NASCAR Racing 2002 Season

Papyrus · released 2002 · discussed in 5,807 posts, 2000-2013 · overall tone mixed

Posts per month

Timeline

• 2001-12-26 Sierra and Papyrus announced NASCAR Racing 2002 Season for February 2002, dropping numbered titles for yearly naming. post thread
• 2001-12-30 Papyrus released the NASCAR Racing 2002 Season demo. thread post
• 2002-01-23 NASCAR Racing 2002 Season went gold. post
• 2002-02-13 Papyrus's NASCAR Racing 2002 Season went on sale in US stores. thread post post
• 2002-04-24 Sierra/Papyrus released the NASCAR Racing 2002 Season 1.1.0.1 patch, which improved the AI, added OpenGL texture compression and a minimum-LPI server option, and broke multiplayer compatibility with earlier versions. thread post post
• 2002-05-01 Dave Noonan's team at The US Pits released a converter that brought GPL road courses into NASCAR Racing 2002 Season. thread post
• 2002-06-04 Papyrus released the NASCAR Racing 2002 Season 1.1.0.2 patch, which Sierra.com soon made mandatory online. thread post post
• 2002-08-28 Sierra released a NASCAR Racing 2002 Season patch adding Matrox Surround Gaming triple-screen and widescreen support. post post
• 2007-07-17 Sierra announced that multiplayer for NASCAR Racing 2003 Season, NASCAR Racing 2002 Season, NASCAR Racing 4 and other Papyrus titles would end on 16 August 2007. post post

