GPL Break

I gotta take a break from GPL. What's a good arcade type game? So far NFS3 looks to be the best. Can this game be played off the hard drive, without cd in drive? Thanks. Al

Get Viper Racing - both arcade and simulation offered. The career mode is an absolute gas - I've been driving it a LOT the last few days, and it's great fun. Career starts you out in amateur class, and you run several races per season, and as many seasons as it takes before you win the class, and move up to Club, then Pro, then GT series. Along the way, you win prize money, and can use the money to upgrade your car - engine, chassis, drivetrain,body, tires, etc. I really love this game. Bill > I gotta take a break from GPL. What's a good arcade type game? So far >NFS3 looks to be the best. Can this game be played off the hard drive, >without cd in drive? Thanks. >Al

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>Get Viper Racing - both arcade and simulation offered. The career mode is >an absolute gas - I've been driving it a LOT the last few days, and it's >great fun. Career starts you out in amateur class, and you run several >races per season, and as many seasons as it takes before you win the class, >and move up to Club, then Pro, then GT series. Along the way, you win prize >money, and can use the money to upgrade your car - engine, chassis, >drivetrain,body, tires, etc. >I really love this game.

I must concur. This is a very fun sim, and is inexpensive too (regular price around $29.99, selling currently for $24.99 -- also part of a SierraSports upgrade rebate plan where you send the CD of an old sports game from a competitor and they refund your entire purchase price). This is the kind of sim I'd feel OK about trying online multiplayer with. I've never been good enough to compete in NASCAR 2 or GPL races online, and get the impression they're taken rather seriously too, so wouldn't want to mess anybody up with my lack of seat time. But Viper Racing, while still having an excellent physics model (though its tendency to pirouette on its tail is rather odd; it doesn't seem to want to get the whole car off the ground unless you actually jump it off of something steep), doesn't take itself terribly seriously -- I guess it's the fact that the racing series and tracks are all made up, and that resetting yourself after a big boo-boo is just part of the race. I do wish it had options with what kind of parts are on the Viper in the Quick Race mode; I got quite good at the tracks in that mode, then started the career and whoops! I had to re-learn how to drive them, using the stock Viper! Stock Viper was kinda fun, actually -- much easier to slide around a corner. (I've since progressed a bit and added many upgrades.) I don't recall the manual mentioning how to save a replay, yet it has a menu option for loading replays ... and I wish you could get a replay in mid-race, or of your qualifying attempts. There is an impression that this was rushed to market, but it's still excellent. ...I'd just bought TOCA, but now, for bump'n'grind racing action, I'm playing Viper! I've heard that Viper Racing's force-feedback support is among if not the best to date. I'm tempted to break down and buy a force-feedback wheel. I'm just concerned about DOS support (can you at least run stuff in DOS windows? my computer is fast enough now that I won't miss any lost frame rate by running in a DOS window). I can get an old demo unit of the Ultimate Per4Mer cheaply, but I don't know what its power supply rating is (the supply is missing). -- http://www2.cruzio.com/~keeper/toons.html - Animaniacs, P&TB, F!, etc. files http://www.armory.com/~keeper/midi.html - My own MIDI files - Updated 3 Oct.

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>>Get Viper Racing... >...This is the kind of sim I'd feel >OK about trying online multiplayer with. I've never been good >enough to compete in NASCAR 2 or GPL races online, and get the >impression they're taken rather seriously too, so wouldn't want >to mess anybody up with my lack of seat time. But Viper Racing, >while still having an excellent physics model (though its tendency >to pirouette on its tail is rather odd; it doesn't seem to want >to get the whole car off the ground unless you actually jump it >off of something steep), doesn't take itself terribly seriously -- >I guess it's the fact that the racing series and tracks are all >made up, and that resetting yourself after a big boo-boo is just >part of the race.

GPL online isn't really that serious (unless you are talking league races, although I have no experience there). The drivers in most of the VROC pick-up races I see exhibit a broad mix of skills. You've got some hot shoes that win, you've got some hot shoes that fly off the track, you've got some some guys (like me) that plod along and try to run clean but not super fast (and get on or near the podium more than you'd think ;), and you've got some guys who are still learning. To run GPL online, I'd suggest three skill requirements: * the basic ability to keep the car under control and on the track most of the time, * having enough speed to run with some of the AI (even if its only the slowest of the bunch), and * having a good attitude about it (so long as you are being considerate of others and aren't being a jerk, things are cool). If you meet these requirements, give it a try. If you are short on the first two, practice a little more. The third one really shouldn't be a problem (in a bunch of pick-up races on VROC, I've only come across one certifiable jerk). Again, give it a try, even if you only run some practce laps (or watch others running laps). It can be a lot of fun! NAR Northeast Regional Contest Board site - points and more...