rec.autos.simulators

Yeah but from a multiplayer view of N2 there are a 100 little bugs. So then N2
fails under your criteria.

Latest bugs found over x-mas:

Both Michigan and Pocono are unplayable in a LAN enviroment AFAIK. For some
reason the game will crash about 10 seconds into the race. Practive works fine
but the race is not. I still have yet to try every course multiplayer so I'm
not sure if there will be others or not. If somebody has these working please
correct me so I can look at my systems more carefully.

One's that works:

Charolette
Rock
Bristol
Talladega
Martinsville

Q.B.M.

I have just found a tiny bug and I am not sure if it is in single player
or not. I was driving practice laps at taladega with a friend over the
modem with the spotter calling my laps out. I also had F2 displaying the
times. I ran a 49.066 one lap and that was the quickest up to that point
and he would call it out and it would show up the fastest on the F2
display. Then, the very next lap I ran a faster 49.041 and the spotter
called out the 49.066 and the F2 showed the new lap. I had it happen a few
times in that practice session, but haven't noticed it again. This is only
a very small thing and figured I would put it out here since I haven't
seen it yet. Overall, this is the BEST simulation I have seen and am VERY
happy with it. Good Job Papyrus!

GGB3

I have had a problem with the spotter not even calling out lap times during
a race.  He acknoledges the ALT-O and then doesn't tell me my lap times.
Come to think of it, this has happened during practice as well.

Just another little annoying bug.

---
()  http://www.pacifier.com/~dtuso           ()  Dominic Tuso
()  http://www.nicad.com/                    ()  For you NiCd needs
()  http://www.teleport.com/~cramark         ()  R/C car racing club
()  http://www.teleport.com/~lzwz/rcsr.htlml ()  R/C car racing club

I may be back if time and financial constraints allow (I've got my eye
on a new system, so money will be tight).

--

Emory University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
The IWCCCARS Project: Q & A Representative
Nascar Setups Page: http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~ebusch/

I don't care why they released the sim before Christmas, but my biggest
beef with this whole thing is the fact that there isn't much difference
between NCR1 and NCR2.  NCR2 should have been considered a patch for
NCR1 as far as I'm concerned.  If NCR3 doesn't have double-file
restarts, pit assignments based on qualifying position, straight pit
roads, open front stretch infields, etc. etc., I've purchased my last
product from Papyrus.  I won't accept any excuses from them because
someone will write a sim that does all that.  It's a simulation
involving tracks built from blueprints.  It is not a game.  Papyrus does
not have an exclusive license on stock car racing simulators.  Someone
needs to give them some competition.  Someone needs to produce a
simulator with everything Papyrus has and everything they chose to leave
out.

We all know that Bill France and NASCAR have got a tight leash on
Papyrus and they have no plans to satisfy offline racers.  Furthermore,
they probably have no plans to satisfy the needs of those who wish not
to compete in NRO.  I can already imagine them breaking their promise
about user-defined car assignments.  The only thing in my mind that
might remotely be satisfying about this whole deal is if NASCAR prices
the service right out of existance.  I know I want be using the service
if it costs more than $60/month.  That's what I pay now.  If anyone out
there has a couple hundred grand laying around, the best investment you
could make might be in the company that has plans to defeat the
NASCAR/Papyrus monoploy and provide a simulator that works great for
both the offline series, the online series, and the "I'll run by myself
against the computer because I live in an area so remote I can't even
get an internet service provider so I can email my results in" driver.

Think about it, Sierra is too damn cheap to provide ftp space for the
multiplayer log files.  Sounds like a *** with the LD companies
to me.

Soapbox off,

David Martin

Although I am not sure there is a *** here or some strange aliance
between NASCAR and Papyrus - I do agree that offline racing needs to be
considered an important feature in the NASCAR Racing simulation from
Papyrus/Sierra.  Only a small percentage of sim racers can find the time
and money to participate in on-line racing.  Although I may choose to race
on-line, the AI and race experience realism of the NASCAR simulations needs
to be considered highly important.  It is only a rewarding experience to
use the race simulations when you are challenged - all too often the
simulated cars don't provide a sufficient challenge because they do stupid
things - like pitting out of sequence and failing to pass slow traffic
(making them easy to run down and pass).  NASCAR Racing 2 has made the AI
cars a bit more aggresive and the lines at some tracks (like Bristol and
C***te) are much improved.  However, there is not significant change
with regards to the AI cars in NASCAR Racing 2 - which is disappointing.
Pit stops are still unrealistic (and at some tracks like Atlanta buggy) and
AI cars often choose poor passing situations - like going high when the
high groove is much too slow.  However, there is a lot of great stuff in
NASCAR Racing 2 also.  The graphics are better, the tracks are more
realistic, the spotter is great and the menu and car setup screens are
better.  With a patch or two to fix some of the bugs - it will be a great
product.

I hope Papyrus recruits some AI fanatics like myself for NASCAR Racing 3
beta testing.

/THansen

Compared to Sierra's "Christmas rush" release of Football Pro '97, Nascar
2 seems almost bug free.

Tom,

There were plenty of complaints from the beta testers about the AI. But
improvements to the AI were never even on the table. We did manage to get
you a few improvements, like the AI now suffer from cold tires and tire
wear, which in my opinion, goes a long way toward making the game more
interesting in single player.

Dave (davids) Sparks
Late Night League
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

From what I've heard of FBPRO '97 and my experience with N2, that is a
major understatement.

Kyle Langston
_________________________________

http://www.traction.git.net/nrcentral/

--
Chuck Stuart - Mesquite TX USA  
RaceTime utility program for Nascar1/Indycar2.  
http://www.metronet.com/~cstuart/