Racing Sim Thread, Part II

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 11:41 am

Some great tips about braking, apexing and finding speed in corners in this RSC thread. It has helped me immensely with Live For Speed:

http://forum.racesimcentral.com/showthread.php?t=331580

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:22 pm

For those who still like to use Leo's FFB plug-in in rFactor, a couple of guys have done some superb work with the plug-in in the last few weeks.

They have found a way to find mod-specific values for all parts of the Leo's .ini file, tailoring it to specific mods. And they have created a Google Docs database containing that data for damn near every mod in rFactor, plus a tutorial on how to gather this data from any mod. Start on P. 12 of this thread:

http://forum.racesimcentral.com/showthr ... 68&page=12

I'll always stick with RealFeel, but I'm going to return to Leo's with this updated data with mods that don't work well with RealFeel. I vowed to only use mods that work well with RealFeel, but that does slice quite a few fun mods from the list. So hopefully this extensive list of comprehensive Leo's data will make the non-RealFeel mods drive better and restore them as regulars in my racing rotation.

Take care,
PK

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:52 pm

pk500 wrote:Some great tips about braking, apexing and finding speed in corners in this RSC thread. It has helped me immensely with Live For Speed:

http://forum.racesimcentral.com/showthread.php?t=331580

The second post in that thread, the one from Ramenite, has some very, very good advice in it. Well worth a look for anyone who feels they're dropping time somewhere.

I'm not sure how well setups fit into that particular discussion, mind. While it's correct that a good driver will be much faster in a well-balanced car than a bad one, all the setups in the world are hopeless if you can't find the limit of them. There's something to be said for pressing on with a bad car until you can feel there's no more in it; you'll still be learning something.

One other thing that the online crowd here (so not you, Rod, you evasive, slippery little devil) have experienced a few times: if you take a corner faster than you think possible, you might surprise yourself. If you take it slower than I think possible, I'm going to run straight into the back of you. While it's better to work your way up to a limit rather than coming down towards it, there's no harm in the occasional bit of blind faith. If you bin it, there are no repair bills or hospital trips, just a restart.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 5:14 pm

Newest version of Stock Car Evolution is out. It's the best NASCAR mod I've driven in rFactor even if the offline AI is lousy.

http://www.rfstockcars.com/

It's a huge download, 815 MB, as it includes all tracks and COT and Nationwide cars.

This mod is pretty damn fun to race online. It's also compatible with RealFeel -- a first for a stock car mod, I believe!

Take care,
PK

P.S.: A little birdie told me the 2008 version of the IndyCar Series mod could be out this weekend. It will be compatible with RealFeel, too.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:15 pm

I rescind my recommendation of Stock Car Evolution. It drives fine, better than any other rFactor stock car mod.

But it installs in a separate rFactor install on your hard drive, and it does some minor, but screwy things to your existing install, like mixing up force feedback plug-ins or defaults.

I deleted it. I should have listened to the voice in my head that said, "Never trust an rFactor mod that doesn't install into the rFactor tree of your file directory!"

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:50 pm

The soon-to-be released 2008 IndyCar Series mod for rFactor is shaping up to be something special:

http://www.virtualr.net/indycar-series- ... ment-14517

The mod will include tracks with tuned AI for good offline racing and I believe will be 100 percent RealFeel compatible.

Can't wait!

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:59 pm

I'll be sure to check it out but I saw no mention of tracks, just cars and drivers from the 2008 season.

"Indycar Series 2008 - New Previews

Screenshot artist 6e66o had the chance to make some great preview shots of rF Open Wheel Racing Project’s Indycar Series 2008 mod project for rFactor.

The mod will include all cars and drivers of the 2008 Indycar Series season, the first unified open wheel season since the Champ Car/IRL split during the mid 90s. The mod will come with all-new physics and plenty of details such as race-specific liveries for all cars."

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:20 am

From the link above:

"A lot of time has been spent on getting suitable tracks ready for this mod. The package includes setups and AI calibration files for tracks on the 2008 Indycar schedule and all tracks from JNS, SCE & TPSCC. The result of this detail work is stunning, allowing competitive and clean against the AI, even on ovals - Something rare in rFactor."

Maybe just the AI calibration and car setup files are coming with the mod, not the tracks. But that's still a huge step in the right direction.

Take care,
PK

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 2:57 pm

Further clarification from the mod team themselves. This sounds awesome and I am definitely looking forward to it. Thanks for the heads up Paul!

Mike PetersDecember 5th, 2008 at 2:10 pm

There is some confusion it seems.

This mod DOES NOT include tracks (you will still need to download the actual track packs from the respective sites.

We simply have configured the AI learning files, TrackConfigsBase.ini and Upgrades.INI’s to work with these 3 track packs.

Paul, this includes the Watkins Glen GP at theuspits.com with the full long course.

Again, no tracks are included. The mod is just compatible and ready to go out of the box with these track packs.

JSharpDecember 5th, 2008 at 3:42 pm

For sure this is a great improvement over what has been seen in the past. This portion of the project has been in the works since Mike and I first met back in April or so. As we wrap up production on it, I would like to thank Mike for working with me on this mod…it was rough at times, but our love for the series hopefully will show with this relaunch of the mod.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:57 am

Indycar Series 2008 1.00 is now available:

http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... ies%202008

http://www.virtualr.net/indycar-series- ... -released/

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:12 am

Don't bother downloading it from rfactorcentral. Their links are having issues wrt the hi-res mod.

