New set of wings

[adlabs6]

Well, they are on cars... but they are still wings! I picked up Simbin's GTR2 racing sim last week. Tough as nails on simulation mode, but I'm sticking to it and improving. I also bought an XBox 360 controller that hooked to my PC via USB with a downloaded driver from Microsoft. Works pretty nicely aside from a few small points.

[BLOWHARD]

WOW! I LOVE CARS!!! I don't think there are any good Mac sims that are skinable though
Do you have TOCA2? Great game but maybe too hard :P

Looks like GTR2 has some great tracks too. I LOVE Monza! Catalunya is always fun. Donington! Is Spa hard in GTR2? It's a real nasty track in TOCA and F1 Racing.
...I need a new race sim...

[adlabs6]

Hi Blowhard, Yes the tracks are quite nice in GTR2, quite a few from the selection are circuit variations which can be unlocked. Spa is huge and detailed, and on high settings will drag my machine down. It does have a very challenging rhythm over some large altitude changes, I've practiced there but not competed yet.

I've read about TOCA2, and also R-Factor. But GTR2 is my first PC racing sim. Quite enjoyable to have the cars and tracks make me work for every fraction of a second, the AI has generally good behavior.

So far I'm sticking to simulation mode and finding success. There is a very clear line, much like the stall buffet in an airplane only more variable, where these cars go from performance to biting me hard. Happily after three days practice, I'm enjoying the performance side of that line a little bit more now.

[BLOWHARD]

How is the damage model? Both TOCA games were very maddening because of damage, very hard to drive aggressively enough to win without the risk of losing a tire or wheel! DNF is the rule of the day :P Not that I'd have it less realistic but it's still frustrating when you do 12 of a 15 lap race only to lose your front wheel after a crash :0

[adlabs6]

Damage is modeled pretty well, I did some crash testing to see what how this is handled. It takes a stout collision to make a wing, fender, or bumper cowl drop off, and the AI can damage each other also. So far I've only lost a wheel or had a tire puncture to testing, during impacts that would be very unlikely in a race. Simple bumps between cars or trackside objects during the race will slightly deform the bodywork polygons if 'vertex damage' is enabled.

There is a slider that allows you to take the damage sensitivity up above the default 100% level if you need some more. Oh, almost forgot... the cars can flip upside down also under some high speed collision situations.

[BLOWHARD]

Maybe I need a PC so I can play, sounds fun!

[1.JaVA_Platypus]

I recently picked up a Collin McRae game. Just to do something diffrent for a change. Driving on dirt and ice seems a bit more challenging to me. It was in the Discount bin for 10 Euro's (approx 12 dollars?) and I thought that even if it didn't intrest me after all, there was not much money wasted.

Having a blast tuning the vehicle to get the best performance for the terrain you are racing on Default settings suck big time. I have no problem controlling it with the keyboard alone. But in CMR rally, you are always racing alone and it seems a bit weird.

[BLOWHARD]

The CM games are pretty good, I've played a few on PS2. As you mention, you're only playing against the clock. It doesn't make for as much fun. All the hard core Rally race fans condemned games Like GT2/3/4 for having Rally races with 2 cars! SACRILEGE!!! I'd rather race against an AI car or another player, more fun. TOCA's Rally features 1 car also, but of course there is Rally Cross too.

Maybe we need to start a flight simmer's racing team?

[Simplex]

Great decission adlabs,

I've visited a mate who owns GTR2 and a logitech FF wheel. AWESOME! Never liked racing games with wheels as it felt odd but this game is great. We chose monza and did nothing else but trying to beat our lap times in monza the whole evening, night and early morning.

You really get hooked up easily by the great "drive model" (from "flight model" lol) and the wheel with proper FF effects adds a lot!

Had Toca and I'd say that GTR2 is well ahead of this one, you really recon the company's head was a race driver himself!