ÜBERLEBEN.../UEBERLEBEN.ISO/_updates/mga-nscr/nasc_m_e.txt

Text File | 1995-07-12 | 51KB | 1,203 lines

"RACE DRIVERS ARE SCHIZOPHRENICS... I'M A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON
OUTSIDE THE CAR."
GREAT BUDDY BAKER - NASCAR DRIVER


Quickstart
All right, so it's a big manual, you've just got the game installed on
your hard drive and you're dying to get behind the wheel, so here's how
to get up and running quickly. Just remember, that Nascar is no simple
racing game and once you've blasted round the track a bit, make sure you
return to the manual and learn how race a car, rather than just drive
into the perimeter wall at high speed.

First of all you should decide whether you want to race with a joystick
or with the keyboard. Choose the Options option from the main menu and
then click on controls. Here you can calibrate your joystick or choose
the keys you'd like to use. The game assumes that you want to use a
joystick, so if you want to use the keyboard, click on Set Controls. To
set a key for a particular function, simply click on one of the options
using the arrow and enter keys and then press the key you'd like to use.
When you're happy, click on Done and return to the main screen.

>From the main screen choose the Preseason Testing option by clicking up
or down with the arrow keys and then hitting the enter key. This will
enable you to get to know your car on a closed course, with no other
cars present

The track screen will now appear. Use the arrow keys to scroll down the
list until you come to Talladega and then hit enter. This racetrack's
very fast, has got high-banked corners and is equipped with very wide
straights, making it perfect to practice on.

You will now see the preseason testing menu screen. A car has already
been prepared for you, so you'll be able to hop straight into the
driver's seat. Use the arrow keys to select the Testing option and then
hit the enter key.

And here you are behind the wheel of a high performance Nascar racing
car. Important things to note:
The steering wheel is not on the right or in the centre, it's on the
left.
All your important dials are on the dashboard - they're not there for
effect either, you've got to learn to pay close attention to these if
you're not going to blow your car's engine.

At the moment your car is sat in the pit lane of the track. Accelerate
out of the pit lane and onto the race track. Unless you've turned on the
Manual Shifting option from the Realism menu, the computer will do all
the gear changes for you, so you'll just have to worry about steering
and braking. If you're changing gears yourself, you should aim to hit a
higher gear at about 7000 rpm.

Talladega's got 33 degrees banking, so try not to overcorrect the
steering as you hit the first corner, instead almost let the car choose
your line. The dotted line on the race track is 10 feet from the
barrier, so it's a good line to choose. As you come off the corner and
down the back straight you'll see an orange ball, these indicate the
start and end of the corners. Try and enter the corners from just right
of centre.

As you finish a lap you'll see a Pit Board appear in the upper left of
the screen. The top time is your average speed on the last lap and the
bottom time is your best average speed.

To quit out of a race at any time, just hit the escape key. To change
your car's set-up choose Garage from the Preseason Testing screen. Then
to go back onto the track just click on Resume.









In Car-Know your dashboard

You'll be driving exceptionally powerful cars in this game. They are
race-tuned, high performance monsters that accelerate so fast they can
suck your eyebrows off your face. However in order to perform so well,
to move so fast and to hold the track that well, they need to fine tuned
- these are no go-karts. Therefore, to get the most out of your car
you've got to pay close attention to what's happening under the bonnet -
ignore all those red lines and you'll end up with more than oil all over
your face.

THE CAR DASHBOARD

Speed
Surprisingly, this gauge tells you how fast you're going - needless to
say, it's an important feature.

Fuel Gauge
Your car runs on petrol, not air so you'll have to keep a close eye on
this gauge. The needle indicates how much fuel you've got remaining.
When it's pointing all the way to the right, you're full
(22 US. Gallons), when it gets into the red, you've got three gallons
left. That little red light above the gauge comes on when you're due for
a refuel.

Oil Pressure
Oil pressure isn't something you have to worry about too much in a road
car, but it's vitally important to racing cars. The gauge indicates the
current pressure the oil is under in your engine. If your car's running
normally, it should read 80 psi. If you over-rev the engine the red
warning light will come on, keep on over-revving the engine and you're
likely to blow it up.

Water Pressure
This gauge indicates how hot the water in your car's radiator is. If
your car's running normally, it should read about 200 degrees. Again,
the red warning light indicates that the radiator's getting too hot. To
stop the car getting too hot, you should avoid over-revving the engine.
Oh and try not to ride in the other cars' slip-streams too much, because
this robs the radiator of its air-flow.

Gear
This shows you which gear your car's in. Obviously this doesn't matter
too much if you've got automatic gear-shifting on, but if you're
changing gear's it's a jolly useful indicator.

Tachometer
Or to put it another way, your revometer. This dial indicates your
engine's revolutions per minute - or how fast the engine's pistons are
operating. By paying close attention to this dial you can judge your
gear changes to perfection. Avoid straying too far beyond 8000rpm,
because you can blow your engine up. And that's not good.

Oil Temperature
Like all cars, your engine is cooled and lubricated by oil. Normal
temperatures are about 200 degrees, go beyond this and - guess what -
you can blow the engine up. If your red-warning light stays on
consistently, try increasing the rear spoiler angle in the pits.

