CONTENTS:
1) Manual Amendments.
2) Frequently Asked Questions.
3) Gameplay Hints and Tips.
4) Technical Problems.
MANUAL AMENDMENTS
1) Page 26 of the manual makes reference to an "Own Team" button,
this is no longer in the game and can be ignored.
2) Page 28 and 58 of the manual make reference to an Inquire button
(Acquire Technology) this is no longer in the game. The process
of acquisition for the game is this:
- First you select a team with which you wish to launch an enquiry
- You then press Acquire
- A message will arise informing you of the cost
- If you agree to the cost then you will be given a new menu which
lists car internals, externals and driver's aids
- Click on the desired area, you will then be given a list of parts
you can purchase - if it has a minus by the side of the part
then it is worse than your existing one; if it has a plus then
it is better..
3) Page 28 says "To read more about a specific company, click on
the report book; there is no icon for "report book", and clicking
on the book itself does nothing.
4) Page 29 of the manual makes reference to a sale button ?
(Sponsors - Offer deal); this is no longer in the game. Offer
deal now works in this way:
- select offer deal
- A message will appear informing you whether any sponsors are
interested in you at that time.
- If they are, you are given colour coded squares on the available
areas - clicking on an area will activate a window with a list of
the interested sponsors and the amount they are prepared to pay
for advertising on that area.
- Select the company you wish from the list, and press "OK".
- You should receive a message confirming your choice.
5) On Page 9, 36 and 67 it does not mention how to change the
"Pit Stops" - when you first enter the pits there will be
two numbers at the bottom of the screen with red ticks next
to them (there will also be two red crosses to the right of
them. The two numbers represent the laps you will pit on (as
there are only two numbers this means you have only two pit-
stops). To add a pitstop, you click on one of the crosses; a
new text box should appear with a number in it - this is the
default number for your third pitstop. To change any of the
numbers, all you have to do is click on the one you wish to
change; a cursor should appear allowing you delete the existing
number and type in the new one. Press return to confirm the new
lap number.
6) In OPTIONS (menu bar), under SOUND you will find two headings,
MUSIC and HIGH. Next to each is a tick/cross toggle. The MUSIC
toggle switches the music on or off, and the HIGH toggle switches
the sound quality between high and low. If you have a lower spec.
machine and are experiencing sound problems, select the lower
quality (choose a cross next to HIGH).
7) To review the last ten messages sent in the race, the player
can click on the "message" icon (denoted by a piece of paper
and an upward arrow). A message window will appear with a
list of the most recent messages. This icon replaces the
previous message icon (see pg.12).
8) Next to the message icon, there is now a "car number icon" icon
(denoted by a yellow car front with a red 5 on) - this will
show you a list of all of the car numbers and the teams that
they belong to. This way you can see which car belongs to
which driver. This icon replaces the next message icon (pg.12).
9) MULTI-PLAYER MODE (p.80) - this section of the game has
been amended. As a result the sequence for selecting this option is
as follows.
- select CUSTOM START.
- Select LONG TERM CONTRACT.
- You will now be on the TEAM SELECTION screen. To
select a team the player must click on the icons on the
right. If the icon shows a screen, then that is a computer
player, if it shows a person then it is a human player.
- After this selection is over click the button to start the game.
***Note: the TIMER option is no longer in the game - the sole means
of switching between players is through the CYCLE option****
10) If, at any point, the player wishes to access the next track
description then clicking on the track name in the race diary
will achieve this.
11) As the player starts out in Grand Prix Manager, the technology
level of the team is low. This means that until you research
items your performance is impaired in certain areas. One such
area is driver communication; if you have not developed it, then
messages to your driver will not always get through to him. To
aid the newcomer, there is a "Radio working indicator" in the
shape of a bulb - when the bulb is yellow, the radio is working
and you can give orders to your driver; when it is red, the
radio is not working and you'll have to wait to give him that
all important order. This means that sliders will not move when
the bulb is red.
