Del's Race Sim Review 2020

Delvious

Resident Frog Prince
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Welcome! After spending the last couple years only playing Iracing, I decided to mix things up a few months ago and branch out into other sims. Here are my thoughts on the sims that i have played in 2020. I will be listing off Pro/Con and then a quick summary of my feelings and what I think that sim does "best".

There is no "best" game. There is only what each game does best.

Assetto Corsa (pc/xbox/ps4 - VR) [~4k concurrent players]
Pro: -Most stock tracks are laser scanned (some are not)
-Endless customization because of mods (Content Manager Launcher is a game changer, SOL patch brings graphics to 2020 standards)
-A large amount of base content, with tracks/cars you would actually want to use
-Regularly goes on sale for $5 for Ultimate Edition which has all DLC's
-"Official mods" by the dev's come out sometimes for free.
-Active online community
Con:-Dated FFB settings, hard to tweak.
-Dated UI UNLESS you use Content Manager
-Lackluster AI.
-Online community is mostly drift servers/track days, finding a race without being in a league can be difficult.
-Settings must be changed outside of "simulation" with game shutdown to launcher.
-Car sounds are hit and miss

Summary: I consider AC to be a must have for any sim library. The amount of mods out there for this game are just ASTOUNDING. Some are complete shit, but some are works of fucking art. The 2020 Formula Hybrid by RSS, is literally the best modern F1 car in any sim, hand down. VR looks decent, but performs well even with all settings up. Just like every other sim, some base cars are good, but all og the tracks are done well. I tend to play this game mostly when I'm trying to drive a specific car no other sims have.
What It Does Best: UNLIMITED CONTENT!!!!!!!


Assetto Corsa Competizione (pc/xbox/ps4 - VR ) [~2.5k concurrent players daily]
Pro:-Best GT3 sim on the market.
-Fantastic Graphics
-Good FFB for model (steering column forces)
-Excellent audio!
-Good Multiplayer rating system/lobbies
-Laser scanned tracks/cars
Con:-VR is a blurry mess(unreal engine issue)
-ONLY GT3/GT4 cars. (GT4 cars are DLC)
-ONLY 11 base maps(4 are DLC)
-No modding

Summary: ACC is by far the best GT3/GT4 sim on the market. The Dev's have carefully came up with a rating system to help separate players before they ever get on the track, but it can be confusing upon first inspection of it. The multiplayer lobbies and quick join are also pretty good, and can be easily set up to exclude new people or people with low safety ratings. Y
The online community is fantastic and extremely helpful. It by far, has the best sound design of any racing sim. When taking high speed turns you can hear the sheet metal around the car creak as the chassis flexes for example. As i listed, VR is an absolute dumpster fire of poor performance. The blurry as fuck visuals cant be tweaked tone clear. This isnt an issue outside of VR. It does have a limited track/car roster, and GT4 cars are not used very often for online racing. I would say the AI is adequate for 2020 standards.
What It Does Best: GT3/GT4 racing- SOUND DESIGN++++


Iracing (pc-VR) [~7k concurrent players daily]
Pro:-Best online racing hands down
-Safety rating and Irating(MMR) systems
-Automated steward system
-Active administration by dev's to handle players that purposefully ram/crash others
-Chance to race against real life drivers
-Racing schedule makes sure to clump drivers together and makes skill based matchmaking work wonderfully
-All tracks/cars are laser scanned. cars use telemetry data from manufacturers for accuracy.
-Only place for good oval and dirt track racing.
Con:-Pricing model (subscription + pay model)
-Racing schedule sucks when you just want to jump on and do a race
-Physics model is either love/hate depending on who you ask
-Small amount of AI tracks/cars supported.
-Sounds are shitty compared to other games
-No modding

Summary: Iracing, people love it or hate it. Iracing was what ignited my love for sim racing. It is without a doubt, THE BEST ONLINE RACING there is. Hands down. Nothing can touch it. 7k concurrent players at most points in the day means that you will always find a race for a given time slot. Races are done hourly or bi-hourly and these are then divided into "splits" based on the number of people signed up. This system is what helps to create close racing, as the MMR system basically keeps players of similar pace racing each other.
After trying other games id have to put the physics/tire model down near the bottom. Unless you are in a high down force car, the car itself feels more slide prone than other games. The issue here is that its very hard to save a car once you have started sliding sideways, including cars like GT3 with traction control on. The dev's are aware of this issue and are continuing to iterate on their tire model. (****opinion warning**** I personally do not care for the vehicle handling after playing other sims, most races in low down force cars are stressful mainly because your'e trying to keep the car from spinning instead of trying to ride the edge of grip****)
The biggest complaint with the game is the payment model. It is $13 for 1 month, $33 for 3 months, and $110 for 1 year. There is also a two year package for $200. The subscription includes 15 cars, and 14 tracks. All of the rookie/fun series are basically included in the sub. Once you move past that you will most likely have to buy the car for the series as well as a few tracks. There are many guides online for "moving through series" and how to best spend your money while maximizing the series you can race in. They recently added some AI racing, but its very limited atm and not worth your time. VR implementation is adequate.
What It Does Best: Online Racing!!!


Automobilsta 2 (pc-VR) [~220 concurrent players]
Pro:-Excellent ffb
-Excellent VR
-Lesser known cars and tracks from South America
-Dev team is open to feedback from community
-The best AI and it gets better every patch
-The largest amount of classic GP cars in any sim without mods
-Car setups can be downloaded from time trial leader boards
Con:-Small amount of well known race circuits, but will be added as DLC(EDIT: This has been rectified very rapidly with monthly DLC track releases)
-Small dev team meaning changes take awhile to implement
-Small player base so online racing is limited.
-Tracks are not laser scanned
-Mod support not likely due to engine licensing
-Base setups on some cars are bad
-Sounds can be really good, or really bad.

