GT7 & PSVR2

[Yard_Sale]

First I want to echo something you said in your prior post regarding the interesting dialogue here with @Scaff about PSVR2 vs. PC VR.

I think he was just honestly making the same point you did that regardless of how fun PSVR2 is for GT enthusiasts who have never tried VR before, if you race with other racing games on PC that also have VR, it is reasonably debatable which is the better experience and/or has more variety to offer. I love the fact that the GTPlanet crew encourages healthy debate. We're all better for it, or should be. Enough on that.

To your point about PC, I can tell you from experience that, as much as I LOVE GT and have since it's where I got my racing sim roots with GT5, there are some great racing games on PC that are definitely worth your while and run in VR.

I also find them mostly complementary rather than purely competitive. ACC has fantastic physics and immersion, but it solely focused on GT3/GT4, but if you like this kind of racing it can be argued that it is better than GT7 for pure racing. And the AI are definitely better than GT7, although I've seen some inkling of GT's AI possibilities with both Sophy and the "chili pepper" races. GT definitely seems to have short term potential to improve their AI if/when they want to.

iRacing also has excellent physics and VR immersion, but it is much more expensive and really more catered to hard core sim racers who really want a clean race experience. This is their core audience.

Overall, GT7 definitely caters to a wider audience, everyone really, which includes all of those above as well the (much-larger) user base of younger people, entry-level, and casual racers. We were all there once, and many of us still are. I am extremely fortunate that I got my start (and my addiction) with GT5. This can be both a blessing and a curse depending on the topic, and it's a difficult minefield for Sony/PD to navigate. "You can't please all of the people all of the time" definitely comes to mind.

The great thing is that the racing sim category is still getting better, and VR has taken it to the next level, with PSVR2 definitely being a significant milestone for the industry in general. GT was a pioneer in this space back in 1997, and after a long hiatus from being a front runner, PSVR2 puts them back in league with the other titles which built on GTs success. It will also be a key factor in the proliferation of VR among the general sim racing community.

Racing sims are definitely one of the best applications of VR technology on the market today. Market penetration will definitely improve with PSVR2 over the next year or so as the price inevitably comes down, and there's definitely a bright future for the market (and for us consumers) overall.

I still feel like sooner or later, I’ll take the PC plunge. It honestly depends on wether AC2 comes to console, and what it looks like, and if it’s VR compatible.

And I will whole-heartedly agree that PC sims have better physics and AI. That much is obvious in the console versions of ACC, AC and PC2 that I’ve played.

Truth be told, I still give ACC’s AI the nod over Sophy 😳

 

[opelman]

I think that it look the same.

 

[GlamFM]

OK. Just drove another race. I stand by what I said earlier. The firmware update did something.

It is way clearer now.

EDIT: It´s actually a pretty drastic improvement. Just look at the dash of whatever car you are driving.

 

[BigSarj]

Supposedly someone at Rennsport said that they are seriously looking into putting it on console. If so, they best be implementing VR.

 

[Turboracer]

Bit sharper

 

[BigSarj]

I checked on Reddit and no one can say for sure that it's better. Well, some have said so but just as many have said that it looks the same.

I'm almost home and hope to try it in a couple of hours.

 

[slthree]

I wanted to wait until I had ample time to determine if this update made any kind of difference.

I've done over a hundred miles in two different sessions.

There is no question that it is clearer. In fact, I believe it's MORE than a marginal improvement. I believe someone mentioned it's a "drastic" improvement. Truthfully, I can't disagree with that

Has anyone yet tried running headset brightness at 50-75%? I've only just received my replacement headset, so not set-up yet.

NXG, who does analysis like Digital Foundry, says he often runs as low as 40% brightness, then uses in-game settings to fine tune. On the video below they say they run 50% brightness in GT7.

Maybe some of the improved clarity (if it is real!) is down to a slight adjustment in brightness or HDR across the board.

I made the changes "in game" that he showed and I love it.

Thank you

 

[GlamFM]

It’s a vast improvement.

Downside is that LOD switches and pop in are now a bit more apparent.

 

[shio]

One thing I wanted to check is maybe they adjusted the scaling problem? Before it looked like things were around 0.9 scale (most apparent in road cars with cupholders, easy test). If that scale was at a software level in the headset, and reverted, it would make sense to me that would make things clearer, gonna test it after work.

It did feel like I could read the 50 board further away at Sardegna but again, this could definitely be placebo.

