Highly scenic but selectably easy driving games - PC
- Thread starter Cloth-Ears
- Start date
matthewr
spɹɐʍʞɔɐq spɹoɔǝɹ ɹnoʎ sʎɐld
Thanks for the kind offer, but I don't have rFactor. Also I would crash into everyone and/or the nearest wall 
Spring mods look interesting although from what I have read the biggest upgrade is to some form of load cell pedals like CSW pedals and the like?
It's interesting to read what people who actually drive racing cars think of sims as I do wonder if it's actually harder than the real thing, mainly on account of the (comparative) lack of feedback and g-force. Although obviously you don't need to have the bottle to drive a sim very fast.
It's also surprising how the sims produce a "big grin" effect when the car loses grip but you catch it just right.
They are addictive though. And it's weird just wanting to get good (as in repeatable laps +/- 1 sec at something vaguely approaching race speed) one track in one car rather than the normal game type progression of winning everything and trying endless combinations of car and track. Ultimately a lot more satisfying though and no going back to arcade/console games.
Currently mostly driving the Lotus 2-11 at Magione These sorts of cars are just way more fun than the variuous supercars I initially thought I would be really into.
Spring mods look interesting although from what I have read the biggest upgrade is to some form of load cell pedals like CSW pedals and the like?
It's interesting to read what people who actually drive racing cars think of sims as I do wonder if it's actually harder than the real thing, mainly on account of the (comparative) lack of feedback and g-force. Although obviously you don't need to have the bottle to drive a sim very fast.
It's also surprising how the sims produce a "big grin" effect when the car loses grip but you catch it just right.
They are addictive though. And it's weird just wanting to get good (as in repeatable laps +/- 1 sec at something vaguely approaching race speed) one track in one car rather than the normal game type progression of winning everything and trying endless combinations of car and track. Ultimately a lot more satisfying though and no going back to arcade/console games.
Currently mostly driving the Lotus 2-11 at Magione These sorts of cars are just way more fun than the variuous supercars I initially thought I would be really into.
kennyh
pfm Member
As I said earlier Matthew most of the guys in our league are Caterham owners and most if not all have motorsport experience in the real thing.
I think it's harder to get to grips with the sim than the real car as there are so many settings to get right........you can go from the sublime to the ridiculous with regards to handling and balance, whereas a Caterham out of the box in real life is fairly decent anyway.
Another point that's fascinated me is comparing my real life Caterham laptimes to the sims times in a similar specced 7. So close it's amazing.
If anyone else here would like a few "live" online laps just let me know and I'll get you hooked up!
I think it's harder to get to grips with the sim than the real car as there are so many settings to get right........you can go from the sublime to the ridiculous with regards to handling and balance, whereas a Caterham out of the box in real life is fairly decent anyway.
Another point that's fascinated me is comparing my real life Caterham laptimes to the sims times in a similar specced 7. So close it's amazing.
If anyone else here would like a few "live" online laps just let me know and I'll get you hooked up!
Cloth-Ears
pfm Member
I've looked at suggestions here and browsed the net a bit for scenic looking games.
I quite like the look of :
Driver San Francisco ( 2011 )
Burnout Paradise Ultimate Box ( 2009 )
Dirt 3 ( 2011 )
Test Drive Unlimited 2 ( 2011 )
These are new enough to look good but not too new for my machine. I'll do more recent games when I change machine.
Does anyone know, with these four games, if you can drive anything and go anywhere you want without hacking, or can you hack easily ? Also, do they drive easy so you're not constantly crashing ?
Oh and music - can you insert your own cd during play ? I could do that with my old ( scenic ) World Racer , Mercedes only game, a feature I liked.
I quite like the look of :
Driver San Francisco ( 2011 )
Burnout Paradise Ultimate Box ( 2009 )
Dirt 3 ( 2011 )
Test Drive Unlimited 2 ( 2011 )
These are new enough to look good but not too new for my machine. I'll do more recent games when I change machine.
Does anyone know, with these four games, if you can drive anything and go anywhere you want without hacking, or can you hack easily ? Also, do they drive easy so you're not constantly crashing ?
Oh and music - can you insert your own cd during play ? I could do that with my old ( scenic ) World Racer , Mercedes only game, a feature I liked.
Cloth-Ears
pfm Member
I've just been watching clips of Forza 4 ( 2011 ). Is that a game that lets you drive easily without always crashing or being intercepted by annoying cop cars etc. Does it lock stuff out until you pass tests ? If so can it be hacked ?
Forza 4 environments look great and the roads look like fun to drive, e.g. Italy.
Forza 4 environments look great and the roads look like fun to drive, e.g. Italy.
matthewr
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Forza (and Gran Tourismo) is not a full on sim like rFactor or Assetto Corsa but is much more realistic/unforgiving than an arcade racer. You can probably make it easy by switching all the driving aids on and you can of course make even the most serious sim super easy to drive simply by going slowly.
