Pro Race Driver - Strategy Guide (Page 01)
Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Pro Race Driver - Strategy Guide (Page 01).
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PRO RACE DRIVER: DRIVING GUIDE
by
Jamie Stafford/Wolf Feather
FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM
Initial Version Completed: December 25, 2002
Version 2.0 Completed: January 12, 2003
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MILESTONE
This guide was originally submitted December 25, 2002,
exactly two years after the submission of my first-ever game
guide (Midnight Club: Street Racing - Capture the Flag
Guide). This marks my 99th guide in these two years of
writing, and when my first guide was submitted, I never
dreamed that I would become such an authority figure on
PlayStation and PlayStation2 racing games. Due to support
from readers and other guide writers, I have launched my own
Web site with my guides as well as an e-mail list to inform
others of my writing projects.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds
of readers who have e-mailed me with suggestions, comments,
criticisms, and even simply short notes of thanks. It is
truly for the readers that I continue to write game guides,
and reader feedback and input is definitely welcome. I
eagerly look forward to the next two (and hopefully more)
years of writing game guides - which will almost certainly be
concentrated within my specialty of auto racing games.
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JOIN THE FEATHERGUIDES E-MAIL LIST
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CONTENTS
Spacing and Length
Permissions
Introduction
Getting Started
Career Mode
Mandatory Pit Stops
Race Circuits in Pro Race Driver
Bonus Codes
General Tips
Car Tuning
Braking
Cornering
Rumble Strips
Concrete Extensions
Tires
Drafting/Slipstreaming
Wet-weather Racing/Driving
Circuit Histories
Circuit History: A1 Ring
Circuit History: Adelaide
Circuit History: Bathurst
Circuit History: Brands Hatch
Circuit History: Bristol
Circuit History: Canberra
Circuit History: Catalunya
Circuit History: Charlotte
Circuit History: Dijon Prenois
Circuit History: Donington Park
Circuit History: Eastern Creek
Circuit History: Fuji
Circuit History: Hockenheim
Circuit History: Knockhill
Circuit History: Las Vegas
Circuit History: Magny-Cours
Circuit History: Mantorp Park
Circuit History: Mexico
Circuit History: Monza
Circuit History: Norisring
Circuit History: Nurburgring
Circuit History: Oran Park
Circuit History: Oschersleben
Circuit History: Oulton Park
Circuit History: Phillip Island
Circuit History: Rockingham
Circuit History: Sandown
Circuit History: Sears Point
Circuit History: Silverstone
Circuit History: T1 Circuit AIDA
Circuit History: Vallelunga
Circuit History: Vancouver
Circuit History: Zandvoort
Circuit History: Zolder
Driving Instructions
Driving Instructions: A1 Ring
Driving Instructions: Adelaide
Driving Instructions: Bathurst
Driving Instructions: Brands Hatch Grand Prix
Driving Instructions: Brands Hatch Indy
Driving Instructions: Bristol
Driving Instructions: Canberra
Driving Instructions: Catalunya
Driving Instructions: Charlotte
Driving Instructions: Dijon Prenois
Driving Instructions: Donington Park
Driving Instructions: Eastern Creek
Driving Instructions: Fuji
Driving Instructions: Hockenheim Long
Driving Instructions: Hockenheim Short
Driving Instructions: Knockhill
Driving Instructions: Las Vegas
Driving Instructions: Magny-Cours
Driving Instructions: Mantorp Park
Driving Instructions: Mexico
Driving Instructions: Monza
Driving Instructions: Norisring
Driving Instructions: Nurburgring
Driving Instructions: Oran Park
Driving Instructions: Oschersleben
Driving Instructions: Oulton Park
Driving Instructions: Phillip Island
Driving Instructions: Rockingham Oval
Driving Instructions: Rockingham Road
Driving Instructions: Sandown
Driving Instructions: Sears Point
Driving Instructions: Silverstone
Driving Instructions: T1 Circuit AIDA
Driving Instructions: Vallelunga
Driving Instructions: Vancouver
Driving Instructions: Zandvoort
Driving Instructions: Zolder
Diagrams
Online Resources
Completely Subjective Section
Thanks
Contact Information
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SPACING AND LENGTH
For optimum readability, this driving guide should be
viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier.
