rec.autos.simulators

The reason nobody is replying, (My guess anyway) to the "keyboard" question
is that GPL is so much of a Niche game/simulator with people still running
the game that are really hard core simmers.  That being said but not diggin
at "Us GPL'ers" because I personally am in the same boat.  I or WE cannot
hardly fathom  even daring to encourage you to run GPL with a keyboard.  The
problem is 2 fold.

1st.  you cannot (In Many peoples minds) possibly enjoy the game, nor
control the car very well, at least for 99.99998% of the human population,
for a long time with even a great, and properly setup wheel.

I had a bad pot in a steering wheel that seemed fine in Monster Truck
madness, and even Need for speed games, But I nearly threw the NASCAR and
GPL cds out the window, until I got a good controller, all the time
thinking, "***how can they possibly go that fast without wrecking or
cheating and all"???

ANYWAY, right now you are thinking "BS  I can hang"...   but please trust
me, and everyone who has not responded, that NO! honestly you can't or I
should say won't.  This isn't a game like Porsche Unleashed, where you can
navigate a car like you would Mario brothers with buttons or keys.  The car
control is so subtle, that the difference between the fast guys and the
slower guys like me, is not the speed you get down the straights like on a
arcade game, it is actually about turning the car, with it being on the
verge of out of control (for lack of better visual description), and getting
up to top speed sooner out of the corner.  this is nearly impossible with a
less than perfectly operating wheel, let alone with a keyboard.  Now having
said that, the Nascar racing series, you could possibly run decent enough,
as it is mainly ovals, and drafting.   and so button steering and brakes
seldom "costs you" as much, but I would personally guarantee that you will
not enjoy much more than Dega or Tona, compared to racing against me, with a
wheel at say Homestead or Bristol.

2nd reason, when that game 1st was released we miserably had to "put up
with" the Nintendo gamers who warezed or got the game for Xmas (or whatever
religion/holiday they might get a gift) and the Nintendo heads as you can
guess, had a heyday running the rest of the racers ragged by doing simple
things as just slamming into everyone in the corners, all the way to running
around the track backwards.  Plus it would be Irresponsible of us to say
Sure do it like this...  So to encourage you to do it, is like the gold
medal olympic luge champoin, to say "Sure, you can run this course, sitting
on your plastic saucer..."

Please don't think I am assuming that you would be a Nintendo ish goof ball,
or nothing, my point is much more about how you will short change your
ability to enjoy this absolutely fabulous and extremely challenging game!!!
If you read reviews at any *** site anywhere, you would know I am warning
you and being truthful, this game is not for the person who expects instant
gratification, like people get with set-top systems and a lot of other games
on PCs...  You are goin got work at this game, and rewards seem to come
slowly, but they are sweet!

My advice?  Get yourself a decent new USB connected wheel (Like Microsoft
Sidewinder can be had off of ebay for around 20 bucks, just make dang sure
it is USB ONLY for XP & that the Setup CD comes with it!!!! ).  Use the disk
that comes with it and ingonre XP complaining about the software not being
made for XP.  more on that later if you get one...  with a good wheel, trust
me, if you can make it past the 1st two of 3 or 4 hour sessions you will put
into running GPL, you will thank me for it, you will love this game!

plowboy

Thanks guys.