Rear View Mirror
Not exactly a new technology, but still a very useful one. Cars in the
middle section are directly behind you, those to the left or right are
displayed in the left or right. Much like a real mirror, really.





Finding your way around NASCAR
Once you've had a play with the practice sessions and learnt a bit about
controlling your car, you can get to know the game a bit better. To win
a race you've got to set-up your car correctly and then use its
qualities tactically. Do everything right and you can become the NASCAR
champion.

The Main Menu
Everything's accessed from this master menu. To select an option, use
the up and down arrows to highlight a choice and then hit the enter key.
Or alternatively, use the joystick to move the bar up and down and press
fire to select. To work your way back through the menus, just hit the
Escape key. Note: you can also press Escape during a race, to return to
the options menus. The menu selections are summarised below:

Single Race
Enables you to compete in a race on the track of your choice. After
you've chosen a track you can do battle with the other stock cars in
practice, qualifying and race sessions.

Championship Season
If you think you've got what it takes to win the Season Title of NASCAR
racing, then here's where to start. Each race is contested in the actual
order that the NASCAR association use. However, the schedule will only
take into account those tracks that you've installed on your computer.

Preseason Testing
Make use of unlimited private test time on the track of your choice.
Hone your driving skills to the maximum without having to worry about
other cars. This is the best place to start if you just want to
practice.

Multiplayer Race
This option enables you to race against a friend. You'll need either a
modem or a null modem cable
(direct-connect lead).

Driver Info
This option enables you to personalise you car, enter your own details
and check out the competition.

Options
Customise the game's technical variables to your satisfaction. Graphic
detail, sound, realism options, joystick calibration and frame rates can
all be tweaked from this option.

Exit
Surprisingly enough, this quits the game, drops you back into DOS and
lets you get on with all those scintillating jobs such as cataloguing
your personal collection of wombat dung.

Note To Mouse Users
This game does not include mouse support. You won't be able to select
menu items or drive the car using the mouse - instead you'll have to use
either a joystick or the keyboard. You will however, need a mouse if
you're going to use the Paint Kit option to personalise your motor.

Single Race Menu
If you don't want to get involved in a championship season, and just
fancy a quick, frantic race, then here's where to start. From here you
can tune up your stock car, get some practice time in or watch yourself
on replay.

Replay
Watch highlights from the track. You can save, load or edit replays from
this menu.

Garage
Save or load car set-ups and tinker with your car until it's running
just the way you want it to.


Practice
It's all very well chugging around a track on your own, but sooner or
later you're going to have to get used to all those other cars that will
be battling you for a place on the podium. This offers you a good
opportunity to sort out any wrinkles in your car's set-up.

Qualify
When the car is set-up you can qualify for the race and earn your place
on the grid. You'll find out pretty soon just how important it is to be
at the front of the grid with the big boys.

Warm up
You've qualified and now it's time to load your race set-up and get the
feel of your car. This is a good time to check out the track and the
conditions too.

Race
You've done all your homework, you've hunched over the engine with a
ratchet spanner and a can of WD-40 and now it's time to put it all to
the test.

Next Session
This option enables you to advance to the next session of a race
weekend. For example when you're happy at practice, click here to go on
to warm-up. If you skip the qualification option you'll automatically be
placed at the very back of the grid.

Standings
How are you doing so far. Check this option to see where all your
effort's getting you and how well the opposition are doing.

Save/Load Race
If you're half way through the best race of your life and you suddenly
realise that Baywatch is on, you can save it and continue at a later
date.

Exit
Enables you to leave the track.

The Options Menu
Not everybody's got a rapid PC, or indeed a state-of-the-art soundcard.
Because we're interested in making every PC owner's experience with
NASCAR an enjoyable one, we've included plenty of options. These enable
you to set the game up to play just the way you want it. If the cars'
engine noises are annoying you, or you want to calibrate your joystick,
this is the place to come.

Controls
This is a very important menu, not least because you can't use a mouse
with NASCAR. Choosing controls will reveal a menu that enables you to
calibrate your joystick or wheel device. For instance, you can decide to
just use the joystick for steering while using the keyboard to
accelerate and brake with. I don't know why you'd want to do that but,
hey, we give you all the options in this game, buddy. To assign controls
choose Set Controls and then assign each item individually. So, if you
want to use the joystick to accelerate, push forward on your joystick at
the prompt. Please note: wheel or yoke users will need to choose Linear
Steering while joystick users should select Non-linear steering. If you
are using a wheel device and the menus scroll by rapidly, press J to
disable the joystick axis and use the keyboard to make selections.

Realism
All right, so we know that it already feels like you're sat behind the
wheel of a large stock car, but you may want it to be so real that you
could practice this game and then participate in the real thing. This
menu enables you to customise race lengths, make your car indestructible
(you cheater, you), allow/disallow yellow flags or pace and accept
random weather conditions.

Race length
Do you want to go the whole distance, or just take part in a short race?
Select this option and scroll up and down to increase or decrease the
race length. 10% of a 500 mile race would be 50 miles. Please note that
during a championship season, you've got to complete the whole race.

