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  • "In Memory to The Greatest-Devoted Husband,Father,and Stock Car Racer"
    Picture credits go to Nascar.com

     

    1999 NEWS NOTES

    December 1999
    • Our Winter Heats 99 has started, look for the off and online versions on the League Racing page.  Try running a few offline races with us.  Enrollment is down from last year but the competition is HOT!
    • I begin this page with sad news yet again. Clay Earles, wizrad of Martinsville, has passes on.  Bill, don't let this be another track ravaged by SMI.  We NEED it for Cup races.
    • Our GPL team is now working on a Rainy Mosport '67 patch.  ETA is Late January.
    • A short message from BB&B and TWI "We're in this for fun.  Not for profits."
    • D'ya ever wonder what the track editing guys have on their personal systems?
    • What is SC's official response to the debates over Racelane's pay for access format?
    • Charles (Chas) Bornemann's speech: "Sorry all, I'm not going to participate in any trash talking about another website (whether or not I consider it right or wrong).  Instead, I find Kevins explanation [a previous message on Jimmy McKinnley's shorttrack list] quite similar to how I would have expressed my own feelings.

      I think all too often, many of us forget what we're doing and why we do it (whether we play or develop things or both).  Notice the word PLAY. These are computer games.  They should be FUN.  That IMHO, is something we can never lose site of.  Should the patches we hack or the programs we write be put on the net free?  I think so, but also respect the rights of others to charge for their work.

      Honestly, the thing that bothers me most over this entire sorted affair, is that someone else will get the idea to charge for their wares now (or their website).  In the end we all end up losing some aspect of sim racing that perhaps we took for granted for so long.  It's partly because of that fear that SC will always remain a free site and never charge for what it makes or distributes.

      The only thing I want to add at this point is this.  If anyone feels the need to try and defend my good name or SC's reputation on Gary's message board, please don't.  I'm trying very hard to stay out of this argument and keep SC, our visitors and myself sane, happy and full of fun.  If you can't resist the urge to post something, at least be respectful of someone else's opinion, state your reasons and wish em a nice day.

      Enjoy All,
      Chas Bornemann"

    • In Non SC Specific December 1999 News

      The Dirt Track Racing patch version 1.02c is recalled for further updates/bugfixes. Hmmm... Why doesn't Papy respond quickly like that.  Hasn't GPL only had 2 patches yet still unresolved bugs like slo-mo with over 1 year of development time?
    • NASCAR Legends is already on the shelves. The first 50,000 units include a limited edition Papyrus 1970 diecast car from Racing Champions, either a Ford Torino or a Plymouth Superbird!!!
    • Accolade will make a VW arcade PC racer.  Not sim-related news but I couldn't resist.
    • The Pits and SimRacing.com have received facelifts.  Jan, no offense but the old format was easier to navigate.
    • Baby say it one more time:  THERE WILL BE NO CART SIM FROM PAPYRUS!  MIDWAY GAMES INC. HAS THE CART LISCENSE AND WILL BE MAKING AN ARCADE STYLE RACER!  PERIOD!
    • IRL for the PC and N64 are currently in development, and scheduled to be released mid-2000. You'll be able to find info related to these games at GT Games a couple of months prior to release.
    • Papyrus will release a truck addon for N3 along with the missing tracks.  Of course the question is if anyone will beat them to it with 3do's and track converters.  Screenshot
    • Heard some interesting stuff about Dukes of Hazzard Racing for Home.  It seems they redid the whole intro in graphics, got Waylon to do the theme song again and so on.  Remember these are the guys who were making the spectacular TAR68-72 so I doubt we'll be disappointed by this one.
    • Also, Accolade (I will not say Infogrames) is working on NFS Motor City, an American Grafitti meets Burnout meets Midtown Madness meets Street Rods 2 game where you'll cruise around town, do races for money or Pinks, upgrade your car (which there will be plenty of cars to buy new, used or assemble from the junkyard, 30yrs of cars) through many details of upgrades and chat online.  Looks cool. I'll keep you posted.
    • MOTORSIMS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO DEVELOP SCCA TRANS-AM SIMULATION FOR PC

      Longest Running Road Racing Series Coming to the PC and the Motorsims Racing Network(TM)

      Irving, TX - December 8, 1999 - Motorsport Simulations (Motorsims), creators of PC racing simulations and the Motorsims Racing Network(TM) online community, today announced the signing of an exclusive license to develop a simulation based on the SCCA's (Sports Car Club of America®) Trans-Am® Championship Series for both stand-alone PC and multiplayer online racing.

