The PC Sim Racing Thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The PC Sim Racing Thread

Vando: Oct 26, 2007; stoats about

Every pCars video I seem to catch features open-wheelers murdering high kerbs like they aren't there to the extent that I want to shout "BULLSHIT SON YOU SHOULD BE DEAD IN THE WALL" out loud at the screen.

# ? Feb 14, 2015 14:02

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# ? May 15, 2024 08:13

Combat Pretzel: Jun 23, 2004; No, seriously... what kurds?!

^^^ Eh, the people making these videos are tweaking the setups like hell and then give it as many tries they need for their stupid action shot. Bumpy curbs aren't your friend in this game.

Torabi posted:

That looks amazing but wasn't pCars going to be a bit more arcadey?

Jesus Christ, is this still happening?!

# ? Feb 14, 2015 14:56

Cojawfee: May 31, 2006; I think the US is dumb for not using Celsius

pCARS definitely became more arcadey. They totally removed their damage model.

# ? Feb 14, 2015 15:00

peter gabriel: Nov 8, 2011; Hello Commandos

I bought Pcars on Steam, can you pre load it because it isn't downloading for me, if not it's cool.

# ? Feb 14, 2015 15:51

I said come in!: Jun 22, 2004

Torabi posted:

That looks amazing but wasn't pCars going to be a bit more arcadey? Nothing wrong with that but that's what I have heard at least. Not tried it myself.

Nah, it's very realistic but I feel like this is a pointless debate because it always just goes around in circles no matter the racing sim. We've done this exact debate for every major PC racing sim.

# ? Feb 14, 2015 15:56

EvilJoven: Mar 18, 2005; NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?; Fun Shoe

Not a sim game by any stretch but has anyone tried the new Carmageddon game? How does it play with a wheel?

# ? Feb 15, 2015 05:19

Combat Pretzel: Jun 23, 2004; No, seriously... what kurds?!

Oh, it's out? Hope the graphics aren't as terrible as I've seen a while ago on their Kickstarter and various promos.

# ? Feb 15, 2015 14:19

real_scud: Sep 5, 2002; One of these days these elbows are gonna walk all over you

EvilJoven posted:

Not a sim game by any stretch but has anyone tried the new Carmageddon game? How does it play with a wheel?

It plays pretty much like you would want a Carmageddon game to play. It looks pretty nice but I have no idea how it plays with a wheel.

I will say it seems to be kinda buggy still because I played a game yesterday and it crashed back to the desktop after showing me the results screen. Until then it was great fun.

# ? Feb 15, 2015 15:28

Norns: Nov 21, 2011; Senior Shitposting Strategist

I'm disappointed that I seem to like the driving a lot more in Asseto Corsa over iRacing. The online stuff in iRacing looks great. And the oval racing is sparking an intrest with me since I started watching 94 cart racing, and saw a couple really good NASCAR races for the first time in my life.

I'd also like to thank the folks who recommended game stock car extreme. When I get my wheel working right in that game, it's great. It doesn't seem to auto lock wheel rotations for diffrent rides, or something is really wrong with my settings.

The supercarts in game stock car extreme are crazy.

# ? Feb 15, 2015 17:36

Ringo Star Get: Sep 18, 2006; JUST FUCKING TAKE OFF ALREADY, SHIT

GSC is fun for its track variety and how much more normal the AI is compared to other games. I need to finish assigning buttons in it because I hate it when my car stalls out and it says to either disengage the clutch or put it in N. The clutch method never works so maybe I need some assignment trickery.

They have improved the sounds in the Steam version and added those nice karts and DP style cars which are a blast. Too bad there's not a lot of active servers because it's a lot of fun.

# ? Feb 15, 2015 20:12

Harminoff: Oct 24, 2005; ð½

Is the pseye worth picking up for the notrackir or is it a novelty that I'd probably only use for a day? Thinking of getting it for some racing games and ets2.

# ? Feb 16, 2015 21:03

tehsid: Dec 24, 2007; Nobility is sadly overrated.

Harminoff posted:

Is the pseye worth picking up for the notrackir or is it a novelty that I'd probably only use for a day? Thinking of getting it for some racing games and ets2.

