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[DD]

So Raceroom is out of beta? Had no idea.

What *are* the prices?

PS. There's something I still don't like about there not being a full game there. It's just like having rFactor2 beta or pCARS or something like that, except you have to pay for the vast majority of content. Just want that career-ish mode

It's still in beta, but open for everyone now.

 

[TJP]

I'm reading interesting feedback on the pricing of both cars and tracks. Some people think the cost is too high whilst others are looking at how long they play racing sims and think the cost is fine.

Cars:
MP4 12C 329 vRP
RUF, Corvette GT2, Z4 GT3, R8 LMS, Alpina B6 GT3 299 vRP each
BMW 635 249 vRP
Cougar, Canhard, Mistral, DMD 199 vRP each

Tracks:
Bathurst 549 vRP
Hockenheim 499 vRP
Portimao, Zandvoort 399 vRP each

Virtual Race Point costs:
500 = $6.47 USD
1100 = $12.95 USD
2000 = $21.59 USD
5000 = $51.83 USD

 

[1-D_FTW]

If you bought everything there, you're at 50 bucks and have a whopping 4 tracks.

Yeah, you don't have to buy all the cars. But that's not exactly a massive list either. If a retail game was giving you those 4 tracks and 11 cars for 50 dollars, I'd turn my nose up.

As I said before, if it proves successful (so it has lasting potential), and adds to the track list, I may be tempted with a 75 percent off Steam sale. But until then, it's a giant pass. Between rF2, Power and Glory, and the upcoming Assetto Corsa, I'm already sitting with three value packed games that all have physics that I find preferable anyways.

 

[Shaneus]

Yeah, the thing is that you need to provide some kind of value compared to what's already out there as complete packages. Right now, even Project CARS provides better value (if you've already bought it). And that's disregarding titles like GSC and those add-on packs/mods that 1-D_FTW mentioned.

I guess iRacing can kinda get away with it because it has the pedigree and userbase behind it but I think because of SimBin's history with providing whole games, it'll be a hard sell for them.

 

[Big Takeover]

I just don't see the end game with RR. If there were a legitimate ecosystem\community built around it that led you to purchase additional content then OK fine, but seems more like a boxed product sold piecemeal. By most accounts it plays well, I just don't see how it encourages players to make any sort of commitment.

I don't know, maybe that's not how it was conceived. For all I know they just said "Let's make a demo and sell some additional stuff for it. If people buy it great, if not no big deal. It's a test bed for GTR3 anyway."

 

[TJP]

Interesting comments so far. I think the cost is a little too rich for most people; IMO RR-RE is a quality product however many sims/racing games, be it PC or console, offer more bang for the buck. At the current prices only diehard SimBin fans and/or sim racing nuts will buy everything.

The free-to-play model with additional paid for content is a bold move in a niche gaming market where a core game is usually supported by DLC and user created mods.

 

[Big Takeover]

Interesting comments so far. I think the cost is a little too rich for most people; IMO RR-RE is a quality product however many sims/racing games, be it PC or console, offer more bang for the buck. At the current prices only diehard SimBin fans and/or sim racing nuts will buy everything.

The free-to-play model with additional paid for content is a bold move in a niche gaming market where a core game is usually supported by DLC and user created mods.

For sure.

If you price it out like 1-D did, then yeah, it doesn't look like good value at all.

Even though it's not F2P, I look at iRacing as the model take cues from. If RR offered an upgrade path where you were buying into championships, then microtransactions start making more sense. "I need X, Y, and Z so I can do this". There needs to be more layers besides straight-up trading money for a car, or a track.

I don't think they're that far off though.

I haven't played shit for sims in the last few months, but I'll pick up Zandy and a car when I do finally come back to it. I just don't think I'll want all the content.

 

[TJP]

Simraceway's idea of a fantasy car

Top Speed: 210 MPH
0-60 MP/H: 3.2 Seconds
Horsepower: 949 @ 7500 RPM
Torque: 678 @ 7000 RPM
Transmission: 5 Speed Manual
Drivetrain: RWD

 

[Three60]

^ OK that looks really cool

 

[Felix Lighter]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask or not. I'm not a huge racing sim guy but in preparation of the Oculus Rift, I was thinking of picking up a racing wheel. I also own GT5 and haven't actually taken the time to play it and a wheel would inspire me to dig into it. I'm very close to buying a Logitech G27 and I just wanted to make sure that it's still the wheel to get at it's price range?

