Racing games: Sim and Arcade...whats the difference ?

neoglow

neoglow

neoglow

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What does a sim racing game have that an arcade racer does not and vice versa?

Eg, Project Cars...sim or arcade etc?
 
you have hardcore sims like iracing and rfactor 2 and arcadey sims like project cars and assetto corsa...the former can only be played properly with a wheel wheras arcadey sims can be played on a gamepad (but more difficult than a wheel).
 
An example of an arcade racer would be Outrun.

An example of a simulation racer would be Assetto Corsa, Iracing, Rfactor etc, those sort. The latter is much more precise in movement, telemetry of the vehicle and very good phsyics.
 
the difference is how realistic the physics of driving a car are. a simulation would make your car handle like a real car, too fast too quick and you spin out, in an arcade racer , you have some sort of super traction, your car will stick to the road going around corners at 150MPH
 
Serious Sim racing like iracing has world cups with teams and selection, training and setup sessions for example. The top series are something people aspire to break into aside from the prestige in the sim racing world there"s thousands of dollars for grabs. Project cars or gran turismo is something to do to kick back.
 
Fun and realism rarely go in hand


Simulations aim to be realistic
Arcade aim to be fun whilst loosely based around the theme
 
Its mostly been covered already, but there are a couple of things I would like to add.

If you're reading everything above and then ask "I want the most realistic racing game there is, what should I buy" then you will face a bit of a problem. Pretty much every sim racing enthusiast will tell you that their favourite racing game is the most realistic and that all the others are arcade, rabble, rabble, rabble, etc. The truth is that, at least with the four most popular ones (Assetto Corsa, iRacing, Project cars and rFactor) they are all pretty much identical in terms of realism and you should just stick with the one you like the feel of most. They are also all much better with a wheel than a controller, but the ease of use of each of those games with a controller has nothing to do with the realism of the game, and more to do with the assists and controller setup options that are built into the game.

Also, while I agree that a good arcade racer is more fun than a good sim racer, the sim racer is still a lot of fun. However, for me the sim racers more than make up that slight deficiency with the level of satisfaction you get from a really hard fought, clean fight for a position, whether that position is 1st or 21st, something I rarely get from arcade racers
 
Eames said:
if the cars are hovering space ships that shoot rockets and deploy mines you're playing a arcade racing game
Click to expand...

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Arcade: can take small 45° corners at 160mph+, can survive 10 feet jumps
Sim: have to slow down to 90mph to take big 45° corners, car suspension will break after a 10 foot jump
 
For me the main factor is enjoyment, I love one as much as the other and don't care whether it's a sim or arcade style racer. However I tend to find that playing a sim needs more concentration especially as my wheel needs replacing and if I play at the moment it's with a controller. A good example is Dirt Rally, I have to be in the right frame of mind and on the ball to play it where as if I'm feeling more laid back I'm better of with something like Grid Autosport.
 
OP just to throw a spanner in the works the racing elitists created a term called simcade :p It's basically a mixture of arcade and sim. Wallbanging racers like NFS are arcade games whereas Game Stock Car and iRacing are sims.
 
Good question, as even Dirt 3 can be pretty complex but plays like an arcade game.

Project Cars is a pretty hardcore sim, but also plays a bit arcadey, especially the Karts.
 
Twirlywoos said:
OP just to throw a spanner in the works the racing elitists created a term called simcade :p It's basically a mixture of arcade and sim. Wallbanging racers like NFS are arcade games whereas Game Stock Car and iRacing are sims.
Click to expand...

Simcade would be games like Forza/Shift/Gran Turismo? Makes sense.

But yeah, Sim = P-CARS, iRacing, Assetto Corsa etc.

Arcade = Need for Speed, Mario Kart, Burnout, GRID etc.

Simcade = Forza/NFS Shift/Gran Turismo (?)
 
I love project cars, cause the graphics, and its fun, but i would not call it a sim though its more a half way house, Most races are a game of bumpercars and it does not matter beyond a few mins frustration and you can jump into the next race without any practice. Iracing has an incident count of contact and you can lose your licence very easy and not be able to drive your series of choice, not only that you can be protested and people will look at your incidents, maybe get a complete ban, all races are full damage, some people practice for one race all week for a race maybe 200 laps long and 4 hrs with cautions thats very very frustrating if you get taken out at turn one, cause your race is over and all the practice is for nothing.
 
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