rec.autos.simulators

by **Rick Williamso** » Tue, 01 May 2001 13:51:34

Just finished a short 38 lapper at Talladega after applying the patch. Much
better racing experience now. At least the AI doesn't run over you all the
time, just sometimes, which is how it is in the real world anyhow. But if
you hold your line most of the time you don't have trouble. That wasn't
true before the patch.

But I managed to get in the lead and put some distance between me and 2nd
after getting around a couple of lapped cars. I'm about 6 laps away from
the finish and I notice this little black dot getting bigger and bigger in
the rear view mirror. It's Mr. Intimidator himself! He keeps closing and
I'm starting to sweat. 3 laps to go and he's on my rear bumper. He tries
to come around on the high side and I move up and block him. He tries to
come low and I drop down and cut him off. To make matters worse there's a
lapped car ahead. Fortunately I'm able to cruise by on the low side but
unfortunately my nemesis does too. Two laps to go and he's pushing hard but
I'm holding him. Last lap and everything is fine until turn number three.
The car's getting tighter and as I go into the turn it starts drifting high.
The black number 3 drops low and starts coming around. But I'm able to cut
the wheel hard and with tires screeching I manage to block his line and beat
him to the finish line.

WOW! What an experience! After the race is over I slow down and he passes
me. I could of swore he flipped me off as he drove by. ;-) No doubt that
even with its flaws Papy has done a whale of a job with this sim. I'll
never be a Nascar driver but this sim has allowed me to taste the
experience. It also was an eye opener to realize the level of concentration
these guys have to operate at.

It makes me appreciate more of what they do and makes watching the races a
little more interesting because you see a move that doesn't look that
impressive to some but you realize it wasn't as easy as it looks. I saw the
California race today and one of the announcers said that some drivers use
"the computer" to learn tracks they haven't driven at. Pretty good chance
they are referring to Nascar 4? Any idea how many drivers use N4 to hone
their skills?

Great job Papy!

Rick

by **Bob Thurma** » Tue, 01 May 2001 14:52:40

Dale Earnhardt Jr uses the game.

buzard

by **Kirk Hous** » Wed, 02 May 2001 02:32:34

I've been racing GPL for almost 3 years but only rarely are you stuck in
the middle of a 10 car pack. If you take a low line at most of the ovals
you won't have much trouble qualifying in the top 10 and you'll probably
avoid the inevitable 1st lap wreck. My heart was really thumping last night
racing on one of the Papy servers with 43 cars. I was in a 5 car pack with
a couple of laps to go and we were all fighting for the lead. I made it to
second but not winning wasn't so bad because the racing was so good.
The beauty of GPL is that it's a lot more exciting racing around a track
and outbraking someone because it takes more skill but just for sheer white
knuckle racing I think N4 has a leg up.
If you like N4 offline, get DSL or Cable if you can and try it out
against real drivers... some are even smarter than the AI ;)

by **Tom Olive** » Wed, 02 May 2001 05:37:11

I'm pretty sure almost all the "younger" guys use it. Dale Jr and Harvick
are both listed as beta testers for N4. I know Hank Parker Jr, Matt Kenseth,
and Casey Atwood run it too as I've seen them all comment on it.

BTW, the AI is NOTHING. No matter how good it is it's nothing compared to
real people. Try online. You think you got excided running against the
computer try it with 20 *real* people knowing one mistake and you take them
all out. I've actually had a bug fly around my face for three laps and not
take my hands off the wheel to swat him away. That's intense.

Tom

> Dale Earnhardt Jr uses the game.

> buzard

> > Just finished a short 38 lapper at Talladega after applying the patch.
> Much
> > better racing experience now. At least the AI doesn't run over you all
> the
> > time, just sometimes, which is how it is in the real world anyhow. But
if
> > you hold your line most of the time you don't have trouble. That wasn't
> > true before the patch.

> > But I managed to get in the lead and put some distance between me and
2nd
> > after getting around a couple of lapped cars. I'm about 6 laps away
from
> > the finish and I notice this little black dot getting bigger and bigger
in
> > the rear view mirror. It's Mr. Intimidator himself! He keeps closing
and
> > I'm starting to sweat. 3 laps to go and he's on my rear bumper. He
tries
> > to come around on the high side and I move up and block him. He tries
to
> > come low and I drop down and cut him off. To make matters worse there's
a
> > lapped car ahead. Fortunately I'm able to cruise by on the low side but
> > unfortunately my nemesis does too. Two laps to go and he's pushing hard
> but
> > I'm holding him. Last lap and everything is fine until turn number
three.
> > The car's getting tighter and as I go into the turn it starts drifting
> high.
> > The black number 3 drops low and starts coming around. But I'm able to
> cut
> > the wheel hard and with tires screeching I manage to block his line and
> beat
> > him to the finish line.

