[GPL] Act Labs Shifter

Just a couple of observations of the excellent Act-Labs shifter (sporting the 5 pos plate and *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility) that I picked up on Friday.. 1 - Mis-shifts are now a very real possibility :) nice! Twice today, I accidentally shifted from 4th to 1st (was looking for 3rd) at Spa. Instant engine Swappah; from back to front. :) 2 - Using *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility, there is no longer a throttle blip when you downshift. You have to provide one yourself. Say, for example, I am braking hard for Parabolic, right foot fully off the gas pedal, revs gone down to neutral. I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... There is a very good chance of losing the back end. Also, I am *not* shifting down too early (been caught many times by that one in sequential shifting). The car is just dumping the clutch now; you have to give it the gas to ease the mating of the clutch plates. This shifter makes GPL more brain racking to drive and puts even more emphasis on driver skills. I like it a lot. MRSisson -- LOAD "GPL",8,1 RUN

In article <MPG.14c317e8ec5d5b07989693@news>, Michael R Sisson <[email hidden]> wrote: > Just a couple of observations of the excellent Act-Labs shifter(sporting > the 5 pos plate and *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility) that I picked up on > Friday..[snip] Damn straight :)! Anyone who has GPL and an Act Labs shifter absolutely *must* give JSJ's shift patch a go. F'ing fabulous! I didn't catch the throttle-blip thing right away - I kept wondering why my car was so tail-happy on corner entry all of a sudden ;). I'd post the link if I had it handy - someone mentioned it in a previous thread. The patch works fine even with modified (Carsound, engine swapper) GPL exe's - you must have the latest GPL version, though. Kendt (GPLRank hidden to prevent embarrasment) Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/

I agree totally with you two guys - much more difficult - and much more fun. Maybe I should get the setup *JSJ* has - he plugged a second set of pedals into the gameport - he uses the USB for the Act Labs - and has the clutch there as a real pedal - he tells me it is quite cool. Thomas Soerensen Proud Alpha/beta tester og GPL Shift <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:93blp2$si4$[email hidden]...

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> In article <MPG.14c317e8ec5d5b07989693@news>, > Michael R Sisson <[email hidden]> wrote: > > Just a couple of observations of the excellent Act-Labs shifter > (sporting > > the 5 pos plate and *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility) that I picked up on > > Friday.. > [snip] > > Damn straight :)! Anyone who has GPL and an Act Labs shifter > absolutely *must* give JSJ's shift patch a go. F'ing fabulous! > I didn't catch the throttle-blip thing right away - I kept wondering > why my car was so tail-happy on corner entry all of a sudden ;). > I'd post the link if I had it handy - someone mentioned it in a > previous thread. > The patch works fine even with modified (Carsound, engine swapper) GPL > exe's - you must have the latest GPL version, though. > > Kendt > (GPLRank hidden to prevent embarrasment) > > > Sent via Deja.com > http://www.deja.com/

Michael R Sisson wrote: > > I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the > car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... By this, do you mean that the car goes directly from 5th down to 2nd without going through 4th and 3rd? I didn't think it was possible. Is a patch required to do this?

Yes it is possible - yes it requires a patch - it reqiores the GPL Shift patch by *JSJ* find it here http://home.worldonline.dk/%7E7471000/ Thomas "Pierre Robitaille" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Michael R Sisson wrote: > > > > I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the > > car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... > > By this, do you mean that the car goes directly from 5th down > to 2nd without going through 4th and 3rd? I didn't think it > was possible. Is a patch required to do this?

"Thomas Soerensen @ Work" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:93c03g$18n$[email hidden]... > I agree totally with you two guys - much more difficult - and much morefun. > Maybe I should get the setup *JSJ* has - he plugged a second set of pedals > into the gameport - he uses the USB for the Act Labs - and has the clutch > there as a real pedal - he tells me it is quite cool. I just ordered a 1.0G Athlon T-bird and a few exytras to go with it. Now that I should have a system that can handle GPL at something better then all graphics off at 800x600, I'd like to try some of the other new things.. IE Force Feedback wheels and an RS shifter. Could someone give me a URL for the shifter. Also, how does the shifter plug in, or what does it plug in to?

