Sim racing thoughts and other stuff

c0rn3y

Hi guys (and girls if any),

I haven't been around any at all lately, moved to Sweden and working to much I guess. Working full time and starting up a sim racing hardware company on the side does that I guess hehe.

Anyways some thoughts I have had lately regarding sim racing.

Has anyone really sat down and looked how much bigger sim racing has become in the last 2-3 years. With pCars joining ESL, iRacing on Motorsport TV, Automobilista blowing our mind, rF2 taking over the endurance scene with real 24h events, Assetto corsa coming to console, Raceroom starting to become fantastic. Hardware getting to a level that it feels more real and also abit scary (osw I am looking at you).

I am seeing a big change here, the amount of people that are getting onboard is crazy. I had Petter Solberg driving my rig the other day and he is saying the same thing

Such good times ahead. It's a great time to be a sim racer!

Spudman_20000

For me, it has been interesting to see a perceived shift away from more arcade type racing towards more sim racing over the past few years. I think it has taken gaming companies a long time to realise that a lot of people want to play sim racing games.

VR will be adding another level of immersion, although reports I've read seem to indicate there are still issues with severe motion sickness when it comes to racing games.

I have a racing wheel (not a force feedback one), wheel stand, gaming chair and Project Cars and Dirt Rally on Xbox One. It would be great to see the price of better hardware come down a bit, especially the force feedback wheels.

Mantis Toboggan

c0rn3y wrote: »

Such good times ahead. It's a great time to be a sim racer!

It is if you have a PC. Unfortunately us console gamers get a raw deal.

Spudman_20000

Tyson Fury wrote: »

It is if you have a PC. Unfortunately us console gamers get a raw deal.

In what respects do you feel console gamers are getting a raw deal though? We're seeing a lot of sim racing games coming to consoles.

The only drawback is that we don't have access to the community created mods that gamers have on PC, but I wouldn't go so far as to say we're getting a raw deal.

Mantis Toboggan

Spudman_20000 wrote: »

In what respects do you feel console gamers are getting a raw deal though? We're seeing a lot of sim racing games coming to consoles.

The only drawback is that we don't have access to the community created mods that gamers have on PC, but I wouldn't go so far as to say we're getting a raw deal.

Because there's much more games and communities available on pc.

I bought a ps4 at Christmas and project cars was the only decent sim available. Dirt rally has arrived and hopefully assetto corsa in the summer but there's no doubt that sim racing on consoles is the poor relation.

Spudman_20000

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Because there's much more games and communities available on pc.

I bought a ps4 at Christmas and project cars was the only decent sim available. Dirt rally has arrived and hopefully assetto corsa in the summer but there's no doubt that sim racing on consoles is the poor relation.

That is true, but the more sims you have in the market, the bigger the dilution of the gamer communities you will get, especially on consoles where sims are not as popular yet.

It's the nature of the beast unfortunately on console, but I certainly don't feel deprived of sims. Then again, I play a variety of game types, not just racing sims, so I could see how those who predominately play racing sims might feel differently.

Dcully

Play on a high spec PC with 144hz screens in either single or multiple screen mode and you will feel deprived trust me

PCARS is a very poor example of a sim too, luckily console users now have the excellent dirt rally and assetto corsa coming soon.

Its great to see sim racing expand and its primarily down to its fantastic communities,whom many a community member have gone on to form dev teams of their own to create for the sims they always wanted to have.
Its win win for the end user and simracing is really seeing the benefits recently.


@ c0rn3y while its great to see iracing on motors tv I just wish they would at the very least hook it up to a decent PC, whatever rig they are pulling the feed from doesn't do it any justice at all.

Overall simracing is in a really good place,thankfully cowboys like PCARS devs SMS are hugely overshadowed by real sim fans and devs that are passionate about their passion and deliver on their promise.
The likes of Reiza and Kunos in particular give me that assured feeling that simracing is in a really good place.

Spudman_20000

Dcully wrote: »

Play on a high spec PC with 144hz screens in either single or multiple screen mode and you will feel deprived trust me

PCARS is a very poor example of a sim too, luckily console users now have the excellent dirt rally and assetto corsa coming soon.

Its great to see sim racing expand and its primarily down to its fantastic communities,whom many a community member have gone on to form dev teams of their own to create for the sims they always wanted to have.
Its win win for the end user and simracing is really seeing the benefits recently.


@ c0rn3y while its great to see iracing on motors tv I just wish they would at the very least hook it up to a decent PC, whatever rig they are pulling the feed from doesn't do it any justice at all.

Overall simracing is in a really good place,thankfully cowboys like PCARS devs SMS are hugely overshadowed by real sim fans and devs that are passionate about their passion and deliver on their promise.
The likes of Reiza and Kunos in particular give me that assured feeling that simracing is in a really good place.

I'm sure at the very least my bank account and children would feel deprived

I think your criticism of Project CARS is a little unfair to say the least. I would argue that Project CARS success has paved the way for other sims to come to consoles after seeing how well it has performed too.

I personally think it's a fantastic game and very accessible to all level of racers, but each to their own.

ScumLord

I think at this stage sim racing has more incommon with a hobby that just playing a game. I described Assetto corsa as "a way of practicing the martial art of driving fast in your own home" on the official website. It's the kind of thing where the more you know the better you get. Then there's all the equipment you need/want. I think that's why it's become such a stable gaming platform on PC now. People invest in it and even if they're not racing every day, it's always on their mind.

