Simulator Recomedation (Best Simulator List)

[Stefan Lazic]

Hi ,

Can anyone recommend a driving simulator for windows .

Also , whats your favorite simulation game?

[BetaAddict]

Need for speed. When I was a kid, my friend had NFS and a driving wheel+pedal set. Absolutely loved how real it felt. It is a racing game, but you can always play in freestyle mode and just drive at speed limits without getting clocked by cops like a regular upstanding citizen.

[vladmphoto]

Need for speed. When I was a kid, my friend had NFS and a driving wheel+pedal set. Absolutely loved how real it felt. It is a racing game, but you can always play in freestyle mode and just drive at speed limits without getting clocked by cops like a regular upstanding citizen.

You're kidding right? I hope you didn't just refer to NFS as a simulator..........Need for Speed is as much a simulator as Super Mario is.......

The best simulator right now is iRacing but they charge a monthly fee and it is a VERY frustrating sim experience. Very difficult to advance in license classes because any little mistake such as bump or grass cutting will cause you to lose points (even if it isn't your fault). It is NOT worth the money but unfortunately is the best out there in terms of physics and modeling. All their tracks are real tracks which have been laser scanned in 3D so every little bump or crack in the road you will feel if your controller has force feedback plus they are extremely accurate. The handling of the cars is the best I have seen since they use a mountain of telemetry and real-life figures for the in-sim cars (also real cars).

[tsupersonic]

Need for speed. When I was a kid, my friend had NFS and a driving wheel+pedal set. Absolutely loved how real it felt. It is a racing game, but you can always play in freestyle mode and just drive at speed limits without getting clocked by cops like a regular upstanding citizen.

NFS Is more of an arcade than an actual SIM. Shift/Shift 2 are good, but lacks the fit/finish of Forza/GT on the 360/PS3.

[MightyJordan]

I've never tried iRacing before, due to the monthly fees, but yeah, I'd reckon that would be the best simulator around nowadays. There are good alternatives on the PC though. Before iRacing came along, most people would agree that SimBin made the best simulators. Their latest one (not counting expansions and DLC) is RACE 07, and there's plenty of expansions to it; the most notable one being GTR Evolution. You should be able to get it cheap soon, as their newest game, GTR 3, was announced not too long ago, and it should be coming out this year.

Another good alternative is rFactor. It's got a pretty dedicated community, and loads of mods for it (but so does RACE 07, for that matter).

[thommcg]

[Lord Zog]

rFactor is a very good one. I've used it with a G27 and e-brake mod and patiently waiting for rFactor 2. :)

[Mr_Edwardo]

I've spent some time with most of the major sims, here are some of the main contenders:

- iRacing - most accurate tracks (laser scanned), most heavily controlled race system / environment (no c*cks driving backwards), possibly the best physics model. Constantly updated as it's a subscription based sim. Expect to pay for a base subscription, PLUS extra for any content you wish to 'buy' i.e. extra tracks, cars. No offline play - must be launched through the website. No AI cars.

- Netkar Pro - Probably the best tyre model out there (and that's the hardest thing to get right). Pretty cheap. Online racing can be patchy in terms of finding a populated race without any wreckers.

- Live For Speed - Used to be the big boy, now is somewhat deserted by most. Not seen much development recently, plus an ageing graphics engine doesn't help.

- rFactor - Best for user-created content, literally the whole game is fuelled by community mods (and was designed this way). Doesn't look great any more as it's a few years old. However, rFactor 2 will be out this year (public beta to be released probably next week) and looks to be 'the balls'

- GTR2 - fairly old now, but probably still the best GT sim. Built by the old Simbin team (before the core team all left) which makes it somewhat better than the later Simbin games such as Race 07 etc. Dynamic lighting is awesome, 24-hour races into the night if you have the balls :)

sites to check out if you want to get into sim racing:

http://www.racedepartment.com

http://nogripracing.com

http://www.insidesimracing.tv/

Hope this helps!

Ed

[Dashel]

Good list so far, I'm partial to GTR2 over the newer stuff and rFactor as well. The sub on iRacing isn't for the casual player.

For something a little less hardcore, Shift2 is a solid game.

[Mr_Edwardo]

Good list so far, I'm partial to GTR2 over the newer stuff and rFactor as well. The sub on iRacing isn't for the casual player.

For something a little less hardcore, Shift2 is a solid game.

Yep, Shift 2 is a good game too - interestingly it's made by a lot of the guys who worked on GTR2 before leaving Simbin. They are now working on a 'community powered' sim called Project c.a.r.s. http://www.wmdportal.com/projects/cars/

Ed

[Cereal Bawks]

+1 for Project CARS

Before you get up in a tizzy in regards to SMS and the SHIFT series. Yeah, SMS had a big mouth when it came to marketing those. Project CARS however, they acknowledged all the kludging they've added to the physics engine for making SHIFT "consolable". That ****'s removed now, the engine is making strides. Some of the developers have actual racing experience, and the previous Stig, Ben Collins, is on as a consultant. He's actually the reason, why physics changed so much recently, and for the better. More improvements are in the pipeline.

You should go into this game with an open mind. Just because it "feels" different than the other sims, doesn't make the physics wrong. As I said, there's people with racing experience and Ben Collins at the helm. And you can follow their discourse, which led and will lead to changes, in the open. You can't claim this for the other projects.

And the game's still (pre-)alpha.

10 bux gets you monthly development builds, 25 bux gets you weekly ones. If the project turns out a success, especially financially, contributors get ROI depending on their share. There's ways to contribute up to 25000?, but I doubt anyone here won the lottery.

Here's hotlaps on Bathurst (older build) and Spa (current build):