Driving Sim Game

[Zoologic]

So, there are two interesting things going on in the car simulation world for PC and I am facing a dilemma,

One of them was the well known Project Cars (http://www.wmdportal.com/projects/cars/), initiated by SHIFT2 (NFS) developer, Slightly Mad Studios of UK.

Now, I don't like SHIFT2's all input lag. It makes driving feels like second guessing where your wheels are going to be. But, their graphics, finishing detail, and cool factor cannot be judged down. So, the Slightly Mad Studios are hopefully marrying these traits with physics and realism. I sense that the Developers are going indie this time, not passing through EA's AAA checklists this time. Beforehand, we had the SHIFT's initial realism goals toned down and car lists reduced, because EA bosses feel they don't like to compete with establishment like Polyphony Digital's GT (Gran Turismo series) and Turn 10's Forza Motorsport series.

Now GT6 and Forza5, despite mainstream acceptance of their realism, aren't really full blown SIM game. They are made to sell in numbers, get the basic principles right, and left out the geeky stuffs so they can be sold in stores. My excitement for the Project Cars is that, they are slated to be GT/Forza for geeks. That will be wonderful. There are many supporters of the projects already, license from the real world car manufacturers are already at hand.


Then, there is this small, yet promising Italian developer Kunos Simulazioni making hardcore SIM, aiming to dethrone the undisputed champ of hardcore sims like iRacing.

They launch this Assetto Corsa (http://www.assettocorsa.net/en/) project. Wooo! What's not to like? Indie developers, ultimate realism. But they may not have resources as big as Slightly Mad Studios, which can gather more connections and licenses from real-world manufacturers. I am more interested in their claim of realism however, which has been hyped up by so many online racing communities. It is even said, that it made iRacing pale when compared. In the graphics and effects department, surely, Assetto Corsa is way better.

Both Assetto Corsa and Project CARS will heavily feature community modding (AC never made that claim however).

So, what is your choice?

[Roughbeak]

Reminds me of an old map I put together with CryENGINE 3 SDK.
It is rough looking, I know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsy9NFMvg4I

[Musti]

My choice? GT, always. But out of these two, I'd say Project Cars looks more interesting, many forms of racing, different weather and time of day If it's done well I'm IN! , BUT  I don't really know what they supposed to be like, it's not very well explained.

[Zoologic]

My choice? GT, always. But out of these two, I'd say Project Cars looks more interesting, many forms of racing, different weather and time of day If it's done well I'm IN! , BUT  I don't really know what they supposed to be like, it's not very well explained.

That has always been the problem of independent developers. They are unclear with their objectives and the progress is "as it is," meaning that their commitment is not guaranteed at all.

The GT series like many other AAA titles, which are supported by big time publicly-traded corporate publishers is obscure at realism department. It is funny, because capitalism is always big on transparency and openness, but when it comes to the boundaries between trade secret and consumer information. Those information are clouded by marketing gimmicks and typical fanboyism.

The latest Forza series boasted "physics which are impossible on the latest generation hardware," which sounded like a bull. Sure, they have enough money to talk with Pirelli, Bridgestone, and their testers, but what they have done with those guys are never clear if the information is going to made it or not.

I am not so sure if I want to get console for Sim games. It just feels wrong.

[Zoologic]

Assetto Corsa was released yesterday as an early access on Steam.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/244210

It's still early version, but they say it is quite good already.

http://www.assettocorsa.net/en/

[Matthew_Baker]

I am not so sure if I want to get console for Sim games. It just feels wrong.

I can agree with that. Sims feel right on the computer, I just feel like you have more input and options.

As for the topic, Project Cars seems legit, but as Musti said, their objectives aren't really clear

I've been a huge fan of the GT series since it started. I'm not knowledgeable enough about cars to go any more hardcore than GT and I always wished GT wouldn't stay exclusive to Play Station. One of the huge selling points for me is the graphics and immersion. You can get a lot more of that on PC.

[hitm4k3r]

Cool that there are some simer's in this forum. AC is certainly an interesting project and it will be interesting to see how they progress in development. Atm it is sadly just a hotlaping game and the physics and FFB are certainly not up to par with rFactor 2 atm. Same goes for Projects Cars btw. AC and Project Cars both look good but cartainly lack a lot of features, that make a simulation interesting for me. Dynamic weather (though it is there in Project Cars), dynamic racing line wich builds up rubber or a drying line after a rain is over and not to forget a really detailed tire model that alows features like flat spotting and tyre deformation in general.

It will take alot of time until they sort out basic stuff like adding AI or even pitstops in AC. Not to mention dynamic weather and TOD, wich are mandatory for a modern simulation.

I think I will stick with rFactor 2 and it's community created content, but will give the other two a shot again, when they sort out the most fundamental physics and FFB problems, other than that they will propably just catch dust on my harddrive. For the moment I just don't see any competition for rFactor 2, when it comes to the sensation of driving a virtual racing car.