What's the best racing sim

[mr burns 131]

Anybody who hasn´t stuck his nose into GTR2 yet might want to give BMW M3 Challenge a try.

It´s made by 10tacle and Blimey on the same engine that GTR2 uses. In terms of content it´s nothing more than a demo (1 car, 2 tracks), but it´s fun as hell - especially in MP!

M3 Challenge Homepage

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Additionally there´s a color mod available too:

Quote[/b] ]The doubled colors made me kinda sick ...

I know that theres already a nice color mod available, but i rather do things myself.

Have phun.

->> Download <<-

[Bracken 0]

Gene Rally. It's free, simple and fun. No steering wheel needed. Also, it supports multiplayer on one computer .

Haha, I use to play that abit also!

Best fun was when you had six people on a small laptop keyboard.. elbowing played a bigger part than the racing i think

Making tracks was also fun, don't suppose you have ever played LF2 either have you ? Same sort of style game.

[wika_woo 182]

BMW M3 challenge is awesome for a free game and online too.

But it's all GTR 2 a-like..

It's great if you have everything switched off.

You can feel it better (physics).

OMG, generally is funny as hell, tried out the drift car sets?..

It's good fun if you want something quick to play...

[MehMan 0]

Gene Rally. It's free, simple and fun. No steering wheel needed. Also, it supports multiplayer on one computer .

Haha, I use to play that abit also!

Best fun was when you had six people on a small laptop keyboard.. elbowing played a bigger part than the racing i think  

Making tracks was also fun, don't suppose you have ever played LF2 either have you ?  Same sort of style game.

Oh yeah, LF2 was lots of fun too, hehe. But I hardly ever figured out any combos, and most of them got screwed due to the three keys pressed limit on one keyboard . Was fun to screw the opponents combo with a skillful keyboard input block.

[Balschoiw 0]

I bought two games yesterday.

Witcher and GT Legends.

I installed GT Legends first, just to have a short look.

Well...

I haven´t even installed Witcher up to now

GT Legends is pure, freaking fun !

The cars are a dream for anyone who´s a bit interested in classic motorsports. BMW, Mercedes 300, Austin Mini, Shelby classics, Fords, etc, etc.

The racing is tough and very, very realistic and imo it feels more close-to real for all of us who have a car as the racecars from today as represented in GTR 2 for example.

It´s simply nuts to drive a race with an Abarth 1000 or with a classic Mini.

So much fun !

I also went to the car dealer and did a test drive with cars i can´t currently afford and the oure power of some is incredible. No traction-control, no ABS, no electronics but sheer power with some of them. Some are real beasts.

One of the most outstanding things about this game is the sound.

Some of the engines sound like hell let loose. Incredible.

I have a rather good Cambridge 5.1 system and it´s awesome how the cars sound if you bring the volume to a "near-reality-level".

Grab it !

Now I´m off to install Witcher...hm...

No.

[Balschoiw 0]

I thought I´d get best input from racefreaks here, so pls don´t redirect me to the hardware thread.

The issue:

My Enzo Ferrari FFB Wheel is slowly paying it´s tribute to my electronic race career. While the main unit with wheel is still working topnotch I lately have problems with broken springs in the pedals unit. I managed to make some replacement springs on my own by using springsteel and coldformed it, but I´m pretty sure that it will not take long until I have to fix it again.

I have checked quite a number of reviews of FFB wheels and it looks to me that the MOMO and the G25 seem to be ok. What I want to know is if they are built well, able to withstand a Rallye freak like me who drives pretty much and long. I´ve read that springs are a problem with almost any wheels available, so I´m also thinking about building the pedals on my own with a hydraulic solution instead of the springs.

My questions:

- What wheels do you use ?

- Any spring issues ?

- Spare parts available ?

- Any recommondation for a page where people built their own input devices for racing ?

