Ok, This might become a bit long and rambling, bear with me there is a point. 
I have been playing racing games (note, that's games not sims) all my life, right back to pole position. When I had an Atari ST (am I showing my age) I was world champion in every form of motor racing known to man (or at least known to game developers)
Over the years I have tried most of the major players. But they were always just games. As I got older and learnt to drive I found the games started to feel less and less realistic. I wanted something more subtle.
Fast forward to a year ago. I finally bought a PC good enough to run the latest crop of games and thanks to a steam sale managed to pick up Project Cars with all DLC for peanuts. I was immediately hooked. Here was a game that actually felt like driving a real car and it looked sublime. Everything about it was slick and polished and I loved it.
That was until I found RFactor 2. A couple of miles away from me a 15 seat racing simulator venue opened up. The software they ran was RFactor 2. I went a few times, entered a couple of championships (not very good but I generally wasn't last). It made sense to get RF2 at home so I could practice before the main event.
RF2 looked dated, very dated when compared to PCars. But it's simulation was so far away from PCars it was addictive (It's like the difference between MS FlightSIm and X-Plane, another thing I enjoy)
So for the last few months I have been dedicated to RF2, Practice Practice Practice. But It is purely race cars and sometimes I like to throw something I might actually drive around a track so back to PCars I would go.
That was until last Monday. I got an early Christmas present of a ride in a Ring Taxi M3 around the Nordschleife Tourist track. This was not a race car, apart from the paint work (and maybe the tyres) this car is how it would have come from the dealer. No helmets or 5 point restraint harnesses here. Just a good driver putting a good car to the limit (7:24 with traffic if you are interested and I was holding on for dear life)
I came home and immediately went to RF2, But while the layout for the Nordschleife is called tourist, and you start from the car park, it's still the full track. Not right, and only race cars.
PCars? No Tourist layout on Nordschleife. You can only race the track (and no current M3 either)
So I started searching. I came across a you tube video of Assetto Corsa doing exactly what I wanted so I bought it. Picked the car (OK it's an M4 not an M3 but I can live with that) and went to online and loaded up.
Problem solved you might think. However, AC doesn't look very good to my eye. In online mode the other cars seem to float over the track in a most unrealistic fashion, especially when you are used to online in PCars and RF2, and the track just feels washed out and lacking in life.
So, to sum up, I am now addicted to racing a BMW around the Nordschleife in a track day layout. Preferably online (or with decent AI, but as PCars is the only AI I have liked, RF2 seem far too eager to just drive into the back of you, I think online would be better) complete with the toll booths and the track barriers and bridge to gantry timing.
Is Assetto Corsa my only option or have I missed something out there that I should be looking at? Ideally I want something with the look of PCars, The feel of RF2 and the track and car selection of AC. Greedy aren't I?
Thanks for reading.
I have been playing racing games (note, that's games not sims) all my life, right back to pole position. When I had an Atari ST (am I showing my age) I was world champion in every form of motor racing known to man (or at least known to game developers)
Over the years I have tried most of the major players. But they were always just games. As I got older and learnt to drive I found the games started to feel less and less realistic. I wanted something more subtle.
Fast forward to a year ago. I finally bought a PC good enough to run the latest crop of games and thanks to a steam sale managed to pick up Project Cars with all DLC for peanuts. I was immediately hooked. Here was a game that actually felt like driving a real car and it looked sublime. Everything about it was slick and polished and I loved it.
That was until I found RFactor 2. A couple of miles away from me a 15 seat racing simulator venue opened up. The software they ran was RFactor 2. I went a few times, entered a couple of championships (not very good but I generally wasn't last). It made sense to get RF2 at home so I could practice before the main event.
RF2 looked dated, very dated when compared to PCars. But it's simulation was so far away from PCars it was addictive (It's like the difference between MS FlightSIm and X-Plane, another thing I enjoy)
So for the last few months I have been dedicated to RF2, Practice Practice Practice. But It is purely race cars and sometimes I like to throw something I might actually drive around a track so back to PCars I would go.
That was until last Monday. I got an early Christmas present of a ride in a Ring Taxi M3 around the Nordschleife Tourist track. This was not a race car, apart from the paint work (and maybe the tyres) this car is how it would have come from the dealer. No helmets or 5 point restraint harnesses here. Just a good driver putting a good car to the limit (7:24 with traffic if you are interested and I was holding on for dear life)
I came home and immediately went to RF2, But while the layout for the Nordschleife is called tourist, and you start from the car park, it's still the full track. Not right, and only race cars.
PCars? No Tourist layout on Nordschleife. You can only race the track (and no current M3 either)
So I started searching. I came across a you tube video of Assetto Corsa doing exactly what I wanted so I bought it. Picked the car (OK it's an M4 not an M3 but I can live with that) and went to online and loaded up.
Problem solved you might think. However, AC doesn't look very good to my eye. In online mode the other cars seem to float over the track in a most unrealistic fashion, especially when you are used to online in PCars and RF2, and the track just feels washed out and lacking in life.
So, to sum up, I am now addicted to racing a BMW around the Nordschleife in a track day layout. Preferably online (or with decent AI, but as PCars is the only AI I have liked, RF2 seem far too eager to just drive into the back of you, I think online would be better) complete with the toll booths and the track barriers and bridge to gantry timing.
Is Assetto Corsa my only option or have I missed something out there that I should be looking at? Ideally I want something with the look of PCars, The feel of RF2 and the track and car selection of AC. Greedy aren't I?
Thanks for reading.
