Papyrus, please give us GPL2 (or GPL1.5 :)

Papyrus, please give us a GPL2 or at least a GPL upgrade pack! I understand that GPL was probably planned and budgeted as a niche product only and to pave the way for following NASCAR and CART big sellers using the new physics engine. (GPL's licensing costs, compared to NASCAR licensing costs, must have been minimal: they didn't even bother to license the term "Formula One"; Papy calls their cars Grand Prix cars instead of F1 cars!!). So I guess GPL is not the financial disappointment that some people want to make us believe it is. Regarding GPL as a niche product I still wish it would be supported in the future. How about an upgrade CD without further licensing costs? I can imagine that a lot of enthusiasts would be willing to pay for an upgrade pack without new tracks and such, but with new features like simulated weather, some new 'game play' options like the 'maximum chassis per event' option that was planned in the early development of GPL (well at least some very old screen- shots hint at this). A helluva *lot* of new game play options for online racing leagues come to mind (as well as for single player championships)... So there is still a great potential for a commercial GPL upgrade without any new and costly licensing! Understanding that the software companies of today don't care about minority interests at all, I'm encouraged with Papy's release of GPL and: hey, with minimizing the costs, why not supporting that small but loyal clientele any further? Anyone out there who feels the same? -Thorsten Rueter

> Papyrus, please give us a GPL2 or at least a > GPL upgrade pack! Thorsten and anyone else who feels the same, please send your GPL/N3,4,5,L/whatever suggestions to: They also have a dedicated feedback page if the above email address is no longer functioning: http://www.sierra.com/corp/feedback/content.html You suggestions don't do much good here and would be better directed towards those who are in a position to act on them. - George

Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use cable, and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with 19 drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. Yea I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous variables upon that, and just gave up.

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> Papyrus, please give us a GPL2 or at least a > GPL upgrade pack! > I understand that GPL was probably planned > and budgeted as a niche product only and to > pave the way for following NASCAR and CART > big sellers using the new physics engine. > (GPL's licensing costs, compared to NASCAR > licensing costs, must have been minimal: > they didn't even bother to license the term "Formula > One"; Papy calls their cars Grand Prix cars instead of > F1 cars!!). > So I guess GPL is not the financial disappointment that > some people want to make us believe it is. > Regarding GPL as a niche product I still wish it would > be supported in the future. How about an upgrade CD > without further licensing costs? I can imagine that a lot > of enthusiasts would be willing to pay for an upgrade pack > without new tracks and such, but with new features like > simulated weather, some new 'game play' options like the > 'maximum chassis per event' option that was planned in the > early development of GPL (well at least some very old screen- > shots hint at this). A helluva *lot* of new game play options for > online racing leagues come to mind (as well as for single player > championships)... > So there is still a great potential for a commercial GPL upgrade > without any new and costly licensing! Understanding that > the software companies of today don't care about minority > interests at all, I'm encouraged with Papy's release of GPL and: > hey, with minimizing the costs, why not supporting that small > but loyal clientele any further? > Anyone out there who feels the same? > -Thorsten Rueter

No papy give us downforce & no canned spins or no SALE :) The *** can drool all day but money talks !!!!!!!

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> Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use cable, > and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with 19 > drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, > Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. Yea > I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous > variables upon that, and just gave up. > > Papyrus, please give us a GPL2 or at least a > > GPL upgrade pack! > > I understand that GPL was probably planned > > and budgeted as a niche product only and to > > pave the way for following NASCAR and CART > > big sellers using the new physics engine. > > (GPL's licensing costs, compared to NASCAR > > licensing costs, must have been minimal: > > they didn't even bother to license the term "Formula > > One"; Papy calls their cars Grand Prix cars instead of > > F1 cars!!). > > So I guess GPL is not the financial disappointment that > > some people want to make us believe it is. > > Regarding GPL as a niche product I still wish it would > > be supported in the future. How about an upgrade CD > > without further licensing costs? I can imagine that a lot > > of enthusiasts would be willing to pay for an upgrade pack > > without new tracks and such, but with new features like > > simulated weather, some new 'game play' options like the > > 'maximum chassis per event' option that was planned in the > > early development of GPL (well at least some very old screen- > > shots hint at this). A helluva *lot* of new game play options for > > online racing leagues come to mind (as well as for single player > > championships)... > > So there is still a great potential for a commercial GPL upgrade > > without any new and costly licensing! Understanding that > > the software companies of today don't care about minority > > interests at all, I'm encouraged with Papy's release of GPL and: > > hey, with minimizing the costs, why not supporting that small > > but loyal clientele any further? > > Anyone out there who feels the same? > > -Thorsten Rueter

