Something I Hate About GPL

The other thing that kills me at the start is that I get much lower framerates with all 19 cars right near me, which changes driving dramatically. If I crash I just retire but choose to 'save the current race weekend' so I can give it another go without requalifying. As far as I know this is the only way to practice starts under race conditions. rob. >mmmm I think sits called cold tyres! Give it a few laps and they warm up >and off you go.... I grant you though the AI cars do seem a bit too quick on

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>cold *** >>I practice for an hour, get a good starting position, and when the race >>starts, my car does NOT behave like the car did during practice. I found >>this to be true in Nascar1. >>I use the same setup both in practice and race. why is this? >>Isn't this damn sim hard enough without this crap? I'm pissed. The car >>slips all over the track, way more than it does in practice. I run the >same >>revs in the turns with the same gears, and the "race" car is like driving >on >>ice. I HATE THIS.

>The other thing that kills me at the start is that I get much lower >framerates with all 19 cars right near me, which changes driving >dramatically. Yes well that's why Im happy we have the F3 option to access the option menu. At the start I turn everything off and at 640x480. I get 30+ fps at the start. After some time the field will of course spread up, so you just need to press F3 and put your graphical options (or the number of sounds) to the correct level ! :) But it would be neat to do this in-car as in previous Papyrus titles. I really wonder what pushed them to not include the graphical option with the 1-2-3-etc-0 keys on the keyboard. So if your listening Papyrus, more versatility in the controller configuration for N3 and future titles (if they ever do have future titles). Mapped keys for joystick buttons. Independent axis settings for dead zones, linearity. Check out what Codemaster did for Toca2. -= Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard/Nas-Frank> -= NROS Nascar sanctioned Guide http://www.nros.com/ -= SimRacing Online http://www.simracing.com/ -= Official mentally retarded guy of r.a.s. -= May the Downforce be with you... "People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Likely enough it's exactly what the others have said, but here's another possibility. You MAY have the "race" setup set for something other than what you intended. Be sure that you have both the "current" and "race" setups that you intend before you go to the race. Joe

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> I practice for an hour, get a good starting position, and when the race > starts, my car does NOT behave like the car did during practice. I found > this to be true in Nascar1. > I use the same setup both in practice and race. why is this? > Isn't this damn sim hard enough without this crap? I'm pissed. The car > slips all over the track, way more than it does in practice. I run the same > revs in the turns with the same gears, and the "race" car is like driving on > ice. I HATE THIS.

I practice for an hour, get a good starting position, and when the race starts, my car does NOT behave like the car did during practice. I found this to be true in Nascar1. I use the same setup both in practice and race. why is this? Isn't this damn sim hard enough without this crap? I'm pissed. The car slips all over the track, way more than it does in practice. I run the same revs in the turns with the same gears, and the "race" car is like driving on ice. I HATE THIS.

Get a grip! You have full fuel and cold tires at the start. Of course it is different! The first lap is tough, and even then, the car will be heavier for most of the race. This is sim has a lot of reality! Kevin Caldwell Calgary, Canada >I practice for an hour, get a good starting position, and when the race >starts, my car does NOT behave like the car did during practice. I found >this to be true in Nascar1. >I use the same setup both in practice and race. why is this? >Isn't this damn sim hard enough without this crap? I'm pissed. The car >slips all over the track, way more than it does in practice. I run the same >revs in the turns with the same gears, and the "race" car is like driving on >ice. I HATE THIS.

mmmm I think sits called cold tyres! Give it a few laps and they warm up and off you go.... I grant you though the AI cars do seem a bit too quick on cold *** >I practice for an hour, get a good starting position, and when the race >starts, my car does NOT behave like the car did during practice. I found >this to be true in Nascar1. >I use the same setup both in practice and race. why is this? >Isn't this damn sim hard enough without this crap? I'm pissed. The car >slips all over the track, way more than it does in practice. I run the same >revs in the turns with the same gears, and the "race" car is like driving on >ice. I HATE THIS.

Cold Tyres. >I practice for an hour, get a good starting position, and when the race >starts, my car does NOT behave like the car did during practice. I found >this to be true in Nascar1. >I use the same setup both in practice and race. why is this? >Isn't this damn sim hard enough without this crap? I'm pissed. The car >slips all over the track, way more than it does in practice. I run the same >revs in the turns with the same gears, and the "race" car is like driving on >ice. I HATE THIS.

I've actually had to use practice sessions and races to do car setups, as the framerate hit on my measly old PC makes it a different car from training sessions. For example, my best race lap at the Ring is a full seven seconds off my training pace, though much harder to do. I end up running more understeer and gear spacing that requires less shifting. I just can't make corrections as well at 25FPS (though I need more of them) as at 35FPS. For sure, the combination of worst-possible grip and framerate at starts leaves me longing for the instant restarts from ICR2. Now THAT was a Shift-R! My approach in GPL is to try for my best position INTO turn one, then cool it for a bit till the tires heat up, traffic thins out, and FPS gets stable. The F3 option mentioned might do also, but I personally tend to stuff it after coming back from a pause. Yeah, even on a straight. Next corner.....kablooey. Cheers, Steve B. remove "edy" from address for email

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. I understand about cold tires and full fuel. My point is, I start in practice with cold tires and full fuel, and I go drive the car. I start in a race with cold tires and full fuel, and my car handles significantly worse than in practice. So, does the car have warm tires in practice when you start out? or is one of those traction bugs from N1 days? example. At Monza, in practice, I leave the pits, and can pitch the car into T1 no problem. In a race, I going in slower than practice speeds, and the car wants to slip and slide all over. That's my point. full fuel both practice and race, but different cars. Explain that.

