Last updated - July 2008:
What is the UK GPL League? |
Warp, Clock Smashes & Ping; |
What is the UK GPL League?
What is the UK GPL League? |
Warp, Clock Smashes & Ping; |
The UKGPL League is a computer simulation league based in the UK, which organises on-line races using the Sierra/Papyrus program, called GRAND PRIX LEGENDS. One of the league's main aims is for all members to have FUN while racing!
There were about 200 members at its peak, who were split into many divisions. Members can progress through the leagues by gaining points in races. At the end of each seasons racing, members will be relegated or promoted, depending on how many points they have gained and their relative position in the final league placings.
Races would normally take place using a program called Win VROC (but there is a newer program called IGOR). Go here 
for the last version. WinVROC is a program that enables on-line GPL races to be connected to the internet (the WinVROC program combines the older programs called Spyboy and VROC which were previously used, into one program). The IGOR program enables the 1965 and other GPL mods to be used with GPL.
However, You do not strictly speaking, have to have these program to race GPL on-line, as long as you have a modem, a PC and GPL, you can connect directly to whoever is acting as the GPL server, provided you know their IP address. UKGPL League races normally consist of up to about 15 racers, and some close racing can be had as, usually, there is at least one other person who will be of the same standard as you? To find out more about the League, or if you are interested in joining the league, please use this link to the 
, or the link at the bottom of the page:
When racing GPL on-line you should always check to see how good (or bad?) your connection is (although this is less of a problem with most users on Broadband internet connections). This is done by checking the Latency (or 
) of the connection.
The latency report will appear in the chat window telling you the latency figure and the quality of the connection. A lower latency figure is best. Anything under 250 is good, anything over 300 and you will start to notice Warping and Clock Smashes. The quality figure should be as close to 1.000 as possible. It will never be exactly on 1.000 and will usually be slightly higher or lower than 1.000.
If you have upgraded to the v1.2 GPL patch (See my GPL page for more details about where to get the patch), you will now have the option of using a *meter* to see how good (or bad) your connection to the internet is. By pressing the Alt + M key when in the GPL car, when on-line, you will activate a small group of three meters in the top right hand portion of the screen. Read the v1.2 patch readme files for more information regarding these meters functions.
How can I improve my ping times? Ping times are dependent on the quality of the route (i.e. the number of hops) between you and the other machine you are trying to connect to. The efficiency of the DUN software on your computer, the speed of your modem, and "Internet Traffic". This refers to the state of the Internet backbone at any given moment. Factors affecting Internet Traffic include the density of data on the Internet at that moment, and how many important routers are overloaded or down. Your best bet is to go to a digital connection, either ISDN, ADSL, or, most preferably a Cable Modem. A digital connection may knock about 100ms off your ping times. If you're stuck with an analog dialup connection (i.e. a 33.6 or 56k modem), see the "Setting up DUN for GPL" section below, for complete details on optimizing your DUN connection, Read this if you have ISDN as well.
When racing on-line (in any game, not just GPL) you may encounter the above conditions. Warping happens when either your PC or the machine you are connected to, loses track of the game characters (your car, plane, tank, or the charactor you are controlling) position in the game. It then estimates the position (usually incorrectly) and your car, plane or whatever magically re-appears in another position! This can also happen to other players cars, planes, etc, they seem to dart about all over the screen on your PC, or magically re-appear right in front of you! This can obviously cause problems, you are driving around a track and suddenly a car appears in front of you, the result is a crash or lost time?
Clock Smashes are basically the same as Warping, except your PC or the other machine is unable to reconcile the game data being sent or recieved, (it cannot correctly estimate the positions or laptimes) and this results in an incorrect lap time being shown for your car, or other cars, or can even result in the game crashing.
A Ping is the time taken to send and recieve a small signal or data packet to another PC. The term Ping originates from the introduction of radar on submarines and ships. To confirm a rader contact a brief pulse of sound was sent out, and this was reflected back to the sub or ship and resulted in the familiar "Ping" sound. The length of the ping could then be used to calculate the contacts distance from the sub or ship (using the duration of the ping multiplied by the velocity of sound). Ping is now used to determine how good (or bad) a connection is between two or more PC's. Small packets of data are sent and recieved, and the ping gives a number relating to the time for each packet to be sent and recieved and the number of packets that have been lost. A smaller number means there is a good connection, and few packets are being lost. A higher number indicates a poor connection and the loss of data en route. Typically a ping of around 100 to 150 or less is desired for on-line gaming (and pings of around 50 to 100 are very good) and anything starting to go above 200 to 300 is undesireable. (Although it is excepted that higher pings, say 400 or 500 can be used for on-line gaming, the quality of the connection, and ultimately the gaming experience will not be as good).
Some Links Related to UKGPL League Members:
The UK GPL League Homepage:
BlackHole Motorsports Sim racing page:
Back to my GPL Page:
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