GP 3 2000 - Review of a GP3 hater
Andre Warringa
GP 3 2000 - Review of a GP3 hater
--- WARNING: This post has the length of an average Tom Pabst post ---
When GP3 was released, it was a HUGE disappointment for me. It felt
like a 2-year old game in every way. Graphics sucked compared to other
F1 sims, sound was poor (no engine sounds of the other cars) and car
behaviour was so unbelievable odd sometimes that I deleted GP3 after a
week or 2.
The only good thing about GP3 was imho the variable weather which was
nothing short of amazing.
Allthough I was affraid it would be a waste of time, I tried the 2000
addon. And now I spend the whole weekend playing GP3 instead of GPL..
That should say enough :)
First of all, I never tried all the addons that were released for GP3,
including the sounds-for-all-cars patch, so the only thing I saw so
far was GP3 as it came out of the box.
Anyway, I installed the addon. I chose automatic sound calibration and
that worked perfect. Automatic graphics calibration, and it
recommended 1280x1024 with all settings on, whoopy.
Now the hard part - wheel and pedals calibration. I never could get my
CH pedals working in GP3. This time it seemed to work, GP3 immediately
reckognized my LWFF and CH pedals on split axis.
Calibrated them, calibration succesfull!
Finally I chose a track and was ready to test the car. The track
loaded, I was in the pits, and.. &%^$, calibration of my pedals
suddenly didn't work, I couldn't even choose 'leave pits'.
Escape, back to control menu, recalibrate, pedals worked again, onto
the track again, pedals didn’t work. %&$^ !
After much digging in old RAS posts I finally found a post suggesting
the Joyreg utility.
Installed Joyreg, recalibrated in GP3, and it finally worked! Costed
me about 3 hours in total to figure it out. Thanks Geoff, take a
closer look at Papy's calibration system next time.
Anyway, time for a testdrive. Monaco, dry weather, quick race. First
thing I noticed: THE SOUND!
Full EAX, all the cars made sound now, GREAT!! Into the tunnel was
totally fantastic with the sound reflecting off the walls. Simply the
best use in a car sim of EAX I have ever heard, great great great.
Buuuut there was a slight problem.. the control of my car was total
crap. Wheels locked way too easily and too suddenly, I couldn't feel
where the locking point was. Steering also was very odd.
So: back to the dreadfull control menu.
After an hour of unsuccesful messing with all the settings it was time
to dig up some info on the internet again. I found a control setup
guide on www.bhmotorsports.com. Tried it, and now the control of the
car was muchos better. The biggest difference was setting the steering
lock on the maximum of 20 instead of the default settings of 12, which
helped a lot in getting more feeling in the steering.
Ok, finally I got this thing setup ok. The next thing wanted to do was
to download my hometrack, Zandvoort. I raced there for real a couple
of weeks ago, read that the track was created for GP3, so I was very
curious if it would be any good. Downloaded the track, installation
was a bit of a hassle since none of the trackmanagers worked with the
2000 addon (all of the utilities I tried were looking for the GP3.exe,
GP3 2000 uses another exe) but with a bit of manual file renaming I
got it working quite easily.
Onto the track, and allthough the real life version is a bit
different, the banking in the GP3 was a bit off in most corners, it
was still huge fun to drive the current layout of Zandy on my
computer. After half an hour of practice I did some 1:22 laps (yes I
know the WR is 1:18 in GP3 so I suck :) and it was time for a race. I
chose Pro level, the fastest AI guys were doing qualification laps of
1:22 there so that would be a good level to race them on.
Qualified 6th. The lights went out and there we went. After 2 laps I
had overtaken 2 guys and I was in 4th place. And crap, there I spun on
the track, overdid it in the Nissan corner. With 18 guys close behind
me I was expecting the usual AI pileup, as I was used in GPL. But..
all the AI cars were avoiding me.. most drove around me, a couple of
cars who couldn't drive around me stopped.. this was great! I turned
my car after everyone passed me safely, and was dead last now. But the
backmarkers were doing 1:24-1:25 laps so it was quite easy to get back
to 12 position. From there it got harder and harder (the driving), the
AI was blocking me, weren't giving me an inch.. man this was simply
the best AI I ever encountered in a racing sim, I was having a hell of
a fight with the AI.
After a couple of laps more, back to 10th, I locked my wheels while
braking for Tarzan, hit the wall, and without nose and front wheels
the race was over for me. I watched the replay (you can save up to 90
minutes of replay now) and it was fantastic to see the race.. the AI
was behaving perfect at the start, no crashes, and to see how they
avoided my car when I spun on the middle of the track was amazing.
In the replay you can also hear the crowds cheering, which was another
surprising feature.
Time for another race but now I chose a race in the rain. Well,
errr... after 2 laps with sliding off at every corner I thought I
would try that again later. Much later :) Damn, driving on a wet track
is hard!
So, as you guessed by now, my opinion about GP3 has changed radically
after this 2000 update.
In GP3 I discovered a very stupid physics bug. When I was standing
still on the track, turned my wheel left, and gave gas, the car was
turning around it's middle axis, on and on. After the 2000 addon this
bug has gone and under the same conditions the car turns as I expect
it to do.
Force feedback is nice, not half as good as in GPL, but it's good.
Graphics are still quite sad compared to the beautiful F1RC, but
they're better than in GP3 I think.. it seems less pixelated and there
are much more track objects now, giving the tracks more atmosphere.
Sound is as I mentioned great. EAX implementation is wonderfull, crank
up those 4 speakers and annoy your neighbours! Though the engine
sounds could use some improvement.. they’re not bad, especially while
watching a replay from the TV cam they sound great, but the in-car
sound could sound a bit more powerfull. But this is a matter of taste
I guess, I don’t know how it sounds like sitting in an F1 car with a
helmet on.
I read the menu system would be improved in the 2000 addon, well I
still think it's way too clumsy, especially settings up the
controllers was quite annoying to say the least. It hardly changed
compared to GP3.
Too bad the GP3 utilities don't work with the addon, so you can't
import GP3 carsets, carshapes and stuff like that. Not yet anyway, I
don't think it will take long before the tools are made compatible
with the addon. It seems like the structure of GP3 files remained the
same, it’s just that GP3 2000 uses another exe file to start and most
utilities have to adapt to that. (he said simplistic without any
programming skills).