 

[drugstore_cowboy]

Yeah it's a fine wheel for the money. Next step up would be the T500.

 

[paskowitz]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask or not. I'm not a huge racing sim guy but in preparation of the Oculus Rift, I was thinking of picking up a racing wheel. I also own GT5 and haven't actually taken the time to play it and a wheel would inspire me to dig into it. I'm very close to buying a Logitech G27 and I just wanted to make sure that it's still the wheel to get at it's price range?

G27 is the best wheel for the money.

 

[Felix Lighter]

Thanks guys. Sounds good. I'll probably wait for my tax refund.

 

[friday]

I have been wanting to play an open world game real bad. Preferably in motorcycle form. I would love some high quality desert racing or mountain roads that just go on for miles. It is a bummer that almost all open world racing games focus on cities and not places that are actually a lot of fun to drive on.


Anyone have any suggestions for me. The only thing that I know of is Forza Horizon and I dont own an Xbox.

 

[Arucardo]

I have been wanting to play an open world game real bad. Preferably in motorcycle form. I would love some high quality desert racing or mountain roads that just go on for miles. It is a bummer that almost all open world racing games focus on cities and not places that are actually a lot of fun to drive on.


Anyone have any suggestions for me. The only thing that I know of is Forza Horizon and I dont own an Xbox.

You could try FUEL (codemasters game that fits your criteria)

 

[Shaneus]

You could try FUEL (codemasters game that fits your criteria)

I was thinking exactly the same thing. It's far from a sim but it's a bit of fun for killing some time.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Definitely. Can't think of anything that fits the description better than FUEL.

 

[friday]

Actually I made that post right after testing out the demo. I wish the handling wasn't so floaty. Are the cars better than the bikes? Also I will need a game pad to really enjoy that game.

 

[Shaneus]

Actually, I don't know if it's still on sale or not but there's a game called "Nail'd" on GMG that I think I bought for a little over $3. It's not Steamworks and pretty sure it's not open world, but it might scratch your itch a little better than Fuel does.

 

[friday]

So I installed the REFueled mod (yeah you can mod the demo) and changed the controls around a bit. Made the game a bit more interesting, so I think I might grab it off of steam. I remember really wanting this game when it first came out, I just never took the plunge. Honestly I wish the game was a bit more challenging, but blasting around at full speed is pretty fun. Rainbow studios should have made a game like this, it would have been awesome.

 

[Shaneus]

Had no idea there was a mod. Might have to look into that.

 

[Piggus]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask or not. I'm not a huge racing sim guy but in preparation of the Oculus Rift, I was thinking of picking up a racing wheel. I also own GT5 and haven't actually taken the time to play it and a wheel would inspire me to dig into it. I'm very close to buying a Logitech G27 and I just wanted to make sure that it's still the wheel to get at it's price range?

If you're going to be playing GT5, I'd get a Fanatec GT3 RS rather than a G27. It works perfectly in GT5 and you can set up up to 5 presets for various car types to make them feel as realistic as possible. So for example I have a street car setting, a rally car setting with lower steering lock, etc. It's also belt-driven so it's a lot smoother and quieter than the G27. And it's an inch larger, so for street cars that's some added realism in itself.

If something breaks though, Logitech's support is apparently easier to deal with. I've had mine for about a year and haven't had any issues though. It's also a little more expensive than a G27 when you include petals and a shifter.

 

[ruttyboy]

After getting in touch with Logitech about my wheel, they won't fix it for me (which is fair enough, I bought it second hand and it's about five years old), but they have given me a 50% off voucher. This means I can get a G27 from their website for £125, I assume this is a good deal? Just checking in case I'm missing something obvious.

 

[Betta Lines]

Yes, that is a great deal.

