N2000 News

<<posted on a Sierra Motorsports forum by the moderator>> I sent an email full of questions to a rep at Papyrus. Here is the official info on what we will have with this next NASCAR sim. The numbered questions are the questions I asked and the answer is below each one. I cant wait!!! Name Clarification: NASCAR 2000 was actually only a working title to distinguish it from the development project known as NASCAR 3. We still have not finally decided what this title will be called. The NASCAR title shipping this fall may still be called NASCAR 3, but it will not contain the physics engine based on GPL. 1. You stated D3D will be supported, but will N2000 still be compatible with the 3dfx and Rendition chipsets? This year's "Papyrus NASCAR Racing" (PNR) will support 3dfx(Glide), Direct3D, and software modes. There will be no native Rendition support. 2. Will fire be implemented in accidents? No 3. When is the proposed release date of N2000 and N.L.? Both will ship this Fall. 4. Will the sound be re-done? Yes, the sound engine has been entirely reworked, and every sound element is new. The sound engine will support DirectSound3D and A3D 2.0. The new car engine samples are extremely impressive. 5. Will force feedback be implemented? Yes. 6. Is smoke transparent? ...a complete remake from N2???? The smoke and dirt effects will be greatly enhanced for 3D hardware. It will have transparency and it will hang in the air for the "wall of smoke" effect with a big wreck. 7. Will there be 43 cars able to start a race? Yes. 8. Any new multiplayer features? Free internet multiplayer via a matching server, as well as LAN based TCP/IP and IPX will be supported. 9. What is new in the N2000 engine? What will be max screen resolutions? It will support 1024x768, 800x600, and 640x480. 10. I have heard that we will hear more than one voice on the radio. Any truth to that? Maybe a spotter and a crew chief? Yes. 11. Will the multiplayer be Windows based so a digital wheel can be used? Yes. 12. Whats the scoop on Nascar Legends? When can we expect it? This fall, same timeframe, and same basic feature list. 13. Any idea of what the min requirements will be for both sims? Will a 3d card be required? A 3D card is not required, but most of the new graphics options won't be supported without one. 14. Will the CTS and BGN series be in N2000? Grand National tracks and cars will be included. <<end of message>> My comments: no mention of physics improvements, not a really big suprise. I wonder if the improved dirt effects could be used to simulate dirt-track racing?

WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!! NO RENDITION SUPPORT!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THEM!!!!!!!!!!! I BOUGHT A RENDITION SO THAT I COULD RUN ICR2 N99 & GPL DAMN IT. I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR MY RENDITION CARD!!! THIS IS TOTALLY UNFAIR!!!!!!!!!

Without sounding as idiotic as TRUSR......I have to agree that it is unfortunate that Papyrus had supported Rendition (sometimes exclusively) in the past and now will drop support of Rendition altogether.

Grow up! Nobody forced you to buy obsolete hardware just to run three games. Personally I feel it's a good thing Papy is moving away from the ridiculous Rendition favouritisim, which was obviously caused by the fact that Sierra published their own rendition based card ("We felt Rendition cards were superior to 3Dfx" - gimme a break!).

>> This year's "Papyrus NASCAR Racing" (PNR) will support >> 3dfx(Glide), Direct3D, and software modes. There will >> be no native Rendition support. > WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!! NO RENDITION SUPPORT!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL!!!!!! NO READING SKILLS!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!!!!! I DON'T READ NEWSGROUPS TO BE YELLED AT DAMN IT!!! YOUR POST IS TOTALLY UNFOUNDED!!!!!!!! Stop, take a deep breath, ensure your CAPS Lock key is in the proper (off) position, and re-read the original two sentences. No *native* Rendition support, i.e. no RRedline rasteriser. *Direct3D* support, i.e. every card that supports Direct3D supports Papyrus NASCAR Racing. So, does Rendition support Direct3D? Why yes it does. So, does that mean Papyrus NASCAR Racing will run with 3D acceleration on a Rendition card? Why yes it does. - George

On Thu, 27 May 1999 12:34:36 -0500, "George M. Smiley"

Quoted text (23 lines)

>>> This year's "Papyrus NASCAR Racing" (PNR) will support >>> 3dfx(Glide), Direct3D, and software modes. There will >>> be no native Rendition support. >> WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!! NO RENDITION SUPPORT!!!!!!!!! >WHAT THE HELL!!!!!! NO READING SKILLS!!!!!!!! WHAT >THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!!!!! I DON'T READ >NEWSGROUPS TO BE YELLED AT DAMN IT!!! YOUR >POST IS TOTALLY UNFOUNDED!!!!!!!! >Stop, take a deep breath, ensure your CAPS Lock key >is in the proper (off) position, and re-read the >original two sentences. No *native* Rendition support, >i.e. no RRedline rasteriser. *Direct3D* support, >i.e. every card that supports Direct3D supports >Papyrus NASCAR Racing. So, does Rendition >support Direct3D? Why yes it does. So, does >that mean Papyrus NASCAR Racing will run with >3D acceleration on a Rendition card? Why yes it >does. > - George