So far my fave -current- F1 sim was F1RC, but with it's lack of
multiplayer and the baaaad AI there's not much fun of playing it
anymore. The AI in GP3 has the right rythm, when I set the AI to Pro
level where they drive allmost the same laptimes as me, they also have
the same speed as me in the corners and on the straights. Unlike F1RC,
where the AI is way too fast in the corners and way too slow on the
straights. And I think I have the only copy of F1RC where the AI
doesn't learn, because after many races they still suck. In GP3 the AI
doesn't have to learn, they know how to drive right out of the
package.
What’s quite funny: In most sims, while watching a replay, it’s
totally obvious which driver is human and which drivers are the AI.
While watching a replay of me amongst the AI, I noticed after half a
lap I was watching the wrong Ferarri.. I was watching the AI instead
of my own car. That impressed me quite a lot.
I also read you can collide with debris from other cars. I didn’t test
this yet, but I read a report from someone whose front wing got broken
off after colliding with a wheel that was lying on the road after an
accident. If it really works that way.. that’s good, that’s really
good.
And then.. the physics... here goes...
Ok, right out of the box, the settings for the controllers suck. Read
that guide I was talking about on http://www.bhmotorsports.com and try
those settings. They work like a charm on my system. After that you
get much more control and feeling of the car. I’m not a physics
expert, unlike Gregor Veble I can’t tell you WHY is feels good, I just
can tell you THAT is feels good :)
Sliding a bit when entering a corner too fast a la Montoya, feeling
the rear braking out and quickly catching the spin, squeezing the
brakes while entering Tarzan, it’s all there, and it feels good. I
don’t know if it’s the physics that have changed in GP3 2000, that
it’s because of the year 2000 cars, because of the new setups or
because of my improved controller settings.. but it all feels so much
better than in GP3. Better/worse than F1CS2k/F1RC? No idea. F1CS2k
feels good, F1RC feels good, but they all feel slightly different and
I couldn’t tell which one comes closest to reality. If I have to guess
it’s F1RC, but one thing about the physics of F1RC is that the car
spins without any kind of warning. That may be realistic, what I
seriously doubt since you feel so much more in a real car, and I’m
sure you can feel when the car is driving on it’s limit, but anyway,
it’s annoying as hell. In GP3 it’s possible to save a spin, but it’s
HARD to do so, and that’s the way I like it. Possible to save a spin,
but you have to work for it. With it’s excellent AI, variable weather
and all the user-made tracks the winner is clear to me.
The big thing lacking in GP3 2000 is ofcourse the TCP/IP multiplayer.
What a shame, it would have been so great if this would have been
implemented. But I read some rumours about a user-made TCP/IP
multiplayer patch on the internet, so who knows..
This is how GP3 should have been released. I still think GP3 was more
of a beta version, and the '2000 addon' is nothing more than a major
patch for GP3 to make it as it should have been. Just like F1RC2 will
be the patch for the F1RC beta.
Andre
GP3 2000 lover :)
Ed Solheim
[...... ....... drum-roll ....... ......]
Do you need GP3 to use GP3 2000??
--
ed_
Andre Warringa
>Now for the million dollar question....
>[...... ....... drum-roll ....... ......]
>Do you need GP3 to use GP3 2000??
Yes, it's an add-on for GP3 so you need a copy of GP3.
I do agree with someone else who wrote his thoughts about GP3 2000
here - this addon turns GP3 into the sim that it should have been in
the first place. GP3 was seriously lacking, and allthough there are
lots of wishes left after the installation of the addon, it's a very,
very good F1 sim now.
So.. question remains is if we have to pay for this addon since it's
mostly an essential update with things that should have been in the
game in the first place..
Andre / who wonders if F1RC2 will be free for download as an essential
update for F1RC1
Carol Bekker
Ed Solheim
No way I'm paying twice the price just to get what should have been GP3 and
not 2 patches for GP2
--
ed_
David L. Cook
GF2 Ultra to calibrate in GP3 2000 without crashing to the desktop...
"Andre Warringa" <a.war...@chello.nl> wrote in message
news:ehf2otcb4jgv9kkmh...@4ax.com...
BRH
One question though (OK, maybe more...):
1. I see that you use the LWFF with CH pedals. (I use the LWFF with TSW
pedals). On what ID number do you have the wheel and on which are the
pedals? I ask this because, on my system, to get FF in GP3 now, I have to
switch the ID numbers from what GPL requires, which is a bit annoying.
2. Also, related to this, you mentioned F1RC, so you must have at least
tried it out. How did you get F1RC to recognize 2 different controllers
at the same time (LWFF plus CH pedals)?
Thanks again,
Bert
Andre Warringa wrote:
--
Bert
Iain Mackenzie
Iain
"Carol Bekker" <carol.y...@lineone.net> wrote in message
news:6lbg7.12137$in6.1...@news6-win.server.ntlworld.com...
Iain Mackenzie
the patches for GP3 from the web. GPx patch, various sound event packs, and
2001 graphics for the cars etc. completely transform GP3 in my opinion. So,
we can't really judge the addon until you've tried them out.
Iain
"Andre Warringa" <a.war...@chello.nl> wrote in message
news:o7d2otkmj8418e21v...@4ax.com...
Andre Warringa
On Mon, 20 Aug 2001 13:52:07 -0400, BRH <b...@cavtel.net> wrote:
>Andre, Thanks for that review..... It sounds like it might be worthwhile.
>
>One question though (OK, maybe more...):
>
>1. I see that you use the LWFF with CH pedals. (I use the LWFF with TSW
>pedals). On what ID number do you have the wheel and on which are the
>pedals? I ask this because, on my system, to get FF in GP3 now, I have to
>switch the ID numbers from what GPL requires, which is a bit annoying.
I have my LWFF on 1, and the pedals on 2..
>2. Also, related to this, you mentioned F1RC, so you must have at least
>tried it out. How did you get F1RC to recognize 2 different controllers
>at the same time (LWFF plus CH pedals)?
Oh, that's a long story.. I explained it sometime here on RAS and it
took me allmost as long as writing the GP3 2000 review :D
Anyway, it's a long time ago and I can't remember exactly how I did
it, but this should help you a bit:
Notice when you calibrate your pedals, that the description changes
the further you press the pedals while calibrating.
For example, when you fully press the pedals and press the ok button,
it says something like Z- Axis. If you calibrate the pedals again but
press it halfway, and press ok, it says R+ axis or something like that
instead.
Well, experiment with these different values untill it works.. good
luck.. :)
Andre
>Thanks again,
>Bert
>
>
Andre Warringa
>I think with GPxPatch GP3 is better than GP3 2000. I can't even get my 64MB
>GF2 Ultra to calibrate in GP3 2000 without crashing to the desktop...