 

[ruttyboy]

Thanks, I did look around and couldn't see it cheaper than about £190-200 elsewhere but I have a history of buying something expensive and then someone telling me I could have got it for some silly low price so I'm being cautious!

 

[Watevaman]

That's about 200 USD, which is pretty close to the lowest I've seen on the used market. I'd say it's a good deal.

 

[Arucardo]

After getting in touch with Logitech about my wheel, they won't fix it for me (which is fair enough, I bought it second hand and it's about five years old), but they have given me a 50% off voucher. This means I can get a G27 from their website for £125, I assume this is a good deal? Just checking in case I'm missing something obvious.

Holy shit! Logitech is so awesome, def. worth it for that price.

EDIT: Heard good things about Logitech's customer support so often now that I should really contact them about my pair of broken G35's :F

 

[Panda In Space]

I have been wanting to play an open world game real bad. Preferably in motorcycle form. I would love some high quality desert racing or mountain roads that just go on for miles. It is a bummer that almost all open world racing games focus on cities and not places that are actually a lot of fun to drive on.


Anyone have any suggestions for me. The only thing that I know of is Forza Horizon and I dont own an Xbox.

Try Test Drive Unlimited 2. Yes, there are bikes in it.

 

[-bakalhau-]

I have been wanting to play an open world game real bad. Preferably in motorcycle form. I would love some high quality desert racing or mountain roads that just go on for miles. It is a bummer that almost all open world racing games focus on cities and not places that are actually a lot of fun to drive on.


Anyone have any suggestions for me. The only thing that I know of is Forza Horizon and I dont own an Xbox.

I found the races to be very fun and original. They go through all kinds of dirt roads, on 20 different environments, some are very long, some are wide, some are very narrow. I had fun doing the races! Plus the duststorm and tornado races were awesome too.

Aside from that, free roaming is... Fun-ish. I don't know. Cars are too slow, bikes too. Environments are very repetitive and there's very, very little to see, except the zone HQs, it's fun the first time you get there on each one, but even those are lifeless... The driving model isn't very good (specially on tarmac), graphics are subpar, but I liked going from terrain to terrain. I definitely liked the desert environments, and to go from them to snowy mountains slowly. If it had a better budget/team, it could've been so much better, if it had TDU-like graphics and variety in NPC cars and buildings and actual towns even if destroyed or abandoned, it'd be much nicer to cruise around. And if there were goals or better things to search for while free roaming. It's still fun though, specially the races as I've said.

 

[DD]

Try Test Drive Unlimited 2. Yes, there are bikes in it.

wat/

 

[Arucardo]

Try Test Drive Unlimited 2. Yes, there are bikes in it.

Literally one of the worst driving games I've ever played. (TDU 1 was a lot better than the turd that's TDU2)

 

[Felix Lighter]

If you're going to be playing GT5, I'd get a Fanatec GT3 RS rather than a G27. It works perfectly in GT5 and you can set up up to 5 presets for various car types to make them feel as realistic as possible. So for example I have a street car setting, a rally car setting with lower steering lock, etc. It's also belt-driven so it's a lot smoother and quieter than the G27. And it's an inch larger, so for street cars that's some added realism in itself.

If something breaks though, Logitech's support is apparently easier to deal with. I've had mine for about a year and haven't had any issues though. It's also a little more expensive than a G27 when you include petals and a shifter.

I'm looking into this. Is it as widely compatible as the G27? I'm going to use whatever wheel for GT5 but also PC games as well. The base price is significantly cheaper but since I'm not seeing a separate shifter or pedals in any of the product pictures, I'm guessing they are sold separately? I'm also not seeing a lot of options for purchasing the wheel in the US. It looks like the only way is to order directly from Fanatec. Sorry for the noobie questions.

Edit:

Stupid me, one question answered in the product description and in your post. With the additional price of the pedals and shifter, I think I'll stick with the G27. I'm not a hardcore sim racer but I'd like to get a quality wheel, while keeping the price down, somewhat.

