No Aids Racing

We will have to decide if we want to use the RH2003 season or the normal 2002 season for next race at Hockenheim. We will also have to decide if we want to use the standard 2002 track or the Tantra-enhanced 2003 track. I don't know how close Tantra's track is to what we will see in two weeks, but it works just fine. I just ran a session using the new track (which is now default when selecting RH2003 season and Hockenheim in F1RST), and apart from some F1RST problems (client updated the track right after the server had launched, so people joined with the new track while the server and I still had the old track, plus the HAT file was not deleted causing some problems) the track looked and drove great.

I really don't like the 2002 layout of Hockenheim, and 2003 is just a tiny bit better. But in the spirit of running as authentic stuff as possible I would say that the Tantra track is the way to go. Also, as a benefit to those of us with slow machines (everything is relative, I remember my first ZX Spectrum as being quite fast at some things ), Tantra's tracks usually are designed to be kind and gentle to old machines.

The NAR2003 season pack that I have been working on will have at least one more release before the race (to fix a few bugs and to update the personalized icons that some of you have sent me). It would be nice if we could decide what track layout to use in the next day or two so that I can put it in the NAR2003 season and send out another beta version before next weekends test race.

/Daniel

(I just posted almost the same thing in the F1R forums, because our next race is also at Hockenheim.)

MAIN CHANGES (as I see them)

#1 - Corner is not quite as sharp, making it possible to take it in 6th gear with almost full throttle and still keep all 4 wheels on the main track.

#2 - A bit straighter making it much easier to floor it as soon as you get out of the first 110 deg corner without having to worry about running wide on the exit out onto the long "straight".

#3 - The high-speed chicane is gone. Replaced by a 35deg corner that can easily be taken at full throttle. At the end of the straight the corner is a little bit sharper.

#4 - Tarmac runoff area replaced by gravel, making an off-track excursion a whole lot less enjoyable.

/Daniel

Im all for it, I want to have the tracks as real as they can get. But as always with these add-ons they use up some extra FPS. My concern is that my srever might not be able to handle it if Im going to play at the same time. I dont want my game to look like absolute shit just to get the correct tracks.

Ofcourse we have to test this, I want to play the new tracks too IF they are closer to reality than the ones that are in the original game. If we find out that my computer cant handle 22 cars and RH2003 we have 3 choices I think.
1: Take away the Arrows team. 20 cars are less than 22...
2: Play woth original game (not prefered, NAR 2003 sounds so cool)
3: Someone with a "dedicated" server have to host our races (DanTheMan or TK, someone else?)

Daniel, do you have a theory? You say Tantra's tracks are easy on old computers?

killahead wrote:Im all for it, I want to have the tracks as real as they can get. But as always with these add-ons they use up some extra FPS. My concern is that my srever might not be able to handle it if Im going to play at the same time. I dont want my game to look like absolute shit just to get the correct tracks.

Tantra does all his work on a slow computer, so normally his tracks eat up no more FPS than the built-in tracks. This would of course have to be verified, but I'm pretty sure there will be no FPS hit at all from using the Tantra version of the track.

Ofcourse we have to test this, I want to play the new tracks too IF they are closer to reality than the ones that are in the original game. If we find out that my computer cant handle 22 cars and RH2003 we have 3 choices I think.
1: Take away the Arrows team. 20 cars are less than 22...
2: Play woth original game (not prefered, NAR 2003 sounds so cool)
3: Someone with a "dedicated" server have to host our races (DanTheMan or TK, someone else?)

Daniel, do you have a theory? You say Tantra's tracks are easy on old computers?

RH2003 will eat a few FPS, but not nearly as many as the update he made for F1 2002 that most of you have tried. However, if the server is at or near its limit then a few FPS can make a huge difference on how much lag we will see during the start. Turning down shadows and special effects a notch or two makes a huge difference in FPS without making the game look absolutely terrible, so that might be an option.

Taking away the Arrows team doesn't really do anything for the server. The only thing it does is limit the possible grid size, something we can limit anyway by not accepting more than 20 drivers in each division. But if it is authenticity that we are looking for then getting rid of Arrows is probably the right thing to do.

Even if the RH2003 update is too heavy for the server we can still have a NAR2003 league. I will just have to change all the vehicles back to the standard 2002 cars. Not a big problem, just some extra time.

