GPL: VROC Goes Live!

The new Virtual Racers' Online Connection, a Web-based facility for finding other GPL online racers, is now operational! This new facility is targeted at GPL racers who would like to find other racers via the Internet, and join them in online races. VROC supports hosting and joining GPL races, automatically launching GPL when you choose to host or join. VROC also incorporates a chat mechanism which you can use to discuss possible race venues or whatever you wish outside of GPL, thus eliminating the need for third party chat facilities. VROC has performed successfully in an open beta test. GPL races hosted via cable modem have successfully supported as many as 18 human players. GPL makes it easy to "advertise" races you host to other racers, and easy for other people to join your race. Over the last two weeks, the beta team has launched and participated in many races hosted through VROC. While we do plan many enhancements, including automatic scren refreshes and Microsoft Internet Explorer support, VROC is simply too useful already to keep it under our hats any longer. See the new VROC in operation at: http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc/ Be sure you note the prerequisites and follow the instructions carefully. See you at the track! Alison

Alison, I am so happy that you got VROC up and running so soon!! I have been following your posts and have been anticipating being able to go to one place to find other GPL racers. However, I can't believe you can only use Netscape 4.x and not Internet Explorer?!!!! Please please please tell me you will have an update in the next week to allow the rest of us to join in the fun? Chris

% Alison, % I am so happy that you got VROC up and running so soon!! I have been % following your posts and have been anticipating being able to go to one % place to find other GPL racers. However, I can't believe you can only use % Netscape 4.x and not Internet Explorer?!!!! Please please please tell me % you will have an update in the next week to allow the rest of us to join in % the fun? Turn about is fair play! They are only doing this to get back at Microsoft for only allowing IE for The Zone (and thus CPR)! <G> Actually if you check out their site and read the information, the development of VROC was limited to Netscape in order to finish and test the product in a timely manner. And if you read Alison's post, they are working on IE support. Look at it as another GPL feature (only runs on 3DFX or Rendition and Netscape, all other video cards and browsers be damned <G>). -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

They are planning on adding IE support soon, but if you want to join the fun, all you have to do is download Netscape. How hard is that? Ed Benson

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>Alison, > I am so happy that you got VROC up and running so soon!! I have been >following your posts and have been anticipating being able to go to one >place to find other GPL racers. However, I can't believe you can only use >Netscape 4.x and not Internet Explorer?!!!! Please please please tell me >you will have an update in the next week to allow the rest of us to join in >the fun? >Chris

VROC's "Opening Night" was a great success, with dozens of racers in the chat room and a number of hosts with high speed connections. At one point we had five or six races available, all on high speed digital connections (cable modems or ISDN Router), many with 10 or more players. One host was on a T1 line and had 20 racers in his practice session! With that many users, we did uncover some issues, and we will be working hard over the next few days to resolve these. I have a long list of bug fixes and enhancements, but right now I see as my top priority adding the ability for a host to limit the number of racers who can join the host's session. We had a lot of disconnects last night as too many people tried to join for the available bandwidth. Here are some rules of thumb for the maxiumum number of players in a GPL session. If the host is on a: P2-400 on a T1: up to 20 players. Cable modems, ISDN routers and ADSL: 8 to 12 players, depending on the speed of the host's CPU. Faster CPU allows more players. ISDN through a serial port: up to 6 or 8, depending on the speed of the host's CPU and its DUN and FIFO buffer settings. 28.8/33.6/56k connections: 2 or 3 players at GPL's default bandwidth, or 4 or 5 if everyone uses the 84-3 core.ini on my Web site. Until we implement a way for the host to limit the number of racers, I request that people self-limit. If you see there are more than the above numbers in a race, or if you keep getting booted from a race that already has a number of players in it, please don't keep attempting to join. Instead, look for another race, or host your own. Also, if you are hosting, you could put the maximum number of players you can handle in the Comment field. Something like this: MaxPlyrs: 12 Whenever you run VROC Setup, remember to select your connection type again, as currently VROC Setup does not remember this. Thanks! The other major issue we encountered last night was a large number of people who could not get the status on races being hosted, and therefore did not get a [Join] button. The reasons were three: 1. The user had not enabled cookies in Netscape. 2. The user had not performed VROC Setup and set the path to their GPL folder properly. 3. The user had not downloaded the VROC software, gping.exe, and placed it in their GPL folder. All of these items, except #1, are mentioned on VROC's main page, and also in the installation notes. I will be adding #1 to the main page and installation notes today. Please, please read the instructions and follow them! We plan to add more error checking to help catch oversights like this, but until we do, you really need to RTFM! :-) Thanks! Alison

