Sick of sucking at new racing games...let's talk arcade vs sim

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JetFred
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Sick of sucking at new racing games...let's talk arcade vs sim

Post by JetFred »

It has been 20 years since NFS Porsche Unleashed on PC. After that I spent some time on the original Xbox with Project Gotham, but since then it has taken me this long to decide that they don't make PC racing games for me anymore. I've been messing with various NASCAR, Assetto Corsa, Project Cars, GRID, and DiRT titles, and since GFWL took down the original DiRT 32 with it, nothing feels right. I want to play with real cars but I have no patience with total sims. I don't want a story or RPG elements. I don't want to be forced into a career mode, and I don't want to tune my car. I want to play on PC at full resolution and not need a $3000 rig, and I want to play with an Xbox controller because I don't have room for a wheel anymore.

Be my guest and try to convince me that there's a game for that in the past 3 years, but I'm skeptical now. I fully confess that I suck at driving realistically with a jerky thumbstick so I have no patience. Nostalgia does things to memory, but I don't recall having so much trouble in the past, and I go all the way back to Atari 2600 paddles and 1987's Test Drive on C64 with a classic stick.
Last edited by JetFred on Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by hitbyambulance »

Wreckfest, from Bugbear (makers of the first couple Flatout games). it was in early access for a long time, but it was finished in 2018 and is still getting updates.

it's great

https://order.wreckfestgame.com/

also still enjoy Flatout and Flatout 2/Flatout: Ultimate Carnage.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by JetFred »

Yes, I might like Wreckfest. But I still think I must be wanting something that doesn't get made anymore, because apparently to get the thrill of low-stakes sloppy but fast driving with real street models, you have to play a game made for kart physics, combat, or full-on arcade appeal. Does Wreckfest really cheese up the fact that it's an arcade game for crashing? I'd be more distraught about Steam's hit-and-miss access to EA games if EA hadn't gone so stupid-career-story with most of the NFS franchise before trying to switch it all to Origin.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by hitbyambulance »

JetFred wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 3:44 am Yes, I might like Wreckfest. But I still think I must be wanting something that doesn't get made anymore, because apparently to get the thrill of low-stakes sloppy but fast driving with real street models, you have to play a game made for kart physics, combat, or full-on arcade appeal. Does Wreckfest really cheese up the fact that it's an arcade game for crashing?
the crashes are toned down some from the Flatout series. i really like this one because Bugbear puts a lot of effort and attention into the driving physics. there are some silly bonus modes, but i consider it more of a jokkis/folkracing game (and is probably the only title around to simulate this particular sport) than what you're supposing it is.

from a RPS review comment (that i agree with):
For all the ‘po faced vs. wild and free fun’ posturing in this writeup, it’s really worth pointing out that, especially when you’re not racing against the lowest AI difficulty, you really have to handle the cars well to actually win races. The handling characteristics between the impressive variety of cars is actually fairly pronounced, and the handling model itself is actually pretty sim-like, particularly if you’re not relying on ABS and stability assists, and as other commenters have mentioned it’s rarely worth really piling into somebody, since you lose so much time, and in derbies you need to spend a lot of time avoiding people to survive. So there’s a weird contrast in gameplay where you’re driving like a complete lunatic that hates rules from places 24-10 and trying to be as clean and efficient as a german-made whistle from 10 to 1.

and as an aside, too bad GFWL also took down DiRT 2 for PC - i still want to play that one.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by JetFred »

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. I'll wait for cheaper though. And also, I meant DiRT 2, not 3. Corrected.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Rumpy »

Project Cars 2 is quite nice, although I'm finding it's a bit bugged when it's raining when some cars tend to randomly have a mind of their own. It starts off innocently enough and sometimes you don't notice it much, but eventually it will swerve sharply often sending you off uncontrollably into walls, sometimes during the last lap. It makes some races almost impossible.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by coopasonic »

Forza Horizon 4
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by JetFred »

coopasonic wrote: Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:49 pm Forza Horizon 4
Is that only on PC as an Xbox game you download directly from MS?
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by coopasonic »

