GPL -- One thing I'd like in a patch

Having raced GPL ( and really enjoying it) on and off line for a month now I realize that the smaller-than-real-life field of view is the biggest hindrance to enjoyment in the sim. I have an extremely difficult time in any sort of side by side situation in telling if my opponent is overlapping my car. The majority of my accidents are now caused by losing sight of my opponent. Either I turn into him or he turns into me( and i cannot see to dodge). The glance left and right function really does not work that well since the GPL cars are so sensitive to input that the act of slewing the FoV usually causes loss of control. The high position that you get from f10 is better for side vision but its too distorted for my taste.I prefer to drive my car from the seat. What I'd like to see is some sort of warning (perhaps a vertical narrow band at extreme left and right edges of screen) that would alert me when any opponent was overlapping my car. It could be a settable option so that those that dislike it could turn it off. CPU overhead should be small since all the alarm would be doing is indicating a presense rather than drawing a texture.It would act as a substitute for peripheral vision. I realize that its hardly sim like to have flashing bands but neither is the narrow feild of view or non adjustable mirrors.

I use my ears to see the cars when they are not in view. If you can hear a car up close (and it's not yours) and you can't see one in your mirrors, then they are in your blind spot. So I just don't make any sudden moves and hold my line and pray that the other driver is going to try something stupid. Sometimes, when this happens, it's wiser to let them by and then pass them when the opportunity arises. -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

> Having raced GPL ( and really enjoying it) on and off line for a month now >I realize that the smaller-than-real-life field of view is the biggest >hindrance to enjoyment in the sim. I have an extremely difficult time in any >sort of side by side situation in telling if my opponent is overlapping my >car. You get used to it. The more you race the more aware you become of the cars around you. You get glimpses of them in your mirrors and if they disappear then you know they are beside you and drive accordingly

the big thing i'd like in a patch is: keyboard control on the game control screens, a la gp2. martin. --

Sure I could get used to it but if I didn't think they could do better than that I wouldn't be asking for something better,IMNSHO. Thanks for the input. David Erb >> Having raced GPL ( and really enjoying it) on and off line for a month >now >>I realize that the smaller-than-real-life field of view is the biggest >>hindrance to enjoyment in the sim. I have an extremely difficult time in >any >>sort of side by side situation in telling if my opponent is overlapping my >>car. >You get used to it. The more you race the more aware you become of the cars >around you. You get glimpses of them in your mirrors and if they disappear >then you know they are beside you and drive accordingly

You should practice using the look left/right feature. I wouldn't wanna miss it now that I got used to it.

This is a great point...except that many people don't have very good sound on their PCs and even when they do they don't arrange their speakers in the proper "stereo triangle." I can attest that with a proper set-up it is relatively easy to pinpoint where the "enemy" is in GPL using sound cues. So for those who pay little attention to sound in favour of graphics, make sure you have good stereo reproduction from your PC and it will help you with your driving games (at least those that are programmed properly) immensely. Marc.

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>I use my ears to see the cars when they are not in view. If you can >hear a car up close (and it's not yours) and you can't see one in your >mirrors, then they are in your blind spot. So I just don't make any >sudden moves and hold my line and pray that the other driver is going to >try something stupid. Sometimes, when this happens, it's wiser to let >them by and then pass them when the opportunity arises. >-- >**************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* > Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Yep. And even in the real life you have the dead spots in the mirrors of your car... Just a couple of months ago I forgot that, and it was a "near miss". :-) Arto

Hey, sorry but I don't see the problem here - eversince I started playing on the computer I used HEADPHONES. I find that -with computer games- a pair of (good!) headphones is more worth than the best set of speakers. Mea***er

Agree completely. Your vision is limited by a helmet as well when driving a racecar. I'll admit that in GPL it isn't a full face helmet (which has a nice tunnel vision effect) but they were wearing goggles and didn't have tearoffs. Oil buildup and the distortion of the lenses would make it very difficult to use peripheral vision effectively. I would suggest that we have much better visibility than the drivers of 1967. Of course this is just IMHO. Jason >>You get used to it. The more you race the more aware you become of the cars

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>>around you. You get glimpses of them in your mirrors and if they disappear >>then you know they are beside you and drive accordingly >Yep. And even in the real life you have the dead spots in the mirrors >of your car... Just a couple of months ago I forgot that, and it was >a "near miss". :-) >Arto

I've got a MSFF Wheel and programmed two of the buttons on the wheel to look right and left. Works great. Sjaak Alleman. >>dodge). The glance left and right function really does not work that well >>since the GPL cars are so sensitive to input that the act of slewing the >FoV >>usually causes loss of control. >You should practice using the look left/right feature. I wouldn't wanna miss >it now that I got used to it.

