Can Pigs Fly? (Long)

So here's the deal... I was on an ancient computer for so long that it was sinful. I couldn't run GPL, or N3/N4/N2k2, etc. I could read all about the fun you guys were having... but no way on my old machine. So I waited for Upgrade Day. During that wait however, (over a year ago) I did stockpile a copy of GPL I picked up from a bargain bin for when the day arrived that I was able to upgrade. Upgrade Day came a couple months ago, and I bought a bottom-of-the-line eMachine. It's not the lateste/greatest... but it does have enough HP to run GPL with a full field plus much eye candy "as is". (I'm shopping for an older vid card to replace the onboard vid.) Needless to say, I've been merrily immersed into the wonderful world of GP circa 1967 and thoroughly enjoying racing among my childhood heroes. Indeed, GPL is worthy of all the hype, praise, and fanaticism concering it that I've read here on r.a.s. Yup, compared to these lovely cars (GPL's)... of a truth the recollections of my Nascar sims were growing dim. Some here have refered to Nascar autos as "pigs". (LOL!) How true, how true. Bear in mind that it has been almost a couple years since I've raced any kind of Nascar sim... my last one being the buggy N99. Then I saw and picked up N3 for $3. Why not, right? Well, I received the sim in the mail yesterday, and last evening I had it installed and running. Which brings up something I'd like to kick around... Fella's... we're always going on about "which is better - F1's or roundy-round?" After spending time with both (again), I'm now convinced that there's simply no way to compare any of the F1 type sims to Nascar at all. There are two entirely different "feels" and "experiences". To me, GPL, GP2 (and likely the new breed of F1 sims) appeal to that part of us that (hopes) were are a Surgeon with a Steering Wheel. A Master of Faster around a technical track with a tempermental and ultra performance vehicle that only a handful of highly skilled race drivers can handle. For that side of us, it's the cutting of the perfect turn that excites our senses... making that perfect pass... driving a race that was almost error free... even if we did only place 4th. That's the sort of thing that gratifies that side of the racing personality. Though my moments of frustration are many with GPL, there ARE those rewards to be found within the sim. It's definitely a "drivers" sim and appeals to that side of one's simming personality. Then there's the Nascar "pig". Maligned as a rolling antiquity, and with drivers that perhaps many feel must be a brick shy of a load because of the way they can drone on and on around a boring oval in an overweight and ill-handling "racing" car. And so I fired up N3 to see what improvements, if any, that it offered over N99. Hey... I only gave $3 for it... so what if I'm now "above" such racing crudeness? I can simply delete it and resume my study of becoming a Surgeon with a Stearing Wheel. I loaded up Rockingham and hit the button to enter the car. Hmm. The graphics sure are an improvement over my "old" Nascar sim... and the car sounds pretty good idling. I eased into the throttle and headed for the track. Up onto the banking and into the throttle... hey, those engine revs sound great! But lands me! This thing feels so ponderous! After a lap or two, I was settling in with it. Boy, talk about heavy feeling. No wonder someone termed these things "pigs". Compared to the GPL cars, it was like trying to manuever a tank. "Car High" crackled my speakers. Oh yeah... a spotter! I had forgotten about spotters! Soon I was able to start posting practice lap times that were among the top times of the AI driven cars at about 98%. Hm. Wonder if they've improved Talladega? (The car physics, the "groove", the AI, etc.) Off to Tally I went. Soon I was out on the track and getting up to speed. Oh my goodness! My engine sound is echoing off the wall!! I was almost able to tell how close I was to the wall by the engine sound! Soon I was moving in on a pack of cars that were also getting up to speed. I joined them and began to get the feel of their behavior. Wow! The outside line is fast too! Cool! The AI cars will run side by side with me, even when they're on the high side! Listen to those snarling engines surrounding my car! Before long, I was running amid packs of drafting cars... separated by mere inches... and loving every second of it. I had to try the racing AI... Needless to say, it was like no Talladega AI racing experience I've had with any previous version of Papy's Nascar... these boys came to race. I went back to Rockingham to give them a try. Though the driving technique required to move smartly around Rockingham differ from Tally, I found the same decent AI at Rockingham: They were there to win a race... not provide obstacles for me to drive among. Next came Indy... boy, what an improvement they've made to the look and driving experience of Indy!! And the AI? It was the same thing: Good, close racing with determined AI drivers. Why, I would see dirt dust being kicked up ahead of me (and I drove through it at blinding speed) caused by an AI driver that was trying to cut as low as possible to get under another AI driver! Hey, this is GOOD stuff, Maynard! So it's dawned on me: This is apples to oranges. The experiences that I get in GPL (or from my only semi-modern F1 sim) are DIFFERENT than this. Not BETTER, but DIFFERENT. Yes, I feel good having made a smooth entry into Le Source hairpin in a tempermental and twitchy Ferarri 312... but I also feel good stuffing a pig into Turn One at Indy doing 195 MPH with my left tire just inches away from grass, and my right front fender a few inches away from Tony Stewart's driver's side door... he REALLY wants to pinch me down... but I'm gonna' hold my ground! Yup... GPL appeals to my hope of being a great driver... trying for the perfect turn, the flawless race... and so forth. And N3 appeals to my desire to stuff cars into turns, trade some paint... race inches apart... and such. For me, there is no comparison: Apples to oranges. Neither is better, both offer different experiences. But N3 is my new kid on the block, so... Today I installed Daytona, and upgraded all the sounds with a second party sound pack. My, oh my... it was so neat to race on a genuine, shor'nuf "Daytona" (not a "patched" Tally) for the first time ever. It was an experience that was so overwhelming that I felt obliged to instigate The Biggie. A feat that I summarily accomplished in short order. (I hope Dale Earnhardt Jr. will forgive me for the boot in the rear that started it all.) Yup... pigs can fly. Andre "Happy Simmer" Ming

