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PC Racing Sims Thread

TJP

TJP

Member
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19093000_1578258458859432_8148080035534537736_o.jpg
Click to expand...

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Dave_6

Dave_6

Member
I'm looking at getting a dedicated rig so I can upgrade to a OSW wheel and also use triple screens. I've been wanting to build a new PC for gaming but I'm thinking of also mildly upgrading my current one just to use for the sim rig. It's current specs are a 3570K@4.4, 8GB of RAM and a mildly overclocked 970. Works pretty good currently with my single 1440p 144hz G-Sync monitor; iRacing runs around 100 fps unless it's night racing. AC is the hardest to run since I have custom weather and PP filters; it usually hovers in the 50s. I am a graphics snob so I like maxing out these sims if all possible. Any of you think a single 1080 or even a 1070 would run these around the same fps with three 1440p screens? (I will also upgrade to 16GB of RAM as well)
 
B

Big Takeover

Member
Dave_6 said:
I'm looking at getting a dedicated rig so I can upgrade to a OSW wheel and also use triple screens. I've been wanting to build a new PC for gaming but I'm thinking of also mildly upgrading my current one just to use for the sim rig. It's current specs are a 3570K@4.4, 8GB of RAM and a mildly overclocked 970. Works pretty good currently with my single 1440p 144hz G-Sync monitor; iRacing runs around 100 fps unless it's night racing. AC is the hardest to run since I have custom weather and PP filters; it usually hovers in the 50s. I am a graphics snob so I like maxing out these sims if all possible. Any of you think a single 1080 or even a 1070 would run these around the same fps with three 1440p screens? (I will also upgrade to 16GB of RAM as well)
Click to expand...

I wouldn't look at anything below a 1080. That should give you better than numbers than you have now.
 
Dave_6

Dave_6

Member
Big Takeover said:
I wouldn't look at anything below a 1080. That should give you better than numbers than you have now.
Click to expand...

Yeah since my CPU is getting long in the tooth then I probably need as much GPU power as possible. I wish I could just use one PC for both but the arrangement isn't going to allow it. If I leave the PC on the desk then the cables for the pedals and wheel won't reach; vice versa if I sit the PC by the rig. Then probably more issues trying to use two different sets of KB&M with one PC (one wireless and one wired).
 
M

Mascot

Member
Dave_6 said:
Yeah since my CPU is getting long in the tooth then I probably need as much GPU power as possible. I wish I could just use one PC for both but the arrangement isn't going to allow it. If I leave the PC on the desk then the cables for the pedals and wheel won't reach; vice versa if I sit the PC by the rig. Then probably more issues trying to use two different sets of KB&M with one PC (one wireless and one wired).
Click to expand...

Get longer cables?
 
T

TylerDurden4321

Member
Dave_6 said:
Yeah since my CPU is getting long in the tooth then I probably need as much GPU power as possible. I wish I could just use one PC for both but the arrangement isn't going to allow it. If I leave the PC on the desk then the cables for the pedals and wheel won't reach; vice versa if I sit the PC by the rig. Then probably more issues trying to use two different sets of KB&M with one PC (one wireless and one wired).
Click to expand...

I'm using one PC for everything, the USB-cables are definitely a problem. For me 5m extension cables do the job, but for anything longer, you usually only find USB cables that use some kind of signal booster.

The keyboard+mouse works super well, I have a Microsoft All-in-One Media Keyboard with another USB extension cable because otherwise the wireless signal is a bit week where I have my wheel. But it has a touchpad and an on-off switch. Half a second after I switch it on, it directly works, no "new USB plugged in"-sound, just works... my normal mouse and keyboard(which aren't wireless btw) also keep working at the same time.
 
