Best Driving Simulator?
Discussion
Hi all,
Growing up I used to love playing Gran Turismo 1, 2, 3 and 4, due to the handling realism, the progressively better graphics and most importantly the authenticity of the engine note. The Zonda C12s, for example on Gran Turismo 3 really did sound like the real thing.
However, having had a look at Gran Turismo 5 and the new Gran Turismo Sport, the cars sound nothing like they do in real life and are therefore this is a huge disappointment to me. Surely a driving simulator should simulate the sound of the engine as it sounds in real life and not sound like a vacuum cleaner?
The latest Gran Turismo games just sound bloody awful.
I'm contemplating an XBOX X or a PS4, with the sole focus of getting the best driving simulator out there; any suggestions?
Thanks!
Growing up I used to love playing Gran Turismo 1, 2, 3 and 4, due to the handling realism, the progressively better graphics and most importantly the authenticity of the engine note. The Zonda C12s, for example on Gran Turismo 3 really did sound like the real thing.
However, having had a look at Gran Turismo 5 and the new Gran Turismo Sport, the cars sound nothing like they do in real life and are therefore this is a huge disappointment to me. Surely a driving simulator should simulate the sound of the engine as it sounds in real life and not sound like a vacuum cleaner?
The latest Gran Turismo games just sound bloody awful.
I'm contemplating an XBOX X or a PS4, with the sole focus of getting the best driving simulator out there; any suggestions?
Thanks!
I too was into the original GTs on the Playstations, enjoying them for their realism. However, they're referred to as simcades these days - being more realistic than arcades but actually still quite arcadey. This is really noticeable when you play Assetto Corsa. I've heard a few reviewers say this on YT. However, for a sim, they do recommend AC over the others as it's realistic enough but not beyond realistic ie too difficult to drive (I forget which game was considered unrealistic because it was too difficult).
Mothersruin said:
RaceRoom Racing Experience has some great cars and excellent collision physics that allow for some cracking racing.
I also like AC but bored by all the road cars that are rubbish on track.
The irony being the road cars are least well simulated and also there are few genuinely realistic roads in the game.I also like AC but bored by all the road cars that are rubbish on track.
It's ok but imo if the OP enjoyed GT123 etc, then AC will be a let down.
Imo GT5 was pretty good!
Assetto Corsa or Project Cars 2, both are excellent. If you want realism get an oculus rift on PC, best thing to happen in sim racing in a decade, just awesome even if the resolution isn’t the best.
I got myself GTS in the Christmas sale but haven’t played it yet as I can’t tear myself away from the PC, board games and the usual turkey/alcohol fuelled festivities...
I got myself GTS in the Christmas sale but haven’t played it yet as I can’t tear myself away from the PC, board games and the usual turkey/alcohol fuelled festivities...
Edited by born2bslow on Friday 29th December 06:26
Assetto Corsa or Project Cars 2, both are excellent. If you want realism get an oculus rift on PC, best thing to happen in sim racing in a decade, just awesome even if the resolution isn’t the best.
I got myself GTS in the Christmas sale but haven’t played it yet as I can’t tear myself away from the PC, board games and the usual turkey/alcohol fuelled festivities...
I got myself GTS in the Christmas sale but haven’t played it yet as I can’t tear myself away from the PC, board games and the usual turkey/alcohol fuelled festivities...
Edited by born2bslow on Friday 29th December 09:36
Nutty9000 said:
Hi all,
However, having had a look at Gran Turismo 5 and the new Gran Turismo Sport, the cars sound nothing like they do in real life and are therefore this is a huge disappointment to me. Surely a driving simulator should simulate the sound of the engine as it sounds in real life and not sound like a vacuum cleaner?
The latest Gran Turismo games just sound bloody awful.
I'm contemplating an XBOX X or a PS4, with the sole focus of getting the best driving simulator out there; any suggestions?
Thanks!
GT5 I can agree, but GT sport is a massive improvement in sound. Perfect ? nope, but none of them are.However, having had a look at Gran Turismo 5 and the new Gran Turismo Sport, the cars sound nothing like they do in real life and are therefore this is a huge disappointment to me. Surely a driving simulator should simulate the sound of the engine as it sounds in real life and not sound like a vacuum cleaner?
The latest Gran Turismo games just sound bloody awful.
I'm contemplating an XBOX X or a PS4, with the sole focus of getting the best driving simulator out there; any suggestions?
Thanks!
For example
https://youtu.be/FDPcyOQwoN8
https://youtu.be/lYS2dbulEXU
https://youtu.be/7agkYTTq5dc vs https://youtu.be/FRe3AxKOfzs
AMG GT https://youtu.be/9cdrgne_qys?t=2m8s and actual footage https://youtu.be/nqmvMIZCkZ4
From what I read project cars 2 still has a stack of bugs and odd stuff going on, GTS isn't perfect but from the get go its been better.
I'd go with AC over project cars, GTS is more accessible than both and future DLC is free.
