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PC Racing Sims Thread

I just got sent a key for SCE and SCE Beta. (only paid $35)

.. I don't get it
SCE is the full game on Steam, download that and then use the other key to unlock the beta (Games list, Properties, Betas tab). Or you could have them on separate installs if you don't want a crashy beta as your main version of SCE - I believe Mr Takeover is doing this.
 

TheBear

Member
SCE is the full game on Steam, download that and then use the other key to unlock the beta (Games list, Properties, Betas tab). Or you could have them on separate installs if you don't want a crashy beta as your main version of SCE - I believe Mr Takeover is doing this.

what's the beta for? isn't the game finished?
 

TheBear

Member
Oh right, I thought the crowdfunding was for a brand new game. So all that new stuff including V8's etc will be DLC. Cool!

Before I get into SCE, is the T300RS plug and play or does it need some adjustment in the settings?
 

Shaneus

Member
The beta is for the new content introduced during the crowd funding. The main game is not a beta. However they are changing more than just content over the next few months thanks to the campaign. New features, new interface, etc.
Yeah, it's pretty much this. But with the scope that most of the content generated from here until the new game is released (and possibly earlier content) will appear in the next game... I think?
 

Mascot

Member
Why do the pCARS patches need to go through Namco? I thought they were responsible for marketing/distribution and little else. I haven't followed the pcars funding closely.

I wondered the same. Maybe it's to check that licensing agreements haven't been compromised if the patch includes new liveries.
 

TheBear

Member
pTEUioI.png


Some cheap flipflops gave their life for better brake feel. Hilarious how much the pedals were improved with something so basic.

Just tried this myself and it works great! Thanks for the inspiration :)
 

_machine

Member
Why do the pCARS patches need to go through Namco? I thought they were responsible for marketing/distribution and little else. I haven't followed the pcars funding closely.

In a traditional publisher-developer relationship, from what I understand the publisher requests the dev team to create fixes for said game. I was of the understanding the SMS and Namco relationship was different.
I can't say I know for sure, but I would reckon it's for using Namco's QA and leveraging them to handle the platform holders, since even patching on consoles isn't as easy as it is on PC. It pretty much allows them to work more on the game rather than on external relations. Also, since it has Namco's name on it, they probably still want to do their internal checkup since it's their brand on the line.

How are the GSCE dev forums btw? Any interesting insight into the development? I'm still torn on getting the game (wheel might be unrepairable and I might not have much time for playing games for the rest of the year), but just insight might be worth it, just like it was for pCARS.
 
ftNtjEn.jpg


Tread lightly, Weevil.

I'm glad your flipflop isn't pregnant either. Phew.

I've had many a 'discussion' with the gf about how dangerous it is for her to drive in flipflops and the possibility of them getting stuck under the brake. Maybe that subconsciously gave me the idea. TM should pack in a couple of different thickness of foam inserts but the sceptic in me thinks they just want people to upgrade to better pedals.

Not what I wanted to hear :( Sorry man.
I was loving it before it started making unpleasant noises.
 

StuffRuff

Member
Supercar Challenge is pretty decent on PS3, and GT6 is worth looking at too. Check out Raceroom Racing Experience on PC (It's f2p and has a few free tracks & cars). Stock Car Extreme is an absolute must IMO, some of the best handling & FFB out there.

Regarding wheel rotation, you can try different rotation angles and see if they feel any better. Hold the two middle red buttons on the shifter and then press one of the 4 top buttons:

Top: 240 degrees
Right: 670 degrees
Left: 450 degrees
Bottom: 900 Default

Thanks for that! Didn't know about the button combos for rotation so that will come in handy :)

Will try and grab some pre-owned versions of GT6 and supercar challenge!
 
Oh right, I thought the crowdfunding was for a brand new game. So all that new stuff including V8's etc will be DLC. Cool!

Before I get into SCE, is the T300RS plug and play or does it need some adjustment in the settings?
In the case of SCE, it lacks the automatic steering ratio adjustment and soft lock found in many of the modern engines. So you need to set the wheel in the Thrustmaster driver to somewhere around 220/540/900 depending on which car you want to drive. Karts are around 220, Camaro and Opala are 900, everything else 540. You'll want to adjust the ratio in the garage of each car too - I use 220/14, 540/22 and 900/33. You can get away with setting the wheel to 540 for everything and just adjusting the ratio to more extreme values for the 220 and 900 cars, but that's less realistic. One of the updates on the way is an auto ratio adjustment - it can't come soon enough.

