rec.autos.simulators

I watched the Gran Prix of Argentina on ESPN 2 yesterday and I
saw some interesting things from the "in***pit" camera views.
On the Williams/Renault car the steering wheel was round and the
driver did not seem to take his hands off of the wheel at any
time, going through corners. Can I assume that the car was
equipted with the semi automatic shifting levers on the other
side of the steering wheel?
Also, the Ferrari car, driven by Shumacher (sp?) had a square
type "yoke" device in it. It also seemed to have 4 buttons on
the top area of the steering device. Are those the Shifters and
the braking and acceleration controls?

I'm interested in this because it has been stated in the past that
the F1 cars used levers to shift gears. Are some of them now using
buttons or levers to shift, and to gas and brake?

Also, the Gran Prix of Argentina is NOT in the GP2 sim as far as
I can see. Question: How often do they change courses on the
circuit. I see that we no longer have Mexico and Phoenix from the
F1GP old version, but we now have Pacific and Jerez. Is there a
change of 2 tracks per season, on the average.
If this is the case, could we petition the GP2 team for some
add on tracks so we can produce seasons past. I personally used to
"own" Phoenix...hehehe, and loved Mexico as well.

JEB in Vegas

: I watched the Gran Prix of Argentina on ESPN 2 yesterday and I
: saw some interesting things from the "in***pit" camera views.
: On the Williams/Renault car the steering wheel was round and the
: driver did not seem to take his hands off of the wheel at any
: time, going through corners. Can I assume that the car was
: equipted with the semi automatic shifting levers on the other
: side of the steering wheel?

        Yes.  Pull on the left paddle to down-shift, right paddle to
up-shift.  These levers have been in use since Ferrari (I think) fitted
them onto their cars in the mid-1980s.  As far as video*** goes,
anyone who used to play Super Monaco GP and/or Virtua Racing will feel
right at home with these devices :-).
        On a side note, Villeneuve's Williams has only one paddle on the
right side of the steering wheel.  Shift up by pulling back, shift down
by pushing forward.  Presumably this is to recreate the motion of
sequential gearboxes in the Indy style.

: Also, the Ferrari car, driven by Shumacher (sp?) had a square
: type "yoke" device in it. It also seemed to have 4 buttons on

        Despite the looks it is strictly a wheel, not a yoke.

: the top area of the steering device. Are those the Shifters and
: the braking and acceleration controls?

        Yikes no!  That would be like playing GP2 with a keyboard!  :-)
        I'm guessing the buttons could be either a radio call, a pitlane
speed limiter, an engine "kill" switch", a neutral gear selector, or a
drink button.

: I'm interested in this because it has been stated in the past that
: the F1 cars used levers to shift gears. Are some of them now using
: buttons or levers to shift, and to gas and brake?

        As far as I know (and hope), NO Formula 1 teams are assigning
brake and gas functions to hand levers and buttons (what would that leave
the feet to do?).  Some teams have tried "fly-by-wire" electronic
throttles, but that is the extent of change.
        On a side note, Schumacher's '94/'95 Benetton could shift gears
via buttons in front of the steering wheel.  On some Mickey Mouse
circuits, one button was assigned to automatically shift down to 2nd gear.

: Also, the Gran Prix of Argentina is NOT in the GP2 sim as far as
: I can see. Question: How often do they change courses on the
: circuit. I see that we no longer have Mexico and Phoenix from the
: F1GP old version, but we now have Pacific and Jerez. Is there a
: change of 2 tracks per season, on the average.

        Trite, but it all depends on who has the money at any particular
moment.  Seeing how tobacco laws in some countries are making it ***
F1 sponsors, expect new tracks in the future taking place in more
"***" locales such as (possibly) China, Indonesia, and the United States.

: If this is the case, could we petition the GP2 team for some
: add on tracks so we can produce seasons past. I personally used to
: "own" Phoenix...hehehe, and loved Mexico as well.

        Looks unlikely considering they had to settle with the 1994
season...  Of course, if you're just itching to race at Argentina and the
Nurburgring, you can always give the Playstation F1 game a try when it
comes out (at this point, the graphics of that game seem poised to -er- kick
GP2s ass :-)).
        Hope that helped!

Martin
Nigel Mansell RIP!

My God, the Argentina Grand Prix was ages ago, but never mind, you saw
it... that's the important thing here. Well, the F1 cars shift up and
down with super light carbon fibre levers at the back of the steering
wheel, just as you assumed (so it's semi automatic). the left one is for
shifting down, the right one for shifting up.The buttons on the front of
the steering wheel are mostly for shifting down more than one gear, very
usefull when breaking from 300 km/h till about 90 km/h, shifting from
sixth gear to first in one stroke ! Also from fifth to second or
whatever the driver wants. There's a button for communication with the
pits as well as a button to put the car in neutral (for pitstops).

The clutch is also most of the times on the steering wheel (some still
use a pedal, I believe Alesi is one of them), but they normally only use
it at the start. Luckely they still have to use their feet to gas and
brake !

Considering the tracks: in case you haven't noticed, or just didn't
know, this is the '94 season that's been simulated. This means the
tracks are from the championship of that year. Makes perfect sense,
actually. So no more Phoenix and Mexico (I don't really mind).Argentina
was in the championships for the first time last year, so probably will
be added in future updates !

See Ya, Eddy

Not brakes and gas.

Nope.

Depends on money I think.  We're probably getting an Austrian Grand Prix
back next season (after 9 years?) instead of Hungary, and there is still
one date unset that China want.  We've also had South Africa a couple of
times since F1GP originally came out.   And of course the new Australian
circuit in Melbourne.

A track editor/builder would be brilliant.  Personally, I want to see a
game with a Brands Hatch Circuit.

Yup.  There are paddles behind the steering wheel to shift gears upward and
downward.

                                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                    Schumacher

Not too sure, but most of the top F1 teams seems to be equipped with buttons
for:

pit road rev-limiter
automatic downshift
pit radio

I could've sworn I had the fourth button's function in my head, but it leaked
out of my ear as I typed.  :-(

Ah, yes!  I remember!  Some drivers have a clutch button too, prefering those
over pedals. They're only used on the standing start, though; gear-shifting in
F1 (as well as IndyCar) no longer requires using the clutch.

As I stated above:  paddles to shift, button to downshift, pedals to gas and
brake.

Yeah, two is about right.

We're trying (I'm particularly looking for add-ons to include tracks, cars, and
drivers from this season)!  Now we'll see if GC and Co. will listen to us.

--
+------------------+--------------------------------------------+
|  G. Warren Abao  | Official BBL Jacksonville Jaguars Website: |

+------------------++------------------------+------------------+
| SPOOOOOOOOOOON!!! |  BBL Jacksonville 1-0  | IFL Chicago 11-6 |
+-------------------+------------------------+------------------+