7 replies to this topic

[dangermouse]

You can't download it from his website anymore so you can now find it here:




GPLFlagman.exe

[Bob Simpson]

I see that his last update there was February 2002, 5 years ago.  I wonder if he's still around or if he knows that the download of this great little utility isn't available any more.  Should we (I) e-mail him or have you already?

[dangermouse]

Bob Simpson, on Jan 28 2007, 08:19 PM, said:

Should we (I) e-mail him or have you already?

I emailed the address on his web page but got no reply.....  

[stuboyle]

Here is the text from the website in anticipation that someday it will just disappear.  If this was improper, I'm sorry and just remove it.

Quote

This is the preliminary documentation file for gplflagman. The documentation will be revised and expanded upon in response to requests for clarifications etc.

News

3 July 2001 - First Release

4 July 2001 - Update

    * Changed to read all tracks in tracks folder, ignores ini files in season directory.  some people have more tracks installed that the game handles and this is for them.
    * Some cosmetic changes, colours, etc.
    * Slight change to the web page to annoy some folks.

4 February 2002 - Update

    * Some stability issues have been fixed. Also some minor interface enhancements have been made.
    * Important Note: If you have made changes to the default ini file shipped with the previous version, be sure to carry them over to the new version. Note the usage of the keyword Original in the ini file has been changed to _Original (leading underscore). This is to sort out a glitch when sorting track names.
    * Many of the track settings have been tested for FOV positioning as well. BIG thanks to Percy for this.


      What is Gplflagman?
      It is a simple ini file editor which allows you to customise the position of the guy holding up the pit board with your lap times in GPL.  Normally this dolt stands just after the start finish line and tells you what your previous lap time was.  Although this is more realistic, it means you have to wait another lap to see what your most recently completed lap time was.  Anyway, people much more intelligent than myself have found out that by editing the track.ini file, you can change this position in such a way that the pit board guy shows you the most recently completed lap.  This is great for when you are trying to shave some 10'ths off your PB.


      What's it cost?
      NOTHING - FREE - ZERO - NADA - ZIP
      This is my thank you to all you other contributers out there. Not just the programmers, but also the other racers and aliens who give tons of knowledge and insight into this great game.   If someone out there likes this program, drop me a email of thanks or something. If you have written something that's shareware and you consider it to be of similar worth, I won't say no to a registration code or serial number. I'm not talking about a crack or illegal serial please, so none of that.  I also wouldn't mind getting in touch with other programmers out there. Please don't ask me to help code a track converter or patch Nascar 4's AI, I'm strictly an applications programmer

      What does it do?
      It reads you gp.ini file to see what tracks you have installed,  imports the corresponding track.ini files and then loads its own presets.  You then

      get the following screen.

      Screenshot of GPLFLAGMAN
index.2.gif

      The top buttonbar allows you to

      Read Tracks - This loads your currently installed tracks and settings for the pit board guy.

      Update Changes - Any changes you make are written back to your GPL installation.

      Launch GPL - Runs the gpl.exe

      GPL Path Config - Critical setting.  Must be set for the above 3 to work.  Path is stored in the ini file accompanying the program.

      Expand / Collapse - To assist in navigating the track / ini editor.

      Exit - Press ALT-F4 now for a demo of this feature. *grin*.


      Installation.
      Pretty easy. Extract the zip file into a directory of your choosing.
      Making an icon, installing it into a menu etc, is up to you. If enough people request it, I will make a install / uninstall version.

      Usage
        
         1. Run the app.
         2. Ensure that the gpl path is correct (check the blue form caption bar)
         3. Read Tracks
         4. Make changes (double click on the settings indented under each track)
         5. Update Changes
         6. Launch GPL or Exit


      Known Limitations:
      documentation / faq
      I don't have all the 3rd party tracks in the ini file.  Notable exceptions are the Dave Noonan tracks as I don't have the converter.


      Note
      This program was developed to fulfill a specific need of mine.  I feel selfish enough to say that I am not going to add certain features no matter what, if I believe that it cannot be justified enough to me.  This program is currently pretty small and does the job well enough for me. I do want to see it improve and be useful to more people, but I will balance that growth as much as I can. If someone else wants to take it further, I will be happy to discuss making the source code available (delphi) to anyone else. I have a full-time job as well as a family-life to allocate time to as well, and my Grand Prix Legends lap times are not getting better at the moment too.

      It is a beta & free and therefore not going to be as well supported as shareware / commercial projects.

      Standard Disclaimer
      By using this software, you are taking resposibility for the use / misuse of it. Any damage / loss of data caused due to the running of this software, however unlikely, is your fault, not mine.


      Credits
      Andreas Frank for all his work on the PitBoard ini file settings

      Percy McAfee, AKA PTMAC3 at Legends Central Forum for the tireless work on improving the ini file

      Dave Henrie for the Beta testing

      Stefan Magnussen for the *all tracks* request

      To the original author of the midi file, great work.

      And all of you for keeping the GPL community alive and interesting.

      If I missed anyone out, let me know.

Attached Files

•  index.2.gif   18.27K   244 downloads

Edited by dangermouse, Apr 15 2009 - 10:12 AM.
Added picture and wrapped text in quote tags

[Aysedasi]

Can anyone make this available again please?   Thanks.

[Lalethor]

I uploaded here http://www.fileconvo...1e7f83023a9a83f
try but maybe works only with 32bit S.O.

[Bob Simpson]

It's really very easy to do this manually.  Just open the relevant track.ini and adjust the line:

[ pit_lane_0 ]

pit_board = 8.0 4799.00

Where the first number is the distance to the side from the track centrline (I can't remember whether negative is to the right or left) and the second number is the distance after the start/finish line.

Any value more than about 300 metres will give you the current laps to go in a race as you pass the line and the just completed laptime.

Edited by Bob Simpson, Aug 18 2017 - 06:17 PM.

[Aysedasi]

Thanks Bob