I explain it from about 1:50 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=774EbkFROsU

The FFB settings I show in the T500RS options can be applied to your T300RS, expect the overall forces can probably be at 75 instead of 60. You may also want to add some damper, as the T300 is more free-spinning.

Yeah, it's pretty much this. But with the scope that most of the content generated from here until the new game is released (and possibly earlier content) will appear in the next game... I think?
My impression is that they will carry as much tech and content over as possible. It doesn't sound like they plan to start from scratch on anything but the rendering system, but I could be wrong...
 
How are the GSCE dev forums btw? Any interesting insight into the development? I'm still torn on getting the game (wheel might be unrepairable and I might not have much time for playing games for the rest of the year), but just insight might be worth it, just like it was for pCARS.

It's nowhere near the scope of the pCARS dev forum, but that's to be expected. A lot of what they're creating at the moment is content for a finished game. There's not a lot of technicality to it, if that's what interests you. They are posting things like wip tracks, and community votes on track choices however.

I'm expecting business to pick up soon as they did say they're looking to get all this GSC content out by the end of the year, and then move on to the new game. Hopefully they'll share as much as they can.
 

Mascot

Member
I can't say I know for sure, but I would reckon it's for using Namco's QA and leveraging them to handle the platform holders, since even patching on consoles isn't as easy as it is on PC. It pretty much allows them to work more on the game rather than on external relations. Also, since it has Namco's name on it, they probably still want to do their internal checkup since it's their brand on the line.

Yup - makes sense!
 

_machine

Member
It's nowhere near the scope of the pCARS dev forum, but that's to be expected. A lot of what they're creating at the moment is content for a finished game. There's not a lot of technicality to it, if that's what interests you. They are posting things like wip tracks, and community votes on track choices however.

I'm expecting business to pick up soon as they did say they're looking to get all this GSC content out by the end of the year, and then move on to the new game. Hopefully they'll share as much as they can.
Reckoned as much, pure asset creation doesn't really interested me that much. Physics, tech, biz dev is usually more interesting for me, but naturally it's not something thats much left for GSCE. Still might pick it up at some point.
 

Zeth

Member
Got my T3PA Pro pedals - very nice! I put the conical rubber mod in the default position, which gives the longest travel I believe, and moved the actual rubber threading up a few mm. Think I should shorten it overall - that doesn't affect calibration does it? I'll just recalibrate after adjusting again.
 
Got my T3PA Pro pedals - very nice! I put the conical rubber mod in the default position, which gives the longest travel I believe, and moved the actual rubber threading up a few mm. Think I should shorten it overall - that doesn't affect calibration does it? I'll just recalibrate after adjusting again.
Yeah it self-calibrates the 100% position each time you plug it in. If you watch the input readout you'll see it jump to 100% as you start to push down slowly - it treats the furthest/hardest push as 100% from that point, and will keep moving the 100% point back if you keep pushing harder. If you don't do a full push before you start driving, that initial jump to 100% will happen the first time you touch the pedal, causing you to lock up immediately.
 

TheBear

Member
In the case of SCE, it lacks the automatic steering ratio adjustment and soft lock found in many of the modern engines. So you need to set the wheel in the Thrustmaster driver to somewhere around 220/540/900 depending on which car you want to drive. Karts are around 220, Camaro and Opala are 900, everything else 540. You'll want to adjust the ratio in the garage of each car too - I use 220/14, 540/22 and 900/33. You can get away with setting the wheel to 540 for everything and just adjusting the ratio to more extreme values for the 220 and 900 cars, but that's less realistic. One of the updates on the way is an auto ratio adjustment - it can't come soon enough.

I explain it from about 1:50 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=774EbkFROsU

The FFB settings I show in the T500RS options can be applied to your T300RS, expect the overall forces can probably be at 75 instead of 60. You may also want to add some damper, as the T300 is more free-spinning.

Thanks for this it's very helpful :)

Quick question about Project Cars PC performance. I've had a pretty solid 60fps on my 780/i5, but just now playing on Brands Hatch it was chugging around the 45fps mark. I've got everything set at max, what should I turn off to reach a stable 60fps?
 
Thanks for this it's very helpful :)

Quick question about Project Cars PC performance. I've had a pretty solid 60fps on my 780/i5, but just now playing on Brands Hatch it was chugging around the 45fps mark. I've got everything set at max, what should I turn off to reach a stable 60fps?
I'd take Reflections and Environment Map down to Medium first. Then maybe Shadows down to High. Then track detail, then car detail.
 