Key threads

• Wishlist for NR2003: host-enforced views and settings 2002-11-25 · 178 posts
  Ed Solheim asked Papyrus to let hosts enforce settings such as windscreen dirt, pit crews, glare and the cockpit view in NR2003. This reopened the long-running roof-cam versus cockpit view debate, with roof-riders such as John Simmons saying it was safer and cockpit drivers calling it an advantage. Other wishes included vote kicking, a better damage model and admin flag control.
• US Pits releases GPL track converter for NR2002 2002-05-01 · 54 posts
  Dave Noonan's team at the US Pits released a converter that brings GPL and other tracks, including Silverstone, Osterreichring, St. Jovite, Cleveland and Bullrun, into NASCAR Racing 2002, along with N3 short tracks. Users praised the results and imagined a GPL2 with NR2002 graphics and sound. Goy Larsen explained that very long tracks such as the Nürburgring and Spa could not be converted because of NR2002 track size limits, and the thread also debated whether the sim needed more short ovals.
• NASCAR Racing 2002 Season arrives in stores: new sim or rehash? 2002-02-12 · 44 posts
  Posters reported NR2002 reaching US stores around February 13 and discussed likely prices. Early impressions praised the sound and a heavier, more stock-car-like feel, but noted collision physics and some AI issues remained. A long debate followed on whether it was a new sim or a $50 rehash of NASCAR 4, with John Pancoast saying only NASCAR 1, 2 and 4 were true new sims.
• Papyrus's Eric Busch confirms Dave Kaemmer working on N2003 2002-09-04 · 42 posts
  Dave Henrie noted that Dave Kaemmer was not mentioned in the N2003 announcements, and several posters speculated he had left Papyrus. Papyrus's Eric Busch replied that this was false, that Kaemmer was doing the physics for NASCAR Racing 2003 and had converted the GPL physics engine for N4 and NR2002. The thread also reminisced about Charlie Heath's multiplayer work and devolved into a personal spat between Tom Pabst and Wayne Bradley.
• NASCAR Racing 2002 Season 1.1.0.1 patch released 2002-04-24 · 40 posts
  Sierra released the 1.1.0.1 patch for NASCAR Racing 2002, which was not multiplayer-compatible with earlier versions, prompting some jokes about a 'warez-only' patch. The changes included easier bump drafting with the AI, fixes to AI pile-ups in the pits, a minimum-LPI option for servers, and naming who ejects or bans players. Early testers reported better AI behaviour in wrecks, while some noted that the Martinsville pace car bug remained.
• NASCAR Racing 2002 Season demo released, download mirrors and first framerates 2001-12-30 · 27 posts
  Posters shared download mirrors for the newly released NASCAR Racing 2002 Season demo as the main server was swamped, and noted that Papyrus had switched to yearly naming. Early impressions covered framerates on GeForce3 cards, with disabling anisotropic filtering cited as a big help. Some questioned paying full price for what looked like an updated NASCAR 4, and it was confirmed the demo includes session restarts.
• Cockpit view versus roof cam: what counts as simulation? 2002-02-25 · 124 posts
  Tom Pabst argued that driving from a roof cam is watching rather than driving, so a sim should be driven from the cockpit. Others countered that monitors lack peripheral vision, that the NR2002 eye point is too low, or that some players get disoriented. The 124-post debate covered head tracking, league rules forcing cockpit view, and a plan for a newsgroup NR2002 race, and later turned into insults between Gerry Aitken and Tim Miser.
• Heated debate over NASCAR Thunder 2003's merits 2002-10-19 · 109 posts
  A joke post calling NASCAR Thunder 2003 rubbish prompted Phillip Malphrus to defend it as decent, and Alan Bernardo accused the group of dismissing anything not made by Papyrus. Detailed criticism followed on track accuracy, controller feel and the missing track editor and road courses, while Bill Bollinger attacked NR2002's drafting and damage models. EldredP and others lamented the tribal tone of the arguments.
• Messy RASCAR Talladega race and the restart debate 2002-04-27 · 100 posts
  Ed Solheim expressed disappointment that the 70-lap RASCAR Talladega race was wrecked on lap one and that it was not restarted. Nearly everyone else opposed restarts as unfair and endless, and EldredP explained he would not offer 'mulligans'. The long thread also dissected restart black flags, bump-drafting etiquette, chatting under caution and the many yellows.
• Step-by-step approach to building a road course setup 2002-07-24 · 89 posts
  Dave Henrie described his setup routine and asked how to progress further. Goy Larsen, Haqsau and Steve Smith explained spring, roll bar and damper effects, with Smith stressing one change at a time and using feel rather than lap times. Smith, author of the GPL strategy guide, also recounted his motoring-journalism career and the first Cannonball run.
• RASCAR California race recap and dispute over league rules 2002-08-31 · 88 posts
  Participants recapped the RASCAR NR2002 race at California, discussing a first-lap pileup, disconnects and the late winning pass by Ian. Tom Pabst accused the organisers of hypocrisy for using restrictive rules such as no racing back to the yellow and no restarts while calling the races casual fun, prompting EldredP and John Pancoast to push back on him for criticising a league he rarely raced in. The argument was lengthy but mostly ended in banter and support for Eldred running the server.
• Newcomer's rough first RASCAR race 2002-05-25 · 85 posts
  Larry complained that in his first RAS race he was blamed for incidents and ejected, and after reviewing the replay he said he caused nothing. Several drivers backed him, saying the incident was caused by warp and that he drove cleanly. Much discussion followed about confusing spotter instructions to pass the pace car under yellow, which left several cars a lap down, and about server owners' right to eject drivers.
• EA's NASCAR Thunder 2003 to use ISI engine 2002-07-24 · 76 posts
  Chad Sparks linked a GameSpot preview of EA's NASCAR Thunder 2003 for PC, built by Tiburon on ISI's F1 2002 engine and billed as a true simulation. Some welcomed competition for Papyrus, while others doubted its multiplayer and mocked alpha screenshots showing a draft meter and treaded tyres. Joe Marques defended the ISI engine against Papyrus loyalists.
• Tom Pabst's upgraded Sears Point track for NASCAR Racing 2002 2002-07-14 · 75 posts
