GPL: Improving online competition

The post's I've read about online play in GPL have for the most part been about poor modem to modem connections and the lack of Sierra/Papyrus dedication to this aspect of it, I won't retread that thread:-) except to say that my limited experience with GPL online has been very good.....Hell it's the Internet !!!!!! More of an issue for me is the competition we race against online, let's be real, there are only a handful of people that have the ability to be the best of the best in this game and the rest of us are left to fight, scratch, claw and wreck (which we've been doing a Damn good job of :-)) amongst ourselves to get better and more competitive against each other. My suggestion Is: In training mode, fill fuel to race requirements and practice standing starts followed by three laps, then pit, check tire temps, adjust setup if needed and do it again, and again and again. If most of you are like me you've learned most of the tracks, got your hot setups for those tracks but when it comes to race starts you don't have a clue. I will not run an online race at a track where I have yet to practice full fuel/cold tires configuration and I hope you won't either. Any other suggestions?

I don't think any particular level of proficiency is required for racing online. What _is_ important is that all involved have the same expectations. Newbies can race with pros (by which I mean participate in the same race) so long as they're welcome. On the other hand, nobody wants to be where they're not wanted. What we need is a classification system, or really just a convention for expressing levels of expertise. Those creating races could in effect say, 'you must be this tall to enter,' and I'll bet peer pressure would be enough to enforce it. On the other hand, If a newbie with a cable modem figures he might as well learn the tracks by hosting online practice sessions, who's to say he shouldn't? rob.

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>The post's I've read about online play in GPL have for the most part been >about poor modem to modem connections and the lack of Sierra/Papyrus >dedication to this aspect of it, I won't retread that thread:-) except to >say that my limited experience with GPL online has been very good.....Hell >it's the Internet !!!!!! >More of an issue for me is the competition we race against online, let's be >real, there are only a handful of people that have the ability to be the >best of the best in this game and the rest of us are left to fight,

scratch, >claw and wreck (which we've been doing a Damn good job of :-)) amongst >ourselves to get better and more competitive against each other. >My suggestion Is: In training mode, fill fuel to race requirements and >practice standing starts followed by three laps, then pit, check tire temps,

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>adjust setup if needed and do it again, and again and again. >If most of you are like me you've learned most of the tracks, got your hot >setups for those tracks but when it comes to race starts you don't have a >clue. >I will not run an online race at a track where I have yet to practice full >fuel/cold tires configuration and I hope you won't either. >Any other suggestions?

> I will not run an online race at a track where I have yet to practice full > fuel/cold tires configuration and I hope you won't either. > Any other suggestions? Suggestions? This is WHY we need to have online GPL available on a service like NROS where you earn a "skill" ranking and/or "LPI" ranking and should be able to set up races with either/both as minimum standards. Bill / Amish on TEN

But Bill..we all know how well that Ranking system on TEN works.....:) Sorry, but I want that damn ranking system as far away from GPL and its corruption as can be. :) And I still completely disagree with LPI....maybe Laps Per Racer-****up would be more appropriate. :)

While I too have been frustrated by periodic poor game performance when online in GPL, when it's good the racing can be great. The reason is the general seriousness with which most people approach the competition in this sim. Because of the skill and commitment required to become proficient that this sim requires, the arcade yahoos are quickly turned off, as evidenced by some negative messages here. Slower drivers frequently watch their mirrors and give way to those coming up to overtake in the practice/qualifying sessions. The game's excellent use of yellow and blue flags certainly helps. I think we're all learning from each others good conduct, like using 'po' for 'pit out' in the chat box to warn drivers coming by at speed that a slow car was coming out of the pits. I hadn't raced online until GPL, having heard about the problems with idiots drivers in Nascar2 online racing. Can anyone here compare the two? The only thing better than GPL is the real thing. I miss the roar of the engines and the smell of the crowd. Marty

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> The post's I've read about online play in GPL have for the most part been > about poor modem to modem connections and the lack of Sierra/Papyrus > dedication to this aspect of it, I won't retread that thread:-) except to > say that my limited experience with GPL online has been very good.....Hell > it's the Internet !!!!!! > More of an issue for me is the competition we race against online, let's be > real, there are only a handful of people that have the ability to be the > best of the best in this game and the rest of us are left to fight, scratch, > claw and wreck (which we've been doing a Damn good job of :-)) amongst > ourselves to get better and more competitive against each other. > My suggestion Is: In training mode, fill fuel to race requirements and > practice standing starts followed by three laps, then pit, check tire temps, > adjust setup if needed and do it again, and again and again. > If most of you are like me you've learned most of the tracks, got your hot > setups for those tracks but when it comes to race starts you don't have a > clue. > I will not run an online race at a track where I have yet to practice full > fuel/cold tires configuration and I hope you won't either. > Any other suggestions?

