There’s no right or wrong way to enjoy a racing game or racing sim, but are certain titles better with a certain in-game viewpoint?
In-car, Bonnet, T-Cam and Chase Cam are all popular perspectives to race from in major racing titles. A quick search for a recent F1 title will yield a lot of T-Cam videos. Most of the content we see from racing sims like rFactor 2, Assetto Corsa and Automobilista tend to showcase cockpit cams. The immensely popular Forza and Gran Turismo series is commonly driven from a chase cam. And there are those in the sim racing community that swear by a bonnet (hood) cam.
So, why the preference by game, and what are the advantages of each?
Many of the popular racing sims tend to lend themselves better to an in-car cam for a few reasons. First, these titles are frequently driven with a wheel and pedal set, so the cockpit or helmet cam adds to the immersive experience. These titles also feature customizable view settings so the driving view can properly replicate the view of driving a real car based on the screen size and your distance from it. The bonnet and dash cams are close relatives of this view, and offer much of the same immersion and FOV advantages with less of the screen taken up by in-car instrumentation.
Codemasters’ F1 game series is unique in racing games with its T-cam view. In real-life F1, the T structure above and behind the driver's head is a discreet and minimally impactful spot for the mounting of a TV camera, so fans of the sport have become used to this perspective. This has carried over to the official game of F1 and gives players a broader view of track than the cockpit cam while also avoiding the visually intrusive halo pillar.
Chase cam is usually reserved for racing games and offers a comparatively wide view of the surroundings of your car. The precision achievable from this viewpoint tends to be less than that of the cockpit or helmet cams, so this is often reserved for racing experiences where placing the car in exact spots on corner entry, apex and trackout comes second to your proximity to other cars.
Of course, these aren’t all of the views in the racing game world. VR necessarily defaults to a helmet cam without the helmet. Art of Rally uses something entirely different. There are no rules to views in racing titles, just preferences.
We want to hear from you in the comments below. Do you have a standard driving view that you use across most or all your favourite racing titles? Or do you vary it by what you’re driving? Why do you choose that specific view?
In-car, Bonnet, T-Cam and Chase Cam are all popular perspectives to race from in major racing titles. A quick search for a recent F1 title will yield a lot of T-Cam videos. Most of the content we see from racing sims like rFactor 2, Assetto Corsa and Automobilista tend to showcase cockpit cams. The immensely popular Forza and Gran Turismo series is commonly driven from a chase cam. And there are those in the sim racing community that swear by a bonnet (hood) cam.
So, why the preference by game, and what are the advantages of each?
Many of the popular racing sims tend to lend themselves better to an in-car cam for a few reasons. First, these titles are frequently driven with a wheel and pedal set, so the cockpit or helmet cam adds to the immersive experience. These titles also feature customizable view settings so the driving view can properly replicate the view of driving a real car based on the screen size and your distance from it. The bonnet and dash cams are close relatives of this view, and offer much of the same immersion and FOV advantages with less of the screen taken up by in-car instrumentation.
Codemasters’ F1 game series is unique in racing games with its T-cam view. In real-life F1, the T structure above and behind the driver's head is a discreet and minimally impactful spot for the mounting of a TV camera, so fans of the sport have become used to this perspective. This has carried over to the official game of F1 and gives players a broader view of track than the cockpit cam while also avoiding the visually intrusive halo pillar.
Chase cam is usually reserved for racing games and offers a comparatively wide view of the surroundings of your car. The precision achievable from this viewpoint tends to be less than that of the cockpit or helmet cams, so this is often reserved for racing experiences where placing the car in exact spots on corner entry, apex and trackout comes second to your proximity to other cars.
Of course, these aren’t all of the views in the racing game world. VR necessarily defaults to a helmet cam without the helmet. Art of Rally uses something entirely different. There are no rules to views in racing titles, just preferences.
We want to hear from you in the comments below. Do you have a standard driving view that you use across most or all your favourite racing titles? Or do you vary it by what you’re driving? Why do you choose that specific view?
