Don't you just love computer games :-)

[Ski]

Lacking in realism maybe If you have a decent PC go buy yourself a decent steering wheel and some proper driving sims.

Got my G25 ready, SLi 8800 ultra's, g0 quad core 4 GIG ram and terrabyte of phorn space not to mention the big juicy widescreen, so.. when we meeting up on LFS again?

[mcandmar]

Hey Ski, long time no see. We must get another online session going, and anybody else on the forum who is interested? Maybe even take stock of what games everybody has and find something that suits all.

Havent played LFS for a while now, went onto rFactor, then GTR2, currently addicted to GT Legends. All good for online play...

Mark.

[Rusty]

That Alfa Guilia is drop dead gorgeous

If classic cars and neutral power slides are your cup of tea you need a copy of GT Legends, even has an Alfa GTA that you can drive around the ring

Interesting your comment about backing off, anybody i know who's driven the ring said the same thing, you find yourself lifting off over 100mph when you realise you have no idea what you are doing

Sub 10mins is definatly commited driving

I know the car and I know where I'm going but that doesn't matter when you're trying to shoehorn 2 tons down a road 20ft wide at 100+... Far too addictive for its own good!

GT Legends sounds good, have just bought a new PC so will need to get some games to utilise it. Not bought a computer game since GT4 back in 2005.

What is good for PC?

[Lloyd]

I know the car and I know where I'm going but that doesn't matter when you're trying to shoehorn 2 tons down a road 20ft wide at 100+... Far too addictive for its own good!

GT Legends sounds good, have just bought a new PC so will need to get some games to utilise it. Not bought a computer game since GT4 back in 2005.

What is good for PC?

Andy, you have to get GTR2 with the ring track I mentioned above. tis awesome.

[Jamo]

As Jeremy Clarkson said on top gear GT4 is great but it doesn't take into account the changes in camber of a real lap.

[Rusty]

...as you'll find that out when you eventually go ...

[mcandmar]

GTR and GTR2 are both good, and GT Legends which is more or less the same game, same developers, same game engine, but with 60's and 70's cars. If you goto http://www.altbirebude.de and download the auto installer for each game, it will then pull down a few hundred tracks people have developed, and is constantly updated.

Live for Speed is a must have http://www.lfs.net/, demo is free so you can try it out and see what you think. Drifters love this game as its all about car control on the limit.

Same goes for rFactor http://www.rfactor.net/, another download and try before you buy. Worth buying for the fact you can download half a dozen quattro's which will make you giggle like a school girl

The only other game i would class as a real simulation is Grand Prix Legends, one of the oldest, and arguably the best race simulators ever made. Can be picked up for pocket change now as it was released about 10 years ago, download the latest updates from a community site and you have a game that is well up to modern standards. All 1960's grand prix cars so it takes time to master 400hp in an aluminum tea tray with no grip http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Prix_Legends

On the rally side of things you have Richard Burns rally, Rally Sport Challenge, Rally Trophy, and Rally Masters in that order. All the rest are arcade games and don't cut the mustard. Colin McRae Rally is the worst of them, i don't care what anybody says it just sucks.

Most important of all is a quality steering wheel, I've tried dozens of them and without a doubt stick with Logitech. The latest G25 everybody raves about but i haven't tried it myself, i was lucky enough to pick up a second hand limited edition Logitech Momo Red, basically a modified version with a real leather Momo wheel and metal bearing assembly for greater precision. The thing most people dont realize is modern force feedback is exactly that, feedback. You can feel, every bump, camber change, and contact patch through the wheel, and before long you drive by feel, not by vision. Once you cross that line its stops becoming a game and something a lot more rewarding. Not to mention addictive

[Lloyd]

a PC running GTR2 with the custom made Nordshleife track above does have a fairly good attempt at camber and shouldn't be confused with the poorly rendered GT4 effort.

Have a go - it's great : )

[Rusty]

I've got Grand Prix Legends, bought it when it was new but recently haven't successfully got it working with Vista and haven't got a decent controller for it yet. Now that is a HARD game!

[stiglet]

Nobody's mentioned Forza2 yet, got to be the best driving game i've ever played.

Anyone else notice how computer games lure people into a false sense of confidence for the ring, but then when you actually drive it you realise you don't know it at all. The bump at schwedenkruez comes to mind....

[Lloyd]

Anyone else notice how computer games lure people into a false sense of confidence for the ring, but then when you actually drive it you realise you don't know it at all.

Yes! Absolutely correct. I think simulation practice helps you learn the general track layout, ie left or right coming up next but that's it. I also found it took me 4 REAL laps or so before my mind was able to even 'connect' or correlate what I had learnt on the PC with what I was seeing with my eyes.

Anyone, who drives the ring like they drive a game has a death wish.

[Rusty]

Lloyd, I had the same experience, after 3 laps I was starting to gain confidence in my knowledge gained from the game. I then did another trip as a passenger and sat in on about 5 fast laps and guided people for 10. Telling someone else what gear / speed, where to be on track, where the corner goes etc. etc. was great for cementing it in my mind. Really worth while if you've not done this before. It was also great fun adapting to different cars and drivers.

When I went back in October I did 2 sighting laps with friends and then a few faster laps and felt completely comfortable with where the track went and roughly how fast my car could go round it. By lap 5 of that trip I was really settled (except for a wheel trying to fall off ) and the last 4 laps were just great

Looking forward to settling the butterflies once again, I think that's my favourite part, transforming from nervous wreck into amateur 'ring fiend!

[Rusty]

Nobody's mentioned Forza2 yet, got to be the best driving game i've ever played.

Anyone else notice how computer games lure people into a false sense of confidence for the ring, but then when you actually drive it you realise you don't know it at all. The bump at schwedenkruez comes to mind....

Really disliked the Forza 'ring model, far tighter than the actual thing. I was hungover when playing it though rather like most of my 'ring laps Damned Warsteiner

Seen / heard so many British idiot bragging about crashing their car on the first lap. What's the point!

[stiglet]

WHEN i crash on the ring, it'll be at schwedencruez for sure. Scares the sh*t out of me.

And i won't brag about it.

[Rusty]

Don't do that! It's far too fast, crash as Wehrseifen like a mate did, he got away pretty lightly with it! Brake a little before the crest to slow the car and then wait until it's settled after the hump. I suppose with 100+ more bhp than you I can make up for it though I've seen 145 indicated in the dip before in mine, you don't get to scared if you don't look at the speedo