Sorry for taking up so much space with this, but heres an IRC chat log with the developers. Lots of good infomration in here.
Session Start: Sat Jan 29 17:54:33 2000
[17:54] *** Now talking in #WSC
[17:54] *** Topic is ‘SimRacing Insider WSC Chat with the developers’
[17:54] *** Set by AdamZerlin on Sat Jan 29 17:45:44
[18:02] *** Joins: Chris_West
[18:02] <AdamZerlin> Elvis has entered the building
[18:02] <Chris_West> Blimey
[18:03] <RAPIERWON> Hi Chris just wanted to thank you guy’s for taking the time to talk to us
[18:03] <Chris_West> Tonys here to.
[18:03] <Chris_West> Great site Alex.
[18:04] <Chris_West> Be kind to us )
[18:07] <Chris_West> Right Iam off, its been fun )
[18:09] <CClark> What current racing sim would you compare the WSC physics engine too?
[18:09] <Mike_Porter> Ok my question(s) is regarding the sound in the game. How realisitc are the sounds going to be and to what lengths are you guys going to establish great sounds within the game?
[18:10] <Chris_West> Ahh, well having played them all and seen many claims for real physics, I would say the only one is GPL
[18:10] <Chris_West> The physics in GPL are outstanding, but we feel what we have in GPL is at least equal
[18:11] <Chris_West> The cars are modelled using Rigid Body Dynamics to handle the car weight transfer etc
[18:11] <JamesPickard> GUYS, if you were to single out one element that WSC excels in, what would it be??? (e.g. PHysics?? Grapnics?? sounds???)???
[18:11] <Chris_West> BUt the model goes much deeper, the suspension is modelled accuratelt, the wheels dont just move up and down like most sims.
[18:11] <Pat_Dotson> how about tire modeling?
[18:12] <Chris_West> The camber etc for a wheel changes as it moves.
[18:12] <AlexWSC> Will there be real wind modeling in the game? will it effect airodynamics of the car?
[18:12] <Chris_West> But its the tyre model thats is the main point of the model. Its using the latest ideas form SAE to get the correct feel for each tyre type
[18:13] <Mike_Porter> my question was 2nd on the list and got overlooked….I am so saddened
[18:13] <Chris_West> You can drive with four different tyres on the car if you wanted.
[18:13] <Chris_West> Getting carried away already. )
[18:14] <Chris_West> James. The physics are the key to the game, but its also the attention to detail.
[18:14] <Pat_Dotson> how about track surface, have you modeled high-frequency bumps?
[18:14] <Chris_West> Too many racing games it seems to us that when you select a new car you just get a new graphic
[18:15] <Chris_West> With WSC we are trying to make each car have its own identity. So all the doors open, the engine opens etc
[18:15] <Tony_SCGTSetups> and how taxing is all this on the CPU??
[18:15] <Chris_West> You can interact with the objects.
[18:15] <JamesPickard> Type?? Rain?? Slick?
[18:15] <Mike_Porter> Ok my question(s) is regarding the sound in the game. How realisitc are the sounds going to be and to what lengths are you guys going to establish great sounds within the game?
[18:15] <Chris_West> Alex: Yes real aerodynamics, and wind, the aero model is coming together real nice.
[18:16] <JamesPickard> don’ stop Chris
[18:16] <AlexWSC> sounds great!
[18:16] <Chris_West> James: Type yes rain slick etc, but also Make ie Goodyear Michelin, and different compounds, each is different.
[18:16] <Grant__R> can a car hydroplane on puddles?
[18:17] <Chris_West> TonySCGT: There is no denying that WSC is heavy on the CPU, but the physics are the main drain, that is handled quite easily these days.
[18:17] <Chris_West> The cars and tracks are very detailed, but the dtail is scalable, so for those who just wnat to race, then all the track detail can be toned down.
[18:17] <Tony_SCGTSetups> what system are you testing on?
[18:17] <AlexWSC> How about whipers? can you turn them on and off during racing? And will there be working directional lights?
[18:18] <Chris_West> We hope to keep supporting WSC for a long time, so it needs to be advanced, else someone else will just do something better straight away.
[18:18] <Chris_West> Mike: We are currently making use of A3d v3, but the engines are being done using Staccato
[18:19] <Excidium> I just want to know about that sound: are you guys planning EAX?
[18:19] <Chris_West> Itst the system used by Nascar Rev. It is a great system that produces realtime engine fxs, so hairdryers here Hopefully )
[18:19] <Mike_Porter> Any plans on supporting the latest EAX and can you explain what Staccato is?
[18:20] <Chris_West> Wipers, you hit a point there. Some cars are easy to model wipers for, but some are a nightmare due to constant changing path the wiper takes.
[18:20] <AlexWSC> Wow!
[18:21] <AlexWSC> Must be a lot of work getting that right!
[18:21] <Chris_West> Staccato is a system where the engine noise is generated as its needed, you can specify how many cylinders, type of exhausts etc to get the correct sound.
[18:22] <Chris_West> EAX, hasnt been added yet, A3D is the main sound system, but EAX isnt that different.
[18:22] <Olav_Malmin> will there be a different throttle on and throttle off sound ?
[18:22] <Chris_West> Olav: Yes, that is handled.
[18:23] <JamesL> In terms of damage, if a car ahead of your car gets damaged, will the body parts on the track cause you damage, such as a flat tire, crack windshield?
[18:23] <NTR3D> will there be proper keyboard control support ?
[18:23] <Mike_Porter> excellent, so it sounds like implementing eax should be a no brainer….Please oh please don’t abuse the reverb sounds Just try to get the sounds as REAL and convincing as possible.
[18:23] <Chris_West> Alex: The staccato guys do the hard work, programming it in is the easy bit )
[18:23] <Cooknn> I read that you are supporting Intellivibe – seat of the pants force feedback. Have you tried it with WSC yet?
[18:24] <Chris_West> James: That is a possiblity, it could happen, but collisions detection goes through the roof with that, if the CPU has time for it we may add it in later.
[18:25] <AlexWSC> That one screenshot where the tire looked like it was compressed, was that on purpose or a colision detection foult?
[18:25] <Chris_West> Intellivibe is great. I recommend it to everyone, you can feel the gear changes etc.
[18:25] <Cooknn> Very cool
[18:25] <RAPIERWON> very nice touch!
[18:26] <Chris_West> Are the clipping tyre. No we dont model deforming rubber, that is a Zbuffer artifact, but its something we make use of
[18:26] <Pat_Dotson> does it transmit weight shift?
[18:26] <Chris_West> WHat did I miss?
[18:26] <Pat_Dotson> the intellivibe…
[18:26] <AlexWSC> Looks good on the shot!
[18:26] <NTR3D> will there be proper keyboard control support ?
[18:27] <Mike_Porter> what is intellivibe for those of us that don’t know? I have an Actlab Force RS + RS Shifter…is this intellivibe something that can work in conjuction with my setup?