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>>I practice for an hour, get a good starting position, and when the race >>starts, my car does NOT behave like the car did during practice. I found >>this to be true in Nascar1. >>I use the same setup both in practice and race. why is this? >>Isn't this damn sim hard enough without this crap? I'm pissed. The car >>slips all over the track, way more than it does in practice. I run the >same >>revs in the turns with the same gears, and the "race" car is like driving >on >>ice. I HATE THIS.

I have not noticed that the car handles different in race than practice provided I use the same setup. However a decrease in framerate in the start of a race make the car harder to control, and cars all around you might make you a bit more nervous than driving alone on the track. -Jan Otto

Agreed. It's lower frame rate, cold tires, and nerves.

I believe it is because when you start the race you have a full tank of fuel which will of course make your stopping distances longer and overall performance drop. Dave

Actually, I think people just underestimate the effect of the reduced FPS on how the car handles, because framerates that would be fine in any other game just aren't in GPL. Alison Hine mentions on her site the necessity of getting 36FPS ALL the time, and I'd have to agree. 26FPS in GPL is hugely different from 36FPS. I don't know how the physics model is impacted, if at all, but it's supposed to be updating at 288hz and the driveability does drop significantly with small framerate reductions. Whatever the speed of your PC, race starts will always give you the worst framerates you'll encounter. Yes, you have to deal with cold tires and high fuel loads in training and practice as well, but not simultaneously with such low FPS. For example, one oddity I've noticed is that at 640X480, I have to hold the brake to keep my car from rolling at the start at Spa, but at 800X600 or higher, it doesn't budge. So the handling's different even sitting still! I need more PC. Steve B. remove "edy" from address for email

i think its the drop of frames with AI ... try racing with only one computer opponent and maybe that effect is gone ... Ayrton McKafre David Richards escribi en mensaje

I've never experienced the problem. In fact at some tracks (Kyalami/Mexico), I've set my FASTEST time (all time) during the race. Sorry not to be of any help -Nanakofi

It might be due to the framerate reduction at the start of a race with 19 AI cars (use alt-f to view fps counter) - this can change the level on control you have significantly If you use one of the 2x staggered grids (like modern F1) available from the VROC site, your framerate will be much improved off the line and through the 1st couple of turns. My startline FPS went from 23-25 to 34-36 fps starting at the back of a full grid at Rouen using these grids (PII 450, 128MB, 12MB V2, 800x600, all forward graphics, just cars in mirrors, detail bias at 1/4 from left) Brian

> > Agreed. It's lower frame rate, cold tires, and nerves. > Don't forget you may also have more fuel on board for a race session? > and certainly more adrenalin? I missed the original post So I may be off topic or at least off camber with this reply. While Qualifying, Yes, You need only as much fuel onboard to make 4 laps. Pit out, 2 laps to get the tires hot, 1 lap for a fast qualifying speed. For the race you want the same thing... Just enough fuel to make all the laps in the race (just a bit more just in case). As far as the adrenalin... (IMO) If you have a lot of adrenalin pumping through your vains, Your trying to hard. While racing you should be as comfortable as possable. If your not relaxed then your tence, If your tence all the time then you'll constantly be making small mistakes. Any one of witch will be fatal. If your comfortable, You'll make consecutive lape times and will be able to pick out the trouble spots/drivers easyer and know what action to take. Then again, Getting toooooooooo comfortable will be just as deadly. Just my $0.02 worth Mike Barlow -- Mike Barlow of Barlow Racing? MikeBa on the TEN network. Racing online with the help of...... Race Communications Association http://members.xoom.com/RCA/toc.html Holodyne Engineering Mystic Music

Well, I just got my new 450 Celery fired up. It was framerate, after all. Starts are soooo much better now, even with full fields and graphics turned up(not ALL the way, though). Even hotlapping, where I THOUGHT I was getting good enough FPS(30+), is better. It's obvious to me now that it's VERY important to get a SOLID framerate. Small fluctuations will get you. Big fluctuations will DOOM you. So forget about cold tires and fuel loads, and watch that FPS counter. Steve B. remove "edy" from address for email

Don't forget you may also have more fuel on board for a race session? and certainly more adrenalin? 8-) *Peter* #:-)

Wonder if you change the setting for your race setup so that it is in sinc with the number of laps you are racing. Otherwise it goes to the default full race length. This may be what is casuing the problem. Hope that helps. Tony

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> I practice for an hour, get a good starting position, and when the race > starts, my car does NOT behave like the car did during practice. I found > this to be true in Nascar1. > I use the same setup both in practice and race. why is this? > Isn't this damn sim hard enough without this crap? I'm pissed. The car > slips all over the track, way more than it does in practice. I run the same > revs in the turns with the same gears, and the "race" car is like driving on > ice. I HATE THIS.

I find that the inability to hear my own revs clearly also messes up what I'm doing. In the absence of actualy seat-of-the-pants feel, that is an important factor in keeping the darn car on the road. daxe -----------== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News ==---------- http://www.newsfeeds.com/ The Largest Usenet Servers in the World! -----------== Over 66,000 Groups, Plus a Dedicated Binaries Server ==----------