BGN-First Impressions

Hi All, Just wanted to add a few of my opinions. First, I think all the tracks are great. When I first loaded the pack, I like probably most took a few minutes to run just a few laps at each track. I can tell that some of the tracks are gonna require a lot of tikering to get the right setup, Texas is one that comes to mind, while with others, the Ace setup isn't far off, at least for me. The only track I raced more than a few laps at was Hickory. I really like it but found a slight problem and I hope others will comment. It seems that, with the problem that the AI cars have at dealing with and passing lap cars, Hickory (and probably a lot more of the shorter tracks) is an easy win if you just stay out of trouble. I think I for one will have to up the RELS settings to make the AI cars more competitive. I ran 75 laps and took the default rear position for skipping qualifying and by lap 25, I was passing the leader. By lap 50, I had put every car a lap down. And this was with just the Ace setup. I noticed that Mark Martin had the fastest lap other than me but it was a full 4 mph below the track record. Also, with some of the tracks only allowing 30 or less drivers, has anyone who has raised the number of cars seen a problem with pit space? Hope to hear from you folks and HAPPY RACING!! -Roger Johnson

Just wondering if you still had the AI cars set to 97%...........the install(of the track pack) resets this! -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Doug Maer N2 RULES!!!! "Somebody's gonna wreck, let it be the other guy!" See ya in the pits!!!!

Something is wrong here. The AI is actually pretty fast here (at Hickory) - turning laps near to the qualifying record of 90 mph. I can run consistent 87s to 88s which allows me to stay in the hunt - but certainly not to pass the leaders. And this is with a lot of work at this track - which I find to be a blast. The car does get very loose after 130 laps or so. Softer tires is the answer here for better corner speed - just like at Richmond. I do have two complains - however. First, the AI cars do get caught up behind lap cars from time to time. I followed the #44 car for 25 laps trying to make a pass on a slow car and thereby blocking the track. I finally bumped him out of the way and got going - cause the leader was coming fast. Second, there are no &%^#$ cautions at this track. I have now raced 2 100% races here and have yet to see a caution. I am beat at the end of a 300 lap run without a break ! That's 600 laps without a single caution - at a short track ?? /TomH

Thanks, but I noticed that right after I went and raised the RELS and loaded N2. I didn't even bother to try the new RELS setting when I saw that I was running against 97% Opps. hehe Didn't want to embarrass myself any further. :) -Roger Johnson

On Mon, 27 Oct 1997 21:02:31 GMT, in rec.autos.simulators Doug Broda

Quoted text (11 lines)

>>Sierra says Hickory should have no more than 27 cars...I went up to 30 and >>no problems. I went all the way to 40 cars and they are bunched in like >>sardines. The funny thing is there is alot of room left over at the end of >>pit lane for the cars to spread out. I imagine the pit stall numbers in the >>track text file could be changed to allow the cars to spread out to make 39 >>possible. >Yup... but Hickory doesn't have a full 39 car field in real life. I >don't remember the exact #s, but I think the field at Hickory and >South Boston was like 30-32 cars. Nashville, OTOH, does have a full >field plus -- over 40 cars -- in real life.

The criteria we use for setting the field sizes in the track.txt files is the largest field size that allows the user to exit his/her pit stall with no wheelspin. Again, this is a function of the lowest common denominator -- not everyone has a T2 and not everyone can control the car during a burnout off of pit road. It was mentioned in the earlier post that Hickory's pit road had cars bunched in some areas and spaced out in others. The reason for this is that the cars are not only pitted on the straight, but also on the radius of the turn. We have found that the AI stalls get spaced differently on the turns than they do on the stretches. In keeping with letting the user out of the pit stall without ramming the car ahead, we had to favor the turn-radius pit spacing requirements and live with the larger spread on the straights. This is one of those situations where ultimate realism must be sacrificed for playability. -- Papyrus Design Group, Inc. My opinion, not Papyrus' or Sierra's.

Tony... Understand. But will changing the car field to a higher number have any effect on the AI cars pitting and screwing up the pitting sequence? Once again take Hickory, 31 cars is what is run there in real life (add 1 for the pace car), if this is added to the track.txt file would this cause problems for the AI cars? I can get out just fine, just don't know how the others will do. Thanks Eric

The field size does not determine the AI pitting sequence. -- Papyrus Design Group, Inc. My opinion, not Papyrus' or Sierra's.

<HTML> &nbsp; <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <P>The criteria we use for setting the field sizes in the track.txt files <BR>is the largest field size that allows the user to exit his/her pit <BR>stall with no wheelspin.</BLOCKQUOTE> How exactly do you get out without spinning the wheels like a maniac?&nbsp; When I'm leaving the pit I punch the throttle which is what it looks like the guys on TV are doing, but then I have to deal with the spinning wheels. If I ease into the throttle, I move into pit road like a granny. Is it just a matter of learning to get control over the spinning, sliding car or is it something too subtle for my barbaric mind? <P>-- <BR>----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR>|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; | <BR>----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR>|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; | <BR>----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR>If you'd like to find out what's behind these cold eyes, you'll just have to claw your way through the disguise. <P>Jeff George <BR><A HREF="[link lost in import: /~j.george/southpaw.html]">[link lost in import: /~j.george/southpaw.html]</A> <P>The tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the *** of patriots and tyrants. <P>There's no teacher who can teach anything new. He can just help us to remember the things we always knew. <P>All alone or in twos, the ones who really love you walk up and down outside the wall. <BR>----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR>|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; | <BR>----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR>|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; | <BR>----------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR>&nbsp;</HTML>