GPL, Nascar Heat, with a gamepad?

Is it possible to play games like Gran Prix Legends or Nascar Heat with a gamepad? I picked up Gran Turismo 3 a while back on my Playstation 2 and I really enjoy playing that, even though I don't know much about racing (I don't even have a driver's license). Just the basics like I can follow the line in most of the Gran Turismo 3 tracks and even win a few races. The only bad thing is that the graphics suck, everything is jaggy and hard to see. I wanted to try these 2 PC games after I got into Need for Speed 4, but all I have on my PC is a gamepad with 2 analogue sticks and 12 buttons (standard PS2 layout), and I really don't have the desk space for a wheel.

"anonymous" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:E6op9.7333$[email hidden]... > Is it possible to play games like Gran Prix Legends or Nascar Heat with a > gamepad? I picked up Gran Turismo 3 a while back on my Playstation 2 andI > really enjoy playing that, even though I don't know much about racing (I > don't even have a driver's license). Just the basics like I can followthe > line in most of the Gran Turismo 3 tracks and even win a few races. The > only bad thing is that the graphics suck, everything is jaggy and hard to > see. I wanted to try these 2 PC games after I got into Need for Speed 4, > but all I have on my PC is a gamepad with 2 analogue sticks and 12 buttons > (standard PS2 layout), and I really don't have the desk space for a wheel. Can't really give any opinion on the other games, but you can run gpl with a joypad, or even the keyboard. HOWEVER, if you map the throttle or brake to a 'digital' control like a button, the relevant driving aid will be enabled regardless of whether you select it or not in the options page. The steering will also be alot less sensitive, but if you've driven with a joypad before you'll probably be used to that anyway. This is not the best way to get the most out of gpl, but it will work. If you're looking for a cheap wheel & pedals in the UK, try BRD's online shop & see if they have any of the shop soiled F1-Racer sets left. Nice wheel, poor pedals, but waaay better than a joypad ;-) Malc.

"Malc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:nOop9.277$0O4.33691@wards...

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> This is not the best way to get the most out of gpl, but it will work. > > If you're looking for a cheap wheel & pedals in the UK, try BRD's online > shop & see if they have any of the shop soiled F1-Racer sets left. Nice > wheel, poor pedals, but waaay better than a joypad ;-) > > Malc. >

I'm in the US. I don't see how I'd have the space for a steering wheel. I have a stick/throttle combo for my flight sims and I end up using a gamepad mostly because they are so big and my desk isn't, also it's a pain to try and get alot of games to accept multiple controllers. Then you have to configure every darn button on the things for every game... I bought a Thrustmaster steering wheel to use with Gran Turismo 3 on my PS2, but I concluded after using it a short while that : A) I wasn't driving any better (worse, in fact) (but GT3 doesn't let you calibrate that simple of a wheel, only a Logitech, that could be a reason) B) it was bulky, but fortunately I was in the living room so had some space to put a table up temporarily C) felt stupid spending 40 bucks on something that didn't help me drive any better. So I sold it on Ebay. The only periphreal besides a gamepad I use now on my PS2 is a lightgun.

"anonymous" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:yGrp9.8025$[email hidden]...

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> > "Malc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:nOop9.277$0O4.33691@wards... > > This is not the best way to get the most out of gpl, but it will work. > > > > If you're looking for a cheap wheel & pedals in the UK, try BRD's online > > shop & see if they have any of the shop soiled F1-Racer sets left. Nice > > wheel, poor pedals, but waaay better than a joypad ;-) > > > > Malc. > > > > I'm in the US. > > I don't see how I'd have the space for a steering wheel. I have a > stick/throttle combo for my flight sims and I end up using a gamepad