 

[Turboracer]

Did another lap in the laferarri.
It seemed a litlle bit bigger, more on point. I think there has been some nice tuning done at psvr2 hw level👌

 

[platocplx]

The new voice commands will come in handy. Haven’t tried it yet, but if the game doesn’t stop when I say, “Hey PlayStation! Capture the last five minutes!”, it’ll be sweet.

Got good news for you. It does just that. Doesn’t pop up the interface. It’s super slick.

 

[SUBZERO-8K]

It’s a vast improvement.

Downside is that LOD switches and pop in are now a bit more apparent.

LOD and pop-in couldn't have changed, since those would require a GT7 update rather than a PS5 update.

Edit: Sorry, think I misunderstood. If the general clarity is improved then those things might be more noticeable.

 

[platocplx]

Bit sharper

I checked on Reddit and no one can say for sure that it's better. Well, some have said so but just as many have said that it looks the same.

I'm almost home and hope to try it in a couple of hours.

I did a quick test. the screen with the controller right before you go into VR showcase I had a bit more rainbow effect with the lines of the controller page. But to me it def seems like it’s not as bad as before. So I think maybe there is an improvement.
if you wanna test before updating don’t update your headset go to that screen and take note of how the thin lines jump. Update and then look again seems a bit more stable that before.

if people can look at this screen before and after. I think thats how you can tell if it’s really sharp or not. It seems better less jumpy for me.

 

[GlamFM]

LOD and pop-in couldn't have changed, since those would require a GT7 update rather than a PS5 update.

Never said they changed, I said they are a bit more apparent now due to the improved overall IQ.

 

[regnar]

I know as of yesterday, if the opponents where pulling away from you when you had the oppents name/car name on the level of detail would drop at the same time

 

[rsspyder21]

My bad dude. My estrogen levels must’ve been spiking 😂. I drive A LOT. My commute to and from work is 120 miles each way, then of course I drive while at work. No issues there whatsoever, but then again, I’m not taking in nearly as much information as when I ride, not to mention, I’m not having to scan close range and down range nearly as much.
It was a weird sensation to say the least.






Yea, saw those in drive to survive. Was shocked how big they were. Figured VR would be more realistic, but that doesn’t seem to be the case

Haha, it's all good, man. I'm just keeping an eye (no pun intended) on any real-life weirdness or negative physical effects I might feel as a result of VRing LOL

Re: those F1 team sims: I've been around pro racing a lot in my career, and I've had to turn down a couple opps to try one of the pro-level simulators, so I can't speak to how they feel to drive. Hopefully I can finally test one out sooner than later. But one thing I do know is, those things aren't actually usually prioritized as driver trainers. A lot of pro drivers don't even like having to do sim work (and more than a few say they get sick on them). They're certainly useful for learning/re-familiarizing drivers with circuits, but I don't know if they're massively more fun than, say, racing GT7 in VR. To me, the main thing they add on that front is the motion.

In reality, teams really use them mostly for setup work and to verify changes as best as possible without having to go testing in real life. They can also CAD revised parts and "install" them on the sim to see if it looks like it will make an improvement before actually spending the money and time to fabricate the actual parts. As more than one engineer and driver has told me, the simulators are more of a tool for the engineers than they are for the drivers. Not saying the drivers don't get benefits from them, but that's not the main reason these multi-million simulators exist.

 

[the Interceptor]

This game in VR, seriously... I was just gazing at an A 45 AMG in the VR showroom. When I changed from exterior to interior view, for one breath ... I swear I had this 'new car smell' in my nose. Honest to God. VR messes with your senses, it's great!

 

[Pfei]

I still feel like sooner or later, I’ll take the PC plunge.

If you have the money and the time, PCVR is undoubtedly where it's at for sim racing. That said, everyone is looking for different things and some people prefer sticking with games like GT and others tend to graduate to more "serious" racing games (note that they are all games - nothing will accurately simulate the real life experience of driving a real car in angst on a track).

I am a former PCVR sim racer and here is my story, and why I have come (nearly) full circle to settling with GT7 for now:

I began gaming in 1979 with the Atari 2600. I got into sim racing with the Papyrus games on PC (using a keyboard!) in the mid '90s. I quickly upgraded to a steering wheel and kept my PC up to date with improvements and enjoyed the classic sims such as NASCAR, Indycar and GP Legends.

