Racing Sim Thread, Part II

[Rodster]

I didn't like the current Outlaw game, thought the PS2 version was a little better.

[Rodster]

I bought Nascar Days of Thunder on PSN...whew what a stinker, glad it was only $10.

[Gurantsu]

I did too, man what a piece of crap. I read some previews that made it sound OK, but it ain't. Stay away!

[Rodster]

I did too, man what a piece of crap. I read some previews that made it sound OK, but it ain't. Stay away!

Too bad there's no such thing as a refund. I checked for the demo first couldn't find it so I bit just in time for the Daytona 500. I'm a sucker

[Dave]

iRacing free for one month, with all rookie cars and the Skip Barber car:

http://iracing.com/sbrs/

What the hell are you waiting for?

I bit, turns out it runs pretty well on my laptop. Just using an old wired XBox 360 pad to drive, so not an ideal set-up, but I had a lot of fun driving the Skippy around Lime Rock, the MX-5 at Laguna, and the Legends car at Lanier. My split times looked competitive vs. the "optimal" lap, better than I would have guessed--how "optimal" is that measurement?

Anyone going to be online tonight? Not sure I am ready to race, might do the MX-5 time trial if it is still live later tonight.

[DChaps]

I bit, turns out it runs pretty well on my laptop. Just using an old wired XBox 360 pad to drive, so not an ideal set-up, but I had a lot of fun driving the Skippy around Lime Rock, the MX-5 at Laguna, and the Legends car at Lanier. My split times looked competitive vs. the "optimal" lap, better than I would have guessed--how "optimal" is that measurement?

Anyone going to be online tonight? Not sure I am ready to race, might do the MX-5 time trial if it is still live later tonight.

That's great news Dave, someday soon we will have to get a DSP Poker Night going. Did not even realize until a few days later that Paul had tried earlier in the week.

Anyway, I believe the "Optimal" lap is the equivalent of all your best splits put together at once.

[Dave]

Anyway, I believe the "Optimal" lap is the equivalent of all your best splits put together at once.

Ah, that makes sense. Of COURSE I'd be competitive with my own times.

[Rodster]

How does Iracing play with a 360 controller? I hate wheels.

[pk500]

Anyone going to be online tonight? Not sure I am ready to race, might do the MX-5 time trial if it is still live later tonight.

I should be on by 9:30 p.m., if not sooner.

Dave, what's your full name in iRacing so I can add you to my friends list? I should know this. I'm Paul Kelly.

Welcome to iRacing!

[Dave]

How does Iracing play with a 360 controller? I hate wheels.

It is definitely made for wheels--the sawing back-and-forth with the controller can be difficult.

Grab the Skip Barber deal PK posted and give it a try for yourself, it is nice to have a 30-day trial to see if it is something that works well with my set-up and gaming habits.

[WPatrick]

I have subscribed again and am good to go for poker nights.

Turned 41 this year and now have tendonitis in both thumbs. The 360 and ps3 controllers really aggravate it, but I can still operate my dfgt just fine. Anybody else having hand problems from years of game pad use?

[pk500]

Just bad wrists from chronic ambidextrous masturbation here.

[WPatrick]

Well that could be part of my problem too.

[Dave]

I really need to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing on iRacing. Saw you were online PK, but couldn't find a messaging system. Jumped in an MX-5 time trial, got the checkered flag, went to the pits, and found out there was another 15 minute session apparently? Trying to get four absolutely clean laps was a challenge, too many damn sweeping corners at Laguna Seca and I would drop two wheels off into the grass about every third or fourth lap.

[pk500]

I really need to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing on iRacing. Saw you were online PK, but couldn't find a messaging system. Jumped in an MX-5 time trial, got the checkered flag, went to the pits, and found out there was another 15 minute session apparently? Trying to get four absolutely clean laps was a challenge, too many damn sweeping corners at Laguna Seca and I would drop two wheels off into the grass about every third or fourth lap.

Dave:

I don't think there is a messaging system until you're in a race with a friend, when you can use voice or text chat. The Friends list just allows you to find your friends so you can join them in a session.

Sorry, I forgot there was a good boxing card tonight on Showtime, so I peeled off to watch that.

I think you might be biting off more than you can chew tonight with iRacing. Don't worry about the time trials or official races. Jump in a few official practices and pound out the laps. It's the only way you'll get comfortable with the car and the track, and you can run without the fear of making a small mistake and ruining a time trial. Plus you're running in traffic, which is fun.

Or better yet, check the Hosted races and see if anyone is running MX-5's on one of the tracks you have. Jump into that race. No safety rating, no pressure. But still try to be as neat and tidy as possible.

I DESPISE time trials in iRacing. I never do them. It's tedious as hell to run alone, knowing that two tires in the dirt will ruin your lap and time trial. I'd rather practice and run official races or jump into a hosted race. Plus your safety rating jumps only a bit after a successful time trial. You can advance more quickly with a safe, clean official race.