JetFred wrote: Sun Jun 07, 2020 6:01 pm
coopasonic wrote: Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:49 pm Forza Horizon 4
Is that only on PC as an Xbox game you download directly from MS?
As far as I know, yeah it is only available in the Microsoft store (and it is included with GamePass).
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by jztemple2 »

coopasonic wrote: Sun Jun 07, 2020 6:16 pm
JetFred wrote: Sun Jun 07, 2020 6:01 pm
coopasonic wrote: Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:49 pm Forza Horizon 4
Is that only on PC as an Xbox game you download directly from MS?
As far as I know, yeah it is only available in the Microsoft store (and it is included with GamePass).
I'm so glad I came across you guys discussing this. Up until last year I was running Win7 and couldn't take advantage of running Xbox Games on my PC, and after I upgraded I forgot to check it out. I already have my old Xbox account there so it was nothing to just go to the site and start a download of the Forza Horizon 4 Demo. According to the listed specs it ought to run fine on my six year old rig.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by jztemple2 »

Well I really liked the demo for Forza Horizon 4 and it did indeed run fine at "High" settings on my rig. And since the paid editions are 50% off for the next week I went ahead and picked up the Ultimate Edition. Forza Motorsports 7 is also on sale and I might get that as well.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Kasey Chang »

Burnout Paradise is fun.

And I was "okay" with some of the recent NFS titles. The Run was okay, and Payback was kinda interesting. Didn't like the MOST recent iterations though.

I was okay with Dirt 4, trying to finish it. I have DR and DR2, but I didn't buy the seasons as I don't even have a wheel. I'm getting by on only gamepad. Got graphics turned all the way up, and I only have a RTX2070 in it (and my system cost $1400 and that was almost two years ago).
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by coopasonic »

Kasey Chang wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 1:18 pm Burnout Paradise is fun.
I agree, but he said past 3 years, not past 3 leap years...
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by JetFred »

I may need to go back to Burnout Paradise, but of course now EA has a remastered version on Steam that apparently has problems. I hate when Ubi games require Uplay to run as well as Steam, and some people are saying this EA game requires Origin to be running as well as Steam. EA and Ubi get all over my nerves, as you might expect.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Octavious »

Forza would be my recommendation as well. Playing any of the more sim oriented games with a gamepad is just asking for frustration. The only one I could recommend is F1 2019. That is highly playable with the gamepad and is quite fun. (Some say it's not very realistic... But I don't really care). If you have a PS4 Grand Tour Sport is fantastic. I bought a wheel two weeks ago and it's all I have been playing. So many things to do and it plays like a dream. It also has some neat stuff like the history of the different car companies. It was kind of panned when it first came out, but they kept on releasing stuff to it now having a lot of content.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Hrothgar »

Have you looked at Dangerous Driving on the Epic Store? It's made by some Burnout vets and just came out last year. It's also on sale for $15 ($5 if you use your sale coupon).
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Pyperkub »

Forza Horizon 4 was fun for the time I played it on the xBox one x, but it even had a pop up asking me if I wanted to play on an easier difficulty, so yeah, I think I'm right with you on the sucking at new racing games!
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Rumpy »

I think I'm not a big fan of Criterion. I think my first exposure to them was their Most Wanted reboot. It was an OK racer, I suppose, but the police in that game were super aggressive to the point of not being any fun. Having played Burnout Paradise, I think it was, all I could really see was how much of that they ended up using in terms of structure and game design, and I was not a big fan. It was only really fun if you liked crashing into things on purpose.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by jztemple2 »

I've put in about three hours on Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition... it didn't keep my progress on the demo :doh:, so the first hour was a repeat of what I had played. The last Horizon game I played was the first one, so I'm noting all the new bells and whistles. The Wheelspin feature, where a wheel-of-fortune spins and grants you a free prize (and in the Super Wheelspin, three prizes!) is fun, but I seem to be winning a lot of emotes and clothing :roll:. Still, between the spinning, the DLC, the email freebies and whatnot, I have 2.8 million credits, haven't yet bought a car with cash, and still I now have over 160 in my garage :shock:. The game is silly fun :D
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Fardaza »

JetFred said in OP.
I fully confess that I suck at driving realistically with a jerky thumbstick so I have no patience.
I have Forza 5(?) on XboxOne. I love the game with all steering and shifting help enabled. I'm not good enough to drive without the aids. My hands don't move the way they did 35 years ago.

My biggest complaint is what you described above. I can't steer with my thumb well at all. I end up playing a form of bumper cars to get by other racers in the curves.

I've thought about trying the Forza Horizon 4 Demo on pc to see if I'd like it. How do I control my car? Mouse and keyboard? Xbox controller?

If I use the controller, will I still have the problem of driving with my thumb?
How does mouse and keyboard perform (if that's a possibility)?

