Starting from Scratch
Discussion
In gaming terms I may as well have been in suspended animation for the past eight years. I had an XBox until it broke in 2008 and was never replaced. The last title I owned was released in 2007. My favourite games were Forza Motorsport (yes the original one), Sega GT 2002, GTA 3, GTA Vice City, Call of Duty.
So for all intents and purposes I have no console, no games and only a cheap disposable laptop. I'm starting from scratch.
I don't want to be a 'gamer', but I would like to play a realistic racing game every once in a while, including Formula 1 and others featuring real life circuits. I'd want a force feedback wheel. I'm willing to spend so long as I can convince myself it's worth it.
An age-old question I know, but which platform? I've never played a current generation console. I'm completely baffled by how they're now 'entertainment hubs' or whatever they're calling them. I'm not sure I'm that fussed by it all as I'm not a big TV series or film watcher and all of my music comes out of iTunes / Spotify or my record player. I've never connected a console to the net so the 'live' and social features are all new to me.
I should add that although I know how to use a computer I'm pretty useless at setting them up, I've never re-formatted one for instance.
Help!?
-James, 25 (yes, really!) in Thailand
So for all intents and purposes I have no console, no games and only a cheap disposable laptop. I'm starting from scratch.
I don't want to be a 'gamer', but I would like to play a realistic racing game every once in a while, including Formula 1 and others featuring real life circuits. I'd want a force feedback wheel. I'm willing to spend so long as I can convince myself it's worth it.
An age-old question I know, but which platform? I've never played a current generation console. I'm completely baffled by how they're now 'entertainment hubs' or whatever they're calling them. I'm not sure I'm that fussed by it all as I'm not a big TV series or film watcher and all of my music comes out of iTunes / Spotify or my record player. I've never connected a console to the net so the 'live' and social features are all new to me.
I should add that although I know how to use a computer I'm pretty useless at setting them up, I've never re-formatted one for instance.
Help!?
-James, 25 (yes, really!) in Thailand
I would suggest for your needs a gaming PC is the obvious choice.
For the available games and hardware visit here: http://www.virtualr.net
For the available games and hardware visit here: http://www.virtualr.net
The only choice for a realistic racing game is the PC.
Project cars looks like the most mainstream of the realistic racers and that's across the PC, PS4 and X1 if you want sims it's all about the PC. The others have exclusives Forax for the xbox and GT for the PS. As for wheels the PS4 limits what you can use to Thrustmaster, not sure about xbox but they always used to be the most tied down. The PC is most flexible and a PC wheel will normally work with a PS3 as well.
I think you need to decide what cars you want to drive (F1, racer cars, street circuits, ovals etc) and what you want to do off-line career, time trials, online etc. Each game will have a bias towards certain things so have a think, let us know and we will direct you.
The answer is still PC though.
Project cars looks like the most mainstream of the realistic racers and that's across the PC, PS4 and X1 if you want sims it's all about the PC. The others have exclusives Forax for the xbox and GT for the PS. As for wheels the PS4 limits what you can use to Thrustmaster, not sure about xbox but they always used to be the most tied down. The PC is most flexible and a PC wheel will normally work with a PS3 as well.
I think you need to decide what cars you want to drive (F1, racer cars, street circuits, ovals etc) and what you want to do off-line career, time trials, online etc. Each game will have a bias towards certain things so have a think, let us know and we will direct you.
The answer is still PC though.
Ok I sort of get where your coming from I think, I'm speaking from experience as currently we have xbox 360 + 1, PS3+4, gaming pc plus some older machines.
I prefer the consoles to PC for gaming, it's a neater solution to the problem and as far as turning on and playing goes a better option, BUT. Simulation standard games are poor on consoles, I don't think due to lack of capability I'd say it's simply a lack of target audience making it worth while producing them. You can get some good driving games on console although they aren't sims, but flight games on consoles are dire (hence me having the PC).
I prefer playstations to Xbox, but driving game wise the playstations are weak, aside from the arcadey NFS type games you have GT on the playstations, while this is purely my opinion it's crap. Forza beats it hands down in pretty much every way, so much more engaging to play, in Forza you just want to throw the cars around, slide in oppo lock and enjoy it, I find GT very boring although I like the concept.
While this will raise howls of rage from PC fanboys there can be little doubt the ownership experience of a gaming PC is more faffy than a console, but you can do more with it long term. You need to decide what your interpretation of a driving sim is, I suspect it's not what most guys on here see it as but more a forza level game in which case my advice would be another xbox.
I prefer the consoles to PC for gaming, it's a neater solution to the problem and as far as turning on and playing goes a better option, BUT. Simulation standard games are poor on consoles, I don't think due to lack of capability I'd say it's simply a lack of target audience making it worth while producing them. You can get some good driving games on console although they aren't sims, but flight games on consoles are dire (hence me having the PC).