I got it from VirtualR.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:58 am

Rodster wrote:Don't bother downloading it from rfactorcentral. Their links are having issues wrt the hi-res mod.

I got it from VirtualR.

Did you get it to work? I downloaded the low res version from virtualr and I am getting g-motor and dx9 errors when trying to run DX9, which I run for all mods. Seems from the posts so far there are lots of issues, but I am sure it will get sorted out.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:18 pm

It does not matter which version I use (high res or low res), the install wants to put an extra rfactor subdirectory regardless of which folders I manually browse to and select. So in other words, it appears that no matter what I do, it installs to C:\Program Files\rFactor\rFactor
I doubt that this is correct, but maybe I am wrong. Can't seem to find anyone else reporting this issue, so it could just be me.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:40 pm

That's odd, Don. I got the executable version from FileFront, and it installed normally into my existing rFactor directory.

I haven't fired up the mod yet, so I don't know if I'll get any other errors. But the install worked fine.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:02 pm

pk500 wrote:That's odd, Don. I got the executable version from FileFront, and it installed normally into my existing rFactor directory.

I haven't fired up the mod yet, so I don't know if I'll get any other errors. But the install worked fine.

Take care,
PK

PK you got a link to Filefront?

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:36 pm

Looks like the links are down for the minute, or at least the ones on rFactor Central are. Mike Peters has posted there that the low-res downloads were corrupted and missing files, so I assume that's being updated now.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:02 pm

Rodster wrote:
pk500 wrote:That's odd, Don. I got the executable version from FileFront, and it installed normally into my existing rFactor directory.

I haven't fired up the mod yet, so I don't know if I'll get any other errors. But the install worked fine.

Take care,
PK
PK you got a link to Filefront?

Filefront files supposedly were corrupted, so I'm in the midst of uninstalling the mod.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:15 pm

Let us know when you find a good version to download.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:45 pm

Rodster wrote:Let us know when you find a good version to download.

You'll probably find it before me. Packed day today with household chores and kid activities, and I'm heading out tonight to watch the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight with my dad and a bunch of fellas at my brother's house.

Very unlikely I'll touch this before tomorrow night. Sorry.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 4:55 pm

Question did you guys download the .rar version or the self installer?

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 7:59 pm

Rod, the VirtualR link for the hi-res self-installer (at least I think it's the hi-res one) works fine. Can't help with anywhere for low-res, though, but I do have some very early impressions.

There are a tremendous number of skins, all of them well done, so whichever livery is your favourite from the past season, you'll be able to run it. The menu still has the Delta Force theme, which is required these days if I'm to seriously consider an American open-wheel mod.

I haven't had chance to do all that much racing with the AI so I'm not holding myself out to be any kind of authority, but the way Briscoe turned into turn 7 at the Glen as if I wasn't really trying to pass on the inside at all filled me with doubts about the AI's racing capabilities, and a further scramble into Portland's Festival curves didn't really dispel them.

The physics are leaving me somewhat underwhelmed. I can't really comment on ovals since my attempts to race at Indy have been hamstrung by my inability to get further than turn two, but on road courses the somewhat daunting nature of the rFOWR 2007 machines is no more. I recall having more than one leery moment at Surfers on the old mod, and an online race at Silverstone in which the cars felt alive through the quick stuff, and I can't recreate that feeling here. These cars feel somehow inert, and I'm only in danger of losing control on low-grip tracks like the Watkins Glen available on rFactor Central. Perhaps RealFeel improves things. I wouldn't know. Leo's, though, does nothing wrong.

This release puts me in mind of the 2008 BMW Sauber; fast, good fun to drive but not all that difficult to hold on to at speed. I will be putting more time into them, because what's here isn't bad and the attention to detail is very impressive, but I'm only going to drive them again because I owe them more time, not because I'm bursting to get back to them.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 8:13 pm

Thanks Adam that's where I got the hi-res installer from.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:06 am

Has anyone tried the new F1 2006 mod? That thing weighs in at 4.5GB with no tracks, whoa?

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:01 am

I tried both the F1 2006 and Indy mod and I really don't like either, both mods feel too simplistic. I can hold the throttle down and never lift at Indy. I have turned off stability, traction control, ABS and it still feels too arcadey for my taste.

The new F1 2006 (94.5GB) from CTDP is also disappointing as the car has too much grip and you don't have that feeling of driving a monster F1 car. If you compare it to the lovely 2007 F1 BMW mod by ISI there is no comparison. I'll give it a little more time but thank goodness I installed the link to uninstall both mods.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:01 am

Rodster wrote:I tried both the F1 2006 and Indy mod and I really don't like either, both mods feel too simplistic. I can hold the throttle down and never lift at Indy.

That's realistic. You never lift at Indy in the current generation of IndyCar when running alone with a proper setup.

The current generation of IndyCars have a TON of downforce, even at Indy. Too much for a 670-horsepower engine, in my opinion.

Take care,
PK