rec.autos.simulators

In entertainment value for the dollar spent, I think GPL ranks right up there
with a Teton Village lift ticket, the premiere of Star Wars, or my first date
with the Holly W. back in 10th grade.

Regards,

Pinebox

     Very well spoken. I have been lurking here reading the
threads on the unflattering reviews of GPL. I wasn't going to
bother throwing my 2 cents in, but I can't hold it in anymore.
     It seems to me that those that choose to trash GPL for it's
difficulty are not looking at it for what it is, a simulation of
reality. Not NFS and GAMES of that sort, where real world physics
do not exist. Nothing against those games. But don't buy GPL
expecting to jump in have have the car drive like it's on rails.
    I bought GPL because I love racing. Real racing. I raced go
karts for many years but chose not to move on to higher classes
because of the cost involved. I have often wondered how well I
would have done if  I was able to persue an auto racing career.
Would I have been able to beat the best drivers in my chosen form
of motorsport ?  I'll never know in the real world. SIMS like
ICR, ICR2, GPL and others allow me to test my mettle in a way
that is a close to reality as I'll ever get.
    The people at Papy understand what people like me are looking
for, and have designed a SIM to meet THAT specific market. It
tells you right on the box. "The most accurate vehicle dynamics
model ever developed for a racing simulation."  That is exactly
what I was looking for. If I brought GPL home and mastered it in
a week I would have been very sad and dissapointed.
     The cars were difficult to drive in '67 and they are
difficult to drive in GPL. It has given me a whole new respect
for the men that drove those cars. Remember, they didn't have
SHIFT-R on the dashboard. What better test for a closet racer
than to try to race what they raced.
    With that said, I would like to make a specific request to
anyone from Papy lurking nearby.
    PLEEEEASE consider doing SIM of the REAL USAC Champ Cars from
the early '60s. To those of you not familiar. Champ Cars were
what are often times mistaken as what are now known as Sprint
Cars. Champ Cars have a longer wheelbase and are much heavier
than sprint cars. They raced on dirt AND pavement with few
changes to the chassis except for tires, gears and such. This was
before any manhood enhancement devices (rollcages) were invented.
Like the Grand Prix cars of old, they were very powerful and
dangerous things to drive. Drivers didn't often die of old age.
     I would love to know what it was like barreling into Puke
Hollow at Langhorne, where so many men died. What was it like to
run the paved highbanks of Salem and Winchester in those cars or
the dirt at DuQuoin, Syracuse, Reading............     Anybody
else out there ?
    I don't know anything about programming, it may be impossible
to program the variables of a dirt surface, but I don't believe
there is any company better qualified to try than Papy. Once they
figure out dirt, could World Of Outlaws Sprint Cars be far behind
?   ;-)

    Greg M.
    M88 Racing Team
    (In a SIM world I can even have my own race team)

... well, I am voicing in a perfect harmony ... I feel this simulator
really is worth of all the praise it has gained. There seems to have
been a touch of true art and science by the makers. And as far as I can
remember, your mention of "sepia graphics" (etc.) is really the first
mention to the artwork (in the real sense of fine arts) to this computer
program.

Once again, congratulations and thanks to the makers!

Arto

Recently switched over to Spa, and knocked over 4s off my best yesterday,
but I'm still in the 3:34s, so I have a long way to go (Masta still scares
the bejeezus out of me, but I'm getting there).  It's just amazing the
feeling of accomplishment you can get from just getting through a corner
cleanly and quickly when it's bitten you too many times to count.

I don't have a quarrel with people saying that GPL is difficult, but that's
part of the joy - it's hard because it does a better job of simulating
reality than anything else out there, and if you aren't willing to put time
into it, you won't get anything out of it.  It took a week of throwing cars
off the track at the Glen before things really clicked for me, but I haven't
looked back since.

GPL is actually a great metaphor for a lot of things in life - nothing that
is truly rewarding is easy to master, and the rewards we get out of anything
have a lot to do with what we are willing to invest in them.  If you're
willing to invest a bit of time and effort in GPL, you'll find that the
rewards are amazing,

Rick

The thing that really bothers me is the fact that the cars have no grip at all..
I choose the Ferrari by default, and on the straights, the thing wants to power
slide all over the track.. Its frustrating to say the least.. With time and more
and more laps, things will be better.. But this isn't as realistic as it could
be when it comes to putting the power down.. I believe the gammers listened to a
bit too much embellishing from the old drivers.. (now put the date at early 80's
and turbo F1, and this sim is realistic!)

I think the sim is good.. GP2 was allot easier to drive no doubt at all.. But it
too took time to learn to drive, like stay off the curbs and don't let the other
cars near your rear, or they will spin you out.. etc...

GPL is the same.. Just takes time..

I'm learning to balance the attitude of the car to
make the trajectory on the track, rather than just
controlling the trajectory.

- Matt

Also, the AI cars can always pull me on the straights... really pull, not even close..

Sounds like you are changing gear without lifting the throttle? While
this may give you a very small increase in lap times cos the revs
remain higher while changing, they also blow the engine on a regular
basis, and usually pretty quickly too?

Try changing gears after lifting off the throttle for a split second,
and see if that improves the reliablity of the engine & gearbox?

8-)

*Peter*   #:-)

    I downloaded the setups from alicen hine's<sp?>  pages.  At
silverstone I'm running constant 1:33s.  My pit out lap is like 1:36.x
And I think that I'm slow.  For you to be doing a 1:50 tells me that
you're not driving the car right.  Try taking the corners at such a speed
that you just barely hear tire screetching if at all.  BTW: I run the
Covington.

Mike Barlow
MikeBa

Really? My favourites are the Lootaas and the Ferrary :-)

Cheers!
--
Graeme Nash (1m28.2 at Silverstone)

http://www.karisma1.demon.co.uk

ICQ# 11257824

8-)

*Peter*   #:-)