NoOne

[edit] Oops play not place[/edit]

I got my wheel...got it all setup...and I suck

Real feel my a**...The steering doesn't feel right, the brakes don't feel right, even car understeers like a pig...this is comparison to really being in a car.

I've tried R-factor and GT5 although GT5 is all in Japanese and I'm not sure I'm setting the wheel up right. I tend to get a lot of cross track drift with the car. If my car on a real track drifted across the track like that all the time I'd need Deppends

I tried the 2 cars in R-factor the little RWD coupe and the F1 car. I don't know how much power the coupe makes but it'll throttle spin in a heart beat. Again if my car was that twitchy I'd never make it around the track.

I have a G25 and it is a quality wheel but the games just are not the same. There is no "feel" to what is going on.

I've heard a mixed bag from people I goto the track with...some can, some can't, regardless of if they are good on track drivers or not.

If this keeps up I'll have a nice shiny new G25 up for sale.

ScaryFast

I never got it, either. I can't drive looking from behind the car like everyone else, and none of the other views are right. The closest is the one where you are in front of the car, but it's still not real enough.

I get no sense of speed, so while I can more or less drive the line, I shoot off the track at every braking zone. After about 3 corners of that I slow way down and putter around the track, which is about as much fun as driving my Jeep to the grocery store.

I haven't owned one since Grand Turismo 4, but I've played Forza a few times at friends' houses. I'll keep my driving on the track and stick to Halo in my living room.

Gatorac

I've got Forza II and the MS wheel and pedal set up.

I took the C5 Z06 around Sebring. Now, I've got a lot of laps in a C5 Z06 at Sebring. In the game, the car will over steer in the middle of the straight with the slightest of steering input. That doesnt happen in real life. Every car I drive in the game other then the all wheel drive or front wheel drive cars over steers horribly. The cars don't react to trailing throttle realistically. I tend to steer with my right foot a lot on the track.

I guess I just need that input from my butt in the seat. I think I'd rather drive with my eyes closed then with out the seat of the pants feel.

gkmccready

I just have a PS2 with Logitech Force Feedback wheel and GT4. I pretty much suck at it, but it's still entertaining. Once you get used to it it's not entirely horrible, but I really REALLY want a stronger spring on the brake pedal.

Conflicted

What’s worse is when your 12-year old nephew, who’s never been behind the wheel of a real car, absolutely kicks your but on his X-Box 360. All I could do was laugh when he told me that I sucked.

AU N EGL

There have been times I clicked into a video I though was of a track or certain car only to find it was a video of a game. View from behind or the side, makes me have to click it off.

tjZ06

Yup... I suck at them too. I was just playing Forza II (I think that's what it was, whatever the newest one is) last night with another one of my racing buddies. Neither one of us have gamed in a long time (the last system I owned was SNES, and I'm 25 so that was when I was in my early teens I guess). We both struggled using the XBox 360's analog control sticks. Back in my gaming days it was only digital inputs so I was used to "tapping" for steering inputs. It took me a long time to get "smooth" with the analog stick and actually use it in an analog manner as opposed to just tapping it full on/off. I think it'd take a lot of hours to actually get good with those controls, I'd like to try a steering wheel setup I guess.

And as for the cars I of course used the C5Z in Electron Blue. As somebody noted above if our cars really drove like this I'd never make it one lap around the track. The car drifts all over and doesn't hold a line. If you even look at the steering controls when you're on the throttle it's instantly loose (and with my "on/off" lack of mastery of the analog control that lead to a lot of "tank slappers" out first). Trail braking or simulating left foot braking didn't work at all either. Then I tried the C6Z and it seemed a lot better than the C5. Which I guess stock for stock is fair.

I do really like the line assist thing on Forza though. It shows you the proper racing line (not sure who determines the lines, in a few cases I didn't agree 100%) and the line is lit up green/yellow/red depending on if you should be on the throttle, neutral, or on the brakes.

-TJ

Z06cool

Yeah, I really had my hopes up getting the XBOX 360 mainly just for the Forza II game. After the game released and a few hours trying to get the feel of the Microsoft wheel and/or controller, I realized I just plain SUCK!!! I guess, just like the track, I need more "seat-time" at the game. Can't beat the lack of other sensory cues you get sitting in a real vehicle..

varkwso

I pretty much suck at all the games I have played - almost any 12 year old can stomp me in the mud....

Luckily I was better than ZO6Cool though....

Red Gump

I don't even try. atari pole position oval is about the only racing game I like, lol.