B

Betta Lines

Member
Dave_6 said:
I'm looking at getting a dedicated rig so I can upgrade to a OSW wheel and also use triple screens. I've been wanting to build a new PC for gaming but I'm thinking of also mildly upgrading my current one just to use for the sim rig. It's current specs are a 3570K@4.4, 8GB of RAM and a mildly overclocked 970. Works pretty good currently with my single 1440p 144hz G-Sync monitor; iRacing runs around 100 fps unless it's night racing. AC is the hardest to run since I have custom weather and PP filters; it usually hovers in the 50s. I am a graphics snob so I like maxing out these sims if all possible. Any of you think a single 1080 or even a 1070 would run these around the same fps with three 1440p screens? (I will also upgrade to 16GB of RAM as well)
Click to expand...
Alternatively... keep your 1440p screen for your desk, buy three 1080p monitors, giving you vastly better performance and saving you money in the process. 1440p triples is overkill, and you'll struggle to get decent performance on iRacing (across all possible scenarios) even with a GTX 1080 without turning a bunch of stuff down. If you went with 1080p triples, you'd be good with a GTX 1070.
 
B

Big Takeover

Member
Dave_6 said:
Yeah since my CPU is getting long in the tooth then I probably need as much GPU power as possible. I wish I could just use one PC for both but the arrangement isn't going to allow it. If I leave the PC on the desk then the cables for the pedals and wheel won't reach; vice versa if I sit the PC by the rig. Then probably more issues trying to use two different sets of KB&M with one PC (one wireless and one wired).
Click to expand...

I use my rig computer for double duty just as you've described in your second example. If that's even a remote possibility for you, I'd highly recommend it.

It'll solve many problems, not the least of which would be getting you off the hook from forking out to buy and run triple 1440p/144hz. Buy three 1080p screens instead and save some money.

The PC is over with the sim rig, and I run a USB extension (to hub), HDMI, and audio back to a desk on the opposite wall. Works perfectly. I win+shift+P between the surround group, and a fourth 1440p monitor. Switching audio sources is pretty simple in Windows 10 now, but you can use a hotkey program if you'd rather.

I also use the ubiquitous Logitech K400 KB/Touch pad with my rig, while the desk has proper wired KB/M.
 
Dave_6

Dave_6

Member
Mascot said:
Get longer cables?
Click to expand...

TylerDurden4321 said:
I'm using one PC for everything, the USB-cables are definitely a problem. For me 5m extension cables do the job, but for anything longer, you usually only find USB cables that use some kind of signal booster.

The keyboard+mouse works super well, I have a Microsoft All-in-One Media Keyboard with another USB extension cable because otherwise the wireless signal is a bit week where I have my wheel. But it has a touchpad and an on-off switch. Half a second after I switch it on, it directly works, no "new USB plugged in"-sound, just works... my normal mouse and keyboard(which aren't wireless btw) also keep working at the same time.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I've been overloaded mentally lately and it never hit me to use longer cables. I know there can be issues with that but if you're using 5 meter cables without issues then that's good to know. I think I would need 10 to 12 feet at the most without actually measuring. Do you have a link to that keyboard? That sounds like it would work out perfectly.

Betta Lines said:
Alternatively... keep your 1440p screen for your desk, buy three 1080p monitors, giving you vastly better performance and saving you money in the process. 1440p triples is overkill, and you'll struggle to get decent performance on iRacing (across all possible scenarios) even with a GTX 1080 without turning a bunch of stuff down. If you went with 1080p triples, you'd be good with a GTX 1070.
Click to expand...

Big Takeover said:
I use my rig computer for double duty just as you've described in your second example. If that's even a remote possibility for you, I'd highly recommend it.

It'll solve many problems, not the least of which would be getting you off the hook from forking out to buy and run triple 1440p/144hz. Buy three 1080p screens instead and save some money.

The PC is over with the sim rig, and I run a USB extension (to hub), HDMI, and audio back to a desk on the opposite wall. Works perfectly. I win+shift+P between the surround group, and a fourth 1440p monitor. Switching audio sources is pretty simple in Windows 10 now, but you can use a hotkey program if you'd rather.

I also use the ubiquitous Logitech K400 KB/Touch pad with my rig, while the desk has proper wired KB/M.
Click to expand...

I do still have my single Asus VG248QE 144hz monitor that isn't being used. It would be much cheaper to buy two more of those instead of buying two more of the Dell S2716DG displays. Would be easier to run three 1080p displays too. Then again if I'm just going to use one PC then I'm going ahead with the full upgrade I had planned of a 7700K + 1080ti but that should allow me to max out any of the sims. I use headphones hooked up to a DAC/amp and the cable should be plenty long enough to reach the rig so I won't have to worry about speakers/cables etc.
 
