rec.autos.simulators

After playing the game for a couple of hours, we decided to link the new
baby... Then trouble started. :-((
Running on 2*166 MHz pentiums in SVGA, equipped with Diamond, Matrox,
and 32 MB EDO, the game slows down in modem play. Not all the time, but
it seems like close-ups of texture, droppes the framerate from aprox. 20
to way below a usable number. We tried several baud-rates, we tried to
turn EVERYTHING off, still we had problems.
Unforteunately, you can't remove the texture from the cars, so
close-combat :-), makes the framerate DROP DROP DROP....
The graphic-engine seems is a little dissapointing :-(
-
Still the gameplay is outstanding, much better than GP1, the cars handle
nicely, the game is much more difficult.. :-)
-
If anybody have had the same problems with a direct link, and solved
them, please reply to this...

Go get those Ferraries....

Well, not yet, but try to type on " GP2/? ". It gives you several parameters, one of them
forcing the game to use 16550 Uart chips.

See ya

Best,
Gabriel/Spectrum HoloByte & MicroProse support
Official GP2 page http://www.microprose.com/gp2/

Hi Gabriel.
We started up with around 120% average occupancy on a single mashine, linked, and found that the
game was slow at certain parts. Lowered the graphic details, recorded the occupancy, and tried
to record the way the game behaved. Disconnected, connected again with the low detail settings,
found that occupancy was exactly the same, and (to our best judgement) the game ran exactely as
before.
This is of cause very difficult to judge, because the improved gameplay, might not be reflected
on the occupancy ??????????
---------
If I'm right, the framerate is used to calculate track-data ?
If so, the game will "slow real-time" to obtain the correct data, if occupancy rises above 100%.
To syncronize the two mashines the faster (or less occupied) mashine, has to slow down, if the
slower mashine gets over-worked.... (You suddenly exeperience bad framerate, when the other
player is in the pits)
To me, that's a good explanation why the linked game slows down when player A is pitting,
passing the grand stand. (Or just fighting around 2-3 other cars) Big fun :-)
That would mean, that you should asure that no mashine is occupied more that 100% anywhere on
the circuit. We did that, and the game runs perfect, absolutely no slow-downs...
Still, I have a feeling, that close-ups of texture, is very very bad for frame-rate.....

LB