PC Racing Sims?

[Sharp Guy]

Check out Far Cry 3-6

I'll take a look. I remember playing the first Far Cry and it didn't thrill me. I'll give it another shot

[Sharp Guy]

I received a notice yesterday that Steam had Dirt Rally 2.0 for $5 or the full package (all add-ons etc) for $10. I opted for the latter and downloaded it onto a external drive last night. It was 109 gb and it still wasn't done downloading when I left for work this morning lol

I may have to jump on that dirt rally... I'm going to see if it's still available!

Dang! Now I just saw they have F1 2021 on sale for like $15. The Deluxe version is only a few bucks more. This is like buying Spyderco knives when they used to go on sale more

[soc_monki]

I received a notice yesterday that Steam had Dirt Rally 2.0 for $5 or the full package (all add-ons etc) for $10. I opted for the latter and downloaded it onto a external drive last night. It was 109 gb and it still wasn't done downloading when I left for work this morning lol

I'm just now getting a handle on driving well in Assetto Corsa. I finally decided to settle on learning to set up and drive a Mazda MX-5 Cup car. Kind of like training wheels. I chose a shortened version of Watkins Glen to started doing laps. I thought I was turning some good laps (for me). So I decided to try a race weekend. I used 8 AI opponents at 95% and didn't make it through the practice session. All the AI drives were at least 6 seconds faster than I was. I don't see how I'll ever get 6 seconds faster. I guess I need to find a shortcut haha

I may have to jump on that dirt rally... I'm going to see if it's still available!

As for gaining speed in assetto... Its just seat time. Also depends on the car. Some I can beat the ai handily, some I have no chance (like F1 cars). I REALLY like the Ford escort 1600. Such a fun car... Getting it on the limit and just staying there all the time, staying on the ragged edge of slip to get the maximum grip is exhausting, but so rewarding. Now I want to go play lol

I tried Dirt 2.0 briefly just to test it out. Seems pretty good. I had a Rally sim awhile back and it was lot of fun. I'm sure Dirt 2.0 will be fun too. I'll probably keep it on the back burner for awhile until I need a break from driving on road courses.

I don't think any amount of seat time will gain me 6 seconds on that small track. I have the line down and I'm driving it pretty hard already. I seem to remember that GTR2 penalized you for using driving aids. I wonder if AC is the same. I'm not using much but I do have the racing line turned on and maybe a little traction control. I also have the gearbox in set to auto but I'll down shift going into a corner before the sim does. I was about to start manually shifting anyway. Maybe I'll turn everything else off too and see if I go faster. I remember having this same issue with GTR2 and it was an eye opener when I finally figured out how much of a difference turning off the driving aids made.

Last night before bed I ran a Porsche 919 Hybrid prototype car around SPA. It's crazy how fast it is after driving a MX-5 for awhile. Then I switched to a Ferrari F1 car and was doing 193 mph up the hill. I forgot how much fun these racing sims can be! I'm still trying to resist buy another wheel and pedal set. I've read there are racing sim competitors who do quite well using only a game pad. The one I bought is in the link below. I'd like to continue with that for awhile before deciding I have to have a wheel to be consistent. Like I said I don't really have the room or desire to own another wheel set up but I do want a good racing experience. So I'll buy another if I decide it's a must have

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XY86472?ps ... ct_details

Assetto Corsa doesn't really penalize you, but you will likely be faster without aids. Stability control will keep you from pushing the car to the limit, traction control isn't necessary in a lot of cars, but some DO benefit from having a little. ABS doesn't hurt, I run it if the car has it. Always manual! Those miatas really need good momentum. I remember racing them in iRacing, and you had to flow and be smooth or you didn't do well at all. So fun to drive though!!

Gamepads can be very competitive, they just have such a small window when it comes to steering. A wheel gives you so much more resolution, you can be more aggressive with it, but if you can control your twitch muscles a gamepad can keep up. The good thing is Assetto lets you adjust different parameters so you can smooth the inputs quite a bit. It works, but I feel it's better to have it pretty sensitive. Otherwise it feels too dead to me.

[soc_monki]

I received a notice yesterday that Steam had Dirt Rally 2.0 for $5 or the full package (all add-ons etc) for $10. I opted for the latter and downloaded it onto a external drive last night. It was 109 gb and it still wasn't done downloading when I left for work this morning lol

I may have to jump on that dirt rally... I'm going to see if it's still available!

