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[Vennt]

Richard Burns Rally (PC)
I originally bought RBR for the Xbox, that turned out to be a catastrophic mistake. Average graphics, good physics model, but impossible to drive with an Xbox controller. It was taken back to the shops within 24 hours.

Having heard good things about the PC version of RBR, and wanting to feed my decent sim-racing setup something new I decided to pick up RBR for the PC, and a good move that was too, with a decent wheel this game makes sense , the driving model is second to none, with comparisons to GPL from the simming diehards very richly deserved, however this isn't for the faint of heart, or casual racer, it is super demanding and takes a small amount of dedication just to drive around the first few bends, let alone master the thrills of speeding along narrow lanes. Put that dedication in, finish the included Rally School tutorials section and the game really starts to come to life and rewards the patient. Theres not been a rally sim on the PC this good since Rally Trophy.


GTR by SBDT
This is the one that many many sim-racers are waiting for, the press demo proved that there was a lot more to ISI's IMS engine than previous titles that used it so far have shown (EA's F1 titles), the demo was two cars & one track but enough to have the regulars salivating for more.

GTR's website has now gone live, featuring screenshots & more details about this potential "GPL killer" - http://www.gtr-game.com - GTR is expected early November.


FIRST-Racing.Net - The Granddaddy of Papy is Back!
When rumours arose citing David Kaemmers departure from Papyrus Racing Games before the release of Nascar 2003 many simracers worried that the king of sim himself was out of the game, these worries were later exasperated by Vivendi's later closure of Papyrus. It seemed the team that had given us the holy Grand Prix Legends & redneck racing Nascar Series of simulations had been broken up for good.

Then the news broke about Kaemmer & John Henry, owner of the Red Sox, forming a partnership and buying back the GPL/Nascar source code from Sierra/Vivendi and thousands of simracers worldwide cried tears of joy, and declared the Red Sox "their baseball team" even those who'd never watched an inning in their life (Like me )

This weekend they launched their website, sparse on details but big on ambition:
http://www.first-racing.net/

FIRST-Racing.net will be providing leading edge PC simulations for racers worldwide. Through detailed training modules and tutorials, FIRST-Racing.net need be your only stop on the internet to learn how to race. FIRST-Racing.net will provide its customers with an extensive library of world class race cars and motor sports facilities for racing online. FIRST-Racing.net will sanction racing series in many types of cars for racers and enthusiasts of all skill levels. FIRST-Racing.net was founded in June of 2004 and its headquarters are in Bedford, Massachusetts.

This will be one to watch in the future, I and many other simracers are expecting this to be an online service rather than a buy-of-the-shelf title, simracing is a famously niche market and this is a step the hardcore simracers expect sooner or later.

rFactor
Having seen what SBDT have done with ISI's IMS engine it was hard to imagine that there wouldn't be more to come from ISI.

That "more to come" has turned out to be the isiMotor 2 engine, which shall drive their new rFactor series of simulations.

http://www.rfactor.net/

Presenting rFactor, the new racing simulation series from Image Space Incorporated. After successfully creating over a dozen products in the past ten years, Image Space takes the next logical step, creating a completely new technology base and development process. This new isiMotor 2.0 environment will be the foundation on which to build exciting products for many years to come.

The first installment in the rFactor series will be SR Grand Prix. Featuring mixed class road racing with ultra realistic dynamics, an immersive sound environment and stunning graphics, this is the game you will want to play.

rFactor will provide unprecedented flexibility, allowing the series to grow and evolve with mod community involvement, race club formation, and feedback from users worldwide. We hope you enjoy the ride!

So, lots to drive on the immediate horizon, and damn the future's so bright I gotta wear shades, a good time to be a simracer.

Now excuse me, but my Impreza has an appointment with a tree in Harwood Forest, again

 

[Gek54]

Does RBR PC suppor the Logitech Force Pro fully?????

GTR looks amazing and the TrackIR looks like a must have.

 

[Vennt]

Yeah it does, my brother, another hardcore simmer, is using a Logitech Force Pro.

The only controller I've heard of RBR having problems with is the TSW range.

 

[Gek54]

GRRReat. Time to upgrade then. Rally games need that TrackIR for when you get sidways. They need to use this with the PS2 cam!!!!

What specs are you running by the way?

 

[Shompola]

what do you mean by fully? 900 degree wheel and all that shit? There is a good driver for the ps2 force pro wheel other than the old pc equivalent to driving force?

 

[Vennt]

Athlon XP 2500+ @ Stock, 1 Gig memory & an ATI Radeon 9600xt 128Mb. and using a BRD Sim Pro Wheel & Pedals.

I'm running at 1024x768, all details/effects high and getting 78-85 fps in RBR.

edit: Shompola, not sure about the drivers as I use a different wheel, all I know is that he's using the PS2 version on the PC and others using that wheel are running it in at least 540degree mode in RBR. (apparently Rally cars use 540 degrees lock-to-lock)

 

[Gek54]

what do you mean by fully? 900 degree wheel and all that shit?

Yes, the PS2 version supports the 900 degrees and also lets you tweak the setting to how many degrees you want in case you find that all 900 is too much rotation which was true for me in RBR. 360 degrees seemed to be perfect.

Edit:

(apparently Rally cars use 540 degrees lock-to-lock)

Oh great, I have been wondering what they used. Deffinitely going to try that out tonight.

 

[Vennt]

You may find yourself going back to 360 BTW, 540 doesn't suit everybody and those that it didn't tend to use 360.

Also, if you haven't tried the GTR press demo yet, you can get it here

 

[LAMBO]

For me, PC owns the following genres, better graphics and controls:

Racing
Flight sims(air and space)
RTS
FPS
and soon RPG's, these free roaming do whatever you want worlds are the next big things in gaming. To me Gothic 2 kills any KOTOR, Fable, final fantasy, any rpg i've played really. Morrowind was very good but needs better combat.

 

[isamu]

I wish BRD would hurry up and bring out their FF_wheel. But rumours are floating around that they've filed for chapter 7 and will soon discontinue production on all their sim products

 

[Vennt]

Yeah, I've heard the same

It's a shame as their FF would have rocked hard, although probably cost more than it's weight in gold

They'll be missed, but providing such a high-quality product for such a niche market was always risky.

If they have a firesale I'll be picking up a set of Speed 7's, as I really do not think there will ever be another set of pedals like them for the PC. Prohibitive cost is the only thing stopping me getting a pair right now.

 

[FightyF]

Thanks for the post man, once I upgrade, RBR sounds like a good first purchase, with a kick-ass wheel.

 

[shpankey]

nice post, thnx for the updates (especially about legendary Papyrus - u made my day with that news!)