  Tom Pabst offered an improved Sears Point track for NASCAR Racing 2002 by email, asking for system specs so he could advise on settings. Some criticised the gatekeeping and urged a public upload, while he cited reasons including Papyrus's legal representatives. Those who got it praised it, and Pabst said a Watkins Glen version was in progress.
• Planning the second r.a.s. NR2002 race at Sears Point 2002-03-22 · 75 posts
  With NASCAR Racing 2002 now released in Europe, regulars organised a Sunday race on EldredP's server and chose Sears Point. A long debate followed over the redesigned Sears Point layout: Tom Pabst defended it, saying Winston Cup drivers had voted on configurations tested in simulators, while Ed Solheim and ymenard missed the old carousel layout. The race went ahead with clean, enjoyable racing and yellows turned off.
• What do thousands of practice laps teach you? 2002-04-14 · 73 posts
  EldredP asked what fast drivers learn in thousands of laps that cannot be learned in a hundred, as he remained slow despite much practice. Replies covered consistency, subconscious muscle memory, setup refinement and structured practice using replay analysers, and some argued that sims reward repetition more than real racing does. Specific advice to EldredP focused on corner exit speed, steering linearity, braking later and taking breaks to escape plateaus.
• Can EA's NASCAR Thunder on the ISI engine challenge Papyrus? 2002-07-04 · 72 posts
  Tom Pabst pointed to an article about EA's upcoming NASCAR Thunder PC title built by Tiburon on ISI's F1 engine and suggested Papyrus might be vulnerable. Most replied that NASCAR Racing 2002's multiplayer and completeness made it hard to beat, while others debated the merits of NASCAR Heat's AI, the old TEN service, and the decline of pickup racing in favour of leagues. Wishes for an Aussie V8 sim and comments on GPL's surviving VROC community filled out the thread.
• Sierra deletes anti-Japanese car decal; free speech row 2003-01-12 · 68 posts
  John Simmons complained that Sierra deleted his NR2002 'JAP CARS' decal post. Most posters said Sierra had every right to remove a racial slur and that free speech does not oblige a forum to publish anything, and he defended it as patriotism against Toyota joining NASCAR. The argument became heated, with insults on both sides.
• Low-line blocking in NASCAR Racing 2002 open superspeedway races 2002-07-05 · 66 posts
  A player complained that open Sierra server races at plate tracks were pointless because drivers hug the inside line and cause wrecks. Larry and others argued that running the yellow line for the whole race is blocking and bad form, while Eldred and Jason Moyer held that the low line is the preferred line and outside passes are possible with drafting help and a good setup. The debate also explained restrictor-plate racing for a British reader and ended without agreement.
• NASCAR 5 feature wish list 2001-11-09 · 64 posts
  Following rumours of a March 2002 release, Gerald Moore asked what people wanted in the next Papyrus NASCAR sim. Suggestions included better damage with debris and oil, dynamic weather, adjustable seating position, a smarter spotter, realistic qualifying, a track editor, better frame rates and current schedules. Alan Bernardo's demand that GPL and CART fans get their own newsgroup drew a rebuke from ymenard and others citing the group's charter.
• Jason Moyer's critical NASCAR Thunder 2003 review 2002-10-17 · 61 posts
  Jason Moyer posted a scathing review of NASCAR Thunder 2003, criticising inaccurate tracks such as Pocono and Watkins Glen, handling worse than the FIA GT mod and unrealistic multi-wide racing. Bill Bollinger defended the game and attacked NR2002's AI and physics, while others debated Papyrus AI quality and Dale Jr.'s use of Papyrus sims. Many readers thanked Moyer and said they would skip the game.
• NR2002's Coca-Cola speedway and restrictor plate safety 2002-02-21 · 60 posts
  A poster asked whether a real track like NR2002's fantasy Coca-Cola superspeedway would be deadly. The discussion covered why NASCAR uses restrictor plates, Bobby Allison's 1987 Talladega crash into the catch fence, roof flaps, wheel tethers and fan safety. Former Papyrus employee Scott Sanford added details on famous wrecks, and Joachim Trensz noted the Coca-Cola track has unrealistically high grip.
• Early impressions of NASCAR Thunder 2003 on PC 2002-10-16 · 57 posts
  Bill Bollinger praised EA's newly released NASCAR Thunder 2003, describing its physics as between NASCAR Heat and NR2002 with smoother graphics and better AI. Critics focused on the 16-player online limit, which Schooner and others said made it useless for leagues, and an argument followed over whether large online fields work even in NR2002. Others mocked the wheel graphics and Ed Martin's role.
• TSW wheel or force feedback for Papyrus sims? 2002-10-31 · 56 posts
  A NASCAR Pro Digital owner asked whether to upgrade to a TSW or a force feedback wheel. Opinions split on whether Papyrus FF in GPL and NR2002 helped, and Damien Smith's dismissive remarks about Papyrus FF and the group's 'brainwashed sheep' led to an insult exchange with Dan Leach. The original poster chose the TSW.
• NR2002 OpenGL framerates and the anisotropic filtering setting 2002-02-16 · 56 posts
  A suggested fix of setting the anisotropic value in rend_ogl.ini to 0 gave some users big framerate gains in NR2002's OpenGL mode but did nothing for others. Papyrus's Eric Busch explained that the INI value stores the card's maximum detected anisotropy and the in-game checkbox decides whether it is used, though some users still saw differences. Later posts helped a user with an old TNT2 card who was getting about 10 fps.
• Organising a r.a.s. NASCAR Racing 2002 online race 2002-03-11 · 55 posts
  David G Fisher proposed renting a server for a newsgroup NASCAR Racing 2002 race on 17 March 2002 at Daytona, and many regulars signed up. EldredP, who had been given a copy of the game, offered to host instead and set up password-protected servers that people tested successfully. Participants discussed start times, a second track, setups and server configuration.
• Tom Pabst's retextured Sears Point for N2002 2002-06-21 · 53 posts