I prefer playstations to Xbox, but driving game wise the playstations are weak, aside from the arcadey NFS type games you have GT on the playstations, while this is purely my opinion it's crap. Forza beats it hands down in pretty much every way, so much more engaging to play, in Forza you just want to throw the cars around, slide in oppo lock and enjoy it, I find GT very boring although I like the concept.
While this will raise howls of rage from PC fanboys there can be little doubt the ownership experience of a gaming PC is more faffy than a console, but you can do more with it long term. You need to decide what your interpretation of a driving sim is, I suspect it's not what most guys on here see it as but more a forza level game in which case my advice would be another xbox.
I appreciate all the responses but I must confess that I am somewhat relieved that somebody has come along and said XBox because that’s what I was leaning towards.
I’m sorry if my opening post was a bit of a bum steer and I’m sorry if I now look like one of ‘those people’ who starts a thread asking for advice and then forges on with their own idea anyway. That really wasn’t what I was going for. It’s just I’ve slept on it and given myself a bit of a reality check and have decided that I’m nowhere near committed enough to buy a dedicated gaming PC… I spend much of my working life in front of a PC, and outside of work I could happily make do with a middle of the range laptop or even a tablet. I’ve also reminded myself that for the next six months I will be living in a 1-bed condominium apartment 6,000 miles away from the UK with no desk. With that in mind, a self-contained console which I can simply plug into my television is much much more convenient and financially justifiable.
Sorry!
How much realism do I need? Well, I remember fondly the original Forza Motorsport (2005!). I used to think it was quite realistic. I used to test a lot on the circuits tweaking the setups and I thought that even with just a normal controller the physics seemed pretty accurate- I had a TVR Sagaris which used to rotate beautifully on turn-in with a lift of the throttle.
The last Gran Turismo game I played was GT2 on PS1. A bit ‘arcadey’, as you say. I did wonder if it’d improved in that respect.
What I would like is a bit of weather, damage / degradation and a selection of European circuits. Well I’ve searched and Forza 5 can’t give me weather, although 6 might. Codemasters are bringing F1 2015 to Xbox one ‘soon’… It’s a shame the new platform isn’t backwards compatible with the 360 because I bet I’d get tons of mileage out of the previous titles in these series, which is what made me think that maybe I’d be perfectly happy with an old 360 and some new titles. I probably would. However I’m not hard up and I know that the old generation is well and truly obsolete now, plus I’m not tripping over used consoles for fifty quid as I would be in the UK.
Plus my gaming friends are all Xbox people.
Sorry.
Just to put this to bed then, what makes a PC so much better for simulations? (racing, not flight. I don’t have the patience for flight sims!)
I’m sorry if my opening post was a bit of a bum steer and I’m sorry if I now look like one of ‘those people’ who starts a thread asking for advice and then forges on with their own idea anyway. That really wasn’t what I was going for. It’s just I’ve slept on it and given myself a bit of a reality check and have decided that I’m nowhere near committed enough to buy a dedicated gaming PC… I spend much of my working life in front of a PC, and outside of work I could happily make do with a middle of the range laptop or even a tablet. I’ve also reminded myself that for the next six months I will be living in a 1-bed condominium apartment 6,000 miles away from the UK with no desk. With that in mind, a self-contained console which I can simply plug into my television is much much more convenient and financially justifiable.
Sorry!
How much realism do I need? Well, I remember fondly the original Forza Motorsport (2005!). I used to think it was quite realistic. I used to test a lot on the circuits tweaking the setups and I thought that even with just a normal controller the physics seemed pretty accurate- I had a TVR Sagaris which used to rotate beautifully on turn-in with a lift of the throttle.
The last Gran Turismo game I played was GT2 on PS1. A bit ‘arcadey’, as you say. I did wonder if it’d improved in that respect.
What I would like is a bit of weather, damage / degradation and a selection of European circuits. Well I’ve searched and Forza 5 can’t give me weather, although 6 might. Codemasters are bringing F1 2015 to Xbox one ‘soon’… It’s a shame the new platform isn’t backwards compatible with the 360 because I bet I’d get tons of mileage out of the previous titles in these series, which is what made me think that maybe I’d be perfectly happy with an old 360 and some new titles. I probably would. However I’m not hard up and I know that the old generation is well and truly obsolete now, plus I’m not tripping over used consoles for fifty quid as I would be in the UK.
Plus my gaming friends are all Xbox people.
Sorry.
Just to put this to bed then, what makes a PC so much better for simulations? (racing, not flight. I don’t have the patience for flight sims!)
