Interview with Martin Granberg – Author of Replay Analyser

Most people in the GPL community know Swedish driver Martin Granberg as one of the programmers behind the Replay Analyser. But apart from supplying all GPL drivers with an invaluable tool, Martin himself is a bit of a hot shoe too, who doesn’t stand back from the challenge of making his own turf; the creation of the his very own race track. Martin readily agreed to meet up for a chat, where we covered the practical use of the Replay Analyser, simracing history from Revs+ to GPL, getting into the “Nurb Sub-8 Club” and a most peculiar recurring theme of winning the Swedish lottery…

LGH: Martin, please tell me a bit about yourself.

MG: I’m a 31 year old racing nut from Sweden. Racing probably takes up too much time of my life (at least I think my girlfriend thinks so…). If I’m not watching it on TV, I’m probably racing sims. Another racing related thing which takes up a lot of my time is programming GPLRA and N4RA together with Jonas Matton. But I do have other stuff than racing in my life (until I win the national lottery, then it will be all racing!). I’m working as a consultant/salesman for a consulting firm in Sweden, and other big interests of mine are fishing and other outdoor/nature activities. I’d better add spending time with my girlfriend, in case she reads this :)

LGH: How did you get involved in simracing on the computer?

MG: It first started with Crammond’s Revs+ on the Commodore64. I only drove at Snetterton and I probably never got very good at it. I’m not sure that Revs+ was such a great game, but it was different from all other racing games such as Pole Position, Pitstop and Outrun. You could change wing angles etc. but the main thing was probably that it was so hard compared to the other games – a real challenge. After Revs+ there was a few years pause until I bought F1GP, also from Crammond. I got bored after a while as I managed to outdrive the AI cars, but then I found an editor by Olivier Roberts (IIRC). It changed a lot of things in the game and made it much better. After F1GP I’ve never lost interest in simracing. GP2 and F1RS are two other games I drove a lot as well as Indycar Racing 2. I tried a bit of Nascar1 and Nascar2 and while I enjoyed the close racing the tracks weren’t much fun. I remember falling asleep on the backstretch of Talladega in a 500 mile race in Nascar2!

LGH: Then perhaps you can comment on the commonly encountered statement that “GPL is racing against the track whereas N4 is racing against the other drivers”.

MG: I have too little experience of N4 racing to comment about that. I like it, but it is not GPL. N4 is more strategy. You have to look after your tires (which is very good) and time your pitstops. GPL is more pure racing – you can go flat out all the way (due to the tire model). N4 racing is fun, but for me it doesn’t give the same adrenalin rush as GPL. GPL with N4’s tire model would be a great mix.

LGH: In your own experience, how have the sims evolved over e.g. Revs, F1GP, GPL, N4 etc. and what will they evolve to? What qualities are becoming ‘dominant’ in the simulations nowadays?

MG: Of course the accuracy of the graphics, tracks, sound etc. are better now, but the main thing for me is that the physics engine are more and more realistic. With realistic, I suppose I mean it feels accurate – I’m not in a position to know if it is realistic, but it feels that way anyway. The other main progress is online racing. The sensation of racing with real people instead of AI-cars is great. The AI-cars always become predictable and they don’t care if you crash them out. I remember my first online race, I was nervous like hell! I think those two (realism and online support) are the main things in the future as well, at least for “hardcore” sim racers. Problem is it might not sell that good to the casual gamer.

LGH: An important aspect would also be the hardware development I take it. What computer and controller do you use?

MG: P3 850 with Geforce2 MX. I have 2 LWFF (red classic) – only use one at a time though :)

LGH: In the GPL community you are probably best known as one of the creators of a tool named “GPL Replay Analyser”. What exactly is this tool all about?

MG: In short: The program I and Jonas wanted to have for GPL! For F1GP there were lots of great add-ons. Trevor Kellaway made most of them, but there was also a program called GP Analyser (If I recall correctly) made by Steve Pritchard I believe. It had driving line comparison and I thought that was a great help. So the main idea for GPLRA was to do the driving line comparison. All other features that are included in GPLRA now are other things me and Jonas wanted to have. And a large portion of them are good ideas we’ve gotten from users of the program. GPLRA really has two parts. One for the league administrators and statistics freaks (the reports) and one for the driver who want to analyse his and other drivers driving in hope to get better.

