Re: unofficial GP3 readme

On 22 Jul 2000 02:38:16 GMT, [email hidden] (David Buttery) wrote:

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>On Sat 22 Jul 2000 02:05:15am, Jan Loebzien wrote: > ><snip> >>3. TCP/IP play over the internet via analog modems is not currently >>supported due to the low transfer rates. ><snip> > >All together now... :-)

Hehe. Mind you, cable and DSL are not "analog modems". :-) We'll see.

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> >>Following extensive testing, the 107% qualifying rule has been >>removed from the game as it was felt that it did not add to the >>gameplay of Grand Prix 3. ><snip> > >Then why not have an option to turn it on and off, like MGPRS2 does, >instead of just scrapping it? I ask you.

Don't ask me! :-) Blaze

Since the game has not yet been officially released, the readme could in theory be different in the final version. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Grand Prix 3 ************ Readme File (English) V1.00 13 July, 2000 Contents ******** 1. Video cards successfully tested on & supported 2. Video Card Drivers 3. Advanced Graphics configuration 4. Processors successfully tested on & supported 5. 3D performance 6. Networked play 7. Keyboard Shortcuts 8. Amendments 9. Customer Support 10. Licence Agreement 11. Thanks and acknowledgements 12. Credits 1. Video cards successfully tested on & supported ************************************************* 3Dfx Voodoo2 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP 3Dfx Voodoo3 3500 AGP 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 PCI 3Dfx Voodoo3 2000 PCI 3Dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP 3Dfx Voodoo Banshee ATI Rage 128 ATI Rage Pro AGP 2x (Software) ATI Rage Fury ATI Rage Fury Maxx NVidia GeForce256 NVidia GeForce256 DDR NVidia GeForce 2 GTS NVidia Riva TNT NVidia Riva TNT2 & Ultra NVidia Riva TNT2 M64 Matrox Millenium G200 Matrox Millenium G400 Dualhead Matrox Millenium G400 MAX 3DLabs Permedia3 Create! PowerVR Series2 (Neon250) Impact Video + MPEG2 Decoder 6Mb (Software) TSeng Labs ET6000 2Mb (Software) 3D Image 9750 4Mb (Software) Creative Exxtreme (Permedia 2) 8Mb (Software) Cirrus Logic 5464 (Laguna3D) 1Mb (Software) S3 Virge DX 375 4Mb (Software) Grand Prix 3 requires the latest video drivers, available from your hardware manufacturer's web site. We have included latest drivers for some cards in the \extras\drivers directory on your Grand Prix 3 CD-ROM. Please see below for internet links to hardware manufacturers web sites. 2. Video Card Drivers ********************* You can download these drivers from the Internet. If you are experiencing problems with Grand Prix 3, look for your video card below to find the Web address where you can download the appropriate drivers. Creative Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT Creative Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT2 & Ultra Creative Graphics Blaster Annihilator & DDR http://support.soundblaster.com/files/download.asp Guillemot MAXI Gamer 2 Guillemot MAXI Gamer Xentor / MAXI Gamer Xentor 32 Guillemot 3D Prophet & DDR http://www.guillemot.com/ Matrox MGA Millennium series Matrox MGA Mystique series Matrox Millennium G400 & G400 Max http://www.matrox.com/mga/drivers/latest_drivers/home.htm ATI 3D Rage Pro ATI Rage II ATI Rage II+ ATI 3D Rage 128 ATI 3D Rage Fury Maxx http://support.atitech.ca/drivers/drivers.html Orchid Righteous 3D 2 http://www.orchid.com/support/driverlist.html Diamond Monster 3D 2 Diamond Monster Fusion Diamond Viper series http://www.diamondmm.com/ PowerVR Series 2 (Neon250) http://www.videologic.com/ 3Dfx reference drivers (for all Voodoo cards - recommended) http://www.3dfxgamers.com/ NVidia reference drivers (for all NVidia chipset based cards - recommended) http://www.nvidia.com/ 3. Advanced Graphics configuration ********************************** *** This information is intended for advanced users only. It is recommended that you back-up the file "cards.txt" before making any changes.*** GP3 creates a file named "cards.txt" in the root of the installation directory when the game graphics are first calibrated. This is a .ini style file which lets you override certain Direct3D specific settings at run-time. It will not affect the software 3d. The file will have an entry for each 3d card in your system (usually only one) in the following format:- [Video card make and model] There will also be a [general] entry - this is unused at present and can be safely ignored. The following is a list of the current flags you can set. Simply type the required flag beneath the card which you want to affect. The defaults for each flag are listed in the examples below. FLAG EXPLANATION ++++ +++++++++++ lorestextures=0 Forces the use of lower resolution textures. This defaults to on on cards with 8M or less of VRAM. bilinear=1 Force filtering on or off reflections=1 Force the wet weather reflections on or off (they don't work on some cards). loresclouds=0 Similar to