Richard burns rally is still good today.jpg
In a recent video by our friends at Overtake, Emily Jones took a look at Richard Burns Rally, comparing it to the more modern rally simulators. With rally fans waiting on WRC 23, which is your best bet for sim rallying?

Image Credit: Warthog Games

In a recent video posted to the Overtake.GG YouTube channel, popular simracing content creator, Emily Jones took a look at Richard Burns Rally. This near-20-year-old rallying simulator is still going strong thanks to a dedicated fan base and a modding community that has transformed the game.


Whilst this older game, especially in its Rally Sim Fans iteration is popular, it certainly has competition from more recent simulators. WRC Generations released in 2022 and Dirt Rally 2.0 was made in 2019 by the same team that is developing the next official WRC title. But how do these three genre-topping titles compare? Well, Emree has everything you need to know.

The ultimate rally game​

In her video, Emily compares the three top dogs in rally simracing by breaking them down into certain categories. From driving physics to content as well as the games' realism and multiplayer game play and even ease to setup, she details the pros and cons of each.

Whilst each game has its own take on physics with some being more forgiving than others on different surfaces, it's when it comes to content that they truly differentiate. WRC Generations is the latest official WRC game and, as a result, features many real-world stages which is great for immersion. Dirt Rally 2.0 however breaks away when it comes to its list of vintage cars. When it comes to RBR though, its content quality doesn't quite match its rivals. That being said, it offers a bit of everything, from modern monsters to old-school brutes.

WRC Generations banner.jpg


As for the online rally experience, it seems Emily prefers RBR, a game from back when online racing was almost unheard of. Rally Sim Fans does a great job at allowing players to race each other thanks to great functionality such as the legs. In longer rallies like SRM, drivers are forced to take things slow as a bump with the trees could result in having to skip an entire leg of a rally. This ties in perfectly with the game's ruthless damage model.

It's this challenging damage model that makes fans turn towards the more recent games which are certainly more forgiving when it comes to accidents. Ultimately, simracing is all about fun. And until the next WRC game releases, rally fans have a plethora of great titles to enjoy. Whether you race on RBR, WRC or Dirt all comes down to personal preference.

Which rally game do you play the most?
About author
Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

Comments

Just tried Joux Verte from that link but it looks quite bad, the road is full of horizontal lines and scenery floating in the air? Different version?
hmm. Not sure where else I'd have got it. I remember having nasty lines before - maybe I still have and just blank them out from consciousness? lol. I'll try it.

I did notice an update on RD, adding grassfx and VAO.


Maybe it'll help, maybe you already have it.

If I find another source I'll post it. And I'll check my version.

**ETA - I do still have the lines. My mind has obviously largely blanked them out (from familiarity?) :D

That stage needs a good update. I still love the stage though.

Some others instead maybe? Semetin, Peklo, La Bollene Vesubie, Muracciole Vezzani, Drazgose......St-Jean-Laurent is the best one, SFAIK.
 
Last edited:
got it downloaded and installed, configured my wheel & pedals, it began to move but then my view was too low for my taste. Is there any way to raise the seat height a little?
in rbr you can edit all the cars camera view in cars folder/carxxx/ *.cfg and there is cam mod too where you can adjust view in game with keypad. and if vr remeber use kegetys vr
 
Yep and that's truly interesting why this game is so underrated. well i thought the same about SLRE BUT the elephant in the room about slre is assigning game inputs to todays sim gear...gamepads no problem.

Car feel and stages are pretty awesome :)

this i agree with but SLRE is flawed with not being able to assign game inputs on todays sim gear.
 
Last edited:
Rev to Vertex is releasing its new demo today! Description: "Rev to Vertex (R2V) Immerse yourself in the virtual racing ground. Explore the vibrant hills and shimming metropolis of Hong Kong. Customize your car and drift in style. Realistic driving physics and battle system. Defeat rivals and race your way to the top" https://store.steampowered.com/app/2022140/Rev_to_Vertex/ THIS RELEASES IN EITHER 2 HOURS 40 MINUTES OR 15 HOURS i'm not sure but does release today.
 
Last edited:
Oh... I actually returned Seb Loeb Rally because I was unable to map my Fanatec wheel and pedals. Be careful with that one if you are on Fanatec gear...
Better late than never, I've had to postponed my SLRE try.
Well the tutorials on the internet are about fixing wheels officially supported.
As my TS PC Racer isn't supported, I had to find another solution.

Some Fanatc wheels are supported :
Fanatec 911 GT2 EU
Fanatec 911 GT3 RS
Fanatec 911 Turbo S
Fanatec ClubSport Wheel V2

They may not work and you'll need this fix :

If your wheel is not supported you can get your wheel working by using x360ce, emulating a xbox 360 controller. As you can't remap axis and keys ingame, you have to map them correctly in your x360ce profile. Something really important is the deadzone fix : I got rid of it by applying 15% anti-deadzone. The game is enjoyable, although without any FFB (just an additional resistance in my wheel profiler).

I tried several stages and tracks, they are really good and the game is challenging. The physics are good, except a strange spin occuring sometimes when entering a corner too fast, it feels almost "scripted" as the old F1 Challenge low speed oversteer ; the car is unresponsive, you can't do anything else than waiting for the full spin to end (EDIT : I think the cars are quiet unresponsive, and understeery maybe my wheel rotation degrees are too high or the cars need some tweaking ; it can explain this unresponsiveness when entering this slide, which anyway would be uncatchable because it occurs when the car is entering really to fast into a corner). I don't like the handbrake though, it is unresponsive compared to other games.

Overall it is a good suprise, once you've spent a few hours to tweak the x360ce emulator (ask me if you need some help), and if you can accept to play without FFB.I'm surprised it doesn't bother me that much, I initially thought it would be atrocious.
 
Last edited:
Play RBR en 2004 with PS2, after from 2008 with PC and Modding RSRBR. My database content other 1000 special stage for other 7000km...
 

Latest News

Article information

Author
Angus Martin
Article read time
2 min read
Views
16,551
Comments
109
Last update

What would make you race in our Club events

  • Special events

    Votes: 46 25.8%
  • More leagues

    Votes: 32 18.0%
  • Prizes

    Votes: 33 18.5%
  • Trophies

    Votes: 18 10.1%
  • Forum trophies

    Votes: 11 6.2%
  • Livestreams

    Votes: 28 15.7%
  • Easier access

    Votes: 98 55.1%
  • Other? post your reason

    Votes: 29 16.3%
Back
Top