- Anyone got an old Enzo Ferrari FFB he wants to trade, so that I can gain some spare parts from it ? ( PM only)

Thx. I don´t feel well, if my wheel doesn´t feel well

BTW: Have you checked this wheel ?

500 Euros

[oyman 0]

get this now, G25, i has one and its good much very

[smiley nick 51]

G25 is one of the best wheels you can get, but it comes with a hefty price tag too.

I have the g25 and touch wood, nothing has gone wrong with it, and I also vigorously use it on all sorts of racing software. You also get one years manufacture guarantee with the G25 if anything should go wrong.

No spring or deadzones have arisen yet, and I don’t think they will, everything about the wheel has that solid heavy durable feeling.

Not sure about the spare parts, but you get a year’s free manufacture guarantee if anything should go wrong.

http://forum.racesimcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=186 Is a good start to check out other peoples setups, you might be able to PM them about any of their custom gear if you want to go down that route. However you might find the majority of people use the G25 for hardware.

I have a friend who has had his Momo for over two years, and he only is now getting some small teething problems.

If you’re a serious racer, your best choices are G25 of the MOMO.

Hope that helped.

[SHWiiNG 0]

Wow, fairly soon they will allow you to pass your driving test in the comfort of your own living room

[kavoven 4]

/me likes the new search function... :D

Today my copy of Race Driver Grid arrived. Amazon.de sold it from friday to montay for 20 Euros, thats why I played the demo and I was amazed.

After 4 hours of gaming this evening I can say that its definatly the best racing game I've ever played...Especially the events in Japan have taken me...

And sometimes the graphics are so good that you think (for a moment) you're watching TV and not playing a computer game! :)

Edited April 28, 2009 by kavoven

[sparks50 0]

Its an entertaining game, but leans more on the arcade side to be honest.

I always found there to be something very strange with the steering in that game.

But the graphics and damage system is spectacular though.

Edited April 29, 2009 by sparks50

[Maddmatt 1]

Couldn't stand the driving model in Grid myself. Cool damage model but the rest sucks IMO.

For comparison I drove the BMW E46 in the demo, then loaded up Race 07 and drove the same car. Don't feel remotely alike.

[Prydain 1]

GRID is pretty bad, not as bad as its name though.

I would not say the damage model is excellent but it does its job I suppose. They could do more to make the damage lessen performance and make more parts detachable, currently you can go at 130mph into the back of a F3 car in a braking zone and pretty much come out with the ugly scratch textures and a yellow warning on the steering damage indicator. The online leader boards are broken too, I did a 11:08.69 on Donnington and someone with a worse time is ahead of that when I checked, pretty strange. I hope F1 2010 comes with better damage models, better simulation and pit stops to move it away from the arcade BS it is at now.

LFS isn't perfect and certainly isn't pretty but at least effort is going into it.

Edited April 29, 2009 by Prydain

[Balschoiw 0]

I´m having my eyes on iracing right now.

Looks like the new heavyweigt of racesims.

Biggest letdowns are the pricing policy and the non-existant offline racemode for me.

Video preview

Racedriver Grid is an arcade racer and apart from the gfx it´s rubbish. The AI is stupid and suicidal and there is no

simulation of car´s physics that comes even close to the real thing at all. Codemasters approach to racing.

I´m already throwing up when I read that they are doing a F1 -"simulation".

Funracing ? Stay away from Dirt, Grid or other Codie-nonsense and get Burnout paradise. It serves what

Need for Speed was aiming for and actually works like a blast.

Edited April 30, 2009 by Balschoiw

[oyman 0]

I tried iracing for a month. It was pretty cool, better ffb than gtr2/gtr evo.

All I got to drive was the pontiac solstice and the legends car. The physics on the soltice are like a wtcc car in gtr evo. Like no downforce, little power and front wheel drive.

People were telling me that it takes about a month to upgrade your license to be able to drive a better car.