 

[Arucardo]

Always wondered how Fanatec gets away with the PS3 mode on the 360 compatible wheels at least. When you put it in to PS3 mode it literally shows up as a Logitech G25 (even on PC) and you can even use the logitech G25 drivers for it. I'm still using the G25 dirvers on pc with my PWTS wheel

. I should really give Fanatec's latest drivers a try to see if and how much they've improved.

 

[twinturbo2]

I have the MS Wireless Speed Wheel, how do I get it working with the SimBin PC racers?

 

[Arucardo]

I have the MS Wireless Speed Wheel, how do I get it working with the SimBin PC racers?

No idea if MS has actual PC drivers for it but if you have the wireless adapter for pc I'd imagine you just need xpadder to assign the correct buttons and axis'.

http://www.xpadder.com/
(I'm almost positive the pc will see it as a normal 360 gamepad but it might not have the correct settings as default so that's where xpadder comes in)

 

[Big Takeover]

I have the MS Wireless Speed Wheel, how do I get it working with the SimBin PC racers?

If the game supports a gamepad, your life will be made much easier. It will take a ton of trial and error to get it to feel right otherwise. Speed Wheel=360 controller to a PC, and that's fine. Standard receiver drivers would be all you need if the game has controller support.

When it works, it works great though.

 

[friday]

So I bought fuel today. I unlocked all the zones using refueled. I started riding south from the northwest end of the map and just kept going till I had to leave for work. Damn this game is huge. I only made it to the next zone south. You really cover a lot of ground in this game.

While the riding and driving physics are on the weak side it is still pretty fun to link roads and trails together on the off road bike. A game like this with a more advanced physics engine would be amazing. As it stands it is still pretty fun. This game plus mx unleashed physics would be great.

 

[ruttyboy]

In case anyone is interested, I took my wheel apart last night to see if I could find out what was wrong with it. Was a bit heavy handed and if it wasn't broken before, it is now... Managed to snap a wire going to a wheel button and forgot to mark the steering rack position before I took it apart.

Thankfully, it was broken before I got there anyway, the little segmented wheel thing on the motor sensor was cracked (a common fault I believe). Also, the plastic housing holding the gearbox/steering shaft in place had a hefty crack in it too, although I don't think this was causing any actual issues yet.

Guess I'll be ordering that G27.

 

[TJP]

Simracway has been mentioned here before and a few of us enjoy it, myself included. I was looking on Race Department for more Assetto Corsa news when I saw this: http://www.racedepartment.com/2013/02/simraceway-a-whopping-35-dollars-for-a-virtual-bugatti/

I know just $20 in SRW gives me far more cars and tracks (19 of them and all free) than RR-RE but the higher real world value cars are so overpriced it's little wonder people who've never played SRW are turned off trying it.

 

[Felix Lighter]

So I bought the G27 and now I need to start investigating PC racing Sims. I looked over the OP and the number of choices is a bit overwhelming. I'm familiar with Gran Tourismo, which I'm guessing would be consider a very accessible sim racer. What would be a good PC racer for someone with very little experience, looking to ease into some realistic driving games? I already have a few arcadey racing games in my Steam library to play around with the new wheel.

 

[Arucardo]

GTR 2 with the Power & Glory 3 mod isn't a terrible place to start with. Some cars are actually quite easy to drive even without any assists on and you can have the game tell you when to brake for corners and what gear to do it in.

Things like rFactor (2), Game Stock Car, iRacing and NetKar Pro are a little more difficult to get in to imo than some SimBin titles (and PnG3) which I find slightly more forgiving in most cases.

Just don't forget to change the steering angle to 18-23 degrees (if you're using 900 degrees of rotation for the wheel) in some of the "older" sims to make the car steer faster (don't need to work the wheel like a mad man for hairpins). Some newer games/sims like rFactor 2 and pCARS (which is sadly not available for newcomers right now) can detect your wheel range on their own and have an option to automatically match the steering angle for the wheel rotation. You have to change the steering angle every time you start a session (practice, qualy, race) unless you save the setup, you should be able to find the steering angle under general (or something like that) settings/setup for the car.

 

[Felix Lighter]

GTR 2 with the Power & Glory 3 mod isn't a terrible place to start with. Some cars are actually quite easy to drive even without any assists on and you can have the game tell you when to brake for corners and what gear to do it in.