      Scheduled for release in the summer of 2000, Motorsims' SCCA® Trans-Am simulation will feature official US tracks and manufacturer racecars from the actual Trans-Am Series. The SCCA Trans-Am simulation will be available for PC CD-ROM through traditional retail channels. With this agreement, Motorsims now holds the exclusive interactive entertainment rights to develop Trans-Am Championship Series simulations.

      "The SCCA has recognized our commitment to building a bridge between the world of motorsport racing and interactive entertainment, and the SCCA Trans-Am simulation makes a great addition to the Motorsims Racing Network," said Bob McCarthy, founder and CEO of Motorsims. "With Motorsims' SCCA Trans-Am simulation, AMA Superbike and additional titles to come, Motorsims is continuing to build the largest, most diverse interactive racing network the Internet has to offer."

      Developed in-house, Motorsims' SCCA Trans-Am simulation will feature manufacturer cars racing on noted US tracks, including Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, Lime Rock and many more. Motorsims plans to incorporate three present-day and three vintage Trans-Am racecars into the simulation. The game's 'present-day' cars will be modeled after the same 650-plus hp, V8 powerhouses as seen in nationwide Trans-Am Series races.

      As with actual Trans-Am Series races, Motorsims' SCCA Trans-Am simulation will follow a sprint race format, that includes no scheduled pit stops. The virtual races will be based on the actual rules laid down by SCCA Pro Racing®, the sanctioning body for the real-world series. Without pit stops, driver strategy during the sprints will differ from other series. Drivers must more closely scrutinize factors such as tire wear, tire pressure, car weight, gasoline volume and miles per gallons to successfully cross the finish line.

      Motorsims is developing the SCCA Trans-Am simulation with the same proprietary technology used to create Motorsims' recently released AMA Superbike title. The existing AMA Superbike game engine will be modified to support four wheel-racing models.

      "Now entering its 35th year, the Trans-Am Championship Series is ramping up to be more exciting than ever," said Scott Rittinger, general manager of the Trans-Am Series. "We know that the Trans-Am brand of racing is the most exciting road racing around and we're always looking for ways to show more fans. That's one reason why we are looking forward to working with Motorsims to bring the intense competition of the Trans-Am Series to PC and Internet racers."

      Motorsims plans to release a series of games building on the SCCA License and is currently working with noted team racing leader and Motorsims columnist, Carroll Smith along with present SCCA race car driver, Bobby Archer.

      "Since its inception in 1966, Trans-Am Racing has been a truly American series, featuring a variety of America's favorite performance cars," said Dennis Dean, vice president of the SCCA. "Trans-Am racing appeals to a wide segment of the population and we feel that Motorsims is best suited to develop a true-to-life Trans-Am simulation in the same tradition and quality of the series."

      About motorsport simulations

      Headquartered in Irving, TX, Motorsport Simulations was founded by Bob McCarthy. The company offers motorsport enthusiasts the opportunity to experience authentic competitive motorsport racing through first-class computer simulations for multi-player Internet and stand-alone PC racing. Motorsport Simulations has alliances with a number of leading personalities in the racing world.

      These alliances include Pat Patterson, publisher of the authoritative facts-and-figures guidebook Pat Patterson's Guide To Racing; Dave Despain, a noted racing analyst and Speedvision broadcaster; Chet Burks, Executive Producer of Chet Burks productions, which produces popular motorsport racing events for a number of media outlets; David Sadowski, a current racing analyst and former AMA champion; and Lance Holst, former AMA race team manager and current Roadracing Editor at Motorcycle Performance magazine and riding instructor at the STAR Motorcycle School and Carroll Smith. More information on Motorsport Simulations can be found on their Web site at http://www.motorsims.com.