> > WOW! What an experience! After the race is over I slow down and he
> passes
> > me. I could of swore he flipped me off as he drove by. ;-) No doubt
that
> > even with its flaws Papy has done a whale of a job with this sim. I'll
> > never be a Nascar driver but this sim has allowed me to taste the
> > experience. It also was an eye opener to realize the level of
> concentration
> > these guys have to operate at.

> > It makes me appreciate more of what they do and makes watching the races
a
> > little more interesting because you see a move that doesn't look that
> > impressive to some but you realize it wasn't as easy as it looks. I saw
> the
> > California race today and one of the announcers said that some drivers
use
> > "the computer" to learn tracks they haven't driven at. Pretty good
chance
> > they are referring to Nascar 4? Any idea how many drivers use N4 to
hone
> > their skills?

> > Great job Papy!

> > Rick

by **Phaso** » Wed, 02 May 2001 07:33:08

....but most are not. It seems it's been getting worse the longer N4 is
out, instead of better. In almost every race now, it seems there is a
wrecker intent on taking out the whole field. There was some idiot called
'BlindGrl' who drove in reverse, backwards around the track, for the entire
race. Another bonehead at Indy who blew his engine on the first lap yet
continued to go around the track for the rest of the race, right in the
middle, at 20mph with a thick plume of black smoke trailing behind. I used
to be able to finish 3 of 5 races, now it's more like 1 of 5.

-Phasor

by **Alan Bernard** » Wed, 02 May 2001 09:37:09

The only fix to avoid such drivers is to race with a group of guys you feel
comfortable with and then password protect the race. I know, this is
obvious. You can't really expect to join a race that's open to the public
and not expect some crazies. It's just the way things are, unfortunately.

Complaining does absolutely no good. Just find some good racing buddies and
forget the rest.

Alanb

by **Tex** » Wed, 02 May 2001 13:13:53

Awesome story...that's why N4 is such a blast. Do you have a replay of that
race that you could e-mail me? I'd love to see it...I enjoy wathcing
replays almost as much as I like racing. Plus that gives me some great
racing to watch during the week between Sunday Cup races.

Tex

by **Rick Williamso** » Wed, 02 May 2001 14:00:31

Unfortunately I didn't save the replay. BTW with a name like Tex you don't
happen to live close to Ft. Worth do you? I used to live in Dallas before I
moved out of state for a different job. I got to go to TMS, I believe in
1997, to see a Busch race. It was back when Earnhardt Jr. was still driving
Busch cars. As a matter of fact it was the first race that Jr. won there.
It's a nice facility and hope to make it back there someday.

Rick

> Awesome story...that's why N4 is such a blast. Do you have a replay of
that
> race that you could e-mail me? I'd love to see it...I enjoy wathcing
> replays almost as much as I like racing. Plus that gives me some great
> racing to watch during the week between Sunday Cup races.

> Tex

> > Just finished a short 38 lapper at Talladega after applying the patch.
> Much
> > better racing experience now. At least the AI doesn't run over you all
> the
> > time, just sometimes, which is how it is in the real world anyhow. But
if
> > you hold your line most of the time you don't have trouble. That wasn't
> > true before the patch.

> > But I managed to get in the lead and put some distance between me and
2nd
> > after getting around a couple of lapped cars. I'm about 6 laps away
from
> > the finish and I notice this little black dot getting bigger and bigger
in
> > the rear view mirror. It's Mr. Intimidator himself! He keeps closing
and
> > I'm starting to sweat. 3 laps to go and he's on my rear bumper. He
tries
> > to come around on the high side and I move up and block him. He tries
to
> > come low and I drop down and cut him off. To make matters worse there's
a
> > lapped car ahead. Fortunately I'm able to cruise by on the low side but
> > unfortunately my nemesis does too. Two laps to go and he's pushing hard
> but
> > I'm holding him. Last lap and everything is fine until turn number
three.
> > The car's getting tighter and as I go into the turn it starts drifting
> high.
> > The black number 3 drops low and starts coming around. But I'm able to
> cut
> > the wheel hard and with tires screeching I manage to block his line and
> beat
> > him to the finish line.

> > WOW! What an experience! After the race is over I slow down and he
> passes
> > me. I could of swore he flipped me off as he drove by. ;-) No doubt
that
> > even with its flaws Papy has done a whale of a job with this sim. I'll
> > never be a Nascar driver but this sim has allowed me to taste the
> > experience. It also was an eye opener to realize the level of
> concentration
> > these guys have to operate at.