www.act-labs.com easy enough "Mike Barlow" <[email hidden]> a �crit dans le message news: 0Tk66.10164$[email hidden]... > > "Thomas Soerensen @ Work" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:93c03g$18n$[email hidden]... > > I agree totally with you two guys - much more difficult - and much more > fun. > > Maybe I should get the setup *JSJ* has - he plugged a second set ofpedals > > into the gameport - he uses the USB for the Act Labs - and has theclutch > > there as a real pedal - he tells me it is quite cool. > > I just ordered a 1.0G Athlon T-bird and a few exytras to go with it. > Now that I should have a system that can handle GPL at something betterthen > all graphics off at 800x600, I'd like to try some of the other newthings.. > IE Force Feedback wheels and an RS shifter. Could someone give me a URLfor > the shifter. > > Also, how does the shifter plug in, or what does it plug in to? > >

In article <0Tk66.10164$[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

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> > "Thomas Soerensen @ Work" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:93c03g$18n$[email hidden]... > > I agree totally with you two guys - much more difficult - and much more > fun. > > Maybe I should get the setup *JSJ* has - he plugged a second set of pedals > > into the gameport - he uses the USB for the Act Labs - and has the clutch > > there as a real pedal - he tells me it is quite cool. > > I just ordered a 1.0G Athlon T-bird and a few exytras to go with it. > Now that I should have a system that can handle GPL at something better then > all graphics off at 800x600, I'd like to try some of the other new things.. > IE Force Feedback wheels and an RS shifter. Could someone give me a URL for > the shifter. > > Also, how does the shifter plug in, or what does it plug in to? > >

www.act-labs.com The way the wheel, pedals and shifter are set up is cumbersome, IMO. You have the wheel with a cartridge slot at the back. You plug a cartridge that comes with the shifter into the wheel. Then you plug the RSEngine cartridge into the shifter cartridge. The shifter lead plugs into the shifter cart, the power lead plugs into the RSEngine cart. The pedals plug directly into the wheel. The USB and serial leads come out of the RSEngine cart. The new set of pedals w/clutch being made are supposedly to plug into the second port of the shifter cart. The shifter as it stands now can only be used with the Act Labs wheel. The Act-Labs wheel... I am reserving my thoughts on it for now as I hear it loosens up after a number of hours play time. (I am coming from a Logitech old style, smooooth) Also, I need to find the right core.ini settings for my machine. The pedals... suck. I don't know how these make it out the door. They do not have anywhere near a smooth progression along their range of travel. I have gone to Slots site and done mod #1 on them and they are a bit better, but they still suck. No getting around it. Throttle modulation and brake threshold finding is proving very very troublesome. (I am coming from CHPedals hardwired to the Logitech). The Logitech pedals where panned pretty good, but I find that they were much better than these A-L ones. Heck, even the single axis Thrustmaster T2 pedals sitting next to me are way better. I am holding off on buying either another set of CHPedals or the TSW special made ones until the new set of pedals comes out for the A-L. *Before* I received the A-L set I would have ordered it right away, but not now. I am taking a wait and see attitude, if these pedals are any indication. MRSisson -- LOAD "GPL",8,1 RUN

Can that be considered a cheat by some people? Much quicker downshifts...hmmm. I think we have a controversy. JB "Thomas Soerensen @ Work" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:93cgi7$qvs$[email hidden]...

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> Yes it is possible - yes it requires a patch - it reqiores the GPL Shift > patch by *JSJ* find it here http://home.worldonline.dk/%7E7471000/ > > Thomas > > "Pierre Robitaille" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > Michael R Sisson wrote: > > > > > > I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the > > > car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... > > > > By this, do you mean that the car goes directly from 5th down > > to 2nd without going through 4th and 3rd? I didn't think it > > was possible. Is a patch required to do this? > >

Or think of it like this: We usually want driving aids to be slower than the with aids off right? Well think of the auto-double clutching as an aid. Hence, if you want to go faster you need to drive/shift without auto double-clutching. If someone has the talent to pull off manual shifting (gated shifter) and can still carry the same lap times/or go faster. All the power to them! Call them aliens to the 2nd degree :-P Drive on. Jason. Wosco wrote:

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> > Can that be considered a cheat by some people? Much quicker > downshifts...hmmm. I think we have a controversy. > > JB > > "Thomas Soerensen @ Work" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:93cgi7$qvs$[email hidden]... > > Yes it is possible - yes it requires a patch - it reqiores the GPL Shift > > patch by *JSJ* find it here http://home.worldonline.dk/%7E7471000/ > > > > Thomas > > > > "Pierre Robitaille" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > news:[email hidden]... > > > Michael R Sisson wrote: > > > > > > > > I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the > > > > car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... > > > > > > By this, do you mean that the car goes directly from 5th down > > > to 2nd without going through 4th and 3rd? I didn't think it > > > was possible. Is a patch required to do this? > > > >

-- Jason Monds http://www.proracingclub.com - Pro Racing Club! (N3, GPL, Fun Run Sims) http://www.racersdomain.com - Race hosting. (Please remove 'no extra spork' when replying)

>"Wosco" <[email hidden]> wrote > Can that be considered a cheat by some people? Nope. -- -- Fran�ois M�nard <ymenard> -- May the Downforce be with you... -- http://www.ymenard.com/ -- People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world.

Heh heh, yeah I'm having fun with GPL and my RS shifter, but it is harder............as if I needed that :-) -- Chris "Ambulater" Lee "Don't Bother Running.........You'll Just Die Tired." Reviews at www.sim-arena.com "Michael R Sisson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:MPG.14c317e8ec5d5b07989693@news... > Just a couple of observations of the excellent Act-Labs shifter (sporting > the 5 pos plate and *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility) that I picked up on > Friday.. > > 1 - Mis-shifts are now a very real possibility :) nice! Twice today, I > accidentally shifted from 4th to 1st (was looking for 3rd) at Spa. > Instant engine Swappah; from back to front. :) > > 2 - Using *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility, there is no longer a throttle blip > when you downshift. You have to provide one yourself. Say, for example, I > am braking hard for Parabolic, right foot fully off the gas pedal, revs > gone down to neutral. I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the > car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... There is a > very good chance of losing the back end. Also, I am *not* shifting down > too early (been caught many times by that one in sequential shifting). > The car is just dumping the clutch now; you have to give it the gas to > ease the mating of the clutch plates. > > This shifter makes GPL more brain racking to drive and puts even more > emphasis on driver skills. I like it a lot. > > MRSisson > > -- > LOAD "GPL",8,1 > RUN

If you're going to use the shifter you also have to have an ACT-LABS RS wheel (although they are reportedly working on a USB shifter that will be compatible with other wheels). You can get the Force RS Wheel and RS Shifter as a combo for a really decent price at www.act-labs.com. -- Chris "Ambulater" Lee "Don't Bother Running.........You'll Just Die Tired." Reviews at www.sim-arena.com "Mike Barlow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:0Tk66.10164$[email hidden]... > > "Thomas Soerensen @ Work" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:93c03g$18n$[email hidden]... > > I agree totally with you two guys - much more difficult - and much more > fun. > > Maybe I should get the setup *JSJ* has - he plugged a second set of pedals > > into the gameport - he uses the USB for the Act Labs - and has the clutch > > there as a real pedal - he tells me it is quite cool. > > I just ordered a 1.0G Athlon T-bird and a few exytras to go with it. > Now that I should have a system that can handle GPL at something better then > all graphics off at 800x600, I'd like to try some of the other new things.. > IE Force Feedback wheels and an RS shifter. Could someone give me a URL for > the shifter. > > Also, how does the shifter plug in, or what does it plug in to? > >

It's not a cheat because it's just a whole hell of a lot harder. I've just now got my times back to about where they were with paddle shifters. I do like the smooth braking you can produce in places like the back straight at Monza. You can basically leave it in 5th (or maybe 4th) and brake smoothly all the way into the parabola then hit 2nd as you go into the turn. Those types of situations are much easier to control, but almost every other shift is harder. You have be much more careful to match RPMs to the gear your shifting into and you have to take your hand off the wheel and find the right gate as your attempting to corner. It's very tough, but much more fun and realistic. -- Chris "Ambulater" Lee "Don't Bother Running.........You'll Just Die Tired." Reviews at www.sim-arena.com "Wosco" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:%mn66.11193$[email hidden]... > Can that be considered a cheat by some people? Much quicker > downshifts...hmmm. I think we have a controversy. > > JB > > "Thomas Soerensen @ Work" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:93cgi7$qvs$[email hidden]... > > Yes it is possible - yes it requires a patch - it reqiores the GPL Shift > > patch by *JSJ* find it here http://home.worldonline.dk/%7E7471000/ > > > > Thomas > > > > "Pierre Robitaille" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > news:[email hidden]... > > > Michael R Sisson wrote: > > > > > > > > I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the > > > > car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... > > > > > > By this, do you mean that the car goes directly from 5th down > > > to 2nd without going through 4th and 3rd? I didn't think it > > > was possible. Is a patch required to do this? > > > > > >