[18:27] <Chris_West> Intellivibe does what it does thorugh vibrating thingys, you can give an illusuion of weight transfer, but it comes into its own on giving feedback about round surface, engine vibration etc
[18:27] <Jeppe_J> is it possible to use your own paint job in online races for others to see?
[18:28] <Chris_West> Intellivibe just plugs into the printer port (it has a feedthrough) it needs no drivers, works on all games, but if a game is written for it it works the best. Its a vibrating seat.
[18:28] <Guest58989> will it support T&L and will T&L be necessary for a good framerate?
[18:29] <Chris_West> What do you mean by proper keyboard support?
[18:29] <Mike_Porter> hmmm sounds pretty hoaky but if you say it works well with WSC then I might consider it an option
[18:29] <Cooknn> I missed the first part of the chat – Are you still on track for Q2 or does it look like Q3? Will there be an early demo?
[18:30] <RAPIERWON> I think he means that will it be playable on the keyboard
[18:30] <JamesPickard> CHRIS ==> HOW seriously are you taking MULTIPLAYER and online racing??? Considering GP3 won’t support it…….
[18:30] <RAPIERWON> like GP2
[18:31] <Chris_West> We want online to be key to the game. Alison Hines is helping us get that part right.
[18:31] <RAPIERWON> nice
[18:31] <Neil> good person to work with<G>
[18:31] <NTR3D> or at least that I can use ALT and SPACE to shift gears
[18:31] <Chris_West> Cooknn: Its looking like Q3 at the moment, due to tons of work, and not wanting to go head to head with GP3
[18:32] <RAPIERWON> Time to invest in a good wheel NTR3D?
[18:32] <Neil_C> when is the demo going to be available?
[18:32] <Chris_West> We really hope to do a GPL and release a track and car, but its hard trying to get the publisher to go for it. You point out games like Quake, but they dont listen.
[18:33] <AdamZerlin> you can take a keyboard and use it as buttons in a homemade wheel (using the connection points on the board in the keyboard)
[18:33] <RAPIERWON> What do you mean Chris?
[18:33] <Cooknn> I guess they are giving you lots of freedom – we don’t want to push them too hard eh?
[18:33] <RAPIERWON> do you mean Track and car editor?
[18:33] <Niklas_Nilsson> will there be a car and track editor?
[18:33] <Chris_West> Tt&L, it dosnt use it at the moment, and it runs OK ) But it will use it to get better performance.
[18:34] <Excidium> so T&L will be supported?
[18:34] <Pat_Dotson> the gpl demo generated sooooo much interest – it’s a mistake not to do it
[18:34] <Chris_West> The inputs setup is totally felxible, any input that DirectInput can pick up can be assigned to any action
[18:34] <RAPIERWON> I could’nt even get the demo to work it was a big shame
[18:34] <Chris_West> So if you have 16 axis on a joystick, you can use them.
[18:34] <Neil_C> how far is the game er…i mean sim from cpmpletion?
[18:34] <RAPIERWON> I beleive alot of people tried this and it threw them off the game completely
[18:35] <Mike_Porter> What about Matrox’s EVBM (Environmental Bump Mapping)? I love my G400 Max video card and think it would be sweet if WSC has this feature. Also what about support for Matrox’s dual head technology?
[18:35] <Chris_West> There will be no car and track editor with the game. But dont rule one for a future release, we plan to do many addons, and goodies, its taken years to do this game, but we still have tons we want to do.
[18:36] <NTR3D> what is there with Q3?
[18:36] <AlexWSC> How inteligent is the AI in the game?
[18:36] <Cooknn> NTR there will be plenty to play with until Q3. Lot’s coming out this year…
[18:37] <RAPIERWON> Tony has extensive knowledge on this type of thing guy’s so maybe we could form a small group to discuss things like editors etc
[18:37] <Chris_West> Mike: There is no bump mapping at the moment, but its easy to add. The problem we have had is in getting support from hardware guys, so far only 3dfx has let us on their developer program.
[18:37] <Niklas_Nilsson> how about geforce cards?
[18:38] <AlexWSC> Will a Geforce 256 DDR 32MB be enouth to run the game with detail to max or is a NV15 with 64MB needed?
[18:38] <Chris_West> At the moment, the game supports multi monitor over a network, if you have 2 machines you can setup different views.
[18:38] <Chris_West> You can do it on one machine but things tend to move a little slow )
[18:38] <Neil_C> will there be a in car view?
[18:38] <Chris_West> Alex: Its better than the card I have so yes.
[18:39] <JamesPickard> 3rd Quarter this year
[18:39] <Niklas_Nilsson> ofcourse there be one
[18:39] <simracingfanatic> Is dynamic weather modeled? (e.g. start of race = sun, then a rain shower happens, end of race = sun)
[18:39] <Neil_C> just want to make sure
[18:39] <simracingfanatic> really adds a new dimension to racing
[18:39] <Chris_West> Neil: Oh yes, Adam has seen the in car work so far.
[18:39] <simracingfanatic> not seen in many racing sims
[18:39] <NTR3D> What about Group-C cars ???
[18:39] <NTR3D> will we see the Jaguar XJR-12 ?
[18:40] <Cooknn> Graphics and weather like NFS-HS with realistic physics – my dream for WSC
[18:40] <AdamZerlin> Let’s just say, if there was a screw or a switch missed in the cockpit, I’d be surprised
[18:40] <Chris_West> Simracin…: That is the plan, it seems key to us, makes the pitstops more important.
[18:40] <Neil_C> good different cockpits for different cars?
[18:40] <AlexWSC> XJR-12 NEEDS to bee in the game!
[18:40] <Chris_West> Have I missed anyone upto dynamic weather?
[18:40] <NTR3D> IMO NFS didn’t look so nice
[18:41] <ArneM> will there be 24hour races with changing lightning as well?
[18:42] <Niklas_Nilsson> will there be realtime pitguys in the game or flat stiff ugly cartoons?
[18:42] <Chris_West> Ok group C cars? There may be one or two of those floating around, but again, car packs will cover anything we miss first time.
[18:42] <JamesPickard> DYNAMIC in-car view (eg GPL) ????
[18:43] <Chris_West> We hope to have real pitguys, well they will at very least be 3d no sprites here, but are trying to get them to do their own thing, but allow interaction. Anyone remember Pitstop 2 on the C64.
[18:43] <Chris_West> Dynamic in car views, oh yes, full virtual cockpits.
[18:44] <simracingfanatic> good… sort of like the mad dash you see in the f1 pits when it rains lol
[18:44] <Ken|HG> Wow, busy here
[18:44] <JamesPickard> DYNAMIC COCKPIT (ie giving feedback to the driver).. will there be one like GPL???????
[18:45] <AdamZerlin> Hi Ken, everyone seems to be very excited and can’t wait for Chris to answer before asking another question!
[18:45] <Chris_West> We are lucky with WSC as pitstops last more than 7 seconds, so it gives a chance for the player to get involved, if they want too. Tony even has a bucket and sponge modelled, he wants me to clean the car with them.
