10th April 2000                                            Version 5.1
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Title           : GP2 CC Car Pitstop Sanity (DOS)
Filenames       : pitstop.exe, gp2form.txt 
Author          : Brett Knuchel (Knuckles)
Email Address   : brett_knuchel@geocities.com
Description     : Have you ever changed the number of laps for a full
                  race and noticed that the CC cars follow a ridiculous
                  pitstop strategy? This is because the pitstop
                  strategy is stored in the track data file. The
                  problem is that it is stored as an absolute number of
                  laps. This is a problem if you say want to do a 124
                  lap race at Hockenheim (45 laps), you end up with the
                  final stint for the CC cars being something like 100
                  laps! This program redresses this sort of problem.

Other works     : CREC v1.1 for DOS (Lap Record Changer)
		  TRKCHG Addon for Trackmanager by Armin Krausse
                  GP2 Checksummer v1.1 for DOS
                  PERFCHG v1.1 for DOS (Quick Car Settings Changer)
		  Wistow v2.0 (Still Available on my Website)
                  Wistow v3.0 (Still Available on my Website)
                  Wistow v4.1
                  Fleurieu Flyer v1.0
                  O-Ring v2.0

Homepage        : White Knuckle Racing (GP2 Site)
                  http://www.eisa.net.au/~knuckles

Thanks to       : Paul Hoad for making the track editor!
                  Marc Aarts for the info on identifying different
                  GP2.EXE versions and in providing a better way of
                  identifying where the pitstop data lies in the track
                  file and also for helping me recover my source code.
                  Robert Kimber {kimber@metronet.de} for the checksum 
		  formula.
                  Steve Lomax for the suggestion of the ability to do
                  a compulsory number of pitstops in a short race.
                  Peter Kessler for bug reports.

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* Installation *

Simply copy PITSTOP.EXE into your GP2 directory.


* Usage

PITSTOP {Options}

Pitstop Sanity is designed to create more realistic pitstop strategies
where the number of laps you are racing is different to the number of
laps the circuit you are racing upon was created for. If however the
number of laps in the track file is within 10% of the number of laps in
the GP2.EXE then the strategy is simply pro-rata. You can change this
10% figure to anything from 0% to 20% if you specify a number in this
range as the first parameter. If you do not specify a number or you
specify a number outside this range then the default of 10% is used.

R   -   Will recalculate strategy in every instance
        (no pro-rata strategies)
        This must be the first parameter.

Px  -   Set number of stops for all cars on Track X.
        The next parameter is the number of stops.
                
PA  -   Set number of stops for all cars on all Tracks.
        The next parameter is the number of stops.
                
B   -   Process in Batch Mode. (ie. no interactive menu)


If you simply run PITSTOP without parameters then you will get an
interactive menu where you have the option to change the pitstop
strategy calculations. To do this simply select the track for which
you wish to change the pitstop strategy calculation.

If you are prompted with a default figure at any stage in the
interactive menu and you do not wish to change it then simply hit
<enter>.

When prompted with the question 'Stint Calculation Method ?' simply
respond 'Y' or 'y' for yes and 'N' or 'n' for no. If you choose yes
then you will be prompted to enter an average 'stint' length. This
stint length must be between 10 and 99, however if you enter 0 then
the program will calculate a stint based upon the strategy encoded
in the track file.

Please note that the figures appearing in White are the figures
currently being used and the figures in Cyan are the proposed
changes. To save any changes you must choose '99  Update and Exit'.
All tracks that have had changes made by this util will be updated
upon making this selection.

Please note that if a blue star appears next to the stint then the
stint is not being used for calculations as this track falls within
the pro rata criteria. If a red star appears next to the stint then
the stint is not being used for calculations as this track has a set
pitstop strategy specified for it by the user.

For those wondering what a driving stint is it is the number of laps
you go without a pitstop. (ie. a 3 pitstop strategy has 4 stints with
the average stint being the race length divided by 4)


Limitations 
-----------

The number of laps in a race must be between 3 and 126 laps.
The length of a user entered stint must be between 10 and 99 laps.

If you choose to set your own pitstop strategy in a short race then the
following limits will apply :

3 to 5 laps   - No pitstops can be selected
6 to 9 laps   - Maximum of 1 pitstop can be selected
10 to 12 laps - Maximum of 2 pitstops can be selected

You cannot select more than 3 pitstops under any circumstances.
If you choose to set the number of pitstops from the command line
(eg typing "PITSTOP P1 2") the above limits will still apply and the
number of pitstops will be adjusted accordingly.
The reason for these limits is that if you try and do something stupid
like a 3 lap race with 3 pitstops then obviously all the CC Cars are
not going to get all their pitstops. The above limits reflect the
furtherest you can realistically stretch things whilst maintaining
orderly pitstops. Remember also there is only 1 pit per team.

The reason for these limits being imposed is that if you were to pit
more frequently then some of the cars may not actually have the chance
to do their nominated number of pitstops. It is also worth noting that
it is not possible to get the CC cars to pit before lap 3.

All limitations outlined above are enforced by error checking routines
within the utility.


* What's New

v5.1  This version is simply a bug fix.
      With some track data files the program was previously unable to
      identify where the pitstop data was in the track file. This
      should now be fixed.

v5.0  Users can now input what percentages of CC Cars are doing zero,
      one, two and three stops.
      Track Names are now obtained from the #GP2INFO tag if one exists
      in the Track File.
      Help Screen Added. (Type PITSTOP ?)
      Some command line parameters have been changed.
      Bug Fix for US English Versions patched with the GP2NOCD utility.

v4.1  This version is simply a bug fix.
      Fixes Runtime 002 errors associated with computers running at
      faster than about 166Mhz.

v4.0  Changes to strategy calculations, particularly for short races.
      Error Checking added to test integrity of Track data files.
      Error checking added to number of laps and minimum number of
      laps for a set number of pitstops.
      Only those tracks which have had changes made by this util have
      their new values displayed in Cyan text in the interactive menu.

v3.0  Fixed bug that incorrectly displayed the strategies when some
      drivers were on a zero stop strategy.
      Fixed bug that wouldn't save the updates if the number of laps
      remained the same.
      Added the name of the Tracks to the menu. (If you would be
      interested in me adding the ability to change the Track Names
      then email me)

v2.0  Added ability to specify a set number of pitstops for all CC cars
      regardless of race length. (Great for compulsory pitstop style
      sprint races)
      Added ability to change the number of laps in the GP2.EXE file.
      Allowed Non-Integer input of stint length for user-defined stint
      length.
      Added ability to exclude pro rata strategies.

v1.0  Initial Release


* Copyright / Permissions *

This software is distributed as freeware.
This software is for personal use only. 
This software may not be used for any commercial gain whatsoever
without prior written consent of the author.
Distribution of this product is allowed and encouraged so long as no
fee is charged for such distribution.
All files (PITSTOP.EXE & GP2FORM.TXT) must be included in any
distribution.


* Disclaimer *

The contained files are provided "as is" without warranty of
any kind, either expressed or implied. The author will not be
held responsible for any losses incurred.


* Construction *

Editors used    : Turbo Pascal v7.0 for DOS
                  Hexedit 4.3

Known Bugs      : None. Contact me if you find any!
	 
Build Time      : About 30 hours


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Brett Knuchel (Knuckles) 2000