I happened to be in Japan when 1) the PS1 came out and 2) GT1 came out and as a racing freak I couldn't pass up Gran Turismo after playing a demo in the Sony building in Ginza! I enjoyed both GT on a controller and my PC sims on a wheel until I was sent to South America for work, and at that time I had to give up the wheel and the PC and I stuck with console WRC and Gran Turismo games with the controller for a few years. In 2008 I was able to get some more free time but as a restaurant owner with two young children I was very limited time-wise so I got a new wheel and only dabbled a bit with GT5, SuperStars V8 and Ferrari Challenge. SuperStars V8 was what got me hooked on online racing (I even won their eSports competition LOL) but unfortunately, from Argentina I was NEVER able to connect to the GT5 servers.

It wasn't until we sold the restaurant that I was able to really get back into sim racing but, without a PC and not really a fan of trying my luck with connecting to the GT6 servers there was not much that caught my attention and, still living in Argentina at the time, a PC was absolutely out of the question due to cost (prohibitive cost in Argentina) or logistics (dragging one down on a plane from a USA visit). I didn't realize you could get some smoking gaming laptops until later. Luckily that's when things like Assetto Corsa, Project CARS and DiRT Rally started popping up on the PS4. I joined some leagues and satisfied my online competition itch.

GT Sport was exactly what I was looking for, being an online-centric racing title. I fell in love with the daily races and the FIA championships. It was everything I wanted in a racing game, except for heightened realism which I knew I could only find on PC.

PSVR1 blew me out of the water and once I tried DR, DCVR and GTS in VR all I wanted was to race in VR. So eventually I bought a gaming laptop and an Oculus Rift S while on a visit to USA and brought them back with me. That was the first time in twenty years that I was able to race "hardcore" sims again. rFactor2, RaceRoom, AMS, ACC, you name it (except iRacing). I tried them in VR and loved them all but settled with ACC.

I spent a year racing in a superb ACC league in VR. However, I felt I was starting to be "consumed" by the experience. The Oculus + Steam VR combo was creating constant stability issues. Software updates introduced frequent glitches in my ecostystem. Setup work in ACC was consuming hours of my time each week, testing tire pressures, fuel loads, suspension, etc... over stints in different weather and atmospheric conditions. And so many times all those hours of work would go down the drain in an instant. Sometimes my framerate would crash for no apparent reason in the middle of the race. Sometimes my Oculus would crash during a server reboot between qualifying and race, rendering my qualy useless and relegating me to the back of the grid. In a couple races I couldn't even make it back to the grid in time because of the reboot and reconnection of peripherals and relaunching taking too long.

I eventually got fed up and said !@#$ it. I don't have time for this crap. In December 2020 we made an unexpected relocation back to USA and I left my wheel behind and gave the laptop to my daughter and quit gaming altogether.

Mind you I had the money to build myself a high-end PC but had no desire to go sim racing again due to the hours of preparation that each race requires. It literally had turned into a chore. I wasn't enjoying it anymore. At all.

Well out of the blue I got an invite from Sony for a PS5 late summer 2021 and I bit the bullet. Got myself a new wheel and started playing in a WRC 10 league (and with WRCG after that). With the release of GT7 I was happy to jump back into the world championships in Sport Mode. I also own ACC on PS5 but rarely touched it. Not only is it inferior to the PC version, but I didn't even want to bother without VR. Plus, I wasn't interested in going back to the time consuming car setup process inherent in any league racing.

I was very happy to hear that GT7 was getting full PSVR2 implementation. Now, I have deleted ACC, WRCG and DDR from my hard drive. #NoVRnoPlay LOL! GT7 is the only racing game installed in my PS5.

I have no desire to go back to PCVR. I could afford a fantastic PCVR rig. But with 1.5 jobs and valuing my time with my wife, kids and life in general, I will never go back down the hardcore sim rabbit hole nor mess around with finicky PC configs ever again. GT7 has the three things most important to me: 1) VR; 2) GTWS online championships in Sport Mode; 3) Intuitive and realistic enough handling to satisfy me, even though it is pretty light on the simulation value. Some of my ex-PC grid mates would now call me a console pleb; dismiss me for not being "hardcore"; ridicule me for playing an "arcade" game. I could care less what anyone thinks. All I care about is what works for me.

I value being able to jump into races with minimum preparation: BoP (however flawed it can be sometimes) already set; no messing around with setups; no worrying about my system's stability; easy-in-easy-out VR experience. GT7 and PSVR2 tick all the boxes for me.

