Hello, guys,
I just downloaded the N4 demo and spent a few minutes playing with it,
but I'm having some trouble getting things to work right:
- I can't set up the controls the way I like them. I use a MS
Sidewinder Precision Pro (no FF), USB interface, for steering, and the
keyboard for the other driving controls. However, the demo won't let me
set my Accelerate and Brake controls to any of the keyboard keys. My
preferred setup is Left ALT for Acc. and Left SHIFT for Brake, but I
haven't been able to use those since they started making the games
native to Windows, so I'd switched to Z for Acc. and Left SHIFT for
Brake. However, when I try to set the keys for Accelerate and Brake, it
won't register the SHIFT key at all. I could live with that and use X
for Acc. and Z for Brake, but it also will not let me assign those keys
(or any other alphanumeric keys, for that matter) to those commands. It
keeps saying something like "That key cannot be assigned to a driving
command" or whatnot (this *is* a different error message than the one
you get if you try to assign a control to a key that has a built-in
function like F1, BTW).It defaults to Button 0 and Button 1 for the A
and B controls, respectively...which is also strange, as the joystick
driver, for some reason, doesn't recognize any of the extra buttons on
my Sidewinder, only the trigger "Button 0". (This isn't a big deal, as I
prefer not to use any joystick buttons in racing games anyway.) I am
able to assign some keypad keys to the Accelerate and Brake commands,
but this makes for a very cramped hand position, as my desk isn't all
that big, and, being right-handed, I drive with the stick to the right
of the keyboard. I haven't played GPL at all, not even the demo, but
I've heard some people mention that the control system is the same. Is
this problem with mixing normal keyboard keys and joystick controls a
fault in the demo, or is it an inherent problem in the control system or
game engine itself? Is there any way to get around this problem? I hope
so...the demo is almost impossible to play for me, especially for any
length of time, as the keypad and the stick are too close together to
keep my hands in a comfortable position...
- I've seen this problem mentioned before, but I didn't see any
definate solutions. When I come off the corners at Michigan with my
steering wheel (on the screen) at about the 1:30 position, my car just
takes off for the inside wall as though I were steering all the way to
the left. Now, I know the car is supposed to pull to the left because of
the stagger, but this seems a little excessive. I have to turn the wheel
almost halfway to the right to keep the car going in a straight line
(and I usually end up overcorrecting and smacking the outside wall...I
still need to fix my steering settings ;) ). Is there anything I can do
in the control settings that will make this pull a little easier to
handle? Right now, everything is set to the default. (BTW, anyone have a
good control setup or some tips for a Sidewinder Precicion Pro steering
and keyboard acceleration/braking? ;) )
- I can hear no sounds in the game at all. I have a Sound Blaster Live!
Value card, with the SB16 emulation installed. All the game volumes are
set to 75% and the master volume is at 100%. My Windows volume is turned
up and unmuted. I have no sound problems in any other games or programs.
I don't get any error messages or anything, and the game acts like the
sound drivers are working (letting me adjust volumes, # of sounds heard
at once, etc.) The # of sounds heard at once is set to the default of 8,
and I know my card can handle up to 32 in Windows. The sound driver is
set to DirectSound, and I haven't had any problems with DirectSound in
other games. The only other driver choice is "None." Any idea what might
be wrong?
Other than these problems, I was pretty impressed with the demo. The
physics felt pretty good, although I couldn't keep the car going in a
straight line because of the control problems ;) The car did seem to
like to bounce into the air fairly easily whenever I bumped into the
wall, but then again, I wasn't exactly driving like a NASCAR pro, so I
can't really say if the reactions were realistic or not. The "airborne"
model definatly didn't feel as "light" as Heat's...the car seemed less
apt to get airborne, and it came back to earth with a pretty realistic
speed and impact, unlike in Heat, where you sort of slid and bounced
along like an empty tin can. I've watched some replays of some cars
rolling over, and they looked very realistic, albiet without any car
damage (and with the occasional car passing through solid objects like
walls and the ground ;) ), especially the way the car barrelrolls when
it digs into the dirt.
The graphics were nice, although they didn't feel as "smooth" as Heat's.
I haven't played with the settings much, however, so I may be able to
crank up the detail a little. If the damage model and the AI turn out as
well as Papy claims, this will definatly be a contender for the top
NASCAR sim! ;)
Thanks for any help you can give with the above problems! :)
DennyK
On Mon, 11 Dec 2000 08:30:51 GMT, [email hidden] wrote:
**snip......
..snip**
Having same observation/problem as above, anyone know what could be up
with this constant "pull" to left?
Quoted text (11 lines)
> - I've seen this problem mentioned before, but I didn't see any >definate solutions. When I come off the corners at Michigan with my >steering wheel (on the screen) at about the 1:30 position, my car just >takes off for the inside wall as though I were steering all the way to >the left. Now, I know the car is supposed to pull to the left because of >the stagger, but this seems a little excessive. I have to turn the wheel >almost halfway to the right to keep the car going in a straight line >(and I usually end up overcorrecting and smacking the outside wall...I >still need to fix my steering settings ;) ). Is there anything I can do >in the control settings that will make this pull a little easier to >handle? Right now, everything is set to the default.Since nobody else has helped you out I'll take a stab at it (the blind
leading the blind? :)
> - I can't set up the controls the way I like them. I use a MS
> Sidewinder Precision Pro (no FF), USB interface, for steering, and the
> keyboard for the other driving controls. However, the demo won't let me
> set my Accelerate and Brake controls to any of the keyboard keys.
You're right, I never noticed that before. Probably because almost everyone
has an analog device for braking and accelerating. Get one.
> you get if you try to assign a control to a key that has a built-in
> function like F1, BTW).It defaults to Button 0 and Button 1 for the A
> and B controls, respectively...which is also strange, as the joystick
> driver, for some reason, doesn't recognize any of the extra buttons on
> my Sidewinder, only the trigger "Button 0".
I don't own a Sidewinder but it seems to me it should see them all,
especially since it's a Microsoft product. Re-install all related drivers
from scratch, re-plugin your wheel etc.
> so...the demo is almost impossible to play for me, especially for any
> length of time, as the keypad and the stick are too close together to
> keep my hands in a comfortable position...
Using keyboard for brake and throttle, even in the correct position, is
impossible to play for _me_. :)
> - I've seen this problem mentioned before, but I didn't see any
> definate solutions. When I come off the corners at Michigan with my
> steering wheel (on the screen) at about the 1:30 position, my car just
> takes off for the inside wall as though I were steering all the way to
> the left.
Remember, you have polar inertia coming off the turn plus all the car setup
stuff (camber, stagger, weight, etc). Slowly unwind from the turn, good and
early, so you end up going along the wall with the wheel at 1 or 2 o'clock.
Also make sure your wheel is calibrated correctly and if it's too sensitive,
turn it down and/or use more 'non-linear steering'.
>
> - I can hear no sounds in the game at all. I have a Sound Blaster Live!
> Value card, with the SB16 emulation installed.
Why? disable it.
All the game volumes are
Nope, I have exactly the same card without any problems. You have the
latest version of Liveware, right? One think I did do is crank up the # of
sounds heard to max, right off the start. Make sure you have done the same
in the Liveware drivers though.
It's definately air-happy in multiplayer, one little tap and both cars are
usually airborne.
-Travis