[18:46] <Chris_West> Right who have I missed?
[18:47] <Cooknn> Chris didn’t get a chance to answer the dynamic weather question…
[18:47] <RAPIERWON> sorry chris where were you?
[18:47] <RAPIERWON> dynamic views I’m listening
[18:48] <JamesPickard> Dynamic Cockpit…. Chris?????
[18:48] <Chris_West> Ok, went very quiet for a while.
[18:49] <AdamZerlin> We will get those questions answered as we go down the list
[18:49] <Chris_West> The cockpit is 3d, so you can look anywhere, and for those who dont like stering wheels, you can turn the wheel off.
[18:49] <Chris_West> The weather will be as dynamic as we can make it, no snow though )
[18:54] <NTR3D> will we see cars catching air ??
[18:54] <Chris_West> Is all OK?
[18:54] <bantu> chris could you please compare the wsc physics with gpl
[18:54] <NTR3D> will we see cars catching air ??
[18:54] <AlexWSC> Hey, I think I can send again!
[18:55] <Chris_West> Normal service has resumed?
[18:56] <AdamZerlin> Chris only has one keyboard
[18:56] <AlexWSC> Adamzerlin, I do have questions (2) but the server went dead!
[18:57] <AlexWSC> How inteligent is the AI and how are the lighting effects?
[18:58] <Chris_West> The AI, is looking real nice, we based it on Ford Racing (joke), each driver has attributes, reaction time, agression etc, and then these are used when the driver scans the road
[18:59] <AlexWSC> Even agression? great!
[18:59] <Chris_West> They learn from mistakes they make, and how laptimes are effected by different approaches to different corners.
[19:00] <Kart38> So the AI will be intelligent, instead of ignorant? Great!
[19:00] <Chris_West> They will make mistakes, but we are trying very hard to eliminate dumbness, ie driving into the back of you, pulling onto the track ahead of you etc.
[19:00] <JamesL> will we see Schmacher/Hill battles with the AI or will they be more behaved?
[19:01] <Chris_West> If anyone has seen RARS, then they will get a little idea of what we are trying to achieve, but with more inteeligence.
[19:02] <NTR3D> what is rars ?
[19:03] <Chris_West> Knew someone would ask that, its a programming contest thats been going for years, where you are given a decsription of a race track, and you need to prgram a car that will race in an event.
[19:04] <NTR3D> will we see cars catching air ??
[19:04] <ArneM> do youplan on having any cars or tracks from the ALMS?
[19:04] <Mike_Porter> thanks guys….best of luck on WSC. Don’t release it until its finished and remember…..detail, detail, detail, detail, and more detail!
[19:05] <Chris_West> Yes Arne, but as to how many is one for the publishers, they are currently talking to Mr Panoz about that. So who knows.
[19:05] <ArneM> will we be able to do 24 hour races, and will there be an ai driver doing stints then?
[19:06] <Chris_West> If we dont end up with a license then a different approach will need to be taken, but currently we are working on all tha cars we can, and the same for the tracks.
[19:06] <RAPIERWON> Petit Lemans
[19:07] <Chris_West> Yes to 24 hours, and yes to different drivers. The Lemans boys included 24 hours, but no AI driver which is a shame.
[19:07] <ArneM> last q: in the rain, will youmodel, poodles and stream of water you can aquaplane across?
[19:08] <Marc_Mercer> and drying line
[19:08] <Chris_West> Yes Arne that is the plan, nothing scarier than hitting standing water at 200mph.
[19:08] <ArneM> thanks!
[19:08] <AlexWSC> Great!
[19:09] <CClark> Can you tell us more about the multiplayer option? how many will be able to race?
[19:09] <Chris_West> The drying line is something that Tony is working on at the moment, ist important.
[19:11] <Chris_West> Multiplayer is being designed at the moment as I said with help from Alison. We have yet to do proper tests with inetrenet connections to determine the limit on various connection types, but the bare minimum is 8 players. And with the new technologies coming out the max is enough to handle ant race.
[19:11] <Chris_West> Sorry for spelling.
[19:11] <Chris_West> Dyslexics of the world untie.
[19:11] <Tim_Leighton_uk> lol
[19:11] <AdamZerlin> hehe
[19:11] <CClark> lol, that’s all i have
[19:12] <Chris_West> The multiplayer is very important to us, and we need to get it right.
[19:13] <Excidium> two:1. Can you yell me more about the Force feedback – feeling (realistic or not) 2. What are the planned minimum specs?
[19:13] <Chris_West> I want a question )
[19:13] <Excidium> you have two from me!
[19:13] <AdamZerlin> hehe Chris
[19:14] <Chris_West> Force feedback. Good question. Firstly no canned effects, except for maybe rumble strips. The force sent to the wheel is calculated from the tyre (tire) model.
[19:14] <Chris_West> The aligning torque of each tyre is calculated as part of the tire model, so again it will be effected by tyre type, pressure even temperature.
[19:15] <Chris_West> Its the only way to do it.
[19:15] <AlexWSC> Sounds like it’s more detailed than most racinggames!
[19:15] <Chris_West> Min spec, well its being developed on a 450Mhz with Voodoo 3, but also being tested on a 133Mhz PII and voodoo 2.
[19:16] <AlexWSC> What? on bare poly’s????
[19:16] <Ken|HG> And could you get an acceptable framerate with that Chris?
[19:16] <Chris_West> Its dosnt run to well on the 133, but killing all detail just about gets a frame rate. But I suspect the absoulte min when all is working is going to about a 250Mhz
[19:16] <Excidium> maybe with T&L?
[19:17] <Chris_West> But ram is the key commodity, at least 32MB.
[19:18] <Mike_Porter> I think 128megs of ram is standard now days
[19:18] <RAPIERWON> RAM you can never have enough
[19:19] <Chris_West> As long as I dont go over my 384MB
[19:21] <Mike_Porter> I missed my question about dual head support on the matrox cards. Will there be any?
[19:21] <JamesPickard> firstly, how will the Multiplayer be implemented??? in game.. or though a 3rd party source (such as WinVROC)?????
[19:22] <Chris_West> James: We hope to keep everything in game, makes life a little easier to implement new features.
[19:23] <Chris_West> Unless thier are huge objections.
[19:23] <Jeppe_J> is it possible to use your own paint job in online races? will the other drivers see my paint job?
[19:24] <Chris_West> Jeppe: I think that will be something that will wait for a later addon. As the game comes with no direct feature to change paint jobs.
[19:25] <Chris_West> But we see that is important for later on, when new cars appear and people may want to create teams.
[19:28] <Marc_Mercer> Will it be possible to do online endurance events, with a friend also connecting through the net taking over during a pitstop, so they can drive the next stint?
[19:28] <Mike_Porter> Regarding sense of speed….What are you guys doing to convery a real sense of speed? I take it the physics take care of this for you if they are as good as you say?
