rec.autos.simulators

Well i have to say im quite discusted at what i have just played.
Im still in shock really.
This might sound harsh but its not.
I suppose as a game overall its good and it is probably the best F1 sim
around but i am TRULY dissapointed.

Basically its not GP3 its gp2.5
All the menus are exactly the same.
Ok lets get to the actualt physics which is most important.
Well when i saw the setup menus and found that there were no camber settings
or tire temperature setting i knew there was something wrong.

Basically it feels like gp2 A LOT LIKE GP2.
Actually the actual game LOOKS like gp2 just with better slightly better
graphics.
When you go close into barriers they are incredibly pixelated,I have to
congradulate crammond hes made the first game ever that i have seen
pixelated in the last 3years using a 3d card.I have never seen blockyness on
any game since 3dfx came out.
The game sounds 99% like GP2 which is totally pathetic and unforgivable,its
sad infact.
And the game STILL HAS CANNED SPINS
I am in shock as i write this still.
You give it throtte and u spin around 180 degrees all the time.
I still havent really felt much difference from gp2 its sad to say.
Infact I think F12000 has the better model its certainly more dynamic but
that did have a weird detached feel to it.
GP3 like gp2 feels more connected but its not as dynamic as F1 2000.
Even the trees are a bit blocky.
The wet seems like it could be fun i played it a bit but the game is still
in the dar ages.
the set up options are EXACTLY the same as gp2 down to packers.
EVen ubisoft had tyre pressure and temperatures,and camber settings and that
was 4 years ago FFS,i cant beleive crammond.
He is still obviosly stuck back in the darkages and so is this game.
This isnt even in gpls league.
Not even in the same galaxy.
gpls graphics make gp3 look pathetic.there is quite a few times when u see
blockyness,andthat is unforgivable in this day and age.GPL looked like an
oil paintingit was so smooth.Crammond is quite pathetic releasing this and
calling it gp3.
Sure ill play it and have fun playing it and so will pretty much
everyone.just dont expect a revoloutionary simulation because its not
that.Dont expect a F1 equivilent or GPL because its not even close.
Its basically gp2 with better graphics,wet weather,and tweaked physics.

Quite sad.

--

[Let's get ready for some big flame wars on r.a.s. btw!!! It's gonna be
ugly!]

Actually, we all knew it was going to be that, and the movies released
yesterday confirmed that it was a fancy version of GP2.  I do hope we all
knew that no?

But of course, that's not a bad thing.  It's a disapointment, but it's not a
bad thing.  It will be the best F1 sim on the market.  It's an evolution,
like GP2 was an evolution over F1GP.  GP2 was an incredible hotlapper, and
that's what I expect with GP3.  Chip-in TCP/IP, and you have potential.  But
didn't we all knew what was coming? How come some people are shocked to see
it's GP2.5?

I mean everything you said was able to be seen with the hype created.  The
blocky graphics, the big pixels, the possible canned spins, the old sound,
etc..

--
-- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard>
-- May the Downforce be with you...
-- http://www.WeRace.net
-- People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise
how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world.

I love it in some aspects but really hate it in others. The graphics are a
pain to the eyes, especially in sunny weather when the colors are all wrong.
The crowds just give you headache. And there's some sort of seem (?seam?) in
the sky where the bitmap ends meet eachother.
I like the driving but it's far too simple. My first timed lap at
Silverstone, without any aids, no steering help with the default setup was a
1:26.4. That's just too easy if I can magage that in my second lap.
There something really strange about the behaviour of the car to the curb.
When you're really on the limit you can get on the curb far too high and get
some sort of railway.
The wet weather is nice to drive in (make sure to choose the right tires),
but the graphical transitions from one state to the other are just plain
ugly.

A nice thing for quite some people (not for those who upgraded their system
big time) is that it's very soft on the hardware. Probably because of all
the bitmaps (instead of 3d objects) and the simple textures.

The car model is extremely ugly, especially if you drive behind someone. GP2
had better looker cars (when following). The schemes on the car are in the
F199 league, especially the McLaren. I just hope it's the same file format
so we can change it.

It's a big dissapointment for me, although I have to say that I love the way
the AI defends their lines. I haven't driven against them yet but just
watched a race.

Lots of people don't like the sound, but I kind of like it. And about the
canned spins, I don't agree. The car spins perfect, and if you loose it on
wet grass you keep on sliding.

So good points:
- Driving model, although it has it flaws
- Wet weather
- AI
- Force Feedback (I like their implementation).
- Low system requirements

Bad points:
- Plain ugly (except when raining, but especially during transitions)
- It's just so ugly.

So if you just look at those points, we can say that it's a great
improvement. And yet it doesn't quite feel that way. I like it, but I
expected more. However I'm still getting my copy but I just hope they'll
change more than just the season data for GP4, or otherwise I won't buy it.

GPL is still the king, WSC comes and beat it please.

:-)

The GP2 HYPE was unfair enough and they just did it again I guess.

yup, Personally I prefer the originals in most sims....Don't know why so
many people complain....

or tire temperature setting i knew there was something wrong.

You don't set tire temps dipshit. This proves the rest of your post is worth
spit.

snipped a bunch of dumpshit from a idiot.

You can't do a review of a warez dumbass because alot of stuff in warez
games are usually ripped out of the game.Now back away from the computer and
leave the reviewing to the people who get paid to do it and know what the
hell they are talking about.

Robert GT86 Platts

OK, here are my impressions of the first hour:
First of all, "canned spins": I'm quite certain that the spins are not
"canned" like in GP2. You can catch a slide if you are quick, also when the
car is spinning it still reacts to steering and braking. Of course the car
breaks loose very quickly and if you're too late with opposite lock the spin
is unrecoverable, but I'd expect such behaviour from a modern high-downforce
racing car. This is not GPL sliding heaven!
Well, lets come to the point, I find the physics quite accurate, but
certainly a thing to accomodate when coming from GPL.
I haven't entered the setup menu yet, so I can't say what's in there.
And yes, driving in the rain is hellish. Trying out the F1 in GPL for the
first time was easier for me :-)
The graphics really are quite blocky when coming near a texture, but I don't
find it too bad. The rain looks pretty good especially the reflecting track
surface and the spray from the tyres.
I run a V3 3000 and have sometimes texture errors on the track (black
patches in certain corners), but maybe it is because I don't use the latest
drivers or maybe it's not the release version. Hopefully there will be a fix
for this.
I can't comment on frame rates in various conditions yet, but in practice
mode the game ran at a very playable framerate (1024x768, all details on,
PIII 450, V 3 3000, LWFF).
Controllers: I still couldn't set up my LWFF properly. GP3 seems to support
split axes, but the problem is, the LWFF seems to use nonstandard axes when
in split axes mode (Z-axis) and GP3 only lets me set Joystick A and B X and
Y axes. Is there any proggy out there which can map axes? Maybe I should try
the Wingman profiler again.
I also couldn't calibrate my combined throttle/brake axis properly, so it
always gave a little bit gas even when I didn't press the throttle.
But I think these problems can be sorted out.
Contrary to Danny's comment, FF is working here and it feels quite good. I
have only the impression, that there's quite a lag with the forces, so when
FF is set to full, I have to fight the wheel when I want to apply opposite
lock.

I think it's more than a graphics-beefed-up GP2, so all you people waiting
for it, don't abandon all hope after Danny's post!

Peter (away to collect more data :-)

Only for the Ferrari.