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MULTIPLAYER
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NROS
With the shut down of Hawaii in December of 1997, and the opening of NROS in November of 1997, a new page turns in the world of multiplayer sim racing. We're going to keep you up to date with the best setups, tips, and tricks to get you up front! As well, if you are running on the NASCAR Racing Online Series (NROS), be sure and check out their web site below, as well as TEN and Concentric. Concentric provides dial up ISP access to TEN, so if you are able to get a local access number to Concentric, it can improve your connection.
NROS Total Entertainment Network Concentric 
NROS Software - 2.5 meg (updated 6 Mar 98)
1998 Winston Cup carset for NROS - Chris Frederick
N2 Setups Just unzip them into their specific track directory. Want to see how fast you need to be to be up with the really fast guys? Check out our Fast Times to see if you are doing good, or are playing catch up!
Disable that key! Booted from your race after touching that Win95 key? Doh! Here's how to fix that problem...you need the Microsoft Powertoys collection (58 k), and install DOSWINKY. Do not email me on how to do it! Here's the directions after you've installed DOSWINKY.
Right-click the MS-DOS program (or its shortcut).
Select "Properties".
Click on the "Misc" tab.
Clear the check-mark from the Ctrl+Esc key to tell Windows to disable the Ctrl+Esc key when the game is running. DOSWINKY will also disable the Windows logo key when the game is running.
Click OK to save your changes.Getting the boot Here's some tip to avoid getting disconnected and other computer problems...first, keep in mind the tip above. As well, before running your connection software, shut down all your extra programs running in the background. These do nothing but suck memory, and in the case of programs like ICQ, ect, they also eat up your bandwidth in the background, making connections harder. If you're using Microsoft Office, kill Fastfind or remove it permanently from your startup menu. Kill the CDROM autoplay. Now, here's some more tips to keep you online, and in the race, and thanks to Cris Mans and TEN's newsgroup for some of these ideas.
Win95's DUN dynamic IP pause (those 4 quick pauses every couple of minutes). The solution is to specify an IP address in TCP/IP properties (even 1.1.1.1 should work).
Manually set Windows 95 "Virtually Memory", aka, Swap File, settings according to how much memory you have, or any fixed amount rather than 'Auto'. The disk access that N2 may do under Win95 seems to be a result of addition virtual memory being allocated for the replay buffer. This translates into an ever increasing swapfile, and the thrashing gets is compounded. Setting a fixed value like 24MB on a 32MB machine seems to let N2 know that it needs to recycle the replay buffer as physical memory runs out. Also, if you have more than one hard drive, move the Swap file to another hard drive, so it does not fragment.
Help reduce HD access by specifying the size of the VCACHE (prevent all of your free memory being taken resulting in excessive use of the swapfile). In the [VCACHE] section of the System.ini (add the section if it's not there) add the line MaxFileCache=XXX where XXX is about 25% of your physical RAM. For example, if you have 64mb you would add:
[VCACHE]
MinFileCache=16384
MaxFileCache=16384
Rendition users: After the "second" patch for N2 and you having difficulty try to run the Rendition version of N2 in Windows 95, set the DPMI memory settings in the shortcut. For example:
a) Right click on N2 shortcut
b) Select Properties
c) Click on Memory tab
d) Goto MS-DOS Protected Mode (DPMI) Memory
e) Set the value to 16384
Twitchy steering can happen, even after the patch. Try configuring your wheel as a joystick in the config menu of N2.
Rendition users...a definite performance enhancement running N2 Rendition Version on Win95 is the C:\NASCAR\RENDDMA -4 switch, to specify smaller texture maps.
Hardware setup Go to your "Device Manager" in the Win95 control panel, then go to the port section, highlight the com port your modem is on and select "properties". Then select the settings tab. Set the "bits per second" the same speed as your modem I.e. 28,8...57600. You may need flow control turned off. Next go to "Dialup networking" in "My computer". Then right click on your connection you use for TEN & select properties. Then select "Configure". Then set "Modem speed" to the same settings that you set in the com port section. I.e. 28,8....57600 DO NOT have it set higher than your modem speed, in fact some times it helps to have this set lower than modem speed. Next got to the "Connection" tab and select "Advanced". If you can, (ISP's sometimes require it) turn off "error control" & "Flow Control".