If the sims are popular on consoles it could take sim racing to another level of popularity, although I think if console users really get into sim racing they're going to have to seriously consider getting a PC, so maybe sims will start turning some console users into PC users.

I don't know how console users will take to AC and dirt rally. I think dirt will be an easier transition for them, it's already got a slick interface and is more familiar. AC will be something more alien, I don't know if it will have the same impact on a controller. Anyone that has a wheel will instantly love it.

Doge

Spudman_20000 wrote: »

VR will be adding another level of immersion, although reports I've read seem to indicate there are still issues with severe motion sickness when it comes to racing games.

You can say that again. If the HTC Vive could do this, and it potentially can, i would build a gaming rig and buy one in the morning!

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

Doge

BTW c0rn3y how did you end up hooking up with Petter Solberg?

Thats pretty awesome!

Dcully

Spudman_20000 wrote: »

I'm sure at the very least my bank account and children would feel deprived

I think your criticism of Project CARS is a little unfair to say the least. I would argue that Project CARS success has paved the way for other sims to come to consoles after seeing how well it has performed too.

I personally think it's a fantastic game and very accessible to all level of racers, but each to their own.

When you get to play Assetto Corsa,Automobilista, iRacing, rFactor 2 you will also criticise PCARS.

Titzon Toast

Dcully wrote: »

When you get to play Assetto Corsa,Automobilista, iRacing, rFactor 2 you will also criticise PCARS.

I thought you hadn't actually played PCars?
For a game on a console it's actually quite fantastic, SMS pulled off a huge stroke to get a sim racer released on three platforms simultaneously IMO.
If they can build on its success with PCars 2, they'll have something special on their hands.

It is a great for sim racing on consoles in general though, Assetto Corsa is coming, Dirt Rally is excellent and will only get better with some DLC and some patches.

I can't wait for more.

Dcully

Don't know what gave you that idea mate, see screenshot of my racing/driving section of games on steam

Notice its not installed anymore



Its an okay sim, physics are not up to the others, same can be said for ffb and sounds.
On the flipside it has a tonne of content.
For console users starved of a decent sim yes it mighty attractive.

Domo1982

Picked up DIRT at the weekend on PS4 and first impressions is that its very good. Bought P-Cars at Christmas and have hardly played it. Some lovely DLC's available - Lotus pack especially but over all I found it disappointing.

Play a lot of Grand Prix Legends on PC since I got rig sorted and love that, although its mental hard

I don't see GPL mentioned much on here - is there something wrong with me?!!!

c0rn3y

Met Peter Solberg at Elmia Custom Car Show in Sweden. It's the largest car show on Northern Europe. He is a really down to earth nice guy to be honest, talked a good bit to him. He was a bit surprised about the strength of the OSW hehe. I was at the car exhibition show casing virtual racing for Swedish motorsport and showing what a home made sim racing rig could look like and how it can improve your driving skills.

We had factory rally drivers, F3, GP2, Stcc, touring car and cup car drivers testing my rig. Was great to get so much feedback from so many drivers on what was good and bad with my rig.. most agreed that the osw is amazing. We picked the Lotus 79 at Spa in iRacing. I would rather have picked rf2 for better physics but we wanted to show how good online racing can be and sadly nothing else can compare to what iRacing offers (but at a very big premium).

I do agree that motorsports.tv should do something about that computer they are using =/

Didn't really want to make this into a "this sim is better than that sim" discussion but more say just how far our hobby has moved forward. I meet people all the time now that have their full on rigs, a couple of years ago we were not that many. That makes me smile

Dcully

Domo1982 wrote: »

Picked up DIRT at the weekend on PS4 and first impressions is that its very good. Bought P-Cars at Christmas and have hardly played it. Some lovely DLC's available - Lotus pack especially but over all I found it disappointing.

Play a lot of Grand Prix Legends on PC since I got rig sorted and love that, although its mental hard

I don't see GPL mentioned much on here - is there something wrong with me?!!!

Not at all, GPL was the mainstay of simracing for so many years, it got me into simracing and countless others, if ever there was a fitting name for a sim with the mention of Legend it would be GPL Grand Prix Legends,a living legend among simracing

Dave Kaemer the man responsible for its physics is the man responsible for iracing physics.

c0rn3y

Dcully wrote: »

Not at all, GPL was the mainstay of simracing for so many years, it got me into simracing and countless others, if ever there was a fitting name for a sim with the mention of Legend it would be GPL Grand Prix Legends,a living legend among simracing

Dave Kaemer the man responsible for its physics is the man responsible for iracing physics.

Loads of love for GPL... changed my life for the better

Spudman_20000

Doge wrote: »

You can say that again. If the HTC Vive could do this, and it potentially can, i would build a gaming rig and buy one in the morning!

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

Wow, that is incredible! Mind you, I feel a wave of nausea coming on just watching it

Domo1982

Spudman_20000 wrote: »

Wow, that is incredible! Mind you, I feel a wave of nausea coming on just watching it

Whats happening lads!! Not sure whats real and what not!

Amazing.

Are they out now? how much

Dcully

Just took a trip up into the attic, nothing else to say this photo can do the talking

c0rn3y

Dcully wrote: »

Just took a trip up into the attic, nothing else to say this photo can do the talking

Fantastic!