B

Big Takeover

Member
Dave_6 said:
I do still have my single Asus VG248QE 144hz monitor that isn't being used. It would be much cheaper to buy two more of those instead of buying two more of the Dell S2716DG displays. Would be easier to run three 1080p displays too. Then again if I'm just going to use one PC then I'm going ahead with the full upgrade I had planned of a 7700K + 1080ti but that should allow me to max out any of the sims. I use headphones hooked up to a DAC/amp and the cable should be plenty long enough to reach the rig so I won't have to worry about speakers/cables etc.
Click to expand...

Perfect. Done!

RE: Audio - a mic will throw a slight monkey wrench into that idea. Not to worry, I have a similar setup. I return my audio via optical to a Schitt Modi2 for desk audio use. I just use a cheap usb soundcard, (you can use your mobo's outputs if they aren't poo) and have headphones/mic plugged into that for sim racing. I actually have those on extensions too when I need a mic while at the desk.
 
B

Betta Lines

Member
Dave_6 said:
Then again if I'm just going to use one PC then I'm going ahead with the full upgrade I had planned of a 7700K + 1080ti but that should allow me to max out any of the sims.
Click to expand...
You can't do much better than that CPU/GPU combo, but I still don't think you'd be able to max out iRacing and avoid dropping below 144Hz at triple 1440p. I'd be surprised if it can be done on 1080p triples honestly, particularly with the recent changes to cube maps and shadows.
 
Dave_6

Dave_6

Member
TylerDurden4321 said:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LGEDRW2/?tag=neogaf0e-20

There is an older version on amazon out of stock but cheaper, not sure if this or th other one is the one I have. I obly paid 24€ on amazon.de
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Big Takeover said:
Perfect. Done!

RE: Audio - a mic will throw a slight monkey wrench into that idea. Not to worry, I have a similar setup. I return my audio via optical to a Schitt Modi2 for desk audio use. I just use a cheap usb soundcard, (you can use your mobo's outputs if they aren't poo) and have headphones/mic plugged into that for sim racing. I actually have those on extensions too when I need a mic while at the desk.
Click to expand...

I have a Schiit stack myself (Modi2 Uber and Magni2) but I've yet to use a mic with sim racing. Looks like most of Racedepartment's races are requiring Teamspeak now so I guess I need to figure out something.

Betta Lines said:
You can't do much better than that CPU/GPU combo, but I still don't think you'd be able to max out iRacing and avoid dropping below 144Hz at triple 1440p. I'd be surprised if it can be done on 1080p triples honestly, particularly with the recent changes to cube maps and shadows.
Click to expand...

As long as it will stay over 60 fps with the 1080p displays I'll be happy. Any issues with running Displayport cables ~10 feet or so?

Edit: Unfortunately the 1080ti I'm looking at only has 2 Displayport 1.4 and one DVI-D though I see Displayport splitters are a thing. Any idea if they are reliable?
 
B

Big Takeover

Member
Dave_6 said:
Edit: Unfortunately the 1080ti I'm looking at only has 2 Displayport 1.4 and one DVI-D though I see Displayport splitters are a thing. Any idea if they are reliable?
Click to expand...
Ah yes. Four 144Hz displays. I hadn't thought about that. I can't tell you anything about splitters, sadly.

In the off chance you find a 1080ti with three DPs, and a DVI-D, that should work as I think you can feed a VG248QE 144hz over DVI-D.
 
Dave_6

Dave_6

Member
The EVGA FTW3 has three DPs and a DVI-D. I was wanting the Strix but I may just go with that one now. When the VG248 was my sole monitor I had it hooked up with DVI-D and got 144hz.
 
T

TylerDurden4321

Member
So the new Thrustmaster Gran Turismo Sport wheel only has the exact same tech as the TS-PC racer. Not direct-drive or some new tech that puts it close to it.

Guess what Kaz said last year must have been "lost in translation"... because direct-drive is something you can easily translate all sort of japanese words to I guess.