As I wrote, I never used any of the GP3 addons so I can't comment on
that. However, opinions on the GP3 forums seems to be that lots of
small extra things were addes in the GP3 addon, and the sound of the
addon is also much better now than the GPxPatch sound addon, so..
Anyway, try putting this in the cards.txt file in your gp3 2000 map:
[general]
[NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS/GeForce2 Pro]
bilinear=1
liverynumbers=0
detailmap=1
alticons=0
alphawithck=1
NO IDEA if it actually helps, but I stumbled on this in a GP3 forum as
recommended settings for a GF2 card. Calibration went fine on my
system with a GF2 GTS btw.
Andre
Andre Warringa
>Sounds good Andre, but I'm a little worried that you haven't tried any of
>the patches for GP3 from the web. GPx patch, various sound event packs, and
>2001 graphics for the cars etc. completely transform GP3 in my opinion. So,
>we can't really judge the addon until you've tried them out.
>Iain
Very, very true, after the fiasco of GP3 I absolutely didn't bother
trying the addons released later. But I just posted my comments about
this in another post in this thread, read that please.
Btw, I can't wait for the GP3 addons to work under GP3 2000 now..
I just saw the 2001 carset made by Ralph something, he's the Bruce
Johnson of GP3 :))
(err.. for those of you who don't know Bruce - he's the van Gogh of
GPL :)
Andre
BRH
2 separate controllers! I asked this same question on r.a.s. a number of
times, but never got an answer that worked -- until your reply. Not only does
it work, but I can use the same configuration as I do with GPL (Peds on ID#1
and LWFF on ID#2), and still have FF effects.
Now, if I can get confirmation that this same configuration will also work with
GP3 after the add-on, I'll definitely buy the add-on. (Unfortunately, with GP3
out-of-the-box, I have to have the LWFF on ID#1 to get FF effects, which
necessitates swapping out ID numbers whenever I switch from one sim to
another.)
Thanks again!
Andre Warringa wrote:
--
Bert
Andre Warringa
On Mon, 20 Aug 2001 18:16:38 -0400, BRH <b...@cavtel.net> wrote:
>Now, if I can get confirmation that this same configuration will also work with
>GP3 after the add-on, I'll definitely buy the add-on. (Unfortunately, with GP3
>out-of-the-box, I have to have the LWFF on ID#1 to get FF effects, which
>necessitates swapping out ID numbers whenever I switch from one sim to
>another.)
Wouldn't it be easier to put the LWFF on 1 and the pedals on 2? That
way it works with all sims.
Even more, with my LWFF on 1 I have much stronger FF than when I set
it on id 2.
Good to hear you for F1RC working.. clever calibration system eh? :)
Andre
Iain Mackenzie
there - adds 3D sound, other car sounds, ability to associate sound events,
gets rid of the 'sky messages', has 'official type' messages onscreen, etc.
etc.
Iain
"Andre Warringa" <a.war...@chello.nl> wrote in message
news:ffo2otkb1fdqei86s...@4ax.com...
ymenard
> --- WARNING: This post has the length of an average Tom Pabst post ---
Sheesh ;-)
> When GP3 was released, it was a HUGE disappointment for me.
I would agree with that even today. Gp3 is anything but a successful modern
F1 simulation, compared to what Ubisoft or EA Sports have produced. It has
an incredible feeling that is yet matched, and I personally like the colour
palette/grainy aspect of the sim that makes it quite realistically pleasant
to my eye (compared to other super-washed out graphic engine). But
everything else is a major disappointment.
Geoff Crammond is living in another world, we were saying this when Gp2 was
released!
It's the second person that gives an interesting note to the 2000 add-on.
It looks like this is the GP3 that should had been released. It still has
the major flaw that is it's own core game engine, but everything else around
it now seems to be close to the modern standards of the gaming industry.
Except the whole TCP/IP situation which is pathetic.
> Now the hard part - wheel and pedals calibration. I never could get my
> CH pedals working in GP3. This time it seemed to work, GP3 immediately
> reckognized my LWFF and CH pedals on split axis.
mmmm <drool> I never had them working for me also with my EXL500.
> What's quite funny: In most sims, while watching a replay, it's
> totally obvious which driver is human and which drivers are the AI.
> While watching a replay of me amongst the AI, I noticed after half a
> lap I was watching the wrong Ferarri.. I was watching the AI instead
> of my own car. That impressed me quite a lot.
The same could be said of GP2. The AI cars drive the track pretty well.
It's actually imho the best AI implementation in Gp3 that I've seen for a
modern F1 sim.
--
-- François Ménard <ymenard>
-- May the Downforce be with you...
-- http://www.ymenard.com/
-- This announcement is brought to you by the Shimato Dominguez
Corporation - helping America into the New World...
BRH
GPL. (Can't remember right now, but I think that's also the case with N4). If I
could get the FF to work in GPL (and N4) under this configuration, I would set it up
that way so it would work in all sims.
Any ideas why it doesn't work in GPL?
Andre Warringa wrote:
--
Bert
Rafe McAuliffe
networking. If that has had some work, then this might be what we've
all been waiting for. I'll report back on LAN performance anyway.
Rafe Mc
BRH
Just tried GPL with LWFF on ID#1, and FF works. Don't know why it didn't before. Oh
well. All 3 (GPL, F1RC and GP3) work under this same configuration.
BRH wrote:
--
Bert
Rafe McAuliffe
>palette/grainy aspect of the sim that makes it quite realistically pleasant
>to my eye (compared to other super-washed out graphic engine). But
>everything else is a major disappointment.
Wish I was as much of a fan :) But it's still not too bad, and the
whole point of playing is the racing, right?
>
>Geoff Crammond is living in another world, we were saying this when Gp2 was
>released!
Amen to that, brother.
>
>
>It's the second person that gives an interesting note to the 2000 add-on.
>It looks like this is the GP3 that should had been released. It still has
>the major flaw that is it's own core game engine, but everything else around
>it now seems to be close to the modern standards of the gaming industry.
>Except the whole TCP/IP situation which is pathetic.
Hopefully when the GPx patch is ported to the addon, it'll be alot
better <fingers crossed>. Shouldn't be too long, hopefully. The
game/file system seems virtually identical, just updated to what
*should* have been released a while back.