That said, if you have the money and the time, PCVR and the variety of racing sims available is a vastly superior platform. For me, personally, at this point in my life, GT7 in VR offers me the perfect balance of realism and ease of use that I am looking for. If you have the money for a nice PC and HMD and the time to deal with configurations and the extra effort that the more realistic sims require then go for it, it's an experience you won't find on console. It all depends on what your financial and time and life priorities are.

Just remember, in all cases, they're still just games. Leave the elitism at the door and treat this for what it is: a hobby. I guarantee you will get much more enjoyment out of your console or PC if you remember why you do this: for fun. If you want hardcore, save up some money and do a track day.

 

[Yard_Sale]

If you have the money and the time, PCVR is undoubtedly where it's at for sim racing. That said, everyone is looking for different things and some people prefer sticking with games like GT and others tend to graduate to more "serious" racing games (note that they are all games - nothing will accurately simulate the real life experience of driving a real car in angst on a track).

I am a former PCVR sim racer and here is my story, and why I have come (nearly) full circle to settling with GT7 for now:

I began gaming in 1979 with the Atari 2600. I got into sim racing with the Papyrus games on PC (using a keyboard!) in the mid '90s. I quickly upgraded to a steering wheel and kept my PC up to date with improvements and enjoyed the classic sims such as NASCAR, Indycar and GP Legends.

I happened to be in Japan when 1) the PS1 came out and 2) GT1 came out and as a racing freak I couldn't pass up Gran Turismo after playing a demo in the Sony building in Ginza! I enjoyed both GT on a controller and my PC sims on a wheel until I was sent to South America for work, and at that time I had to give up the wheel and the PC and I stuck with console WRC and Gran Turismo games with the controller for a few years. In 2008 I was able to get some more free time but as a restaurant owner with two young children I was very limited time-wise so I got a new wheel and only dabbled a bit with GT5, SuperStars V8 and Ferrari Challenge. SuperStars V8 was what got me hooked on online racing (I even won their eSports competition LOL) but unfortunately, from Argentina I was NEVER able to connect to the GT5 servers.

It wasn't until we sold the restaurant that I was able to really get back into sim racing but, without a PC and not really a fan of trying my luck with connecting to the GT6 servers there was not much that caught my attention and, still living in Argentina at the time, a PC was absolutely out of the question due to cost (prohibitive cost in Argentina) or logistics (dragging one down on a plane from a USA visit). I didn't realize you could get some smoking gaming laptops until later. Luckily that's when things like Assetto Corsa, Project CARS and DiRT Rally started popping up on the PS4. I joined some leagues and satisfied my online competition itch.

GT Sport was exactly what I was looking for, being an online-centric racing title. I fell in love with the daily races and the FIA championships. It was everything I wanted in a racing game, except for heightened realism which I knew I could only find on PC.

PSVR1 blew me out of the water and once I tried DR, DCVR and GTS in VR all I wanted was to race in VR. So eventually I bought a gaming laptop and an Oculus Rift S while on a visit to USA and brought them back with me. That was the first time in twenty years that I was able to race "hardcore" sims again. rFactor2, RaceRoom, AMS, ACC, you name it (except iRacing). I tried them in VR and loved them all but settled with ACC.

I spent a year racing in a superb ACC league in VR. However, I felt I was starting to be "consumed" by the experience. The Oculus + Steam VR combo was creating constant stability issues. Software updates introduced frequent glitches in my ecostystem. Setup work in ACC was consuming hours of my time each week, testing tire pressures, fuel loads, suspension, etc... over stints in different weather and atmospheric conditions. And so many times all those hours of work would go down the drain in an instant. Sometimes my framerate would crash for no apparent reason in the middle of the race. Sometimes my Oculus would crash during a server reboot between qualifying and race, rendering my qualy useless and relegating me to the back of the grid. In a couple races I couldn't even make it back to the grid in time because of the reboot and reconnection of peripherals and relaunching taking too long.

I eventually got fed up and said !@#$ it. I don't have time for this crap. In December 2020 we made an unexpected relocation back to USA and I left my wheel behind and gave the laptop to my daughter and quit gaming altogether.

Mind you I had the money to build myself a high-end PC but had no desire to go sim racing again due to the hours of preparation that each race requires. It literally had turned into a chore. I wasn't enjoying it anymore. At all.

