TEN 1/2 Price Charter Membership Offer

For those of you interested in the NRL on TEN, they currently have an offer (good until Dec. 31) that looks pretty good: Plan 1 = $5/month for 5 hours, and $1/hr after that Plan 2 = $15/month unlimited time. This doesn't include internet access, you still have to pay $.95 if you access through their nodes. The way I understand it, these rates will be good for one year after you sign up, then they increase to the standard rates of $10/mon and $2/hr, or $30 unlimited. Also, this doesn't include internet access, it'll cost you an additional $.95/hr if you use TEN's dialups. It looks like a pretty good deal, the only shitty thing being that you have to sign up now and who knows when Nascar will be available on TEN. I signed up for the $5/5 hour plan and hopefully they'll let me switch to the $15 unlimited when Nascar is up and running. Even if they don't though, I think I can live with $1/hr <g> David ************************************************************* * You're only young once, but you can stay immature forever * *************************************************************

:>For those of you interested in the NRL on TEN, they currently have an :>offer (good until Dec. 31) that looks pretty good: :> :>Plan 1 = $5/month for 5 hours, and $1/hr after that :> :>Plan 2 = $15/month unlimited time. :> :>This doesn't include internet access, you still have to pay $.95 if :>you access through their nodes. The way I understand it, these rates :>will be good for one year after you sign up, then they increase to the :>standard rates of $10/mon and $2/hr, or $30 unlimited. Also, this :>doesn't include internet access, it'll cost you an additional $.95/hr :>if you use TEN's dialups. :> :>It looks like a pretty good deal, the only shitty thing being that you :>have to sign up now and who knows when Nascar will be available on :>TEN. I signed up for the $5/5 hour plan and hopefully they'll let me :>switch to the $15 unlimited when Nascar is up and running. Even if :>they don't though, I think I can live with $1/hr <g> :> Another shitty thing is that if their system doesn't think your latency is low enough, it won't allow you to play. Something to consider when you're laying down hard cash for access you might not be able to get. I'll stick to the lan in my house and modem games, thank you very much. /===================================================\ | John Simmons (Redneck Techno-Biker) | | http://www2.connectnet.com/users/jms/index.html | \===================================================/

Don't forget that you also have to pay additional charges to NRL probobly 2 dollars per hour, Because TEN is only a provider, NRL is differnet. ~~_____~~ [__]=[_(-)_]=[__] Gregory Alferov Los Angeles, Ca. USA http://www.sure.net/~tifosi/

> Don't forget that you also have to pay additional charges to NRL > probobly 2 dollars per hour, > Because TEN is only a provider, NRL is differnet. Where did you get this information? -- Chuck Stuart - Mesquite TX USA RaceTime utility program for Nascar1/Indycar2. http://www.metronet.com/~cstuart/

>Don't forget that you also have to pay additional charges to NRL >probobly 2 dollars per hour, >Because TEN is only a provider, NRL is differnet. You mean there's a seperate charge for the NRO?! I didn't realize that. Geez, lets add this up (assuming you don't get the charte membership): $2/hr for TEN $1/hr for dial-up access Estimated $2/hr for NRO $10 TEN monthly fee to TEN Wow. Looks like this is going to end up being a niche product like Air Warrior used to be in the old days. I'm sure the ***s currently racing on Hawaii will be there (it'll be cheaper for them than the LD charges <g>), but I doubt the average gamer will pay $5/hr in this age of flat rates... I guess time will tell. OTOH, if they at least let you run pick-up races without sticking you with an additional charge, and only charge extra for the NRO sanctioned races, then it wouldn't be so bad. Or, if they just charge you an annual fee I could live with that too. If they go with an hourly charge though, I think they're pricing themselves out of the market. Actually, the more I think about it, an annual fee kinda makes sense. I guess we'll just have to wait for the official announcement. David You're only young once, but you can stay immature forever.

(not NRL) will be a flat rate also (I hope). -- Eric Aldhizer Kael Chicken Farm Racing NASCAR, the ultimate contact sport

