Racing simulators

[Carl Morris]

Not sure whether this belongs here, or in Technology...

Just digesting the news that Gran Turismo HD is cancelled. I didn't realize it was just a port of GT4 to full HD, and that the "real" GT5 will be here in 2008...maybe. In a thread on that, I saw references to the following software and just wondered if anybody here has tried any of them. It looks like the GT 900 degree wheel should work on a PC for this sort of thing...

http://www.liveforspeed.net/
http://www.netkar-pro.com/

Comparison that leads me to believe that these two are the best candidates:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_racing_simulators

The netKar Pro looked like a good candidate for Erron to practice up on :-).

[Carl Morris]

Nobody? The stuff looks interesting enough to me that it might actually get me into PC gaming.

[Kibo]

I find it interesting...I just have nothing to add. :p

Considering my current home PC is a P3 800MHz, I've got a ways to go before I could even consider getting into PC gaming. :D

[Carl Morris]

Just thought I'd update this. I downloaded the demo version of Live For Speed (gives you access to one car and one real track, including online play). Downloaded the drivers for my Logitech 900-degree wheel that I used for GT4 and hooked it to the PC. Graphics aren't at the same level as GT4, but aren't horrible. Physics and car setup is, as advertised, much more realistic and complex. Did some laps, got to know the track a bit. Went online, had the usual noob problems actually getting included in a race. Never succeeded in that with the time I had, but watched some other people race. The fast guys were running about 4 seconds(!) faster than the best I could run, so obviously I'll need to do some serious practicing if I hope to be competitive.

Still not sure if I'll pay to unlock everything or not, but I might. In the full version there are a wide range of tracks and cars available, up to F1 cars. Most of them are generic for licensing reasons, but based on something recognizably real. If anybody else wants to try racing online, let me know and I'll get online with you. You don't need a serious gaming machine, but I'm running a 1.5GHz laptop in a docking station and had to turn down the display capabilities (set in-game) to get it to stop glitching when there were multiple cars on the screen.

[JakeL]

Carl -

Not sure if you're still paying attention (I logged on to see if Paul & Erron are still around), but IMO, the best racing simulator right now, bar none, is rFactor.

www.rfactor.com

great stuff.

-Jake

[BlueVelocity]

Carl -

Not sure if you're still paying attention (I logged on to see if Paul & Erron are still around), but IMO, the best racing simulator right now, bar none, is rFactor.

www.rfactor.com (http://www.rfactor.com)

great stuff.

-Jake

I prefer to sit in your car and pretend. lol
Erron S.
(still have a few laps for me?)

[Kibo]

Not sure if you're still paying attention (I logged on to see if Paul & Erron are still around), but IMO, the best racing simulator right now, bar none, is rFactor.

www.rfactor.com

great stuff.

-Jake
This link might work better:
www.rfactor.net (http://www.rfactor.net/)

:D

Good to hear from you, Jake.

[Carl Morris]

I've heard people mention rFactor, but I'd also heard a lot of complaints about the oversteer being unrealistically touchy? At any rate, it looks like I probably don't have the video horsepower to run it. :-(

[Paul]

Carl -

(I logged on to see if Paul & Erron are still around)

-Jake

I'm barely hanging on!

Paul