What Exactly is Sim Racing? (What to Send to Your Confused Friends!)

No matter who you are, I think it is safe to say you have taken place in some sort of competition, be it a sport, video game, or contest. We as humans are hardwired with this sense of pride in ourselves to try to push our abilities to a level that is superior than other people, and be declared a victor.

"Auto Racing began 5 minutes after the second automobile was built" -Henry Ford

The racing of cars has a broad appeal of all ages, whether it is two children racing die-cast cars down a Hot Wheels track, or two professional racers battling in the midst of a championship.

One thing I have learned from my five years of real life driving is that people like to push the limits, be it speed, handling, or performance, and thrive on the adrenaline rush it provides. However, dangers of driving recklessly, increase in safety regulations, increase of eco-friendly cars over performance cars, and with the overall cost of organized auto racing increasing exponentially despite the economic downturn, people are looking for cheaper alternatives.

One of the alternatives I have found the most satisfying is Sim Racing, and in this article, I will try to give an introduction to Sim Racing that will also help you understand why I enjoy this hobby so much.



PART 1: MORE THAN JUST A GAME, AN OVERVIEW OF SIM RACING

With a multitude of racing games available on almost any video game system, you'd be forgiven for thinking that sim racing is just a video game. However, once you peel back the layers of a racing simulation, you realize it's so much more.

One way to define a "Simulation" is a "Replication of something", and a Racing Simulation attempts to recreate real life racing at a level of fidelity that can be used as a training tool or alternative to real life racing (I will elaborate on the multiple uses of racing simulators later in the article).

Racing simulators use real life data obtained by racing teams, auto manufacturers, and other sources to accurately replicate race cars, race tracks, and the physics involved in racing at the highest fidelity possible. However, some data can not be measured exactly due to a high level of variables (most commonly how tires act, flex, deteriorate, etc), so the developers of the simulators try to implement their own theories and calculations to create a tire model they feel is realistic, so that can be why two different simulators can have different feeling.

Sim Racing will likely be difficult at first to a newcomer with no racing experience, because it requires true effort to just drive the cars, like driving a real car. It also requires a higher level of focus, like in real racing. It may seem very simple, but there are many factors behind the scenes, like how fast your tires are wearing, the rate your fuel is being burned, and just trying to keep your car off the walls. It truly is a lot to take in, and may be overwhelming at first, but as the learning curve flattens out, it will become second nature to you.

To put it simply, racing simulators have a higher level of realism than other racing games, which in turn requires more focus to drive and race in, but I feel it's more rewarding.
PART 2: COMPARING SIM RACING TO OTHER TYPES OF RACING GAMES

One of the simplest ways I can compare sim racing to other games is this:

Arcade racing games tend to simplify the experience of driving in order to assign outlandish feats and goals for the user to achieve. One of the prime examples is Burnout Paradise. The driving physics in Burnout were overly simplified in order for the player to perform insane stunts, such as double barrel rolls, flat spins in the air, and slamming your opponents off the road at breakneck speeds!

Racing simulators strive to recreate the realism of driving a car and, for the most part, the driving experience is not simplified at all (some simulators have driving assists that can help you learn). When you begin sim racing, turning even one clean lap is an accomplishment in itself! Then each incremental step forward, first clean race, first win, good battles, each have a different feeling of accomplishment, similar to how it is in real life.

PART 3: SOME OF THE COMMON FEATURES IN RACING SIMULATORS

Most of the racing simulators have a common set of features that set them apart from other racing games. Some of them are:

- Replicate a race weekend: A race weekend consists of many different sessions, such as practices, qualifying, and races. In a racing simulator, you can participate in each session to get a full race experience.

- Dynamic tire wear: In a real race situation, keeping your tires in optimal shape is essential to running well in an event. In sim racing, that element is also transferred. If you overdrive a corner, spin out, or lock up the tires, the tires will wear or flat spot and severely affect how the car handles.

- Dynamic Damage: In sim racing, damage plays a major factor, and it is also one of the most controversial topics. Most racing sims have a relatively conservative visual damage engine, in favor of an advanced mechanical damage system. Depending on the simulator, you can blow an engine, lose a gear, overheat your brakes, blow a tire, and damage the suspension, all of which can have an adverse effect in how the car drives. Each simulator tends to have different ways they handle damage, and some are better than others, which can be polarizing to some fans.

- Advanced controls: While console racers are commonly oriented around using a gamepad as your means of controlling a car, you can go all-out in sim racing. My personal setup has a steering wheel, pedals, shifter, and a button box with toggles and buttons, to create an experience that can match racing a real car! However, some people go all out, with motion actuators, triple-screen setups, physical gauges, and more!

PART 4: WHAT DO I NEED FOR SIM RACING?
One of the biggest things worth noting is that you will NOT have a satisfying experience with a gamepad or a keyboard. Racing simulators are designed to get the most out of it with a steering wheel.