Rick Sweeney <[email hidden]> wrote in article <[email hidden]>... > Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use cable, > and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with 19 > drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, > Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. Yea > I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous > variables upon that, and just gave up. The localized versions of the GPL 1.2 patch are currently being tested. I must apologize to all of you for the non-real-time gaff in 1.1. I don't know how we missed this. It is fixed in 1.2, along with several other bug fixes and improvements (slow-mo/turbo is no more). Here's the readme12.txt. GPL 1.2 is NOT yet released. I'll be sure to let y'all know when it is. Randy ------------------------------------------------- Grand Prix Legends PATCH README Version 1.2 8/18/99 [ To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu above ] TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. GENERAL 2. MULTIPLAYER 3. CONTACTING SIERRA 1. GENERAL ---------- This patch will upgrade GPL version 1.1.0.3 to version 1.2.0.x. GPL 1.1.0.3 introduced a bug that could cause the game to run slower than normal. This lead to numerous problems, most of which were even worse when running multiplayer races. This is now fixed. The driver selection list on the race weekend screen could contain blank entries. Also, when selecting a driver from the list, the program might focus the camera on the wrong car. This is now fixed. If you miss the start of the race, you must now join the race within about two minutes, or the green button is taken away and you will not be allowed to join. If you have installed replays from many different players, the <Player> drop-down list on the Load Replay screen would expand off the bottom of the screen, instead of turning into a scrollable list of players. This is now fixed. If you had any saved replays from players that did not enter a driver name, the <Player> dropdown list would default to showing only replays created by these players, instead of showing replays created by "All Players." This is now fixed. 2. MULTIPLAYER -------------- GPL 1.2.0.x clients and servers will not connect to GPL 1.1.0.3 clients and servers (and vice versa). If you try to connect, you will be told that the server is incompatible. If you disconnected from a race server, and then reconnected to the server, the server would no longer score laps driven by you during the practice session. This is now fixed. A new chat command has been added. Any Boss may now tell the server to stop the current race (if any), disconnect all clients, and exit by issuing the "!shutdown" command as a chat message. It was possible, particularly when connected to a fast dedicated race server, that your pit stall placard and lap time board would be positioned incorrectly when transitioning from one race to another. This is now fixed. You can now issue private chat messages to any one of the players connected to the server. Begin your message with "/", followed by the name of the player (or #car_number), followed by the message. For example /#16 Hey, John. What's up? /smith What's up? /j.smith What's up? /jo.smi What's up? /john.smith What's up? The message will only be sent to the person you identify (or you will be given an error message if the program couldn't figure out who you meant). GPL 1.1.0.3 added a new method by which a client would try to stay in step with its server. When latencies were fairly stable, it was smoother than the original method employed by GPL 1.0. When latencies were unstable, however, the game could speed up or slow down rather excessively, making it very difficult to control the car. We've reworked this synchronization method to make it less sensitive to fluctuations in latency, and to prevent it from applying excessive adjustments. It should now be much smoother than the GPL 1.0 synchronization method, even when the latency is very high and very unstable. The new synchronization method is used by default. However, if you had switched to using the old synchronization method with GPL 1.1.0.3 because the "turbo/slow motion" effect was destroying gameplay, please give the new method a try (just remove the synch_method=0 line from core.ini, or change it to read synch_method=1). The Internet can be a harrowing medium through which to race. Gameplay is directly affected by the latency, reliability, and consistency of the connection between you and the game server, so it's important that the program give you a good sense of these factors. GPL 1.2.0.x now has graphical displays that allow you to monitor the status of your communications with the server when you are a GPL client. These meters can only be displayed while in the car. They can be toggled on/off by pressing Alt-M while in the car. They can be distracting while driving, so they are turned off by default. You can request that they be turned on by default by adding the following two lines to core.ini [ Communications ] show_meters = 1 The bar graphs are as follows... (L) Instantaneous latency from 0.0 seconds (the bar is empty) to 1.0 seconds (the bar is full height). This is the amount of time that it takes for a message to go from the server, to your client, and back to the server. Note that Alt-L shows average latency, not instantaneous latency. (Q) Quality from 100% (the bar is empty) to 0% (the bar is full height). The more data that is lost or garbled during transmission from the server to you, the lower the quality of your connection, and the higher this bar will go. (S) The time skew (difference) between your GPL client and the server. If your current time is behind where you expect the server to be, this bar will be below center. If it is at the bottom, then you believe that you are 1.5 seconds (or more) behind the server. If your current time is ahead of where you expect the server to be, it will be above center. If it is at the top, then you believe that you are 1.5 seconds (or more) ahead of the server. If the bar reaches the top or bottom, then your client will resynchronize itself with the server (it will smash its clock). Ideally, no red bars should be visible whatsoever. That is, you have 0.0 seconds of latency, 100% of data from the server is getting to you, and your client believes that it is at the same point in time as the server. In practice, this will not happen. The (L)atency bar will almost always be visible since it is not possible for data to get from the server to you instantaneously. The higher the latency, the longer it takes for data to get from the server to your computer, and so the older it is when it gets there. The older the data is, the more "predicting" your client has to do about the positions of other cars on the track. The more that it has to predict, the more likely that it will predict incorrectly, and the more the other cars will jump around when it realizes its error. It is not uncommon for the (Q)uality bar to be completely empty (indicating little or no data loss), but it is also not uncommon for a few percent of the data to be lost or garbled during transmission, showing as a small (Q)uality bar. If the bar starts to grow steadily, then something bad has happened on the route through the Internet between you and the server (or the server has crashed). If the route doesn't clear up quickly, you will soon be disconnected. If it does clear up, there will probably be short period of mayhem as the route settles down, and old data that has been stuck in transit is flushed. If the latency is varying a bit, it can be difficult for your client to determine what point in time the server is currently at, and a small (S)kew bar is likely to appear. If the (S)kew bar grows continuously until it hits the top or bottom, your client will smash its clock to resynchronize itself to the server. If it does this, then either the connection between you and the server is very poor, or either your machine or the server machine is extremely overloaded, and your client can no longer stay in step with the server. -------------------------------------------------

And what about a SCL(Sports Car Legend) Addon. I like GPL but I prefer the Sports Car of the same period. It wouldn't be difficult to do as these cars were technicaly very near(the open top ones). It would be great to race with the Lola T70, Matra 670, Porsche 917 or the Ferrari P4,Ford GT40, Porsche 908,Ferrari 312, etc...

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> Papyrus, please give us a GPL2 or at least a > GPL upgrade pack! > I understand that GPL was probably planned > and budgeted as a niche product only and to > pave the way for following NASCAR and CART > big sellers using the new physics engine. > (GPL's licensing costs, compared to NASCAR > licensing costs, must have been minimal: > they didn't even bother to license the term "Formula > One"; Papy calls their cars Grand Prix cars instead of > F1 cars!!). > So I guess GPL is not the financial disappointment that > some people want to make us believe it is. > Regarding GPL as a niche product I still wish it would > be supported in the future. How about an upgrade CD > without further licensing costs? I can imagine that a lot > of enthusiasts would be willing to pay for an upgrade pack > without new tracks and such, but with new features like > simulated weather, some new 'game play' options like the > 'maximum chassis per event' option that was planned in the > early development of GPL (well at least some very old screen- > shots hint at this). A helluva *lot* of new game play options for > online racing leagues come to mind (as well as for single player > championships)... > So there is still a great potential for a commercial GPL upgrade > without any new and costly licensing! Understanding that > the software companies of today don't care about minority > interests at all, I'm encouraged with Papy's release of GPL and: > hey, with minimizing the costs, why not supporting that small > but loyal clientele any further? > Anyone out there who feels the same? > -Thorsten Rueter

Very nice stuff. :) Randy Cassidy <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:01bf09c8$0fa76100$[email hidden]...

