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Charlotte 2012 Night - Chase Edition



The 2012 V1 track has been updated to include the Bank of America 500 grass logos and race length. Other updates include small modifications to some graphics (some billboards have been updated but not all), the pink start/finish logos have been added, video screen position adjusted and the missing scoring tower installed.

There are several other small updates including geometry and AI modifications, but as usual a lot of the updates are small but subtle and the details of which are long forgotten about. The AI should no longer "checkup" going into the turns.

If needed you can disable the big video screen and rotating scoring tower by copying the files from the fps_saving folder to the track folder.

There is also an alternative but unused AI lp file for the AI racing, by renaming the file minrace_ian.lp to minrace.lp you will find the "racing groove" for the AI is slightly wider thus allowing for more 3 wide and crazy stuff, to uninstall, rename back to minrace_ian.lp.



2012 V1 Track specification:
For 2012 we made some small but significant updates to our Charlotte_2011 track to bring it as close to 2012 specifications as possible. In addition, we have the added the legendary AI from J.R. Franklin. You'll have no problems getting into this track and reliving the Sprint All-Star race or the Coca-Cola 600.

The following is a list of updates since our Charlotte 2011:
  • Updated wall textures.
  • Updated infield logos.
  • Adjusted lighting and track shading.
  • Adjusted grooves to balance times closer.
  • Updated Backstretch Video Screen with action footage.
  • Adjusted PTA Physics AI for use with Indycar Racing mod.
  • Updated track banking geometry to better match the real track.

This track is intended to be used in SIM (SIMULATION) mode, it has not been tested in ARCADE mode.



  • IMPORTANT IMFORMATION REGARDING THE A.I.

  • The A.I. for this track were constructed using a default papy_ai.ini, the default fast setups for each physics (CUP, GNS and CTS) and the opponent strength set at 97%. Ratings for the car sets used in testing and in developing the A.I. for this track are from the NRatings program using the MasGrafx Full Season V3.1 formulas. We went to great efforts to make the AI and racing as realistic as possible. At the same time, we also took some liberties with the A.I. tools available in the track.ini to enhance the "fun" factor. We're confident that you'll enjoy the offline racing experience against the AI the way we have set them up for you.

    We also made an effort to get the A.I. to have an occasional random wreck that would bring out some cautions to further enhance the realism. In trying to achieve this, we first went through the entire track and made sure that the proper surface designations were in place to allow for cautions when wrecks and spinouts occur. In addition, we had to "push the envelope" a bit with the settings in the track.ini. This required getting the A.I. to race a little tighter, change lanes and be a little more aggressive. As a result, the end user may experience an early wreck or 2 between the A.I. at the beginning of a race. This is because at the start of a race, the pack is at its largest and tightest. Testing revealed that once a couple of early wrecks occurred, then the A.I. seemed to settle down and spread out. However, once another random wreck occurred, the restart would re-tighten the pack and as the saying goes....."Cautions can breed more cautions". Kind of like real life racing!

    To enjoy the best results, we recommend that you use the default fast setups provided with the track and car/truck sets containing ratings as described above. Your results and A.I. behavior, however, may vary depending on the type of mod used, the ratings of your specific car set, different setups used, driving style, skill level and countless other variables that make it practically impossible to predict the results that you will achieve while racing on this track.

    We hope that you enjoy the racing experience!

    J.R. Franklin



  • KNOWN ISSUES

  • AI lp FILES: The AI lp files are packed into the dat file, so please don't report that the track won't work because there are no AI files included. There are and the track will work just fine. Load it up and you'll see.

    INDYCAR RACING AI & TRACK INI FILES: If you are using the track with the Indycar Racing mod, rename race_OWR.lp to race.lp, and track_OWR.ini to track.ini. Be sure to rename the orginal track.ini to something else first. Then, set the weather to Cloudy and 40F and AI strength to between 96-98% for the carset that comes with the mod. Use the supplied fast setup for best results (but be advised, it is a bit nervous though).

    BIG SCREEN: The big screen will only run during races. All other times it will only show a static grey screen.



  • CREDITS

  • A number of people have contributed to this project, including:

    Ian Smythe - Development
    J.R. Franklin - A.I. & beta testing
    Freddy (Wheatland) - trioval grass logos
    Shane (http://www.revampedreloaded.net/revamped/) - Billboards
    BOWTIE (http://ewracing.com/ewracing/n2k3_3d_objects.htm) - 3D Crowd mip.

    Setups:
    Wayne Faircloth - Expert.cup, Fast_62.gns, Expert.cts
    Danny Coral - Fast_DC.cup, Fast.gns
    Sam Lincoln - Fast.cup
    FLM - Fast.cts
    EOD - Fast_EOD.cts
    Intimidator - Expert.gns
    Volker Hackman - VH_Charlotte_Race.cup



  • DOWNLOADS:

    Charlotte_2012_SDT_Night_CE.7z (7zip Archive 39.5MB)
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