That's great, thanks! ;) "Thomas Soerensen @ Work" wrote:

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> > Yes it is possible - yes it requires a patch - it reqiores the GPL Shift > patch by *JSJ* find it here http://home.worldonline.dk/%7E7471000/ > > Thomas > > "Pierre Robitaille" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > Michael R Sisson wrote: > > > > > > I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the > > > car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... > > > > By this, do you mean that the car goes directly from 5th down > > to 2nd without going through 4th and 3rd? I didn't think it > > was possible. Is a patch required to do this?

That is why my shifter has spent most of its life on the floor not hooked up! I used it at Silverstone once and did my PB there with the shifter as I think I was able to slow sooner in order to get the shifts to work, loads of fun, but I am already to slow and I have a problem with the mounting. I have a desk that is shaped like an L and the puter is in the corner. I only have 12.5" to mount the wheel and shiter. I have mounted the shifter on the keyboard tray and it sortof works but it is not very firm there. One of these days I will moount it and get use to it. I think that day will be when I get another puter and put it in the basement, and the wife won't complain about the wheel and pedals, being in the way! SLG "Ambulater" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Heh heh, yeah I'm having fun with GPL and my RS shifter, but it is >harder............as if I needed that :-) > >-- >Chris "Ambulater" Lee >"Don't Bother Running.........You'll Just Die Tired." >Reviews at www.sim-arena.com > > >"Michael R Sisson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:MPG.14c317e8ec5d5b07989693@news... >> Just a couple of observations of the excellent Act-Labs shifter (sporting >> the 5 pos plate and *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility) that I picked up on >> Friday.. >> >> 1 - Mis-shifts are now a very real possibility :) nice! Twice today, I >> accidentally shifted from 4th to 1st (was looking for 3rd) at Spa. >> Instant engine Swappah; from back to front. :) >> >> 2 - Using *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility, there is no longer a throttle blip >> when you downshift. You have to provide one yourself. Say, for example, I >> am braking hard for Parabolic, right foot fully off the gas pedal, revs >> gone down to neutral. I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the >> car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... There is a >> very good chance of losing the back end. Also, I am *not* shifting down >> too early (been caught many times by that one in sequential shifting). >> The car is just dumping the clutch now; you have to give it the gas to >> ease the mating of the clutch plates. >> >> This shifter makes GPL more brain racking to drive and puts even more >> emphasis on driver skills. I like it a lot. >> >> MRSisson >> >> -- >> LOAD "GPL",8,1 >> RUN > >

(All spelling errors are intentional and are there to show new and improved ways of spelling old words. Grammatical errors are due to too many English classes/teachers)

Anyone know if I can get RS Shifter to work in Win2K? GPLShift page says not work in Win2k. Does the other utility out there work? That one only does sequential shifting, right? Thanks for any help trying to get it working in Win2k. On Mon, 08 Jan 2001 05:18:32 GMT, Michael R Sisson <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Just a couple of observations of the excellent Act-Labs shifter (sporting >the 5 pos plate and *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility) that I picked up on >Friday.. > >1 - Mis-shifts are now a very real possibility :) nice! Twice today, I >accidentally shifted from 4th to 1st (was looking for 3rd) at Spa. >Instant engine Swappah; from back to front. :) > >2 - Using *JSJ*'s GPLshift utility, there is no longer a throttle blip >when you downshift. You have to provide one yourself. Say, for example, I >am braking hard for Parabolic, right foot fully off the gas pedal, revs >gone down to neutral. I shift from 5th to 2nd, no gas. The game slams the >car into 2nd, the revs shoot up from neutral to werever... There is a >very good chance of losing the back end. Also, I am *not* shifting down >too early (been caught many times by that one in sequential shifting). >The car is just dumping the clutch now; you have to give it the gas to >ease the mating of the clutch plates. > >This shifter makes GPL more brain racking to drive and puts even more >emphasis on driver skills. I like it a lot. > >MRSisson

-- Tom Hesselman Greenville, WI thosj at new dot r r dot com