rec.autos.simulators

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

to download David Sabre's brand new Brands Hatch (circa 1967).

This is one of the most beautiful GPL tracks ever...and I'm talking about
the low-rez version (I couldn't get the hi-rez edition to run on my hoary
rig).  There is so much detail that the frame rate bogs down around the
pits, but it's still a portrait of how add-on track graphics should be done.

The track itself is also fantastic - it's hard to see how anybody could keep
a really fast car on the road...and it must have been nearly impossible to
make a pass.  The road swoops and soars and coils around like a
rollercoaster.  The track surface is also convincingly bumpy.

But somebody PLEASE do a program cover featuring Gurney's Eagle, which won
the race, after all - the first time a Yank driving a Yank car won a proper
Grand Prix (even if it was a non-Championship race).

Is a Nascar 2003 version going to be released?

I hope Dave Noonan is going to release a N2003 version of his earlier
Brands.  I'm also praying for a N2003 ver of his earlier Imola, my fav of
all his GPL tracks.

No matter how good the N2003 roadies are, graphically, they still look a
couple of generations behind the GPL versions, IMO.  (The *cars* look great,
but the scenery is decidedly low-rez.)

GPL For-effing-ever!

Re: Brand's/Imola, I'd say there's a good chance we'll be seeing the
Noonan versions in N2003 soon.  On the downside, the accuracy of the
GPL versions of those 2 (as well as Road Atlanta) leaves a lot to be
desired.  I think Dave does great work, but I hope he considers
buffing up the accuracy of his tracks a bit.  With Sandbox and the
wealth of information available now on the internet via Terraserv,
in-car videos, and so forth, there really is no excuse for tracks to
not have a certain degree of accuracy at this point, at least in the
layout if not the texture/object placement.

Jason

I am only going to download this and drive this if it is true to the
classic, and yet to be topped, version from the Epyx game Pitstop I (or
was it Pitstop II?, my memory is hazy) for the Commodore 64.

Can anyone confirm or deny?

--
MRSisson

LOAD "GPL",8,1
RUN (it's a joke, son)

Where do you come by this information?

--
MRSisson

LOAD "GPL",8,1
RUN

  Pitstop II was a two player(split screen) version.  Of course few tracks
have achieved it's level of realism, but we can only hope that someday a
32bit track will measure to a 4bit classic.  I used a special controller
from a Colecovision "Rocky" boxing video game.  A joystick that had 4
trigger buttons to go along with the 8 way joystick.  The Coleco joystick
plugged right into the Commodore 64.  
   Did you ever name your little purple pit guy?

dave henrie  

"People Eater"

But my memory is hazy.. I just remember being very competitive in the
game with my best friend at the time. We spent a lot of time playing
games against each other. Through some weird twist of fate we were
*very* evenly matched in most games. It made for some very good times.

--
MRSisson

LOAD "GPL",8,1
RUN

But don't get me wrong GPL is still a wonderful period racing sim and
will probably never die in the sense that it will always have its
enthusiasts and cult following to some degree.

Jason

Yeah, it's amazing what a tire model and proper suspension geometry
will do, eh?  I'm still amazed everytime I build a setup and it reacts
exactly the way I want it to in the sim, and how using extreme values
(especially for shocks) often results in the opposite effect that
you'd expect.  It's the first sim I've ever played where each time I
make an adjustment to the car I feel I need to take into consideration
how it's affecting the rest of the car.

I'll always play it because the era rocks, and it's still the 2nd best
simulator ever released to the consumer market (at least, if you
disregard N2002/N4).

Jason

Those vastly superior physics and feel have been around since NR2003 came
out (in fact, since NR2002 came out) and I enjoy them very much in the
series the game represents well (Cup, BGN, CTS).

TPTCC, because of the underlying stock car setup limitations and, more
importantly I think, the stock car tyres hardcoded into the game, does a
very poor job of representing Trans-Am. For those not doing their own setups
the perveiling setup philosophy adds insult to injury. All credit to The
Pits boys for investing their time and getting it out there, but the amount
of praise and credit this mod receives is totally disproportional.

If you've only come to enjoy NR200x because now there's cars in it that look
like road racing cars, you've been selling yourself short as a driver for
two years through prejudice towards stock car racing.

GPL is still up there in its own right and still has more than a token
following.

Jan.
=---

Nobody's ever got Road Atlanta right, IMO.

Can't wait for Trois-Riviers!  Should be a fab N2003 track!

Track look's great - just a shame GPL drives like a nosediving pig.  After
N4,NR2002 and NR2003 I cant stand more 5 minutes in GPL before I have to
exit and get back into a proper "car" - it just feels so very  very wrong.

--
ed_