Also, I only play against computer cars, not humans online.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by jztemple2 »

I used my old X360 controller and it works fine on the demo and on the full game.

And I also only race against the AI. So far it has been fun.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by coopasonic »

Fardaza wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:37 pm If I use the controller, will I still have the problem of driving with my thumb?
How does mouse and keyboard perform (if that's a possibility)?
Yes.
Never tried M+KB. It's designed for a controller and I guess I don't have that same issue (yet).

It doesn't cost much to try the demo. :)
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by jztemple2 »

So I picked up Forza Horizon 4 and Forza Motorsport 7, both Ultimate Edition, earlier this week and I'm having fun with both of them, but more with FH4. When I last played consoles with my X360 back in 2013, I had the original Horizon and FM4 and I preferred the latter since back then I was much more of a hard core racer and collector. Also the original Horizon had a number of features (or the lack of them) that pushed me more towards FM4. Fast forward more than seven years and now I find FM7 a bit too technical, too hardcore :roll:, meanwhile I find FH4 to be a lot of goofy fun :D

Reminder, the Microsoft Store big sale on these two games (all editions) ends in three days.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I spent the $2.99 USD to pick up the "Treasure Map" for Forza Horizon 4. This shows the locations of Barn Finds and the various Fast Travel and Influence signs on the map. I just don't have the patience anymore to go exploring that much :roll:
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Kasey Chang »

FWIW, I picked up NFS (not NFS: Heat, but the previous one) during the EA sale. I'll give it a spin when I finish Dirt 4, though I'd probably do Dirt Rally 2.0, as least in part, as well as WRC6 and 7.

I am not a super-completionist. I am pretty sure I did not recreate all the "barn finds" in NFS: Payback where you find a shell and some bits and pieces all over the map via jumping and landing on the right spots. I think I get like half of them and got very bored and since I finished the main campaign, called it quits.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Kasey Chang »

Okay, right off the bat, I can tell this game will probably suck. (need for speed)

It won't work upon launch. Controls are completely f****ed. If a game won't work immediately upon launch it is a problem, wouldn't you say?

Read a couple forum posts. Apparently, EA can't write a proper controller routine. Apparently by default, both controller and wheel presets are "on", and thus, the program gets very confused as most entries are double-mapped. I had to UNset the wheel, THEN the controller would work properly.

Apparently in the quest to get people running ASAP, the PC port had done the exact opposite... I don't have a wheel, and the game apparently have problems WITHOUT one.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Kasey Chang »

Decided to test my real skill level... By going back to WRC6, and try to pass the "driving test". WRC6 has an interesting intro... in fact, it has TWO intros. There's one called "introduction", and there's a "driving test".

The intro casts you as Theirry Neuville who came from behind to beat Chris Meeks to win the WRC 2016, by winning two sample stages. The problem here is you actually may not win, but it's presented as if it's a genuine WRC broadcast, which was a very nice touch. When you finish that, it segues you into the test.

The driving test involves you driving a vehicle (probably jWRC) through a sample stage, I think it was a super-special stage (where you compete head to head against an AI car in a cross-over track) doing as little damage and as fast as you can. Based on the results, it decides what difficulty level should you be playing at. I thought that was a nice touch as well.

First time I retest, I score like 50 something, which is like... semi-pro.

THEN I test again, as I got used to the car a little, and I got 78, which is like "pro".

Apparently you get a special achievement if you can score 90+ in the driving test.

-----

Decided to play DR2 instead, and I'm not doing that badly.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Paradroid »

A timely thread. I've gotten into sim racing myself recently.

At first I tried Project Cars 2 with only a controller (I don't have a wheel yet and I'm not about to spend nearly £200 on one unless I know I'm in it for the long haul). It was predictably disastrous. I'm a sucker for hardcore realism so I refused to use any kind of assists, although I do use TC and ABS because even the real-life racers use them (I used the "authentic" setting - if the real life car has it, it will have it in the game too). I spent many hours just crashing into walls, spinning out for no reason I could possibly fathom, etc etc. But on the rare occasion I managed to drive a clean lap it was exhilarating.

Then for some reason I picked up Assetto Corsa Competizione which is probably even more hardcore than PC2. Once again, back at the beginner level, I absolutely sucked. Hard. However ACC is a bit more accessible to newcomers in that it has a little box in the corner of the screen that encourages you to go for small, incremental goals to improve your racing. That, along with some research online and a lot of experimenting with control settings, has helped me a lot. I can finally drive around Monza in a Lambourghini Huracan without spinning out or anything, and my personal best is only about 10 seconds slower than the pro I watch on Youtube.

