NASCAR Racing Compilation by Papyrus Design Group, Inc. Version 1.21 Copyright (c) 1994-6 Papyrus Design Group, Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Matrox MGA Millennium and Creative Labs 3D Blaster Video Cards Special Versions 2. WINDOWS 95 users 3. Damage/Damage Repair 4. Audio CD Tracks 5. F4 - Tire Temperature 6. Tire Temperatures, Part 2 7. F5 - Tire Change 8. Championship Season 9. Sound Card Setup 10. Genovation/Colorado Spectrum Game Ports 11. Save Race Changes 12. Qualifying Setup 13. Gravis Ultrasound and GUS Max Music 14. Black Flag Addition 15. Pentium Performance 16. Race End 17. Garage/Replay Issue 18. Multiplayer Race - Initialization Strings - Baud Rates - Troubleshooting 19. Creating a Boot Diskette 20. Yellow Flag Notes 21. Miscellaneous 22. Version 1.21 Differences and Fixes 1. Matrox MGA Millennium and Creative Labs 3D Blaster Video Cards Special Versions If you have a Matrox Millenium or Creative Labs 3D Blaster video card, you can use the special versions of NASCAR Racing created especially for those video cards. These versions are automatically installed when you install the NASCAR Racing Compilation. These special verssions of NASCAR Racing will automatically run the SVGA high resolution graphics. You may not use these versions with any video cards other than the cards they were created for. For all other cards, you must use the standard version of NASCAR Racing. Matrox MGA Millennium: To start the Matrox MGA Millennium special version, type MATROX (for svga graphics) or MATROX -L (for vga graphics) from your C:\NASCAR directory. Creative Labs 3D Blaster: To start the Creative Labs 3D Blaster special version, type CREATIVE (for svga graphics) from your C:\NASCAR directory. Note: If you are using one of these special versions, you may save a small amount of hard disk space by deleting the versions that you are not using. To do so, from your C:\NASCAR directory, type DEL NASCAR.EXE and either of the following two lines: DEL MATROX.EXE if you are using the Creative Labs version, or DEL CREATIVE.EXE if you are using the Matrox version. 2. WINDOWS 95 Users NASCAR Racing should not be installed, setup, or run while running Windows 95. You must restart your computer in MS-DOS mode by selecting that option on the Start/Shut Down menu of Windows 95. Please note that this is not the same as clicking on a DOS Prompt icon. You must completely shut down Windows 95. If you have no sound while running under Windows 95, try starting the game by typing: NASCAR -F for VGA NASCAR -H -F for SVGA (Please include the spaces and the dash (-)) If you have any difficulty installing or starting the game when you have restarted your computer in MS-DOS mode, make sure that your CD-ROM device drivers are loaded while in MS-DOS. To do so, make sure that a CD is in the drive, then type that drive's letter and press enter (for example, D: .) If you get and "Invalid Drive Specification" error message, your CD-ROM device drivers are not loaded. You must contact your hardware manufacturer to get these drivers loaded. Papyrus / Sierra Technical Support will not be able to load these for you as they are different for all makes and models of CD-ROM drives. 3. Damage/Damage Repair If you have damage set to on, and you get into an accident, your car will be affected by the damage. The primary areas which will be affected are the aerodynamic drag and the downforce. The severity of the effect depends on how much damage the car has sustained. If you look at the F9-Pit Status view you will notice "repairs" as one of the things your crew is going to fix next time into the pit. Once in the pit, your crew will remove damaged pieces and try and fix other crumpled areas of the car. This could take some time depending on how damaged the car is. Once they are done, the timer in the upper right corner will change colors and you can re-join the race. The car will not be perfect like it was when you started the race but at least you'll be able to finish and get some all-important championship points. Sometimes you may not want the crew to fix the car damage. For example, at a short track like Martinsville the effect is not as serious as it would be if you were at Talladega. On the F9-Pit Status menu just press "enter" to toggle between "repairs" and "do not repair". Now the crew won't bother to repair the crumpled sheet metal. However, if you do have damage to your wheels the crew will fix that no matter what. After all, you need the wheels in order to drive! 