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This thread has been linked to the game 'Live For Speed'.
With reams and reams of names in the credits, massive license deals and heavyweight budgets, it still amazes me how all other racing games today still cannot come anywhere near the level of realism artfully developed by the 3 guys working on Live For Speed.
It's clearly oriented towards multiplayer online play, and it does this extremely well. Racing in Live For Speed draws different levels of reactions from different people, but mostly it will force sweat from your palms and raise your heartbeat.
Players in Live For Speed are not given a vast helping of 'real' cars or tracks which exist in 'real' life. But to take issue with this is missing the point, for LFS's porsche likeness may not look the same as one of the iconic beasts, but it will feel and drive far closer to the real thing than any porsche-endorsed game -And what would be the point of racing around silverstone if the car does not feel on par with the realistic scenery? Having said that, there are a handful of cars included which exist today, not least the 2006 BMW Sauber F1 and Formula BMW single seaters. 20 cars and a generous helping of a variety of tracks/layouts is enough to chew on, And being that Live for Speed is a constant work in progress, players have the new Volkswagen Scirocco and Rockingham Circuit to look forward to in future updates.
In addition to a good choice of paved circuits to race on, for the sideways-inclined you can take to a handful of part-dirt rallycross tracks, or perhaps a drag strip for quickfire head-to-heads. Autocross racing is also supported quite well, and if you fancy making your own cone-dodging gauntlet to race through, you can do so with the basic editor offered.
As for the action it is clear to see that great lengths are taken to prevent the dumbing-down of real racing. Tyre physics are in no way overlooked - tyre heat, tyre wall deformation and even tread cleanliness are taken into account in ways that no other game has done to date. Suspension behaviour is masterfully done with nothing left out, and even clutch heat gets a look in. There are more great elements which directly affect driving in Live for Speed, but the important thing to realise is that these are not gimmicks arbitrarily added to the game - they are there to bite you if you overstep the mark.
Playing is possible with a mouse and keyboard or with a pad, but there is no denying that the game needs a wheel. Live for Speed supports all the popular PC steering wheels such as the firm favourite Logitech G25 with full support for shifters. Unlike other games which only utilise force feedback to confirm that you have driven over a rumble strip or stumbled on the grass, you will feel as if you are communicating directly to the ground against the pushes and pulls of a car on the edge.
With all that hard work crafting the game, the players need to be just as astute to do it justice, and this is where you can tell you are playing with like-minded people. Everyone who plays has their heads tuned into racing - if they didn't, they'd have given up at the turn-in at the first corner as their car won't magically defy realistic levels of grip to make the corner like they would in most other racing 'sims'! All online players are looking for one thing: good quality racing. Be that in a 45bhp hatchback or a 500bhp GT Tourer, it is pure racing on offer nonetheless.
Live for Speed also has a dedicated 'desktop' called LFSWorld, where a huge amount of data and statistics can be viewed by the entire community as well as information about multiplayer events and leagues. The enormous scale of data is further evidence of how much attention to detail has been invested in the rest of the game.
In summary, this is a proper simulation for people with an uncompromising taste for driving. I have driven my road car on trackdays numerous times, and each time I have noticed that it is almost indistinguishable from playing Live for Speed. What better testimony can there be?
www.liveforspeed.net
It's clearly oriented towards multiplayer online play, and it does this extremely well. Racing in Live For Speed draws different levels of reactions from different people, but mostly it will force sweat from your palms and raise your heartbeat.
Players in Live For Speed are not given a vast helping of 'real' cars or tracks which exist in 'real' life. But to take issue with this is missing the point, for LFS's porsche likeness may not look the same as one of the iconic beasts, but it will feel and drive far closer to the real thing than any porsche-endorsed game -And what would be the point of racing around silverstone if the car does not feel on par with the realistic scenery? Having said that, there are a handful of cars included which exist today, not least the 2006 BMW Sauber F1 and Formula BMW single seaters. 20 cars and a generous helping of a variety of tracks/layouts is enough to chew on, And being that Live for Speed is a constant work in progress, players have the new Volkswagen Scirocco and Rockingham Circuit to look forward to in future updates.
