rec.autos.simulators

Thinking of getting a Dreamcast as a used one is only $60 and games are $20.
Anyway, some racing games on there looked like GT3 quality or better like
Ferrari F355 challenge and Test Drive Le Mans (I know the PC version is
horrible but the Dreamcast version was made by another developer) They both
look REALLY nice, does anyone have any comments? I'm kinda itching to play a
"console sim" as they are quite fun, even though they're a bit arcadey and
dumbed down. They're nice breaks from N4 and GPL :)

Thanks,
Alex

Ferrari F355 is very good 2nd only to GPL/N4 physics wise IMO (I havn't
tried GT3 yet) the only major problem is the music, it's the worst in any
game ever ;-)

I've got Le Mans 24 hour, it looks very nice and is far better that the pc
one but it's no clasic.

Another racing game worth getting is MSR it looks amazing it's a bit arcady
but it feels great and is lots of fun.

Alex

Haven't played Le Mans, but F355 Challenge is pretty good.  Plus points -
superbly detailed realistic looking tracks, nice looking cars, physics are
really nice (apart from collisions), lots of fun to race - Minus points -
poor AI, poor collision detection, not enough tracks, only 20 seconds of
replay.  Overall, yeah it's worth owning.  Sega GT is pretty good as well,
although the visual aren't GT3 standards.

Just bought a brand new Dreamcast and F355 and TD Le Mans and having a great
time :) the Dreamcast was only $75 too. Nice deal, considering I like the
games more than what's available on PS2 at the moment.

Thanks,
Alex

I did the Dreamcast thing a couple of months ago because of the low
price and a few games I wanted.  F355 is pretty challenging with all
the aids turned off, great to slide around the real road circuits.
Test Drive Le Mans is great fun too in a different way, since the cars
stick so well, and you have to pick the right car to do well.  Nice wet
weather look at LeMans with the red turn lights.  Both games have lush
graphics, and you at least need s-video to really understand the
beauty, but by far both look better than the PS2 games I have seen-
like those screenshots in magazines that always look like paintings and
better than the actual game, only this time the game is the same!
Glorious textures on the tracks and perspective that gives you the
sense of speed, and great sound through your stereo speakers.  The
other racing game I have is Spirit of Speed 1937, a guilty pleasure I
will not defend, only to say that I love the old cars and tracks, so
there.

I have a little trouble with the DC controller though-  triggers for
gas and brake and stick for steering-  I am used to a wheel on the
computer or a PS controller, and the triggers give me brain lock into
turns at times.  A wheel might be better.

Tim

Oh yeah, there is a CART game called Flag to Flag.  While not great and
way too arcade, the graphics are real nice and it has 2***pit views,
one lower and with your hand ripping the tearoffs as your visor gets
dirty [too often I think , so I opt for the other view], and the
mirrors work, and the sound of the engine is real nice.  Real teams and
tracks, including Rio.

Drawbacks among many are that there is no damage model, and there are
stupid banners over the cars ahead to tell you who they are- yuck.  But
if you go DC, pick it up for a few bucks and do some hot laps for fun.

The biggest drawback of Cart Flag to flag is putting a wheel on the
grass....

Z.

--
Please remove my_pants when replying by email.

the DC controller is awful.  wheels are dirt cheap, though.  I believe
I paid something like 35 us bucks for the Thrustmaster Ferrari (which
is crap).

--
Gunnar
    #31 SUCKS#015 Tupperware MC#002 DoD#0x1B DoDRT#003 DoD:CT#4,8 Kibo: 2
                          DE RECTIS NON TOLERANDUM EST

...or on at least one track where I found that if you put a tire on the
curbing the car sticks as well.

Tim

I more or less did the same.  A definite YES on Ferrari Challenge.  6 or so
real-world tracks, only one real-world car, but faithfully done.  AI is
competitve but does cheat (not as bad as GT).  Too much grip on the ovals.
After a while I found hot-lapping to improve my time to be more rewarding than
racing the AI.  Eventually it got old (or I moved to the next flashy thing).

Most everything I've heard on the DC (as you say, not PC) version on TDLM is
positive, but I haven't tried it.  When I see it cheap, I'll pick one up.

A definite NO on Sega GT.  While the pixel and polygon count are far superior
to the PS GT series, it suffers in every other facet.  The color pallete is so
bad that it makes the cars look worse than GT2!  The cars are incredibly hard
to handle with the stock DC controller (remember, I have no such problem with
Ferrari Challenge).  The tracks are boring.

Also, a conditional NO on Metropolis Street Racer.  If you are into arcade,
maybe you'll appreciate it.  But don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you
it is realistic.  Again, I find the models to be less than realistic looking
(maybe it's the dorky driver sitting in the convertibles).

I agree that the DC controller is not ideal.  Hard to use one hand for both the
"thumbstick" (steering, and I use two fingers) and trigger brake.

GT3 on the PS2 is superior to all the above (well, can't say for TDLM) except
in terms of physics vs 355 FC.  GT3 looks absolutely amazing.  But I do regret
their pulling out the used and many of the "lesser" cars from GT2.

I recently just picked up GT3 in Aus as well as a Thrustmaster FF wheel,
put it on 'Sim' settings, turned off all aids within the controller
section, turned off the anti-skid and anti-spin options within settings
before you race and find they physics pretty darn good. Racing with
my turbo charged RX7 with standard suspension I found I had to brake
before the corner, counter steer through the corner and trying to balance
the shifting of weight and the yuk suspension then ease on the
accelerator in fear of *** the end around. With the aids turned
on, the physics were very sterile.

I find the AI reasonable in some areas and absolutely terrible in others.
You can turn off the *** band effect though, no unfair boost for
those trailing the leader.

I played the F355 arcade quite a number of times and find that the
physics engines were quite similar. Would have liked to have seen those
cars that were in GT2 as well as the new ones in GT3.

Cheers,
Rod.