I got a call from a buddy over thanksgiving, he was visiting his brother in-law who had the latest and greatest most realistic racing game.

they wanted to nkow what my times were in the vette and spec miata. they played all day and by the end of it, they had the alms audi's going almost as fast as my spec miata.

even the "simulators" at daytona don't compare to real life.

Z06cool

Always stirring up trouble aren't you... I guess you still got the competitive bone in the virtual world -- much safer that way oh SPINMASTER..

Slalom4me

Although the rig shown below is a step or two above what the
average Joe has at home, the intensity and involvement of the
two drivers illustrates how realistic they find the simulation.

Petter and Henning Solberg driving Richard Burns Ralley on the
Force Dynamics 301



Petter goes first. Henning goes second, there is a problem on Henning's
first run which I believe has to do with the hydraulics failing to start
when the game starts. Eventually the rig starts to move. But watch
how Henning insists on a rematch at 2:25 following his first run through
the stage.

.

NoOne

Well at least there is a concensus.

I like the wheel and I like the feel. Actually in GT5 the feel is so much better than on the PC games however I cannot get rid of the dead spot in the center and the cars like to move around a lot.

I get the feeling thev've modeled the momentum of the vehicle cross car but not the suspensions ability to counteract it.

DiRT for the PS3 supposedly supports it and with those cars being AWD its great for throttle steer even with the analog controller but the demo of DiRT I have does not support the G25, only the full game.

GT5 looks like a great game so this kind of sucks...I had high hopes for the setup.

We have our neighbors coming over tomorrow night for NYE. He does developement work for the Mustang line for Ford and spends at least 8-10 hours per month on a track so I'll see what he thinks of it.

rustyguns

I am a bit of a freak I'm on old middle aged fart and I kick my kids *** in video games and I play burnout with them, it has a decent race in it and i usually win. I also compete online in video team game tournaments. But you know what...they always have me drive the vehicle in the game and i get there the quickest. they all pile in and they are all screaming "We are gonna crash!:" Its so damn funny.

There is no way any of these games would be good practice for the track.

BUT ! it is a scientific fact that video games increase your eye hand coordination ALOT ! Many surgeons play video games to keep sharp.


God knows!... you need eye hand coordination!

TedDBere

When I first got Forza II I wanted to jump right into the C5 and take off. I sucked. You really have to learn the game and the feel by driving lesser cars and winning lots of upgrade points. Once you have the points you can upgrade your cars to how your real car is actually setup, including alignment.

Now I can take the C5R out with little trouble. I only use the braking zones so I can see how hard I'm braking. The brake, like the throttle, is progressive and you can't treat it like an on/off switch or you'll never figure it out. But that's just like real life too.

If you drove your real car just like you tried to drive the Z06 in the game, on/off throttle and brake, and crummy street alignment with stock bars and street tires, your real car would have performed exactly the same way as the car in the game. You have to be gentle with the car and set it up correctly to be able to drive it fast. Just like the real world. IMHO

Have fun and keep trying. Start with a lower car like the Solstice or 914 and put race rubber, wide rims, and a good track alignment on them and then go out and learn the game!

NoOne

I've played Burnout, great game but its an arcade game, physics don't mean a whole lot in it . I can play Burnout

I just got the wheel...its expensive to ship it back but I hate to hold onto it until GT5 comes out in the US to find out its just as crappy. I can dump it now for a little less than what I paid for it.

I really wished it worked well for R-factor....I'm going to plug it back in and try it in GT4 see if its any better.

The wife is going to love coming home and finding the kitchen table in the living room again

rustyguns

too funny!

varkwso

real world, virtual world - either place you are toast

I guess I am going to have to get humbled by a kid again at a dang game...

c5paul1

I have the GTR 2 game with the MS force feedback wheel. I agree the game physics are not at all like driving a real car, but what they are good for is a training aid. I had never run at VIR before December, never even been on the track. I wanted a way to learn the track layout. The game was very beneficial in that aspect and the game line is similar to the real line, or at least the novice line. It also helps with hand and eye coordination. While not as good as say MS flight simulator as a training aid, it does have benefits. Ross Bentley has also mentioned the merits of simulators in his books. FWIW

stingraymarc

I play Forza II with the logitech force feedback wheel instead of the MS wheel...I mount it onto a fairly medium height table with an HDTV plasma on a stand on the table, and its a great experience..if you fiddle around with the sensitivity button then you can find a mode that you might find somewht manageable to drive.