Well out of the blue I got an invite from Sony for a PS5 late summer 2021 and I bit the bullet. Got myself a new wheel and started playing in a WRC 10 league (and with WRCG after that). With the release of GT7 I was happy to jump back into the world championships in Sport Mode. I also own ACC on PS5 but rarely touched it. Not only is it inferior to the PC version, but I didn't even want to bother without VR. Plus, I wasn't interested in going back to the time consuming car setup process inherent in any league racing.

I was very happy to hear that GT7 was getting full PSVR2 implementation. Now, I have deleted ACC, WRCG and DDR from my hard drive. #NoVRnoPlay LOL! GT7 is the only racing game installed in my PS5.

I have no desire to go back to PCVR. I could afford a fantastic PCVR rig. But with 1.5 jobs and valuing my time with my wife, kids and life in general, I will never go back down the hardcore sim rabbit hole nor mess around with finicky PC configs ever again. GT7 has the three things most important to me: 1) VR; 2) GTWS online championships in Sport Mode; 3) Intuitive and realistic enough handling to satisfy me, even though it is pretty light on the simulation value. Some of my ex-PC grid mates would now call me a console pleb; dismiss me for not being "hardcore"; ridicule me for playing an "arcade" game. I could care less what anyone thinks. All I care about is what works for me.

I value being able to jump into races with minimum preparation: BoP (however flawed it can be sometimes) already set; no messing around with setups; no worrying about my system's stability; easy-in-easy-out VR experience. GT7 and PSVR2 tick all the boxes for me.

That said, if you have the money and the time, PCVR and the variety of racing sims available is a vastly superior platform. For me, personally, at this point in my life, GT7 in VR offers me the perfect balance of realism and ease of use that I am looking for. If you have the money for a nice PC and HMD and the time to deal with configurations and the extra effort that the more realistic sims require then go for it, it's an experience you won't find on console. It all depends on what your financial and time and life priorities are.

Just remember, in all cases, they're still just games. Leave the elitism at the door and treat this for what it is: a hobby. I guarantee you will get much more enjoyment out of your console or PC if you remember why you do this: for fun. If you want hardcore, save up some money and do a track day.

It seems like you, myself and thousands of others value the same thing —-> which usually leads us back to Gran Turismo. It’s accessible, “sim enough” to scratch the realism itch, and competitive enough to where it’s still fun to prepare for races… or not!!

Also like you, I’m a very time-poor person. Not to mention, I have the type of personality that jumps in with both feet. Between Surfing, Dirt Bikes, Hunting, tinkering, general Tom-foolery, and consistent 100 hour work weeks..

The last thing I need is another super time-consuming hobby’s. Gran Turismo is like a hot bowl of Jambalaya next to a warm fire on a cold day. It’s my happy place. And with VR, I’m now a real life race
car driver!! 🙄

 

[shio]

It seems like you, myself and thousands of others value the same thing —-> which usually leads us back to Gran Turismo. It’s accessible, “sim enough” to scratch the realism itch, and competitive enough to where it’s still fun to prepare for races… or not!!

Also like you, I’m a very time-poor person. Not to mention, I have the type of personality that jumps in with both feet. Between Surfing, Dirt Bikes, Hunting, tinkering, general Tom-foolery, and consistent 100 hour work weeks..

The last thing I need is another super time-consuming hobby’s. Gran Turismo is like a hot bowl of Jambalaya next to a warm fire on a cold day. It’s my happy place. And with VR, I’m now a real life race
car driver!! 🙄



View attachment 1237782

Agree that it's "sim enough", as a newcomer into sim racing GT7 strikes a fantastic balance between arcade and full sim. Much of the complexity is abstracted making it less daunting to pick up, but has more complexity than arcade racers to hold my interest way longer. Fantastic introduction game to sim racing really.

Kinda embarrassed to admit it but I didn't even have a driver's license until last year and this game really did help me out with that. I now am starting to appreciate more dedicated sims like ACC & iRacing, but think if I jumped into those without a bunch of hours in this game I wouldn't stick around for those much. Though lately, I haven't touched them at all since PSVR2 launch, but whenever I inevitably get a PC headset I'm sure I'll be spending a good chunk of time on those.

 

[DC5Remy]

Played for 3 hours today. The daily online races in VR is probably the most fun I’ve had playing a video game.

 

[slthree]

Played for 3 hours today. The daily online races in VR is probably the most fun I’ve had playing a video game.

