Underpowered PCs cause understeer.

Guys, I have been sim racing for many years now, right back to the days of F1GP on an Atari ST. I have had many PCs, and as I have upgraded them, I have noticed one very special thing about the way sims behave... If your PC doesn't have the power to run the sim at a 'decent' frame rate, then the car will generally understeer. I don't know why, but it's been true for every sim I have had. Here's how to treat a new sim... When you first install it, run it at the easiest setting for your PC, so that you get the maximum frame rate. Drive around for a bit, to get a feel for the car. Then, if you want more 'eye candy', start cranking up the resolution/detail level, etc. Because you have driven the car at the best frame rate your PC can manage, hopefully (provided your PC isn't too crap), you will know how the coders intended the car to feel, so when you detect that the car is now not handling properly, you will know that you've overdone the 'eye candy'. Hopefully, if people realise this, and treat sims sensibly, we should get less whinging about how a sim doesn't feel realistic, every time a new one comes out, simply because people have cranked all the details up to max, and are giving their PC a hernia! ;-) R.

In article <cklh5c$3tp$[email hidden]>, "Richard S Beckett" <[email hidden]> writes: >If your PC doesn't have the power to run the sim at a 'decent' frame rate, >then the car will generally understeer. > >I don't know why, but it's been true for every sim I have had. I know this is a late reply(I've been dead<g>), but that's a very interesting observation. I'll have to test that out... Eldred -- http://www.umich.edu/~epickett Screamers League IICC League GPLRank -6.0 MoGPL rank +267.80 Ch.Rank +52.58 MoC +741.71 Hist. +82.34 MoH:na N2k3 rank: -1.047 Slayer Spektera lvl 79 assassin Slayer Spectral_K lvl 44 Necro US East

"EldredP" <[email hidden]> wrote > I know this is a late reply(I've been dead<g>), but that's a veryinteresting > observation. I'll have to test that out... Have you been dead for tax purposes? ;-) R.

"Richard S Beckett" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:clis9v$k0h$1 @newshost.mot.com: > Have you been dead for tax purposes? ;-) > > R. > Did you miss that? Poor Eldred was pronounced D-E-A-D by one of our rabble-rousers. Of course, since it was printed on the internet it must be true and I am jussst a little suspicious of the suposedly dead Eldred continues to make postings from the great beyond. :) dave henrie

Dave Henrie wrote:

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> "Richard S Beckett" >>Have you been dead for tax purposes? ;-) > Did you miss that? Poor Eldred was pronounced D-E-A-D by one of our > rabble-rousers. Of course, since it was printed on the internet it must > be true and I am jussst a little suspicious of the suposedly dead Eldred > continues to make postings from the great beyond. > :)

Rosabel, believe! ;) -Greg

"Richard S Beckett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:cklh5c$3tp$[email hidden]... > Guys, > > I have been sim racing for many years now, right back to the days of F1GPon

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> an Atari ST. > > I have had many PCs, and as I have upgraded them, I have noticed one very > special thing about the way sims behave... > > If your PC doesn't have the power to run the sim at a 'decent' frame rate, > then the car will generally understeer.

Actually if you PC is underpowered for teh sim you are trying to use, you will see controller lag, sometimes severely, period. Depending on how you then react or over-react to that lag, you can create understeer or oversteer. The advice you have given about making sure your PC is up to the task so you dont see controller lag issues, is solid. Anyone trying to say a sim doesnt have realistic feel when his PC isnt up to the task of properly running the sim in the 1st place has absolutely no business making any kind of comment to that aspect or most likely any other aspect of the sim. but this is usenet, so I dont expect that to improve any. ;)

Dave Henrie <[email hidden]> wrote in news:[email hidden]: <snip> > Did you miss that? Poor Eldred was pronounced D-E-A-D by one of > our > rabble-rousers. Of course, since it was printed on the internet it > must be true and I am jussst a little suspicious of the suposedly dead > Eldred continues to make postings from the great beyond. >:)Surely they have internet access in paradise by now? Alex.

<snip> Surely they have internet access in paradise by now? Alex.