Hi all, i have owned a pretty decent sim rig for well over a year, but I just drift and play semi arcade games. I want to start actual sim racing now, the most popular games that I have seen are IRacing, Assetto corsa, Assetto corsa competizione, what else? where can i find communities to join races and take part in events? what is some advice you would give to someone just getting started?
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I've recently built my first Gaming PC, hence don't have a ton of money to spend in games. So, for the moment I can buy just one. I'm between AC, ACC and iRacing. I'm also interested in the Forza Horizon games, but I'm trying to lean more towards racing sims. Also, a little bit more context about me and my rig. My rig: CPU: Ryzen 5 4500 (I know I messed up with the CPU since I could 've just gone with the 5600x which is not much more expensive and performs better). GPU: RX 5600XT (I think this is a decent one for gaming when pushed close to 100%). RAM: 1x16gb 3200hz (Open to upgrade to 16gb in near future). Wheel and pedals: G25
Before building my PC I used to play Gran Turismo 6 in my PS3, so I love the variety of cars in GT games but I found out I like the "pro races" better, like GT3, LMP1, Formula 1, etc.
hello i have a question for those that have drive cars both irl and in game, which sim racing games are realistic and which is the most realistic. i see that many people think that asseto corsa is realistic but that would make me sad since i dont like asseto corsa and how cars handle in that game. is dirt rally 2.0 realistic, i love dirt rally 2.0 and how cars handle in that game on both gravel and asphalt. or is another game like forza horizon 5 or something from the need for speed franchise more realistic.
Again, took almost every comment from my previous post and combined them into all games, narrowed it down into 4 of them, and made a list of the upsides and downsides and just wanted to check to see if most people can agree on what others said. Thanks in advance!
I've just bought my first setup and can't wait to play something. But I have nothing downloaded and not sure where to start really. I will be buying f1 2021 as I'm an f1 fan but that comes out next month and I don't really want to wait that long haha. Thank in advance :)
(This is for PC)
There is no "best" game. Every game has strengths and weaknesses. It's up to you to find the game that suits best your needs.
Anyway here's my personal impressions on the ones I tried:
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iRacing: best online system by a long shot. It's the go-to if you are interested in racing competitively online. Looks are meh, not bad not great. Will make you poor due to the business model.
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Assetto Corsa Competizione: limited in scope (GT3 and GT4 only), but considered one of the best overall sims around. It is a steaming hot pile of garbage in VR unfortunately, so that kills it for me.
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Assetto Corsa: the base game looks and feels a little outdated, but it has a thriving community of modders that keeps updating it and adding new content. It requires a bit of patience to set up the mods, but once you do it's a gift that keeps on giving. Runs well in VR unlike ACC (different engine). Can be had on sale for very cheap. One of my favourites!
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rFactor 2: supposedly has the best physics of them all. Truth to be told, it's an ancient game with a terrible UI and you'll probably end up uninstalling and refunding within 20 minutes unless you are really hardcore about "muh physics".
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Project Cars 2: this game takes a lot of flak from the reddit hivemind but I think it is a very decent game overall. You can get it on sale very cheap and it has an amazing amount of content, some of which is very good, some not so much. Interface and graphics are very very good, also in VR. It is true that it is a little on the arcade side and at some point it will leave you wanting for more, but honestly I think it deserves a spot in a simracer collection.
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Automobilista 2: my go-to sim at the moment. It uses PC2 engine but tuned more on the simulation side, so it inherits PC2 strong suits (looks, interface, etc.) without the drawbacks. The content is not up to PC2 levels yet but it is already very good and constantly improving (the game is still in very active development!). It is by a very, very long shot the best looking sim for VR. Online is pretty much dead, so if that's your thing, you are not gonna like it.
In my opinion, the best sim racing game is available only on PlayStation: the GranTurismo series. The newest game if this series available now is GranTurismo Sport, with GranTurismo 7 set to be releast March 4th. If you are into sim racing, it might be worth investing in a PS4 or PS5, and the game is definitely worth buying if you already have one. This series offers a near-perfect balance between realism and arcade. It is compatible with almost any force-feedback sim racing wheel and pedal set, as well as losing little when playing with standard PlayStation controllers for the more casual players or those with more limited budgets. Single player campaigns are available on all GranTurismo games, and online player vs player are available on Gran Turismo 5 and up.