Dang! Now I just saw they have F1 2021 on sale for like $15. The Deluxe version is only a few bucks more. This is like buying Spyderco knives when they used to go on sale more

I got Dirt Rally 2.0! Haven't installed it yet, because I only have about 100 Gigs left on my hard drive. I ordered 2 2Tb hard drives this morning, one for me and one for the wife. At $45 a piece, why not? LOL

[Sharp Guy]

I got Dirt Rally 2.0! Haven't installed it yet, because I only have about 100 Gigs left on my hard drive. I ordered 2 2Tb hard drives this morning, one for me and one for the wife. At $45 a piece, why not? LOL

I have two 2Tb external drives. One I bought to back things up with and the other my friend sent me with 1Tb of music on it (a lot of music!). I need to just delete a bunch of stuff of the 1Tb drive in my PC since I already have it all on my back up drive. In the meantime I've installed Dirt 2.0 and now F1 2021 on the external drive and both games seem to run just fine. One of my USB ports on my machine is supposed to be high speed. So maybe that's helping IDK. But if I end up needing more space for games I'll just buy another drive. No big deal

A few minutes ago I ran a few laps on F1 2021. This one looks like it'll be pretty cool and it seems to work well with a game pad. I was using fairly basic settings while driving. I'll have to see what it's like in expert mode but I think I'm going to like this one. For less than $20 for the deluxe version it's well worth it. One of the reasons I got away from gaming was the crazy price of some of the games. For what I've purchased some of these games for recently I'm a happy camper

[Evil D]

Check out Far Cry 3-6

I'll take a look. I remember playing the first Far Cry and it didn't thrill me. I'll give it another shot

I really liked 5, being set in a more relatable environment instead of a make believe jungle made it more interesting for me.

[Sharp Guy]

Check out Far Cry 3-6

I'll take a look. I remember playing the first Far Cry and it didn't thrill me. I'll give it another shot

I really liked 5, being set in a more relatable environment instead of a make believe jungle made it more interesting for me.

I'll check out 5 at some point. Abbazaba said to check out 3-5. So I bought Far Cry 3 last night for like $3. I see FC 5 is on sale for $12. The Gold Edition is $18. I'm going to hold off. I have enough new stuff to keep me busy for awhile

[soc_monki]

I got Dirt Rally 2.0! Haven't installed it yet, because I only have about 100 Gigs left on my hard drive. I ordered 2 2Tb hard drives this morning, one for me and one for the wife. At $45 a piece, why not? LOL

I have two 2Tb external drives. One I bought to back things up with and the other my friend sent me with 1Tb of music on it (a lot of music!). I need to just delete a bunch of stuff of the 1Tb drive in my PC since I already have it all on my back up drive. In the meantime I've installed Dirt 2.0 and now F1 2021 on the external drive and both games seem to run just fine. One of my USB ports on my machine is supposed to be high speed. So maybe that's helping IDK. But if I end up needing more space for games I'll just buy another drive. No big deal

A few minutes ago I ran a few laps on F1 2021. This one looks like it'll be pretty cool and it seems to work well with a game pad. I was using fairly basic settings while driving. I'll have to see what it's like in expert mode but I think I'm going to like this one. For less than $20 for the deluxe version it's well worth it. One of the reasons I got away from gaming was the crazy price of some of the games. For what I've purchased some of these games for recently I'm a happy camper

The great thing about Steam, and Epic Games Store, are the sales! I rarely pay full price anymore, unless it's something I REALLY want. I bought Assetto Corsa twice (my wife took over my steam account, so I took hers LOL). The Epic store has free games all the time, and I have a huge library because I just get the free games, haven't even installed most of them. I have bought a few (recently Red Dead Redemption 2, on sale!) but I mean...I'll buy here and there but those free games...if I ever get bored I have a ton to try!

[abbazaba]

I've never had an issue with Cdkeys or Greenmangaming if you're looking for better price... Which is quite often the same or better than a steam sale. I bought the newest GRID for $4 in January this year.