You beat me to it. This is exactly what I was going to post.

The open wheeler at Monza is a delight and I really love the longer group 4 race.

That's where I got most of my hundred miles today. Of course, I would love to win but because I don't qualify highly, winning isn't an option for me but I always look to move up a few places and I do accomplish that almost every race.

I was not doing any daily races before the VR headset

 

[MajorWatts]

I am suffering from severe next pain since I bought this kit in fact I'm just about to see the doctor about but seeing your post my have highlighted that the problem is with this kit.

Ah mate, sorry to hear this. I've not experienced any issues since, however i have taken to stretching my neck/shoulders every hour i'm playing and definitely before bed - look up a few stretches on YT though, don't just stretch like you think you should. Also, seeing someone is THE best thing you can do. I ended up with a Chiro that literally changed my life.. Went from a knock out migraine every week or two to now not having experienced one in 8 months!

 

[platocplx]

Played for 3 hours today. The daily online races in VR is probably the most fun I’ve had playing a video game.

Same. Interlagos is so much fun for me right now.

 

[JustMac]

What's everyone's preference on the PSVR 2 brightness? I initially tried it because it allegedly minimises the "screen door" effect, but I noticed it feels more realistic than the default full brightness. Feels like 40% is more true to life. I also recommend playing with GT7's colour saturation setting....lower feels more "correct" in VR in a way that it didn't on regular television.

 

[MajorWatts]

I experienced some massive issues with tracking yesterday.. I have had the odd message pop-up previously, but lastnight it literally could not scan the room, everything it did scan started to move (like it had lost it's place) and then completely dissipated like it needed to start again. I tried everything around opening/closing blinds, dimming/brightening lights and even facing completely away from the TV.. Restarted the PS a few THEN the update appeared.. Installed it and boom, no issues.. Anyone else notice any improvements to tracking since this recent update?

 

[TheOneDonJuan]

Just played with the new update and the room scanning was way more thorough this time. Caught way more things than last time so maybe this will help not get the error i was getting before. Clarity looks a little better but that might just be placebo effect.

Update: two errors so far. Have yet to have a day with no tracking errors. Went to Sony's site but it just gives me a # to call. Not sure where I can formally send them something regarding this. Every error is essentially a lost lap.

 

[MajorWatts]

Thanks for confirming mate! I wasn't aware of any updated to clarity so i admit i wasn't 'looking for it', but i really didn't notice any change myself, which could support the placebo effect. Wish PD/Sony would get a little better at communicating the full list of changes in these updates.

 

[Matteocarlito]

I played 4 hours race one Monza and it was the most fun thing I have done in my life in video games, with VR and a Wheel.


Then before going to sleep I tried an arcade race in Monza, same circuit, with a Ferrari Vision and it was the most fun thing I have done in my life in video games 😍

If you have the money and the time, PCVR is undoubtedly where it's at for sim racing. That said, everyone is looking for different things and some people prefer sticking with games like GT and others tend to graduate to more "serious" racing games (note that they are all games - nothing will accurately simulate the real life experience of driving a real car in angst on a track).

I am a former PCVR sim racer and here is my story, and why I have come (nearly) full circle to settling with GT7 for now:

I began gaming in 1979 with the Atari 2600. I got into sim racing with the Papyrus games on PC (using a keyboard!) in the mid '90s. I quickly upgraded to a steering wheel and kept my PC up to date with improvements and enjoyed the classic sims such as NASCAR, Indycar and GP Legends.

I happened to be in Japan when 1) the PS1 came out and 2) GT1 came out and as a racing freak I couldn't pass up Gran Turismo after playing a demo in the Sony building in Ginza! I enjoyed both GT on a controller and my PC sims on a wheel until I was sent to South America for work, and at that time I had to give up the wheel and the PC and I stuck with console WRC and Gran Turismo games with the controller for a few years. In 2008 I was able to get some more free time but as a restaurant owner with two young children I was very limited time-wise so I got a new wheel and only dabbled a bit with GT5, SuperStars V8 and Ferrari Challenge. SuperStars V8 was what got me hooked on online racing (I even won their eSports competition LOL) but unfortunately, from Argentina I was NEVER able to connect to the GT5 servers.