*sigh* whatever, it's not like I'm unhappy with my TX and before I get a new wheel I should buy better pedals anyway.
 
T

Teknopathetic

Member
"Guess what Kaz said last year must have been "lost in translation"... because direct-drive is something you can easily translate all sort of japanese words to I guess."

There was literally no way in hell the GT wheel was going to be Direct Drive unless Thrustmaster found some incredible way to reduce the cost *significantly*.
 
T

TylerDurden4321

Member
Teknopathetic said:
There was literally no way in hell the GT wheel was going to be Direct Drive unless Thrustmaster found some incredible way to reduce the cost *significantly*.
Click to expand...
I think a DIY Accuforce is 850. If thrustmaster went with significantly less torque (like only 8Nm or so) and ordering some good quantity, they could have sold it without pedals for 700 bucks, that could have been possible, I think, ...in theory.

But I was only believing the direct drive rumor (can you call it a "rumor" if Kaz was quoted on it from to different outlets on two different occasions??) for the first day last year or so. When the TS-PC specs were announced I directly wrote on this very thread, that this must be what the GT wheel will turn out to be, just with GT branding on it.
 
M

Mascot

Member
OK, I'm getting the itch (again!). I'm closer to building a PC rig than I've ever been before so am starting to research in earnest, with a view to jumping in around September. I'm seeking some advice and I'll be asking similar questions in the Build-A-PC thread but the benefit of your collective experience here would be very much appreciated, as this will primarily be used for sim racing. I'm not necessarily asking for someone to spec a machine for me (although if you want to, that would be nice), it's more about pitfalls to avoid and general tips. Assume I know pretty much nothing about PC gaming, which is no lie.

Random musings:

I'm coming from console gaming, currently a PS Pro (stop rolling your eyes like that, you'll go blind). Ironically, solid 60fps in driving games is extremely important to me, but pCARS performance (will I get banned for mentioning that game in this thread?) on vanilla PS4 two years ago was just good enough to keep me in that ecosystem, and the PS Pro's subsequent Boost Mode tidied things up nicely, even making Assetto Corsa more than playable. I think I've outgrown those limitations now though and want more choice and better performance.

I now want rock-solid 4k/60 on a single screen (I have a new 49" 4k TV hooked up to my cockpit so am currently 'limited' to 60fps, with no immediate plans to upgrade - I'll post a photo at the end for reference). Having said that, I'd like to keep higher refresh rates and/or triple-screens and/or second-gen VR as a viable option within the next couple of years.

Is it simply a case of buying the 'best' PC hardware I can afford? What would be appropriate, what would be insufficient, and what would be overkill? I want an element of future-proofing (yeah, yeah - I know) but don't really want to spend more than £2k inc Windows, KB&M. As mentioned, the display is currently taken care of.

Does self-build still offer by far the best bang for your buck, or are pre-builts a viable option now? I kind of want a relatively easy life (lol! PC gaming!) but am not averse to inviting pain learning how to build one. I'm pretty handy and am not stupid, despite appearances.

Is now-September a good time or would I be better off waiting until date X for reason Y?

Current racing hardware to be utilised:
Fanatec CSR-Elite with F1 rim, Clubsport pedals, 49" 4k TV, Yamaha 5.1 receiver, Playseat chassis with Recaro seat.

1a_zpsgtvkqjku.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot folks - any help or tips will be greatly appreciated.
 
B

Big Takeover

Member
Sorry, I haven't got more than a sec to give you an answer.


  • Yes, it's a good time to buy
  • Yes, you should build it yourself. Building things is fun
  • Your macro hardware path is pretty simple; 7700K/1080Ti
  • The PC hardware thread can help with micro choices. Form factor, cooling, so on and so forth
  • Keep it utilitarian
  • Don't look back
 
T

TheOnlyMook

Member
Got some extra cash to buy a wheel only to find Amazon had jacked up the price of the Thrustmaster TMX. Found a GameStop in South Florida that somehow still had a new TMX Pro (the one with the T3PA pedals) for the same price that the wheel was selling for on Amazon. Had them do a store-to-store transfer with my local GameStop and will be picking up after work. Stoked to finally dive in
 
M

Makikou

Member
TheOnlyMook said:
Got some extra cash to buy a wheel only to find Amazon had jacked up the price of the Thrustmaster TMX. Found a GameStop in South Florida that somehow still had a new TMX Pro (the one with the T3PA pedals) for the same price that the wheel was selling for on Amazon. Had them do a store-to-store transfer with my local GameStop and will be picking up after work. Stoked to finally dive in
Click to expand...

