I'm sure wearing a suit was meant to emphasize its road car side and was probably part of the script . As far as it being a prototype, that moniker doesn't have to imply that it's held together with glue, does it?

Hmmm, I believe Test Drive was the first on the home PC in '87-'88, followed by Death Track in '89, followed by a big gap until NFS 1. I've played Indianapolis 500, but I can't remember when it was.

The first 'sim' was probably GPL or F1RC, when vari showed me how far I had to go :weeping:.

Quote from micha1980de :

erm, guys?
steam is just outdated

Yeah, saying it's "failed" technology suggests it was too flawed to succeed in the first place.

Regarding BlueFlame's mentioning of an internal combustion engine running on water, I remember reading about a prototype 6-stroke (?) engine in Popular Mechanics. It injects water into the cylinder after the exhaust clears, using the resulting steam burst for an additional stroke. Apparently it works quite well and obviously helps with fuel-efficiency...though I imagine it must sound weird!

Quote :

Planet-F1:

Hamilton provided further evidence for Vettel's defence in his press conference by commenting: "When we were behind the second safety car, I was constantly on the radio to my engineers to tell the Red Bull team to get Mark [Webber] to make a little more of a gap because I couldn't go any faster because the pace car was in front of me, so I was trying to keep the distance with him and then I'd move over because I couldn't see Mark and then he'd just appear alongside me, so he kept out-braking himself. I felt something was going to happen, and I guess my instincts told me right."

Seems a bit harsh to give him a 10-spot penalty.

Nascar?

It seems like a pretty basic circuit and wasn't particularly interesting to watch them lap in free practice, but I'm hoping the race will be more exciting. I'm just glad to be able to watch it live, as opposed to most of the races on the calendar.

Well, here's a 4.66 :scared:.

Somebody has yet to explain why lizardfolk should have to wade through the garbage most people seem to feel necessary to post just about every time he opens a thread. I personally don't follow NASCAR and probably never will, but if he wants to discuss the sport, why not leave it to him and the other fans?

I don't think this board is full of people who are anti-American to the point of hate, but the fact is there are a lot of non-Americans here who simply can't help themselves when they see an opportunity to insult NASCAR or Americans in general. It's pathetic to those of us that have actually travelled to America and met/know a wide-range of Americans.

I think lizardfolk was simply mistaken. He was under the impression that he could have a nice, balanced discussion regarding a motorsport he enjoys in a "general" racing forum. He was wrong. I think he assumed that this is a community full of mature individuals - it is not. My advice, Lizardfolk: Either ignore the idiots or embrace them.

P.S: I love how trolling is trolling unless it's directed at an American, in when case it becomes a "lesson".

(Btw, before you appeared, lizardfolk, NASCAR threads were few and far between. I think people are just scared this place is gonna be overrun with NASCAR fans, smothering all posts of alternate interests. It's like moving into a small village and having to deal with the inbreds that don't like strangers. They know they don't have the power to get rid of anything NASCAR-related so they do what they can to make you feel unwelcome.)

Last edited by DrDNA, Sun, 23 Sep 2007 18:57.

Quote from [RCG]Boosted :

i dont think u can compare these 2 types of AI...
i also dont think he was the only person working on the AI.

I don't think it translates directly over but I imagine it's more an advantage than not.

I'm really anticipating something special...AI was Scawen's specialty during Black & White development, wasn't it?

Quote from BlueFlame :

I think your wrong there, Porsche engines are in teh back, apart from the oddly crap 928, 968 and 944 which aren't popular enough to want to put into a game tbh.

The 928 and 968 are also noteworthy cars. Great handling and underrated by a lot of people. The problem is the majority of the examples of those three models that I've seen have been neglected to the point it should be criminal.

Quote from spankmeyer :

you take the last chicane super-extra-hyper-cautiously... loosing your rhythm completely and ending up nose-deep in sand in your XRR.

I used to psyche myself out quite often, but it would happen in other games such as RBR, too. If you think too hard you lose focus and suddenly you're...well, in the sand (or in a tree in RBR's case ). These days I race online in shorts spurts so I can stay alert the whole time.

Quote from Serpentine :

Go on then. Convince us.

If he doesn't respond, I don't blame him. It would simply be a complete waste of time and energy.

But that's just my opinion.

Quote from Secondaries :

Are you kidding me? Roof scoops are NOT for traction.

As absolutely horrible as his grammar is, I'm pretty sure theirishnoob put quotation marks around "traction" to suggest that it's a belief he doesn't hold himself.

