Racing fever?

[Dzul]

Race Driver: GRID
GTR Evolution
RACE Pro
Ferrari Challenge
Gran Turismo 5

Just to mention a few, seems to me that the consoles are getting
a racing fever lately, and a sheer demand for a "simulation" level
seems to be in the rise as well for those expensive fixed-hardware
nice-looking no-nonesense living-room computers (yeah, consoles).

Anybody else seeing the growing trend? Are PC sim racers being left
behind and ultimately forgotten by the development studios? Because
that's the feeling I'm getting from all the changes in race(sim) games.

[DucFreak]

Anybody else seeing the growing trend? Are PC sim racers being left
behind and ultimately forgotten by the development studios? Because
that's the feeling I'm getting from all the changes in race(sim) games.

...yep! :( "Welcome to year 2008" :)

[Monsoon]

The end of the world will come the day I buy a console for gaming! And the ending wont be good! :twisted::devil:

In other words, I dont want to become a fat, hairy, stinky couch simmer with one foot covering 2 pedals! :laugh::mrgreen:

[kamikaze666]

got my ps3 connected to my 24" pc monitor, love gt5 and will be buying ferrari challenge cause people or saying good things about it.

and isnt gtr evolution pc only?

[PorscheDriver]

and will be buying ferrari challenge cause people or saying good things about it
you won't regret it, it's a great game :thumbup: there's a big patch coming for it with
scalable difficulty in the challenge and trophy modes

i have mixed feelings about that, because at the moment you have to battle with
the difficulty they've given you, which i like

i unlocked a 600bhp 1971 512M yesterday, it's a beauty :mrgreen:

[roddypoddy]

you won't regret it, it's a great game :thumbup: there's a big patch coming for it with
scalable difficulty in the challenge and trophy modes

i have mixed feelings about that, because at the moment you have to battle with
the difficulty they've given you, which i like

i unlocked a 600bhp 1971 512M yesterday, it's a beauty :mrgreen:

I got this today,only dabbled with it for an hour,bloody great so far.
I,m going to order a stand for my DFP(needed one for a looong time),then i,m going really have a go at it,roll on Thursday or so.:thumbup:
http://wheelstandpro.com/

[Viper]

The end of the world will come the day I buy a console for gaming! And the ending wont be good! :twisted::devil:

In other words, I dont want to become a fat, hairy, stinky couch simmer with one foot covering 2 pedals! :laugh::mrgreen:

If this was america, I'd sue you now for racism of sorts. Fortunatly, it's not, so nobody will sue me for saying that either. From a developers point of view, it makes perfect sense to develop sims for a console instead of a pc. Because that way, they can focus on the physics and the game in general to work and run stable on ONE hardware configuration. On a pc, they need to do a rediculous amount of work to get it running on a million + different hardware configs, not even taking into account possible conflicts with different sets of drivers and other software that might interfere. Plus different versions of dx, opengl etc.

So more focus on what counts. I'd say that has potential to make better sims. + try building a pc with ps3-like performance for the same cash. So if a console I need for racing sims, so be it.

And the being fat part is up to you.

[DucFreak]

If this was america, I'd sue you now for racism of sorts. Fortunatly, it's not, so nobody will sue me for saying that either. From a developers point of view, it makes perfect sense to develop sims for a console instead of a pc. Because that way, they can focus on the physics and the game in general to work and run stable on ONE hardware configuration. On a pc, they need to do a rediculous amount of work to get it running on a million + different hardware configs, not even taking into account possible conflicts with different sets of drivers and other software that might interfere. Plus different versions of dx, opengl etc.

So more focus on what counts. I'd say that has potential to make better sims. + try building a pc with ps3-like performance for the same cash. So if a console I need for racing sims, so be it.

And the being fat part is up to you.

Completely disagree, only the PS3 has support for Logitech Wheels (toy wheels in the XboX360), but you don't have configurations as advanced as you can get in PC racing-sims (AFAIK), FFB and pedals rate/action are still lacking (on/off clutch in GT5P anyone?), you don't have support for 3rd parties products like TrackIR, H-Shifters like those from Act-Labs, Frex, or ECCI pedals, etc, etc, etc...

Not counting on the consoles memory limitations on soundcards (dumbed down sounds are a fact) and texture size/mapping in graphics restrictements by necessity (quality of AA and AF even less worth of mention...), even with all the "juice" one could suppose would be at disposal looking at the hyped hardware articles about XboX360 and especially PS3.

...I think that yes, there's a market BUT for "semi-sims" such as GT5P, TDU, Dirt and Grid, not aimed at the same people that spend good ammounts of cash in controllers, hardware and tools to get the best immersion, it's more about the "couch-racers" looking for some "quick n' easy action".

Once you get in the "niche" area where refinment of things such as with controllers, with game physics, sounds and even specialized tools (telemetry) considered by quite a good portion of the "hardcore" sim-racing community, then I think it's obvious that consoles are still very, VERY far from delivering something that would make long-time simmers dump all the investment in hardware and controllers, in telemetry and setups researching, in league racing that goes almost in a professional way, and so on...