It wasn't until we sold the restaurant that I was able to really get back into sim racing but, without a PC and not really a fan of trying my luck with connecting to the GT6 servers there was not much that caught my attention and, still living in Argentina at the time, a PC was absolutely out of the question due to cost (prohibitive cost in Argentina) or logistics (dragging one down on a plane from a USA visit). I didn't realize you could get some smoking gaming laptops until later. Luckily that's when things like Assetto Corsa, Project CARS and DiRT Rally started popping up on the PS4. I joined some leagues and satisfied my online competition itch.

GT Sport was exactly what I was looking for, being an online-centric racing title. I fell in love with the daily races and the FIA championships. It was everything I wanted in a racing game, except for heightened realism which I knew I could only find on PC.

PSVR1 blew me out of the water and once I tried DR, DCVR and GTS in VR all I wanted was to race in VR. So eventually I bought a gaming laptop and an Oculus Rift S while on a visit to USA and brought them back with me. That was the first time in twenty years that I was able to race "hardcore" sims again. rFactor2, RaceRoom, AMS, ACC, you name it (except iRacing). I tried them in VR and loved them all but settled with ACC.

I spent a year racing in a superb ACC league in VR. However, I felt I was starting to be "consumed" by the experience. The Oculus + Steam VR combo was creating constant stability issues. Software updates introduced frequent glitches in my ecostystem. Setup work in ACC was consuming hours of my time each week, testing tire pressures, fuel loads, suspension, etc... over stints in different weather and atmospheric conditions. And so many times all those hours of work would go down the drain in an instant. Sometimes my framerate would crash for no apparent reason in the middle of the race. Sometimes my Oculus would crash during a server reboot between qualifying and race, rendering my qualy useless and relegating me to the back of the grid. In a couple races I couldn't even make it back to the grid in time because of the reboot and reconnection of peripherals and relaunching taking too long.

I eventually got fed up and said !@#$ it. I don't have time for this crap. In December 2020 we made an unexpected relocation back to USA and I left my wheel behind and gave the laptop to my daughter and quit gaming altogether.

Mind you I had the money to build myself a high-end PC but had no desire to go sim racing again due to the hours of preparation that each race requires. It literally had turned into a chore. I wasn't enjoying it anymore. At all.

Well out of the blue I got an invite from Sony for a PS5 late summer 2021 and I bit the bullet. Got myself a new wheel and started playing in a WRC 10 league (and with WRCG after that). With the release of GT7 I was happy to jump back into the world championships in Sport Mode. I also own ACC on PS5 but rarely touched it. Not only is it inferior to the PC version, but I didn't even want to bother without VR. Plus, I wasn't interested in going back to the time consuming car setup process inherent in any league racing.

I was very happy to hear that GT7 was getting full PSVR2 implementation. Now, I have deleted ACC, WRCG and DDR from my hard drive. #NoVRnoPlay LOL! GT7 is the only racing game installed in my PS5.

I have no desire to go back to PCVR. I could afford a fantastic PCVR rig. But with 1.5 jobs and valuing my time with my wife, kids and life in general, I will never go back down the hardcore sim rabbit hole nor mess around with finicky PC configs ever again. GT7 has the three things most important to me: 1) VR; 2) GTWS online championships in Sport Mode; 3) Intuitive and realistic enough handling to satisfy me, even though it is pretty light on the simulation value. Some of my ex-PC grid mates would now call me a console pleb; dismiss me for not being "hardcore"; ridicule me for playing an "arcade" game. I could care less what anyone thinks. All I care about is what works for me.

I value being able to jump into races with minimum preparation: BoP (however flawed it can be sometimes) already set; no messing around with setups; no worrying about my system's stability; easy-in-easy-out VR experience. GT7 and PSVR2 tick all the boxes for me.

That said, if you have the money and the time, PCVR and the variety of racing sims available is a vastly superior platform. For me, personally, at this point in my life, GT7 in VR offers me the perfect balance of realism and ease of use that I am looking for. If you have the money for a nice PC and HMD and the time to deal with configurations and the extra effort that the more realistic sims require then go for it, it's an experience you won't find on console. It all depends on what your financial and time and life priorities are.

Just remember, in all cases, they're still just games. Leave the elitism at the door and treat this for what it is: a hobby. I guarantee you will get much more enjoyment out of your console or PC if you remember why you do this: for fun. If you want hardcore, save up some money and do a track day.

Great story ! Can I ask you what do you do for living 😅? Are you a CIA agent ?

 

[Papiculo64]

After two weeks of feeling pretty nervous about trying gt7 + vr (fear of motion sickness), and after building up some stamina with other games, I finally gave it a shot today.