Generally these games require licenses to unlock to make progress either by passing tests or completing races. For a PC you can probably just get game save files with everything unlocked and enough money to buy everything.
Generally these games require licenses to unlock to make progress either by passing tests or completing races. For a PC you can probably just get game save files with everything unlocked and enough money to buy everything.
Cloth-Ears
pfm Member
You mean download cracks from a cheat site ?
I never used to cheat on FPS games ( my mainstay ) and certainly would never do so online in a TDM.
However when it comes to a driving game I think it is perfectly sensible to do so if you are not concerned about showing skill , as if anyone as caring anyway. I haven't done much in the way of driving , in the past mainly giving up because of the difficulty / endless repetition. Therefore I have no knowledge of the cheat sites.
I just want to enjoy the drives and yes go fast but not constantly be poxed up by crashing. The thing that really bugs me the most is the constant repetition of scenes or tracks. Not being able to save progress is a related aspect of this. It is so disheartening to get through a task finally, only to find it continues with another as part of the same exercise which you will inevitable get wrong as you're not used to that next bit and so on - endless, annoying repetition. I need to be able to save often and if not be able to hack it. I've thrown FPS games in the bucket or sold them rather than bore myself endlessly due to the inability to save.
At the end of the day it's my enjoyment of the drive that counts, not some studio's idea of what's best for me. And remember, noone is looking and noone cares !
So, what can you tell me about the best places to find reliable cheats for driving games ?
I never used to cheat on FPS games ( my mainstay ) and certainly would never do so online in a TDM.
However when it comes to a driving game I think it is perfectly sensible to do so if you are not concerned about showing skill , as if anyone as caring anyway. I haven't done much in the way of driving , in the past mainly giving up because of the difficulty / endless repetition. Therefore I have no knowledge of the cheat sites.
I just want to enjoy the drives and yes go fast but not constantly be poxed up by crashing. The thing that really bugs me the most is the constant repetition of scenes or tracks. Not being able to save progress is a related aspect of this. It is so disheartening to get through a task finally, only to find it continues with another as part of the same exercise which you will inevitable get wrong as you're not used to that next bit and so on - endless, annoying repetition. I need to be able to save often and if not be able to hack it. I've thrown FPS games in the bucket or sold them rather than bore myself endlessly due to the inability to save.
At the end of the day it's my enjoyment of the drive that counts, not some studio's idea of what's best for me. And remember, noone is looking and noone cares !
So, what can you tell me about the best places to find reliable cheats for driving games ?
matthewr
spɹɐʍʞɔɐq spɹoɔǝɹ ɹnoʎ sʎɐld
I don't think you need a "cheat" as such just a saved game with everything unlocked. Try googling forza 4 saved games or some such or failing that gamefaqs.com. But generally I know nothing about cheats or hacks as it's just not something that I am interested in. One also suspects it will take you to some dubious parts of the internet as well.
The style of gameplay you describe just sounds like you should have the driving aids turned on. The racing line will tell you where to go and when to break and couple that with ABS, traction control, stability control, etc. and you almost have to deliberately screw up to crash.
The other option for just cruising around is The Crew which is a massive open world driving game. But it's very new and might be gfx hungry and I am not sure how much the game aspects interfere with the just driving around aspects so some research will be required.
http://thecrew-game.ubi.com/portal/en-gb/home/
The style of gameplay you describe just sounds like you should have the driving aids turned on. The racing line will tell you where to go and when to break and couple that with ABS, traction control, stability control, etc. and you almost have to deliberately screw up to crash.
The other option for just cruising around is The Crew which is a massive open world driving game. But it's very new and might be gfx hungry and I am not sure how much the game aspects interfere with the just driving around aspects so some research will be required.
http://thecrew-game.ubi.com/portal/en-gb/home/
Cloth-Ears
pfm Member
I suspect I may need hacks to access particular drives and cars if I'm not good enough to earn them. It really annoys me that they do this. Maybe I just fancy a drive round route x, but it might be locked because I haven't proved myself in other routes.
I'm not a game cheater either in general. Never online, not with a FPS game. But driving games IMO, get so spoiled by not being able to enjoy drives and a bit of light racing against others. Instead they impede you, crash you, make you repeat it over and over, just to "achieve" the level and only this way allow you to move on to other routes and vehicles. To my mind, it's MY game and I want to ENJOY it, not be frustrated by it, during my precious free time.
I'm not a game cheater either in general. Never online, not with a FPS game. But driving games IMO, get so spoiled by not being able to enjoy drives and a bit of light racing against others. Instead they impede you, crash you, make you repeat it over and over, just to "achieve" the level and only this way allow you to move on to other routes and vehicles. To my mind, it's MY game and I want to ENJOY it, not be frustrated by it, during my precious free time.
matthewr
spɹɐʍʞɔɐq spɹoɔǝɹ ɹnoʎ sʎɐld
But if they didn't do that there would be no challenge and therefore no game.