Excellent, I hope you enjoy it.
 
T

TheBear

Member
Hey guys, recently purchased an oculus rift mostly to get back into sim racing, and am eagerly awaiting its delivery. I own Dirt Rally, PCars, RRE on Steam and just resubbed to iRacing and have a few questions:
- how do I launch the above games in the Rift? Afaik I can only use oculus home although I know the above games are compatible
- how do vr sim racers control UI and dashboards etc with the headset on? From what I hear it's not completely straight forward, what should I prepare before jumping in?
Eg, iracing Using the web browser to join races. I could've sworn I saw a video where they were introducing a UI front end or something
- any other must have VR racers? I think the only main one I am missing is AC
- anything else I should be aware of?

Really looking forward to jumping back in :)
 
T

Teknopathetic

Member
1) Steam/OpenVR supports Oculus Rift natively. Plus many of the games you listed also have direct Oculus Rift SDK support. For Dirt Rally, I don't know how it works with the Rift, it might open in VR mode automatically if it detects a Rift active. PCars probably the same way? RRE uses OpenVR, I think, so you'll need to install and start SteamVR. iRacing will ask if you want to start in VR if it detects an HMD.

2) Some guys have the UI controllable with the dpad on your wheel or shifter. Dirt Rally and PCars work this way. I actually forget if R3E works this way or not. For iRacing and AC, I use a wireless keyboard with a trackpad.

3) AC, I haven't tried rFactor 2 or AutoMobillista's VR implementations yet.

4) Supersampling is your friend with racing sims in VR, you'll really notice the resolution when looking into the distance. Games that can use AA and run well with decent supersampling are iRacing, R3E, Dirt Rally, and AC. PCars runs like garbage, but with Rift you'll have Async Time Warp to cover you.
 
T

TheBear

Member
Awesome thanks for the reply. I think mapping everything outside of driving to a controller is a good idea because on the t300 I forget which button does what at the best of times.

Keen to check out AC. Never really gotten into supersampling though, it's not usually in the game menu right? Is there an nvidia tool or something? I vaguely remember doing it with SCE but completely forgot. How do I judge how much I can push it? Running a i54560 and a 1070 FYI
 
T

Teknopathetic

Member
I think with the Rift, supersampling will probably be done through editing config files for each game. There's probably a tool out there, but I'm not familiar with the Rift side of things. The main thing is to go up a little bit at a time, you want to go as high as you can before you're spending more time than you're comfortable with in reprojection.
 
F

fresquito

Member
Mascot said:
OK, I'm getting the itch (again!). I'm closer to building a PC rig than I've ever been before so am starting to research in earnest, with a view to jumping in around September. I'm seeking some advice and I'll be asking similar questions in the Build-A-PC thread but the benefit of your collective experience here would be very much appreciated, as this will primarily be used for sim racing. I'm not necessarily asking for someone to spec a machine for me (although if you want to, that would be nice), it's more about pitfalls to avoid and general tips. Assume I know pretty much nothing about PC gaming, which is no lie.

Random musings:

I'm coming from console gaming, currently a PS Pro (stop rolling your eyes like that, you'll go blind). Ironically, solid 60fps in driving games is extremely important to me, but pCARS performance (will I get banned for mentioning that game in this thread?) on vanilla PS4 two years ago was just good enough to keep me in that ecosystem, and the PS Pro's subsequent Boost Mode tidied things up nicely, even making Assetto Corsa more than playable. I think I've outgrown those limitations now though and want more choice and better performance.

I now want rock-solid 4k/60 on a single screen (I have a new 49" 4k TV hooked up to my cockpit so am currently 'limited' to 60fps, with no immediate plans to upgrade - I'll post a photo at the end for reference). Having said that, I'd like to keep higher refresh rates and/or triple-screens and/or second-gen VR as a viable option within the next couple of years.