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> Rick Sweeney <[email hidden]> wrote in article > <[email hidden]>... > > Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use > cable, > > and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with > 19 > > drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, > > Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. > Yea > > I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous > > variables upon that, and just gave up. > The localized versions of the GPL 1.2 patch are currently being tested. > I must apologize to all of you for the non-real-time gaff in 1.1. I > don't know how we missed this. It is fixed in 1.2, along with several > other bug fixes and improvements (slow-mo/turbo is no more). > Here's the readme12.txt. GPL 1.2 is NOT yet released. I'll be sure to > let y'all know when it is. > Randy > ------------------------------------------------- > Grand Prix Legends PATCH README > Version 1.2 > 8/18/99 > [ To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu above ] > TABLE OF CONTENTS > 1. GENERAL > 2. MULTIPLAYER > 3. CONTACTING SIERRA > 1. GENERAL > ---------- > This patch will upgrade GPL version 1.1.0.3 to version 1.2.0.x. > GPL 1.1.0.3 introduced a bug that could cause the game to run slower > than normal. This lead to numerous problems, most of which were even > worse when running multiplayer races. This is now fixed. > The driver selection list on the race weekend screen could contain > blank entries. Also, when selecting a driver from the list, the program > might focus the camera on the wrong car. This is now fixed. > If you miss the start of the race, you must now join the race within > about two minutes, or the green button is taken away and you will not > be allowed to join. > If you have installed replays from many different players, the <Player> > drop-down list on the Load Replay screen would expand off the bottom of > the screen, instead of turning into a scrollable list of players. This > is now fixed. > If you had any saved replays from players that did not enter a driver > name, the <Player> dropdown list would default to showing only replays > created by these players, instead of showing replays created by "All > Players." This is now fixed. > 2. MULTIPLAYER > -------------- > GPL 1.2.0.x clients and servers will not connect to GPL 1.1.0.3 clients > and servers (and vice versa). If you try to connect, you will be told > that the server is incompatible. > If you disconnected from a race server, and then reconnected to the > server, the server would no longer score laps driven by you during the > practice session. This is now fixed. > A new chat command has been added. Any Boss may now tell the server to > stop the current race (if any), disconnect all clients, and exit by > issuing the "!shutdown" command as a chat message. > It was possible, particularly when connected to a fast dedicated race > server, that your pit stall placard and lap time board would be > positioned incorrectly when transitioning from one race to another. > This is now fixed. > You can now issue private chat messages to any one of the players > connected to the server. Begin your message with "/", followed by the > name of the player (or #car_number), followed by the message. For > example > /#16 Hey, John. What's up? > /smith What's up? > /j.smith What's up? > /jo.smi What's up? > /john.smith What's up? > The message will only be sent to the person you identify (or you will > be given an error message if the program couldn't figure out who you > meant). > GPL 1.1.0.3 added a new method by which a client would try to stay in > step with its server. When latencies were fairly stable, it was > smoother than the original method employed by GPL 1.0. When latencies > were unstable, however, the game could speed up or slow down rather > excessively, making it very difficult to control the car. We've > reworked this synchronization method to make it less sensitive to > fluctuations in latency, and to prevent it from applying excessive > adjustments. It should now be much smoother than the GPL 1.0 > synchronization method, even when the latency is very high and very > unstable. The new synchronization method is used by default. However, > if you had switched to using the old synchronization method with GPL > 1.1.0.3 because the "turbo/slow motion" effect was destroying gameplay, > please give the new method a try (just remove the synch_method=0 line > from core.ini, or change it to read synch_method=1). > The Internet can be a harrowing medium through which to race. Gameplay > is directly affected by the latency, reliability, and consistency of > the connection between you and the game server, so it's important that > the program give you a good sense of these factors. GPL 1.2.0.x now > has graphical displays that allow you to monitor the status of your > communications with the server when you are a GPL client. These meters > can only be displayed while in the car. They can be toggled on/off by > pressing Alt-M while in the car. They can be distracting while > driving, so they are turned off by default. You can request that they > be turned on by default by adding the following two lines to core.ini > [ Communications ] > show_meters = 1 > The bar graphs are as follows... > (L) Instantaneous latency from 0.0 seconds (the bar is empty) to > 1.0 seconds (the bar is full height). This is the amount of time that > it takes for a message to go from the server, to your client, and back > to the server. Note that Alt-L shows average latency, not > instantaneous latency. > (Q) Quality from 100% (the bar is empty) to 0% (the bar is full > height). The more data that is lost or garbled during transmission > from the server to you, the lower the quality of your connection, and > the higher this bar will go. > (S) The time skew (difference) between your GPL client and the > server. If your current time is behind where you expect the server to > be, this bar will be below center. If it is at the bottom, then you > believe that you are 1.5 seconds (or more) behind the server. If your > current time is ahead of where you expect the server to be, it will be > above center. If it is at the top, then you believe that you are 1.5 > seconds (or more) ahead of the server. If the bar reaches the top or > bottom, then your client will resynchronize itself with the server (it > will smash its clock). > Ideally, no red bars should be visible whatsoever. That is, you > have 0.0 seconds of latency, 100% of data from the server is getting to > you, and your client believes that it is at the same point in time as > the server. In practice, this will not happen. > The (L)atency bar will almost always be visible since it is not > possible for data to get from the server to you instantaneously. The > higher the latency, the longer it takes for data to get from the server > to your computer, and so the older it is when it gets there. The older > the data is, the more "predicting" your client has to do about the > positions of other cars on the track. The more that it has to predict, > the more likely that it will predict incorrectly, and the more the > other cars will jump around when it realizes its error. > It is not uncommon for the (Q)uality bar to be completely empty > (indicating little or no data loss), but it is also not uncommon for a > few percent of the data to be lost or garbled during transmission, > showing as a small (Q)uality bar. If the bar starts to grow steadily, > then something bad has happened on the route through the Internet > between you and the server (or the server has crashed). If the route > doesn't clear up quickly, you will soon be disconnected. If it does > clear up, there will probably be short period of mayhem as the route > settles down, and old data that has been stuck in transit is flushed. > If the latency is varying a bit, it can be difficult for your client > to determine what point in time the server is currently at, and a small > (S)kew bar is likely to appear. If the (S)kew bar grows continuously > until it hits the top or bottom, your client will smash its clock to > resynchronize itself to the server. If it does this, then either the > connection between you and the server is very poor, or either your > machine or the server machine is extremely overloaded, and your client > can no longer stay in step with the server. > -------------------------------------------------