It's supposed to be fun, not a chore!

Good luck.

[Dave]

Yeah, time trials aren't much fun. I did join a few practice sessions and that was very helpful.

Did jump in the deep end and ran a couple Legends races at Lanier. The first one was a f*cking disaster; got collected by someone spinning in front of me on the 5th lap, sped in pit lane, went out the pit entrance, and eventually just parked in the pits and let everyone else have their fun.

The second one went much better, didn't have the pace of the fastest 4-5 cars but kept it almost entirely clean and came home with a 3rd place finish. Just had one guy hit someone else and leave me nowhere to go. At least I hit him square and didn't mess up my handling!

The first 10 laps showed me why you guys rave so much about iRacing--about five of us were running smooth, clean laps while jockeying for position. Awesome time.

[Rodster]

The first 10 laps showed me why you guys rave so much about iRacing--about five of us were running smooth, clean laps while jockeying for position. Awesome time.

Too bad there are so many racing games where people are driving the wrong way, parked on the side of the road waiting to T-Bone you and ruin your race or playing gunner and nailing a pack of cars to cause a chain reaction crash. It sucks that soooo many people turn into 5 year olds when playing racing games online.

[pk500]

The first 10 laps showed me why you guys rave so much about iRacing--about five of us were running smooth, clean laps while jockeying for position. Awesome time.

Too bad there are so many racing games where people are driving the wrong way, parked on the side of the road waiting to T-Bone you and ruin your race or playing gunner and nailing a pack of cars to cause a chain reaction crash. It sucks that soooo many people turn into 5 year olds when playing racing games online.

iRacing isn't one of those games.

[GB_Simo]

I bought Nascar Days of Thunder on PSN...whew what a stinker, glad it was only $10.

Being an XBox 360 owner, I had the luxury of downloading a free trial. It's exactly like Daytona USA, only with worse graphics, rotten handling, crashingly obvious catch-up logic, a total absence of charm and nobody singing "DAY-TOHHHHHHHH-NAAAAAAA!"


Dave, I'm probably a lone voice among the DSP crowd in that I enjoy the iRacing time trials. I've always liked solo hotlapping - well...warmlapping - and the scoring system encourages consistency, which is a major help in the races. You'll get more of the same success you had at Lanier just by keeping out of trouble; I think I've only claimed one win through being the outright fastest man in my group, with my others coming through being somewhere there or thereabouts and taking advantage when the drivers ahead fouled up.

[Rodster]

I forgot it was also on the 360. Oh well live and learn.

[Dave]

Whew, this is fun

Dicing with clean racers through traffic during a Legends race is freaking intense.

[DChaps]

....Dave, I'm probably a lone voice among the DSP crowd in that I enjoy the iRacing time trials. I've always liked solo hotlapping - well...warmlapping - and the scoring system encourages consistency, which is a major help in the races......

Not the only one Adam. I enjoy the time trials too, being that I am the 2010 Season 4 Jetta TDI Cup Series Division 10 Time Trial Champion (at least that's what the certificate says; I think I beat like 3 other people). I just wish there was more stat tracking, ranking, and comparisons, ala GPL Rank.

Dave, another way to get into some racing, without the worry of being 100% practiced and ready to go, is to use the Spectator Ghost feature. This allows you to jump in an official or hosted race, practice, or qualifying session as a ghost car where you can see and race against all the other drivers, but they will not see you and you cannot harm the race. To see a list of available spectator races, go to the Events menu item from the main menu, then select Spectator Sessions. From there you will get a list per series of races, qualifying, and practice sessions that you can join as a spectator. Once you pick a race to Watch, you can choose to just watch the race using the different replays, or you can jump in a car and race (so to speak). The other cool thing about this feature is that you don't have to be of a particular license to race. I own all the iRacing content, but only have a C license. This feature allows me to jump into an Indycar, Formula 1, Sprint Cup, etc. and see how I would hold my own (or not as most likely is the case) against the big boys.

[Naples39]

I need to do some ghost racing. I kind of enjoy time trials too, but I need to get to real racing. I thought I was getting decent at lime rock full in the miata, but i join a practice and everyone blows by me. Kind of afraid to join the races because I'd be so much slower than everyone else and probably just wreck people.

[Gurantsu]

Just be smart and drive clean and you'll be fine racing with faster drivers, that's what the safety rating is all about (how else could I be on the verge of an A class road license?) The speed will come. I always learn more and end up faster by racing with other drivers.

[Dave]

Man, I continue to be impressed by the quality of racing on iRacing, even running the Legends at South Boston. Managed to avoid hitting anyone or anything on my way to a 4th place finish. Was probably the 6th fastest car but kept it consistent and worked the traffic pretty well.

Having a blast, looking forward to running the MX-5 at Lime Rock later tonight in some practice and time trial sessions.