Anyway, AndroidXP pretty much explained it already. The physics engine is designed to mimic car behaviour based on suspension type, chassis dimensions, weight distribution, etc. Whether the car is real or not shouldn't matter as long as everything works as it should.

Last edited by DrDNA, Thu, 6 Sep 2007 07:33. Reason : Brain hiccup

Quote from Michael Denham :

But yeah, it's still a Miata I guess :P

Yep, its reputation as a woman's car is so annoying considering what an incredible package it is.

We just got a new kitten about a week ago. He and our 10-month old have finally figured each other out and play together all the time now .

Shotglass turned me on to the input lag issues with LCDs and I was a bit worried since I've only had mine (Viewsonic VX2235wm) for 3 months or so. Luckily, although there's some input lag, it's pretty minimal (according to that site) and I don't really notice it. In fact, I'm pretty sure any image response issues I have are directly linked to my cheap-o low-res/low-refresh-rate wireless mouse :P.

My XRT setup for BL1 definitely encourages a bit of "additional rotation" when entering some corners with the correct braking. Harjun is (sort of) correct in what he's saying, he just didn't explain it very well or explain what technique is used to accomplish it.

We've also sorta covered this topic (trail-braking) several times before...

Quote from karlth :

The second complaint is about the sound. I have read suggestions here on the forum that the generated sound is better than samples because it tells you what the engine is doing? Well the only thing the engine communicates is the revs, that's it. And samples communicate revs just as well as generated sounds.

What they mean is that the sound changes depending on how much throttle is applied at what rpm. For example, full throttle in a high gear at low speed will sound as though the engine is under greater load than in a lower gear. This helps gives an indication of what sort of power is on tap in any given gear. Other games that use samples usually only adjust the volume instead of simulating engine load.

Also, the engine sounds in LFS are generated in a realistic manner in that they're created from simulated explosions in each cylinder and then modified with different filters, etc, that simulate how the sound would change as it passes through the various parts of the exhaust, etc, as well as how it is muffled inside the cockpit. The sound you hear is the result of a fairly complex series of modifiers.

P.S. RBR does a pretty good job using samples, though the end result doesn't sound that great IMO.

Last edited by DrDNA, Thu, 2 Aug 2007 19:38.

Still confuses me as to why Speed is being replaced and not Liuzzi . Obviously his falling out with Tost and Berger didn't help, but it still seems detrimental to the team to keep the slower of the two drivers.

Ah well, guess we'll find out whether it's the car or not, right?

Quote from Lateralus :

Bourdais was faster than either race driver the last two times STR gave him test time.

Speed didn't drive in the most recent test at Spa. Bourdais tested, but Bourdais was (from what I can gather) 0.25s faster than Liuzzi in changing weather conditions (although he had 2 days to set his time as opposed to Liuzzi's 1). Speed's also been a stronger driver than Liuzzi this season, so who knows how he would've fared?

The test before that in December, Speed was driving with some sort of hand or wrist injury that also kept him out of the RoC, so those times aren't the purest example, either.

No idea what his first test results were like, though. It was a big enough pain finding those results .
Berger seemed happy, though, so obviously Bourdais impressed . Mario Andretti seems to think he's underappreciated, too.

Yes, happens quite often when actively trying to beat personal pb's. Sometimes I'll zone out to the point that I'm thinking about something else but still putting in quick, consistent laps almost automatically. It's a similar sensation to arriving at work but not remembering the journey.

Quote from evilgeek :

for as long as i've been watching racing, brazilian drivers have been popular in canada, and vice versa. even in lfs, when i join a server hosted from south america i am often welcomed warmly with comments like, "canada has a great racing heritage".

Nice to know . The only opportunity I've had to see any "racing" in Canada was at this year's Knox Mountain Hillclimb in BC. I really wish events like that were more widespread.

Quote :

scott speed isn't good, and he doesn't have any class either.

And my argument is that aside from being given a race seat, he's had neither the car nor the support (as has been revealed) to prove himself. If someone else were to jump in an STR car tomorrow and start belting out faster laps then believe me, I'd be the first one to negotiate my foot past my lips .

Quote from evilgeek :

if you are starting at the back of the grid you have to drive defensively. You can't just drive along obliviously and then thow up your hands saying "it wasn't my fault" when someone else hits you. You have to take steps to avoid being hit. So no, I wasn't trying to say that he DNF'd twice out of 10. He DNF'd 7 times out of 10 this year, and that's all there is to it.

You're right, you aren't going to change my opinion with your brand of logic. You see, I like to analyze data to arrive at conclusions, rather than make broad generalizations, such as a DNF being a DNF being a DNF. Mark Webber had 11 DNF's in 2006 but I've yet to hear someone blame him for them.

