GP2 Great - But annoying *flaws*

GP2 is an amazing game. Some much effort went into the game. Yet several things were missed that are really annoying... 1) Qualifying stops at exactly the 15mins. F1 rules are that you can finish your current lap. 2) Pit stop times are not accurate. 8 secs to re-fuel, change 3 tyres, replace 1 damaged right rear section AND replace rear wing??? 3) Damage routines are not accurate. Tapping the rear of an opponent will often damage the front wing... yet crashing into a wall at 200+kmh's often won't... even in Ace. 4) Unable to extend length of the Quickrace... Am I missing something obvious... This is a MAJOR flaw. Quickrace means no qualifying - not a three lap race. 5) Invisible pit wall at Adelaide - I swear it's there! 6) If you don't show up to Saturday Qualifying your Friday times are ignored. This again is a MAJOR flaw. My friday times are soo good that I don't even have to get out of bed on Saturday :) 7) Manual has three sentences to explain the damage indicator. My qualifying setup at Germany always makes the second light red and third white... is this engine?? gears?? what??????????????????? Pulling into the pits will magically fix the problem - and in less than eight seconds! 8) No weather... my favourite race is Monaco in the rain :( 9) Start of the '94 season was almost two and a half years ago.... I ain't paying more money to race at Melbourne... 10) Unable to flip your car... hey they promised! it even says you can roll your car on the back of the box. 11) Opponents will overtake under yellow flags. 12) A black flag does not make a magical hand hold on to your rear wing and slow you to a crawl for ~10 seconds. 13) A warm up lap... to get the tyres warm... 'q' to skip it and jump straight to the grid of course. An option for those who want it. 14) Computer shouldn't drive you into your pits... the driver should have control. Also need lines where the speed limit start/stops... 15) Need radio to pit crew. I find that many splits are just before a major braking zone... don't have time to look down! Like I said... the game is fantastic... yet I can't believe that bugs such as pitstop times (2), damage inaccuracies (3), quickrace length (4) and missing Sat qualifying (6) made it into the final game. Lack of current tracks/drivers/weather etc are just an annoyance. Cheers, SJ.

[snipped good bug list] : 15) Need radio to pit crew. I find that many splits are just before a major : braking zone... don't have time to look down! I don't know how many times I've screwed up in a chicane just cuz I glanced at the display to see the gaps. I would like to push a "button" and get the last "gap" info at my leisure -- like on a straight where the real boyz would do it. And my #16) I would like to know how far I am from the leader, not just the guy in front of me. -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

You can set the time for qualifying anything up to 60 minutes. Qualifying does end 'bang' on time, but personally I can live without the need to process any code required to monitor for 'last laps'. I agree there should optionally be more realistsic damage and repair. OTOH, I am struggling to be competative at Pro level, god knows what the competition is like at ace. I would say that was a bug. However, if you want a longer race it is possible to set the length and run a non-championship race. Some glitches in the graphics engine, but relativly few. You are required to be at the track, wether you drive or not is up to you. Use the accelerate time button. Dunno. Tyres? Plank? Fuel? Yes, more time in the pits depending on the severity of the accident would seem reasonable. But hell, don't feel cheated now, just sit there as long as you feel is necessary. I could live without rain, but some variation in track temp and wind would be nice. I imagine it would be much more difficult to achieve any sort of realsim when you are also trying to predict the future. I could live without it. I want then to produce a driving sim, not a crash sim. Once the car in no longer driveable, I'm not that interested that it ends up in the correct number of pieces, or that it does so in a spectacular fassion. As it is, I think what they have done is pretty good. Bug. Again I think there should optionally be more realism available, but I think the compromise solution is fair. You are hard pushed to actually gain by cutting corners, (although it seems possible at adelide). Yes! & Allow Jump starts with penalty's. Get yourself a joystick and turn off the training wheels, steering help and opposite lock. See above. And hell, no one pays you 15 million to drive 8 races, that must be a bug ;). -- Suck The Goat

