rec.autos.simulators

Isn't that sort of backwards to the way career modes in most arcade
games work?

And yes, GT3 is an arcade racer.  It's about as realistic as Porsche
Unleashed, but with more cars, "real" tracks, and a deeper career
mode.  It's still not the quality of Viper Racing which is a notch
below GPL which is a notch below N2002.

Jason

Not exactly. In the beginner leagues you don't have any tyre wear in any of
the races (and they are only 2 laps long). As you progress on towards the
endurance races, tyre degredation becomes more of a factor. There is a
little display in the bottom left of the screen for your tyres, which
changes colour as the tyres wear. You don't really need it (it is an
optional display) because you can feel just how much grip there is at each
end of the car pretty easily (which is one thing no other game is even
approaching, in my opinion. No, not even GPL or N2002). So, you can go to a
tyre shop and buy the tyres you want. Ultra-sticky slicks which get nailed
after a few laps, or rock hard endurance tyres which can last half a race?
Or anywhere in between. It's a trade-off of laptime against number of
pitstops and how comfortable you are driving your car with less grip. Just
like real life in fact, but then you don't thing GT is a sim. I once did a
100 lap oval race in an Elise on one set of tyres, and the feel of the car
through the turns was unbeatable as the grip gradually increased as the
tyres warmed up, then fell off as they lost ***.

Hmm... Kind of weird that. Yes GT3 is not as good in terms of overall
physics as GPL or N2002, but why does that make it an arcade game? It has a
better feel for being 'keyed in' to the road than any other sim I have ever
played - in that you can accurately judge how much grip you have, rather
than the 'driving on sheet ice' feel GPL has. The things that let it down
are AI and crash physics. One of these is being fixed in Gran Turismo Online
<g>, the other is inherent with having cars from all those manufacturers in
the game. Some car manufacturers are stupid enough to think if you see one
of their cars as a mangled wreck in the game, you won't buy their car in
real life. Idiots.

I personally feel that it is fantastic that GT3 can simulate such a wide
variety of cars so accurately, from the Mini Cooper through Aston Vanquish
to Formula One hybrid, when GPL and N2002 only simulate one particular style
of vehicle - <g>.

<Flame Retardant Suit: On>

--
Nick

"The overriding purpose of software is
to be useful, rather than correct."
John Carmack, id Software

--
Nick

"The overriding purpose of software is
to be useful, rather than correct."
John Carmack, id Software

There's more than one person here in defence of the consoles? Doesn't seem
like it half the time... If only the PC simmers would 'sim and let sim'
instead of blatantly showing off their jealousy of GT3 - <g>.

--
Nick

"The overriding purpose of software is
to be useful, rather than correct."
John Carmack, id Software

Eldred
--
Homepage - http://www.racesimcentral.net/~epickett
A friend of mine is involved in a fund-raiser walk-a-thon for research to cure
*** cancer.  If you can, please go to my homepage and see how to make a
donation.  Thank you.

Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

I forgot to say, that is what Gran Turismo Online is being made for.

        Although I'd have to agree that the GT series is not exactly as realistic as say NASCAR Racing I think it falls somewhere in between. When I think arcade "Pole Position" or "Daytona USA" comes to mind, and GT3 is certainly more realistic than those two. Not having a***pit view, IMHO, is what really sets GT3 back. That and having to drive with that damn analog stick! :)
        BTW, I wouldn't praise the accuracy of GT3's cars too much. Going back to GT2, I have an SVX which I've been lucky enough to get on a racetrack and it doesn't handle anything like it does in that game! I do, however, like the fact that the cars in GT feel different, you can make changes to the setups or modify them with new parts, and take the cars out on the track and FEEL the difference. This is probably the part of the game I like the most and IMHO adds to the realism.

<OT post>

        Yes, I'm playing WoOSC2002. It's very good.

</OT post>

;)

I wish there was a***pit view too, or at least a view with the hood
visible.  I do not require 100% accuracy in my sims for two reasons:

1. A***pit view does not provide the peripheral vision that most of us
utilize when really driving a vehicle.
2. Sims do not provide the physical sensation of driving fast.

This was my only beef with GPL.  The driving physics are outstanding (still
none better), but not having the physical G-forces actually makes driving
more difficult than reality.  Ask any race car driver and they will say that
they drive primarily by "feel".

Without having the ability to provide these forces on the human body, I
think it is only fair to the sim racer to provide a more forgiving driving
model.