GP2: Airborne, crashes and etc.

We ran about 4 hours of direct connect tonight. The "boyz" (***agers...yuck) were playing the destruction derby version. They were running around crashing as dramatically as they could manage. We saved the laps to hot lap. What was fun was the unbelievable graphic touches on the crashes. We saw during one race a car go full airborne, and I mean way up there, nose vertical and then it dived over to the ground. The rear view mirrors show some of the most amazing graphics of all. You haven't lived until you have one of those damned RED Farrarris breathing down your neck in the rear view. The detail of the image is simply amazing. There is NOTHING even close to this type of graphic detail in other racing sims. It seems that the program saves the finest graphics for the rear view mirrors, especially where the other cars are concerned. The light source shading and textures are very great. After saving several crash hot laps we replayed them using all kinds of different cameras and angles. The graphics in the replays of the hot laps are so good it is hard to describe them. Sound, smoke, dirt, rocks flying it all matches up perfectly together. Only wart is the fact that the wheels do NOT show motion texturing. But there is so mush else going on that it is not critical at all. JEB

: We ran about 4 hours of direct connect tonight. : The "boyz" (***agers...yuck) were playing the : destruction derby version. They were running around : crashing as dramatically as they could manage. : We saved the laps to hot lap. What was fun was the : unbelievable graphic touches on the crashes. We saw : during one race a car go full airborne, and I mean : way up there, nose vertical and then it dived over : to the ground. ...I just HAVE to interrupt here. First, I cannot emphasize this any more: BAD TIMING, dude. Now I realize that you don't come from a background of a motorsport fan (I've seen numerous of your posts in other threads) and gather your angle is from a computer gamer. I'm favorable towards Indy/F1/Super Touring...even the ocasional NASCAR event. I do not watch motor racing to witness crashes of any sort, be it a single car careening accross the grass, into concrete barriers, or simply cars running into each other. I watch to see drivers out-manouver each other, to see how the cars work the track. I know shunts are part of the sport and accept this. I watched Senna die. Just last weekend Jeff Krosnoff and Gary Arvin were killed during the Toronto Indy. I've breathed a heavy sigh of relief for the likes of Fittipaldi, Zanardi, Lamy, Barrichello, Lehto, Brundle, Blundell, Vasser, Herta, Burt, Irvine, Schrader, Elliot, Craven and others who have survived horrific incidents on the track. Incidents that have made me question "Why do I watch this?" I have yet to see GP2, as it's not released to the general public in Canada yet. From all what I've heard, it sound like the next step in racing simulations. I'm not sure what the programers had in mind when they coded in such "fantasitc" detailed crashes of cars getting airborne with bits flying in every direction. I kinda hope it wasn't for the e***d "gee-wiz look how cool that is" attitude you display, I know it'll have a much more sobering effect when I see such a display. __o _-\<,_ Cosmo Potapoff

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> My purpose was to comment on the graphics rendition of > that part of the sport that does in fact occur and therefore > would be appropiate for a "serious" attempt at simulation, > but, once again, it is clean, sanitary, SAFE, and it is > PLAY. > I made NO connection to any event in the real world in > any of my posts here, nor do I plan to in the future. > This is a place where, thankfully, we can leave that > OUT THERE. > Sincerly, > JEB

You said it, JEB! I think we all need some diversions from reality. I just have one question. You mentioned that the ***agers saved the crashes to hot laps. What exactly does this mean? I have heard that replays during races cannot be saved. Do you mean that you can save race laps as hot laps? Also, can you save the game in mid-race? When you do, is the replay of the 20 previous seconds also saved? This is what I did with GP1.

