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#21
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Hear! Hear!
(He always was a good read back in the days when motoring magazines cost less than a small house! ) Bruce. "RodP" > wrote in message news:MPG.1c5847de5b812f349896d5@news-server... > In article >, > says... > > For you to write more reviews. Great read. Looking forward to the > English version of GTR. > > Cheers, > Rod. |
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#22
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Well, I agree but Simbin claim that league racers are a very, very small
percentage of their audience. What they don't understand is that in order to attract a long term following you need to appeal to those regular racers. |
#23
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Thx 2 u 2, Uwe!
"Uwe Schürkamp" > wrote in message ... > On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 00:51:11 GMT, Steve Smith wrote: > > (Blush!) Thanx, Rod! > > > > "RodP" > wrote in message > > Same here, Steve, it was a great read as usual (heck, I used to have a > copy of "4WD" on my bedside table, although the German translation > sucked and was full of errors ;-) > > Looking forward to seeing your Monsterrank, mate ;-) > > All the best, > > uwe > > -- > GPG Fingerprint: 2E 13 20 22 9A 3F 63 7F 67 6F E9 B1 A8 36 A4 61 |
#24
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& thou, Bruce!
"Bruce Kennewell" > wrote in message ... > Hear! Hear! > (He always was a good read back in the days when motoring magazines cost > less than a small house! ) > > Bruce. > > "RodP" > wrote in message > news:MPG.1c5847de5b812f349896d5@news-server... > > In article >, > > says... > > > > For you to write more reviews. Great read. Looking forward to the > > English version of GTR. > > > > Cheers, > > Rod. > > |
#25
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> The truth is, it's a great game.
Of course it is. I just feel sorry for the people who need to hear it from a GPL stalwart before they realise it... ;-) |
#26
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Damien Smith schrieb:
>>the hotfix 1.23 takes some fps and gives me some stuttering. I´m playing >>with a XP2400, Radeon 9700 and 1 GB ram. I will upgrade to an AMD65 3500 >>in a few weeks, when the NForce4 boards and the ATI 800XL are availaible. >>Here in Germany with a regular DSL line, 128k upload, it is possible to >>host for 6-8 people. > > > I believe the 9700s have some problems with the MoTeC displays - try turning > off the MoTeC display and see if that helps. It's a bit of a shame but the > same thing happened in F1C but wasn't nearly as noticeable. The 9600, 9800, > x800 etc don't have any problems. > > Hi disabling the Motec display gives me about 10 fps more. But I want to see my fuel. For rpm, one can use the minimal HUD. I hope for the next patch and for the AMD64. Michael |
#27
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Uwe Schürkamp schrieb:
> On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 13:36:47 +1000, Damien Smith wrote: > >>I believe the 9700s have some problems with the MoTeC displays - try turning >>off the MoTeC display and see if that helps. It's a bit of a shame but the >>same thing happened in F1C but wasn't nearly as noticeable. The 9600, 9800, >>x800 etc don't have any problems. > > > I have system specs similar to the OP (Radeon 9800 Pro though), and > turning off the motec gains me around 10fps, so I usually leve it off > and only turn it on briefly on the straights during races to see how > much time is remaining in races or how fast the quali lap was or > whatever. > > Works great, and also you have to focus more on driving (which gear > you're in, for instance). > > uwe > > > Hi I disable the virtual mirror at the start, gives me 10 fps more. I have set one key for the virtual mirror, to switch it on and off, mirrors are disabled. Michael Michael |
#28
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Thanks a lot Steve!!
Achim |
#29
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Achim, are you being facetious? I thought you *despised* GTR?