[19:29] <Chris_West> Yes Marc, we plan to do that, with you team mates either connected through a network or racing on the same PC
[19:29] <Marc_Mercer> 2: Do you plan to make any of the old unspoilt circuits for the sim, for example the Nurburgring Nordshleife (last used in WSC in 1983)
[19:29] <Marc_Mercer> fantastic chris
[19:29] <Mike_Porter> you know supporting dual head technology would make for some great 2 player racing on the same compuiter using 2 different monitors
[19:30] <Chris_West> Tony would like to do every track going, and the old Nuburgring would be great. But again that I think we will be an addon later on.
[19:30] <Marc_Mercer> Thanks for you answers, chris ….. I’m really looking forwards to your Sim
[19:31] <Chris_West> Thanks Marc
[19:33] <Matej__> will be c500 good for game
[19:33] <Chris_West> That will do it Mate)
[19:33] <AdamZerlin> I think he asked if a celeron 500 would be good to run WSC
[19:34] <Matej__> and when will be game in store
[19:35] <Chris_West> Looks like Q3 Mate, due to tons of work to do, and not wanting to lose out to GP3.
[19:36] <M_Lindqvist> I have a question. Will you support multiple monitors? If you do, how?
[19:37] <MaX400MHz> Are the throttle and brakes modeled realistically, meaning, will you get rear tire spin and tire lock if you mash the pedals?
handles this, well it has to, the slip ratio (amount tyre is spinning) is the varible used to get the driving force of the tyre.
[19:39] <MaX400MHz> How much emphasis are you putting into the engine sounds? Not many racing sims get that true feeling of HP these cars have under the hood…
[19:40] <Chris_West> We are using the Staccato system to model the engine sounds, as used by Nascar Rev. We then get to say how many cylinders and a bunch of other varibles.
[19:41] <Chris_West> It sounds great. You can goto the Staccato web site and download a little demo.
[19:41] <Chris_West> It also models damage to the engine, so you can teel if something is going wrong.
[19:42] <Chris_West> You could buy Nascar Rev )
[19:42] <MaX400MHz> In real life, tire failures sometimes cause the tread carcass to come completely apart, sometimes damaging bodywork, is this extreme tire failure modeled into the game?
[19:44] <Chris_West> You can lose the tyre in the game and drive on the wheel, but the exploding of the tyre ala Mansell in Adelaide is not directly shown. But it will cause damage to the surrounding area, and may rip a wing off.
[19:45] <MaX400MHz> Chris, you mentioned Nascar Revolution, which has horrendous engine sounds, more like an electric engine, we shouldn’t think WSC will sound anything like that even though you’re using the same Staccato system, right?
[19:46] <Chris_West> Nascar used Staccato about a year ago, the guys have only just finished version 1, so expect better things. But iam surprised, the version of Nascar Rev I have had really meaty sounds?
[19:47] <MaX400MHz> whats the Staccato website for all of us…
[19:47] <AlexWSC> Maybe it’s your sound card
[19:47] <Guest44951> http://www.staccatosys.com/demos/index.html
[19:47] <RAPIERWON> If anyone would like a demo to see what Stuccato is like they can visit http://www.staccatosys.com/demos/index.html
[19:47] <Chris_West> Well doen guest.
[19:47] <MaX400MHz> Adam, that’s it for me, thanks and thank you Chris, keep up the hard work, looking forward to it..
[19:48] <Mike_Porter> Ok my first question is about clutch/shifter support. Are you guys currently working with any prototype shifter/clutch/wheel combos? What do you guys think of the actlabs line of products? And last question is what about dual head support from the matrox line of g400 video cards…do you plan on supporting those?
[19:48] <Chris_West> That demo is old again, and uses a different base sample. I would be interested to hear peoples thoughts on it.
[19:49] <RAPIERWON> sure chris DL’ing now
[19:49] <Chris_West> Mike: Yes we have shifters and clutches. Actlabs are great, really supportive to us, and their customer support is amazing.
[19:49] <Chris_West> I just want someone to make an all metal version of the shifter)
[19:50] <AlexWSC> What, you mean you already have a test act labs cluch?!?!
[19:50] <Mike_Porter> and some nicer pedals that don’t stick
[19:50] <Chris_West> We plan on supporting Dual Head, but as I said Matrox have as yet not decided to include us in any developer program, after asking many times.
[19:50] <Chris_West> BUt multi monitor will be supported via network as well.
[19:51] <Chris_West> No Alex.
[19:51] <Neil_C> will force feedback be adjustable by a core.ini? and will setups be saveable and downloadable like GPL?
[19:51] <Neil_C> SORRY ALEX
[19:51] <AlexWSC> Oh, I thought so.
[19:51] <Mike_Porter> Ok well I gotta go. Thanks Chris. I am very much looking forward to this game. Good luck!
[19:52] <Chris_West> )
[19:53] <Chris_West> Neil: Anything changed by the player in the game is saveable. So max forces etc will be saved as well.
[19:54] <Matej__> when will be DEMO if will be?
[19:54] <Niklas_Nilsson> a couple
[19:54] <Niklas_Nilsson> why all these later addons, why not have it in the game from the start?
[19:56] <Chris_West> Nik: We would love to add it all to the game at the start, but as it just me and Tony you can appreciate how long that would take, and I think everyone would lose interest very quickly if we said the game will come out 2002
[19:56] <Niklas_Nilsson> if we see a demo, when will it come?
[19:56] <Chris_West> So we feel the best we can do is keep supporting the game after it comes out.
[20:00] <Chris_West> Neil: We have no exact date for a demo yet, but it will be as soon as we have something we are happy with. As I said before, we hope to do a one car one track alpha demo like GPL, but its just persuading the publisher. As you can see from their last racing game the demo has only just come out.
[20:00] <Neil_C> please answer the demo question chris<G>
[20:01] <Niklas_Nilsson> can u give a more specific release date than Quarter 2 or Quarter 3?
[20:01] <Neil_C> thanks
[20:01] <Neil_C> a month maybe
[20:01] <Chris_West> Nik: Sorry, there are to many uncertaintitys to commit to an axact date.
[20:02] <Chris_West> Hopefully a demo will keep the pangs away.
[20:02] <Olav_Malmin> have you concidered a linux port of the game ?
[20:03] <Chris_West> Olav: I would love todo a Linux port and even a Mac version, but neither will happen until the game is out.
[20:04] <Olav_Malmin> sounds reasonable, next question is if you have thought of any future projects
[20:05] <Chris_West> We have lots of things we want to do to WSC, Empire want us to do an F1 game, but I think Geoff will have that market to himself, except for F1 2000 which looks mighty good too.
[20:05] <AdamZerlin> anymore questions Olav?
[20:05] <Olav_Malmin> no, thats all, thanks chris and tony for doing this
[20:06] <Parker_Ian> Aerodynamic modelling, is it done ?
[20:07] <Chris_West> Not finished yet, but what do you want to know? Flipping?
[20:07] <Parker_Ian> and if yes how is it done ?
