Most liked posts in thread: Sim racing: PC, PS3, XBox, Wii

  1. am0eba

    am0eba New Member

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    Hm. Forza 3 and 4 definitely not cartoony in any way. Looking real good on the big plasma TV. Maybe you tried Forza 2 or Project Gotham Racing or sumpin like that.

    Anyway, I'd be interested in hearing more about the F1 titles.

    And GT5 UPDATE: Spec 2 is live. Log in to GT5 and get yer update - took about 20 mins over FIOS at midnight last night - big!

    Full support of Logitech G25 and G27 wheels now, and Endurance races just got doable: in-game save and load for these, so you can pause and pick it up later.

    DLC is coming next week: Spa Francorchamps (finally) and a night-time fantasy neon go-kart track, plus some new cars.

    Too much all at once.

    _Dave_
     
  2. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    Mine is sitting in my Amazon cart right now.....lol
     
  3. goaljnky

    goaljnky New Member

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    Just paid for mine. The wife wanted the collector's edition with the DLC cars and the book. While I was at it picked up the preorder of the F1 2010. And while still at it threw the Evolution Racing seat in there. The Logitech G25 has been sitting in the closet for a while. w00t!!!
     
  4. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    Wow.....nice set-up. I'm jealous. I need to come up with my ghetto G27 wheel stand design soon.

    Are you into online simracing on the PC at all?

    Maybe need a new thread?
     
  5. goaljnky

    goaljnky New Member

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    I haven't done any PC racing in a very long time. Don't really have the equipment for it anymore. Barely have a Windows machine at all. Just something that runs my iTunes library, archives my emails and runs some miscellaneous scrpts for some of the servers.

    I tried running RFactor on it a while back and found it seriously wanting in just about every aspect. I have no desire to build a gaming box, since my PS3 looks just fine on my 58" plasma. Maybe if the new 12 core Mac Pro happens to fall down my chimney this year I might virtualize a Windows instance and give it another shot.
     
  6. am0eba

    am0eba New Member

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    I too, have Amazon pre-orders of GT5 and F1 2010. And a Logitech G25 wheel, and a Playseat setup. All I need now is a big TV and a place to use 'em without having my 2 year old son climbing in my lap and yanking the wheel out of my hands... And some time!

    Have been doing iRacing on the PC for a little while now, and like it a lot! (Using my MacBook Pro running a very small Bootcamp WinXP partition) - the PC requirements are not too demanding. Most important element seems to be a decent broadband connection, and we got FIOS when we moved.

    Should definitely be a section for sim-racing here, maybe under off-topic...

    _Dave_
     
  7. goaljnky

    goaljnky New Member

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    Have I said that I hate you? As I hate anyone that is able to get FIOS? That goes for Nate, too. I am in a U-Verse neighborhood. And even though they just put in the VRAD a block away and i actually talked to the guy as he was turning it on, no one at AT&T seems to know anything about it.

    P.S. Just left a message with their engineering department. Gonna try the squeaky wheel approach.
     
  8. goaljnky

    goaljnky New Member

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    Has anyone tried the Ferrari Challenge? I had it for the Wii and loved it. Tons of all kinds of Ferraris, old and new, with a lot of good tracks. US and European based. As a matter of fact I liked it so much on the Wii that I bought a copy for the PS3 so I can use it with a proper wheel. Going to have to play that again while I wait for the other two.
     
  9. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    Can't wait for GT5--just can't figure out which edition to preorder. I have the G25 and evo seat; definitely a nice combo.

    The go-karting feature will be a VERY cool addition. Not to mention damage, light/weather change, etc. Plus, you're going to be able to set up lobbies just for friends to race, no punters--maybe a Motoring Alliance group will be in order. Could do some MINI only races, and whatever other car brand floats everyones boat.

    Looks like full install takes 10GB of space, although you don't have to do that. Not sure how much a partial install takes up, and wether there is any speed difference between partial and full (there definitely will be if you don't do any install and play off the disc).

    If I had a PC, and more time, I'd go iRacing. GT5 is going to be great--but iRacing looks to be top dog; on the other hand, iRacing appears to be more labor intensive with the leagues and what not, from what I've read you do have to be able to set a scheduled time aside time for it, at least to race live.
     
  10. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    Assuming one has no console and the PC area is not all conducive to housing a steering wheel and pedals where does one get started?

    PS3? X-Box? Wii?

    And then which model in that range?

    What are the must have accessories assuming this is mostly going to be used for race sims.
     
  11. Johngo

    Johngo New Member
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    Forza 3 on the 360 is excellent. The GT franchise on PS3 is supposed to be excellent, but have no first-hand knowledge.

    iRacing is pretty cool on a PC, also. A buddy of mine just set up a 3 x 24" monitor station at his place to run this. It helps being able to watch your apex points coming into the turns... They never leave the football field of monitors. :D
     
  12. goaljnky

    goaljnky New Member

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    If you are going to do race sims a wheel is a must. So far I've been using the PS3 controller about 90% of the time mostly due to being lazy and not wanting to drag the wheel out and set it up. But the precision needed for better times is not there. The steering, brake and gas are very much an on/off with that set up. Much easier to hit your marks with the wheel. But that brings up the point that if you do have the wheel, you will need a comfortable sitting position to use it. I've been mounting it to my coffee table and sitting on the couch. Very uncomfortable.

