924Board.org

[Khal]

Does anyone here play computer games, specifically driving games/sims? PC, PS2, Xbox or other?

I remember playing Grand Prix and Grand Prix II on the PC when I was a kid, along with Test Drive, Test Drive II and Test Drive III. There was another little gem called Stunts, I think, which let you design your own stunt tracks and then drive them. And I was a fan of Hard Drivin' arcade machine (it had a clutch and force feedback!).

But Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo on Sony's PlayStation really got me hooked. A fully-fledged driving simulation (sans clutch, like all current sims) in which you could drive real-world sports cars, it was nothing short of brilliant, IMHO. The only letdown was that there was nary a Porsche or Ferrari, etc, to be seen. A few Bimmers and Merc's and a smattering of classic U.S. muscle...

Then came GT2, which upped the ante again. It was really getting good. Very realistic physics model with tuneable suspension and gearing that actually made a realistic difference.

GT3 leapt ahead graphically, 'cause it had the PS2's hardware to exploit. And the physics model got better still.

Now GT4's been about for a while and I thought it was the ultimate for realism...

But has anyone got into Forza on the Xbox? That game is phenomenal! The graphics are getting close to video-real and the sound is just plain freaky, it's so accurate! But the physics model feels even better than GT4... it's incredible the way the cars handle, scarily lifelike. You can almost physically feel the weight and momentum of the car as it accelerates, brakes and changes direction!

And the best part is, it's got PORSCHES! And Ferraris! (no Lambo, bummer). It's got the 951, 959, 993 GT2, 986S, 996 GT3, GT1 and Carrera GT! And to go up against them are the Ferrari F355, 512TR, F360, 612, F40, F50 and Enzo! There's the Merc AMG's (including the McMerc SLR) and a couple of BMW M3's, too. All the usual Jap suspects and plenty of Yank iron.

If you haven't played, do yourself a favour: Get a good force-feedback steering wheel an Xbox and, of course, Forza and have a rip. It really is amazing
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'80 924 Turbo

[Min]

My favorite is Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed

Min

[teo]

Hmm, guess what tricked me into buying a 924, after a long babysitting beerish night with a friend....

[Raceboy]

Porsche Unleashed is so far the best driving simulator of all times. Having driven on most of the cars presented in that game, I can definitely say that the behaviour is very realistic.
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'83 924 2.6 16v Turbo, 470hp
'67 911 2.4S hotrod
'90 944 S2 Cabriolet
'78 924 Carrera GT replica
'84 928 S, sold
'91 944 S2, sold
'82 924S/931 "Gulf", sold
'84 924, turbocharged, sold.
http://www.facebook.com/vemsporsche

[Neil924]

[macBdog]

I have to agree NFS Porsche Unleashed has really amazing handling and engine sound, very cool game. I play this racing sim:

http://www.liveforspeed.net/

Its a multiplayer (and singleplayer) online racing league, the vehicle physics are fantastic. Playing it really reminds me of being on the track.

Ive heard great things about the new GTR game as well however its almost impossible to play without a serious wheel and pedals.

http://www.10tacle.com/gtr-game/en/index.php?Screenshots
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1979 931 with a 350 chev
1973 911E with EFI

[924RACR]

I find GT4 to be the most realistic. I was not impressed with the steering control for Forza - too sensitive, and not (apparently) adjustable. Porsches, Ferraris, and Lambos are all available under different names in GT4, BTW.

Porsche Unleashed (have that too) is fun, but too arcade-oriented, not realistic enough.
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Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[MunkPuppy]

I'm also a HUGE fan of NFS:PU, esp since I bought a Logitechforce-feedback steering wheel a few years ago. For a 5 year-old game I still get a rush playing it.
I've been playing NFS: Underground, but while I like the driving, the ricey-ness makes it less enjoyable, since the only way to get upgrades is to make the car look like absolute CRAP. How contradictory.

Incidentally, any of you other driving-sim fans want to enhance your gaming experience, I suggest shelling out for the Logitech MOMO Edition Force Feedback Wheel. The forces are enough to practically break a wrist, and the console shifter (although sequential) is a definite bonus
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'80 931 FOR SALE

"It's a shame that stupidity isn't painful"
-Anton Szandor LaVey

[Khal]

Honestly, I wasn't too impressed with NFS: PU. I thought it was a bit half-hearted...

And don't get me wrong about GT. I really, really like the GT series, all of them. GT4 being the best, of course. But after playing Forza on and off for a couple of weeks now, I felt some of my critisisms of GT4 being reinforced -the main one being that once you've got a car spec'd up for racing, it starts to feel very arcade-ish: You can dive into corners at ludicrous speeds, slam on the brakes and hold the corner at totally unrealistic speeds -very arcade-like. A good example is the vid going around of the bloke lapping the N'ring in like 5 minutes... totally unrealistic And although they've tamed it a bit in GT4, in GT3 and GT2 some of the powerups were getting stupid. I know, I know, it's a video game but still, it claims itself to be the best simulation around. I'm starting to agree less...

Forza, on the other hand struck me as being very realistic. I'll agree with the too twitchy critisism... at least at first. See, the problem is you're too used to GT4's unrealistic handling () where you can just hook the wheel into a corner at warp speed and pull through it...

And BTW, I know you can get RUF's in GT4 (all two of them ) but I haven't seen any Fazza's or Lambo's...

NFS Underground and its predecessors are just arcade games, IMHO. Not that they're bad, as such. They're just not sims.
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'80 924 Turbo