Here I'll compare every version of the Nurburgring Nordschleife track released on the PC at 17 locations around the circuit. These are official releases of the track only; I'm not including mods (or this list could be endless!). I'll add to this comparison as new games with the track are released!
Each game is shown in maximum quality at around midday/1pm with no mods, from bumper cam view. For reference I used a Chevrolet Corvette car (where the game had one) to try to keep the bumper cam a consistent height. My monitor runs at 2560x1440 resolution, so that's what I set the games to capture at.
These are the games being compared:
Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2 - released in July 1998, this included a Retro mode, where you could race some 1951 styled race cars around a track called "Green Hell", with a track map from the Nurburgring. However, it takes 2 minutes or less to go around, so is rather simplified, but I noticed a few parts that look quite like the real track still, so I included it here for amusement! This was captured using the dgVoodoo2 3Dfx wrapper at the maximum resolution the game supported (1280x1024) then scaled up in Photoshop using bilinear filtering, which gave an identical look to how the game appears on a modern flat screen monitor. Note: this game was also released in parts as a Kellogg's Frosties promotion, called Kellogg's Frosties GR-R-Rand Prix, which included overly prominent Kellogg's/Frosties banners!
Grand Prix Legends - released in October 1998. This was the first version of the Nurburgring to appear on the PC. It's rather simplified. The screenshots were taken with no mods, except for one to allow the graphics to work on modern graphics cards, which allowed the resolution to be boosted to 1440 pixels in height. I Photoshopped out the interface elements above and below the window however.
GTR Evolution - released in March 2008, this was an add-on for the RACE '07 title, and the first "modern" version of the 'Ring available on PC. For many years this was spoke about as the best version available on PC.
Need For Speed: Shift - Slightly Mad Studio's first take on the 'Ring, from April 2009. This features a large number of extra signs and Need For Speed branding, not present in real life. It also has a rather over-the-top bloom effect on everything, as though you're looking through fuzzy glasses!
Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends - this was in production before Need For Speed: Shift, but was tweaked a bit before its release in May 2012. However, comparing it to Shift, you can see the exact same track was used.
Shift 2 Unleashed - losing the explicit Need For Speed branding, this game from June 2012 uses a newer model of the track than Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends, despite releasing before that game. However it's all rather spoilt by the huge high backdrop, whch makes the track feel like it's always pointing down into the ground. They retextured most of the circuit here, although the new trees look somewhat worse, in my opinion. Look out for rubber "marbles" on the track in some corners.
Project CARS - heavily revised from the Need For Speed/Test Drive titles, this track isn't using laserscan data, but looks quite close (in places) to the laserscanned versions. It was released in July 2015.
Ride 2 - a relatively recent version of the track, this was released in August 2016, and is the last of the non-laserscanned tracks I'm covering. As the "bumper" cam is on a bike, the view is a bit higher on this version of the track. It all feels a bit artificial though, as Milestone's texturing and lighting leaves a lot to be desired.
Assetto Corsa - released as part of the first Dream Pack add-on in September 2015, Assetto Corsa's version of the track is possibly the most accurate to real life. Their mix of trees is certainly a lot more varied than some of the following titles. It's also interesting to compare the track camber and shape to the following games, which all use the laserscan data. RaceRoom Racing Experience (in particular) is extremely close to Assetto Corsa in track shape and general detail, but the colours and lighting of Assetto Corsa look less cold.
RaceRoom Racing Experience - the Nordschleife arrived in RaceRoom Racing Experience in October 2016 and is extremely close to Assetto Corsa's version. Again using the laserscan data, it features the same corner shapes/camber. However the lighting looks a little bit blue and cold, but distant objects always seem sharper and more detailed on RaceRoom compared to all the other games.
iRacing - the track arrived in iRacing in November 2015, and suffers slightly with textures/lighting that is a bit dated now. However, once again using the laserscan data, it feels very accurate to real-life.
Project CARS 2 - September 2017 marked the release of the sequel to Project CARS. Comparing it to the version in the original game, I think it's clear they've switched to the same laserscanned data as Assetto Corsa, RaceRoom Racing Experience, iRacing and Forza Motorsport. I decided to add the screenshots just after iRacing, as it looks closest to that, especially with the default FOV setting (plus I want to keep Forza Motorsport 6: Apex screenshots next to Forza Motorsport 7).
Forza Motorsport 6: Apex - the PC freeware release of Forza Motorsport 6: Apex, had the track added as paid-for DLC in December 2016. This version again uses the laserscan data, but they've gone to town with ultra-high resolution textures and a lower position of the sun, leading to long shadows and excessive "god rays" that make it quite hard to drive in places! It all looks rather fancy, even compared to games which are highly rated for graphics, like Project CARS.
Forza Motorsport 7 - It's interesting to compare Forza Motorsport 6: Apex to this, to see what changes they made. The main one is real-time lighting, with cloud shadows on the ground that move. The cloud shadows don't seem to tally up with the actual cloud (I've seen them on cloudless days in-game!) but it's a nice effect, that makes every lap feel a bit more varied. It does, however, lead to a less vibrant, more 2D looking game than Forza 6, however. Also note throughout: the wire mesh in the fences is much finer in Forza 7, so seems to vanish rather easily (I tried with default and tweaked Nvidia driver settings, and it made no difference). Also, the edges on tree textures looks a little heavier, but that might be down to my driver settings.