writes Even better? We ran a Sim Racing News "event" yesterday (more info in the next issue!), but suffice it to say it involved a LOT of linked racing on ICR2 and GP2. Quite by accident we found that if you race linked and one person goes out of the race, their screen goes into "TV Director" mode and follows the other player's car around the circuit just like on TV! This look simply A M A Z I N G !! It was all I could do to concentrate on driving around Adelaide - when I should have been turning into the hairpin I was watching my wheels locking at the end of Brabham Straight and smoke flying. It really is something to see, straight off the TV - especially when it is YOUR car and happening AS YOU DRIVE :) Great stuff Cheers! John _________________________________ __ _____| |_____ __ ________| |__| :| John Wallace | |__| |________ \ :| |::| :| Team WW Racing TSW | |::| | / > :| |::| :|_________________________________| |::| | < / :|__|::|____/ * Sim Racing News * \____|::|__| \ /______:/ \::/ http://sneezy.dcn.ed.ac.uk/simnews/index.htm \::/ \._____\ http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~harmon/simnews

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> : We ran about 4 hours of direct connect tonight. > : The "boyz" (***agers...yuck) were playing the > : destruction derby version. They were running around > : crashing as dramatically as they could manage. > : We saved the laps to hot lap. What was fun was the > : unbelievable graphic touches on the crashes. We saw > : during one race a car go full airborne, and I mean > : way up there, nose vertical and then it dived over > : to the ground. > ...I just HAVE to interrupt here. First, I cannot emphasize this any > more: BAD TIMING, dude. Now I realize that you don't come from a > background of a motorsport fan (I've seen numerous of your posts in other > threads) and gather your angle is from a computer gamer. I'm favorable > towards Indy/F1/Super Touring...even the ocasional NASCAR event. I do not > watch motor racing to witness crashes of any sort, be it a single car > careening accross the grass, into concrete barriers, or simply cars > running into each other. I watch to see drivers out-manouver each other, > to see how the cars work the track. I know shunts are part of the sport > and accept this. I watched Senna die. Just last weekend Jeff Krosnoff and > Gary Arvin were killed during the Toronto Indy. I've breathed a heavy > sigh of relief for the likes of Fittipaldi, Zanardi, Lamy, Barrichello, > Lehto, Brundle, Blundell, Vasser, Herta, Burt, Irvine, Schrader, Elliot, > Craven and others who have survived horrific incidents on the track. > Incidents that have made me question "Why do I watch this?" I have yet to > see GP2, as it's not released to the general public in Canada yet. From > all what I've heard, it sound like the next step in racing simulations. > I'm not sure what the programers had in mind when they coded in such > "fantasitc" detailed crashes of cars getting airborne with bits flying in > every direction. I kinda hope it wasn't for the e***d "gee-wiz look > how cool that is" attitude you display, I know it'll have a much more > sobering effect when I see such a display. > __o > _-\<,_ Cosmo Potapoff

Thank you for interrupting. Now do me a favor. Turn around, away from the view of the screen...Ok That OUT there is REALITY. You can turn back now. This IN HERE is FANTASY. Please don't get the two confused again. I'm glad you have purged your conscience and do understand the fringe logic that made you post up your note, but you are WAY off base to be interjecting that kind of issue into a "rec.auto.SIMULATORS" forum. Sorry, to be appearing to be doubly insensitive, but what my ***agers were doing was play, when we were watching the crashes on replay was play, what all of us do here and comment on is play. It serves NO useful purpose to try to make it more than that, none whatsoever. My purpose was to comment on the graphics rendition of that part of the sport that does in fact occur and therefore would be appropiate for a "serious" attempt at simulation, but, once again, it is clean, sanitary, SAFE, and it is PLAY. I made NO connection to any event in the real world in any of my posts here, nor do I plan to in the future. This is a place where, thankfully, we can leave that OUT THERE. Sincerly, JEB