"Joachim Trensz" > wrote in message ... > Thanks a lot Steve!! > > Achim |
#30
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Steve, as usual a great read. Please let us know when your story in C&D will
hit the news stands. -- See ya in the pits, Dean I have a terrible memory. In fact my memory's so bad I can't remember how long it's been since I've forgotten anything. "Steve Smith" > wrote in message ... > GTR - A Sim to Believe In > > (Part Preview, Part Review) > > I'm amazed at the outpouring of negativity surrounding SimBin's "GTR" (for > the FIA's "GT Racing") by people who haven't played the game...even some > from people who haven't bothered to play the demo! And among those who > have > actually played the game, a lot of the complaints are picayune, like the > game doesn't strictly follow the FIA's insanely complicated rulebook, or > the > track marshals' booths aren't the regulation size. > > The truth is, it's a great game. Yes, it has some rough edges, and thus > far > it's only available--legally--in Germany (time-frame for U.S. distro: Feb. > or March), but no, it's neither broken nor a simple mod of EA's Formula 1 > Challenge (altho SimBin has licensed ISI's "Motor 1" physics engine, along > with all that rococo FIA livery). The bottom line is that GTR comes > closer > to an authentic racing experience than anything else that doesn't require > a > Nomex driving suit and a 5-point seat harness. > > I've driven almost three thousand laps of GTR, both online and off, for an > assignment from Car and Driver, and as someone who's put six years into > GPL, > beta-tested a myriad of PC and console games, and raced both real-world > cars > (Trans-Am, SCCA Nationals) and every kind of racing simulation there is > (beginning with Dave Kaemmer's original Indy 500), I'm here to tell you > that > GTR is the best thing to come roaring down the track--for car guys as well > as computer geeks--since Papyrus' NASCAR Racing 2003...and GTR makes > NR2003 > seem positively crude by comparison. > > Through the good offices of Ian Bell, who oversees SimBin's development > team > in London, I was able to obtain a pre-release of the English-language > version, eventually patched to ver 1.2.3, and I've since unofficially > downloaded several 3rd-party tracks (including a 24-hour version of the > mighty Nurburgring). To put it plainly: I love this game. Yes, it's got > more bugs than the Okefenokee Swamp in August (the menus are a mess, the > replay system is frustrating, the multiplayer is iffy, and there is a > surfeit of small annoyances), but overall it's hard-co deeply > immersive, > very satisfying, and full of promise. Sure, I signed a NDA, but Ian said > I > can vent my impressions of the game, so here goes. > > First of all: the cars. There are a slew of them, from the mundane (a > gaggle of Porsche 911s...altho a 3rd-party GT1 is lurking in the wings) to > the exotic (the widely-unknown Gillet Vertigo Streiff, a Belgian bolide > named after an obscure French F1 driver of the 80s) to the awesome (the > Corvette C5-R) to the sublime (a trio of Ferraris) to the ridiculous (a > BMW > *hatchback*, ferchrissake, and a neo-deco Morgan 8 Aero that looks like > something out of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow"). The Morgan not > only looks funny, it sounds funny: when you spin the key it coughs > fitfully > to life, belching and spluttering like the 18-cylinder radial of a P-47 > Thunderbolt. > > Arranged into a bewildering array of mismatched FIA-sanctioned classes > (the > Morgan competes against the C5-R), the 18 or so cars in GTR all feel > different, handle different, sound different, and have different > personalities. Surprisingly, the front-engined cars are easier to drive > than the rear-engined cars, but among the Big Guns, only the front-engined > Prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello and the theoretically antiquated Viper > GTS-R > are able to keep up with the fleet Saleen S7-R (tricky to drive) and the > surprisingly muscular Lamborghini Murcielago (a pussycat to drive). > > The Corvette C5-R is also a sweetheart to drive, despite its brutal looks. > The C5-R ver that comes with the game has an overly fussy paintjob, but as > with most of GTR's cars, you can download alternative skins, including > that > of the famed # 63 Corvette that won its class at Le Mans. The Lister > Storm > that was in the "press" demo along with the Morgan is still there, and a > blast to drive, if not quite competitive. > > My favorite car turned out to be the oddly-named Vertigo, which looks like > a > cross between a Panoz Esperante and the old wooden-chassis Marcos. The > Vertigo is powered by a 342-hp Alfa V6, but it's really no match against > the > bigger cars in its class. A sweet ride, very smooth, no vices, no drama, > easy to wheel around the soaring, swooping Nurburgring. And despite the > BMW > Z3M's econo-car looks, it has 380 horsepower under the hood and enormous > tires and is capable