Cheers Randy! Glad to know its on its way. This disabling my modem so I dont get slow down everytime I run GPL is becoming tiresome! I can look forward to making snide comments about other drivers behind their backs too : ) (although probably more likely they'll be doing that to me) -- Cheers, Robin Lord - Trance DJ & Sim Racer. http://www.oppositelock.freeserve.co.uk Nurburgring and Grand Prix Legends Randy Cassidy <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:01bf09c8$0fa76100$[email hidden]... | Rick Sweeney <[email hidden]> wrote in article | <[email hidden]>... | > Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use | cable, | > and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with | 19 | > drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, | > Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. | Yea | > I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous | > variables upon that, and just gave up. | | The localized versions of the GPL 1.2 patch are currently being tested. | | I must apologize to all of you for the non-real-time gaff in 1.1. I | don't know how we missed this. It is fixed in 1.2, along with several | other bug fixes and improvements (slow-mo/turbo is no more). | | Here's the readme12.txt. GPL 1.2 is NOT yet released. I'll be sure to | let y'all know when it is. | | Randy | | ------------------------------------------------- | Grand Prix Legends PATCH README | Version 1.2 | 8/18/99 | | [ To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu above ] | | | TABLE OF CONTENTS | | 1. GENERAL | | 2. MULTIPLAYER | | 3. CONTACTING SIERRA | | | 1. GENERAL | ---------- | | This patch will upgrade GPL version 1.1.0.3 to version 1.2.0.x. | | | GPL 1.1.0.3 introduced a bug that could cause the game to run slower | than normal. This lead to numerous problems, most of which were even | worse when running multiplayer races. This is now fixed. | | | The driver selection list on the race weekend screen could contain | blank entries. Also, when selecting a driver from the list, the program | might focus the camera on the wrong car. This is now fixed. | | | If you miss the start of the race, you must now join the race within | about two minutes, or the green button is taken away and you will not | be allowed to join. | | | If you have installed replays from many different players, the <Player> | drop-down list on the Load Replay screen would expand off the bottom of | the screen, instead of turning into a scrollable list of players. This | is now fixed. | | | If you had any saved replays from players that did not enter a driver | name, the <Player> dropdown list would default to showing only replays | created by these players, instead of showing replays created by "All | Players." This is now fixed. | | | | | 2. MULTIPLAYER | -------------- | | GPL 1.2.0.x clients and servers will not connect to GPL 1.1.0.3 clients | and servers (and vice versa). If you try to connect, you will be told | that the server is incompatible. | | | If you disconnected from a race server, and then reconnected to the | server, the server would no longer score laps driven by you during the | practice session. This is now fixed. | | | A new chat command has been added. Any Boss may now tell the server to | stop the current race (if any), disconnect all clients, and exit by | issuing the "!shutdown" command as a chat message. | | | It was possible, particularly when connected to a fast dedicated race | server, that your pit stall placard and lap time board would be | positioned incorrectly when transitioning from one race to another. | This is now fixed. | | | You can now issue private chat messages to any one of the players | connected to the server. Begin your message with "/", followed by the | name of the player (or #car_number), followed by the message. For | example | /#16 Hey, John. What's up? | /smith What's up? | /j.smith What's up? | /jo.smi What's up? | /john.smith What's up? | | The message will only be sent to the person you identify (or you will | be given an error message if the program couldn't figure out who you | meant). | | | GPL 1.1.0.3 added a new method by which a client would try to stay in | step with its server. When latencies were fairly stable, it was | smoother than the original method employed by GPL 1.0. When latencies | were unstable, however, the game could speed up or slow down rather | excessively, making it very difficult to control the car. We've | reworked this synchronization method to make it less sensitive to | fluctuations in latency, and to prevent it from applying excessive | adjustments. It should now be much smoother than the GPL 1.0 | synchronization method, even when the latency is very high and very | unstable. The new synchronization method is used by default. However, | if you had switched to using the old synchronization method with GPL | 1.1.0.3 because the "turbo/slow motion" effect was destroying gameplay, | please give the new method a try (just remove the synch_method=0 line | from core.ini, or change it to read synch_method=1). | | | The Internet can be a harrowing medium through which to race. Gameplay | is directly affected by the latency, reliability, and consistency of | the connection between you and the game server, so it's important that | the program give you a good sense of these factors. GPL 1.2.0.x now | has graphical displays that allow you to monitor the status of your | communications with the server when you are a GPL client. These meters | can only be displayed while in the car. They can be toggled on/off by | pressing Alt-M while in the car. They can be distracting while | driving, so they are turned off by default. You can request that they | be turned on by default by adding the following two lines to core.ini | | [ Communications ] | show_meters = 1 | | The bar graphs are as follows... | | (L) Instantaneous latency from 0.0 seconds (the bar is empty) to | 1.0 seconds (the bar is full height). This is the amount of time that | it takes for a message to go from the server, to your client, and back | to the server. Note that Alt-L shows average latency, not | instantaneous latency. | (Q) Quality from 100% (the bar is empty) to 0% (the bar is full | height). The more data that is lost or garbled during transmission | from the server to you, the lower the quality of your connection, and | the higher this bar will go. | (S) The time skew (difference) between your GPL client and the | server. If your current time is behind where you expect the server to | be, this bar will be below center. If it is at the bottom, then you | believe that you are 1.5 seconds (or more) behind the server. If your | current time is ahead of where you expect the server to be, it will be | above center. If it is at the top, then you believe that you are 1.5 | seconds (or more) ahead of the server. If the bar reaches the top or | bottom, then your client will resynchronize itself with the server (it | will smash its clock). | | Ideally, no red bars should be visible whatsoever. That is, you | have 0.0 seconds of latency, 100% of data from the server is getting to | you, and your client believes that it is at the same point in time as | the server. In practice, this will not happen. | | The (L)atency bar will almost always be visible since it is not | possible for data to get from the server to you instantaneously. The | higher the latency, the longer it takes for data to get from the server | to your computer, and so the older it is when it gets there. The older | the data is, the more "predicting" your client has to do about the | positions of other cars on the track. The more that it has to predict, | the more likely that it will predict incorrectly, and the more the | other cars will jump around when it realizes its error. | | It is not uncommon for the (Q)uality bar to be completely empty | (indicating little or no data loss), but it is also not uncommon for a | few percent of the data to be lost or garbled during transmission, | showing as a small (Q)uality bar. If the bar starts to grow steadily, | then something bad has happened on the route through the Internet | between you and the server (or the server has crashed). If the route | doesn't clear up quickly, you will soon be disconnected. If it does | clear up, there will probably be short period of mayhem as the route | settles down, and old data that has been stuck in transit is flushed. | | If the latency is varying a bit, it can be difficult for your client | to determine what point in time the server is currently at, and a small | (S)kew bar is likely to appear. If the (S)kew bar grows continuously | until it hits the top or bottom, your client will smash its clock to | resynchronize itself to the server. If it does this, then either the | connection between you and the server is very poor, or either your | machine or the server machine is extremely overloaded, and your client | can no longer stay in step with the server. | | ------------------------------------------------- |