[20:07] <Parker_Ian> no, slipstreaming, drag etc…
[20:09] <Marc_Mercer> downforce and ground effect too…
[20:09] <Chris_West> pectDrag is modelled physically correctly, so each car as surface area and coef of drag. Air temp and humidty have an effect, and if you lose parts of the car Cd goes up. Changing spoiler angles also effects drag as exe
[20:09] <Chris_West> expected.
[20:09] <Parker_Ian> sounds good, thanks
[20:09] <Chris_West> Slipstreaming is handled by cars generating a cone of disturbed air.
[20:10] <Chris_West> Cars are made up of various lifting surfaces, and pressures a re modelled.
[20:11] <RAPIERWON> I have 3 questions…Firstly, Is there anything that did’nt/could’nt make it into the game due to technological reasons and the time you have?
[20:12] <Chris_West> Good question. Tony would like curved surfaces for the modelling, but at the moment he makes do with millions of polys.[20:13] <Phil_GTInsider> 1. Do you plan to have some kind of a load/save feature so we can easily change car setups and even share them with others (i.e. via the web) ?
[20:13] <Chris_West> Physics side, theres a ton of stuff, even more detailed aerodynamics, even better suspension. Tyre model can get massively more complicated. And I was wanting to modek the engine.
[20:14] <Chris_West> Yes all car features can be saved, so swapping setups is easy.
[20:20] <RapierWon1> Firstly, Is there anything that did’nt could’nt make it into the game due to technological reasons?
[20:21] <Chris_West> There is a load of stuff that could be added on the physics side.
[20:21] <RapierWon1> 2) How accessible have you made WSC to 3rd party developers and do you support that kind of thing?
[20:22] <Chris_West> We are trying to make it easy for 3rd party developers to fiddle with the game and add to it. Its done great things for SCGT with some amazing cars and now tracks, and we would love to have the same supoort for WSC.
[20:23] <RapierWon1> 3) What have Sintura Racing contributed to WSC and how did this affect your original concepts, have you learned a great deal from them?
[20:23] <Chris_West> I hope to make the file formats available, and will help all we can anyone who feels they would like to create some bits for the game.
[20:24] <RapierWon1> Me and Tony are interested in this, as you may know Tony made the VRML converter for SCGT and we are working on WSC closer to the time
[20:25] <RapierWon1> We would apreciate some info on this Chris
[20:25] <Chris_West> The Sintura is raced in the GT series over here by the brother in law of the publisher, they are giving us feedback on the feel of the car. We have also talked to Williams to get some techincal feedback, and currently have a driver in the Diable series, and a guy trying to get more teams envolved for better technical feedback.
[20:26] <Chris_West> Rapier contact me, and I will see about getting a test file for you. The file formats arnt yet finalised, but the 3d mesh stuff is there.
[20:27] <RapierWon1> ok thanks loads for taking the time to answer my questions guy’s we’ll be in contact with you soon.
[20:27] <RyanRumo> what about impenting something a part in the game so we the users can import our own person photo’s of us and have our face be under the drivers helmet.
[20:28] <Chris_West> Planning on that one, our producer saw it in a hockey game and wants it, its not difficult, but its a little down the list of things to do.
[20:29] <Sejama> Is there going to be a teammate like inSCGT???
[20:30] <RyanRumo> yah it was NHL 2000 by EA Sports. first game every to implent that into a game.
[20:30] <Chris_West> Do you mean to drive with you or as a second car. Well come to think of it, yes to both.
[20:31] <Sejama> One to change seat with during a Pit-Stop….
[20:31] <Chris_West> Yes, Sejma, can be 3 if you like, and any combo of Ai or human driver.
[20:32] <Sejama> What about system-specs? (Dodn’t know if anyone has asked this….)
[20:32] <Chris_West> System, a 250Mhz and at least 32MB and a 3d card.
[20:33] <Sejama> And at last is there going to be a Setup-Advisor? Like an engineer????
[20:33] <RyanRumo> chris I do have a question that I don’t got an answer to yet.
[20:36] <Sejama> Thanks a lot, Chris. Can’t await to spend my hard-earned money for your game……
[20:38] <StealthRacing> Will their be real time weather? Will you be able to drive 24hrs and have day change to night? And will you be able to save 24hr races? Will you be able to race 24hrs online and hand off your car to another driver after 2-3hrs. Basically have a 24hr endurace race real time online. Thats it for me.
[20:39] <Chris_West> Stealth. Yes to all those. But as to 24hours online, that would be impressive to keep a connection open that long ) But you will be able to do it.
[20:40] <Optiz> let me just get this out my throat: I thought the WSC screenshots (i’ve got all of them) were rendered FMV, boy was I wrong!!!
[20:42] <Superfly_IBB> I was just wondering how chris and tony are going to manage to get all that realism in the game
[20:42] <Superfly_IBB> all sounds great, but I’m a bit pessimistic about the gap between promises and implementations
[20:43] <Optiz> Chris_West, I’m hoping the physics engine will have the feel of Gran Turismo, will it?
[20:43] <Chris_West> I can appreciate that Superfly.
[20:43] <Superfly_IBB> we’ve been waiting a long time for TF2 and GP3 (both set to set new realism standards).. how is WSC going to do this?
[20:44] <Superfly_IBB> i’d really like an AI pit-crew, but isn’t that kind of… luxery when you have to implement car_AI too?
[20:44] <Chris_West> All I can say is that we have been working on this for a very long time. Its just a case of doing what we love doing.
[20:44] <Superfly_IBB> how long have you been programming?
[20:44] <Chris_West> We didnt set out to try and beat everything going. We have just plodded away on this and its turned out that its coming together better than we hoped.
[20:45] <Chris_West> We have been writing games for over 16 years now, but this is the first time we have been allowed to do what we have really wnated to do and it makes a huge difference.
[20:45] <Superfly_IBB> it _really_ sounds great, and if all works out as planned… you’ll be my new sim-gods Thanks Adam
[20:46] <Chris_West> Its not work to us, its our passion. And that means we want to get everything in we can. Its a lot of hard work, and we have made many mistakes.
[20:46] <Chris_West> But its when you realise youve made a mistake and do something about it that turns it into something special.
[20:47] <Superfly_IBB> I can imagine the… thrill you get when making something work you really wanted to
[20:47] <RapierWon1> nice to see programmers/developers actually have a keen interest in what they produce!
[20:47] <Chris_West> We have never said we are going to be better than anyone else. To tell the truth we dont care, we just know what we would like to see in a racing game and are trying to do it.
[20:47] <Chris_West> We have been working on this game for about 4 years, with some messing before that.
[20:48] <RapierWon1> 4 years! You cant go wrong then guy’s
[20:49] <Tony-SCGTSetups> ok, question one; in real racing cars, we (drivers) can adjust a few things to compensate for the way the weight of the car changes during a race, will we be able to change these things eg, brake bias, roll bar, boost pressure, while driving??
[20:50] <Chris_West> Yes to all those. Thats the great thing about modelling everything physically correctly, you dont need to bodge in those knd of adjustments.