      Sports Car Club of America, SCCA, SCCA Pro Racing, and Trans-Am are registered trademarks of the Sports Car Club of America.

    November 1999
    • Once again, a fatal accident has befallen an open wheel series.  Greg Moore was taken from us in the California 500. SC extends our condolansces to the Moore family.  There are Greg Moore tribute pages in the various sections of SC and Les Danyluk has provided us with A HREF="gm_les.html">local coverage/A> of the kind speeches given during his services.

      This entire season has been one to forget throught auto racing.  Ernie Irvan was nearly taken on the 5th anniversary of his major crash, one of the Krough or Grubbs of the BGN circuit (I'm sorry, I do not remember which family or brother) recieved severe injuries in a practice crash, Rick Carelli of the trucks also has a long recovery from a truck accident, Aldo and Mario's Father was recently taken from us,  Kevin Gobrecht who drove the Amaco WoO sprint car is another victim of this awful year.  Several spectators at the Charlotte IRL race were fatally injured in May, while Gonzalo Rodriguez (spelling, sorry) and Greg Moore have also been taken fom us before we could see their potential. I am sure a European Perspective could add many more whose career or life has been retired all too soon in 1999.  We must never forget these brave racers for what they gave us in their short careers and insights they provided into advancing the safety systems already in place.

      No matter how bad the situation is, we can always learn from it.  To not learn from past accidents is the worst insult car designers and track owners can provide!  If there was one advance in safety this season, it was wheel tethers.

    • Nascar Legends has been released.
    • PS did I mention the 3dfx textures on the cars in N3 get REALLY BLURRY up close?
    • Dirt Track Racing Demo is released and it's the best new game (and better) than Grand Prix Legends.  It's a bit rough around the sim edges, but still niiice.
    • Spirit of Speed demo is out.  Interesting.  More of the Monster Truck Madness driving model, but still a good game, not so much a sim as an accessable-to-all game that has a lot of history in it.  I'll still buy it for historical content even if gameplay is a wee bit arcadeish.
    • Well, there will be a new CART B>game/B>.  My advice?  Stick to the ICR2 B>SIM./B>
    • Ferrari, Ferrari, Ferrari, will you ever get that drivers title?  Well, I guess a constructors title is better than nothing.
    • I finished 10th in the IIRS/IRL series, not too bad considering I don't practice much, didn't start till Indy and didn't score any points until Texas.
    • Pointless Observation #5: It looks like rain.
    • Dirt Track Racing and Nascar Legends have gone gold. Expect them on store shelves in 2 weeks.
    • Ah yes, fall. It's getting chilly and that can only mean one thing...

      It's about time to turn on the WINTER HEAT!

      Jimmy McKinnley's USA series is still alive and well despite a brief cancelation.

    • Spirit of Speed 1937 has an official website now, http://www.spiritofspeed1937.com The demo was supposed to be there the 20th, but is is now 10/24/99 and still no demo.
    • Where Have you gone Al Lowe?
    • Is this the end of civilised gaming everywhere? It seems that the next Gabriel Knight game will be the LAST?!? adventure game from Sierra On-Line. Instead, Havas will focus on wider audiences and sports games. Ken Williams, why art thou deserting me?
    • BTW: The odds of getting a LucasArts Maniac Mansion 3, Monkey Island 4, or Grim Fandango 2 are looking pretty slim too.
    • Remember, if anyone says "You fight like a Dairy Farmer," the appropriate response would be "How appropriate, you fight like a cow."
    • Well it looks like Ferrari may get it's ironic 20th anniversary present. Still, I'd have liked to see if the McLaren team would have been brave enough to race against Eddie at Suzuka (talk about bravery) :-}. While I'm at it I'd like to Congratulate Minardi on it's mini-revival.
    • Well, Dodge is back and the only question we have is how long will it take before Adam and PE3 are running a Dodge?
    • Ol' DW's had a few hard weeks in the Cup series, but I still believe in you DW. Why don't you get Junior to come back for one year to work with the team?
    • Here's a historic league celebrating Papy's 5th anniversary of NASCAR sims.