4. Audio CD Tracks In addition to the game on the CD-ROM we have shipped a couple of original songs which can be played on any audio CD player. All you have to do is put the CD-ROM in an audio CD player and select either track 2 or 3. - WARNING do not play track 1 in your audio player, it contains the game - Track 2, called "Race Riff," is a piece which was written and performed by Rachel Bolan and Dave "Snake" Sabo of the band Skid Row. (C) 1994 Rachel Bolan and Dave Sabo of Skid Row Track 3, called "The Fastest Sport," is a piece which was written and performed by the Fat Man and Team Fat. (C) 1994 Fat Manor Publishing (BMI) 5. F4 - Tire Temperature In the F4 view, the temperature numbers will change color depending on how hot the tire is. White is normal or ok. Yellow means the tire is getting a little hot. Red means the tire is overheating. If your tires are constantly red it means there is a problem with your setup or it is time to change the tires. Hotter tires wear faster, so, if you have a bad setup in which the tires run too hot you will most likely have to pit earlier and more often than your opponents. One way to affect tire temperatures in the garage is too change the tire pressures. Higher pressures will yield lower temps and lower pressure will yield higher temps. 6. Tire Temperatures, Part 2 It is important to remember that when you start a session (practice, race, etc) your tires are cold. If you jam on the gas your car is likely to spin out. When the tires are cold the car has a tendency to "oversteer". Take it easy on the first few laps around the track. Let the tires warm up before putting the gas to the floor. Once they are you'll find the car will lose that "oversteer" tendency. 7. F5 - Tire Change In the F5 view, the bars under the tire boxes indicate the amount of wear that tire is undergoing. The bar will change color depending on the current wear of the tire. Green indicates a new or hardly worn tire. Yellow means the tire is getting a little worn. Red means the tire is very worn and it could blow. Once the tire wear is red you should definitely come into the pit to get fresh rubber. Generally, a car will be able to go about 80 to 100 miles before needing to come in for tires and fuel. However, some tracks are rougher on tires than others. Worn tires are not as fast as fresh tires, sometimes by as much as 3 or 4 mph. The car's handling will change when the tires get too worn. Most likely the car will develop a "push" or "understeer" in the corners. 8. Championship Season Upon entering a championship season for the first time you will see the season schedule. This screen shows the races in the order they appear in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup schedule. Selecting "enter" will take you to the first race in the season at Atlanta. After the race is over, selecting "exit" will take you to the season race results screen. This screen displays the results of the race just completed. At the bottom of the screen are three options "print", "save", and "done". Print and save work as if you were in the race weekend/standings menu. Selecting "done" or hitting "enter" will take you to the season standings screen. This displays the standings of the race for the championship. You will also be able to "print" and "save" from this screen. "Enter" or selecting "done" will ask if you wish to go to the next race. A yes will take you again to the season schedule. If you press "enter" with the cursor on Atlanta (or later, any race already completed), you can view the standings from that race. Selecting "enter" will take you to the season standings screen and then to the next race. The game will automatically save the season for you. Anytime you leave the championship season you will be able to pick up where you left off. 9. Sound Card Setup Automatic Sound Card Setup 1. From the C:\NASCAR> directory, type SETUP 2. Choose SETUP SOUND CARD -- AUTOMATIC to use the auto-detect function. 3. Select Continue with Automatic Sound Setup after reading notice. 4. If you receive a message that the autodetect failed, you will have to set up the sound card manually. Select Return to Main menu and see instructions below. 5. If you receive a message that detection was successful, select Accept Current Values and Proceed. 6. Digital Sound will be tested. You should hear Ned Jarrett's voice. 7. If you did not hear the voice, Select Test Digital Sound Again, or Return to Main Menu to set up the digital sound manually. 8. If you did hear the voice, select Proceed with Automatic Setup. 9. MIDI sound will be tested. You should hear music. 10. If you did not hear the music, Select Test MIDI Sound Again, or Return to Main Menu to set up the MIDI sound manually. Manual Sound Card Setup 1. Select Sound Card Setup -- Manual. 2. Select Change Digital Sound Card. 3. Select card from the list. 4. At About to Confirm Sound Card prompt, select Continue with confirmation to confirm that you have selected the correct card. Select Skip Confirmation to return to the Sound Card Selection Menu. 5. Select Accept Current Values, or Select any of the Change options to change the Port Address, IRQ or DMA. 6. Select Change MIDI Sound Card. 7. Select card from the list. 8. Enter the port address. 9. Select Test Digital Sound. Press Y if you hear sound and N if you do not hear sound. 