Racing Sim Thread, Part II

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by pk500 »

Definitely leave the brakes combined for starters. I'm a cockpit cam guy, all the way. Go with the camera with which you feel most comfortable.
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by F308GTB »

The original Automobilista in VR!!! Came across this by chance

https://forum.reizastudios.com/threads/ ... -vr.14245/

The mod works pretty well. Took awhile to work out some issues, and there is a bit of flakiness at times, but it is fantastic being able to drive one of the best sims (great FFB, physics, and AI) in VR for greater immersion.

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by WPatrick »

pk500 wrote:
Wed Sep 02, 2020 1:37 pm
New Tony Stewart dirt racing game dropping this Friday, with Late Models, Big Block Modifieds and Legends cars. $30, with a promised new physics engine, which is needed: https://www.operationsports.com/tony-st ... gine-more/
I bought it and it’s great with default controller settings. It’s almost exactly the same as the Sprint car game, but it does add a management/owner system. You can drive in a series & hire drivers for your team in other series.

For some reason I find the driving, earning money & building a better car in this type of game addictive. I’ve played it nonstop since I bought it 3 days ago. I’ll get board with it I’m sure, but I’m having a blast right now.

It’s really nice to have a couple of games similar to PS2 World of Outlaws/Dirt to Daytona with modern graphics.

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by WPatrick »

Nascar Heat 5 is free to play this weekend on Xbox live.

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by TCrouch »

WPatrick wrote:
Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:59 am
Nascar Heat 5 is free to play this weekend on Xbox live.
It finally hit the perfect price point to make it worth playing.

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by GB_Simo »

TCrouch wrote:
Fri Feb 12, 2021 11:07 am
WPatrick wrote:
Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:59 am
Nascar Heat 5 is free to play this weekend on Xbox live.
It finally hit the perfect price point to make it worth playing.
I downloaded it last night but it seems my console received a re-skin of NASCAR Heat 2 by mistake.
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by WPatrick »

LOL

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by Rodster »

A new BTCC and Le Mans game looks highly likely in the future after Motorsport Games acquired rFactor 2.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021 ... -rfactor-2

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by GB_Simo »

Rodster wrote:
Wed Mar 03, 2021 6:48 pm
A new BTCC and Le Mans game looks highly likely in the future after Motorsport Games acquired rFactor 2.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021 ... -rfactor-2
A tentative thumbs-up to this, I think.

The Honda Civic in rFactor 2 is a very decent representation of an FWD touring car. That's a good start for the upcoming BTCC game. I believe, however, that rFactor 2's current developers, Studio 397, had nothing to do with it, so...we shall see.
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by GB_Simo »

TT Isle of Man: Ride On The Edge 2 is £14.99 in my neck of the woods on the XBox Store this week.

I'm presently unemployed and limiting my non-essential spends until I find work, partly because it seems sensible and partly as a motivator. I do, however, need to relax every so often. As someone who enjoyed the first game without ever being any good at it, would I get 15 quid's worth of mileage from the sequel?
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

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GB_Simo wrote:
Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:32 pm
TT Isle of Man: Ride On The Edge 2 is £14.99 in my neck of the woods on the XBox Store this week.

I'm presently unemployed and limiting my non-essential spends until I find work, partly because it seems sensible and partly as a motivator. I do, however, need to relax every so often. As someone who enjoyed the first game without ever being any good at it, would I get 15 quid's worth of mileage from the sequel?
Definitely, mate.

The sequel is more than a fresh coat of paint, for one reason -- the physics model is improved. This still is the Dark Souls of racing games; it's unforgiving and challenging as f*ck. But there are fewer wonky crashes in which you see your bike tumbling through the Manx countryside and wonder, "How the hell did that happen?"

One other nice touch: The developers made the 600s more realistic. In the first game, the 600s were far too close in performance to the 1000s. They've been dialed back a bit in the sequel and made more realistic and a touch more forgiving.

And the pucker factor is still there, regardless of bike. Lord, it's there. I have NEVER encountered any rush in a console racing sim or simcade game quite like a 600cc engine screaming at max RPM with the wind pounding the fairing and your helmet while going 165 mph between trees on the Sulby Straight. We're talking WipeOut-style sense of speed here.

