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PC Racing Sims

Shaneus

Member
I'd say look into the Simbin games as well. I played on a 360 controller for a while before getting a wheel and enjoyed myself.
Race Ignition worth getting, you think? I mean, I know there's an absolute ton of content there, but no idea if it would hold enough to take me away fro pCARS, iRacing or rFactor2.
 

AcridMeat

Banned
Unless you see a piece of content that you can't access through those other games you're already playing, then there's probably no real need to. I love simbin's replay/camera system, it's very similar to iRacing but iRacing let's you edit right there.
 

1-D_FTW

Member
I might have to give iRacing another chance if that mod helps a lot with braking.

I'm a really good driver in real life, but in virtual racing I'm tone deaf and turn into someone who granny brakes (slams too hard... accelerates... slams too hard OR doesn't slam enough and goes off the track). Braking is just completely foreign to me with the current situation. It's why I get frustrated and prefer to just drive by myself where I can enjoy the experience and not worry about the times.
 

Shaneus

Member
I might have to give iRacing another chance if that mod helps a lot with braking.

I'm a really good driver in real life, but in virtual racing I'm tone deaf and turn into someone who granny brakes (slams too hard... accelerates... slams too hard OR doesn't slam enough and goes off the track). Braking is just completely foreign to me with the current situation. It's why I get frustrated and prefer to just drive by myself where I can enjoy the experience and not worry about the times.
The spring really does make a massive difference. Because you're getting more resistance from the pedal, even though it's not direct feedback from the game, it's a lot easier to use it as an analog input rather than just full-on/full-off that's often so easy to do. The spring swap with the other pedals does the same thing for those, too.
 

Piggus

Member
After doing a bit more research and watching the review of the Fanatec CSR on Inside Sim Racing, I decided to go with the 911 GT3 RS V2 CSR kit instead. I prefer street cars rather than race cars, and it seems the 911 wheels are more realistic for driving street cars. I know it doesn't work with Forza but for me GT5 + all the PC sims is sufficient.

I'm so impatient. Rather than wait for my paycheck I just used credit instead, which I normally only do in an emergency. Oh well. :p Need to build my credit history anyway I guess...
 
Soo I've spent a few evenings with iRacing, and it seems I am now Class D for Road. I wasn't expecting this, as I was looking at the calendar and saw April 30th labelled as 'Rookie Promotion'. I was under the impression that if I kept my licence above 3.00 until April 30th, I'd then be promoted, but I guess that's not how it works? If not, what is this 'Rookie Promotion' day?

Game is awesome btw. :)
 

Shawsie64

Banned
Soo I've spent a few evenings with iRacing, and it seems I am now Class D for Road. I wasn't expecting this, as I was looking at the calendar and saw April 30th labelled as 'Rookie Promotion'. I was under the impression that if I kept my licence above 3.00 until April 30th, I'd then be promoted, but I guess that's not how it works? If not, what is this 'Rookie Promotion' day?

Game is awesome btw. :)


You have a few clean races? If so your SR probably went up to 4.0 which gives you an automatic promotion before the end of season as a way to reward clean drivers..
 
I'm still struggling with one aspect of the physics though - catching the rear when it gets beyond a certain angle (an angle that feels to me like it should be savable). I've been focusing on the MX-5, and I'm comfortable with controlling small amounts of rear slip due to trail braking and a touch of lift-off oversteer. But beyond that, when it goes, it really goes, and I can't react with countersteer fast enough. It swaps ends even if I instantly lift off the throttle.

Now I realise that a stiff track car on sticky tyres has a tendency to snap around, but I find it a little strange that no amount of speedy countersteer or lifting off the throttle (progressively or instantly) can save the back end.... BUT if I just hit the brakes a bit, I can save it. No other sim I've played has this feeling of only being able to save an oversteer moment by hitting the brakes.

Anyone know what I'm getting at?
 

AcridMeat

Banned
That's exactly what I learned early on. As soon as I feel any loss of control I center the wheel and go on my brakes or lift off the throttle. If I'm feeling playful (practicing/warm up) I'll do the best drift I can with it.
 
It just doesn't feel right to me - if the brakes are so effective at saving the rear from snapping round, countersteering should be more effective too. And any kind of application of throttle in this state only helps to swing the car round faster. I tried the Solstice, which seems to be softer than the MX-5 and should be able to drift on the throttle... nope... still seems impossible.
 

AcridMeat

Banned
How many laps have you done? I feel extremely comfortable in the cup car now, rarely ever feel I get to the point where I can't recover it now. While I agree it's intuitive to think of countersteer being effective to evade losing control, I think the key difference is that the countersteer is to help prevent that loss of control, not save it when the process has already started, does that make sense?

Basically countersteering is effective for very quick minimal changes to make corrections, when it comes to the point that the car is really slipping around, throttle and countersteer will only work if the angle isn't too severe.

