>> position to driver.

>> 13:     When AI on apron in turn 1 returning to track from pits racing AI slow
>> way down going by.

>> 14:     On large AI wrecks cars will not move again.

>> 15:     Smaller AI wrecks that don't clear track have been seen to have rest of
>> field one car at a time continue around track and pile into wrecked cars,
>> never clears