      NASCAR Racing: the 5th Anniversary Offline Series. Five years ago this late October the Papyrus folks extended beyond their initial Indy 500 PC racing simulation into the world of NASCAR stock car racing with the monumental work, NASCAR Racing for the home PC. We celebrate this anniversary by presenting a three race 'offline' series with a nostalgic look at NASCAR Racing (N1) and the way things were in those halcyon days of racing simulation development.

      You will get to race with some of the fairest AI's ever and against some of the biggest names from both the offline and online sim scene, the likes of champion drivers Tim Kellebrew, SuperLes Teschner and Greg Colgan to name a few. Race along side Tony Johns, one of the original Papyrus N1 beta testers. Read sim columnist Tim Kellebrew's forward to the series and his look into the history of N1 and where it has taken us.

      You may be a sim professional or you may have never competed in an 'offline' series.. you will find a tun o' fun in this -- NASCAR Racing: the 5th Anniversary Offline Series.

      Preseason testing is happening NOW!! Racing starts November 1st!!

      Make sure of your place in the field of this historic series!!

      Sign-up TODAY!!

      NASCAR Racing: the 5th Anniversary Offline Series Dave Russell Dave Russell - race presenter simracer@alphalink.com.au
    October 1999
    • Well, Nascar 3 is out.  And, ummm, I hate to say this.  It is WORLDS better than Nascar 2 (Nascar 99 doesn't count).  However, it is NOT a new game, it is an update to the classic engine that has survived well over the years.  It has a lot of 3D only visual features like real smoke, skids... and is overall improved with a simproject style paintable WC body, improved damageability, better than N99 AI, track lights, day and night cockpits (glad I never got around to painting those for N2), and the quality of menus seen in GPL.  It does take a bite out of your system though.  I love the update, more of a N2000 than a genuine N3 but Papyrus did listen to us and make the game much better, now about that CART game...
    • This is all my speculation, but it seems Papy is also treating this as more of an upgrade.  All of their marketing is focused on the going-to-be-spectacular Nascar Legends.  From the early stuff I've seen you guys will get all the stuff we and the Pits wished we could've brought you.  It'll have the same stiff system requirements as N3.
    • GPL patch 1.2 in the works.  Early copies from the Pits were beta releases, but at least we know there will be a new patch.
    • Thrustmaster is no more, sold the joysticks to France, company now known as CenterSpan Communications Corporation.
    • Accolade also went to Paris, now known as part of the Infogrames Empire.
    • The Paris Hotel/Casino opened in Las Vegas, USA.  We better start liking cheese and wine because France is on a roll.
    • Our Car of the Week contests may be a little behind as the judges are rotating.
    • Banking Editor version 2 has NOT yet been posted as 3 jobs and college really cut into programming time.
    • At the Simproject, Marc has released his R&S Mk3 V3.0 car.  It looks great, and best of all, only costs $1- in the game.  Really!
    • Several of the top GPL guys and sites have formed up as the Grand Prix Legends Preservation Society. Look for good things, Joe Lafiette (KOTR) who made many cars is one of the members.  Speaking of which, they released a SPECTACULAR 1967 Ferrari.  Think the car included with the game was good? Not after you see this one.
    • Here's some fun facts about "The Dukes of Hazzard Racing For Home" AKA the game that would be Trans-Am Racing 68-72.  It seems you get to do all those cool race/chase scenes, and can play as Bo or Luke (sorry Vance and the other guy fans), drive the General Lee and other vehicles (maybe Daisy's Jeep or Barracuda?).  You have to solve a mystery and pay the morgage bill.  Yu can perform more than 40 stunts.  System requirements are:
      Microsoft® Windows® 95/98
      266 MHz Processor
      200 MB free hard drive space
      32 MB memory
      2 MB PCI Video Adapter
      8X CD-ROM
      16 bit Windows compatible sound card
      Microsoft compatible mouse
      B>FONT COLOR="#FF6600">YEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW!!!!/B>
       