Go for it!
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by J_Cauthen »

I almost hate to post this in the Racing Sim Thread, but I treat the game "Wreckfest" as a racing game with a lot of contact more than a demolition derby game. Wreckfest got an update yesterday that takes it to 4K res and 60 FPS on the XBox Series X, and like the 60 Hz vsync addition for PGA TOUR 2K21, it's a game changer 8O I'm in shock over how good this game looks and plays now. It wasn't bad at 1080p/30 FPS, but it feels so much more alive now!

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by pk500 »

J_Cauthen wrote:
Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:17 am
I almost hate to post this in the Racing Sim Thread, but I treat the game "Wreckfest" as a racing game with a lot of contact more than a demolition derby game. Wreckfest got an update yesterday that takes it to 4K res and 60 FPS on the XBox Series X, and like the 60 Hz vsync addition for PGA TOUR 2K21, it's a game changer 8O I'm in shock over how good this game looks and plays now. It wasn't bad at 1080p/30 FPS, but it feels so much more alive now!
Don't feel bad, John: Wreckfest is fun as hell. It may be a demo derby/high-contact racing game, but it has a far better dirt driving and physics model than the massive disappointment known as DIRT 5.

Enjoy Wreckfest. It's a blast!
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by Dave »

All of the recent talk around here about it got me back into Wreckfest. It is such a refreshing change-of-pace game from the usual racing sim, can't wait to try it out with the update for Series X.
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by J_Cauthen »

pk500 wrote:
Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:19 am
Don't feel bad, John: Wreckfest is fun as hell. It may be a demo derby/high-contact racing game, but it has a far better dirt driving and physics model than the massive disappointment known as DIRT 5.

Enjoy Wreckfest. It's a blast!
Good to get some back up on this Paul... I feel less guilty about it now! :) I agree that its better driving and handling than Dirt 5. I'm glad I was able to try that one on Game Pass. I'd had enough of it in an hour.

I forgot to mention that the 4K/60 FPS patch broke the steering wheel support in the game. It doesn't even recognized that my Thrustmaster TX wheel is connected to the console. Apparently that's a widespread problem with many wheels now and the devs have confirmed they're working on a fix for it. I'll really be ready to toss my cookies once I get a feel of it at 60 FPS with my Thrustmaster FF wheel in service!

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by J_Cauthen »

OMG.. the Wreckfest update to fix the broken steering wheel support caused by the resolution and frame rate update for the Series X was released today. Not only did the restore force feedback steering wheel support, I believe they enhanced it. The force feedback wheel effects in Wreckfest are now as good, if not better, than any other racing game on the XBox family! I can fully appreciate the benefits of 60 FPS now with my Thrustmaster TX, and 4K res at 60 FPS doesn't hurt either. This now is like a brand new game and I'm FULLY IN! :D

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by GB_Simo »

Possibly of interest: the Burn Rubber package currently available at Humble Bundle:

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/burn ... ber_bundle

KartKraft alone would be worth the asking price, I suspect.
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

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GB_Simo wrote:
Sun Apr 04, 2021 2:15 pm
Possibly of interest: the Burn Rubber package currently available at Humble Bundle:

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/burn ... ber_bundle

KartKraft alone would be worth the asking price, I suspect.
Yep. Unfortunately I already have most of the titles, including KK. BTW, KK looks fabulous and plays quite well. I play it in VR and it is one of the best looking VR driving games around. Amazing how it uses the same Unreal engine as ACC but looks so much better. The driving model can take awhile to get used to if you spend a lot of time racing "normal" cars. Those karts, with the short wheelbase and high steering rate leads to a lot of spins until I get used to the handling. Still doesn't have multiplayer, but it is nonetheless enjoyable as a single player game.

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by GB_Simo »

Had a bit of a binge tonight after months away from the wheel. Tested some Assetto Corsa mods, having finally got round to modding it, then had a blast around Silverstone in its sequel before trying KartKraft.

Having read what James said, I thought, naively, that I might be able to flatten the learning curve a bit. I've karted a fair amount. There are at least four kart circuits within 20 miles of me, one of them a championship-standard facility. The direct steering and the need to conserve momentum at all costs are things I'm familiar with.

And I'm bloody awful at KartKraft.

What I'm missing at the minute are the physical sensations. You drive a kart with your arse, feeling a slide and correcting it before you've ever seen it. In the sim, I see things before I feel them, if I feel them at all, and by then it's way too late. Against the medium AI for a six-lapper at the PFI track, I placed 7th in a field of 16 with a best lap just over a second off the winning pace, and I binned time in three places: I couldn't brake properly into slow corners; I spent the middle of slow corners trying to work around the mess I got into on entry; and I spent the exit of slow corners facing sideways trying to make up the time I lost in the middle.