I played with a very slow A112 on Tokyo Expressway, and sadly after only 1.5 laps I had to stop. What followed was a couple of hours of feeling pretty sick. It kinda breaks my heart a little, since GT7 was one of the main reasons I got the headset

Don't give up, just take a break and come back stronger! Are you playing with a controller? If so, then it might be the cause. If not, try to strengthen the FFB, it works great ^^

I used to get sick in VR really easily. Never could play some game on PSVR more than 2 or 3 minutes (Kowloon's Gate, Star Wars Squadron, etc...), and some games made me so sick that I didn't play VR for months after trying them.

I got quite some good VR legs thanks to GT sport since I played it a lot during the last 3 years. The only time I was sick with this game was when I initially tried to play it with a controller before receiving my G29. But I still wasn't able to play all those "walking" games, and just rotating the camera made me sick in no time even 3 weeks ago.
I had to give up on RE7 on PSVR1 after something like 30 minutes, I was sick for the next 2 days and never played it ever again.

After PSVR2 realease I gave a shot at RE8 but I felt a little dizzy after finishing the tutorial and introduction scene while using smooth camera rotation, and thought that it would be the same than with RE7 once again. I immediately stopped playing. Tried again two days later after seeing some great reviews of the game, but I used the 45° rotation camera this time, which was way better, and it kept going better and better with each session. I finally gave another try at smooth camera rotation during last week. It was still quite dizzying at first, so I stopped when I began to feel uncomfortable, and finally, I had a non-stop 5 hours session this weekend with smooth camera rotation and felt just as good as if I played a game on my TV, except for the headset being a little uncomfortable on the forehead. But just being able to run everywhere while using both free movements and free camera was a real treat for me since I thought I would never be able to do that! 😁

I'd swear that my VR legs are now bulletproof thanks to this game, so for those like you still struggling with motion sickness, just don't give up! Do it step by step and your VR legs will get stronger and stronger to the point you won't even make the difference with flat gaming 👍 Note that I bought a wristband preventing motion sickness last week. Don't know if it's a placebo effect, but it seemingly had good results for me! But once again, the best way to get over it is to stop playing before being sick, even if it's after 2 minutes!

Anyone have some car suggestions that are particularly awesome in VR? Coming back to GT7 after a break and trying to figure out what to spend some credits on.

You can pick a look here if you want 👍 :

Spoiler

VR to do list & VR online lobbies - GT7

Counting on next week, the races will be held as follows: (START AT GMT 13:00) ・A KARTING RACE Like yesterday but a little shorter for those who still struggle with motion sickness... xD ・A ONE-MAKE RACE I'll figure out what car to use depending on what's available at legend cars and used...

www.gtplanet.net

Regional firmware versions haven't been a thing since the PS3 died.

There's apparently a controller update too - I turned my PS5 off after the system update so haven't seen that yet, but you can now do that wirelessly as part of the PS5 update (yay). As for a PSVR2 update, I wouldn't know

Ok thanks for the precision ^^

I indeed had 4 updates since what I thought being the sense controllers update was in fact the dualsense update. I had the sense controllers update a couple hours after that while using them on another game.

I kept the headset during the whole process. It turned off after the PS5 update, so I turned it on as well as my dualsense, and had a prompt for the dualsense update. The headset turned off once again and after turning it on I had the PSVR2 update prompt. Then I got the update for both sense controllers before trying Cosmonious High, which was not very fun but a good way to showcase the OLED and HDR. Believe me or not, you've never seen that many bright colors in any other game 🤣 Everything looks super sharp as well. But it's definitively not on my priority list... ^^'

Has anyone yet tried running headset brightness at 50-75%? I've only just received my replacement headset, so not set-up yet.

NXG, who does analysis like Digital Foundry, says he often runs as low as 40% brightness, then uses in-game settings to fine tune. On the video below they say they run 50% brightness in GT7.

Maybe some of the improved clarity (if it is real!) is down to a slight adjustment in brightness or HDR across the board.

That's one if the first thing I tried, and I recommended it on this thread after PSVR2 release since I felt having a better image in GT7 and it was less tiring for the eyes. I used to set it to the lowest value and toggle with in game exposure.

But I'd say that it greatly depends on the game. GT7 is really bright so it works well, but in RE 8 by example, I cannot play the game with less than 90% luminosity.