Check for font setting by making sure the numbers and letters
below line up:
12345678901234567890123456
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
This guide is approximately *****150 pages long***** in the
Macintosh version of Microsoft Word98 using single-spaced
Courier 12-point font. Therefore, it is probably NOT a good
idea to print this guide in its entirety!!!!!
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PERMISSIONS
Permission is hereby granted for a user to download and/or
print out a copy of this driving guide for personal use.
This driving guide may only be posted on: FeatherGuides,
GameFAQs.com, f1gamers.com, PSXCodez.com, Cheatcc.com, Games
Domain, gamesover.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com,
RobsGaming.com, InsidePS2Games.com, CheatPlanet.com,
RedCoupe, The Cheat Empire, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru,
CheatHeaven, IGN, GameReactors.com, cheatingplanet.com,
neoseeker.com, and vgstrategies.com. Please contact me for
permission to post elsewhere on the Internet.
Plagiarism is NOT tolerated!!!!!
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INTRODUCTION
Pro Race Driver is definitely an above-average simulation-
style auto racing game. It can best be compared with Gran
Turismo 3 in relation to the number of circuits in the game
(some of which must be unlocked), although Gran Turismo 3
definitely has the upper hand in terms of the photorealistic
graphics and the sheer number of vehicles. However, whereas
Gran Turismo 3 has literally HUNDREDS of races and race
series, there is no connecting thread or storyline to the
game, and this is where Pro Race Driver truly shines.
Pro Race Driver's Career Mode has the player enacting the
racing life of Ryan McKane. The game's opening film
(available in French or in English) shows a young Ryan and
his older brother at a race and watching their near-legendary
father die in a horrifyingly terrible accident. Fifteen
years later, Ryan gets his first shot at a big-time auto
racing series (Americas Series). All this is done with nice
cinematic cutscenes which sometimes includes cutscenes with
rival drivers and team managers based upon the on-track
racing actions.
With forty-two licensed cars as well as thirty-eight licensed
circuits from around the world, Ryan will have A LOT to
overcome (including - and perhaps ESPECIALLY - his own ego)
to become a legendary race car driver in his own right,
surpassing even the racing community's high expectations of
his deceased father.
Please note that some of the information in this guide comes
from my General Racing/Driving Guide, Total Immersion Racing:
Game Guide, and World-famous Racing Circuits Guide - which
can all be found in full at FeatherGuides and at GameFAQs the General Racing/Driving Guide
and the World-famous Racing Circuits Guide are exclusive to
these two sites.
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GETTING STARTED
There is certainly A LOT to Pro Race Driver, and it may be a
bit difficult for the player to decide exactly where to
begin. Without question, once past the opening cutscenes for
the game, the player should set the game options and
controller setting to the desired liking. Once this is done,
the player should probably go into Free Time, the room where
the drivers simply 'hang around' when there is nothing
officially racing-related to do.
To get a good feel for how the game works and plays, the
player should go to Free Race. Here, there are two 'sets' of
circuits on the Tracks of the World menu selection screen.
The top of this screen shows race venues using the order of
the racing series in which they are used; circuits selected
from within a race series will also have only series-specific
vehicles on the upcoming vehicle selection screen (note that
some race venues are used in multiple race series). The
bottom of the Tracks of the World screen lists ALL the race
circuits available in the Freestyle section; when a race
venue is selected from Freestyle, then the initially-
available and unlocked cars appropriate for the selected
circuit(s) are available from the vehicle selection screen.
Vehicle selection is done by picking the car key for the
vehicle the player wishes to drive; only those vehicles
specific to the chosen race venue or series will be
available. Next, options can be made, such as the
transmission type, the vehicle color (unfortunately, this is
not available for all cars, likely due to vehicle licensing
issues), etc. Finally, it is time to head to the circuit!!!
Now the player is shown the garage at the circuit.
