Sears Point Raceway (1999 configuration) Sears99 Installation: -------------------------------------------------------- - Point installer to your Nascar Racing 3 directory. - All.cal file included if needed (in track dir) - To uninstall, just delete Sears99 Directory Sears99 Intro: -------------------------------------------------------- Why create a track already in Nascar Racing 3? Because a small group of us were fed up with the poor representation of the Sears Point Raceway that Papyrus has given us for years. Sears Point is one of the finest road courses on the West Coast and it deserves to be done right. You will find that you will get a new appreciation for Sears Point Raceway the more you drive Sears99. Sears99, actually version 4, is a project first taken on by a small group of N3 and GPL lovers as a hobby. It soon became an obsession, spending 10-12 hours a day for months to perfect the track. Previous to the months of knit-picking every detail to get it right, 2 people spent most of their lives creating a track, using any tool they were able to acquire. How Sears99 was built: -------------------------------------------------------- - Actual Track Blueprints, of course - Professional survey AutoCAD files - Numerous track visits for physical measuring - Ride along days with SCCA and NASA drivers - 4 hour testing session dedicated just to our group in which we used a 98 Corvette and the Nascar Pace Camaro for hot laps refining the "feel" of the track on a computer in the hot pits. This was one of the most helpful sessions in getting the correct feel of each turn and altitude change. - Current Winston Cup drivers spent time on Sears99 while testing at Sears Point Raceway - SCCA, NASA, and Russell Racing school instructors tested Sears99 on a weekly basis - Sears99 was built completly from scratch. (TRK, 3DO, Graphics, TXT, and LP files are original. Some track side objects were borrowed from tracks already in N3). How Accurate is Sears99? -------------------------------------------------------- Simply put, this track is most likely THE most accurate in the game to date. Literally, every inch of the track was built to within a 1-inch tolerance. Each wall and painted line was placed exactly where it is placed in real life. The camber of each turn was set to within one-half an inch. The curbing of each turn is measured to the exact length and height. Even the dip on the left side of the track between turns 10 and 11 was modeled. The only turn that could not be modeled 100% perfect was turn 7 as there are limitations to the game engine that we could not defeat. Warnings: -------------------------------------------------------- - This track was designed to run in Hardware mode only. Software users may see some strange graphics, but otherwise will be able to drive the track. For best results, set draw-ahead to maximum settings. - Some walls are intentionally invisible. This is to reflect real world positioning of walls even where they do not exist. A wall HAS to exist in the game, but we decided not to graphically show them. These invisible walls (inner most and outer most walls only) are positioned to match with a natural boundary such as a embankment or ditch. If you take damage hitting these invisible walls, you would have hit a natural boundary in real life. - The curbing can be used, and in fact abused, but beware that just as in real life, there are consequences to pay if used incorrectly. - Turn 11 (hairpin) could not be modeled correctly with tire barriers on the inside of the turn. We did not want to place a wall there as Papyrus does, so we left it open. This does allow the corner to be cut, we are leaving cheat prevention up to each league admin. - Gilligans Island was intentionally left out as a limitation in the game engine would not allow AI to pit there anyway. - Tire wear is accurate. Don't think that you can run fast laps for a full fuel run. Just as in real life, you need to pay attention to tire wear. - Billboard adverts are current and accurate. Be warned that there are be adverts unsuitable for minors. - Trucks were not tested much since they no longer race on SPR. - Only 32 cars can fit on to pit road. This is enough for any online racing, and that was our goal. Credits: -------------------------------------------------------- Tim McArthur - Track, AI, Text, and installer Rob Hitching - CAM files Tom Pabst - Graphics (to version 3) Special thanks to Sears Point Raceway, Nascar, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Bobby Labonte, Bob Davis (SPR), Ralph Alexander (SCCA/NASA), Dave McEntee (Russell), David Noonan, and Alison hine for all the assitance in making this project come alive. And many thanks the much of the Stock Car Online Racing league (http://www.members.home.com/tim.mcarthur/) who helped in online testing twice a week for 3 months. Final Notes: -------------------------------------------------------- This project took a great deal of time and energy. Many in the credits above spent a lot of thier own time, and money, to make this happen. I am grateful to each of them for thier dedication and determination towards the project. Due to the stress that this project put on all of our lives, we are no longer working together to fullfill another of our dreams, the Sears Point "road-course" (old course). I am currently seeking at least one graphics person to assist in completing that dream, and possibly a few others down the road. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested. Papryus... files, scetches, or design figures available upon request. - Tim McArthur (tim.mcarthur@home.com) Resume upon request Software located within is free and may not be redistributed or reposted without express permission. We can not be held liable for any damage to user computer, or files contained on said computer. Installation of this software assumes agreement.