by Adamal » Wed May 06, 2009 5:16 am
The main problem I have with these sorts of games, even if you've got a setup like a G25 and seat etc is these two things:
1. The lack of acting forces on the body.
You use what you feel to judge how hard you're braking, how close to locking up, how much traction you've got acellerating out of corners etc etc. These games lack that, which to me is a huge factor.
I've seen a hydraulic rig, which emulates G forces by exaggerating how far forward it leans under braking, how far back it leans under acceleration etc. That would help, but be pretty expensive.
2. The lack of depth perception.
Even though its '3D', its still presented in a 2D format, a monitor.
This makes it hard to judge how far off a corner is, the angle of a corner and even the width of the track.
It can be good for training the mind to use markers on the side of the track to judge a corner though. Eg, whether or not is an offical marker (100m sign etc) or something you're using, you can work out after a few laps where you can start braking, and how hard you need to brake etc.
An ideal setup would be like headset with 2 micro screens in it, 1 for each eye. Thats how you can make it true 3D so you have depth perception.
To go a step further, some sort of motion sensor setup would be ideal, so that when you move your head, it moves in the game as well, for looking left or right etc.
Those solutions combined would probably be the closest you could get to actual racing in a virtual world. And it would be highly expensive to do.
One other thing I just thought of is pedal feedback. You usually get some feedback from the brake pedal when braking, and even the clutch pedal when letting it out.
The G25 doesn't give you any sort of feedback there. Maybe some more expensive way high end ones do, I'm not sure.
Thats my take on it anyway.
Motorsport is like sex. You could take it to track and have a long, enjoyable session, or you could take it to the strip and get it over with in less than 20 seconds.