Unfortunately, Pro Race Driver does not include qualifying
(which is the one major downfall of this game), so the player
is stuck with wherever she or he is placed on the starting
grid by the CPU; this can be noted before the race by
selecting Grid Positions. Selecting Car Setup/Test Drive
will allow the player to change the various aspects of each
car, from downforce to gear ratios (combined or individually)
to brake bias to ride height to tires and beyond (there are
not as many tuning options in Pro Race Driver as in Gran
Turismo 3, but there are definitely more than enough to keep
the player quite interested); car set-up changes can be
tested using Test Drive, but the player will unfortunately be
the only one on the circuit, so there is no opportunity to
determine how the vehicle will handle in traffic. When
ready, the player can go to Race to line up on the starting
grid for the race itself - bonne chance!!!!!
After competing in several races at favorite race venues, the
player should probably go back to the Tracks of the World
screen and become familiar with the three Americas Series
venues: Mexico, Sears Point, and Vancouver. This is because
the Americas Series is where Ryan McKane will always begin
when a new Career Mode profile is created. Mexico and
Vancouver are current CART circuits, whereas Sears Point is
perhaps best known in the States as one of the two road
courses used by NASCAR.
Once the player clears the Americas Series in Career Mode,
the player will then have access to all the other Tier 1
racing series (TOCA, Southern European, etc.). Before
progressing to each of the other racing series, the player
would benefit greatly from returning to Free Race and
participating in races at the circuits used in the series the
player wishes to participate in next. This is important even
if the player is very familiar with given race venues from
other racing games, as each game has its own idiosyncrasies
in relation to circuit design, car handling, etc. This is
ESPECIALLY important for those highly familiar with F1-based
racing games, as F1 cars have FAR more power, agility, and
braking ability than any of the cars used in Pro Race Driver.
One other benefit of participating in races at the circuits
used in the series the player wishes to participate in next
is to conduct car tuning for each circuit. There are thirty-
two slots available in Pro Race Driver for saving car set-
ups, and set-ups are all available for Free Race Mode AND
Career Mode. So long as the player uses the same model of
vehicle in Free Race Mode and in Career Mode for a given
circuit, the car set-up can be saved and loaded at will.
This way, when the player finally begins to work through
Career Mode, there will not be a need to spend a lot of time
trying to find the appropriate car set-up for each race
venue.
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CAREER MODE
This is the main feature of Pro Race Driver, and where the
player will likely spend the majority of gameplay (although
Free Race Mode certainly has its own appeal). After a
cutscene to introduce Ryan McKane and his entry into high-
level auto racing, he is thrust directly into the Americas
Series, which races at Mexico, Sears Point, and Vancouver.
However, he must first pass a test drive at Mexico - and the
target time is set high enough that Ryan can have one or two
off-course excursions and still successfully land the drive
for the season. This is a series of six races - two races
per venue - and the player must attain at least thirty
championship points in order to unlock ALL the Tier 1 races
and gain a $100,000 bonus for the season.
Once the Americas Series has been successfully completed,
Ryan can then go to any of the other racing series in Tier 1.
This is done via e-mail, with various racing teams from
various racing series offering either a test drive or a
direct ride for their series. Before selecting a
team/series, the player should probably exit Career Mode and
return to Free Race to participate in 'meaningless' races at
the race venues in a series in which the player wishes to
compete, in order to become more familiar with the rendition
of each of those circuits in Pro Race Driver. When ready,
the player can return to Career Mode, select the appropriate
e-mail, and enter the desired series with a better idea of
what to expect from each circuit in the chosen race series.
(See the Race Circuits in Pro Race Driver section later in
this guide for a list of all the race circuits used in each
series.)
Each Career Mode race series awards points to most or all of
the competitors. The number of competitors WHO FINISH A RACE
receiving points and the number of points each of these
competitors receives varies by race series. These points are
all combined throughout the series, so that the driver with
the most points at the end of a race series will be that
season's series champion. Should Ryan McKane become a
season's series champion, he will be shown (in a cutscene)
accepting that series' championship trophy.