Heres one experiance I had with iracing,

When I got in my first race on limerock with the soltices's I started around 10th out of ~18. Made it past 1st corner good and passed a couple of guys off the line. When the 2nd corner came up someguy rammed my rear bumper and it sent us both sliding into the grass. I even slid into a safety wall.

And in iracing there is a points system. Each time you ram a car, get a wheel off into grass/dirt, or just over-brake and end up in the grass or into a safety wall you will lose points.

I lost like 30 points that race. A little notice came up on top of screen with every point getting taken from me while I was in the grass trying to get control of the car and back on track.

So from a accident not caused by me I lost a ton of points and makes my record look like Im a wrecker.

Its not that exspensive, I think its $19 a month. Overall iracing is the best sim but I like just getting into gtr evo and driving a GT car better than having to wait for my license to upgrade or paying every month.

:don2:.

[Maddmatt 1]

iRacing has great car handling. But the price is a bit insane IMO.

If you want a free 1-month trial that comes with the Radical SR8 and some other tracks, go here:

http://www.radicalsportscars.com/racing/virtual-racing

You even get to keep that stuff if you continue with a subscription.

I gave it a go, and found that it just wasn't for me. I'd rather play GTR Evolution. GTR Evo or rFactor with certain mods is about as close as you can get to iRacing realism.

Personally I don't think iRacing is that special. And with rFactor 2, NFS: SHIFT (no that's not a joke!), and whatever Simbin is working on with their new engine all on their way iRacing is going to look even less attractive for those looking to enjoy some realistic racing.

Need for Speed: SHIFT is going to be the first NFS game that will be a simulation. It's being worked on by the same guys that made the GTR and GTL games as well as a physics programmer from Richard Burns Rally.

Website: shift.needforspeed.com

Hard to believe, but it really looks like it's going to be a sim.

[sk3pt 0]

I haven't used my Logitech MOMO wheel for years, not since I stopped playing Richard Burns Rally. NFS:SHIFT looks interesting, they just can't go wrong with such a team !

[SpeedyDonkey 0]

Hi guys!

I have read this entire topic now and I’m glad to see so much talk about LFS (Live for speed)

Roughly three weeks ago I was enjoying a fantastic race when I had to pit, unfortunately I spun after refueling my vehicle due to the high speed I had in the spin I hit the wall with incredible impact (roughly 150 km/h) As a result of this the vehicle flew up in the air, landing quite near the two green dumpsters seen in the picture below (the car landed upside down).

After this event I really started to play around with the idea of repeating this stunt but with all the four wheels on the ground. I fear that landing on the dumpster would tip the car over, or in worst case break the front wing off.

So I figured it’d have to land between the two green ones.

I’ve been thinking of different ways to achieve this.

This first picture illustrates the gap in the fence which is the ideal spot to hit (obviously).

Here you can clearly see the path _I THINK_ my car took the one time I actually got there.

This is an edited picture of how I imagine it to look if I land properly.

And in this final picture you can clearly see the speed which is required to successfully master this stunt.

So far I have NOT successful with this, so I’m asking all of you pro’s of your opinion.

Also, sorry about the graphics I'm on a laptop.

INFO:

Track: Blackwood GP

Weather: Sunny (NO WIND)

Car: FBM

thx.

[sparks50 0]

Haha, go for it :)

[Maddmatt 1]

That the same Formula BMW as in Race 07/GTR Evo? How does it compare in terms of handling and physics? Just curious.

[DracoN 10]

GTR Evo is the Best

[Raptor13270 0]

That the same Formula BMW as in Race 07/GTR Evo? How does it compare in terms of handling and physics? Just curious.

Yes, LFS has the same Formula BMW as Race 07. I think LFS's FBM feels more responsive than the one in Race 07. It is a lot more difficult to recover from a slide in Race 07 due to the Simbin engine I think, since I had that problem in GTR 2 as well.