Once you have any form of head tracking you'll want to use it with everything. Its very worth it.

# ? Feb 16, 2015 22:15

bloops: Dec 31, 2010; Thanks Ape Pussy!

Raceroom is really cool. Been putting a few hours into it. I really like it.

# ? Feb 16, 2015 23:09

OhsH: Jan 12, 2008

holocaust bloopers posted:

Raceroom is really cool. Been putting a few hours into it. I really like it.

The sounds in that game blow my mind.

edit:

tehsid posted:

Once you have any form of head tracking you'll want to use it with everything. Its very worth it.

this is wrong, i have a trackir and i 100% hate it for racing sims, I wont do a flight sim without trackir, and i will never do a race with trackir.

# ? Feb 16, 2015 23:31

Kilonum: Sep 30, 2002; You know where you are? You're in the suburbs, baby. You're gonna drive.

Yeah, I hate using trackir in driving/racing games. It actually makes my physically ill to do so. Flying games? gently caress yeah!

# ? Feb 17, 2015 00:02

bloops: Dec 31, 2010; Thanks Ape Pussy!

Raceroom feels really nice on a PS4 controller. There was a graphics option that absolutely tanked my frame rate. Took me a while to figure out it was the car reflections setting.

# ? Feb 17, 2015 00:26

texasmed: May 27, 2004

I had a TrackIR 5 and hated having to wear a hat or some poo poo on my headset to get the infrared to pick up. Also I got consistent neck pain from not even realizing that I was keeping my head super still so my view wouldn't wobble like crazy. hth

I'm legit F5'ing Steam daily hoping that I can mysteriously get access to my copy of PCars early (I know it won't happen), and driving the rFactor2 demo for kicks in the time being. I gotta try this Raceroom now since yall are saying it's cool, thanks for mentioning it.

# ? Feb 17, 2015 00:47

Ringo Star Get: Sep 18, 2006; JUST FUCKING TAKE OFF ALREADY, SHIT

Race room is good? I thought it was bad and berift of any quality.

# ? Feb 17, 2015 01:10

bloops: Dec 31, 2010; Thanks Ape Pussy!

Ringo Star Get posted:

Race room is good? I thought it was bad and berift of any quality.

Try it yourself. I liked it enough to buy a few cars and a track pack.

# ? Feb 17, 2015 01:15

OhsH: Jan 12, 2008

holocaust bloopers posted:

Try it yourself. I liked it enough to buy a few cars and a track pack.

Pretty much this, free to play on steam means there's really not much to lose.

# ? Feb 17, 2015 01:27

bloops: Dec 31, 2010; Thanks Ape Pussy!

Alright I've put in a few more hours into Raceroom. I've driven mostly the McLaren 12C GT3 and the GTR GT3 on Brands Hatch using a PS4 controller. I think it plays better than Assetto Corsa. The cars are a touch more predictable when they're kept in line and when poo poo goes wrong, it's pretty obvious why. That's not to say it's easy. I'm getting close to stringing a good lap together with the GTR. The car is a monster that'll put you into the wall for a slight mistake.

Anyway, Raceroom runs at a locked 60 with everything cranked up (minus car reflections--seems bugged) on an i5-4690K and a GTX 970. Controls are extremely configurable on the gamepad. Really happy with it so far. I don't think I'll be touching AC for a while. I'll give the AI a go later on in the week. I mostly stick with time trials.

edit: Oh, the sound is incredible.

bloops fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Feb 17, 2015

# ? Feb 17, 2015 04:29

The Science Goy: Mar 27, 2007; Where did you learn to drive?

Holy poo poo rFactor 2 updated its rain physics with standing water and an early version of aquaplaning - once I get some time this week I've gotta try this poo poo out. Updated tire physics also!

info here.

# ? Feb 17, 2015 04:40

GhostDog: Jul 30, 2003; Always see everything.

I think I'll give Raceroom another try, but last time I checked the cars just felt weird and there was nothing between grip and no grip. Just okay okay okay okay YOU'RE GONE.