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> The localized versions of the GPL 1.2 patch are currently being tested. > I must apologize to all of you for the non-real-time gaff in 1.1. I > don't know how we missed this. It is fixed in 1.2, along with several > other bug fixes and improvements (slow-mo/turbo is no more). > Here's the readme12.txt. GPL 1.2 is NOT yet released. I'll be sure to > let y'all know when it is. > Randy

Great news Randy, Thanks Now I know you don't want to put your foot in it by giving a release date as such, but how about a ruff gestimate, are we talking days, weeks, months etc. We promise not to hold you to whatever you say, honest, right everyone. -- Mark London UK Yamaha TRX850

These fixes are really appreciated - but if an add-on like the Act Labs RS Shifter is so easily implemented by other game developers, why don't you take advantage of this opportunity to include support for it in the forthcoming patch? I don't understand. It would be such a perfect fit. Is there bad blood between Papyrus and Act Labs? David Cook In article <01bf09c8$0fa76100$[email hidden]>, [email hidden] wrote...

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> Rick Sweeney <[email hidden]> wrote in article > <[email hidden]>... > > Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use > cable, > > and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with > 19 > > drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, > > Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. > Yea > > I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous > > variables upon that, and just gave up. > The localized versions of the GPL 1.2 patch are currently being tested. > I must apologize to all of you for the non-real-time gaff in 1.1. I > don't know how we missed this. It is fixed in 1.2, along with several > other bug fixes and improvements (slow-mo/turbo is no more). > Here's the readme12.txt. GPL 1.2 is NOT yet released. I'll be sure to > let y'all know when it is. > Randy > ------------------------------------------------- > Grand Prix Legends PATCH README > Version 1.2 > 8/18/99 > [ To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu above ] > TABLE OF CONTENTS > 1. GENERAL > 2. MULTIPLAYER > 3. CONTACTING SIERRA > 1. GENERAL > ---------- > This patch will upgrade GPL version 1.1.0.3 to version 1.2.0.x. > GPL 1.1.0.3 introduced a bug that could cause the game to run slower > than normal. This lead to numerous problems, most of which were even > worse when running multiplayer races. This is now fixed. > The driver selection list on the race weekend screen could contain > blank entries. Also, when selecting a driver from the list, the program > might focus the camera on the wrong car. This is now fixed. > If you miss the start of the race, you must now join the race within > about two minutes, or the green button is taken away and you will not > be allowed to join. > If you have installed replays from many different players, the <Player> > drop-down list on the Load Replay screen would expand off the bottom of > the screen, instead of turning into a scrollable list of players. This > is now fixed. > If you had any saved replays from players that did not enter a driver > name, the <Player> dropdown list would default to showing only replays > created by these players, instead of showing replays created by "All > Players." This is now fixed. > 2. MULTIPLAYER > -------------- > GPL 1.2.0.x clients and servers will not connect to GPL 1.1.0.3 clients > and servers (and vice versa). If you try to connect, you will be told > that the server is incompatible. > If you disconnected from a race server, and then reconnected to the > server, the server would no longer score laps driven by you during the > practice session. This is now fixed. > A new chat command has been added. Any Boss may now tell the server to > stop the current race (if any), disconnect all clients, and exit by > issuing the "!shutdown" command as a chat message. > It was possible, particularly when connected to a fast dedicated race > server, that your pit stall placard and lap time board would be > positioned incorrectly when transitioning from one race to another. > This is now fixed. > You can now issue private chat messages to any one of the players > connected to the server. Begin your message with "/", followed by the > name of the player (or #car_number), followed by the message. For > example > /#16 Hey, John. What's up? > /smith What's up? > /j.smith What's up? > /jo.smi What's up? > /john.smith What's up? > The message will only be sent to the person you identify (or you will > be given an error message if the program couldn't figure out who you > meant). > GPL 1.1.0.3 added a new method by which a client would try to stay in > step with its server. When latencies were fairly stable, it was > smoother than the original method employed by GPL 1.0. When latencies > were unstable, however, the game could speed up or slow down rather > excessively, making it very difficult to control the car. We've > reworked this synchronization method to make it less sensitive to > fluctuations in latency, and to prevent it from applying excessive > adjustments. It should now be much smoother than the GPL 1.0 > synchronization method, even when the latency is very high and very > unstable. The new synchronization method is used by default. However, > if you had switched to using the old synchronization method with GPL > 1.1.0.3 because the "turbo/slow motion" effect was destroying gameplay, > please give the new method a try (just remove the synch_method=0 line > from core.ini, or change it to read synch_method=1). > The Internet can be a harrowing medium through which to race. Gameplay > is directly affected by the latency, reliability, and consistency of > the connection between you and the game server, so it's important that > the program give you a good sense of these factors. GPL 1.2.0.x now > has graphical displays that allow you to monitor the status of your > communications with the server when you are a GPL client. These meters > can only be displayed while in the car. They can be toggled on/off by > pressing Alt-M while in the car. They can be distracting while > driving, so they are turned off by default. You can request that they > be turned on by default by adding the following two lines to core.ini > [ Communications ] > show_meters = 1 > The bar graphs are as follows... > (L) Instantaneous latency from 0.0 seconds (the bar is empty) to > 1.0 seconds (the bar is full height). This is the amount of time that > it takes for a message to go from the server, to your client, and back > to the server. Note that Alt-L shows average latency, not > instantaneous latency. > (Q) Quality from 100% (the bar is empty) to 0% (the bar is full > height). The more data that is lost or garbled during transmission > from the server to you, the lower the quality of your connection, and > the higher this bar will go. > (S) The time skew (difference) between your GPL client and the > server. If your current time is behind where you expect the server to > be, this bar will be below center. If it is at the bottom, then you > believe that you are 1.5 seconds (or more) behind the server. If your > current time is ahead of where you expect the server to be, it will be > above center. If it is at the top, then you believe that you are 1.5 > seconds (or more) ahead of the server. If the bar reaches the top or > bottom, then your client will resynchronize itself with the server (it > will smash its clock). > Ideally, no red bars should be visible whatsoever. That is, you > have 0.0 seconds of latency, 100% of data from the server is getting to > you, and your client believes that it is at the same point in time as > the server. In practice, this will not happen. > The (L)atency bar will almost always be visible since it is not > possible for data to get from the server to you instantaneously. The > higher the latency, the longer it takes for data to get from the server > to your computer, and so the older it is when it gets there. The older > the data is, the more "predicting" your client has to do about the > positions of other cars on the track. The more that it has to predict, > the more likely that it will predict incorrectly, and the more the > other cars will jump around when it realizes its error. > It is not uncommon for the (Q)uality bar to be completely empty > (indicating little or no data loss), but it is also not uncommon for a > few percent of the data to be lost or garbled during transmission, > showing as a small (Q)uality bar. If the bar starts to grow steadily, > then something bad has happened on the route through the Internet > between you and the server (or the server has crashed). If the route > doesn't clear up quickly, you will soon be disconnected. If it does > clear up, there will probably be short period of mayhem as the route > settles down, and old data that has been stuck in transit is flushed. > If the latency is varying a bit, it can be difficult for your client > to determine what point in time the server is currently at, and a small > (S)kew bar is likely to appear. If the (S)kew bar grows continuously > until it hits the top or bottom, your client will smash its clock to > resynchronize itself to the server. If it does this, then either the > connection between you and the server is very poor, or either your > machine or the server machine is extremely overloaded, and your client > can no longer stay in step with the server. > -------------------------------------------------

> And what about a SCL(Sports Car Legend) Addon. I like GPL but I prefer > the Sports Car of the same period. It wouldn't be difficult to do as > these cars were technicaly very near(the open top ones). It would be > great to race with the Lola T70, Matra 670, Porsche 917 or the Ferrari > P4,Ford GT40, Porsche 908,Ferrari 312, etc... The SCL i'd like to see is the AH Bug-eye Sprite! ;-) -- ========================================= Mike Barlow of Barlow Racing? ========================================= http://members.xoom.com/BarlowRacing/ Racing online with the help of...... Race Communications Association Holodyne Engineering Mystic Music (have Your !!Name/Address!! placed here)

<snip> <snip> Cool, Papyrus figured out how to do a GPL Lag-o-meter! Glad to see the patch coming out, hopefully the beta testers won't sit on it forever. -- Douglas Bollinger Mt. Holly Springs, PA 17065 My other computer runs Linux.

Both are great ideas! Just like GPL's F1, F2 and F3 cars, there could be 3 classes of sports cars. Group One could be the top dogs, the Lola T70s, GT40s, Chaparrals etc. Group Two could be the Porsche 904s, Cobras, Stingrays, Lotus 23s and the like. Group Three would consist of under 2 litre cars, Triumphs, Healeys, Porsche Abarth Carreras, Alfas...maybe even a Gordini or an OSCA<g>. Add Gurney, Donohue, Ginther, Phil Hill, Jim Hall, Ken Miles, The Rodriguez brothers, David Piper, Tony Maggs, Baghetti, Maglioli, Revson, Andretti, and of course, Bruce and Denny and I'll be first in line, cash in hand. don [|]-(_)-[|]

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>> And what about a SCL(Sports Car Legend) Addon. I like GPL but I prefer >> the Sports Car of the same period. It wouldn't be difficult to do as >> these cars were technicaly very near(the open top ones). It would be >> great to race with the Lola T70, Matra 670, Porsche 917 or the Ferrari >> P4,Ford GT40, Porsche 908,Ferrari 312, etc... > The SCL i'd like to see is the AH Bug-eye Sprite! ;-)

Sounds good, but how about better OpenGL support? Or D3d for that matter. Not being able to use the mirrors with my TNT2 Ultra really sucks. Randy Cassidy <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:01bf09c8$0fa76100$[email hidden]... > Rick Sweeney <[email hidden]> wrote in article > <[email hidden]>... > > Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use > cable, > > and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with > 19 > > drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, > > Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. > Yea > > I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous > > variables upon that, and just gave up. > The localized versions of the GPL 1.2 patch are currently being tested. > I must apologize to all of you for the non-real-time gaff in 1.1. I > don't know how we missed this. It is fixed in 1.2, along with several > other bug fixes and improvements (slow-mo/turbo is no more). > Here's the readme12.txt. GPL 1.2 is NOT yet released. I'll be sure to

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> let y'all know when it is. > Randy > ------------------------------------------------- > Grand Prix Legends PATCH README > Version 1.2 > 8/18/99 > [ To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu

above ]

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> TABLE OF CONTENTS > 1. GENERAL > 2. MULTIPLAYER > 3. CONTACTING SIERRA > 1. GENERAL > ---------- > This patch will upgrade GPL version 1.1.0.3 to version 1.2.0.x. > GPL 1.1.0.3 introduced a bug that could cause the game to run

slower > than normal. This lead to numerous problems, most of which were even > worse when running multiplayer races. This is now fixed. > The driver selection list on the race weekend screen could contain > blank entries. Also, when selecting a driver from the list, the program > might focus the camera on the wrong car. This is now fixed. > If you miss the start of the race, you must now join the race within > about two minutes, or the green button is taken away and you will not > be allowed to join. > If you have installed replays from many different players, the <Player> > drop-down list on the Load Replay screen would expand off the bottom of > the screen, instead of turning into a scrollable list of players. This > is now fixed. > If you had any saved replays from players that did not enter a driver > name, the <Player> dropdown list would default to showing only replays > created by these players, instead of showing replays created by "All > Players." This is now fixed. > 2. MULTIPLAYER > -------------- > GPL 1.2.0.x clients and servers will not connect to GPL 1.1.0.3 clients > and servers (and vice versa). If you try to connect, you will be told > that the server is incompatible. > If you disconnected from a race server, and then reconnected to the > server, the server would no longer score laps driven by you during the > practice session. This is now fixed. > A new chat command has been added. Any Boss may now tell the server to > stop the current race (if any), disconnect all clients, and exit by > issuing the "!shutdown" command as a chat message. > It was possible, particularly when connected to a fast dedicated race > server, that your pit stall placard and lap time board would be > positioned incorrectly when transitioning from one race to another. > This is now fixed. > You can now issue private chat messages to any one of the players > connected to the server. Begin your message with "/", followed by the > name of the player (or #car_number), followed by the message. For