> > It makes me appreciate more of what they do and makes watching the races
a
> > little more interesting because you see a move that doesn't look that
> > impressive to some but you realize it wasn't as easy as it looks. I saw
> the
> > California race today and one of the announcers said that some drivers
use
> > "the computer" to learn tracks they haven't driven at. Pretty good
chance
> > they are referring to Nascar 4? Any idea how many drivers use N4 to
hone
> > their skills?

> > Great job Papy!

> > Rick

by **PHYDEAUX** » Thu, 03 May 2001 06:20:28

>Subject: Re: N4 Awesome!

>Date: 04/30/2001 4:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time

>I'm pretty sure almost all the "younger" guys use it. Dale Jr and Harvick
>are both listed as beta testers for N4. I know Hank Parker Jr, Matt Kenseth,
>and Casey Atwood run it too as I've seen them all comment on it.

>BTW, the AI is NOTHING. No matter how good it is it's nothing compared to
>real people. Try online. You think you got excided running against the
>computer try it with 20 *real* people knowing one mistake and you take them
>all out. I've actually had a bug fly around my face for three laps and not
>take my hands off the wheel to swat him away. That's intense.

>Tom

And don't forget to prepare yourself to be flamed with Autochat Profanity if
you do make a mistake.

I was in a race several nites ago at either Dega of Daytona...running off pace
and a bit out of control due to some damage sustained in one of those lap 1
incidents....as bad as I was handling I should have just parked it but I really
wanted to keep going since so many people tend to drop out as the race goes on
and staying out can bump your ratings up....or so I thought.

So along comes the leader in the flying up in the mirror...I tried to get out
of the way and either got a bit out of shape or possibly warped and got creamed
by the guy...geez...the profanity came up on the screen at such a rate as to
suggest that this guy had all ten of his autochat keys progammed for verbal

was running...eventually some of the other drivers got tired of it and told him
to get over it. Somehow I just had a hard time saying "sorry" to the
guy.....though I eventually did.

I would suggest that every player online program 2 messages into
autochat..."Sorry" and "Thanks" Anything else whatever you like but these two
are a must.
(Don't gimme NO***in E-mail)

by **Tex** » Thu, 03 May 2001 11:47:48

Good guess on the name, hehe. I'm originally from Houston, although I spent
the last 2 years in Dallas (Addison, actually.) What part of Dallas were
you in?

I've recently moved to Colorado, and everyone here calls me Tex, so it's
kind of stuck for an online identity.
Unfortunately, I never made it to TMS, and there are no Winston Cup races in
Colorado, so I have to satisfy myself with Busch and IRL races at Pike's
Peak. N4 fits in as a decent substitute for NWC action, though.

> Unfortunately I didn't save the replay. BTW with a name like Tex you
don't
> happen to live close to Ft. Worth do you? I used to live in Dallas before
I
> moved out of state for a different job. I got to go to TMS, I believe in
> 1997, to see a Busch race. It was back when Earnhardt Jr. was still
driving
> Busch cars. As a matter of fact it was the first race that Jr. won there.
> It's a nice facility and hope to make it back there someday.

> Rick

> > Awesome story...that's why N4 is such a blast. Do you have a replay of
> that
> > race that you could e-mail me? I'd love to see it...I enjoy wathcing
> > replays almost as much as I like racing. Plus that gives me some great
> > racing to watch during the week between Sunday Cup races.

> > Tex

> > > Just finished a short 38 lapper at Talladega after applying the patch.
> > Much
> > > better racing experience now. At least the AI doesn't run over you
all
> > the
> > > time, just sometimes, which is how it is in the real world anyhow.
But
> if
> > > you hold your line most of the time you don't have trouble. That
wasn't
> > > true before the patch.

> > > But I managed to get in the lead and put some distance between me and
> 2nd
> > > after getting around a couple of lapped cars. I'm about 6 laps away
> from
> > > the finish and I notice this little black dot getting bigger and
bigger
> in
> > > the rear view mirror. It's Mr. Intimidator himself! He keeps closing
> and
> > > I'm starting to sweat. 3 laps to go and he's on my rear bumper. He
> tries
> > > to come around on the high side and I move up and block him. He tries
> to
> > > come low and I drop down and cut him off. To make matters worse
there's
> a
> > > lapped car ahead. Fortunately I'm able to cruise by on the low side
but
> > > unfortunately my nemesis does too. Two laps to go and he's pushing
hard
> > but
> > > I'm holding him. Last lap and everything is fine until turn number
> three.
> > > The car's getting tighter and as I go into the turn it starts drifting
> > high.
> > > The black number 3 drops low and starts coming around. But I'm able
to
> > cut
> > > the wheel hard and with tires screeching I manage to block his line
and
> > beat
> > > him to the finish line.

