Hardcore Gamer Resource Kit/Hardcore Gamer Resource Kit - Disc 2.iso/Pc/K_O/NAS121.ZIP/NASSET.EXE/READ121.TXT

Text File | 1995-07-10 | 14KB | 309 lines

Version 1.21:  Changes from Previous Versions

CONTENTS:
Technical Notes
Bugs Fixed
Gameplay Adjustments
Enhancements / Feature Additions
Paintkit Changes
Sound Card Setup Changes
Differences from Version 1.2

NOTE:  This file is READ121.TXT in your NASCAR install directory.
       You can print it on your printer by typing "print read121.txt"
       after you return to the DOS prompt.

TECHNICAL NOTES

*   Modem and direct connect players must both use the same version of
    the program (version 1.21).

*   Comm ports are now read from DOS, rather than assuming four specific
    port addresses.  Diagnostic messages when a modem connection cannot
    be established have been improved.

*   Palette setting problems on some video cards should be fixed.

*   New sound drivers have been added to allow the use of IRQs higher
    than 7 with certain sound cards.

BUGS FIXED

*   Computer opponents now suffer the same performance loss from damage
    as the player does.

*   Significant changes and fixes to yellow flags:

    *   Initial caution condition is now indicated by a held yellow flag.
        When the player takes the yellow at the start/finish line, the
        yellow flag will wave.  This was done to make it clearer when
        you've taken the yellow and are expected to slow down, stay
        behind the car in front, etc.

    *   Eliminated cheat that allowed player(s) to enter a closed pit
        and then drive all the way to the front of the field without
        penalty.  Now, when the "One Lap Until Green" message would
        normally appear, the player is given an "Entered Closed Pit"
        message and then told to fall behind the last car in line.
        This more closely follows the actual NASCAR rules.

    *   Eliminated cheat that allowed player(s) to ignore the caution
        condition, speed past everyone including the pace car, enter
        the pits and then re-enter the track without penalty.  The
        player will now receive a BLACK FLAG stop-and-go penalty for
        passing under the yellow if he enters the pit lane while being
        told to stay behind any other car.  That means you have to be
        careful about getting too close behind the cars that aren't
        pitting.  Generally, you are considered to have entered the pit
        at the point where the pit wall starts.  It is the same
        determination that is used for pit speed limit checks.

*   A bug that caused crash-recovering cars to be improperly
    added into the caution line has been fixed.  This accounted
    for most of the problems with cars running slowly on the
    track for no apparent reason.

*   Cars with pits on the back straight are now forced to pit after
    the cars whose pits are located on the front straight.

*   Some crashes between opponent cars would cause the computer to hang,
    sometimes leaving sound running with a black screen.

*   Computer opponents are much less likely to abort their pit stops
    (by heading for the pit lane, then deciding to stay out) when
    pitting under yellow.

*   Pacing speed is no longer affected by the Opponent Strength setting.

*   The pace car should no longer get blocked by wreckage under yellow.

*   Qualifying speeds for computer opponents are now more closely
    related to the Opponent Strength setting.  (Note to advanced users:
    The RELS value in the TRACK.TXT files *no longer affects* qualifying
    speeds.  This will eliminate the need to adjust BLAP whenever you
    change the RELS.)

*   Speeds of computer opponents at Talladega are now being affected
    more by the Opponent Strength setting.

*   In modem races, the Dialer's Best Lap will no longer become
    corrupted.  If prior versions have already corrupted your record at
    a track, you may perform either of the following to fix it:
       *  If you have the CD-ROM version of the program, you can copy
          the RECORDS.TXT file for that particular track to your
          installation on your hard drive:
          1) Type "c:"
          2) Type "cd \nascar\tracks"
          3) Type "d:"
          4) Type "cd \nascar\tracks"
          5) Type "xcopy /s records.txt c:"
          NOTE:  This procedure assumes that your installation was to
                 the \NASCAR directory on your C drive and that your CD-ROM
                 drive is D.
          NOTE:  This procedure will overwrite any records you have set
                 which were not corrupted.
      *  If you have the floppy version or wish not to overwrite any
         records that were not corrupted, you can edit the RECORDS.TXT
         file for each track and delete all but the first two lines of the
         file.

*   The Dialer in a modem race will no longer be penalized for
    non-existent pit speed limit violations.  This occurred mainly at
    Talladega.

*   Qualifying during modem play is now similar to single-player play,
    with a warmup lap followed by green and checkered flags.

*   The computer opponents will now race competitively if you are the
    polesitter.

*   The joystick calibration has been changed to allow pedals to be
    more reliably recognized in the Set Controls menus.


GAMEPLAY ADJUSTMENTS

*   Damage realism has been enhanced for both player and computer
    opponent cars.  With Damage On it is now much easier to damage a
    wheel or the engine.  The front wheels are somewhat easier to damage
    than the rear wheels.

    We expect that this will cause some controversy as not everyone
    will agree with the new damage levels.  However, with the damage
    levels in 1.0 and 1.1, it was quite easy for the player to run
    much faster laps by slamming into the walls instead of staying on
    the track.  Impacts of 120mph or more resulted in mere sheetmetal
    damage.  While not a major problem in single-player mode -- after
    all, if that's how you want to play, it's your game -- it turned
    out to be a severe problem in multi-player sessions where the
    only thing that matters is beating the other players.

    Rather than have a separate damage level for multiplayer, we felt
    it best to adjust the standard damage level to be more realistic.
    Note that this damage level is STILL not completely realistic, as
    in the real world impacts of as little as 10 or 15 mph can cause
    serious damage to a stock car.  We decided to be a little more
    forgiving than that.

    We feel that the damage level in version 1.2 strikes an appropriate
    balance between realism and playability.  You may find the change
    shocking at first, but we ask that you give yourself some time to
    adjust to it before passing judgment.