Well I ride a motorcycle with a helmet and goggles/glasses on and my field of view is still better than GPL's. Also I don't have to remove my fingers from throttle /brake/clutch/handlebars to push a button so that my eyes will roll in their sockets or to have my neck rotate. :^). You'll also note that I asked for the patch thingy to be optional so that those who did not like it could turn it off (kind of like auto gears or throttle help). I think that field of view problems are something that all sim makers need to work on if we are to get an even more immersive experience. " You'll get used to it" kinds of answers to this sort of feedback just means that things remain the same. I can certainly get used to just about anything and I can use variuos workarounds but I would still like sims to improve. I don't even care if the patch is free: it can be in GPL 2 and I'll spend money to get better views. With respect David Erb

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>Agree completely. Your vision is limited by a helmet as well >when driving a racecar. I'll admit that in GPL it isn't a full face >helmet (which has a nice tunnel vision effect) but they were >wearing goggles and didn't have tearoffs. Oil buildup and the >distortion of the lenses would make it very difficult to use >peripheral vision effectively. >I would suggest that we have much better visibility than the >drivers of 1967. Of course this is just IMHO. >Jason >>>You get used to it. The more you race the more aware you become of the >cars >>>around you. You get glimpses of them in your mirrors and if they

disappear

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>>>then you know they are beside you and drive accordingly >>Yep. And even in the real life you have the dead spots in the mirrors >>of your car... Just a couple of months ago I forgot that, and it was >>a "near miss". :-) >>Arto

These are an interesting pair of messages. I shall certainly start paying more attention to the ambient soundscape. Perhaps if I increase the number of sounds from the minimal 3 to ? number I will get better positional information. Thanks for the tip With respect David Erb

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>This is a great point...except that many people don't have very good sound >on their PCs and even when they do they don't arrange their speakers in the >proper "stereo triangle." I can attest that with a proper set-up it is >relatively easy to pinpoint where the "enemy" is in GPL using sound cues. >So for those who pay little attention to sound in favour of graphics, make >sure you have good stereo reproduction from your PC and it will help you >with your driving games (at least those that are programmed properly) >immensely. >Marc. >>I use my ears to see the cars when they are not in view. If you can >>hear a car up close (and it's not yours) and you can't see one in your >>mirrors, then they are in your blind spot. So I just don't make any >>sudden moves and hold my line and pray that the other driver is going to >>try something stupid. Sometimes, when this happens, it's wiser to let >>them by and then pass them when the opportunity arises. >>-- >>**************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* >> Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. >>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

What if you had an option to change the view of the mirrors, so you could set them facing the side more than backwards, or towards the car more than sidewards, etc. That might be more useful than having an annoying arrow telling you what's going on. I'm rather disapointed with the lack of views in GPL - 2 views is what I would expect from a game which is much older. Even Nascar 1 had more views than this! Adam > Having raced GPL ( and really enjoying it) on and off line for a month now >I realize that the smaller-than-real-life field of view is the biggest >hindrance to enjoyment in the sim. I have an extremely difficult time in any >sort of side by side situation in telling if my opponent is overlapping my >car. The majority of my accidents are now caused by losing sight of my >opponent. Either I turn into him or he turns into me( and i cannot see to >dodge). The glance left and right function really does not work that well >since the GPL cars are so sensitive to input that the act of slewing the FoV >usually causes loss of control. The high position that you get from f10 is >better for side vision but its too distorted for my taste.I prefer to drive >my car from the seat. What I'd like to see is some sort of warning (perhaps >a vertical narrow band at extreme left and right edges of screen) that would >alert me when any opponent was overlapping my car. It could be a settable >option so that those that dislike it could turn it off. CPU overhead should >be small since all the alarm would be doing is indicating a presense rather >than drawing a texture.It would act as a substitute for peripheral vision. I >realize that its hardly sim like to have flashing bands but neither is the >narrow feild of view or non adjustable mirrors.

If you can stand wearing them, yes, headphones will give you even better feedback than properly placed speakers. Marc. >>This is a great point...except that many people don't have very good sound >>on their PCs and even when they do they don't arrange their speakers in the >>proper "stereo triangle." I can attest that with a proper set-up it is >>relatively easy to pinpoint where the "enemy" is in GPL using sound cues. >Hey, sorry but I don't see the problem here - eversince I started playing on >the computer I used HEADPHONES. I find that -with computer games- a pair of >(good!) headphones is more worth than the best set of speakers. >Mea***er