  Tom Pabst shared an unfinished retexture of Sears Point for the RASCAR race, but OpenGL users saw white buildings. After discussion of light maps, Papyrus's Eric Busch said both renderers fully support lightmaps, and WinMip author Klaus Horbrand showed the problem came from reduced mip levels that OpenGL would not display. Pabst agreed to restore the original mip levels.
• Do NR2002 setups handle differently online and offline? 2002-04-10 · 52 posts
  Tom Pabst asked why the fixed fast setup felt very different online than offline. League racers such as Bill Bollinger of Team Brickyard confirmed that cars are looser online and said they build separate online setups, an issue going back to NASCAR Racing 2. Others felt no difference, and theories ranged from frame-rate-linked physics updates and netcode overhead to slow connections, with no consensus.
• NASCAR Racing 2002 memory cheat and detection tools 2002-08-04 · 52 posts
  Tim said his brother had been falsely accused of using a known NASCAR Racing 2002 cheat that resets tyre wear by editing memory, apparently because of a hot-key utility. Posters confirmed the cheat dated back to early Papyrus titles and worked mainly on Windows 9x, and discussed detection approaches such as client programs that check running processes and randomised memory layouts. Opinions differed on whether imperfect detection does more good than harm.
• John Simmons quits running RASCAR 2002-07-02 · 52 posts
  After criticism of his Las Vegas caution recap, John Simmons announced he would hand over the RASCAR roster and leave. Many thanked him and urged him to stay, while others said his wording, such as calling a move stupid, caused the backlash, and debated whether RASCAR was a league. Some insults were traded, and members suggested moving incident discussions to the Race Sim Central forum.
• Why does Papyrus encrypt NASCAR graphics files? 2002-04-04 · 51 posts
  Tom Pabst asked why Papyrus encrypts its NASCAR sims' mip files, making graphics modifications hard. Explanations included protecting sales of new versions, licensing terms and the EULA. Wayne Bradley accused Pabst of having planned to commercialise Papyrus code years earlier, which reopened an old dispute, and Pabst gave his version of events and demanded an apology.
• Is the NR2002 cockpit view realistic given look-left/right? 2002-03-01 · 50 posts
  David G Fisher argued that the existence of look-left/right keys undermined claims that NASCAR Racing 2002's narrow cockpit view was realistic. Others replied that the side views simulate the limited head and eye movement real drivers have, that a flat monitor makes any view a compromise, and that multi-monitor setups would help. The debate also covered seat height, GPL view hacks versus roof-cam use in NASCAR sims, and tunnel vision at speed.
• First impressions of the NR2002 demo and D3D vsync confusion 2001-12-30 · 47 posts
  Don Burnette posted early impressions of the NASCAR Racing 2002 demo, and the thread became a long troubleshooting session about low framerates on GeForce cards. Much of it was about where the Direct3D vsync option lives in Nvidia drivers, which turned out to need CoolBits or a tweak utility. On handling, some felt the car was easier and more stock-car-like than NASCAR 4, while Jason Moyer argued the physics were the same and track grip settings explained the difference.
• NR2002 demo praise, pricing doubts and the wall-riding penalty 2001-12-30 · 46 posts
  Ed Solheim praised the NR2002 demo, especially its new throttle and brake telemetry, while others argued it was little more than a NASCAR 4 patch that did not justify full price. The thread debated whether telemetry belongs in a stock car sim, since NASCAR banned it for real teams. Gerald Moore explained the NASCAR 4 wall-riding exploit and Papyrus's engine-bog fix, which many said made tracks like Darlington dangerous online.
• NASCAR Racing 2002 patch 1.1.0.2 released 2002-06-04 · 44 posts
  Papyrus released the 1.1.0.2 patch for NASCAR Racing 2002. Users first complained that the readme did not mention the Martinsville pace-car bug, OpenGL lockups or wall-riding exploits, but Papyrus's Eric Busch said the pace-car problem should be addressed, and others confirmed it was fixed. Discussion continued on persistent OpenGL crashes, the wall-bounce qualifying trick, and using an LPI restriction for RASCAR.
• Steering linearity for a MOMO in GPL and NASCAR 2002 2002-08-15 · 44 posts
  A new MOMO owner asked about linearity settings. Most recommended full linearity with steering ratio adjusted for sensitivity, while Mitch found it too twitchy, and Malc explained it is subjective. Papyrus's Eric Busch confirmed how the NASCAR Racing 2002 slider was programmed, settling Joachim Trensz's claim that it worked in reverse.
• NR2002 value debate and paying for online racing services 2001-12-30 · 43 posts
  Marc Collins listed what the NR2002 demo lacked, prompting debate over whether an enhanced NASCAR 4 was worth around $50. The discussion moved to online racing, comparing the old paid NROS/TEN service with WON matchmaking and OnlineRacing.net, and whether a monthly fee would weed out wreckers. A side argument over David G Fisher calling NASCAR boring turned into personal insults with EldredP.
• Proposal to model driver position for roof view 2002-11-27 · 43 posts
  Dave Henrie proposed ending the roof-view argument by having sims model the driver's weight and drag at the viewpoint they choose. The debate continued over whether non-cockpit views give an advantage. A side discussion followed Alex Porazinski's claim that fast NR2002 laps require using throttle and brake together.
• Upgrading from GeForce3 Ti200 to GeForce4 Ti4400 for sims 2002-07-03 · 42 posts
  Don Burnette reported large frame-rate gains in F1 2002 and NASCAR Racing 2002 after moving to a GeForce4 Ti4400. Participants compared antialiasing modes, finding Quincunx nearly free in performance and arguing whether FSAA beats higher resolution. Discussion also covered CPU bottlenecks and nVidia versus Radeon image quality; Burnette eventually returned to high resolution without AA.
• RASCAR ruling on retaliation incident at Bristol 2002-08-27 · 42 posts
  EldredP posted his ruling on a disputed caution-period incident at the RASCAR Bristol race involving Mitch_A, issuing a one-race suspension for retaliation. Participants debated the fairness of the penalty, how drivers should slow under yellow, and whether single-file restarts and no racing back to the flag disadvantaged lapped cars. Some argued for harsher bans, others for leniency, and residual sniping between Mitch and John Simmons continued.