At times, depending on how Ryan performs in a series, there
will be individual challenges from other drivers. If
accepted, these are head-to-head events in identical cars
(differing only by color). Should Ryan win, he will be able
to keep the cars for later usage in the game.
Also based upon in-series performance, Ryan may receive e-
mails concerning one-time races, or Single-day Events. These
events also award points, which count toward the total career
points.
A minimum of 132 career points in the Tier 1 race series are
required to unlock the Tier 2 race series and their
associated race venues; a minimum of 162 career points in the
Tier 2 race series are required to unlock the Lola
Championship. The trick here, however, is that if a race
series is run multiple times, only the highest single-season
point total is counted toward the overall career points.
Therefore, unless a player really enjoys a particular race
series, a series should not be repeated unless the player
believes that she or he has an excellent chance at bettering
the current series 'high score' in terms of single-season
points (or unless the player is Michael Schumacher
himself!!!!!).
When the Tier 2 race series are unlocked, Ryan McKane
automatically has only one series offer: DTM. This begins
with a test drive at Hockenheim Short. Once again, the
target time is set high enough that Ryan can make one or two
mistakes and still best the target time with plenty of time
to spare. However, it is still a good idea to go to Free
Race Mode and compete in a few races in the DTM series (using
series-specific vehicles) before embarking upon the DTM
series in Career Mode.
Note that there are two types of test drives to earn a ride
for a series. The first type is similar to those mentioned
above: Ryan must complete a lap at a given circuit within a
specified amount of time, and has a certain number of
attempts in which to accomplish this task. The second type
of test drive is actually a one-lap race (similar to the
Single Day Events); in this case, Ryan must finish the race
at or better than the specified position, and within the
allotted number of attempts. Except for when first entering
a new tier of events, there may not even be a need for a test
drive of either type, depending on how Ryan was able to
perform in the previous series' season.
Fortunately, it is possible to obtain enough career points to
advance to Tier 2 without competing in all the Tier 1 race
series. Unfortunately, however, once in Tier 2, the game
will not permit a return to Tier 1 without first beating the
Lola series.
Success in Tier 1 is largely based upon car set-up (tuning).
Success in Tier 2 is a combination of car set-up with
PRECISION throttle and braking management (especially
throttle management) as well as navigation of the overly-
aggressive CPU-controlled competition.
Most race series and Single Day Events in Pro Race Driver use
the pre-2003 FIA points system. In this points system, only
the top six drivers WHO ACTUALLY FINISH A RACE will receive
points in the order shown below (some race series will use a
different points system; those who do not finish a race
receive no points even if they are in the Top 6 in the final
race results):
Place Points
----- ------
1st 10
2nd 6
3rd 4
4th 3
5th 2
6th 1
Others 0
Note that at the end of a series, should Ryan McKane be tied
with another driver for the championship, the CPU still
credits Ryan with winning the series championship 'outright.'
In other words, the trophy presentation cutscene for that
series is still played. (There are apparently no tiebreaker
rules such as most wins, better qualifying positions, etc.)
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MANDATORY PIT STOPS
Some Career Mode races - as well as those Free Race Mode
races for which the player specifies pit stops - have a
mandatory pit stop rule. In these races, the mandatory pit
stop MUST be made in the middle 60% of the race. This means
that should the player need to stop to repair damage before
the first 20% of the race has been completed, that stop will
NOT count as the mandatory pit stop and the player will be
required to make a return trip to Pit Lane in the middle 60%
of the race.
There are several tactics concerning when to make the
mandatory pit stop. One is to do it as soon as the middle
60% window opens (at the end of Lap 2 in a typical 5-lap
mandatory-pit-stop race in Career Mode); this way, the
mandatory pit stop is done; however, many competitors will
also use this tactic, so Pit Lane could be rather busy with
cars entering and exiting their pit stalls, and it makes the
on-track action even more important.