lorestextures, but for the clouds only. altmirrors=0 Some cards need a different technique for the mirrors. alphawithck=1 Alpha with color key. Some cards can't do it. If you have shadow problems, try setting this flag to zero. liverynumbers=1 If you get corrupted car graphics, try setting this flag to zero. detailmap=1 Some cards can't do detail mapping on the track. Set flag to zero if the track appears corrupt. altcolorkey=0 If you get bright cyan around masked objects, try turning this off. altrain=0 Different rain code for some cards. altsoftware3d=0 Currently only used by Voodoo5 in software. May help if your card has problems displaying software 3D. slivoodoo2=0 This flag MUST be changed manually if you system is running with Voodoo2 cards in an SLI configuration. alticons=0 Fixes a problem with the latest NVidia Detonator2 drivers 4. Processors successfully tested on & supported ************************************************ Intel Pentium II Intel Pentium III Intel Celeron AMD K6-2 3DNow! (via DirectX7) AMD K6-3 3DNow! (via DirectX7) AMD K7/Athlon 3DNow! (via DirectX7) 5. 3D performance ***************** The game's 3D performance will vary from configuration to configuration, but there are many options available in-game to allow the user to get the best compromise between performance and gameplay. During a race, you can find out your "Processor Occupancy" rating by pressing the "O" key. This figure is given as a percentage. It is important that this figure is kept as close to (or below) the 100% mark as possible - anything higher and the game physics will be compromised and gameplay will suffer. Here are some tips for lowering the occupancy:- - Run the game in a lower resolution - Switch off some of the textures used in-game, starting with the mirrors - Turn off some of the trackside objects - Lower the frame rate setting If you are trying to run in 3D hardware mode, some video cards may not perform as well as others, so it is recommended that you try running in software 3D mode, as performance may be improved. 6. Networked play ***************** Network play is supported for up to six players simultaneously via a Local Area Network. It is possible to play with up to 22 players, but this is not supported due to current hardware limitations, and the need for high-spec systems to be able to run such large network games. The following points should be noted for larger network games:- 1. The game will run at the same speed on all machines. This means that if you have one slow machine on the network, then everybody's game performance will suffer. The problem machines should lower the detail/frame rate settings to improve overall performance. You can trace problem machines using the Processor Occupancy button ("O"). 2. The game can support 22 players, but only if all players are running on high specification machines. This is to future proof the game. It is not possible at this time to have a large network game using minimum specification machines. 3. TCP/IP play over the internet via analog modems is not currently supported due to the low transfer rates. 7. Keyboard Shortcuts ********************* <shift>+Q - Jump to pits (Practice and qualifying session) <shift>+U - Jump all players to multiplayer lobby screen (multiplayer only) O - Show processor occupancy 8. Amendments & Additions ************************* Following extensive testing, the 107% qualifying rule has been removed from the game as it was felt that it did not add to the gameplay of Grand Prix 3. We have included some default control sets for many popular control devices which should help beginners get set-up with Grand Prix 3. These control sets can be loaded from the Grand Prix 3 CD-ROM, and are located in the \extras\control sets\ directory. These should be used as a basis for the controllers - further tweaking of settings may be required according to individual preference. [support addresses and stuff snipped] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On Sat 22 Jul 2000 02:05:15am, Jan Loebzien wrote: <snip> >3. TCP/IP play over the internet via analog modems is not currently >supported due to the low transfer rates.<snip> All together now... :-) >Following extensive testing, the 107% qualifying rule has been >removed from the game as it was felt that it did not add to the >gameplay of Grand Prix 3.<snip> Then why not have an option to turn it on and off, like MGPRS2 does, instead of just scrapping it? I ask you. -- David. (GPLRank handicap: +2.68) "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really." (Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh)

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (David Buttery) writes:

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>On Sun 23 Jul 2000 01:32:28pm, EldredP wrote: > >>Does this affect the human player too? It would SUCK to not even be >>able to make a RACE... > >In MGPRS2? Yes, it does. If you aren't good enough to make 107%, then >just turn the option off - I do :-) >