mostly > because they are so big and my desk isn't, also it's a pain to try and get > alot of games to accept multiple controllers. Then you have to configure > every darn button on the things for every game... > > I bought a Thrustmaster steering wheel to use with Gran Turismo 3 on my > PS2, but I concluded after using it a short while that : A) I wasn'tdriving > any better (worse, in fact) (but GT3 doesn't let you calibrate that simple > of a wheel, only a Logitech, that could be a reason) B) it was bulky, but > fortunately I was in the living room so had some space to put a table up > temporarily C) felt stupid spending 40 bucks on something that didn't help > me drive any better. So I sold it on Ebay. The only periphreal besides a > gamepad I use now on my PS2 is a lightgun. GPL is almost undrivable without an accurate analogue controller (i.e. a steering wheel). I've also used a steering wheel on Gran Tourismo 2 on PS, and I agree that its crap, but in the case of GPL (I don't know about nascar) it is almost essential, and works much better. I also don't have much in the way of desk space, so when I want to play GPL I move the keyboard out of the way and plug the wheel in. One you have set up GPL you don't have to reconfigure every button (not that there are many to configure). David Corless

"anonymous" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:yGrp9.8025$[email hidden]...

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> > "Malc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:nOop9.277$0O4.33691@wards... > > This is not the best way to get the most out of gpl, but it will work. > > > > If you're looking for a cheap wheel & pedals in the UK, try BRD's online > > shop & see if they have any of the shop soiled F1-Racer sets left. Nice > > wheel, poor pedals, but waaay better than a joypad ;-) > > > > Malc. > > > > I'm in the US. > > I don't see how I'd have the space for a steering wheel. I have a > stick/throttle combo for my flight sims and I end up using a gamepad

mostly > because they are so big and my desk isn't, also it's a pain to try and get > alot of games to accept multiple controllers. Then you have to configure > every darn button on the things for every game... > > I bought a Thrustmaster steering wheel to use with Gran Turismo 3 on my > PS2, but I concluded after using it a short while that : A) I wasn'tdriving > any better (worse, in fact) (but GT3 doesn't let you calibrate that simple > of a wheel, only a Logitech, that could be a reason) B) it was bulky, but > fortunately I was in the living room so had some space to put a table up > temporarily C) felt stupid spending 40 bucks on something that didn't help > me drive any better. So I sold it on Ebay. The only periphreal besides a > gamepad I use now on my PS2 is a lightgun. I use a FF USB joystick for steering with (custom made) gameport pedals. The Joystick lacks the precise control in small movements that you get with a wheel, but it doesn't take up much room, and is easy to put away. You really need the pedals too though, trying to accelerate/brake with the Y-axis is too hard. If you're handy with DIY you could find a cheap 2 axis joystick & use the pots & wiring loom to make up some pedals. My pedals are based on an old Wingman Extreme Digital PCB & wiring, giving me the option to add a clutch later with the Z-axis 'throttle' later if I decide to. It's not pretty, but it's cheap! Malc.

"anonymous" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:E6op9.7333$[email hidden]... > Is it possible to play games like Gran Prix Legends or Nascar Heat with a > gamepad? I picked up Gran Turismo 3 a while back on my Playstation 2 andI > really enjoy playing that, even though I don't know much about racing (I > don't even have a driver's license). Just the basics like I can followthe > line in most of the Gran Turismo 3 tracks and even win a few races. The > only bad thing is that the graphics suck, everything is jaggy and hard to > see. I wanted to try these 2 PC games after I got into Need for Speed 4, > but all I have on my PC is a gamepad with 2 analogue sticks and 12 buttons > (standard PS2 layout), and I really don't have the desk space for a wheel. > There exist some handheld miniwheels if space is the problem, with all analog throttle and brake. Don't remember the name though but IRC they cost about 40 $. They look like those remote controls for RC cars. Tom

When I don't feel like setting up my wheel I use my Gravis Xterminator gamepad. It is also a dual analog gamepad like the dualshock on the PS2. Have used this for quite a while very successfully with GPL, Heat, N2002, etc. The wheel is definitely more accurate, but if you play with the settings (less linearity) the gamepad is very workable. I actually prefer the gamepad for the rally type games like Rally Trophy, CM2, because you can steer much more quickly than with a wheel (IMO). I have several friends that I introduced to GPL and they use the same gamepad exclusively. Gravis also has a new force feedback analog gamepad that I have used - the BIG difference is that it has much more accuracy on the analog steering + plus gas and brake triggers very similar to an XBox or old Sega Dreamcast controller. -Dave "anonymous" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:E6op9.7333$[email hidden]... > Is it possible to play games like Gran Prix Legends or Nascar Heat with a > gamepad? I picked up Gran Turismo 3 a while back on my Playstation 2 andI > really enjoy playing that, even though I don't know much about racing (I > don't even have a driver's license). Just the basics like I can followthe