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> : Thank you for interrupting. Now do me a favor. > : Turn around, away from the view of the screen...Ok > : That OUT there is REALITY. You can turn back now. > : This IN HERE is FANTASY. > : Please don't get the two confused again. > : I'm glad you have purged your conscience and do > : understand the fringe logic that made you post up > : your note, but you are WAY off base to be interjecting > : that kind of issue into a "rec.auto.SIMULATORS" forum. > : Sorry, to be appearing to be doubly insensitive, but > : what my ***agers were doing was play, when we were > : watching the crashes on replay was play, what all of us > : do here and comment on is play. > : It serves NO useful purpose to try to make it more than > : that, none whatsoever. > : My purpose was to comment on the graphics rendition of > : that part of the sport that does in fact occur and therefore > : would be appropiate for a "serious" attempt at simulation, > : but, once again, it is clean, sanitary, SAFE, and it is > : PLAY. > : I made NO connection to any event in the real world in > : any of my posts here, nor do I plan to in the future. > : This is a place where, thankfully, we can leave that > : OUT THERE. > : Sincerly, > : JEB > I agree with the majority of what you're saying Jeb. I suppose I should > have stated more clearly that it was "how I read what you were saying" > that I had difficulty with. Yes I do realize that this is a game, a > fantasy, a work of imagination. But it is a simulation not an arcade > game. I don't see why the subject of reprecutions of crashes does not > have a place in r.a.sims (although I'm not about to dwell on the subject > being implemented into sims at all). If it weren't for programers who > looked to the real world for details we'd all just have SVGA versions of > Atari Racer and the like. > Again, I did not miss your intention. You are one of the very few on the > contenent to have the game, and you are letting us all know your > impressions of it. For that, I thank you. You were describing how the > game handled crashes graphicly. What I wanted to address was the manner > how it came off. I appologize if it sounded like I was flaming you, I was > not. If you think I was, well, then turn around away from your screen and > go out into the real world...you've been spending too much time in > r.a.sims and all the flames are clouding your vision :) > __o > _-\<,_ Cosmo Potapoff

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I too was not trying to flame. I was, as stated, trying to release us all from any implication that we should consider the "real" when we are discussing the "fantastic". I'm sure you would agree that this sort of sentiment, sincerly held, and articulately expressed, would, nonetheless, have a great CHILLING effect, if we took it too greatly into consideration. My note was meant to "sober" the sober, if you take my meaning. I too, like us all, was shocked and saddened by the tragic event in the race to which you referred. I expressed that to my fellows as we watched the replay. That was in the venue of the "regular" life as it were, but here, I think we can both agree is not the proper place, for that standard to be held, again, consider the effect of one having to be constantly considering how his or her post would reflect in "reality". It would be an impossible and very uncomfortable task, indeed. My point is simply let's not call ourselves to that expectation in a forum devoted to the "fantasy" of simulating the real...let's just keep the "Walter Mitty" factor in play. Thanks again for your measured and thoughtful response. Again, Sincerly, JEB in Vegas PS. Enjoy the graphics..."too" good at simulating at times...perhaps.

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> You said it, JEB! I think we all need some diversions from reality. I > just have one question. You mentioned that the ***agers saved the > crashes to hot laps. What exactly does this mean? I have heard that > replays during races cannot be saved. Do you mean that you can save race > laps as hot laps? Also, can you save the game in mid-race? When you do, > is the replay of the 20 previous seconds also saved? This is what I did > with GP1.

The "boyz" were driving with no damage on and hitting everything that did and did not move. They would hit, re-enter the track...hit again...etc., until they managed a complete lap, then save it as a "hot lap". On the race side of this dubious exercise, they were using the chase view and in that case were NOT able to save the action. Sorry if I gave the impression that we were able to save the race type occurances. I too do NOT know if you can save mid race, have NOT tried it. It seems that I did try to save a hot lap in a race condition and failed to do so. So I'm with you, perhaps someone else can answer that question. I've simply not had the chance to test it out. JEB in Vegas

>Thank you for interrupting. Now do me a favor. >Turn around, away from the view of the screen...Ok >That OUT there is REALITY. You can turn back now. >This IN HERE is FANTASY. >Please don't get the two confused again. etc Don't worry about it JEB. Some people have nothing better to do. Think how long that post took him to write, and for what ? Apparantly we should be considering world events during our recreation time. I think not. William.

spoke the following words of wisdom... It is possible to save hot laps during a race. The hot laps are recorded to a temp file during the race, and by pressing escape at any time during the race, you can permanently save completed hot laps to your disk, for later viewing from the main menu. The limitation is that if the race is over, you are not given the option to save hot laps, so you must do it while the race is still in progress (I tend to save my hot laps every ten laps during a race). Furthermore, it does not seem possible to save the first lap off the grid - don't know why. You can, therefore, barring the first and last lap of a race, save all your laps and watch a replay of virtually the entire race, one lap at a time, after you have finished. regards, Paul. *********************************************************************** * Paul L. Finnemore - Apprentice Veterinarian * * "I haven't lost my mind. It's backed up on tape somewhere..." * ***********************************************************************

