Have Your Say – Missing Features in Sim Racing

[AnklaX]

I'd like to see pit and post crash activity take time. When you make a setup change, it takes time for those changes to take place. I'd like if that were implemented. During the time I had to wait, I could do a number of things like study my telemetry, watch other cars or accelerate time to make the time faster. When the car crashes, it takes time to bring back an injured car, take time to repair the car, maybe a crash cause a red flag, that sort of thing.

 

[Terminus Est]

I'd like to see pit and post crash activity take time. When you make a setup change, it takes time for those changes to take place. I'd like if that were implemented. During the time I had to wait, I could do a number of things like study my telemetry, watch other cars or accelerate time to make the time faster. When the car crashes, it takes time to bring back an injured car, take time to repair the car, maybe a crash cause a red flag, that sort of thing.

Have you played DiRT Rally, by any chance? It simulates things like repair times and even the time to get your car back on the road if you make an off and use the "reset car" menu option. I've even run a damaged car in the final stage of a rally because it was not worth trying to repair the car when I could just granny-drive it and get a better overall time.

 

[Icky427]

Its not really a SIM feature, more of a GAME feature, but I dont see why all the driving games cant have some sort of personal single player career mode where you start with an empty garage, some money, buy a shitty car, race it, win money, upgrade/tune it, buy better cars, etc... racing games used to do it this way (GT, sega gt2002), but have since moved away from it and now you dont have to work for anything anymore. you get all the cars and tracks right from the start. dont get me wrong, im not asking for nfs. a sim should first and foremost be a driving simulator, but beyond that i want a REASON to drive. the excitement of just driving a car around meaninglessly gets old. shoot, look up Street Rod from 1989. they did it right, you could buy used car parts from the newspaper classifieds then you had to install them bolt by bolt then you go to the burger joint and drag race people for money or pink slips. i feel like something fun like that could easily be added to any established driving sim and would make it so much more interesting to more people.

 

[AnklaX]

Have you played DiRT Rally, by any chance? It simulates things like repair times and even the time to get your car back on the road if you make an off and use the "reset car" menu option. I've even run a damaged car in the final stage of a rally because it was not worth trying to repair the car when I could just granny-drive it and get a better overall time.

A few other games also have it but I was talking about a more detailed implementation. Even Grand Prix 3 also had a bit of such features but nothing has a full implementation. If implemented fully, I'd not be playing around the practice session and drive more competently in the early stages because I knew I can't just run off track, hit escape to bits and be done with it. These things should take time. I'd care about not damaging my car in a massive damage so that the engine has to be replaced before Qualifying session starts. That level of detailed implementation I'm talking about.

 

[Case_]

Something along those lines is coming to Automobilista, as mentioned in the latest roadmap:

Furthermore, we are working on adding options for time delays changing major car components, so that if for instance driver blows an engine or significantly damage the car, he will be forced to sit in the pits and unable to go out again while the mechanics handle the required repairs. This is to combine with another new option to set rules for escaping to pits mid-session (whether you can escape to menu any time as currently, only when vehicle is stopped or only when its back to its pit slot).

All this (and potentially some extra options we're looking into) with the goal of adding an extra dimension of realism to the simulation so that drivers have to be mindful of managing their tires and equipment, an ever present element in real racing.

We are not sure these features will be ready in time for v1.4.9 but will be certainly be added in time for v1.50.

 

[Lawndart]

Lots of good reply’s. Just add “perma death”. Not literally but you get a car, your responsible for everything onbthat car, you crash you fix it... you get injured your season is over. Don’t focus on the need to win, but to first learn to compete, then work your way up. If you can get a player to feel like he’s in a glass chariot, that he is responsible for, all the sensations or real racing will set in and that slower methodical build up of confidence will emulate real life.

 

[Isaac Chavira]

Animated sponsor banners and jumbo-trons. We also need cheering crowds as well. Real time dynamic weather would be good too. They have has that since Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. Corner marshals would be another good ambient immersion factor as well. ***FULL PIT LANES!!! I was to see all the fueling lines rung out and people running around when we pit or pass by.


***

 

[GAIAjohan]

1. As a gamer I want to have a simple track builder, so I can race on any road in-game I want.

A good easy track builder. Create your own tracks using Google maps for example.
Height differences and track length+width for example can be reasonably accurate then.
You can edit parts you want, add trees whatever. And suddenly the road in front of your home is a track or practice location .

