rec.autos.simulators

What's everyone's opinions on the best Superbike game?

without a doubt, EA sports SBK 2001.

--
aerospaceageinferno

Jan.
=---

Without a doubt buy GP500 and if you're interested in Superbikes then
download the updates from the GP500 Store, the updates have all riders,
bikes, bike models and 4 stroke sounds...... it is then easy to switch
between GP bikes and superbikes. Also available are 250 and 125 bikesets
with the appropriate physics models and bike models. 600 Supersports are on
the way soon.

Cheers,
JohnnyF

   Calis

GP500 is a lot more difficult initially and can be frustrating to run
at competitive pace.  I believe I have seen much more mods for it than
the EA title so it is more customisable in that regard.  The graphics
engine was superb when it was released and still looks good today.
Some of the bike & rider models available today have a higher
resolution than the original game shipped with and looks excellent on
modern video cards.   There are Superbike patches available (for
different seasons!) at
http://www.gp500racing.com/
Check some excellent screenshots at
http://www.gp500racing.com/gallerycompetition.htm
http://www.geocities.com/screenshooter/

both titles are excellent.

also according to Dave Henrie and others, AMA Superbike is worth
checking out for the renditions of certain american circuits, e.g.
Laguna Seca.  Its an older title, but supposedly not too bad.  Never
played it myself.  It should be available at budget prices too.
</inmyopinion>

Regards all,
istoff

"Its easy to get lost in thought
if you don't go there often"    - Me, 1993

if the demo is anything to go by, AMA Superbikes is probably the
second to worst handling bike sim ever (only beaten by that Ducati
game).  SBK2001 doesn't have much going for it either.  basically none
of them feel the slightest bit like racing a motorbike.  GP500 is so
far untouchable.

--
Gunnar
    #31 SUCKS#015 Tupperware MC#002 DoD#0x1B DoDRT#003 DoD:CT#4,8 Kibo: 2
                                     FJ?SE!

don't know much about AMA other than that the track renditions are
supposedly excellent.  have never raced a bike, but imagine the pc
renditions are fatally flawed from the outset in terms of conveying
the experience via a pc controller.  that doesn't stop gp500 being a
satisfying game / sim.  In the same way, playing Tiger Woods golf
expertly with a mouse does nothing for your real life handicap(at
least in my case).

i can't think how any bike sim could approach realism on a pc.   the
controller, physical driving position, view perspective, etc are just
some of the obvious differences.  at least in a car sim, you can set
up a semi-realistic***pit.

There are so few good bike games that if you took the top 3, you would
inevitably end up looking at SBK2001 anyway, so I guess it is worth
mentioning to a new user.

As for GP500.  I've left it for a while and have only recently gone
back to it.  Its amazing how good it has withstood the competition.
By adding the latest updates from the gp500 store it is still the best
around.   Don't forget the mea***er sound patch as well :)  I've
written a general purpose file swapper util that i think can be
configured for gp500 to allow you to select different bikesets, etc.  
Must see if it would be useful for the community at large.

Regards all,
istoff

"Its easy to get lost in thought
if you don't go there often"    - Me, 1993

nah.  substituting handle bars for a steering wheel is just a matter
of getting used to it.  no problem at all after a very short while.
it would be nice to have a counter steering bike sim, though.

GP500 is pretty close, actually.  controller and driving position just
about irrelevant.  why view perspective would be any more inhibiting
on a bike sim than in a car sim is beyond my grasp, at least.  an
GP500 implements head-tilt pretty good, the only flaw being that you
would look into the turn more in real life.

a sad, sad fact.  still, GP500 is in a league all of it's own, as it,
unlike all other bike sims I've tried, actually feels quite a bit lit
riding a real bike.  real-world lines and driving techniques work in
this one.  hallelujah. :)

don't have this one.

--
Gunnar
    #31 SUCKS#015 Tupperware MC#002 DoD#0x1B DoDRT#003 DoD:CT#4,8 Kibo: 2
                 "Det er nok ingen ovn, men fartsm?leren v?r."

you're the first person who has actually commented on the bike
controllers that I've seen.  which controller are you referring to?
well, i would imagine that on a bike, you tend to move your head
around more while cornering.  also, i dunno if you duck your head
lower on the keyboard when trying to get more speed down the straights
and when slipstreaming.  driving a bike on a pc seems more removed
from reality than the cars, in my opinion, anyway.  

do you manually shift bodyweight in GP500 or do you let the computer
lean for you?  just out of curiosity as I don't have enough fingers
(or the dexterity).

also, which view do you race in?  the head float makes me
seasick...but that's probably because it is realistic.

pity it seems to have gone the way of GPL.  No sequel, no official
add-ons, etc.  Has any further developments been mentioned in this
regard?

Regards all,
istoff

"Its easy to get lost in thought
if you don't go there often"    - Me, 1993

<***>
they say that there are people out there who have already done this,
but the converter is only available to a limited amount of
"illuminated" users
</***>

just kidding, of course...
Regards all,
istoff

"Its easy to get lost in thought
if you don't go there often"    - Me, 1993

in real life you'd tuck down behind the fairing, yes.  doing that with
a button-press instead of using your back muscles is just a bit of
abstraction.  it's not exactly essential to the experience, IMHO.

opinions differ.  I'm not bothered by the lack of a true man/machine
interface. :)

I'm riding with full auto leaning, as I don't have enough buttons on
my wheel (LWFFGP). :(

the number 4 view.  the head tilting works great, imho.  you can even
tweak it yourself.

I read something about a GP500 2 on some web-board a while back.  it
seemed very speculative, though.  gave me the impression that the
developers wanted to do a sequel, but hadn't gotten a publisher.

there are still plenty of (minor) flaws with GP500, so someone really
should push the genre further.

--
Gunnar
    #31 SUCKS#015 Tupperware MC#002 DoD#0x1B DoDRT#003 DoD:CT#4,8 Kibo: 2
             "a poster is a human being or the software equivalent"

Cheers