TheBear

Member
I'd take Reflections and Environment Map down to Medium first. Then maybe Shadows down to High. Then track detail, then car detail.

Will give it a go!

Also, I'm new to Race Room and wanted to buy some content whilst it's on sale.
So far I've got the Touring Car Classics, and was going to pick two of the following three packs to get a mixture of tracks and cars:

ADAC 2014
WTCC 2013
DTM 2013

Out of these packs which two would you recommend? looking mainly for SP content
(I should stop spending money on racing sims)
 

TJP

Member
Big changes coming to R3E soonish which should please the 'hardcore' sim driver/racer.

Does Assetto Corsa offer much if you already have pCars? Are there any pc sims with the Nissan 350z?
One could argue even more realistic physics and FFB however it's pretty much a hotlapping sim right now.

Each of the modern sims have something to offer 8)
 

Patrick S.

Banned
Does Assetto Corsa offer much if you already have pCars? Are there any pc sims with the Nissan 350z?

I pretty much abandoned pCARS for Assetto Corsa. Mod support is just so much more satisfying than wet or night races, my AC folder is like 30 gb because of all the tracks and cars I've added to it. It's actually a bit overwhelming. There is a car mod pack with a dozen or so tuned Japanese cars, and the Z is there, too. They even got the sound quite right IIRC.
 

Ark

Member
How is the "vibration" on accelerator/brake pedals? Meaningful?

If it's anything like the brake vibration on the V2's, it'll be 100% meaningless.

I'm mostly interested in the vertical pedal attachments or whatever their called for the V3's. If I had a tonne of money at hand I'd buy a set of V3's just for that :lol
 

paskowitz

Member
How is the "vibration" on accelerator/brake pedals? Meaningful?

See bold. Ok, maybe not 100% but like 90%. The only way to make "pedal vibration" realistic would be a super fast hydraulic system that can rapidly change brake pressure like a real car thus mimicking the effect of braking force traveling to the pedal. Buuut... that is not realistic at $300. What Fanatec really needs to do is put a large version of these motors in the ClubSport Shifter and on the clutch pedal so you can get feedback when shifting (IE shifter vibrates when you try to pull out of gear too early).

If it's anything like the brake vibration on the V2's, it'll be 100% meaningless.

I'm mostly interested in the vertical pedal attachments or whatever their called for the V3's. If I had a tonne of money at hand I'd buy a set of V3's just for that :lol

They are nice. There are a ton of option for mounting. So chances are you will find a position that works for you. I would have liked the D shaped pedal surface to be more adhesive, but you can just go a buy some grip tape. They are a bit of a pain to put on though. They are not meant to be quickly swapped, so once you have position, it's best to stick with it. I still wish there was a flipped mounting position for the pedals but there isn't (in fairness it would be antagonistic to the entire pedal design).

Which is why i am asking ;)

See above.


Are the CSPv3s worth it?

Yes if...
You play on console and have a Fanatec wheel with CSRE or CSPv1 pedals
You play on PC and use Logitech or any Thrustmaster pedal (probably want to upgrade your wheel in addition if you have a Logitech)
You have $300 and you just want new stuff

No if...
You have CSPv2s (IMO the V2 brake feel with a stiff spring is better. V3s do not come with dampers, they are extra, and to me this is a step back)
You have any high end sim racing pedal (DSD, Tilton, etc)
You play on console and have Logitech or Thrustmaster wheels (CSPv3 is not compatible, you must have a Fanatec wheel in this scenario)
$300 is a lot of money for anything that is not a new console or big PC gaming part

Sadly, I mad a dumb move. I have a set of CSPv2s and the v3s are not worth the upgrade. Even if I sell my CSPv2s I am likely out $100-200. Unless Fanatec goes all hydraulic, I will not be upgrading again.
 

TheBear

Member
In the case of SCE, it lacks the automatic steering ratio adjustment and soft lock found in many of the modern engines. So you need to set the wheel in the Thrustmaster driver to somewhere around 220/540/900 depending on which car you want to drive. Karts are around 220, Camaro and Opala are 900, everything else 540. You'll want to adjust the ratio in the garage of each car too - I use 220/14, 540/22 and 900/33. You can get away with setting the wheel to 540 for everything and just adjusting the ratio to more extreme values for the 220 and 900 cars, but that's less realistic. One of the updates on the way is an auto ratio adjustment - it can't come soon enough.