Whether the remedy is tweaks to the airy-fairy FFB settings, changes to the steering lock or buying a CSL Elite is something I'm yet to discover. I will, though, because the underlying physics seem to be very good. Through my very limited playtime, I've seen nothing funky in their behaviour, with my kart behaving convincingly even if its driver wasn't. It looks and sounds lovely too.

No. It sounds like you've recently agitated a beehive. Accurate, is what it sounds.

One to keep plugging away at, in the belief that there's a little gem in there if I can just get the FFB cracked. All hints, tips, suggestions and pointers on how not to crash gratefully received.
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

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GB_Simo wrote:
Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:01 pm
Had a bit of a binge tonight after months away from the wheel. Tested some Assetto Corsa mods, having finally got round to modding it, then had a blast around Silverstone in its sequel before trying KartKraft.

Having read what James said, I thought, naively, that I might be able to flatten the learning curve a bit. I've karted a fair amount. There are at least four kart circuits within 20 miles of me, one of them a championship-standard facility. The direct steering and the need to conserve momentum at all costs are things I'm familiar with.

And I'm bloody awful at KartKraft.

What I'm missing at the minute are the physical sensations. You drive a kart with your arse, feeling a slide and correcting it before you've ever seen it. In the sim, I see things before I feel them, if I feel them at all, and by then it's way too late. Against the medium AI for a six-lapper at the PFI track, I placed 7th in a field of 16 with a best lap just over a second off the winning pace, and I binned time in three places: I couldn't brake properly into slow corners; I spent the middle of slow corners trying to work around the mess I got into on entry; and I spent the exit of slow corners facing sideways trying to make up the time I lost in the middle.

Whether the remedy is tweaks to the airy-fairy FFB settings, changes to the steering lock or buying a CSL Elite is something I'm yet to discover. I will, though, because the underlying physics seem to be very good. Through my very limited playtime, I've seen nothing funky in their behaviour, with my kart behaving convincingly even if its driver wasn't. It looks and sounds lovely too.

No. It sounds like you've recently agitated a beehive. Accurate, is what it sounds.

One to keep plugging away at, in the belief that there's a little gem in there if I can just get the FFB cracked. All hints, tips, suggestions and pointers on how not to crash gratefully received.
It takes me a few hours to get back into a Kart Kraft groove. Going from cars with 360 to 900 degree steering rotation to 180 takes some mental retraining. Just a little too much steering input and around you go. One thing I really enjoy about KK is that because the laps are so short, hot lapping trying to improve my lap times is a real joy.

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by dbdynsty25 »

New WRC 10 trailer. Looks so damn good.

https://youtu.be/jZLyseyp9dQ

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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

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dbdynsty25 wrote:
Tue Apr 13, 2021 5:12 pm
New WRC 10 trailer. Looks so damn good.

https://youtu.be/jZLyseyp9dQ
Yup. Really looking forward to seeing how they do those historical events. Hopefully they'll have a good spread of iconic moments, not just a few scenarios cherry-picked to suit the car licences they've got. A man can dream.


XBox Live Gold users might like to grab FIA European Truck Racing Championship, available until mid-May as one of this month's Games With Gold. A few initial thoughts after a couple of hours messing around with it:

- Racing trucks spend a lot of time flitting between two states, these being not quite turning enough and turning entirely too much. My first couple of races were spent trying and regularly failing to transition between them. Part of that comes from there being very limited feedback through the controller, which vibrates when you're hard on the brakes but does nothing to indicate slides or losses of traction.

- The good news is that once you've recalibrated yourself and started using eyes and ears a bit more, the handling model isn't too hard to get to grips with and is entirely predictable. The rear end needs to be kept in check a little bit when turning and accelerating at once, but otherwise your inputs can be as aggressive as you like and you'll not end up in too much trouble. I think what I'm actually telling you is that the handling doesn't have a massive amount of depth to it, but don't despair, because...