I have to agree about the amazing level of detail in the crashes. Last night after spinning out a few times, I decided to drive round the wrong way for a bit. After a while, Damon Hill came screaming round a bend straight into me. When I watched the replay, I saw that his car broke into 2 pieces. From his***pit view, you could see the rear of the car overtaking the front! The most amazing thing tho, was looking back at the drivers helmet, and seeing when he hit the wall. His head actually rocked back and forth with the impact. Now that's detail.

> I'm not sure what the programers had in mind when they coded in such > "fantasitc" detailed crashes of cars getting airborne with bits flying in > every direction. I kinda hope it wasn't for the e***d "gee-wiz look > how cool that is" attitude you display, I know it'll have a much more > sobering effect when I see such a display. Crashes in real motorsport are not funny at all, but they are one the most dramatic events that can happen in a race. While perhaps the original poster was unaware of the recent tragedies that had occurred, it is that same drama of the crash that makes it interesting/horrifically fascinating to watch. As long as the only thing being hurt are a series of 1's and 0's in the computer, then it really shouldn't matter what the programmers had in mind. Besides, I play sims for the racing, not crashing, but I expect, nay... *demand* that crashes have parts disintegrating as appropriate - otherwise it just doesn't seem like you screwed up as bad if you simply fly into the wall at top speed and just stop. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Neil Mouneimne | "I hate spreadsheets, | ---CS-Anime-Bab5-SegaAM-Mtn_Bikes-RPGs-Newton-Ducatis-Hk-Glock-Rally--

: Thank you for interrupting. Now do me a favor. : Turn around, away from the view of the screen...Ok : That OUT there is REALITY. You can turn back now. : This IN HERE is FANTASY. : Please don't get the two confused again. : I'm glad you have purged your conscience and do : understand the fringe logic that made you post up : your note, but you are WAY off base to be interjecting : that kind of issue into a "rec.auto.SIMULATORS" forum. : Sorry, to be appearing to be doubly insensitive, but : what my ***agers were doing was play, when we were : watching the crashes on replay was play, what all of us : do here and comment on is play. : It serves NO useful purpose to try to make it more than : that, none whatsoever. : My purpose was to comment on the graphics rendition of : that part of the sport that does in fact occur and therefore : would be appropiate for a "serious" attempt at simulation, : but, once again, it is clean, sanitary, SAFE, and it is : PLAY. : I made NO connection to any event in the real world in : any of my posts here, nor do I plan to in the future. : This is a place where, thankfully, we can leave that : OUT THERE. : Sincerly, : JEB I agree with the majority of what you're saying Jeb. I suppose I should have stated more clearly that it was "how I read what you were saying" that I had difficulty with. Yes I do realize that this is a game, a fantasy, a work of imagination. But it is a simulation not an arcade game. I don't see why the subject of reprecutions of crashes does not have a place in r.a.sims (although I'm not about to dwell on the subject being implemented into sims at all). If it weren't for programers who looked to the real world for details we'd all just have SVGA versions of Atari Racer and the like. Again, I did not miss your intention. You are one of the very few on the contenent to have the game, and you are letting us all know your impressions of it. For that, I thank you. You were describing how the game handled crashes graphicly. What I wanted to address was the manner how it came off. I appologize if it sounded like I was flaming you, I was not. If you think I was, well, then turn around away from your screen and go out into the real world...you've been spending too much time in r.a.sims and all the flames are clouding your vision :) __o _-\<,_ Cosmo Potapoff

bibbled: On a race around Imola, guess who went a-leaping overhead and crashed into a wall? Well, Eddie "the Eagle" Irvine, of course! Made me laugh. Looks like he's doing his old tricks again! :)) -- -----------------------------------------------------------------------| | Colin Campbell Confush, he say: "Don't wash *** ovens!" | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mail me for _my_ "Bottom" scripts! | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------