I'm sorry to see you leave Dean. I have never seen as much support as you
have provided on R.A.S. You presence will be missed.
With regards to Dean's reply to allison you have to remember that Dean does
this in his spare time, he has a new-born baby (Results in very little slip
and very little spare time), and he has been answering support questions non
stop for 6 weeks now. The negative questions tend to wear on people and I
think Dean was getting to his wits end. Combine the lack of sleep due to his
new born and his normal day to day job of running MS's 110 person simulation
department and you have a very taxed man. I'm not defending Dean, I'm just
trying to give people some extra information about what conditions he is
under and where he is coming from.
Eagle Woman Review:
First visit Allison Hine's site
http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~alison/sims/index.htm and read her ultimate sim
guide so you will understnad the items I discuss below.
Allison I totally agree with your ideas of the "ultimate sim" and have been
hoping companies would follow many of the ideas you outlined.
I would like to run down the list of your ideas and if MS CART Precision
Racing has them.
(1) 8 Player Multiplayer - YES CART PR has this.
(2) Rendition Support - YES CART PR has this in Direct 3D. No in terms of a
dedicated Rendition port. Because 3DFX is the current 3D card leader I don't
think you will see many companies doing dedicated rendition ports anymore.
(3) 3D Support - YES CART PR has this in Direct 3D. Runs best on 3DFX which
many people own now because of it's high performance. If I owned a rendition
card I would be dissapointed that 3DFX runs CART PR better but I was
disappointed when Papyrus only released a Rendition port.
(4) Win 95 or DOS. Yes CART PR runs on Win 95. No in DOS. In your
specifications you say Win95 is ok with no performance hit. I think
ultimately any DOS game is going to run faster than a Win95 game because the
OS overhead is not as much (These are my assumptions and not based on great
technical knowledge of OS's). To ask Win95 to not provide any performance
hit over DOS is asking allot. Hopefully the performance hit will be minimal.
It is also the current trend to develop games in Win95 and not DOS so for
the time being we don't have much choice on this item.
(5) Comprehensive Garage Settings - YES CART PR has this.
(6) Tabs for accessing the many garage settings - YES CART PR has this.
(7) Loads last setup for each track - YES CART PR has this. CART will not
warn if you change a setup I don't think but it will save it under the
custom name.
(8) Telemetry - YES CART PR has this. Since the Replay or PI Analysis file
is a text file (Go to the APEX http://cart.gamestats.com in the editing
section to see the file layout) you can easily create a more in depth data
analysis tool or import the data into a spread sheet.
(9) New carsets - YES CART PR has this with the recently released Paint Kit
that extracts the textures from the game.
(10) Add new tracks/ car models - YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CART PR has this in
the soon to be released track editor. This editor allows you to extract many
different files form the game and gives you the opportunity to edit more
than just the track. The tools to create a track from scratch are very
powerful! The track editor that T.R.I. will be releasing is the exact same
editor that they used to create the tracks for CART P.R. People will drool
when this tool is released!
(11) Vehicle Performance Model Editing - NO at present. I'm working on this
item and it may be possible to to edit some values in the near future
through hacking. The problem is that many of the performance varaibles are
hard coded in the program and not available via external input files.
So looking at this list CART P.R. has met many of the items as that you list
as being in your ultimate sim. Now that doesn't amount to a hill of beans if
you are unhappy with the sim. Many of the items that you listed as being
unhappy with in your review are being addressed in the patch. There was no
mention of the patch or the editors in your review. In your review you also
listed some postings from R.A.S. from people that were also unhappy with
CART P.R. It would have been nice if you would have posted some of the
positive messages on R.A.S. to give a balanced view.
