rec.autos.simulators

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

and http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Now we can only hope for other models...

Greetz,

Jimster

I can't get e***d about another crack at simulating modern F1. The
real deal with F1 is the brutal forces on the driver, dealing with the
acceleration on the body, incredible braking forces allied to neck
wrenching cornering forces. During all this the driver has to operate
the controls and make the split second decisions and race other drivers.

To facilitate all that going on computer assists help the driver operate
the gears (just flick a paddle) and manage the wheelspin via traction
control.

Strip out the forces on the driver and it just seems like a sped up game
of reactions, hit the brake markers press a button the prerequisite
number of times to get down the right gear turn, bury the throttle and
let the traction control do its things and keep up with the gear changes
until the next corner. All very frenetic but not quite a true simulation.

Try doing it the real thing and the forces will be trying to pull your
feet away from the pedals and you will fighting to keep your head in the
right place let alone steer precisely.

Hence simulated modern F1 has an element of arcade feel because so much
is lost in the simulation.

Whereas the lower or older formulas have other challenges that can be
simulated. Throttle control, more pronounced sliding, gear changing,
fading brakes and so on rather than computers simulating computers. Of
course F1 includes a hefty strategy element if that is your thing, but
for me the lower formulas offers more for simulating the experience than
F1 can without some serious hydraulics...

Cheers
Tony

  So you crank your room up to 130 degrees F to simulate driving a Corvette
at Le Mans?   Must be arcade too eh?

dave henrie

Maybe a bad choice of words, I just feel modern F1 loses more in the
translation to a full simulation than many other series, but its
positions as the pinnacle of motorsports make it a natural choice.

Cheers
Tony

Cheers
Tony

However it's interesting to see the LFS team striking a deal of some
kind with an F1 team. Maybe they managed to sell the "free advertising"
angle and didn't have to cough up any money.

Andrew McP

  I wish them the best of luck.
This is kinda like a recurring topic.  Over the years, dating back to the
Stone Age of World Circuit and Indycar Racing,  F1 and rally and Nascar are
the only racing series to have nearly continuous coverage.  At times F1 had
two licensed and several non-licensed sims...yet over and over, the most
recurring cry was for a 'new' F1 sim.  While Sportscars and Cart and just
about every other form of racing was being neglected for multiple years,  
the F1 guys would continuously pine for another sim.  I always found that
odd.  

dave henrie

Note that Williams BMW F1 team did a deal with Toca Race Driver 3.

ONE of the biggest things I think everyone is missing is also in the update
is tyre side wall modelling !!

I'll never understand why people prefer slower, poorer handling cars that
slide and drift. I *hate* it when I slide. Sliding tires means I've made a
mistake and ruined a lap. I'm going sideways instead of forward. Also, a car
that slides and drifts and is slower provides a much bigger margin for
error, which *isn't* a good thing IMO. To be honest, I think the bigger
margin for error is the real reason some prefer other series to F1. The
biggest problem I have when in a race with any cars besides an F1 is
eventually fighting off boredom. Any other car (whatever it is) just can't
compare handling wise to an F1 and so I end up getting bored. Schumacher
said once, "I like precise cars, I don't like these heavy things. They are
so slow, and I think they are going too slow for me. I try always to do more
than they can do." I'm not comparing myself to him :-) but I completely
understand what he means by this statement.

I also think you've way oversimplified what it takes to drive a modern F1
car. Even Lauda kept spinning when he was given the chance not too long ago.

--
David G Fisher

   Different strokes I guess.   I can't abide the BUG look of modern F1
cars...of course the nose-less Ferrari didn't seem to bother me so I can't
be too good a judge.  This revives an old argument we've tossed around over
the years...if F1 drivers are so good,  why do they need a button to keep
them at the pit lane speed?  NAscar drivers can do it with nothing but a
tachometer.  If F1 drivers are so good,  why do they need Anti-Stall
technology?  And we could list about every aid in the car and make some
derogatory comment.  But could other drivers make the turns these fellows
do while adjusting the ride height button, the TC button, the brake bias
button etc?  F1 drivers are, if nothing else, masters of multi-tasking.
   I still watch F1,  I still like F1,  but I almost NEVER sim it.  

dave henrie

The F1 drivers can drive without the aids,it's just slower, and more
incident prone. The cars are very expensive so the owners are part
of the reason for the assists, as they don't want to see there cars
crashed as much as Champ cars do which don't have assists.