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> line in most of the Gran Turismo 3 tracks and even win a few races. The > only bad thing is that the graphics suck, everything is jaggy and hard to > see. I wanted to try these 2 PC games after I got into Need for Speed 4, > but all I have on my PC is a gamepad with 2 analogue sticks and 12 buttons > (standard PS2 layout), and I really don't have the desk space for a wheel. > > >

"anonymous" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:E6op9.7333$[email hidden]:

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> Is it possible to play games like Gran Prix Legends or Nascar Heat > with a gamepad? I picked up Gran Turismo 3 a while back on my > Playstation 2 and I really enjoy playing that, even though I don't > know much about racing (I don't even have a driver's license). Just > the basics like I can follow the line in most of the Gran Turismo 3 > tracks and even win a few races. The only bad thing is that the > graphics suck, everything is jaggy and hard to see. I wanted to try > these 2 PC games after I got into Need for Speed 4, but all I have on > my PC is a gamepad with 2 analogue sticks and 12 buttons (standard PS2 > layout), and I really don't have the desk space for a wheel. > >

IMO, you need an analogue controller with a good amount of travel to make realistic racing games like GPL worth playing. I have a bunch of controllers and have no problem driving with my MS Sidewinder2 joystick, but it's hopeless with my Hammerhead (which is a gamepad with those same stubby analogue mini-sticks). If you go the joystick route, though, make sure you have analogue controls for gas & brake.

"anonymous" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:E6op9.7333$[email hidden]:

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> Is it possible to play games like Gran Prix Legends or Nascar Heat > with a gamepad? I picked up Gran Turismo 3 a while back on my > Playstation 2 and I really enjoy playing that, even though I don't > know much about racing (I don't even have a driver's license). Just > the basics like I can follow the line in most of the Gran Turismo 3 > tracks and even win a few races. The only bad thing is that the > graphics suck, everything is jaggy and hard to see. I wanted to try > these 2 PC games after I got into Need for Speed 4, but all I have on > my PC is a gamepad with 2 analogue sticks and 12 buttons (standard PS2 > layout), and I really don't have the desk space for a wheel. > >

Yes, but to get the most out of gpl you need anolouge inputs for the brake, throttle and steering, so if you're going the gamepad route try and get one with 3 sets of anolouge sticks? on them and you'll be fine.(though I can't imagine how you could use them all at once just using your hands)

"John Pickett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> "anonymous" <[email hidden]> wrote in > news:E6op9.7333$[email hidden]: > > > Is it possible to play games like Gran Prix Legends or Nascar Heat > > with a gamepad? I picked up Gran Turismo 3 a while back on my > > Playstation 2 and I really enjoy playing that, even though I don't > > know much about racing (I don't even have a driver's license). Just > > the basics like I can follow the line in most of the Gran Turismo 3 > > tracks and even win a few races. The only bad thing is that the > > graphics suck, everything is jaggy and hard to see. I wanted to try > > these 2 PC games after I got into Need for Speed 4, but all I have on > > my PC is a gamepad with 2 analogue sticks and 12 buttons (standard PS2 > > layout), and I really don't have the desk space for a wheel. > > > > > > > Yes, but to get the most out of gpl you need anolouge inputs for the

brake, > throttle and steering, so if you're going the gamepad route try and getone > with 3 sets of anolouge sticks? on them and you'll be fine.(though I can't > imagine how you could use them all at once just using your hands) What would be great is a controller with dual analog triggers and a stick for the left thumb with a few buttons (or POV pad ) for the right thumb. Arcadey, but interesting to try out. ;o) Elrikk

"elrikk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<HRMq9.17680$[email hidden]>... > What would be great is a controller with dual analog triggers and a stick > for the left thumb with a few buttons (or POV pad ) for the right thumb. > > Arcadey, but interesting to try out. ;o) > > Elrikk The XBox or Dreamcast has a control setup like this, two analogue triggers. For overall gaming though, I think the PS2's layout is better for overall gaming, though. I used to play Gran Turismo 3 on the PS2 using the first stick for turning, and the other stick for gas/brake. I switched to using 2 buttons for gas/brake though because I actually found I was getting better times than with the analogue stick. It's not quite as fine a control as an analogue trigger, but the PS2 has pressure-sensitive buttons.

