Like many PHers this winter break, I've been playing more than my fair share of computer games. Some call it the plague of our generation; thousands of our valuable man hours are poured into something which can never really "pay back".
Real v game similarities uncanny; see the vid!
But when did that ever stop us pursuing our hobbies?
And while I do enjoy the occasional running/shooting/looting type game, the multiplayer conversation is hardly high-brow. Seven-year-olds screaming words they shouldn't rightly know, while virtually perforating your avatar's skull with a variety of weapons?
No, the biggest drain of my evening hours this winter has been the latest incarnation of the world-famous Gran Turismo franchise. Launched at Ascari last year, GT6 is the PS3's premier automotive title and claims to bring simulator-like detail to the masses.
About the same time that I was placing my pre-order last year, I was lucky enough to be contesting the final round of the VLN championship in the Toyota Swiss Racing GT86. We won our class, for the second race running, and finished the season on a high.
Lap times are very close between the two
And when I finally unwrapped Gran Turismo 6 and started playing, I found the same car ready to drive in the game. Well, the comparison just had to be done. Importantly, I don't really play with the standard controller. There's no point using the word 'simulation' if you're going to use your fingers and thumbs to control a whole car. I use a reasonably high-end steering wheel and pedal set: the Thrustmaster (stop laughing at the back) T500RS.
The first conclusion you can draw from my video below is that the representation of the Nurburgring in the latest version is uncannily accurate. Track widths, lengths and corner radii are totally perfect. The lap times match to within moments. Both the real lap and the virtual lap were actually my second flying lap in the car ever.
I've had the pleasure of inspecting world-class simulators that cost thousands of euros per hour, and they don't even come close to the accuracy of GT6s track maps. You can drive the Nurburgring in its F1 guise, just the Nordschleife, or the VLN and 24-hour configurations, and they're all close to perfect.
Committed in both versions!
might agree
, it's not all sweetness and light. The biggest differences I think are now the almost insurmountable ones - the feeling of pushing a car is so much more than a resistance in a steering wheel. The g-forces pull at your body, your vision is assaulted by vibrations and motions that would inflict nausea in isolation. The brake pedal is something else that nobody really tries to emulate. In my real-life race, the ABS failed and the rear balance was way too high. Why not emulate the buzz of ABS, the sudden stiffness of the pedal, the fading resistance of over-heating brake fluid?
The only conclusion to draw from the video is that while games are getting closer to reality, there's still a big dark chasm for them to cross before the dream of virtual reality becomes indistinguishable from the actual sport we all so much enjoy.
Until then, as my wife will gladly tell me at any given time, we're all just wasting our time. And I love it.