CPR sound eats performance.

I just found an actual use for muting the sound to get performance. turning the sound off (ctrl-m) in a replay gives a big framerate increase for me. Even if you have the pre-race music OFF and you can't hear anything, you still get the same frame rate hit as if the music/sound is on - so hit ctrl-m anyway. DirectSound really sucks, i guess. how can it kill the frame rate so much even when there is no sound being played? Is this a driver issue, perhaps? i've got the latest AWE64 drivers from Creative, however. blah:) i dunno.

The sound impact on perf is news to me. I'll ask dev. I can tell you that sound isn't free - perhaps some of you saw the feedback on the FlightSim 98 joysticks problems. Problem turned out to be that the default sounds (higher frequency stereo) were saturating the system & the Joystick input couldn't get through consistently. We found that by changing to lower frequency mono sounds the joysticks suddenly started working again. So, it's quite possible that sounds are impacting perf some. The drifting when stopped is a bug - it's fairly low priority since you don't spend much time stopped in an Indycar - still it's something we'll investigate. As for no standing starts, we do em running because that's the way the CART organization does them & we wanted to be true to the real thing. Great to hear you're getting some entertainment out of the game. I have to admit I'm a bit envious of 1:05 at Laguna. I trust you weren't using rain tires :) Eric.

Quoted text (9 lines)

> Hey i just found out a brilliant way to improve the framerate > by like 50%. turn off the sound! (ctrl-m). my framerate jumps > from 14-19fps to 21-28fps. deaf people have one up on the > rest of us here:) of course i don't actually race like this > though, i need the audio input. > Eric and the other MS guys: how come the sound takes such > a huge bite out of the performance? it makes no difference if > i have 8 bit or 16 bit sound, mono or stereo.

After I read your post I decided to give this try, and it really did boost the performance, but I didn't want to drive without the audio either. So, I went back into the sound options to see what else I could tweak without having to mute the sound. I changed the Sound Device from the default "Primary Sound Driver" to my "SB AWE32" sound card, and I was able to drive with full audio and improved performance as well. Hope this helps. Rob C.

Hi Eric, using rain tires :) << How about 1:01.22 on soft, and 1:00.91 on rain? :) Achim

Hi jim :)

Quoted text (11 lines)

> >>>I have to admit I'm a bit envious of 1:05 at Laguna. I trust you weren't > >using rain tires :) << > >How about 1:01.22 on soft, and 1:00.91 on rain? :) > No offense, but I don't believe 1:01.22 on soft tires is possible. I > realize some people are very fast, but not that fast. > Are you sure the Hall of Fame bug isn't responsible for that time? I > had a 1:01 or 1:02 time show up in my Hall of Fame, but I know I > didn't achieve that.

actually, i have never once had this happen to me yet. what causes it? any particular situation, which i have yet to run accross? what do you consider to be a shortcut? all 4 wheels off the track? any wheels on the dirt on the inside of a curve? i quite often run a little wide on exit, just touching the dirt, because of sloppy steering:) i don't really worry about that much because i know that if i had done the corner well i could have steered through even faster without running wide, i personally hate the idea of running off the track to get speed deliberately, and try not to do it. my best laptime is a 1:04.12 on slicks, which i did in a multiplayer game while kind of watching TV at the same time, there was no cutting of corners or anything. i am not an overly fast driver, so i am not at all surprised that others are down into the 1:02's. normally i would lap around 1:05-1:06 however. i have fiddled with my setup somewhat though, to get myself to this speed:) although the car is now really sluggish to control, compared to the usual Gp2 car i am used to:)