"Tom De Muer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<3da74570$0$183$[email hidden]>... > > There exist some handheld miniwheels if space is the problem, with all > analog throttle and brake. Don't remember the name though but IRC they cost > about 40 $. They look like those remote controls for RC cars. > > Tom I forgot about it, but there's a racing controller for the Playstation called the Negcon (made by Namco, I think) that is suppossed to be pretty good. I haven't tried it. I have a PSX-PC USB adapter, so I might try this out. I got Gran Prix Legends in the mail a couple of days ago. It runs without a hitch on Windows XP, and I can play it with a gamepad, but the controls are very, very touchy. After fooling around for a couple of hours with it, though, I've come to the conclusion that while it's a good game, It's not my cup of tea, just too much over my head. Some "issues" I have with it: 1) There's only one adjustment you can make to the stick: linearity vs. nonlinearity. The control setup seems optimized for a gamewheel with gas/brake pedals. No deadzone, no sensitivity settings. It's only slightly more touchy than Gran Turismo 3, but it's enough to make the control very, very hard. 2) Widescreen only? Black bars? Uggghhh. I have a 19 inch monitor so I can make everything bigger and easier to see, and widescreen pretty much defeats the purpose. 3) Where's a speedometer? I can't ever tell how fast I'm going. Im not a racing expert, maybe the cars didn't have them? The old Stunts game (DOS) didn't have a speedometer for the F1 car, just a tachometer. Still, it would be nice to have a virtual display. Add on a map to this like in Need for Speed Porsche. 4) Unwavering difficulty. It's a very demanding game. Perhaps too much for my tastes. Not enough settings to ease the learning curve. I always finish last. So, I think I'll just hang onto GPL. Not point in reselling it (not worth much in resell). Who knows, I may grow into it yet. I also got Superbike 2001 last week. It seems to do everything right. Lots of difficulty settings and realism settings. No overhead map, but then you can set the game up to warn you or start slowing down on curves. Also, the guages don't scale with the resolution- they get smaller the higher you go. It's very playable with a gamepad analogue stick, although I tend to not make as smooth banking as the AI drivers. On easy I can easily beat all the other bikes at Monza, and on full realism I crash and burn al the time.

"e f" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> I got Gran Prix Legends in the mail a couple of days ago. It runs > without a hitch on Windows XP, and I can play it with a gamepad, but > the controls are very, very touchy. After fooling around for a couple > of hours with it, though, I've come to the conclusion that while it's > a good game, It's not my cup of tea, just too much over my head. Some > "issues" I have with it: > > 1) There's only one adjustment you can make to the stick: linearity > vs. nonlinearity. The control setup seems optimized for a gamewheel > with gas/brake pedals. No deadzone, no sensitivity settings. It's > only slightly more touchy than Gran Turismo 3, but it's enough to make > the control very, very hard.