>> Now the hard part - wheel and pedals calibration. I never could get my
>> CH pedals working in GP3. This time it seemed to work, GP3 immediately
>> reckognized my LWFF and CH pedals on split axis.
>
>mmmm <drool> I never had them working for me also with my EXL500.
Worked instantly for me too, controller system seems much more
advanced. Actually on a par with most other sims now <g> Considering
how much trouble I had with GP3, this is a breeze :D
>
>The same could be said of GP2. The AI cars drive the track pretty well.
>It's actually imho the best AI implementation in Gp3 that I've seen for a
>modern F1 sim.
I've never been a fan of the AI in Gp3, but WOW, that AI is superb.
Can't complain about that aspect at all, very well implemented.
The sound is indeed a hell of a lot better, but one thing I don't like
is the way the sound 'switches' from on throttle to off throttle. No
subtleties about it, its either full noise or none. But to hear the
full grid at the start is quite nice :) Should've added that in from
the start with GP3, but hey.
Rafe Mc
Rafe McAuliffe
together. Seems to fix *most* of the major flaws from gp3, and some
nice subtle improvements to the game all round. Pity that you had so
much trouble with your controller, but at least it all worked out in
the end :D The replay controller is very cool, much better than before
as well. But it's amazing how much they could learn from Papy with
this stuff.
Most glaring problems still:
- Graphics - hopefully fixed in GP4
- Menu system - Good in its day, but a pain now. Fixed in GP4 I think
as well.
- Setups and setup defaults - still has a single default setup, and
seems to decide for itself which setup you want, regardless of which
one you used last. It should automatically save your changes and
remember your last one, ala GPL. It also still puts on new tyres after
you enter the pits, so you can't check wear unless you manually put
the old tyres back on.
- Physics - Mostly there now, but it could still be improved upon IMO.
But a definite improvement over the original, the feel for the car is
there and the wet weather driving is pretty cool.
One good thing I forgot about was the annoying gear changes in GP3.
Many times I wanted to short shift exiting a corner, but the game
wouldn't let me until I had more revs up. Well, that seems to have
been fixed now, so manual actually means a manual gearbox.
All in all, not too shabby.
Rafe Mc
Iain Mackenzie
>> But to hear the full grid at the start is quite nice :) Should've added
that in from
the start with GP3, but hey.<<
It was in GPxPatch along with many other improvements/addons.
Iain
Ted
> What a shame, it would have been so great if this would have been
> implemented. But I read some rumours about a user-made TCP/IP
> multiplayer patch on the internet, so who knows..
>
I played a 26 Lap 3 player TCP/IP multiplayer game the other night and it
was brilliant. The option is there and it's not hard to find.
Ted
Olav K. Malmin
But a 3 player race isn't the same anymore after getting used to 20+
in GPL and N4. I had a blast in ICR2 racing modem to modem with a
friend of mine, but that's 4 years ago.
--
Olav K. Malmin
remove .spam when replying
Rafe McAuliffe
to installing it. i can be a lazy bugger at times :)
Rafe Mc
Rafe McAuliffe
this was the case in the GP3 original?
Rafe Mc
EldredP
raf...@NOJUNKhotmail.com (Rafe McAuliffe) writes:
>One good thing I forgot about was the annoying gear changes in GP3.
>Many times I wanted to short shift exiting a corner, but the game
>wouldn't let me until I had more revs up. Well, that seems to have
>been fixed now, so manual actually means a manual gearbox.
I was able to short-shift all the time. My shift button was screwed up, and
would often cause me to shift 2 gears accidentally. If *I* could do it, I'm
surprized *you* couldn't...
Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +16.36...Monster +366.59...
Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.
Andre Warringa
On Tue, 21 Aug 2001 04:14:18 GMT, raf...@NOJUNKhotmail.com (Rafe
McAuliffe) wrote:
>Glad to hear you're as impressed as I was, it's very nicely put
>together. Seems to fix *most* of the major flaws from gp3, and some
Thank god I'm not the only one who likes it now.. yesterday people
made fun of me on VROC when I told them I just played GP3 for 2
hours.. :)
>Most glaring problems still:
>- Graphics - hopefully fixed in GP4
Yep, quite crappy gfx.. and allthough the user-made carshapes, carsets
and stuff like that enhance the gfx a lot, it's the core gfx engine
that sucks. Poor gfx demaning too much fps..
>- Menu system - Good in its day, but a pain now. Fixed in GP4 I think
>as well.
I seriously doubt that.. the menu would be improved in the addon. Its
just as clumsy as in GP3 though, it hardly changed..
>- Physics - Mostly there now, but it could still be improved upon IMO.
>But a definite improvement over the original, the feel for the car is
>there and the wet weather driving is pretty cool.
What I love about GP3 now is the ability to slide the car through a
corner.. ultra-late braking, a bit of trailbraking, catching the
slide.. it's like GPL! :D
>One good thing I forgot about was the annoying gear changes in GP3.
>Many times I wanted to short shift exiting a corner, but the game
>wouldn't let me until I had more revs up. Well, that seems to have
>been fixed now, so manual actually means a manual gearbox.
I have to test this.. I still have the problem that I sometimes can't
shift when I want to - for example I can not downshift when I'm giving
a bit of throttle. Now I know this is not a smart thing to do but
sometimes I just WANT to - hey it should be my choice if I want to
wreck the gearbox!! :)
But is there a setup for this which I forgot?
Cheers,
Andre
Andre Warringa
On 21 Aug 2001 11:23:30 +0200, olav_k...@hotmail.spam.com (Olav K.
Malmin) wrote:
That's true Olav, you know how I love to kick your ass in the IGPLC
league with 20 drivers on the road (ok, 19, you purists).
But 3 players is better than nothing and I'd love to kick my friends
ass in GP3 on Zandy..
So thanks for the update Ted.. I read GP3 2000 didn't support TCP/IP
so I didn't even bother looking for it.. d'oh :)
Andre
Gregor Veble
Andre Warringa wrote:
>
> Yep, quite crappy gfx.. and allthough the user-made carshapes, carsets
> and stuff like that enhance the gfx a lot, it's the core gfx engine
> that sucks. Poor gfx demaning too much fps..
>
Actually, what I noticed with GP3 is, that in a multiple car situation
it seems to be the AI calculations that drag the framerate down, and not
the drawing of the cars itself. The more daring diving passes you try to
pull off, the more the sytem bogs down, as the otherwise excellent AI
tries to accomodate you.