>1) Qualifying stops at exactly the 15mins. F1 rules are that you can finish > your current lap. This is annoying, I usually get stopped on my quick lap :-( You can`t change quickrace length in the game but there is a utility on Strobe`s utilities page ([link lost in import] You can even get "quick" races of 99 laps !! It certainly is, I`ve hit it several times. Maybe Coulthard asked for this to be included ;-) This is to give the other drivers a fair chance to improve your time. Imagine the reaction if last year the driver on provisional pole after friday said "Forget the saturday qualifying session because no-one will catch me" ;-) Is this the bank of four lights to the right of your gear indicator? If so the red light means you are low on fuel (fuel >2 laps), the white one means there is a split or gap displayed on your***pit Are you a ***? Flight sim players know that roll can also mean when the left side is higher than the right and vice versa. Were Microprose trying some clever advertising?...... I haven`t seen it but I`m not saying it doesn`t happen. And a worn plank gets you disqualified..... I think steering help has something to do with this. I think there are no markers for the speed limiter as it is entirely automated. It isn`t in real life (maybe Coulthard thinks it should be - Silverstone `95 ;) ) Such is life! I find things like "thats a great split, thats a great wall I`ve hit because I was looking at my great split...." Sound familiar? What do our American chums have to say? Microprose have said the Euro version is more arcade than the American. Mark _________________________________ "..every lap I think `Oh bollocks! This is dreadful..`" Damon Hill __________________________________

<snip> Well Mark the US version has exactly the same problems. No idea if there are any other differences since I only have one version. It must have something to do with the adverts displayed. A quick question for you, are any cigarette adverts displayed in the game? The US version does not have them. The box is different, thats it. (or so it seems) Yus

> GP2 is an amazing game. Some much effort went into the game. Yet several > things were missed that are really annoying... > 4) Unable to extend length of the Quickrace... Am I missing something > obvious... This is a MAJOR flaw. Quickrace means no qualifying - not > a three lap race. See: http://www.edu.lahti.fi/~masayard/gp2/archive.html ken

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>[snipped good bug list] >: 15) Need radio to pit crew. I find that many splits are just before a major >: braking zone... don't have time to look down! >I don't know how many times I've screwed up in a chicane just cuz I >glanced at the display to see the gaps. I would like to push a "button" >and get the last "gap" info at my leisure -- like on a straight where >the real boyz would do it.

Try pressing "G". Haven't noticed it in the manual but it used to work in F1GP1 and works in my UK version of GP2. Richard

I've.never.seen.the.+or-.split.relationships.shown.on.my.own car...I.see.it.all.the.time.when.sitting.in.a.computercar.cockpit. Worst.bug.is.when.coming.back.from.a.replay.and.having.it.either in.an.external.view.or.in.an.entirely.different.car.than.I.was when.pausing.the.game.(ie,.my.own.cockpit,.when.my.spacebar.was working)...AIE! Yes,.my.space.bar.is.not.working.at.the.moment...Please.pardon.my.dots, but.this.is.much.quicker.than.typing.ALT+32.between.every.word. -- http://members.cruzio.com/~keeper/toons.html - Contemporary WB cartoons info http://www.armory.com/~keeper/midi.html - My own MIDI music and arrangements

> 4) Unable to extend length of the Quickrace... Am I missing something > obvious... This is a MAJOR flaw. Quickrace means no qualifying -not > a three lap race. Try this web-site: http://www.sax.de/~sts/gp2-arch.html It has two very nice and important utilities.... Happy racing ;^) Marcus -- Marcus v. Scotti --- Imperial College --- Information Engineering http://www.ee.ic.ac.uk/research/information/www/scotti/scotti.html P.S.: What you see is what you paid for...

