Hi, I'm posting this to allow people who dont have www access to read
this, here it goes (straight from their pages)
Sorry if the text didnt come right, i dont want to spend all night
making it look right. Enjoy
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F1
Introduction
Heres a little extra info about Starting Grid.
Weve been getting a lot of mail ever since the
news
got about through various different Newsgroups,
and
I want first of all to answer the questions that
come
up most often :
* Yes, Starting Grid is due to be released in
October.
The exact date will depend on our publishers,
whose
name will be made public very soon. We know that a
lot of you are very disappointed when premature
announcements of new game software are made,
which declare that such and such a game is ready
for
release. As game players ourselves, we know how
frustrating it is, and thats why we wanted to
wait
until nearer the actual release date before giving
out
more details. Were not inviting journalists to
see
previews of the game, or sending out
press-releases
until the end of August for the same reason. We
ask
you to be patient, and assure you that this is out
of
respect for our customers.
* We do indeed plan to market the game throughout
the whole world.
* The team which designed the software is made up
of a dozen people, whove been working on the game
for about two years in order to perfect the 3D
engine,
the models, sound effects, music and game-play.
* Starting Grid is totally oriented around
simulation
(and let me tell you that the folks from Canal +
dont
give us a moments rest on that particular front
!)
Even though any player can quickly master the
necessary driving skills - thanks partly to the
various
driving assistance options - we hope that sim fans
will
appreciate the dynamic 3D engine.
* Well be putting out more info on Starting Grid
on
this website sometime end-August, so stay tuned.
* A lot of you out there request video extracts
from
the game. Were talking really BIG files here !
But
the customer is aways right , so weve prepared
some
Mpeg videos for you. Youll need a sotware player,
or a video card in order to read them, and above
all a
lot of patience to download them. Dont expect a
fancy montage - were not specialists in video
montage.
* Thanks a whole lot for your comments,
warm-hearted support (very important to us as we
enter the final phase of the project) and for your
suggestions. We take them into consideration . . .
If youre interested, you can check out the
newsgroup rec.autos.simulator. Theyre a really
nice
crowd, and Nicolas has a FAQ list there.
THE RACE : Simulation
The main objective of this software game is to
re-create, in your own home, the conditions of a
Formula One race. All the ingredients of a good
simulation are included, so that the player gets
to
experience all of the thrills of a Formula One
season.
All that goes to make this sport one of the most
popular and spectacular of our time has been
written
into the game. F1 fans will rediscover their
favourite
cars and racetracks, as well as the same
sensations as
if they were driving on the circuit themselves,
since
the team at VISIWARE worked particularly hard on
the simulation aspect.
The various modes of play
The player can choose from a number of different
ways of playing the game, such as :
Solo games
? Free trial ? mode
? Out of season race ? mode
? World Championship ? mode
? Pre-defined championship ? mode
This is a way of playing the game which will allow
all
the players to participate in a Championship
organized by an outside body (Canal+ for example).
The organizer can determine the game conditions,
which would be identical for all the participants.
The
originality of such a system lies in the fact that
it uses
a cryptic code (easily transmitted by telephone,
Minitel, Internet or through other means that
might
be set up). The participants have to enter this
code
before each game. The program recognizes the code,
and automatically enters the games parameters, as
the organizer intends it to be played. At the end
of
the race, the computer generates a new code, which
relates to all the (encoded) data pertaining to
the
players performance. The player is subsequently
invited to communicate this code, by telephone,
Internet or other means. The organizers would be
able to set up different kinds of competition.
? Free Championship ? mode
The principle is the same as the one behind ?
Pre-defined Championship ?, but the difference
lies
in the conditions in which the game is played. In
the
? Free Championship ? mode, only a few conditions
are determined by the organizer - the racetrack,
the
weather conditions and the duration of the race.
The
player has total freedom over his choice of car,
the
various mechanical settings, the level of
difficulty,
the kind of driving assistance he may want to use,
etc.
? Historic Grand Prix ? mode
What makes Starting Grid different, is the
capacity
to integrate data which enables a play-mode that
recreates those Grands Prix that have changed the
course of motor sport history. Surprise . . . .
Multi-player games
More than one player can compete simultaneously in
the same race. Different kinds of connection have
been planned for, and written into the program
The ? Null-Modem ? : two players can compete
with each other during the same race, under
conditions determined by one of them, the two
machines being linked by a cable.
The ? Modem ? : identical to the ? Null-Modem ?
but the link is provided in this case by modems.
The local server : More info in August . . .
The distant server : More info in August . . .
The cars behaviour - settings and handling :
A good F1 simulation program must respect at least
two fundamental rules : the realistic way in which
the cars settings are defined by the player, but
also
the way in which the computer controls the other
cars competing in the race.
A realistic definition of the players car
settings :
A F1 car is an extremely complex vehicle, that is
subject to many different laws of physics. A whole
range of parameters go to modify, with various
degrees of sensitivity, the way in which the car
behaves in real-time, such as the type and surface
of
the tyres, the spoiler settings, the quantity of
fuel in
the tanks, the brake settings, the choice of
cogwheels
in the gearbox.
All of the above parameters influence the driving
sensations experienced by the player, as much in
the
way the car holds the road, as the level of
acceleration and braking response.
A special way of setting the competitors cars :
In order to recreate the spirit of a real race
on-screen, the cars controlled by the computer
need
to respond ? intelligently ?. For each different
situation in the race, they imitate the behaviour
of
cars being driven by other F1 drivers, thanks to
specific software routines.
Car settings :
Before starting the race, the player has the
possibility
of modifying the cars
...
read more »
I salute Visiware's outstanding public relations and customer support
insofar as they keep people informed, listen to requests and comments,
and seem a lot more interested in the consumer than some other software
companies who have recently released F1 simulators. Good stuff, guys,
I'm looking forward to checking out your sim.
BUT, check this out -
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Obviously haven't read r.a.s. that recently, then! Mind you, I suppose
the crowd bit is accurate enough, i.e. crowd rampages through city,
crowd causes havoc, crowd attacks police etc.
***********************************************************************
* Paul L. Finnemore - Apprentice Veterinarian *
* Investigate the F-Files - http://www.paulfinn.demon.co.uk *
* 'You've really got to know where your towel is' - Ford Prefect *
***********************************************************************
