Best driving game?

Yep LFS definately worth a go, did 5 years of nearly exclusively LFS before Iracing came out, just got a little bored with the slow rate of progress.

Great demo to download especially if you've a wheel.
 
GRID is by far the best racing game i've ever played.

Only problem is no one seems to play on any decent races. Everyone just seems to play the same race over and over again (the Bridgestone one). Which really ruins it for me. I generally end up playing on a server with 2/3 people on due to this.
 
Lyon85 said:
If you're gonna give it a go here are a few things to consider:

Yeah the G25 is still a belter for the cash.

Don't buy GTR2 retail (almost impossible in the UK now anyway), at the moment it is incompatible with SRW. They are having issues with people with retail copies joining their servers. Instead you can subscribe to pro membership (about £3 a month), this will get you unlimited mod downloads, entry into some cash prize competitions for free and all the extra funky features like telemetry when they go live. More importantly this will give you a downloadable copy of GTR2 free as a promotion. You can unsubscribe afterwards if you like, but that's GTR2 for £3, cant go wrong. This downloadable client is a SRW version and will only connect to the SRW servers (I'm told by staff this wasn't actually intentional, but their partner SimBins fault), but the key supplied works with retail copies as well. So you could install both versions if you wanted to connect to retail servers, you just have to get hold of the retail disc from a friend or a more shady place!

Servers are currently located near the west coast USA, this isn't ideal. There are plenty of UK drivers on there, and it is race-able, but the rFactor servers in particular sometimes suffer from large lag spikes. Cars will warp around slightly online, this rarely causes any incidents, it just looks stupid. We are told the lag spikes are issues with SRW uploading data for telemetry in real time and a fix is in the works. They have so far been excellent with providing what they say they are working on. This is a live feed of some of the races for reference.

GTR is great, but rFactor is where the real meat lies. All of downloadable content is for rFactor alone, the GTR servers just use stock content. They have implemented a new one click install feature which is a god send. Sometimes you still have to do a little work after its installed because of something strange the moder did to the content, but normally it works a treat. So I would recommend buying rFactor and subbing for at least a month for the free copy of GTR.

Hope this bit doesn't sound patronising, not sure about your experience level. If you're not a sim racer then be prepared to get frustrated, sims wont flatter you like GRID does, small mistakes can turn into big crashes, however SRW is a good way of getting into sim racing as it has a friendly community with newbies and pros to learn from. If you are completely new to it then GTR2 has a fantastic training mode that teaches you the art of driving fast on a circuit, a good place to start, you will learn everything else you need to know by watching and imitating people online. As for rally, Richard Burns Rally also has a tutorial mode that will teach you the art of driving fast sideways and on the loose stuff. Or you could just get stuck in and try your luck.

Lastly, there is a lot of fun to be had on rFactor and co, everything you learn will naturally carry over to sims years down the line. It feels like a much larger investment than most video games, and its a highly satisfying hobby.

That turned out a bit longer than expected.
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Thanks for the above post - hugely helpful, I took you're advice and subbed pro on SRW (which seems to be the target of a great deal of flak from modders!) and am now downloading my copy of GTR2!!! fantastic deal! on the lucky side it says downloadable only prior to the 30th October, so unless they mean 2010 I got lucky!!!

Also DL rFactor and gave it a quick test drive using a X360 controller (going to get the G25 wheel at the eotm along with a new monitor) - seems pretty good, definately more sim orientated than arcadey which is what I was after.

Been trying to download mods from SRW but there having issues with the site, it just says I've reached my DL limit even though I haven't downloaded anything yet!!!! but they have said they are working on it.

Cant go wrong though £3 for GTR2! thanks very much mate!