The dedicated server idea is a good one because it allows the server to always have very good FPS, even in the start. Poor FPS on the server, especially during the start, will have a huge impact on the lag percieved by the clients. I didn't know there was a connection between server FPS and client lag until a few months ago, it was just a lucky coincidence that I had turned down the graphics on my server computer (640x480x16, everything at the lowest setting). Anything under 35 fps on the server in the start generates additional lag, so in order to be able to play and host on the same computer you have to have a mighty powerful computer (for large grids anyway).

Let's see what happens next Sunday at the test-race. We will run a number of short races beacuse what is really interesting is what happens in the start. We will test Killahead's computer, and we might test what happens when I host on my dedicated server. I don't know if I will be able to help hosting NAR races, but at least it is worth running some tests to see if it improves lag.

/Daniel

Go for the tantra tracks ,talked to some guys at F1rst and the told me they are more like the real ones espessaly Hockenheim and Monaco
looking forward to next sunday it will be a blast

TANTRA i just drove it on dans server wohooo finished 2nd of 20 drivers or so ..... but the track is more realistic mayby it feels a bit tiny but i like it already so lets go for that track

DP u only get there because i spin lol YEA i need rematch so i choose NEW hockenheim track , ALSO because i THINK more complete race !

DP nice driving M8

hehe hey sir get use to it that im gonna pas u more times

I still have to pass u in the championship standings so watch out

CYA at track

WEll m8 i DUNNO if u are aware i only use 6 gears in practice
SO in real NAR races ill use that 7th gear too ! so just stay behind as i taught u in the previous races MUHAHAH !

I much preferred Tantra's2003 Germany track.

I've managed to find france 2003 but not hockenheim 2003 at tantras site.

Scratch that ...france works great...new germany doesn't work at all.
any place wher i can get track without stupid installer?
Actually nevermind,I got a buddy in other f1 league who will tell me how to fix it.

Actually Carrera I think the easiest way is to get into F1rst2 and join a room where they are driving the new track. F1rst2 will automatically download the track for you there.

Or something.....I think......maybe.....*hrm*

/ Martin

or he can just host a race at that track he dont have:)

for more Realism i think we should run the most accurate tracks for this season,tantras updates or someone elses(France2003) doesnt matter to me.

Actually i tried the first 2 application first yesterday.
I joined into (nar)marks room and it started automatic download.
Unfortunately it did not download new track for me....Mark was using new track of course.I ended up finding it at Tantra's site(went to m4 tantra first..they didn't have it)but spider led me to the real track.
So I was feeling like i had finally beaten the problem...right...wrong again...
I used the self installer...got on the track and started blasting around.
Unfortunately as my luck this week would have it.There was invisible gravel and curbs on a few corners.So i think i was still driving on old track but could see new one.It was very strange to say the least.Is there a .gdb file I am missing?

The game works awesome so i don't want to reinstall.
The new France works fine.I have yet to put in the other 4 2003 tracks though.I have to buzz off to work but i'll go back to Tantra's site later to see if i can figure this out(i love a challenge)....
p.s .The new Germany looks alot faster

carrera wrote:Unfortunately as my luck this week would have it.There was invisible gravel and curbs on a few corners.So i think i was still driving on old track but could see new one.It was very strange to say the least.Is there a .gdb file I am missing?

You need to delete the old .HAT file (located in this directory: F1 Challenge 99-02\LOG\HAT\).

The .HAT files are only generated the first time a track is loaded. They contain an optimized version of the track layout that the physics engine uses. So if you play a new layout with a .HAT file that describes the old layout you'll find very strange things happen. And since the Tantra track is an update of the "old" RH2003 track this is exactly what has happened to you.

Just remove all the .HAT files in the directiry mentioned above and try again!

/Daniel

Thank you Dan,
I eliminated all the hat files...started up the game and went to germany.
I gritted my teeth in first corner and no bumps or weird things happened.
I think my first words were"Wuu huuu Dan the man" LOL
The new track is much better i think..more room to move over to let faster people pass.The driving is much smoother thru first 2 sectors...no major wheel movements to get thru corners....
I am sold on this one...much smoother and faster...my vote is for the tantra track....Thanx again Dan
carrera

I agree Carrera tryed the Tantra track (hock....) last night and i think its
awesome much more like the real track as u see it on TV
Cya guys at F1rst 2.....

yes, the old .HAT file. It scrolls that information at the bottom of F1rst, I'm glad I read that. but anyway, I think Tantra's Hockenheim update makes the track alot easier...almost too easy. What am I doing? I shouldn't be complaining about that....pretend I didn't say anything. Actually I've been having lot's of trouble with the new track it's kinda hard


No really, I would prefer the Tantra Updated tracks. They seem less dead than the original ones. Kinda hard to explain.