Hard boots and crashes Go to your N2 directory and right click on the exe you use to start N2 in TEN (i.e. nrosrend.exe). Select the "program" tab. In the "Run" box select "Maximized" then check "close on exit". Then go to "Memory" tab....at bottom you will se "MS-DOS protected-mode (DPMI) memory)...manually type in 21000. Next go to the "Screen" tab. Select "Full Screen" Initial size = "Default". Uncheck "Dynamic memory allocation"...this will tell it not to share resources with something else. Now go to the "MISC" tab....the only thing checked here is "Fast Pasting". You may also want to turn off graphic detail during the race, it will minimize how much your computer has to think.Practice, Practice If you don't know the tracks, you're not going to fare very well against the people who've run them for hours. Have some courtesy as well. If you have recently started running a racing sim...practice offline first before you go online. Causing a big wreck on the first lap can get plenty of people mad at you, and many will remember who you are. They probably won't race with you again! Practice is something that goes for the people that race alot as well...the better you know a track, the better you're going to do at it come race time. Try different lines. Check you're fuel window. Check tire wear. Know where to pass, and where not to. Setup your Setups Have a decent setup...practice offline until you feel you have a decent one, and try some of ours above. Use the Quikfix Guide as a tool to tune in your setup. One thing to remember...don't make too many adjustments...try them one at a time. As well, be comfortable with your setup. If the car is faster, but you have a hard time driving it, you are probably not going to gain anything. Qualify up Front Try to get as far up front as possible...you can definitely avoid accidents if you are in front of the cars that wrecked! Smooth Operator Drive smooth...throwing a car into the corners is going to wear your tires more, give inconsistent lap times, and possibly get you into the fence. Remember that driving slower into a corner can actually get you out faster, as you are not fighting to keep the car under control. Big Bucks Yes, face it, better equipment computer-wise will yield better lap times. Motherboard upgrades can be fairly cheap, and then you can swap out Pentium chips to your heart's content. A decent graphics card and sound card with onboard memory will free up your computer to handle the other things. Get a wheel/yoke and pedals. These are going to make it easier to make consistent lap times. Speak Racing? Use your "T" key to send messages to other drivers...hit "T", type in your message, then hit "enter" to send. Make sure other drivers know when you are going to pit, if you've been damaged, ect. As well, you can edit the autochat.msg file in your /nascar2 directory to use "canned" statements, all you need to do is hit "Ctrl-F1" to use. Any of the "function" keys, from F1-F8, will spout a message in this fashion. Mind Games Yes, your mental attitude is your key to success. If you go in with the attitude that you are not likely to do well, or you don't like the track that you're racing on...you've just given away the race. Put your inhibitions where your foot should be...ON THE FLOOR!!!! The Pits Of course, in The Pits is where the race can be won or lost...pun intended! ;] Know your pit window, and use that strategy to your best advantage. Before you pull into pit road, or driving to your stall, you should already have set the amount of fuel you need, what tires to change, and if you need to fix damage or not, or if any adjustments need to be made. On a short track, don't bother unless it's pretty bad...you'll lose more time in the pits fixing damage than you would if you were out racing. However, on superspeedways, the more damage you can fix, the faster you will go. As well, know how many laps before the end of the race you can go on fuel and tires. This will give you your final pit window. Know if 2 tires will run as well as 4. As well, hit "F2", and then "enter" to see where the rest of the field is. You don't want to get caught a lap down if you're in for a long stop. Hit "F9" then "enter" to tell you're pit crew to stop fixing damage if it starts getting close. You should be able to dive off the track, brake to pit road speed, and slide to a stop right in your pit stall. If you can't do this, practice, practice. You can lose a ton of time just getting into the pits if you miss your stall, don't get off the track fast enough, ect. As well, point your nose slightly out so the car in front of you don't block you.
NASCAR on KALI & KAHN
NASCAR I NASCAR II
