Racing Sim Thread, Part II

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:57 pm

For what it's worth, I'm really enjoying Race 07. Switching between the low and high HP Radicals, back to Minis, over to F3000's...all of them have some different characteristics. It's definitely evolutionary, and not revolutionary, though. The helmet cam is some good stuff, though. Being able to "disconnect" the view while in cockpit cam is nice...moving the view much higher or lower, forward or back, than even rFactor allows, which lets you really configure your view for each vehicle as you want.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:18 pm

Don:

Did you find the Gasoline Alley cars to be tight as a dump truck with locked differentials on the Indy oval?

I hope it's just me!

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:45 pm

TCrouch wrote:For what it's worth, I'm really enjoying Race 07. Switching between the low and high HP Radicals, back to Minis, over to F3000's...all of them have some different characteristics. It's definitely evolutionary, and not revolutionary, though. The helmet cam is some good stuff, though. Being able to "disconnect" the view while in cockpit cam is nice...moving the view much higher or lower, forward or back, than even rFactor allows, which lets you really configure your view for each vehicle as you want.

Race 07 is a very good game. It looks really good probably a little better than GTR2 or at least on par with it. What brings it down is the AI at times. The AI has a tendency to pile up at the start but settle down afterwards. The sound of the cars is spot on.

The game runs like crap on Vista (lot's of pauses not stutter) but great in XP.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:16 pm

Rodster wrote:The game runs like crap on Vista (lot's of pauses not stutter) but great in XP.

I'm running Vista and haven't had a single pause through about 15 races. Not a pause, not a hitch...nada, with everything set as high as it will go detail-wise.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:23 pm

TCrouch wrote:
Rodster wrote:The game runs like crap on Vista (lot's of pauses not stutter) but great in XP.
I'm running Vista and haven't had a single pause through about 15 races. Not a pause, not a hitch...nada, with everything set as high as it will go detail-wise.

Weird, maybe it's a driver problem. What kind of video card are you running T ?

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:27 pm

768MB GeForce 8800 GTX. Updated drivers about a week ago, though.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:34 pm

I'm running a 7900GTO 512MB with Vista drivers 163.69, I may have to try it again.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:10 pm

Damn, if only I could find Race 07 anywhere. Looks like I am going to have to import or wait until the 10/15 Steam release. All sounds good Terry, thanks for the info. Have you raced it online yet. Is the multiplayer code as solid as rFactor?

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:14 pm

Well I tried it again on a fresh Vista install and the latest drivers, it's still unplayable. I guess I have no choice but to run it on XP for now.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:14 pm

Haven't gone online. One thing I was a bit disappointed with so far is the lack of online garage. If it's there, I haven't found it, and that was really helpful for guys who can't spend hours tinkering with setups. All the SimBin titles have had it, so it's kind of curious that it would disappear. I'll head online with it soon, but doing mostly offline championships so far.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 6:25 pm

Hey guys, came across this while looking for some downloads for GTR2. It's our old friend AeroWar 88, this time made for rFactor!

http://www.racesimulations.com/RFACTOR/ ... /4368.html

It's pretty well done, but only lets you race on 3 tracks for some reason. I'll mess with it more later, but figured this might be of interest.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 6:48 pm

Gurantsu wrote:Hey guys, came across this while looking for some downloads for GTR2. It's our old friend AeroWar 88, this time made for rFactor!

http://www.racesimulations.com/RFACTOR/ ... /4368.html

It's pretty well done, but only lets you race on 3 tracks for some reason. I'll mess with it more later, but figured this might be of interest.

I'm going to await more feedback from you, Grant, before I touch this one. First, I still have NR 2003, so I'm covered. Second, every oval mod I've tried on rFactor -- and I've tried nearly all of them -- has sucked like a Hoover.

rFactor's code is designed for road racing, so I think most of these faithful modders trying to create oval mods are trying to ram a square peg into the proverbial round hole.

Take care,
PK

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:24 pm

Well then, Aerowar lives up to it's family history. It runs llike complete butt. As soon as you touch the brakes even a little bit the tires lock up. Adjust the bias and... the other tires will lock up. Yuck. The other stock car mods didn't have this problem so I don't know why this one does but at any rate stay away.

Offline I've been playing GTR2 and it just gets more impressive the more I do. The way the AI acts and the way the races pan out is much more realistic than rFactor. Speaking of which, has anyone else had problems with the ALMS mod in rFactor driving at a snails pace when the green flag drops? I can consistantly go from worst to first by the first turn. Something wonky going on there.

rFactor is the king of online, but offline GTR2 can't be beat. I'm back into the V8 Supercar mod again and having a blast.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:23 pm

Ok, so Race 07 is now finally available for purchase and download off of Steam, for $35.95 ?

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php ... 8600&cc=US

Supposedly, it is available in retail stores for $19.99, although I am completely unable to find it here in ATL.

So, what is my reason for purchasing Race 07 off of Steam? Wait for three weeks from the time the initial product is released on DVD in retail stores in most parts of the world, then pay almost double for it. I just don't get it. I completely support the digital media model, but this particular Steam release makes no sense.