Granted I haven't done a track day myself but based on the experiences around track days I think it's a fairly accurate representation.
 

mclaren777

Member
It swaps ends even if I instantly lift off the throttle.

That's what you're doing wrong. You need to keep a decent amount of power going to the rear tires. In fact, it's often better to apply more throttle to shift weight backwards onto the rear.

Lifting off will only make the car rotate more quickly.
 

Orgun

Member
Your gonna love the lift off oversteer in the Skippy :) Ended up using to my advantage by the time I moved up to C rank
 
That's what you're doing wrong. You need to keep a decent amount of power going to the rear tires. In fact, it's often better to apply more throttle to shift weight backwards onto the rear.

Lifting off will only make the car rotate more quickly.
Well I did say this...
Now I realise that a stiff track car on sticky tyres has a tendency to snap around, but I find it a little strange that no amount of speedy countersteer or lifting off the throttle (progressively or instantly) can save the back end.... BUT if I just hit the brakes a bit, I can save it. No other sim I've played has this feeling of only being able to save an oversteer moment by hitting the brakes.
I've tried everything really. No amount of throttle helps. I'm often using lift-off oversteer to create these slides in the first place (for practice). I'm comfortable with this. But once it's properly swinging round, the only thing that can save it is the brakes, and to me they feel too effective in that moment. If I can't save a slide by countersteering or throttle control, I feel like I shouldn't be able to save it with the brakes either. I'd rather just spin out. But each time I hit the brakes in this situation, I'm surprised that it stops the spin, and then I think 'well I could have saved that then'.
 
Lovely stuff. I don't have the Mustang... I imagine it's a heavier, lazier car than the Mazda, and with masses more grunt, so very much more suited to drifting. But I tried the Solstice too, and that was just as hard so I dunno.... maybe some setup changes would help.

And indeed, I don't wish to be stablizing a slide with the brakes at all, which is why it felt so odd to me in the first place.

But it's nice to see that it can be done on countersteering and throttle alone. Tempted to buy the Mustang now... :p
 

1-D_FTW

Member
I guess I'm ready to start getting more serious. Decided I was going to start figuring out how to tune a car using that guide someone posted way back when:

http://www3.sympatico.ca/cbarnett/SetupMatrix.html

Decided to start simple and took the Eve F2 on Joe's Speedway in rf2. Didn't tune anywhere near as much as I could have (and left a whole lot on stock), but what a massive difference that makes.

I've always been adverse to tuning because it's so difficult, but with that guide, it really makes things a lot simpler. Should have bit the bullet a long time ago.
 

1-D_FTW

Member
Went and downloaded the GPL 2004 demo. Considering the age, 4:3 restrictions, 36fps cap, and everything that goes with its age, really impressed. Even the FF is great. Now I know why it's revered like no other racing games.

I have to say, I find the Lotus 49 to be a lot easier to handle than the 67 F1 cars in rf2. But I suspect much of that is because it comes tuned with a recommended setup (versus rf2 giving you factory stock settings and letting you figure things out for yourself).
 

1-D_FTW

Member
Nah not yet. I will be waiting until it gets polished a bit more. Maybe in the next few builds. Performance seems to be an issue right now



You really should. I owned the game for over SIX YEARS before I played it, and was reluctant to do so because of I hated playing racing games under 60fps, and I was also too afraid of tackling the difficult physics of those F1 cars. But with the recent release of the 60fps patch as well as the recent Formula 2 car mod, I couldn't resists any longer and just had to jump right into Grand Prix Legends full swing. Boy, am I glad I did.

Yeah the graphics in GPL aren't exactly next gen, and some tracks can be an eyesore, but the game's visuals on a lot of patched tracks are very good for it's time, and running in 60fps makes a HUGE difference! Most importantly however, is the fact that GPL's visuals are quickly forgotten once you experience the MAGNIFICENT physics and how well they gel with these tracks. Simply rapturous!



As someone who has been watching rFactor 2, I am ecstatic to hear this news! If what you say is true, then the final build should be a thing of beauty when its released later this year!



Again, I too, am a MAJOR graphics whore, and this issue quickly fades away once you actually drive Grand Prix Legends. It feels that good. And with Brr's FFB patch, it feels even better! Plus with 500+ tracks, how can you go wrong? :)

Finally bit the bullet and ordered it this morning. Bought a new copy of GPL and GT Legends on Amazon. Neither one will be arriving any time soon, but at least they were cheap 4.99 (3.99 shipping).

Can't wait to try some of those GPL mods. I'm already impressed by the GPL 2004 demo.

As for GT Legends, I've liked the demo ever since I downloaded it after seeing the disc was required for the Historic GT mod for rfactor.