I’ve programmed for a long time, but I’ve never studied any programming though. I began coding on the Commodore 64, but then had a long break until I started making some programs for F1GP and later GP2 and F1RS. From day 1 to first version of GPLRA it took about 2 months and we worked pretty much every day during that period. The part that took most of the time was to decode the replay format – to find out what and how things were stored. We were helped by the fact that Phil Flack and Nigel Pattinson had published information about GPL’s track format. Most of the nasty mathematics are in the track drawing I think, and Jonas Matton made that part. When it comes to harder math he handles that :). The latest addition to GPLRA, the Traction Circle, involves (for me) complex math. But the calculations for that part was provided by Mark Gold, we only programmed it!

We have just released version 5.0 [15/11/01] so a lot has been added over time. I’m not sure there are any “milestones” in the history of GPLRA – it has slowly progressed in every part, adding bit by bit. The basics were there from v1.0, and every bit has probably improved slowly. Of the added features in v.5.0, the main thing is the Traction Circle which shows the forces that acts on the car. Not very easy to understand I think, but it really shows how the car is behaving. All small corrections and slides can be seen with a trained eye. We also have a new telling graph which shows the development of a race (idea taken from www.forix.com). Another new thing is the online integration with GPLRank, helping to upload add-on track times easier. I feel that GPLRank’s negative side is that it has taken away interest and focus from the add-on tracks. But I hope changes on GPLRank and hopefully better integration will change that fact in the future.

LGH: What new features can we expect from RA in the future

MG: Nothing is planned, but we have a huge request list. One thing could be making GPLRA easier to integrate with other programs. One example could be having GPLRA combined with another program installed on a server and having results etc. posted online seconds after the race is finished. But nothing is planned right now. We’ll probably not release a new version in a while as I’m going away for a long vacation :)

LGH: In connection to the issue about result streaming from RA after online races – Do you think there is an actual audience for online Simracing?

MG: FILSCA seems to think so. I’m not sure it would attract a larger audience. The sim-addicts might tune in for fun, but other than that I’m not sure. Maybe in the future though.

LGH: Why have you decided to make RA free – you spend a lot of hours programming?

MG: GPLRA is the program we wanted ourselves. We mainly did it for ourselves. And in the “history” of simracing most add-ons have been free. The pleasure is having the features you want yourself really. And when you know several people would appreciate a certain new feature it is easier to find motivation to do it. It takes a lot of time to code this stuff, so when I first got GPL I decided I would never code anything for GPL. But after a year and a half I changed my mind. :) Both Jonas and I like racing and programming (if it is for fun) so it was a good mix. It is also a challenge to learn new stuff. When we started on GPLRA I had never coded in C++ before, only Assembler and Basic (computer languages) so I learned it during the process (and Jonas had to teach me :-)).

LGH: You have already programmed GPLRA and N4RA – Could you imagine a RA for F1-2001, GP3, F1RC, WSC etc.?

MG: Only if we like the games. I have to say that I can’t really understand the hype for WSC. So far we’ve seen so few facts about the game – only lots of screenshots and talk about all the features. I have seen this hype for games before, and the only game which really delivered was GPL – the rest were disappointments. If we like WSC we might have a go, but I won’t start doing anything just yet. As for the other F1 games, I don’t think we will be making anything. GPL2? Yes! :) I might add Rene Smit (a Dutch guy) already have some good programs for GP3 and possibly F1RC. (F1PerfView)

LGH: Will we see a “Granberg/Matton Simracing Tools” software company making RA and other tools in the future?

MG: He he. I don’t think so :) The market would be too small for such a company I suppose. It is better to keep things like this on a hobby-level IMO.

LGH: You are also one of the people that enrich the GPL community with add-on tracks, having released the Swedish track Anderstorp. First of all I’m interested in hearing a bit about this, your “home track”.

MG: When I started the project I didn’t know much about Anderstorp, but now I know a lot. I have no special connections to the track other than it being the only track in Sweden which has hosted F1 races. Building the track (IRL) and making it successful was a project noone in Sweden thought was possible. But the people from that part of Sweden is famous for their strong character and will power. They work with small means but often get the work done anyway. The timing of the Anderstorp project was probably perfect as Sweden had some good up’n’coming racers in Peterson, Nilsson, Bonnier etc. at the time. That certainly did no harm to the track.

