How to start?

Jan Roman · Sep 3, 2011

Hello simracers!

I have been a fan of motorsport for a long time. Some time ago I've bumped into Racedepartment while looking for Need For Speed Shift Mods. I was quite excited about the whole community and I realized that SimRacing is amazing. So I borrowed a wheel (Logitech Formula) and had been playing Shift for some time. I even bought Shift Unleashed, but shortly after its release, I left racing games for a while (I have been dissapointed with Shift 2).

Now, my point is, I'd love to start simracing again. I missed it and now I understand that games like Trackmania can't replace simulations. I've just bought a new wheel (MOMO, G27 is too expensive for a beginner I think), and I'd like to ask you where to start. I have played ONLY Shift (a great game when modified,

Overhaul) and Shift 2 (disappointment) and while reading RD forums I realized that these are not "hardcore" simulations (I knew the driving feel isn't much like in a car, but I thought it's not better in older sims) so now I'm looking for a game to start with. I'm quite confused and I don't really know which one I should choose.

I'm looking for off- and on-line gaming and I'd like to visit some tournaments in the future. rFactor and RACE07 seem to be the most popular, but I'd like to know your opinion. Personally I'd prefer games with better graphics, but it's definitely NOT neccessary since the main reason to play simulations is to bring the most realistic feel available.

Thank you for your advice.

Jan Roman

William Levesque · Sep 3, 2011

Well, you pretty much found them by yourself !

RACE07 and rFactor are the most popular here

Do some Club Events and when you're ready jump in a League !

Eventually if you keep going at it you'll surely buy a G25 or a G27 and then you'll experience what it's suppose to feel like !

Good Luck

Alexander Rhodes · Sep 3, 2011

As above, rFactor and Race are the most popular, but there are also free methods of dipping your feet in simulators, as NFS is as far from simulation as hollywood is from reality lol.

LFS has a demo version that is free to play online, and offline.
netKar Pro has a demo version that is free to play offline.
I don't know of any other games that you can try before you commit, but since your joining right at a time when a lot of changes are happening, I'd start with one of these before deciding what type of cars you'd prefer to race.
By changes, I mean that a lot of updates are being released, as are a lot of new simulations. rFactor 2 is imminent, iRacing has just launched a new updated tyre model, LFS is developing one, plus updated physics, netKar Pro is constant development, with a new release imminent and Kartsim is coming very soon.

In short, telling you to go buy something because we all race it now would be a bad idea, as in as little as 2 months, we might be racing something different.

As for tournaments, we have a few leagues going on, mostly in rFactor, and those are scheduled to move to rFactor 2 when possible. Leagues are filled with Aliens, and a fantastic way to learn from them, although don't be put off by that, it's a great way to learn from them and get on their pace.

Jan Roman · Sep 3, 2011

Thank you very much for your replies. I've been going through webpages of various simulators recently and a lot of things is happening. I downloaded RACE 07 demo from Steam, but I want to wait until my wheel arrives.

I have one more question - when you (experienced racers) compete against each other, do you drive with a manual clutch or is it possible to survive without it? I mean it will surely take a lot of time to learn how to drive and shift precisely, so is it even possible to compete online with automatic transmission or clutch at least?

And last thing for now - considering driving feel and realism, which game seems to be the best in this way? I've read a lot already, but people say many things and I'm not sure who is right and who is wrong.

Thank you for your patience.

Jan

Alexander Rhodes · Sep 3, 2011

As an actual racing driver, I do use the clutch, but only when stopping, moving from standing, and during spins when I am in a car that uses sequential gearboxes. In cars that use H-gates, yes I do use the clutch, but thousands of people don't. Driving aids are basically down to user preference, and what you can and can't handle.

Considering driving feel and realism, netKar Pro is on top right now. iRacing is close in 2nd. The disadvantage to netKar however, is that there is never much happening compared to iRacing which has thousands of people online at any 1 time. This however, will change. As games are released updated and modified, new arguments come into play. And the honest truth is, there is nothing on the market today that feels close to real life, but tomorrow, someone could be beta testing something that does.

You can however, go into the deep end where things become much more realistic. Things like motion rigs, surround projection displays, high-end input units and professional simulation programs will be closer than a wheel and a game, but at an extreme costs. It's up to you to decide what you want to put in, and what you want out of it.

Adam Eggbeer · Sep 3, 2011

You can get the rFactor demo here: http://rfactor.net/web/rf1/downloads/ but you will only have 1 hour from the moment it is launched. As for which one is best, it is all down to user preference. Try a few out and see which ones appeal to you. rFactor and RACE also contain a lot of mods that can make the game better and give you more content with which to use.

Nick Brooke · Sep 5, 2011

This is also going to depend on how much money you are going to want to invest. Race 07 stuff with the addons is far more money than rFactor and do not forget rFactor 2 is in the making. Then if you really get into racing sims and want to go all out you could progress to iRacing. iRacing is a sub based game where you buy content you want but pay a yearly sub. As far as the racing goes its about as good as anything out there in fairness. Its a complicated system to start with too when you look at the points system and licence system. Its not something i would recomend to someone new to sim racing.

My advice would be start small with something like rFactor and if you like it enough go further forward with other titles. Also do not forget to check the forums for competitions as RD hold regular ones for your chance to Win Sim Bin titles along with other goodies. This if you win can see you with a great game for nothing at all.

Jan Roman · Sep 5, 2011

Okay, thank you all for your help! I'm glad the simracing community seems to be very mature unlike many other communities. See you on the track!

Jan Roman · Sep 5, 2011

I'm here again, bringing more questions! And I'm really sorry I bother you with all of this.

I tried rFarcor lite and Race07 demo (although just with a gamepad, don't laugh! my wheel is on the way!) and I have to say there is certainly a huge difference. rFactor seems more "real" to me, at least driving felt more natural, but there is no way to tell after testing one car in each game. On the other hand, I love when my tires started to wear off and it actually made a difference! Never experienced this before.

My questions are here (and please be patient, unfortunately I'm no racer

Let's say I'm driving a RWD car. I have my wheel with pedals without a clutch. I have never owned a real RWD car, but from what I remember from a driving school, the best thing to do when your RWD car starts to slide and spin is to press the clutch. In that case, what should I do without a clutch? Just let it spin?

Second question: I've been thinking about F1 series as well, how much "real" are they? I can't really tell since I've never driven a formula 1 (well I suppose I'm not the only one). I've played F1 2010 some time ago, but I don't even remember.

Thank you!

Alexander Rhodes · Sep 6, 2011

Realism isn't there yet with any sim, though they are getting close, it will still be a while before any sim or mod is exactly true to life. with RWD cars, it's about throttle control. Spinning the rear tyres is because you applied to much weight to the tyre, therefore it breaks traction. So to counter that, you need to move the balance of the car forward, so lifting a small amount can cure oversteer. You can also slide the cars by not having enough weight on the tyres, therefore not achieving maximum grip (i.e. on the brakes), to counter this getting on the throttle can sometimes help. hth

Jan Roman · Sep 7, 2011

Thank you. Another one: I tried both rFactor and Race07 and I like them both. I decided to buy RACE07 even though I like rFactor more, for one simple reason. rFactor team is going to release rFactor 2 (soon I hope) and I don't want to pay the full price twice. So I decided to purchase RACE07, however, I'm wondering which expansion I should choose. I'm a beginner with no experience in simracing (since Shift titles are not simulations), so I'm wondering, whether I should look for less powerful classes. I don't even know what the possibilities are, could you please explain it? Thank you very much.