(Snapshot taken at Silverstone.)
(Snapshot taken at Mexico.)
(Crash snapshot taken at Monaco.)
(Snapshot taken at Monza.)
Papyrus Grand Prix Legends is yet another of those great games that no one ever heard of. The reason may be that it takes
some time getting to know the game. Rearwheel driven F1 cars, equipped with enginges at 400 HP from the latter 60's
aren't easy to drive, neither in reality nor simulation. But discover GPL and you'll regret ever playing arcade. :]
All tracks as they looked in 1967 are available (Monaco, Monza, Nürburgring, Watkins Glen to mention some), as well as 5 classic F1 cars like Lotus Ford, Gurney Eagle and Ferrari 312.
When GPL was released in 1998 it recieved some bad reviews, written by those who think they can play a game for
thiry minutes and then make a fare opinion about it. That's not the way to deal with GPL at all. You have to
practise for many hours just to get the car around the track in an appropriate way (don't think you'll beat Clark and Hill after a few days, your skill will always be capable of
improvment! But after some days, you'll be able to make some nice laps and compete with the AI cars.)
Once you really get started there'll be a risk of getting stuck with GPL for months (years :)).
Although GPL is from 1998 you can make the graphics look gorgeous as it has support for 3dfx and Direct3D (patch needed)
rendering with resolution up to 1280 x 1024 pixels. (For your information there's also an OpenGL patch available for
GPL.)
Here are some screenshots:
| |
| The Eagle is a popular car for more advanced drivers. (Snapshot taken at Silverstone.) | As for the Lotus. (Snapshot taken at Mexico.) |
| |
| The starts are the centres of action, literarelly... (Coming catastrophies at Monza and Kyalami) | |
| |
| This is how it often ends! The car movements are extremely authentic, especially at accidents. (Crash snapshot taken at Monaco.) | Better not look to much in the mirror... :) (Snapshot taken at Monza.) |
You'll need GPL :). I bought my copy for 95 SEK (~9 USD). If you can't find it at some local store, try some Internet shopping site.
The system requirements printed on the box are to low. It's recommended that you have at least: CPU at 300 Mhz, 32 Mb RAM, 3D Graphics Card (supporting either 3dfx or Direct3D) and 150 Mb of free disk space.
GPL is only available for Windows 95/98, but racers all over the world are trying to convince Papyrus to port the game to the Linux platform.
Important! GPL requires a few patches to be installed and some other things to be taken care of before you're able to play it. Follow the instructions:
Your steering device will naturally effect your driving a lot, therefore, selecting a proper one is important.
In case you don't have anything save a keyboard, you should of course try the game out before getting some other device. After some driving you'll hopefully realise that you have to get yourself a joystick or even better: a racing wheel. The latter is recommended since it'll give you the ultimate racing feeling, especially if you get a force feedback racing wheel!
The first thing you've got to do is selecting which team to race for. I suggest that you start out with a car that's easy to control, the Murusama or the Coventry for instance. After some time (not after some hours, but some days) you'll hopefully :) be capable of moving on to perhaps the Ferrari, the Eagle or the Lotus.
 | The Murusama (Honda) is a terrific car for beginners. |
When driving for the first time make sure that the boxes at Options->Game Options saying 'Throttle Help' and 'Brake Assistance' are checked. Otherwise you'll surely be experiencing difficulties...
If you're used to manual gearing when playing computer games before it'll be no problem gearing in GPL. However, if you choose to start out with automatic gearing, switching to manual after some time should be the first measure you make.
After some weeks (depending on how much you drive per day) you may switch of the Braking Assistance, and even later you may race without Throttle Help. This will leave more control to you. You must adjust the power you're using for braking and accelerating while driving. This will eventually teach you entering curves in a higher speed and using a smooth slide throughout the rest of the curve. Your times will surely be improved!
Excellent support for network racing is included in GPL. Either using a local LAN or the Internet. When playing over the Internet you'll have to use a program called WinVROC to find hosted games. (However, if you know the IP address of the host, you can join directly from within GPL->Multiplayer.) Download and get help about it here: http://www.vroc.net/
Note this! When racing with people you don't know, remember to use some sort of racing etiquette. Never bump into cars from behind! And you're not allowed to move from one side of the road to the other just to block a faster car. Always let those pass who are much faster than yourself. However, if you're fast enough, give them a go!
http://gplrank.schuerkamp.de/ is a place you'll visit frequently. With over 6000 members, GLPRank is the largest GPL site on the web. Here you're able to submit your laptimes and compare them with others.
Papyrus (the creators of GPL) have set up a laptime for each track called the Papyrus (Papy) Benchmark. When you have a laptime for each track you may compare them with the Papyrus Benchmark. Then you'll get a number indicating by how many seconds you differ from the Benchmark. This number is your handicap. It's used when you compare yourself with other drivers in the world. The best drivers have a handicap around -80 while you'll have to do with 150-500 in the beginning. But just continue racing and your handicap and placing will improve. That's the fun of it! :)
http://www.gpl-spot.nu/ is webpage much like GPLRank only it has fewer members. Here you're able to submit your laptimes, compete in races, leagues, handicap and the 'Championship' and exchange setups and replays with other drivers.
This howto was put together by Lotus/Eagle driver Nathan Åkerlund <natman@home.se>
| Last modified: 2003-02-07 | Top^ |
I know the images above are old! :)