iRacing doesn't have offline racing with AI, but you can practice off-line. IMO it's an ok sim. If you liked the Papy sims, then you will like iRacing. It's not cheap, but no hobby really is. If you go to iRacing, you should stop using the other sims to make the transition easier and spend a lot of time just keeping on the track and building up your rating.

Now for the outsider vote: SBK-X

I mean, look at the numbers: SBK-X has 14 real world tracks, over 80 bikes in three different classes (Superstock 1000, Supersport, Superbike). Each of the three classes plays slightly different in Championship (Superstock only does European tracks, Supersport is international, Superbike has a different race weekend structure to both).

It has an awesome realistic career mode (no unlocking crap, actually being a driver for a team and making better contracts with better teams in higher classes) which it had long before F1 2010 started the "Life the live" crap.

It also allows to take any bike on any track for a quick race, race weekend, time trial or run a full championship.

Technically it's not super sim or top of the line visuals (better than GTR2/Evo still), but it has a dynamic race line (rubbering/drying), it has chaging weather over the weekend, it has adequate damage modelling and even rider injuries. It has a complete set of technical setup options and a good usable telemetry, as well as a clever race engineer helping you to set the Bike up and pushing you on trough the weekend.

And the entire thing cost me 20 bucks when I bought it.

I think pound for pound, this is the most racing you can get out of the box in an unmodded game. O'f course downside is - there are no mods. So an Evo/Race 07 setup with the DLC packs and user mods can get bigger. But technically not as current, and not with such a nice career mode.


And Rick, if you want some rally, do give the WRC 2010 demo a try. More pure rally than either Dirt2 or Dirt3, albeit less visually impressive and the FFB is less well done. Driving physics are pretty decent though.

I suspect this is true.

If iRacing were the same price at rFactor, I'd probably try it, but rF keeps me satisfied.

I would totally get into iRacing if I had money. My problem is, I don't have money.

Also, I know I should be putting in more practice time for Imola this coming weekend but I reinstalled RBR over the weekend. I was never that good at it to begin with, I spend more time off the track than on it...but for those brief moments when I can get through a section of a stage just right, it's the most glorious thing ever.

Without SP, I couldn't add iRacing. To me that's the most important part, I'd rather have a great title w/o MP. In general though, it's as close to a racing career simulation as you're going to get, as well as the most serious about physics. Variety sucks. LOL

1)Race 07 and its official expansions. The best variety of exciting cars and the best tracks. Looks pretty good for old tech, excellent sensation of speed, very good force feedback without going into any .ini file. Mods not required. Even as an old title, Simbin still put out 5 dlc packs for it this year. No one else does that.

2)GT Legends. Retro is cool and this game has some of the best "track feel" to it. It's like a tailor made game for full use of a clutch and H shifter---no paddle shifted auto clutch cars here! Fun cars you just don't see anywhere else, except for some in the Race 07 Retro pack.

3)Motorm4x Offroad Extreme. Because it's different! 4 wheeling rock crawling competitions primarily, but some other races too. Love it! Very nice set of controls, good physics (when rock crawling) considering this isn't a a popular genre. Fun set up with the TDU-like driving around from event to event and your garage. The only game that comes to mind that takes your fuel into account so well. Gas runs out while free-riding on the map as well as in races. If you don't fill up at the station or your extra gas tanks, your free-riding may result in running out of gas during the race.

4)RBR. They say it's got the best physics, but the feel isn't quite there for me. Plus it's absolutely infuriating! LOL This one beat me like a rabid dog so I don't play it, but I do respect it.



Honorable mention, but since the require mods, I don't count them as great stand alone titles:

1)NFS Shift 1, Nordschleife. That track, a handful of cars...that alone gives me more enjoyment than most any full racing game. Best looks, best sensation of speed, transmits the brutal experience of racing a car with taunt go-kart-like suspension. Has to be modded, but this is easily the best Nordschleife that I've seen.

2)rFactor. Alone this thing is incredibly dull, so I don't give ISI credit for making it a good sim. Plus, Simbin bases their games on the same tech but seem to get much more out of it, so I assume ISI called it quits before reaching full potential. Modders make this one good, but at the same time, you don't know which modders base the cars and tracks on the real thing and which are just putting something out there for fun.

If I remember correctly, I think the whole idea behind rFactor was the modding community, which had been producing a stream of content for ISI sims since Sports Car GT.

I can't find a source now, but I vaguely remember reading an article pre-release that said that rFactor was being created as the modder's sim - little official content but wide-open for mods.

You are correct. Most people think that rF was a game, but it was really a modding platform. There are some really nice mods out there for rF:

Quick list:

Endurance Series Mod

V8Factor Unleashed - V8 Supercars

FVR V8 2011 -

DRM Revival Mod

DTM 2008/2009/2010 mod

I can see that. I'd still leave it on there as I've got it even though it would be more a developer's kit than a game. I hope there's more to rF2 from them when it comes out though.

rF2 WIP screens do show a lot more real cars and tracks.


Plus ISI has been working with a few of the modding groups to bring a few toys into rF2:
dynamic weather - rain
and
track surface - rubber build up and such

And I have heard that the "oval" AI has been improved too.

Well they sure as hell couldn't make it much worse. Well they could, but let's hope not.