GPL: sense of speed /realism

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> Yes, I agree, and I can take that corner correctly if I pay attention, but > that's not the problem IMHO. When I reach that corner, I slow down a bit and > I feel like I am doing an honest 10 mph. So I am quite surprised when > sometimes I spin and the car has enough kinectic energy to spin 4 times in > the grass and/or fly over a barrier. I think " I cannot have been going that > fast !". This just reinforces what my problem is, I must have been going > faster than I thought I was... Given that I have experienced 140+ speeds for > real on a track, I think the problem lies not with me but with that otherwise > superb sim, not conveying the sense of speed accurately at slow to mid range > speeds. I watched Prand Prix again yesterday night, and those cars appear to > slide just like in the game, but the in-car shots make them look a lot faster > ! > Ok, myabe I am generalizing, top speed impression is not so bad, but I think > there's something wrong with lower/mid speed perception, definitely. At the > risk of being flamed for comparing, I immediately after tried F1Rs which has > been also criticized for not conveying a sense of speed (not by me though) > and I crashed the car just trying to adapt to the speed of that thing !!! ;-) > Dunno, maybe road textures / scenery / whatever could be improved to help ?

Not sure how relevant this is but.... You know when you have been on an expressway at 80mph+ for extended periods and you slow to go through those occasional towns and get booked for speeding because you thought you were going slow but......... :)))

> I agree on that "last corner" speed judgement. Driving in automatic-trans > mode, the game only shifts down to 3rd gear. Obviously I must be going at a > considerable speed to take the corner in 3rd gear, but it sure feels like > I'm crawling through it just before I spin! There's at least half your problem. Use manual gears and come in in 2nd. The revs will give you a better idea of speed. Auto gears, you kiddin' me? :)

Byron, LOL......I totally agree. I can't get halfway around the circuit in auto without taking a walk through the meadow. I think this one will be a bust for the auto-*** folks. Using manual shifting is the only way to get around with this one. As far as the sense of speed goes, I don't have much problem with it myself. It does seem that the final turn seems a little slow, but not as bad as some are saying. This is my humble opinion(Still trying to get under 1:10 myself...:-))...... -- Regards, Ed Medlin www.edmedlin.netminds.com Columnist, Software Critics Unlimited www.softwarecritic.com

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> LOL......I totally agree. I can't get halfway around the circuit in >auto<BR> >without taking a walk through the meadow. I think this one will be a bust<BR> >for the auto-*** folks. Using manual shifting is the only way to get<BR> >around with this one. As far as the sense of speed goes, I don't have >much<BR> >problem with it myself. It does seem that the final turn seems a little<BR> >slow, but not as bad as some are saying. This is my humble opinion(Still<BR> >trying to get under 1:10 myself...:-))......<BR> ><BR> >--<BR> >Regards, Ed Medlin<BR> >www.edmedlin.netminds.com<BR> >Columnist, Software Critics Unlimited<BR> >www.softwarecritic.com<BR> >> There's at least half your problem. Use manual gears and come in in<BR> >>2nd. The revs will give you a better idea of speed. Auto gears, you<BR> >>kiddin' me? :)<BR> ><BR> ><BR> ></HTML>

GPL is the first sim I've driven that I knew I had to manually shift as soon as I hit the track. These engines are so peaky, they remind me of my old Kawasaki 500 Triple, it wouldn't begin to make power until about 5500 RPM! You HAVE to manually shift to keep the engine up in the rather limited power band. Charlie Mak be damned...this is a great sim, and I can't wait until we can begin to play with the setups. There's going to be a run on Carroll Smiths books on car setup! Don