Anyway, my point is this: you know what they say about practise? Never has it applied more than in sim racing. Usually when I hit a wall (heh) in a game I give up fairly easily, but for some reason I just persisted and persisted with ACC and gradually I started to really learn it and develop that muscle memory. I rarely spin now, and when I do I know what I did wrong - in stark contrast to a few days ago when I'd spin off every single corner while shouting wwwwhhhhhyyyyy to the ceiling.

And you know what? It's incredibly rewarding. JetFred: it's a shame you say you don't have patience for this kind of game, because I can't tell you how fulfilling it is to really start to learn it properly.
Rumpy wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 11:44 pm Project Cars 2 is quite nice, although I'm finding it's a bit bugged when it's raining when some cars tend to randomly have a mind of their own. It starts off innocently enough and sometimes you don't notice it much, but eventually it will swerve sharply often sending you off uncontrollably into walls, sometimes during the last lap. It makes some races almost impossible.
I had a lot of similar issues with PC2 and I found out some of the reasons. I don't know your skill level but are you aware of individual tyre temps, pressures, brake discs etc? Also for some reason the tracks will have different feels depending on the kind of session you're in. I ranted bitterly about PC2 on Steam a couple of weeks ago because my car seemed to behave completely differently when I was doing free practise versus time trial on the same track. It turned out that just changing the type of session totally changes track temperatures, amount of rubber on the road, etc. I hope you don't give up on PC2 because it's a bloody amazing game.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Rumpy »

Paradroid wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:25 am I had a lot of similar issues with PC2 and I found out some of the reasons. I don't know your skill level but are you aware of individual tyre temps, pressures, brake discs etc? Also for some reason the tracks will have different feels depending on the kind of session you're in. I ranted bitterly about PC2 on Steam a couple of weeks ago because my car seemed to behave completely differently when I was doing free practise versus time trial on the same track. It turned out that just changing the type of session totally changes track temperatures, amount of rubber on the road, etc. I hope you don't give up on PC2 because it's a bloody amazing game.
It is an amazing game, and quite immersive as well. You and I seem to be quite similar in that we set everything without assists. And I am playing on a controller and doing pretty good with it too. I used to have a wheel, but I had to give up on it due to not having enough space to store it.

I had done a lot of research regarding my issue, and I realize it may stem from tire temps, but the thing is, it might be an in-engine bug, because tire temps are one thing I've disabled, so reasonably, it shouldn't have any effect, am I right? And if it is tire related, then the game really should show you a notification of some such. I notice this behavior a lot on the campaign races where the track conditions are preset, and it seems to be happening most often during downpours, and races with a lot of cars. It makes some of the cars practically undriveable. It seems to be a buildup over time, and I usually start to see it happen as a slight almost imperceptible wobble, and the worst usually happens towards the end of a race. When it starts to really exhibit itself, I can sometimes try to compensate for it by moderating my speed, but not always. It's sometimes an supersize in futility, spending over 15 min and doing good on a race only to have the car slam into a wall.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Paradroid »

Hmm I'm not sure then, I definitely don't know all the ins and outs of it yet. If it happened to me I'd be hesitant to call it a bug, because there's probably any number of car behaviours I haven't learned yet.

From your description I wonder whether the game simulates a slow buildup of wetness on the tyres, or something similar. It sounds like it ultimately amplifies the always-present necessity to take it easy with throttle, brakes and steering. You know how unlike in arcade games you can't just slam open the throttle while exiting a corner? That's what I mean - perhaps in the wet you have to be even more cautious. Also, silly question but are you using appropriate tyres for rainy weather? I don't know if that's a thing (I haven't tried racing in the rain yet) but I'd be amazed if it wasn't.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Rumpy »

Paradroid wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 1:58 pm Hmm I'm not sure then, I definitely don't know all the ins and outs of it yet. If it happened to me I'd be hesitant to call it a bug, because there's probably any number of car behaviours I haven't learned yet.