10. Select Test MIDI Sound. Press Y if you hear music and N if you do not hear music. 11. Select Return to Main Menu when you are finished setting up the sound card. Additional Notes on Sound Cards Most sound cards should be set up at a port of 220 for digital sound and 388 for music. For General MIDI/MPU-401 ports, the number for music is generally 330. For Gravis Ultrasound/GUS Max cards, the IRQ is usually 11. The music port for the AWE32 should be set at 620. If you have a Sound Blaster Pro, you should choose Sound Blaster 8 Stereo for digital sound. If you have a Sound Blaster AWE32, you should choose Sound Blaster 16 Mono or Stereo for digital sound. If you are not getting stereo music on a stereo sound card, you probably have the wrong port entered. If you are having problems with your digital sound, chances are that you have the wrong settings. Please test your sound card with a test program supplied with your sound card. There are several sound cards not listed in the setup program for which choosing another sound card should work, though we have been unable to verify their correctness. For the Sierra Semiconductor Aria and Aztec cards, choose Sound Blaster 8 Mono. For the Reveal FX/30, choose Ensoniq SoundScape. For the Toptek, Media Trix, and Media Magic ISP-16 cards, choose Microsoft Sound System. The program only uses 8-bit sound, so if you have a Sound Blaster- compatible card, we recommend you first choose Sound Blaster 8 Stereo rather than attempting the Sound Blaster 16 choices. For Microsoft Sound System compatible sound cards, you may find the port address, IRQ, and DMA from Microsoft Windows. In the Main group, double-click on the Control Panel icon, then double-click on the Drivers icon. Find your sound card in the list, then click on the Setup button to display the information. 10. Genovation/Colorado Spectrum Game Ports If you have one of these cards and wish to run NASCAR you must start the game with the -j option, (ex. nascar -j). These products may not work correctly in Multiplayer mode. You must have version 2.0 or greater of the Colorado Spectrum; older versions do not work. 11. Save Race Changes When leaving a race you WILL BE prompted to save the race if you have qualified and the race is not yet over. If you have not qualified for the race and do not complete more than two laps during the race you WILL NOT BE prompted to save the race. Also, if the race is almost over (within the last few laps) you will not be able to save the race. 12. Qualifying Setup Each track has a settings file called "qual". This setup will allow you to get faster times in qualifying. Only experienced drivers should try this setup because it can be tough to drive. Also, don't try and use this setup during a race or you'll find yourself back in the garage to get a new motor. 13. Gravis Ultrasound and GUS Max Music In order for music to work with the GUS card, you must first run the program "loadpats.exe". 14. Black Flag Addition During the first lap after a yellow flag comes out the pit will be closed. If you pit when the pit is closed you will be told that you have "Entered Closed Pit." Your car will be serviced normally, but when there is one lap to go before the track goes green, you will be told to "Stay Behind" the last car in line. If you do not get to the end of the field you will get a black flag for "Passed Under Yellow." 15. Pentium Performance It should be known that even with a Pentium 90Mhz machine with a fast video card it is unlikely that you will be able to have all the graphic textures on in SVGA mode. But, with only a few things like the grass and asphalt turned off, it should be acceptable. The big difference with a Pentium and SVGA mode is how crisp and clear everything appears. You can see much further down the track making it easier to plan you next move. 16. Race End The race does not necessarily end once you have crossed the finish line. The other cars on that lap must also cross the finish line for the race to officially end. You can either drive around for one more lap to make sure of this or press "a" for accelerated time and the race will finish. You will not get a DNF once you have finished the race. 17. Garage/Replay Issue It is important to note that once you enter the garage your replay is lost. So, make sure you view the replay before going to the garage. This isn't a problem during a race as you can't go into the garage while a race is running. 18. Multiplayer Race - Initialization Strings It is very important to use the correct initialization strings for your modem when using the Multiplayer Race feature of NASCAR Racing. Under Multiplayer Race/Setup/Specify Modem, we have included the correct setups for many popular modems. However, if your modem brand is not listed, you will need to manually enter the correct initialization information for your modem. Your initialization string must do the following (and typically, ONLY the following): 1) Reset the modem to the factory default settings. 