hehe...maybe this is the type of customer Thunder was trying to attract.
This explains why we don't get it.
How hard can it be to see what Papy has done and go from there.
Still pissed about my $40. I threw away.
DC
> <snip>
> Ok, I was tired when I posted this so here's some details on what is
> good and bad about the sim.
> 1. Graphics
> If you like F1 2002, you might like these. The default LOD bias
> causes the cars to deres literally 5 feet in front of you. As Ed
> Solheim pointed out in another thread, the rear view mirror makes it
> look like cars are literally on top of you. The graphics feature the
> same flicker as the ISI F1 games, regardless of the FSAA level you
> use. The textures remind me of SCGT, i.e. cartoony, dark, and
> oversaturated. The car models aren't bad, but the cars seem much
> longer than a real WC stock car.
> The damage modelling is seriously humorous. Hitting something on the
> side, like the wall, will cause the side to dent in a'la Nascar 2002
> but also puts a big gray hole in the car. Best I can tell there's no
> damage to the hood or roof. I've backed the car into the wall at
> over 100mph and the bumper dented a bit, I was disappointed after
> being used to the way N2002 smushes your bumper all the way to the
> axle. The nose damage looks wrong, after taking a few hits at the
> front the car starts looking like a shart, as you have this middle bit
> that sticks out with big dents on either side that, in real life,
> would be impossible because of the chassis and engine block being
> there.
> N2002 wins this category hands down, especially in terms of texture
> realism and graphical clarity. It also runs 30 frames per second
> faster on my machine with full detail at 1280x1024x16 than NT2003
> does. NT2003 does get bonus points for attempting to include some
> classic cars, but who wants to drive Cale Yarborough's early 80's #28
> car with "Cale" written on it instead of Hardee's.
> The wheel/hands are ugly and can't be removed in-game. However you
> can comment out the lines that define these in the vehicle.gen file
> and everything looks much much better...except that the default
>***pit camera feels like you have your face pressed against the
> windshield, but YMMV.
> 2. Sound
> Most of the menu music is horrible, the single saving grace being
> Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" which I wish would just loop.
> The commentators at the beginning of the race sound like they were
> recorded in my bathroom. Actually, I've done recordings in my
> bathroom and they were of higher quality. For some curious reason,
> they've left out the driver introductions, so when the game does the
> standard F12k2 scroll through the field, you're left with an awkward
> silence. Thankfully, this is preferable to hearing more of the
> announcing.
> Driving, the engine sound is far inferior to N2002. The tire sounds
> are far inferior to N2002. For the engines it seriously sounds like
> they sampled a chainsaw and ran it through some cheap plate reverb,
> it's that bad.
> 3. Layout/Presentation
> The menus are horrible. Thankfully on the track selection screen
> there are drop down boxes you can access to select the track, but most
> things are laid out completely illogically and/or a pain to find.
> Selecting a driver (you have to use one of the real cars, there's no
> paintshop included or option to simply drive as yourself) requires
> going through a list with all of the drivers, which is a time
> consuming process.
> The rest is pretty much straight from F1 2002, with different icons
> and maybe slightly different on-screen placement.
> The race weekend is annoying. There is no option to use a short pace
> lap, even with auto pace lap turned on, so at a place like the Glen be
> prepared to spend 5-10 minutes on a pace lap before putting in even a
> short race. Speaking of auto pace lap, if auto pace lap and/or auto
> pitting are enabled, the game gives no warning that it's going to
> return control to you. Just suddenly the spotter yells "GO GO GO" and
> you're sitting there scrambling for your wheel.
> The fighter jets screaming overhead at every single track are cheesy.
> On the other hand, I really felt like having sex with my cousin at
> that point, so it could be what they're going for.
> Replays are done F1 2002 style, so nothing to comment there. If
> you've played an ISI game, you know what it's like.
> 4. Track Modelling
> Apparently Pocono is 4 or 5 lanes wide, doesn't require any braking,
> and is paved in concrete. Apparently the esses and the outer loop at
> the Glen are banked about as much as Bristol, at least with the little
> bit of banking Bristol has in this game. Seriously appalling. The
> off-track details are of course just as bad, but you can't really
> expect much when the actual track surfaces are so far off.
> Speaking of track modelling, unless there is a change in banking at
> the apron, you can drive it without a penalty. Just ran some really
> quick laps at Tally without venturing above the yellow line.
> If you're played a Papy NASCAR sim, or even watched a race or two on
> TV, be prepared for a shock the first time you take the car on the
> track. Throw everything you know about the line of the tracks out the
> window, you won't need 'em here.
> 5. Physics
> First, I'm using super-high frequency physics, which can be changed in
> the PLR file. The standard are similar, as in F1 2002, while the
> flaws in the engine tend to be exaggerated somewhat.
> Just like F1 2002, a car that should be on the edge of traction at
> high speeds is glued to the track. If you do use your brakes here,
> which I recommend since there's no engine braking to speak of, don't
> worry about applying them until you're near the apex. Turn 1 at
> Pocono can be taken flat out until you near the apex, same with the
> turns at Bristol, Dover, and Martinsville.
> Apparently the reason drivers spin at Bristol is because of the cracks
> in the concrete. I never noticed that before. It must be tough
> flooring it there when the car wants to spin because the rear wheels
> are 6 inches off the ground every time your drive over a seal.
> As in F1 2002, make sure you keep the framerate above 60. The
> polygon-based physics are touchy as always, and if those poor attempts
> at high-frequency bump modelling send you 6 inches off the ground at
> 60 fps, they'll have you sailing into the grass at 20 fps.
> GPL and N2002 win hands down at capturing the feel of a car on the
> threshold of friction (so does Dirt Track Racing 2, of all the
> surprises). To some it may feel like a hovercar, I suppose, but I'd
> also guess that a car that is on the edge of control is going to feel
> more like a bug skittering on the surface of the water than a tank
> glued firmly in place until a rumble strip causes the rear end to snap
> around. I'm probably wrong tho. As in F1 2002, the sensation of
> weight transfer is minimal. While this may be acceptable in a
> ground-hugging stiff-as-carbon F1 car, it feels completely out of
> place in the hulking behemoths in this game. There is very little
> indication of what the car is doing in terms of weight transfer, which
> imho makes the sim harder to drive than N2002, at least when putting
> the car on the edge. Thankfully, harder in this case doesn't mean
> more realistic.
> Controller configuration is as bad as F1 2002. An amusing note is
> that the speed sensitivity slider doesn't go below 10% in the menus,
> but it does register as 0% if you check your PLR file.
> Jason