[20:50] <Tony-SCGTSetups> so we can get results in real time?
[20:51] <Chris_West> Yes, you could even chnage the suspension from corner to corner in realtime if you wanted and see the effect on the car 3d model, and feel the change in the car.
[20:51] <Tony-SCGTSetups> LOL, i dont think it’s in the rules that you can increase you’re spring rate while driving
[20:52] <Chris_West> When I wrote the suspension code I played with it for ages, just messing with kingpin angles, camber settings etc.
[20:53] <Tony-SCGTSetups> ok, 2nd question; what readouts are we going to be able to see in the cockpit view, ie., can we change the readout on a LCD display so we can see session times, or fluid pressures, while racing??
[20:55] <Chris_West> Tony is doing the cockpit stuff at the moment. And is using the planning to have correct displays, so that would all be there.
[20:56] <Tony-SCGTSetups> is the game going to be dual processor compatible??
[20:58] <Chris_West> Blimey good question. It is not at the moment. But the game is multithreaded, so it could take advantage of it. I dont have a dual processor setup. But it would be great. Are there any games which truly support dual processors, I guess Quake 3
[20:58] <traMKer> would be great, if you could create a complete list of all things, that are modelled by physics engine and put it on the web somewhere
[20:58] <ArneM> GPL supports dual processors
[20:58] <Tony-SCGTSetups> thanks chris, i really appreciate you doing this for us
[20:58] <ArneM> one for physics and one for other things
[20:58] <Phil_GTInsider> i would have one (hope it hasn’t been ask before coz i was away…)
[20:59] <RapierWon1> ok Adam, I just wanted to say to the West bro’s that this has all been a bit 1 sided so to make things fair after everyone has fineshed asking questions we should also give the opportunity to ask question to us if they like.
[20:59] <Chris_West> A list could be done
[20:59] <Optiz> Chris_West, a quick one, have you done games in the past and are you related to Engineering Animations (TransAm)?
[21:00] <Tony-SCGTSetups> be careful with that chris, i once answered a list from edios, told them what i wanted, they strangely never got back to me
[21:00] <Chris_West> We have done a bucket full of games from Vic20 days onwards. Did Street Racer on the Snes, but dont tell anyone.
[21:00] <Chris_West> Nothing to do with the TRansAm boys.
[21:01] <Optiz> Chris_West, what graphics API does WSC support (T&L support)?
[21:01] <Chris_West> Currently Glide and DirectX.
[21:01] <Guest37094> Chris, if I may sneak one in, how is the sound implemented? I.e on/off throttle/idle/ in -car/ trans? And if you need some real experience and come to Norway, you’e welcome to try an SR"
[21:02] <Chris_West> Hi Guest. You missed the Staccato stuff but pop over to www.staccato.com and pick up the demo.
[21:02] <Phil_GTInsider> Chris, Do you plan to have some kind of a load/save feature so we can easily change car setups and even share them with others (i.e. via the web) ?
[21:03] <Optiz> Chris_West, what’s your company name before West Racing?
[21:04] <RapierWon1> www.staccatosys.com/
[21:04] <Chris_West> We had a company called King of the Jungle, we were doing a Rally game for Virgin but they canned it, shame it was looking nice. And before that we were bought out by Domark (now Eidos)
[21:04] <Optiz> Chris_West, is Empire distributing WSC both in US and UK?
[21:04] <Chris_West> It looks like GT Interactive may do the US dist.
[21:04] <M3phisto> Hello Chris. My question is: How realistic will the weather model be? Will there be, say, a drying racing line, puddles of water, realistic spray, etc? or is going to be the usual all dry/all wet scheme?
[21:04] <RapierWon1> The correct Stuccato URL is www.staccatosys.com/
[21:05] <akaBart> I read the interview with the "Skip Barber racing school" sim developer and was dissapointed in his pointedly downplaying the physics in GPL and then ,claiming to be a sim racing enthusiest, he did not list GPL as a game he played. Where do you fall on the issue of GPL physics as a standard to surpass? And what sims do you play if and when you have the time?
[21:05] <Chris_West> We are aiming for a more realistic weather model, could be wet one side dry the other of the track.
[21:06] <Optiz> Chris_West, how many people are working at West Racing?
[21:06] <Tony-SCGTSetups> LOL
[21:06] <Tony-SCGTSetups> 2
[21:06] <AlexWSC> I’ve noticed that almost every sim to date has got the feeling as if the cars are hovering a fiew mm above the ground, can you feel the grip and the bite in WSC when you go into a turn?
[21:06] <M3phisto> sounds great. thanks. hope that the final product will be what you had in mind
[21:07] <Chris_West> 2 people at West Racing me and Tony
[21:07] <Optiz> Chris_West, holy cow! 2 ppl only! that’s programming and art?
[21:07] <RapierWon1> Chris and to Tony..What do you think of Geoff Crammonds GP3?
[21:08] <Chris_West> I do the programming, Tony does all Art
[21:08] <Chris_West> Geoff is great. I have everyone of his games, and we cant wait for GP3, just glad we arnt doing a F1 sim.
[21:08] <Chris_West> He does it the right way to, does what he feels is best.
[21:09] <Chris_West> Every respect for the guy.
[21:09] <ArneM> we’re all glad you’re not doing an f1 sim, but rather sportsacrs
[21:09] <RapierWon1> So Chris is the clever one and Tony just draws…only joking Tony hehe LOL
[21:09] <Optiz> Chris_West, this was my 1st suggestion: I’m hoping the physics engine will have the feel of Gran Turismo, will it?
[21:09] <Tony-SCGTSetups> yup, too many F1 sims
[21:09] <Guest37094> Arne: How true
[21:09] <RapierWon1> not too many good ones though
[21:10] <Optiz> simracing’s poll showed, sportscar at top, 2nd: f1, 3rd: rally
[21:10] <Tony-SCGTSetups> nope
[21:10] <RyanRumo> chris what is the next project for you and tony to accomplish after you get back from your vacation after getting all the money from WSC?
[21:11] <Chris_West> Thats becuase we voted a 1000 times )
[21:11] <Guest37094> Heavy flywheel on the staccato engine….)
[21:11] <Chris_West> Money, I doubt it ) Lots of goodies for WSC if allowed to by Empire.
[21:11] <ArneM> programers make programs to do the voting
[21:12] <Chris_West> Now thats an idea.
[21:12] <Optiz> Chris_West, i’m looking at the screenshots, i hope those humps at the road will make it to the game (as a cheat maybe) to play with the physics engine
[21:12] <Chris_West> Does it sound OK to you Guest
[21:12] <Guest37094> Chris, we used to run two cars sposored by empire, want to model them too
[21:12] <RapierWon1> Why are Empire being so harsh, is it all a marketing idea crap Chris?
[21:13] <AlexWSC> I’ve noticed that almost every sim to date feels like the cars are hovering a fiew mm above the ground, you don’t feel the cars grip in the corners! Will WSC have this or can you FEEL the road contact???