Got some friends coming round next week who are wanting to take a look at it too (also signed up for free trial of iRacing - thank you to the guy above who provided me with the racing dynamics link, that still works!) got plenty of time to play while my Eve Online char is busy training for covert ops! :D

Are there any ROAD based driving games out there other than TDU???
 
bayo000 said:
If you want something to just drive around on open roads check out Test Drive unlimited. Its got some flaws but its great to just turn on pick one of your cars/motorbikes and drive around Hawaii. :)
There are chalanges/races you can do to earn cash.
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Got that on the Xbox, always thought it was massively underrated - sure its no sim but the concept/idea of it (as a kind of driving MMO) was very clever just a shame that they didnt manage to pull it off fully.

Maybe a TDU 2?
 
I saw this video an age ago (rFactor) but was always impressed with the heel & toe driving, what do you guys think???

lol@the monitor

and RBR:

 
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Look forward to seeing you in Iracing matey :) , once your in check out the England club forums , the general forum gets a bit unruly, whereas the England guys are as expected a very friendly civilised bunch.

If you can find a copy RBR is fantastic on Dirt ,the tarmac stuffs a bit off, but the sensation of speed in that game is superb.
 
I really need to invest in a new decent desk, this Ikea jobbie is falling to bits and now woddles dangerously when I turn the force feedback on!
 
ThorpedoUK said:
Thanks for the above post - hugely helpful, I took you're advice and subbed pro on SRW (which seems to be the target of a great deal of flak from modders!) and am now downloading my copy of GTR2!!! fantastic deal! on the lucky side it says downloadable only prior to the 30th October, so unless they mean 2010 I got lucky!!!

Also DL rFactor and gave it a quick test drive using a X360 controller (going to get the G25 wheel at the eotm along with a new monitor) - seems pretty good, definately more sim orientated than arcadey which is what I was after.

Been trying to download mods from SRW but there having issues with the site, it just says I've reached my DL limit even though I haven't downloaded anything yet!!!! but they have said they are working on it.

Cant go wrong though £3 for GTR2! thanks very much mate!

Got some friends coming round next week who are wanting to take a look at it too (also signed up for free trial of iRacing - thank you to the guy above who provided me with the racing dynamics link, that still works!) got plenty of time to play while my Eve Online char is busy training for covert ops! :D

Are there any ROAD based driving games out there other than TDU???
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NP :D

About the GTR 2 date, they are having to keep it open past the initial promotion date because retail clients being unable to connect to the servers would mean that only a small handful of early SRW adopters would be able to play. If they don't figure something out they are going to have to keep it open indefinitely.

Yeah you really shouldn't be getting a DL limit error, there are no limits as a Pro member. Must be something that has recently gone wrong, was working for me last week. I'm sure it'll be working in a day or two :) Dont judge rFactor by it's pretty boring stock content (except the F3 and F1 car, update to 1.255 for that). Once the mod install is working you'll see why it's such an amazing game.

Add me up if you fancy a drive :)
 
This this is by the same guys who did the GTR and Race games. Only has the BMW so not much choice. Also likes of rFactor and Richard Burns Rally can be picked up for peanuts on the bay now.
 
neil473 said:
Look forward to seeing you in Iracing matey :) , once your in check out the England club forums , the general forum gets a bit unruly, whereas the England guys are as expected a very friendly civilised bunch.

If you can find a copy RBR is fantastic on Dirt ,the tarmac stuffs a bit off, but the sensation of speed in that game is superb.
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Thanks fella! :D

I'll check out the England Club forums and say hello, just in the middle of installing the client now (didnt get chance yesterday) so looking forward to trying it out!

I desperately need a wheel though, hoping to get hold of a G25 and pedals at eotm too, for now have to make do with the 360 controller.

I've had a look on eBay and RBR is going cheap, so will pick up a copy at eotm - also probably grab hold of rFactor from there (tenner for the 2008 dvd as opposed to 24.99 through the download!).

Cheers
 
Lyon85 said:
NP :D

About the GTR 2 date, they are having to keep it open past the initial promotion date because retail clients being unable to connect to the servers would mean that only a small handful of early SRW adopters would be able to play. If they don't figure something out they are going to have to keep it open indefinitely.