I read your background and learned that you have race experience in SCCA. I
too have raced in SCCA and set lap records at SEARS POINT and won the
championship both years I raced. I also raced 1 year of S.C.C.A. Pro racing
in the ESCORT Endurance series (World Challenge). In college I got my degree
in Mechanical Engineering and helped work on a Bob Sled Simulator for the
U.S. Bob Sled team. I just like you am searching for the ultimate race car
simulator. I too have played race simulators from the original World Circuit
to INDYCAR 1,II and NASCAR I,II. I had very high expectations for CART PR
before it came out also. When I first played it I too was frustrated by the
steering and the default setups. After allot of tinkering and messing around
I was able to resolve the steering and I used many setups that were sent to
me for The APEX page. The game is now very enjoyable to drive and gives me
the same feelings that I used to feel when racing. I have raced at both
Sears Point and Laguna Seca so I have intimate knowledge of both these
tracks. I set a lap record at Sears so I definitely know what I'm doing.
Since Nascar Racing has Sears and Indy Car games have had Laguna I have been
able to use these tracks as a basis to evaluate how realistic the track and
physics models are. Until now no other sim has felt as real as CART PR. The
layout of the Laguna Seca track is very accurate and reproduces many of the
small items of the track that I remember. The only item that is not
realistic is the Aligator teeth curbing, but that would be hard to model.
With regards to the dynamics model the car feels very real. Now I have not
driven an Indy CAR before so I can only compare the feel to the less
horsepowered and non ground effects cars that I have driven. The game was
tested by both Big Mo' and Mark Blundell. Many of the items were changed in
the model to reflect their feedback as to the feel of the car. CART PR uses
a 6 degree of freedom model where each tire is modeled on the car. Many
other sims including Papyrus's have used a 2D stick model. The only item
that I have felt is strange in the driving model is the stability of the car
when it spins backwards. When the car is rolling backwards it seems very
stable. I talked with some people at T.R.I. who worked on the driving model
and they say it may be related to aerodynamics when the car is rolling
backwards. Beyond that I have found the driving model very satisfying!
An item that was not mentioned in your article is the forth coming track
editor. This editor will allow the creation of any track your heart desires.
There is also the possibility that the car models can be edited also. The
editor that they will be releasing is the exact smae editor that they used
for the game and is very powerful. Another items you did not mention is the
Garage Engineer and the Garage item descriptions by Nigel Bennet. As sims
get more complicated it is getting harder and harder for the average player
to setup a car. The Garage Engineer is a revolutionary idea that is awesome!
Now people don't have to worry about the specifics of the car they can
converse with the garage engineer on how the car feels and have the negineer
do the changes. If you want to learn more you can actually observe what the
engineer changes or click on a garage items and you will get a full
description of it and its effects. In your article you briefly mention the
good sounds. I think the sounds in CART PR are the most accurate to date and
they sound exactly like what you hear in real life or on T.V. I especially
like the sound of the car on the rev limiter or during shifts.
On my P133 with Monster 3D card the game has been very enjoyable and trouble
free. In your review you mention the steering bug. I noticed you mentioned
my site "The APEX" so I'm assuming you read the steering help section in the
FAQ. If you tried ALL of the items listed your steering should be acceptable
now. I receive several emails daily from people thanking me for the FAQ and
how to fix the steering. If you have tried EVERY item listed then I'm sorry
that it is not working for you and hopefully the patch will address the
problem. Like I said the suggestions to improve the steering on The APEX
have worked for numerous people and not one has gotten back to me saying
"Hey it is still not working for me". In your article you say that Terminal
Reality has no concept of non-linear steering. How do you know that? Do you
know how non-linear steering is coded in the program? If you don't know you
are making accusations that are based on your assumption. The assumption
being that the steering problems are based on improper coding of non-linear
steering by T.R.I. and not related to any other item. You should not make
accusations unless you know the facts. There are many different items that
can cause the steering feel that you have mentioned some of which are not
due to the coding of non-linear steering. With regards to the Random Frame
generator I cannot help you with out knowing more details. I'm thinking that
the change in frame rate may be due to you going from Full Screen mode to
Full screen with a title bar mode when you press the escape key. The game
only runs in Hardware accelerated mode when it is full screen without a
title bar. You can see the three different modes the game runs in by
pressing F4. The windowed mode and full screen with title bar mode are
software accelerated. The game will also change its frame rate depending on
the complexity of the scene being rendered. For example if there are allot
of buildings or
...
read more »
I'm sorry to see you leave Dean. I have never seen as much support as you
have provided on R.A.S. You presence will be missed.
