Black Screens - A Solution
Posted by AliMurray
I seem to have been fairly lucky with GP4 - very few major issues. I have an Athlon 900 with 256MB Ram and had a Geforce 2 32MB (Since Upgraded to GF4 4600. Initially the game ran fine, with a reasonable frame rate and no bugs or crashes.
One of the first things that annoyed me was that no effort had been made to re-design the horrible user interface for setting up the controls to use my MS Sidewinder FF wheel, and calibrating it was a pain.
Then I tried to get clever by activating my old GP3 profile for the wheel that splits the Y Axis allowing seperate axes for the Accelerator and Brake - tried running the game again and got the dreaded black screen and had to re-boot.
Disabling the profile made the game run OK again. I reckon this could be the problem for a lot of people. The only compromise is that the Accelerator and brake share the same axis
in the game but its no big deal.
Overall I love the game, it just so much more playable and addictive than GP3, as its much more fast moving, and there is much less slowdown through tight corners or in traffic. I have had so many really thrilling head to head challenges that have been really exciting and realistic.
I was disappointed that some areas of the game had only been cosmetically improved (eg game interfaces, removal of crashed cars, etc) but what kept me playing GP3 after 2 years was the "feel" and the excitement of a convincing racing experience.
The only real let down is the damage modelling, which I think is worse than GP3 - no matter how severe the impact, only the wheels and front/rear spoilers deform. Sound also seems to be missing from many collisions involving your own car, which makes them seem unrealistic.
The handling is certainly different, and much less fussy, which makes the game more enjoyable IMHO, you still spin if you overdo it, but it seems more forgiving, and allows you to correct most errors. The cars understeer dramatically, which makes it much more fun. Also the new helmet camera view is fabulous, partly because it looks so much like what we see on TV, but also because it gives that little bit more view of the track ahead, and enables you to react earlier.
Overall, the game is much more satisfying to play, for many reasons that are hard to define or describe. I would have no hesitation in recommending anyone to buy it, I don't think you will regret it, but give the game a chance to grow on you before you make up your mind!
Cheers,
Ali
One of the first things that annoyed me was that no effort had been made to re-design the horrible user interface for setting up the controls to use my MS Sidewinder FF wheel, and calibrating it was a pain.
Then I tried to get clever by activating my old GP3 profile for the wheel that splits the Y Axis allowing seperate axes for the Accelerator and Brake - tried running the game again and got the dreaded black screen and had to re-boot.
Disabling the profile made the game run OK again. I reckon this could be the problem for a lot of people. The only compromise is that the Accelerator and brake share the same axis
in the game but its no big deal.Overall I love the game, it just so much more playable and addictive than GP3, as its much more fast moving, and there is much less slowdown through tight corners or in traffic. I have had so many really thrilling head to head challenges that have been really exciting and realistic.
I was disappointed that some areas of the game had only been cosmetically improved (eg game interfaces, removal of crashed cars, etc) but what kept me playing GP3 after 2 years was the "feel" and the excitement of a convincing racing experience.
The only real let down is the damage modelling, which I think is worse than GP3 - no matter how severe the impact, only the wheels and front/rear spoilers deform. Sound also seems to be missing from many collisions involving your own car, which makes them seem unrealistic.
The handling is certainly different, and much less fussy, which makes the game more enjoyable IMHO, you still spin if you overdo it, but it seems more forgiving, and allows you to correct most errors. The cars understeer dramatically, which makes it much more fun. Also the new helmet camera view is fabulous, partly because it looks so much like what we see on TV, but also because it gives that little bit more view of the track ahead, and enables you to react earlier.
Overall, the game is much more satisfying to play, for many reasons that are hard to define or describe. I would have no hesitation in recommending anyone to buy it, I don't think you will regret it, but give the game a chance to grow on you before you make up your mind!
Cheers,
Ali
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