Car Damage
This setting has no effect on the computer controlled cars, only on your
stock car. If you want to feel every knock and scrape (and pay the
penalties in damage for them) then choose Full. Alternatively, choose
Cars Only so that only those collisions with computer controlled cars
will damage you. Choose Walls Only if you only want to damage you car
when you hit a wall. Choose None if you want to be indestructible.
Note: Even if you've made your car's exterior indestructible, you can
still screw up the engine by over-revving it or by neglecting the tyres.

Yellow Flags
If you don't want the race stopped, no matter what happens, then toggle
this on or off.


Pace Lap
If you don't want a one lap warm-up before a race then turn this off. If
you don't use the pace lap, be warned, you will effectively enter the
car when it's moving.

Weather
Choose Random Weather if you want typically variant conditions. If you
want to pick the race weather then click on Constant Weather.

Opponents
Do you want to race against men or boys? You can choose from this menu.

Maximum
Sets the number of cars you'll be racing against. If you've got a slower
PC, race against fewer cars and the game will run faster.

Strength
This is a skill level setting for the computer controlled cars - 100% is
a realistic driving ability. The lower the value, the slower and less
intelligent the cars.

Drawing
How many cars do you want in front of you, and how many behind?

Driving Aids
Nobody said that driving a stock car was going to be easy. But we're
reasonable guys, so we've included these add-ons to help you learn your
way around a Nascar race track.

Automatic Shifting
If you keep blowing engines through over-revving, let the car change
gears for you.

Automatic Braking
If you keep hitting walls and other cars at high speed, try letting the
car brake for you.

Steering Help
Why bother playing the game at all? But seriously, this lends a guiding
hand to your steering wheel.





Graphics Details
By setting this series of variable up correctly, you can best use your
particular PC's abilities. If you've got a Pentium then set everything
to full and you'll be all right, lesser mortals should read on.  If the
game's animation seems a bit on the juddery side, then you may need to
turn the some of the items, so freeing up some processor time. Turn off
those graphics items that are of least importance to you, until the
game's running as smoothly as you'd like.

Your choices (with the exception of Frame Rates) are On, Off and Auto.
Choose On to always see a particular kind of graphics detail, choose
Auto to let the computer decide when it's being overworked and choose
Off to turn that detail off completely.

The Minimum Frame Rate refers to the minimum animation speed that you
want the game to run at. The higher the frame rate, the better the
animation and vice versa. The Maximum Frame Rate tells your computer
what sort of animation speed it should aim to achieve.

Graphics Hotkeys
You can change the level of graphic detail from within the game by using
these numeric hotkeys:

1       Grass Texture: Turn the grass on or off.

2       Asphalt Texture: Switches between solid grey road and gorgeous
textured tarmac.

3       Object Textures: Press once to turn off billboard, building and
some grandstand                         textures. Press again to remove
the objects all together. Press a third time to restore
the crowd to the grandstands.

4       Grandstand Textures: Toggles between full and empty seats.

5       Wall Texture: Toggles between solid colours and textured and
signed walls.

6       Horizon Texture: Press to switch the trees on and off.

7       Car Texture: Switches all logos and decals on and off the cars.

8       Smoke/Dirt: Press once to turn smoke and dirt clouds off, once
again to restore them.

9       Skids/Paint: Takes the lines off the road and the skidmarks off
the track.

Sound
>From this menu you can set the specific volume levels of all the sounds
utilised in the game - 100% represents full volume. For instance, if you
can't hear the engine for the announcer, then turn him off on this page.

Arcade Driving
At any time during a race, you can switch the view from in-car, to a 3D
arcade view. Hit the F10 key once and you'll enter telephoto arcade
mode. Press F10 again and you enter wide view arcade mode. To return to
the car, simply hit F10 one more time. All of your stock car's essential
gauges are displayed at the bottom of the screen.








Instant Replay
To enable you to enjoy your victories to the full, Nascar comes fully
equipped with a video replay system. All of the cars are kitted out with
onboard cameras and you can view the pictures these produce, using a VCR
style display. Moreover, replays can be viewed from any of the cars that
were on the track at the time, giving you somewhere in the region of
three hundred possible playback angles.

To start instant replay, just hit the Esc key during a race and click on
the Replay option. You will now see the most recent bit of footage from
the race, using the default camera angle. In the upper right corner of
the screen is the footage counter that tells you exactly which frame is
being displayed at a particular time. In the lower left of the screen
are the driver's car number and name. Beneath this is the VCR command
bar. To use any function just move the arrow keys left and right or
press Enter to select.

The first button (some scissors) enables you to cut out those laps that
you don't want to use. To use this, cue to the point at which you want
to start the footage and click the button once. Then cue to the end of
the footage and press the button again.

The next button (a camera) enables you to switch cameras. This way you
create a television style recording of events.

The car icon enables you to view the onboard camera inside a particular
car.

The fourth button is a Timing/Telemetry button. Pressing once selects
the timing stopwatch icon, pressing twice activates telemetry and a
third click turns both these features off.

The next four buttons enable you to rewind, search, play/pause and fast
forward through the footage.

Finally there's the Disk Utilities icon that enables you to save your
footage to disk.
























The Garage Menu
It's all very well being the quickest driver on the track, but unless
your car's up to scratch you'll still end up in the lower places. The
way around this is to set your car up correctly. The stock cars used in
Nascar can be tweaked in almost the same number of ways that the real
things can, so if you lose you've got no reason to complain about the
car - it's up to you.