>Another shitty thing is that if their system doesn't think your latency is low >enough, it won't allow you to play. Something to consider when you're laying >down hard cash for access you might not be able to get. >I'll stick to the lan in my house and modem games, thank you very much. I'm with you John. Nothing compares to LAN play. Full marks to SIERRA/PAPYRUS for FINALLY having the courage to include SPX/IPX capability in a sim, and making it 8 player. C'mon Indycar 3.0 and GP2a. Modem play is great for many games, and I use it often, but to me, in a racing sim, 2 player lacks because it doesn't 'inspire' the same natural discipline in one's opponent of urging the driver to exercise *reasonable* caution in his overtaking/racing thus avoiding intentional or unecessary crashes armed with the knowledge that he will be sitting out the race for the next hour or two in a true multiplayer scenario with 6 or 8 live opponents. Once there are more than 2 contestants, the subtle, or at times not so subtle "I've crashed and I'm bored, restart or I'm loggin off" coercive technique doesn't hold the same punch that it previously did. Drive like it's Demo Derby now and you are a spectator for the next hour or two. No-on else cares. It all holds for much more realistic or SIMlike racing. Secondly, on a LAN the discipline is tighter as the players are generally "all personal invitation only" so that certain conventions are observed by mutual agreement and the players are saved from the proverbial paying 'village idiot' showing up and causing racing mayhem. Not to mention the lack of latency, plentiful bandwidth and other advantages. I'll be interested to see how NASCAR 2 runs setting someone up in local server mode in KALI with 3 or 4 players. Has anyone tried this yet? * -Assembly of Forces in Space- * Strategy than to keep the forces concentrated." * Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831)

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> >Don't forget that you also have to pay additional charges to NRL > >probobly 2 dollars per hour, > >Because TEN is only a provider, NRL is differnet. > You mean there's a seperate charge for the NRO?! I didn't realize > that. Geez, lets add this up (assuming you don't get the charte > membership): > $2/hr for TEN > $1/hr for dial-up access > Estimated $2/hr for NRO > $10 TEN monthly fee to TEN > Wow. Looks like this is going to end up being a niche product like > Air Warrior used to be in the old days. I'm sure the ***s > currently racing on Hawaii will be there (it'll be cheaper for them > than the LD charges <g>), but I doubt the average gamer will pay $5/hr > in this age of flat rates... I guess time will tell.

If you call hawaii after 10:00 PM its only $6 hr no other charges!!!

: Don't forget that you also have to pay additional charges to NRL : probobly 2 dollars per hour, : Because TEN is only a provider, NRL is differnet. $2/hr more!?!?! I will be on my way to the store to get my money back for N2 if this is true! The on-line racing was 90% of my motivation to get this this thing. Sierra better not do this to us!

Except that in open wheel racing, the whole field could be taken out at the first corner by one idiot :(( Cheers, Richard

HOLY COW People, listen to yourselves. Read down thru this posting. Only $4/Hour, ONLY $6/Hour. WOW, what idea do you people have of the American dollar. I guess they come easier to some than others. This is crazy. I too pay long distance to race on hawaii but when I decided last month that i spent too much the month before I simply didn't get on, like many other people I've chatted with on the service. Here, you pay if your on or not and WHO IS ON HAWAII FOR 5 HOURS A MONTH. THATS 1 HOUR A WEEK PEOPLE. Hell I sometimes can't even get thru lap one at Dega in an hour with all the "GOOD" guys wrecking up front and making a mess for the rest of us. Lets see, Call the service, log on the system, go to the MOTD, go to the Race sched, find a race, wait for it to fill up, start the game, practice 5 minutes, qualify 3 minutes, warmup, wait for the race to begin, and 1 time in 2 actually go a lap, (Be honest, most people wreck about an AVG 1 time in 2 unless You've invested millions in long distance and have more practice than God above.). How many races can you get in in an hour???? Thats your week!! Noone will run 5 hours a week. Bottom line, with TEN, NRO, Your ISP, Hourly charges, Local Access, Why the hell did they bother with TEN. Why not just set up a big bullitten board and be done with it. It worked for Hawaii. (Cause they didn't collect the money, thats why, the phone company did). $30/month for a unlimited membership + the other fees, WOW. I must be getting old.

I agree with most assessments I have read. $30+ just to race online is too much. If I could get $30 for ISP service and on-line racing - that would be decent. I would also expect for a fixed rate that I would get some number of hours free - just like the ISPs do. Let's see, $30 a month with 30 free hours of access time at a minimum. With an ISP, I can get 10 hours a week for $20. Sierra and the *** service would collect $10 extra per month from a large number of people - $120 a year. I suspect every race sim fan would sign up. Why not - just a little more than an ISP and I also get to race online. However, consider racing 30 hours a month with TEN. That will be $60 a month for TEN, plus the $20 for the ISP most are already paying - $80 a month. This comes out to over $1000 a year. I guess its true that the stock car racing - begun by a bunch of down to earth people - has become a rich mans sport. Keep it! /THansen

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> HOLY COW People, listen to yourselves. Read down thru this posting. > Only $4/Hour, ONLY $6/Hour. WOW, what idea do you people have of the > American dollar. I guess they come easier to some than others. This is > crazy. I too pay long distance to race on hawaii but when I decided last > month that i spent too much the month before I simply didn't get on, like > many other people I've chatted with on the service. Here, you pay if your > on or not and WHO IS ON HAWAII FOR 5 HOURS A MONTH. THATS 1 HOUR A WEEK > PEOPLE.

