If you had to start all over again... (shower thoughts)

[Adrian Herrera]

I assume most, if not all, of us here have made substantial investments both in money and time on our sim racing hobby, but what if you had to start from scratch tomorrow?

Lets say your rig and steam library no longer existed and you have to start from square 1 building your setup... What would you go for?

Do you go small and save some money since you are not that passionate now as you were a few years ago? Do you go to the bank and ask for a multi thousand dollar loan and go BIG with all the best hardware available? Do you recreate exactly what you have right now?

What about software? Do you pick just one, your all time favorite, and stick to it? Do you get all the sim racing titles available from past and present?


Any one wants to let imagination fly for a while?

 

[Phantom Lord]

Interesting question.

I don't think I'd be much different on the hardware front, but in terms of sim racing titles:

1) In Assetto Corsa, I'd spend less time hotlapping road cars and more time working on the racing side, particularly speed and car setup. Just using the road cars has left me with some bad driving habits!

2) Even though I enjoyed PC2, if given the opportunity again I'd probably pass.

3) I think generally, I'd try and spend more time on a couple of sims than hopping from title to title. I wished I'd invested more time in AMS1, but I'm trying to rectify that with AMS2 (also focusing on ACC).

 

[Deleted member 963434]

i first bought t500rs and mounted to desk, then shortly after like month later i bought th8rs shifter from thrustmaster too, i shrtly after regret i not bought fanatic sq v 1.5 shifter.. but that later
then i bought wheelstand pro to not have to mount my wheel onto desk everytime i want play
then i bought fanatic pedals inverted v3, then i mount my wheelstand pro premanent to wall and made separate table for mouse and keyboard so i not need to drag my whole setup in front of monitor each time, then i bought simplicity sw 20 v3 direct drive wheel, and shortly after i bought fanatic sq v1,5 shifter. it was time like 5 years from t500rs into direct drive wheel and better pedals and shifter, but im still playing it on wheel stand pro "rig" bolted to wall. so i think i would like spare some money if i go straight to dd wheel, fanatic pedals and shifter and next level wheels stand for dd maybe with racing seat as i still usin wheel chair lol. but im planning to byu next level wheel stand dd.
as terms wit my sims, i not regret any buy, AC, ACC , PC1, PC2, wreckfest, dirt rally even i have it uninstalled now, and more i regret any sim i played cause each of thoe driving was close to others and each sims teach me something to use in other sims and real life xD

 

[Deleted member 963434]

so i started from t500rs wit t3pa pro pedals, wheel stand pro, th8rs shifter, i forgot to mention i also bought sparco r383 wheel addon from thrustmaster, and just half year later decided to go for DD, so much loss of money there

if i start today i go for dd wheel spimplicity sw20 v3, fanatic pedals v3 inverted, fanatic sq v1,5 shifter, and next level wheels stand DD wit real car seat bought at junkyard, also i must add SRC buttonplate for dd wheel and real car QMS wheel rim 370mm

 

[Deleted member 963434]

but boy how much i spend on my pc, i bought it like 6 years ago only to run gta v on lowest settings, then i sold 4gb ram to buy 2x 8gb ram, its still ddr 3, then coolin fan on cpu, cooling on motherboard mosfets cause it was thermal throttling when i oc my cpu, additional fans like 3 another fans i bought, ssd drive, new graphic card, new psu, did i forget something?
boy i could have cheap race car for money i spend on my whole hardware, but then i shall buy new tyres, fuel and repairs. its such a expensive hobby

 

[dud]

Pedals are more important than wheel.

Stick with one sim for longer periods of time.

Don't buy anything made by Fanatec.

Don't do VR.

Don't do 4k, get triple.

 

[Adrian Herrera]

Pedals are more important than wheel.

Stick with one sim for longer periods of time.

Don't buy anything made by Fanatec.

Don't do VR.

Don't do 4k, get triple.

interesting! Why no VR?

 

[dud]

interesting! Why no VR?

Just doesn't do it for me. Even more hardware to mess with (sim racing hardware and its mounting is pretty bad already), no screenshot photography, blurry picture compared to my 4k, not enough compatibility with other games and other kinds of games.

 

[Terje Helle]

I wouldn’t do anything different.
I wouldn’t miss out on any of the fun I had.
Starting (well, started with a keyboard, and then a mouse, but..) with a Logitech Momo when that came out, on a desk and a 15 inc screen.
upgraded to a G27, with the shifter, when that came out, still on a desk, but bought the first Wheel Stand Pro. That was a massive upgrade. Then triples screen setup, also a massive upgrade. Then VR, and that changed EVERYTHING!!! I’m still amazed every time I go in VR, and it have had it for 3 years now. Although upgraded from a Lenovo Explorer to Pimax 5k to Hp Reverb.