Beforehand, I knew that extremely much work had to be put in to build a track, so I had no plan to do it. But then Phil Flack asked if I wanted to try out the track building tools and I started to think about Anderstorp. As it is a very flat track it is easier to build than, let’s say Bathurst or Solitude. I started researching a bit, and then Jonas joined in and we started to do the track layout. We had planned to do it all ourselves, but after we announced that we were creating Anderstorp for GPL to the other Swedes, Fredrik Nornemark offered his help. As neither Jonas nor me are any graphical artists we accepted his help, and in hindsight I can say we would never have made it without him. I didn’t think the track would suit GPL cars very much as it lacks fast corners and the layout is a bit boring IMO. The end result was a bit better than expected, specially in slower cars.

As for researching the track layout, I suddenly got the opportunity to drive at Anderstorp IRL. As a gift for my 30th birthday, my girlfriend Laila gave me an driving session at Anderstorp in Formula Fords and Formula Renaults. I took the opportunity to take lots of photos and study the banking etc. It was a very tiring project to build a track and all the 3do-files. The 3do-files are the biggest work IMO. I was very glad when we finally could release it. I never wanted to look at the track building tools again :) Since then I have made the beginning of another track [Falkenbergs Motorbana – another track in Sweden], but it is far from finished. Probably never will be… There are so many details if you want to make a decent track, I don’t think I’ll do another one. I may finish Falkenberg, but the ambition level will be to recreate the driving of the track, not to create a track will all kinds of eye candy.

LGH: One of my next questions was whether we’d see a Knutstorp or a Jyllandsringen from you, but I guess not?

MG: Nope! :) I think Ed and Matt from GPLEA had plans for Knutstorp though, but I haven’t seen them “in action” in a while so I wouldn’t hold my breath…

LGH: Can you give some advice for all the would-be-trackbuilders out there?

MG: Best thing for a new trackbuilder is probably to start doing a complete short track just to get to know the tools. That way you come to understand the different parts involved in making a track and can estimate the work and skills required. You also learn a lot from making the mistakes you are likely to do while making the first. When recreating a real track, you then have to put in an effort to research track layouts, history etc.. How much work this amounts to is dependent of the track. For some tracks you can find lots of info on the net. For others (such as Falkenberg) there is hardly anything to find. A good idea might be to search for good books in the library. In Sweden we have a website with aerial photos of the entire country, and this was perfect to get the track layout for Falkenberg. If there are any such photos for your track, use them! You really need a good track map to start with – beginning with a bad and then redoing could mean lots of work. But be prepared that it takes a very long time to do a complete track, and lots of patience too. A team is probably best – doing it all yourself is too much work if the track is to be good. For us, Anderstorp took about 5 months, though it has to be said that we didn’t work on it every day.

I’m not really into fantasy tracks, but I think doing such a track gives you more room for deviation from what you originally planned, once you run into problems. Many people are negative towards Dave Noonan’s Brands Hatch. They say it is inaccurate, but I think it is one of the best tracks available for GPL… so a perfect track layout isn’t everything.

LGH: You’ve mentioned that programming both GPLRA and Anderstorp has taken up much of your time, but how much time do you actually spend on GPL all in all?

MG: Hmm. Too much. In the summer time not so much as I’m in our summerhouse every weekend fishing etc., but during the winter it is much more. I don’t know how many hours a week really. I rarely race open races on VROC nowadays as I’m in many leagues. It has to be said though, that I don’t practice that much before a league race. Still, with all the league races I probably race 6-7 hours a week. Then depending on how motivated I am, I spend a few hours on coding GPLRA etc. If I was to include all GPL-related such as answering all GPL-related emails the sum would be too large to think about…. Brrr…

LGH: Martin you are quite a driver yourself judging from your reputation and your GPLRank (-62,34 16/11/01). How do you apply the use of Replay Analyser yourself when trying to improve your skills?

MG: I think I mainly use GPLRA to see where I lose time and a to a lesser extent why I lose time. I study the other drivers by watching replays in GPL, but the main improvements comes through practice and practice again. This is the only way to really understanding the car and e.g. how you go through a corner quick. When you are relatively close to the aliens (such as a second a lap on a 1m30s track) the differences are so small they are hard to find just by looking at replays or comparing in GPLRA. So nowadays I mainly use GPLRA to make sure I’m not making any stupid mistakes that are costing me lots of time. For a driver with less experience, I think the driving line view in GPLRA can be very helpful as well as the graphs. To be quick you need to start with the correct line. I think it is good to compare your own laps to someone who is a bit faster, so don’t compare yourself with a world record lap you if are too far away from it. That said, I always find the driving lines of a WR lap interesting. But bottom line for me is that the key to getting faster in GPL is more about learning the cars than analysing stuff in GPLRA. GPLRA highlights sections where you lose lots of time, so you can realise and address the problems you might have. The definition of “lots of time” gets smaller as you progresses, but that is where you should study yourself and others. As for winning time through setups, I’m not competent enough to do my own good setups, so I rely on what I can get from others. I can do my own stable setup, but they are always too slow. There are a lot of features in GPLRA where you can analyse your driving compared to others, some of them requiring a bit more technical insight of why differences occur and how to address them.

