Q&A with Stefano "Kunos" Casillo on nKpro!

[Alessandro Gamberini]

Hi nKpro junkies

in the last weeks I collected from our members many questions regarding our beloved sim

now it's time to read the answers from KUNOS who gently and with entuxiasm has accepted this sort of interview about all around nKpro

a very big thank to Stefano "KUNOS" Casillo who has dedicated to us some of his time but also to our community that keeps active nKpro with polite and always precious feedbacks and ideas

Please guys don't reply here with more questions but use the dedicated KUNOS official forum at D.I.

moreover I hope to have a second session with Casillo next year on Spring, when will be more interesting things to ask ...

thanks
ciao

 

[Requiem84]

One way to get the servers fuller would be to introduce a rating system a la iRacing.

That would give people an incentive to start racing eachother and to build up your rating. For just random pickup racing that is a definite must.

Why wouldn't you esc out otherwise after a crash? Or complete the full distance when other people already disconnect. It just gives people a good reason to compete.

Are you reading this Stefano? .

 

[Dave Stephenson]

Thanks for the answers, grwat title. best value sim on the planet.

One way to get the servers fuller would be to introduce a rating system a la iRacing.

That would give people an incentive to start racing eachother and to build up your rating. For just random pickup racing that is a definite must.

Why wouldn't you esc out otherwise after a crash? Or complete the full distance when other people already disconnect. It just gives people a good reason to compete.

Are you reading this Stefano? .

a sure fire way to raise the entry barrier to a sim many struggle with already?

 

[Dean Lawrence]

I even added, if today there's an option in the netKar site to an pre-purchase of the version 2 and with that contribute to a even better one, I just would bought it today. I'm sure I wouldn't be disappointment.

+1

I'd also pre-purchase... but... I think for that to work for the masses a clear roadmap and release date would need to be provided. People generally don't pre-purchase a game before a firm release date is given.

But I like the concept and I think it would help Kunos

 

[Vaggelis Theodoridis]

Guys i think in my opinion,that nkpro has less players than other sims for many reasons...
I dont put them in a order...randomly
1 - ok i write it again,the thing with the touches(i mean when u drive and just touch the other and is like a bad crashing,u have to be VERY carefull especially in a league)
2 - The demo car is dificult to drive.Many users who tryed and told them to try,they told me that "grrrr" this is dificult i cant drive it.They saw it very surfacely(if that word exists lol),i mean they didnt understand the ffb the physics,they didnt try to understnad.All that because maybe they couldnt go fast in the corners and crash...So they understand that the car was bad and nothing could change their mind..(i remember myself that i couldnt drive it when i downloaded the demo...it took me some days-months to understand the sim.I didnt saw the other things that make it very good sim like ffb and physics...It was dificult to drive and i thought that is a bad sim.......WRONG
Now every time i tell someone to try it i give him the abarth version....better chances for buying
3 - Until now the sim had 4 formulas and 1 car(abarth).When i was trying the demo i thought that and it take me some days to decide if i will buy it.Well thank to my friend who is "sim racer" and told me "Buy it,its only 20 euros and its a Diamond...."...I bought it and day by day i discovered it and now i think that i just "steal" Kunos...I really believe that..
(Now that more updates came and will come it will be better of course)
4 - Before i buy it i was watching the rank page to see how many users are online and playing this sim...they were usually 1 or 2 or 3 players...I was disapointed...But thank god i bought it!
So this is a reason for someone who dont know anyone from nkpro to discourage him for buying...Your site and rsr making good job in this section with the events u organize

Ok,these are my first thoughts that come in my mind.There are also more but not so importatnt like:
When an lfs player comes from lfs to play nkpro he sees that its like complicated to play the nkpro because in lfs u download it connect ur wheel making fast some adjustments and u play,in nkpro the interface isnt so easy and it takes some time to get familiar with it.

These are my thoughts for now lol....Sry for my bad english i tryd to make clear what i mean i hope u understand.If u ask me to write the good parts of this sim i will make many pages lol...
I love this sim and i know that isnt "finished" yet and u cant say that is a complete sim because it has some things to be fixed BUT,
Kunos made this sim with aewsome physics and ffb...These are the MOST important to a sim.Physics(how realistic the car will behave) and the way u FEEL when u drive a car because the only data u can take from a sim are:what do u see in the screen,hear in ur speakers and feel in ur wheel!
Other sims have night,rain,good sounds,good interiors but when comes time to feel...

So thats why i love this sim and i respect Kunos.Better days are coming for this sim!!!

 

[Sérgio Marques]

+1

I'd also pre-purchase... but... I think for that to work for the masses a clear roadmap and release date would need to be provided. People generally don't pre-purchase a game before a firm release date is given.

But I like the concept and I think it would help Kunos

100% agree with you, one probable release date and information about the content/improvements would be essencial.

 

[Sérgio Marques]

Great post Vaggelis!

...Kunos made this sim with aewsome physics and ffb...These are the MOST important to a sim.Physics(how realistic the car will behave) and the way u FEEL when u drive a car because the only data u can take from a sim are:what do u see in the screen,hear in ur speakers and feel in ur wheel!
Other sims have night,rain,good sounds,good interiors but when comes time to feel...

Great truth!

Remind me these days when I try the Endurance Series SP1, I use to love this rFactor series and I feel exactly that way, they look great, sound great, but they feel like s...!

 

[Requiem84]

Thanks for the answers, grwat title. best value sim on the planet.


a sure fire way to raise the entry barrier to a sim many struggle with already?

Perhaps I didn't express myself properly. What I have in mind is a rating system, just a number and a formula behind it. When you win a race you get, i.e. +60 points on your rating, that number is dependant on the strength of your opponents etc. When you race strong opponents with a high nK-rating you would get more points for a victory. When you get last in a race against opponents with a much lower rating than you, you would lose some points on your rating.

I don't see how that would raise the bar, it's just another feature which does not limit the game for the users in any way. And there is no need to do this webbased, this could be done locally, on the client side.

People are suckers for ratings and bragging-rights and statistics. If Kunos could introduce this, I'm very confident we would see an increase in online-pick up racing outside leagues.

 

[Olivier Prenten]

Thanks a lot Stefano!
I will for sure continue supporting your incredible product!:doublethumb:

 

[Lee Ross]

Yeah really top marks there Stefano, thanks. Regarding the demo car IMO the 1600 and 1800 are NetKars best cars so i can see why this route is taken. As much as i don't really like the KS2, just feels odd to me, i think that would be a great demo car because it's certainly thrilling to drive and i think would grab guys by the scruff of the neck. Having said that i recently bought the Williams F1 in iRacing and it feels extremely poor in comparison to the KS2.

After reading about the KS2 in the wet though, maybe that will change my mind reagarding the KS2.

 

[Akbar Sal]

i like to fill the servers too, but the ping is too high (300+). I think I would disturbing others if i join in. i hope to see asia servers in the future though .

one thing that nags me is the collusion/netcode. i guess it is really hard. coming close to rFactor wouldn't be bad. I may not mind about collusion about 1 meter away, but the one thing i hate is, a slow hit, 1meter away; but hit the other guy as if the speed difference is 50+ kph hit. can we tone it down? maybe it's not real, but i think it would be better.