9 replies to this topic

[dan2k]

Okay, I know this kind of topic must be up often but I need GPL experts out there to help me out.
I am a fan of racing simulations (I love racing games), and Ive decided to start playing this game. Ive heard that it takes alot of time to master (I am willing to take the time to master it), Ive also been told by many people its the best racing simulation at the moment. I always thought that it would be too hard for me, but now I have decided to give it a go. Your help will also help other people like me out there that have never played this game on how to get started. So here goes...

Firstly this is my system specs:

Operating System: Windows 98 (Second Edition)
Intel Pentium 3 550 Mhz
Nvidia TNT 2 videocard (32 meg)
128 meg of ram
8.4 gig hard drive
Logitech Formula Force GP (USB only) steering wheel.

Will the game run smooth with that kind of system specs?

1. I need a copy of this game (Ive havent been able to find it anywhere).

2. Where to get the latests official updated version of the game or any other patches.

3. Any web-sites that will help me keep up to date with whats new with GPL and web-sites that have various downloads (setups, replays, cars, tracks etc...).

4. I like to play games online, so I need some info on how to get started and where to join up.

5. Some info on how to drive fast in the game.

I would really appreciate it if you could help me out, thanks.;)

[argos]

Hi Dan,
Welcome to the world of GPL! I don't claim to be an expert and I'm certainly not one of the fastest guys around but I've had GPL for 2 years now and maybe I can help answer some of your questions.

First, where to find GPL? Try http://simracing.com...pl/news.htm#buy

[Dents]

I've been racing GPL online for nearly three years now, so I think I'm qualified to give advice on this matter :-)

As far as your system specs... sure you'll be able to race smoothly. I started racing on an AMD 300 w/48mb of RAM & a Voodoo 1. I had to use lower resolution & eye candy, but it ran just fine. I've since upgraded a couple times though (currently 1Ghz/512mb/Geforce). At one point I had 550Mhz system & I could easily achieve 36FPS (max in the game)with 800x600 resolution.

to answer your questions:

1. where to buy? Try Ebay... or Papy? or search the 'net. I dunno too much about this.

2. Patches? papy.com still has the patches for the game, but you'll find the patches located at various places around the net (see below).

3. Links? TONS! This sim is still quite strong, and there's tons of places to get info & goodies from. The most complete (and useful!) links page is:

Hotgrid's Ultimate Links Page

...of course, I'd have to point out a couple pages in particular:
The GPLEA -cars & track add ons (and tons of good history & info stuffage). Great msg board too... very active.

GPL Spares Factory -awesome new cockpits for all the cars.

Legends Central -news and whatnot. Check out the Movies page if you've got high bandwidth... awesome stuff!

Bruce's Stuff -Volumes of nit-noid add ons, and an awesome Honda car... good page, despite his lack of html design friendliness. (sorry Bruce, if you read this, heh)

The Gentlemans Motor Sports Society -One of many online racing leagues. I've been with this swell bunch of folks since I started. They emphasize what's best & most important in online racing.

4. Racing Online? VROC! Just head here, and you're all set. WinVROC is an awesome freebie app that connects all of us GPL freaks together. There's a race starting right now, for sure. :-)

5. How to drive fast? Practice... GPL comes with a strategy guide written by Steve Smith, that has alot of good info. Time has since past since he wrote that guide, and there are numerous other people & opinions on how to drive, so a visit to Hotgrid's Ultimate Links Page will point you around to them. My opinion? Practice... and dont get attached to the forumla one class in the beginning. Start out on an F3 Coventry (Cooper) and learn the basics.

btw. I'm of the opinion that the best online racing is among the F3 & F2 series. More emphasis on racing than on keeping on the track ;-)

Good Luck!

[argos]

Thre are a number of sites that have a tremendous amount of information on all aspects of GPL. These are my favorites:

Eagle Woman's Grand Prix Legends http://simracing.com/alison/gpl/ (Alison Hine)

GPL Foolishness http://website.lineone.net/~richardn/ (Richardo Nunnini and Giovanni Tifosi)

For patches Papyrus Designs http://www.papy.com/gpl/download.html At a minimum you will need the GPL 1.2 Patch and the GPL Disconnect Fix to race online. You may need another of the patches for the TNT card. I'm not familiar with that card but someone in the forums should be able to help.

To race online you'll need WinVROC to connect to online races. http://vroc.net/index.htm Once you're set up on VROC you can probably join a pick up race pretty much 24/7.

Speaking of forums, there are quite a few. The Atlas forum is a good one. Others you might want to check out:

GPLEA http://www.kotr.de/org/ Click GPLEA Forums in the upper right corner. This forum is almost exclusively GPL and is very active. A good source for information and lots of people willing to help. GPLEA also has built some very nice add on tracks for GPL and they are avilable at their site.

Legends Central http://legends.sports-gaming.com/ has a GPL forum.

