TOTAL Entertainment NETWORK (TEN):
Url: http://www.ten.net
Supported titles: NASCAR Racing 2.
Overview: TEN is a commercial gaming service, providing a wide assortment of supported titles for multiplayer action--but only one that fits my subject, although it is the biggest and best known of them all. Papyrus chose TEN as the network to provide service for its NASCAR Racing 2 simulation, and that has grown into the NASCAR Racing Online Series (NROS). NROS is an officially sanctioned NASCAR division, and recently completed the inaugural qualification round. According to NROS, over 2000 racers entered at least one of the eight events, in one of three divisions--pro, intermediate, or novice. The top 45 from each division have moved on to the championship round, and 8 from each will make it to the finals, held at a centralized location (still to be determined). Prizes include merchandise, transportation, and cash, with the pro Division champ taking home over $4000 in awards. Participation in the NROS is not required to race NASCAR Racing 2 on TEN, as there are always pickup races available, and several user leagues to race in. In order to race on TEN, you need to own NASCAR Racing 2, and subscribe to a Premium account on TEN. The cost is $14.95 per month for unlimited hours.

My Experience: As a NASCAR 2 racer, I had really looked forward to the implementation of TEN and NROS, and I am not at all disappointed. There are races starting at almost any hour of the day or night, and most of the other racers behave in a courteous and professional manner. There are exceptions, of course, but the muzzle option provided solves most problems in short order. Most non-league events are kept short, and run without caution flags--it saves a lot of time, but tends to make some drivers a little reckless. With as many as 22 drivers in each race, thing can get a little messy, but choosing who and where you race can make a big difference.

The connections seem to be pretty stable, and I had green (excellent) flags most of the time, with the odd yellow (good).

TEN keeps rankings for all the games, and the NASCAR rankings are pretty complete, listing skill for each track, wins, poles, and laps per incident for every racer. Overall, I have had a blast with this, and heartily recommend it to any NASCAR racing fan.

HEAT:
URL: http://www.heat.net
Supported titles: NASCAR Racing 2, Powerslide, Monster Truck Madness 1 and 2, Motocross Madness, Need for Speed 3, and any title with network play via IPX.
Overview: Another commercial gaming site, HEAT supports several games for free, including a good number of racing titles. Getting started is simple--just register with a username and password, download the software, and off you go. Many of the supported games have the HEAT software on the CD, and in that case you can avoid the lengthy download, so check your CDs. When you log in, you can go directly to the title of your choice from the main page, a nice little shortcut.

HEAT also has its own form of currency called 'degrees', which can be won and wagered like real cash. Degrees can be used to purchase software and hardware from the site, or to upgrade to a premium account. There are also many ladders and tournaments in which to compete.

My Experience: The only titles I attempted to use on HEAT were NASCAR Racing 2 and Powerslide, with varying success. I could usually find a game getting ready to start, or enough people to join one I created, but getting them all to the starting line seems to be hit or miss much of the time. I don't know if it's just bad luck in my case, or an inherent problem with using RIPX (an IPX network emulator) but several people in the Powerslide lobby had taken to exchanging IP addresses and connecting directly. Unfortunately, that is not an option with NASCAR 2.

Once we did hook up and begin racing, things went well, without a lot of noticeable lag or warping in Powerslide, but NASCAR 2 had a lot of noticeable lag, which was very distracting at times. Both the titles I tested allow up to eight drivers to join, and we didn't seem to lose many after connection. The lobbies aren't quite as busy as some of the other services, so wait times for opponents tends to be a little longer. There is also a fairly lengthy file verification and updating routine each time you run the HEAT software.

If you are looking to race NASCAR 2 or another IPX-enabled title against human competition, but don't want to shell out the bucks for NROS, HEAT provides that option--just be patient, read the instructions, and it will work. Not a bad way to go, but not the best, either.