Another tactic is to wait until the final lap of the 60%
window (at the end of Lap 4 in a typical 5-lap mandatory-pit-
stop race in Career Mode). The advantage to this is that
there will be few (if any) other cars in Pit Lane at the same
time, and since most CPU-controlled competitors 'prefer' to
make the mandatory pit stop earlier in the 60% window, there
will be a much higher chance that the player will not need to
deal with any traffic (unless lapping backmarkers, which will
be rather unlikely in Career Mode's Tier 1 and Tier 2 race
series), and thus should be able to run a number of fast lap
times to attain or extend the overall lead once all of the
mandatory pit stops have been made.
A second advantage of waiting to conduct the mandatory pit
stop close to the end of the 60% window concerns vehicle
damage. If the mandatory pit stop is conducted early in the
60% window and the vehicle later becomes severely damaged, it
may be necessary to return to Pit Lane to make repairs, which
almost always results in losing the race (and quite likely
not gaining even a single point for the race). If the
mandatory pit stop is conducted near the end of the 60%
window, then the player should hopefully have a far enough
lead over the rest of the field (once all mandatory pit stops
have been completed) that she or he can still finish first,
or at least finish somewhat high in the points.
There is one major 'flaw' in making a pit stop, however,
whether mandatory or not. When the player's car enters Pit
Lane, the CPU automatically takes over car control and does
not relinquish this control until the car is once again
squarely on the actual raceway (not the Pit Exit lane, but
the actual raceway itself). Where this could be a problem is
if one or more competitors already on the main raceway come
up FAST behind the player's car and slam into the player's
vehicle; the CPU-controlled competition, therefore, will do
everything possible to maintain its own racing line
irregardless of the player's control or lack of control when
rejoining the race after a pit stop.
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RACE CIRCUITS IN PRO RACE DRIVER
This is a list of the race circuits available - by series -
in Pro Race Driver. Those circuits/series which must be
unlocked (by progressing through Career Mode) are so noted;
only the Tier 1 series and circuit are originally available
in the game. While Free Race Mode allows racing at any of
the unlocked circuits in any of the unlocked series, Ryan
McKane will ALWAYS begin with the Americas Series when a new
Career Mode profile is created. (Also, Ryan will ALWAYS
begin with DTM once Tier 2 becomes available.)
Series Circuits Used
--------------------------- ------------------------------
Americas Series Mexico
Sears Point
Vancouver
AAS (American All Stars) Charlotte
Bristol
Sears Point
Las Vegas
V8 Supercars (Initially Phillip Island
locked) Adelaide
Eastern Creek
Canberra
Bathurst
Sandown
Oran Park
TOCA Brands Hatch Indy
Oulton Park
Silverstone
Donington Park
Knockhill
Brands Hatch Grand Prix
Alfa GTV Cup Monza
Vallelunga
Catalunya
Pacific Challenge Fuji
T1 Circuit AIDA
Bathurst
Southern European Challenge Dijon Prenois
Magny-Cours
Catalunya
Northern European Challenge Mantorp Park
Zolder
Oschersleben
A1 Ring
DTM (initially locked) Hockenheim Short
Nurburgring
Oschersleben
Norisring
Zandvoort
Hockenheim Long
Euro Tour (initially locked) Rockingham Oval
A1 Ring
Rockingham Road
Brands Hatch Indy
Catalunya
Lola (initially locked) ???
Freestyle All above circuits which are
initially-available or have
been unlocked by progressing
through Career Mode
Single Day Events These take place at circuits
where Ryan has already raced
Head-to-head Challenges These take place at circuits
where Ryan has already raced
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BONUS CODES
There are several bonus codes available for Pro Race Driver.
These are entered in the Bonus folder of the Options file
cabinet. Codemasters provides two bonus codes simply for
registering for both the game and Code M (Codemasters' online
newsletter concerning its current and upcoming games,
combined with its special members-only section of the
Codemasters Web site); without giving anything away
(hopefully), these two bonus codes definitely make the game a
little more challenging, especially on tight street circuits
such as Vancouver.
