So I've bought GPL. Now What?

[pirenzo]

Blue flags simply meant there was a car behind you that had already set a better time. It doesn't require you to move over.

[pirenzo]

Originally posted by shiny side up!
Finally received GPL in the mail and installed it last night!



For the first hour I thought it was going to be an impossible game, but finally I got the gamepad configured ok and the car set up to take the gamepad's jerky digital inputs and now it is possible to get into a good groove and enjoy driving without spinning!

A few questions: I am giving up a ton of ground under braking, 6-8 car lenghts, and I'm not sure why. Is there some secret I'm missing? I have the bias set a bit high to the front (~60%) because I kept losing the rear under braking, maybe that is the issue? Hmmm...

Also, can someone enlighten me as to what to do with ramp angles and # of clutches? hrug:

Finally, I am trying to learn Monaco after having done Monza and the Glen, but I can't get the car around the tightest corners no matter how slow I am going. I have the steering ratio as high as I can, and it just won't turn... any ideas???

Thanks for any help guys! This sim kicks !!

Braking: the 6-8 car lengths sounds like you're driving with driving aids on. In GPL the driving aids make you slower, eg. brakes are less effective, you get less power with throttle help, and you shift 3 times slower and too far below redline with automatic gears.
I'd turn off all the aids now, to save you pains weening yourself off them later.
You should find once you've done that 60% is far to much forward, you'll lock up the fronts and slide straight on every time.
Start with the default setups as Ayse says.

[Aysedasi]

Originally posted by pirenzo

Start with the default setups as Ayse says.

....just remember to take some fuel out.......

[Hobson]

Ahh, right, thanks guys. Just need to start fiddling with the setups to go a bit quicker.

[Damon]

Hi guys, sure one of you will be able to help. I'm having XP put on my currently Windows 2000 machine, GPL runs great at the mo, but is XP likely to give me any problems and if so what do I need to do to sort them?

[Aysedasi]

XP runs fine on my XP Pro Damon. But there is one thing you need to do to run it if you are running it under NFTS (NTFS?). Something to do with turning indexing on or off, but I can't remember which. (I somehow ended up with FAT32 on my XP and have never bothered to change it).

[pirenzo]

Fast Indexing:
right click on gpl.exe>properties>advanced>CHECK allow indexing service to index this file

And you need to be patched to gpl 1.2.0.x

[shiny side up!]

OK, so I've spent another hour or two on the track putting everyone's suggestions to good use, and here we go with more...

Still having braking problems. I haven't used the cheats at all, so that isn't it. With anything less than 58% front bias I get the rear coming around on me. When I have the bias up and the car stable, I give up 6+ lengths under braking (into the Parabolica). Engine braking seems to help slightly. I think maybe because I am using a gamepad there is still some kind of driver aid going on, because I never lock up the brakes or get much wheelspin, I just accelerate really slowly or have obnoxiously huge braking zones... hmmmm. I just thought of something to try, maybe stiffening up the front springs and going to a stronger shock will keep more weight on the rear and let be back the bias down... What kind of springs do you typically run in the Eagle? Shocks? hrug:

I am by no means flying around the track, but after about 4 hours of driving in GPL my laps are (in the Eagle):

Monaco - 1:35.5
Monza - 1:31.7
Glen - 1:09.8

What kind of laps do I need to turn to race in TTFL at those tracks?

[Aysedasi]

You're going fast enough to join us, believe me! Those are great times for a relative novice.

[pirenzo]

They'll do!

[Aysedasi]

Time to get hold of VROC and venture online shiny.

[shiny side up!]

Had my first front row starting position last night, but my starts are horrendous... from third to tenth by the Curva Grande. Errrrr. With a gamepad, all I can do is rev it and dump the clutch at the flag and just slowly creep away as everyone streams past me... Anyone have starts with a gamepad (or I imagine the keyboard would be similar as well) better than I do? If so, please share! At least at the end of the race I had P1 back in sight (4th place finish) and a new pb of 1:31.2. I think I will be safely in the 1:30s when I can put an end to my penchant for turning into Lesmo 1 too early and getting the car stupidly out of shape...