[21:13] <RyanRumo> so then what’s the next game or program are you guys going to make after wsc?
[21:13] <ArneM> let them finish wsc first!
[21:13] <akaBart> Just one comment before I go, Please do not cater to the lowest common denominator in physics to make it easier to play. It doesn’t sound like you will so I for one can’t wait for the finished product. Thanx
[21:13] <Chris_West> What cars are those Guest?
[21:13] <ArneM> we prolly won’t need anything else after that
[21:13] <Guest37094> Oh yes, and make wsc2 too.
[21:14] <Chris_West> Rapier: Empire didnt want us to release any screen shots, its like they dont want anyone to know anyhting.
[21:14] <Guest37094> One F3000/turbo for the British Boss series, and one (actually two) prototypes. (camel lights spec)
[21:14] <Optiz> akaBart, a better suggestion, have a configuration (slider) for physics realism
[21:14] <Chris_West> Alex, the car sticks to the road, if you srive it slowly it does what it is suppose to, no slidding or slipping.
[21:15] <akaBart> Good idea, but make it a real choice. Not a watered down difference.
[21:15] <Chris_West> When was that Guest.
[21:15] <Tony-SCGTSetups> well guys, it’s 5 past 7 here, im gonna go to bed, next time, we do this in my timezone
[21:15] <Chris_West> akaBart, there should be something to simplfy it.
[21:15] <RapierWon1> They did’nt come across like that when I went for a games testing position with them I suppose it’s all marketing these days. If only they listed as you have listed they would make much more money.
[21:15] <Guest37094> (www.cheekraing.com)
[21:15] <Optiz> Chris_West, are all the screenshots you released in-game? were some of those FMV?
[21:16] <Chris_West> They didnt say anything about those cars.
[21:16] <Guest37094> (cheekracing.com, sorry
[21:16] <akaBart> I agree. You do need sales. But a choice is great.
[21:16] <Chris_West> Dont get me wrong Rapier, they are a great publisher, they actually listen to us, and respect what we are doing, and we wouldnt be with anyone else, but they seem a little backward at the internet thing.
[21:17] <RapierWon1> that’s the way it should be dont let them push you around.
[21:17] <akaBart> Look at the loyalty of GPL fans and you can see difficulty is an asset.
[21:17] <AlexWSC> Strange, since the net makes for great publicity!
[21:17] <Chris_West> Optiz, everyshot is straight from the game, no touching up. We dont have a single render, the cars arnt even textured in 3ds.
[21:17] <Niklas_Nilsson> will there be a test track and a racing school? (like cmr)
[21:18] <RapierWon1> Where abouts are you based Chris & Tony?
[21:18] <Chris_West> Thats the plane Niklas, when it was going to be the Leman game we had planned a load of test tracks.
[21:18] <Optiz> It’s funny that Empire released a crappy game (Ford Racing) and follow it up with a stellar one (WSC, i hope )
[21:19] <AlexWSC> I love this game even though I havn’t seen a moving part yet!!!
[21:19] <Chris_West> Rapier: We are in Woking about 1/2 a mile from Mclarens front door.
[21:19] <Razukin> Will there be Chics agter the long gruling race to help take the edge off?
[21:19] <akaBart> Did I mention that i’d be happy to do some testing for you guys?
[21:19] <Chris_West> Optiz: All the racing games done by Empire have been to build a brand recognition with racing games ready for WSC, guess it hasnt worked so well.
[21:19] <AlexWSC> Chris – have you ever driven a McLaren F1? How did it feel?
[21:19] <Guest37094> Chris:If you were at Donington in 96, our protoype crashed into the pit wall during interserie qual with empire logos
[21:20] <Chris_West> Tony is doing some Hawaian Tropic girls )
[21:20] <RapierWon1> hehe how cool is that! I went to the Middlesex branch for my interview, they were very impressed, it’s where all the testing is done and I suspect WSC will be tested there also.
[21:20] <Chris_West> Alex: No such luck, used to drive my 348 past their front door though )
[21:20] <Optiz> Chris_West, will WSC support GeForce’s transform and lighting or DX7’s?
[21:21] <Chris_West> They are moving everything to North Finchley, larger offices now.
[21:22] <RapierWon1> it’s a small building on the corner of the road
[21:22] <Chris_West> With a pointy bit.
[21:22] <Optiz> Chris_West, how many licensed sport cars will WSC support?
[21:22] <Chris_West> Optiz: That is being delat with at the moment, so no answer yet.
[21:23] <AlexWSC> Any more classic cars (GT40, Jaguar)
[21:23] <Guest37094> Chris_West: will we be able to race the Sauber C9 (example) against a GT1 Porsche?
[21:23] <RapierWon1> Christ Church Avenue and I spoke to some guy called Darren
[21:24] <RapierWon1> The Finchley branch is not too far from there also so I suspect they will be moving like you said
[21:24] <Chris_West> You will be able to race any car against any car. As for more classics, that would be telling )
[21:24] <Optiz> Chris_West, will you be focusing on McLarens (since you’re based at Woking) just like NFS5: Porsche Unleased?
[21:25] <ArneM> i want a group c then
[21:25] <Chris_West> We have a meeting with Mclaren coming soon, hope to impress them enough for them to give in and let us license the cars.
[21:25] <Guest37094> Head over to Lola instead, and ask Martin Birrane
[21:25] <RapierWon1> hehe good luck they work in a very proffessional manner Chris
[21:26] <Razukin> I fu include any car could u include an 85 Yugo, Those cars were screamers…
[21:26] <Optiz> Chris_West, I hope you take all the good parts of Gran Turismo (especially the feel)
[21:26] <RapierWon1> I have GT2 and it’s a good game
[21:27] <AlexWSC> is it arcade or sim?
[21:27] <Chris_West> Optiz: GT is a great little game, but its not a correct model, its designed for fun racing. The WSC dont slide around as much.
[21:27] <Optiz> Chris_West, BTW, will we be able to edit/create car "skins"?
[21:27] <AlexWSC> and will you suport 3rd party programs?
[21:28] <RapierWon1> Gran Turiso 2 comes with 2 disc GT mode and Arcade mode each disk respectfully.
[21:28] <Chris_West> Not directly in the game. We hope to do some kind of addon, but it would take to long to include something now.
[21:28] <Razukin> Yes please dont send an in game paint proggy that sucks like nascar
[21:28] <Optiz> Chris_West, what will be the file format of the graphics? PNG, BMP, PCX, TIF?
[21:28] <ArneM> what programs are you using for creating cars and tracks?
[21:29] <ArneM> drawing ascii cars in notepad i guess
[21:29] <Chris_West> Currently the file format is PCX. Tony uses photoshop, and 3ds2. All texturing etc is done with our own tools
[21:29] <Chris_West> The code is C and assembler.
[21:29] <AlexWSC> Not C++?
[21:30] <Chris_West> No not a C++ person, I see its strengths, but its not for me.
