Best PC Racing Simulator
Discussion
is Rfactor still the daddy or is there something better these days
how does LFS rank and whats the latest in the GTR Series...
Im more interested in somthing that I can get all the UK circuits for, and will support the G25 with clutch etc.
I've been demoing our racing system ( frame for seat,pedals, pc, screen etc) using ps3+g25 ( grid seems the best on ps3 NFS-shift is ok but circuits are a bit gamey) and xbox+crap xbox wheel ( really disapointed with forza3 so far), but I want to build a 3 screen prototype thats more simulation and PC based..
The next problem is a new dedicated PC to run it !!!
cheers
Graham
how does LFS rank and whats the latest in the GTR Series...
Im more interested in somthing that I can get all the UK circuits for, and will support the G25 with clutch etc.
I've been demoing our racing system ( frame for seat,pedals, pc, screen etc) using ps3+g25 ( grid seems the best on ps3 NFS-shift is ok but circuits are a bit gamey) and xbox+crap xbox wheel ( really disapointed with forza3 so far), but I want to build a 3 screen prototype thats more simulation and PC based..
The next problem is a new dedicated PC to run it !!!
cheers
Graham
I'm noting you said *simulator*, not *game*
iRacing is by far the best IMO - but only Brands Hatch and Silverstone in the UK so far (Oulton Park announced for later in the year).
LFS is very good - no UK circuits but Rockingham (laser scanned) is in development.
Otherwise its rFactor - but tbh its a pain to manage the addons, there are a few annoying quirks (FFB in the opposite direction in some cars to others...). but you can get a version of nigh on every track in the country....a lot are not very good though...
And we return to realism; iRacings rendition of Silverstone and Brands is nothing short of incredible - and using it has made me a better RL race driver.
iRacing is by far the best IMO - but only Brands Hatch and Silverstone in the UK so far (Oulton Park announced for later in the year).
LFS is very good - no UK circuits but Rockingham (laser scanned) is in development.
Otherwise its rFactor - but tbh its a pain to manage the addons, there are a few annoying quirks (FFB in the opposite direction in some cars to others...). but you can get a version of nigh on every track in the country....a lot are not very good though...
And we return to realism; iRacings rendition of Silverstone and Brands is nothing short of incredible - and using it has made me a better RL race driver.
shivars said:
I'm noting you said *simulator*, not *game*
iRacing is by far the best IMO - but only Brands Hatch and Silverstone in the UK so far (Oulton Park announced for later in the year).
LFS is very good - no UK circuits but Rockingham (laser scanned) is in development.
Otherwise its rFactor - but tbh its a pain to manage the addons, there are a few annoying quirks (FFB in the opposite direction in some cars to others...). but you can get a version of nigh on every track in the country....a lot are not very good though...
And we return to realism; iRacings rendition of Silverstone and Brands is nothing short of incredible - and using it has made me a better RL race driver.
Agree with the above:iRacing is by far the best IMO - but only Brands Hatch and Silverstone in the UK so far (Oulton Park announced for later in the year).
LFS is very good - no UK circuits but Rockingham (laser scanned) is in development.
Otherwise its rFactor - but tbh its a pain to manage the addons, there are a few annoying quirks (FFB in the opposite direction in some cars to others...). but you can get a version of nigh on every track in the country....a lot are not very good though...
And we return to realism; iRacings rendition of Silverstone and Brands is nothing short of incredible - and using it has made me a better RL race driver.
1, iRacing (albiet can be expensive)
2, LFS (best option in my opinion but no UK circuits yet)
3, NetKar Pro (dodgy development but great physics and some tracks you can download)
+1 for iRacing here
http://www.virtualr.net/iracing-com-brands-hatch-r...
Problem is no game has really done many UK tracks in years since the original TOCA games, even the mod tracks in rFactor tend to be based off the meshes from them with updated textures.
http://www.virtualr.net/iracing-com-brands-hatch-r...
Problem is no game has really done many UK tracks in years since the original TOCA games, even the mod tracks in rFactor tend to be based off the meshes from them with updated textures.
My favourites are the Simbin series, GTR2/EVO and GT legends etc. Some of the rFactor mods are brilliant, but others aren't so good, but in general for single seaters rFactor is the best IME.
Haven't tried iRacing as it's expensive and has limited cars and tracks.
Played demos of Netkar Pro and LFS, liked them, but they didn't seem very polished (Netkar in particular).
Haven't tried iRacing as it's expensive and has limited cars and tracks.
Played demos of Netkar Pro and LFS, liked them, but they didn't seem very polished (Netkar in particular).
Five current F1 teams use rFactor Pro in their simulators.
http://www.virtualr.net/monaco-in-red-bulls-rfacto...
http://www.virtualr.net/monaco-in-red-bulls-rfacto...
