"Must Own" pc sims

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deca_tarce
Deca Tarce
I finally got a DFGT, and now I'm looking to the PC lineup for everything I've missed out on (refusing to even bother with them without a wheel)

I really don't know a lot about ay of the sims, and threads here seem to be more for people already playing them; discussing mods and tuning and whatnot. I was wondering if I could just get a quick rundown of what some of my better bets are. My favorite kind of racing is probably just street cars, not super high speed stuff. I am flexible though, I'm sure I could have a lot of fun with any sim that consists of more than oval tracks.

So far my experience is limited to the LFS demo..only hesitant to unlock it because my current internet connection isn't really suitable for racing online. All the other players cars move really choppily in any game I've been in.

I've really been looking into Richard Burns Rally lately, people seem to say a lot of good things about it and it's pretty cheap these days.

I suppose I should provide computer specs while I'm at it:

It's an Inspiron 6000 running XP Professional. 1.60GHz Pentium M, 1GB ram, ATI Mobiility Radeon X300 (120mb)
 
If street cars are your thing you'd be remiss to not buy LFS, as it's one of the very few PC sims with street cars, and one of the most realistic (if not the most realistic) sim experiences you can buy. Its AI isn't the best, but there are things to do offline (I spend a lot of my LFS time drifting around an empty track) and if you upgrade your connection later, you'll already have the skills to duke it out online.
 
If street cars are your thing you'd be remiss to not buy LFS, as it's one of the very few PC sims with street cars, and one of the most realistic (if not the most realistic) sim experiences you can buy. Its AI isn't the best, but there are things to do offline (I spend a lot of my LFS time drifting around an empty track) and if you upgrade your connection later, you'll already have the skills to duke it out online.

I have been meaning to get into drifting in LFS. My first attempts didn't turn out so well, but it was the VERY first game I played with the wheel. I'll probably unlock S1 tonight or order RBR :)
 
Richard Burns Rally is good also, but I would only recommend it if you're a big rally fan. The PC version reeks of "console port," and, at least on my display, the sense of speed is pathetic. I can tell the physics are quite robust, but it's difficult to have fun with it when I'm approaching a corner at 70mph and it looks like 45. As a result, normal stages feel like snow driving, and the snow course is just that much more difficult.

I would try the demo before buying it. Though, as I said, if you're a big rally fan, you'll want it anyway. :) LFS and other PC sims don't have much to offer in terms of rally.
 
To be honest, that laptop you want to run stuff on might be too slow. With RBR you'd be at about the edge of playability, I'd think; so I second Wolfe's demo suggestion.
 
Ah, I didn't actually know a demo was available, I'll check it out. My computer handles LFS just fine, and at a glance RBR didn't look much more graphically intensive.
 
Here are the PC sims I own

NASCAR 2003

This is no longer in print. You have to buy it used and expect to pay $100+ for it. The NASCAR/oval sim racing community still recognizes it as the best stock car racing sim out there and uses this game for all the leagues etc etc. Supports up to 42 drivers online at once with an excellent online code that allows extremely close racing. The quality of drivers online is extremely good. If you're interested in stock car sim racing, get this game.

rFactor

rFactor is all about user created mods. The game itself comes with 1 Formula 1 car and a bunch of low level GT cars and trainers and a few tracks. Personally I never got into rFactor. PC sims are usually all about online play and have extremely bland single player modes. When you go online everyone is using a million different mods etc etc and theres hardly more then 5 drivers per race. Get this game if you find a good online league. The newest patch supports driver changes online for endurance racing

GTR2

At Best Buy this game is just $10 and it includes GT Legends. Just go buy it because of the price. GTR2's AI doesn't work well in large fields with multi class racing, but the rest of the game is solid. Plenty of mods to go with this game too.
 
My computer handles LFS just fine, and at a glance RBR didn't look much more graphically intensive.
LFS is also frequently noted for its amazingly low system requirements. Either way, give the demo a shot and see. It might work well.

Earth
GTR2

At Best Buy this game is just $10 and it includes GT Legends. Just go buy it because of the price. GTR2's AI doesn't work well in large fields with multi class racing, but the rest of the game is solid. Plenty of mods to go with this game too.
There is no way that the computer described in the first post could run GTR2. It just wouldn't happen.
 
There is no way that the computer described in the first post could run GTR2. It just wouldn't happen.

Hmmm I overlooked that

TakeshiSkunk I suggest upgrading your computer, or else you'll be stuck racing older sims like LFS or NASCAR 2003
 
I am right now downloading the LFS S2 demo, after seeing the system requirements. I might start an investment if I like it.

EDIT: I am having major problems. I am getting an error message that LFS isn't properly written on the hard drive. Help?
 
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I'll probably be investing in a new computer sometime towards the end of the year, thanks for the heads up.

I actually just unlocked my S1 license and I'm planning to spend the night learning to drift properly. Got that RBR demo to check out as well.
 
There is no way that the computer described in the first post could run GTR2. It just wouldn't happen.
I'm pretty sure that it will run, as these are the minimum specs (from Gamespot):

System: 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium IV or equivalent
RAM: 1024 MB
Video Memory: 64 MB
Hard Drive Space: 1700 MB

Remember that a Pentium M is much faster per clockcycle than a Pentium 4. A 1.6 Ghz Pentium M is roughly as fast as a 2.4 GHz Pentium 4. Just don't expect it to run at the highest detail settings combined with a high resolution. The only thing I'm worried about is the amount of RAM; make sure you close any unnecessary programs while playing.
 
If it's really that cheap I might as well grab it if I see it at the store. Even if it won't run I'll eventually have a computer that can handle it.
 
I'm pretty sure that it will run, as these are the minimum specs (from Gamespot):

System: 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium IV or equivalent
RAM: 1024 MB
Video Memory: 64 MB
Hard Drive Space: 1700 MB
If he's going to get it anyways, this is moot, but that same review also says that they had framerate problems on default settings running the game with a 3.2Ghz/2Gb RAM computer.
 
In my experience, ISI-powered games (GTR, GTLegends, GTR2, rFactor) are big resource hogs and unimpressive with the graphics scaled down. I never could find a balance between what looked tolerable and what ran well. A powerful computer is definitely a must if you're going to spend a lot of time with any of those games.
 
I'm pretty sure that it will run, as these are the minimum specs (from Gamespot):

System: 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium IV or equivalent
RAM: 1024 MB
Video Memory: 64 MB
Hard Drive Space: 1700 MB

Remember that a Pentium M is much faster per clockcycle than a Pentium 4. A 1.6 Ghz Pentium M is roughly as fast as a 2.4 GHz Pentium 4. Just don't expect it to run at the highest detail settings combined with a high resolution. The only thing I'm worried about is the amount of RAM; make sure you close any unnecessary programs while playing.

With a P4 2.6
1GB RAM
20GB HDD
32MB Video

I was able to play at 800x600 with everything turned down/off at around 20fps

That laptop should run LFS just fine, just keep an eye on those GPU temps.
 
First of all, save up bit of money, upgrade the PC. Sure it's ganna take some time, but will be worth it. Then buy the PC sim racing games.
 
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