- ...the wider driving experience goes some way to making up for that. Racing trucks are limited to 99 mph and slowing them down from that speed takes a bit of effort. The act of doing so in-game isn't difficult but giving the brakes a good goosing overheats them, not gradually over a few laps but rapidly through a single braking zone. Hot brakes don't slow a truck down especially well, too much heat for too long leads to brake damage and your supply of water with which to cool them down is limited to the extent that if you drive at full pelt throughout, you'll run out of water way before you run out of race. You also can't slow down on the engine, partly because your usable rev range is tiny (1000 revs, tops) and partly because you've only got four gears, spending 99% of your time in the highest two and no time at all in the lowest one. From what I can tell so far, knowing when to lift and coast is useful, as is knowing which corners are followed by a straight long enough to let the brakes cool by themselves.


So far, so decent. There follows some loosely-paragraphed disappointment:


- I've only got the AI on Intermediate at present, which is the middle of three difficulty settings. This was good for helping me adjust to the game but I've just absolutely creamed them in the first couple of races of my career and I'm not sure the Expert level is going to give them a big enough jump. The AI trucks make mistakes, run off line and off road during races and seem like they're happy enough to outbrake you if they see an opportunity, but I'm not convinced they'll be fast enough to ever have that opportunity once you've had a couple of hours practice. Curiously, the only reverse grid race I've done saw the AI trucks finish in almost exactly the order they started in, with none of the other fast trucks from the first race following me through the field.

- One thing the game can't be accused of is having an excess of polish. The graphics are no more than functional, with replays that only seem available after certain sessions, never after races and with shadows that magically appear as your truck gets near to the camera. The career interface is a plain series of menus, the licence tests can probably be completed blindfolded and you'll want to team that blindfold with some ear plugs to avoid your race engineer, who'll tell you to focus, to keep pushing because you can win this and other witless bursts of emptiness. Wet weather conditions are included but I'm not sure they make any difference to your driving, and sometimes you'll land yourself with a penalty because the marker bollards signifying track limits get dislodged by a truck ahead of you, then respawn just as you're getting to their designated spot. If it's a drive through penalty, you'll note that at some tracks, the pit lane Autodrive leads you very slowly back into the middle of the race track before granting you control. I am not an expert on the European Truck Racing Championship but I have a suspicion this isn't part of their rulebook.


I am glad this game exists. Over the last couple of generations, we've seen far fewer of the niche titles we used to see during the height of the PS2 era (which also included a truck racing game with very submissive AI, Super Trucks) and as a fully paid-up fan of that era, I enjoy seeing releases like this and the Isle of Man games. Having said that, this offering is nothing like as compelling as the Isle of Man games and I couldn't begin to recommend that anyone paid full price for it. I'm glad I've played it and I think all of us would be able to wring a few hours of fun from it, but I can't see it being a long-term presence on your hard drive. No harm in giving it a look for free, though.
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by pk500 »

Thanks for the tip on the truck game, Adam.

I LOVE giving niche racing series titles a go. Some suck, some are surprising. Hell, arguably my favorite racing game for its sheer sense of speed and Dark Souls-like challenge is the Isle of Man TT: Ride on the Edge series. And true motorcycle road racing sure as hell a niche series -- except to anoraks like me who LOVE it. :)
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by GB_Simo »

pk500 wrote:
Sat Apr 17, 2021 9:57 am
Thanks for the tip on the truck game, Adam.

I LOVE giving niche racing series titles a go. Some suck, some are surprising. Hell, arguably my favorite racing game for its sheer sense of speed and Dark Souls-like challenge is the Isle of Man TT: Ride on the Edge series. And true motorcycle road racing sure as hell a niche series -- except to anoraks like me who LOVE it. :)
Let me know your thoughts if you get a chance to play it, mate. "Fairly entertaining diversion" is where I think I'm landing on it - nothing worth the same kind of time and devotion as the Isle of Man TT games, but a long, long way from sinking into (whisper it) Total Immersion Racing territory.


If you're an XBox owner who doesn't currently have WRC 9 in their library and can find a way of purchasing it from the UK store, the game is currently available for £3.19, which is essentially theft. It appears to be $19.99 on the US store, which is still a decent deal but nothing like as crackpot as the one on offer here.
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Re: Racing Sim Thread, Part II

Post by pk500 »

I played it last night, Adam. Wasn't as impressed as you, for one reason: The force feedback is non-existent with tire grip or bumps.

The only time you feel any haptic feedback is if you go off track or hit another truck. That's a no-go for me. I rely on at least SOME feedback for seat-of-the-pants feel.

Oooh, thanks for the tip on WRC 9. My daughter who lives in Seattle is dating a dude who works at Microsoft, so let's just say I know a guy who can get me even bigger discounts. :)
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