Busiest threads

• Incident-reporting bug inflates NR2002 LPI penalties (22 posts about it)
• No modern F1 sim gets everything right (21 posts about it)
• Tom Pabst's retextured Sears Point for N2002 (21 posts about it)
• Finding good NR2002 online races and leagues (21 posts about it)
• Heated debate over NASCAR Thunder 2003's merits (20 posts about it)
• First impressions of the NR2002 demo and D3D vsync confusion (20 posts about it)
• Planning the second r.a.s. NR2002 race at Sears Point (19 posts about it)
• RASCAR practice servers and how much practice is needed (17 posts about it)
• Debating NR2002 patch features: LPI limits, racing line, smoke (17 posts about it)
• NR2002 sound channel count, framerates and cockpit view height (17 posts about it)
• Which linearity setting is realistic in NASCAR Racing 2002? (16 posts about it)
• RASCAR Pocono race and the no-yellows debate (16 posts about it)
• Caution-filled RASCAR race at Pocono and the fallout (16 posts about it)
• Cockpit view versus roof cam: what counts as simulation? (16 posts about it)
• NR2002 cockpit sounds in roof view sparks view debate (16 posts about it)

Sentiment by year

Each post that discussed the sim was rated from −2 (very negative) to +2 (very positive).

Who talked about it most

Dave Henrie · 218 jason moyer · 194 Tom Pabst · 169 Joachim Trensz · 146 David G Fisher · 132 MadDAWG · 132 Larry · 129 EldredP · 119 ymenard · 110 John Pancoast · 99 John Simmons · 96 Mark Davison · 91 Goy Larsen · 90 Ed Solheim · 86 Andre Warringa · 86 Jan Verschueren · 71 Marc Collins · 70 Schooner · 70 Brian Oster · 66 Biz · 62

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