You can adjust the car setup to make it more or less twitchy, and having a slider rather than just a tick box for steering linearity is pretty good imo. Have you tried DXTweak for the deadzone adjustment? That sort of setting is for your controller, not any particular game I should think. > 2) Widescreen only? Black bars? Uggghhh. I have a 19 inch monitor > so I can make everything bigger and easier to see, and widescreen > pretty much defeats the purpose. When the game was originally released it was a very demanding game on the PC hardware availabe at the time. iirc the black bars were a way to raise the framerate with minimal loss of information. Four years on & I'm used to it, but I don't think I'd get any useful information from a bit of extra sky or road anyway. > 3) Where's a speedometer? I can't ever tell how fast I'm going. Im > not a racing expert, maybe the cars didn't have them? The old Stunts > game (DOS) didn't have a speedometer for the F1 car, just a > tachometer. Still, it would be nice to have a virtual display. Add > on a map to this like in Need for Speed Porsche. As a rule, racing vehicles don't have a speedo, since they are just trying to go as fast as they can. If you press F10 you get a more 'arcade' view from above & behind the car. This view shows your speed, although the digital revcounter is harder to read than the analogue one in the cockpit. > 4) Unwavering difficulty. It's a very demanding game. Perhaps too > much for my tastes. Not enough settings to ease the learning curve. > I always finish last. No argument there ;-) It's no arcade racer! The thing to bear in mind with gpl & similar sims is that they go for realism as much as possible. Hence the pitboard times are one lap behind (except the Nurburgring & Le Mans Sarthe) and hence the relative lack of trackmaps & on screen displays. If they didn't have it in '67, you don't get it in the race! If you can master it, it's worth it, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. Malc.

"Malc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<QYat9.4207$OC2.142063@wards>... > You can adjust the car setup to make it more or less twitchy, and having a > slider rather than just a tick box for steering linearity is pretty good > imo. Have you tried DXTweak for the deadzone adjustment? That sort of > setting is for your controller, not any particular game I should think. > > Yes, I just noticed there's an option to change the steering to wheel ration from 16:1 to 20:1. It's only a slight decrease in the sensitivity, though. That DXTweak won't work with Windows XP. > When the game was originally released it was a very demanding game on the > PC hardware availabe at the time. iirc the black bars were a way to raise > the framerate with minimal loss of information. > Four years on & I'm used to it, but I don't think I'd get any useful > information from a bit of extra sky or road anyway. Sounds kind of fishy. I know Doom and Outlaws ran faster in a smaller screen, but most of the slowdown in GPL is caused by geometry being processed by the CPU (combined with sound and physics), not by the number of pixels that must be rendered (which is relatively low- the textures aren't even 16 bit, I don't think). There would have been other ways to optimize the game without the window). Maybe they thought it would be cool. I just find it annoying. My "fix" for this is to run the gamem in an odd screen resolution, one I dont normally use, and alter the screen size by making it bigger so it zooms in. It's not perfect. It's still demanding. The framerate is low with a full pack of cars (but not unplayable). It also has ridiculous amounts of popup. It's just very old code that doesn't seem to benefit as much from modern graphics cards (Radeon 9700 here). But that's the case with alot of sims. > > As a rule, racing vehicles don't have a speedo, since they are just trying > to go as fast as they can. If you press F10 you get a more 'arcade' view > from above & behind the car. This view shows your speed, although the > digital revcounter is harder to read than the analogue one in the cockpit. > Yeah, but how do you know if you are going too fast to make a turn? > > 4) Unwavering difficulty. It's a very demanding game. Perhaps too > > much for my tastes. Not enough settings to ease the learning curve. > > I always finish last. > > No argument there ;-) It's no arcade racer! > It also didn't make much effort to be accessable to casual gamers. I'm not asking for Test Drive or Need for Speed here. It's not all "black and white". That's the same problem I have with flight sims now days. All the hardcore nutjobs who get off on their 200 dollar flightsticks, well, they see everything black and white. It's either a sim, or an "arcade" game. Throw in one padlock too many, make the radar a little too easy to use, and suddenly the game becomes Afterburner and they all whine like little bitches. I've been a flight sim player since 1984 and F-15 Strike Eagle, but I don't know what's happened to the "fun" in sims anymore. I guess all the real gamers gave up on sims around the time Falcon started getting big and the manual got heavy enough to beat somebody to death with.