Is it simply a case of buying the 'best' PC hardware I can afford? What would be appropriate, what would be insufficient, and what would be overkill? I want an element of future-proofing (yeah, yeah - I know) but don't really want to spend more than £2k inc Windows, KB&M. As mentioned, the display is currently taken care of.

Does self-build still offer by far the best bang for your buck, or are pre-builts a viable option now? I kind of want a relatively easy life (lol! PC gaming!) but am not averse to inviting pain learning how to build one. I'm pretty handy and am not stupid, despite appearances.

Is now-September a good time or would I be better off waiting until date X for reason Y?

Current racing hardware to be utilised:
Fanatec CSR-Elite with F1 rim, Clubsport pedals, 49" 4k TV, Yamaha 5.1 receiver, Playseat chassis with Recaro seat.



Thanks a lot folks - any help or tips will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Most PC Sims are not all that technically demanding, so it depends on whether you plan on buying PC2 on PC or on PS4. In any case, Vegas are launching soon enough, so September should be a good time frame as prices will be settled by then, and trusty reports and reviews available.

That said, we are at a paradigm shift, so it's not the best moment to build a future proof PC.
 
T

Teknopathetic

Member
"Sorry what do you mean by reprojection?"


Framerate is king in VR. If the framerate goes below the refresh rates of the panels, you would experience discomfort with the variable, jerky, and unpredictable motion of the view inside the headset, potentially really bad discomfort depending on how prone you are to motion sickness. To combat this, the HMDs have reprojection, which is some technical wizardry with frame interpolation that I'm not qualified to fully explain.

Oculus has their own implementation of this called Asynchronous Time Warp and there are some artifacts that pop up with this. While rotating your headset will appear smooth, objects in motion will jitter. To combat this, there's also a Rift-exclusive technology called Asynchronous Space Warp. There's other minor artifacts that pop up with Space Warp

The key point is that while these things help keep the VR experience smooth when you dip below 90fps, there are still little artifacts happening that wouldn't happen if you were just running at a steady 90fps. Thus, you don't really want to have your settings cranked so high that you're always relying on these things, but you may not find the artifacts from Async Time/Space Warp noticeable or a deal breaker. You need to experiment and find the balance that works for you.

You can read up on Time Warp and Space Warp here if you want a better explanation on what they do:
https://developer3.oculus.com/blog/asynchronous-timewarp-on-oculus-rift/
https://developer3.oculus.com/blog/asynchronous-timewarp-examined/
https://developer.oculus.com/blog/asynchronous-spacewarp/
 
M

Mascot

Member
Big Takeover said:
Sorry, I haven't got more than a sec to give you an answer.


  • Yes, it's a good time to buy
  • Yes, you should build it yourself. Building things is fun
  • Your macro hardware path is pretty simple; 7700K/1080Ti
  • The PC hardware thread can help with micro choices. Form factor, cooling, so on and so forth
  • Keep it utilitarian
  • Don't look back
Click to expand...

fresquito said:
Most PC Sims are not all that technically demanding, so it depends on whether you plan on buying PC2 on PC or on PS4. In any case, Vegas are launching soon enough, so September should be a good time frame as prices will be settled by then, and trusty reports and reviews available.

That said, we are at a paradigm shift, so it's not the best moment to build a future proof PC.
Click to expand...

Much appreciated - thanks BT/Fres. I'll do more research.
 
T

TheOnlyMook

Member
Any game recommendations to put my new wheel through its paces? Dirt 3 doesn't officially support my wheel, but after tweaking some stuff I got it to work pretty well and Forza Horizon 3 is just no fun at all on a wheel. I'll have to tweak some stuff because it definitely took the wind out of my sails a bit. Anything cheap or F2P? Will probably pick up Dirt Rally or pCars during the Summer Sale
 
B

Betta Lines

Member
TheOnlyMook said:
Any game recommendations to put my new wheel through its paces? Dirt 3 doesn't officially support my wheel, but after tweaking some stuff I got it to work pretty well and Forza Horizon 3 is just no fun at all on a wheel. I'll have to tweak some stuff because it definitely took the wind out of my sails a bit. Anything cheap or F2P? Will probably pick up Dirt Rally or pCars during the Summer Sale
Click to expand...
Of the games you mention, PCARS has the best force feedback. The others are less sim-like and aren't great FFB showcases, although DR can certainly shake your wheel about if you're looking for that kind of test. PCARS sits alongside Automobilista, rFactor 2, Assetto Corsa, iRacing, Live For Speed and RaceRoom as the best examples of racing sim feedback right now. If I had to pick one purely for FFB, I would choose Automobilista.
 