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> example > /#16 Hey, John. What's up? > /smith What's up? > /j.smith What's up? > /jo.smi What's up? > /john.smith What's up? > The message will only be sent to the person you identify (or

you will > be given an error message if the program couldn't figure out who you > meant). > GPL 1.1.0.3 added a new method by which a client would try to stay in > step with its server. When latencies were fairly stable, it was > smoother than the original method employed by GPL 1.0. When latencies > were unstable, however, the game could speed up or slow down rather > excessively, making it very difficult to control the car. We've > reworked this synchronization method to make it less sensitive to > fluctuations in latency, and to prevent it from applying excessive > adjustments. It should now be much smoother than the GPL 1.0 > synchronization method, even when the latency is very high and very > unstable. The new synchronization method is used by default. However, > if you had switched to using the old synchronization method with GPL > 1.1.0.3 because the "turbo/slow motion" effect was destroying gameplay, > please give the new method a try (just remove the synch_method=0 line > from core.ini, or change it to read synch_method=1). > The Internet can be a harrowing medium through which to race. Gameplay > is directly affected by the latency, reliability, and consistency of > the connection between you and the game server, so it's important that > the program give you a good sense of these factors. GPL 1.2.0.x now > has graphical displays that allow you to monitor the status of your > communications with the server when you are a GPL client. These meters > can only be displayed while in the car. They can be toggled on/off by > pressing Alt-M while in the car. They can be distracting while > driving, so they are turned off by default. You can request that they > be turned on by default by adding the following two lines to core.ini > [ Communications ] > show_meters = 1 > The bar graphs are as follows... > (L) Instantaneous latency from 0.0 seconds (the bar is empty) to > 1.0 seconds (the bar is full height). This is the amount of time that > it takes for a message to go from the server, to your client, and back > to the server. Note that Alt-L shows average latency, not > instantaneous latency. > (Q) Quality from 100% (the bar is empty) to 0% (the bar is full > height). The more data that is lost or garbled during transmission > from the server to you, the lower the quality of your connection, and > the higher this bar will go. > (S) The time skew (difference) between your GPL client and the > server. If your current time is behind where you expect the server to > be, this bar will be below center. If it is at the bottom, then you > believe that you are 1.5 seconds (or more) behind the server. If your > current time is ahead of where you expect the server to be, it will be > above center. If it is at the top, then you believe that you are 1.5 > seconds (or more) ahead of the server. If the bar reaches the top or > bottom, then your client will resynchronize itself with the server (it > will smash its clock). > Ideally, no red bars should be visible whatsoever. That is, you > have 0.0 seconds of latency, 100% of data from the server is getting to > you, and your client believes that it is at the same point in time as > the server. In practice, this will not happen. > The (L)atency bar will almost always be visible since it is not > possible for data to get from the server to you instantaneously. The the server > to your computer, and so the older it is when it gets there. The older > the data is, the more "predicting" your client has to do about the > positions of other cars on the track. The more that it has to predict, > the more likely that it will predict incorrectly, and the more the > other cars will jump around when it realizes its error. > It is not uncommon for the (Q)uality bar to be completely empty > (indicating little or no data loss), but it is also not uncommon for a > few percent of the data to be lost or garbled during transmission, > showing as a small (Q)uality bar. If the bar starts to grow steadily, > then something bad has happened on the route through the Internet > between you and the server (or the server has crashed). If the route > doesn't clear up quickly, you will soon be disconnected. If it does > clear up, there will probably be short period of mayhem as the route > settles down, and old data that has been stuck in transit is flushed. > If the latency is varying a bit, it can be difficult for your client > to determine what point in time the server is currently at, and a small > (S)kew bar is likely to appear. If the (S)kew bar grows continuously > until it hits the top or bottom, your client will smash its clock to > resynchronize itself to the server. If it does this, then either the > connection between you and the server is very poor, or either your > machine or the server machine is extremely overloaded, and your client > can no longer stay in step with the server. > -------------------------------------------------

Hooooo Boy. <Drool> Don't get me e***d with wonderful add-on possibilities like that! 8^)

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> And what about a SCL(Sports Car Legend) Addon. I like GPL but > I prefer the Sports Car of the same period. It wouldn't be > difficult to do as these cars were technicaly very near(the > open top ones). It would be great to race with the Lola T70, > Matra 670, Porsche 917 or the Ferrari P4,Ford GT40, Porsche > 908,Ferrari 312, etc... > > Papyrus, please give us a GPL2 or at least a > > GPL upgrade pack! > > I understand that GPL was probably planned > > and budgeted as a niche product only and to > > pave the way for following NASCAR and CART > > big sellers using the new physics engine. > > (GPL's licensing costs, compared to NASCAR > > licensing costs, must have been minimal: > > they didn't even bother to license the term "Formula > > One"; Papy calls their cars Grand Prix cars instead of > > F1 cars!!). > > So I guess GPL is not the financial disappointment that > > some people want to make us believe it is. > > Regarding GPL as a niche product I still wish it would > > be supported in the future. How about an upgrade CD > > without further licensing costs? I can imagine that a lot > > of enthusiasts would be willing to pay for an upgrade pack > > without new tracks and such, but with new features like > > simulated weather, some new 'game play' options like the > > 'maximum chassis per event' option that was planned in the > > early development of GPL (well at least some very old screen- > > shots hint at this). A helluva *lot* of new game play options for > > online racing leagues come to mind (as well as for single player > > championships)... > > So there is still a great potential for a commercial GPL upgrade > > without any new and costly licensing! Understanding that > > the software companies of today don't care about minority > > interests at all, I'm encouraged with Papy's release of GPL and: > > hey, with minimizing the costs, why not supporting that small > > but loyal clientele any further? > > Anyone out there who feels the same? > > -Thorsten Rueter

-- -Chris- ---Two wheels are better ---Proud owner of a 1998 ZX-9R Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Yeah great idea, I had much the same idea, but a few years laster with Porsche 917, and Ferrari 512 (?). But in any case it make a great addition. Craig H I like GPL but I prefer be difficult to do as top ones). It would be Porsche 917 or the Ferrari

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> P4,Ford GT40, Porsche 908,Ferrari 312, etc... > > Papyrus, please give us a GPL2 or at least a > > GPL upgrade pack! > > I understand that GPL was probably planned > > and budgeted as a niche product only and to > > pave the way for following NASCAR and CART > > big sellers using the new physics engine. > > (GPL's licensing costs, compared to NASCAR > > licensing costs, must have been minimal: > > they didn't even bother to license the term

