Any Racing fans out there? Project Cars, baby!

[Slick Wilhelm]

So fellas, it's been about 15 years since I last was into an online racing league. That was in Grand Prix Legends. In fact, I was practicing my laps at Brands Hatch when the first plane hit the World Trade Center, and I ran to the TV blaring in the background.

Anyway, I finally got the urge to race again, so I bought myself a Thrustmaster T500RS racing wheel and pedals, and picked up Project Cars on Steam. I must say, I'm having a blast! I think i will eventually invest in iRacing, in order to race Indy Cars.

In my racing future is going to be a dedicated racing chair, and a VR set like the Oculus Rift.

Is anyone else doing any online racing?

[Toonces]

I haven't done any online racing yet.  Like JD, though, I really enjoy the F1 series by Codemasters, although I've spent most of my time with 2012 and 2013.  It's offline for me, but the AI is pretty good IMHO. 

I would like to try some online racing at some point, but I'm not iRacing level into it.  I'm thinking something closer to free.

[Bardolph]

As I've probably mentioned elsewhere, I've got Project Cars and like it, and spent a bunch of time there a couple seasons ago when iRacing wasn't running for me and I needed a racing fix. You can occasionally get a good race on Pcars, but its a lottery like all "open" online racing. Just as likely to get some idjit trying to wreck everyone as you are to get someone that wants to race. Sadly my poor old comp can't run Pcars on my triple screen setup so I haven't messed with it much lately.

RaceRoom Racing Experience is another one I bought a lot of content for during my iRacing hiatus. It looks and sounds and drives really well, but it too lacks the structured racing format of iRacing and most of the servers/players seem to be European so my online racing experience was pretty weird with cars blinking in and out of existence at random intervals. Fun to drive single player though.

Automobilista is also quite good, though I spent more time in its original incarnation as Game Stock Car Extreme. They seem to be rolling out new content for it pretty regularly, and I really should give it more attention but...  Online was kind of like R3E, I'm in the wrong time zone/country.

And for cheap ya can't go wrong with Race 07 and GTR 2 and the rest of their offspring from Simbin. Especially if you can catch them on sale on Steam. A million tracks and cars, and the Power and Glory mod is worth the price all by itself.  Still a strong online player base in private leagues but I never had much luck finding races online otherwise.

Have not tried Asseto Corsa, but it has been described as a great hotlap simulator but not so much for online multiplayer racing.

You don't need to spend a ton to have a lot of fun in iRacing, unless you are already super fast and can compete in the high level cars. Especially if you use one of their new member deals like 3 months for the price of 1 or the 40% off deals they're always running. You get a collection of free cars and tracks with a basic subscription and the rookie series are setup to run with that content. The MX-5 and SRF are your basic road cars. The MX-5 runs a rookie series entirely on free tracks, the SRF runs a mix of free and paid tracks. I ran my first couple seasons on the MX-5, and raced the SRF when it was on a free track. Then I picked up the Skip Barber car (reminds me of the open wheel cars in GPL but won't kill you instantly) and started adding tracks to my collection, always buying content six or more items at a time to get the discount. At this point I've got all but a couple of the road tracks but I don't feel like I've spent a fortune considering how much use I've gotten out of it. I've spent way more on the stuff in my Steam library that is covered in virtual dust.
The thing that sets iRacing apart from the others is the structured racing that keeps most of the idiots out, and fairly quickly removes the ones that do get in.  And the fact that there are races going off every hour or so in multiple series.
My suggestion: Get a Visa gift card and open up a 3 month iRacing account under an assumed name and give it a try. If ya like it then go back and pick up a year or two subscription using your own name and take advantage of the 40% off new member deal. I'd be happy to host some sessions to get your feet wet.

[JudgeDredd]

Is anyone else doing any online racing?

No  ;D

The experience is way too hit and miss for me.

I watched some videos of a group of people racing online in pCars. They were dedicated and structured and the online experience looked fun.

