Have Your Say: Wet Weather Sim Racing - Is It Even Necessary?

[Daniel Monteiro]

The argument that rain cannot be "properly" modelled yet is bullcrap, because cars can't be modelled "properly" either in dry conditions.
We are playing games, so neither the dry or wet will ever be "real" enough, therefore having all kinds of weather "simulated" would vastly increase a simulation game in terms of racing conditions.

But because a video speaks more than a thousand words, watch this (second race, start at 1:05:00):

 

[Ross McGregor]

It's something I think we can do without. We can't accurately 'feel' the grip in racing sims or games, so that 'seat of the pants' feeling you get when driving cars or karts in the rain and scrabbling around for grip can't be replicated. I sometimes enjoy it racing against the AI, but there's too many variables and not enough feedback to make it enjoyable enough against human opponents at the moment. (For example, how do we judge if it's wet, very wet, or monsoon conditions? What if your gfx card can't handle the extra spray and you can't see the difference? How can you accurately feel aquaplaning as opposed to understeer through the FFB?)

 

[gamer19]

Not that important. Traffic on street circuit seems better feature. Imagine battle on traffic with AC Physics.

Yeah. And imagine doing it in the rain.

 

[mrbungle83]

It's something I think we can do without. We can't accurately 'feel' the grip in racing sims or games, so that 'seat of the pants' feeling you get when driving cars or karts in the rain and scrabbling around for grip can't be replicated. I sometimes enjoy it racing against the AI, but there's too many variables and not enough feedback to make it enjoyable enough against human opponents at the moment. (For example, how do we judge if it's wet, very wet, or monsoon conditions? What if your gfx card can't handle the extra spray and you can't see the difference? How can you accurately feel aquaplaning as opposed to understeer through the FFB?)

Aquaplaning would probably be the easiest FFB to. Recreate... The wheel would just have to go light, the weight would increase with traction. IMO ffb is pretty impressive in some sims.

 

[Zoltan76]

Go to a track day if you want this level of realism.

Then why the heck gaming at all...pfff

 

[Zoltan76]

Yes, simulation is getting as close to reality as possible, and since wet races is a quite common irl, it should be in as many sims as possible. I know, it ain't a easy thing to do, but I really like tha challenge of rain, and especially going from wet to dry like in rF2. Tire choices, the importance of staying on the racing line, using it to your advantage for overtaking etc are stuff I love

Someone told in AC forum few month ago that rain in real life is very rare on tracks. Some 5% max. I think that's not true.

 

[Damage Inc]

If the AI are affected by rain the same as the player, then I welcome it, otherwise it looks pretty but is just an exercise in frustration when racing offline. In wet conditions pCars1 and rF2 AI can maintain implausible levels of grip and control in conditions that have the player floundering (pun intended).

Not always true with regards to PCars, I did a race in the Ford Mk4 at Sonomo in PCars yesterday, started dry, started to rain 1/2 way in , I was in the lead and backed off, but I was still pulling away from the Ai. Some car/track combos cause issues but not all.

 

[apex11]

It's something I think we can do without. We can't accurately 'feel' the grip in racing sims or games, so that 'seat of the pants' feeling you get when driving cars or karts in the rain and scrabbling around for grip can't be replicated. I sometimes enjoy it racing against the AI, but there's too many variables and not enough feedback to make it enjoyable enough against human opponents at the moment. (For example, how do we judge if it's wet, very wet, or monsoon conditions? What if your gfx card can't handle the extra spray and you can't see the difference? How can you accurately feel aquaplaning as opposed to understeer through the FFB?)

This goes for how games try to convey under steer especialy with FWD, making the FFB go lighter is all well and good but in a real car your body then takes over and you can feel and control and sense the rest of it to compensate. With simply a FFB wheel all you get is no FFB which is horrible to anyone who has so much as driven an actual car on a greasy round about or on an icy road let alone done a track day or driven karts or race cars...
This is the problem for me, using no FFB to convey under steer or wet weather is horrible because I need the FFB to tell me so ,much more than a real steering wheel does, it needs to tell me what my butt and my senses are missing in a sim game...
Games tend to make loss of traction an on off switch so that makes it worse when they try to show loss of grip with loss of FFB...
Kids who don't drive in real life and simply learn' how to drive particular games same as you can learn to be good at angry birds are fine with this as they don't know what the real life alternative is actually like or how your body is used to 'feel' it..

 

[Davide Sciacca]

"Yes, finally I will race in the rain in this Championship race!"

-Said by no driver-

 

[Zoltan76]

"Yes, finally I will race in the rain in this Championship race!"

-Said by no driver-

I think that neither in real life any driver would say that. It just happens. And that's the point!

 

[Will Mazeo]

"Yes, finally I will race in the rain in this Championship race!"

-Said by no driver-

"Oh those guys dont like to race with rain so I'll keep it dry till it ends"
Mother Nature, never.

 

[Tim Chitwood]

If it is done correctly, yes. I love the puddles in Forza where it slows you down and moves the car. It is the grip level and changing grip levels as the track moisture level changes. Another thing is the wet tires are a joke in all the games. But realistically, I don't do a lot of wet racing. So, maybe...

 

[Zoltan76]

"Oh those guys dont like to race with rain so I'll keep it dry till it ends"
Mother Nature, never.

Plus I think there are some drivers who say a prayer for some rain because some drivers have some skill in wet conditions. Schumacher, Verstappen and so on

 

[Filip Carlén]

Someone told in AC forum few month ago that rain in real life is very rare on tracks. Some 5% max. I think that's not true.

Well, that depends a lot on where you race. Where I live, in south Sweden, we get about 150-200 rain/snow days per year. That is about half of the days per year, and I have a few track (Mantorp, Anderstop, Falkenberg are some) quite close that get about the same about of downfall.

 

[DriftMachine]

Weather is nice to have in a game, but a not necessity. I would rather more tracks USA in place of the dev time required to make weather. I think night time driving is more fun than wet driving. I like drifting and all, but wet driving is just not all its cracked up to be. Snow on the other hand can be a lot of fun.

Your opinion will probably differ from mine.

 

[Filip Carlén]

"Yes, finally I will race in the rain in this Championship race!"

-Said by no driver-

There are a lot of drivers that like wet and slippery tracks...

 

[apex11]

There are a lot of drivers that like wet and slippery tracks...

Because they have an innate ability to drive well in wet conditions by feeling for grip, none of which you can do on a sim.
Its simple when my FWD car gets under steer on a wet road the wheel goes lighter but i can feel all my muscles tighten up and almost i use my body, its like i shift my body in my seat to being almost over my wheel, i'm feeling the change and reacting to it. This cant happen in a sim, just losing FFB is not a nice way to drive a sim for me it feels horrible as the FFB is ALL i have to guid me for feel and realism.. its just simply sim games don't always convey this loss of grip wet road / under steer feeling very well.
I wonder how many folks enjoying rain in sims use a controller or play with next to no FFB...

 

[Alen Terzić]

Weather is a huge part of racing. It's just us simracers that have gotten used to always having the perfect and more importantly - more or less static conditions.

 

[The Iron Wolf]

To me it really kills the immersion when a racing game has static weather. On this planet, it rains, and in some series races are allowed in rain. I do not feel strongly about how well it is implemented, but having nothing is worse than having at least something. I personally only play racing games with weather, and in good and bad implementations, my most memorable races when it started (or stopped) to rain. I especially enjoyed real world weather in pCars and in rF2 using the realtime weather plugin - you race in whatever weather it is today, no excuses.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Weather and rain - Essential feature or occasional distraction?

Very much needed same like a day night cycle.