[kavoven 4]

I played GTR Evo and I can tell that this game isn't more realistic than others. If you start sliding or make a quick move while driving at >100 kmh the Audi R8 for example immedietly gets out of controll... this simply isn't realistic.

Further there is no real damage modell, the general physics (not the driving ones) are bad, the graphics can't compete with 2008 graphic engines and I didn't get any feeling for the speed.

[Balschoiw 0]

What do you mean by "others" ?

Right now there are only a few race-simulations competing with GTR Evo:

LFS (dated)

Rfactor (dated)

iracing (expensive)

That´s it. Grid, Dirt are funracers and no racesims, not even close.

If you start sliding or make a quick move while driving at >100 kmh the Audi R8 for example immedietly gets out of controll... this simply isn't realistic.

It isn´t ? You´re not driving a comfortable setup for the road but a GT setup for the racetrack. The GT3 series "R16" has no 4WD, but 500 PS on it´s rear wheels.

Are you driving with a wheel or gamepad ?

Further there is no real damage modell

Nonsense, the damage model is very complex. Every component of the car can be damaged and it will directly influence the behaviour of the car.

Maybe you should turn realism on. :rolleyes: I just had a nice experience when I lost my front spoiler and did a short flight into the air on the "Nordschleife" going uphill with the wind lifting up the car because of the missing spoiler. Those are the moments...:D

the graphics can't compete with 2008 graphic engines

:confused:

What more do you want ?!? It´s a racesim, depicting tracks, cars in an accurate manner. This is no arcade game with unrealistic motionblur.

It has features that are unique like the adjustable appendix to curves, adjustable seat, a camera function that is really good and a selection of accurately simulated cars that are fun driving. I like to drive the old BMW. It has no driving aids at all and is a real bitch to master. But it´s terribly funny if you get it going.

The reason why you "get no feeling for speed" may be that you are driving on raceways that are not comparable to general roads, apart from sections or city courses in the game that are riven on regular roadways with security measures on their sides. This is no "Crash the car in the city you know" game, but a racesim that is far ahead of the arcade-racers in every way. Maybe the gfx are not so boom-bang, but tbh I even still race with GP legends that is really dated by now but is a masterpiece of racing and the cars are real beasts.

In the end that´s what this thread is about:

"What´s the best racing sim", not "What´s the best Poo-poo Codemasters arcade nonsense, formerly known as Colin Mc Something or Race driver series."

[Maddmatt 1]

I played GTR Evo and I can tell that this game isn't more realistic than others. If you start sliding or make a quick move while driving at >100 kmh the Audi R8 for example immedietly gets out of controll... this simply isn't realistic.

I disagree. GTR Evo is one of the more realistic sims around.

The Audi R8 is so different to any of the other cars in the game that I think it is a pretty useless example to use for a comparison. It's the only 4wd car in the game.

And I find it almost never loses control. I can't imagine how you lose control so easily because it's one of the most stable cars out of all race sims :confused:

Hell it's even easy to do drifting in it. There was an episode of Top Gear with it and the presenter found the real one great to drift in as well..

Further there is no real damage modell, the general physics (not the driving ones) are bad, the graphics can't compete with 2008 graphic engines and I didn't get any feeling for the speed.

Compared to what? All the available race sims have trouble in those areas.

As for the feeling of speed, how do you expect to get a feeling of speed on a computer? The cars have the same speed as they have in real life. The arcade games only achieve it because the speeds in them are unrealistic.

The game does have a decent damage model. No worse than the other race sims. Visually it's bad but then again GRID's damage model looks great but it's hardly realistic - you can't even puncture a tyre.

Sadly all the available race sims at the moment are pretty crap when you compare them to other types of games. Dated graphics, bad AI, bad visual damage and so on. But we have rFactor 2, NFS: SHIFT, whatever Simbin is doing with the physics engine and possibly another that a certain rFactor mod team is involved in. So we should be getting some awesome sims eventually.

Edited May 5, 2009 by Maddmatt