Although the focus of NASCAR 2.0 will be the multiplayer series (and
that will be where my attention is mainly focused) I was still wondering
what improvements will be made to the AI?
For example, in the current version the AI cars run consistent laps from
the get go until they make their pit stops, while I have to fight tire
wear at the end of my run. AI cars also have better grip at most tracks
with cold tires than I have.
Another question involves AI pit stops. At a lot of tracks the AI cars
swing way out to the wall and then make a sharp cut across to pit road.
If another AI car is in the way, they tend to pass right through the
other car. If I'm the one in the way they just crash in to me. This
action is even more prevalent when the DRIVERS2.TXT aggression levels
are increased.
My final comment and question involves the current state of the multi
player service. It was previously mentioned that Papyrus would not use
an 800 number because it would basically cost us the same to subscribe
to that number as our current long distance calls cost. Has anyone at
Papyrus taken a survey of how much we are spending?
My suggestion is this: Offer the option to use the current 617 number
and pay our own toll calls, or subscribe to an 800 number for $100
dollars a month. If half of the current users opted for the 800 number
program Papyrus would generate $100,000 in revenue a month to offset the
cost of the long distance, and would probably bank a few bucks to boot!
If costs somehow soared out of control for Papyrus, they could do a cost
analysis to determine a maximum monthly per person limit for the hours
on the system, but I doubt the 800# costs would be that high.
I realize that you are under no obligation to make this change, after
all this is a "free" open beta session. Even if the system was down for
an extended period of time we wouldn't be crying for rebates. since
Hawaii is the narcotic of sim racing, we will continue to spend hundreds
of dollars a month to get our "fix". However, I feel it would be a good
faith measure on the part of Papyrus to give the users this option.
Thanks for your time and comments regarding these matters. Regardless of
some of the ***that hits this newsgroup, most of us appreciate the
work of the Papyrus staff in their programming efforts and skills as
well as the open dialogue between the Papyrus team and the consumer.
Keep up the great work!
Shawn Kosloff
Hawaii Handle: Koz