Atticus' Workthread - [RE-RELEASED] Updated Road Atlanta (1997) Beta - All Links on p. 1
Posted by Atticus.
Storno, guys - I just realised I made a major mistake with some reference landmark in classic Suzuka. It's huge, it was one of the earliest decision points for the new-old sections, so a lot of work just went down the drain. I planned for a weekend release, but this is such a bummer and I'm so strained nowadays that I think I will just let it rest for a while. It will certainly remain W.I.P. for some time. Sorry. 
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
thanks Atticus, great work 
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/cl323fcwf2i61/GP4_Files';] >>> My Other Tracks for GP4 <<<[/url]
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/cl323fcwf2i61/GP4_Files';] >>> My Other Tracks for GP4 <<<[/url]
Outstanding tracks, thanks once again! Had so much fun driving on old Imola today! I think this is my favourite circuit for the game right now 
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For a list of EVERY download for GP4, look here:[docs.google.com]
___________________________________________________________________________
For a list of EVERY download for GP4, look here:[docs.google.com]
Thank you, Soutsen. I'm having fun with Imola as well; it's so different from the current version or even the 2001 version. And not just the chicanes, Acque Minerali and Rivazza were also noticeably different. In a way, with that constant stream of now-flat out kinks, it is indeed a little bit like a mini-Nürburgring, just a blast to drive.
It's also insanely dangerous - heading straight towards a brick wall at 250kph plus and then braking and turning at the same time at Acque Minerali is one thing, but during one of my test quickraces, Montoya attempted a pass on Schumacher on the outside of the last kink before Rivazza and as Schumacher moved over to cover him, their wheels touched and Montoya's car just flew up into the air and with the steep downhill track falling away from underneath him, he would have flew way over the outside wall at Rivazza, had GP4 not had the invisible vertical extension of its fences that ensure that the cars stay on the .dat.
I was like.
It could happen nowadays as well - but with the low downforce on the no chicane layout, Montoya and Schumacher negotiated the fast kink before Rivazza at 330kph instead of 300kph IRL (with high downforce) and the downhill was more pronounced back then than the slightly filled-up version that exists today.
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2017 09:03PM by Atticus..
It's also insanely dangerous - heading straight towards a brick wall at 250kph plus and then braking and turning at the same time at Acque Minerali is one thing, but during one of my test quickraces, Montoya attempted a pass on Schumacher on the outside of the last kink before Rivazza and as Schumacher moved over to cover him, their wheels touched and Montoya's car just flew up into the air and with the steep downhill track falling away from underneath him, he would have flew way over the outside wall at Rivazza, had GP4 not had the invisible vertical extension of its fences that ensure that the cars stay on the .dat.
I was like
.It could happen nowadays as well - but with the low downforce on the no chicane layout, Montoya and Schumacher negotiated the fast kink before Rivazza at 330kph instead of 300kph IRL (with high downforce) and the downhill was more pronounced back then than the slightly filled-up version that exists today.
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2017 09:03PM by Atticus..
Macau, my most popular track, has just hit 500 downloads. Thank you to all of you, guys, and I hope you enjoy it. 
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
Uploaded a Macau version with a bit of an "invisible" leeway at the Melco hairpin to aid keyboard players.
Melco is about as tight as Loews in Monaco (or the Gazometre hairpin on the old Monaco circuit), but is on a much steeper decline. As keyboard players basically cannot steer and brake at the same time, this arrangement disadvantaged them big time as they've had to "overslow" the entry so that they still make the exit despite the car gaining a few kph on the downhill section.
It's a kind of a meh situation, but it greatly disrupted any kind of flow to a race so far nevertheless.
What this "patch" does is that it basically removes the barriers on the exit, so that you have more room to make the corner. Keyboard players are unlikely to gain "a lasting advantage" - they will rather gather back the disadvantage that I pointed out earlier.
I also levelled out the very top of Moorish Hill a little bit so that the abrupt elevation change won't bump you into the exit barrier every single time by default.
Restored the low downforce aero packages in the magic data as well, so prepare for more slipping and sliding on the mountain section.
Have fun!
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2017 01:44AM by Atticus..
Melco is about as tight as Loews in Monaco (or the Gazometre hairpin on the old Monaco circuit), but is on a much steeper decline. As keyboard players basically cannot steer and brake at the same time, this arrangement disadvantaged them big time as they've had to "overslow" the entry so that they still make the exit despite the car gaining a few kph on the downhill section.
It's a kind of a meh situation, but it greatly disrupted any kind of flow to a race so far nevertheless.
