rec.autos.simulators

Eldred
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Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
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You're picking at old scabs, friend.  :-)

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Andre

On Wed, 17 May 2000 20:57:52 -0700, Chris Bloom

I forgot what GPAL was intended to do. Can someone refresh my memory?

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You people really are doing this just to drive me crazy, aren't you?

Andre

Ed_

He was close(ish) to completing what looked a useful utility then
circumstances changed & he wasn't able to devote the time to finish it.

Once his self imposed deadlined was missed he appeared too embarassed to
appear on RAS.

Once it was clear he had to devote his time elsewhere, GPaL was so delayed
that RAS turned against him.

Without the resources of a games developer who does it for a LIVING to
complete it he was hounded off of RAS as some sort of villain - too shamed
to contribute as he had before.

For sure he could have handled it differently but perhaps his perfectionism
and belief that he had let down the GPL community forced him into a self
imposed exile and silence in response to the stream of questions as to its
development.

For sure shit happens - but lets put it into perspective. A GPL enthusiast
promises a utility written as a hobby for no reward. When life takes a twist
& he fails to complete it his "buddies" in the community call him a liar & a
fraud and he is no longer welcome.

Hardly the most understanding approach.

The fact that the GPaL still does the rounds suggests either Jack had a good
idea or is a handy joke topic to throw in when nothing else is going on. The
latter seems a shade harsh but unfortunately is probably our world here in
RAS.

Aggression tends to fail to gain co-operation in my experience.

Then again I happen to have had the pleasure of exchanging many e-mails with
Jack over prior to his disapperance from the GPL scene which I guess either
clouds or sharpens my judgement depending on your point of view.

Tony

Chris

Chris

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Jeff Eiland aka Viman
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Member of Paladin Racing
"The Knights of the Round Track"
http://www.paladinracing.com

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Actually, I don't know WHAT he does for a living.  I'm impressed by any of the
people who have contributed ideas & programs for our enjoyment.

I have no control over his mindset, neither does anyone else here...

I've already stated that I'd be among the first with a 'virtual' pat on the
back if he finished it.

Several people offered to help finish the project.  Others(like me) who don't
have many programming skills offered to beta-test the program.  Personally, I
feel that there are MANY people in this newsgroup who have the talent to do
something like this.  Why doesn't he release what he's done(code, notes, etc)
so that others could continue?  The utility was going to be free, so Jack
wouldn't be losing any compensation.  I'm sure he could copyright(or whatever)
what he has to be assured of getting the credit due.
Well???

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
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My understanding is life took such a twist for Jack that hobbies were put on
hold - firmly in the belief that they would be picked back up. My further
understanding is that pressures on time took an even further twist & he was
oblivious to the posts on RAS.
After running NTT he probably had a mailbox full to ignore as well.
Sometimes life gets in the way of our sims :)

Who knows Eldred?

Tony

NTT - the infamous Nail The Track series - initially with invited drivers
from around the world, it culminated in a mad fortnight when Jack ran three
series - America, Europe and Australasia. The series ran with registered
drivers with heats and finals in each series.

The aim was to create a world auto sim association whose drivers were all
licensed and the races governed by appointed officials of the said body.

The three series would evolve to a world final.

The concept was to treat sim racing in the same light as real racing, with a
recognised ruling body which ensured fair play and guaranteed a quality of
driving (not necessarily the fastest drivers) on a global scale only
previously available in small private leagues. With all the organisation
that goes with running such a body.

Jack was considering this as potential job - running the overall series with
aid from associates in the three continents, financially rewarded by a
driver registration scheme which would benefit both the sim racing community
by providing a professional body and pay Jack a wage.

The "mad" fortnight saw Jack run NTT in three continents EVERY DAY as he
guaged whether he could somehow create his dream governing body and make a
living for himself & his family.

Reality finally slapped him the face as it became clear the sim racing
community was too small, and too reluctant to pay for such a service. So the
NTT series collapsed as the exhausted Jack finally had to give up his dream
to manage a sim racing body on a full time basis.

It all sounds a bit bizarre now. No doubt from a business perspective it was
very naive but somehow in this business orientated world it had a refreshing
innocence in approach.

The NTT series was sorely missed as a genuine world championship, and Jack
made many friends on RAS in the process - many will remember those NTT
announcements, and the NTT races had a popularity seldom equalled.

Tony

I'd forgotten how good Jack's race reports were during those days. His
efforts in the early days of VROC helped build the GPL community we enjoy
today.

What surprises me is that no one else has released a similar program. By the
number of posts every time GPaL is mentioned, there is still interest in a
something of this sort. I'd pay for a single interface that would allow me
to pick and choose tracks, chassis, race type, graphic options, etc.
--
don

"Getting hit by a meteorite is an accident...
  everything else is driver-error."