I just got this message from a friend, and I guess it contains some
info important enough to post here:
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Date: Sat, 28 May 94 01:50:01
Subject: ICR Expansion Tracks
Well the tracks are finally here!
Phoenix is one tough little race track, very much like Nazareth. The sky
is
so blue here it will almost knock you out of your chair. But even the
default
setups seems to not get around the track real good. It's gonna take a lot
of
test time here to be fast.
Indy is very accurate, but also very hard to drive. The track seems very
narrow, and right now my lap times are only in the 217-218 range.
Cleveland....better put on your glasses. Although it's very tough at
first to
find your way around the track, it's quickly becoming my favorite circuit.
The AI seems to very good here and the cars are very aggressive. I had
cars
split me on both sides going into T1.
VanCouver is much like Toronto, but with superior graphics, right down to
the
big screen tv's around the track.
There does however seem to be a problem with Indy. I hope it's only me
but it
appears to be a flaw in the program. When a yellow flag comes out it never
goes away. Also the turn speeds of the cars seems to be messed up. Below
is a
copy of the letter I sent to Papyrus:
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Picked up your Indy expansion disk today after much anticipation.
However
I'm having some problems.
Graphics at Indy, as well as the other 7 tracks released today is
superb.
But it is my understanding that no outside beta testers were used for
these
expansion disks. Was any beta testing done at all?? It appears that at
Indy
when a yellow flag comes out, it's out for good. After running lap after
lap
after lap under caution I hit accelerated mode. Race ran through it's
entirety under caution (60 laps) after a lap 3 caution. Exited the program
and tried again.....same results. The AI at Indy also seems to be screwed
up.
The drivers turn speeds are not relative to their lap times and stright
line
speeds.
I would say I'm surprised but I would be lying. It seems that turning
out defective products is now the status quo for Papyrus. A simple beta
test
of a race at Indy w/yellows on would of revealed the problem. In fact
it's so
blantant I have to assume you already are aware of the problem (ala modem
play with Indycar's release..... "sorry, but it appears there is a problem
with modem play").
I love the Indycar sim, and although it has its problems is still the
best racing sim on the market. But you are quickly losing the respect of
the
end-users by rushing products to the shelf unfinished or flawed. I do not
appreciate spending $33 to buy one circuit, then not have it be right. I
suggest you get a fix out for the yellow flag problem at Indy immediately,
and now that you have all the tracks released spend some time trying to
correct the AI problems in Indycar itself.
Tim Wortman