*   Grip levels have been increased at Darlington and Michigan.  The
    original grip levels were set so that lap speeds would be closer
    to real-world speeds at those tracks.  In practice this caused
    the grip to be so low that gameplay suffered and the computer
    opponents tended to behave poorly.  Just think of these tracks
    as having been resurfaced.

*   Engine power on super-speedways has been reduced to a more
    realistic level.  There are new Ace and Qual settings to match
    this change.

*   The drafting effect has been reduced to a more realistic level.  You
    will be able to pick up a draft from farther back, but the maximum
    effect is much less.  This makes passing much more of a challenge at
    Talladega.

*   Erratic weaving of cars in the pits has been significantly reduced.

*   Cars will no longer try to draft with lapped traffic at Talladega,
    including cars that they are about to put a lap down for the
    first time.

*   Pit stop times are now much more variable for both the player and
    the computer opponents.

*   The duration of caution periods on some tracks (notably Talladega
    and Watkins Glen) has been increased slightly.

*   New tires start at 120 degrees instead of the ambient air
    temperature.  This more properly reflects the fact that black tires
    sitting in the sun on a hot track are hotter than air temperature.
    This also improves the grip on the first couple of corners.



ENHANCEMENTS/FEATURE ADDITIONS

*   Pacing speed is now variable according to the track type.  Half-mile
    ovals are paced at 40mph, one-mile ovals at 55mph, speedways
    (Atlanta, Darlington, etc.) at the original 70mph, super-speedways
    (Talladega) at 90mph, and road courses at 70mph.  This ensures that
    cars are able to pit under yellow on the short tracks without
    losing a lap.

*   During Practice sessions, the actual lap speeds that the computer
    opponents are running on the track will be displayed in the
    F2 window.  This will only occur in the Practice session prior to
    Qualifying.  Warmup times (prior to Race session) are not
    displayed.

*   Computer opponents who have spun out but are able to continue will
    suffer a delay before recovering.

*   Computer opponents who are on the lead lap will choose to pit under
    a caution period only on the first lap that the pits are open.  Cars
    that are 1 lap or more down must wait until the second lap to pit.
    This rule is not enforced on the player.

*   Computer opponents are now more active and slightly more aggressive.
    They are less likely to follow one another single-file lap after lap
    and will race amongst themselves more.  They're also less likely to
    back off or move aside when you pull up next to them.  They're no
    more likely to hit you, but they might not give you as much room as
    before.

*   In addition, the Aggressiveness values in the DRIVERS.TXT/DRIVERS2.TXT
    files now have a greater effect on the behavior of individual
    opponents.  Drivers with high Aggressiveness ratings are more
    likely to cut you off or refuse to move off their chosen line.

*   During modem play, an elapsed time is now displayed indicating the
    length of the telephone call.

*   Auto-shifting and auto-braking may now be toggled on and off using
    keystrokes ALT-H and ALT-B, respectively, while driving.  A message
    is flashed on the screen to indicate the new status after each
    toggle.



PAINTKIT CHANGES

*   More fonts have been added to the paintkit.  They may be accessed by
    clicking with the right mouse button on the Text Tool.  Use the
    arrows to scroll through the fonts.

*   Exporting a .pcx file now includes both the decals and the underpaint
    colors of the exported car.  This will make it easier to share car
    designs with friends and modem opponents.



INSTALL/SOUND CARD SETUP CHANGES

*   The Setup program has been changed to include a sound card auto-detect
    program.  This should make sound card setup easier.  The new
    instructions are below.

Automatic Sound Card Setup

    1.  From the C:\NASCAR> directory, type SETUP <enter>
    2.  Choose SETUP SOUND CARD -- AUTOMATIC to use the auto-detect
        function.
    3.  Select Continue with Automatic Sound Setup after reading notice.
    4.  If you receive a message that the autodetect failed, you will
        have to set up the sound card manually.  Select Return to
        Main menu and see instructions below.
    5.  If you receive a message that detection was successful, select
        Accept Current Values and Proceed.
    6.  Digital Sound will be tested.  You should hear Ned Jarrett's
        voice.
    7.  If you did not hear the voice, Select Test Digital Sound Again,
        or Return to Main Menu to set up the digital sound manually.
    8.  If you did hear the voice, select Proceed with Automatic Setup.
    9.  MIDI sound will be tested.  You should hear music.
    10. If you did not hear the music, Select Test MIDI Sound Again, or
        Return to Main Menu to set up the MIDI sound manually.

Manual Sound Card Setup

    1.  Select Sound Card Setup -- Manual.
    2.  Select Change Digital Sound Card.
    3.  Select card from the list.
    4.  At About to Confirm Sound Card prompt, select Continue with
        confirmation to confirm that you have selected the correct card.
        Select Skip Confirmaiton to return to the Sound Card Selection
        Menu.
    5.  Select Accept Current Values, or Select any of the Change
        options to change the port address, IRQ or DMA.
    6.  Select Change MIDI Sound Card.
    7.  Select card from the list.
    8.  Enter the port address.
    9.  Select Test Digital Sound.  Press Y if you hear sound and N if
        you do not hear sound.
    10. Select Test MIDI Sound.  Press Y if you hear music and N if you
        do not hear music.
    11. Select Return to Main Menu when you are finished setting up the
        sound card.


DIFFERENCES FROM VERSION 1.2

Version 1.21 incorporates revised modem routines designed to alleviate
some problems with modem play in version 1.2. Specifically, these are:

*  The probability of high latency connections, and associated problems,
   should now be minimized.

*  The problem of NASCAR not being able to read COM ports on certain
   machines should now be fixed.

*  Resolution of the problem that prohibited NASCAR Racing from initializing
   the modem despite having an appropriate init string.