Tyres
Obviously, the state of your tyres is vitally important if your car's
going to perform well. This menu enables you to replace worn tyres, read
their temperatures and adjust their stagger and pressure. You've got the
option of driving with either Goodyear or Hoosier tyres. The difference
between the two is that the Hoosier tyres are faster and thus good for
qualifying with, while the Goodyear tyre lasts longer and is therefore
better in a race.

Tyre Temperature/Pressure
Tyres get hot. This isn't actually a bad thing, as the hotter they get,
the more adhesive they get - in effect you stick to the road better.
Tyre temperature relates almost entirely to the pressures you use - over
inflate a tyre and it'll get too hot, under-inflate it and it'll never
get hot. If it's running at 200 degrees then you're not pushing it hard
enough, conversely if it's over 250 degrees then you can expect it to
have a very short life.

Wheel Stagger
This is the relationship between the diameters on the left and right
hand side tyres. Race teams will often use larger tyres on the right
side of the car, because it's the outer side of the car on Nascar ovals.
This set-up makes the car easier to drive into turns.

Fuel
Your stock car runs on unleaded petrol with an octane rating well over
104 (compare this to normal petrol's octane rating of 93). Your fuel
tank can hold 22 US gallons of fuel, although it's worth remembering
that this alters the car's handling abilities, as the more fuel you
hold, the heavier the car.

Spoiler Adjustments
To help your car stick to the road, you can add a certain amount of
downforce to it, by adding a spoiler. The trade-off is that, the more
downforce you create, the more drag you'll have and the slower you'll
go. You have a front and a rear spoiler.  The front air dam can be
raised or lowered.

The higher the setting, the easier it'll be to steer, but you'll also
shave a bit off your top speed. By choosing More from the air dam menu,
the air dam is lowered thus providing more downforce.
The rear spoiler creates downforce on the back of the car. The more
downforce on the rear, the less grip you'll lose going into a corner. As
with the front air dam though, you'll pay in terms of top speed and fuel
performance.

Suspension
Altering the suspension of you car will change the way that it handles -
that is, how it behaves going into corners, how it steers and how it
reacts at high speed. To tweak your suspension you should look at your
tyre temperatures to see where possible problems are occurring. For
instance, if one side of a tyre is much hotter than the other, camber
adjustment will be necessary. Your goal is to strive for even
temperatures on the tyre by altering the camber. In order to see what
effect your changes have made you'll need to return to the track to test
it out.

Weights and Wedges
Your car has to weigh at least 3500 lbs, however where you distribute
that weight is entirely up to you. There are three weight options
available to you, those being Left Bias, Rear Bias and Cross Weight.

If your car's going to be turning left a good deal, as it will at
Darlington, you'll need to add a bit of weight to the left, to offset
the transference of weight to the right when you turn. To add Left Bias
choose this option from the Weight Jack menu.

When you're moving at high speed, lots of weight will be thrown on the
back of the car. To compensate for this you can add more weight on the
front. This weighting will relate to the kinds of speeds you'll be
achieving during a race.
The Cross Weight option is a specific weight transference - it enables
you to place weight over a specific wheel. This kind of setting's good
if the race track you'll be competing at has lots of left-hand corners
(that's pretty much all of them). This setting enables you to place,
say, weight over the left rear wheel, making turning at high speed much
easier.

Shock Stiffness
Your car has a gas-filled shock absorber at each wheel, they are there
to stabilise your car during turns. By adjusting the stiffness of each
shock absorber, you can improve your car's cornering performance.
Stiffer shocks, cause the car to 'reset' quicker, but the down-side is
that they can cause over-reaction of the handling. Softer shock settings
mean that a roll (when you corner) will last longer, but the car will be
much more forgiving. If the car pushes too much, stiffen the rear end a
bit, if it feels too loose, soften the rear and/or the front shocks.

Wheel Lock
This relates to your car's turning circle. If you're racing on a track
(such as Talladega) where you won't need to steer much, then you can
decrease the wheel lock. On one of the more erratic courses, you'll need
more of a turning capability to deal with the traffic. To change this
option choose Wheel Lock from the Suspension section of the Garage menu.

Gear Ratios
A track like Talladega requires a lot of top speed, while a course like
Martinsville demand potent acceleration. Your car's abilities in respect
of top speed or acceleration relate to the gear ratio you've chosen.
Basically, taller gears are used to generate more top speed, shorter
gears tighten the power curve generated by the engine, making the car
accelerate quicker.

To change the gear ratio, select Gears from the Garage menu. Choose More
if you want a smaller gear that produces less rpms and more
acceleration. Choose Less if you want a taller gear that gives you a
higher speed, but less acceleration. If your oil pressure warning light
flickers constantly while you're in fourth gear, select Less to provide
fewer engine rpms.

Options
>From this menu you can load, save or delete your car set-ups. This is a
worthwhile practice as you'll need a
different set-up for each track you race. There are three pre-defined
set-ups called Easy, Fast and Ace. The Ace setting is a very quick, but
hard to handle car.





Some hints and tips

With a good set-up, you can usually get around the bigger tracks without
lifting your foot off the accelerator. Because of the steep banking and
shallower angles of these turns, you'll also have the luxury of several
available racing lines to take advantage of.

