rec.autos.simulators

I should start by saying that I really have had a load of fun with
GandTurismo. I play it at my nephew's all the time. So I was
interested in SCGT hoping it would be more or less the PC
equivalent. Over all I was pretty satisfied.

1) The sound is not as bad IMHO as some people have said.
     So take the "reviews" in the NG with a grain of salt and check
     it yourself.

2) Graphics (800x600 in GLIDE) are awesome. Period.

3) Physics? Well having never played GPL I certainly can't
     make a comparison with the king. But they were *WAY*
     better than some of the ***(Nascar REV and Official F1)
     I have tried. The physics of this game will not keep me away.

4) I really tried it to check the Force Feedback. I have to admit
     that I haven't read every SCGT post (I am mostly into modern
     F1 sims) but I thought the FF was pretty bad. F1RS was certainly
     way better in the FF effects. I only felt crashes and a worse
     version of rumble strips and grass/sand bumps than I felt in
     F1RS. The #1 thing I was disappointed in was the lack of inertia
     or loss of wheel tension as the front tires lost grip. F1RS has
     this (occasionally with the Logitech wheel and all the time with
     the MS FF wheel).

Will I buy it? I don't know. I will probably play the demo a little
more and read some SCGT posts.

--

Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com

The sound is "okay", some cars sound good and meaty others weedy. The
M3 is dominated by the turbo whine, whereas the M3 engine in real life
sounds incredible - I used to drive with the windows down, how sad is
that?! :-)  One thing which is wierd is that no matter which car you
choose to drive, the cars that pass you or that you pass always sound
better!

Never tried....does.....not....compute.....!?! :-)

I thought they were kind of fun, midway between arcade and sim. I
thought that "this is how a sim "arcade mode" should be if it want to
attract people. Then I visited a friend (an out and out Quake man) and
he said he really liked SCGT but took it back to the shop because it
was "too hard to drive". Hmmm....!

FF was pretty poor, being related to mainly "off road" effects
(whacking walls, running over grass) but driving feedback is almost
non-existent. Then again, having tried three different FF wheels and
with every title which has it, I'm not a fan of FF at all. Nothing
related to the people who implemented it, I just found the hardware
available and the effects that are possible to fall WAY short f what
it needs to do.

Cheers!
John

If you liked GranTurismo, I think you'll like the full version of
SCGT. Lots of awesome ***s, and a great selection of road courses.

There is a sound patch which makes the cars sound better.
Without the patch, they sound good at idle, but when you accelerate,
they become a very synthesized sounding buzz (SBLive Value, here).

I did notice a problem that may be related to the sound patch,
however. I don't have engine sound on some of the cars, like the
McClaren. Furthermore, if I play a car without a sound, then go back
to a car that is normally OK, like the 911, the sound is lost for that
one, too.
I'm only guessing this is a result of a problem with the sound patch.
<???>

I was well into a Career season before I discovered it, so I'm just
dealing with it. Once I'm done, I'll probably re-install.

I wish they were just a bit more realistic. I like the way the cars
corner, and the way they react to bumps on the track (you can actually
get them off the ground a little, and the tach will race up), but I
don't like the spins.
You get to a certain point, and the car will spin the same every time.

There isn't a whole lot of feedback. Like the other guy said, it's
mostly just the curbs and stuff that give you any reaction.
I was able to knock about four seconds a lap off my lap times by
switching from my old T2 to the newly acquired Wingman.
Split axis, as well as a much better on-center feel did wonders.

SCGT is one of those games that'll***me off, and I'll quit to play
another game or do something away from the PC.
Half an hour later, I'm back playing it again. There are probably only
two or three games released a year that do that to me. :-)
I think it does a great job of treading the line between true
simulation and good old paint swappin' fun.

A worthy purchase, IMO.

--

        http://www.racesimcentral.net/~fusion1
    (dirt bikes, rat bikes, rental car abuse...)

IMHO the sound is total crap. I got sick of having to look at the tacho all
the time to know if it was time to change gear. So I used Patrick's GPL
sounds instead. The Cooper-Maserati sound makes a great replacement for the
Porsche, complete with authentic turbo whine. The BRM sound is good for the
V8s and I'm using the Repco-Brabham sound for the BMW. It makes a HUGE
difference to the game and I don't have to look at the tacho
nymore.( except when other cars are near, because the sound mixing in SCGT
is crap.)

Even better in 1024x768 but my 450 + SLI struggles a bit with everything
turned on and a full field of cars. ***!  Will this upgrading never end
:~) Car sims are more demanding on hardware than other games.

If you haven't tried GPL, then I suggest you do so before you think about
buying anything else. SCGT isn't even on the same planet as GPL (or GP2) for
physics modelling. But with the advanced options patch it's vastly superior
to ***like NFSx etc. I'd say it's better than TOCAx, but not as good as
Colin McRae Rally, as far as dynamics and required skill goes.

I think SCGT is pretty good. Adding the patch and GPL sounds makes it even
better. Overall, I'd say you could do a lot worse than buy SCGT. I'm
enjoying it so far.

Derek.