> > > WOW! What an experience! After the race is over I slow down and he
> > passes
> > > me. I could of swore he flipped me off as he drove by. ;-) No doubt
> that
> > > even with its flaws Papy has done a whale of a job with this sim.
I'll
> > > never be a Nascar driver but this sim has allowed me to taste the
> > > experience. It also was an eye opener to realize the level of
> > concentration
> > > these guys have to operate at.

> > > It makes me appreciate more of what they do and makes watching the
races
> a
> > > little more interesting because you see a move that doesn't look that
> > > impressive to some but you realize it wasn't as easy as it looks. I
saw
> > the
> > > California race today and one of the announcers said that some drivers
> use
> > > "the computer" to learn tracks they haven't driven at. Pretty good
> chance
> > > they are referring to Nascar 4? Any idea how many drivers use N4 to
> hone
> > > their skills?

> > > Great job Papy!

> > > Rick

by **Larr** » Fri, 04 May 2001 05:56:08

It is VERY bad now...

The latest 'in-thing' seems to be purposely pulling across the track in
front of traffic from the infield. He who makes the biggest mess wins :(

I ran in a Dover race the other night that had like 40 cars in it. It was
as pathetic as anything I've ever seen before :(

-Larry

by **Tom Olive** » Fri, 04 May 2001 07:05:34

Yeah, open pickups suck. I'm talking about league racing with guys you know
and trust.

> >Subject: Re: N4 Awesome!

> >Date: 04/30/2001 4:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time

> >I'm pretty sure almost all the "younger" guys use it. Dale Jr and Harvick
> >are both listed as beta testers for N4. I know Hank Parker Jr, Matt
Kenseth,
> >and Casey Atwood run it too as I've seen them all comment on it.

> >BTW, the AI is NOTHING. No matter how good it is it's nothing compared to
> >real people. Try online. You think you got excided running against the
> >computer try it with 20 *real* people knowing one mistake and you take
them
> >all out. I've actually had a bug fly around my face for three laps and
not
> >take my hands off the wheel to swat him away. That's intense.

> >Tom

> And don't forget to prepare yourself to be flamed with Autochat Profanity
if
> you do make a mistake.

> I was in a race several nites ago at either Dega of Daytona...running off
pace
> and a bit out of control due to some damage sustained in one of those lap
1
> incidents....as bad as I was handling I should have just parked it but I
really
> wanted to keep going since so many people tend to drop out as the race
goes on
> and staying out can bump your ratings up....or so I thought.

> So along comes the leader in the flying up in the mirror...I tried to get
out
> of the way and either got a bit out of shape or possibly warped and got
creamed
> by the guy...geez...the profanity came up on the screen at such a rate as
to
> suggest that this guy had all ten of his autochat keys progammed for
verbal
> abuse. He then spent the rest of the race telling me and everyone else
what an

race
> was running...eventually some of the other drivers got tired of it and
told him
> to get over it. Somehow I just had a hard time saying "sorry" to the
> guy.....though I eventually did.

> I would suggest that every player online program 2 messages into
> autochat..."Sorry" and "Thanks" Anything else whatever you like but these
two
> are a must.
> (Don't gimme NO***in E-mail)

by **Thom j** » Fri, 04 May 2001 07:36:06

Sadly it appears with the new tough rating points and now Wacko`
wreckers that all who'll want to race a clean race will hook up with
other folks {that feel the same} via passworded races.. It is only a
matter of time now online N4'ers! {imho}......Thom_j.

| It is VERY bad now...
|
| The latest 'in-thing' seems to be purposely pulling across the track in
| front of traffic from the infield. He who makes the biggest mess wins :(
|
| I ran in a Dover race the other night that had like 40 cars in it. It was
| as pathetic as anything I've ever seen before :(
|
| -Larry
|

| > > If you like N4 offline, get DSL or Cable if you can and try it out
| > > against real drivers... some are even smarter than the AI ;)
| >
| > ....but most are not. It seems it's been getting worse the longer N4 is
| > out, instead of better. In almost every race now, it seems there is a
| > wrecker intent on taking out the whole field. There was some idiot
called
| > 'BlindGrl' who drove in reverse, backwards around the track, for the
| entire
| > race. Another bonehead at Indy who blew his engine on the first lap yet
| > continued to go around the track for the rest of the race, right in the
| > middle, at 20mph with a thick plume of black smoke trailing behind. I
| used
| > to be able to finish 3 of 5 races, now it's more like 1 of 5.
| >
| > -Phasor
| >
| >
|
|

by **Rick Williamso** » Fri, 04 May 2001 22:58:08

I lived in Garland. And strangely enough I also moved to Colorado and am
now living in Thornon. I think I remember some discussion about putting a
Nascar track in around Denver but it fell through. Too bad. I wouldn't
mind to hit Pikes Peak when the Busch or IRL boys are in town but I'd really
like to see a Winston Cup race. May have to take some vacation time and
just do it.

