I've been digging back into it, repairing a few old designs that were broken or degraded by updates in one of the two games. Here's a gallery of my efforts, with most of them being pretty heavily inspired by some real life cars. We've got ersatz versions of the Honda NSX and the Jag XJ220, something along the lines of Morgan's cars that required a horrid amount of fixtures, and a tiny sports coupe that's actually smaller than the Autobello Piccolina in Beam

Hey folks. I've been tearing it up with a red Logitech Wingman Formula Force GP since Need for Speed III, which has apparently been several decades. https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Controller:Logitech_WingMan_Formula_GP

This controller was designed for Windows XP but functions fine under Windows 10 and Bazzite. It's pretty sturdy to have lasted all this time, but its limitations have become a bit clear (only paddle shift, steering isn't smooth but jumps incrementally at higher increments than desired) and the power cable is having some issues (can be replaced).

I'm exploring the idea of dipping my toes into something more modern. I can see a number of Logitech G29s and G920 wheels on Facebook marketplace in my area and a speckling of other options like Monza. I'm not necessarily looking for a 100% realistic racing experience, I just enjoy hooning and driving around like a maniac (in-game of course). I do appreciate the finer aspects of physics and immersion as I imagine most sim-racers do.

I mostly play on Linux and would expect to set up a wheel in front of my desk. I play Asseto Corsa, some F1 games, BeamNg, Dirt Ralley, Euro Truck Sim and a bunch of other games.

I did some research on this already, but there are 3 questions on which I would appreciate some community input:

In your opinion, what is a reasonable price for one of these G29 G920 wheels nowadays?

Is there a feature on another more expensive wheel you would absolutely consider worth splurging for?

At what point do you feel like spending money on a wheel only results in marginal gains in usability and experience?

Apologies for the lack of a non-youtube link, the video file is too big for streamable. I'm not making any money off of this This was an absolutely terrible experience that I share only to entertain. Turns out that having guitar muscle memory and rally game muscle memory does not translate to having guitar-game muscle memory!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2262020/Exo_Rally_Championship/ A few folk have expressed their interest in this when I've posted about it, so I figured I'd let you know that you can all come wrap it around a tree on a whole new planet along with me now

Non-youtube link: https://streamable.com/gky260 I think this technically means I'm at least as good as a professional GT World Challenge driver

So, I indulged in a spot of rally last night, having not done any in a long while. I started in Assetto Corsa Rally, and then moved over to EA WRC. I can't believe how much I was baffled by how janky the physics in EA WRC felt. I guess I've just been playing it for so long that I got used what the physics in EA WRC did and how to work around them. Safe to say, ACR is lightyears ahead in terms of car handling. Whilst it isn't perfect by any means and still has a lot of work to do (it is still early access I guess), they are very much on the realistic end and you feel as though you can actually tell what the car is going to do/trying to do.

So this got me thinking, I installed the OG: Richard Burns Rally. I was absolutely blown away by the car physics and how the force feedback feels in that game. I really need to do a video about it. I played it a year or so ago, but since then there has been a major graphical update and extras to the game that it really continues to be a worthwhile contender.

My only gripes with RBR is the lack of realistic car sounds and a realistic damage mod, with the occasional weird flat look appearance of the graphics.

If you're into rally games or sim racing, you really, really need to install this game and try it. After all, it is **completely free.**

If you've not heard of this car, you should. If you know it, I can confirm that driving it in Assetto Corsa Rally is utterly joyous.

Exo Rally Championship isn't out yet, but there's a free demo with lots to do! One of the biggest skill hurdles for me has been the RCS controls - same idea as RCS on spaceships, for any Kerbal Space Program players reading - to hop over small obstacles that would otherwise force you to take a much slower route. Your RCS fuel is limited, and your thrusters can overheat, so you need to use it judiciously (and still land cleanly, of course). Today's daily challenge started off with a whole bunch of deep puddles between me and where I wanted to be, so the call to git gud rang clear. While I'm still a long way off the best of the fastest players, this was the first time I've felt like I did a decent job with it.

I mean, who doesn’t? This was great fun to do, tbh.

I hope this qualifies as sim rally / racing; it is a mad sci-fi concept, but the gameplay is firmly towards the sim end of things. Handling is like a basic rally sim on gravel, damage is a serious concern, and you need to actively use RCS thrusters and manage their fuel to have any control in the air. I am quite a fan of Wipeout and played a whole bunch of Rollcage when I was growing up. This is giving me the same sort of feeling, but pushed several notches towards the sim end of the sim-arcade spectrum. I'm looking forward to a proper release!

VOD for anyone who missed it live.

If you don’t like this car in any way shape or form, there is something really wrong with you.

2.1L Twincharged I4, 6 speed manual gearbox. I think I’m in love.

I just sold my PS5, so I'm back to PS2. I've got F1 2006, which is actually pretty fun, along with a bunch of other games (incl. Colin McRae 3) - but is there a racing/rally sim this community would recommend picking up?

I'm holding off myself due to generally trying to avoid early access and having too many other unplayed games, but it's still nice to see a launch go well

Just booked a session at the Zandvoort one with a bunch of friends. Very much looking forward to it, and curious to hear how others found the experience

We did not fare well I'm in the blue & orange Citroen, the other two are in the black & yellow VW and the blue & white VW. Other cars are AI. The one in the black & yellow VW had, indeed, completely given up on actually racing by the end

Hope you all don’t mind me posting these here. It feels like a nice way to branch out to people interested in this topic without being spammy.

Has anyone else tried BeamNG.Drive rally yet?

In yet another unsurprising move by EA, they’re killing off another game series.

Seriously, this game does not ever get enough credit for the level of work that goes into it.

The game is £20!!! No paywalls, no paid DLCs and a thriving mod community.

If you haven’t already bought it, what’re you waiting for?!

Massive thanks to everyone who joined me on last night's stream! VOD on the attached link if you’re interested :) I genuinely had a great laugh chatting to you all while I crashed the hell out of everything.

Onto the review side of it, BeamNG.Drive Rally is up there with one of the best rally experiences you can have in today's day and age. The only few things that hold it back currently are two things in my opinion:

1. There aren't any official cars. All the cars are generically branded and (petrolheads may get me on this) engine sounds are ficitional. However, they are still hecking great fun and this doesn't take away too much from the experience.

2. This is not a fault or a bug, but there aren't enough variation in rally stages yet. Given that it is still early release, there are only a few stages to choose from, with only 2 out of 9 being gravel/mud. However, the ones that are available to choose from are brilliantly good fun.

The rally mod strikes that balance perfectly in that because of the realistic physics and damage model, you really connect with the car and stages you're driving because you are fearful of trying anything extreme- though if you do try something wild and it pays off, the feeling of accomplishment is an awesome one.

Best of all? The game is only £20 ish. Hands down the BEST value for money driving game you can get available today and this is a hill I'll happily die on.

Bravo BeamNG devs, bravo.

#Rally #SimRacing #Racing #Gaming