12) During qualifying, the player will notice a time bar (bottom
right of the race screen), which is slowly incrementing all
of the time. This is an indicator to show how much time there
is left in the qualifier. Once the bar reaches the top, a
message will appear warning the player that the session is
coming to an end; after this point the player has up to five
laps remaining to get their best qualifying time.
13) Whilst in the pit-screen you have the option to pick one of
four grades of tyre, plus a set of qualifying tyres. In Grand
Prix once a set of tyres is put on a car then you have to keep
them there, as you can only have eight sets per car. In Grand
Prix Manager we allow the player to change their mind before
they commit to a choice - this means that as long as the tyre
is at 100% you can change it to another. As soon as you have
used a tyre, or it is worn, you cannot change it without using
another set of tyres.
14) When the television footage is being shown of the race, the cars
are colour coded to make them easier to identify. Simply, this
means that:- the blue car is always yours; the yellow car is the
opposition you have selected to view and the red car is always
the other car (i.e. if you select to view Tyrell overtaking,
then Tyrell will be in yellow, and the car it is overtaking
will be in red, providing it is not you, when it will be blue).
There will also be a text message to accompany the footage,
so the driver's involved are explicit.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: PERSONNEL - The Personnel screens have assistant bars already
filled in red when there are no personnel taken on i.e. there
are 0 "poor" workers in design, but there is a red bar. Why
is this?
A: The bar represents the team averages - it is an indicator as
to how many of that worker type has been taken on in the other
teams.
Q: MAIL - Both of my Car's did not finish the Race, but the Team
received $5,000 from the FIA President for their performance.
Is this correct ?
A: The prize money from the FIA breaks down as follows:
- $10,000 per point
- $10,000 per Pole Position
- $5,000 for the fastest lap
Also added to this, is a figure based on the last year's
finishing positions (in the first year, this means that the
figures are based on 1994's result):
- $25,000 5th
- $50,000 4th
- $75,000 3rd
- $100,000 2nd
- $125,000 1st (Williams)
Q: FINANCE - LOANS: I took out a loan for $250,000 and the
repayments were set at $9,374. After one race, my balance
sheet read that I had repaid the $9,374, but the bank claimed
that I had only repaid $7,812, why is this ?
A: The bank will list only the amount of the capital sum that
you have repaid (i.e. the $7,812), and not the total amount
with interest (i.e. the $9,374).
Q: DESIGN \ CAR INTERNAL \ FUEL TANK - What does 40% mean, if
it's the best?
A: 40% means that your fuel load can be 40% of the race distance.
Q: SPONSORS - Alonso Oil, interest level of ACE, offers the least.
Other companies with a interest of FAIR or lower offer more.
Why is this ?
A: It depends on whether your liaising points are high with
them. Liaison points are gained by:
- allocating staff to work on a particular company
- By using promotional items (those on the right had side
of the merchandising screen)
- Doing well in Grand Prixs (i.e. scoring points).
Q: SPONSORS \ OFFER DEAL - How can I go into File, Option, Help
on the top left of the screen?
A: If you are experiencing this it is likely that you have a
window or dialogue box open. To activate the menu bar, you
simply have to close current window.
Q: DESIGN - what does "Wi00001" mean (written bottom left of
the screen)?
A: It is the first two letters of the team name and the car
chassis number.
Q: Why do the contracts offered to you in the mail give such
small amounts of money compared to the ones in the offer deal
screen?
A: The contracts in the mail are one off contracts - they are
short term (1 race), rather than for the whole season.
Q: E-MAIL - whilst in spare parts I clicked on all of the
contracts and finally accepted the best. When I went to my
mail, I had received a mail from each of the companies
claiming to signed a contract with me. Why is this ?
A: If you negotiate a contract (by pressing any of the buttons),
you will always receive a memo.
Q: RACE - How can you prevent engine failure?
A: Engine failure is hard to prevent - better Engine's help but
are not guaranteed.
Q: RACE - BRAZIL - The transport option for the hospitality
arrangements always read $0 for the first race of the season.
Is this correct ?
A: You do not pay any hospitality arrangements until you have
sponsorship contracts. The hospitality arrangements are solely
to entertain your clients.