One of the most common starting points for a racing wheel set is the Logitech Driving Force GT (also known as the DFGT). Originally released as the official wheel of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, it makes for a great entry level wheel for sim racing on the PC. It retails for $149.99 new, but I've seen it for as low as $100 certain times of the year, or even lower for a used model. I used it for 6 months and then upgraded, and I have deemed it "The Gateway Wheel", because once you get a taste, you'll definitely want more.
It can be found on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-PlayStation-Driving-Force-Racing-3/dp/B0015HYPOO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388083541&sr=8-1&keywords=driving+force+gt

One step up from the Driving Force GT is the Logitech G27, and it has many improvements over the DFGT, incuding a six-speed H-Pattern Shifter and a full manual pedal set, including a clutch! The wheel is also hand stitched with leather which is a nice touch. MSRP is $299.99, but it's commonly $70-100 off at major online retailers.
The current best deal I can find for the G27 is at B&H Photo Video:  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=612291&is=REG&Q=&A=details

PART 5: WHAT RACING SIMULATORS ARE AVAILABLE?

One of the largest draws of the sim racing genre is that many series are replicated through a variety of different sims, and in theory, you could wreck Kyle Busch, win against Sebastian Vettel, and rally against Colin McRae in the same day! Some notable racing sims are:

-If you are a rally fan, you can be serviced fine by going for Codemaster's DIRT series, which can commonly be found for under $10 (I bought DIRT 2 for $3.74!) which would be called "simcade" (more on that later), or, if you want the full blown rally experience with the cutthroat realism of driving a car through forests, jungles, and deserts, go for Richard Burns Rally (on Amazon for about $6 plus shipping)
http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Burns-Rally-Pc/dp/B0002K72WC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388080916&sr=8-2&keywords=richard+burns+rally

-If you like GT cars, you can't go wrong with Simbin's titles, which can be found on Steam for $40 (11 titles!), covering a wide variety of cars, ranging from FIA WTCC, FIA GT, STCC, American Muscle Cars, Supercars, and more!

-If you want to drive almost any freaking car you can imagine, look no further, rFactor is here! While the base of rFactor is quite limited with only a few cars, the huge draw of it is the developers encouraged third party add-ons, so there is any series you can think of that you can race. There are many Formula One series ranging from 1934 all the way to last season, various touring car series and even a monster truck series! rFactor's available for $20 from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/rFactor-V-1-255-PC/dp/B000VOSQ0Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1388080916&sr=8-3&keywords=richard+burns+rally

-If you want to try something new, look to Reiza Game Studios, with their two titles, Game Stock Car and Formula Truck. I believe you can purchase each for $25 or both together for $40. GSC2013 was just released and the core content is the Brazilian Stock Cars series, which I didn't know about, but it is fun to drive. They also have some of the best open wheel car feels and sounds that I have experienced. It is limited to Brazilian tracks though, but with GSC using the same base as rFactor, so many people have transferred rFactor tracks to GSC to give it a wider appeal. Formula Truck is the same as GSC 2013, but with big rigs. Enough said right there . You can buy both games from http://www.reizastudios.com

-If you're looking for online competition that is second to none, look for iRacing. This one is a different beast than the others, that classifies it as a service. It is comparable to XBOX Live, where you pay a monthly fee (you can also buy it in 3-month, or year chunks [$7.99 a month or $99 a year, you can also take advantage of offers to get reduced price on upgrades with a year dropping down to $50 at certain times]), and you pay for the content (you have to "buy" each car and track with money [common going rate: $11 for each car, $15 for each track). While that can get quite expensive, I feel it can be worth it for the level of competition you get in iRacing. You can find it at http://www.iracing.com

-If you're looking for something to rival Gran Turismo and Forza, Assetto Corsa is available, well kind of (it is currently in it's pre-release preview stage on Steam, where you can get into the "beta" for $40 (well it has a temporary price drop to $36), which is a 25% off final price. It is having incremental updates ever 2 weeks, that adds more content and features building up to the final release in 2014. This game is also going to be using a similar stance towards third party add-ons as rFactor has, which may be a great thing for car and track variety!

PART 6: SIMCADE - THE MIDDLE GROUND BETWEEN ARCADE AND SIM

One of the toughest things about getting into sim racing is the shock from going from arcade games to full blown racing simulation. However, the mainstream game industry has brought many games that simplify the driving experience just enough to create an authentic driving experience but not the full punishing experience a simulator provides. Some notable Simcade games are:

Colin McRae's DIRT Series: This simcade game has one of the best feels for a simcade game, creating the distinct feeling of driving on different types of surfaces. Gives a rush of driving at breakneck speeds, yet with less of a risk.

Gran Turismo/Forza: Each series boasts massive car counts, with Gran Turismo's latest iteration boasting over 1,200 cars! Each game creates a feel that's just enough to feel believable, and has a wide variety of tracks to be raced on!

Need for Speed Shift: The concept of the NFS Shift Series was to try to capture the action and thrill of a race. However, it has some of the most arcadey physics of the bunch, but the PC version has had modifications to try to make it more realistic. 

Simcade racers definitely were my forte when I began getting heavily involved in racing games, and they work well to soften the learning curve of simulators, to get the hang of concepts and technique.

PART 7: GREEN FLAG! GO RACING!

Sim Racing is ever evolving, and has a wider variety of aspects, wheels, sims, peripherals, and more that I have not mentioned in this article, but I hope this served as a decent introduction to the world of sim racing. Now, stop reading and start racing! I hope to see you on the track :D