Unfortunately, the reality wasn't like that. Don't get me wrong, they were very welcoming, polite, etc, etc...but the structure put a lot of stress into racing online. As an example, when they were having the formation lap, there was someone watching and kind of telling people off for leaving too much of a gap. You were getting concertina's at corners and people were getting "blamed" for it by people behind them (including myself).

You were being told not to speed up and slow down but to keep a constant speed...which I did but because the "officiator" noticed a huge gap in front of me, I got the instruction not to leave too big a gap which was left because I was keeping a constant speed but the car in front shot off...because the car in front of him shot off...because the car in front of him shot off...etc, etc, etc

I was like "Well, you either want me to speed up to catch up with the cars in front or you want me to keep a constant speed??" They were nice enough, but it was stressful and I told them as much in the forums (they asked for feedback after the races).

It could've been good, but I had two races one evening and then sacked it. That was an example of where people's competitiveness ruin the experience as much as people's ability to be arses online.

There was a group of guys that used to hold a meet every week and they were great. They met up, had a laugh and a blast and raced, chatted and laughed afterwards and everyone left stress free. Unfortunately they were using a much older game that I wanted to move on from.

For racing, it's all offline for me.

As for pCars - it's a great game. My best experience in it so far is racing the RUF GT3 around Bathhurst.

[Slick Wilhelm]

Actually, Judge, I haven't done any online racing yet in Project Cars. I've been focusing on racing the AI in different cars, only at Road America so far. It's pretty interesting how all the different cars behave on track.

I will eventually go to iRacing, but I want to work my skills up to a higher level before I tackle that.

[RyanE]

I just bought pCars on sale from Steam and am blown away.  My last racing game attempt was maybe 15 years ago.  The visuals and attention to detail are mind-boggling.  I have started out just letting the AI race offline and watching telemetry and reviewing races so I can start tinkering with cars and Tires (not tyres).

[bboyer66]

I'm an Iracer.  If you want to race seriously online, It's your best option

It can be a little pricey initially,  but it is worth it. The competition is fierce. Who would have thought the Finns are the best drivers in the world LOL.  Like Slick Wilhelm said, it can be stressful. But that is what makes it great. Not many games that can really get the adrenaline flowing, and Iracing is one of them. Most of my stress comes from drivers who are too reckless. Of course as I have increased my irating, you see less of them, as Iracing puts you in races with drivers of your caliber. 

This season I am driving the Skip Barber 2000 again. Thought that my road driving skills in the Blancpain GT Spint series had degraded. So I wanted to go back to  basics, and hone my skills. 

Iracing also offers the whole Nascar experience if you are so inclined. You might not think doing ovals around a track would be much fun, but trust me, your heart is beating fast when you are in a tight pack making a turn around Daytona.

This is a video of me doing some testing at Watkins Glen.

 

 

[RyanE]

I don't want to and probably won't race online.  I am little tired of the multiplayer guys, in every gaming genre, stepping and being somewhat condescending about online play.  You can't have a discussion about any game without online bigots jumping and talking about how great their experience is. 

Its the gaming version of being vegan or a cross-fit fanatic.  Not happy unless they insert their online perspective and subtly insinuating you're doing it wrong if you're not online.  I see it a lot in racing and wargames.  Steel Beasts is the worst.  You can't ask a question about the game without someone jumping and trying to get you online so you be "helped" and trained properly.

Not everyone has a lifestyle where they can set aside a couple continuous hours to play a game.  I see guys who play several games a week online and just have to wonder what kind of life they live having that kind of time.

Sorry for venting my rage.  I have asked a couple questions on a few racing forums and ended up getting lectured on how stupid it is to play offline.  I have had my fill of that.  btw, I am not vegan, don't crossfit, and don't play online.  That is my tinder profile.

[JudgeDredd]

Actually, Judge, I haven't done any online racing yet in Project Cars. I've been focusing on racing the AI in different cars, only at Road America so far. It's pretty interesting how all the different cars behave on track.