Q: ACQUIRE TECH. - If you have the best security force - is it
100% successful ?
A: 100% does not guarantee success, but it is more effective
than the lower rated security firms.
Q: CONTRACTS - After signing a contract with Mercedes to supply
next years engines, I received E-Mail from them saying: "This
is to confirm that you have brought 3 engines from Mercedes
at a total cost of $30,000". Why did I buy the engines
(Nothing appeared on the Finance screen)?
A: You sign a deal for engines at the beginning of the season
but you actually buy engines at the end of the Season.
Q: PERSONNEL - At the start of the game all of the drivers are
contracted to a team; Even if you successfully negotiate a
deal with someone, you don't get the option to sign him for
the next season. When can I take on a new driver ?
A: About half way through the Season, You will get the Option
to take on Driver's for Next Season.
Q: I notice on my profit and loss screen that I always have
overhead costs - what do they include?
A: This is a general cost to cover ancillary staff crucial to
running a Grand Prix team. It is a cost that increases as
the team size does.
Q: What do the numbers and letters stand for on the pit board ?
A: C = car number
P = current position
T = last lap time
B = the number of the car behind you (or X if there is none), and
F = the number of the car in front of you (X if there is none).
Q: What do the initials P and R mean when they are printed in the DRIVER
POSITION box ?
A: The P stands for PIT, and the R stands for RETIRED.
Q: I extended my department chief's contract to 34 races, but it still said
17 on the personnel screen. Why is this ?
A: To take on your Chief for another year it is likely that you will be changing
the details of the contract i.e. you will be giving him more money. Because the
details are different, the contract is treated as a new one. If you go to your desk
and look at your staff screen, you should find that you will have that person
contracted for the next season.
GAMEPLAY HINTS/TIPS
DESIGNERS/ENGINEERS/MECHANICS - The top teams in formula one have
over 150 of these people - this is because its vitally
important that your new chassis is completed for the next
season; a tip to see if you have enough, is to watch out for
E-mail from the chief designer complaining that the job is
not getting done. If you are finding that you are unable to
change car set-ups in-between races as you would like to, it
is wise to increase the number of mechanics you have employed.
To manufacture your own parts, a large number of engineers
are required.
WING SETTINGS/TYRE PRESSURES - If you need some recommendations
or advice for the wing settings and tyre pressures, then a
good place to start is rookie help. This will give you advice
when you first go to the internal/externals screens (this will
only happen if the pit-board selector is ticked i.e. on) - a good
dept. chief should also advise you as to whether the settings
you have chosen are adequate or not.
TESTING - Another way to gauge the set-up of your car is to send
it out on the test track. If you have rookie help on then you
will receive advice after each lap about general ways in which
you can improve your performance.
TECHNICAL HELP
Grand Prix Manager runs in 256 colour mode, so you must ensure that
Windows is set to this resolution. Windows '95 users should open
Settings, Control Panel, Display, under the Display Properties
switch to Settings and change the Colour Palette to 256 colours.
If you are running Grand Prix Manager in 600x800 then there is a .BMP
provided as a backdrop. This file can be located in the GPM\EXTRAS
directory. To use this you will need to copy this file into your
windows directory. To make this your wallpaper, you must follow
these instructions:
WINDOWS 3.xx - click on CONTROL PANEL (normally found in MAIN)
- click on DESKTOP
- in WALLPAPER select FIALOGO.BMP
- OK the selection.
WINDOWS '95 - press START button
- select SETTINGS and then CONTROL PANEL
- click on DISPLAY
- in WALLPAPER select FIALOGO.BMP
- OK the selection.
You now will have the correct wallpaper for the game.
If you have any screen savers installed in your Windows, remove then
before attempting to play Grand Prix Manager.
If you delete the GPM directory and not the .ini file in the WINDOWS
directory the installer thinks that GPM is still installed. If you then
select play nothing will happen. This will work correctly if the .ini file is
removed. To do this:
- Go into your WINDOWS directory.
- Look for GPMMICP.ini.
- Delete the file.
Arial r mode, so you must ensure that
Windows is set to this resolution. Windows '95 users should open
Setting