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(N4) Race line -vs- skid marks

4 posts by 4 people · 18 Feb 2001 14:51 UTC - 19 Feb 2001 16:21 UTC

Michael Barlow 18 Feb 2001 14:51 UTC#202711
I don't know how it's worked out with computer resources, (video card resources or system resources), and would like to know. Maybe there's a way to improve things(?) Any case, Running at the Glen I was just starting to get the hang of all the weight of the car and starting to be able to maintain my momentum through the turns. Watching the replay of two consecutive and identical laps I noticed that the first lap I left a mark from my LR through the ninety. The very next lap I left a mark starting a bit before and a ended a bit after the first on the exact same trajectory and left a small mark from my RR. In a GPL league at Silverstone I did the same thing for just about every lap in the last turn with each tire mark being on a slightly different driving line. Unfortunately at the most there were four sets of tire marks every time I came around and some times there weren't any. Watching the driver ahead of me doing the same thing I noticed that as his tires left an inch of mark, there was an inch of old mark disappearing. Apparently there is a set amount of memory set aside for these marks and once that point has been reached, every length of new marks deletes the same amount of old mark. During those few times there were a lot of these marks that I left I started to use them as my race line as they looked almost perfect just as if they weren't really skid marks but more of a darkened race line. I use the drawn race line in GPL for brake and acceleration points. Now that I have a faster computer system I have started to use some of the off track graphics for these points, so I'm starting to get used to driving without the drawn race line turned on. In N4, I don't see any option to turn that drawn race line off. I can only assume that in both GPL and N4 that the memory set aside for these tire marks is not adjustable. But then again, I don't know how papy has this coded or how it works with computer resources. In any case, I'd gladly give up some graphics options, starting with the drawn race line, if it were possible to have these tire marks stay there all race long. (a suggestion for papy and/or anyone else).. Failing any possible fix for this, I'd like to see this implemented in the next racing Sim. Maybe something like at the start of the race the drawn race line is there but as these marks are being put down, once that point of memory allocated for tire marks is reached, instead of deleting the old tire marks, maybe allow for deleting the drawn race line first? or something to that effect. btw: these marks I left I don't think they were skid marks as they were lighter then the skid marks left by other drivers but I may be wrong. I may have been skidding and not knowing it.
"Michael Barlow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > btw: these marks I left I don't think they were skid marks as they were > lighter then the skid marks left by other drivers but I may be wrong. Imay > have been skidding and not knowing it. > Either that or it's raining inside your computer. :) N3 has a skid buffer memory settings in the options...and I think the buffer can also be adjusted in GPL, increase the amount of memory dedicated to holding the skidmarks and they last longer before being erased. I haven't dug into N4 since I have been turning graphics off rather than on to try and manage the framerate. dave henrie
If you go into Daytona, do continual donuts. When you've done enough of them, go back and watch the replay. You'll see the skid marks disappear as new ones are "laid out". "Dave Henrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:NWRj6.439777$[email hidden]... > > "Michael Barlow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > btw:these
Quoted text (8 lines)> marks I left I don't think they were skid marks as they were > > lighter then the skid marks left by other drivers but I may be wrong. I > may > > have been skidding and not knowing it. > > > Either that or it's raining inside your computer. :) N3 has a skid > buffer > memory settings in the options...and I think the buffer can also be
adjusted
Quoted text (7 lines)> in > GPL, increase the amount of memory dedicated to holding the skidmarks and > they last longer before being erased. I haven't dug into N4 since I have > been > turning graphics off rather than on to try and manage the framerate. > dave henrie >
<guess> It seems in GPL (or maybe I'm thinking of N3) there's a switch on the graphics options page to set "skid mark buffer" to low, medium, or high. Whichever game it is, I have it set to low and experience the same thing you have. It helped frame rate, and since the marks weren't helping me the way they helped you, I never gave it another thought. I don't recall if there's a similar global setting in N4, but I think you can toggle the "race line" graphic on and off. Perhaps you could have the race line graphic set on and the "skid mark buffer" set to high, then toggle the race line off once you have the skid marks you want. </guess>

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