minitech

I've been spending time going over this series by Mr. Beckman. In the early articles from the early 90's he muses about using the physics of racing for a video game and he makes a guess someone has done it.

So, now 17 years after the first articles, are there any video games that use real world physics for racing. Anything for PS3? Did anyone use real world physics for a video game or simulation?

yakisoba

One could say that the difference between a game and a simulation is the use of real physics models. If you are an end user, it doesn't matter. What does matter is how the application feels to you. If it feels like a race car, based on your track experience, then it's a good sim. The input devices also have a good deal to do with how a given software will feel.

I can say, as a former video game developer, that there is immense pressure to ship a given product. Real physics models are mathematically complex and take time to tune. With the marketing guys pressing for a ship date, and the programmers asking for another week... The marketing guys win. Thus, in commercial game software, real modeling is often compromised if you can get a "feel" that's right.

The the answer is that most likely, someone has done it. Or rather, many games have done it, better and better as the years roll on.

waktasz

Rfactor is a good sim, and I hear iRacing is terrific, although I've never tried it. It's subscription based and you have to earn yourself a comp license as well as buy cars and tracks. rFactor, once you have the came, is free and there are hundreds of mods that introduce new tracks/cars/racing series.

Nothing for the ps3 is going to be as good as a good PC sim.

WBHighwind

iRacing is very good. They laser scan and survey everything about the tracks they release. The car models are also based on real test data and get updated regularly. It still has some issues with realism they are working on such as the ability to shift a car without the use of a clutch, but I feel like its about as real as it gets without doing the real thing.

KRAYZ308

There are some very fun games and $imulators out there. The reality is that the human body with it's eyes and the scanning ability, the nerves in the fingers, neck, butt, back feet, ears and equilibrium, process far more information than a game or simulator can currently out put. Fun is fun and good training but there is not currently any real substitute for being on the track. Military and commercial flight simulators are close but not the same as flight. I hope we will be there in a few more years.

yakisoba

I will also say that pretty much every driver now uses some sort of sim for training, as far as I can tell. Ask around, see what your local folks have to say about it. Ask some of the pros too, and see if they use a training sim, if you have that sort of access.

Jason

The better I've gotten driving on track, the worse I've gotten playing driving video games.

Wicked Weasel

We were at NJ motorsports last month and iracing was scanning the track at night. I wanted to watch but because of bad rain didn't hang out.

WBHighwind

The iRacing pro series is about to kick off and Dale Jr. is leading the qualifying standings in the oval category to get into the pros of iRacing. Hes quite active on iRacing actually and I know there are quite a few more pro racers out there that participate in iRacing mainly because the tracks are so accurate. They do have a Corvette in development to be released sometime later this year.