>
> What I love about GP3 now is the ability to slide the car through a
> corner.. ultra-late braking, a bit of trailbraking, catching the
> slide.. it's like GPL! :D
>
That's great, and something that was available in GP3 only through
Advanced Physics Editor. The default tyres are too stiff IMHO in GP3,
this update seems to do a better job then.
-Gregor
Andre Warringa
On Mon, 20 Aug 2001 23:30:23 -0400, BRH <b...@cavtel.net> wrote:
>Cancel that last post of mine....
>
>Just tried GPL with LWFF on ID#1, and FF works. Don't know why it didn't before. Oh
>well. All 3 (GPL, F1RC and GP3) work under this same configuration.
Great, first you let me think for half an hour after your previous
post, now I read it allready works :D
Well ok, problem solved then :)
Andre
Andre Warringa
>Hi!
>
>Andre Warringa wrote:
>>
>> Yep, quite crappy gfx.. and allthough the user-made carshapes, carsets
>> and stuff like that enhance the gfx a lot, it's the core gfx engine
>> that sucks. Poor gfx demaning too much fps..
>>
>
>Actually, what I noticed with GP3 is, that in a multiple car situation
>it seems to be the AI calculations that drag the framerate down, and not
>the drawing of the cars itself. The more daring diving passes you try to
>pull off, the more the sytem bogs down, as the otherwise excellent AI
>tries to accomodate you.
Interesting, sounds obious now that you mention it :)
But what I meant was - compare the graphics of F1RC (drool) to the
graphics of GP3.. F1RC looks so much better and is much more fps
friendly.. now I can imagine the F1RC AI doesn't require any cpu
cycles at all, but still..
Andre
jalo
I'm not trying to flame or anything. But, after reading your review, GP3
2000 still needed aftermarket add-ons to be enjoyable. It seems like to me
that you would have been better off just getting the web add-ons and saving
your money. I did not read anything in your review that makes me want to
find (if I even still have it) and install it on my computer. Much less buy
the add-on. An add-on should not have to be patched by aftermarket people!
They should have fixed all of the things that the guy's on the web have
addressed. Once again, I'm not trying to flame.
Andre Warringa
On Tue, 21 Aug 2001 20:59:07 GMT, "jalo" <jlo...@austin.rr.com>
wrote:
Hey no offence taken :)
As I wrote here, this is how GP3 should have been released in the
first place. And yes, there is still lots of room for improvement. I
can't wait for all the mods to work with GP3 2000 so I can install
better looking cars, better sounds, the Gpxxx(?) utility with all it's
improvements..
I can't really answer the question how close a user-upgraded GP3 comes
to GP3 2000. I never tried them since I disliked GP3 so much.
Now I simply love it. I don't know all the exact bits that were
changed in the addon.. at least the cars drive much better and I have
lots more control of the car.. Perhaps the same results can me
achieved with the GP3 physics editor, I don't know.
Anyway, the addon offers one great new feature which hasn't been made
with an addon I believe: when a car wrecks in front of you, you better
avoid all the wheels, wings and other mess on the track, or it will
damage your car too! Yesterday I drove into a wheel lying on the
track, my wing broke off, the wheel flew in the air again because I
hit it.. great feature, and I don't believe this was done before in
another racing sim.
If you want to buy/download the addon, thats your choice. I merely
posted the review for all the people that hated GP3 just as much as I
did, to tell them that it's actually a very good sim now. If the same
results can be gotten with usermade addons, that's even better!
And your point about addons: You're right, it's sad that some user
addons are -needed- to iron out bugs that are in the game. But be glad
it's possible to make addons, because usermade addons are allways
better than the original game.. look at all the addons for GPL.. the
new car- and trackgraphics are so much better than the originals, not
to even mention all the usermade tracks..
Andre
Thom j.
"Andre Warringa" wrote:
| Thank god I'm not the only one who likes it now.. yesterday people
| made fun of me on VROC when I told them I just played GP3 for 2
| hours.. :)
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.273 / Virus Database: 143 - Release Date: 8/16/2001
David Noe
<snip>
> One good thing I forgot about was the annoying gear changes in GP3.
> Many times I wanted to short shift exiting a corner, but the game
> wouldn't let me until I had more revs up. Well, that seems to have
> been fixed now, so manual actually means a manual gearbox.
>
> All in all, not too shabby.
I still have that problem with my LWFF but with downshifting, at first I
thought the left paddle switch was going but it works ok until I downshift
in rapid succsession. In the gear change setup box it says 'Gear throttle
link is on' which I think is the problem but the only way I can turn it
'off' is assingning a button for downshift. I haven't seen any complaints
from LWFF users about this so hopefully someone can straighten it out for me
as it's undriveable for me in this config.
btw, that was a really good review Andre, Thanks.
DN
Jan Verschueren
between the lower gears than the higher ones.
No fix I know of, although I haven't looked hard.
That said, the GP3 2000 add-on is indeed a nice addition.
Jan.
=---
"Pay attention when I'm talking to you boy!" -Foghorn Leghorn.
"David Noe" wrote...
Rafe McAuliffe
>In article <3b89dddd...@news.sunsh1.vic.optushome.com.au>,
>raf...@NOJUNKhotmail.com (Rafe McAuliffe) writes:
>
>>One good thing I forgot about was the annoying gear changes in GP3.
>>Many times I wanted to short shift exiting a corner, but the game
>>wouldn't let me until I had more revs up. Well, that seems to have
>>been fixed now, so manual actually means a manual gearbox.
>
>I was able to short-shift all the time. My shift button was screwed up, and
>would often cause me to shift 2 gears accidentally. If *I* could do it, I'm
>surprized *you* couldn't...
>
The problem is that it was never consistent. Sometimes I could short
shift fine, other times I really wanted to be out of 1st, into 2nd
early, but it wouldn't let me until I had more revs on board. It'd
just dip the clutch then release, which made it worse!!!
The other times are in the wet, when too many revs is a difficult
proposition for getting the power down.
But I've found it to be pretty much spot on now with the addon anyway,
so all's well that ends well.
Rafe Mc
Rafe McAuliffe
>>- Menu system - Good in its day, but a pain now. Fixed in GP4 I think
>>as well.
>
>I seriously doubt that.. the menu would be improved in the addon. Its
>just as clumsy as in GP3 though, it hardly changed..
>
was meaning that it will supposedly be completely re-made for GP4,
when it comes out in a year or so.