[Viper]

I'm very much aware that they are not on the same level, which is why I said "potential".
As for the level of control over your hardware: the fact that you can set (to name a few) a deadzone and sensiitivity for the clutch in gtr2 and not in GT5P is not because of the console, it what they're willing to program.

As for third party programs: a console version of motec is very much possible. There is no problem outputting telemetry on a console, nor is there of a non-game program running.

As for the graphics, indeed, the ps3 lacks the AA, but compare gt5p to gtr2 or even race07...

The soundcard specs on the ps3 are not familar to me, so I've no idea what can or cannot be accomplished.

About add-on shifters: if they require additional drivers then they indeed cannot be used. Yet.
The playstation uses drivers like any other computer, so the potential is there.

I stand by what I said in the bold part of my quote above. With no worries about hardware, they can focus on software.

Yet the law of supply and demand stands. While a completely professional simracer could be made on a console, it will probably remain on pc.

[DucFreak]

I'm very much aware that they are not on the same level, which is why I said "potential".
As for the level of control over your hardware: the fact that you can set (to name a few) a deadzone and sensiitivity for the clutch in gtr2 and not in GT5P is not because of the console, it what they're willing to program.

As for third party programs: a console version of motec is very much possible. There is no problem outputting telemetry on a console, nor is there of a non-game program running.

As for the graphics, indeed, the ps3 lacks the AA, but compare gt5p to gtr2 or even race07...

The soundcard specs on the ps3 are not familar to me, so I've no idea what can or cannot be accomplished.

About add-on shifters: if they require additional drivers then they indeed cannot be used. Yet.
The playstation uses drivers like any other computer, so the potential is there.

I stand by what I said in the bold part of my quote above. With no worries about hardware, they can focus on software.

Yet the law of supply and demand stands. While a completely professional simracer could be made on a console, it will probably remain on pc.

Don't get me wrong, either the XboX360 and PS3 are serious pieces of kit, I think noone will be able to deny it.

The problem is having plenty people already well used and happy with what they can get for PC, for (specialized) controllers, league-systems, upgrading solutions and whatnot... the "PC way" may be a harsh one in terms of having to know where to look and what to buy, but it's that variety of solutions that is also able to provide a scalable, satisfying way to play the games, not just "having" the games.
...I can't really see a PS3 supporting 3rd parties products like TrackIR, ActLabs, FREX, ECCI and others (insert huge etc) either with extra game-options or drivers. :-(

I understand that a PS3 with these new semi-sims (some very good like GT5P) is opening doors to a new type of "once forgotten" user, a more grown-up customer, but it will be very hard to make an old simmer turn into consoles with all their current limitations.

Agree on your latest sentence (well said): while a completely professional simracer "could" be made on a console, it won't happen anytime soon (if ever!), it will probably remain on pc, simply because it's not something that would give profit on such a mainstream market.

[AMAjr455]

I agree with Duc, but let me ask this question if I may.

If Hard Core Simmers are so serious about their hardware, why do they bitch so much about a 50.00 dollar game. I mean in all honesty, you would think a hard core simmer wouldn't mind dropping a $100 bucks for the right game. Yet when one releases something for $29.99 like GTR Eveloution will be (not that it will be a breakthough) folks are bitching before it its the market.

Just a question, but I know I would drop double what game sell for now for more content and better physics.
jr

[Viper]

As would I. And people are coughing up that kind of money for iRacing.

[AMAjr455]

As would I. And people are coughing up that kind of money for iRacing.

Yeah, and I've watched many videos on iRacing and I must say, I'm not impressed at all.

I wish someone would post some real feedback. I mean, the graphics look no better or maybe less impressive as GTR2/rFactor. I can not believe the Physcis are that much better. Someone please post the truth :ohmy:

[rasfigjohn]

Yeah, and I've watched many videos on iRacing and I must say, I'm not impressed at all.

I wish someone would post some real feedback. I mean, the graphics look no better or maybe less impressive as GTR2/rFactor. I can not believe the Physcis are that much better. Someone please post the truth :ohmy:

lol... the truth? there is no such thing as the truth.
About watching videos... well there are probably as many differences between watching a F1 video and driving a F1 car than watching an iRacing video and driving it.
The problem is because of the price thing, people think they will get photorealistic gfx: iRacing is not a revolution in gfx, neither it is in video gaming... it's just another game.
BUT as for myself... I've been an iRacing member for a little more than a month now and I sincerely did not feel the need of playing anything else.
I still enjoy the other sims as I used to, but if I have to chose where I'll spend the next hour, it will probably be in iRacing...
But it's very far from being perfect right now... many things lacking.
So... many people will probably think it's too expensive and I'm not sure I'll be able to argue about that.

As for the console thing, I think we should really understand that if we customers don't accept to put more money in PC simulations, we will soon have more and more simcade games and less and less simulations.
Ferrari Challenge and GT5P are quite good console games but that's not the kind of food I'd like to eat for the rest of my life.

[CX650]

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:spam::ban:

[Viper]

Post has been reported (if you hadn't done so as well in the meantime)