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Penny Arcade Racing - GRID/DIRT 2 PC
Inzigna
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hello driver! So I see you want to be a hot shot on the track out there eh? Do this first, see the link up there? Take the jump. There you'll meet others like you, wanting to get their hands on the title of the best driver ever.
BEST DRIVER EVER
Well, at least on the PC.
Oh no, this isn't the place for the likes of Forza or Gran Turismo. This is a place where all we have are the clumsy instruments of our keyboards and our finely tuned sense of speed. Of course, this does not apply to the ones that have game pads or wheels, but you get the idea, this is place for drivers that are bound to their computers.
There has been a surge of players indulging themselves on great games like GRID and DiRT 2 thanks to an excellent Steam sale in the past, and I thought it would be a good idea to have a place where we can organize our races. But before that, for the ones who didn't take the leap and want to know more about the two games that we currently play frequently:
GAMES
GRID
Because everything about this game from Wikipedia sucks, bear with me on my short write up. GRID is a game that utilizes a modified version of Codemaster's Neon engine which enables persistent damage on cars that affects performance. There aren't hundreds of cars to choose from, but what's there are awesome.
From street racing in the US to downhill drifting events in Japan, GRID caters to the primal need for speed and destruction alongside a wide variety of events that is great for Multiplayer. Career mode is excellent, because you have an arguably sexy voice that you can make to call you Dude.
But also because it's a great racing game. Yes, that too. And the sexy voice.
DiRT 2
Because Wiki's description does not suck:
Colin McRae: Dirt 2 (known as Dirt 2 outside Europe and stylised, DiRT)[5] is a racing game released in September 2009, and is the sequel to Colin McRae: Dirt. This is the first game in the McRae series since McRae's death in 2007. It was announced on 19 November 2008 and features Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, and Dave Mirra. The game includes many new race-events, including stadium events. Along with the player, an RV travels from one event to another, and serves as 'headquarters' for the player. It features a roster of contemporary off-road events, taking players to diverse and challenging real-world environments. The game takes place across four continents: Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. The game includes five different event types: Rally, Rallycross, 'Trailblazer,' 'Land Rush' and 'Raid.' The World Tour mode sees players competing in multi-car and solo races at new locations, and also includes a new multiplayer mode.
YOUR TOOL OF POWER
THE KEYBOARD
It's a horrible tool for driving on the PC, but it's serviceable and it works. Summed up nicely by one of our guys:
Darth Nathan wrote: »Man, you guys weren't wrong about GRID. Fantastic game, but playing it with a keyboard is like trying to do open heart surgery with a sledgehammer.
THE GAMEPAD
Significantly better than the keyboard, gives you much better control. The above picture is awesome, but do yourself a favor and get the Xbox 360 controller for the PC.
THE WHEEL
Because this is how awesome people roll. Also makes it incredibly hard to control for some. Look at Logitech for awesome racing wheels. If you have the money, find yourself a G25 or G27, they are excellent. If you're on a budget then you shouldn't be reading this.
I'm kidding. Go to Logitech's site and you may find a wheel that suits your wallet. Else, grab a controller or at the very least a sledgehammer.
LET'S GO
So there we go! Everything you need to play. And for good taste, here's the only picture of a car in this thread!
Inzigna on
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It looks hot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVYLCfrolZc
Sadly I don't have GRID any longer as I passed my copy on to my brother. :P I'm fully into endurance racing with rFactor right now, otherwise I'd have picked it up via Steam (and I'll probably kick myself at some point down the road for not doing so)
Still fun, though.
All right, people. It is not a gerbil. It is not a hamster. It is not a guinea pig. It is a death rabbit. Death. Rabbit. Say it with me, now.
You'd be surprised.
The 360 controller does really well, I've known some guys that do just as well with analog control gamepads as the guys with wheels + pedals.
Heck, back when I ran Race Driver 2 & 3 online and was part of a hotlapping competition, we had guys that ran top times using just the keyboard.
Games like Grid & Dirt perform really well; more hardcore simulations (rFactor, GTR2, iRacing) might be a different story, though rFactor and GTR2 both have driving aids that can assist just about anyone with any control scheme.
As much as I like Grid, the Le Mans can go fuck itself.
Seriously. Maybe I'm just a terrible driver, but in the 20 Le Mans races I've done, I always get smoked on the Porsche Curves. I'll have at least a 4-5 second lead over the car behind me, but as soon as I hit those curves 2 and sometimes 3 cars will either pass me, or rear-end me.
Which brings me to my second gripe in an otherwise awesome racing game. The bumper-car AI. There have been times when even my teammate has spun me out into the wall. Thank god for the flashback system however.
Also, I'm not sure if it's just me, but I feel like a fucking awesome driver when I'm in one of the touring cars, yet as soon as I start driving around any of the LMP class cars they seem to handle like a truck.
We should host a league of some sorts. Across a multitude of racing games agreed on, before letting the fuckfest begin.
I tried the Dirt 2 and Grid demos with my Driving Force GT, and it was nearly impossible, but not because the games themselves were too arcadey or whatever. There's just this huge delay in the force feedback. It makes it really hard to play, and it's no fun anyway when what you're feeling doesn't match up with what's happening on screen.
It doesn't happen with any other games.
It is however significantly more difficult to play with the wheel than on the gamepad, since it'll conceivably take more time to react (the turning with your hands and the need to move your feet quickly) compared to the controller where all you need to do is tap a few buttons.
How is the performance on your machine?
Dirt 1 had a problem where steering input was delayed if your performance wasn't up to speed - I had framerate issues and had to turn the graphics way down to get a good rate, and even then it wasn't the best. But it cleared up the controller lag.
They did some major optimization to the engine by the time GRID rolled around, but I would imagine there might be similar issues. It's not exactly what you're describing but it could be related.
You might find more info here: http://community.codemasters.com/forum/grid-tech-support-1020
I had totally given up on the games, but since this thread popped up I guess I'll try one more time if anyone has any idea what I should do?
I don't really care so much about GRID but I'd love to be able to play DIRT2.
But for games like GRID and DIRT the gamepad works awesome.
PSN - sumowot
Keep repeatedly tapping the handbrake, say 3 times a second or so. It'll soon click & you can almost drift indefinately for a whole lap.
DIRT 2 is a gentlemanne's game extraodinaire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH0lDUk0dwk
You know who only races on asphalt? Pussies. Are you a vagina, or a MAN?
Some pretty hot women actually rally race as well
Is that woman more of a man then you? I didn't think so.
The drifting is my favorite part of GRID, sadly. Well, maybe the early Muscle Car races.