"L.A. Ming" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > So here's the deal...<snip> > For me, there is no comparison: Apples to oranges. Neither is better, > both offer different experiences.<snip> Excellent post, and so true. IMHO - a driver (real life or sim) who can master both ovals AND road courses is a force to be reckoned with as they are such different forms of the sport. Either way - if it involves driving fast cars on the limit, I'm a happy camper too. The only other comment I would make is that sim racing F1 is currently more exciting than the real thing whereas current NASCAR sims seem to reflect the sport itself better. iksteh

Nice post! Ryan -----------== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Uncensored Usenet News ==---------- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----= Over 100,000 Newsgroups - Unlimited Fast Downloads - 19 Servers =-----

Guys, this guy says that GPL is not better than N3! Pounce him! Burn him at the stakes! /petern On 9 Jul 2002 17:45:13 -0700, [email hidden] (L.A. Ming) wrote: >So here's the deal... ><SNIP> GPL <SNIP> eye candy <SNIP> older <SNIP> fanaticism <SNIP> on r.a.s. ><SNIP> any kind of Nascar sim <SNIP> is better <SNIP> ultra performance <SNIP> heavy feeling <SNIP> improved <SNIP> Oh my goodness! ><SNIP> GPL <SNIP> Not BETTER <SNIP> than <SNIP> N3 <SNIP> appeals <SNIP> to <SNIP> <SNIP> kid on the block, <SNIP> >Andre "Happy Simmer" Ming P.S. Kidding aside, great post Andre.

> The only other comment I would make is that sim racing > F1 is currently more exciting than the real thing > whereas current NASCAR sims seem to reflect the sport > itself better. > > iksteh So. It still isn't sexy.....

Oh yeth it ith thexy Peter you little cutie! You just have no taste in men. Talk to the hand! No REALLY! WTF does sexy have to do with racing. I mean, REALLY, I will take my racing straight up please! I guess we know why he has cox in his email address or is your name Peter Cox Ford. LMFAO!!!!!! "Peter Ford" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:DHZW8.472351$cQ3.40129@sccrnsc01...

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> > The only other comment I would make is that sim racing > > F1 is currently more exciting than the real thing > > whereas current NASCAR sims seem to reflect the sport > > itself better. > > > > iksteh > > So. It still isn't sexy..... > >

"iksteh" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:3d2be3a8$0$14697$[email hidden]:

Quoted text (10 lines)

> "L.A. Ming" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... >> So here's the deal... > <snip> >> For me, there is no comparison: Apples to oranges. Neither is better, >> both offer different experiences. > <snip> > > Excellent post, and so true. >

Hear, hear. I love racing in GPL and I love racing in N2002. cheers John

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says... > >Guys, this guy says that GPL is not better than N3! >Pounce him! Burn him at the stakes! Stakes? Plural? You wish that we should dismember him first?

Peter Nilsson wrote... > <SNIP: much contortion of the original post to say what HE wanted it to say> Have you considered seeking a job in the news media? Your skills are a natural for it. :-) Andre Ming