Racing Simulators

I guess you're right. When I go there I wouldn't go flat out. My concern actually was more that I would get hit from the back by some moron in his Porsche going flat out collecting me past the apex. But knowing the track layout now, I have enough confidence to enter the turns with enough speed to at least not be a moving chicane.

On a somewhat related note: I used to play PGR2 a lot and loved Edinbourgh. When I finally made it to the real town, everything looked very familiar in my rental car. I was telling my wife what would come past the next turn and she looked at me really weird: How do you know? It was all deja vu all over again.

PS: I have also gone the opposite route: After several trips to Paris I programmed a virtual race track through the streets of Paris.

 

"some moron in his Porsche going flat out collecting me past the apex"

Bwwaaaahhhaaaahhhhaaaaahhhaaaa!

Priceless...

-Peter

 

I did the same when I visited Monza for the F1GP, first time Schumacher won in a Ferrari there. Girlfriend thought it was weird that I knew where everthing was, all thanks to GP2..."Lets go to the Lesmo's, its this way"

 

Have you tried them?

At one point, I couldn't afford to rent a twin to keep my multiengine ticket current, so I lined up some time in the GAT-II (box on hydraulic jacks). The "trainer" instructor was dubious about whether it would do any good. He was right. Even the box on jacks lacks the seat-of-the pants feel (particularly yaw) of the real thing.

The box with dials is called a "Cockpit Procedure Trainer" (CPT), not a "sim" -- it's for refresher practice with procedures, such as tracking from a DF fix.

But it takes the real thing to practice landings.

And track notes is what the co-driver is for.

 

Ive been around the block with racing sims...had pretty much all of them! Right now I have GTR2 and it is absolutely incredible. By far the best Ive ever played with regards to "realism". Perhaps the best thing about GTR2 is the in depth ability to work with setup and actually feel minute effects to changes made. Can be frustrating at first, especially since it is damn hard to come close to the laptimes of the computer AI, even after all of the effort and hours of testing needed to make a decent setup, but you get great feeling of success bringing your laptimes down by 1/2 second. I think GTR2 is great fun, and I never tire of playing it!

 

I think the point I'm trying to make is that you don't have to settle for computer games.

It doesn't take a million dollar car with factory backing to go racing in the real thing. The venues are thinning out, but there's still the opportunity to go out in a fairly stock machine and get some non-virtual fun.

The games are distractions from that. Part of the "settle for less" theme of the modern world.

 

I think you're on to something here...

 

I think you are missing the point. Virtual "computer sim motor racing" isn't a replacement for real motor racing, I would have thought that was pretty obvious.

However, if you want to get an idea of what it was like to race a 1967 F1 car around the old Spa - or want to have a go at getting a virtual modern F1 car around the Nordschliefe - or fancy doing the whole Targa Florio in a 917 then ...

Or if you are visiting a circuit for the first time, practising on a sim before you get there means you will go faster - sooner once at the track, especially for somewhere like the Nordschliefe.

Personally, racing a saloon car around Silverstone national circuit for real isnt as much fun and is certainly infinitely more expensive than a 48 car grid of virtual Porsche GT3 racing around a virtual Nordschliefe with all the cars being "driven" by humans spread all over the world. But, I would rather do LeMans for real in LMP2 - if I had a spare $200,000.

p.s. For all those GTR2 fans, someone has released a GTR2 "mod" for rFactor which according to reliable sources is actually better that GTR2! its available but links are being hammered at the moment - also available via BitTorrent.

 

Which one, again?

Merry XMas.

 

GTR2 is great couple with logitech g25 but u need one heck of a PC to get the full details in glory..but hey races 550m n 575m is such fun

some pic i found
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Ahhh, Imola!

Love that game. Have to look for the GTR2 mod for rFactor. Thanks, Richard.

Merry Christmas!

-Peter

 

I haven't been in any airplane hydraulic sims, but in hydraulic sims that simulate Space Shuttle missions. Also built a procedural Shuttle sim for my basement.

You have a point about the G forces and experiencing the thrill more realistic and potentially cheaper by simply racing a beater car or a go kart. No question. But the real thing still costs a bunch of $$, takes a lot of time (just getting to the track and back), resources (place to store and maintain your beater), risk (you could get hurt) and you still don't have the experience of what it would be doing 200 mph in a F1 up from Eau Rouge.

So there are obviously pros and cons to either approach.

PS: Had another deja-vu moment when I did the USGP track at Indy in my Ferrari: The guy in front of me was unsure how to take the track and I was puzzled by the wrong line he took through the corners of the infield, while I was pretty much spot on on the ideal line. Then it dawned on me: He probably didn't spend countless hours playing an F1 game where you automatically learn the line.

I'm not trying to show off here (ok, maybe just a little bit), but the point is, that you can learn a good deal from sims and they can also be fun. Are they the real deal? No, that's why they're called sims.

 

Pro-am simulation devices are starting to edge into the market, with the help of supported games. The best example is perhaps the Frex SimConMotion, a servo-actuated multi-axis mouting frame for the drivers seat. It looks funny from the outside, but it's operation is nearly identical to the big-dollar (several hundred thousand to multi-million) simulators.