2) Turn off all error correction. 3) Turn of all data compression. 4) Force the modem to the desired baud rate. The first step is almost universally accomplished by starting your init string with "AT&F^M~~~". From there, the commands to satisfy steps 2 through 4 must start with "AT" and end with "^M". For example, if the command to turn off all error correction on your modem is "&Q6", the command to turn off data compression is "%C0" and the command to force your modem to 9600 baud is "&N6", your init string would read "AT&F^M~~~AT&Q6%C0&N6^M". A good rule of thumb to follow when determining your init string is KEEP IT SIMPLE. Include only the commands that are necessary to satisfy steps 1 through 4 above. We have found that including extraneous commands that happen to work with other modem games (e.g. Doom) can adversely effect communications in NASCAR. If all else fails, contact your modem's manufacturer and ask them for the specific commands necessary. Baud Rates NASCAR Racing supports communication speeds of 9600 through 38,400 bps. However, as with all high-speed communications, speeds over 9600 bps are unreliable on systems that do not have 16550 UARTs on the COM port to which the modem is connected. If you don't have a 16550 UART, you aren't sure, or you don't have a clue of what a UART is, you should not attempt to communicate at over 9600 baud. Performance differences in NASCAR among different baud rates is negligible. (To determine whether you have a 16550 UART for your modem's COM port, you can run the Microsoft Diagnostic program, which should be included with Windows 3.1 or MS-DOS 6.) Troubleshooting If you are still having trouble with Multiplayer Race communications and/or performance after reviewing the previous 2 sections, you should try the following: 1) Make sure that the baud rates match on both the dialing & answering systems in the init strings AND on the multiplayer setup menu. 2) Make sure that the "answering" system is the more powerful of the two systems. For example, if one user has a 386 processor and the other has a 486, the user with the 486 should be the answering system. Most of the "work" in Multiplayer Race is done by the answering system. 3) Try selecting a "mono" audio driver or "none" in the NASCAR setup program for the answering system's sound board. Or, start NASCAR with the "FM Sound" option (NASCAR -F). Again, the answering system does most of the work in Multiplayer. 4) Modem and direct connect players must both use the same version of the program (version 1.2). 19. Creating a Boot Diskette The purpose of creating a boot diskette will be to limit the number of device drivers that are loaded in order to maximize memory, while at the same time providing you the minimum device drivers necessary to run NASCAR Racing with your unique system configuration (i.e. CD-ROM drive, sound board, etc.). The SETUP program included with NASCAR Racing provides an option to create a bootable floppy disk. In most cases, the diskette that is created with this process will contain everything that you will need to run NASCAR Racing. However, if you are using the CD-ROM version of NASCAR and you chose "CD-ROM INSTALL" during installation, you will need to manually alter the CONFIG.SYS & AUTOEXEC.BAT files on your boot diskette after it is created in order to load your CD-ROM device drivers. The easiest way to do this is to copy the appropriate lines from the CONFIG.SYS & AUTOEXEC.BAT files on your hard drive to their respective files on the boot diskette. If you are not sure of which driver(s) to load, refer to the documentation for your CD-ROM drive. If you use a memory manager on your system and you will not be using that memory manager on the boot diskette (which is what we recommend), make sure to remove any memory manager specific instructions when you copy the device driver lines to the boot diskette (for example, if you use EMM386 change DEVICEHIGH to DEVICE in CONFIG.SYS, remove LOADHIGH & LH in AUTOEXEC.BAT, etc.). 20. Yellow Flag Notes The initial caution condition is indicated by a held yellow flag. You should continue to race around until you reach the start/finish line and see the yellow flag wave. This indicates that you are expected to slow down, stay behind the car in front, etc. You may not speed past everyone during the yellow to enter the pits. You will receive a BLACK FLAG stop-and-go penalty for passing under the yellow if you enter the pit lane while being told to stay behind any other car. That means you have to be careful about getting too close behind the cars that aren't pitting. Generally, you are considered to have entered the pit at the point where the pit wall starts. It is the same determination that is used for pit speed limit checks. Cars with pits on the back straight are forced to pit after the