The New Technology

[pdub]

RockJustRock recommended me a new video game console. My old one had fried the video card, everything was in black and white. That won't do. And RJR of course steered me right.

This new one is incredible, just amazing. Superman Junior was standing around and got it all plugged up for me. 12-year-olds know the new stuff. It's just amazing. I was bewildered, so I called Rock again.....it's looking like it'll take this thing about 8 hours to load...is that correct? What's WRONG with this thing? I'm used to putting a disc into the drawer and wait maybe a minute and then have at it.

Well, that's not how they work these days. SM Jr. was making fun of me, "You've got to get modern."

Well, it was worth it. Good gosh the graphics. Yesterday I killed my hands running the road course at Daytona in a Boss 302 Mustang. Finger cramps, OW. It's just amazing, like a video of it. That Boss is faster on the top end than Red is but the brakes don't stop as well. That's a bad combination, isn't it? Too fast, can't slow down.

I saw parts of the infield that I saw at Daytona but that real day I didn't put the car into there. I hit cones and tire barriers playing the "game." . That danged "game" is for real, perfectly accurate in every detail. I did it until my hands wore out. I forgot about my hands and that controller. I'll do it again some more tomorrow. I can race again, even if I can't get around the house so well. That's why I got that box.

[pdub]

According to that video game, Red is slower than that Boss 302 by a long shot on the top end. I don't know about acceleration through the gears, I wasn't paying any attention to that in my first game session. And it was all too real, I was still afraid of the transition into Big Turn 4 at Daytona. It's every bit that realistic . It'll make your brain get inside of it like you're there.

But there's no doubt Red's aftermarket brakes work better than the ones on that Boss. That red Boss car will haul butt but it won't slow down. It doesn't turn all that well either. After you can't slow down.

[Red_Kitty]

We had a black Boss 302 at Arkansas last weekend - Brian ( I think) from Pennsylvania. Fitted with a twin-turbo kit, was running in the mid-180s once the boost was turned up on Sunday morning. Red might not have passed that one.

[pdub]

We had a black Boss 302 at Arkansas last weekend - Brian ( I think) from Pennsylvania. Fitted with a twin-turbo kit, was running in the mid-180s once the boost was turned up on Sunday morning. Red might not have passed that one.

That "game"......road courses are expensive to run. For less than half of a weekend's track fees, I've got a box full of road courses and a mind boggling fleet of fast cars to pick from. I haven't even delved into it yet. I went straight to Daytona when I saw that one on the list. And Man was that ever realistic. I was there all over again and I didn't even have to "go." That's just so real, it's unreal how real it is. Because I'd been there and done that in real life.

I may be on BS less, which would probably be a favor to everyone here, but I'm racing instead. After my hands heal up again, and then I can kill them again. Next session, I'm going looking for more tracks that I've run before, I haven't even begun to drag through the list of tracks. Heck, you can even choose the weather at the track. My mind's blown away. Where have I BEEN? Somewhere else, obviously.

[Red_Kitty]

Where have I BEEN? Somewhere else, obviously.

Ummmm, too busy doing it for real?

There are many different types of car people. Some like to stay at home and spend the weekend cleaning their cars, and some like to spend the weekend away getting their cars dirty. I think you fall into the latter group!

[pdub]

Andy, you haven't used those brakes hard enough to get them hot enough. There's too much visible pretty red paint on them. You get 'em cooking for real and that black junk won't ever come off. No matter what you rub them with.

And that Boss 302, if speed is what you want, go for it. I wouldn't buy one, I've got too much time and effort tied up in Red. The Boss is not nearly as fast as the Hellkitty, but it'll go. It'll get up to about 162 through the trioval at Daytona. Red ran 143 through there with a hefty tailwind before we ever put the blower on him. But that's irrelevant. It comes down to driver courage, how fast you "can" go. And as sure as I saw in real life, there's a spot on the exit of Big Turn 4 at Daytona that's a car magnet. The car WANTS to hit the wall there, you have to steer the heck out of it to stay off of the wall.

The excessive body roll pulling lateral G's must be a Ford trademark. I didn't realize all of that was going on until I saw Red's photo from Daytona and then using the "Replay" function on the new computer game. That game is every bit that realistic. That Boss needs a Roush suspension and some bigger brakes to run the road course at Daytona.

[pdub]

I can't gush enough about that video game. It's unreal, the track fees and motel money I'm saving to be able to run the road course at Daytona without having to actually go there. It's 100% realistic. My brain is convinced I'm in it. The "Playback" mode is incredible, that's where you can actually see what all happened.

What I'm doing is 10 laps in a late model Boss 302 Mustang. And that's nearly a tiresome amount. It's like IROC, all of the cars are identical. They make you start at the rear of the pack. Well, I'll get 'em this time, I'll be more aggressive. They score it from the Start/Finish line on the Big Track. Green flag, Lap One, I sucked up behind a yellow Mustang just to follow. Into the infield, I fendered a white Mustang out of the way. He wanted back past, got beside me again and I did it again in the infield portion. Apparently I was pissing him off by then.