: >I don't know how many times I've screwed up in a chicane just cuz I : >glanced at the display to see the gaps. I would like to push a "button" : >and get the last "gap" info at my leisure -- like on a straight where : >the real boyz would do it. : Try pressing "G". Haven't noticed it in the manual but it used to work : in F1GP1 and works in my UK version of GP2. I thought I had tried this (since I remember it GP1), but it didn't seem to work, will check it out again. Maybe that's the difference in the American version! ;-) -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

said... There's some hack out somewhere that allows one to modify the length of the Quickrace. [snip] Yup, the only workaround is to go to Saturday qualifying, <ESC>, and Accelerate Time to get it overwith. That's no big deal, but it would've helped if the manual told us that we HAD to attend both qualifying sessions. Check the manual under***pit Controls/Warning Lights. [snip] I'm wondering if tire temps are even simulated in GP2. I can seem to corner just as fast on the first laps as on consequential laps, at least until my tires get some bad wear on them. Turn off steering help. Then you can control your drive in pit lane. You're right; blend lines would help. They have them in real F-1. Yeah, I miss the use of <F3>-<F9> that was implemented in ICR2. -- +------------------+--------------------------------------------+ | G. Warren Abao | Official BBL Jacksonville Jaguars Website: | +------------------++------------------------+------------------+ | SPOOOOOOOOOOON!!! | BBL Jacksonville 1-0 | IFL Chicago 11-7 | +-------------------+------------------------+------------------+

Hey Michael E. Carver ! You burnt somethin' into my screen ! By the "G" key you can get the gaps ! Hope that helps --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * * * * * * BYE and always a good connection * * * * * * * * * * * * wishes * * * * * * *** W O D A N *** --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ___________ Important : Please send all answers via CC (Email) back to me too, thanks ! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Just when you think you've got it rough... remember this poor fellow and the non-functional space bar! What a trooper! Mike.who.was.trying.to.figure.out.if.it.was.a.new.newsgroup. :-) :-)

: I'm wondering if tire temps are even simulated in GP2. I can seem to corner : just as fast on the first laps as on consequential laps, at least until my : tires get some bad wear on them. To a degree I think it is. You have to keep in mind that F1 teams "heat" the tire/tyres before they go on the car. I know that coming out of the pits my braking distance for the first corner (if close) is longer than the 2nd time around. And the car does tend to slip just a hair more through the first couple of turns. -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

: : Try pressing "G". Haven't noticed it in the manual but it used to work : : in F1GP1 and works in my UK version of GP2. : I thought I had tried this (since I remember it GP1), but it didn't seem : to work, will check it out again. Maybe that's the difference in the : American version! ;-) Well, I just thought I would report back and let everybody know that there IS a nut loose in the American version. The one behind the wheel! 8-) I must have missed the G key when I was trying it out before, cuz it sure works now. -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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>Well Mark the US version has exactly the same problems. No idea if >there are any other differences since I only have one version. It must >have something to do with the adverts displayed. A quick question for >you, are any cigarette adverts displayed in the game? The US version >does not have them. >The box is different, thats it. (or so it seems) >Yus

There is no tobacco sponsorship in the Euro version either so the cars look a little odd. Having said that, in real life tobacco sponsorship is removed at a lot of races due to advertising law. As a passing point does anybody know how ITV will get around their policy against tobacco advertising when they take over Formula 1 coverage in 97? Mark _________________________________ "..every lap I think `Oh bollocks! This is dreadful..`" Damon Hill __________________________________

That light indicates in multi-player mode when a driver change is coming up .. flashes amber and then red. GT Management Systems PO Box 222, Sackville, NS. Canada B4E 2S9

Hi,

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> > 4) Unable to extend length of the Quickrace... Am I missing something > > obvious... This is a MAJOR flaw. Quickrace means no qualifying -not > > a three lap race. > Try this web-site: > It has two very nice and important utilities....> > http://www.sax.de/~sts/gp2-arch.html

http://www.sax.de/~sts/_gp2.html for english version (Netscape 2.x) /_gp2-1.html (HTML2 Version) and http://www.sax.de/~sts/gp2.html for german version. /gp2-1.html (HTML2 Version) is better. StS --- One Stop Strategy Member: http://www.sax.de/~sts/gp2.html (Hotlaps, Car setups for all circuits, Utilities, Screenshots, links, ...)