LGH: What are your personal goals in GPL or simracing in general?

MG: My one and only goal in GPL has been reached! :) It was doing a sub-8 lap at the Nurburgring and I finally made it this September after trying for years. :) I’m not much into hotlapping, but the sub-8 has been a big goal and I have spent many hours around that track. So now I really don’t have any fixed goals other than having good clean races. There is no certain lap time I’m after or improving my GPLRank or anything like that. I wouldn’t even try to pass Gårdewall on the GPLRank and become the best Swede. He is to both too fast and too determined to be no.1 in Sweden! If I somehow were to beat his record on a track, I’m sure he would have gone even faster the morning after :)

LGH: Have you tried any real life racing?

MG: Lots of rental karting, and I have driven Formula Ford and Formula Renaults at Anderstorp for a day. After the FF and FR tryout I have another view on real life racing. It isn’t easy to get the braking, downshift, turning correct. And add to that a small shaking mirror to try to spot if someone is trying to overtake you and you have lots of work to do. Would love to drive more though, it was great. Best thing I ever made!

LGH: Do you have any ambitions of becoming a real life racing driver then?

MG: LOL! No, only in my dreams. Once I win on the lottery, I will buy myself a Formula Ford drive for a year :) I was very close to buying a Formula Yamaha (100cc Kart), which is an enthusiast class in Sweden. I might still do that though.

LGH: Do you have any “heroes” in real life racing or simracing?

MG: Heroes? No, not really. I admire a lot of real life drivers for their skills. Michael Schumacher is one, Juan Pablo Montoya is another, but Montoya still makes the mistakes Schumacher did when he was a rookie. I try not to have any favourite real life drivers cause it is too sad if they get involved in nasty accidents. That said, I have always had a special place for Jean Alesi. I still think it is a bit sad that he has retired from F1, but I’m also very glad he never got badly injured. With regards to other simracers, there are many who I have great respect for, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling them heroes :)

LGH: Who is the most exciting driver in modern day F1?

MG: As I have the digital feed of F1 I have the opportunity to watch from the in-car cameras. Doing this during the end of qualification when they push at the very limit is awesome. Michael Schumacher, Jaques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya are probably most exciting but I think the ‘most exciting’ tag will go to Schumacher. What I really admire from a driver is speed, consistency and sportsmanlike behaviour. In simracing online, with the limits the internet has, sportsmanship is probably most important quality as lack of it can ruin everyone else’s race.

LGH: Speaking of qualities – what are your own qualities and flaws as a driver?

MG: Hmm… If I have had time to practice enough I think it is consistency, although I usually make a couple of mistakes every race. Sometimes when I crash out on the first lap, it feels as if I have no qualities at all… :) Something which helps me in many races is that I can usually put together at least one good qualifying lap. Getting a good grid position means that I have less risk of being involved in turn 1 incidents. Something which is both good and bad is that I take it easy at the start of the race, meaning I seldom crash or get damaged in turn 1, but I might also lose a couple of positions.

My major flaw used to be that I lost concentration during longer races. I could just forget to brake for a corner once the race had settled down. Now I try to think about that and stay focused and I think I’ve succeeded. The major flaw nowadays is that I usually take it easy in the beginning of a race and find it hard to speed up again once the amount of fuel is less or if it is required because there is someone faster coming from behind.

LGH: So far, what are your best moments with simracing?

MG: Relating to GPL, it first was the feeling that the car actually did something which was close to what I wanted it to do. Catching the first spin was awesome, but the first time sub-8 at the Ring is the best so far. Also going online with GPL is a major thing. Those who haven’t tried it yet must do it ASAP.

LGH: Do you have anything to add

MG: Not really. Just remember, “to finish first, you first have to finish”. Or as we GPL drivers say “to finish first, you have to be Finnish” :)

LGH: Martin I’d like to say thank you for agreeing to participate. I’m happy that you could find the time to play along.

MG: No problem, you’re welcome :)