I had about a 100-yard lead on him (we're at the end of the pack, they're getting out of sight already) going into the Bus Stop, but he closed it in that braking zone. Through turns 3&4 and through the trioval on the big track I was still way ahead of him. But in that braking zone going into the infield he had a bigger run going than me and he came up there and hit me square in the butt. He steered to do it, he MEANT it. I don't mean bump drafting, I mean WHAM.

That sped me up enough make me lose it in the first tight corner in the infield area. I wasn't driving in the mirror. There's a mirror but I wasn't looking at it. I had no idea he had done that until I watched the replay. I didn't know why I ran off at that spot that time, I thought I had my marks right. One thing about it, with a video game there's no "feel." You can hear it, and you can see it, but can't feel it.

[pdub]

I'm sorry to keep beating the dog, but I WON! I won a 10-lap race at Daytona by a minute and a half. I lapped the the field. Golly bum that was fun!

That Boss 302 WILL handle, after you get used to it. Lots of nose dive under braking and lots of body roll in the tight curves, but it's all about getting used to it. And it will go really fast on the straightaway.

Now, the rest of the story. I set my opponents' skill level to Zero, as in, never even seen a race track before. I set their aggression level to Zero, as in scared to death and intimidated. I carved through them like mincemeat. I passed them all on the first half of the first lap. I eventually lapped the field in less than ten laps, despite running off into the infield grass at least 8 times and hitting the tire barrier once. I waited until I had lapped them all before I pulled into the pits to serve my drive-through penalty for wrecking so many of them.

Gosh, that is fun. My brain was sure I was there. The playback mode is pure awesome. Thank you Rock!

[RockJustRock]

Don't forget the main idea of racing games is to work through career mode.

[pdub]

Don't forget the main idea of racing games is to work through career mode.

It's gonna be hard to make me get away from Daytona. That's just too much fun. They don't have any of the other courses I've run on in real life. They don't have Barber or AMP or Road Atlanta. Well, that's alright because I feel like I've gotten my money's worth out of it already. Gyah-LEE that's fun.

The game is decidedly British. Even the crew chief on the radio sounds like Andy talking, which is very cool. And the text on the screen is British, like "behaviour," and "tyres." That's just neat. I don't even have a passport anymore and I don't want one, so they may not let me travel to those other tracks. It's every bit that real.

[RockJustRock]

The developers are British. The same team that made Need For Speed Shift. Electronic Arts wanted to do more Cops and Robbers games so they started their own brand.

[pdub]

The developers are British. The same team that made Need For Speed Shift. Electronic Arts wanted to do more Cops and Robbers games so they started their own brand.

They did a mighty good job of it. I'd give them five thumbs up if I had five thumbs.

[pdub]

That program, the more I get into it, it's just astounding. to me - it's not a "game." It's the most realistic simulator ever. I can say that from having run Daytona in real life. Except I'm having trouble steering the car smoothly with the joystick. It's all left or right, jerky. And all brakes or none. it'll take some practice.

Years ago I got onto an online racing network with the steering wheel and the pedals setup, all of that to try to get familiar with Road Atlanta before I took the real car there. It helped. I think it did. At least I had some idea what the next curve was going to look like before I got there in person.

This time I think the fact that I had run Daytona already, it helps me run the "game" track better. Today I set the competitor skill level to 10%. How brave is that? Well, what I've found is that it's fulfilled another lifelong dream of mine, what it feels like to pass somebody.

Maybe part of tomorrow's goals will be to video the playback of that run and share it on YouTube. I think it's hilarious. It's not the driving style anybody would use in a real car they cared about, or if they cared about their own life, but that's so much fun. In a 15-car field I was already in 3rd place on the first lap going down the back straight into the Bus Stop. 2nd place car was blocking. I un-blocked him after the braking zone. I can't believe I didn't get sent to the pits for that one.

[RockJustRock]

This is a video that changed my mind on gamepads. The guy in the real car looks like he's using a gamepad. I think it's because when going REALLY fast on the bare edge of grip it is constant, almost slide, slide, correct. The phrase "sawing on the wheel" comes to mind. Of course with a gamepad going slow it is just steer, correct, steer, correct, but you can look at it as training for going REALLY fast. Remember, fastest is almost crashing, but not.

[pdub]

The race inspector at the track goes over the car like a fine-toothed comb, but the driver gets no attention. This time, those other guys didn't even know I couldn't even steer the car. I was just aiming it, barely. The only thing I did on purpose was to spin that guy out in the Bus Stop. I meant to do that. Then it just went on and on until I started passing them again. Wow what fun a video game can be.

That's me on the tail end of the pack when the race starts.