>What I love about GP3 now is the ability to slide the car through a
>corner.. ultra-late braking, a bit of trailbraking, catching the
>slide.. it's like GPL! :D
Man, the only sliding I get at the moment is at the front tyres,
heading toward the grass :P Need to tweak those default setups (or D/l
something decent). Something I never played around with in GP3, cos
the game frustrated me too much. But I have a lot more patience for it
now, especially with the updated diff settings it allows.
The trail braking and catching the car is a definite plus now, just
more fun all round.
>>One good thing I forgot about was the annoying gear changes in GP3.
>>Many times I wanted to short shift exiting a corner, but the game
>>wouldn't let me until I had more revs up. Well, that seems to have
>>been fixed now, so manual actually means a manual gearbox.
>
>I have to test this.. I still have the problem that I sometimes can't
>shift when I want to - for example I can not downshift when I'm giving
>a bit of throttle. Now I know this is not a smart thing to do but
>sometimes I just WANT to - hey it should be my choice if I want to
>wreck the gearbox!! :)
>But is there a setup for this which I forgot?
There is, you may have "gear change is linked to throttle" checked in
the controllers section. Occasionally I do this myself if I've
overcooked a corner and am stuck in too high a gear - you want to be
able to drop down a gear while still accelerating. Like I said, if you
choose "manual gearbox", that's exactly what it should be, without GP3
putting it's $0.02 worth in.
Rafe Mc
Rafe McAuliffe
you talking about GP3's messing of this up. For me anyway, this has
all been fixed with the addon.
I'm pretty sure you need to have two buttons assigned to remove the
"gear change linked to throttle" thing, one for upchanges, one for
downchanges. The only way to go IMO.
Rafe Mc
Bart Westra
"Andre Warringa" <a.war...@chello.nl> wrote in message
news:5am5otornkannv151...@4ax.com...
>
>
> I can't really answer the question how close a user-upgraded GP3 comes
> to GP3 2000. I never tried them since I disliked GP3 so much.
> Now I simply love it. I don't know all the exact bits that were
> changed in the addon.. at least the cars drive much better and I have
> lots more control of the car.. Perhaps the same results can me
> achieved with the GP3 physics editor, I don't know.
>
Maybe you grew older? Or your holiday did you good? ;-)
Would be nice if you could try the original GP3 once more for reference. Now
you are comparing actual experience with memory.
Bart
The Enigmatic One
iain.ma...@REMOVE.ntlworld.com says...
>
>
>About £13 in the UK.
That it? Hmmm. Probably $20ish around here. GP3 is at $15 or
less...I might have to go shopping for a couple new boxes.
-Tim
Jan Verschueren
shift up and down on those 1-button Amiga joysticks. Geoff should have
gotten rid of that ages ago, IMO.
The gears are assigned to the two paddles on my LWFF (same as Dino I would
imagine). This gear/throttle stuff just doesn't turn off. Have to admit I
reversed the standard configuration, i.e. I shift up with the right paddle
and down with the left.
I was talking about GP3, but it's there in the add-on for me as well. For
example when one mistimes the downshift into the last turn at Hungaroring
the gearbox "sticks" in 3rd.
Jan.
=---
"Pay attention when I'm talking to you boy!" -Foghorn Leghorn.
"Rafe McAuliffe" wrote ...
jalo
> addons are -needed- to iron out bugs that are in the game. But be glad
> it's possible to make addons, because usermade addons are allways
> better than the original game.. look at all the addons for GPL.. the
> new car- and trackgraphics are so much better than the originals, not
> to even mention all the usermade tracks..
I guess the one question I need to ask, did they put in an automatic clutch?
In GP3 when shifting manually, you had to press in the clutch, or the car
would stay in gear, and continue to roll in 1st gear, even when stopped,
which for me made it impossible to drive Monaco.
I enjoyed the "feel" of the cars in the game, but there were a couple of
things that were very big negitives. The non-auto clutch, the AI (I felt
they were on rails), the "this game feels like its running in DOS mode", and
the lack of a decent joystick routine (which suprised me, I thought it would
be so much easier to use the windows direct input). But all that said, I
thought it was the most enjoyable modern F1 sim to drive (it was impossible
to race, :-)).
Andre Warringa
On Wed, 22 Aug 2001 02:31:53 GMT, raf...@NOJUNKhotmail.com (Rafe
McAuliffe) wrote:
>There is, you may have "gear change is linked to throttle" checked in
>the controllers section. Occasionally I do this myself if I've
>overcooked a corner and am stuck in too high a gear - you want to be
>able to drop down a gear while still accelerating. Like I said, if you
>choose "manual gearbox", that's exactly what it should be, without GP3
>putting it's $0.02 worth in.
>
>Rafe Mc
God I HATE this bloody control menu - underneath the Gear selections
(I have controller A fire 1 for down, A fire 2 for up) is indeed a
message "gear change is linked to throttle". But I can't turn this
off. When I choose keys instead for my gear up/down, the "gear change
is linked to throttle" message goes away.
And I also can't find the option "manual gearbox", where can I select
that?
Sorry that I sound so frustrated, but err.. I'm frustrated :)
Andre
Andre Warringa
On Wed, 22 Aug 2001 07:11:36 +0200, "Bart Westra" <wes...@xs4all.nl>
wrote:
>Maybe you grew older? Or your holiday did you good? ;-)
Ah, I was expecting a cynical comment from you since I made fun if you
playing GP3 once in a while :))
>Would be nice if you could try the original GP3 once more for reference. Now
>you are comparing actual experience with memory.
True, but I don't feel like downloading and installing all the
utilities for GP3 just to try it. I hope someone who has played a
modified GP3 will post his opinions about GP3 2000 here so we can see
if it's worth buying the addon, or that all the user-made patches
enhance GP3 to the same level (allthough there is no user-made
crash-with-debris patch I believe, which is a new and great feature of
the addon).
Besides, I never could get my CH pedals working with GP3, in GP3 2000
it even took me 3 hours and an external utility to get it all working,
NO WAY I'm going to try it again in GP3 :)
See you at the LAN this weekend Bart,
Andre
>Bart
>
Andre Warringa
On Wed, 22 Aug 2001 00:01:07 GMT, "David Noe" <dno...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
>I still have that problem with my LWFF but with downshifting, at first I
>thought the left paddle switch was going but it works ok until I downshift
>in rapid succsession. In the gear change setup box it says 'Gear throttle
>link is on' which I think is the problem but the only way I can turn it
>'off' is assingning a button for downshift. I haven't seen any complaints
>from LWFF users about this so hopefully someone can straighten it out for me
>as it's undriveable for me in this config.