Hehe... I haven't tried MGPRS2 seriously. I bought it on Ebay. Loaded it, tried to drive it, couldn't do it, the program went on the shelf. I couldn't hear the car well enough to tell when the car was sliding. Couldn't even complete a LAP without spinning several times.... I haven't tried it again since I found out that I have to ALT-TAB back to the win95 mixer to raise the sound level... But, I probably WOULDN'T be able to make the field, in that case. Now I'm curious... :) Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett GPL hcp. +70.45 Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

In article <[email hidden]>, Uncle Fester <[email hidden]> writes:

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>EldredP wrote: >> >> Does this affect the human player too? It would SUCK to not even be able >to >> make a RACE... > > >You really think so? I think it makes things much more realistic. I'm >still waiting for the sim that offers larger qualifying fields than >there are slots on the grid, and having to fight & *earn* your way into >the race. That would be a hook that would be very hard to turn away >from. >

Realistic, yes. Worth spending my money on, no. If that was the case in GPL, I wouldn't have even QUALIFIED for a race for several months. It took me that long to not be LAST.... Why would I want to pay for something that I couldn't even PLAY? Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett GPL hcp. +70.45 Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

On Sun 23 Jul 2000 01:32:28pm, EldredP wrote: >Does this affect the human player too? It would SUCK to not even be >able to make a RACE... In MGPRS2? Yes, it does. If you aren't good enough to make 107%, then just turn the option off - I do :-) -- David. (GPLRank handicap: -1.01) "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really." (Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh)

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (David Buttery) writes:

Quoted text (8 lines)

>>Following extensive testing, the 107% qualifying rule has been >>removed from the game as it was felt that it did not add to the >>gameplay of Grand Prix 3. ><snip> > >Then why not have an option to turn it on and off, like MGPRS2 does, >instead of just scrapping it? I ask you. >

Does this affect the human player too? It would SUCK to not even be able to make a RACE... Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett GPL hcp. +70.45 Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

EldredP wrote: > > Does this affect the human player too? It would SUCK to not even be able to > make a RACE... You really think so? I think it makes things much more realistic. I'm still waiting for the sim that offers larger qualifying fields than there are slots on the grid, and having to fight & *earn* your way into the race. That would be a hook that would be very hard to turn away from. -- Chuck Kandler A man is no less a Slave just because he is allowed to choose a new Master every four years. Registered Linux User #180746 http://counter.li.org

I had no problems getting pole at hockenheim against Amateur drivers, probably would have got pole on semi pro too was a 1:44.xx Martyn_D Uncle Fester wrote:

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> EldredP wrote: > > > > Does this affect the human player too? It would SUCK to not even be able to > > make a RACE... > > You really think so? I think it makes things much more realistic. I'm > still waiting for the sim that offers larger qualifying fields than > there are slots on the grid, and having to fight & *earn* your way into > the race. That would be a hook that would be very hard to turn away > from. > > -- > Chuck Kandler > > A man is no less a Slave just because he is > allowed to choose a new Master every four years. > > Registered Linux User #180746 > http://counter.li.org

On Mon 24 Jul 2000 04:07:33am, Uncle Fester wrote: >Ok, I'll give ya that one. I'd just settle for it being an option >that could be toggled on & off. Maybe even linked to a career mode. Like MGPRS2 has had for ages... -- David. (GPLRank handicap: -1.17) "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really." (Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh)

EldredP wrote:

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> > In article <[email hidden]>, Uncle Fester <[email hidden]> > writes: > >You really think so? I think it makes things much more realistic. I'm > >still waiting for the sim that offers larger qualifying fields than > >there are slots on the grid, and having to fight & *earn* your way into > >the race. That would be a hook that would be very hard to turn away > >from. > > > > Realistic, yes. Worth spending my money on, no. If that was the case in GPL, > I wouldn't have even QUALIFIED for a race for several months. It took me that > long to not be LAST.... > Why would I want to pay for something that I couldn't even PLAY? >

Ok, I'll give ya that one. I'd just settle for it being an option that could be toggled on & off. Maybe even linked to a career mode. -- Chuck Kandler A man is no less a Slave just because he is allowed to choose a new Master every four years. Registered Linux User #180746 http://counter.li.org

David Buttery wrote:

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> > On Mon 24 Jul 2000 04:07:33am, Uncle Fester wrote: > > >Ok, I'll give ya that one. I'd just settle for it being an option > >that could be toggled on & off. Maybe even linked to a career mode. > > Like MGPRS2 has had for ages...