If it is online multi-player you are interested in, I would strongly recommend GranTurismo Sport. While it has the most limited selection of cars and tracks of them all, there is still plenty of each from which to choose, and it is the first of the series to be focused on online play. It also supports PlayStation VR, even this feature is limited only to time trial and head-to-head against the AI. GTSport features customizable online lobbies, as well as 3 different choices of races so that players can quickly and easily find a full lobby to race against. These choices are updated weekly, so there's always a new challenge waiting for you. Each of these daily races offers the player the ability to take as many practice laps as is desired, the fastest of which is used as your qualifying time so that you do not have to qualify for every single race. Before you enter the race, you also have the option to look at the leaderboard, which not only shows the top 10 qualifying lap times, it also allows you to watch their replays so you can see how it was accomplished, which is an invaluable tool for learning the fastest way around each track. When participating in these daily races, the games driver rating system assures that you are consistently matched against drivers of similar skill levels. Its sportsmanship rating systemp attempts to match clean drivers with clean drivers, and dirty drivers with dirty drivers. Although it did not function properly in GTSport, and was eventually restricted to only penalizing shortcuts because of a bug that would regularly leby penalties to the victims of collisions rather than to the driver at fault, I am hopeful that the full system will be ready in GT7, including collision penalties.
With it's many driver assist options, including automatic braking and steering assists, this game is a great option for new sim racers just getting started. It is a great first sim racing game due to its in-depth racing tutorials in the form of fun-to-play license tests and challenges, complete with detailed written instructions and accompanying videos to help new and experienced sim racers alike improve their skills by teaching the user how to get the most out of their car. These guides will teach you everything you need to know to be ready to take on any track. Starting with the basics, such as acceleration, braking, and simple corning, and finishing with advanced techniques used by professional race drivers, like managing the balance of the car with trail braking and precise throttle control, completing amd mastering these guides and challenges will give you the knowledge and skills you need to tackle any track with any car and, the best part, in any sim racing game. It even includes lessons on driving on dirt and snow.
The track selection in this series, especially in the newest rendition, Gran Turismo Sport, is somewhat of a disappointment to me. It has a decent selection of famous real-world circuits, including the ultimate course upon which to test the limits of driver and machine, the Nurburgring, it has too few real tracks for my tastes. While the series makes a good attempt to compensate for the lack of authentic race courses by having some the most fun fictional tracks upon which I have ever raced, it falls short for me in this regard because I strongly prefer the real tracks. Also, this is definitely not the game series for those that prefer racing on dirt and snow as has it only 1 or 2 of each of these types of tracks in each game.
Standing in contrast with its notable lack of real courses is the biggest reason that I find the Gran Turismo series to be the best sim racing game. It has amongst the widest selection of cars, the largest and most diverse of which can be found in GranTurismo 6. Family sedans, pickup trucks, popular sports cars, supercars, rare and coveted classic collectibles, history's most important racing machines, and race cars of today, including F1, can be found in this series. Almost every car's performance is carefully programed to closely match the acceleration, braking, and handling, of its real-world counterparts by using data collected from manufacturer test results in the programming process.
This series even includes a few imaginary cars. Designed within the laws of physics, but without the limits of the regulations of racing organizations, the most impressive of these theoretical cars is the X2010, which was first featured in GranTurismo 5. This beast features a twin turbo V6 engine that produces 1557hp and 715ft/lb of torque and is mounted to a 1200lb chassis. It also utilizes the now-banned fan suction technology pioneered by Chaparral 2J. This monster of a racing machine is capable of a top speed of 280mph, with a 1.4sec 0-60mph, a 2.8sec 0-120mph, a 6.1sec 0-200mph, and is able to pull an unheard of 8.25 lateral Gs. Not only is its appearance reminiscent of a fighter jet, whether your looking at it from the outside or from inside the cockpit, it also feels like one when your driving it. It's incredibly high speeds in both straight lines and around corners makes the turns feel almost as though they come faster than you can see them. That means that this car requires an intimate knowledge of the track on which you are driving and lighting-fast reflexes in order to get the most out of it. This car is, by far, the most exhilarating car I have ever driven in a sim racing game, and it alone makes the game worth buying in my opinion.