D

DD

Member
TheOnlyMook said:
Any game recommendations to put my new wheel through its paces? Dirt 3 doesn't officially support my wheel, but after tweaking some stuff I got it to work pretty well and Forza Horizon 3 is just no fun at all on a wheel. I'll have to tweak some stuff because it definitely took the wind out of my sails a bit. Anything cheap or F2P? Will probably pick up Dirt Rally or pCars during the Summer Sale
Click to expand...

Automobilista or RaceRoom (this one is F2P).
 
T

TheOnlyMook

Member
Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll check these out later. I wasn't really bummed about the FFB per se (the wheel shakes the hell out of my hands in Dirt 3), but more so how impossible it was to cruise around in FH3 with the wheel. Something has to be up because it was just zero fun. I was constantly understeering and it doesn't seem like you can tweak the wheel rotation settings in the game itself (at least not on PC).
 
F

fresquito

Member
TheOnlyMook said:
Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll check these out later. I wasn't really bummed about the FFB per se (the wheel shakes the hell out of my hands in Dirt 3), but more so how impossible it was to cruise around in FH3 with the wheel. Something has to be up because it was just zero fun. I was constantly understeering and it doesn't seem like you can tweak the wheel rotation settings in the game itself (at least not on PC).
Click to expand...
Make sure you set the correct steering ratio in the wheel options (outside games).
 
M

MimiMe

Member
Mascot said:
PC sims
Click to expand...

Just a heads up as I came from GT & Forza to PC Sims. Blew my mind that folks are using McLaren telemetry tools to set up their FFB in iRacing.
Took me a while to understand the benefits of low FFB force and clipping but these days I ask myself how I even managed to have fun with console games for years with my settings.

So take your time diving into PC sims.


I raced on my 55" TV as well before switching to VR; owning a freesync display now that's the non VR road I would take instead of a TV. If there is room and cash, triple screens.

BUT:
Imho you don't need triples if you're mostly into single player racing, for other reasons than immersion. However in that case you're onto discussing VR vs triples. So don't worry too much about your TV even though it is limited to 60fps.

Future proof system:
Yeah, there isn't such a thing. Especially not if you're talking about Gen2 VR (unknown requirements) or triples (gsync? freesync? 144hz? ...) for a future upgrade. I just wouldn't buy todays top notch high end stuff.
 
M

MimiMe

Member
Simple in what terms? Do you have a wheel? Just for test purposes?

Try Live for Speed, afair you can download a demo version. Don't know why, but that came into my mind first even though it is an old game.
 
B

Betta Lines

Member
JimmyRickard said:
Hey guys what is the simplest VR sim to get up and going with?
Click to expand...
Short version: they're all pretty simple now.

Long version:

If you're talking about plug and play, then I guess it's either iRacing or Project CARS. iRacing detects a headset and asks you whether you want to launch in VR mode, and PCARS automatically launches in VR mode if it detects a headset. With both sims, you'll need to assign a 'reset centre' button, but otherwise that's about as simple as it gets. But both iRacing and PCARS can be very demanding on performance, so you'll probably have to muck about with turning down the details and effects to find the right balance. A single car on track is very different to a full grid - you'll need to stress test worse case scenarios. For instance you can have a great time in solo practice and then jump into a big race and have to stop from nausea caused by low framerate (mega drops are less likely to make you sick with a Rift these days thanks to ASW, but still something you want to avoid).

Assetto Corsa is less demanding, and its VR mode should now be an easy process, just selecting VR in the menu, but I've run into random problems before. The default 'reset centre' command is Ctrl+Space but I believe you can add your own assignment to 'look left' and 'look right' as an alternative. I find AC's head positions to be really inconsistent across the cars, so unless you like shifting around in your seat and hitting 'reset view' multiple times to find a comfortable position, you may also want to assign seat up/down/forward/back inputs.

