GPL 1955 is here!

[PTRACER]

http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=11810

[ReneLotus]

OMG, now I need to find the time to fire up GPL again. The itch is back...

[PTRACER]

I wish I had time to fully test it. In two weeks I will.

Tops out at 168mph:

[theracer120]

First impression: the brakes are abysmal. I drove the Lancia on a few relatively conservative laps with the default setup at the old Bathurst layout and I thought the car was quite manageable, except after the first lap anything more than about 20% brake pressure going into the final corner made the brakes nearly useless. So there is definitely some strong brake fade going on.

[John]

Amazing that a nearly 20 year old game lives on to this day.

[Cheeveer]

It's awesome

[Cheeveer]

Learning the ropes with the Gordini

[PTRACER]

How does the GPL mod compare to driving the 250F in Assetto Corsa?

[Cheeveer]

Quite similar driving style is effective. AC have a more potent force feedback, but the driving experiences isn't poles apart. AC doesn't have brake fade, so AC's strenghts is GPL55's loss, and vice-versa.

Here's an interesting excerpt from Piero Taruffi's book The Technique of Motor Racing on how to work the brakes:

[Everso Biggyballies]

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[Cheeveer]

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try now

[Everso Biggyballies]

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try now

Yep can see it fine now. Thanks.

[Andy]

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Aussies ain't supposed to know how to work the brakes, eh?

[Everso Biggyballies]

Nah we just learn later.





(50 metres later.....)

[PTRACER]

I asked about the technical changes that have been made to the original game which make this mod possible. This is the response I got :

PT Racer asked about what physics changes were the most difficult to do. The brake fade patch was by far the most difficult to make. I believe this final version is the number 20 test version, but there were dozens of other versions that didn't even make it to the test stage.

Here is some important information about the physics patches that are included with the 1955 Mod and make it unique from all other mods.

1. 78A--Tire Pressure Bug Fix. Fixes bug where the player's tire grip was incorrectly adjusted for difference from optimum pressure.

GPL's .exe code adjusts the player's tire grip for the difference between actual and optimum pressure in two separate places. There is a bug in the original code where 24 psi is used instead of optimum tire pressure in one of those places.

The mod automatically includes this patch so don't download it from my website and add it separately!

The mod uses 276 kPa/40 psi as optimum tire pressure and 77 degrees C/170 degrees F as optimum temperature.

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Here is a description about the rest of the patches:

1. Adds brake fade due to brake temperature. Adds brake temperature warning light. Adds anticheat code.

This is the most important and complicated patch for the 1955 Mod. Brake fade due to high brake temperature was a very real factor for 1955 drivers. To simulate this, the player car's brake effectiveness is continually adjusted according to its brake temperature. Each car has different heating and cooling factors to mimic their different brakes. Also, 1955 drivers had extra cues when their brakes were fading such as decreased longitudinal G or brake pedal feel differences so a brake temperature warning light is added to help the player. To prevent player cheating, brake effectiveness is almost completely reduced if the patch isn't used.

Heating--the more the brake pedal is deflected, the more heating is applied.

Cooling Factors:

A. Brake Type--disk brake cars cool more quickly than drum brake cars. The Vanwall and the Connaught have disk brakes; all the rest have drum brakes.
B. Speed--the faster the car, the more the brakes will cool. The brakes will cool at rest due to natural convection, but at a very slow rate.

Brake Effectiveness: Up to a certain brake temperature, the player has maximum brake effectiveness. Above that temperature, the brake effectiveness decreases in a linear fashion until it reaches about half of maximum at the maximum allowed temperature.

Brake Temperature Warning Light: On each car's tachometer is the brake temperature warning light. Green means you have maximum braking effectiveness. Yellow means you still have maximum effectiveness, but are approaching the point where the effectiveness will start to decrease. Red means that your brake effectiveness is decreased.

The two ways to cool the brakes, regain brake effectiveness, and get the brake temperature light back into the green region are to reduce braking or go faster. The best technique is to use engine braking to slow the car as much as possible instead of using the brakes.

The AI cars don't experience brake fade due to brake temperature, but their braking effectiveness is reduced to approximately match the player. Disregard the brake temperature light for the AI cars as it has no meaning.

2. Lowers player tire grip as tread speed increases.

Real world tests report that tire grip changes as car and tread speed increases. Although the effect varies, most tests indicate that grip lowers as tread speed increases.

3. Changes championship scoring to 8 points for 1st and 0 points for 6th. Lengthens driver name display to 11 characters. Sets hand position when the driver's arm is raised. Adds steering column mounted shifter movement for the Connaught.

The 1955 driver championship used a different point scoring system than 1967. This patch corrects the race position points, but does not add a point for fastest lap as I've couldn't find a way to do that!

Some graphics displays limit the length of the driver's last name to only eight characters. This patch increases the limit to accommodate longer 1955 driver last names.

The Connaught used the Wilson preselector gearbox and a steering column mounted gear shift lever. This patch aligns the shift lever display for proper movement about the steering column for the player car, but doesn't affect the AI car display unless the player is also driving the Connaught.

4. Adds moving minute and second hands to the Gordini dashboard clock. The hour hand does not move.

5. Allows mod unique page and event .pbfs for the six 1955 championship tracks.

6. Adds 1955 Mod team names to the credits list display. The original Papyrus names are still displayed in their honor.

7. Slows the AI in corners to 90% of the track LP goal speed.

AI speed is a complex interaction among several external .ini and .lp files and the .exe's code. The main determinate of AI speed is the driver's hype setting; however, it is often difficult to match the AI top speed to their cornering speed. This patch helps to alleviate that somewhat when used with the proper hype setting.