In addition to a good choice of paved circuits to race on, for the sideways-inclined you can take to a handful of part-dirt rallycross tracks, or perhaps a drag strip for quickfire head-to-heads. Autocross racing is also supported quite well, and if you fancy making your own cone-dodging gauntlet to race through, you can do so with the basic editor offered.
As for the action it is clear to see that great lengths are taken to prevent the dumbing-down of real racing. Tyre physics are in no way overlooked - tyre heat, tyre wall deformation and even tread cleanliness are taken into account in ways that no other game has done to date. Suspension behaviour is masterfully done with nothing left out, and even clutch heat gets a look in. There are more great elements which directly affect driving in Live for Speed, but the important thing to realise is that these are not gimmicks arbitrarily added to the game - they are there to bite you if you overstep the mark.
Playing is possible with a mouse and keyboard or with a pad, but there is no denying that the game needs a wheel. Live for Speed supports all the popular PC steering wheels such as the firm favourite Logitech G25 with full support for shifters. Unlike other games which only utilise force feedback to confirm that you have driven over a rumble strip or stumbled on the grass, you will feel as if you are communicating directly to the ground against the pushes and pulls of a car on the edge.
With all that hard work crafting the game, the players need to be just as astute to do it justice, and this is where you can tell you are playing with like-minded people. Everyone who plays has their heads tuned into racing - if they didn't, they'd have given up at the turn-in at the first corner as their car won't magically defy realistic levels of grip to make the corner like they would in most other racing 'sims'! All online players are looking for one thing: good quality racing. Be that in a 45bhp hatchback or a 500bhp GT Tourer, it is pure racing on offer nonetheless.
Live for Speed also has a dedicated 'desktop' called LFSWorld, where a huge amount of data and statistics can be viewed by the entire community as well as information about multiplayer events and leagues. The enormous scale of data is further evidence of how much attention to detail has been invested in the rest of the game.
In summary, this is a proper simulation for people with an uncompromising taste for driving. I have driven my road car on trackdays numerous times, and each time I have noticed that it is almost indistinguishable from playing Live for Speed. What better testimony can there be?
www.liveforspeed.net
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With reams and reams of names in the credits, massive license deals and heavyweight budgets, it still amazes me how all other racing games today still cannot come anywhere near the level of realism artfully developed by the 3 guys working on Live For Speed.
It's clearly oriented towards multiplayer online play, and it does this extremely well. Racing in Live For Speed draws different levels of reactions from different people, but mostly it will force sweat from your palms and raise your heartbeat.
Players in Live For Speed are not given a vast helping of 'real' cars or tracks which exist in 'real' life. But to take issue with this is missing the point, for LFS's porsche likeness may not look the same as one of the iconic beasts, but it will feel and drive far closer to the real thing than any porsche-endorsed game -And what would be the point of racing around silverstone if the car does not feel on par with the realistic scenery? Having said that, there are a handful of cars included which exist today, not least the 2006 BMW Sauber F1 and Formula BMW single seaters. 20 cars and a generous helping of a variety of tracks/layouts is enough to chew on, And being that Live for Speed is a constant work in progress, players have the new Volkswagen Scirocco and Rockingham Circuit to look forward to in future updates.
In addition to a good choice of paved circuits to race on, for the sideways-inclined you can take to a handful of part-dirt rallycross tracks, or perhaps a drag strip for quickfire head-to-heads. Autocross racing is also supported quite well, and if you fancy making your own cone-dodging gauntlet to race through, you can do so with the basic editor offered.
As for the action it is clear to see that great lengths are taken to prevent the dumbing-down of real racing. Tyre physics are in no way overlooked - tyre heat, tyre wall deformation and even tread cleanliness are taken into account in ways that no other game has done to date. Suspension behaviour is masterfully done with nothing left out, and even clutch heat gets a look in. There are more great elements which directly affect driving in Live for Speed, but the important thing to realise is that these are not gimmicks arbitrarily added to the game - they are there to bite you if you overstep the mark.
