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Rec.Autos.Simulators Archive

F1RS: How is it?

9 posts by 6 people · 16 Feb 1998 - 23 Feb 1998

holysmok.. 16 Feb 1998#396632
To anyone that has F1RS (commercial release), (strange, Ubisoft's F1RS page mentions a March/98 release). Is the U.S. version is on the shelves? I tried the French demo a while back. Using a light-weight joystick (CH-Flightstick), the car was twitchy and kinda tough to drive. Seemed like the joystick setting was about 3x too sensitive. Is this adjustable in the commercial release? Are the A/I cars "smart"? Do they compare well with GP2's A/I cars? Couple more questions about this one, I couldn't seem to tell from the demo. Are ('96) F1 rules in place (all flags, pit-penalties, tire-choice, etc.)? Can you draft another car? The pit-stops seem automated. Has this changed, or are they pre-planned before the race. In the demo, nothing could be accessed in the pits(?). Running the demo, I had to be careful not to let the front-end plow. Either it was the car or the over-sensitive steering. Can you turn clouds "off"? They seem to be moving about 400mph..<g>. The demo car seems to "stick like glue", flooring it from a dead stop (tires should be spinning like mad). Had this changed in the commercial release? The motor/gears sound kinda weird too. Hope that was tuned-up a bit. This "seems" to be a nice racing-sim, but the demo is so limited. Is the final release polished-up quite a bit from the demo? The demo I have seems to have been made in August/97. Hmm! Perhaps there is a new (English) demo? Anyone know where? Thanks, Teehole.
Rob 16 Feb 1998#396633
says... Some claim that it is, but according to Ubisoft it will not be here until the middle of March. Everything is adjustable and the release version is to the demo as the demo is to all other racing games. To me the release version is so much better than the demo. This sim has the best AI ever used in a game, PERIOD. Not just a racing sim. The only complaint against the AI could be that it is too careful to avoid you, but to me it is very realistic and very enjoyable for a change. Yes. Well, as much as you can in F1. F1 is not very conducive to drafting because of the nature of the courses - very few long straights. You can bring up the tire/fuel window in the game, but everything else is automated. It is very customizable and I found it to be much more controllable in the actual game. The big problem with the demo is that several of the "cheats" are turned on, which causes some handling problems. Hmm. Not sure on this one. Although the cloud movement is dependant on the weather. If there is a strong wind, then the clouds will be moving fast, but I have seen everything from clear skies, to fog, to drizzle down to full blown, hard-driving rain. That is because of all the "cheats" (otherwise known as driving aids) are turned on in the demo. Much different feel. To me, there is no other sim that captures the *FEELING* of being in a race car better than F1RS. My suggestion is to call 1-800-UBISOFT and order it right away - you won't be sorry. (BTW, download the 1.05 patch if you do get the game) -- Rob
Greg Cisko 16 Feb 1998#396634
>> Can you draft another car? >Well, as much as you can in F1. F1 is not very conducive to drafting >because of the nature of the courses - very few long straights. Agreed. I can tell when I am in another cars draft. But as you say, there may be little you can do about it, as is the nature of F1 :-) Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.
David Schi 17 Feb 1998#396755
Quoted text (7 lines)>says... >> Can you turn clouds "off"? They seem to be moving about 400mph..<g>. >Hmm. Not sure on this one. Although the cloud movement is dependant on >the weather. If there is a strong wind, then the clouds will be moving >fast, but I have seen everything from clear skies, to fog, to drizzle >down to full blown, hard-driving rain.
I don't think that the fast moving clouds can be disabled. That is one of the few graphical flaws that F1RS has IMO. Seems like they carried this over from the POD arcade sur-realistic environment. Sort of like: "Hey look... we have clouds, lets make them move really fast so everyone will notice them". However, I must say that when I'm moving about 300 kph, I have only a very few moments to glance at the clouds and it is still is better than not having any at all. Also, the hazy conditions lessen the visibllity of the clouds.
holysmok.. 18 Feb 1998#396849
Rob, Thanks much for an in-depth reply to all those questions I asked about F1RS. The demo I tried was kinda strange (as most demos are). Okay, now to dig up some cash! <g> Teehole
holysmok.. 18 Feb 1998#396850
---- Funny reply about them clouds..(hehe!). Oh well it seems all games with 3dfx-accled clouds "haul-ass"...<g>. Not really an issue though when trying to the same thing while racing! Teehole ----
Dave Bowers 18 Feb 1998#396851
I recommend you turn the sky off. That way it runs _much_ faster and you don't have any fast moving clouds, and the horizon graphics are still present. -- Dave Bowers
>Much different feel. To me, there is no other sim that captures the >*FEELING* of being in a race car better than F1RS. Except that its a little too easy to drive. Randy
David Schi 23 Feb 1998#397385
On Wed, 18 Feb 1998 11:33:04 +0000, Dave Bowers >>Also, >>the hazy conditions lessen the visibllity of the clouds. >I recommend you turn the sky off. That way it runs _much_ faster and you >don't have any fast moving clouds, and the horizon graphics are still >present. Thanks for the recommendation, but why would I want it to run faster? Its already glass smooth on a PPro200 with 3dfx. I think you must of misunderstood my post which was probably due to my lack of clarity in explaining that (for me) the fast moving clouds were more tolerable when haze was present and was something that I'd rather have than not. Howver, someone else asked how to turn off the sky, which I didn't know and you didn't mention how to either. As an aside, the atmosphere present in F1RS is one of the best game improvements for me over previous racing sims. Even if its not perfect. The visibility affected by haze is an important variable in driving and affects reaction times. It would be even more to my liking if the next racing sim included the heat haze that you see when looking down a track on a hot day. Kind of ironic, but with the availability of faster 3d hardware and greater graphical detail, the trend to visual realism is away from the infinite visibility and cartoon clarity that previously was the norm. DS

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