If you want a "sim" experience you are wasting your time with consoles imho, you need to go the PC route with iRacing or similar.
Various sounds for the latest (free) AC DLC.
Oh, one thing about AC that I like - free third party DLCs: http://assettocorsa.club/en/
Oh, one thing about AC that I like - free third party DLCs: http://assettocorsa.club/en/
Edited by Hoofy on Friday 29th December 11:09
Since playing an early access PC game off steam, I literally can’t play any console racing games. It’s called Beamng Drive and it’s a “soft body physics simulator”. It has had the undesirable side effect of making every other driving game feel like Outrun from 1986. The technical aspect is a bit beyond me but all I know is it is incredibly accurate modelling, handling and crashing. Needs a bit of a beast to run nicely though.
iRacing is for when you hate fun and want to grind your heart (and wallet) out to a really mediocre position on a grid.
Assetto Corsa is for when you want a really good representation of what a car feels like.
(I still cant get over how they dialled in both the Exige and F430 - they're astonishingly close to the real thing. But the Exige became frustrating for me when shifting through the gears. As it's manual only, and I'm using a Playseat, I cant twist my feet around the central post to depress the clutch. And the damn game is so accurate the tiny drop in revs using the paddle shift causes some awful weight transfer and makes driving on the limit really frustrating)
Project Cars 2 is when you want something sim enough to feel like you're doing it for real, but friendly enough to make you feel like you're good at it.
Assetto Corsa is for when you want a really good representation of what a car feels like.
(I still cant get over how they dialled in both the Exige and F430 - they're astonishingly close to the real thing. But the Exige became frustrating for me when shifting through the gears. As it's manual only, and I'm using a Playseat, I cant twist my feet around the central post to depress the clutch. And the damn game is so accurate the tiny drop in revs using the paddle shift causes some awful weight transfer and makes driving on the limit really frustrating)
Project Cars 2 is when you want something sim enough to feel like you're doing it for real, but friendly enough to make you feel like you're good at it.
I have them all pretty much, well all the main ones:
RFactor 2
Raceroom
AC
PCars 2
Automobilsta
DiRT rally.
For me I use them all but agree that AC feels awesome, good on PC mediocre on consoles though.
Raceroom is the one i use the most, that and RFactor 2.
If you use steam you can get many of these for an utter steal, DiRT is £7.99 for example and RFactor2 is £12 or so...
Assetto Corsa
Raceroom
RFactor 2
RFactor 2
Raceroom
AC
PCars 2
Automobilsta
DiRT rally.
For me I use them all but agree that AC feels awesome, good on PC mediocre on consoles though.
Raceroom is the one i use the most, that and RFactor 2.
If you use steam you can get many of these for an utter steal, DiRT is £7.99 for example and RFactor2 is £12 or so...
Assetto Corsa
Raceroom
RFactor 2
Edited by ape x on Friday 29th December 17:55
Edited by ape x on Friday 29th December 17:55
Rather than start a whole new thread this seems like a good place for me to ask...
Due to some recent health issues I'm likely to have a whole lot more time on my hands than I was previously used to. I'm bored with playing FPS games (i.e. Call of Duty) and so thought I might get back into driving games/sims but I'm now totally bewildered by what's on offer.
Please bear in mind that I'm now an 'old-timer' of 54 years and also a bit of a computer techno-phobe. Also,I haven't really played driving sims since playing them with my now grown-up kids back in the days of EA Sports F1 2000 ! So please go easy on me.
I/We'd always played PC based games (kids had an Xbox 360 but I never got into it or a look in). However, I don't think my current main computer or my recently purchased 'gaming' computer are particular powerful set-ups so would I be better off just going down the console route myself now?
I know the sky is the limit in terms of what one can spend but I would struggle to get a budget above £1K all-in past my wife without her noticing and making my life even more unpleasant. So, with that budget in mind what would be a good set of options to include a complete set-up of:
1) Game/Sim (a game that includes my local real-life track of Cadwell Park would be most welcome and real-world cars rather than F1 etc cars) ?
2) Platform? Possibly a console would be best for someone like me? But they always used to be a bit s
t compared to PC versions years ago?
3) Steering Wheel/Pedals (don't really have room in my study/cave for a dedicated racing/gaming seat but have a decent TV screen and sound system)
Many thanks in advance!
Due to some recent health issues I'm likely to have a whole lot more time on my hands than I was previously used to. I'm bored with playing FPS games (i.e. Call of Duty) and so thought I might get back into driving games/sims but I'm now totally bewildered by what's on offer.
Please bear in mind that I'm now an 'old-timer' of 54 years and also a bit of a computer techno-phobe. Also,I haven't really played driving sims since playing them with my now grown-up kids back in the days of EA Sports F1 2000 ! So please go easy on me.
I/We'd always played PC based games (kids had an Xbox 360 but I never got into it or a look in). However, I don't think my current main computer or my recently purchased 'gaming' computer are particular powerful set-ups so would I be better off just going down the console route myself now?