The Pits http://www.theuspits.com/index.shtml has an excellent GPL section with a number of add on tracks as well as other nice thigs for GPL. The Pits Power Sims Magazine section (enter from the front page) also has a GPL forum.

GPL Foolishness http://website.lineone.net/~richardn/ has a forum that is geared primarily towards helping people develope setups for their cars but people there are willing to help out with any type of GPL problem, not just setups.

For driving tips:

Alison Hine http://simracing.com/alison/gpl/ in the HELP section. There's also a wealth of information in the FAQ's. Her setups, especially for the Cooper and Ferrari are very good setups to start with.

GPL Foolishness http://website.lineone.net/~richardn/ contains a lot of information on driving.

Steve Smith's Advanced Seup Guide http://simracing.com...n/gpl/smith.htm contains setup and driving information.

All of the people involved with the sites above have extensive sim racing backgrounds and many of them have real racing experience.

I'm not sure I've answered all of your questions but it's quite late here and I've got to get some sleep. If you do have more questions, ask away.

[Linus27]

Dan2k

Don't even think of coming to VROC yet. Your piss to many people off by getting in the way. Learn to drive the tracks offline first and then join us.

The golden rule also online is, if you rear end someone, don't just drive of, wait, let them reset and get going again and follow on after and continue what you were doing. Taking people out if you make a mistake and then driving of really pisses people of and your get a few ear bashing moments.

[BuzzingHornet]

I've been playing solidly for a couple of months, and i'd agree with everything thats been said above, but as an recent ex-newbie I thought the following might be useful:

don't just play round with the set-up of of the car, play with the set-up of your wheel and pedals too. There is a slider you can alter to change the input from linear to non-linear, somewhere along this magic line will be a 'feel' you can live with; after much experimentation, I drive with the input nearly (but not totally) completely non-linear. this is a small thing but it found me a lot of time.

Get Replay Analyzer and compare your laptimes/lines etc with those of the stars. Its amazing how useful this utility is..!

Practice like mad, everything has to be pretty much spot on in GPL (unfortunately) or you will have lots of grassy moments Steering, throttle control, brake control, and combining these in different ways can give vastly different effects due to the advanced physics model. There are lots of hard ways of doing things and a few very useful easy ways, but its like riding a bike it will come in the end.

Download as many set-ups as you can find, chances are you'll find someone who has made a lot of set-ups that suit your driving style.

I got much much better by racing on VROC than against the AI cars, so I would say try VROC now but while you are learning don't push it, just try and get the car round to the finish in one piece and the speed will come in time. All that it needs is a bit of common sense not to cause crashes etc, and the guys on VROC are a pretty good bunch who have taught me a lot about racing these cars (and still do!)

[dan2k]

Thanks for all the help everyone!
I really appreciate it.;)

[Jason]

Originally posted by Linus27
Dan2k

Don't even think of coming to VROC yet. Your piss to many people off by getting in the way. Learn to drive the tracks offline first and then join us.

The golden rule also online is, if you rear end someone, don't just drive of, wait, let them reset and get going again and follow on after and continue what you were doing. Taking people out if you make a mistake and then driving of really pisses people of and your get a few ear bashing moments.

How fast do you need to be to race on-line?
I've been reading about how to behave from this site: http://www.powerup.c..._driver_beh.htm
I've been thinking about racing on-line. But, I have to find a GPL league that doesn't mind having a slow driver...

[argos]

Originally posted by Jason

How fast do you need to be to race on-line?
I've been reading about how to behave from this site: http://www.powerup.c..._driver_beh.htm
I've been thinking about racing on-line. But, I have to find a GPL league that doesn't mind having a slow driver...

It's not so much a question of how fast you are but how well you can control your car, especially when close to other cars. The site you mention has some good advice for all online drivers, not just novices. Practice by racing the AI. If the AI is too fast http://simracing.com/alison/gpl/ contains information on adjusting AI speed in the FAQ's. When you are able to run complete races with the AI without causing accidents you are probably getting close.

Another site with good driving advice is http://home.swipnet....6707/racing.htm by Roland Ehnstrom, one of the fastest guys racing GPL. Another excellent site is Dodger Denske's School of Online Racing at http://gmss.homepage...ool/default.htm . Dodger provides some drills to practice in the car to help prepare you for racing situations.

The real way to tell if you're ready for online racing is how comfortable do you feel in the car. Can you run 15 or 20 laps at a track at fairly consistent lap times? Can you start a race with the AI cleanly and make it through turn 1 without causing an accident?

If you can drive cleanly and not cause accidents you'll be welcome in races even if you're not one of the fast guys more so than if you are fast but run into the back of other cars.

Once you reach a good comfort level in the car you can join pickup races on VROC or look for a league to join. In pickup races or in a league, if you drive clean you'll make friends and be welcome.

[AlesiGOD]

I have just joined the dark side too...