[email hidden] (e f) wrote in

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>> As a rule, racing vehicles don't have a speedo, since they are just >> trying to go as fast as they can. If you press F10 you get a more >> 'arcade' view from above & behind the car. This view shows your >> speed, although the digital revcounter is harder to read than the >> analogue one in the cockpit. >> > > Yeah, but how do you know if you are going too fast to make a turn? >

The smart alec answer would be "when you're spitting hay out of your mouth hanging upside down", but the sensible answer is you guage your "speed" in general terms by the gear you are in and the revs you are pulling. Tring to pin a specific MPH/KPH speed on any corner and using that is a bit dodgy in my opinion- it will vary according to the car you're driving and the attitude you take into the turn. cheers John

"e f" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > "Malc" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:<QYat9.4207$OC2.142063@wards>... > > As a rule, racing vehicles don't have a speedo, since they are justtrying > > to go as fast as they can. If you press F10 you get a more 'arcade' view > > from above & behind the car. This view shows your speed, although the > > digital revcounter is harder to read than the analogue one in thecockpit. > > > > Yeah, but how do you know if you are going too fast to make a turn? Same way as usual. If you're going too fast you crash ;-) How do you drive your car in RL? If the posted speed limit was 50mph, would you take a sharp corner at 50mph, or would you use your experience & slow down a bit? I tend to drive using the cockpit view when racing, but in practice, particularly at a new track, I'll switch to the outside view periodically to check how close I can get to a kerb, or to check the speed in, through or at the exit of corners to see if a setup change has helped. But when I'm racing, I just go as fast as I can until I've caught the car in front (if I can), and if there's a big gap (or I'm in the lead), I run just fast enough to stay there. The speedo doesn't come into it. Malc.

"Malc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<Qkkt9.6502$Ai6.179351@stones>...

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> "e f" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > "Malc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:<QYat9.4207$OC2.142063@wards>... > > > > Yeah, but how do you know if you are going too fast to make a turn? > > Same way as usual. If you're going too fast you crash ;-) > > How do you drive your car in RL? If the posted speed limit was 50mph, would > you take a sharp corner at 50mph, or would you use your experience & slow > down a bit? >

I don't drive a car in real life, so I don't know. You know, not everybody is physicly capable of driving a car, at least legally. It's a privilege, not a right. Through trial and error in the game, I have been using the engine sounds to figure out how fast I'm going. Using the manual transmission over the automatic seems to give more hints, too. How do you know when a race is over? What happens exactly? I found a good website on tweaking the game, it suggested racing with a training car instead of the default cars. I got into a race and actually passed a few cars, ran several laps (it seemed like 7-8) until I never saw any more cars on the track, then exited the game to the menu, saw a "Clark wins Monza" screen. Is it suppossed to give a message or something? And if you don't place in the top 6, how do you know your position? I guess I don't see how an arcade counter could have ruined this game, if you could turn it off.

"e f" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > I don't drive a car in real life, so I don't know. To use a different analogy then, how do you know how fast to take a corner (the first few times you do it) in any other driving game? The speedo will tell you how fast you are going, not how fast you should go. > Through trial and error in the game, I have been using the engine > sounds to figure out how fast I'm going. Using the manual > transmission over the automatic seems to give more hints, too. This is how alot of people probably do it, but you can change the gearing, so it only works if you stick to one car & one setup at a particular track. Practice is the main answer. It's a steep learning curve as you say, but you'll work it out if you keep at it. Some drivers are better at judging the 'limit' than others, which is why some are faster, and some are slower. I've been racing gpl for 4 years & I'm still learning ;-)

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> How do you know when a race is over? What happens exactly? I found > a good website on tweaking the game, it suggested racing with a > training car instead of the default cars. I got into a race and > actually passed a few cars, ran several laps (it seemed like 7-8) > until I never saw any more cars on the track, then exited the game to > the menu, saw a "Clark wins Monza" screen. Is it suppossed to give a > message or something? And if you don't place in the top 6, how do you > know your position? I guess I don't see how an arcade counter could > have ruined this game, if you could turn it off.

The race is over when you see the man with the chequered flag at the start/finish line. Your pitboard will also tell you how many laps are left to go. The "Clark wins Monza" message comes up when the race has finished. If you had won, it would say "e f wins Monza" etc. If you want to know your finishing position, use the left part of the menu screen (where the track map is) to see. There are left/right toggle buttons & page markers there to show about 4 or 5 different pages of detail, like a book. The training cars have less power & less grip, so if you make a mistake, it'll all happen a bit more slowly, & it should be easier to control. They're alot of fun, but you can't race them against the ai (who use GP cars) unless you do some tweaking. Try a few practice laps round Monza in a trainer car until you can do 3 or 4 consistent laps without spinning off, then try a gain in the GP car. The braking points & so on will be similar. Malc.