2. As a gamer I want to buy every car and engine type in a game. So I can drive exactly my own car in a game. I want to be able to upgrade it accordingly


If you add a car to a game, add all the types as a developer. I mean in engine choice, luxury trim etc.
If you're poor in-game or want to tune you may buy the base version of a car. If you want a fast car immediately you buy the better car.

So for example, add a Ford Focus.
Base model is an 1.0 ecoboost, but you can also buy a diesel, an ST, RS whatever. You could even completely rebuild your own car...

I mean, you can always drive the fastest type in a game. But why not a base model?

 

[xnorb]

After some multiplayer races in Assetto Corsa over the past days my only wish is that every sim copies real world scenarios in regards to a racing career.

Have everybody start in a slow car like MX5, Lancer, Mini... and once the driver has proven he can drive in traffic without wrecking in L1 he gets the oportunity to advance to something like Touring Cars /GT3 where he again has to prove that he has enough racecraft to not kill everybody on the grid and from that on he is free to drive all tintops he would like. Same goes for open wheelers of course.

But having people jump right into 300+ HP cars without even being able to get an MX5 safe through T1 is just plain stupid and causes 99% of all MP frustration.

The above of course only applies for official servers, which i request all sims to have - including ratings, championships and so on, on hosted servers it should be left to the admin if / which skill requirement he wants to set on his server.

 

[Deleted member 241736]

Assetto Corsa misses the race and simulation feature, considering their motto is "Your racing simulator".

Drops mic and walks away

Is she the Frikadelli Biene?

 

[Andy_J]

I want a Death Race 2000 sim game. All this poncy green energy saving motorsport can go cook itself. I want death and mayhem. Points for splatting pedestrians. More points for taking out a family in a motorhome. I want zombies too because they are cool.

They should make a game where the race can go any direction as long as you get to the end with more points earned by death and destruction. Oh...........I need to get my Carmageddon running again and I can have all that. A new Carmageddon with multiplayer and live streamed races of destruction would be so great. Imagine our @Joseph Wright commentating in the live stream as our race club members take out a triple pedestrian point score and when one of the club members gets blown up or run over. Jeez that would be so great.

Oh and PS all you devs out there Kunos, Codemasters, SMS etc......This is my new idea.................

 

[OzzyNeil]

I feel as already stated that developers should concentrate on one series and nail it to the smallest detail.
The old adage, quality over quantity, and don't forget the grid girls.

 

[BernL]

Assetto Corsa is missing lots.....very sugar coated. Never do you see a car do a realistic roll over, hit the guardrail at high speed.....Nascar 2003 simulated a roll over , 10 + years later and assetto corsa is no where near. Yes the goal is not to roll over....but high speeds will lead to loss of control. Plenty of You tube fails on the matter. Keep having tire updates.....but cant mimic a roll over if there life depended on it. Very sad. Try to purposely roll a car in Assetto Corsa and tell me if you think I am off the mark. Post a comparison on You tube. Nascar 2003 VS Assetto corsa....roll over physic's . Its racing , it happens...like it or not.

 

[JohannDaart]

Have everybody start in a slow car like MX5, Lancer, Mini... and once the driver has proven he can drive in traffic without wrecking in L1 he gets the oportunity to advance to something like Touring Cars /GT3 where he again has to prove that he has enough racecraft to not kill everybody on the grid and from that on he is free to drive all tintops he would like. Same goes for open wheelers of course.

In real life nobody gets close even to full spec GT3 car for their first ride.

But in sim racing people expect to ride F1 or 1000 HP Lambo straight away. Then they get frustrated bc learning curve is steep... And they go back to NFS.

In my opinion in sim racing genere there's no point in compromise.
If you do a sim that's between arcade and sim in terms of realism, casual players will get discouraged anyway, and sim racers will feel bad driving it. Nobody's happy.
Ofcourse every sim racer likes to play good arcade racing game for fun sometimes, and every arcade player likes to check what's it like to drive something realistic.

But that state of things is not that profitable for sim developers, so... Let's not get our hopes up. We won't get a product that is full featured in any forseeable future.