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>The new Virtual Racers' Online Connection, a Web-based facility for >finding other GPL online racers, is now operational! >This new facility is targeted at GPL racers who would like to find other >racers via the Internet, and join them in online races. >VROC supports hosting and joining GPL races, automatically launching GPL >when you choose to host or join. VROC also incorporates a chat mechanism >which you can use to discuss possible race venues or whatever you wish >outside of GPL, thus eliminating the need for third party chat >facilities. >VROC has performed successfully in an open beta test. GPL races hosted >via cable modem have successfully supported as many as 18 human players. >GPL makes it easy to "advertise" races you host to other racers, and >easy for other people to join your race. Over the last two weeks, the >beta team has launched and participated in many races hosted through >VROC. >While we do plan many enhancements, including automatic scren refreshes >and Microsoft Internet Explorer support, VROC is simply too useful >already to keep it under our hats any longer. >See the new VROC in operation at: > http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc/ >Be sure you note the prerequisites and follow the instructions >carefully. >See you at the track! >Alison

Alison Remove the spam blocker NOSPAM to email me. http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~alison

On Sat, 17 Oct 1998 13:01:16 GMT, "Michael E. Carver"

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>% Alison, >% I am so happy that you got VROC up and running so soon!! I have been >% following your posts and have been anticipating being able to go to one >% place to find other GPL racers. However, I can't believe you can only use >% Netscape 4.x and not Internet Explorer?!!!! Please please please tell me >% you will have an update in the next week to allow the rest of us to join in >% the fun? >Turn about is fair play! They are only doing this to get back at >Microsoft for only allowing IE for The Zone (and thus CPR)! <G>

LOL! Thanks for pointing this out, Michael. We do plan on IE support, but I can't promise when. VROC's "opening night" last night was extremely successful, with dozens of racers and a number of hosts with high speed connections. At one point we had five or six races available, all on high speed digital connections, many with 10 or more players. One host was on a T1 line and had 20 racers in his practice session. With that many users, we did uncover some issues*, and we will be working hard over the next few days to resolve these. And thanks for the race, Michael! (For those of you who weren't there, we had a superb duel at Monza, in which I slightly overcooked it going inside at Parabolica going for the lead, but I was later able to catch Michael when he, too made a mistake.) Alison *Issues: See a seperate posting for details on issues we encountered last night and how you can work around them till we resolve them. Alison Remove the spam blocker NOSPAM to email me. http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~alison

Good point, Ed! Netscape is free, download size is about 9 mb for Navigator, and it coexists nicely with MS-IE on the same machine. Alison

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>They are planning on adding IE support soon, but if you want to join the >fun, all you have to do is download Netscape. How hard is that? >Ed Benson >>Alison, >> I am so happy that you got VROC up and running so soon!! I have been >>following your posts and have been anticipating being able to go to one >>place to find other GPL racers. However, I can't believe you can only use >>Netscape 4.x and not Internet Explorer?!!!! Please please please tell me >>you will have an update in the next week to allow the rest of us to join in >>the fun?

Alison Remove the spam blocker NOSPAM to email me. http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~alison

>% Alison, >% I am so happy that you got VROC up and running so soon!! I have been >% following your posts and have been anticipating being able to go to one >% place to find other GPL racers. However, I can't believe you can only use >% Netscape 4.x and not Internet Explorer?!!!! Please please please tell me >% you will have an update in the next week to allow the rest of us to join in >% the fun? >Turn about is fair play! They are only doing this to get back at >Microsoft for only allowing IE for The Zone (and thus CPR)! <G> hehe - I thought about that also. Remember when I used Netscape and had to get IE just for the Zone. Of course now I use IE and have to get Netscape, at least I had a CD laying around with it. At least it's a lot easier (and cheaper) to get the browser than getting a new video card. <g> Ken

> VROC's "Opening Night" was a great success, with dozens of racers in the > chat room and a number of hosts with high speed connections. At one > point we had five or six races available, all on high speed digital > connections (cable modems or ISDN Router), many with 10 or more players. > One host was on a T1 line and had 20 racers in his practice session! This morning 6 of 9 host spots are occupied in the java applet (Western Hemisphere). What happens when there are more than 9? Devon

