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Originally Posted by 1spirit
Good to know, bradleyland! I think I understand what you mean... so pCars makes up for the absent G-force sensations with additional/more sensitive FFB - which I can certainly welcome. Feeling the G-forces is absolutely essential and a sorely missed part of virtual driving/racing so I guess the slicker tire model may be a good thing for me. Let's just say my driving seems significantly worse (and not really fun) in these virtual worlds due to that missing G-force element  |
Yeah, that's a really good way to put it. It's like the game sends "extra" information through the FFB in a way that pushes you around in your seat. It ends up feeling more like you're in the car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1spirit
Do you like Assetto Corsa better? What wheel/pedal/rig setup do you use? Pardon me for going off topic in my own thread lol.
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I have the T300RS Ferrari Alcantara edition. It has a 30cm wheel (most wheels have a 28cm wheel) and the T3PA pedals (gas/brake/clutch) with a little rubber cone behind the brake pedal to give it a feel more like a real car. I don't have a rig, because my desk setup is actually really well suited to the task (photo below). And yes, that is live telemetry/timing/tire temps on the vertical display
The only thing I really need to change is to build a pedal mount. When I heel-toe, my pedals sometimes lift off the floor. I'm going to build a board with:
- A dead-pedal for my clutch foot
- A "transmission hump" on the right side, so that my feet are constrained to the pedal area like a real car footwell
- A strap mount for anchoring my desk chair to the pedal board
It's sometimes easy to get disoriented with the pedals moving around a bit. I'm going to staple some rug gripper material to the bottom of the board, and the strap will keep my chair from pushing away from the pedals when I jam on the brake.
I've found different things to appreciate about both Assetto Corsa and ProjectCARS. IMO, the feedback through the wheel is more accurate in AC, but pCARS has more tracks, incredible dynamic weather, and day/night racing. I find myself switching between the two, playing each one for several weeks (contiguously) before switching.
One thing worth noting is that the online racing experience in pCARS is head & shoulders better than AC. AC has this really goofy online system of dedicated servers, where each server is locked to a specific car & track combo. This makes it really hard to race as a group. Any time you want to change car & track, you have to exit the server and try to find each other again. It doesn't help that you can't invite friends once you enter the session (even in qualifying). You have to sit in the car selection lobby and make sure everyone makes it in. It's inevitable that someone gets left behind.
When I play pCARS online, I usually get locked in with a solid group, who will join a party and work together to keep the lobby clean (kicking idiots and wreckers). Their online system lets the host change the car, track, time of day, weather, race and format, all from within the lobby. The entire experience is just worlds better in pCARS.
The only online aspect AC has going for it is the Nordschleife Tourist server. It's the Nords Tourist layout — you actually enter from the toll booth on Dottinger-Hohe — with a really long session time (18 hours, I think). Because there are separate start & finish lines (bridge & gantry, of course), it makes for a completely different kind of game play. Everyone kind of hangs out, going out for a lap here and there. It's really extraordinary to hook up with two or three people, and go out for a fun run on the ring. Because it's not a race, you don't have to push at 10/10ths the whole time, which makes for some good times just having fun.
I've been without a car (excluding the wife's X3) since my M3 went back in November, and sim racing is the only thing keeping me alive lol. It's given me the opportunity to take a step back and really understand what I like about driving, and it's even changed my perspective on what kind of car I want. I can't recommend it highly enough.
The last thing I'll say is that the E92 M3 is available in Assetto Corsa, and I kid you not, it is unmistakably the same car. The accuracy of how they depicted the car in the game is uncanny. Any time I miss my car, I can fire up AC and have a go around the Nordschleife, and I feel a sense of calm