"Malc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<L3wt9.6607$Ai6.186718@stones>...

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> "e f" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > To use a different analogy then, how do you know how fast to take a corner > (the first few times you do it) in any other driving game? > The speedo will tell you how fast you are going, not how fast you should go. >

The only other racing games I have played have been Need for Speed and Gran Turismo 3 (and some Superbike, but that has a driving aid). I used a mixture of just trial-and-error and reading the speedometer. If you know 80 MPH is too fast for a certain turn, yes, it can help out alot to have a speedometer. It's not always obvious how fast the car's travelling. > > The race is over when you see the man with the chequered flag at the > start/finish line. Your pitboard will also tell you how many laps are left > to go. I notice the pitboard, but I can't decipher it. It's all gibberish to me, and the manual seems to be blank on it. BTW, I got DQ at the end of a race in the event list. What does that mean? Disqualified? I must have drove 8-10 laps on a 6 lap race, and the game didn't seem to end until I pressed <Esc> then <return> (I'm expecting something like an end you get in Need For Speed, the camera pans away from the car or something?). I kept seeing a DO (might have been DQ, my eyesight is bad) on the pitboard. > > The training cars have less power & less grip, so if you make a mistake, > it'll all happen a bit more slowly, & it should be easier to control. > They're alot of fun, but you can't race them against the ai (who use GP > cars) unless you do some tweaking. > Yes, I figured out how to enable racing the trainers, but it's annoying to have to mess with all those files and patches. > Try a few practice laps round Monza in a trainer car until you can do 3 or 4 > consistent laps without spinning off, then try a gain in the GP car. The > braking points & so on will be similar. > I can drive the trainer car OK on monza, I get consistent lap speeds, but the GP cars have too much power and I screw up all the time.

> > The race is over when you see the man with the chequered flag at the > > start/finish line. Your pitboard will also tell you how many laps areleft

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> > to go. > > I notice the pitboard, but I can't decipher it. It's all gibberish > to me, and the manual seems to be blank on it. > > BTW, I got DQ at the end of a race in the event list. What does > that mean? Disqualified? I must have drove 8-10 laps on a 6 lap race, > and the game didn't seem to end until I pressed <Esc> then <return> > (I'm expecting something like an end you get in Need For Speed, the > camera pans away from the car or something?). I kept seeing a DO > (might have been DQ, my eyesight is bad) on the pitboard.

You probably drove backward (i.e. the wrong direction) on the track and got disqualified. It's easy to do after a crash if you don't know the track layout well. I'm not sure exactly how far you have to drive against traffic to get DQ'd. The game will kick you out of your car end eventually after a race but it takes a few minutes (maybe as long as 5 or 10, not sure). This allows you to drive a "cool down" lap and go back to your pits. You should have seen "Pit In" on your pitboard each time you went by the pits after the race was over.

"e f" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > "Malc" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:<L3wt9.6607$Ai6.186718@stones>... > > "e f" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > news:[email hidden]... > > > > To use a different analogy then, how do you know how fast to take acorner > > (the first few times you do it) in any other driving game? > > The speedo will tell you how fast you are going, not how fast you shouldgo.

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> > > > The only other racing games I have played have been Need for Speed > and Gran Turismo 3 (and some Superbike, but that has a driving aid). > I used a mixture of just trial-and-error and reading the speedometer. > If you know 80 MPH is too fast for a certain turn, yes, it can help > out alot to have a speedometer. It's not always obvious how fast the > car's travelling.

