What kind of Driving Simulator should I play?

[Farnell42]

I am here to ask you what kind of Driving sim should I get. Currently have a PS3, some spare 16GB of RAM, and $400 to build a PC.
I don't like competitive racing, and just want to cruise around with my favorite supercar. Therefore, variety of road cars is important for me.
Also, Sound quality and Physics quality are two of my most important factors on choosing a game.
From what I have seen, there are many racing simulators simulating professional motorsports, but there is no game that seem to meet my goal. Gran Turismo is criticized for its sound system(up until 6, and I will not consider Sport due to its inability to save offline, despite the Spec 2 update and my budget being able to get a PS4 used), Assetto Corsa lacks cars(for example, there's no Hondas), and Forza Motorsports has questionable physics(read critic and Slant reviews and looked like the game always had a lack of grip. Also wonder if I can get a XB1 used for $400). All the other sims, including GTR2, R3E, iRacing and the like are exclusively for racing. Is there any sims that I should look for? Or am I just stuck at a dead end?

 

[eran0004]

Given your constraints, just pick up GT6 and keep saving your money until you can afford something that meets all of your demands.

Although, I’m sure $400 is more than enough for an Xbox One.

 

[Farnell42]

Well... That's bad. It looks like with what's going on in the sim racing world at the moment a game like this cannot be realized in a year of two.
And I have considered other installments of Gran Turismo as well; with 5 Prologue closely trailing 6(5P has better sound effects for some cars compared to 6, and also has more challenging AI, with some claiming that the physics model was better compared to GT5).

 

[GTV0819]

If you could play Forza Horizon 4 since it's an open world and has a variety of cars. I'm not just sure about the driving physics though.

 

[Farnell42]

Not interested in open world races. Just want to have a nice track day. Sorry.

 

[GTV0819]

Ohh, my bad...

What about Ridge Racer games? Have you considered taking a look on them?

 

[Farnell42]

Yes, and that's why I am revising my PS3.

 

[FoRiZon]

Project Cars 2?

 

[GTV0819]

Yes, and that's why I am revising my PS3.

Nice.

 

[VBR]

The original Project CARS has the best sound I've heard in any sim bar none, & the physics are pretty damn good also. However, the FFB settings are way too complex.

SMS, the studio behind Project CARS, made a game for PS3 with great sounds & realistic physics called Test Drive Ferarri Racing Legends (not many cars though).

 

[Dave A]

You can purchase Forza Motorsport 7 for Windows 10, so you wouldn't need an XB1 to play that if you have a competent PC, not sure $400 is enough mind.

Phsyics wise, I wouldn't say Forza is any more/less realistic than GT Sport, they have different strengths and weaknesses but they are both casual enough for the armchair gamers while being somewhat realistic for the more sim oriented.

They both have a variety of driver assists and settings which will influence how the cars behave on the track.

Since you are keen on a good car list, Forza Motorpsort 7 would definitely serve you well in that department, it has over 700 cars from classics to modern day hypercars with some odd balls and rare cars in the middle.

GT Sport has a good car selection which is slowly growing, but it's not close to Forza 7's yet and it may never get there.

 

[Wolfe]

PCARS2 does not cover a lot of popular roadcars, but it does spend most of its roadcar attention on supercars and trackday toys if those are your thing, and it has an FK2 Civic Type-R and the new NSX for Hondas. It's got Lancer Evos, the Toyobaru, a few BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris...

The wide variety of tracks (including a couple point-to-point roads and some street/road circuits), seasonal and weather simulations with 24h cycle, and excellent physics make it a great "driving sim", not only a motorsports sim. You can even give yourself some traffic to navigate with multiclass AI in a practice session, if you choose. Adjustments made to the sounds from PCARS1 -> PCARS2 are somewhat unpopular, but both games have totally fine sounds compared to the likes of oldschool Gran Turismo.