With regards to Dean's reply to allison you have to remember that Dean does
this in his spare time, he has a new-born baby (Results in very little slip
and very little spare time), and he has been answering support questions non
stop for 6 weeks now. The negative questions tend to wear on people and I
think Dean was getting to his wits end. Combine the lack of sleep due to his
new born and his normal day to day job of running MS's 110 person simulation
department and you have a very taxed man. I'm not defending Dean, I'm just
trying to give people some extra information about what conditions he is
under and where he is coming from.
Eagle Woman Review:
First visit Allison Hine's site
http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~alison/sims/index.htm and read her ultimate sim
guide so you will understnad the items I discuss below.
Allison I totally agree with your ideas of the "ultimate sim" and have been
hoping companies would follow many of the ideas you outlined.
I would like to run down the list of your ideas and if MS CART Precision
Racing has them.
(1) 8 Player Multiplayer - YES CART PR has this.
(2) Rendition Support - YES CART PR has this in Direct 3D. No in terms of a
dedicated Rendition port. Because 3DFX is the current 3D card leader I don't
think you will see many companies doing dedicated rendition ports anymore.
(3) 3D Support - YES CART PR has this in Direct 3D. Runs best on 3DFX which
many people own now because of it's high performance. If I owned a rendition
card I would be dissapointed that 3DFX runs CART PR better but I was
disappointed when Papyrus only released a Rendition port.
(4) Win 95 or DOS. Yes CART PR runs on Win 95. No in DOS. In your
specifications you say Win95 is ok with no performance hit. I think
ultimately any DOS game is going to run faster than a Win95 game because the
OS overhead is not as much (These are my assumptions and not based on great
technical knowledge of OS's). To ask Win95 to not provide any performance
hit over DOS is asking allot. Hopefully the performance hit will be minimal.
It is also the current trend to develop games in Win95 and not DOS so for
the time being we don't have much choice on this item.
(5) Comprehensive Garage Settings - YES CART PR has this.
(6) Tabs for accessing the many garage settings - YES CART PR has this.
(7) Loads last setup for each track - YES CART PR has this. CART will not
warn if you change a setup I don't think but it will save it under the
custom name.
(8) Telemetry - YES CART PR has this. Since the Replay or PI Analysis file
is a text file (Go to the APEX http://cart.gamestats.com in the editing
section to see the file layout) you can easily create a more in depth data
analysis tool or import the data into a spread sheet.
(9) New carsets - YES CART PR has this with the recently released Paint Kit
that extracts the textures from the game.
(10) Add new tracks/ car models - YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CART PR has this in
the soon to be released track editor. This editor allows you to extract many
different files form the game and gives you the opportunity to edit more
than just the track. The tools to create a track from scratch are very
powerful! The track editor that T.R.I. will be releasing is the exact same
editor that they used to create the tracks for CART P.R. People will drool
when this tool is released!
(11) Vehicle Performance Model Editing - NO at present. I'm working on this
item and it may be possible to to edit some values in the near future
through hacking. The problem is that many of the performance varaibles are
hard coded in the program and not available via external input files.
So looking at this list CART P.R. has met many of the items as that you list
as being in your ultimate sim. Now that doesn't amount to a hill of beans if
you are unhappy with the sim. Many of the items that you listed as being
unhappy with in your review are being addressed in the patch. There was no
mention of the patch or the editors in your review. In your review you also
listed some postings from R.A.S. from people that were also unhappy with
CART P.R. It would have been nice if you would have posted some of the
positive messages on R.A.S. to give a balanced view.
