making a low pass. We can't just haul down into a turn
hoping the guy on the high side backs off or is high enough
to not be hit as we drift high because we went in too hot.
Being on the bottom, it's our job to stay as close to the
apron as possible. This might mean (gak!) reducing our
speed more than we really wanted to, but the end result is
much more prefrrable to the wreck that will ultimately
happen.
There's simply not enough "give" going on to compensate for
the "take". Practice (offline) will help people learn how
to pass more effectively.
2) The restarts continue to be a problem. I am not a fan of
single-file restarts, and yesterday proved to me that they
really aren't any better than our double-file restarts
have been in the past.
The problem up front appears to be fast cars overtaking
slower cars and then making bonzai passes to get around
them. I really have no answer or solution for this. We
could say that there shouldn't be any passing until the
backstretch, but I see that as being just as big of a
problem.
Other problems appear to be people not being ready for
what the car is going to do under sudden acceleration
with fresh tires and maybe a little body damage.
Again, practice will help you become famliar with how
twitchy the car will get under such conditions.
3) Not racing back to the yellow is kinda weird. It
seemed as if nobody was really sure when to back off,
or how much. I think we can stay out of trouble here
if we don't follow immediately behind the person in
front, and don't radically change our line as we
approach other cars. The only problem I see with it
so far is that it seems to take forever for the entire
field to catch up to the pace line.
There's really no way to practice this without actually
racing against each other, and the whole idea there is
not to even have any cautions - a paradox, if ever
there was one.
4) I watched the replay from yesterday's race, and noticed
that even with severe body damage, I was STILL able to
turn 40.0xx times. There are several lessons to be
learned here.
A) Damage physics in the sim truly suck. There's NO WAY
I should have been able to go that fast with what
amounts to no sheet metal aft of the rear tires. My
spoiler was pressed right up against the back edge of
the rear window, and my front end was caved in as
well.
B) Even with severe rear damage, you are still fairly
(and unrealistically) competitive due to the sucky
physics. There's no reason to quit simply because
you are pretty bad off as far as damage goes.
C) The car handles differently, so you have to change
your line and brake, lift, and acceleration points.
D) Practice will help you become accustomed to changes
in the car due to damage.
5) I realize I've become a bit acidic in my post-race
discussions, and I'll try to behave in the future.
--
=========================================================
Redneck Techno-Biker & "programming deity"
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
DeMONS/1 for Nascar Racing 3 & Nascar Legends
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
DeMONS/2 for Nascar Racing 4 and 2002 Season (in development)
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
RASCAR Roster
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
Barbarian Diecast Collector (490+ cars and counting)
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
If you want to send me email, go to the first URL shown
above & click "Send Me Mail" in the contents frame.
=========================================================