I will eventually go to iRacing, but I want to work my skills up to a higher level before I tackle that.

iRacing isn't "that" taxing an experience. Practice before each live event is key so you can stay out of peoples way and stay on track.

If you like racing and you'd like to try iRacing, I wouldn't hold out on being semi-pro (exaggeration was deliberate)...just go for it. I really enjoyed it. I just found the interface quite difficult and stressful - both on track and off (which cars to buy into, which circuits to buy, was I going down the right path!!!) - but the racing experience itself was very good.

[JudgeDredd]

I don't want to and probably won't race online.  I am little tired of the multiplayer guys, in every gaming genre, stepping and being somewhat condescending about online play.  You can't have a discussion about any game without online bigots jumping and talking about how great their experience is. 

Its the gaming version of being vegan or a cross-fit fanatic.  Not happy unless they insert their online perspective and subtly insinuating you're doing it wrong if you're not online.  I see it a lot in racing and wargames.  Steel Beasts is the worst.  You can't ask a question about the game without someone jumping and trying to get you online so you be "helped" and trained properly.

Not everyone has a lifestyle where they can set aside a couple continuous hours to play a game.  I see guys who play several games a week online and just have to wonder what kind of life they live having that kind of time.

Sorry for venting my rage.  I have asked a couple questions on a few racing forums and ended up getting lectured on how stupid it is to play offline.  I have had my fill of that.  btw, I am not vegan, don't crossfit, and don't play online.  That is my tinder profile.

RyanE - I'd suggest you get your membership at Dogs of War VU. Asid (a prominent poster on all things Steel Beasts here) is over there and when I started Steel Beasts he was incredibly helpful. Any time I played Steel Beasts online it was a very good experience.

http://dogsofwarvu.com/forum/index.php

[RyanE]

Again, its not the experience I am concerned about or is the limiting issue.  Its find a solid hour to play.  I travel a lot, and work 12-13 hours a day, close to 6 days a week.  I have two sons, a dog, a house, and most of all, a wife.  My only large chunk of time is sitting on an airplane, like right now, or watching a football/baseball game.  Even with the game on, I am usually reviewing reports or exchanging emails with someone.  I might grab an hour at most, but that hour is filled with interruptions.  I tried playing World of Warships and it was kind of fun.  But the matches were 15 minutes at most and even then, I had a hard time not getting questions or requests for time.

My company does technology research and our gaming tracking group shows that around 15% of PC gamers have ever played online.  And as expected, they tend to dominate online forums.  As I stated, vegans, cross-fitters, and multiplayers.

[RyanE]

btw, I do play multiplayer with a few turn-based and WEGO games.  I play by email.  Its the main reason I am always looking for turn-based or WEGO games.  I can control and manage my time.  I have a few close friends I play CM with.  Although I haven't played in almost a year.

[rocketman]

I've been thinking about getting Project Cars for some while and probably will next time it is on sale. What's it like to play with a controller? Decent enough?

[JudgeDredd]

Again, its not the experience I am concerned about or is the limiting issue.  Its find a solid hour to play.  I travel a lot, and work 12-13 hours a day, close to 6 days a week.  I have two sons, a dog, a house, and most of all, a wife.  My only large chunk of time is sitting on an airplane, like right now, or watching a football/baseball game.  Even with the game on, I am usually reviewing reports or exchanging emails with someone.  I might grab an hour at most, but that hour is filled with interruptions.  I tried playing World of Warships and it was kind of fun.  But the matches were 15 minutes at most and even then, I had a hard time not getting questions or requests for time.

My company does technology research and our gaming tracking group shows that around 15% of PC gamers have ever played online.  And as expected, they tend to dominate online forums.  As I stated, vegans, cross-fitters, and multiplayers.

Ah. Apologies. Indeed the SB scenarios I took part in were considerably longer than an hour...just meeting up, setting up and the briefing took a while sometimes.

I don't envy your positions. Sounds like a right hectic life.

[RyanE]

I am playing with a controller.  I don't own a wheel.  I have been able to adjust pretty quickly.  It doesn't make me a super driver, but it works.