[Sharp Guy]

The great thing about Steam, and Epic Games Store, are the sales! I rarely pay full price anymore, unless it's something I REALLY want. I bought Assetto Corsa twice (my wife took over my steam account, so I took hers LOL). The Epic store has free games all the time, and I have a huge library because I just get the free games, haven't even installed most of them. I have bought a few (recently Red Dead Redemption 2, on sale!) but I mean...I'll buy here and there but those free games...if I ever get bored I have a ton to try!

I've never had an issue with Cdkeys or Greenmangaming if you're looking for better price... Which is quite often the same or better than a steam sale. I bought the newest GRID for $4 in January this year.

I'll have to check out these other stores too. I need to stop looking because I have more to play than I have time for at the moment. I spent my Saturday night playing F1 and then Assetto Corsa until about midnight. This morning I started Far Cry 3. looks pretty good so far. I still have CoD Modern Warfare 2 to play also.

I just bought Madden NFL 22 for like $18. I played it back in the early days and got away from it when we started having kids.

So for now I need to stop looking before I get into hot water with my girl haha

[soc_monki]

Get her into gaming too! My wife and I have our computers in the same room, and we take at the same time. Sometimes play games together.

[Sharp Guy]

Get her into gaming too! My wife and I have our computers in the same room, and we take at the same time. Sometimes play games together.

Never say never but I won't be holding my breath for that to happen. I finally got her to try playing solitaire on her laptop and iPad about a year ago. I'm pretty sure that's about as far as she's probably going to go for gaming. She's not very techy and I think video games might intimidate her. I'll invite her to play and see what happens

[soc_monki]

Get her into gaming too! My wife and I have our computers in the same room, and we take at the same time. Sometimes play games together.

Never say never but I won't be holding my breath for that to happen. I finally got her to try playing solitaire on her laptop and iPad about a year ago. I'm pretty sure that's about as far as she's probably going to go for gaming. She's not very techy and I think video games might intimidate her. I'll invite her to play and see what happens

First solitaire, then candy crush and peggle, then Call of Duty

[Sharp Guy]

First solitaire, then candy crush and peggle, then Call of Duty

Last night I was asked "what are you doin'?" Me: messin' with a game (trying to get some of the content I paid for to work). Her: your such a boy. lol!

Then I told her your suggestion that she play 'puter games with me. She just laughed and said "why would I want to do that?" Me: I had a feeling you'd say something like that haha

Last night I downloaded Black Mesa (the Half-Life remake). I used to love Half-Life. I did the first part of the game before bed. It's pretty good!

Now I want a head crab stuffed animal again...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/392835064267?h ... SwsVVe4uPq

[soc_monki]

First solitaire, then candy crush and peggle, then Call of Duty

Last night I was asked "what are you doin'?" Me: messin' with a game (trying to get some of the content I paid for to work). Her: your such a boy. lol!

Then I told her your suggestion that she play 'puter games with me. She just laughed and said "why would I want to do that?" Me: I had a feeling you'd say something like that haha

Last night I downloaded Black Mesa (the Half-Life remake). I used to love Half-Life. I did the first part of the game before bed. It's pretty good!

Now I want a head crab stuffed animal again...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/392835064267?h ... SwsVVe4uPq

Dude! I've been playing black Mesa since they had a playable game out... Finally after what, 16 years (I think) they have finished it. Finally! I need to jump back on it. When I last played Xen wasn't finished. Been too heavy into mx bikes lately and haven't touched anything else. I need to do some different stuff...

Maybe some chivalry 2 as well... Been a hit since I played that.

[Sharp Guy]

So....life's become kind of busy lately but I've had some time before bed each night to run some laps around Spa in a F1 car. I've done it with Assetto Corsa, F1 2021, and rFactor 2. I've pretty much settled on using rFactor 2 because it has the "Formula Pro" cars that are pretty much the modern cars but with a V10. I've watching videos and studying how to drive fast around Spa. I have a pretty good setup too. I'm watching replays of me driving vs replays of someone else that's running much faster lap times and for the life of me I can't see where I can make up the difference in time. The one guy who's basic setup I'm using is almost 13 seconds faster than my best time. I don't get it

On side note, I had mentioned that I bought Madden NFL 22 on sale. I tried it for a little while the other night. Wow! It's come a long way from the early days. It seems like it could be addicting just like the racing. I'm sure I'll play it some more when I need a break from the racing

[Sharp Guy]

Oops!!!