I am sure this has nothing to do with Steam, but with the Simbin contracts with distributors, publishing, etc. Of course I will probably still end up buying it one way or another, I just hate to see the power of the internet wasted.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:04 pm

DChaps wrote:Ok, so Race 07 is now finally available for purchase and download off of Steam, for $35.95 ?

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php ... 8600&cc=US

Supposedly, it is available in retail stores for $19.99, although I am completely unable to find it here in ATL.

So, what is my reason for purchasing Race 07 off of Steam? Wait for three weeks from the time the initial product is released on DVD in retail stores in most parts of the world, then pay almost double for it. I just don't get it. I completely support the digital media model, but this particular Steam release makes no sense.

I am sure this has nothing to do with Steam, but with the Simbin contracts with distributors, publishing, etc. Of course I will probably still end up buying it one way or another, I just hate to see the power of the internet wasted.

D you won't find it at any retail stores. EB Games is selling it online for $19.99 so I would not pay anymore than that. Here's a link to the game.

http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=647177

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:37 pm

Can you play RACE 07 offline without Steam? I want nothing to do with that sh*t.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:23 pm

pk500 wrote:Can you play RACE 07 offline without Steam? I want nothing to do with that sh*t.

Take care,
PK

Yeah PK that's how i've been playing it. The game comes with two versions online (STEAM) and offline. The game is very good offline.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:09 pm

Thanks, Rod!

Take care,
PK

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 8:07 am

Well, according to the web, one of my local Gamestops has a copy of Race 07 in. I'm planning on running over today after I drop my daughter off at pre-school to snag it.

Been in a total racing mood of late. I feel sorry for my kids, who have had to sit through hours of A1GP, F1, replays of LeMans still on my DVR, plus the DVD movies of Grand Prix, LeMans, Lap Of The Gods, and 50 years of Formula One Onboard while I'm cleaning the house.

It must be rubbing off though, because my son loves driving around his matchbox cars, and my daughters favorite boardgames of mine are all racing ones.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:29 am

The beautiful power of osmosis, Grant!

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:44 am

Gurantsu wrote:Well, according to the web, one of my local Gamestops has a copy of Race 07 in. I'm planning on running over today after I drop my daughter off at pre-school to snag it.

I'm glad they are carrying the game. Thank goodness for e-distribution.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:27 pm

Got my copy, installing it now while my son takes a nap.

I have 4 EB/Gamestops within 3 miles of me, and only one had any, 3 copies.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:56 pm

The web is showing the closest Gamestop to me carrying Race 07 is like 200 miles away. Good thing I live in an "international" metropolis that has hosted the Olympics.

On my eight mile commute home from work (on one road mind you) I will pass 3 GameStops, 3 Targets, and 7 Starbucks, no lie.

10 Starbucks if you count the fact that there is one in each of the Targets.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:45 pm

Got my mitts on RACE 07 Offline today and gave it a test drive tonight. Got it to run at an acceptable frame rate by turning the detail levels to low.

Hate to piss in the loving punch bowl here, but I was unimpressed with the game, for a variety of reasons.

I drove the classes in RACE with all assists turned off, just like I do in rFactor, and compared them to their counterparts in rFactor. This really surprised me considering the esteem that Simbin's driving engine is held, but I found RACE 07 easier to drive in every single class that has a comparable mod in rFactor.

WTCC was easier than ETCC in rFactor. Caterhams in RACE were easier than Caterhams in rFactor. Same with FBMW. F3000 was easier than Formula Nippon, which is comparable in power and downforce, in rFactor.

Color me very surprised. The grip levels seemed too high, and it was very tough to kick out the ass end of any car other than the Caterhams, even if you nailed the throttle at the corner apex.

The F3000's were VERY disappointing. Those were pretty hairy beasts in reality, one step down from an F1 car. They felt like Formula 3 cars in RACE, with a pretty crummy sense of speed and danger. Granted, my framerates probably were only in the high 20s or around 30, but nothing felt dangerous or on a knife-edge with these cars in RACE, even with all assists turned off.

Finally, the sense of "feel" that I get with really good mods in rFactor and I get with GTR 2, of really being connected to the road, isn't present in RACE other than with the Caterhams. Disclaimer: I didn't try the Radicals, which have good downforce. But I didn't feel the downforce in the F3000s or the weight of a touring car with the WTCC's much at all.

Honestly, the weight and downforce of a Formula BMW didn't feel that much different than that of a Formula 3000, which is odd and unrealistic.

The force feedback wasn't that hot, either, even turned up high.

I'm glad you guys enjoy RACE. I'm glad I tried it, and it's less of a load on my hard drive now that I've deleted it.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:07 pm

PK don't forget Simbin is not the same group of guys that made GTR and GTR2. Those guys sold out to the new developer who bought the rights to the Simbin name and I believe the GTR franchise although i'm not 100% sure on that one. The original guys who formed Simbin have formed a new company called Blimey.

So if the RACE game seems a little to easy as opposed to rFactor and GTR that's because i's made by a different group of cats that bought the name Simbin. Still RACE is a pretty decent game in it's own right. I still prefer GTR2 and rFactor over RACE.