What is this group about?

What is this group about? Do any programmers or comp. sci. or AI people read this? (please let me know if you do; the group title seems perfect for those of us interested in the Robot Auto RAcing Simulation (RARS), but the content is mysterious.:)) I there a FAQ? Thanks,

Mainly autoracing games, but... I think I did see one post about it here. I donwloaded it and it looks kinda neat, but never had the time to play around. I'll probably port it to DJGPP some time. Don't think so. -- Gizmo van der HOF -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Launchpad is an experimental internet BBS. The views of its users do not necessarily represent those of UNC-Chapel Hill, OIT, or the SysOps. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

|> What is this group about? I've included the original charter below. Anything on computer simulations of automobiles is on topic, from games to programming |> |> Do any programmers or comp. sci. or AI people read this? (please let me |> know if you do; the group title seems perfect for those of us interested |> in the Robot Auto RAcing Simulation (RARS), but the content is mysterious.:)) Yes to both. |> |> I there a FAQ? I had intended to do one, but time has been so limited. There are a number of specific FAQs for various games (ICR/WC-F1GP/NASCAR?). Group Name ---------- rec.autos.simulators Status ------ Unmoderated Newsgroup line -------------- rec.autos.simulators discussion of automotive simulators. Charter ------- This newsgroup will be used for discussions of realistic computer simulations of automotive vehicles, irrespective of the platforms on which said simulations are supported. This will include simulations which have a competitive component (racing simulations) and those which do not. Topics will include (but are not restricted to): o Global characteristics of particular simulations. o Platform-dependent characteristics of such simulations (as a convention, it is suggested that such discussions list the platforms in the subject header, e.g., Subject: [ibm-pc,sun] Blog's Yugo simulator o Design and implementation issues of such simulations. o Issues of realism in automotive simulation. o General discussion of automobile simulations. Obviously, determining whether a particular simulator is "realistic" requires a judgement call. It is hoped that broad accord between posters will enable the discernment of valid simulators (for discussion in this group) from those which are devised for an entertainment value without concern for realism. Thus, discussion of many of the arcade racing simulators, which provide an overview perspective of the vehicle being simulated and which do not attempt to provide realism of handling of the vehicle, would not be appropriate in this newsgroup. On the other hand, simulators such as Microprose's Formula 1 Grand Prix would fall within the purview of this group as attempts are made to capture realistic handling of the vehicle. FAQ Outline ----------- A preliminary FAQ is in preparation for the eventuality that the group passes the vote. The current outline is included here: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS for rec.autos.simulators Written by Afzal Ballim Version: 0.0 Last Update: 26/10/1993 If you think of questions that are appropriate for this FAQ, or would Topics Covered: =============== Part 1: [1-0] What is the purpose of this newsgroup? [1-1] What conventions are suggested for subject headings? [1-2] How do I decide if a simulator is "realistic"? [1-3] Does discussion on arcade racing games belong here? Part 2: [2-0] What realistic racing simulators exist? [2-1] What platforms support them? [2-2] What add-ons, editors, updates, etc., exist for these simulators? [2-3] Where can I find them? Part 3: [3-0] What realistic NON-competitive simulators exists? [3-1] Where do I start if I want to build a simulator? [3-2] How do I model <X> in an automotive simulator? -- ISSCO, University of Geneva | X400: S=afzal;OU=divsun;O=unige; 54 route des Acacias | PRMD=switch;ADMD=arcom;C=ch CH-1227 GENEVA (Switzerland) | UUCP: mcvax!cui!divsun.unige.ch!afzal Tel: +41/22/705 71 12 | FAX: +41/22/300 10 86 http://issco-www.unige.ch/ | http://issco-www.unige.ch/WebForum/ ``I'm not artificially intelligent, I just work that way.''

I think i'ts obvious. Computer & video game vehicle/racing sims. What does your group do & where is it? Steve.

>|> What is this group about? I am not quite sure what your role in all this is, however you seem to be quite interested/knowledgable. I would be interested in establishing your motivation. Steve.

Answering Steve Wilcox' question: : : What does your group do & where is it? : : Steve. Answering Steve Wilcox's question about RARS, RARS, the Robot Auto Racing Simulation, is a competitiion between programmers, who write programs that simulate a robot driver. Our visual simulation is not comparable to the auto racing games discussed in rec.autos.simulators. We just have a simple overview of the whole track with tiny cars whizzing around. Each car is controled by its own individual "driver" program. The driver receives information from the simulation about the current local situation and it then adjusts the steering and throttle. This results in a race between the robot "drivers" that looks something like a real race. There is no human input during a race. We have a mailing list and an ftp site. This is oriented towards engineers, physicists, mathematicians, adaptive control theorists, computer scientists, AI guys, or talented amateurs with interests in those fields. The project is in a very early phase. The software works, but so far the only robot drivers are the work of the same author, M. Timin. All of the software is available for the asking, source included. The simulation is written in C++. The drivers could be written in any compiled language; the present ones are in C. Mitchell Timin