Yeah you really shouldn't be getting a DL limit error, there are no limits as a Pro member. Must be something that has recently gone wrong, was working for me last week. I'm sure it'll be working in a day or two :) Dont judge rFactor by it's pretty boring stock content (except the F3 and F1 car, update to 1.255 for that). Once the mod install is working you'll see why it's such an amazing game.

Add me up if you fancy a drive :)
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GTR-2 is awesome, very tough - probably not helping with my method of controller but that will be sorted soonish.

Interesting about the server issues, SRW is pretty new though it seems so just the usual issues early on, the 1-click install doesnt work for me though on any of the mods, does it for you? I am using google chrome which might be the problem.

Got any recommendations on downloads/mods?? I got the EVO vs Subaru & JDM drift mod which looks awesome but is almost impossible without a wheel.

Track recommendations would be really cool if you know any?

Thanks :-)

PS: Added :D
 
ThorpedoUK said:
GTR-2 is awesome, very tough - probably not helping with my method of controller but that will be sorted soonish.

Interesting about the server issues, SRW is pretty new though it seems so just the usual issues early on, the 1-click install doesnt work for me though on any of the mods, does it for you? I am using google chrome which might be the problem.

Got any recommendations on downloads/mods?? I got the EVO vs Subaru & JDM drift mod which looks awesome but is almost impossible without a wheel.

Track recommendations would be really cool if you know any?

Thanks :-)

PS: Added :D
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Have you install the SRW client and told it where rFactor and GTR are installed?

Chrome shouldn't really be an issue (I think some of the SRW regulars use it) but you never know, maybe give IE or FF a quick go.

I just downloaded the Ferrari F430 a few minutes ago with no issues so it must be on your end somewhere.

As for recommendations, that depends on what you like. I would recommend clicking on Race HQ at the top and joining one of the races, you don't actually have to join a server if you're not ready for it, but this will download the cars and the tracks for the server you clicked, once it's done downloading it will boot up rFactor, you can just press back at the lobby screen and go testing in single player. So the F3 server will fetch the car and three tracks, one of which is Brands Hatch (cant go wrong). The M1 server (tricky car but not as much of a handful as those F3s) will download the M1 and three tracks again, including Lime Rock which can be fun in a race and Cadwell park which is a bit narrow but quite exciting.

I mainly drive on the servers so I drive whatever they have up, but when I just just fancy ripping up the circuit I like to get into any open wheeler or maybe a Gallardo, DBR9, or any tourning car like the E90.

Take any of those round the ring for a mental lap. I don't know if nordschleife has been fixed yet, but that's one example of the one-click not working 100%. If it crashes when you try to load the track (if you download it that is) then you will need to find your Locations folder in your rfactor install and if there is a folder called NOS07_V2-2_final_open or something like that then you need to go in there and take whatever folder is in there (probably nordschleife) and put it in the Locations folder instead. The one click installs it inside a folder it shouldn't be in. I told them about that but I dunno if they have fixed it yet. If you ever run into problems then ask in the chat room on Race HQ, or check the comments section of the mod you're having issues with.

Any track you can think of will be on there (unless it belongs to one of the modders that are still having a whinge about SRW). I've recently been playing around on Suzuka, Silverstone and Singapore myself.

Oh and when it comes to downloading cars sometimes you will have to make a few cockpit tweaks or something that you didn't expect. There is a solution to everything, you just have to play around. For example the WRC Subaru (they have this running on a server atm) has a bizarre cockpit camera. It's honestly so far down that you can barely see road, mostly sky! So I had to go into controls and find "raise seat up" or something to that effect, which isn't assigned to anything by default.

I know you haven't got your wheel yet, but remember to be smooth on everything, especially in these high powered cars I've listed. Don't stab the brakes or throttle, don't swing your stick/wheel around, take the straightest line through the corner and you'll be alright :)
 
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Without a shadow of a doubt, Trackmania. You can end the thread now.