cars whose pits are located on the front straight. Pacing speed is variable according to the track type. Half-mile ovals are paced at 40mph, one-mile ovals at 55mph, speedways (Atlanta, Darlington, etc.) at the original 70mph, super-speedways (Talladega) at 90mph, and road courses at 70mph. This ensures that cars are able to pit under yellow on the short tracks without losing a lap. 21. Miscellaneous During Practice sessions, the actual lap speeds that the computer opponents are running on the track will be displayed in the F2 window. This will only occur in the Practice session prior to Qualifying. Warmup times (prior to Race session) are not displayed. Auto-shifting and auto-braking may now be toggled on and off using keystrokes ALT-H and ALT-B, respectively, while driving. A message is flashed on the screen to indicate the new status after each toggle. If you have the CD-ROM version of the program and wish to run it in SVGA (hi-res graphics) mode, you must start it with the -h option (e.g. "nascar -h"). 22. Version 1.21: Changes from Previous Versions CONTENTS: Technical Notes Bugs Fixed Gameplay Adjustments Enhancements / Feature Additions Paintkit Changes TECHNICAL NOTES * Modem and direct connect players must both use the same version of the program (version 1.21). * Comm ports are now read from DOS, rather than assuming four specific port addresses. Diagnostic messages when a modem connection cannot be established have been improved. * Palette setting problems on some video cards should be fixed. * New sound drivers have been added to allow the use of IRQs higher than 7 with certain sound cards. BUGS FIXED * Computer opponents now suffer the same performance loss from damage as the player does. * Significant changes and fixes to yellow flags: * Initial caution condition is now indicated by a held yellow flag. When the player takes the yellow at the start/finish line, the yellow flag will wave. This was done to make it clearer when you've taken the yellow and are expected to slow down, stay behind the car in front, etc. * Eliminated cheat that allowed player(s) to enter a closed pit and then drive all the way to the front of the field without penalty. Now, when the "One Lap Until Green" message would normally appear, the player is given an "Entered Closed Pit" message and then told to fall behind the last car in line. This more closely follows the actual NASCAR rules. * Eliminated cheat that allowed player(s) to ignore the caution condition, speed past everyone including the pace car, enter the pits and then re-enter the track without penalty. The player will now receive a BLACK FLAG stop-and-go penalty for passing under the yellow if he enters the pit lane while being told to stay behind any other car. That means you have to be careful about getting too close behind the cars that aren't pitting. Generally, you are considered to have entered the pit at the point where the pit wall starts. It is the same determination that is used for pit speed limit checks. * A bug that caused crash-recovering cars to be improperly added into the caution line has been fixed. This accounted for most of the problems with cars running slowly on the track for no apparent reason. * Cars with pits on the back straight are now forced to pit after the cars whose pits are located on the front straight. * Some crashes between opponent cars would cause the computer to hang, sometimes leaving sound running with a black screen. * Computer opponents are much less likely to abort their pit stops (by heading for the pit lane, then deciding to stay out) when pitting under yellow. * Pacing speed is no longer affected by the Opponent Strength setting. * The pace car should no longer get blocked by wreckage under yellow. * Qualifying speeds for computer opponents are now more closely related to the Opponent Strength setting. (Note to advanced users: The RELS value in the TRACK.TXT files *no longer affects* qualifying speeds. This will eliminate the need to adjust BLAP whenever you change the RELS.) * Speeds of computer opponents at Talladega are now being affected more by the Opponent Strength setting. * In modem races, the Dialer's Best Lap will no longer become corrupted. If prior versions have already corrupted your record at a track, you may perform either of the following to fix it: * If you have the CD-ROM version of the program, you can copy the RECORDS.TXT file for that particular track to your installation on your hard drive: 1) Type "c:" 2) Type "cd \nascar\tracks" 3) Type "d:" 4) Type "cd \nascar\tracks" 5) Type "xcopy /s records.txt c:" NOTE: This procedure assumes that your installation was to the \NASCAR directory on your C drive and that your CD-ROM drive is D. NOTE: This procedure will overwrite any records you have set which were not corrupted. * If you have the floppy version or wish not to overwrite any records that were not corrupted, you can edit the