I know the sky is the limit in terms of what one can spend but I would struggle to get a budget above £1K all-in past my wife without her noticing and making my life even more unpleasant. So, with that budget in mind what would be a good set of options to include a complete set-up of:
1) Game/Sim (a game that includes my local real-life track of Cadwell Park would be most welcome and real-world cars rather than F1 etc cars) ?
2) Platform? Possibly a console would be best for someone like me? But they always used to be a bit s
t compared to PC versions years ago?3) Steering Wheel/Pedals (don't really have room in my study/cave for a dedicated racing/gaming seat but have a decent TV screen and sound system)
Many thanks in advance!
Derin, I would probably for ease and cheaper go for a Xbox X and project cars 2. Pcars 2 has a lot of content and is pretty good and now that they have released a couple of patches it’s doing most of what it should and it will only get better. People will probably say it doesn’t do this it doesn’t do that (but everything has it’s faults and some people have different opinions) but for a game for some driving fun it takes some beating I think
I think you are right to look at consoles vs PC on a cost basis.
Rather than an Xbox One X It'd be cheaper to go for a playstation pro and the difference between the machines wouldn't justify ~£150 extra for the Xbox X. You can't get the Forza games on PS4 nor Gran Turismo on Xbox so thats probably your biggest decision factor.
Regardless of which console you pick if you want to play online (so to race against other people) you'll need to subscribe to the PSN or Xbox live service. £35 a year for either, so something like 9p a day.
PS4 Pro + Gran Turismo Sport is £299.
Currys are currently selling Logitech G29 (for PS4) or G920 (for xbox) for £150 with gear shifter.
You need something secure to clamp the wheel to, so either a desk or table. If you want a specific item for the job look at getting a wheelstand pro (£100 or so) or even better is a playseat challenge (£150). Both fold up so can be packed away neatly.
What I'd say is Gran Turismo Sport (GTS) would be a much gentler introduction to racing games than Project Cars or Assetto Corsa, its much easier to just jump in and play and as you get used to it you can start fiddling with the car setups a little. Its also quite playable on a controller so you don't need a wheel right away if you want to wait a little, the other two really need a wheel from the off. I'd start there and then get project cars or assetto corsa a bit later.
Project Cars was released with plenty of bugs, some never got fixed, Project Cars 2 was probably in a worse state at release - they have fixed some bugs but basic things still don't work properly - for example https://youtu.be/eIbAp5V0DL8 Xbox owners are finding their progress gets deleted and so on. Given the history of SMS its unlikely to be fixed properly and they'll just move on to their next game.
Also be aware that Project Cars 2 & Assetto Corsa charge for DLC (Downloadable Content - basically more tracks/cars etc being added). GTS doesn't.
GTS isn't perfect, its a bit light on tracks (it is expected that more will be added, but no timeline) and wet weather racing (recent announced to be coming soon). I've found it to be more fun than the others. There are a bunch of us that play, there is a thread around here somewhere of players, just add a few of us and jump in.
Rather than an Xbox One X It'd be cheaper to go for a playstation pro and the difference between the machines wouldn't justify ~£150 extra for the Xbox X. You can't get the Forza games on PS4 nor Gran Turismo on Xbox so thats probably your biggest decision factor.
Regardless of which console you pick if you want to play online (so to race against other people) you'll need to subscribe to the PSN or Xbox live service. £35 a year for either, so something like 9p a day.
PS4 Pro + Gran Turismo Sport is £299.
Currys are currently selling Logitech G29 (for PS4) or G920 (for xbox) for £150 with gear shifter.
You need something secure to clamp the wheel to, so either a desk or table. If you want a specific item for the job look at getting a wheelstand pro (£100 or so) or even better is a playseat challenge (£150). Both fold up so can be packed away neatly.
What I'd say is Gran Turismo Sport (GTS) would be a much gentler introduction to racing games than Project Cars or Assetto Corsa, its much easier to just jump in and play and as you get used to it you can start fiddling with the car setups a little. Its also quite playable on a controller so you don't need a wheel right away if you want to wait a little, the other two really need a wheel from the off. I'd start there and then get project cars or assetto corsa a bit later.
Project Cars was released with plenty of bugs, some never got fixed, Project Cars 2 was probably in a worse state at release - they have fixed some bugs but basic things still don't work properly - for example https://youtu.be/eIbAp5V0DL8 Xbox owners are finding their progress gets deleted and so on. Given the history of SMS its unlikely to be fixed properly and they'll just move on to their next game.
Also be aware that Project Cars 2 & Assetto Corsa charge for DLC (Downloadable Content - basically more tracks/cars etc being added). GTS doesn't.
GTS isn't perfect, its a bit light on tracks (it is expected that more will be added, but no timeline) and wet weather racing (recent announced to be coming soon). I've found it to be more fun than the others. There are a bunch of us that play, there is a thread around here somewhere of players, just add a few of us and jump in.
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