Playing is possible with a mouse and keyboard or with a pad, but there is no denying that the game needs a wheel. Live for Speed supports all the popular PC steering wheels such as the firm favourite Logitech G25 with full support for shifters. Unlike other games which only utilise force feedback to confirm that you have driven over a rumble strip or stumbled on the grass, you will feel as if you are communicating directly to the ground against the pushes and pulls of a car on the edge.
With all that hard work crafting the game, the players need to be just as astute to do it justice, and this is where you can tell you are playing with like-minded people. Everyone who plays has their heads tuned into racing - if they didn't, they'd have given up at the turn-in at the first corner as their car won't magically defy realistic levels of grip to make the corner like they would in most other racing 'sims'! All online players are looking for one thing: good quality racing. Be that in a 45bhp hatchback or a 500bhp GT Tourer, it is pure racing on offer nonetheless.
Live for Speed also has a dedicated 'desktop' called LFSWorld, where a huge amount of data and statistics can be viewed by the entire community as well as information about multiplayer events and leagues. The enormous scale of data is further evidence of how much attention to detail has been invested in the rest of the game.
In summary, this is a proper simulation for people with an uncompromising taste for driving. I have driven my road car on trackdays numerous times, and each time I have noticed that it is almost indistinguishable from playing Live for Speed. What better testimony can there be?
www.liveforspeed.net
It's clearly oriented towards multiplayer online play, and it does this extremely well. Racing in Live For Speed draws different levels of reactions from different people, but mostly it will force sweat from your palms and raise your heartbeat.
Players in Live For Speed are not given a vast helping of 'real' cars or tracks which exist in 'real' life. But to take issue with this is missing the point, for LFS's porsche likeness may not look the same as one of the iconic beasts, but it will feel and drive far closer to the real thing than any porsche-endorsed game -And what would be the point of racing around silverstone if the car does not feel on par with the realistic scenery? Having said that, there are a handful of cars included which exist today, not least the 2006 BMW Sauber F1 and Formula BMW single seaters. 20 cars and a generous helping of a variety of tracks/layouts is enough to chew on, And being that Live for Speed is a constant work in progress, players have the new Volkswagen Scirocco and Rockingham Circuit to look forward to in future updates.
In addition to a good choice of paved circuits to race on, for the sideways-inclined you can take to a handful of part-dirt rallycross tracks, or perhaps a drag strip for quickfire head-to-heads. Autocross racing is also supported quite well, and if you fancy making your own cone-dodging gauntlet to race through, you can do so with the basic editor offered.
As for the action it is clear to see that great lengths are taken to prevent the dumbing-down of real racing. Tyre physics are in no way overlooked - tyre heat, tyre wall deformation and even tread cleanliness are taken into account in ways that no other game has done to date. Suspension behaviour is masterfully done with nothing left out, and even clutch heat gets a look in. There are more great elements which directly affect driving in Live for Speed, but the important thing to realise is that these are not gimmicks arbitrarily added to the game - they are there to bite you if you overstep the mark.
Playing is possible with a mouse and keyboard or with a pad, but there is no denying that the game needs a wheel. Live for Speed supports all the popular PC steering wheels such as the firm favourite Logitech G25 with full support for shifters. Unlike other games which only utilise force feedback to confirm that you have driven over a rumble strip or stumbled on the grass, you will feel as if you are communicating directly to the ground against the pushes and pulls of a car on the edge.
With all that hard work crafting the game, the players need to be just as astute to do it justice, and this is where you can tell you are playing with like-minded people. Everyone who plays has their heads tuned into racing - if they didn't, they'd have given up at the turn-in at the first corner as their car won't magically defy realistic levels of grip to make the corner like they would in most other racing 'sims'! All online players are looking for one thing: good quality racing. Be that in a 45bhp hatchback or a 500bhp GT Tourer, it is pure racing on offer nonetheless.
Live for Speed also has a dedicated 'desktop' called LFSWorld, where a huge amount of data and statistics can be viewed by the entire community as well as information about multiplayer events and leagues. The enormous scale of data is further evidence of how much attention to detail has been invested in the rest of the game.
In summary, this is a proper simulation for people with an uncompromising taste for driving. I have driven my road car on trackdays numerous times, and each time I have noticed that it is almost indistinguishable from playing Live for Speed. What better testimony can there be?
www.liveforspeed.net