In short, my preferences in a sim are not so different from yours, and PCARS2 is my choice on PS4. Hopefully PCARS3/PCR will include more popular roadcars.

 

[DioEmsti]

For actual racing I find Grid Autosport really enjoyable, sounds are good as in most codemasters games, the physics don't feel too arcadey and I think I prefer them to GT's physics somewhat, there's a pretty cool damage model too. The biggest downside are the cockpits, they look blurry but you can try the demo and see If you like it.

 

[Drex124]

I can't speak to the quality of the sound or physics of it, but the Shift Street mod for the original rFactor should suit your wants. The NSX and Corvette mods by Some1 and Niels aren't to be missed either.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

I'd imagine Assetto Corsa with all its mods would fit the bill, but I'm not sure $400 PC can run it at good quality. If you don't mind playing with all graphics settings set to Low then it's the best choice IMO.

 

[Farnell42]

Your suggestions about Forza, PC2, and AC are all nice, but there are caveats;
Forza 7 - I'm unwillling to play that. It's like entering a restaurant that you are not so familiar with. Although the food there might be good.
Assetto Corsa - I might be able to build a simulator of my dreams with this. But it's a restaurant that allows you to bring your own food; you might not be sure on how good the food you bring will be compared to what's provided there. I have thought of renting a handful of vehicles I would put in the game to test the cars I will eventually drive in that sim, but that's overkill.
Project CARS 2 - I am interested in trackday stuff, but as seen on this thread(https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/cars-on-a-dinner-plate.390031/), I am not only interested in trackday hypercars but also interested in slower vehicles. It looks like the car list is taken from a Evo trackday article. It's like a restaurant that only sells expensive dishes. Also the game can't run on a PC built for my budget, even though I might be able to save some cash through building it myself.
Gran Turismo 6 - I'm interested in this game and would love to get it, but I wonder how much modern sims eclipse this oldtimer for me to get impressed.

 

[DioEmsti]

If you really want an actual sim you'd better look at PC gaming, PS4 has assetto corsa but PS3 has no actual sim that I know of. GT6 is considered simcade and is really lacking in the sound department sadly. It's a fun game with a ton of cars but when it comes to racing against A.I the excitement is inferior to pretty much any other racer I played on PS3, including GT5 which seems to have better A.I and more challenging races in arcade mode, better racing under the rain, more cars on track, fuel depletion and tyre wear options but only a few tracks have weather conditions.

 

[Farnell42]

Well... I have even thought of building my own game through Speed Dreams(https://sourceforge.net/projects/speed-dreams/) or VDrift(https://sourceforge.net/projects/vdrift/), but I wonder if the physics engine of those games are any better than that of GT6, let alone games like Assetto Corsa(FlightGear, another open source simulator, matches proprietary games in terms of realism, but that's about flying planes). So there it is. As long as GT and Forza are not considered real simulators then there is not a single game that fit into my category of an ideal game.
Maybe it will take around 5~10 years before I can get a game of my dreams, not because I can't afford to build a PC to run it, but because no racing game suits my need at the moment.

 

[Farnell42]

Well... I have even thought of building my own game through Speed Dreams(https://sourceforge.net/projects/speed-dreams/) or VDrift(https://sourceforge.net/projects/vdrift/), but I wonder if the physics engine of those games are any better than that of GT6, let alone games like Assetto Corsa(FlightGear, another open source simulator, matches proprietary games in terms of realism, but that's about flying planes). So there it is. As long as GT and Forza are not considered real simulators then there is not a single game that fit into my category of an ideal game.
Maybe it will take around 5~10 years before I can get a game of my dreams, not because I can't afford to build a PC to run it, but because no racing game suits my need at the moment.