    • Liscensed tracks in Motorsims AMA Superbike are:Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
      Road America (Wisconsin)
      Laguna Seca Raceway (California)
      Sears Point Raceway (California)
      Road Atlanta (Georgia)
      The Colonel's Brainerd International Raceway (Minnesota)
      New Hampshire International Speedway
      Pike's Peak International Raceway (Colorado)
      Willow Springs International Raceway (California)
       
    September 1999
    • INDIANAPOLIS WILL BE IN NASCAR 3.  Watch for N3 to be released around mid-October as the game is final, and has gone to the duplicatorium to make enough copies for everyone.  And it looks like it'll be a revolutionary step from N2, not just a patch.
    • 24 Heures du Mans (24 hours of LeMans for the Americans) the game will be released in the USA as Test Drive:LeMans.  There is two movies here http://www.3dfiles.com/movies/lemans24hours.shtml It appears there will be the Toyota GT-ONE's, Vipers, Nissan, Lister, Panoz, Porsche, McLaren.  (these are what I identified from the movie).  Didn't see an in-car view though B..-(    There is a tunnel in the game, but I didn't remember it from Circue de la Sarthe.  Some cool features: Telementary, GT2-1 & Prototype Classes, Full GT racing season, Teams attempting to hire/fire you, Real time 24hr races.
    • TEN-nine-...-shutdown.  In Mid-October, Ten will officially close it's service.  No word yet on the future of the SSCRA Ten races.  BTW: Nascar 3 will use free servers like GPL.
    • The "Legends of Nascar" game similar to N@50 is officially known as Nascar Legends.  Some included tracks are Bowman-Gray Stadium, Riverside, and Texas World. You'll drive Plymouths, Dodges, Fords...  SEPERATE 3do's will see you running Superbirds against Torrinos, and there will be seperate speedway and shorttrack cars to drive!  Look for more soon.  Here's three juicy Screenshots:  SS1 SS2 SS3
    • Papyrus has updated its site with all kinds of info on Nascar 3 and Nascar Legends.
    • GP3 has been officially previewed at ECTS.  Looks nice, carries over the WC-GP2 style.  If it was good and in GP2, it's in GP3.  It will have "realistic weather effects".  Does this imply rain?  We hope so.  Hot seat, serial link, and 4 person LAN support for multiplayer.  It'll be based on 1998, but Microprose/Hasbro plans to make very good use of their 1998-2002 season replication rights.  New physics and 3D graphics engine.
    • Hasbro/Microproses' F1 racing sim studios in Chipping Sodbury are looking for more people to hire.
    • Grand Prix World (Which is really Grand Prix Manager 3) is in the works.  (At least here in the US GPM 2 was almost a non-publicised and non-existant title.  Those of us who played the origional pre-patch GPM 1 [the UK released in US] version might have been disappointed by it's linear, unresponsive play.  I downloaded and installed the Grand Prix Manager 1 patch a few months ago, and GPM was really a good game.  You could build winning teams, get sponsored...  Forti no longer won every race...  Top teams could go downhill...  I feel GPM 1 was highly underrated, like Viper)
    • Trans-Am Racing '68-72 has Officially been shelved by GTI but the IRL sim is progressing nicely for a 2000 release.
    • Spirit of Speed '37 should be out for Christmas.  It's looking pretty impressive in the graphics department.  More impressive though is the fact that the designers recorded the ORIGIONAL engine sounds (yes a few still run) to get the accurate 6L F1 sound.  Here's a view of the Napier Railton on the Railroad Straight
    • We've released a demo of Premier Speedway on Sprint Car Page.  No cars or nothing like that though.  Just the opportunity to get a feel for the tracks being readied.
    • SC's Indy Car 2 section is fully up to date
