After Rene Smit noticed that with the Amiga F1GP patch to allow higher
frame rates the car's performance changed, he suggested that the same
was true on the PC. Frankly, I didn't believe him, but since he
mentioned the Peralta at Mexico specifically, I decided to check it
out. The results will not please those still using 386s who can't get
25 frames per second.
I ran three tests, each consisting of two laps round Mexico City. Each
test was at a different frame rate, and each lap was consistent with
the other. I looked at the entry and exit speeds for the Peralta (the
final, awesome corner). All tests were done using GPLap 5 to remove any
randomized BHP or AI grip effects, under version 1.05, on a 90 MHz,
24MB Pentium, with Orchid Kelvin 64 PCI graphics card.
Test 1. Frame rate: 25 FPS. Entry: 189 mph, exit: 190 mph
Gain of 1 mph in corner
Test 2. Frame rate: 18.7 FPS. Entry: 189 mph, exit: 188 mph
Loss of 1 mph in corner
Test 3. Frame rate: 13 FPS. Entry: 188 mph, exit: 186 mph
Loss of 2 mph in corner and 1 mph before entry
So, a lower framerate doesn't just make the car harder to control; it
actually robs the car of a small amount of performance!
/* "Me I like smoke signals from iron Horse brothers" -- Pieter Popken */
