iRacing sim Driving School

[BadMouth]

This is linked in the Driving Cab Info thread, but might have been lost in the wall of information there.

The concepts apply to all sim racers.


I suck at sim racers, but have a lot of them loaded on my cab because I came accross them cheap.
Hopefully someday I'll have the time to improve my skills and enjoy them.

[isamu]

This month marks my 1yr anniversary since I started playing iracing. It is the only sim I play. It is unlike any other sim out there. The head to head racing second is to none. You need to be very mentally prepared every time you enter a race. I've won only a handful of races but I've had some very very hair-raising knuckle biting races, to the point where my shirt is left drenched in sweat. The competition is fierce and intense.

The game DOES NOT tolerate arcade style driving on the track! No Daytona USA or Ridge Racer-style powerslides here folks. You need to treat each car with care or you will be heavily penalized for your carelessness. Slip into the grass and hit the wall and your race is over. Collide with another car and chances are you're done. Once your car is damaged you need to have it towed back to the pits and wait and see if the crew can fix it(usually a 4 to 10 minute wait period). 

It's a racing sim for adults, by adults. You must use your real name and a credit card to sign up. It's no BS racing and the members there WILL call you out if you if even think of driving like a mad man. Do it continuously and you will be protested and banned from the service.

That said, the driving is very realistic as are the graphics and the sound. It can be *insanely* fun and rewarding once you learn to drive the cars and learn how to race on the track with others. I've gone through phases where I was so addicted I couldn't walk away from the game at all for several hours at a time. Now a days I don't play it quite as much but still put in a couple races during the week.

With ALL of that having been said, believe it or not, as much as I love iRacing, my heart will forever lay with 90's Japanese arcade style racers. When I'm in-between races in iRacing, I'm always playing an arcade racer from either Sega or Namco. The only reason I started playing more serious sim racers is because of the lack of new Sega/Namco properties over the recent years. Where's Daytona 3? Where's OutRun 3? Where's a true Japanese home grown Ridge Racer sequel for PC? Sega and Namco's reluctancy to push these franchises into the next generation or onto PCs has given me no choice but to turn to more sim-like titles such as iRacing.

Bottomline is both type of racing games have their strengths and weaknesses. But if you want a nail biting but very rewarding experience with a huge learning curve that requires much discipline, iRacing is the way to go. 

[Fursphere]

It's a racing sim for adults, by adults.

That's a good way to keep people away from trying the service out.

[BadMouth]

I gave it a try once upon a time when they were offering 3 months for $12.  I didn't have much spare time to play, so only progressed to the point where I had to do something like 20 minutes worth of laps to prove that I could do them without wrecking.  I could see getting into it if I had a sim rig and more time.  I think playing on a driving cab with a 4:3 monitor would be a disadvantage.