| Dunk,
|
| The reason nobody is replying, (My guess anyway) to the "keyboard"
question
| is that GPL is so much of a Niche game/simulator with people still running
| the game that are really hard core simmers.  That being said but not
diggin
| at "Us GPL'ers" because I personally am in the same boat.  I or WE cannot
| hardly fathom  even daring to encourage you to run GPL with a keyboard.
The
| problem is 2 fold.
|
| 1st.  you cannot (In Many peoples minds) possibly enjoy the game, nor
| control the car very well, at least for 99.99998% of the human population,
| for a long time with even a great, and properly setup wheel.
|
| I had a bad pot in a steering wheel that seemed fine in Monster Truck
| madness, and even Need for speed games, But I nearly threw the NASCAR and
| GPL cds out the window, until I got a good controller, all the time
| thinking, "***how can they possibly go that fast without wrecking or
| cheating and all"???
|
| ANYWAY, right now you are thinking "BS  I can hang"...   but please trust
| me, and everyone who has not responded, that NO! honestly you can't or I
| should say won't.  This isn't a game like Porsche Unleashed, where you can
| navigate a car like you would Mario brothers with buttons or keys.  The
car
| control is so subtle, that the difference between the fast guys and the
| slower guys like me, is not the speed you get down the straights like on a
| arcade game, it is actually about turning the car, with it being on the
| verge of out of control (for lack of better visual description), and
getting
| up to top speed sooner out of the corner.  this is nearly impossible with
a
| less than perfectly operating wheel, let alone with a keyboard.  Now
having
| said that, the Nascar racing series, you could possibly run decent enough,
| as it is mainly ovals, and drafting.   and so button steering and brakes
| seldom "costs you" as much, but I would personally guarantee that you will
| not enjoy much more than Dega or Tona, compared to racing against me, with
a
| wheel at say Homestead or Bristol.
|
| 2nd reason, when that game 1st was released we miserably had to "put up
| with" the Nintendo gamers who warezed or got the game for Xmas (or
whatever
| religion/holiday they might get a gift) and the Nintendo heads as you can
| guess, had a heyday running the rest of the racers ragged by doing simple
| things as just slamming into everyone in the corners, all the way to
running
| around the track backwards.  Plus it would be Irresponsible of us to say
| Sure do it like this...  So to encourage you to do it, is like the gold
| medal olympic luge champoin, to say "Sure, you can run this course,
sitting
| on your plastic saucer..."
|
| Please don't think I am assuming that you would be a Nintendo ish goof
ball,
| or nothing, my point is much more about how you will short change your
| ability to enjoy this absolutely fabulous and extremely challenging
game!!!
| If you read reviews at any *** site anywhere, you would know I am
warning
| you and being truthful, this game is not for the person who expects
instant
| gratification, like people get with set-top systems and a lot of other
games
| on PCs...  You are goin got work at this game, and rewards seem to come
| slowly, but they are sweet!
|
| My advice?  Get yourself a decent new USB connected wheel (Like Microsoft
| Sidewinder can be had off of ebay for around 20 bucks, just make dang sure
| it is USB ONLY for XP & that the Setup CD comes with it!!!! ).  Use the
disk
| that comes with it and ingonre XP complaining about the software not being
| made for XP.  more on that later if you get one...  with a good wheel,
trust
| me, if you can make it past the 1st two of 3 or 4 hour sessions you will
put
| into running GPL, you will thank me for it, you will love this game!
|
| plowboy

| > I got Grand Prix Legends today but can't get it to run. I did a full
| > install. When I try to run it the screen goes black and changes res like
| the
| > game is loading but then it just closes and I'm left back at the
desktop.
| >
| > Any suggestions guys ?
| >
| > Thx
| >
| > ===========================
| > System Spec (in case it matters)
| > Athlon XP1500+ on a Abit KG7 Raid
| > Gainward GS Ti4200 128mb
| > Windows XP Pro - SP2
| > ===========================
| >
| >
|
|

You *need* to do some downloading, my son.

GPL can be one of the finest looking racers even now.  Especially the car
models.

Start here:

http://gplea.racesimcentral.com/

and move on from there...