It's a video on my Imgur account. You'll need to click to view. Don't forget to click the sound icon

https://i.imgur.com/HHeqW9a.mp4

Good thing I had the car damage on the sim turned off. I walked away without a scratch!


One lap around Melbourne...
https://i.imgur.com/qvOIvja.mp4

same lap different view....
https://i.imgur.com/Ly7D7SE.mp4


A little night driving around Imola in a Corvette...

https://i.imgur.com/wv7SHKN.mp4

[Sharp Guy]

...I have a logitech g27...

I broke down and got another wheel from Amazon last night. You mentioned you had a G27. I looked it up and I'm pretty sure that's the one I had previously. They had the G29 for a pretty good price. So I ordered that. It was delivered to my house a little over 3 hours later haha. I only had time to set it up and run some laps on a few different tracks on rFactor 2. It took a little getting used to but I guess I forgot what a difference the wheel makes. I thought I had my gamepad dialed in pretty well but my times were already better. I'll probably still use the gamepad sometimes unless I find a way to conveniently store the wheel under my desk. I need my PC for doing CAD work and other things too. So the wheel can't stay permanently

I'll test it with Assetto Corsa and F1 2021 tonight. I'm sure it'll be great

[soc_monki]

...I have a logitech g27...

I broke down and got another wheel from Amazon last night. You mentioned you had a G27. I looked it up and I'm pretty sure that's the one I had previously. They had the G29 for a pretty good price. So I ordered that. It was delivered to my house a little over 3 hours later haha. I only had time to set it up and run some laps on a few different tracks on rFactor 2. It took a little getting used to but I guess I forgot what a difference the wheel makes. I thought I had my gamepad dialed in pretty well but my times were already better. I'll probably still use the gamepad sometimes unless I find a way to conveniently store the wheel under my desk. I need my PC for doing CAD work and other things too. So the wheel can't stay permanently

I'll test it with Assetto Corsa and F1 2021 tonight. I'm sure it'll be great

The g29 is the next version, like the g25 was the previous. Very good budget wheels, although I think there are ones like the fanatecs that have better force feedback systems (belt driven), or you can go really high end with direct drive! I'm happy with logitech though. Reliable, affordable, and they have all kinds of mods you can get to make the experience better.

Sometimes it takes a little tweaking of gains and gamma to get the pedals and steering feeling good on assetto. The brakes can be touchy! Should be some tutorials out there on the web. I also tend to drive with my toes in bare feet... Otherwise I overpower the pedals haha! And having an actual clutch and H pattern shifter is so much fun. I remember slamming gears in iRacing...

[Sharp Guy]

The g29 is the next version, like the g25 was the previous. Very good budget wheels, although I think there are ones like the fanatecs that have better force feedback systems (belt driven), or you can go really high end with direct drive! I'm happy with logitech though. Reliable, affordable, and they have all kinds of mods you can get to make the experience better.

Sometimes it takes a little tweaking of gains and gamma to get the pedals and steering feeling good on assetto. The brakes can be touchy! Should be some tutorials out there on the web. I also tend to drive with my toes in bare feet... Otherwise I overpower the pedals haha! And having an actual clutch and H pattern shifter is so much fun. I remember slamming gears in iRacing...

I considered some of the higher end models and decided I really didn't want to spend that kind of money yet. I'm using a gaming laptop at this point. So I'd upgrade the PC before I buy a better wheel/pedal system. The laptop is working great with pretty much all settings maxed out. So I'm good for now as far as the PC's concerned. I also remembered that I had a good experience with my previous wheel. The price for the G29 was pretty reasonable and it seems to do what I want it to do.

I've now ran several different models of modern F1 cars in rFactor 2, AC, and F1 2021. Lap times are already much better. It's much easier to hit your marks and make corrections with the wheel which is exactly how I remember it when I switched from a controller to a wheel several years ago. I think I can actually be somewhat competitive now. I'm not when I use the gamepad. Which is why I decided to just buy another wheel.

6 hours of Spa and the Miami Grand Prix are this weekend. Spa is one of my favorite tracks. So I'll be running hot laps at Spa this week. I also have the Miami track on rFactor 2. Need to try that one too now that I have the wheel