-- some parts snipped -- I don't know what causes it. It has happened to me perhaps 3-4 times (although it hasn't in awhile). I know it has happened to others as well. You might not realize it happened if you weren't paying attention to your lap times as you were driving. Let me first say that I'm not trying tell anyone how to drive a sim or what should or shouldn't be allowed. That said, for "official lap" purposes, I think that at least 2 wheels should be on the track at all times. I have seen such a guideline before on web sites that collect hot laps. I downloaded a replay of a 1:02.xx time someone had, and the driver was all the way off the track more than once in very advantageous places (such as coming out of Turn 2). The problem is that in some sims (CPR included), the off track materials (dirt, grass, kitty litter) isn't modeled quite right, and it can be too foregiving to the driver. I don't believe in intentionally taking advantage of that shortcoming. By the way, my best is 1:07 (with the full version), but I can envision a 1:05 or 1:06 lap if I run it perfectly. But I can't see how a sub 1:02 is possible if I stick to my personal guidelines. That 1:04 is a great lap and consistent 1:05's and 1:06's is awesome. Given that you aren't surprised that folks are running 1:02's and given the apparent ease in which you accomplished your 1:04 (watching TV!), and given the quantity of people (not just one or two world champs) that are posting 1:02 or better times, I wonder if there isn't more to the story that we realize. Do you have the trial version? Perhaps there is a difference between the trial version and the gold version (mine)? Of course there is always the chance that I am just not that good and don't realize it. I do have quite a bit of sim experience and, in all humility, I like to think I can hold my own against stiff competition (and have done so), but you never know. Oh well, if I say any more it will sound like I'm whining, and that is certainly not my intention. Back to practice! Jim Getzen --------------------------------------------- Unofficial CART Precision Racing Headquarters http://members.home.net/getzen/ ---------------------------------------------

Jim, Achim really _is_ that fast. Over on CompuServe he has been dubbed "A.C.H.I.M.", A Computerised HotlappIng Machine. I've seen Achim turning stunning laps firstly in ICR2, then GP2, Monster Truck Madness, the occasional dabble in NASCAR2 and now CPR. Whatever you think the limits are, this guy will redefine them. Achim mentioned that he had a 56s lap due to the HOF bug, but the 1:01 and 1:02 laps are clean. The other thing about Achim is that he is _scrupulously_ honest, and a lap will never see the public eye unless it is legal in every sense. If you ask for an e-mail of the replay I'm sure you'll get one, and then prepared to be staggered! :) FWIW I've already done a 1:24.9 around Surfer's Paradise and there's easily another one or two seconds there if I could hook up a mistake free lap. There's a lot of fat to be chopped out of those hotlaps yet! Cheers! John

I've known Achim for over a year and can vouch that he _is_ that fast! I've got a 49 second HoF time <g> I've done a 1:03 (minor use of gravel exiting a couple of corners) but can't get within 2 seconds of my rain tyre time using softs. My driving style is really suited to hotlapping these days though ;-) Cheers, Richard

Quoted text (7 lines)

>Achim needs his head examined. I've raced sims for 6 years, and the best >I can do at Laguna is 1:06.78 with soft tires, little wing and a nearly >empty tank. >1:01??? Don't think so! This game is as real as it gets from a physics >point of view anyway. Unless Someone can do the corkscrew in 6th, 1:01 >just isn't real

Hang around the Zone sometime and get yourself thrashed by Achim, you might just believe it then! Why do people always assume that just because they can't do such fast times that others can't? Cheers, Richard

Quoted text (13 lines)

>Achim needs his head examined. I've raced sims for 6 years, and the best >I can do at Laguna is 1:06.78 with soft tires, little wing and a nearly >empty tank. >1:01??? Don't think so! This game is as real as it gets from a physics >point of view anyway. Unless Someone can do the corkscrew in 6th, 1:01 >just isn't real >> Jim, Achim really _is_ that fast. Over on CompuServe he has been >> dubbed "A.C.H.I.M.", A Computerised HotlappIng Machine. I've seen >> Achim turning stunning laps firstly in ICR2, then GP2, Monster Truck >> Madness, the occasional dabble in NASCAR2 and now CPR. Whatever you >> think the limits are, this guy will redefine them.

