Becoming better at racing games.

[Ray]

I got pretty good at Need For Speed: Porsche years ago playing with a keyboard. It wasn't as fun as a controller or a wheel, but that's all I had. I race only to beat my friends and family, so far only one can consistently hang with me and I usually beat hit about 70-80% of the time. It's all in good fun for me though, I don't really like to compete with 'online' scores because I know they either cheat, don't have a job, or are foulmouthed 14 year olds.

[Giblet]

I got pretty good at Need For Speed: Porsche years ago playing with a keyboard. It wasn't as fun as a controller or a wheel, but that's all I had. I race only to beat my friends and family, so far only one can consistently hang with me and I usually beat hit about 70-80% of the time. It's all in good fun for me though, I don't really like to compete with 'online' scores because I know they either cheat, don't have a job, or are foulmouthed 14 year olds.

But I must say, that when you get a time that is 250th out of 60,000, and all the replays you watch have cheaters in them, it makes me feel very quick.

My greatest moment in a PGR4 race was when I was in a 50's Maserati 250F, and was able to beat a Zonda, Enzo, Caparo T1, etc. Why? Cuz it was raining I was accused of cheating, and I just told them "Watch the replay, and you'll see"

Some people are slower, and still cheat, and beating them feels better than being 1st with cheating.

I think a game like PGR4 is really good, as there is no setup to worry about. You are forced to drive around the cars, not try to make them bend to your whim. If I lose in Forza I'm never sure if I lost or my setup lost.

[pjobmathew]

i use the logitech momo


cost me $102 but i think its been worth it .
you really enjoy playing games like gtr evolution.
while i was about to purchase it i saw a lot of people complaining about the gear on the net but i have not encountered any such problems yet.

[CMSMJ1]

Oh yeah... you guys ned to get old skool and get Grand Prix Legends...

I am sure you all know of it, tried it, got bored and left it behind

It is the law, IMO, in making you try properly and racing correctly.

Throttle control - this is the game where you struggle to get around a lap 'til you get some tyre temps and understand that 400+ bhp in a 500KG car with no downforce is sketchy.

I have raced this game since 1999 - I raced online in a league for several years.

In my hundreds of races I managed 7 wins! I can tell you it took me7 or 8 years to manage to string together the consistency for a win. I was so chuffed you would not believe!

Raced rFactor..GTR 1 and 2 and also Netkar - they are all good..but do not have the same immersion as GPL.

@ the OP - classic racing skills - brake to the turn in point, turn in, get on the throttle and drive. Better to be slow in and fast out than vice versa.

Also better to be 1sec of the pace for 20 laps than on the ragged edge for 19 and then spin or make a mistake.

[Jersey Tom]

If you want immersion, and a GOOD racing sim, I recommend iRacing.

[Flar]

If you cannot manage the driving part, you can also have fun with a game were you do not do the driving, but only the management part of it, including serious tuning.

I have enjoyed over a long time a game called Formulawan (http://www.formulawan.com for the English version; http://www.formulawan.fr?ref=arnor in french but with a fuller server).

You cannot do a Flavio, but it is a nice game that can be played in 5 minutes a day, or bring you to some serious compution for optimizing your cars.

[szlaszlo84]

I also recommend to you guys - if you are a PC racer - to try Live for Speed. Its modeling of driving physics is extremely close to reality. It has many fictional and a few real cars and the first time you will probably be wondering how the heck guys are so fast. But with sufficient practice and tuning you can be up there.

It may sound funny but I actually found that a great part of my understanding of real driving behaviour came from this game (it has been around for a while now).

Some parts of the game are rather underdeveloped (mostly related to crashing), but the community is fairly nicely controlled and I don't think I have seen very much cheating in the game.

[PlatinumZealot]

Gran Turismo 3 or 4.. then concentrate on getting gold in all the Licenses! Guaranteed to drive like Schumacher after that feat!

[pjobmathew]

Does any one have a patch to make Grand Prix Legends run on XP

[andartop]

Practice makes perfect. And now you can practice anytime, anywhere: Gran Turismo is out on the PSP! I know, I know, it's not as pure as some other PC or home console titles, but gentlemen you really need to check it out, it's awesome for a portable, dare I even say better than GT4 on the PS2 handling wise and very damn close in graphics and framerate. Yes, that good. It's got 800 cars, 35 tracks, it's got the Nordschleife, Le Mans, Suzuka, it's got Ferraris and Lamborghinis, the Veyron and R8, drifting challenges and 4 player ad hoc mode.. It's even Nelson Piquet race spoiler proof as it still has no damage!!!