[Vicki]

OK, from the thread I started a while ago on GPL tips, I have learned the following.
There is no such thing as too much practice.
Always brake in a straight line. Simple, but you pay dearly if you forget.
Get into the GP cars as soon as you can. I did and it is the best move I have ever made. It means you only need to learn the tracks once.
Get a wheel. I find keyboard easier than a wheel but as everyone is different it is best to experiment.
If you are competitive, unlike me, get yourself online to the next GPL race that the league is running. I found the software used causes problems for my computer, hence why I don't race. Plus I'm not that good.
Say goodbye to any social life you have ever had, this game is addictive!

Hope I helped!

FF

[Fish_Flake]

I hear you, man. The first Lesmo and Parabolica are real pains to set up for. For the Lesmos, it's hard to hit the apexes just right; for Parabolica, there's just a lot of speed you need to scrub off. In addition, I've found that going off line there makes braking even worse. The thing you need to do is to find landmarks to give you hints on where to turn, where to brake, etc. For example, the obvious landmark for braking into the Parabolica is the billboard facing away from you. Find out where you need to begin braking in relation to that sign, not worrying about the turn, and you're looking good.

About your starts, there's really not much you can do without analog throttle controls. You need to apply the gas gently at the start, and gradually progress to full throttle. You don't want to be applying full throttle until well into second gear at the earliest. I am currently using a gamepad myself, but it has a standard directional pad plus an analog pad, these analog shoulder "rudders" that I use for my throttle controls, a pair of standard shoulder buttons (whose positions make them more like flank buttons, controlled by the middle fingers), and six standard game buttons controlled by the right thumb. My big problem is with shifting. My left thumb steers, while my index fingers control throttle and brake. I could use the standard directional pad for shifting, but then I take my hands off the wheel. I could use the flanks, but those buttons are almost tailor-made for head movement. I could use two of the normal buttons on the game pad, but then there's no way to use the clutch. There isn't an easy solution to my problem; I'm just trying to find which one is least uncomfortable. A wheel is on my Christmas list...

[shiny side up!]

Question: It seems that some of the setup banter I've come accross online suggests trying setups that GPL won't let me do... like spring rates >120 in the Eagle. I have tried to download the add-in called "precision setup" from GPL++ but the link was dead. Is there somewhere else to get it or a different variant of that add-in???

[shiny side up!]

...and another question! Last night I added Snetterton (thought it looked like a fairly simple track to learn/improve my skills on...). The track itself is fine, fun to drive, but the AI do all sorts of idiotic things... They are quick through turns 1/2 and then slam on the brakes waaaaaaaaay early for 3, they run sideways all the way down the straight after the hairpin, and they run into the pedestrian bridge on most laps. What the heck is going on??? hrug:

[Aysedasi]

The AI are less well-behaved on some add-on tracks than others. There are one or two tracks where the AI have difficulty running one lap...... When we were practising for the TTFRL race at Snett67, I seem to recall that there were very few offline races I had where most of the field wasn't rendered hors de combat by the hairpin on either lap 1 or lap 2........

[pirenzo]

the AI brake for T3?!
T3 is flat out!

[shiny side up!]

OK, so it isn't just my computer then!

BTW, what is a good time for Snett67? I think I did a 1:28.5 or so, but have only turned about 20-22 laps there and at this stage in my GPL life, that's not nearly enough to be consistent...

Oh, and P... a quick look at the track map tells me I must have meant Turn 2 that they brake for, although they do occaisionally like to run into the marshal stand at the exit of the flat-out turn 3!!!

[Aysedasi]

Depends what you're driving shiny. As an early time, 28s are pretty respectable. The BM is 1m26.6 (or thereabouts). In the faster cars, Lotus, Eagle, Ferrari, low 24s are on (for me - or used to be - I seem to have lost quite a lot of pace in recent weeks). The BM is easily beatable in everything once you get the lines and braking points right.