rec.autos.simulators

Why did Papy decide to force Anti-Lock Brakes and Traction Control for those
people without wheels? It doesn't make any sense, IMO. Sure, TC may help
some keep their car on the track. But what about when you're trying to
recover from a spin? Recovery is practically zero percent for a joystick.
The tires refuse to spin when my ass end is pointing in the wrong direction
on the track. This usually results in my car smashing into a wall because I
can't manuever the damn car away from it.

And ALB? Gimme a break. Sometimes, a driver needs to lock 'em up in tight
situations. And many a' times I've overshot my pit stall since using a
joystick. Things were never this bad with a wheel. Papy dev's, take a look
at how the LFS dev's did their control (for braking) setup for non-wheel
drivers. It's great, I think, because I still have control over my car.
Frankly, forcing controller options to be on is like a donkey calling a mule
an ass....it's pointless.

At the very /least/, Papy could've made it a option for offline play.

Slightly off topic, I'd also like to give a big 'damn you' to my computer. I
was running a offline race at Tally, then TBO happened within the first ten
laps. Guess what happens? A slide-show. I pointed her towards the grass and
gave plenty of brake, but ooops...I can't lock up the brakes. When the FPS
caught back up to double digits, I see the T3 wall coming towards me at 100~
MPH. Grr...never enough jobs, and when there are, there is never enough
money to spend on my PC.

I hope to god they will fix this in a patch for NR2003. If they don't, then
the title will have to wait until after I scrape enough money together to
buy a TSW. What's the point of buying it now when you won't be able to enjoy
it with anything but a wheel? :)

Ah. I feel better now.

-Will

Do you use a crowbar to drive a screw? Do you use a screwdriver to
hammer a nail? NO, of course not. You need the proper tool to do the
job right. Same principal for driving. Using a flight sim controller
for driving a car is the WRONG tool and the results are predictable.

Wheel/pedal combos are relatively cheap nowadays, so there really is
no reson to still be using a joystick, or worse, the keyboard. Sure,
sometimes they break and you have to do with what you have, but it
sounds like to me, that the joystick is a voluntary choice.

Dave

Errr....as another joystick driver, I'll just ***in here to say that
though there may be disadvantages to driving with a joystick (it can be a
challenge to apply even braking and acceleration through turns without
impacting steering, for instance....and RF braking, of course, is out), but
with a bit of practice and a good joystick, it works just fine.  Why choose
a joystick, though, when wheels are cheap?  For me, it's a simple matter of
space.  I don't have the room for a wheel or pedals.  For others, it may
simply be that they already have a good joystick and don't want to pay for
another controller when a joystick works fine.  Wish I could comment more on
the N2002 concerns.....I've run it before and don't recall ever having any
trouble with ALB or Traction Control being forced on, but I may have simply
not noticed.
Itazura

Paul

MadDAWG

"Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand
alloys and compositions and,......things with molecular structures,....and
the....." - Ash

Ah, that's a good idea. Too bad it isn't a viable plan. My wheel has had
some problems. It all started when the plastic handle for the clamp broke
off, then the right paddle broke off at the base. I doubt TM has replacement
paddles for the wheel.

You're correct, unless you're hopelessly ***ed to racing sims. And when
your only wheel decides to ***out, you do what you gotta do. Even if that
means moving down to a joystick to enjoy the sims of your choice.

I can find one really good reason for using a joystick: I'm heinously broke
and without a job (still waiting for /something/ to open up around here).

And playing the title from a joystick, I'm entitled to nit pick a lil' bit.
:)

-Will

By default, it is digital (strictly on/off buttons). I do have a little pot
that could be used for throttle, but it would be very troublesome to use.
The genius designers of the stick put it in a bad place for racing games. ;)
It's not their fault, however. Just a victim of circumstance.

I don't think it's possible to go to analogue with this stick without
opening the damn thing up and modding it. Instead, it would've been nice to
have seen Papy to rethink and redesign controlling gas/brake from a digital
controller.

-Will

You're correct. I know someone at Papy could've came up with a working
design to make digital controllers function better in-game. The stick has a
third axis, but it's too troublesome to use as a throttle control.

I guess I could always use the Y axis for accel/brake if required, but I'd
prefer the non-existant method of using buttons. Sheesh. Doing that reminds
me of my N2 days. :)

-Will

I've heard nothing but good things about the quality of Thomas' wheel. Since
I do have some training in electronics, changing the pots would be welcomed
compared to having to buy a new wheel every 2-3 years. I'd also like to
support a fella who helps his customers whenever possible.

Finally....throw into the bowl a dash of 'jobless', and it becomes hard to
just buy a new wheel on a whim. :)

-Will

This is why I didn't buy N2K3.  Papy, YOU LOST A SALE BECAUSE OF THIS.

On Sat, 5 Apr 2003 04:29:50 -0600, "William Bradshaw"

Eldred
--
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
GPLRank:-1.680
MonsterRank: +334.169
N2002 Rank:+17.59

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

Because they couldn't impliment analogue control on a digital on/off device?

I have *no idea* how that could even possibly be implimented.

Regards,

Mark Davison
OVAL Deputy Admin
Car #69
http://www.mttj4.plus.com/OVAL/