What this "patch" does is that it basically removes the barriers on the exit, so that you have more room to make the corner. Keyboard players are unlikely to gain "a lasting advantage" - they will rather gather back the disadvantage that I pointed out earlier.
I also levelled out the very top of Moorish Hill a little bit so that the abrupt elevation change won't bump you into the exit barrier every single time by default.
Restored the low downforce aero packages in the magic data as well, so prepare for more slipping and sliding on the mountain section.
Have fun!
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2017 01:44AM by Atticus..
Put the Bathurst track link up in the first post of this thread as well. (Actually did it some time ago, but still. 
)
More news on some future stuff soon - let's just say you'll soon be able to run on an accurate version of Laguna Seca...
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2018 07:54PM by Atticus..
)More news on some future stuff soon - let's just say you'll soon be able to run on an accurate version of Laguna Seca...
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2018 07:54PM by Atticus..
Here you go, guys, a short preview for you:
[www.youtube.com]
Release in a few days, possibly a week. (Testing a few things, et cetera.)
The track itself is a beast - Road Atlanta may be quicker (I have updated the elevations of that one as well and will put it back up at some point), but Laguna Seca has a quite unbeatable set of characteristic corners. Almost all of them are either blind or very heavily-cambered - or both. And they challenge you to take a leap into the unknown and they just lure you into carrying too much speed initially.
Like Turn 5, for example, goes steeply uphill after the apex, gets more cambered after the apex and opens up with an increasing radius after the apex all at the very same time, giving you tons more grip/space for speed than you'd expect from your usual medium-speed corner. Add in an exit kerb that just doesn't seem to appear until - if on the ideal line - you're right at the very edge of the circuit.
So you think "oh, that's fine, let's carry more speed into the next corner!" - and then you fly off the track at Turn 6, if you don't hit it just right. Which, in this case, means unusually early braking, just a dab of brakes, flick it in, and let the banking hold you at the apex and spit you out and up onto the Rahal Straight. Don't get me wrong, there is time to be gained by carrying as much speed as possible - but perhaps nowhere else is there such a fine line between getting it just right and messing it up so badly.
And, for once, I went for the modern version of a classic track, because you don't get the same from these turns on the old, pre-1988 layout.
And then you're onto the Rahal Straight which, to quote a rather hilarious article I've come across while looking for track guides for the CC-line, "is about as straight as Paris Hilton."
And then, of course, the Corkscrew - the drama is the drop for the second part, yes, but that's like being rewarding if you get two things right first, if you will. The first is the braking zone: starts uphill right at the beginning of the flat kerb on the right, but then it goes steeply downhill after the crest, so that the car often gets loose and feels like it doesn't want to stop, which is a rather uneasy feeling. Then you point it towards... something... on the left (because you see absolutely nothing, and you go by practice at this point - and you will make a mess of it for the first 5 laps), and hope that you nailed the angle to arrive at the apex of that second part. Unlimited grip from the compression at the end of the fall, so apply plenty of full throttle and do it earlier than you'd think.
Then you're into Turn 9, which looks innocent at first, but then gradually becomes a monster. Modern track guides and videos show that the best practice here seems to be not tracking all the way out to the right as the road curves gently to the left before turning in, but rather turn in from the middle of the road near the end of the kerb on the right-hand side. This is perhaps because you're still picking up speed on the decline before the turn-in and climbing the now positively-steep camber would only slow you down. So you track out until you can track out before the banking changes midway between the Corkscrew and Turn 9, and you go from there. In Turn 9 itself, take an earlier-than-expected apex, that's quite critical. For although the turn tightens up as it goes on and decreases its banking dramatically towards the exit for an off-camber feel, it simply allows that wide arc - and it really only feels early because the apex kerb is a bit awkwardly-placed, that's all. But if you go for a later apex, you lose time on the entrance. And possibly have to slow down on the exit too, assuming you can't quite make the apex after all. So lose-lose.
And you won't really need that much exit speed anyway, because the downhill chute to Turn 10 has been shortened in 1996 so that you'll most often wrestle even to be able to bring the car back to the left hand side, and indeed compromise your exit from Turn 9 a tiny bit by not really taking any kerb there.
Turn 10 is like Turn 6, but a bit more forgiving - it would be a standout corner anywhere else, but it's "just" a simple, banked, high-speed corner here, that's all. The worst thing you can do here is not making a wide enough arc of it that allows the camber to hold you, and really make it a 190kph, high-speed turn despite it being a roughly 90-degree corner.