From your description I wonder whether the game simulates a slow buildup of wetness on the tyres, or something similar. It sounds like it ultimately amplifies the always-present necessity to take it easy with throttle, brakes and steering.
The thought definitely has occurred to me. In fact, it was one of the first things I thought of, given how advanced some of the physics in the engine can be.
You know how unlike in arcade games you can't just slam open the throttle while exiting a corner? That's what I mean - perhaps in the wet you have to be even more cautious.
Yep, I do know exactly what you mean. And it's a good thought. I generally try to be careful but even then it still manages to catch me out at times. The weird thing is that it will do it on straight line as well, so it's not just about taking corners. It's as if the car is hydroplaning.
Also, silly question but are you using appropriate tyres for rainy weather? I don't know if that's a thing (I haven't tried racing in the rain yet) but I'd be amazed if it wasn't.
Good question. I will have to double-check, but I usually just go with what the game gives me for any given track, re the campaign. I never checked to see if maybe the wrong tires were being used.

Not all cars seem to have the same problem either. Some cars seem to have no problems at all in the rain, and in fact seem to do better in it and will take corners very nicely without much effort. And even among those, you sometimes start to get the wobble towards the end.

Hey, I just noticed you're new here, so welcome to the forum! :)
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by JetFred »

Paradroid wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:25 am JetFred: it's a shame you say you don't have patience for this kind of game, because I can't tell you how fulfilling it is to really start to learn it properly.
This is generally true of a lot of things.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Paradroid »

Rumpy wrote: Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:32 pm Hey, I just noticed you're new here, so welcome to the forum! :)
Thanks! As a matter of fact I used to be a fairly long-time member. I did email the admins to ask them to help me recover my old account but didn't hear anything, so I made a new one.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Kasey Chang »

Gave on up DR2. Can't really play it well without a wheel. I'll try WRC7 and Loeb Rally EVO.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Kasey Chang »

Playing Sebastian Loeb Rally Evo, by Milestone (previous WRC franchise holder before Big Ben). Driving model seems okay, if a bit "float-y", not much sensation of speed, strangely, but I'm still on intro cars. The races feel like a strange mix of the traditional vs. some need for speed game stuff. For example, I have won the initial round of events, which is 10 different events, from traditional rallies to rallycross to "sector fight" (track is divided into sectors, get the fastest time through the sector to "win" it, who holds the most sectors by time end is the winner) to "elimination" (knockout in old NFS games: the last place is eliminated after X seconds until only one is left).

However, rallycross here is a bit weird. The joker laps are NOT any slower, and the maps kinda suck. There's also no spotter to warn you of merges or reminding you to take the joker lap except a "flashing warning" if you haven't taken it by the last lap. There's also no indicator on screen to tell you who took the joker and who hadn't. For folks who got used to RX on Dirt 4 or DR/DR2, this is VERY annoying. And the extra "race modes" feels like trying to incorporate some random arcade racing into what's supposed to be a pretty serious rally sim.

EDIT: And winning is all about luck, and let's just say, unsportsmanlike driving. There's this one course that's extremely tight quarters and impossible to pass, and the "joker" segment is actually FASTER than the regular segment, which involves making a tight hairpin right onto a ramp then down, then a tight 90 left, then accelerate down a straight to a hairpin right. The joker is a 90 left, then another 90 left, slalom through a chicane, which leaves plenty of room to do a 90 left to rejoin the hairpin right. A car with good control can take the joker FASTER than the ramp, and when I took the ramp just behind another car took the joker, he was still ahead of me when we came to the hairpin right.

I've tried that map about 15 times, and the only way I won was by crashing other cars, either spinning them in a PIT maneuver or overturning them, and somehow made it to first place. I can take the curves faster than these yahoos, but there is NO place to overtake. When the joker lap cannot be used to attack or defend, it's just overall a bad course design.

There are a TON of cars, divided into lots and lots of categories, then sub categories, for lots of different divisions. I was playing the rookie debut division, which is basically simple FWD stuff, Peugeot 108 (?), Ford (or was it a Mini?), and Fiat Abarth 500. Ten events here. Then it's off to FWD Pro series, with slightly improved cars, basically R2's. And there are a LOT of car classes. But the problem here is this starts to feel like Ford Racing 3, where you get a ton of cars, a ton of tracks, and a ton of modes, and they feel as if they are randomly picked to create "championships".

Leveling is done via both credits and reputation. More reputation unlocks higher pretige racing classes, while credits are used to buy more cars.
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Kasey Chang »

Trying WRC7 again. I am not sure what's wrong with this game, but I can NEVER seems to pass the driving test, and it kept all the driving assists (nannies) on, and I was fighting every last one of them around every corner, resulting in horrible times. I was like next to last over two stages (out of 4) in JWRC, which should have been a "cakewalk".