[modbaraban]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16yBHv4i5oM&fmt=[/youtube]
Guys you have to check this out. I'm a regular rFactor driver and believe me this ^^ is seriously hard to achieve with some of the cars featured

Here's another nice video. An attempt to beat the real ZR1 Nordschleife time with a simulated (in development) version by Niels at home, the author of Corvette C6 and Toyota Supra modding masterpieces.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a5d4r4eVWc&fmt=[/youtube]

Raced rFactor..GTR 1 and 2 and also Netkar - they are all good..but do not have the same immersion as GPL.

IMO, to get immersion in sims you need 3 things most of all: the right hardware; a simulated car with good sounds and physics; an accurately simulated track.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUNhek_CvDk&fmt=[/youtube]
isn't that immersive enough?

Does any one have a patch to make Grand Prix Legends run on XP

http://eaglewoman.rscsites.org/gpl/faq-xp.htm

[jddh1]

Hey, did you get a chance to read this article on the BBC site?


What do you think of this? I think it's cool. And you could possibly run cycling, skiing and so on with this technology.

Gamers could be joining in a real televised sporting event from their homes early in 2010.

Real Time Race has been developing a system that places players side-by-side with the drivers in real races.

The firm's technology would map the circuit just before the race so the virtual track would match up to the one on TV.

The video recording of the track would then be manipulated by the gamer during live coverage.

This data would then be streamed to the player's computer or straight to a television via the internet.

"We can put you in your own car, within real TV coverage of a real race, and in real time against the professionals," said Chris Leigh, the company's head.

[Giblet]

I have been thrashing around at iracing for the last couple of weeks. I really like it, but need to go get a wheel, as the 360 controller is quite good, but I get too many twitches from over corrections you don't get from a wheel.

I don't know quite what you define as immersion, and I don't understand why GPL had it compared to say iRacing or rFactor.

Don't get me wrong, I loved GPL, and raced in a couple leagues, but the lack of any weather what so ever, made it less "immersive" than other sims of the era, like GP4.

Always sunny Spa. Yeah right

@jdhh1 they have been taking this up, esepcially for NASCAR, for years. Since the internet was turned on.

WOuld be curious how they deal in milliseconds of lag, in a sport where milliseconds and tenths are everything.

[Giblet]

Practice makes perfect. And now you can practice anytime, anywhere: Gran Turismo is out on the PSP! I know, I know, it's not as pure as some other PC or home console titles, but gentlemen you really need to check it out, it's awesome for a portable, dare I even say better than GT4 on the PS2 handling wise and very damn close in graphics and framerate. Yes, that good. It's got 800 cars, 35 tracks, it's got the Nordschleife, Le Mans, Suzuka, it's got Ferraris and Lamborghinis, the Veyron and R8, drifting challenges and 4 player ad hoc mode.. It's even Nelson Piquet race spoiler proof as it still has no damage!!!

If throttle is a button, it is a game.

If throttle is analogue, it can be a sim.

I bought a PSP when Gt4-Mobile was coming out, as Sony said on their website, that GT was coming out "soon" for the PSP. I bought the PSP based on this fact, with some instant must have it gadget lust thrown in for good measure.

So I ditched the Sony empire for the Microsoft one. Really enjoyed Forza 1 and 2, for "console simming" and PGR4 for "race gaming".,

Sony dropped the ball with PSP, and continue the art of making great systems with a sub par game collection the norm.

[Giblet]

For the sim fans:

iRacing is very addicting.

I have been playing around for two weeks with it, and have finally started stringing together consistent lap times.

My heart is slowly falling from 200bpm, as I just got my first podium (3rd) in a 20 odd car race!!! It was on the Lowe's infield course.

The Ford SpecRracer is a fun little monster to drive. Was having trouble with until I softened up the front bar and made the back firm. Prior to that it was pushing like crazy.

It's actually very playable with the xbox 360 controller, if you are into that kind of thing.