RECORDS.TXT file for each track and delete all but the first two lines of the file. * The Dialer in a modem race will no longer be penalized for non-existent pit speed limit violations. This occurred mainly at Talladega. * Qualifying during modem play is now similar to single-player play, with a warmup lap followed by green and checkered flags. * The computer opponents will now race competitively if you are the polesitter. * The joystick calibration has been changed to allow pedals to be more reliably recognized in the Set Controls menus. GAMEPLAY ADJUSTMENTS * Damage realism has been enhanced for both player and computer opponent cars. With Damage On it is now much easier to damage a wheel or the engine. The front wheels are somewhat easier to damage than the rear wheels. We expect that this will cause some controversy as not everyone will agree with the new damage levels. However, with the damage levels in 1.0 and 1.1, it was quite easy for the player to run much faster laps by slamming into the walls instead of staying on the track. Impacts of 120mph or more resulted in mere sheetmetal damage. While not a major problem in single-player mode -- after all, if that's how you want to play, it's your game -- it turned out to be a severe problem in multi-player sessions where the only thing that matters is beating the other players. Rather than have a separate damage level for multiplayer, we felt it best to adjust the standard damage level to be more realistic. Note that this damage level is STILL not completely realistic, as in the real world impacts of as little as 10 or 15 mph can cause serious damage to a stock car. We decided to be a little more forgiving than that. We feel that the damage level in version 1.2 strikes an appropriate balance between realism and playability. You may find the change shocking at first, but we ask that you give yourself some time to adjust to it before passing judgment. * Grip levels have been increased at Darlington and Michigan. The original grip levels were set so that lap speeds would be closer to real-world speeds at those tracks. In practice this caused the grip to be so low that gameplay suffered and the computer opponents tended to behave poorly. Just think of these tracks as having been resurfaced. * Engine power on super-speedways has been reduced to a more realistic level. There are new Ace and Qual settings to match this change. * The drafting effect has been reduced to a more realistic level. You will be able to pick up a draft from farther back, but the maximum effect is much less. This makes passing much more of a challenge at Talladega. * Erratic weaving of cars in the pits has been significantly reduced. * Cars will no longer try to draft with lapped traffic at Talladega, including cars that they are about to put a lap down for the first time. * Pit stop times are now much more variable for both the player and the computer opponents. * The duration of caution periods on some tracks (notably Talladega and Watkins Glen) has been increased slightly. * New tires start at 120 degrees instead of the ambient air temperature. This more properly reflects the fact that black tires sitting in the sun on a hot track are hotter than air temperature. This also improves the grip on the first couple of corners. ENHANCEMENTS/FEATURE ADDITIONS * Computer opponents who have spun out but are able to continue will suffer a delay before recovering. * Computer opponents who are on the lead lap will choose to pit under a caution period only on the first lap that the pits are open. Cars that are 1 lap or more down must wait until the second lap to pit. This rule is not enforced on the player. * Computer opponents are now more active and slightly more aggressive. They are less likely to follow one another single-file lap after lap and will race amongst themselves more. They're also less likely to back off or move aside when you pull up next to them. They're no more likely to hit you, but they might not give you as much room as before. * In addition, the Aggressiveness values in the DRIVERS.TXT/DRIVERS2.TXT files now have a greater effect on the behavior of individual opponents. Drivers with high Aggressiveness ratings are more likely to cut you off or refuse to move off their chosen line. * During modem play, an elapsed time is now displayed indicating the length of the telephone call. * Due to gameplay changes, two additional settings files (.stg) have added to the Talladega track. These are Qual12 and Ace12. These settings should be better for use with version 1.21. PAINTKIT CHANGES * More fonts have been added to the paintkit. They may be accessed by clicking with the right mouse button on the Text Tool. Use the arrows to scroll through the fonts. * Exporting a .pcx file now includes both the decals and the underpaint colors of the exported car. This will make it easier to share car designs with friends and modem opponents.