"Formula > > One"; Papy calls their cars Grand Prix cars instead of > > F1 cars!!). > > So I guess GPL is not the financial disappointment that > > some people want to make us believe it is. > > Regarding GPL as a niche product I still wish it would > > be supported in the future. How about an upgrade CD > > without further licensing costs? I can imagine that a lot > > of enthusiasts would be willing to pay for an upgrade pack > > without new tracks and such, but with new features like > > simulated weather, some new 'game play' options like the > > 'maximum chassis per event' option that was planned in the > > early development of GPL (well at least some very old screen- > > shots hint at this). A helluva *lot* of new game play options for commercial GPL upgrade supporting that small Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Yeah great idea, I had much the same idea, but a few years laster with Porsche 917, and Ferrari 512 (?). But in any case it make a great addition. Craig H I like GPL but I prefer be difficult to do as top ones). It would be Porsche 917 or the Ferrari

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> P4,Ford GT40, Porsche 908,Ferrari 312, etc... > > Papyrus, please give us a GPL2 or at least a > > GPL upgrade pack! > > I understand that GPL was probably planned > > and budgeted as a niche product only and to > > pave the way for following NASCAR and CART > > big sellers using the new physics engine. > > (GPL's licensing costs, compared to NASCAR > > licensing costs, must have been minimal: > > they didn't even bother to license the term

"Formula > > One"; Papy calls their cars Grand Prix cars instead of > > F1 cars!!). > > So I guess GPL is not the financial disappointment that > > some people want to make us believe it is. > > Regarding GPL as a niche product I still wish it would > > be supported in the future. How about an upgrade CD > > without further licensing costs? I can imagine that a lot > > of enthusiasts would be willing to pay for an upgrade pack > > without new tracks and such, but with new features like > > simulated weather, some new 'game play' options like the > > 'maximum chassis per event' option that was planned in the > > early development of GPL (well at least some very old screen- > > shots hint at this). A helluva *lot* of new game play options for commercial GPL upgrade supporting that small Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Yeah great idea, I had much the same idea, but a few years later with Porsche 917, and Ferrari 512 (?). In any case, it would make a great sim. Craig I like GPL but I prefer be difficult to do as top ones). It would be Porsche 917 or the Ferrari

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> P4,Ford GT40, Porsche 908,Ferrari 312, etc... > > Papyrus, please give us a GPL2 or at least a > > GPL upgrade pack! > > I understand that GPL was probably planned > > and budgeted as a niche product only and to > > pave the way for following NASCAR and CART > > big sellers using the new physics engine. > > (GPL's licensing costs, compared to NASCAR > > licensing costs, must have been minimal: > > they didn't even bother to license the term

"Formula > > One"; Papy calls their cars Grand Prix cars instead of > > F1 cars!!). > > So I guess GPL is not the financial disappointment that > > some people want to make us believe it is. > > Regarding GPL as a niche product I still wish it would > > be supported in the future. How about an upgrade CD > > without further licensing costs? I can imagine that a lot > > of enthusiasts would be willing to pay for an upgrade pack > > without new tracks and such, but with new features like > > simulated weather, some new 'game play' options like the > > 'maximum chassis per event' option that was planned in the > > early development of GPL (well at least some very old screen- > > shots hint at this). A helluva *lot* of new game play options for commercial GPL upgrade supporting that small Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

What can I say - EXCELLENT!! Thanks Randy. I'm not even going to bother asking when we can expect this release..................................................................... .........or am I? :) Darren

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> > Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use > cable, > > and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with > 19 > > drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, > > Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. > Yea > > I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous > > variables upon that, and just gave up. > The localized versions of the GPL 1.2 patch are currently being tested. > I must apologize to all of you for the non-real-time gaff in 1.1. I > don't know how we missed this. It is fixed in 1.2, along with several > other bug fixes and improvements (slow-mo/turbo is no more). > Here's the readme12.txt. GPL 1.2 is NOT yet released. I'll be sure to > let y'all know when it is. > Randy

Readme file contents snipped due to my ISP not allowing me to post less lines than the original poster! ..

Wow very interesting and nice stuff. Now go to the N3 team at the Papyrus HQ and ask them to implement those things for N3 also, and not sell it as "N4" please ;-) -- -- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard> -- May the Downforce be with you...

>Group Three would consist of under 2 litre cars, Triumphs, > Healeys, Porsche Abarth Carreras, Alfas...maybe even a > Gordini or an OSCA<g>. Hey!! Don't forget the Mini!! Imagine doing the 100km's at Spa or even the 24hrs of Nurburging (whilch it btw won.. - the class that is :) in a clorious Cooper 'S :-))) That is if Papy (or whoever it was that did it for 'em) don't mess up the Cooper-licensing stuff yet again!! :-((( -- All the best, Edwin Solheim **remove spamguard in address to reply** Drop by "The Paddock - a legendary site....." for some cool GPL stuff! http://home.c2i.net/thepaddock

>Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use cable, >and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with 19 >drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, >Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. Yea >I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous >variables upon that, and just gave up. Rick, The only slow-motion that I've experienced with the patch is off line against a full field of 19 cars. My online connection is rock solid as long as I use the old method of sync. Have had only 2 discos since the patch came out that were my system/ISP related. Joel Willstein

Dear readers, Sorry about my multiple repeat of same message. Dont know what happened. Musta got e***d

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> >Group Three would consist of under 2 litre cars, Triumphs, > > Healeys, Porsche Abarth Carreras, Alfas...maybe even a > > Gordini or an OSCA<g>. > Hey!! > Don't forget the Mini!! > Imagine doing the 100km's at Spa or even the 24hrs of Nurburging

(whilch it > btw won.. - the class that is :) in a clorious Cooper 'S :-))) > That is if Papy (or whoever it was that did it for 'em) don't mess up the

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> Cooper-licensing stuff yet again!! :-((( > -- > All the best, > Edwin Solheim **remove spamguard in address to reply** > Drop by "The Paddock - a legendary site....." for some cool GPL stuff! > http://home.c2i.net/thepaddock

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

I just went to Papy's site to see if the English version is allready available, but the site is down. Someone at Papy busy with a big update??? Andre

>What can I say - EXCELLENT!! >Thanks Randy. >I'm not even going to bother asking when we can expect this >release.................................................................... . >.........or am I? >:) >Darren Last night it was reported in the chat room of GSB that the patch was leaked out. Whether or not this is the final version is not known. The problem right now is that if you choose to install the beta ver of the patch,then you will not be able to join any online races at GSB/VROC,simply because they don't support the patch at this point. The only solution is to have both gpl.exe and switch them back and forth as needed. I will be holding off until an updated version of GSB/VROC is released. Joel Willstein

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> Last night it was reported in the chat room of GSB that the patch was > leaked out. Whether or not this is the final version is not known. The > problem right now is that if you choose to install the beta ver of the > patch,then you will not be able to join any online races at GSB/VROC,simply > because they don't support the patch at this point. The only solution is to > have both gpl.exe and switch them back and forth as needed. > I will be holding off until an updated version of GSB/VROC is released. > Joel Willstein

You're wrong here Joel. Alison made several posts to this NG in which she claims you can join (and host) races via the VROC-applet (caution: NOT via GSB yet!!!!) using 1.2. The only limitation is that both server and client need to be running 1.2. you can't mix 1.1 and 1.2. Jan. J.H.Hovius.vcf < 1K Download