You mean 'assigning a key for downshift' instead of a fire button
right? I have the same problem :(
>btw, that was a really good review Andre, Thanks.
Thanks :D
Andre
>DN
>
Andre Warringa
On Wed, 22 Aug 2001 15:47:53 GMT, "jalo" <jlo...@austin.rr.com>
wrote:
>I guess the one question I need to ask, did they put in an automatic clutch?
Uhh someone corect me if I'm wrong, but yes, the clutch is automatic,
allthough you can also use a button as a clutch.
A 'trick' to use the clutch while still using auto-clutch at the start
is to keep the 1st gear pressed. As soon as you let go of the 1st gear
button, you drop the clutch and off you go.
>In GP3 when shifting manually, you had to press in the clutch, or the car
>would stay in gear, and continue to roll in 1st gear, even when stopped,
>which for me made it impossible to drive Monaco.
The same problem is still in the addon, in first gear you
automatically start to roll. But the only point where this is a tad
clumsy is at the hairpin at monaco. Just press the brakes a little bit
there to stop the rolling.
>I enjoyed the "feel" of the cars in the game, but there were a couple of
>things that were very big negitives. The non-auto clutch, the AI (I felt
>they were on rails)
The AI is gooood and definately NOT on riding on rails, they weave to
the left and right, blocking you in every possible way :)
As Ruud van Gaal said in a post today, you can improve AI untill you
die so I'm sure the AI will do something funny once in a while.
But GP3 2000 has simply the best AI ever seen so far in a racing sim.
It's simply major fun racing against them. They are smarter than the
average VROC-er :D
>, the "this game feels like its running in DOS mode", and
Lol yes I know what you mean :) As I said, the graphics still feel
'old'. Some annoying clipping problems in the replays, sometimes you
see cars when they are behind hills :(
>the lack of a decent joystick routine (which suprised me, I thought it would
>be so much easier to use the windows direct input). But all that said, I
For most the new routine of GP3 2000 seems to work, but as you read,
it took me quite some effort to get it working with my LWFF/CH combo.
>thought it was the most enjoyable modern F1 sim to drive (it was impossible
>to race, :-)).
I hope I made it clear it -is- possible to race and have even very
good races too :)
Andre
Bart Westra
>
> True, but I don't feel like downloading and installing all the
> utilities for GP3 just to try it. I hope someone who has played a
> modified GP3 will post his opinions about GP3 2000 here so we can see
> if it's worth buying the addon, or that all the user-made patches
> enhance GP3 to the same level (allthough there is no user-made
> crash-with-debris patch I believe, which is a new and great feature of
> the addon).
From what I have read about it now, I think at least the physics changes,
debris crash (not sure I like this!), and controller setup are really new.
Sound & display were enhanced by GPxPatch but probably still improved by the
update.
I will buy it when it gets out. Also I think things look promising for GP4
now :)
Bart
Rafe McAuliffe
if you choose a controller button, but goes if you choose keys
instead. I'm not 100% sure, but if you you choose two buttons for gear
change, you'll get the same operation as 2 keys, even though the link
is supposedly on.
I thought you may have been using one button for changing both up and
down (seemed strange but fitted the bill) but I think that's about all
you can do.
You can select manual or auto gears in the options-driver aids
section, or by hitting F2 while in car. But you're forced to use
manual anyway I think if you're on pro mode.
So I guess you've got it about as good as it'll get :)
Rafe Mc
Andre Warringa
On Thu, 23 Aug 2001 04:25:21 GMT, raf...@NOJUNKhotmail.com (Rafe
McAuliffe) wrote:
<snip>
>So I guess you've got it about as good as it'll get :)
>
>Rafe Mc
Ow.. but that means I can't change gears when I want to, I can only
shift down when I release the throttle.. allthough -sometimes- I can
shift down while accelerating. It's not clear to me when I can and
when I can't.
Is this realistic? Perhaps real F1 cars have this too as some kind of
safety? Or can we consider this as a bug?
Andre
Gregor Veble
shifting became automatic in most cases) have such safety measures.
While the F1 driver did need to initiate a gear change, or a sequence of
gear changes, it could be overriden by the software in order not to
cause damage to the engine.
Besides, if you are in the need to shift to a lower gear while on the
throttle, you've most likely made a mistake much before that :).
-Gregor
Iain Mackenzie
i still think you should try Gp3 with the 3 or 4 essential addons before you
rave too much about the 2000 addon. GPxPatch, 2001 graphic pack and various
sound event packs transform the GP3 experience. I know I've got a framerate
issue with 2000, but I can't see anything in it that improves on Gp3.
Iain
"Andre Warringa" <a.war...@chello.nl> wrote in message
news:5am5otornkannv151...@4ax.com...
Jan Verschueren
is talking pre-patch), however the handling feel of the cars has been either
subtlely tweaked or altered by the apperently more detailed simulation of
the differential. Like Andre I have a better feel for what the rear is doing
and how much "bite" it's got off the corners. On the whole I find the care
more poised as well. However I am missing some "ooomph" in the player car as
compared with GP3 + 2001 carset to the tune of some 1.5s per lap.
Have you tried a real back to back with one of your GP3 setups yet,
BTW? -They are compatible.
Jan.
=---
"Pay attention when I'm talking to you boy!" -Foghorn Leghorn.
"Iain Mackenzie" wrote...
Andre Warringa
>Andre
>i still think you should try Gp3 with the 3 or 4 essential addons before you
>rave too much about the 2000 addon. GPxPatch, 2001 graphic pack and various
>sound event packs transform the GP3 experience. I know I've got a framerate
>issue with 2000, but I can't see anything in it that improves on Gp3.
>Iain
As I said before.. (I use these words too often here lately :)
I never could get my pedals working with GP3. Allthough it was still
quite a hassle, I got them working now with the addon. Not much sense
reinstalling GP3 and all the utilities when I can't get my pedals
working.
The addon has the collision with debris as a new feature, it's great.
AI has been improved. Can't confirm this myself since I hardly tried
GP3 but this is what all the GP3 freaks agree about.
So.. all we need now is to get this GPxPatch and gfx packs working
with GP3 2000 to get the GP3 as it should have been :)
Andre
Tony Rickard
> So.. all we need now is to get this GPxPatch and gfx packs working
> with GP3 2000 to get the GP3 as it should have been :)
>
Andre,
I share your disappointment with the original GP3, and after a brief look
and your own comments as an established simmer on this group I am hopeful
that GP3 2000 may be such a significant improvement to put it at the top of
the tree.
