26 replies to this topic

[ChrisO]

Hi all, Whats everyones thoughts on the above games? Iv decided to go for a PS3 (plus Logitech G25 wheel) ready for when GT5 comes out. Having played GT5-pro with the Logitech wheel I think its a better simulator than Forza (crash physics aside ) Just wondering what everyone else thinks - I would ask on a games forum but everyone here seems to know a fair bit more about driving physics than your average PS3 fan ; ) Also - how does GT4 play on the 80gig PS3? Any bugs, glitches etc?

[chris_uk]

i didnt think you could play ps2 games on anything other than the 60gb version. also the gt5 with g25 is good, i use it all the time

[speedyK]

Only the original PAL 60GB PS3 (I have one) has the software onboard to play PS2 games – and not all of them are without problems.

I ran GT4 on my PS3 in my cockpit with a 37" full HD screen. To be honest, it looked so bad compared to GT5 Prologue, that I've not bothered since.

A lot of serious sim racers scoff at console driving games. I suspect that is because they often only get to try them under less than ideal circumstances and they never go into the depths of the game to change it from "arcade" to full-on sim mode, nor do they turn all the aids off – and, more often than not, this is all being assessed with a hand controller.

For any driving game that wants to have any semblance of realism (so not Mario Kart – however good it is – and it is great fun), you need a properly fixed steering wheel and properly fixed pedals. Because the seat of your pants, G-forces feeeling of being in a real car is missing, you are totally dependent on feedback through the wheel for "feel". And the pedals need to respond solidly if you are going to hit your braking points reliably.

I modded my G25 a little The great thing about the G25 pedals is that they are modular. You can take apart the pedal box and each pedal has a solid metal base with M6 bolt threads. This means you can actually invert them and mount them with exactly the relative positions as in a real car. You can also eventhem down to the right size and shape to match your car. I copied my Exige.

Taking apart the G25 pedal box


G25 pedals modded to Exige size and shape


I didn't stop at the pedals. I made a 1:1 copy of my cockpit.

G25 shifter unit sawn in two (no going back now!)


To fit it in here


I also swapped the quite good G25 wheel for a real Lotus wheel – this necessitated an extension of the paddles too




Exactly the same dimensions as the real car


All the bits that you have contact with while driving are the same – even the sill


I also fitted the subwoofer of the 5.1 sound system directly under the driving seat, facing upwards and fixed to the floor of the cockpit. This way, you really feel the kerbs when you ride them on track

But be warned – it's a slippery slope! You can see my first cockpit – a simpler copy of my Speedster for GT4 on the PS2 – in the corner. With the help of that I got some very quick times on our VX / Nürburgring / GT4 competition on this forum a few years back. I'm now considering another build


I practiced on my old cockpit to fine tune my steering feel before venturing on track with any of my real cars and the physics are good enough to learn something of car control and the particular cars characteristics. Luckily, GT4 had my Speedster, 300ZX Twin Turbo and my Pug 106GTI

Can't wait for GT5 – oh, and I find Prologue is fantastic with a full HD screen

Here's an early clip of my cockpit in action running the Japanese Prologue demo version GT-R all aids off. It only squeals when you're on the absolute limit – I was!
>GT-R taking no prisoners!<

Here's a more recent one from GT5 Prologue. Try watching it in "high quality" and full screen – even with the massive compression for YouTube, you can still get a feel of how impressive it is.

>GT-R again. Chasing Ferraris<

Edited by speedyK, 08 December 2008 - 11:42 PM.

[Ash]

Mate, you have waaaay too much time on your hands, however, I am extremely jealous, maybe I should do this to my second garage instead of having it as "the scalextric room" (been called that since we bought the house, but still no scalextric!! As mentioned Chris, it's only the 60Gb PS3's that can play the older PS2 games, but once you get GT5, you're not likely to want to play GT4 anyway. And as SpeedyK says, they're plenty good enough to do the job of learning a bit more about car control etc.

[ChrisO]

Speedy, thank you so much for taking the time to post! Id love a cockpit like that, sadly I dont think i have the DIY skill to put something like that together! But a superb setup and something for me to aim for (even if I fall short!)

[crsnwby]

Your a year too early for GT5 the newest reelase date is christmas 09

[Ash]

Your a year too early for GT5 the newest reelase date is christmas 09

[j0n]

wow thats awesome!

[chris_uk]

i made something like this but took it apart as i had no room i also have the g25 and gt5p and its pretty decent at a racing game, but one to deffinatly have a look at is live for speed.

[speedyK]

Live for Speed is for the PC not a console game.

The beauty of consoles is that, if you buy a game, you know it will work as intended. The trouble with computer games is the constant upgrading that is necessary because no sooner is new hardware available, the software people have maxed out their games leaving you with no choice but to upgrade graphics card, etc. At least that was my experience in the 90s with Mac games, so I went for the simple but effective Nintendo 64 (MarioKart , then PS2, Wii and now PS3.