Figured it was time to do the 1960s properly.
 

bee

Member
Finally bit the bullet and ordered it this morning. Bought a new copy of GPL and GT Legends on Amazon. Neither one will be arriving any time soon, but at least they were cheap 4.99 (3.99 shipping).

Can't wait to try some of those GPL mods. I'm already impressed by the GPL 2004 demo.

As for GT Legends, I've liked the demo ever since I downloaded it after seeing the disc was required for the Historic GT mod for rfactor.

Figured it was time to do the 1960s properly.

if you're on vista/win 7 be VERY careful with gt legends, it has starforce 3 drm and is not compatible with those os's (might be just 64bit, not sure), it will just bluescreen after reboot. needs safe mode etc to get rid and make your pc work again, not sure if there's a proper workaround but there is this

http://www.raceroom.net/specials/gt-legends-revival/
 

1-D_FTW

Member
if you're on vista/win 7 be VERY careful with gt legends, it has starforce 3 drm and is not compatible with those os's (might be just 64bit, not sure), it will just bluescreen after reboot. needs safe mode etc to get rid and make your pc work again, not sure if there's a proper workaround but there is this

http://www.raceroom.net/specials/gt-legends-revival/

Thanks a bunch for that info. So effing ridiculous. It reads like the poster child for DRM.
 
Ooo I just got an email from iRacing saying that they've reached 500 million laps, and:
Because you were one of the more than 3,000 members who participated in an official race on the day we hit 500 million laps you are receiving $5 in iRacing credits.

Sweet!
 

bee

Member
Thanks a bunch for that info. So effing ridiculous. It reads like the poster child for DRM.

yup, worst drm ever. personally i haven't had the game installed for years but i kept the disc for the disc check in a couple of mods, historix for rfactor and power and glory 2.1 for gtr 2. i can highly recommend power and glory, its actually better than gt legends although uses quite a lot of assets from the original, hence the disc check. it's better than historix as it uses the old cars with old tyre physics as they would have driven originally, where as, as far as i'm aware historix still uses modern tyre physics. power and glory 3.0 is due soon, my most anticipated mod from any genre of game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85syqKsaV24&hd=1
 

isamu

OMFG HOLY MOTHER OF MARY IN HEAVEN I CANT BELIEVE IT WTF WHERE ARE MY SEDATIVES AAAAHHH
Finally bit the bullet and ordered it this morning. Bought a new copy of GPL and GT Legends on Amazon. Neither one will be arriving any time soon, but at least they were cheap 4.99 (3.99 shipping).

Can't wait to try some of those GPL mods. I'm already impressed by the GPL 2004 demo.

As for GT Legends, I've liked the demo ever since I downloaded it after seeing the disc was required for the Historic GT mod for rfactor.

Figured it was time to do the 1960s properly.

Yer gonna love it. The driving is magnificent! Admittedly I haven't touched GPL since I actually wrote that post above LOL. Got tired of racing the AI and both iGor and VROC are ghost towns. So off to iRacing I went :p
 
I tried the rFactor F40 mod (awesome) but my steering wheel doesn't seem to move with the cockpit view's, I rotate my wheel 450° but the inagme one turns around 90°.

Any ideas?
 

mclaren777

Member
I tried the rFactor F40 mod (awesome) but my steering wheel doesn't seem to move with the cockpit view's, I rotate my wheel 450° but the inagme one turns around 90°.

Any ideas?

It's probably the Logitech profiler or the in-game steering angle (in the settings, in the garage).

iJOHjQFecCrsU.jpg
 

Bazza

Member
Need to start playing iRacing again but i need to build a new frame for my G27, moved recently and i couldn't take the one i put together with me.
 

markao

Member
This would be my first PC racing sim. Is a wheel necessary?
No, simbin always put a lot of effort in their gamepad support and even though I myself have never used a pad, people seem to be ok with it.

But if you really enjoy your racing sims, get a wheel rather sooner than later ;)
 
I'll hold off then.

I tried the rFactor F40 mod (awesome) but my steering wheel doesn't seem to move with the cockpit view's, I rotate my wheel 450° but the inagme one turns around 90°.

Any ideas?

The only way that I could get 1:1 steering was to edit the control file.

rFactor> UserData> Profile Folder> Controller.ini




I think the default is 200 so replace with 450:

Steering Wheel Range="450" // Degrees of rotation of in-game steering wheel
 

1-D_FTW

Member
Whether I ever wanted to learn how to tune a car or not, rF2 is finally getting me there.

I've finally got a setup on 67 Monaco that doesn't wanna make me snap the disc in half (this game wouldn't have survived the old days). It needs some serious refinement, but I've got a baseline now to work from.

Out of sheer frustration, I've just gone hog wild with some of the settings. But it's made me better understand the cheat sheet I printed out. And things are finally making sense that I can use on a practical level. Guess that means I can stop racing Spa exclusively and start having some fun with Monaco (a track I generally do love).
 
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