rec.autos.simulators

Provide a standalone playback module that can receive and display the
datastream so that people can "tune in" and watch an online race
in-progress as if watching television except that they control all of
the cameras.

It's the sort of innovation that could make GPL noteworthy in the
marketplace...

Regards,
Brett C. Cammack
That's Racing! Motorsports
Pompano Beach, FL

It wouldn't be too difficult (the theory isn't anyway)

RACE SERVER=========High bandwidth connection=======SPECTATOR SERVER
/ / /  | | | | | | | | | | \ \ \
/////////||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||\\\\\\\\\
o o o o o o o o o o
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
connections  (up to 20 drivers)
(connections - more than 20 possible)

Defined bandwidth per client
Much less bandwidth per client

With the ability to change the bandwidth per client, this might be possible.
The Race server (DSL connection or whatever) would also need to have a
connection to the Spectator server, but the advantage is that the number of
spectators wouldn't affect the actual drivers connection.

Can you imagine this.....    a World Championship with up to 50 or maybe 100
people watching.  Now that would be a little bit of pressure..  :-)

James Pickard

There would be minimal likelihood of attracting the "general public" to be
spectators to a virtual race between people whom they wouldn't know from a
bar of soap racing for stuff-all in terms of prize-money, prestige or
national pride.

It would take all the resources of the best advertising psychologists in the
world to convince John Q. Public to rack up more charges on his
telecommunications bill just to watch GPL on-line!

--
Regards,
Bruce Kennewell,
Canberra, Australia.
---------------------------

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I think it;s a great idea as well. I often get a disco from a race, but I
still want to see the end!
Perhaps, if it isn't too hard, there could be made a trial with it, and the
hotshots could organize a real championship, while the entire community can
watch. I sure would like to watch them driving and chasing eachother at
paces I can only dream of.

        Second,  You are right that only those that know anything about
internet racing would watch such an event.  However, I've seen racing
events on ESPN2 that I never knew existed. I watched in earnest with all
the e***ment I have with all the other forms of racing I watch.  So,
J. Q. Public would have an interest in it.  Add the aspect of editing
the track.dat files, more specifically the bill boards, and place
www.BarlowRacing.co
m on those and you have the advertising you need to pay for more races
and prizes, and the wishful $1,000,000,000 grand prize.  It would
probably be more or less 1% of the current race fan that knows nothing
of our racing that would become interested.  but 1% is still better then
0%.

Just my take on things,
Mike
--
=========================================
Mike Barlow of Barlow Racing?
=========================================
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Racing online with the help of......

Race Communications Association
Holodyne Engineering
Mystic Music
(have Your !!Name/Address!! placed here)

        Even if it wasn't GPL, what if it was the NASCAR3 or 4 sim.  Being
NASCAR I'm positive that there would be an audience.  even if that
audience grew as slowly and only 1/2 that of the NASCAR 4cylender
following.. it's still worth it to do this for the price the investors
paid for it :)
--
=========================================
Mike Barlow of Barlow Racing?
=========================================
http://members.xoom.com/BarlowRacing/

Racing online with the help of......

Race Communications Association
Holodyne Engineering
Mystic Music
(have Your !!Name/Address!! placed here)

The whole of Europe isn't "worthy"?

--
Cheers!
Graeme Nash

Sorry for the boo-boo
Mike

Racing online with the help of......

Race Communications Association
Holodyne Engineering
Mystic Music
(have Your !!Name/Address!! placed here)

<grin> just make sure it doesn't happen again :-)

--
Cheers!
Graeme Nash

B.) *I* would like to be able to watch a race when I'm not in the
position to actually compete. (Like, say, at work)  I consider myself
to be an individual, but doubt if I am so unique that the concept
appeals to no one else.

C.) I'd love to invite my brother in Seattle to "tune in" to watch me
race sometime.  Maybe it would get him jazzed up enought about GPL to
spring for a wheel controller, a copy of GPL, and the time to learn
driving these beasts.  He races autocross and would get hooked fast if
he could actually watch one of the VROC races.

D.) Nascar3 is a huge seller and is also written by Papyrus.  The
technology would be readily transferable across their product line.
The key to such a marketplace is differentiation.  This would be quite
a differentiator.

Regards,
Brett C. Cammack
That's Racing! Motorsports
Pompano Beach, FL

And return on investment is what it would need for it to be implemented in
the first place.

--
Regards,
Bruce Kennewell,
Canberra, Australia.
---------------------------

There are at least two problems. The technology challenge is not so great;
it can be overcome relatively easily. The choice, it would seem, is between
server bandwidth for streaming video, or a specialized viewer downloaded and
run on client machines. Not simple, but not insurmountable.

The larger problem is defining a target market and revenue stream visible
enough to find seed money. I wonder if an enterprising individual can define
a virtual racing league, and draw enough audience to entice ESPN eventually.
The problem is building an empire where there isn't even an industry
already. Granted, something will happen in the next few tens of years. The
question isn't IF or WHEN -- I believe the technology pace makes that
inevitable -- but WHAT precisely? Does auto racing **simulation** capture
the hearts and imaginations of the common man or woman? I don't think so.
(Only 40k copies of GPL sold? That's an *** disappointment!) It also
won't be combat flight sims, or a Quake shoot-em-up, and it won't be
championship bridge or chess; they all exist at some level already. Goofy
trivia games, ala Greed or be-a-millionaire, have the best chance right now,
of all the internet accessible games. In theory, everyone has a chance to
get in on the fun, and trivia games have nothing to do with spending the wee
hours every morning squeezing anothing millisecond out of Eau Rouge.

The best chance for pay-back is for a game vendor: he might see increased
revenue from broader exposure, perhaps on public access cable TV channels.
Maybe they might even make prime time someday, as a fringe sport, but never
to reach Superbowl-mania level. There might even be enough interest to
support sponsorship for especially talented drivers; Soundblaster, 3dfx, and
Actlabs seem like good candidates. Would it be enough for the driver to quit
his day job? Will he go on to catch a ride on a real race team? Maybe this
has to happen first: the current crop of hot-shoes graduate to sponsored
berths in some racing league, and work their way to the top of the GP heap.
They do well enough to validate GPL, or some other sim, as a heretofore
unrecognized testing ground for racing talent. At that point, ten years down
the road, you'll have something. As it stands, live GPL races appeal only to
a very limited audience, and then only as marginal entertainment. There will
be no short-term payback for the significant effort.

So, prove me wrong. Who wants to ante up the first dime? After all, the NFL
and WWF both started from nothing. Even nine ball tournaments and roller
derbies get air time. Why shouldn't a sim race league?

Michael.