Summary: AMS2 is by a small Brazilian dev team. They have shipped and released multiple lesser known titles, and even developed official DLC tracks/Cars for RF2. AMS2 is my personal favorite game. Since this is from a Brazilian dev team they decided to focus mainly on South American tracks and series, with some tracks in UK and Germany currently. There are a lot of popular tracks not currently in game but will be added later. The cars/tracks are all hand crafted. Pretty much all of the cars out side of F1 are south american series. I LOVE the V8 Super Car and Brazil Stock Cars. They are two of the funnest cars to drive in any sim. The F1 cars from all generations going back to the 60's are also REALLY good. Base line setups can vary from car to car. BUT since you can copy setups from the time trial leader board and save them this becomes a non-issue. VR is absolutely stunning in this game and runs well. The FFB is again drive column based but the dev's also let you completely customize the FFB to feel however you want. AMS2 has the best AI hands-down. This is a good thing since the online multiplayer is rather limited. With the player base beinv so small the quality of lobbies are pretty good. I say this is a must buy.
What It Does Best: FFB/AI/VR = Best single player racing sim (EDIT: GT4/GT3/GT1/BMW M1/various other cars have been added as free DLC, and they are fantastic. The DLC tracks are all worth the money as well)


RaceRoom Racing Experience (pc-VR) [~700 concurrent players]
Pro:-Great AI
-Similar online racing to Iracing
-Only sim that pushes DTM series
-Free to play
-Sound Design
Con:-Really Free-2-Try
-Pricing model
-Small North American Player base
-Tracks are not laser scanned
-No modding

Summary: I have the LEAST amount of experience as i had no drive to take part in its pricing model currently. It is my understanding that there is a way around it. They claim the game is "free to play", but you get 1 set of touring cars, 1 set of LMP style cars, and a few tracks. They do allow you to "try" any car you want on a track for some hot laps which is nice. Overall this sim is very focused. The majority of cars are DTM/TC1/WTCC/GT cars. This "sameness" helps the dev's put out a quality product every single time. I definitely intend to give this game more a chance in the future. Sadly the playerbase is mostly in europe, which means its hard to even find 1 server sometimes in the U.S. outside of Leagues. AI is really good overall. There is an adaptive difficulty feature that adjusts the AI in real time to give you a more difficult race which I appreciate. R3E is a decent title, but the pricing model drives alot of people away.
What It Does Best: Largest selection of European racing series.


rFactor 2 (pc-VR) [~690 concurrent players]
Pro: -Best physics out there
-Great FFB
-Good AI
-MOD SUPPORT
-Only place for NASCAR outside of Iracing
Con:-Limited official content
-Graphics can look dated dependent on car/track
-UI is terrible
-Most official tracks are not laser scanned
-Car interiors are hit or miss

Summary: rFactor 2 is generally regarded as the best physics/FFB in sim racing. Its so good that rFactor Pro is used by real race teams for their own simulators. I adore the physics/driving dynamics in this game. The base content is dated. Mods are handled Via steam workshop which automatically download and install for you. Overall mod support is pretty good but definitely not at the same level of AC. From what i can tell the original Dev's sold the game off at some point and the new dev team is definitely trying to get cars/tracks updated to 2020 standards. This game takes alot of tweaking to in order look good. The actual launcher for the game is something out of 2008. This goes to the In-game menu system that's also straight out of 2008. There is a *new* UI but that can only be accessed from steam Beta currently. VR implementation is serviceable. The AI is very good which makes up for the small player base.
What It Does Best: Physics/Driving dynamics!!!!


Notable Mention:
Project Cars 2
(PC/Xbox/PS4-VR) [~1450 concurrent players]
Neutral:-Not a sim, but not simcade. I call it sim-LIte
Pro:-Large selection of cars/tracks
-Excellent VR
-Good online racing rating system
-Adequate player base
-Fantastic rallycross
-Laser scanned tracks
-Immersive
-A ton of content for cheap when on sale
-Great for drop in multiplayer
Con:-Physics are hit or miss
-Sounds are hit or miss
-VR/graphics takes tweaking .ini file to make it look good.
-AI is laughable
-FFB is total garbage without custom file
-No modding

Summary: Ah PCars2, always at the bottom of every list of sim racing games(if it even makes it on there). It is very much a "sim-lite" game. It lives in a weird spot between Gran Turismo/Forza and more serious sim games. AMS2 uses the same engine as PCars2 but feels miles better as a sim. The FFB is total garbage until you download the "ultimate FFB" custom file and load it in. The AI drive in a train until you get close, at which point you can see them "activate" and become more lively until its passed and deactivates again. The "street" cars are shitty to drive.
BUT, pcars 2 is fun as hell. Its my go to for less serious sim racing. The VR implementation is fantastic. The overall ambiance, track detail, and car detail, is definitely the best out of any of the sims. I have a ton of fun driving around and finding, and then riding, the edge of grip of cars in this game. The dedicated racing cars are an absolute blast to drive, but have such insane levels of grip sometimes its hard to believe its accurate. Online racing starts off shitty. As you earn safety rating and get into higher lobbies the racing becomes less crashdy. Lobbies are a mixed bag of skill, so its usually unlikely to have good battles like you get in iRacing.
What It Does Best: A really fun racing game when you want to chill.
 
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