Things like rFactor (2), Game Stock Car, iRacing and NetKar Pro are a little more difficult to get in to imo than some SimBin titles (and PnG3) which I find slightly more forgiving in most cases.

Just don't forget to change the steering angle to 18-23 degrees (if you're using 900 degrees of rotation for the wheel) in some of the "older" sims to make the car steer faster (don't need to work the wheel like a mad man for hairpins). Some newer games/sims like rFactor 2 and pCARS (which is sadly not available for newcomers right now) can detect your wheel range on their own and have an option to automatically match the steering angle for the wheel rotation. You have to change the steering angle every time you start a session (practice, qualy, race) unless you save the setup, you should be able to find the steering angle under general (or something like that) settings/setup for the car.

Thanks for the tips. I didn't know anything about the steering angle issue.

 

[Arucardo]

Thanks for the tips. I didn't know anything about the steering angle issue.

It's mostly just in older sims or games because the majority of wheels that were available at the time only had 270 degrees of rotation so the default setup in games was made for them.

I'm used to having 18-23 (depending on the car) degrees of steering angle with the wheel at 900 degrees, but if you feel that you still can't get something to be responsive enough you can decrease the wheel rotation degrees in the logitech profiler to 720 or 540 degrees for example.

 

[Three60]

Is anybody playing AutoClub Revolution? They just released a new trailer that got me intrigued Looks like a great car list also..

http://www.bsimracing.com/auto-club-revolution-moscow-track-trailer/#201302075909

 

[Felix Lighter]

The wheel works perfectly at my PC desk but not in my living room. I'll have to build something for setting it up in the livingroom for GT 5.

 

[Felix Lighter]

I starting to feel really stupid here. Do racing wheels take time to get used to? I've been playing around with Dirt 2 and I am struggling to maintain control in a lot of cases. I decided to see what it was like with a controller in the same race and it was so much easier to maintain control. I'm a little worried now that using the wheel is just going to be a handicap for me.

 

[Shaneus]

Dirt 2 is not a great game to use with a wheel, TBH. The implementation itself is good, but because of the surface variation, you never really get to get a "feel" for the car like you would if you were just driving around a road course.

Perhaps if you haven't played Dirt 2 before on anything, play it with a controller to see what it plays like without struggling with the wheel.

 

[Big Takeover]

I starting to feel really stupid here. Do racing wheels take time to get used to? I've been playing around with Dirt 2 and I am struggling to maintain control in a lot of cases. I decided to see what it was like with a controller in the same race and it was so much easier to maintain control. I'm a little worried now that using the wheel is just going to be a handicap for me.

They certainly do. You'll get used to it though. Just keep at it, and you'll get back to or beyond your controller skill level.

 

[Felix Lighter]

Dirt 2 is not a great game to use with a wheel, TBH. The implementation itself is good, but because of the surface variation, you never really get to get a "feel" for the car like you would if you were just driving around a road course.

Perhaps if you haven't played Dirt 2 before on anything, play it with a controller to see what it plays like without struggling with the wheel.

Yeah, I really want to play GT 5 with it but I'll need to build something to mount it on to use in my living room. However, my PC desk works perfectly, so I'm playing the racing games I own on PC, for now.

They certainly do. You'll get used to it though. Just keep at it, and you'll get back to or beyond your controller skill level.

Ok, I hope so. It's a lot of fun to use but frustrating at the same time because I have to either race too conservatively to win or risk loosing control every few turns.

Thanks for the tips, guys.

 

[Shaneus]

Yeah, I really want to play GT 5 with it but I'll need to build something to mount it on to use in my living room. However, my PC desk works perfectly, so I'm playing the racing games I own on PC, for now.

I can't think of any specific names right now, but I'm certain there are at least two or three F2P PC games where you can get your steering wheel on. I mean, Raceroom will for sure, and I thought there was another one where you could essentially demo the game with a limited number of tracks and cars.

Not all sims are created equal as far as how they implement FFB etc., but none come to mind that are absolutely horrible. Maybe even download a demo or two... there'd have to be a few out there you can try as well.