RaceRoom's VR is good, but you have to manually activate it in the Steam launch options "-vr". The reset centre option is in the secondary input menu somewhere. I find it has similar problems to AC in terms of head positions, so again you'll want to assign seat up/down/forward/back.

I would argue that the best overall for 'simplest setup' (if you're considering both plug and play and performance) is Live For Speed, which I think has the slickest VR-specific setup process (sadly not the case with the rest of the menus). It's easily the least demanding of all current sims, and seems to exhibit the lowest latency. I believe it is still the sim most likely to give you a positive VR experience. It is also the only sim to do mirrors and helmet animation properly.

Also does AMS now support VR?
Click to expand...

Sadly not. AMS is the only current PC racing sim that does not support VR (unless you count DiRT 4 and Forza).
 
TJP

TJP

Member
Roadmap: https://www.studio-397.com/2017/06/roadmap-update-june-2017/

saopaulo3.jpg
20170619135005_1.jpg
Click to expand...

Changelog
Build (DX11)

Fixed: VR trackside cameras.
Fixed: VR Showroom is now rendering properly.
Fixed VR Monitor and replay working in-game.
Fixed: Multi-monitor selection now available.
Fixed: Minor issues with UI font.
Fixed: AI waypoints now show in Dev Mode.
Fixed: Zoom and out of focus elements in track-side cameras when in multi-view mode. (Triple screen)
Fixed: Focus on UI elements in Viewer.exe
Fixed: Real Road rendering issues.
Added: Brand New High resolution ”Hangar" style showroom to better showcase cars.
Added: VR Improvements to the Post processing effects by disabling the Depth-of-Field.
Updated: Minor performance and video memory improvements.
Updated: Showroom post process preset.
Updated: The graphics engine now renders ambient shadows while in the showroom.

Formula Two

Full CPM tyre upgrade.
AI improvements to help launch on race starts.
AI now take longer to warm up tyres.
AI correlation tweaks to slightly decrease grip.
Added RCD / talent file.
AI tweaks to make them faster overall.
Lower initial tyre temperatures and more pressure buildup.
Softened front ARB.
More damping in suspension components.
Minor tyre tweaks to include more damping.
Correction to low downforce package to add stability.
Added optional caster upgrade to help increase the cornering forces in the FFB.
Reduced flatspot intensity on front tyres.
Softened steering slightly.
Low-end torque slightly increased.
Corrected unsprung inertia.
New engine throttle map.
Softened chassis.
Improved inertia.
Lowered max brake force.
Set default brake pressure to realistic typical usage.
Rear ARB increased to be bit stiffer and better match the data.
Reduced fuel consumption by appropriately 20%, this should give more plausible fuel consumption figures.
Slightly less dirty air in the slip-steam (in particular, less understeer so you can follow a tiny bit closer).
Front ARB now displays stiffness to make it clearer.
Wheel rate correction.
Added chassis flex.
Added new steering system.
Softened shifts, this should make up-shifts more harmonious especially in mid-corner.
 
TJP

TJP

Member
This has no correlation to sim racing however it is cool!

http://www.rfpro.com/news/2017/06/r...eir-digital-model-of-the-centre-of-paris.aspx

paris03.jpg
Click to expand...

Shanghai is available too..

Shenjiang_Road_SUMO_50.JPG
Click to expand...

The other thing rFpro is used for..

tmg_simulator3.jpg
Click to expand...

Toyota's TMG, in the run up to this weekend's Le Mans 24 Hour race, the TS050 was tested in the virtual world on their simulator before the car reached the racetrack :)

More from SAE: http://www.sae.org/search/?content-type=("ARTICLE")&affiliations=("rFpro")

Motorcycles in rFpro too: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-inter...e-simulator-enables-driver-loop-testing-24048
 
K

komaruR

Member
So is the fanatec PS4 wheel the current best wheel to get for PS4/PC?
Dam thing cost so much and the pedals don't got clutch :(
 
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