rec.autos.simulators

Are you remembering to switch from non-linear to linear steering
when switching from the joystick to the ACP?  That could be it....
Incidentally, my ACP seems to completely fall out of calibration
after 20 laps or so.  This makes it all but useless for race
situations (especially in the 2-player mode, since if my controller
quits I don't want to have to interrupt the other guy's game too....)
I just got it last Friday, so am hoping that this is just a matter
of the thing wearing in or something.  Has anyone else had this problem,
though?

Brad Traweek

Brian: I can't thank you enough for posting this... I just tried it
and yep, that works!  Now, I assume since it works for the
single-player race that it will for the 2-player race as well - if it
does, then my problem is basically solved!  I just flipped through my
Indycar manual to make sure I wasn't a total idiot, and found to my
relief that indeed there is no mention of this *anywhere* in the
manual - that's a shame, because I'm thinking back through all the
months here that I've wanted to recalibrate but didn't know I could.
The "reverse" problem has plagued me constantly since I got the game -
in fact, even as recently as yesterday, I gained a lap on my brother
at Detroit during a 2-player race.  The reason: he sat still for
nearly 30 seconds trying and trying to get his car to back up...
He'll be happy to hear about the "Control-J" feature too...  And I'm
definitely stoked about it - I haven't even been using my ACP during
my last few 2-player races, but now will be able to.

Hmmm, I'm not sure if that is it or not.  My SoundBlaster AWE32 (which
has the game port) is a huge card, but it's definitely not above my
CPU.  I will give it a look next time I have my case off, though, and
check to see if it's sitting near some other serious heat-producing
component.  That does sound like a reasonable thing to look out for.

Thanks again for the advice, Brian.  Thanks to you I'll be using my
ACP, and not my joystick, when I race with my brother at New Hampshire
tomorrow!

Brad Traweek

Second, it may not be your ACP at all; in fact, I think it probably isn't.  
Usually what happens is that the board that has your game port is thermally
sensitive.  In my system, my sound board (which has the game port) is quite
sensitive to thermal drift.  It was really annoying, until I discovered what
the problem was.  Armed with that info, I opened up the system and took
careful note of the fact that my sound board was located DIRECTLY ABOVE my
CPU!!!  I moved it across the system, away from the heat, and now I don't
need to recalibrate anymore.  (Unfortunately, I still need reverse gear
all too often!)

--

Brian Wong                              Product Marketing Engineering

415-336-0082                            Palo Alto, CA 94303

Peter:

        I guess I never realized until yesterday that thermal drift
had anything at all to do with calibration.  I will definitely look
into it - my AWE32 is not currently in the lowest slot, and I have
not tried the fan/open case, so maybe between those two I can come
up with a solution.  Actually, since I found out the "Control-J"
thing in Indycar it's not so much of a concern for that game; however,
I just tried that with NASCAR and unfortunately "Control-J" doesn't
seem to work - why would Papyrus leave that handy feature out of the
game?  Sigh, I will have to look into getting my AWE32 cooled down...
Thanks for the hints.

-Brad Traweek

If you get the same trouble with the fan/open case setup, then
you'd be the first to verify that this is NOT a thrmal drift
problem.

Peter