Note that the physics engine for Pro Race Driver is not
really conducive for oval track racing, especially in the
American All Stars (AAS) racing series (in Tier 2). The
second of the codes received for registering (as listed in
the above paragraph) can be activated to make the American
All Stars series MUCH easier - and can also allow for
relatively easy wins, making it QUITE possible to win EVERY
race in the series :-)
Unfortunately, the North American version of the game has one
severe problem: THERE ARE NO NUMBERS ON THE CODE-ENTRY SCREEN
TO INPUT THE NUMBER-BASED CODES GIVEN ON THE PRO RACE DRIVER
TIP LINE >:-( The only codes which CAN be entered into the
North American version of the game are the text-based codes
received by registering with Codemasters as indicated above.
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GENERAL TIPS
Save game progress at every opportunity. In Career Mode,
this occurs after every head-to-head event and Single Day
Event, and after every TWO races within a race series.
Pro Race Driver does not use rules; in other words, there are
no official repercussions (such as ten-second penalties or
immediate disqualifications) for unsportsmanlike or dangerous
driving, shortcutting corners, etc. Many corners (especially
chicanes) do have barriers to ensure that all drivers
(including the player) keep to the racing line, and there are
plenty of sand traps and gravel traps to significantly slow
cars which go off-line at many corners, but this is really
the extent of the implementation of any 'rules' in Pro Race
Driver. Note, however, that it is DEFINITELY possible (and
highly likely) to anger the CPU-controlled competition
through blocking, swapping paint, etc.; some drivers may even
develop a deep-rooted grudge against the player and take
extreme measures to attempt to knock the player's vehicle out
of the way or foil the player's chances of winning a race
and/or a championship in the given car class.
The PlayStation2 features 256 levels of button sensitivity
(for the X, Square, Circle, and Triangle buttons), and Pro
Race Driver makes definite use of this feature (but
fortunately NOT to the extreme of Total Immersion Racing).
Pressing harder on the accelerator button (set to the X
button as the default) will provide faster acceleration;
pressing harder on the brake button (set to the Square button
as the default) will provide harder braking. (However, in
the quest for harder braking, it is important to never brake
too hard, as this will cause wheel-lock and cause the vehicle
to slide and NOT decelerate.)
Pro Race Driver seems to be best suited to a player who
prefers a slightly- to somewhat-loose car, meaning that the
back end tends to swing about. This means that drift-style
racing is quite feasible for those skilled in this highly-
specialized driving technique, and that plenty of
countersteering will be required at most race venues.
However, there are certainly enough tuning parameters that a
player with good knowledge of car tuning can truly adapt
virtually any vehicle in the game to a given circuit.
Auto racing is largely dependent upon racing line, braking
zones, braking strength, and acceleration strength. Pro Race
Driver very much places these four prime elements of auto
racing into play. Certainly, a car's set-up can affect a
player's race, but the way that the player uses these four
areas to make the most of a car's set-up is key to success...
moreso than in many other auto racing games due to the
construction of the physics engine.
It IS possible to take a corner so quickly that a car goes up
on two wheels. While this is a bit difficult to do, it is
also possible to cause a vehicle to flip and roll.
Pro Race Driver allows for a total of 32 car set-ups to be
saved on the memory card in Memory Card Slot 1. If there is
more than one Career Mode game saved on the memory card, the
saved car set-ups can ALL be accessed from within ANY of the
Career Mode game saves. In other words, car set-ups are NOT
career-independent.
Before progressing to each of the racing series in Career
Mode, the player would benefit greatly from going to Free
Race and participating in races at the circuits used in the
series the player wishes to participate in next. This is
important even if the player is very familiar with given race
venues from other racing games, as each game has its own
idiosyncrasies in relation to circuit design, car handling,
etc. This is ESPECIALLY important for those highly familiar
with F1-based racing games, as F1 cars have FAR more power,
agility, and braking ability than any of the cars used in Pro
Race Driver.
Before beginning any Tier 2 series in Career Mode, it is best
to go to Free Race Mode and compete in a Tier 2 series (such
as DTM) using that series' racecars. This is important
because these cars have MUCH more power and attain MUCH
higher speeds than those for Tier 1. What makes this
especially important in Pro Race Driver is that this game
apparently does NOT use a one-size-fits-all physics engine,
unlike games such as Total Immersion Racing, Gran Turismo 3,
Le Mans 24 Hours, or Tokyo Extreme Racer Zero despite the
vast differences in the games' many cars. Therefore, trying
to drive a Tier 2 vehicle in the same manner as a Tier 1 car
will result in near-complete destruction of the vehicle.