# ? Feb 17, 2015 09:29

CactusWeasle: Aug 1, 2006; It's not a party until the bomb squad says it is

CaseFace McGee posted:

Holy poo poo rFactor 2 updated its rain physics with standing water and an early version of aquaplaning - once I get some time this week I've gotta try this poo poo out. Updated tire physics also!

info here.

I think code was updated but it wont actually become workable until future cars have it implemented.

# ? Feb 17, 2015 21:26

Ether Frenzy: Dec 22, 2006; Nap Ghost

Crosspostin' from the Forza 5 thread:

If anyone wants to buy my preorder for the Basherboads CPX adapter, for $10 you can have the preorder code and the product is now available to redeem. (It's another $35 + shipping.)

If not, the guy will refund my $10 and give it to the next dude in line, but since I waited since August for this I figured I'd let someone here have a chance at it before I ask for a refund.

This allows you to use Fanatec pedals with Thrustmaster wheels.
http://www.basherboards.com/CPX

Send me a PM or whatever.

# ? Feb 19, 2015 20:46

Kilonum: Sep 30, 2002; You know where you are? You're in the suburbs, baby. You're gonna drive.

Game Stock Car Extreme makers Reiza have a new game, and it's free

http://www.gamemarcas.com.br/index.php/en

# ? Feb 20, 2015 02:44

GhostDog: Jul 30, 2003; Always see everything.

Does anyone know if it's possible to edit the location names in rFactor2 to their real names?

# ? Feb 20, 2015 13:00

Jehde: Apr 21, 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU0dR9HXPLk

Try it on the Monte Carlo stage. :mrgw:

# ? Feb 22, 2015 12:00

365 Nog Hogger: Jan 19, 2008; by Shine

Jehde posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU0dR9HXPLk

Try it on the Monte Carlo stage.

Goes well with an F355 Berlinetta. :mrgw:

# ? Feb 22, 2015 18:22

Endymion FRS MK1: Oct 29, 2011; I don't know what this thing is, and I don't care. I'm just tired of seeing your stupid newbie av from 2011.

Jehde posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU0dR9HXPLk

Try it on the Monte Carlo stage.

This trailer is giving off heavy 90's arcade racer vibes, I love it.

# ? Feb 22, 2015 18:58

GhostDog: Jul 30, 2003; Always see everything.

I've been trying the Peyregrosse-Mandagout track and now I really miss a "reset to track" option in Assetto Corsa. Also that mod might not have the highest res textures but in terms of attention to detail and just overall look it puts Kunos' Trento to shame. And while we're on the subject of Trento, are there any improvements planned or is that really supposed to be 1.0?

# ? Feb 23, 2015 01:46

GhostDog: Jul 30, 2003; Always see everything.

I've been thinking the OP is a bit outdated, too wordy (imo) on some games while not at all mentioning others, so I've been working on something short and concise along these lines:

quote:

----------- WHAT IS SIM RACING? -----------

(copied from old OP)

This is a bit of a philosophical question. But long story short, a sim focuses on the physics of the car first with graphics, career mode, accessibility, collection etc coming in second if at all. Whereas a game focuses on graphics/collection etc first. This is very much a scale with no hard line saying what is and isn't a sim. But its generally accepted among sim racers that the games featured here have a more accurate driving experience then GT5 or Forza 4.

----------- CURRENT SIMS -----------

Assetto Corsa

http://www.assettocorsa.net

Assetto Corsa left early access in December 2014 but is still very much a work in progress. The AI especially leaves a lot to be desired, so this is more of a driving and not a racing simulator right now. AC prides itself on highly accurate tracks and in general the official content (with few exceptions) is spot on and done when released. Currently there is no weather or night racing, track conditions can be selected but are fixed for the duration of the race. It's highly moddable and currently seems to attract the biggest community, though many tracks right now are somewhat half-assed ports from older sims.

iRacing

http://www.iracing.com

iRacing bills itself as a subscription-based service, as such it comes with high costs for the subscription itself as well as for content packs, but if you're serious about a proper online racing simulation it's really your only choice. No mod content obviously. Has basically every feature on the list, weather, dynamic grip buildup, night racing, whatever you want.