of great big hairy powerslides. The Morgan, with its > 460-hp BMW V8, is also a hoot to drive (even if it feels like it's still > got > a sliding-pillar suspension with about the same front-end geometry as a > 1936 > Volkswagen). It's a great ride; all elbows and a**holes. The only thing > missing: a silk scarf. > > The best thing about GTR is probably the sounds. This is the first sim > where the cars sound like cars, not a bunch of disparate .wav files > ham-fistedly juggled by the game engine to produce car-like noises. The > engines sound like what they are (L4, L6, flat 6, V6, V8, V10, and V12), > the > gear-whine is true-to-life, the on-and-off throttle response is correct, > and > the slicks don't squeal like passenger-car tires, they scuff the way > they're > supposed to (and skitter when pushed hard). Even axle-tramp is modeled. > At > least it's all good from inside the cockpit. The outside "car-by" effects > are less convincing, and the sound of the AI cars is reminiscent of Peter > Ustinov's mouth noises in his immortal "Grand Prix of Gibralter" from 40 > years ago. > > And the tracks? As Jon Stewart would say, "Mmmm...not so much." The 10 > tracks that ship with the game replicate those on the FIA's GT > Championship > calendar, but other than the modern Spa, they're either emasculated, > chicane-infested versions of once-great tracks (like Monza), or boring, > dull, flat modern tracks (like Magny-Cours). A trickle of 3rd-party > tracks > (sure to become a flood) includes several versions of the Nordschleife > (nobody's got it right yet), a terrible version of Le Mans (somehow > running > endlessly downhill, like an M.C. Escher painting), and two really neat > small > tracks, Sweden's Falkenberg and Germany's Norisring. The most dramatic > scenery: the 24-hour race at Spa, where you go from day to dusk to night > to > dawn to day (not smooth segues, unfortunately - there are awkward pauses > for > scene changes, as if in an amateur theater production ). Driving at night > is a new experience...and particularly harrowing. > > The cars don't simply drone around these these tracks like marbles in a > chute. They feel alive. They interact with the surface. The tracks > themselves are wildly uneven, in some places billiard-table smooth, > elsewhere washboard bumpy, especially in the braking zones. You can feel > the suspension working and the tires dancing. The grip changes not merely > according to the temperature (and weather - rain is modelled), but, as the > track "rubbers in" and marbles build up, from your first practice laps, > through qualifying, to the duration of the race itself. "Intense" just > barely begins to describe it. There's so much going on that's missing > from > other sims: the exhaust headers spit flame on the overrun, brakelights > flash, clag clatters against the undertray, and you can use an IR > head-tracker to look around the cockpit. > > Until something better comes along, the best test track is Spa, and the > critical turn is Eau Rouge. Depending on which car you drive, and how > it's > set up, Eau Rouge can either be a dream or a nightmare; as graceful as a > Patty Wagstaff hammerhead stall or as scary as going over Niagra Falls in > a > kayak. Doug Arnao, a real-world racer (he won an SCCA Solo Championship > in > a wicked tube-frame Porsche) who helped me write "Four-Wheel Drift" (the > GPL > strategy guide), and formerly a denizen of this forum, has tweaked GTR's > physics model and was responsible for the default setups, which are aces. > Also in the credits: over 200 FIA-licensed drivers whose input was > solicited > for the driving model, and a couple dozen real-world teams who vetted the > gameplay. > > The gameplay involves competing with up to 56 reasonably well-behaved AI > cars on the track (the starting grid at Spa goes back up and around La > Source) or up to 30 cars online. Theoretically. Most of the online races > I > saw had less than 20 cars. I've seen up to 60 servers on the matchmaking > s/w that comes with the game, and the pings were usually in the 100-125 > range. Most of the servers have been in Germany, obviously, and while > SimBin seems to have licked the old ISI problem of the game pausing for a > fraction of a second whenever a new player joins (now you can only join > during practice, not qualifying or the race itself), there remains a bunch > of stubborn anomalies in the Net code, steadily being erased by Ian Bell > and > his staff of code monkeys in London. There have been several patches, > updates and "hot fixes" since the game was first released, including a > "save-game" feature that works in mid-race, and while not all the problems > have been solved (or even addressed), I get the distinct feeling that > SimBin > cares about their customers and is working hard to make them happy. > > What more could you ask? > > Well, they could lose the reviled StarForce protection scheme. > > --Steve Smith > > |
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