Every track's got a perfect line, which if you followed it all the time,
would mean you got a very fast qualifying time and a very high average
lap speed. It's worth bearing in mind that the best racing line will
change during the course of a race, as your car changes.






Race Track Info
Here's some technical information on each of the Nascar race tracks. Pay
particular attention to the banking, which will tell you how to set your
wheels and the average race speed which will tell you how to set your
gear ratios.


ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Length: 1.522 Miles
Banking: 24 degrees
Qualifying Record: 180.183 mph (30.4 secs)
Average Race speed: 156.849 mph
Special instructions: There are two Winston Cup races here a year, one
in spring, the other in fall, meaning that you'll need two different car
set-ups for the differing weather condition


BRISTOL INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Length: .533 miles
Banking: 36 degrees
Qualifying Record: 122.474 mph (15.7 secs)
Average Race speed: 101.074 mph
Special instructions: Concentrate on acceleration rather than top speed
as this is a small and very fickle circuit that can really play havoc
with your car.


DARLINGTON RACEWAY
Length: 1.366 miles
Banking: 23 degrees (turns one and two), 25 degrees (turns three and
four)
Qualifying Record: 163.067 (30.1 secs)
Average Race speed: 139.958
Special instructions: Be prepared to drive bumper to bumper on this
racetrack. Oh, and make sure that your car's capable of braking well as
the traffic gets pretty hectic.


MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
Length: .526 miles
Banking: 12 degrees
Qualifying Record: 93.887 mph (20.2 secs)
Average Race speed: 79.336 mph
Special instructions: Due to the small size of the circuit and the
shallowness of the banked turns, you should be prepared for quite a bit
of body damage. Oh and make sure that you've got plenty of handling
capability.


MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Length: 2 miles
Banking: 18 degrees
Qualifying Record: 180.750 mph (39.8 secs)
Average Race speed: 160.912
Special instructions: In terms of handling, your car should be pretty
tight as this will enable you to carry your speed into the corners.
Concentrate on handling, horsepower, downforce and drag.









NEW HAMPSHIRE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Length: 1.058 miles
Banking: 12 degrees
Qualifying Record: 126.871 mph (30 secs)
Average Race speed: 105.947 mph
Special instructions: Good brakes and steering that's a little bit on
the loose side will give you a car that drives hard through the corners
as well as turning well in the middle of them. Concentrate on your
downforce.


PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Length: 1 mile
Banking: 11 degrees (turns one and two), 9 degrees (turns three and
four)
Qualifying Record: 129.482 mph (27.8 secs)
Average Race speed: 105.683 mph
Special instructions: There's no way you'll get all the way around this
race track with your foot glued to the accelerator. You'll need good
acceleration and slightly loose wheel handling.


TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
Length: 2.66 miles
Banking: 33 degrees in the turn, 18 degrees in the tri-oval
Qualifying Record: 212.809 mph (45 secs)
Average Race speed: 186.288 mph
Special instructions: You'll need lots and lots and lots of top speed to
get the most out of this track. In terms of handling, leave it pretty
neutral. Be prepared to drive the entire circuit without letting up on
the accelerator at all.


WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
Length: 2.454 miles
Banking: Nine turn road course
Qualifying Record: 119.118 mph (1 minute 14 secs)
Average Race speed: 98.977 mph
Special instructions: Aim for neutral handling and during set-up
concentrate on transmission, brakes,
horsepower, downforce and drag. On the track, be prepared to sit and
wait for your over-taking chances.





















In-Game Hot-keys
Whilst you're racing, it's very important to keep a close eye on how
your car is performing. All the changes that you make to the car during
testing, will affect handling and performance out on the track. The
following key functions display information about your car, that your
pit crew can access, thanks to your car's on-board computer. They enable
you to keep track of every facet of your car (although you won't be able
to change them unless you go into the pits), so keep a close eye on
them, because one small mistake can make the difference between winning
and losing.

F1
Every time you finish a lap, your pit crew will hold out a board that
details your average lap speed. However, in the heat of the moment, it's
very easy to miss it. This key calls up the Pitboard Screen enabling you
to view your times at any time during a race.

F2
Because many of the Nascar circuits are ovals, it's very difficult to
work out what place you're in, from simply looking in front and behind
you. After all, some cars may be right in front of you and yet still be
five laps down. Knowing where you are in a race enables you to make
educated decisions about pit stops, over-taking and fuel consumption. To
view the Current Standings simply hit F2.

F3
Stock car racing, just like any other form of motor sport, is as much
about tactics as driving skills. Knowing how much fuel you've got,
whether or not you're going to have to refuel, and when to do it is
crucial to finishing in the top places. This function key will display
all your Fuel Management Information, including how far you'll get with
the petrol that's currently in your tank. It's absolutely vital to keep
a close eye on this, or you could end up in first place, with three laps
to go, and only have enough fuel for another two laps.

F4
Stock car tyres come in for a lot of punishment. As a race progresses,
and according to how a car is set, they will get hotter and hotter. This
option will display the Tyre  Temperatures on the outer, middle and
inner surfaces. Pay close attention to the differences between the
three, because they will enable you configure your car correctly.

