rec.autos.simulators

This looks absolutely cool and i hope it's customizable. Imagine using those
screens for rear view mirrors, RPM and***pit gages.

Very cool!

Pat Dotson

    FFS, just get a real race car!

If you don't like racing sims and getting them as real as possible, what the
hell are you doing here?

I have MS FSX and would never spend the money others have on re creating a
full 747***pit. But I would never judge those that do. In fact I am in awe
of what they achive.

Not only were you judgmental, you were also obusive to Pat. I find
everyone's opinion worthwhile. You could have just said " I would never
spend that much for a sim"

Anyway, that is my opinion :-P

Manfred

I can speak from personal experience here.  I raced karts for five
years up until last year.  Spring came last year and I just couldn't
get the motivation to prepare the kart.  Then summer came and I still
just couldn't work up the drive.  To do it right requires hours upon
hours of maintenace every week.  Then you have an hour or two in
loading and unloading to go the the track.  Another hour or two
driving to the track... Then you sit around at the track all day and
get maybe get 15 or 20 minutes of track time total.

Forget the money!  Real life racing just takes too much time.  A $2000
sim rig is a bargain compared to a $2000 kart in terms of track time
and sheer enjoyment.  Plus you don't have to buy tires, fuel, spare
parts, entry fees, etc. - all the other costs that go along with
running a racing program.

All that said, I still have all the karting equipment, and the itch to
go racing is growing again.  It's a hard habit to break!  :)

I'm not sure what the point of all this is, except to say that sim
racing gives a lot of bang for the buck compared to real life racing.
Real racing can't compete with the convenience of sim-racing.
Honestly, I have more fun with racing sims than real racing.

Real racing is full of frustration and boredom.  It's like golf,
though, the moments of joy will keep you coming back.  The pinnacles
of joy for me in karting were a couple of big races I won while coming
from the tail.  I wouldn't trade those wins for anything.  On balance,
though, the time, effort, and expense needed to achieve those two
experiences was outrageous.

Pat Dotson

I don't agree.  Sim-racing is infinitely more convenient and cost
effective than real racing.  I just don't have time to go real racing
anymore.  Sim-racing in a really good rig can provide an intensely
immersive experience.  Online racing adds additional intensity.
Overall, I find sim-racing to be more enjoyable than real racing.
Money doesn't even have to figure into the equation for sim-racing to
be a viable alternative to real racing for some individuals.

Pat Dotson

Once you're married and have kids, going away for 2-3 days to go racing is
usually grounds for divorce.

That is not an option for everyone... my competition license was removed due
to a heart condition.  "real" racing is simply NOT an option anymore.
Your point is valid for you perhaps.

-==-

I was a few hours and a cross-country solo away from my Pilots License when
my medical got pulled due to a spine issue.

Back pain was ok.  But when the sciatica started effecting the feet, the doc
said that's it.

$15,000 down the drain :(

Oh well.  Even after 20 years, I'm still confident that if the little green
martians came down with their ray-guns, and I had to escape Las Vegas in a
Cessna 152-2 I could still get the job done :)

Assuming I didn't have any Slim Whitman CD's lying around, which I ASSURE
you I would not.

-Larry

    Personally, as I have been for years now, I'm waiting for the headgear
that has the sound and 3D goggles built in - TRON like full immersion! :)

    'til then, those little gauges on the monitor 'ill do.

    PS - I have done no legal racing but I'm sure the real thing is a far
bigger blast than simming - there's nothing like REAL danger! :)

    PS #2 - I hope I wasn't too "obusive" - whatever the *** that is! LOL.

The Saitek LCD things?  No.  I don't do anything like that.  My only
product at the moment is a motion-platform alternative that gives seat-
of-the-pants G-force feedback.

Me too!  I'm so disappointed at the relative lack of progress of the
race sim hardware.  I thought we'd have good HMD's by the early
2000's.  Here we are in 2007 and there really isn't a good and
affordable HMD alternative.

I'm with you there.  I've developed a really nice simulator system to
showcase my G-Seat, but so far haven't gotten into external gauges or
anything like that.  I've tried to keep it a more generic platform
where I can do stock cars, open wheel stuff, or whatever, and not box
myself in by copying the appearance of one particular type of race
car.  I do see where external gauges or rear view monitors could add
quite a bit to the immersion level of simming, though.  I think there
is a lot to be said for interacting with real physical hardware rather
than a virtual***pit.

The real thing is definitely a lot of fun.  If it weren't, people
wouldn't go to all the trouble and expense to do it.  But after racing
a while at one level, and lacking the budget to go to the next level,
most people will drop out after a few years.  The novelty and
e***ment wears off and it becomes more like a job.  The track time
is still a blast, but it's a diminishing return compared to the time
and effort it requires just to be there.  Like someone else said, once
marriage and kids enters the picture it gets very hard to keep up with
the work load.

As for me, I'm back to race sims and loving it!  I honestly get as
wound up from a good online race as I ever did a real kart race.  I
was actually a lot more comfortable and calm racing karts.

Though the fact is, if simming means a 19" CRT and a $50 spring loaded
steering wheel, I'm not interested anymore.  That was OK in 1998, but
ten years later it takes more to get me into it.  A wide angle display
system, good FF (G25 or better), and seat G-Force feedback put me back
into the game.

Pat Dotson
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Cheers, uwe

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