STEERING: Fixed...well, almost
GRAPHICS: Good Improvement....keep tweaking.
AI: There seems to be some "I" in the AI, but it is still 80% "A"
OTHER STUFF: Still some unbelievable bugs and inconsistencies.
DETAILS AND MY SET-UP:
K6-233, 32MB SDRAM, Matrox Mystique 170 4MB, T3 Wheel
Steering:
The steering is vastly improved by the patch, but it takes quite a bit of
fiddling to get it set-up right. I use 100% non-linear and 0% speed
sensitive with a 10% null zone. Using 0% non-linear and 100% speed
sensitive seems to work well on the ovals (until you need to manoeuvre
quickly during a spin or an accident), but is impossible on the road
courses.
There are now lots of adjustments and controls--no one could ask for more.
The problem is, the steering still sucks on road courses, in my opinion.
Even in the pits, I have difficulty driving a simple straight line at low
speeds. The car tends to wander on the road courses quite dramatically. I
thought that it may be a result of slow frame rate (slow polling) which
certainly can mess up other sims, so I experimented a bit by turning off all
graphics options. The same problem continued.
The problem is, I believe, a result of the GPS/"world environment" system
that CART:PR uses...or at least it mimics a GPS problem. On a GPS
navigator, one constantly sees the cursor (you) mistracking off the "road"
you are on because the cursor can only move at certain angles (360 degrees
divided by how ever many increments they programmed in). Inevitably, it is
not precise enough to match the mapped data. That's exactly what is
happening to me in CART:PR. No matter how smooth and wonderfully I set-up
the steering, the car itself seems to be unable to turn in its world less
than a fairly large notch. In other words, with ICR2 and N2 (whatever their
other merits and problems) I get liquid smooth steering because there
appears to be an infinite (it isn't really) number of transition steps in
the cars actual turning actions. I would love for someone to estimate (or
for MS/TRI to tell us) what the minimum turning angle is for a CART:PR car.
I think it is about 2-3 degrees on the compass--which is several orders of
magnitude larger than it should be. However, to reduce the size (and
increase the precision...that's a word for you) would require, I believe an
exponential increase in computer processing capability.
Unfortunately, if this issue is not addressed (in my suggested way or some
other solution if I am out to lunch), all the steering control adjustments
in the world won't help.
Lastly, the road courses are difficult because they are, despite the
supposed GPS, too narrow. Perhaps the courses are OK, but the cars are too
wide. There is room for three a*** driving (with a decent physical
margin of safety) at Michigan and on much of Laguna Seca, though there it
would be unlikely to see three a***. Check out the cardboard insert with
the keyboard shortcuts to see the scale of the tracks vs. the cars if you
don't believe me. Why is it when I am on CART:PR Laguna, it feels and
drives like there is barely room for two cars a***. This situations
compounds the wandering problem to make the road courses undriveable in
comparison to the ovals.
Graphics:
I do not have a 3dfx card...yet! The framerate improvements in the patch
now make the game playable on my lowly K6-233. I am not happy with mid-***
frame rates, but I must admit that CART:PR runs better at low frame rates
than any other driving sim I have used (on various machines). Barely
tolerable comes to mind, so if more tweaking is possible, then it should be
acceptable before long. I am more nervous when I read wildly fluctuating
frame rates from users with the same 3D cards and very similar set-ups. Who
knows...?
AI: The AI was completely unacceptable and inexcusable in a "final" release
before the patch. Post-patch things are looking up, but this is the area
that still needs the most improvement. The patch as it stands now is still
far from "final release" material, though it would make a good "interim
release." It would be worth the 4MB download (and idiot-proof installation)
even for those who are not that serious about the game and who will need to
download a final patch in the future.
Pit AI is basically non-existent. The cars leave the pits and enter the
tracks at ridiculously acute angles that cause chaos for all concerned.
The AI attempts to ram its way through accidents as it completely ignores
the yellow flags.
The AI brakes way too much and way too early on ovals...causing more chaos
on the track.
The AI on road courses, which I have barely used since they are so
undriveable (read: unpleasant to drive), is much more difficult to judge. I
know that in practice mode on ICR2 and N2, I have yet to be rammed from the
rear by an AI car (road courses). I have yet to make it more than 2 laps in
a CART:PR road course without being rammed from the rear by an AI car. This
may be because I am driving somewhat slower because my car constantly
wanders off "its track" and the track.
The AI generally acts and looks very artificial. Jerky, exaggerated
movements that no real race driver would make prevent a CART:PR human user
from attempting to gain skills by driving properly. The only way to succeed
in the game is to learn how to avoid the AI--which inevitably has you doing
things that you wouldn't otherwise choose to do. There is also a mismatch
between the speed of the AI cars and you. I think that your car should
probably be slowed down, but....?
Other Stuff:
The flying starts careening through the pace car have got to go. Thanks for
letting me drive out of the pits by myself...I can start the car from a stop
as well, thanks. The rev limiter kicking in at the appropriate speed is a
sensible approach to that annoyance from the pre-patch version. I'd also
like not to be able to drive through other cars in the pits.
The brown tracks are....well, brown and stupid. The brightness control for
objects works very well, and the next version should, I guess, have a track
brightness control also. It is in the .INI file, but does nothing on my
set-up when I adjust it.
The sounds, particularly of the engine and shifting, are first rate. Vastly
superior to any other sim. out there.
The damage model needs some work. Slamming head-on into an oncoming AI car
at Michigan (we're both doing 300 km/h) and driving away while barely
grazing the car in front of me resulting in the nose cone flying off just
don't work well together.
Rolling backwards while being stopped is a bit disconcerting.
Being forced into autopilot mode and attempting to drag me through the pit
wall and failing and then dragging me all the way around the track and then
into the pits on autopilot because I grazed the opening edge of the pits
while coming around a corner at top speed is not a good thing.
No track yellows and AI ignoring the local yellows is beyond my
comprehension in a sim. that has such successful attention to detail in so
many other areas.
Number 1 for me: I honestly could not believe that this thing the car does
spinning its wheels in neutral and the chirping tires while driving along
slowly under minimal power was not addressed by the patch. In everyone's
haste to *** about the frame rates and the AI did this somehow get
overlooked as a one the program's major problems? It is incomprehensible to
me that it remains unchanged. Someone please tell me that this is a
recognised problem and it will get fixed!!
Well, that's my 2 cents worth.
OVERALL:
Before Patch "C -"
After Patch "B"
Marc.
-- "Change is inevitable...except from a vending machine."
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Marc Collins
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