>My suggestion Is: In training mode, fill fuel to race requirements and >practice standing starts followed by three laps, then pit, check tire temps, >adjust setup if needed and do it again, and again and again. >If most of you are like me you've learned most of the tracks, got your hot >setups for those tracks but when it comes to race starts you don't have a >clue. Yes, absolutely! On every track my practice consists primarily of running lots and lots of races against the AI to learn passing points, but also many practice starts - partly to learn the grip/biting-point/revs for the car and setup combo I've chosen on this track, but also to learn how fast you're going to be travelling when arriving and the first corner, and what is the braking point from a standing start with warm rear tyres, cold fronts and a full fuel load. I don't have the time to really get down to the super-fast times, but it's amazing how many races you can win by scraping onto the front row, taking the lead at the start and then staying on the track :-) Cheers! John

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>I don't think any particular level of proficiency is required for racing >online. >What _is_ important is that all involved have the same expectations. >Newbies can race with pros (by which I mean participate in the same >race) so long as they're welcome. On the other hand, nobody wants >to be where they're not wanted. What we need is a classification system, >or really just a convention for expressing levels of expertise. Those >creating races could in effect say, 'you must be this tall to enter,'

I logged into VROC quickly a few nights ago to check that everything was working properly. Some guy had set up a server and had placed "1:40 lap times, Monza" in the comment section. Since my best lap is only around a 1:38, this server was just what I was looking for and the ping was shown as 275 ms to boot. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to race right then, so I didn't get to try it out. I think that's a great way to let people know what kind of competition can be expected on any particular host. David Snider

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>>I don't think any particular level of proficiency is required for racing >>online. >>What _is_ important is that all involved have the same expectations. >>Newbies can race with pros (by which I mean participate in the same >>race) so long as they're welcome. On the other hand, nobody wants >>to be where they're not wanted. What we need is a classification system, >>or really just a convention for expressing levels of expertise. Those >>creating races could in effect say, 'you must be this tall to enter,' >I logged into VROC quickly a few nights ago to check that everything >was working properly. Some guy had set up a server and had placed >"1:40 lap times, Monza" in the comment section. Since my best lap is >only around a 1:38, this server was just what I was looking for and >the ping was shown as 275 ms to boot. Unfortunately, I didn't have >time to race right then, so I didn't get to try it out. >I think that's a great way to let people know what kind of competition >can be expected on any particular host.

Well, as that guy, thank you very much.. .;) Actually, I did it more to warn hotlappers that there may be slower people on the track -- and anyone should know that people running 1:40 laps at Monza are both a bit slower than front row times, and are more likely to have 'stability' problems... IMHO, anyone joining a race advertised as '1:28 Avg. Please' should be able to stay on the track, and the racing should be consistently good. A '1:45 Avg. Please' race would obviously be messier... Now if there was just some way to race w/o the shift-r option at shorter lengths... (Or have I missed that?)

Does anybody out there have any suggestions for what sort of modem connection works best for them? I've got a 28.8 USR modem and it gives me shaky performance in online ***,,, quake, etc.. sometimes it's great, sometimes it sucks royally.. maybe it's a problem with my phone line. Anyhow, I've been avoiding getting into multiplayer GPL because of this, but I really want to check it out. Do you other guys (and gals) have luck with a 28.8 -- reliable,, or 56,,, or faster,,, I guess I just want to know if my modem setup is unusally unreliable. Thanks! Raevyn

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> But Bill..we all know how well that Ranking system on TEN works.....:) > Sorry, but I want that damn ranking system as far away from GPL and its > corruption as can be. :) > And I still completely disagree with LPI....maybe Laps Per Racer-****up > would be more appropriate. :)

LOL, I do understand your point..... Race for the sake of racing, but at some point it would be really nice to "ON AVERAGE" get a better group of drivers (Note: Entirely based on stats, and I know they are not 100% fool proof, but at some point they will indicate a "direction" of someones ability.). But, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK --- I do agree with you to a certain degree about stats. Not worth a whole bunch, especially for the majority of the community. But, to a little tiny tweeny bit they will indicate a person's desire and racing mentality/strategy/etc... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAK Agreeing with Chris (Even only a little big LOL) Bill / Amish on TEN

I have a 28.8 USR and I have solid connection with GPL and NROS most of the time. Usually the source of the problem is the quality of net connection which involves line quality, ISP connection, number of hops, etc. Nafi

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>Does anybody out there have any suggestions for what sort of modem >connection works best for them? >I've got a 28.8 USR modem and it gives me shaky performance in online >***,,, quake, etc.. sometimes it's great, sometimes it sucks >royally.. maybe it's a problem with my phone line. Anyhow, I've been >avoiding getting into multiplayer GPL because of this, but I really >want to check it out. >Do you other guys (and gals) have luck with a 28.8 -- reliable,, or >56,,, or faster,,, >I guess I just want to know if my modem setup is unusally unreliable. >Thanks! >Raevyn