For those players who have driven these circuits in other
racing games and/or with other vehicles, it is important to
remember that braking zones and acceleration points do not
generally 'convert' well from one racing game to another and
from one vehicle (type) to another.
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CAR TUNING
In order to be successful in Pro Race Driver, the player must
have a strong sense of car tuning. While a car may perform
okay in its default/stock set-up, each vehicle needs to be
tuned specifically for each circuit in order to truly get the
best possible performance and thus have the best possible
chance at winning each race.
Gears
Transmission Gear selection can be set to automatic (the
CPU handles all shifting duties) or manual
(the player must handle all shifting
duties). If the player uses automatic
transmission, then the shoulder buttons
originally assigned to gear shifting (for
manual transmission) are instead used to
provide the player with a view of each side
of the vehicle; this can be important to
see the extent of the damage to the vehicle
when using a chase camera view in gameplay.
When using a driver (in-car) view in
gameplay, these buttons (if automatic
transmission has been selected) instead
allow Ryan McKane to glance to either side
of the car; this can be useful in passing
other vehicles.
Ratios In Pro Race Driver, each individual gear
can be set independently, or all gears can
be highlighted at once for overall
adjustments. Shortening gear ratios
(moving the curved lines to the left) will
provide better acceleration at the
sacrifice of top-end speed; this is ideal
for tight, technical circuits such as
Bristol. Lengthening gear ratios (moving
the curved lines to the right) will
provide better/faster top-end speed at the
sacrifice of acceleration (i.e., slower
acceleration, especially from a standing
start and when exiting the pit stall);
longer gear ratios are crucial to circuits
with few corners and/or many long
straightaways, such as Hockenheim Long and
Monza.
Downforce Downforce controls how the air passes over
and around the vehicle, and helps to keep a
car firmly on the ground (the opposite
effect of wings from an airplane). Raising
downforce will provide better pavement grip
and easier cornering, but at the sacrifice
of top-end speed; this is best for tight,
technical circuits such as Zandvoort.
Lowering downforce will reduce pavement
grip and provide better/faster top-end
speed, but cornering will be more
difficult (and the vehicle may have a much
greater tendency to slide while cornering,
especially at high speeds); this is best
for circuits with few corners and/or many
long straightaways, such as Hockenheim
Long and Monza.
Suspension
Stiffness Softening a vehicle's suspension will allow
for a much smoother ride overall and will
also help with cornering, but the car is
then more prone to flipping when cornering
at high speeds or performing sudden evasive
maneuvers. Hardening a vehicle's
suspension will cause the driver to feel
virtually every possible bump in the
pavement and will also make cornering more
difficult (especially at high speeds).
Ride Height Ride height controls airflow underneath a
vehicle. Raising ride height will allow
for more air to pass underneath the
vehicle, thus slowing the car moderately
due to aerodynamic friction and also
assisting slightly in cornering. Lowering
ride height will reduce the amount of air
passing underneath the vehicle, thus
slightly augmenting top-end speed while
also making cornering moderately more
difficult.
Anti-roll Anti-roll devices are designed to prevent
the vehicle from flipping. Strengthening
the anti-roll devices will reduce the
chances that the car may flip during high-
speed cornering and evasive maneuvers; this
will also make cornering more difficult in
general. Softening the anti-roll devices
will make flipping a stronger possibility,
but will also make cornering easier.
Brake Bias Braking can be applied more toward the
front or the rear of the vehicle. However,
moving the brake bias more toward one end
of the car makes wheel-lock a stronger
possibility for those wheels.
Tires In Pro Race Driver, the pit crew will
automatically apply the type of tire
appropriate for the racing conditions;
however, the player can override the
pit crew's decision. Slicks are for
dry-conditions racing. Intermediates
are for use when the pavement is damp but
not really wet (as in a slow, gentle
drizzle). Wets are used during hard
rain and in the period immediately
following actual rainfall.
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