[21:30] <JamesPickard> like I said… I"m not a programmer.. but I know how it should feel )))
[21:30] <AlexWSC> I like how classes work in C++.
[21:31] <Chris_West> I know how it all works, I just prefer C for some strange reason.
[21:31] <AlexWSC> What compiler do you use, MS C?
[21:32] <Chris_West> Watcom 11.0b
[21:32] <Chris_West> Strange arnt I.
[21:32] <ArneM> yes
[21:32] <JamesPickard> Very…. ?
[21:32] <AlexWSC> Is a decompiler included in the prog???
[21:32] <Chris_West> It produces much faster code for me. I have a VC version of the game, but its 10% slower.
[21:33] <ArneM> do you plan on including any form of career option?
[21:33] <AlexWSC> I guess it’s slower couse it has to load all the windows stuff when running!?!
[21:34] <Chris_West> There is a career mode planned, but not yet finalised.
[21:34] <Guest37094> Do you get a mad team Director when cooking a piston?
[21:34] <JamesPickard> wil the sim have cheats? like SCGT? or will you be able to drive all cars and all tracks from the start???????
[21:35] <Chris_West> James: It depends on how the career mode works out, we dont like the idea of limiting the number of cars, so if the career mode allows for guest drives then fine, otherwise, all cars will be available.
[21:36] -> *Chris_West* any chance of getting a beta test job for this title? it sounds awesome!
[21:37] *Chris_West* Hi Arne, mail us your details and you never know
[21:37] <AlexWSC> The HG forum will probably be flooded soon becouse of this session!
[21:39] <Chris_West> Hey Arne, thats lucky, could you mail that to Adam.
[21:39] <jss> chrisW: is the game going to include modern era cars only?
[21:41] <jss> chriswest: this might be difficult to answer objectively and precisely, but "how realistic" is the game, the physics engine in particular?
[21:42] <Chris_West> We are talking to the Sintura drivers, a driver in the Diablo series, and the 355 challenge. We have a TVR Tuscan driver, and we a few more.
[21:42] <ArneM> well i think, it’s more admirable from chris here to say that gpl is good, but they hope to better it
[21:43] <Chris_West> The physics are as realistic as I can get them. Everything is done correctly, nothing is bodged. It feels good to me, but my opinion dosnt count.
[21:43] <NatureBoy> Will it be possible to have different chassis/engine combinations in the sim; eg. Lola/Judd or Lola/Ford?
[21:43] <jss> are you going include some arcade driving model? GPL was considered inaccessible by many
[21:43] <Ken|HG> It’s a dangerous thing to say….
[21:44] <jss> ie. if the game is as realistic as GPL, how are you going to prevent it from becoming as big a financial disaster? :-]
[21:44] <AlexWSC> No arcade please! just quiclk race or something!!!
[21:44] <Chris_West> NatureBoy: Not directly in the game, you are stuck with the cars. But later on we have plans for such things.
[21:44] <JamesPickard> a modern day sports car is "relatively" easy to drive
[21:44] <jss> although I assume WSC cars are somewhat easier to drive by their nature
[21:45] <JamesPickard> trust me.. I’ve raced some ))
[21:45] <Ken|HG> Yeps, the slicks will help a lot…Ply-tires are disasters
[21:45] <Chris_West> jss: GPL suffered froma lack of appeal to the game buying market. People seem to want to drive modern cars.
[21:45] <AlexWSC> not me!
[21:45] <AlexWSC> I like older cars!
[21:45] <AlexWSC> gt40 and stuff
[21:46] <jss> chriswest: true – another thing horribly wrong with GPL was the CPU requirements and the disastrous lack of graphics hardware support
[21:46] <Niklas_Nilsson> gpl had some major faults
[21:46] <JamesPickard> i’d be nice to have a modern sim …. Sports car or F1
[21:46] <Chris_West> Yes Alex, I too, but most sims are brought by people who just wernt around at the time, so it holds no real appeal.
[21:46] <jss> chriswest: can you offer any kind of a list of the tracks that will be in the game?
[21:46] <JamesPickard> Ultimately, people have to BUY it….
[21:46] <AlexWSC> I wasn’t around then! but I still like the cars!!!
[21:46] <ArneM> i weren’t around when the gpl cars raced, but i love them still didn’t have much appeal when i first heard of it though…
[21:47] <Niklas_Nilsson> i am 14 but i love gpl!
[21:47] <AlexWSC> F1 cars look to much alike these days! older cars have a real history and are conciderd classics!
[21:48] <Chris_West> Yes Mik, but you have all bought the game, its the people who didnt buy it that made it lose money, and lack of appeal is one of the factors.
[21:48] <Niklas_Nilsson> like the lotus 49
[21:48] <Ken|HG> But it’s also a fact that people like to race what the guys on TV are doing at the same time as well…Official F1 licensed games are mega-sellers, because everything looks like what people see on TV….
[21:48] <jss> I think the lack of aerodynamical grip is the essence of GPL
[21:48] <Ken|HG> Although a mix of all era’s would be great as well..Some modern, some old, etc…
[21:48] <Chris_West> jss: And large slipangles
[21:49] <Ken|HG> Yes jss, and that’s what makes it a bit difficult to drive to most people. It requires dedication…
[21:49] <AlexWSC> As sayed earlier, it would be great to race a c9 against a 911 GT1
[21:49] <Chris_West> Ill get Tony to model an old timer, then we can see if it behaves like GPL?
[21:50] <Ken|HG> Sounds like a plan Chris…LOL
[21:50] <jss> chriswest: old classic cars like the ~1970 Porsche 917 would be absolutely fantastic
[21:51] <Chris_West> jss: Grabs a load of pictures of one at the Autosport show recently.
[21:52] <AlexWSC> If your publisher forbids old cars, chris, you can alway’s sneek some in and give us the coides to them!
[21:52] <Ken|HG> Or make an unofficial patch
[21:52] <ArneM> better yet, make it easy for us to make new cars
[21:52] <Chris_West> There will be old cars.
[21:52] <AlexWSC> soory, thats codes. Not coides
[21:52] <Niklas_Nilsson> an question to chris, wich tracks will be in the game?
[21:53] <ArneM> it’s not decided yet
[21:53] <AlexWSC> Sheesh! I keep hitting the wrong keys!
[21:53] <Chris_West> Good question, as yet not finalised depends on licenses etc, As soon as we have the final list we will send it to Ken or Adam. Same for Cars.
[21:55] <ArneM> international sports racing series i think… but they’ve changed name now
[21:55] <Chris_West> We wanted Leman ( We would like to see Monza, Brands Hatch, Sebring, Daytona.
[21:56] <ArneM> sports racing world cup it’s called nowadays
[21:56] <AlexWSC> Why not just World Sports Cars? lol
[21:57] <Chris_West> Well thanks alot guys for all the questions. If you have anymore post on the forums at HighGear or Simracing, or even Powersims, and we will try and answer all.
[21:57] <Ken|HG> Great Chris I think you should really make all the time up to your girlfriend now <img src=”i