BritishRacinGrin said:
Just to put this to bed then, what makes a PC so much better for simulations? (racing, not flight. I don’t have the patience for flight sims!)
The power and flexibility of the machines. Simulations are complex, lot's of different modeling to do to make it realistic, how do the tyres react to the surface, wind, surface temp, weather, aerodynamics, engines etc. It's hard work for any computer. Of course they all bodge it to some degree so it's about how realistic you need it to be. Personally I have a limit as driving a sim is not like driving a car so there is a balance to be had between real and drivable... All Consoles are behind the curve of technology the day they come out they are designed over a period of time and they have to at some point put a line in the sand and decide the hardware spec. So when they actually come out 2-3 years later the hardware is already old. PC's are also iterative, so you can still run software written for previous "generations" on the latest hardware or run new software on older machines.
Community and mod support. If the game in question has mod support you will have a massive supply of often free cars and tracks, much is crap of course but some real gems exist.
Massive numbers of options on the support hardware side like multi screen, fully motion or virtual reality. Wheels that will seriously make your eyes water with the cost.
Edit = forgot to add. Consoles have a more generic audience they have to please more people to make a return. PC sims can be more hardcore as they have a more targeted audience. The Fat Duck vs Nando's, An Atom vs a Golf GTI.
Edited by Bullett on Monday 9th March 09:44
I know you're tending towards the Xbox, but keep your eye on the new Steam machines coming out that are aiming at being console PCs, i.e. smaller form factor but with PC functionality aimed mainly at gaming.
Some of the wheel setups are cross platform, and I think (I could be wrong) that there's more likely cross compatibility between Xbox and PC, so it might not be as catastrophic. If you think you've made the wrong choice, sell it on and explore other avenues. You'll recoup a decent amount of money for it not to be a complete blunder
Most of all, go for the setup that will give you the most fun. If you're looking at racing purely with friends and they have XBoxes, and I assume the same game(s) you want to play, then that sounds very positive, but don't rule out making new friends on new games and platforms by just joining in (says me the anti social solo game player!)
Also things might get a lot more interesting once the newer breed of VR headsets start taking a hold.
Some of the wheel setups are cross platform, and I think (I could be wrong) that there's more likely cross compatibility between Xbox and PC, so it might not be as catastrophic. If you think you've made the wrong choice, sell it on and explore other avenues. You'll recoup a decent amount of money for it not to be a complete blunder
Most of all, go for the setup that will give you the most fun. If you're looking at racing purely with friends and they have XBoxes, and I assume the same game(s) you want to play, then that sounds very positive, but don't rule out making new friends on new games and platforms by just joining in (says me the anti social solo game player!)
Also things might get a lot more interesting once the newer breed of VR headsets start taking a hold.
Hanslow said:
Some of the wheel setups are cross platform, and I think (I could be wrong) that there's more likely cross compatibility between Xbox and PC
Not true there was actually more compatibility between PS and PC than xbox. Funny but true.The PS4 is locked to Thrustmaster only.
PC tends to support most wheels
Not sure about the x1, looks like thrustmaster again but different wheels to the PS3/4/PC.
I'd have hoped with these peripherals getting more complicated and therefore more expensive, manufacturers would recognise it'd be good to support multiple formats and for a decent length of time. Sadly not the case then 
My barely used G25 and wheelstand pro is currently in the loft after I found it more relaxing using controllers on the PS3, but I might fish it out again now that I've gone back to a decent gaming PC hooked up to the TV.
My barely used G25 and wheelstand pro is currently in the loft after I found it more relaxing using controllers on the PS3, but I might fish it out again now that I've gone back to a decent gaming PC hooked up to the TV.
There are a lot of p'd off people with G25's and 27's who can't use them on the new PS4.
I was keen on getting a PS4 for PCars but I wasn't prepared to splash out when my G25 was fine.
As it happens it's getting a bit poorly now and I managed to pick up a T300 RS for under £200 brand new so I'm actually ok. But I'll still not get a PS4 on principle (until mine dies).
I was keen on getting a PS4 for PCars but I wasn't prepared to splash out when my G25 was fine.
As it happens it's getting a bit poorly now and I managed to pick up a T300 RS for under £200 brand new so I'm actually ok. But I'll still not get a PS4 on principle (until mine dies).
Bullett said:
The power and flexibility of the machines. Simulations are complex, lot's of different modeling to do to make it realistic, how do the tyres react to the surface, wind, surface temp, weather, aerodynamics, engines etc. It's hard work for any computer. Of course they all bodge it to some degree so it's about how realistic you need it to be. Personally I have a limit as driving a sim is not like driving a car so there is a balance to be had between real and drivable...