    • Dave Thayer has some new hardware reviews posted
    • Car of the Week is now being run by Jake Calhoun.  Another little thing taken out Chas' hands to make him effective once again.
    • The guys doing html at SC now are more committed than ever to updating regularly.  The problem in the past has been most of the work falling on one person causing burnouts to occur.
    July/August 1999
    • SC ANNOUNCES IT'S SUMMER SLAM.  Watch our SUMMER SLAM page linked right from the mainpage.  We're trying to update all the sections and we'll be rolling out "some new and exciting utilities for the sim world". as stated by the boss (except he used more exclamation points).  We'll also be updation most, if not all, the active sections here at SC.  We'll also be opening three preview pages, two in the stockcar section: Nascar 3 [just updated] (formerly known as Papy's Nascar 2000) and Dirt Track Racing (from the Powerslide folks).  In the open wheel racing section we'll be previewing Spirit of Speed '37.
    • "Pete McCole leaves SC..........  Says goodbye to sim world."  Well, I guess it happens to everybody at some time or another.  He said the time was right, he was happy with what he had accomplished, and he couldn't devote as much time to sim racing as he wanted.  Well, good luck Pete, stop by sometime and tell us what the real world is like out there.  SC Recent additions.  TWI's track editing lineup of Tony Krist, Bugs, and Turtle have joined us along with Dave Zychowski (an AI Master).
    • The forum is up and running, stop by and join "SC's emailess mailing list"
    • Well a lot has happened.   We've had some reorganization, some new people in, some great people left, we've got a new sponsor, and probably the two biggest news items are 1.) The list and chatroom have been closed, and 2.) Chas has focused his vast knowledge on bringing you more great things while some others of us on the SC crew have taken over his more tedious duties of html management and sim news.  As this is my first time on the news page, I might repeat some news that Chas already posted, but hey, it must be worth reading if we said it twice.  I'll update every month, for sure, but I may add in stuff sooner if it's news I'm dying to tell you.  I can be reached via email at simnews.scw@usa.net
    • Motorsims will come out with a modern day WSC/LMP-whatever Can-Am sim BEFORE it creates the GPL-era Can-Am sim with drivers like McLaren and Donahue and all htose Porsches and big-block Chevy's.  In other motorsims news, Carroll Smith has signed on to consult and write columns(?) for future games.  I'd assume the columns part would mean he'd write parts of the manuals/strategy guides as has been done by various people in Papy sims.
    • Denny's at it again.  The awesome N99 car 3do from The Sim Project has been updated again, this time with repaintable decklids.
    • Francois Menard from NROS has speculated that Sierra is in negotiations with 600 Racing and INEX to create a Legends game (those little kiddie go-karts for adults that can be seen racing at Charlotte on Fox).
    • Want to tell Sierra about a game idea? [PS CART 2001, and tell 'em GTI is already underway in making the less popular IRL sim]  The email address is suggestions@sierra.com
    • Papy's Nascar 2000 (the one to be released about October) has been renamed Nascar 3, consistent with previous titles, and to avoid confusion with any other "racing simulation ;-)" named Nascar 2K.  I'll post more on N3 later this month in teh stockcar-N3 section.
    • The expected GPL 1.1 patch has been released, albeit with some features of it's own.  You can get it from our GPL section, but proceed with caution.  Use a fresh install of GPL.
    • To close things off this time, here's some good news about the fate of TRANS-AM Racing 68-72 direct from GTI.

