**IMPORTANT** Future of netKar **IMPORTANT**

[Markus72]

More than 2 years ago, a programmer with a great passion for motor sports, tired of the repetitiveness of the commercial games and simulators, and the unwilling to risk big software publishers, decided to freely express this passion. netKar was born

Since the beginning, Stefano Casillo, - netkar’s creator -, wanted to share it’s passion with the community. Today, netKar is known and played by thousands of people and various communities have appeared because of it. A simulator, simple in it’s characteristics but also extreme as a concept, that already is a cult object, and often became a the main choice for simmers, despite the presence of famous and usually more accessible and easier to use, commercial simulators.

netKar was born as a free project, to evolve slowly in it’s creators spare time, and with limited resources at hand. It wasn’t made with specific needs in mind, nor to obtain fame from it. As usually happens in such cases, when there is passion, we are determined to sacrifice whatever is possible. Time (and not only spare time), social life, money too (like websites and bandwidth for uploads/downloads, peripherals to test the sim on, lot’s of books and documents) ecc ecc.

netKar has given a lot to all of us. People that simply play with it, to people that work into it, to make it grow at a higher level and show its hidden potential, recognized by so many. A potential such high, that until now, has never been reached. There are plenty of reasons for this, but almost all of them are caused by the choices and situations of the real life of netKar’s programmer, Stefano “Kunos

[Jaap Wagenvoort]

How sad this news is, is it good that things are clear now. I have the deepest possible respect for what Stefano achieved over the past years. netKar is a sim that now blows away any commercial competition.

It is a massive, massive, massive blow for the project. I hope that Stefano and the team managed to come to this decision in full agreement.

I have big faith in the team in planning the next steps. Like you said, passion and high motivation are crucial ingredients for a project like this to succeed and I hope with the whole of my heart that it will be possible to revive the project.

In my opinion netKar is the best and already almost the perfect racing simulation out there. Online racing is fantastic and well-coordinated with the system in which tracks need to be authorized (combined with the great way netKar prevents new cars to be inserted... which is much better than i.e. Racer).

The simulation and physics are already on a superb level. The graphics are, in general, also very good. Track development is superb. The only improvement that could be decisive in making netKar the only alternative for simracers is improvement in the area of multiplayer racing. We are living in the connected area... there are no differences between Holland, Italty or Japan. Multiplayer is the way to go. netKar is on a good level already, but in order to grow further... improvements in the nkserver.exe are important in my opinion.

I'm just giving suggestions here. I have massive respect for the whole team. If you need any help, just shout. I will continue to work on nkChampionship, which I hope will grow out to become the tool to easily organise online championship with netKar (nkStreetchallenge, EasyCUP etc could use it). We need to believe and I believe in you guys!

I can understand the new way you guys would like to enter. LFS is using an interesting approach there in doing it all on their own and distributing the game in 3 parts. Remember the community is here for you ... and especially that the community outside Italy (Holland, France, Germany, Great Britain) is growing and growing. We are ready and very much willing to think with you on the path to solutions!!

Keep it up and let netKar survice. This is the best thing for simracers!! I believe!

[Guest palmer-jp]

IMHO...

Players are not existence that is only playing.

Only players can enlarge the world of netKar more more.

Of course, netKar is really great simulator.

However, netKar can not become "greatest" simulator with itself only.

Please don't forget that only the evaluation of the player can make it grow to "greatest" simulator.

And, I think some or many people tried to contact with nk official team for contributing something.

Although I don't know how many people received reply from official team,

I think there were proposal for cooperation.

Did you official team hear these voices?

I think that the official team and Kunos had many chances for changing bad situation.

You chose the way to solve it by yourself only.

However, I think you could choose other way.

I wish that your new project reaches the objective and realizes true world of great simulator.

[Guest Bob Pearson]

I'm with Jaap. I am a driver (of no great skill) who simply loves netKar.

I have no computer programming skills or I would certainly volunteer to help, but what I can do when/if you want is write documentation in English. I am a software technical writer, this is what I do for a living.

I for one am more than willing to take nK to the Shareware level, meaning I am willing to pay the $10 or £10 to help take nK to the next level.