Regards,

Mark
Reading, UK

| If u dont think gpl looks good then look at this :)
|
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
| pl+slide+show
|   :)

| > Well thanks for that Plowboy, great post.  I did manage to get it set up
| > using the keys thanks to some help in IRC from Dan Leach and his
friends.
| > Like you said though it's very difficult to control with the keys.
| > I must admit to being really quite shocked at the poor graphics though.
| They
| > aren't anywhere near as good as other old games like eg Microprose F1GP
| > (#1). I'm quite disappointed really. It must be a hell of a game,
| > gameplay-wise, for you guys to still be playing a sim that is sooo old
| > looking.
| > I'm prepared to put the time in to learn a good driving sim that I can
| race
| > online, but I don't think this is the one for me, it just looks so old
| > fashioned. No offence intended to those of you who love GPL.
| >
| > Thanks guys.
| >
| >


| > | Dunk,
| > |
| > | The reason nobody is replying, (My guess anyway) to the "keyboard"
| > question
| > | is that GPL is so much of a Niche game/simulator with people still
| running
| > | the game that are really hard core simmers.  That being said but not
| > diggin
| > | at "Us GPL'ers" because I personally am in the same boat.  I or WE
| cannot
| > | hardly fathom  even daring to encourage you to run GPL with a
keyboard.
| > The
| > | problem is 2 fold.
| > |
| > | 1st.  you cannot (In Many peoples minds) possibly enjoy the game, nor
| > | control the car very well, at least for 99.99998% of the human
| population,
| > | for a long time with even a great, and properly setup wheel.
| > |
| > | I had a bad pot in a steering wheel that seemed fine in Monster Truck
| > | madness, and even Need for speed games, But I nearly threw the NASCAR
| and
| > | GPL cds out the window, until I got a good controller, all the time
| > | thinking, "***how can they possibly go that fast without wrecking or
| > | cheating and all"???
| > |
| > | ANYWAY, right now you are thinking "BS  I can hang"...   but please
| trust
| > | me, and everyone who has not responded, that NO! honestly you can't or
I
| > | should say won't.  This isn't a game like Porsche Unleashed, where you
| can
| > | navigate a car like you would Mario brothers with buttons or keys.
The
| > car
| > | control is so subtle, that the difference between the fast guys and
the
| > | slower guys like me, is not the speed you get down the straights like
on
| a
| > | arcade game, it is actually about turning the car, with it being on
the
| > | verge of out of control (for lack of better visual description), and
| > getting
| > | up to top speed sooner out of the corner.  this is nearly impossible
| with
| > a
| > | less than perfectly operating wheel, let alone with a keyboard.  Now
| > having
| > | said that, the Nascar racing series, you could possibly run decent
| enough,
| > | as it is mainly ovals, and drafting.   and so button steering and
brakes
| > | seldom "costs you" as much, but I would personally guarantee that you
| will
| > | not enjoy much more than Dega or Tona, compared to racing against me,
| with
| > a
| > | wheel at say Homestead or Bristol.
| > |
| > | 2nd reason, when that game 1st was released we miserably had to "put
up
| > | with" the Nintendo gamers who warezed or got the game for Xmas (or
| > whatever
| > | religion/holiday they might get a gift) and the Nintendo heads as you
| can
| > | guess, had a heyday running the rest of the racers ragged by doing
| simple
| > | things as just slamming into everyone in the corners, all the way to
| > running
| > | around the track backwards.  Plus it would be Irresponsible of us to
say
| > | Sure do it like this...  So to encourage you to do it, is like the
gold
| > | medal olympic luge champoin, to say "Sure, you can run this course,
| > sitting
| > | on your plastic saucer..."
| > |
| > | Please don't think I am assuming that you would be a Nintendo ish goof
| > ball,
| > | or nothing, my point is much more about how you will short change your
| > | ability to enjoy this absolutely fabulous and extremely challenging
| > game!!!
| > | If you read reviews at any *** site anywhere, you would know I am
| > warning
| > | you and being truthful, this game is not for the person who expects
| > instant
| > | gratification, like people get with set-top systems and a lot of other
| > games
| > | on PCs...  You are goin got work at this game, and rewards seem to
come
| > | slowly, but they are sweet!
| > |
| > | My advice?  Get yourself a decent new USB connected wheel (Like
| Microsoft
| > | Sidewinder can be had off of ebay for around 20 bucks, just make dang
| sure
| > | it is USB ONLY for XP & that the Setup CD comes with it!!!! ).  Use
the
| > disk
| > | that comes with it and ingonre XP complaining about the software not
| being
| > | made for XP.  more on that later if you get one...  with a good wheel,
| > trust
| > | me, if you can make it past the 1st two of 3 or 4 hour sessions you
will
| > put
| > | into running GPL, you will thank me for it, you will love this game!
| > |
| > | plowboy