Career mode & the 107% rule, yes. Still waiting on paring-down oversized qualifying fields for the grid. Although it'd probably be better suited towards a CART/NASCAR sim than F1 as far as realism goes... -- Chuck Kandler A man is no less a Slave just because he is allowed to choose a new Master every four years. Registered Linux User #180746 http://counter.li.org

In article <[email hidden]>, EldredP <[email hidden]> writes

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>In article <[email hidden]>, Uncle Fester ><[email hidden]> >writes: > >>EldredP wrote: >>> >>> Does this affect the human player too? It would SUCK to not even be >able >>to >>> make a RACE... >> >> >>You really think so? I think it makes things much more realistic. I'm >>still waiting for the sim that offers larger qualifying fields than >>there are slots on the grid, and having to fight & *earn* your way into >>the race. That would be a hook that would be very hard to turn away >>from. >> > >Realistic, yes. Worth spending my money on, no. If that was the case in >GPL, >I wouldn't have even QUALIFIED for a race for several months. It took me >that >long to not be LAST.... >Why would I want to pay for something that I couldn't even PLAY? >

Ah, but if you were that slow that you couldn't even make the 107% qualifying time then surely the race itself would be somewhat pointless also as you drove around acting like a moving chicane. :) I would be happy to see this option available. To me, not having this option is like not having a 'car failures' option just because there's the potential for the car to break down very early on. Both these add that extra excitement to the game. What could be more thrilling than knowing that you're 2 tenths of the qualifying time with only 1 more flying lap left (when the going gets tought etc), or you're out in front in a race, winning by a country mile with about 10 laps left, when suddenly your car starts missing gears or losing power and you then have to use every last ounce of effort and concentration to nurse the car home whilst all the time the 2nd place driver is closing in hand over fist. My palms get sweaty just thinking about it. :) -- Peter Ives - (AKA Ivington) No person's opinions can be said to be more correct than another's, because each is the sole judge of his or her own experience.

In article <[email hidden]>, Peter Ives <[email hidden]> writes: >Ah, but if you were that slow that you couldn't even make the 107% >qualifying time then surely the race itself would be somewhat pointless >also as you drove around acting like a moving chicane. :) >That's why I run with damage off. I can act like Surtees... :) >I would be happy to see this option available. To me, not having this >option is like not having a 'car failures' option just because there's >the potential for the car to break down very early on. Both these add >that extra excitement to the game. I haven't turned on the 'random mechanical failures' in too many sims. I already have ENOUGH going against me. Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett GPL hcp. +69.95 Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

In article <[email hidden]>, EldredP <[email hidden]> writes

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>In article <[email hidden]>, Peter Ives ><[email hidden]> writes: > >>Ah, but if you were that slow that you couldn't even make the 107% >>qualifying time then surely the race itself would be somewhat pointless >>also as you drove around acting like a moving chicane. :) >> >That's why I run with damage off. I can act like Surtees... :) > >>I would be happy to see this option available. To me, not having this >>option is like not having a 'car failures' option just because there's >>the potential for the car to break down very early on. Both these add >>that extra excitement to the game. > >I haven't turned on the 'random mechanical failures' in too many sims. I >already have ENOUGH going against me. >

Hehe, Eldred. Sometimes I can really sense your pain as I read your words. To be so enthusiastic about something and yet, at the same time, feel so blighted, must be pure torture. :) -- Peter Ives - (AKA Ivington) No person's opinions can be said to be more correct than another's, because each is the sole judge of his or her own experience.

Oh sh*t, my V3 2000 AGP isn't listed :-( I guess I have to go for V5 :-) Jens On Sat, 22 Jul 2000 03:05:15 +0200, Jan Loebzien <[email hidden]> wrote: <snbip>>

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>1. Video cards successfully tested on & supported >************************************************* > >3Dfx Voodoo2 >3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP >3Dfx Voodoo3 3500 AGP >3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 PCI >3Dfx Voodoo3 2000 PCI >3Dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP >3Dfx Voodoo Banshee

<snip> --------------------------------------------- [email hidden] Remove "NOSPAM" before using my email-address JensSchumi homepage at http://members.xoom.com/JensSchu/ Racing simulation, esp. GPL Logitech Wingman FF optimization Classic cars, esp. Morris Minor Radio controlled airplanes