[simpits-tech] Mastercard moment...

[Matt Bailey]

On Sunday 04 July 2004 05:13 pm, Gene Buckle wrote:
> > 	Ahhhh, Need for Speed...........my roots. :) NFS SE is what got me
> > hooked on racing sims. I haven't been into NFS since High Stakes, I
> > should try Underground I guess. Since they dumped version numbers after
> > NFS: PU (for all practical purposes) I've lost track of all the new
> > versions. I don't drive much anymore except for Viper Racing (ancient
> > sim, but the physics model is just awesome). If I went out and got
> > something like Rally Trophy or Grand Prix Legends I might drive more
> > though, most of the sims I have now are a bit old (OK, so GPL is old, but
> > there's still lots of new stuff for it and the physics are cool).
>
> I want to get some good daylight games - NFS:U is all night time.  I want
> to see if they've got Gran Turismo 3 for the PC.  I want a good rally
> racing game too.
>
> g.

	Dunno if this would be your cup of mocha or not, but actually Viper Racing 
makes a seriously good racer. Out of the box it's quite nice, and there is a 
fair amount of third party development that's been done on it to allow cars 
and tracks to be created (although the track creation seems to be rather 
closed, only a handful of people edit tracks). These days there are organized 
online races with custom cars and tracks. I mostly just try new cars and make 
my own.
	And speaking of rally sims..........VR actually is pretty fun off-road 
too. :) In fact I've always wanted a good dune buggy sim, and with VR's 
off-road physics I decided to make a buggy. http://rtccom.net/~mattb/
buggy.html This is more "just for fun", surfaces don't really allow for 
anything other than smooth pavement, and I don't think there's any way to 
change the surface (so it probably wouldn't be all that great as a dedicated 
rally sim, although rally-style tracks would help). It's still mad fun to 
take my buggy off road though, and practice jumps and stuff on the hills at 
Silverdale. :)
	The thing about VR, it's more about actually driving the car than it is the 
overall "experience", so you won't see overly fancy tracks and scenery, or 
glittery special effects. In fact some reviews likened it to a technology 
demo rather than a full blown game.
	You might want to check out Rally Trophy, I recall the demo being pretty 
cool. I also had a lot of fun with the demo of one that I think was called 
Rally Masters.
	Don't forget X-Auto. ;)

	-Matt Bailey