Well, I have managed to get my own time down to 1:05.68 thanks to a new setup. I felt like I was absolutely perfect the whole way around, although I'm sure there is still some room for improvement (isn't there always?). Still, I don't see how 1:01.xxx is *possible*. I can't imagine such a lap, since I don't know where the 4+ seconds of time savings could possibly come from. I guess I would have to see Achim in action! I have raced two or three times on the Zone against "StealthRacer" (Arthur Axelrad, I believe). He is unbelievable (should put him up against Achim!) -- I think he averaged about 1 second per lap faster than me during a 12 lap race at Portland, and I was running personal best laps (57.xx's). I'll bet he had a low 55.xx lap in there somewhere. He is also consistent, not just a hot lapper, which really impresses me. Apparently, he has won several ICR2 leagues, etc. etc. If I extrapolate that kind of performance to Laguna, and take even two seconds off my 1:05.68 time, I still get 1:03.6 and not 1:01s. Side note: I looked at some hot lap setups (1:01 and 1:02 times) and all of them used rain tires. It makes me wonder about the other conditions of the hotlap. Perhaps traction control on? No tire wear? Boosted air temp to improve grip? No fuel consumption? (two of the setups had 1 gallon of fuel, not enough to do a hot lap with fuel consumption turned on). Shortcuts? It can certainly be argued that any and all options can and should be exploited by the pure hotlapper, short of hacking the program, but I personally don't subsribe to that. I guess that is one reason why I'm not a great hotlapper (the other reason being my lack of skill)! No doubt about the fat. That is a good Surfer lap. I've done a 1:26.05, but I haven't spent that much time there. I am pretty sure I can get down to the 1:24.xx range with some work and practice. Something to think about: judging from the Laguna hot laps, which are, say, 6 seconds faster than what I consider to be a solid lap (1:07), then the best laps at Australia might be 7-8 seconds faster (given the longer lap) than a solid Aussie lap (say 1:25) which means the best should be around 1:18 or 1:19. Think it is possible? By the same token, should we expect a 50.xx second lap at Portland? :-) Unrelated side note: despite CPR's flaws in terms of the AI, etc. (which will hopefully be patched), I have to say that just about every track is simply a blast to drive, even those that I hated driving in ICR2, such as Australia and Detroit. I can't quite put my finger on it, perhaps the tracks are wider, or maybe it is that the car simply has better performance (too much so?), but I find myself having a ball now "rediscovering" some of the tracks I had dismissed from ICR2. Jim Getzen Unofficial CART Precision Racing HQ http://members.home.net/getzen/

First of all, unless you wrote the physics engine you can't know if it's as real as it gets. I personally have grave doubts. Secondly, I've thought the same thing about some of Achim's laptimes in every sim he's tried, but plenty of other guys like Richard Walker, Michael Wollenschein, Ralf Tzschoppe, Georg Naujoks etc are always snapping at his heels, so the times are possible. We just need an open mind and more practice :) Cheers! John

Achim needs his head examined. I've raced sims for 6 years, and the best I can do at Laguna is 1:06.78 with soft tires, little wing and a nearly empty tank. 1:01??? Don't think so! This game is as real as it gets from a physics point of view anyway. Unless Someone can do the corkscrew in 6th, 1:01 just isn't real

Quoted text (29 lines)

> >No offense, but I don't believe 1:01.22 on soft tires is possible. I > >realize some people are very fast, but not that fast. > Jim, Achim really _is_ that fast. Over on CompuServe he has been > dubbed "A.C.H.I.M.", A Computerised HotlappIng Machine. I've seen > Achim turning stunning laps firstly in ICR2, then GP2, Monster Truck > Madness, the occasional dabble in NASCAR2 and now CPR. Whatever you > think the limits are, this guy will redefine them. > >Are you sure the Hall of Fame bug isn't responsible for that time? I > >had a 1:01 or 1:02 time show up in my Hall of Fame, but I know I > >didn't achieve that. > Achim mentioned that he had a 56s lap due to the HOF bug, but the 1:01 > and 1:02 laps are clean. The other thing about Achim is that he is > _scrupulously_ honest, and a lap will never see the public eye unless > it is legal in every sense. > >In my view, a 1:05.xx or 1:06.xx at Laguna is staggeringly fast with > >soft tires and no shortcuts. > If you ask for an e-mail of the replay I'm sure you'll get one, and > then prepared to be staggered! :) FWIW I've already done a 1:24.9 > around Surfer's Paradise and there's easily another one or two seconds > there if I could hook up a mistake free lap. There's a lot of fat to > be chopped out of those hotlaps yet! > Cheers! > John