So if you look at it in a sense that not all elements are in place and may not be until just before release these things may be looked at in a different light. IMO is it a Sim? Sure! is it exactly like the hardcore sims out their that most of us enjoy now? No.
I agree. I for one only expect pCARS to have a "sim character" upon release.
I can understand though that some people feel disappointed by what they have at the moment.
I felt rF1 is more hardcore but both are really good. Difference rFactor did not win a game of the year award GTR2 did.
Both (rF and GTR2) share the same game engine, both run at 400 Hz (quite good). The differences are in the fact that GTR2 comes from an early ISIMotor2 version, whereas rFactor benefited from further updates (all the way to 1.255).
They're the same - except for the flexibility and later variables added by ISI.
Game wise - well, it depends, some people care little about the versatility of rFactor or its accurate modelling, but they do care about racing licenses and graphics and probably a boat load of cars, In that respect, rFactor lags behind GTR2 and other titles.
But all of them (GTR2, rFactor, Race07) are much, much better than people know or realize.
I really think what we are finding with pCARS and the approach and we all know this to be true.
We shall see.
The fact that many great pro drivers getting on these hardcore sims and needing to scale them back a bit by use of assists to get a closer feel to what they experience in real life. ISI will even tell you that if the car has them in RL that they are meant to be used in sim to replicate RL.
Pro drivers complain about one major deficiency: lack of grip. Yes, there's the lack of seat of the pants feel, but that is a given, they know this and put this aside.
The lack of grip or estimation of grip issues have been the subject of several methods to correct it. I am thinking of Race07, for instance, a significant improvement over previous ISIMotor2 titles.
What (some) pro drivers do is use TC in order to get closer to their RL experience. But, imo, devs do not need to scale back the physics engine but apply/implement a system of driver aids.
What we as serious sim racers have done is choose to not use them at all costs so we have created a scenario in our minds that this is how it is. I do like the fact that ISI physics are more raw on the hardest levels but also understand that they may not totally represent True to Life experience. This is what I feel SMS is trying to accomplish levels that more closely represent TTL experiences.
I disagree. Some championships do not allow driver aids; some allow them if the production car has them. Gaining the ability to control a car without driver aids is a good challenge and may not be that far removed from RL.
But as you say, SMS (in spite of the terrible behaviour of some WMD members) deserve the benefit of the doubt up until release.
"hardcore sim" What's that?
Can somebody please give me a true definition of this over-extensively used term/concept?
I never heard of this before - only since lately when this silly fight between the arcade games, racing games and racing simulations came up because all these genres got thrown into one big pot and nobody can or wants to separate each genre anymore!
Seriously, every time I hear such kind of shoptalk (from simcade, hardcore sim, realcore sim and more funky stuff) I could tear my hair out!
Either it is a racing simulator, and as such it has to meet requirements which have been set, or it is not!
Mapu, "hardcore simming" (as we used call it over at simhq 10 years ago) refers to being as close to the real experience as possible. If a car, in RL, doesn't have assists, then a hardcord simracer will not use driver assists. Furthermore, it has become common of hardcore racing to "race" with cockpit views.
Which is a different thing from "realistic physics", which some try to peg on modders and those that enjoy good simulations.