Rick

> Good guess on the name, hehe. I'm originally from Houston, although I
spent
> the last 2 years in Dallas (Addison, actually.) What part of Dallas were
> you in?

> I've recently moved to Colorado, and everyone here calls me Tex, so it's
> kind of stuck for an online identity.
> Unfortunately, I never made it to TMS, and there are no Winston Cup races
in
> Colorado, so I have to satisfy myself with Busch and IRL races at Pike's
> Peak. N4 fits in as a decent substitute for NWC action, though.

> > Unfortunately I didn't save the replay. BTW with a name like Tex you
> don't
> > happen to live close to Ft. Worth do you? I used to live in Dallas
before
> I
> > moved out of state for a different job. I got to go to TMS, I believe
in
> > 1997, to see a Busch race. It was back when Earnhardt Jr. was still
> driving
> > Busch cars. As a matter of fact it was the first race that Jr. won
there.
> > It's a nice facility and hope to make it back there someday.

> > Rick

> > > Awesome story...that's why N4 is such a blast. Do you have a replay
of
> > that
> > > race that you could e-mail me? I'd love to see it...I enjoy wathcing
> > > replays almost as much as I like racing. Plus that gives me some
great
> > > racing to watch during the week between Sunday Cup races.

> > > Tex

> > > > Just finished a short 38 lapper at Talladega after applying the
patch.
> > > Much
> > > > better racing experience now. At least the AI doesn't run over you
> all
> > > the
> > > > time, just sometimes, which is how it is in the real world anyhow.
> But
> > if
> > > > you hold your line most of the time you don't have trouble. That
> wasn't
> > > > true before the patch.

> > > > But I managed to get in the lead and put some distance between me
and
> > 2nd
> > > > after getting around a couple of lapped cars. I'm about 6 laps away
> > from
> > > > the finish and I notice this little black dot getting bigger and
> bigger
> > in
> > > > the rear view mirror. It's Mr. Intimidator himself! He keeps
closing
> > and
> > > > I'm starting to sweat. 3 laps to go and he's on my rear bumper. He
> > tries
> > > > to come around on the high side and I move up and block him. He
tries
> > to
> > > > come low and I drop down and cut him off. To make matters worse
> there's
> > a
> > > > lapped car ahead. Fortunately I'm able to cruise by on the low side
> but
> > > > unfortunately my nemesis does too. Two laps to go and he's pushing
> hard
> > > but
> > > > I'm holding him. Last lap and everything is fine until turn number
> > three.
> > > > The car's getting tighter and as I go into the turn it starts
drifting
> > > high.
> > > > The black number 3 drops low and starts coming around. But I'm able
> to
> > > cut
> > > > the wheel hard and with tires screeching I manage to block his line
> and
> > > beat
> > > > him to the finish line.

> > > > WOW! What an experience! After the race is over I slow down and he
> > > passes
> > > > me. I could of swore he flipped me off as he drove by. ;-) No
doubt
> > that
> > > > even with its flaws Papy has done a whale of a job with this sim.
> I'll
> > > > never be a Nascar driver but this sim has allowed me to taste the
> > > > experience. It also was an eye opener to realize the level of
> > > concentration
> > > > these guys have to operate at.

> > > > It makes me appreciate more of what they do and makes watching the
> races
> > a
> > > > little more interesting because you see a move that doesn't look
that
> > > > impressive to some but you realize it wasn't as easy as it looks. I
> saw
> > > the
> > > > California race today and one of the announcers said that some
drivers
> > use
> > > > "the computer" to learn tracks they haven't driven at. Pretty good
> > chance
> > > > they are referring to Nascar 4? Any idea how many drivers use N4 to
> > hone
> > > > their skills?

> > > > Great job Papy!

> > > > Rick

by **Larr** » Sat, 05 May 2001 04:32:14

The hard part is getting the passwords...

-Larry

> Sadly it appears with the new tough rating points and now Wacko`
> wreckers that all who'll want to race a clean race will hook up with
> other folks {that feel the same} via passworded races.. It is only a
> matter of time now online N4'ers! {imho}......Thom_j.