rec.autos.simulators

P.S. has anyone else here who uses CPR been able to lap the whole field in
the 15 lap race at Fontana?
with Pro mode and Damage on? I am just curious. I was thinking if these
other 6 AIs in this race I listed below are doing 30+ sec. laps hmmm. In a
15 lap race does that then mean I have to do 15 laps at 28- seconds each? I
better practice more ;-) Mike

I disagree with you here.  First of all, if you're racing a longer
race, you'll probably have to switch to harder tires, or you're going
to find your tires going off as you burn up the track.  Secondly, its
remarkably easy on ovals to push up into a wall if you get too
aggressive exiting (and that's not hard to do when you're working hard
on either building a lead or getting through traffic).  

I'm not excusing the AI slowness or speed limits in the game, but I
would say that its challenging regardless to keep off the wall when
your tires are fading, regardless of the AI cars.

Randy

Randy Magruder
Contributing Reviewer
Digital Sportspage
http://www.digitalsports.com

Yup, when you know that touching anything is likely to damage your car
and***up your race it sure brings the adrenalin factor into play.
Another note is that while a lot of the AI critics claim that when
they hit you they just plow you aside, its also fair to note that when
you turn on damage this problem disappears because they get the ***
knocked out of 'em too!

Many people believe that even after the patch the control is not
precise.

The problem is, as I see it, that a lot of people are trying to fix
all their handling/steering problems with the control sliders rather
than the setups.  The fact is, the setups are just screwed under Build
90 (the patch).  The taking away of rear-end grip just messed up the
setups so bad that you can hardly apply throttle without spinning the
car, and so when you're trying to turn a corner or add throttle the
car just breaks into oversteer.  I usually turn up the null zone one
click, and set both speed-sensitive and non-linear at between 40-60%
and then work on the setup.  After the setup is stabilized, I might
touch the control sliders again.  

Look out! Incoming!  Seriously, there are people here who attack your
intelligence if you have the wherewithall to actually like this sim.
(and yes, its a sim, flaws and all).   I'm having a lot of fun with
it, too.  I am, however, very frustrated at the following problems
with this title:

1) No full course cautions, particularly on ovals.
2) Overkill on removing rear-end grip at high speeds
3) Setups not re-calibrated for balance with the new grip level
4) Deliberately sabotaged track accuracy (done to prevent shortcutting
chicanes since no black flags or underbody damage model done etc)
5) No tire temperatures
6) No plank wear indicators.
7) Slow AI on ovals
8) Missing telemetry items.
9) Brake pedal travel problems.

That oughtta do it for the big ones :)  In spite of these nagging
problems, there's still quite a lot of fun to be had in racing the AI
cars or online opponents, and once the grip (or lack thereof) is dealt
with in the garage and on the track, its every bit as fun as ICR2 was.

Randy
Randy Magruder
Contributing Reviewer
Digital Sportspage
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

I just couldn't resist this :-) I think what you say is very true if you
make CPR the Motorsports game of the year. Or give the game
5 stars or something like that. I don't think many would give you
problems for simply liking the game and having fun with it.

And judging from your points below describing the problems
I would say that we are in agreement here. I just wanted to say
that I certainly wouldn't flame anyone for simply liking or having
fun with the game.

--
Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

Well, remember not to treat users here like they are CGW reviewers.

Again, it would be wrong to assume that someone who likes the game is
on the same footing as the CGW reviewer.

They would if you dared call it a "sim" (which I do--I think the word
'sim' has taken on an almost religious meaning, far beyond its actual
meaning).

Randy
Randy Magruder
Contributing Reviewer
Digital Sportspage
http://www.digitalsports.com

Hehe we think alike Greg as I cant resist a lil humor too. So ......
as long as nobody gives that inaccurate F1rs 5 stars I would never
give it any heat if folks that didn't care about accuracy in a F1 sim were
oh simply liking the game and having fun with it :-)

 Before you start Typing smile I am just having fun with you:-)
I actually look forward to V2 on the 20th I hope to retry some of the 3dfx
specific
games and sims that I might not have seen at their best on my non 3dfx
card.

I also agree with the points Randy made and really hope it all gets fixed.
Cya, Mike