Project CARS

http://www.projectcarsgame.com/

To be released in April. Slightly Mad Studios previously developed the "Need for Speed Shift" series under the boot of Electronic Arts, for Project CARS they went their own way with a self-funded/crowd-funded model. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous, the track accuracy less so. Has an actual career mode, something you don't see too often in PC sims or as an afterthought at best. Features the prettiest rain and night racing you've ever seen in a racing game. So far no word on modability, but not much is expected on that front right now.

RaceRoom Racing Experience

http://game.raceroom.com/

Developed by SimBin who did some of the best sims last generation on the isiMotor2 (i.e. rFactor1) engine, RaceRoom is built on their own engine and is Free-To-Play with purchasable content packs generally build around specific racing series. Reception initially was mixed but has been improving, there seems to be no doubt though that if nothing else it has the best sound out there.

rFactor2

http://rfactor.net/web/rf2/

The sim with a pedigree. rFactor 1 (or rather it's underlying isiMotor2 engine) was the platform for years. rFactor2 started development in 2009 and had some trouble getting off the ground but has been improving quite a lot recently. The official content varies in quality and is very much in flux, not the least because the long development time means rFactor2 is a bit in a state of catch-up in terms of technology, at least graphically. rFactor2 features "real road" technology, i.e. rubber/grip accumulates dynamically on the racing line. Weather as well as night racing are in but still being tweaked. Highly moddable but the community hasn't grown to rFactor 1 sizes yet due to the slow/shaky start.

(Game) Stock Car Extreme

http://game-stockcar.com.br/?lang=en

Game Stock Car Extreme (recently renamed to Stock Car Extreme after the move to Steam) is a sim about brazilian stock car racing - wait, don't go! First off, this is not oval racing, it's more like V8 supercars on tracks you never heard of aside from Interlagos. Probably the last hurrah of the isiMotor2 engine and without a doubt the farthest it's ever been pushed, Stock Car Extreme is considered (by all of the two dozen people who gave it a try) to be a fantastic offline racing experience and probably the most complete package you can get right now, no weather though. Since it's isiMotor2 it's very moddable and you can find a lot of the rFactor1 tracks already converted to GSCE. Included in the low price are some other series, like for example the best F1 experience you can have right now provided you hunt down enough F1 tracks.

----------- OLDER SIMS -----------

<working on it>

----------- WHEELS -----------

People will tell you that you can play this or that game with a controller totally fine. That's because they haven't tried a wheel yet. Or they didn't do so for long enough, because chances are the first hour or three with a wheel you're going to suck at driving. But once you're in you'll never want to go back. Also, if you get a wheel set it up properly, don't put it on you 20 inch high wheeled coffee table, sit hunched over it on an old rickety lawn chair and then complain that wheels suck. If you don't have the space to do it right save your money. And don't underestimate the value of good pedals.

Entry level:

- Logitech Driving Force GT
- Logitech Driving Force Pro

What most people use, these cost anywhere between 200 and 500 dollars depending on peripherals:

- Logitech G27
- Fanatec CSR
- Fanatec Porsche
- Thrustmaster T500

High end, up to a 1000 dollars:

- Fanatec CSW

Beyond that you go into direct drive wheels, which are a whole other level but the cheapest right now I think is the Accuforce for 1750 dollars, without pedals. So yeah.

----------- SETTING UP FORCE FEEDBACK -----------

A guide for rFactor2, but most of it applies to other sims as well: http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/19034-Guide-Optimal-FFB-settings-for-rFactor-2-The-key-to-being-in-the-Zone-D

The amount of "recommended setups" I found out there for my wheel that clip like crazy is astounding. If you're serious about your wheel spent a day really digging into this. I did only recently and now that I have at least some understanding of what I'm doing when setting up FFB my experience has much improved. Still haven't found the right settings to make RaceRoom feel right though...

----------- RESSOURCES -----------

(copied from old OP)

http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/ : Best place for general news in the simracing world. Very iRacing centric however.

http://www.insidesimracing.tv/ : Less iRacing centric (but still owned more or less by iracing) and an excellent place to find hardware/software reviews and videos. This is probably the best website to start at.

http://www.racedepartment.com/ : A more eurocentric and less iRacing focused news source. This is an excellent start for those interested in finding a league.

http://racesimcentral.com/ : once the old stalwart but has run into trouble over the years. Still an excellent news source.