      "Trans Am has not been dropped.  It has been delayed, but not dropped!  We [GTI] have run into some issues with the production of the game that has forced it to be delayed until the beginning part of this next year [2000], but we will still be coming out with the game. "
    June 1999
    • It's been quiet here the last few weeks as we work on finishing up some big projects. We've managed to take a bit of a break this week to get the site updated though.
    • Lookie who's making a new sim. GT Interactive (the folks who worked on Trans Am Racing) are now changing directions with a sim dedicated to the A HREF="/pics/gt-indy.jpg">Indy 500/A>. We only hope there's more to it than the IRL.
    May 1999
    • Frank has been busy lately and his latest creation for Grand Prix Legends? Why it's a track called Flatstead. Based on Homestead, this one requires you to use The Pits converter first. We thought you should also know this is Frank's first edited track as well. Kudo's on a great job !!!
    • 4CDs.com is doing a contest giveaway. The prize? A Nascar Pro Wheel. To find out more details click on the banner on the main page or the track editing page.
    • Happy Mothers Day to all the Mom's out their !!!
    • We have had a rash of pirate car submissions lately. You ever wonder why it takes us so long to update? With checking out 150+ new cars to make sure the proper people are getting credit things take a little time. Because some folks are being a little less than honest and don't have any talent of their own, we will no longer accept car entries if you do not use your real name in the email. And of course that isn't the only thing we will be doing. Check out the Pirates Page if you think we haven't had enough.
    • Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the spectators who lost their lives and were injured during the IRL event at Charlotte this past weekend.
    • Well April showers have come and gone and May flowers are a bloomin. Speakin of May flowers, they're kinda new and well we'll have some new things for you to play with during the month of May as well. Until then my lips are zipped though :)
    • 4cd's.com has a special this month on Verbal Commander. We have a page up here in our hardware section since the early days of Sim Cyberworld that explains more about what Verbal Commander is and does. Be sure to check out our Verbal Commander webpage.
    April, 1999
    • Well the 4cd's.com World Internet Short Track Championships have come to an end here at Sim Cyberworld. During the event nearly 80 drivers attempted to qualify for the 30 starting spots in the 300 lap main event around the tight 1/4 mile paved Rockford oval. One survived to take home the title of World Internet Short Track Champion. Congratulations to Chris Zeigler on his win !!! This years purse was estimated at nearly $1,200. Not bad for a sim race eh?
    • Check with us again next April for round 2 of the World Internet Short Track Championships.
    • CONGRATULATIONS to our very own Ron Peterman and his wife on the birth of their daughter Jennifer Marie. All of us at Sim Cyberworld are happy for the entire Peterman family !
    • The World Internet Short Track Championships Offline event is fast approaching with qualifying set for this Saturday at the fast 1/4 mile paved oval in Rockford, IL. As of Tuesday, 119 drivers had registered to run the event. Signup time is running short.
    • Ok ok, so Nascar Revolution is old news now. But I couldn't resist taking one more shot at it. So here are my real thoughts on the quality of this software product.... "Give me half the budget, and I'll build a bigger piece of garbage, charge half the price, make people laugh twice as hard and won't lie about what they are actually getting."
    March, 1999
    • We welcome Francois Dubuc to Sim Cyberworld this month. Frank is the newest member to the SC team and will be working with Grand Prix Legends and our programming team. Welcome aboard Frank ! Oh, and does Frank have a welcoming present for everyone. He's already created a patch to fix the walls at the GPL Homestead track. Download the Homestead Wall Fix [35k].
    • The Team SC drivers of Rudi Kusters, Greg Colgan and Ron Peterman have set out to wreck the competition in the World Internet Short Track Championship event by securing sponsorship from TEAM PLAYHOUSE. This is absolutely outrageous and outright beautiful!!! Personally I like Tina myself, but wouldn't turn down a date with Lois either :). A website you will definately want to visit at least once. Husbands, watch those flying frying pans while viewing !!!
    • Our very own Brian Fox has been in a rude mood today and decided it was time to take out one of the flagmen in the GPL version of Homestead. Not the one on the track either. :P. Brians patch removes both the flagstand and flagman from the GPL version of Homestead and adds the GPL flagger we all love to run over. Download it from the Add Ons Page
    • A big pat on the back as Sim Cyberworld was selected Site of the Week at Race Links last week. HOO RAH !!!
    • The first reviews are in on the SCGT demo so why not visit our SCGT page and see what your fellow sim racers are saying.
    • Dave Thayers review of TOCA 2 is here !!!