Very well said. But I could barely hear you. COULD YOU SPEAK UP? :-) Thank You Steve-S +-----------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | And quickly he's subdued | Split_S3 on IRC | | Thru constant pained disgrace | Steve-S on TEN | | The young boy learns their rules | Unforgiven (-unfg-) on Warbirds | | Metallica | Dweebs of Death | +-----------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Dale Earnhardt | Dale Earnhardt Jr | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

So suddenly you can no longer run ICR2, N99 and GPL on your Rendition card? Why is that? You bought it so you could run those programs, you CAN run those programs....where's the beef? Cheers! John

Hey! someone has a broken CAPS lock key here! -- Tim "Calm Down" Wheatley ________________________________________________ Tim Wheatley "Yellow menacing helmet in the mirror" http://start.at/igps_stats IGPS - Ferrari Challenge - UKGPL - Summer Cup Driver http://drive.to/grandprixlegends http://website.lineone.net/~nascar ________________________________________________

IDIOTIC!!!!!!!!!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD I HAD TO WORK AND SAVE TO GET THE MONEY FOR THE RENDITION CARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CAUSE ONLY IDIOTS USE AOL. WE ALL KNOW THAT ALREADY! BUT RENDITION RULES!! HOW COULD PAPY DO THIS TO ME??

Yes I am very well aware that all rendition cards do support D3D, however it is much slower than native rendition games would be. Plus rendition looks absolutely beautiful, unlike D3D. I'm really surprised that PAPY would do this. All they had to do was just add D3D support, and not take away native rendition support. I wasn't saying it wouldn't be compatible, however, the full value of my rendition card will not be utilized using D3D. The quality of RENDITION is just so superrior to anything else I have ever seen. The rendition version of ICR2 is just drop dead gorgeous. No other video card could possibly produce the quality output that Rendition could put out. I just wish that PAPY would reconsider. That's all.

Oh, I was talkoing about NASCAR RACING 2000 and NASCAR LEGENDS.

> Yes I am very well aware that all rendition cards do support > D3D, however it is much slower than native rendition games > would be. Slower does not equal unusuable. As for the much slower part, that is in the hands of the Rendtion Direct3D driver authors. Direct3D in no way compromises the image quality of a game. All hardware features exported by the Rendition cards are fully supported by Direct3D. Now if a developer chooses to simplify his/her coding by targetting the lowest common denominator instead of checking device capabilites then that is not the fault of Direct3D. Did you ever stop to think that this might have been done for a legitimate reason on the part of Papyrus? You haven't been looking elsewhere lately, have you? In comparison to what? ICR2 only supports Rendition RRedline or a software renderer. TNT2? G400? Savage4? PVR250? Who can tell which card will render Papyrus NASCAR Racing the best without the game even being out in demo form? I think you are jumping the gun big time in your criticism. For all you know it will have built in support for hardware features your beloved Rendition card can't even handle (true hardware bump-mapped pavement/dirt/grass/rumble strips anyone?) pushing the image fidelity to new heights. Send email to: and try to express your point with a bit more eloquence. Who nows, your voice may be the one to sway them. - George

You guys have NOTHING to worry about. The game supports Direct3D (and last time I checked, Direct3D has certified rendition support). What they said was that there would be no *native* Rendition support because the card doesn't support some of the stuff the sim does. Settle down guys... says...

Quoted text (18 lines)

>Without sounding as idiotic as TRUSR......I have to agree that it is >unfortunate that Papyrus had supported Rendition (sometimes exclusively) >in the past and now will drop support of Rendition altogether. >> >1. You stated D3D will be supported, but will N2000 still be >> >compatible with the 3dfx and Rendition chipsets? >> >This year's "Papyrus NASCAR Racing" (PNR) will support >> >3dfx(Glide), Direct3D, and software modes. There will be no native >> >Rendition support. >> WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!! NO RENDITION SUPPORT!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL >> IS WRONG WITH THEM!!!!!!!!!!! I BOUGHT A RENDITION SO THAT I COULD >> RUN ICR2 N99 & GPL DAMN IT. I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR MY RENDITION >> CARD!!! THIS IS TOTALLY UNFAIR!!!!!!!!!

-- ========================================================= John Simmons - Redneck Techno-Biker (Zerex12) http://www.members.home.net/jms1/index.html John Simmons - Barbarian Diecast Collector http://members.home.net/jsimm/diecast_index.html IGPS (Season 2) Director http://207.104.111.77/igps2/igps2.html If you want to send me email, go to either of the URL's shown above & click "Send Me Mail" in the contents frame. =========================================================

I have to agree with the group here, the Rendition chipset is a pretty good D3D chipset, but....not as good as native Rendition. However....Howmany Rendition cards are out there? How many TNT's, TNT2(comming soon I know) G200/400, ATI RAGE etc, The 3d world passed the Verite` a long long time ago. Maybe they will get something going eventually but right now... and for the near future, you would be foolish to program for the Rendition(ie spend money getting the code right rather than spend the money getting the other cards working right.) You've still got GPL, just like Bogey & Bacall still have Paris... I'm suprised all those folks who bought SB Live's for GPL aren't also screaming ***y *** since the next wave of Papy products won't support EAX. Time to be thinking of the future, not the past... dave henrie -- On May 17, 1999 A Whale was killed off the coast of Washington State. The Whale was killed in the name of Tradition.....I say.... %&#& Tradition! >>So suddenly you can no longer run ICR2, N99 and GPL on your Rendition >>card? Why is that? >>You bought it so you could run those programs, you CAN run those >>programs....where's the beef? >Oh, I was talkoing about NASCAR RACING 2000 and NASCAR LEGENDS.