    Way back in the day I used to use a Microsoft flight joystick for my sim racing on the PC. They were easy to calibrate, had tons of buttons I could program and worked really well. Wasn't really a "driving experience", but my times were good.
     
  13. goaljnky

    goaljnky New Member

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    Nate found this:

    o b u t t o - home

    Good price on a nice set up if you have the room and can leave it up.
     
  14. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    #14 cct1, Sep 3, 2010
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2010
    Nate--hardcore, full on racing: iRacing looks to be king.

    If you want something that's probably a step down, GT5 is the way to go--which means a PS3. And goaljnky is right--a wheel is a must, and a chair/wheel combo is even better. I gold medaled all the challenges, but I couldn't do it until I got the wheel. Huge difference (you can always tell who is using a wheel and who is using a controller--the wheel users turn in arcs, the controller users in a series of straight lines). That obutto setup looks sweet, but three screens gets pricey. On mine, the pedals and wheel attach to the seat, but no screen is attached. Nice thing is it folds up. Other thing is you can get a seat/wheel combo for a nice discount it you're in the market for both.

    I bought the PS3 for GT5--just didn't realize it would take 5 years for it to come out! Although GT5 Prologue was a pretty good game. Forza is good too (I've played it, but not on a wheel), but from everything I've seen, it looks like GT5 will be a notch better. With go-karts, WRC, even Nascar, as well as 1000 cars available, there's a pretty good chance I won't be buying anymore PS3 games for awhile (my kids are another issue).

    If you're not in a hurry, give them both a try and then decide. I'm more partial to the PS3than the XBOX, but the XBOX has its fans too. Just make sure you get a the BIG hardrive version; you'll need the space with these new games.
     
  15. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    Quick informal poll...

    Is there interest in creating a PS3 GT5 based race series here on M/A?

    We can work out the details if enough are interested...

    Reply to the this thread if interested...
     
  16. am0eba

    am0eba New Member

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    Definitely interested! :Thumbsup:

    _Dave_
     
  17. am0eba

    am0eba New Member

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    @ cct1: I had the same impressions about iRacing and having to adapt my schedule, but actually, there's a lot of activity in practice sessions that happen all the time, and in "hosted sessions" where individual members set up a track/car combo, pick a time, and decide whether to let in just friends, or all the riff-raff... Downside of the hosted sessions is it costs $3 for the person hosting the session. Upside is it's free to everyone else (as long as they have purchased licenses for the track and car(s) in the session. Several members of SoCal MINI Manics have been having informal hosted sessions on a very irregular basis for a few months now, and they've been lots of fun. I'll try to post here the next time we do one if anyone's interested.

    Also, the iRacing series for lower-skill drivers usually run on a pretty frequent basis. In the Rookie Class, you can participate in an official race any day of the week on an hourly basis. Higher skill level series run less frequently. Big event races usually only run on a weekend, but have lots of practice and qualifying sessions throughout the week leading up.

    iRacing has a very different feel than other "sims" because each driver has to use their real name, and everything you do in an official event becomes part of your record. You move up through the skill levels by demonstrating that you can race safely without crashing into other cars or running off the track. Each incident of car contact, etc. is scored using a weighted system that results in your safety rating being incremented or decremented. I manged to get out of the Rookie Class pretty quickly, but have been watching my safety rating in the next level swooping up and down like some kind of demented EKG! (If your safety rating drops too low, you get booted down to the next lower skill level again, and are not allowed to participate in higher level races - i.e., with cooler cars)

    Anyway, didn't mean to hijack this very worthwhile topic, but wanted to clarify a little about iRacing with my own personal experiences.

    Very excited about GT5, and happy to hear about the private online racing capability.

    _Dave_
     
  18. goaljnky

    goaljnky New Member

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    I would be in for GT5 league if schedules can be worked out. I tested it out in Prologue and wasn't too thrilled with it, but I will give it another shot.
     
  19. cct1

    cct1 Well-Known Member
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    The problem with GT5P is getting a good race with clean racers. If you can't, it's so frustrating, it's better off to switch tracks or even hang it up for the night. On the other hand, if you get in with a good group, it can be an addicting blast. A MA group would (hopefully) run on the honor system--no punting (damage may fix this though), no cheating (ie shortcuts through the grass, which hopefully will be a penalty anyway in GT5. 'Course we could have an old fashioned demolition derby at Daytona at 200+ MPH every now and then, just for fun....

    Dave--thanks for that about iRacing. Might give it a shot during the winter. I've heard/read nothing but great things about it (and it looks like a number of pro drivers race in it--just read an article about DEJ and iRacing); my main concern was not being able to race when I wanted to. Hot laps by yourself are still fun, but its the hand to hand combat that really sell it. If there are open track times with other cars on the track, that changes things--that'd be a blast wether it was a true race or not. The cars they run (at least the slower ones) really appeal to me--the Miata's and what not. The higher HP stuff wouldn't be as high on the list, but if I ever got the skill level up enough, still might be fun.

    I saw an article where a guy who won one of the Miata Leagues actually got put into a real Miata by Iracing to run some real Spec Miata races. Very cool reward!
     
  20. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    :Thumbsup:

    :D