OT: Maybe just maybe... If some magician could turn sim racing into proper eSport with huge viewership and money pool.
I don't think that "even real races don't have huge viewership" argument is valid.
Make eSport sim that is great to watch and make entry barriers low, while making it a valid career option for young gamers, so there's real life interest in it... And it will work.

 

[Yetch]

The more complicated and deep the Sim the fewer people play it, making it a complete opposite of all Developers goals, which is to sell their wares.
This is such a vast and subjective topic, now if a Sim has everything everyone ever wanted but gave the option to enable/disable certain features (if not all) then everyone is happy and Mr Developer has his own island!
Forcing people to take things more seriously will only alienate a title, not everyone has time to simulate real life but still like to feel they can be included, if only in snippets.
Just so you know, I have all the time in the world to pursue my passion of Sim racing, retired, single and ecstatically happy but feel this explosion of interest in Virtual racing is due to the accessibility of titles and the sheer amount of quality titles available, not to mention a large increase in PC sales worldwide (first for years), then throw in big business getting in on the act, popularity of YouTube and the like and all things look peachy Sim Racing wise, yet the minute you tell someone they're not in the race because some urchin engineer didn't do a wheel nut up, I fancy even I'm out.
One must always be wary of what one wishes for!

 

[WOKOWEN1]

In a hundred years there probably won't be any cars left to simulate. If our society even survives, autonomous cars and the depletion of the world's natural resources will mean performance cars and racing as we know them will no longer exist. We hit Peak Car around 1999 and it's all downhill from here.

I don't think that the peak was in the past. There were many bad years before that in racing. You are obviously young so you wouldnt know. And yes, simulators will be always there because even if real cars would disappear as you say that would make simulators even more interesting.

 

[WOKOWEN1]

It's funny how most of the things people ask are already featured in games across the arcade/simcade spec. Like I said before give it 100 years and you will be happy. He he

 

[Terri Buenaflor]

To add; Open world simulation, think Test Drive Unlimited. iirc their map is huge and you can enter some part of it that has a race track shape like the real world racetrack.

 

[apex11]

In real life nobody gets close even to full spec GT3 car for their first ride.

But in sim racing people expect to ride F1 or 1000 HP Lambo straight away. Then they get frustrated bc learning curve is steep... And they go back to NFS.

In my opinion in sim racing genere there's no point in compromise.
If you do a sim that's between arcade and sim in terms of realism, casual players will get discouraged anyway, and sim racers will feel bad driving it. Nobody's happy.
Ofcourse every sim racer likes to play good arcade racing game for fun sometimes, and every arcade player likes to check what's it like to drive something realistic.

But that state of things is not that profitable for sim developers, so... Let's not get our hopes up. We won't get a product that is full featured in any forseeable future.

OT: Maybe just maybe... If some magician could turn sim racing into proper eSport with huge viewership and money pool.
I don't think that "even real races don't have huge viewership" argument is valid.
Make eSport sim that is great to watch and make entry barriers low, while making it a valid career option for young gamers, so there's real life interest in it... And it will work.

And this is the problem, right there. People can't accept that racing cars are not that difficult to drive, the skills are being able to get them to the limits and beyond, but simply driving a racing isn't as difficult as sim people make out.
Even with the evidence out there from drivers like Ben Collins, Chris Harris and simply random people let lose in racing cars they all say how in relative terms 'easy' and user friendly racing cars are, even some of the old school ones.
The famous successful racing cars are famous and successful because they are the best.

We will forever be stranded in this weird loop of sim racers wanting to say any grip is arcade or simcade. If its possible to get into a race car and drive it around a track then it should be possible in a game.

Biggest irony of it all is that Forza and GT have the very worst examples of amazing racing machines being utter crap at having any grip and needing to feather the throttle everywhere.
Even Rfactor 2 on a rubbered in track with warm tyres shows that grip is a very real thing in motorsport......
How did the myth that racing cars handle crap and have no grip whatsoever even come about?
Its offensive to race car designers like Adrian Newey etc.

Skip to 3.00 for Harris on the audi GT3..

 

[aka2k]

GTR2 is the perfect game all around, except it's heavily outdated at this point. But it does have it all: career, good AI, weather and time lapse, good graphics and sounds for its time, rules, pit stop, etc & etc. We are lucky to get one or another thing from this list at this day and age.

Not that there isn't good games today, they just feel incomplete mostly.