-Peter

 

I may be wrong but those pics look like renders, I run these games max'd out graphically and they dont look as nice as that on my PC!

 

Peter, you have a PM...

 

ur pc spec?

i play on on ermm rather old 2 years old++ pc wid a midrange pc n setting in mid but i still can get effect near to those 4 pics

here is the thread..forget the link

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=125350

 

Mine look that good. Look at the shadows and lighting on the pavement textures at the hairpin. That's good!

I've always been an "early adopter" and for that reason, have been equipped with the best stuff as soon as it comes out. I always focus more on the GPU capabilities than the CPU, just because most all of this stuff relies so much on offloading that tasking onto the GPU. I also have a few F-car customers employed by the front-running GPU companies that keep me "up to date"! <very big grin> With 256 or 512MB of DDR3 graphics memory, you can crank nearly everything up and get close to stutter-free driving pleasure!

Heck, I'm playing GTR2 on my Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro that is already equipped with a 256MB video card on Win XP under BootCamp.

It's awesome!

-Peter (can't wait to try GTR2 mod for rFactor!)

 

Peter -

WHile you guys are putting the XOST on my Mondial 8, I want to check out this simulator business!!

 

NO problem! Another example of the fine customer service available at our shop! <grin> Haven't figured out a way to simulate the X-Ost note yet...<very big grin>

Gee, I remember when the original GT for Playstation (not even PS2) came out (1998?), we didn't get any work done for weeks! Bit bad!

-Peter

 

Hmmm, I need to fiddle then! Mine is OK but I dont get the same quality of tarmac and grass texture...I'm running a 4.0GHz P4 Prescott (water cooled), with 2GB of DDR running at dual channel 920MHz and a GeForce 7900 GS (450MHz) with 512MB (625MHz) - fastest AGP card there is...running on a Dell 24" widescreen at 1920x1200...

As I say, need to fiddle, in the immortal words of Mr.Schwartzenegger "I'll be back..."

 

I was AMAZED when a friend of mine came round with his Macbook Pro and we installed WinXP, rFactor and my wheel and it worked 100% fine - that was the final nail in the coffin for the PC with me. I have recently upgraded to get the most out of my AGP/Socket 478 PC, next new machine will be a Mac Pro for sure - I am even running a Mac style desktop on my PC to get used to the interface All the advantages of an Apple and ability to be a PC too (Bootcamp and Parallel) wonderful!

 

Yep, it's funny. I've spent more time fixing the d%@n computers that I build from scratch than fixing the F-cars I drive! <grin> I still play at work on my P4 Socket 478/AGP Shuttle XPC, but I now prefer the MB Pro!

Your spec sounds pretty good! Water cooled! Cool! <pun intended>

I am so impressed by the elegance and simplicity of the Mac design. I stuck my "toe in the water" with a G4 Powerbook a couple years ago after OS X went through a few iterations. Then I bought a G4 Mac mini (which I'm typing on now), then I sold the G4 PB to my brother to release him from the Wintel hell he was going through. Now, no crashes, not even kernel panic!

Now I have the best of both worlds. OS X for building and keeping up to date the company site, mail and organizing video and photos and on reboot, BootCamp and XP for my simulations! Wow!

-Peter (feeling blessed!)

 

Testing finished.

I was thinking "the look of rFactor", didnt realise it was that different to GTR2. Its weird considering under the flesh they are the same engines and I have "GTR2 Tracks" that work with rFactor. But it apppears the road and grass textures are better/more textured in GTR2. Imola helps also, Italy is SO pretty - Donington isn't so different in rF.

One thing playing GTR2 and rFactorGTR2 back to back gave me was the realisation of just how much of a "game" GTR2 feels compared with rF. Its much easier, even without any traction aids on it feels like the car still has them, grippy grass, friendly curbs that rumble the wheel but dont unsettle the car and LOADS of traction!

GTR2 is more instant fun and user friendly, rFactor is more real and harder - well thats not strictly true. It all depends on the numbers the "modders" have used with the physics. GTR2 is designed for mass appeal (it costs money!) and is easier to get on with hence more "gamey". The best rFactor mods are built by people heavy into realism who give their product away i.e. it's free so they dont mind if its "too real" so as to be hard and scare casual users away.

GTR2 is good to start with but rFactor is more hardcore I guess. But GTR2 has slightly better eye candy - back to Villeneuve's 312T4 at the Nordschliefe

Merry Christmas everyone.

 

I was fool enough to buy the PC based Shuttle game ... and found it about as accurate as the technical advisor for the film "Armageddon". (How does an E6 demolitions expert become tech advisor re the space program?)

The one I always wanted a shot at was the LEM trainer. My uncle was on the design team for the LEM, and I remember how shocked I was, back in the day, when I heard about that "toaster oven with legs" line. I couldn't remember when it stopped looking strange to me. When you know what it can do, it *is* a beautiful machine.

Which, I guess, explains why there's a generation that actually likes the cheese graters on the later TRs.

 

Really!