rec.autos.simulators

I've made up my mind and am gonna give PC race games a real shot for the
first time in my life.  Until now, my PC racing experience has consisted
of downloaded demos controlled with a joystick and/or keyboard.

I need to decide on some hardware and some games.  As far as hardware is
concerned, my first choice is the MS Sidewinder FF USB wheel.  I checked
out the (red) Logitech Wingman FF wheel but the pedals were a huge turn-off.
Before I actually buy a wheel, I wanted to find out if either of these
companies (Microsoft or Logitech) are going to be releasing new wheels in
the near future and would they be worth waiting for?

As far as games are concerned, I guess I should explain where I'm coming
from.  I'm almost afraid to admit this here but I'm not a "real-life"
race fan at all.  I just want to try something new and have fun doing it.  
After a couple of weeks lurking here, I can safely say that games like GPL
and F12000 are probably not for me - at least not at this stage.  I've tried
the Porsche Unleashed demo and really dug that one.  Also Midtown Madness but
to a lesser extent.  Are there any other games along these lines that I should
check out?

Thanks,

John

P.S. My relevant system specs:

P3-750
128MB RAM
Voodoo3-2000

Nothing wrong with that.

That wheel has a fairly high CPU hit for FF effects (like 1.5million per),
while
the Logitech FF wheel (which I own) uses only 50k per event.

turn-off.

They initially turned me off. I waited many months looking for alternatives.
In the end I bought one and it has been awesome. The bad rap the pedals
get by some is bogus IMHO. You have to actually try them :-)

You might want to check the ACTLabs FF wheel. that one gets as
much praise as the logitech FF wheel. Also the new Guillemot wheel
(not a TM wheel I believe) might be worth checking out. I have no idea
how much CPU it uses per event, but it gets osme praise here too.

For me the #1 consideration was USB so as not to interfere with
my Digital F-22/TQS/RCS gameport stuff.

If you want something somewhat realistic and still very easy to drive,
I would suggest Nascar3. It is *VERY* easy to drive those cars compared
to the openwheel stuff. Plus it has superb online play. Nascar3 is really
great. I am more of an openwheel person than a stockcar person but
I still enjoy Nascar3 very much.

--

Ok, I know I'm going to hear from a few people over this because I've spent
many an hour deriding SCGT, but I'll bet it's perfect for you. And Only $15.

Yep, I'll second SCGT and also Greg's suggestion of Nascar3. But, I
think F1 2000 is worth considering too because it can be made quite
easy with all the driver aids available and then you can move up to
pure simulation mode later. GPL is probably too frustrating for a
newbie though.

--
Nos

--
Chuck Kandler
GPL F1 Handicap of +210.00 as of 6/15
GPL F3 Handicap of +443.38 as of 6/19
K&S Racing
http://www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/thepits/195

I'm working up to going FF and I'm leaning towards the Act Labs.
I would highly recommend Viper Racing for a fun game that also
supports FF. John, trust me, after you go through a few other driving
games you will want to try gpl, so if you see it for sale, pick it
up. It will be cheap, and it's getting a bit scarce. The online
racing against real people that has developed around gpl is THE most
fun thing happening in sim racing today.

--
Don Scurlock
Vancouver,B.C.
GPLRank -1.90

Come see how you rate, at the GPLRank site
http://newgplrank.schuerkamp.de/

One more thing.  I read on here that someone said you should really
start driving sims with all helps off.  Although I didn't believe it
at the time, I now think he has a great point.  If you run these games
with all helps on, then suddenly get an urge to get serious, it is
hard to unlearn those bad habits.  Of course, if the game is too hard,
then that drains the fun as well.

All of the whiners that couldn't deal with the traffic should be
embarrased at this point :-)

--

The NASCAR(N3, 1999) games are great in that they have been modified about
every which way possible to simulate other forms of racing (touring cars and
the like).  At http://www.theuspits.com, you can find all of that stuff.  A
lot of other racing games modifications are there as well.

You can find a link to many, many reviews of many, many racing games at
http://www.bhmotorsports.com and form your own opinion of all the titles.

Good luck,
Dave
legendno6

I have a couple of further suggestions for you.

Colin McRae Rally is a great deal of fun. It would probably be considered
more of an arcade title than a sim, but sometimes you just want to get in
something and drive and not have to spend hours working on setups. There is
still a demo available on Avault I believe.

Personally, I prefer NASCAR Legends over N3. They are similar products,
although NL is based on early 70's NASCAR and has subtle physics differences
to achieve the feel of a bigger, heavier car with bias tires. It also has
Riverside International Raceway, a first in the sim world, AFAIK.

--
don

New GPL Programs for the Converted Tracks:
http://www.ianparker1.clara.co.uk/clara.net/i/a/n/ianparker1/webspace...

Trust ME.  Unless you want to spend several hours a day for months on end
trying to accomplish nothing more than not to crash constantly, you would be
wasting your time with GPL.

The cars and drivers are from 33 years ago, so if you aren't a race fan you
won't know any of their names, even less so than today's drivers.  You will
never see the cars in GPL racing competitively on live TV, so there's
nothing to relate to.

GPL is the Cadillac of racing sims without a doubt, but even considering it
unless you are a very dedicated and serious sim racer is ridiculous.  My
best friend is a big race fan, F1 is his favorite.  He has a Porsche 911 for
Sundays and a 98 BMW M3 as his daily driver.  He is a damn good driver, as
well.  He has a P3/600 and a LWFF wheel and cant turn a whole lap in GPL
because he doesn't have enough time to give it to get any reward. The sim is
less about driving fun than it is about learning to control an extremely
sensitive sim.  He loves NFS/PU because the driving model is decent and the
cars are controllable with very modest investments of time and effort.  It
is a great looking sim and models things you might actually see in real life
without going out of your way to do so.  It is also staged on roads, not
race tracks, so it additionally plays to your disinterest in actual racing.

I say get NFS/PU.  SCGT is a great fun starter sim for racing games, should
you be interested.  It is also available for 10-15$ everywhere right now.
Midtown Madness is a hoot, though it isnt realistic from a physics
standpoint and since there is a Midtown Madness 2 coming out, it may have a
price drop soon.  It also revolves around a 'real world' setting, so no
racetracks there.

If you don't like NASCAR racing, don't bother with NASCAR racing sims.  They
are easier to drive than many other genres, but if the racing bores you the
driving will, too.

~daxe

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I'm in about the same boat you are.   I'm not one for the
ultra-realistic games as I don't have to patience or nerves of steel
to be successful in them.  Here's some of the games I've been playing
recently: (note, I don't play anything online (yet))

Sports Car GT (aka SCGT).  You may have noticed most people recommend
this.  Great road racing game with a good career mode (winning races
gives you money which you buy better cars with).

Dirt Track Racing. Don't let the "hickness" of this fool you.  I don't
follow dirt track racing in read life, but this game is just plain
FUN. Best of all it is only $20, and well worth it.

Test Drive LeMans. I originally hated this, but it grew on me very
fast once I got worked out my problems with it (bad control and no
in-car view). Much more of an arcade game rather than simulation.

Official Formula 1 Racing.  My personal F1 fix.  I got it with my
steering wheel and have grown accustomed to it as it fits my
Arcade:Simulation ratio.   Of course, around here I get the feeling
that I'm the only person who liked this game :)

Stephen