Things I have learned over recent days. 1) Increasing the FFB setting does not improve the FFB. It makes it stronger, yes, but it doesn't really help. If anything it makes it worse, amplifying any sense you might have of things not being quite "right" (especially if your benchmark is, as in my case, iRacing). It's better to get used to what seems like too-subtle or even numb FFB at the default 1.0 (especially in the Historic F1s). Tweaks and improvements will eventually come to suit most of us, I'm sure. 2) The Megane at Mills is the place to learn the subtleties of this impressive new physics model. Diving straight into the Historics is a much steeper and more difficult learning curve in every way. 3) It is better to cut your resolution and maximise your details than the other way round. My 2500K/5870 is now running at 3840x800, max detail with HDR, level 2 fsaa (fsaa seems essential on my ATI rig for image quality, not just to reduce jaggies) and the experience is pretty good as long as I don't get too ambitious with the number of AI. Higher frame rates would be nice, but if I don't look at the number I don't mind. 4) With Eyefinity FOV 25 in the Historics is perfect. I was running at more like 35 for a long time, but it just feels so much better down in the 20's. At 25 I just get in and the world looks right. 5) The graphics may not be cutting edge at first (or second or third) glance, but when you're belting down Spa, with vibration jarring your vision and the highly detailed trackside objects giving you a superb sense of depth and speed, they are absolutely good enough to suck you into the experience and leave you breathless. Meanwhile the lighting and conditions slowly change around you, drawing you even deeper without you even being aware. 6) When you finish the first lap of a Spa race and find what looks like wisps of mist blowing convincingly across the track, remember this is Spa. That's not mist, it's rain, and life is about to get interesting. Visibility starts to come and go. Corner markers blur past because you're too busy focusing ahead. Buildings loom too soon out of the haze, the brakes work too slowly, the tyres grip too reluctantly, and your heart beats too fast as the Belgian countryside screams past. This is sim racing. This is why we do this stuff; why we get impatient, disappointed, stressed and -- if we're lucky -- excited and thrilled as well. Because sometimes it all just comes together and, no matter what the weaknesses, something special happens inside your head. My name's Andrew MacPherson, and today something special happened to me at Spa in an Eve F1B. I discovered that GPL2 really has arrived. Thanks guys.
Completely agree on the conclusion. I didn't get the wow feeling I got driving the GPL demo but this is a beta and it is rFactor so some fiddling with settings is par for the course. After three evenings of fiddling I just can't get enough of the F2s around Spa with rain coming in. I have yearned for a modern version of GPL with genuine improvements and the physics, ai and dynamic environment all make that seem a reality. The ai are a particularly pleasant surprise, wheel to wheel around Spa so far have proved incredibly immersive.
The ai are a great surprise. I've had some enjoyable races with them. Never could do that in rF1, even after playing with ai files.
I started testing with F3 with rain at full at Belgium, it was surprising that sense of speed caused me naturally drive enough slow to stay on track even at first lap, that was new thing compared to rF1, quite good thing really as I found out to be too scared to go too fast, so I think those cars are made quite well as well are tracks. Cars are more alive, maybe it is track, maybe something else, but where before in rF1 I constantly was bit annoyed of cars being too stable at high speed, now there seem to be improvement, same car with pretty much same settings as in rF1 is starting to feel really scary when speed goes up, I think that is big thing for me at least. I don't care much of graphics as when driving fast it really does not matter if surroundings are really pretty or bit coarse, focus is at keeping car on black stuff and trying to get entry and exit right.