What interests me is this belief as to what GP should have been. I do
believe we in RAS are a fairly small group that strives for the most
accurate simulations, for which many fall short. I believe the hype of GP3
was largely caused within the group itself - I am as guilty as anyone here
of being "desperate" for new and better sims!
So I question whether we are representative of the complete audience any sim
is marketed at, there are a lot of casual gamers out there who would
consider GP3 to provide for all their needs.
Therefore, I am really pleased if GP3 2000 does indeed answer a number of
points raised here, particularly the physics, AI & sound. I am perfectly
happy with the evolutionary process - although for sure I would prefer it
was quicker :-)
If you think about the millions spent on car manufacturing, yet we still get
mass produced cars which fall short in certain areas which are addressed in
facelifts, recalls etc. So maybe our expectations for sim launches are just
a tad high, although I am sure we will not lower them - it is just the
nature of our desire for better sims.
Cheers
Tony
Rafe McAuliffe
>So I question whether we are representative of the complete audience any sim
>is marketed at, there are a lot of casual gamers out there who would
>consider GP3 to provide for all their needs.
Going by the opinion of a number of mates who are into racing games,
but not really seriously, they've all considered the original GP3 to
be very good. However, they all think that the new addon is better.
They don't really pick up any of the subtle differences, but they do
generally see an improvement.
So I think that this is the kind of opinion of the majority of casual
gamers - they were pretty happy with the original, but just as pleased
with the update. They weren't exactly screaming for it though.
Rafe Mc
Stephen Ferguson
Just to add my views on the expansion pack:
I picked up a copy from amazon.de for 35.- DM (which is about 17USD). It
shipped to me in three days (but I only live across the border in
Switzerland).
I'll say at first that I think it's worth the money as an expansion pack,
but there are still many things left unfinished, or problems which just
can't be corrected because it's built on such old code.
The graphics are the same grainy images we are used to from GP3. I have
always contended that I much prefer the palette of GP3 to other games, and
if I looked beyond the blockiness of the graphics, the game still does an
excellent job of capturing the feel of a race weekend. The other games are
very accurate, but somehow sterile. Driving along the start/finish straight
of Austria, with the sun playing off the cockpit and the mountains in the
background, is still really quite nice in GP3. Still, the frame rate is
locked, there are bizarre clipping problems due to the 2D/3D nature,
trackside textures are not filtered, many objects are 2D sprites etc. etc.
Overall it works, but it looks dated. I noticed a tab in the graphics menu
which says "Use high detail track". I was hoping this was a secret option to
load in F1RC tracks, but alas....
Having said all that, I think the improvements to the tracks in GP3-2000 are
not trivial, and offer a much livelier environment than the GP3 track
editors have managed with their hard work. To the editors' credit, they've
still managed to get the nice adverts in the grass, something Microprose
still misses. The camermen, extra cranes, fire marshalls etc. add a lot to
the environment. With a few exceptions, they switch off all the raceday
textures like crowds and photographers, but leave in the track workers so
you feel you are a propoer FIA test session when you go for some practice
laps. The extra detail doesn't really do anything to the framerate. The car
textures available on the internet for free are much nicer.
The driving model feels nice, and I find the cars harder to drive. I have to
work a lot harder on turn-in and mid-corner to place the car where I want it
for the exit, and this sounds a lot like what has been said about the modern
F1. I've played a bit with the differential, and I can see it is going to be
very important for wet-weather racing (which is still GP3's single ace
against the other sims).
The AI is improved, but it was already the class of the genre before. The
addition of debris collisions is a great feature, and it is surprising that
it hasn't been implemented before. Then again, looking at the CPU
requirements to keep track of all those flying bits, and to make the 21
other drivers react, I can see perhaps why it hasn't. If you thought it was
hard to thread your way through an accident before, it will be an eye-opener
now. However, the downside is that if all hell breaks loose at Ste Devote,
even if you're way up the road and can't see what's going on, your processor
occupancy will shoot up as the computer tries to sort out the carnage. It
really depends on the magnitude of the accident. Most races I hum along with
a processor occupancy of 50-70%, but have seen it peak at 250% as I came out
of La Source ("what's going on? Did Norton AV just magically restart itseld
and kick in?"), and the answer came as I crested the hill after Eau Rouge to
find 14 cars strewn across the track, with wheels still bouncing. The replay
showed that it was triggered by a lead car losing losing the back end at the
crest. The rest of the cars did their best to avoid both the cars and the
flying debris (again, nice AI), but without luck. So there's always a
catch - nice AI and debris collisions, but at a CPU cost.
The sound is nothing remarkable. Same as you get with GPxPatch. The pit
radio is terrible. If you break a wing, half a lap later some little weed
says "er... try to get back". Ground-breaking it isn't. Would it be so hard
for them to drop in a few tactical messages, like "Coulthard is pitting"?
Oh, my pitcrew sometimes disappears. It's bizarre, but on some pitstops,
there is just a lonely jack man, and on others, the whole crew is there.
The quicklaps feature (hot-lapping) is actually quite nice, but again, with
an unfinished quality that irritates. Again, is it nothing new, as lots of
GP games and sims allow you to do a timed lap without doing the outlap, but
it is certainly an improvement from GP3 if your just want to try a fast lap.
*However*, as far as I can tell, you can only do it in sunny, dry weather.
Dohhh! Nice one, Crammond. You have a killer weather system, but don't make
full use of it. Perhaps a group of friends want to determine who is really
the "Regenmeister" on a swamped Spa. And the interface is so clunky, that
it is hopeless to try different setups. Here would have been the perfect
opportunity to build a game mode which would have allowed seamless and quick
transition from the car setup screen to the track, warm and ready to go, but
Microprose dropped the ball.
The "virtual cockpit" is no different than in GP3, only a different set of
textures. Again, the free downloads from the internet are better. Thinking
again about tracks, Indy and Sepang look quite nice, though.
So, as I liked GP3, I like GP3-2000 for less than 20 bucks. I have a rather
low-spec computer, so I have never been able to wring the most out of the
other sims anyway, but I always found the racing in GP3 nicer. As an
expansion pack, it works well, and offers more than just new liveries, as
one would get in a "new" football game each year. However, the base
structure is wearing thin, and Crammond et al. will have to work hard to
give GP4 a fighting chance.
Stephen
Iain Mackenzie <iain.ma...@REMOVE.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
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