I posted the following to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.etc.etc earlier today
without realizing that this group existed. Sorry if this is a repeat
for some of you...
I got Papyrus' Indycar Racing for Christmas and I'm very happy with
the game. The graphics are excellent and the frame rate is pretty
good on my 486/SX VLB machine. Steering control seems pretty delicate
but I guess that's understandable. It took me a while to realize that
I was just giving waaay too much steering input and plowing right of
the track at the road courses.
My lap times are coming down even though I still have a lot of work to
do on car control. I kick up a lot of dust on my faster laps. One
thing that really seems to be hurting me is what appears to be a
glitch in the auto braking or auto shifting intelligence. This is a
real problem at Portland where it seems that no matter how hard I get
on the gas I am brought to a virtual stand still just before the front
and back straights. Are these turns so sharp that they require first
gear? I don't know about the one before the front straight but the
one before the back straight certainly doesn't seem to be. Does this
mean I'll have to start shifting for myself to improve my lap times?
One thing about great games like this is that they always leave you
thinking, "Gee, that's great, if only they had..." and this one is no
exception. A couple of important things seem to be missing from
Indycar racing (the game). Even though they've done a fantastic job
of making off-track excursions realistic they've fudged run-off areas
for places like Toronto and the chicane at Portland. It irks me to
slide into a concrete wall in Portland where I know I would only be
knocking down cones in real life. Run-off areas and tire walls
would also make Toronto more realistic and more forgiving of major
foul-ups. Maybe the lack of these things has already been factored
into the "car damage" calculations but it's still an annoyance.
Of course if they made it possible to short cut the Portland chicane
they'd also have to add stop and go penalties but those should be in
there for cases like jumped starts and passing under yellow anyway
(maybe they are and I don't know it).
My final nit pick is about curbs. What's a hot lap at Portland
without bounding over the curb at the end of the back straight and
into that final turn complex? I can see where this would be pretty
complicated to model but I think it's important.
I hope we'll be seeing plenty of add-ons for this. I really must
have MidOhio and Elkhart Lake. How about a car and track editor. I'd
love to come up with my own paint scheme and create proper graphics
for some of the generic cars (Andretti, Sullivan, "Nick Montel,"
etc)
"Don't drive too slowly." Richard Caldwell
AT&T Network Systems
att!cbnews!nrc