How far off is the update?
Tried out GCSE last night and the cars handled terribly! wish I tried this fix at the time
 

TJP

Member
How far off is the update?
Tried out GCSE last night and the cars handled terribly! wish I tried this fix at the time
First time I've read SCE handle terribly 8) Take a look through this thread which explains how to set up wheels for SCE: http://www.racedepartment.com/threa...-steering-wheel-for-stock-car-extreme.100889/

Hopefully you'll find setting for your wheel that is agreeable.

As for the update, hopefully the auto steering lock and degrees of rotation comes out soon.
 
How far off is the update?
Tried out GCSE last night and the cars handled terribly! wish I tried this fix at the time
If you've set the T300 similarly to how I show in the vid, plus the stuff in the control options in the sim and the ratio adjustment in the garage, then the cars should not handle terribly. The update for auto steering ratio isn't going to change the handling, it'll just mean you don't have to set the lock and ratio options each time.
 
No if...
You have CSPv2s (IMO the V2 brake feel with a stiff spring is better. V3s do not come with dampers, they are extra, and to me this is a step back)

Sadly, I mad a dumb move. I have a set of CSPv2s and the v3s are not worth the upgrade. Even if I sell my CSPv2s I am likely out $100-200. Unless Fanatec goes all hydraulic, I will not be upgrading again.

I'm sorry it hasn't worked out for you, but thanks for the honest insight.

As you said, it's a shame the damper is a separate purchase. At $370 for both that puts it only a couple of bucks away from the ProtoSimTech PT-1, and for PC-only use that's a no-brainer choice for me.

EDIT: I did what I should have done months ago, and put myself on the waitlist for the PT-1s. It'll probably be well into next year before I'll have an opportunity to buy them, but that's fine. I'm in no rush.
 

TheBear

Member
Having trouble accessing the Thrustmaster Control Panel in Windows 10. Reinstalled the drivers and the control panel just does not appear. Is an update due or is there another issue?

If you've set the T300 similarly to how I show in the vid, plus the stuff in the control options in the sim and the ratio adjustment in the garage, then the cars should not handle terribly. The update for auto steering ratio isn't going to change the handling, it'll just mean you don't have to set the lock and ratio options each time.

I finally got around to watching this, it's very helpful! Thank you

Why do you disable VSync

EDIT: Had a quick with the suggested settings, felt much better (although I can't seem to access the control panel on Win10 so I haven't made those adjustments)
My only complaint at the moment would be that the wheel feels a little slack in my hands
 
I finally got around to watching this, it's very helpful! Thank you

Why do you disable VSync

EDIT: Had a quick with the suggested settings, felt much better (although I can't seem to access the control panel on Win10 so I haven't made those adjustments)
My only complaint at the moment would be that the wheel feels a little slack in my hands
I think Mr Takeover was also struggling with Thrustmaster drivers in in Win10. There's some pretty important settings in there, so you need to get that working in order to deal with that slackness. You may need to up the strength a bit, or add some damper.

As for why I disable v-sync, I do this for all sims to reduce input lag. It's a common recommendation, as it's very important to have the most responsive visual output relative to your input. The less lag there is, the more connected you will feel to the car. V-sync adds approx 16ms of lag. Not a big deal for a relaxed drive, but a major difference in something quick, being driven at the limit. More lag makes the car feel less responsive - you're effectively giving it more 'inertia'. You can test it for yourself quite easily, if you pick a car with a wheel with a centre stripe, and if your own rim has a centre stripe. Make sure the in-game wheel is rotating 1:1 with your wheel, and then steer it rapidly side to side. Do it with v-sync on, and then with v-sync off. You should clearly see the virtual and real stripe matching up better with v-sync off. But more importantly, it will make your FFB feel like it is telling you the right things at the right time.

The downside is that you get tearing, which is where tech like G-sync and Freesync come in. I have standard 60Hz displays, and I've learnt to ignore the tearing. The other downside is a variable framerate, which can look juddery. V-sync effectively caps your framerate at 60fps (assuming you have a 60Hz display), so it looks very smooth. Take v-sync off, and you're freeing your PC to hit whatever framerate it is capable of, which can be extremely variable. To prevent this, I run a frame limiter to cap the framerate at 60fps, making it look as smooth as v-sync (but with tearing). A few sims have frame limiters for this purpose - SCE has one in the PLR file.
 