F5
Another tyre indicator. This time, the pit crew will tell you what
pressure your tyres are set at. Tyre Pressures are measured in pounds
per square inch. Over inflate a tyre and it'll get too hot, under-
inflate it and you won't get the performance you require.

F6
When you set up your car, you decide exactly where you'd like the weight
to be distributed. This configuration governs how the car handles in
corners and when accelerating and braking. If at any time, you need to
know how your car is Weighted access this option.

F7
Down-force and uplift on a car are governed by the angles at which the
four Spoilers are set. To check how your car is configured, use this
option. If it's not going fast enough, you may have the spoilers set too
high - if you're losing it on the corners, they may be set too low.

F8
It's no good pulling into the pits for that all important refuel, if the
pit crew haven't got the tyres or fuel that you need. This option
displays Pit-stop Availability, so always check before pulling off the
track, in case your pit crew are out of what you require.



Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

System Requirements

Before installing NASCAR Racing, check to ensure that your computer
meets the minimum hardware requirements for NASCAR Racing.  If you have
any difficulty running the game, be sure to use a bootable floppy disk
prior to starting the game.  Follow the instructions in the
Troubleshooting section to create a start up disk.

CD-ROM VGA
386DX 33MHz or greater, 6MB RAM (will run with 4MB with reduced graphic
detail), MS-DOS 5.0 or later, VGA, hard drive with 15 MB free.

CD-ROM SVGA
486DX2 66MHz or greater, 8MB RAM, MS-DOS 5.0 or later, VGA, hard drive
with 8MB free.

3.5" Diskette VGA
386DX 33MHz or greater, 6MB RAM (will run with 4MB with reduced graphic
detail), MS-DOS 5.0 or later, VGA, hard drive with 15 MB free.


Installation Program

    CD-ROM
1.      Insert CD-ROM of NASCAR Racing into CD-ROM drive.
2.      Type  the name of that drive (e.g. D:), then press <ENTER>.
3.      Type  CD\NASCAR <ENTER>.
4.      Type  INSTALL <ENTER>.
5.      Enter the letter of the drive you wish to install to (e.g. C),
then press <ENTER>.
6.      Enter the directory you wish to install to (e.g. \NASCAR), then
press <ENTER>.
7.      Select CD-ROM Installation or Hard Disk installation.  If you
choose CD-ROM installation,
    only a few necessary files will be copied to the hard disk.  If
you choose Hard Disk Installation the entire                    program
will be copied to the hard disk.
8.      When you see "Installation Successful Press ENTER", press
<ENTER>.


    3.5" Diskette
1.      Insert Disk 1 of NASCAR Racing into disk drive.
2.      Type  the name of that drive (e.g. A: or B:), then press
<ENTER>.
3.      Type  INSTALL <ENTER>.
4.      Enter the letter of the drive you wish to install to (e.g. C),
then press <ENTER>.
5.      Enter the directory you wish to install to (e.g. \NASCAR), then
press <ENTER>.
6.      You will be prompted to switch disks.
7.      When you see "Installation Successful Press ENTER", press
<ENTER>.


    SETUP

1.      Installation will leave you at the NASCAR Racing Setup Program
screen.  You can also run the Setup Program from the game directory
(C:\NASCAR> if you selected the default directory during installation)
by typing SETUP <ENTER>.

2.      Select Change Sound Card from the menu.

3.      Choose your digital sound card from the list and <ENTER>

4.      Enter requested setup information.  You will need to know the
I/O Port Address, IRQ, and DMA for your sound card.  Refer to your sound
card documentation for this information.

5.      Choose your MIDI card from the list.  FM Synthesis is
appropriate for most cards.

6.      Enter requested setup information.  For the AWE32, use 620.
Most Sound Blaster or Adlib compatible cards should be set at 220,
and most general MIDI cards should be set t 330.  Refer to your sound
card documentation for this information.

7.      Choose Make a Bootable Floppy if you have only 6MB RAM or less,
or if you have any difficulties running NASCAR Racing.  Follow directions
on screen to create the bootable floppy.  See the Troubleshooting
section below for more details

8.      Choose View README File to read important update information
about NASCAR Racing.

9.      Choose Exit to leave the Setup program.


Starting NASCAR Racing

    CD-ROM
1.      Insert CD-ROM into drive into your CD-ROM drive.
2.      From your hard drive, type CD\NASCAR <ENTER> (or substitute the
name of the directory that you selected in the installation.)
3.      Type NASCAR <ENTER> to start VGA mode.
4.      Type NASCAR -H <ENTER> to start SVGA mode.  (Consult Loading
Vesa Driver for Your Graphics Card below.)

     3.5" Diskette
1.      From your hard drive, type CD\NASCAR <ENTER> (or substitute the
name of the directory that you selected in the installation.)
2.      Type NASCAR <ENTER> to start VGA mode.








Troubleshooting

Loading Vesa Driver for Your Graphics Card
The SVGA mode of NASCAR Racing requires a graphics card and monitor
capable of running 640 x 480 x 356 color.  You will need to install a
VESA driver for graphics card.  The VESA driver is a TSR (terminate and
stay resident) program that is run to activate certain functions of the
graphics card.   It is usually provided with the graphics card on a
diskette.  Check you hard drive for a graphics card sub-directory.  Look
for the driver within that sub-directory.  The filename will be similar
to VESA.COM or VVESA.COM.  If you are unable to find the driver on your
hard drive, you will need to copy it from the diskette to the hard
drive.