>IDIOTIC!!!!!!!!!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD I HAD TO WORK AND SAVE TO GET THE >MONEY FOR THE RENDITION >CARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, it's a shame. Time to dig a hole in the back yard and bury that sucker, though. The newer cards obliterate it at D3D. Tim

Well, that may give you some appreciation of how hard your daddy had to work and save to buy your computer in the first place. :) "But in a way, fear is a big part of racing, because if there was nothing to be frightened of, and no limit, any fool could get into a motor car and racing would not exist as a sport." -- Jim Clark

>Grow up! Nobody forced you to buy obsolete hardware just to run three >games. Personally I feel it's a good thing Papy is moving away from >the ridiculous Rendition favouritisim, which was obviously caused by >the fact that Sierra published their own rendition based card ("We >felt Rendition cards were superior to 3Dfx" - gimme a break!). Actually, work on the Rendition port of ICR2 was under way *long* before Sierra brought out it's Screamin' 3D card and, for that matter, (if memory serves) was under way when Papyrus was still independent and prior to its acquisition by Sierra. Getting the cart before the horse... As far as the decision itself, we all knew it was coming someday, just disappointed when the day finally comes. "But in a way, fear is a big part of racing, because if there was nothing to be frightened of, and no limit, any fool could get into a motor car and racing would not exist as a sport." -- Jim Clark

Oh, not this BS again. Ok, the REAL reason Papy always did Rendition - Rendition wanted a showcase game to pack in with cards, and *Rendition * did their own graphics engine for IndyCar Racing 2 to have said game. Since NASCAR 2 was using a modified ICR2 engine, it took little work to get N2 to work with Rendition also, so Papy added this in. This was when a 3dfx card was $300 and very much an unknown quantity. In the months afterward 3dfx did take the lead over Rendition, but both were good sellers. Quake, by a company NOT selling Renditions was also only native on Rendition for a long time after release, until GL Quake came out allowing it to run on other cards. id guessed Rendition would be the market leader. With Papy's knowledge of the Rendition and the amount of them they knew their customers had, it made sense to still have Rendition native for GPL too, although I vaguely remember it and Nascar Racing 1999 supporting 3dfx also. The reason it took so long for the 3dfx patch for N2 was it was slow, and had bugs (had to love some of those wall textures) - no *** by Sierra to sell Screamin' 3D's, as was screamed about much on this NG way back when. It may well have been a *** to get 3dfx owners to buy NR99, oh well. -- Ken's Sig 3.0 "Who is the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?" - Obi-Wan Kenobi Go #43 and #44! volksy (at) geocities (dot) com volksy (at) yahoo (dot) com >>>This year's "Papyrus NASCAR Racing" (PNR) will support >>>3dfx(Glide), Direct3D, and software modes. There will be no native >>>Rendition support. >>WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!! NO RENDITION SUPPORT!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG >>WITH THEM!!!!!!!!!!! I BOUGHT A RENDITION SO THAT I COULD RUN ICR2 N99 & >> GPL DAMN IT. I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR MY RENDITION CARD!!! THIS IS TOTALLY >>UNFAIR!!!!!!!!! >Grow up! Nobody forced you to buy obsolete hardware just to run three >games. Personally I feel it's a good thing Papy is moving away from >the ridiculous Rendition favouritisim, which was obviously caused by >the fact that Sierra published their own rendition based card ("We >felt Rendition cards were superior to 3Dfx" - gimme a break!).

Which were unheard of at the time you bought your Rendition card. Bzzzt, sorry, trolling attempt too poor. Please try again later. Keeeeeeeeeer-PLONK Cheers! John

RENDITION will come out with a new video card and whoop all your asses. But forget about that for a minute. Why did PAPY suddenly drop support for the SBLIVE?

There is no drop in support for the SB Live!, as you'll still get excellent 3D positioning via DirectSound3D. Eric

> There is no drop in support for the SB Live!, as you'll still get > excellent 3D positioning via DirectSound3D. In contrast to Rendition (fading away slowly), the SB Live! is the leading 3D soundcard on the market, receiving lots of native patches. Papy still knows how to surprise me... ;^) l8er ronny -- How to get rid of censorship in German game releases <http://www.gamesmania.com/german/maniac/freedom/freedom.htm> |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

Actually Rendition dying among the 3D chipsets is what is unfair. Don't blame papy!