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>: I'm wondering if tire temps are even simulated in GP2. I can seem to corner >: just as fast on the first laps as on consequential laps, at least until my >: tires get some bad wear on them. >To a degree I think it is. You have to keep in mind that F1 teams >"heat" the tire/tyres before they go on the car. I know that coming out >of the pits my braking distance for the first corner (if close) is >longer than the 2nd time around. And the car does tend to slip just a >hair more through the first couple of turns.

You're right, Mike. I noticed the same thing coming out of the pits in my most recent race. -- +------------------+--------------------------------------------+ | G. Warren Abao | Official BBL Jacksonville Jaguars Website: | +------------------++------------------------+------------------+ | SPOOOOOOOOOOON!!! | BBL Jacksonville 1-1 | IFL Chicago 11-7 | +-------------------+------------------------+------------------+

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>>Speaking of the warning lights... the fourth one never seems to come >>on. Instead, the third one seems to come on when the fourth one should >>(if I'm interpreting the manual properly). Anyone seen the fourth one >>(lowest/rightmost) light? Under what circumstance? >That light indicates in multi-player mode when a driver change is >coming up .. flashes amber and then red.

The rightmost warning light lights amber whenever there is a general pit message on the LCD. Only time I've seen it to light was when I had completed 11 laps in qualifying and there was a message reading about 'MUST COME IN NOW!'. I think the Driver Status Indicator shows the driver change in multiplayer mode (it does in F1GP). It is located between the four warning lights and the suggested gear indicator. Samppa -- See my homepage for Formula One Shadow Series: http://www.hut.fi/~tax/ "Kuorma-auto - Hy?dyksesi tiell?"

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>As a passing point does anybody know how ITV will get around their >policy against tobacco advertising when they take over Formula 1 >coverage in 97? >Mark >_________________________________ >"..every lap I think `Oh bollocks! >This is dreadful..`" Damon Hill >__________________________________

They will pretend its not there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you believe in the light, its because of obscurity If you believe in happiness, its because of unhappiness If you believe in God, its because of the Devil Father X - Exorcist, church of Notre Dame, Paris ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

>GP2 is an amazing game. Some much effort went into the game. Yet several >things were missed that are really annoying... >1) Qualifying stops at exactly the 15mins. F1 rules are that you can finish > your current lap. In my opinion this is the most annoying bug of all Nigel FEEL HONOURED, YOU HAVE JUST RECEIVED SOME E-MAIL FROM BIGVERN "NO BASTARD IS GONNA TAKE ME ALIVE"

> = > = > >GP2 is an amazing game. Some much effort went into the game. Yet sever= al > >things were missed that are really annoying... > = > >1) Qualifying stops at exactly the 15mins. F1 rules are that you can f= inish > > your current lap. > = > In my opinion this is the most annoying bug of all > = > Nigel You can change the length of a qualifing session, but yes, when the time is up the time is up. It's not a bug, it's the way it's programmed. I agree it should have been as in real F1. But have you seen (not read :-)) all the Nascar 2 bug/problems-postings? I haven't seen this many bug-reports on GP2, and I've been here since the release (mm...maybe a week or so later). A lot of questions, yes ther= e were, but not that many bugs. Ren=E9. -- = *************************************************************** * If you decide not to choose, you still have made a choice. * * http://www1.tip.nl/users/t752096/ * * Windows :-( .....brings you yesterdays speed today * * .....the choice of a brainwashed generation * ***************************************************************

But have you seen (not read :-)) all the Nascar 2 bug/problems-postings? I haven't seen this many bug-reports on GP2, and I've been here since the release (mm...maybe a week or so later). A lot of questions, yes ther= e were, but not that many bugs. Atleast N2 was realesed within 6 months of due date, unlike GP2. Geoff Cammond is a lazy idiot. Real racing has fenders. Almost all NASCAR races are anyones race all the way to the finish, unlike F1 were there are huge gaps between cars. Just my $0.02 Alex "YoungGun"

