rec.autos.simulators

As much as I love it, there certainly seems to be something off in the way
the cars handle. The grip at medium to high speed is overdone IMO. For
example, at Spa, you can take Eau Rouge flat out with your eyes closed.
Pouhon is easy. Stavelot and Blanchimont also.

At Silverstone, Copse and Maggotts/Becketts are a breeze too. I could point
out other tracks which have similiar examples.

At low speeds, the cars seem too slippery at times. I can also catch huge
slides which I don't see occurr too often in a real F1 race.

In F1RC, you have to work the throttle and be much more precise in the above
examples or the car gets a little squirrely, the tires start chirping, and
will eventually break loose. You have to "dance on the edge". That's why I
find the driving experience to be a lot more "physical" in F1RC, and a
little more exciting.

I know a few people here have noticed these things, but not many. Why not?

David G Fisher

agreed.
while i don't turn "alien" laptimes, i find the sim too easy at times ala
scgt. perhaps we need an "advanced options patch" to liven it up a bit?

I'm not as knowledgeable as you to say which is better.  

regarding SPA, i love racing it in F1RC as i feel i can push the car
more closely to the edge.  obviously, my impression of the edge might
not be the same as the hotshoes, but i do try.

with F1 2001, on the other hand, i can't seem to push it to the edge.
it seems the transition from 'in-control' to 'losing it' happens very
quickly.  either that or i'm not spotting the signs.  very possible as
i am not a physics nut.  i don't consider myself a hot driver by any
means.  what f1 2001 has for me that f1rc doesn't have to the same
degree is the sense of absolute terror and fear when playing.  the
sensation of speed seems to convey the seriousness of racing a bit
more.  its purely subjective of course.  the glossiness and smoothness
of the tracks & graphics seem to be its only shortcoming.  a little
more grit and bumps would make it perfect. :)

anyway, my personal opinion is that all of these games (including GPL)
are games.  realistic games and simulations of course, but *games*.  

some people here make a big fuss of the realism of gpl or nascar 4,
but it sooooo far removed from actual racing (IMO) to make seem like a
wasted exercise to say which is more realistic.

we have moved on from pole position to get to where we are now.  we
need a similar jump before we can talk about approach 'realistic'
simulators.

anyway, enough of that.  bottom line.

f1rc is excellent, sorely needs a patch.  i *will* eagerly await the
reviews of f1rc2 if it comes and probably buy it.  EA did the same
thing with F12000 and F12000CE so I don't blame Ubisoft.

f1 2001 is also excellent, but at least we can tweak it.  some nut
will probably figure out how to improve things to give you the feel
you want.  that probably is out of the question if the current legal
position around f1rc is to be believed (which i do).

On Sat, 15 Dec 2001 05:04:09 GMT, "rik zeppelin"

Andre

It's too easy going through Eau Rouge in the wet. as well :/

Maybe when the next F1 2001 patch comes out, I can actually
play it with pedals that function correctly :\

On Sat, 15 Dec 2001 03:59:46 GMT, "David G Fisher"

This is something which bugs me - it feels like I'm powersliding around
corners most of the time.  I don't have a problem with the grip at high
speed - after all, these things generate a LOT of downforce at high speed.

I seem to find the cars very unstable under brakes.  Braking into corners
also doesn't feel anything like any other sim I've played.  Has anyone got
any tips for setting up brake sensitivity?

Anyhow, I do think that the high-speed grip is too high. Maybe it is
because of gaining too much downforce for the drag?

I definitely think that F1 2001 has better underworkings in the
physics department. My feeling about F1RC was that it could be a bit
erratic and unpredictable at times. High-downforce was better than
low-downforce where it became waayy too unstable. The hamfisted
steering-adjustments don't exactly help either. Another thing was that
if you got a dip in framerates the it seemed to affect the handling.

A thing in F1RC I didn't like is that the racing line doesn't seem to
matter much. When racing the ghostcar I can see that I don't lose time
when I have two meters left to the kerb on the exit, but if I miss
mashing the throttle by a tenth of a second I lose 20-30 meters or
more.

I haven't owned a modern F1 sim since gp2, so it's been a while (lowly
p2-300 keeps it that way!), but doesn't the high speed grip vary with wing
so that with little enough wing, Eau Rouge becomes tippy-toes?  Isn't that
the balancing act you're trying for?  Or is it too easy even with minimum
wing?

Ben

David G Fisher

David G Fisher

David G Fisher

You might be right about the flaws of the physics in F1 2001, but at
least it doesn't have the mistake of F1RC, where you can drive a full!
lap with locked front wheels.

Remco

On Sat, 15 Dec 2001 03:59:46 GMT, "David G Fisher"