And how do you know 80mph is too fast for the corner?The speedo doen't tell you you're going too fast, just how fast you're going. If you want something to tell you you're going too fast, listen to the bump bump sounds as your tyres bounce away when you hit a barrier. Alternatively just do it the same way you would in NFS. Listen for tyre squeal & practice, practice, practice. > > > > The race is over when you see the man with the chequered flag at the > > start/finish line. Your pitboard will also tell you how many laps areleft > > to go. > > I notice the pitboard, but I can't decipher it. It's all gibberish > to me, and the manual seems to be blank on it. It's not vital to read it, but the top right will tell you eg "L4 " if you have 4 laps to go. Top left says eg "P2" meaning you're in 2nd place. The lower bit is the gap to the car in front & behind. You can ignore that if you want & just use your forward view & mirrors. I usually only get chance to read one thing per lap. > I can drive the trainer car OK on monza, I get consistent lap > speeds, but the GP cars have too much power and I screw up all the > time. Nice one. Keep practicing. Malc.

Photon <PhotonJohnson@earthlink@net> wrote in

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> I've found that a speedometer in the games has one very > valuable use for me that make up for the lack of real-world sensory > feedback in the games: checking the exit speed of turns. If my lap > times are slow for some reason, checking the exit speeds will tell me > where I'm "out of the groove". But more importantly, there is the > occasional hot lap where you do something different in a turn and the > exit speed is significantly faster. Until the sims give us a full VR > experience of wind, humidity, heat, car, speed, etc, I see no reason > why a sim should leave out something like a speedometer "just because > the cars didn't/don't have them". > > Assuming of course that it can be turned off for the purists. > Heh. >

That's a good point. When I'm tuning gearing for my league races (www.ukdirt.co.uk) Nascar Heat short track UK racing mod, I'll use the speedometer to guage my top speed before turn in n brake for the next turn- this way I can tell if I've carried enough speed through the previous turn, and if my acceleration is optimal for the length of the straight. So I guess I'm making use of the "extra telemetry". For GPL, you can watch your replays using the F10 chase view which will show you entry/exit speeds of corners, you could even go the whole hog and download GPL Replay Analyser, which tells you a shed load about your lap, and can map your replay lap against another replay lap (eg from a faster driver) so you can see where your lines etc should be. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a way of getting speed readouts in cockpit view for GPL- just about everything else has been hacked onto it over the years :-) cheers John

"Rob Adams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<MzDt9.36054$[email hidden]>... > > You probably drove backward (i.e. the wrong direction) on the track and got > disqualified. It's easy to do after a crash if you don't know the track > layout well. I'm not sure exactly how far you have to drive against traffic > to get DQ'd. That would be it. Another race car hit me when I braked on a turn near the lap line and I spun out, then I just started driving, noticed I'd gone the wrong way, then I turned around. It must have been only 10 seconds, at most. > > The game will kick you out of your car end eventually after a race but it > takes a few minutes (maybe as long as 5 or 10, not sure). This allows you to > drive a "cool down" lap and go back to your pits. You should have seen "Pit > In" on your pitboard each time you went by the pits after the race was over. I probably saw it, but couldn't read it. I remember something about "Pit" on the board. Next couple of times I passed, I saw what looked like two double zeros- must have been DQ. That's where I think an arcade racing display would have been helpful.

"David Corless" <david.corless.no.spam[@]utseduau> wrote in message news:<Xytp9.14496$[email hidden]>... > GPL is almost undrivable without an accurate analogue controller (i.e. a > steering wheel). I've also used a steering wheel on Gran Tourismo 2 on PS, > and I agree that its crap, but in the case of GPL (I don't know about > nascar) it is almost essential, and works much better. > Well, out of curiousity I found a Logitech Momo (the newer, less expensive one without leather) at a good price and bought one. I made enough space on my desk by using a piece of thin wood as a shim to get the wheel's cables over my keyboard tray by raising the wheel up slightly. Contrary to your above statement, I can drive GPL much better with a gamepad. With a wheel, it's a real chore, I end up driving off the track far too much- there's a big delay for braking too. Need for Speed, is, at the moment, sub par. I can't make the fast whipping turns around corners I can with the gamepad. The wheel seems to work good in only two games- Nascar Heat and Hard Truck 3, and I think it comes down to the slower, more precise turning. Maybe the force feedback drive is also affecting the speed. A wheel is fun, more realistic, but better than a gsamepad? That's a tough call.