Had to manually turn the driving style to "pro" (which is zero assist except automatic transmission). No ABS, no ASC. And since this is JWRC car, no setup. What they set is what you have to drive with, no tightening up the rear to induce a slide. And this is FWD, handbrake turn doesn't really work, even around hairpins.

I left the AI on medium, and with nannies off, I'm placing 5th, about 10-15 behind the leader. Which is good! (On a gamepad, of course)

So what would happen if I change the AI to "easy" instead of medium? I win by a HUGE margin (20-35 seconds, every stage). And somehow. I got a LOT faster in the same driving style too. Maybe it's because I drove the course multiple times, maybe I know what to watch out for, but somehow, setting AI down a notch made me faster. No idea why.

This game is virtually identical to WRC6, just the stages are a LITTLE different, and the music is a little different.

And that's disappointing. They did throw in a bonus car or two, like the R-GT Porsche 911but still a lot of meh.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Kasey Chang »

Somehow, driving WRC7 to the logical end: win WRC, starting from JWRC, just feels like a chore, instead of fun. Sure, the tracks are a little different, but really? I'll at least make it to the end of JWRC title, but I don't think things will change that much.

And the Sebastian Loeb Rally EVO just feels like a step backwards, it feels like trying to fit arcade racing like Blur or Ford Racing 3 into a realistic game about rallying.

At this rate, I have to go try Grid Autosport, and maybe, the revised Grid, as I do have that in my Humble Bundle subscription somewhere. But I don't like drift contests. Never did.
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by jztemple2 »

Kasey Chang wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 9:58 pm But I don't like drift contests. Never did.
Me neither. Of course I really suck at them, so that's a reason too :roll:
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Paradroid »

I'm still showing steady improvement in ACC. Last night I smashed my personal best on Monza by a whole two seconds (and unlocked the next phase of training). I am now proud to say my PB is 1:57 which is within ten seconds of the pro on Youtube I watch. That means we could do a 10 lap race and he wouldn't even lap me! :D
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by Kasey Chang »

Was playing WRC7 when I sorta noticed that the stages are often the SAME stage (not even reversed) just run in different time of the day or in different weather. Run it once in the rain, three stages later, run it at noon in clear weather. The power stage is the worst offender here... They just recycle one of the other stages. It's as if they only designed like 3-4 stages TOTAL, instead of 5-6...
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Re: Sick of sucking at new racing games

Post by jztemple2 »

So I've been playing some Forza Motorsports 7 and a lot more Forza Horizon 4, but neither are really scratching that itch. A long time ago I purchased Automobilista. It is a more of a sim but still can be played well with a controller. The developer is Brazilian and there is a focus on Brazilian motorsports, but there are oodles of cars and tracks and you can have series that mimic European or other series. However, I never really got into it, maybe because I got it at release and it needed a lot of updates to smooth out the bumps. Or maybe it was me :roll:

However, today I saw on the Automobilista Facebook feed that Automobilista 2 is coming out of Early Access and going into V1.0 release tomorrow. The game went into EA back on March 31st so I kind of expected months of Early Access, but they were doing lots of updates, almost one a week and they say it is ready for prime time now.

Now what makes this interesting (really, I'm not lying to you :wink:) is that Automobilista 2 is using the same game engine as Project Cars 2. That made me think, "hey, I own Project Cars 2, don't I?" So I reinstalled Project Cars 2 again and have been playing around with it.

And I've done something in Project Cars 2 that is radical for me. I've turned off the driving line assist. Now that's radical for me because I always have that assist on, although I usually turn off all the others. It helps me figure out the best line for a corner. However, recently I was reading an update from the ForzaTune folks and the guy there was expounding on how turning off that assist was the best thing he did since it forced him to learn the track. And now I'm finding out that he may have a point. I've also gone to using a manual transmission instead of the auto version I usually use, because it also helps in learning the course. So maybe I might stay with Project Cars 2 awhile.

One more thing on Automobilista 2. Their initial pricing scheme was to offer the game at a 40% discount early in beta, then offer it at 20% off during Early Access, with an intended increase to full price at V1.0 release. However, because we're in the middle of the Steam Summer Sale, the publisher will continue offering a 20% discount from now till the end of the sale. Additionally, they will also throw in the first DLC for free if the game is purchased before the end of the sale. So something to think about for those who might be interested.

By the way, should we be starting a forum thread for racing sims? Would folks be interested in that?
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
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