News Racing simulators are about to get next-level

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The fact they were using a G29 and said it was $25K makes me raise an eyebrow.

I have a more simplistic approach, but using the Index and a GT Omega Racing cockpit. No fancy moving around, but it's still an amazing experience with the VR headset.

And actuators on seats is a fairly "solved" problem, so you can go with 3rd party seats/cockpits and assemble one yourself for, arguably, cheaper. I've never seen a full solution for cheap though, so it is deinitely north of 6-7K for that alone, for good force feedback.

Regards.
 
"Get next-level"? They've been there. Motion rigs have been available for a while and you can get much cheaper setups than $25K that perform just as well, if not better.

You can spend $2.5-4K for a 3 DoF base and couple it with whatever peripheral mounts for well under their listed price even if you include the computer. DOF Reality has a number of options that range all the way up to 6 DoF and a complete setup with that base would still likely be well under $10K.
 
Admin said:
Both Cooler Master and Thermaltake showed off racing simulator cockpits at CES 2024.

Racing simulators are about to get next-level : Read more
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Here I thought you were based in Tokyo or Singapore, where space issues are reported to be another scale, yet!

I've seen plenty of Paris flats, where extra space for something like this is unthinkable ...as an exclusive space allocation.

But when you can turn your kitchen into a shower (very typical in Paris), you can also turn a racing seat into your office, I guess. Pretty sure you can hang a baby sleeper between the wheel and the headrest as well and save on a crib: I'd say the main answer to the space problem is discovering additional use cases...

Over the decades I've found racing games to be the most disappointing of all, somehow they simply fail to replicate almost everything about my real-world driving experience and do not allow me to go beyond that, which is what I'd want them for. Instead I find myself far below, a complete idiot when driving within the games, even with rather potent hardware and a Logitech wheel that certainly wasn't cheap.

In real-life I'm no Schumacher, but certainly a German who's driven between 150 and 190 mph rather regularly without killing me or anyone else, again for decades. What made this possible (apart from the Autobahn) is mostly bodily sensors, which give a broad spectrum of force cues at a level of precision and detail that's hard to replicate, not just from the seat, but from from brakes and most importantly the steering wheel. Surround sound and vision, exact mirrors etc. are crucial to create the brain-twin of your environment you need to plan where you want to go in a crowd etc. I've used high-res VR headsets in an attempt to get closer, but while they are pretty amazing for helping to maneuver big long trucks, they are near useless for high-speed racing on the Nuremburg ring.

There are activities even more difficult to replicate like biking, running or swimming but I've basically given up on driving in games: the uncanny gap has only widened since the Need for Speed started out.
 
Don't know about the rest of you but to me the monitor image doesn't look like looking out of the car windshield. Windshields are curved vertically, not just horizontally so if this is for car simulations only (and it seems it is), then it's total overpriced crap.

Also, not having side mirrors and rear mirror doesn't really help the immersion. I expect better for $25k.
 
Just being honest here, if you have a minimum of assembly skill actually making a frame for a racing rig isn't particularly difficult. Some square tube stock, a drill, some fasteners make that aspect pretty easy-peasy. You can also readily select a racing seat or custom seating without having to blow a wad doing those parts. It seems to me that the real money here aside from a base PC comes down to the controls and monitors.

The adjustability and options for additional hardware are interesting aspects, but that is sure a chunk $.
 
CmdrShepard said:
Don't know about the rest of you but to me the monitor image doesn't look like looking out of the car windshield. Windshields are curved vertically, not just horizontally so if this is for car simulations only (and it seems it is), then it's total overpriced crap.

Also, not having side mirrors and rear mirror doesn't really help the immersion. I expect better for $25k.
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It's much more immersive using VR instead of multi-monitor.
 
No offense, but it drives me nuts when regular PC or tech news outlets write articles about sim racing and try to show what is great and all but it is only showing items that most real sim racers would never choose. The Cooler Master DynX is a joke. It's adjustable positions are a joke.....all that is happening is changing the angle of the entire rig, quickly. To properly change driving style between F1, GT, NASCAR, etc you need to be able to change seat, pedal, and wheel position separately.....just changing the angle of the entire rig only changes your perspective with the monitor......and their pricing is out of this world. The Thermaltek GR500 is pretty basic, not super solid with a direct drive base, and priced alongside many aluminum extrusion setups that destroy it in stability, adjustability, etc. I build bespoke turn key racing simulators for a living. I am no editor/writer, but would be happy to work for Toms Hardware as the resident sim racing expert, and get proper information out to readers. 😁.
 
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