rec.autos.simulators

Now, I have been looking at several racing sims/games. Ran some demo
versions etc. It seems that there is quite a bit of difference between the
technical needs between the various software. I am now at the point of
buying one or two of the above three. As GP2 has gone on discount here in
holland (now f59, appr. 30USD) I am slightly leaning towards getting that
one.

My system is a Compaq 4860 (PII 333, 64MB, ATI Rage Pro 3D 4MB SyncGRAM) and
I am trying to figure out which of the above would be satisfied with such a
system. What would I need to add or upgrade to this?

At present I tried the demo's using the keyboard as controls, but I guess
I'd need to get me a joystick or wheel and pedals. I have tried it with a
joystick that I had from a long time ago, but that seesm to give me
impossible control over the car. Please help me, which control should I get?
In the group I have been reading about the FF stuff. The opinions seems to
vary widely, some say it is very good, some say it sucks, others say it will
be good in a while. Would it be of use to any of the above three?

Harald.

Force feedback will take time to grow, I'd definitly get a wheel though, you
can't beat it for good control.  Also, if you go with toca or f1rs, get a
voodoo2 card, to speed up performance.  As far as gp2 goes, you should be
able to run it with most all of the details, it doesn't have 3d support
though.  I haven't tried toca for real just the demo, but as for the other
two, I think you only need one grand prix game, and really it is a flip of
the coin as to which to get, although I can say that gp2 has better
difficulty levels to progress through, and will drive beautifully when you
get the proper controller and driving setups in the game.  Toca is basically
an arcade racer that I can tell, but it is an awesome one at that, and has
the best AI I have seen in a game yet, with cars spinning and beating on
each other going for position, it really gets you pumped.  Gp2 isn't quite
as intense, but when it comes to racing against the AI, it can still be a
fun challenge.

I don't know anything about TOCA, I have the other two.  If you don't plan to
get a 3dfx card soon, I'd recommend GP2.  The PII-333 should be pretty
impressive, though you still probably won't get ultra-high framerate with the
sky on at Monaco (?).  Once you get a 3dfx card, F1RS is the one to get, IMHO.

Practice.  I tried a GP1 wheel, but I'm back to playing with my CH F16 CS
joystick.  Oh, I strongly recommend a good set of pedals.  I use the CH Pro
Pedals.