With the possible exception of Mario Kart 64 ;)
 
Lyon85 said:
Have you install the SRW client and told it where rFactor and GTR are installed?

Chrome shouldn't really be an issue (I think some of the SRW regulars use it) but you never know, maybe give IE or FF a quick go.

I just downloaded the Ferrari F430 a few minutes ago with no issues so it must be on your end somewhere.

As for recommendations, that depends on what you like. I would recommend clicking on Race HQ at the top and joining one of the races, you don't actually have to join a server if you're not ready for it, but this will download the cars and the tracks for the server you clicked, once it's done downloading it will boot up rFactor, you can just press back at the lobby screen and go testing in single player. So the F3 server will fetch the car and three tracks, one of which is Brands Hatch (cant go wrong). The M1 server (tricky car but not as much of a handful as those F3s) will download the M1 and three tracks again, including Lime Rock which can be fun in a race and Cadwell park which is a bit narrow but quite exciting.

I mainly drive on the servers so I drive whatever they have up, but when I just just fancy ripping up the circuit I like to get into any open wheeler or maybe a Gallardo, DBR9, or any tourning car like the E90.

Take any of those round the ring for a mental lap. I don't know if nordschleife has been fixed yet, but that's one example of the one-click not working 100%. If it crashes when you try to load the track (if you download it that is) then you will need to find your Locations folder in your rfactor install and if there is a folder called NOS07_V2-2_final_open or something like that then you need to go in there and take whatever folder is in there (probably nordschleife) and put it in the Locations folder instead. The one click installs it inside a folder it shouldn't be in. I told them about that but I dunno if they have fixed it yet. If you ever run into problems then ask in the chat room on Race HQ, or check the comments section of the mod you're having issues with.

Any track you can think of will be on there (unless it belongs to one of the modders that are still having a whinge about SRW). I've recently been playing around on Suzuka, Silverstone and Singapore myself.

Oh and when it comes to downloading cars sometimes you will have to make a few cockpit tweaks or something that you didn't expect. There is a solution to everything, you just have to play around. For example the WRC Subaru (they have this running on a server atm) has a bizarre cockpit camera. It's honestly so far down that you can barely see road, mostly sky! So I had to go into controls and find "raise seat up" or something to that effect, which isn't assigned to anything by default.

I know you haven't got your wheel yet, but remember to be smooth on everything, especially in these high powered cars I've listed. Don't stab the brakes or throttle, don't swing your stick/wheel around, take the straightest line through the corner and you'll be alright :)
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Ok the one click install was GChrome which is a shame as I think the browser is great, still at least its working now, races wont fire from chrome either.

I've only just started playing, so far I;ve downloaded F3 and WRC, currently trying to get someplace close to 10th on WRC ($5!!!!!!!!!!!! lol) really good fun and to think I'm not even scratching the surface here, there are endless mods - thanks for the suggestions I will get those tonight.

I also subbed to iRacing (using racing dynamics website - 30 days for free thanks to the guy further up), unfortunately you MUST have a wheel for this so I'm now on the hunt for a G25 and pedals - I dont suppose anybody has any ideas as to the cheapest/best deal where I can pick one of these up? The plan is get this and a new monitor end of month so I can at least wake up my 5870 from its eternal 1360x768 sleep, so any recommendations on monitor too would be brilliant! I want to get v.high res and decent size, 2-£300 max for monitor.

I know what you mean about raising the seat lol had to do that too in the Scooby.

Really enjoying it though and going to have a late one tonight.
 
Racedriver Grid,

It is my favourite racing game of what I have played, its got pretty much all types of Cars in the game so you have a lot of different race types to play with... Also i use a 360 Controller for Grid I find it much more efficient that using the keyboard directional keys to try and drift my Nissan 350Z xD.

They Graphics are also good, even for today's standards...

I suppose its pretty cheap these days as well...
 
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