I am. Every week. Most league races last about an hour. The 'good' drivers at a dega pickup race? You really should check out joining a league. League races aren't like that. I have a very enjoyable experience with hawaii. I haven't raced a pickup in 2 months. I happily practice during the week, and then race for an hour on my series race. Spend less than 30 bucks a month.

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>>Don't forget that you also have to pay additional charges to NRL >>probobly 2 dollars per hour, >>Because TEN is only a provider, NRL is differnet. >You mean there's a seperate charge for the NRO?! I didn't realize >that. Geez, lets add this up (assuming you don't get the charte >membership): >$2/hr for TEN >$1/hr for dial-up access >Estimated $2/hr for NRO >$10 TEN monthly fee to TEN >Wow. Looks like this is going to end up being a niche product like >Air Warrior used to be in the old days. I'm sure the ***s >currently racing on Hawaii will be there (it'll be cheaper for them >than the LD charges <g>), but I doubt the average gamer will pay $5/hr >in this age of flat rates... I guess time will tell.

And let's see, since I don't live in an area with local acces to a Tem dial-up I can add long distance charges to that. So I add an average of $10/hr. and I think it's priced a bit out of my range. --- Frank ---

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>For those of you interested in the NRL on TEN, they currently have an >offer (good until Dec. 31) that looks pretty good: >Plan 1 = $5/month for 5 hours, and $1/hr after that >Plan 2 = $15/month unlimited time. >This doesn't include internet access, you still have to pay $.95 if >you access through their nodes. The way I understand it, these rates >will be good for one year after you sign up, then they increase to the >standard rates of $10/mon and $2/hr, or $30 unlimited. Also, this >doesn't include internet access, it'll cost you an additional $.95/hr >if you use TEN's dialups. >It looks like a pretty good deal, the only shitty thing being that you >have to sign up now and who knows when Nascar will be available on >TEN. I signed up for the $5/5 hour plan and hopefully they'll let me >switch to the $15 unlimited when Nascar is up and running. Even if >they don't though, I think I can live with $1/hr <g> >David

thanks for the info. I'm curious, how is the lag from "my provider to theirs" going to affect things? it might not even be worth it. Paying $20 monthly for internet access, then whatever they charge, just to get "lag"... it'd be frustrating for me.

Good post Phil. Cost apart, that's why I prefer LAN. You don't have to put up with the village idiot/s! If he/she/they won't practise and/or can/won't attain some reasonable level of expertise & take *reasonable* care to avoid that first corner pile up....hey..plenty more folks out there just waitin' to take their place. You don't have to put up with the immature ones cause they're easily parted with Dad's money <G>, or the poor drivers because they are soon out of selection by natural attrition, or at least at the back of the field minimizing their destructive potential. <G> A race isn't won in the first lap. This sort of "every lap's gotta' be a 'fast lap'" mentality trying to drive the race from lap one at qualifying speeds comes from to many 'against the computer with no other traffic' fast lap competitions (leagues) and a limited attention span. If one wants to compete in a simulated race environment and expect sucess then you have to practise in that environment. It's no good practising fast laps with no traffic for 30 minute periods every other day and then turning up on the day with computer traffic, other human competitors and a two hour race and expecting to cope with it and win on lap one. At LAST Sierra/Papyrus have finally taken the step an given us what we've been asking for all along L A N play....Indycar L A N next please? Hopefully GP2's patch will introduce LAN play which is more implemented better than it's current modem module. I'm sweating on my copy of NASCAR 2 (C&B mailorder) down here in the antipodes! * -Assembly of Forces in Space- * Strategy than to keep the forces concentrated." * Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831)

Guess that will vary from individual to individual. TEN has a bandwith checker that sort of rates you by the quality of your connection. They have several gameplay servers, each of which is assigned a rating level, from not recommended to optimal. The better your connection, the better rated server you have access too. If the best your ISP can muster is "Not recommended" or "Satisfactory", you might be SOL. If you can get a "Recommended" or "Optimal" though, it'll probably work pretty good. Personally, I got my $5 TEN account, but I'm still playing wait and see. I hear there's also going to be an additional charge for the NRO. I wouldn't mind paying some sort of annual membership fee (say $50 or so), but if it's an hourly thing, then I won't be playing. If the financial numbers do work out though, I'll probably try to do my racing during the lower latency times on the net, like Saturday mornings. Hopefully that'll be good enough. David *** You're only young once, but you can stay immature forever ***