What's your Go-To Sim Racer and why?

[Scotster]

New inductee, massive petrol head and completely new to the high end sim racing game.

I've literally just splurged on a full Fanatec setup for my Vive/Playseat/Logitech (replacement) and I'm looking for suggestions on what to chuck at it when it arrives. My main hits just now are Project Cars 2 and, funnily enough, Euro Truck Simulator 2 (very therapeutic). I can't see past racing in VR, nothing has ever came so close to the real thing, and I can't wait to get a decent wheel setup to compliment the realism.

I've purchased Assetto Corsa, and all of the DLC, but I wasn't sure about Competizione at this moment?

Are there any other obvious choices to hit? iRacing would likely be next on my list but I don't know if it would be worthwhile due to the costs involved and my lack of actual game time. I'm a hobbyist, not a hardcore gamer, and I literally get an hour or 2 per week to actually race. i would likely be last every race, which would annoy me, and other than R&D I don't know if there is much more to the game?

 

[305Michael305]

Assetto corsa for Xbox. It just feels so real and i like it more then project cars 2

 

[LeGeNd-1]

Can't go wrong with Assetto, especially with your description of short bursts of playtime. Mods make the possibilities endless, but also you don't need to spend hours practicing one car/track to get good because the game encourages experimenting in single player more than typical league races (although you can also do that if you want).

Competizione is more esports focused, and content is limited to Blancpain stuff. VR is also a bit unoptimized from what I heard, though that will surely get improved with time. I'd say get it if you really love driving (physics is absolute gold, even compared to AC), but I'll leave the final decision to you.

Automobilista is also a great sim, no VR though and graphics may look dated (it's rFactor with all good mods chucked at it basically).

rF2 and Raceroom Racing Experience are also 2 great titles though I don't have personal experience. rF2 has been touted as having the most realistic physics calculations (though feel is subjective for everyone), while RRRE is widely regarded as the best sounding sim. The DLCs for both can get very pricey though. rF2 is moddable but RRRE is free to play and has very barebones content until you buy the car/track packs.

iRacing, seems like you know already and judging by your playstyle I wouldn't recommend.

Live For Speed is a dark horse. It's really, really old (from 2002), and development is slower than a snail. It's 95% fictional car and tracks but physics wise it still has one of the most amazing tyre models I tried. VR fully supported even including features like mirror parallax (which some high end new sims don't even model).

If you like rally, Dirt Rally is the one to have (Dirt 4 and the sequel DR2 isn't as good from public consensus). VR supported as well.

Codemasters' F1 games (2016 and above) and KartKraft are both also decent if you like their respective niche motorsports. Not sure about VR support though.

Not sure if you also have console, but GT Sport is also genuinely pretty good for online racing, if you can look past the lack of traditional GT encyclopedia content and not-fully-sim physics. If you want an arcade burst, Driveclub is a must have and VR looks spectacular with weather/time transitions (get it quick before it gets pulled from PSN later this year).

 

[Scotster]

Thanks for the replies folks.

Assetto corsa for Xbox. It just feels so real and i like it more then project cars 2

I don't have an XBox but I have got it for PC. Can't wait to give it a go. PC2 is meant to be much better on the PC than on the console, not sure if you've tried the PC version? I've not tried the console option so I can't comment from experience, just from what I've read/watched/heard.

Can't go wrong with Assetto, especially with your description of short bursts of playtime. Mods make the possibilities endless, but also you don't need to spend hours practicing one car/track to get good because the game encourages experimenting in single player more than typical league races (although you can also do that if you want).

Competizione is more esports focused, and content is limited to Blancpain stuff. VR is also a bit unoptimized from what I heard, though that will surely get improved with time. I'd say get it if you really love driving (physics is absolute gold, even compared to AC), but I'll leave the final decision to you.

Automobilista is also a great sim, no VR though and graphics may look dated (it's rFactor with all good mods chucked at it basically).

rF2 and Raceroom Racing Experience are also 2 great titles though I don't have personal experience. rF2 has been touted as having the most realistic physics calculations (though feel is subjective for everyone), while RRRE is widely regarded as the best sounding sim. The DLCs for both can get very pricey though. rF2 is moddable but RRRE is free to play and has very barebones content until you buy the car/track packs.

iRacing, seems like you know already and judging by your playstyle I wouldn't recommend.

Live For Speed is a dark horse. It's really, really old (from 2002), and development is slower than a snail. It's 95% fictional car and tracks but physics wise it still has one of the most amazing tyre models I tried. VR fully supported even including features like mirror parallax (which some high end new sims don't even model).

If you like rally, Dirt Rally is the one to have (Dirt 4 and the sequel DR2 isn't as good from public consensus). VR supported as well.

Codemasters' F1 games (2016 and above) and KartKraft are both also decent if you like their respective niche motorsports. Not sure about VR support though.

Not sure if you also have console, but GT Sport is also genuinely pretty good for online racing, if you can look past the lack of traditional GT encyclopedia content and not-fully-sim physics. If you want an arcade burst, Driveclub is a must have and VR looks spectacular with weather/time transitions (get it quick before it gets pulled from PSN later this year).

That's brilliant, thanks very much for the pointers.

After I posted I went searching and ended up downloading Race Room. It's free, so I had to give it a go. Great model in that you just pay for the stuff you want. It will actually make me more likely to purchase to support the devs of the game etc. Definitely worthwhile for a try though.

I've not looked at rF2 so I'll check that out as well.

I had a feeling with Competizione but thought I would ask anyway. Guess they are more aiming towards the seriousness of iRacing.

I'm sure I tried Dirt Rally before. I think I had to use something called ReVive to get it working but it did work. I didn't give it the time required to get into the game but given the reviews and how highly its regarded it's DEFINITELY one that I'll be getting into. Apparently quite difficult to master but the fear factor from the gameplay and the physics is something that needs to be experienced.

Many thanks