Turn 1 is flat-out, but blind. Allegedly very scary on a bike. Turn 11 is the last hairpin where picking the braking point is tough, because it goes very slightly uphill just where you apply the brakes and you won't be able to collect it, if you go in too deep, because the elevation falls away a bit from the entry onwards. Nice, flat exit kerb though, so use a liberal amount of it.
Phew.
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2018 12:13PM by Atticus..
[www.youtube.com]
Release in a few days, possibly a week. (Testing a few things, et cetera.)
The track itself is a beast - Road Atlanta may be quicker (I have updated the elevations of that one as well and will put it back up at some point), but Laguna Seca has a quite unbeatable set of characteristic corners. Almost all of them are either blind or very heavily-cambered - or both. And they challenge you to take a leap into the unknown and they just lure you into carrying too much speed initially.
Like Turn 5, for example, goes steeply uphill after the apex, gets more cambered after the apex and opens up with an increasing radius after the apex all at the very same time, giving you tons more grip/space for speed than you'd expect from your usual medium-speed corner. Add in an exit kerb that just doesn't seem to appear until - if on the ideal line - you're right at the very edge of the circuit.
So you think "oh, that's fine, let's carry more speed into the next corner!" - and then you fly off the track at Turn 6, if you don't hit it just right. Which, in this case, means unusually early braking, just a dab of brakes, flick it in, and let the banking hold you at the apex and spit you out and up onto the Rahal Straight. Don't get me wrong, there is time to be gained by carrying as much speed as possible - but perhaps nowhere else is there such a fine line between getting it just right and messing it up so badly.
And, for once, I went for the modern version of a classic track, because you don't get the same from these turns on the old, pre-1988 layout.
And then you're onto the Rahal Straight which, to quote a rather hilarious article I've come across while looking for track guides for the CC-line, "is about as straight as Paris Hilton."
And then, of course, the Corkscrew - the drama is the drop for the second part, yes, but that's like being rewarding if you get two things right first, if you will. The first is the braking zone: starts uphill right at the beginning of the flat kerb on the right, but then it goes steeply downhill after the crest, so that the car often gets loose and feels like it doesn't want to stop, which is a rather uneasy feeling. Then you point it towards... something... on the left (because you see absolutely nothing, and you go by practice at this point - and you will make a mess of it for the first 5 laps), and hope that you nailed the angle to arrive at the apex of that second part. Unlimited grip from the compression at the end of the fall, so apply plenty of full throttle and do it earlier than you'd think.
Then you're into Turn 9, which looks innocent at first, but then gradually becomes a monster. Modern track guides and videos show that the best practice here seems to be not tracking all the way out to the right as the road curves gently to the left before turning in, but rather turn in from the middle of the road near the end of the kerb on the right-hand side. This is perhaps because you're still picking up speed on the decline before the turn-in and climbing the now positively-steep camber would only slow you down. So you track out until you can track out before the banking changes midway between the Corkscrew and Turn 9, and you go from there. In Turn 9 itself, take an earlier-than-expected apex, that's quite critical. For although the turn tightens up as it goes on and decreases its banking dramatically towards the exit for an off-camber feel, it simply allows that wide arc - and it really only feels early because the apex kerb is a bit awkwardly-placed, that's all. But if you go for a later apex, you lose time on the entrance. And possibly have to slow down on the exit too, assuming you can't quite make the apex after all. So lose-lose.
And you won't really need that much exit speed anyway, because the downhill chute to Turn 10 has been shortened in 1996 so that you'll most often wrestle even to be able to bring the car back to the left hand side, and indeed compromise your exit from Turn 9 a tiny bit by not really taking any kerb there.
Turn 10 is like Turn 6, but a bit more forgiving - it would be a standout corner anywhere else, but it's "just" a simple, banked, high-speed corner here, that's all. The worst thing you can do here is not making a wide enough arc of it that allows the camber to hold you, and really make it a 190kph, high-speed turn despite it being a roughly 90-degree corner.
Turn 1 is flat-out, but blind. Allegedly very scary on a bike. Turn 11 is the last hairpin where picking the braking point is tough, because it goes very slightly uphill just where you apply the brakes and you won't be able to collect it, if you go in too deep, because the elevation falls away a bit from the entry onwards. Nice, flat exit kerb though, so use a liberal amount of it.
Phew.
My workthread - [www.grandprixgames.org]
Full of classic F1/non-F1 track layouts
My blog about F1 performance analysis - [thef1formbook.wordpress.com]
Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2018 12:13PM by Atticus..
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