EDIT: Had a quick with the suggested settings, felt much better (although I can't seem to access the control panel on Win10 so I haven't made those adjustments)
My only complaint at the moment would be that the wheel feels a little slack in my hands

I had the same problem. I had to run the driver install as admin. Might have had to uninstall whatever was partially installed.

Great response on input lag, Dr. Lines.
 

Ark

Member
Having trouble accessing the Thrustmaster Control Panel in Windows 10. Reinstalled the drivers and the control panel just does not appear. Is an update due or is there another issue?

I had the same problem. For some reason though, the third time I tried installing the most recent drivers it worked for me.
 

TheBear

Member
I think Mr Takeover was also struggling with Thrustmaster drivers in in Win10. There's some pretty important settings in there, so you need to get that working in order to deal with that slackness. You may need to up the strength a bit, or add some damper.

Made the changes as per the video, the steering still feels a bit light for my liking, compared to PCars which has a very firm feel to the steering. Where should I adjust the strength or damper?

Also, found the control panel! Had to search for 'game' in the search bar, which brought up USB controllers and could access it via properties.

Thanks for the help everyone :)
 
Made the changes as per the video, the steering still feels a bit light for my liking, compared to PCars which has a very firm feel to the steering. Where should I adjust the strength or damper?

Also, found the control panel! Had to search for 'game' in the search bar, which brought up USB controllers and could access it via properties.

Thanks for the help everyone :)
At 3:20 in my vid, I show the FFB settings in the control panel. Yours should look similar, but as I said, you'll probably want strength at 75 instead of 60. Your Constant, Periodic and Spring settings should look the same as mine, but you may want to increase the Damper. I have it at 0 because the T500 has much more mechanical damping than a T300. I'd say maybe set it at 20-30. In the sim, there is a basic feedback strength setting too, as shown at about 4:12 in the vid. Again I have that around 60, maybe you should try 80.

PCARS does seem to deliver excessively strong FFB at the same value - I prefer to turn it lower. You shouldn't aim have the strongest possible FFB btw - it might initially feel more like real steering weight, but you'll be clipping the signal and missing the detail of the output. The motors in these wheels aren't powerful enough to deliver weight and detail at the same time.
 
Finally downloaded the rFactor 2 demo but it's giving me some shader error and won't load the track, so I guess I have a non compatible graphics card? What's some cheapo card that will run this and AC properly? I just want to hot lap in these games.
 
Finally downloaded the rFactor 2 demo but it's giving me some shader error and won't load the track, so I guess I have a non compatible graphics card? What's some cheapo card that will run this and AC properly? I just want to hot lap in these games.

A quick google search turned up this can happen if you don't install it on your Windows drive. Perhaps that's the case? That's where I have mine because the load times are a bit much on my mechanical.

If you still need a card, start at the 750ti, and jump to the 270x if you're willing to part with more money. Beyond that the choices are infinite.
 

TJP

Member
Nordschleife?
That's a long way off from what I recall. Edit: the laser scanned surface for R3E, iRacing and AC is already out of date: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155409290105454.1073741999.445535095453&type=1

I'd suggest he is referring to tech improvements relating to handling.
Indeed although I have to be careful as what is tested isn't always making it into the public builds. That said, there are changes being made thanks to drivers such as Kelvin van der Linde and various DTM drivers such as Bruno Spengler.

There is an upcoming live stream on the 21st August at 20:00CEST that RD have the details for: http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/upcoming-sector3-livestream-physics-feature.109977/

untitled-png.102578

For the record, Sector 3 didn't pay me for this semi-advertisement :) This is a 'heads up' for those still interested in R3E.
 

TheBear

Member
PCARS does seem to deliver excessively strong FFB at the same value - I prefer to turn it lower. You shouldn't aim have the strongest possible FFB btw - it might initially feel more like real steering weight, but you'll be clipping the signal and missing the detail of the output. The motors in these wheels aren't powerful enough to deliver weight and detail at the same time.

So does GCSE have a lighter steering feel for you than say iRacing or RRE?

EDIT: Tested it against both RRE and iRacing, GCSE is noticeably looser
 

Dave_6

Member
Anyone here ever had any issues using a newer wheel like a T500 with older games like Race 07 and GTR2? Just curious if those older games would recognize that wheel or not.
 

Arucardo

Member
Anyone here ever had any issues using a newer wheel like a T500 with older games like Race 07 and GTR2? Just curious if those older games would recognize that wheel or not.

Both worked fine for me with a TX (almost the same wheel I guess) on Win 7. Haven't had a chance to test them in Windows 10 yet though.
 
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