All Consoles are behind the curve of technology the day they come out they are designed over a period of time and they have to at some point put a line in the sand and decide the hardware spec. So when they actually come out 2-3 years later the hardware is already old. PC's are also iterative, so you can still run software written for previous "generations" on the latest hardware or run new software on older machines.
Community and mod support. If the game in question has mod support you will have a massive supply of often free cars and tracks, much is crap of course but some real gems exist.
Massive numbers of options on the support hardware side like multi screen, fully motion or virtual reality. Wheels that will seriously make your eyes water with the cost.
Edit = forgot to add. Consoles have a more generic audience they have to please more people to make a return. PC sims can be more hardcore as they have a more targeted audience. The Fat Duck vs Nando's, An Atom vs a Golf GTI.
Interesting stuff. I have to say a major plus with the gaming PC for me was user servicability / upgradability but right now it's not feasible for me to go in the gaming PC direction, I just want my quick fix in a spare hour after work... I can't really be arsed with the rigmarole of a PC, especially since I can't really service / maintain a basic machine and as I result I find it hugely frustrating watching them clag themselves up with sAll Consoles are behind the curve of technology the day they come out they are designed over a period of time and they have to at some point put a line in the sand and decide the hardware spec. So when they actually come out 2-3 years later the hardware is already old. PC's are also iterative, so you can still run software written for previous "generations" on the latest hardware or run new software on older machines.
Community and mod support. If the game in question has mod support you will have a massive supply of often free cars and tracks, much is crap of course but some real gems exist.
Massive numbers of options on the support hardware side like multi screen, fully motion or virtual reality. Wheels that will seriously make your eyes water with the cost.
Edit = forgot to add. Consoles have a more generic audience they have to please more people to make a return. PC sims can be more hardcore as they have a more targeted audience. The Fat Duck vs Nando's, An Atom vs a Golf GTI.
t before griding to a halt! I know this is all my fault not the format's, but there y'go...Hanslow said:
I know you're tending towards the Xbox, but keep your eye on the new Steam machines coming out that are aiming at being console PCs, i.e. smaller form factor but with PC functionality aimed mainly at gaming.
Most of all, go for the setup that will give you the most fun. If you're looking at racing purely with friends and they have XBoxes, and I assume the same game(s) you want to play, then that sounds very positive, but don't rule out making new friends on new games and platforms by just joining in (says me the anti social solo game player!)
Also things might get a lot more interesting once the newer breed of VR headsets start taking a hold.
Steam looks interesting, I had no idea it existed... It's all a bit cutting edge for me but it could answer a lot of my reservations about PC based gaming, just not this time 'round. Most of all, go for the setup that will give you the most fun. If you're looking at racing purely with friends and they have XBoxes, and I assume the same game(s) you want to play, then that sounds very positive, but don't rule out making new friends on new games and platforms by just joining in (says me the anti social solo game player!)
Also things might get a lot more interesting once the newer breed of VR headsets start taking a hold.
As for cross-compatability, virtual reality etc, as you've probably gathered I'm quite happy to lag behind the cutting edge by several years so I'd hope that the XBox One I've ordered will do me until about 2020 (or until it overheats and dies, whichever comes sooner!).
Sorry!
I'm excited, I dunno where my sudden craving for gaming has come from but out of desperation I borrowed a colleagues PS3 and CoD MW 3, This served two purposes- it validated my opinion that I'd have been disappointed with a previous-gen machine, and that my hands are still too big and clumsy for DualShock 3
I now have a two week wait for my XBox with Halo Collection to arrive from Amazon.co.uk, weirdly when I entered my Thailand delivery address the price was discounted by 20% to 267gbp (so I'm not paying the VAT) and Amazon's chat room assistant assured me that no more would be payable in taxes and fees when it gets to Thailand?
Either way a damn sight cheaper than buying a Thai market XBox in the shops here, which with potential compatability issues and an unfavourable exchange rate would've cost 50% more!
Forza 6 and Codemasters F1 2015 can't come soon enough!
IF you aren't clued up to what the Halo collection is the graphics will come as a disappointment with it being a collection of games from the previous gen. The only game with the graphics sharpened up is Halo 2 as it was released to mark it's 10 year anniversary. Although Halo 4 does show how well 343 did to get those graphics out of the 360 mind as it looks better than a lot of the current gen.
But it is, in my opinion, a collection of the best set of FPS games of the last 10 years.
But it is, in my opinion, a collection of the best set of FPS games of the last 10 years.
I enjoyed the first and Second Halo games so at £10 extra figured it was probably worth a punt. I had assumed Halo 4 was a new gen title? Options were a bit limited for the 'global delivery' option. I could've had Destiny instead for another tenner or CoD advanced warfare for a tenner more than that... They might've proved better options for first games but I do intend to buy more and would've wanted the Halo collection anyway.
Gassing Station | Video Games | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff