rec.autos.simulators

by **Robby Robiso** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 02:59:05

I just purchased GPL(still in transit) and was wondering how important it is
to use a wheel and pedals. I planned to use a joystick and assume it will
work ok for steering but thought maybe pedals might be important for gas and
brake. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Also I know very little
about the sim and have never even seen it. So if anyone has any tips for a
beginning rookie, that would help. I have experience with racing games like
Motorhead, NR99 and TD5.
Thanks
Robbie

by **Semi** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 03:51:23

You NEED a wheel and pedals . no question. I originally purchased this sim
two years ago and only had a joypad for a games controller.I borrowed a
wheel (without pedals),tried the game again and it still didnt hook me. It
wasnt until I bought a wheel and pedal combo that the game showed its true
brilliance. the main thing with GPL is that it needs plenty of practice and
patience to begin to get anything but frustration from the sim. Keep at it
and maybe youll begin to lap without coming off the track. I'm still a
backmarker, still run the car on the grass more than tarmac but still enjoy
it immensley
Good luck

Semi

by **Wosc** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 04:41:27

You don't need a wheel. Joystick drivers have held world records in GPL...A
wheel will give you more realism but it may be slower for you if you are
used to racing with a joystick.

Jesse Black

by **Phil Le** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 04:36:46

> Also I know very little
> about the sim and have never even seen it. So if anyone has any tips for a
> beginning rookie, that would help. I have experience with racing games
like
> Motorhead, NR99 and TD5.
> Thanks
> Robbie

I'll give myself a plug and point you in the direction of an article I wrote
called "A Beginner's Guide to Grand Prix Legends" here:

http://www.slottweak.com/gplintro.htm

Hopefully you might find it useful. Also check out the GPL forum at
http://www.legendscentral.com . It is an extremely active place with many
people able to answer questions you may have. Of course you can ask them
here as well :)

For driving tips you can't beat the Lights Out Racing Guides which have just
resurfaced after a long abscence here:

http://www.legendscentral.com/LOR/

Cheers

Phil

PS You will need a wheel :)
--
http://www.legendscentral.com
http://www.geocities.com/f2_festival

GPL Handicaps: F1 -3.60 secs, F2 +115.11 secs

by **Simon Brow** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 04:07:00

Ok, tips for a beginner - buy a good steering wheel with pedals, preferably
with force-feedback. Make sure the game is running the full 36 fps (ALT-F
to display frame rate). Some of the cars are a lot easier for a beginner.
You might want to stay away from the Lotus, and try the Coventry (Cooper)
first. Again with the tracks, Monza and Silverstone are probably the
easiest to start with.

Another point - keeping the car on the track can be a struggle in itself,
but it's even harder if you don't the track, so watch the replays that come
with the game, and study the track map until you always know where you are
on the circuit.

And don't get frustrated, because everyone crashes to start with. It takes
hundreds of laps for your brain to understand what the car is doing and to
predict what your control inputs will do to the car. And remember to have
fun, which means brake up the training with races or even online races on
vroc.

by **Roger Squire** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 06:23:59

Whatever controller you choose, prepare yourself for a wakeup call. GPL is
nothing like arcade racers, even a good one like NFS5. I *strongly*
recommend joining vroc-f2, and using FG and FD cars to learn with.
Directions are on the front page of the site:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vroc-f2

Not that I think you'll listen. The first thing you'll do is jump in a vroc
monza pickup race in the lotus and take out the whole field before T1.
You'll do that 8 or 10 times before it sinks in that the game has a learning
curve.

rms

by **ra300** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 06:56:01

On Wed, 25 Apr 2001 11:59:05 -0600, "Robby Robison"

>I just purchased GPL(still in transit) and was wondering how important it is
>to use a wheel and pedals. I planned to use a joystick and assume it will
>work ok for steering but thought maybe pedals might be important for gas and
>brake. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Also I know very little
>about the sim and have never even seen it. So if anyone has any tips for a
>beginning rookie, that would help. I have experience with racing games like
>Motorhead, NR99 and TD5.
>Thanks
>Robbie

It depends on how fast you want to go. If you race Monza with a
joystick you'll probably be high 1:30s or low 1:40s. The best drivers
are in the 1:26 range. Most drivers (with wheels) are in the
1:28-1:31 range.

Advice for a rook? Learn Monza or Silverstone first. Silverstone has
many straights with right handers so it's pretty easy to learn. Very
simple circuit. Monza is good too for a rook. Another flat circuit.
You'll want to ace the Lesmo and Parabolica at Monza.

by **Jim** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 08:03:48

Got out of bed on the wrong side this morning Roger? :0)

> Whatever controller you choose, prepare yourself for a wakeup call. GPL
is
> nothing like arcade racers, even a good one like NFS5. I *strongly*
> recommend joining vroc-f2, and using FG and FD cars to learn with.
> Directions are on the front page of the site:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vroc-f2

> Not that I think you'll listen. The first thing you'll do is jump in a
vroc
> monza pickup race in the lotus and take out the whole field before T1.
> You'll do that 8 or 10 times before it sinks in that the game has a
learning
> curve.

> rms

by **Rob Adam** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 08:16:49

I was wondering the same thing :)

Hey rms, join us on the SpeedCenter servers. We run long races with long
practise sessions, which scares off the Monza hotlappers.

> Got out of bed on the wrong side this morning Roger? :0)

> > Whatever controller you choose, prepare yourself for a wakeup call. GPL
> is
> > nothing like arcade racers, even a good one like NFS5. I *strongly*
> > recommend joining vroc-f2, and using FG and FD cars to learn with.
> > Directions are on the front page of the site:
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vroc-f2

> > Not that I think you'll listen. The first thing you'll do is jump in a
> vroc
> > monza pickup race in the lotus and take out the whole field before T1.
> > You'll do that 8 or 10 times before it sinks in that the game has a
> learning
> > curve.

> > rms

by **Laurence Wilme** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 05:57:52

How do you intend to control both steering and throttle with a stick?
The situation is this - you're sitting stationary on the track, apply
full throttle to get going. Start moving forwards, and, as the revs
rise, the engine is suddenly producing more power than the rear wheels
have traction. So they break away and start coming around. You have to
catch this on steering and reduce throttle - simultaneously, smoothly,
quickly and precisely.
You use this on, say, a 3rd gear bend so that if you're too fast to
make the apex you don't dab the brake, as that would unsettle the car.
You add throttle and steering lock to kick the back end out a bit more
and the slide scrubs your speed and gets you round.
In short, in GPL, you need as precise a control of throttle as you do
steering.

Me, I couldn't attempt it with a stick, even though I used one
throughout GP2. That said, there are some aliens capable of all sorts
of amazing feats I couldn't attempt, so maybe you'll be one of those -
try it and see!
Best help at http://simracing.com/alison/gpl/
--
Laurence Wilmer

---
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by **Herbert Pohl** » Fri, 27 Apr 2001 18:31:04

>On Wed, 25 Apr 2001 11:59:05 -0600, "Robby Robison"

>>I just purchased GPL(still in transit) and was wondering how important it is
>>to use a wheel and pedals. I planned to use a joystick and assume it will
>>work ok for steering but thought maybe pedals might be important for gas and
>>brake. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Also I know very little
>>about the sim and have never even seen it. So if anyone has any tips for a
>>beginning rookie, that would help. I have experience with racing games like
>>Motorhead, NR99 and TD5.
>>Thanks
>>Robbie

>It depends on how fast you want to go. If you race Monza with a
>joystick you'll probably be high 1:30s or low 1:40s. The best drivers
>are in the 1:26 range. Most drivers (with wheels) are in the
>1:28-1:31 range.

Hmm... I can do low 1:28 with my joystick and Woeger probably did sub-1:26..
It's just a matter of what you are used to.

Silverstone is easy to drive around, but it's quite hard to get
fast at it. Took me some 1000 laps to get to mid 1:27 there ;)

If you are used to your stick and already did other racing sims with
it, you can do GPL with it, too. But if you plan to buy a wheel
sooner or later, then do it now. Switching from stick to wheel
isn't easy later on..

Calis

Dont give up if it seems to be too hard to learn. It will take some
hours/days to get reasonable laptimes (e.g. sub 1:35 at monza)
- this is the way it is ;)

by **Marc Fraio** » Sat, 28 Apr 2001 01:58:27

Especially lately, with the servers running Ring, Ring, and, um,
more Ring. Tee hee. :-)

Marc

by **Eldre** » Mon, 30 Apr 2001 06:32:57

>Whatever controller you choose, prepare yourself for a wakeup call. GPL is
>nothing like arcade racers, even a good one like NFS5. I *strongly*
>recommend joining vroc-f2, and using FG and FD cars to learn with.
>Directions are on the front page of the site:
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vroc-f2

>Not that I think you'll listen. The first thing you'll do is jump in a vroc
>monza pickup race in the lotus and take out the whole field before T1.
>You'll do that 8 or 10 times before it sinks in that the game has a learning
>curve.

Well, the fact that he even *asked* shows he's looking to do things without
screwing up others...

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +28.67...F2 +151.26...

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

by **Peter Ive** » Tue, 01 May 2001 04:57:18

Well, seeing as I have just changed over from using a joystick for the
past 2 years to using a wheel I feel the most qualified to answer this
question and can categorically say 'I'm not sure'. :)

Btw, whatever you choose, just get the F1 Lotus out to the Ring without
going through those namby pamby tracks, or you'll just be classed as a
big wuss.

Only Kidding! ;-)

On a more serious note, don't listen to me.

HTH
--
Peter Ives - (AKA Ivington)
Remove ALL_STRESS before replying

No person's opinions can be said to be
more correct than another's, because each is
the sole judge of his or her own experience.

by **Eldre** » Thu, 03 May 2001 05:27:44

Fraioli) writes:

>> Hey rms, join us on the SpeedCenter servers. We run long races with long
>> practise sessions, which scares off the Monza hotlappers.

>Especially lately, with the servers running Ring, Ring, and, um,
>more Ring. Tee hee. :-)

hehe... I thought I had a fast lap last night. Felt good, didn't put a wheel
too far off - I thought it might have been a new PB(current - 8:38). Time on
the board? 8:50.xx...
Frak! How can a lap feel so good, but be so slow...? <sigh>

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +28.67...F2 +151.26...

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

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