I used to drive GPL a good deal in the old days. I bought it when it was new in 1998 and got pathetic fps, but getting a 3D card fixed that, and besides the game was limited to 36fps anyway! Anyone who remembers VROC, that's how long ago we're talking. I wasn't a genius by any means, but I was okay (slightly negative GPLRank, for those who remember _that_ too) and although yes it was a hard game, once you had a decent setup and a little experience it wasn't impossible. Depended on the track, though: I was always better at the fast, flowing circuits (Spa, Rouen etc) and found the likes of Mexico really tough. And Kyalami, for some reason! I drifted away from GPL for a few reasons. One was that I wasn't interested in league racing; I was much happier in quick pickup races, and those started to die out as the more casual racers moved on. Two, once physics mods appeared things got pretty fractured. It was nice when we were all on the same page. Yes the mods made it more realistic, but fun > realism for me every single time. Hence I've never been interested in paying a fortune and spending half my waking hours on iRacing. And three, GT Legends appeared. Now _that_ I play to this day, albeit offline, thanks to Steam putting it up. I'm glad I was around in the earlier GPL years before sim racing all started to become so serious, though. The hobby wasn't so expensive then, for a start: virtually nobody had huge multiple monitors or replica cockpits or £500 wheels. I had a Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback wheel (£60-70 at the time) and that was considered a perfectly good mid-range wheel. We expected to make compromises -- we were going racing online via VROC with 56k modems, meaning ~300ms ping, with half the graphics detail removed, and yet somehow it worked. I'll always look back fondly on those days. I mean, I got to race against Greger Huttu. And yes, he destroyed the field even back then. :P

@alex_dah

Жыл бұрын

What a wonderful comment, thank you very much for the insight into what it was like back in the day. Speaking for myself I joined the sim racing circus somewhere between 2008 and 2009 and got a back then absolutely top of the line Logitech G25 for my 13th birthday. Being into cars, racing games and especially Formula 1 since I could think I was over the moon to finally play F1 Challenge 99-02 with a steering wheel! While this was much later than the stories you've given us, it was still very far away from the seriousness and competitiveness this hobby has developed over the past ~5 years. The rig I have nowadays far surpasses the G25 which was bolted onto a wooden rig my grandfather built together with me then. And while I very much enjoy having all the fancy hardware, a heavy af brake pedal, a 25nm servo motor for FFB, replica steering wheels using the same buttons and shifters the real cars use, sometimes I look back at the simpler times we enjoyed in this hobby just ten years ago. Still, what a journey it has been for sim racing, and I wonder what we'll have to say about it in another 10 years time. Logan, thank you very much for your comment, it was a pleasure to read.

@Loganberrybunny

Жыл бұрын

@@alex_dah That's very kind of you, thank you. And thank _you_ for your own reply, which was also very enjoyable reading. Strangely enough, F1C 99-02 was a game I missed out on, probably because I was playing GPL and then GTL so much in those few years. I kind of regret not have a good go at that game, though. As for the "simpler times", I know what you mean. It makes me smile in a way that it's a bit like how modern-day F1 fans sometimes talk when they discuss 1960s F1. Which brings us back to GPL! I do still enjoy sim racing to a degree, even though just for my own entertainment and I'm not interested in the modern-style esports angle of it. I think of the sims that have appeared in the last decade, the one which I find most to my taste is Assetto Corsa. I like its openness to community modding, I like its balance of realism and fun, I like that it's excellent for hotlapping (which I enjoyed in my GPL days) all that kind of thing. It's just a shame AC's AI is so terrible. In some ways even GPL's original AI from 1998 is better!

@callzz17

9 ай бұрын

We got a veteran here.Wow.You're the best dude!!!

@Loganberrybunny

9 ай бұрын

@@callzz17 Heh, I wish I had been! Being in the UK, we didn't have free local phone calls, so playing GPL on modem came with a price. Fortunately Tesco Mobile (I think it was) had a free hour in the early evening, which was enough time for a couple of pickup races. I remember one time at Watkins Glen I'd got a good lead and then the suspension (I think) had a problem. So I had to nurse the car the last few laps while trying not to let the people behind me realise I had a major problem. It worked and I won the race. GPL was the first sim I ever played where you could do that kind of thing. I also remember turning up at Spa (my best track) in the Brabham, which wasn't the fastest car, and surprising people by lapping under 3:20 -- which back then would win you the race against most people. Obviously the "aliens" still disappeared into the distance!

@BigDuke6ixx

5 ай бұрын

GPL Ranks is still up and running.

I remember purchasing this game, installing it , and barely able to complete one lap. This was my first simulator and thought it would be like pole position.

Ironically, because the surroundings are so empty, it feels more realistic.

It looks really impressive for a game from 1998.

@thegreathadoken6808

Жыл бұрын

It looks impressive now from a racing-sim gameplay perspective.

Not sure why this is not discussed anymore in the sim community. It is really the grandaddy of them all. Watching this race reminds of how visceral and communicative it was even with the limited hardware. The lotus 49 in other sims does not twitch and spasm like this GPL car does. I recall so many moments hotlapping at Watkins Glen. Blown motors... tired popping off.. hitting the perfect corner and getting to push the throttle to 100% without the car killing you...

I love Grand Prix Legends.

Crazy to imagine that this was the game that got Norbert Michelisz into real life motorsport

@alex_dah

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, did it? I was not aware! Gotta read up on that one for sure

@MrAndor982

2 жыл бұрын

Te is hallgattad a podcastet?:D

24 years later & there are numerous online leagues operational, running various mods/years & hundreds of tracks available thanks to the active community!

I can still hear in my head that voice screaming "Hold on to your butts" entering VROC bringing back sweet fond memories and a long gone feeling of excitement even now!!!! I used to log into VROC late night (Rome time, early 2000's), and the servers running "fast" races were always almost full. I was pretty decent (but definitely never ever an alien) so it was almost invariabily a big clash for the podium! It all ended, and quite regrettably, with IGOR and all the mods, perhaps an unpopular one but still my honest opinion. I've always been a pure original 67 F1 guy, the other only mod I kinda liked was the 1966 F1 mod, the rest IMO was just great but nowhere near the original 1967 F1 as for sheer driving excitement, so I coudn't really share other people's fuss all over them. Around 2014, I recall I still was mainly using VROC when going on-line, both spending time there contemplating in melancholy the few servers left and roaming all through the old chats, pretty everything almost completely deserted. Depressing yet epic! Our second kid arrived in 2016 and I had to quit, but I'm still deeply in love with GPL. GPL FOREVER!!!!!

Wow, what an amazing driving skills!

@alex_dah

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you 😄

Fahrverhalten sieht echt ganz geil aus. Jedenfalls besser als Project Cars. :D

@alex_dah

3 жыл бұрын

Rutschig wie Schmierseife :D

I played this back in 2008

@alex_dah

Жыл бұрын

There are a lot of people even playing and modding it to this day, so cool!

Driving like a fearless warrior!

@alex_dah

2 жыл бұрын

Haha, thanks. The amount of fearlessness the drivers back then must've had is unimaginable.

Nice video

@alex_dah

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

You really need to check out the mods for this...there is some real amazing content out there for GPL

@alex_dah

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, I do know of the mods certainly, but I wanted to keep it as vanilla asap to show how the game looked like back at the time.

Do u play this with actual steering wheel or controller only?

@alex_dah

2 жыл бұрын

This was played with a steering wheel, a Logitech Driving Force GT.