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> But have you seen (not read :-)) all the Nascar 2 bug/problems-postings? > I haven't seen this many bug-reports on GP2, and I've been here since > the release (mm...maybe a week or so later). A lot of questions, yes > ther= > e > were, but not that many bugs. > Atleast N2 was realesed within 6 months of due date, unlike GP2. Geoff > Cammond is a lazy idiot. Real racing has fenders. Almost all NASCAR races > are anyones race all the way to the finish, unlike F1 were there are huge > gaps between cars. > Just my $0.02 > Alex > "YoungGun"

And NASCAR 2 features cars from the most current season, unlike GP2 which is an "old" game from a season three years ago. And, NASCAR 2 has the paint shop so you can keep your cars current, as well as a realistic dash, unlike that cartoony GP2 dash.

We can now do all this with GP2 with the help of some dedicated programmers. We now can have the latest cars, scanned in***pits and we can also change all the graphics ourselfs!! -- Simon

| Atleast N2 was realesed within 6 months of due date, unlike GP2. Geoff | Cammond is a lazy idiot. Real racing has fenders. Almost all NASCAR races | are anyones race all the way to the finish, unlike F1 were there are huge | gaps between cars. | Just my $0.02 Jesus, your not helping the ever-precious NASCAR image with talk like that. That is adorable... "Real racing has fenders." Why do you want to go there? Ah.. it is hard to resist, but I think I will...

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> >And NASCAR 2 features cars from the most current season, unlike GP2 > >which is an "old" game from a season three years ago. And, NASCAR 2 has > >the paint shop so you can keep your cars current, as well as a realistic > >dash, unlike that cartoony GP2 dash. > We can now do all this with GP2 with the help of some dedicated > programmers. We now can have the latest cars, scanned in***pits and we > can also change all the graphics ourselfs!! > -- > Simon >The other nice thing in GP2 is you can

save the game so say you have a life and have to go out to dinner/movie you can save the race and come back to it. Boy that would be a neat option in N2 wouldn't it. PP

Guess I'll just jump on the 'Waistin'-Bandwidth' wagon myself, but before you flame back, I just want to mention that I love both sims....I'm just havin' some fun. :) Here are some notable differences between N2 and GP2: In N2, when you tap the wall you get a *** dent. In GP2, you get wiplash. In N2, there isn't any air. In GP2, you get air...and air...and air... In GP2, you've got one hell of a data bank. In N2, they hand you a clipboard. In GP2, you always know who turned the fastest lap. In N2, you'll need NO2 just to get on the pole. In N2, you use the 'P' key to go take a pee. In GP2, if you have time to hit the space bar, you've already wet yourself. In N2, the spotter will tell you when to pit. In GP2, the radio is busted, but they've installed a neat flashlight on the dash. In GP2, you get stereo. In N2, you'll need a stereo. In GP2, there's alway a wreck, but you're never around to see it. In N2, you're the wreck. In N2, when you want to leave the pits, just hit the digital-wheel spin button. In GP2, let-up off the gas and wait for the OCC% to drop a bit. In N2, when you break, you're done for the day. In GP2, you do an 8-second pit stop. In N2, it's double-wide racing and single file restarts. In GP2, it's a parade. and finally... In N2, when it's time to race your buddy(s) across town(country), just dial him(them) up. In GP2, make sure you've got a hot system, a VERY large monitor, have a complete list of modem strings, make sure your UART/CART/FART is in order, and that your friend is in the same room (preferably with his own system). Happy racing!! :) Best Regards, Marc J. Nelson Sim Racing News

Cammond is a lazy idiot. Real racing has fenders. ?? Fenders, Whats all this talk about Guitars ?? Mines a Strat.