Hey David, there's no bad blood between ourselves and Papy. ;) I sent a development kit to Papyrus awhile back but been waiting for our pilot run units to send over. It's of course better to have the actual hardware to check it out first hand. I'm sure they will want to run a couple laps with Viper or Rally to see how it performs. I'm also looking forward to getting my hands on the final gear in-house as we have been thrashing our 2 internal samples to death heh... Brandon Crick ACT LABS David L. Cook <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> These fixes are really appreciated - but if an add-on like the Act Labs > RS Shifter is so easily implemented by other game developers, why don't > you take advantage of this opportunity to include support for it in the > forthcoming patch? I don't understand. It would be such a perfect fit. > Is there bad blood between Papyrus and Act Labs? > David Cook > In article <01bf09c8$0fa76100$[email hidden]>, > [email hidden] wrote... > > Rick Sweeney <[email hidden]> wrote in article > > <[email hidden]>... > > > Or maybe fix the online problems that the 1.1 patch caused. I use > > cable, > > > and before 1.1 my online connection was awesome. I could host with > > 19 > > > drivers easily. Now it just gets so frustrating with the bad conn, > > > Slo-Mo's as they call it, its just not worth going on-line anymore. > > Yea > > > I have the latest greatest INI allison file, and have tried numerous > > > variables upon that, and just gave up. > > The localized versions of the GPL 1.2 patch are currently being tested. > > I must apologize to all of you for the non-real-time gaff in 1.1. I > > don't know how we missed this. It is fixed in 1.2, along with several > > other bug fixes and improvements (slow-mo/turbo is no more). > > Here's the readme12.txt. GPL 1.2 is NOT yet released. I'll be sure to > > let y'all know when it is. > > Randy > > ------------------------------------------------- > > Grand Prix Legends PATCH README > > Version 1.2 > > 8/18/99 > > [ To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu above ] > > TABLE OF CONTENTS > > 1. GENERAL > > 2. MULTIPLAYER > > 3. CONTACTING SIERRA > > 1. GENERAL > > ---------- > > This patch will upgrade GPL version 1.1.0.3 to version 1.2.0.x. > > GPL 1.1.0.3 introduced a bug that could cause the game to run slower > > than normal. This lead to numerous problems, most of which were even > > worse when running multiplayer races. This is now fixed. > > The driver selection list on the race weekend screen could contain > > blank entries. Also, when selecting a driver from the list, the program > > might focus the camera on the wrong car. This is now fixed. > > If you miss the start of the race, you must now join the race within > > about two minutes, or the green button is taken away and you will not > > be allowed to join. > > If you have installed replays from many different players, the <Player> > > drop-down list on the Load Replay screen would expand off the bottom of > > the screen, instead of turning into a scrollable list of players. This > > is now fixed. > > If you had any saved replays from players that did not enter a driver > > name, the <Player> dropdown list would default to showing only replays > > created by these players, instead of showing replays created by "All > > Players." This is now fixed. > > 2. MULTIPLAYER > > -------------- > > GPL 1.2.0.x clients and servers will not connect to GPL 1.1.0.3 clients > > and servers (and vice versa). If you try to connect, you will be told > > that the server is incompatible. > > If you disconnected from a race server, and then reconnected to the > > server, the server would no longer score laps driven by you during the > > practice session. This is now fixed. > > A new chat command has been added. Any Boss may now tell the server to > > stop the current race (if any), disconnect all clients, and exit by > > issuing the "!shutdown" command as a chat message. > > It was possible, particularly when connected to a fast dedicated race > > server, that your pit stall placard and lap time board would be > > positioned incorrectly when transitioning from one race to another. > > This is now fixed. > > You can now issue private chat messages to any one of the players > > connected to the server. Begin your message with "/", followed by the > > name of the player (or #car_number), followed by the message. For > > example > > /#16 Hey, John. What's up? > > /smith What's up? > > /j.smith What's up? > > /jo.smi What's up? > > /john.smith What's up? > > The message will only be sent to the person you identify (or you will > > be given an error message if the program couldn't figure out who you > > meant). > > GPL 1.1.0.3 added a new method by which a client would try to stay in > > step with its server. When latencies were fairly stable, it was > > smoother than the original method employed by GPL 1.0. When latencies > > were unstable, however, the game could speed up or slow down rather > > excessively, making it very difficult to control the car. We've > > reworked this synchronization method to make it less sensitive to > > fluctuations in latency, and to prevent it from applying excessive > > adjustments. It should now be much smoother than the GPL 1.0 > > synchronization method, even when the latency is very high and very > > unstable. The new synchronization method is used by default. However, > > if you had switched to using the old synchronization method with GPL > > 1.1.0.3 because the "turbo/slow motion" effect was destroying gameplay, > > please give the new method a try (just remove the synch_method=0 line > > from core.ini, or change it to read synch_method=1). > > The Internet can be a harrowing medium through which to race. Gameplay > > is directly affected by the latency, reliability, and consistency of > > the connection between you and the game server, so it's important that > > the program give you a good sense of these factors. GPL 1.2.0.x now > > has graphical displays that allow you to monitor the status of your > > communications with the server when you are a GPL client. These meters > > can only be displayed while in the car. They can be toggled on/off by > > pressing Alt-M while in the car. They can be distracting while > > driving, so they are turned off by default. You can request that they > > be turned on by default by adding the following two lines to core.ini > > [ Communications ] > > show_meters = 1 > > The bar graphs are as follows... > > (L) Instantaneous latency from 0.0 seconds (the bar is empty) to > > 1.0 seconds (the bar is full height). This is the amount of time that > > it takes for a message to go from the server, to your client, and back > > to the server. Note that Alt-L shows average latency, not > > instantaneous latency. > > (Q) Quality from 100% (the bar is empty) to 0% (the bar is full > > height). The more data that is lost or garbled during transmission > > from the server to you, the lower the quality of your connection, and > > the higher this bar will go. > > (S) The time skew (difference) between your GPL client and the > > server. If your current time is behind where you expect the server to > > be, this bar will be below center. If it is at the bottom, then you > > believe that you are 1.5 seconds (or more) behind the server. If your > > current time is ahead of where you expect the server to be, it will be > > above center. If it is at the top, then you believe that you are 1.5 > > seconds (or more) ahead of the server. If the bar reaches the top or > > bottom, then your client will resynchronize itself with the server (it > > will smash its clock). > > Ideally, no red bars should be visible whatsoever. That is, you > > have 0.0 seconds of latency, 100% of data from the server is getting to > > you, and your client believes that it is at the same point in time as > > the server. In practice, this will not happen. > > The (L)atency bar will almost always be visible since it is not > > possible for data to get from the server to you instantaneously. The > > higher the latency, the longer it takes for data to get from the server > > to your computer, and so the older it is when it gets there. The older > > the data is, the more "predicting" your client has to do about the > > positions of other cars on the track. The more that it has to predict, > > the more likely that it will predict incorrectly, and the more the > > other cars will jump around when it realizes its error. > > It is not uncommon for the (Q)uality bar to be completely empty > > (indicating little or no data loss), but it is also not uncommon for a > > few percent of the data to be lost or garbled during transmission, > > showing as a small (Q)uality bar. If the bar starts to grow steadily, > > then something bad has happened on the route through the Internet > > between you and the server (or the server has crashed). If the route > > doesn't clear up quickly, you will soon be disconnected. If it does > > clear up, there will probably be short period of mayhem as the route > > settles down, and old data that has been stuck in transit is flushed. > > If the latency is varying a bit, it can be difficult for your client > > to determine what point in time the server is currently at, and a small > > (S)kew bar is likely to appear. If the (S)kew bar grows continuously > > until it hits the top or bottom, your client will smash its clock to > > resynchronize itself to the server. If it does this, then either the > > connection between you and the

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In that case I wish to apologize to Randy Cassidy. I was under the impression that Act Labs had sent Papyrus the same hardware and development kit that you sent to the developers of RC and Viper Racing. I'm assuming that those developers did receive the hardware... I would gladly wait on the delivery of my RS Shifter if I could get support in GPL - Send them mine! David Cook (Cooknn on VROC) wrote...