Hi Graham,
Here in the UK there is a hardware company that markets a complete training solution, including laser scanned tracks and did run nkpro as the software platform, which retails for a few grand per year on an annual licence. Here's the pack they sell (high end force feedback wheel, software, support etc) http://www.brdsim.com/download/pro-mt&pedals.p... Contact these guys, and ask about the software only http://www.brdsim.com/
rfactor pro isnt a consumer piece of software. The F1 teams that run it run it in tandem with several other systems (including the real F1 ECUs).
iRacing is great and also has laser scanned tracks, and contains Brands, Silverstone (pre 2010 layout though at the moment), and oulton park is coming.
iracing is pretty simple to set up for 3 screens, each at a different view angle, and has a calculator built into the gfx setup to allow you to draw a 1:1 ratio full sized image (you enter the size of the screens, angles, distance from you and it works out the FOV), which is great if you go big with your screens. As far as consumer simulation software goes, its pretty user friendly. Check out "iracing 3 screen" on youtube for some examples.
Laser scanning has lived up to the hype, "regular" tracks will feel dull in comparison imo. I've read a post by one of the Williams F1 Simulator (Jimmy123 over at GTPLANET) guys who discusses just why Laser Scanned tracks are so important to simulation.
The link to the thread is here : http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=115...
An excerpt :
So you have a track, and the grip seems to vary around the lap ... but why? If you're writing a game and the car goes unrealistically fast through one corner, you say to yourself "Well, it's probably to do with the asphalt in that corner, so we'll take a few percent off the grip level". An -hey presto- the car goes at the right speed through the corner, and everyone thinks they've done a good job.
This is exactly what we had with one circuit that wasn't laser-scanned, and we reduced the grip in one specific corner. Then along came the laser-scan, which (to look at) wasn't different from the original ... but suddenly the correlation was excellent without the need for reduced grip. The reason was that the bumps in the surface were causing load fluctuations at the contact patch, and this causes grip to drop (which is why you want as much damping on your car as you can get).
Now we start to see the difference between a game and a simulation. In the game, the car will always lose grip in that corner, because the grip-loss is built into the circuit. But in the simulation, it might be possible to fit the car with better dampers, and reduce the load fluctuations, and go through the corner faster. If you're just using your sim for circuit-learning then the game will probably be OK, and the lap-times will be about right, as will the top speed, apex speeds etc. But if you want to do any serious engineering work, you need to have a simulation that not only gives the correct results, but gives them for the correct physical reason ... so that if you modify your car, its performance will vary in a realistic way.
Here in the UK there is a hardware company that markets a complete training solution, including laser scanned tracks and did run nkpro as the software platform, which retails for a few grand per year on an annual licence. Here's the pack they sell (high end force feedback wheel, software, support etc) http://www.brdsim.com/download/pro-mt&pedals.p... Contact these guys, and ask about the software only http://www.brdsim.com/
rfactor pro isnt a consumer piece of software. The F1 teams that run it run it in tandem with several other systems (including the real F1 ECUs).
iRacing is great and also has laser scanned tracks, and contains Brands, Silverstone (pre 2010 layout though at the moment), and oulton park is coming.
iracing is pretty simple to set up for 3 screens, each at a different view angle, and has a calculator built into the gfx setup to allow you to draw a 1:1 ratio full sized image (you enter the size of the screens, angles, distance from you and it works out the FOV), which is great if you go big with your screens. As far as consumer simulation software goes, its pretty user friendly. Check out "iracing 3 screen" on youtube for some examples.
Laser scanning has lived up to the hype, "regular" tracks will feel dull in comparison imo. I've read a post by one of the Williams F1 Simulator (Jimmy123 over at GTPLANET) guys who discusses just why Laser Scanned tracks are so important to simulation.
The link to the thread is here : http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=115...
An excerpt :
So you have a track, and the grip seems to vary around the lap ... but why? If you're writing a game and the car goes unrealistically fast through one corner, you say to yourself "Well, it's probably to do with the asphalt in that corner, so we'll take a few percent off the grip level". An -hey presto- the car goes at the right speed through the corner, and everyone thinks they've done a good job.
This is exactly what we had with one circuit that wasn't laser-scanned, and we reduced the grip in one specific corner. Then along came the laser-scan, which (to look at) wasn't different from the original ... but suddenly the correlation was excellent without the need for reduced grip. The reason was that the bumps in the surface were causing load fluctuations at the contact patch, and this causes grip to drop (which is why you want as much damping on your car as you can get).
Now we start to see the difference between a game and a simulation. In the game, the car will always lose grip in that corner, because the grip-loss is built into the circuit. But in the simulation, it might be possible to fit the car with better dampers, and reduce the load fluctuations, and go through the corner faster. If you're just using your sim for circuit-learning then the game will probably be OK, and the lap-times will be about right, as will the top speed, apex speeds etc. But if you want to do any serious engineering work, you need to have a simulation that not only gives the correct results, but gives them for the correct physical reason ... so that if you modify your car, its performance will vary in a realistic way.
Edited by alexpez on Wednesday 9th June 11:44
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