What do you think? Right direction? English is not my first language, so grammar nazis are welcome.

GhostDog fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Feb 24, 2015

# ? Feb 24, 2015 15:49

Jehde: Apr 21, 2010

Looks good so far to me. GPL should probably be in the old sims section, as well as RBR with RSRBR. Rfactor 1 might be worth a mention too since it got greenlit. I might make an effortpost in the new thread currating some of the most notable content mods for AC, since mods are really what AC is all about.

The 288 GTO project got removed by Kunos.

The guy making it had a couple people helping him with the physics, but turns out that for a basis he decrypted Kunos' F40 files, which is a violation of their copyright. This is a pretty big blow to what was a promising project. He's still allowed to continue the project, he just needs someone to step up to the plate to develop the physics from scratch before he can release anything again.

Edit:

GhostDog posted:

I've been trying the Peyregrosse-Mandagout track and now I really miss a "reset to track" option in Assetto Corsa. Also that mod might not have the highest res textures but in terms of attention to detail and just overall look it puts Kunos' Trento to shame. And while we're on the subject of Trento, are there any improvements planned or is that really supposed to be 1.0?

I think Trento is pretty much 1.0, and I get the impression that Kunos doesn't care much about non-circuit tracks. However the recently leaked 1.1 patch notes do have timing support for point-to-point tracks added, as well as :pcgaming:

4WD support :pcgaming:

.

I thought about making some basic ease of life "cheat" apps for AC, since the ingame apps just use python. Things like reset to track, a simple teleporter (for retrying specific corners), and specifically for me a more detailed engine/wheel damage display, since I'm so terrible. I'm not sure how extensive the API for the game is though, and I'd need some more freetime before I could look into it.

Jehde fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Feb 24, 2015

# ? Feb 24, 2015 20:17

pik_d: Feb 24, 2006; follow the white dove

TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Let's not leave out the best sim of all, Live For Speed, which is still in development believe it or not.

# ? Feb 24, 2015 20:50

Cojawfee: May 31, 2006; I think the US is dumb for not using Celsius

Dang, I really liked the 288.

# ? Feb 24, 2015 20:50

tater_salad: Sep 15, 2007

Toss nascar 2003 in for the best nascar racing offline.. sadly all the newer versions are hunks of crap.. heres to 11 year old graphics and racing back to the line. But driving and ai mechanics arent completely bugged to the point of being pants on head awful.

# ? Feb 24, 2015 20:56

OhsH: Jan 12, 2008

Cojawfee posted:

Dang, I really liked the 288.

Never let kunoz tell you what mods you can drive. Gto forever.

# ? Feb 24, 2015 21:03

GhostDog: Jul 30, 2003; Always see everything.

Jehde posted:

Looks good so far to me. GPL should probably be in the old sims section, as well as RBR with RSRBR. Rfactor 1 might be worth a mention too since it got greenlit. I might make an effortpost in the new thread currating some of the most notable content mods for AC, since mods are really what AC is all about.

Noted. Which reminds me I have to reinstall RSRBR since 2015 just came out.

tater_salad posted:

Toss nascar 2003 in for the best nascar racing offline.. sadly all the newer versions are hunks of crap.. heres to 11 year old graphics and racing back to the line. But driving and ai mechanics arent completely bugged to the point of being pants on head awful.

Wanna write three sentences about it? I know nothing about Nascar and frankly I don't care

I'll probably finalize it this weekend and post it once more in here and then we'll see.

# ? Feb 24, 2015 21:46

OhsH: Jan 12, 2008

HI pm me or get a hold of me on irc if you need a preorder key for a clubsport v2 wheel base.

# ? Feb 25, 2015 01:13

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# ? May 15, 2024 08:13

Combat Pretzel: Jun 23, 2004; No, seriously... what kurds?!

What's this poo poo about track accuracy with PCARS? People have been picking their poo poo apart over the development of these, and SMS has kept fixing these issues. Is it because it's not laser scanned?

# ? Feb 25, 2015 01:50

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The PC Sim Racing Thread

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