Run the driver from the command line by typing the name of the driver
and pressing <ENTER>.

If a VESA driver did not come with your card, contact the card's
manufacturer.  For more information on the VESA driver, consult the
user's guide for the graphics card.  You may also use the UNI VESA
driver provided with the NASCAR Racing program.  This driver may not be
used with all graphics cards, so we recommend that you use the driver
provided by your graphics card.  If you receive error messages or other
problems executing the driver, it may not recognise your graphics card.
When you install the game, the driver will be installed to your hard
drive.  Use the following instructions to run the UNIVESA driver.

1.      From the hard drive, type CD\NASCAR\UNIVESA <ENTER>
    (or substitute the name of the directory you selected during
installation.

2.      Type UNIVESA <ENTER>.


Memory
NASCAR Racing uses conventional RAM (base 640K) and extended memory
(XMS).  It does not use expanded memory (EMS).  For VGA mode, you must
have a minimum of 6MB RAM installed on your system.  (NASCAR Racing will
run with only 4MB with reduced graphic detail.)   For SVGA mode, you
must have a minimum of 8MB RAM installed.  To run NASCAR Racing in VGA
mode, you will need 3,605 KB free memory in a combination of
conventional plus XMS memory.  For SVGA, you will need 7,367 KB free
memory combined.

To find the amount of RAM memory available on your system, type MEM from
the DOS prompt.  If you have MS-DOS 6.x, look for the amount of memory
in the "Free" column for "Conventional" and "Extended (XMS)."  If you
have MS-DOS 5, look for "largest executable program size" and "bytes
available XMS memory."

If you do not have enough available RAM, we recommend the use of a
bootable floppy diskette to start your computer prior to using NASCAR
Racing.  This will allow you to free the greatest amount of memory for
the game.  To create a bootable floppy, see Making a Bootable Floppy
below.  We do not recommend that you change the autoexec.bat and
config.sys files on your hard drive because this could affect the
performance of other software on your system.


Making a Bootable Floppy
1.      From the C:> prompt, type CD\NASCAR <ENTER>.
    (Substitute the directory name you selected if you did not use the
default install options.)

2.      Type SETUP <ENTER>.

3.      Select Make a Bootable Floppy from the menu and press <ENTER>.

4.      Follow the prompts on screen to create the floppy.

5.      When the process is finished, select Exit from the menu and
press <ENTER>.
Adding Sound Card or CD-ROM Drivers to the Bootable Floppy
Most sound cards do not require drivers to be loaded onto a bootable
floppy.  There are a few exceptions to this rule.  If you have a sound
card, but are getting no sound in the game when using a start up disk,
you will need to copy some necessary information to the bootable floppy.
To be sure that you have all the necessary information on the bootable
floppy, consult your sound card's documentation.  Because different
sound card brands require various things, we are unable to tell you
exactly what to look for.

If you are using the CD-ROM version of NASCAR Racing, you will need to
add the device drivers for the CD-ROM drive to the start up disk.
Follow the same instructions as above for examining your autoexec.bat
and config.sys files.  This time, you will be looking for any mention of
the CD-ROM and the directory name that the CD-ROM software is in. (E.g.
MSCDEX)  If you are unsure about what is needed, please consult your CD-
ROM drive user's guide or contact the CD-ROM manufacturer.  Because
different CD-ROM brands require various things, we are unable to tell
you exactly what to look for.

Here are some hints of what to look for in the config.sys and
autoexec.bat files.

Autoexec.bat file
SET SOUND=
SET BLASTER=
SET GALAXY=
SET ULTRSND=
SET ULTRADIR=
SET GUSMOD=
SET SNDSCAPE=
C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE

Config.sys file
DEVICE=C:\PROAUDIO\MVSOUND.SYS D:1 Q:7 S:1,220,1,5 M:0 J:1
DEVICE=C:\ULTRASND\ULTRINIT.SYS....
DEVICE=C:\SC400\DRIVERS\CDMKE.SYS /D:MSCD000 ...
DEVICE=C:\SBCD\SBCD.SYS /D:MSCD001.....


Frame Rate and Graphics Details
If you are experiencing a slow frame rate, or the textures of the
graphics are not appearing, there are several things that may be
adjusted in the game.  Frame rate and graphics detail may be traded off
against each other to create a balance that pleases you.  Depending upon
your system, you may not be able to have all the graphics textures
turned on and still maintain a high frame rate.  In addition, every
object that must be drawn may have the effect of decreasing the frame
rate or causing graphics details to turn off.