Am tempted to equip for LfS though, as I keep hearing how good it is...

Edited by speedyK, 21 December 2008 - 11:13 PM.

[ChrisO]

Funny this thread should pop back up - only yesterday bought a PS3 with GT-5p Not sure if I can stretch to the G25 wheel this month, plus Ill have to wait till Christmas day before I can open my PS3 (Booo!) but still looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about with GT5.

[Ash]

You'll love it ChrisO, the graphics are beautiful, particularly the work that's gone into the car interiors. It's more challenging than the previous GT games too IMO.

Edited by Ash, 22 December 2008 - 09:14 AM.

[ChrisO]

You'll love it ChrisO, the graphics are beautiful, particularly the work that's gone into the car interiors.

It's more challenging than the previous GT games too IMO.

Iv gone and done it!

Vauxhall owe me nigh on £200 (insurance on the rental car I got while the VX was away) I never got around to collecting.

DAB's had the G25 wheel for £150.

Getttt innn!

[Ash]

You'll love it ChrisO, the graphics are beautiful, particularly the work that's gone into the car interiors.

It's more challenging than the previous GT games too IMO.

Iv gone and done it!

Vauxhall owe me nigh on £200 (insurance on the rental car I got while the VX was away) I never got around to collecting.

DAB's had the G25 wheel for £150.

Getttt innn!

So you'll be building a mock up like SpeedyK's then?!?!

[chris_uk]

Live for Speed is for the PC not a console game.

The beauty of consoles is that, if you buy a game, you know it will work as intended. The trouble with computer games is the constant upgrading that is necessary because no sooner is new hardware available, the software people have maxed out their games leaving you with no choice but to upgrade graphics card, etc. At least that was my experience in the 90s with Mac games, so I went for the simple but effective Nintendo 64 (MarioKart , then PS2, Wii and now PS3.

Am tempted to equip for LfS though, as I keep hearing how good it is...

your not wrong but lfs rund really well on older machines, its not the prettyest thing to look at but it runs at 1000fps on my machine in places and i have a 8800gt so my card is quite old..

the physics on the game are seconds to none..

it simulates tyres moving, fuel sloshing about in the tanks really gets into good detail.. but with it being only a 3 person team developing it, it can be quite slow.

the scirocco is going to be realised just after xmas tho

http://uk.youtube.co...feature=related

http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=rsYGl5fK93Q

[ChrisO]

You'll love it ChrisO, the graphics are beautiful, particularly the work that's gone into the car interiors.

It's more challenging than the previous GT games too IMO.

Iv gone and done it!

Vauxhall owe me nigh on £200 (insurance on the rental car I got while the VX was away) I never got around to collecting.

DAB's had the G25 wheel for £150.

Getttt innn!

So you'll be building a mock up like SpeedyK's then?!?!

Christ I wish my hands had the talent to build something like that, but I think not

[ChrisO]

Been playing this for most of today - the actual driving is amazing - much closer to the real thing than Forza, however the racing is shocking! Forza wins hands down in that respect. The G25 wheel however is flawless - I can not believe how strong the feedback is! Turn it up to 10 (maybe theres an '11' option somewhere? ) and it really does pull itself out of your hands. Amazing and so sharp - the slightest input can throw the car off the track! Anyways - does anyone know how to switch the music off during the game? I cant find an option anywhere and its doing my head it! lol

[Kip'n'Srin]

Been playing this for most of today - the actual driving is amazing - much closer to the real thing than Forza, however the racing is shocking! Forza wins hands down in that respect.

The G25 wheel however is flawless - I can not believe how strong the feedback is! Turn it up to 10 (maybe theres an '11' option somewhere? ) and it really does pull itself out of your hands. Amazing and so sharp - the slightest input can throw the car off the track!

Anyways - does anyone know how to switch the music off during the game? I cant find an option anywhere and its doing my head it! lol

When you get to the menu page at the bottom where it gives you the scrollable options >Options >Hardware> scroll right for Sound options.

A question from me in return, when you are using the G25, are you using it on a table or something or have you got a Speedy set-up too. I'm getting the G25 but don't want to play with sitting on my lap

Kip

[chris_uk]

some vids of me and the missis playin.

http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=9NC-5a2Blgs

http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=4SJQCBldtjM

http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=-SThoV3tk8g

[speedyK]

Is your missus very short? She's sitting very close to the wheel – her arms are far too bent.

With shoulder blades resting on the seat, outstretched arms should lie on top of the steering wheel so that the wrist is on the wheel rim and the hands can dangle down behind the wheel.

Good guide to driving position here:

>Driving Position<