rec.autos.simulators

I have GPL and LOVE it.

Looking for modern F1 sim to compare it to .

Which of the two above (or another?) would you recommend?
Will any other racing SIM!! be a disapointment?

Thanks for your input

David

Theres only one other sim you can compare it to, F1RS and F1RS 2

Modern F1 sim? You need GP2.

The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be!
It's out on budget now, I believe, after a hugely successful two year
run.

Cheers!

--
Graeme Nash

You know what to do with "don't_spam_me"...
http://www.karisma1.demon.co.uk/
ICQ# 11257824

"My car appeared to disagree with my preference for living"

If you've ever been to (or watched) an F1 race -- and liked it -- get
GP2 (_still_ the standard by which others are judged).

Rgds,
Mark R.

If you have ever driven a real F1 car in a F1 race and loved it,
get F1RS because they are basically the same thing.

F1RS is the only F1 sim that has ever been made, is being made or
will ever be made. Well, besides F1RS2 of course.

F1 RS is beautiful (with new cocpits because the originals ones...hum...)
and there are a lot of details more than in GP2 (tires marks on the ground,
etc..)

but for the handling GP2 gives more sensations, the cars have a very
exciting grip, but GP2 becomes old: no 3D acc. support: just look at the
"smoke", it's "flying pixels"...

I like very much GP2, and still use it, i think the look of a sim is not the
most important, but GP2'SVGA is too old now, GP2 is THE reference sim but
F1RS is the best modern sim of modern F1...

For old F1, someone has some opinion of F1RS2 old mode?

Seb

Note: GP2 was released before the days of 3D graphics.
That's its main shortcoming in comparison with F1RS.
However, it's sound is MUCH better than F1RS.

Dave Ewing

I agree !
The realism is better than f1rs. 3d is very good.

I have played both, and I can tell you that GP2's physics are not that
much better than F1RS's. F1RS is certainly not a "arcade game"
compared to GP2 in any way, shape, or form. I can't imagine any
knowlegable sim racer that would call F1RS an arcade racer.

Besides, he'll still have to buy GP2 so he can rip the decent sounds from it
to replace the absolutely horrid sounds in F1RS.  How UbiSoft expects
anybody to take F1RS seriously when the sound compares to PC Speaker bleats
from ca. 1987 is beyond me.

I have both F1RS and GP2, and F1RS is just boring - it simulates its era
entirely too well, right down to the computer cars' inability to pass anyone
running within 5 seconds of their pace.  It's graphically pretty, but there
are some unfortunate "arcade" touches to the graphics which don't help
maintain its serious aspirations.

Rick

Not. There are lots of free replacement sounds at www.f1racingsim.com
for F1RS, which sound way better than the synthesized and thus
unrealistic GP2 sounds.

Oh I see, the old "the colors are too bright, thus it is an arcade
racer" argument. Well maybe you should play F1RS in a black&white TV
so it would feel like a true simulator to you then? I promise the
colors wouldn't be too bright for your eyes anymore then.

GP2 has fake looking smoke and dirt, I guess that is enough to make
GP2 an arcade racer.

So, you're calling the sounds in GP2 "synthesized and thus unrealistic",
while failing to comment on the fact that UbiSoft has serious problems if
there wasn't one person in the company who heard the sounds in F1RS and
said,"There's NO WAY we can release the game with these sounds - they're
pathetic!"  Personally, I like the sounds in GP2 - the engine note has just
the right "howl" for the 3.5l Renault V10.

Actually, I was commenting more on the fact that the designers thought we'd
be impressed that all the***pits are different.  The***pits weren't
realistic in any individual sense, of course, but they did have those cool
Team Logos on the dash.....................  But yes, the colors are also
too vibrant, and do make it look arcadish.

Of course, it's funny how you didn't say anything about the more important
point of that paragraph - that the racing in F1RS is BORING.

I'll admit, I'm less than thrilled with the current incarnation of *real*
F1, which doesn't interest me enough to pay extra money to my cable company
to be able to watch it.  Instead, I've been known to modify GP2 for the 1991
season (my personal favorite year) and let it run a few races while I watch
from my own director's chair.  This is fun in GP2 - one of the most
thrilling races I've ever seen was a simulation of the 1994 Italian GP in
GP2, with Schumacher, Hill, and Coulthard swapping the lead about 10 times.

In contrast, I tried to do the same thing in F1RS, and watched as no fewer
than *10 CARS* spent the last 20 laps of the race running nose-to-tail, with
absolutely NO passing.  This was a combination of lapped cars and leaders,
and nobody even tried to pass the car in front.

The point being, if the computer cars can't figure out how to pass each
other, what kind of competition is that when I'm running against them?

Of course, all of this is immaterial, since I'm immersed in GPL now anyways,
and would love to see something similar for modern F1.  GPL has truly taken
things to a new level.

F1RS has better smoke, though not by much, especially since new machines
don't bog down nearly as bad with smoke in GP2, and I'm not thrilled with
the grass and dirt in F1RS.

But, enough of this pissing contest, back to racing!

Rick

The sounds in gp2 are all samples. They are NOT synthesized, or unrealistic for
that matter.