Real life - just to compare! Screenshots taken from videos here, here, here and here.
Click screenshots to see them full size!
Each game is shown in maximum quality at around midday/1pm with no mods, from bumper cam view. For reference I used a Chevrolet Corvette car (where the game had one) to try to keep the bumper cam a consistent height. My monitor runs at 2560x1440 resolution, so that's what I set the games to capture at.
These are the games being compared:
Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2 - released in July 1998, this included a Retro mode, where you could race some 1951 styled race cars around a track called "Green Hell", with a track map from the Nurburgring. However, it takes 2 minutes or less to go around, so is rather simplified, but I noticed a few parts that look quite like the real track still, so I included it here for amusement! This was captured using the dgVoodoo2 3Dfx wrapper at the maximum resolution the game supported (1280x1024) then scaled up in Photoshop using bilinear filtering, which gave an identical look to how the game appears on a modern flat screen monitor. Note: this game was also released in parts as a Kellogg's Frosties promotion, called Kellogg's Frosties GR-R-Rand Prix, which included overly prominent Kellogg's/Frosties banners!
Grand Prix Legends - released in October 1998. This was the first version of the Nurburgring to appear on the PC. It's rather simplified. The screenshots were taken with no mods, except for one to allow the graphics to work on modern graphics cards, which allowed the resolution to be boosted to 1440 pixels in height. I Photoshopped out the interface elements above and below the window however.
GTR Evolution - released in March 2008, this was an add-on for the RACE '07 title, and the first "modern" version of the 'Ring available on PC. For many years this was spoke about as the best version available on PC.
Need For Speed: Shift - Slightly Mad Studio's first take on the 'Ring, from April 2009. This features a large number of extra signs and Need For Speed branding, not present in real life. It also has a rather over-the-top bloom effect on everything, as though you're looking through fuzzy glasses!
Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends - this was in production before Need For Speed: Shift, but was tweaked a bit before its release in May 2012. However, comparing it to Shift, you can see the exact same track was used.
Shift 2 Unleashed - losing the explicit Need For Speed branding, this game from June 2012 uses a newer model of the track than Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends, despite releasing before that game. However it's all rather spoilt by the huge high backdrop, whch makes the track feel like it's always pointing down into the ground. They retextured most of the circuit here, although the new trees look somewhat worse, in my opinion. Look out for rubber "marbles" on the track in some corners.
Project CARS - heavily revised from the Need For Speed/Test Drive titles, this track isn't using laserscan data, but looks quite close (in places) to the laserscanned versions. It was released in July 2015.
Ride 2 - a relatively recent version of the track, this was released in August 2016, and is the last of the non-laserscanned tracks I'm covering. As the "bumper" cam is on a bike, the view is a bit higher on this version of the track. It all feels a bit artificial though, as Milestone's texturing and lighting leaves a lot to be desired.
Assetto Corsa - released as part of the first Dream Pack add-on in September 2015, Assetto Corsa's version of the track is possibly the most accurate to real life. Their mix of trees is certainly a lot more varied than some of the following titles. It's also interesting to compare the track camber and shape to the following games, which all use the laserscan data. RaceRoom Racing Experience (in particular) is extremely close to Assetto Corsa in track shape and general detail, but the colours and lighting of Assetto Corsa look less cold.
RaceRoom Racing Experience - the Nordschleife arrived in RaceRoom Racing Experience in October 2016 and is extremely close to Assetto Corsa's version. Again using the laserscan data, it features the same corner shapes/camber. However the lighting looks a little bit blue and cold, but distant objects always seem sharper and more detailed on RaceRoom compared to all the other games.
iRacing - the track arrived in iRacing in November 2015, and suffers slightly with textures/lighting that is a bit dated now. However, once again using the laserscan data, it feels very accurate to real-life.
Project CARS 2 - September 2017 marked the release of the sequel to Project CARS. Comparing it to the version in the original game, I think it's clear they've switched to the same laserscanned data as Assetto Corsa, RaceRoom Racing Experience, iRacing and Forza Motorsport. I decided to add the screenshots just after iRacing, as it looks closest to that, especially with the default FOV setting (plus I want to keep Forza Motorsport 6: Apex screenshots next to Forza Motorsport 7).
Forza Motorsport 6: Apex - the PC freeware release of Forza Motorsport 6: Apex, had the track added as paid-for DLC in December 2016. This version again uses the laserscan data, but they've gone to town with ultra-high resolution textures and a lower position of the sun, leading to long shadows and excessive "god rays" that make it quite hard to drive in places! It all looks rather fancy, even compared to games which are highly rated for graphics, like Project CARS.
Forza Motorsport 7 - It's interesting to compare Forza Motorsport 6: Apex to this, to see what changes they made. The main one is real-time lighting, with cloud shadows on the ground that move. The cloud shadows don't seem to tally up with the actual cloud (I've seen them on cloudless days in-game!) but it's a nice effect, that makes every lap feel a bit more varied. It does, however, lead to a less vibrant, more 2D looking game than Forza 6, however. Also note throughout: the wire mesh in the fences is much finer in Forza 7, so seems to vanish rather easily (I tried with default and tweaked Nvidia driver settings, and it made no difference). Also, the edges on tree textures looks a little heavier, but that might be down to my driver settings.
Real life - just to compare! Screenshots taken from videos here, here, here and here.
Click screenshots to see them full size!
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