USL 2021 - Track 3 - Farmland

[Daniel3D]

but some things i just can't do.

My two cents on these:
.......

Thanks for this.
Most if what you say I kind of knew already, so no hidden tricks or secret controllers.
Although the manual mentions the NUM-pad as the keyboard input, but I don't think that works..
Now at least I know it's just a matter of practice. That is part of the problem.
My fine motor skills are poor so there is a learning curve. But I can overcome it most of the time. And maybe I this time as well.
I don't know. Time is always against me, I guess.

I know I used to be faster, or at least it felt faster. I used to race with F4 F3 camera positioned close behind me, so I could see more ahead than with F1 view.
Now I can't get used to that point of view.. I sometimes feel so old 

Later this week I'll try Track 4, and I hope to get to Z236 this weekend. .. But that last corner is interesting indeed,.,

Edit: removed ramblings
Edit 2: added picture

[Cas]

I don't remember having seen the original manual, but I did initially use the numpad arrows to play Stunts. I got Stunts in 1993, only days after I had my first computer, a 386. Before that, the PC I had had the opportunity to use was my uncle's XT, which had a standard XT keyboard. These keyboards did not have a dedicated arrow keypad, so depending on what I would want to do, I had to turn Number Lock on or off. When I had my own computer, these keys still seemed more comfortable to me because the down arrow as more separated from the bunch than in the dedicated keypad, so I kept using those, but gradually became accustomed to the other set and switched.

I used to race with F4 camera positioned close behind me

I think you meant the F3 camera view. I have tried this sometimes long ago and you can get accustomed to driving like that, but F1 feels immensely more comfortable to me, despite the convenience of seeing more with F3. I guess if we would really press on ourselves to get used to F3, we'd be able to use that to our advantage. The discomfort comes mainly because, compared to other car games, Stunts F3 view moves rigidly with the car. Other games tend to follow the car from behind, but not turn immediately when the car turns, which feels smoother. I think I'm going to try that again, though.

[Duplode]

The keypad arrows indeed work on DOSBox. The extra distance to the down arrow doesn't seem to suit my fingers well, though. It is perhaps worth reminding that we can to some extent change the controls through the DOSBox remapper. I wonder if there is any chance of finding a comfortable keypad-only arrangement that covers manual shifting.

The discomfort comes mainly because, compared to other car games, Stunts F3 view moves rigidly with the car. Other games tend to follow the car from behind, but not turn immediately when the car turns, which feels smoother.

I think you've nailed it. I don't feel I'm fully in control of the car with the F3 camera, and I guess the rigidity issue you mention contributes a lot to that. Thinking of other racing games, I strongly prefer the inside view for Grand Prix 4, somewhat prefer the view from behind in Gran Turismo, and feel fine with either in Trackmania. I sense part of the picture is how much sensory immersion one needs to drive effectively.   

[Daniel3D]

my uncle's XT, which had a standard XT keyboard. These keyboards did not have a dedicated arrow keypad, so depending on what I would want to do, I had to turn Number Lock on or off.

That might be why the NUM-pad is in the manual (I uploaded them and put a download link here on the forum some time ago. I'll check) because the arrow keys were not a standard yet.

The keypad arrows indeed work on DOSBox. The extra distance to the down arrow doesn't seem to suit my fingers well, though. It is perhaps worth reminding that we can to some extent change the controls through the DOSBox remapper. I wonder if there is any chance of finding a comfortable keypad-only arrangement that covers manual shifting.

I guess the 5 as break, 2 or enter as shift down, * or + as shift up

The discomfort comes mainly because, compared to other car games, Stunts F3 view moves rigidly with the car. Other games tend to follow the car from behind, but not turn immediately when the car turns, which feels smoother.

I think you've nailed it. L

Seconded...

Edit: can't find manual uploads. Added picture to earlier post.
NB: I had PDF files of both manuals if anyone is interested.

[alanrotoi]

I guess the 5 as break, 2 or enter as shift down, * or + as shift up

As far as I remember Bonzai Joe, one of the best stunts pipsqueak ever, used space bar/enter combination for shifting.

[Daniel3D]

I guess the 5 as break, 2 or enter as shift down, * or + as shift up

As far as I remember Bonzai Joe, one of the best stunts pipsqueak ever, used space bar/enter combination for shifting.

My configuration makes one handed driving+shifting possible. All keys are on the NUM-pad. But I don't know if that is useful.

[Cas]

In my opinion, no one-hand set up is really comfortable. It's very important for racing to have always a finger on top of each of the arrow keys, because gear shifting while turning or breaking is very useful and of course, you don't want to release the accelerator (although that would make more sense, as the car can't accelerate while shifting in real life, but the accelerator itself is not to be released).

I used Space/Enter until I discovered A/Z from the community. I didn't know it was possible before. Now I always use A/Z. A (two-handed) set up that could be more comfortable to some people, probably left-handed, is using the dedicated arrows to drive and the numeric keypad 1 and 0 to up-shift and down-shift respectively. In some games that can be configured, I've used ASDW as arrows and G/V for gears.

Old XT keyboards, also known as 83-key keyboards were common for XTs and early 286s. They only had 10 functional keys and no dedicated keypad, as I mentioned. My uncle had one like the one in the image, except it didn't have that strange lock/shift key shape:

Only one Alt and one Ctrl keys and there was SysReq. Because you didn't have a dedicated keypad, it was common to boot up the machine with the NumLock off, so as to be able to use they arrows. Only if you used your computer for the office or something similar, you might have wanted to have it on by default, but normally, you'd turn it on temporarily to type some number and then turn it back off to use the arrows.

[alanrotoi]

Macho pampeano a puro mate y churrasco hay que ser para manejar desde la perspectiva del oponente  (Sorry, I don't know how to say it in english )

[Cas]

Ha, ha!  That expression is great. Almost impossible to translate. To transmit the same feeling in English, the meaning of the individual words would have to change and it would lose its Argentine sound.

Just for people to know what it's all about, a very mediocre translation would be something like "You've got to be a goddamn raw meat eating cowboy to dare race while using the opponent's camera!". Not the same meaning, but the same idea. Add some gaucho to it and you'll more or less understand it

[Daniel3D]

Hahahaha.
I do switch to opponent camera sometimes while overtaking.