How the Graphics Work
In the Options/Graphics menu, you have the opportunity to set certain
graphics textures to ON, OFF, or AUTO.  If you set any textures to ON,
they will be turned on regardless of the framerate.  If you set any
textures to OFF, they will be turned off regardless of framerate.  If
you set any textures to AUTO, they will turn on or off depending on the
framerate selected under Minimum and Maximum Framerate settings.  The
minimum or maximum framerate settings are used to determine when the
graphics set to AUTO turn on or off.  The minimum framerate is the
number of frames per second at which the detail set to AUTO will be
turned off.  The maximum framerate is the the number of frames per
second at which the details set to auto will be turned on.  For example,
you have Grass Texture set to Auto, the minimum frame rate set to 15,
and the maximum framerate set to 18.  When the frame rate slows down to
15 fps, the grass texture turns off.  It will turn on again only when
the framerate climbs to 18 fps. The wider the
range between minimum and maximum framerate the less frequently you will
see the graphics toggle on and off while driving.  The minimum and
maximum framerate settings do not guarantee any framerate while driving.
How to Improve Performance
You may turn some of your textures to OFF or AUTO in the Graphics menu.
Select ON only for the textures that you deem absolutely necessary for
driving.  Grass and road textures require the most processor time so it
is best to turn these off first.

There are a number of additional setting within the game that will
affect the frame rate and graphics details.  In the Options/Opponents
menu, you may change the number of opponents as well as the number that
are drawn or heard.  Select Number to decrease the number of opponents
competing in the race.  Select Drawing and decrease the number of
opponents that are drawn in front and behind your car.  Select Heard
from the menu and decrease the number of opponents that can be heard as
you are driving.  You may also substitute FM sounds for the digital
sounds in the game to increase frame rate or graphics details.  This can
be done by starting NASCAR Racing using the  -f  parameter.
Specifically, from the C:\NASCAR> prompt, type  NASCAR -F <ENTER>.


Customising the Competition
If you are just starting out at driving computer simulations and would
like to be more competitive with the computer cars without practicing
for many hours, there are a number of settings that may be customised.
The first thing to do is to decrease the opponents strength.  This
setting can be found under the Options/Opponents menu.  You may also
decrease the number of opponents.  This will give you less to worry
about as you drive around the track.  To make driving easier, you may
select Automatic Shifting and Automatic Braking under the
Options/Driving Aids menu.  Also, try out the arcade driving view.
Press the F-10 key to switch to an outside of the car view.  Using these
aids will help you to control the car until you have practiced driving
for a while.



Accelerated Time
If you crash out of a race, but want the race to finish without your
participation, press the letter A from the standings screen.  You will
automatically received a "DNF" for the race.  The screen will then show
the updating standings as the race is resolved.  This will take
approximately one third the time of the normal race.  You may press ESC
at any point to return to the menu and view a replay of the action.
After viewing the replay, press ESC then select Resume Racing to
continue the accelerated race completion.


Joystick Calibration and Setting Controls
The joystick control of the menus is turned off by default in NASCAR
Racing.  It may be turned on and off by pressing the J key at the main
menu.  This will enable/disable the steering device's control of the
menu option, but have no adverse affects on steering. If the highlight
is scrolling through the menu options on its own, you may need to
calibrate the joystick.  You may press CTRL+J at the main menu to bring
you directly to the calibrate joystick screen or select
Options/Controls/Calibrate Joystick 1.  Move your joystick or steering
device to all of its extents, then press <ENTER>.  If you have a
steering device with no Y-axis, such as the Thrustmaster Formula T1, the
menu will continue to scroll regardless of the calibration.  In this
case, press the letter J at the main menu.

If you enter the driving mode of the game, but your joystick or steering
device is not reacting, or if you would like to customise the controls
to your preferences, choose Set Controls from the Options/Controls menu.
Each of the different steering and car controls is listed there.  Select
each option, and follow on screen directions.  Example:  Select
Steering.  The screen directions tell you to steer to the left then
right.  Move your joystick or steering wheel to the left then the right.
If you wish to use the keyboard to steer, press the key you wish to use
for turning right, immediately followed by the key for turning right.
There are a few keyboard keys that cannot be selected as controls.
These are:  ESC, space bar, ENTER,F-keys, <, and >.






Save Race Weekend
In NASCAR Racing, you may save your races.  At any point during your
race weekend you may press ESC to leave the track and return to the Race
Weekend menu.  If you select Done, you will be prompted to Save Race
Weekend.  Select Yes to save the race.  The next time you select the
track, you will be prompted to Choose Race Weekend.  Select Previous
Race to begin where you left off.  The saved race will remain until you
save a new race weekend over it or select New Race to start a new race
weekend.  You cannot save more than one race at a time.  When you load a
saved race, the race will resume in a pace lap if you have pace lap
turned on, and in a standing start if the pace lap is turned off.  In a
pace lap the green flag will be displayed after one lap of yellow.  From
a standing start, the green flag will be displayed immediately.  Pace
lap may be set under the Options/Realism menu  The cars will be in the
same order as when the race was saved.


Black Flags
If you exceed the pit lane speed limit (55 mph) or pass a car under the
yellow, you will receive a black flag.  If you pass a car under the
yellow flag, you will be told the number of the car you must stay
behind.  You have until the green flag to get behind that car.  If the
green flag appears and you are not in your proper position, you will
receive a black flag.  This flag will not be displayed until the green
flag appears.

When you have been given a black flag, you must go to your pit for a
stop and go penalty.  Going into a the pit while under yellow will not
resolve your stop and go penalty.  You have 5 laps to go to the pit for
your stop and go penalty.  If you do not go into the pits within that
time, you will be disqualified from the race.  You will receive no
championship points if you are disqualified.



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London W10 5AH
Great Britain

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It is considered suitable viewing by the age range(s) indicated.

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