I read your background and learned that you have race experience in SCCA. I
too have raced in SCCA and set lap records at SEARS POINT and won the
championship both years I raced. I also raced 1 year of S.C.C.A. Pro racing
in the ESCORT Endurance series (World Challenge). In college I got my degree
in Mechanical Engineering and helped work on a Bob Sled Simulator for the
U.S. Bob Sled team. I just like you am searching for the ultimate race car
simulator. I too have played race simulators from the original World Circuit
to INDYCAR 1,II and NASCAR I,II. I had very high expectations for CART PR
before it came out also. When I first played it I too was frustrated by the
steering and the default setups. After allot of tinkering and messing around
I was able to resolve the steering and I used many setups that were sent to
me for The APEX page. The game is now very enjoyable to drive and gives me
the same feelings that I used to feel when racing. I have raced at both
Sears Point and Laguna Seca so I have intimate knowledge of both these
tracks. I set a lap record at Sears so I definitely know what I'm doing.
Since Nascar Racing has Sears and Indy Car games have had Laguna I have been
able to use these tracks as a basis to evaluate how realistic the track and
physics models are. Until now no other sim has felt as real as CART PR. The
layout of the Laguna Seca track is very accurate and reproduces many of the
small items of the track that I remember. The only item that is not
realistic is the Aligator teeth curbing, but that would be hard to model.
With regards to the dynamics model the car feels very real. Now I have not
driven an Indy CAR before so I can only compare the feel to the less
horsepowered and non ground effects cars that I have driven. The game was
tested by both Big Mo' and Mark Blundell. Many of the items were changed in
the model to reflect their feedback as to the feel of the car. CART PR uses
a 6 degree of freedom model where each tire is modeled on the car. Many
other sims including Papyrus's have used a 2D stick model. The only item
that I have felt is strange in the driving model is the stability of the car
when it spins backwards. When the car is rolling backwards it seems very
stable. I talked with some people at T.R.I. who worked on the driving model
and they say it may be related to aerodynamics when the car is rolling
backwards. Beyond that I have found the driving model very satisfying!
An item that was not mentioned in your article is the forth coming track
editor. This editor will allow the creation of any track your heart desires.
There is also the possibility that the car models can be edited also. The
editor that they will be releasing is the exact smae editor that they used
for the game and is very powerful. Another items you did not mention is the
Garage Engineer and the Garage item descriptions by Nigel Bennet. As sims
get more complicated it is getting harder and harder for the average player
to setup a car. The Garage Engineer is a revolutionary idea that is awesome!
Now people don't have to worry about the specifics of the car they can
converse with the garage engineer on how the car feels and have the negineer
do the changes. If you want to learn more you can actually observe what the
engineer changes or click on a garage items and you will get a full
description of it and its effects. In your article you briefly mention the
good sounds. I think the sounds in CART PR are the most accurate to date and
they sound exactly like what you hear in real life or on T.V. I especially
like the sound of the car on the rev limiter or during shifts.
On my P133 with Monster 3D card the game has been very enjoyable and trouble
free. In your review you mention the steering bug. I noticed you mentioned
my site "The APEX" so I'm assuming you read the steering help section in the
FAQ. If you tried ALL of the items listed your steering should be acceptable
now. I receive several emails daily from people thanking me for the FAQ and
how to fix the steering. If you have tried EVERY item listed then I'm sorry
that it is not working for you and hopefully the patch will address the
problem. Like I said the suggestions to improve the steering on The APEX
have worked for numerous people and not one has gotten back to me saying
"Hey it is still not working for me". In your article you say that Terminal
Reality has no concept of non-linear steering. How do you know that? Do you
know how non-linear steering is coded in the program? If you don't know you
are making accusations that are based on your assumption. The assumption
being that the steering problems are based on improper coding of non-linear
steering by T.R.I. and not related to any other item. You should not make
accusations unless you know the facts. There are many different items that
can cause the steering feel that you have mentioned some of which are not
due to the coding of non-linear steering. With regards to the Random Frame
generator I cannot help you with out knowing more details. I'm thinking that
the change in frame rate may be due to you going from Full Screen mode to
Full screen with a title bar mode when you press the escape key. The game
only runs in Hardware accelerated mode when it is full screen without a
title bar. You can see the three different modes the game runs in by
pressing F4. The windowed mode and full screen with title bar mode are
software accelerated. The game will also change its frame rate depending on
the complexity of the scene being rendered. For example if there are allot
of buildings or
...
read more »