Although, a somewhat left field way to look at your problem is, perhaps, to try a proper sim! Because in a sim there is no artificial restrictions on what cars or tracks or events you can enter and instead the challenge comes from the realism. The driving is it's own reward, if you see what I mean.
I spend my times in Assetto Corsa and iRacing just doing practice laps in low powered cars on good "starter" circuits (short, variety of corners) and it's immensely rewarding and great fun. And you already have the G27 which is the normal barrier to entry for these games (they are pointless without at least a G25 wheel which is too pricey for most people).
And like I said, switch the thing into driving aids on "gamer" mode and it's actually very easy to just drive despite the accurate physics. And because these games are moddable there is no shortage of free cars and tracks available.
So in AC I already have, a 22km Lake Louise hill climb:
a full nurburgring
a very accurate recreation of street circuit based on a real Tuscan town
awesome old school tracks from the 60s
(Although AC is new and a full price game and graphics might be a bit demanding. Alhtough I think almost all of these mods are conversions of existing mods from rFactor or another sim).
Although, a somewhat left field way to look at your problem is, perhaps, to try a proper sim! Because in a sim there is no artificial restrictions on what cars or tracks or events you can enter and instead the challenge comes from the realism. The driving is it's own reward, if you see what I mean.
I spend my times in Assetto Corsa and iRacing just doing practice laps in low powered cars on good "starter" circuits (short, variety of corners) and it's immensely rewarding and great fun. And you already have the G27 which is the normal barrier to entry for these games (they are pointless without at least a G25 wheel which is too pricey for most people).
And like I said, switch the thing into driving aids on "gamer" mode and it's actually very easy to just drive despite the accurate physics. And because these games are moddable there is no shortage of free cars and tracks available.
So in AC I already have, a 22km Lake Louise hill climb:
a full nurburgring
a very accurate recreation of street circuit based on a real Tuscan town
awesome old school tracks from the 60s
(Although AC is new and a full price game and graphics might be a bit demanding. Alhtough I think almost all of these mods are conversions of existing mods from rFactor or another sim).
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Mr Cat
Owner
try this - lifelike graphics (lovely scenery too), but can be slow at times... but fairly easy to play...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.9...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sbVZl8pCFQGJLMugvJ4dGTQ!2e0
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.9...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sbVZl8pCFQGJLMugvJ4dGTQ!2e0
Cloth-Ears
pfm Member
Well it's ironically funny you should joke with this Cat, because I have sought before to find a way to "drive" through cities using Google Street View in a fast and seamless way. Certainly my computer is too slow for it but it also seems by my investigation so far, that what Google serve to you would also be too slow and clunky to make for meaningful progress through a city.
I just fancied the idea of previewing a drive through somewhere unfamiliar before going there, but not just on lines on a map, rather in the roads with actual photos.
Perhaps one day.
I just fancied the idea of previewing a drive through somewhere unfamiliar before going there, but not just on lines on a map, rather in the roads with actual photos.
Perhaps one day.
Dowser
Learning to bodge again..
I can't believe a thread not about racing sims, but mostly about racing sims, has not mentioned Grand Prix Legends An install with all the add-ons was still the most realistic sim I have played.
Rally Trophy was also good, as was GT Legends (from the same house as GTR2 I think, which was also based on the original GPL physics engine).
An install with all the add-ons was still the most realistic sim I have played.Rally Trophy was also good, as was GT Legends (from the same house as GTR2 I think, which was also based on the original GPL physics engine).
matthewr
spɹɐʍʞɔɐq spɹoɔǝɹ ɹnoʎ sʎɐld
I can't believe a thread not about racing sims, but mostly about racing sims, has not mentioned Grand Prix Legends
Rally Trophy was also good, as was GT Legends (from the same house as GTR2 I think, which was also based on the original GPL physics engine).
Grand Prix Legends was the original Papyrus game and the source of their engine. This would later get used in the NASCAR series which went on for about 10 years.
Around the same time the ISI engine came along which was the first one that allowed heavy modding. It ended up in some of the EA Grand Prix games (albeit with drive it for you driving aids) and was then used very successfully in rFactor (which is why rFactor is so moddable) and the SimBin games (GT Legends, GTR, GTR2, etc)
Meanwhile the Papyrus developers went off and made iRacing which is controversial as it has a subscription model and so ends up being mega expensive. The argument for it is it has the best online, racing series so it's the place where people want to drive in organised and competitive against other people no AIs.
And in recent years we have the next generation sims based new engines -- rFactor2, Asseto Corsa, Project CARS, etc. All of these are either recently out or about to come out and no doubt winners will emerge.