rec.autos.simulators

   I gotta take a break from GPL. What's a good arcade type game? So far
NFS3 looks to be the best. Can this game be played off the hard drive,
without cd in drive? Thanks.

Al

Get Viper Racing - both arcade and simulation offered.  The career mode is
an absolute gas - I've been driving it a LOT the last few days, and it's
great fun.  Career starts you out in amateur class, and you run several
races per season, and as many seasons as it takes before you win the class,
and move up to Club, then Pro, then GT series.  Along the way, you win prize
money, and can use the money to upgrade your car - engine, chassis,
drivetrain,body, tires, etc.

I really love this game.

Bill

I must concur.  This is a very fun sim, and is inexpensive too
(regular price around $29.99, selling currently for $24.99 --
also part of a SierraSports upgrade rebate plan where you send
the CD of an old sports game from a competitor and they refund
your entire purchase price).  This is the kind of sim I'd feel
OK about trying online multiplayer with.  I've never been good
enough to compete in NASCAR 2 or GPL races online, and get the
impression they're taken rather seriously too, so wouldn't want
to mess anybody up with my lack of seat time.  But Viper Racing,
while still having an excellent physics model (though its tendency
to pirouette on its tail is rather odd; it doesn't seem to want
to get the whole car off the ground unless you actually jump it
off of something steep), doesn't take itself terribly seriously --
I guess it's the fact that the racing series and tracks are all
made up, and that resetting yourself after a big boo-boo is just
part of the race.

I do wish it had options with what kind of parts are on the
Viper in the Quick Race mode; I got quite good at the tracks
in that mode, then started the career and whoops! I had to
re-learn how to drive them, using the stock Viper!  Stock
Viper was kinda fun, actually -- much easier to slide around
a corner.  (I've since progressed a bit and added many
upgrades.)

I don't recall the manual mentioning how to save a replay, yet
it has a menu option for loading replays ... and I wish you could
get a replay in mid-race, or of your qualifying attempts.  There
is an impression that this was rushed to market, but it's still
excellent.

...I'd just bought TOCA, but now, for bump'n'grind racing action,
I'm playing Viper!  I've heard that Viper Racing's force-feedback
support is among if not the best to date.  I'm tempted to break
down and buy a force-feedback wheel.  I'm just concerned about
DOS support (can you at least run stuff in DOS windows? my computer
is fast enough now that I won't miss any lost frame rate by running
in a DOS window).  I can get an old demo unit of the Ultimate Per4Mer
cheaply, but I don't know what its power supply rating is (the supply
is missing).

--

http://www2.cruzio.com/~keeper/toons.html - Animaniacs, P&TB, F!, etc. files
http://www.armory.com/~keeper/midi.html - My own MIDI files - Updated 3 Oct.

   GPL online isn't really that serious (unless you are talking league
races, although I have no experience there).  The drivers in most of
the VROC pick-up races I see exhibit a broad mix of skills.  You've
got some hot shoes that win, you've got some hot shoes that fly off
the track, you've got some some guys (like me) that plod along and try
to run clean but not super fast (and get on or near the podium more
than you'd think ;), and you've got some guys who are still learning.

   To run GPL online, I'd suggest three skill requirements:
* the basic ability to keep the car under control and on the track
   most of the time,
* having enough speed to run with some of the AI (even if its only the
   slowest of the bunch), and
* having a good attitude about it (so long as you are being
   considerate of others and aren't being a jerk, things are cool).

   If you meet these requirements, give it a try.  If you are short on
the first two, practice a little more.  The third one really shouldn't
be a problem (in a bunch of pick-up races on VROC, I've only come
across one certifiable jerk).

   Again, give it a try, even if you only run some practce laps (or
watch others running laps).  It can be a lot of fun!

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