% And thanks for the race, Michael! (For those of you who weren't there, % we had a superb duel at Monza, in which I slightly overcooked it going % inside at Parabolica going for the lead, but I was later able to catch % Michael when he, too made a mistake.) You are being too kind... Once I gathered it back in and realized who had gotten by, I started pushing (was 13-14 seconds back), and was trying to gain (which I did for a few laps), but then realized that there wasn't enough time to catch her (besides, I think she knew I was slowly closing in and just went faster). I decided finishing 2nd was better than going off course again and tried to maintain the distance. I had some great races on VROC yesterday. While I am certainly not the fastest (nor consitent driver) out there, overall everyone behaved very well. Just a few things to remember when you are racing online via VROC. Most of the people you will be racing against are completely unknowns when it comes to their driving skills and techniques. Keep this in mind. If you are fast and quick, don't expect someone slower than you to "suddenly" move out of the way when you come up on them (especially during practice). The reason they are slow is because they aren't that confident in their control or the track. It may take them a moment or two before they find a spot where they feel safe enough to let you through. If you are slower than the others, don't try to race them when they are coming up behind you. Look for a spot where you can safely move off line (patience grasshopper, your time will come and you will want the same from those slow drivers). Don't expect us lowly humans to drive like the AI. Some of us brake earlier and slower, and some seem to be able to brake even later and faster. Take some time before you make your move to pass or outbrake. Again be patient, we may be concetrating so hard, not trying to wreck in front of you, that we won't be aware of your presence right away. Once the overtaker (or passer) is confident that the car ahead is aware of them and has some feel for their driving abilities, then make your move. One last thing, I know it's oh so tempting (I've succumbed on a numerous occasions), but DON'T driver over your head! Save the balls-to-the-walls driving for league or offline stuff. Besides your arms will get pretty tired driving over your head. <G> But most of all, ENJOY! Realize that there is a big mix out there (and most of us are RAW ROOKIES). So just take the lumps (you should be wearing a helmet you know) as they come. So far I haven't run into a situation where anyone was deliberately trying to take anyone out, though a few were driving over their heads and making a mess of it, everyone was doing their best. And that's why I've enjoyed everyone of the races, even those that put me on my head on the starting grid. -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

There are two rooms. When the first fills up you can go to the second room. There should be a link to the second room right underneath the link to the primary room. I think there is a bug and only 7 servers are shown at a time even though there are nine slots. Thanks, John

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>> VROC's "Opening Night" was a great success, with dozens of racers in the >> chat room and a number of hosts with high speed connections. At one >> point we had five or six races available, all on high speed digital >> connections (cable modems or ISDN Router), many with 10 or more players. >> One host was on a T1 line and had 20 racers in his practice session! >This morning 6 of 9 host spots are occupied in the java applet (Western >Hemisphere). What happens when there are more than 9? >Devon

This might be a perfect use for the the ol hand gesture. If you want to let the guy behind you know that he has been seen by you, wave your arm. Now since I haven't done the gpl except in the demo, does anyone know if you can see your opponents arms when they wave??? :) dave henrie

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>If you are slower than the others, don't try to race them when they are >coming up behind you. Look for a spot where you can safely move off >line (patience grasshopper, your time will come and you will want the >same from those slow drivers). >Don't expect us lowly humans to drive like the AI. Some of us brake >earlier and slower, and some seem to be able to brake even later and >faster. Take some time before you make your move to pass or outbrake. >Again be patient, we may be concetrating so hard, not trying to wreck in >front of you, that we won't be aware of your presence right away. Once >the overtaker (or passer) is confident that the car ahead is aware of >them and has some feel for their driving abilities, then make your move.

- >**************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* > Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Chris I just want you to have realistic expectations. As far as I know (I work the Perl, Alison does the Java) we have not started any work on the IE version. The reason for this is we are still trying to get the Netscape to a stable and usable version. What I mean by stable is not froma crashing standpoint but from a features standpoint. There are a number of big changes that will make VROC a ton better than it is already. We do not want to be developing for two browsers until we have stability in terms of features. We are wroking as fast as possible and will try to start working on the IE version soon. We will announce on The APEX - http://gpl.gamestats.com news section when we start the development of the IE version. Thanks for your patience! John >Not hard at all....already have an old zip file of Communicator 4.04 laying around somewhere. Unlike yourself, I am not one to clutter up my >Hard Drive with more shhhtuff just because I want to try out a sight like VROC. I am confident Alison will have IE up and running soon enough >and will wait to race her sight until that time.

Thanks much for the update John. I will be looking forward to any updates you have in the future! I want bad to try VROC but I finally made the switch from Netscape to IE when I upgraded to Win98 and just can't see putting it back on. Anyway, I am really happy to see people creating stuff for GPL so soon....keep up the good work! Chris >Chris I just want you to have realistic expectations. As far as I know (I >work the Perl, Alison does the Java) we have not started any work on the IE >version. The reason for this is we are still trying to get the Netscape to a >stable and usable version. What I mean by stable is not froma crashing >standpoint but from a features standpoint. There are a number of big changes >that will make VROC a ton better than it is already. We do not want to be >developing for two browsers until we have stability in terms of features. We >are wroking as fast as possible and will try to start working on the IE >version soon. We will announce on The APEX - http://gpl.gamestats.com news >section when we start the development of the IE version. Thanks for your >patience! >John

On Sun, 18 Oct 1998 12:11:39 -0700, "John" >There are two rooms. When the first fills up you can go to the second room. >There should be a link to the second room right underneath the link to the >primary room. Yes, there is now a link to the other rooms. I added a third room to make sure there would always be space available to host a race. This bug was fixed as of Sunday evening, 10/18. Alison