Furthermore, how the reliability of a race car is indicative of a driver's talents is beyond me (other than rev-limit controls), especially since both STR cars have had reliability issues. Using your formula, Webber's horrible luck with reliability was indicative of his own shortcomings, right? He must be the McRae of the F1 world, driving too fast and sloppily until either luck hands him a good result or he crashes.

And that fact that you blame Speed for any contact he's ever had just shows you've long ago made up your mind about him and that's that. I think Al Gore calls that being a denier. Has Speed made some mistakes? Certainly, but not every mistake has been his.

Quote :

And last year was horrendous as well

Four DNF's and an average finishing position of 13.5 including said DNF's, 12th place without. I'd hardly consider that horrendous for a driver's first season in F1 with an old car, especially considering the recent allegations about the lack of support from his bosses. In fact, from the first race Speed's been vocal about what he thinks he can achieve in TR's cars and points weren't mentioned.

Quote :

And as for Brazil, I take it you haven't been watching F1 very long? Why on earth you care about whether Brazil has any influence on American viewers, I don't know.

No, I haven't been watching F1 for very long, just last year and this. I've watched it in bits of pieces since around 2000 and I've spent hundreds of hours reading about past races and racers, but I had trouble getting into it because I couldn't care less about the drivers . Villeneuve is French-Canadian, so I sure wasn't rooting for him .

I also don't care that you're a fan of Massa because that makes you a fan of Formula 1. Living upstairs from the US, you of all people should know the importance in Americans seeing themselves represented, especially in sport.

Quote :

American racing culture is very different than most other countries. Stock cars, sprint cars, drag racing, monster trucks, etc. It should be no surprise that with all the fans of those events in the US, there isn't much interest in rally, gt, or formula racing.

Were you aware that drag and oval racing has been gaining popularity in Europe for years?

Also, every one of those foreign series' that you mentioned is American-free, both driver and track-wise, did you notice that? Meanwhile, circuit racing is alive and well in the US and increasing in popularity. The SCCA is continually gaining new members and they don't host a single drag or oval event, only circuit racing, autocross and rallying. It's taking awhile but US interest is catching up.

You're correct that America is still mostly interested in their own styles of racing, but that's still changing. Americans used to relate more to choppers than sport bikes, and their own brands of cars screaming around ovals. Now, however, you're seeing sport bike sales going up, Toyota involved in NASCAR and a Columbian driver, so things are definitely changing.

I mean, why do you think so many pundits have been saying that an American in F1 is so important for its popularity over here? America is still very isolationist when it comes to motorsports. We're seeing movement, but not enough momentum. A successful American in F1 is guaranteed to increase viewership. I've been praying for years that an American or Canadian get involved in the WRC.

Quote :

But both Brazil and Canada are more influenced by the European styles of racing, and have been for decades.

Care to expand on this a bit (regarding Canada)? My interest in motorsports came about after I'd moved away as a child so here's an opportunity to educate myself .

Last edited by DrDNA, Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:09.

Quote from evilgeek :

good ridance!
even if the car is slow, he can't blame the team for him crashing it almost every race.

Well, out of the 10 races so far this year he's finished 3, in 14th, 9th and 13th places. He had 3 retirements because of the car breaking down in one way or another and 4 crashes, one of which he was hit from behind and another being this past weekend when he fell victim (as did several others) to standing water.

So that's 2 DNF's in 10 races that you could blame on him, which is what you really meant to say, right?

Quote :

i could never stand that guy.

I won't delve into whatever personal issues you've had with Scott, but I hope you two can work it out.

Quote :

and as for him being the closest thing to a canadian... bah! i'd rather root for a brazilian. oh wait, i do.

When Brazil starts influencing F1 popularity in the US then I might starting rooting for Massa.

Yeah right...
[Little addition]:

Just seems to me that if you were on an *underfunded race team trying to compete in an underdeveloped, unreliable car and routinely being blamed for its shortcomings, then you might be a bit snappy/smartassed when your boss tries to blame things on you yet again. I'm not saying it's entirely justifiable to smirk in your angry boss's face (or even remotely smart, since it probably cost him his seat) or that Speed's an incredible driver, but I can partly see where his frustration came from, especially when your failings are routinely made to overshadow those of the team.

Look at Super Aguri. In 2006 they were pretty much always at the back of the pack and Sato was labeled as a regular crasher. 2007 comes, they acquire better cars and suddenly they're scoring points. If your car can't keep up on the grid then you're forced to overdrive it, which leads to driver error when the car fights back.

*lowest team budget still, afaik

Last edited by DrDNA, Wed, 25 Jul 2007 01:03.