[Guest serge kroes]

good to hear some news from kunos, sad he's not able to fully focus on netKar. for sure i still believe in this wonderfull sim.

When i first heard and did see the stuff going on from the GPChampionship comunity i was just stunned with the feeling and realistic aproatch from the programmer.

If i can find anything for helping or testing, will sure help.

greets, Serge Kroes

[Jaap Wagenvoort]

Indeed, I haven't got any reply from Stefano, too.. but just assumed that he is very busy.

I would like to know the names of the people involved in the official team now and also who is going to take on the programming role. Is there any news on that?

[Guest mub]

Oh my word. nkPro !! netKar is already a damn fine racing sim, I'll happily pay for a pro version e.g. commercial version (lets not pretend "pro" means anything else).

I'm glad to see so much non-Italian support for netKar. Until Jaap and GPC got involved I was worried the world would pass it by.

OK enough blowing sunshine up it's tail pipe.

Jaap asked to hear from the Kunos' support Team, I'll second that request. About the only complaint anyone has is about the less than regular status reports. I know we're not your boss or anything but a simple regular communication from Kunos or the team will keep spirits high in the netKar world.

It's an old trick really, let us believe something is coming and we will wait for ever. Well it's good enough for Willy Gates

Thanks to Kunos and the Team. You've all done a Man's job sir !!

mub - Feeling a bit lost for words.

[Guest mickyknox]

Be sure there is much more support than shown simply in this thread- over at RSC the news has received pretty much two big thumbs up

Good luck guys, and you have my support whichever way you choose to take nK forward

All the best,

Simon

[kunos]

Just a quick reply to Palmer and Jaap.

I understand what you are saying guys, I really do. If you look around the internet you will see many project, some succesfull and other not succesfull based on cooperation and voluntary efforts.

Linux and freeBSD come to mind immediatly when talking about these things.

For one reason or another, you 2 guys came into the nK community in a moment when everything was stopped or almost stopped. Palmer knows I had contacted him many times trying to restart the work on nK, and every single attempt was a failure because of my attitude.

I am not a man of "planning", I don't like to plan and I don't like to drive someone's else effort, it is just not my nature. The help you guys offered was not refused nor considered unuseful, not at all... it is just that nK doesn't have a "director" able to organise things and teams, and probably never will.

I am a game coder, this is what I know how to do, and this is what I should do. The current situation doesn't allow me to do that, so I have to change something in order to achive it.

I can only dream about one day when I will wake up in the morning and be able to think about netKar for the entire day, the entire week, the entire year! This will give me, eventually, a better chance to interact with the vital part of future nKpro's success: its community.

Right now, all I can and have to do is to push hard, using all of my spare time coding and improving nKpro the best I can so to get you guys follow and support the project, and then really, the limit is the sky; myself and the ppl involved in nK since from the start proved we could deliver even if it was a spare time occupation... I can only imagine what we could achive with a full time driven effort.

thanks for your support

back to the code

[Jaap Wagenvoort]

Dear kunos. Many thanks for your reply and giving your view on things.

It is no problem that communication issues didn't work out, even though I know that Palmer was a bit dissappointed with it. I feel that he did and is doing an incredible job to make the nK community a sustainable one and he deserved a lot of credit for that in my opinion.

I can fully understand your feelings, Stefano. There are enough of issues to be dealed with in life already and at a certain moment it just isn't possible to invest more spare time.

I'm a bit uncertain though. Marco stated that you stopped work on nK coding, but you are stating in the post above that "Right now, all I can and have to do is to push hard, using all of my spare time coding and improving nKpro the best I can so to get you guys follow and support the project, and then really, the limit is the sky; myself and the ppl involved in nK since from the start proved we could deliver even if it was a spare time occupation"

Does this mean that you are still working on the project, but that simply another approach is chosen?

For myself: I will continue to put all I have to support netKar in the simracing arena. On top of that I'm trying to improve nkChampionship where I can to make it possible to easily organise online netKar championships. Who needs pitstops or AI?! THe basic sim + good online support is what most nK racers are looking for.. and to have fun competing online with this superb product.

Stefano, take care. You've got exactly the right attitude for this project, even though it might not look that way at the moment. I believe and I will continue to believe and contribute to the project where I can