    • CARS CARS CARS ....... , Jake Calhoun has gone and done it this time. The SC Cars Project website is up and running. But don't let that url fool you. These are full blown N99 machines using Denny Hoffmans new car 3do from The Sim Project. Well I'm speechless (bout time eh?)
    • Rudi Kusters has a nice treat for the touring car fans. Be sure to check out this entirely revamped section at Sim Cyberworld. Also, Brandon Shown has some goodies in the Viper Racing Section here at SC. Golf claps to both Rudi and Brandon for jobs well done !
    • Kudos to Jan and the gang at The Pits for bringing us some more new toys to play with (ie GPL converters). If you haven't checked them out, best do. These are some real goodies !!! And also congratulations to them on 1,000,000 actual hits ! But we still have more cars :)
    • We've been a little tough on Electronic Arts for Nascar Revolution (and IMHO) deservedly so ! C'mon, anyone that actually refers to this as a serious simulation really shouldn't be playing with matches !
    • Speaking of 4cds.com, they have come through for us as the major sponsor for the World Internet Short Track Championships Offline event we are hosting this April. Special thank you for their generosity. If you haven't already signed up, please do so now by visiting the website.
    • SCGT is here and of course we have it. This demo has been well worth the wait. 3dfx is required however. Also, if you will, please send us your comments regarding the demo and we'll pass them on to the appropriate people.
    • On the subject of new sims, we got some great new info regarding frame rates on the Trans Am sim that is upcoming from EAI. Visit the demos download page (we also keep our new sim notes there as well).
    • Well we updated the Nascar 3 section with some news about what to expect and when to expect it. Also, speaking of updates, we added a new Nascar "hack hack" Revolution section as well. Some fairly interesting comments regarding this "choke, cough, hack, dial 911 and hurry" sim. Send us yours and we'll be glad to add them.
    • Sim Cyberworld Online League and the World Internet Short Track Championships (Offline) are both slated for this April. The SCORL league is designed to mirror the Winston Cup series on TEN while the WISTC is designed to mirror the annual National Short Track Championships held on the 1/4 mile at Rockford Speedway every October. Signups are now underway. Check them out in our leagues section.
    • In case you haven't noticed lately, we have quite a demos page constructed in our cool stuff section. Stop by and give a few new toys a whirl. Also some oldies and goodies there as well.
    • Thumbs up to Rudi Kusters of Racenet International for taking on not only the task of managing the Sim Cyberworld Race Team, but also for taking on the daunting task of running the Touring Car Section here at Sim Cyberworld. Rudi, you're efforts are greatly appreciated. Two thumbs down to Rudi's predecessor Stefan Volk who was relieved of his duties here at Sim Cyberworld last month after deleting the entire Touring Car Section. Naughty Naughty !
    • Who's got a screw loose? Motocross Madness named the best racing game of the year followed by F1RS and Need for Speed 2? Well F1RS is a very good simulation but the other two? What kind of fool would make this claim? PC Gamer magazine. Gotta give them two thumbs down for really blowing chow on this call !
    • I'd appreciate someone helping me with the meaning of this quote from an unnamed source ... "We will be working on a CART product quickly after N3 is released."
    January, 1999
    • Reflections .... SC has been online now since February 2, 1997. Ahh, the old days when we were a tiny site on Geocities with 7 cars posted for N1. We've grown up a bit in the two years since we first opened and some people have come and gone. The core group here at SC though has remained constant and we've become somewhat of an extended family. We've gone through good times and bad times and enjoyed every minute of it.

      As we approach our second anniversary on the internet, all 18 members of Sim Cyberworld want to thank you for your support. Without you, none of this would have been possible nor would it have been necessary.

      We try to maintain a pretty low key around here and just go about our work. Hopefully, we will never become so full of ourselves that it stops being a nice place to visit. I've always held the belief that a sim site should be built by sim racers for sim racers and we think SC has been. Our only goal here has been to help you have more fun. We certainly hope we have done that ! Thanks everyone !!!

    • The World Opponents Network (WON.NET) now has "The Beginners Guide to League Stock Car Sim Racing". The book, by WON columnist Tim Kellebrew, prepares racing fans for their first internet league races through its discussion of practice tips, offline and online sim racing leagues, and system concerns.
    • 4 CD's.com is having a contest to give away a wheel. Be sure to visit their website for more details.
    • The other day I decided to plug in the old Indy 500 The Simulation game for a quick lap. I had forgotten just how far we have come graphically since Papy first released this sim. And I have to confess, I don't miss it. This certainly makes me appreciate all that much more, the hard work that has gone into making todays sims as realistic as they are. Kudos to all the developers.


       
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