| > | > I got Grand Prix Legends today but can't get it to run. I did a full
| > | > install. When I try to run it the screen goes black and changes res
| like
| > | the
| > | > game is loading but then it just closes and I'm left back at the
| > desktop.
| > | >
| > | > Any suggestions guys ?
| > | >
| > | > Thx
| > | >
| > | > ===========================
| > | > System Spec (in case it matters)
| > | > Athlon XP1500+ on a Abit KG7 Raid
| > | > Gainward GS Ti4200 128mb
| > | > Windows XP Pro - SP2
| > | > ===========================
| > | >
| > | >
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|

--
-- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard>
-- http://ymenard.cjb.net/
-- This announcement is brought to you by the Shimago-Dominguez
Corporation - helping America into the New World...

????????????

Cheers,
Paul T

  Besides, if you are a casual gamer, a gamepad is good to have for
your PC, much better overall choice than a joystick.

  Yeah, the graphics are pretty old looking, but if you fiddle with
some of the settings they can look a little better (turn up the draw
distance for starters)-I find the most important thing in racing
sims/games is that the graphics look decent, other than that they are
not as important as a shooter. Once you get up to speed all you are
going to be looking at is the road, pretty much, and maybe the
controls once in a while.

 GPL is not really my style, though. For one, the physics model is
very tricky.  Also, there aren't many options for difficulty.  I have
been racing this game on and off for several months, done hundreds of
laps at Monza, but still place at the bottom of the ranks.  For me,
gameplay is more important than simulation aspects, and while I can
respect the dedication this game requires, I find it a letdown in the
gameplay.  Still, it might be worth playing if the subject interests
you, and the netcode is suppossed to be good.  For me, it was great to
try out and see what all the fuss was.

  I like Nascar Legends better for Papyrus sims.  There are more
gameplay options and the cars are easier to drive, although graphics
are the same quality as GPL.  Of course it can get boring zooming
around ovals, but it's overall a better game than GPL.

  I don't know much about online racing games, I have only done some
racing online.  I think Dirt Track Racing 2 is pretty good for online
play.  It has a game browser so you can easily find a game, and the
number of options is pretty good and it has a decent career mode.
It's oval racing though, but on Max realism it's pretty challenging on
the short ovals.  You might check out Leadfoot if you want some
different turns in there and don't mind more dirt racing- again it has
a god career mode, something that few PC racing sims have.  I spend
most of my time playing offline ***, though.

  There are alot of other online racing games too, you really can't go
wrong, it just depends on what you want.  Formula 1, Nascar, Rally
racing, sports cars?

I thought it was the service itself being discussed.  I could very well have
it _enabled_ for that folder, but only if it's done automatically by
default.  I sure didn't do it manyally.

-Larry

-Larry

I don't have winXP so I can't be sure, but I understand that indexing is
only allowed on My Documents by default, and so presumably all other folders
(including the gpl folder) don't allow it by default.

Judging by the previous discussions in this newsgroup, you seem to be one of
very few that doesn't need to enable it.

To check, select the properties for the sierra or gpl folder, and click the
advanced button on the general tab and there should be an option to allow
indexing on this folder. If it isn't already enabled and you want to, select
it and make sure you choose to allow it for subfolders etc too on the
resulting message box.

Malc.