Also bought the TSPC, V3s, TM shifter and then the Fanatec shifter (that was a big upgrade in user friendliness). Along with the TSPC I made a cockpit out of wood, with a BMW e46 Sport seat. And that was almost as a good upgrade as the VR. With the VR, I also bought the Vibrating Pad Simshaker from Andres shop, and that was also one of the really big upgrades, it gives you the feel of your pants, when you are used to it. (It’s so good, I can race without any FFB on the wheel, and I still know what’s going on.). Added two more transducers to my cockpit just for the fun of it. And the latest purchase is the DD2.
It has given me SO MUCH JOY, this road. And I would miss out on all the upgrades if I had jumped straight to the best. Every upgrade comes with great Joy and fun. That’s worth paying for! Oh and a button box!

In my opinion the most effective upgrades are:

VR

Sturdy Cockpit

Sim Shacker Pad

Loadcell

Button Box

Better wheel base

Better shifter

Transducers on the cockpit.(This would be higher if I didn’t have the Sim Shacker Pad.)

3 screens also was a massive upgrade, but I will always pick VR over 3 screens.

This Sim road have been long, and hopefully it’s not at it’s end. I have enjoyed every bit of it!

 

[Terje Helle]

I wouldn’t do anything different.
I wouldn’t miss out on any of the fun I had.
Starting (well, started with a keyboard, and then a mouse, but..) with a Logitech Momo when that came out, on a desk and a 15 inc screen.
upgraded to a G27, with the shifter, when that came out, still on a desk, but bought the first Wheel Stand Pro. That was a massive upgrade. Then triples screen setup, also a massive upgrade. Then VR, and that changed EVERYTHING!!! I’m still amazed every time I go in VR, and it have had it for 3 years now. Although upgraded from a Lenovo Explorer to Pimax 5k to Hp Reverb.

Also bought the TSPC, V3s, TM shifter and then the Fanatec shifter (that was a big upgrade in user friendliness). Along with the TSPC I made a cockpit out of wood, with a BMW e46 Sport seat. And that was almost as a good upgrade as the VR. With the VR, I also bought the Vibrating Pad Simshaker from Andres shop, and that was also one of the really big upgrades, it gives you the feel of your pants, when you are used to it. (It’s so good, I can race without any FFB on the wheel, and I still know what’s going on.). Added two more transducers to my cockpit just for the fun of it. And the latest purchase is the DD2.
It has given me SO MUCH JOY, this road. And I would miss out on all the upgrades if I had jumped straight to the best. Every upgrade comes with great Joy and fun. That’s worth paying for! Oh and a button box!

In my opinion the most effective upgrades are:

VR

Sturdy Cockpit

Sim Shacker Pad

Loadcell

Button Box

Better wheel base

Better shifter

Transducers on the cockpit.(This would be higher if I didn’t have the Sim Shacker Pad.)

3 screens also was a massive upgrade, but I will always pick VR over 3 screens.

This Sim road have been long, and hopefully it’s not at it’s end. I have enjoyed every bit of it!

Forgot about the SuperFOV, that was also a big upgrade, and I still think that’s one of the clever ways to get big FOV cheap.

For games/sims Ihave bought most of them. They all has their own charm. And I would do it all over again.

 

[gngrduncan]

Well, all I could think of is that I should have started working right after I graduated. I did spend about 6 months of doing nothing before I started my career and I feel like that somehow stunted my career's growth.

 

[gngrduncan]

damn it! I didn't read the first post and I just answered based on the title...my bad. I got a bit deep there.

 

[bsmooth]

I'd like to say I would go with Fanatec, but since I haven't tried it not sure. maybe I would stay with Thomas Super Wheels TSW2, what other wheel and pedals could last as long as 10 or 15 years?
As far as software after initial using of GPL 20 or so years ago I came back to it and its still amazing, even after AC,Project CARS,Automobilista, Rfactor and the list goes on and on.
Would like to try Fanatec though.

 

[DND]

Understanding the importance of a balanced PC to ensure getting the most out of it. Going on 5 years, and only upgrading the GPU, I think I got it close.

It's difficult to say if the approach I took was wise as I have upgraded GPU, monitors, and controllers over the years. But also there is no way I was spending that kind of money upfront on something I didn't know how much I would be using at the time.

The wanna be geek in me wants to have max settings on everything and get the full potential of the monitors. Also a direct drive wheel, motion rig, shifter, button box...well I digress. I'm fortunate to have a rig I enjoy, which is not bad. And the thought of putting more money into it is just not practical.

So if the question for me is if I had a crystal ball and if I knew how much I would enjoy it and be using it today, absolutely would have done it BETTER.