In this question, Assetto Corsa might as well be the closest game to what I am dreaming of, though. The NFS mod paired with a handful of track mods might just do. The more cars the better, but the integrity of the NFS mod is superb from my shallow observation.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

Dude, no game is perfect and I can guarantee even in 100 years there will not be a game that fits all your ideals. It sounds like you're just finding reasons to not use any of the games already mentioned. If you want good physics and wide variety of cars/tracks that you can mix & match yourself, there are only 2 choices: any of the ISImotor powered sims (rFactor/GTR2/GTL/Race07/Automobilista) or Assetto Corsa. That, or make your own game.

 

[Farnell42]

Things might be perfect if hardcore sims do not focus entirely on motorsports. I have noticed the similarities of all those ISIMotor sims; they are all built around motorsports. GT Legends is the most acceptable answer out of them all since some old race cars are actually regular production cars; but cars featured in any other game on your list are very far from their roadgoing counterparts. I just can't trust modded stuff; even including my creations should I make my own game myself. It's like buying a car; since just about every manufacturer(sans Citroen from the PSA Group) test their new cars at the 'Ring, you can't seem to find a car that is solely built for comfort in a budget. A Citroen might be closest to what you might be looking for, but even that falls short. Such problems can be solved if some manufacturers proudly advertise that "WE BUILD CARS FOR COMFORT; NO TEST ON RACE TRACKS.". Likewise, if one hardcore developer create a game that doesn't focus on motorsports at all(exclusively featuring road cars while having all of that sim feel), then I might be able to find a game that I would be looking for. I am just hoping that that one developer isn't me.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Will you use steering wheel to play or a standard controller?

 

[Farnell42]

Obviously a wheel, since someone might be able to give me as a graduation gift, be it my parents, my uncle, or someone else.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

By the sounds of it you can wait a bit until something better comes out, it is a bit meh at the moment. I think you are best off picking up some PS3 games for now as they are quite cheap, GT6 you can drive on the moon which is the best thing ever.

A lot of PC sims run even on budget laptops nowadays so you should be able to try some out if you got a reasonable computer for studying already or planning on getting something better.

Then pickup PS5 and next Logitech wheel when out next year and you are probably good for the next decade barring reliability.

 

[GTV0819]

I know this game is old but maybe you could also try Test Drive Unlimited 2 for the PS3? I'm not just sure if this game fares well like other known driving simulators such as GT6 but I guess there's no harm in trying.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

^He doesn't want open world, only games with road cars + real circuits + realistic physics (talk about conflicting requirements eh).

Things might be perfect if hardcore sims do not focus entirely on motorsports. I have noticed the similarities of all those ISIMotor sims; they are all built around motorsports. GT Legends is the most acceptable answer out of them all since some old race cars are actually regular production cars; but cars featured in any other game on your list are very far from their roadgoing counterparts. I just can't trust modded stuff; even including my creations should I make my own game myself. It's like buying a car; since just about every manufacturer(sans Citroen from the PSA Group) test their new cars at the 'Ring, you can't seem to find a car that is solely built for comfort in a budget. A Citroen might be closest to what you might be looking for, but even that falls short. Such problems can be solved if some manufacturers proudly advertise that "WE BUILD CARS FOR COMFORT; NO TEST ON RACE TRACKS.". Likewise, if one hardcore developer create a game that doesn't focus on motorsports at all(exclusively featuring road cars while having all of that sim feel), then I might be able to find a game that I would be looking for. I am just hoping that that one developer isn't me.

AC has quite a lot of road cars even without mods. And if you're concerned about mods not being realistic, I can assure you the top mods are sometimes even better than the official content, because these modders spent YEARS collecting data on the cars and asking people with real experience driving them, then doing hundreds of hours testing and verifying the physics in game. Whereas the developers have deadlines and they have 100s of cars to finish so they can't be perfect about each one. And if that's not good enough, I bet you yourself have not driven all of these cars IRL anyway, so even if they are not 100% spot on, close enough is good enough.

At the end of the day, it's your decision but I think your unrealistic standards will just mean you're missing out on experiences you could be having today while waiting for that "perfect" game that doesn't exist.