Is a wheel a must for sims nowadays?

While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to wonder. I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, for example.

Absolutely!!! No other word to use. Cyril Ma wrote: > While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to wonder. > > I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a > mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, > for example.

I've heard some people are fast with a joystisk, but I haven't tried it. On Mon, 12 Feb 2001 16:39:49 -0500, "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to wonder. > >I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a >mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, >for example. > >

On Mon, 12 Feb 2001 16:39:49 -0500, "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> thus spoke:

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>While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to wonder. > >I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a >mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, >for example. > >

I see you are in Canada. Do you have an Office Place in Kingston? They always have copies of GPL in stock for about $25.00 CAD (at least the one I go to here in Toronto does). I used to play Nascar1 and Indycar1 with a CH Pro joystick, and while it was doable and competitive, a wheel just adds a lot more to the immersion factor for me. -- Jagg

I consider it mandatory. Personally, I'd like to see a "No Wheelie, No Joinie" option when hosting races :) -Larry "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:969ld6$4pv$[email hidden]... > While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting towonder. > > I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a > mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, > for example. > >

If your anywhere near serious about sim racing, whether it be offline or online, get yourself a wheel. You'll wonder how you ever got along without it. -- Don Burnette "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:969ld6$4pv$[email hidden]... > While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to wonder. > > I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a > mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, > for example. > >

Which Office Place in Toronto are you referring to? Please, oh please tell me, hehehehe...i'm desparate for some real sims. =P

On Mon, 12 Feb 2001 20:00:16 -0500, "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> thus spoke: >Which Office Place in Toronto are you referring to? Please, oh please tell >me, hehehehe...i'm desparate for some real sims. =P > > Well, it's a bit on the outskirts of Toronto, closer to Kingston though. Whitby, just off Thickson on Victoria. You don't have an Office Place in Kingston? -- Jagg

We have a staples..we don't ahve a Office place. Well, at least not reachable on foot anyhow.

Larry <[email hidden]> wrote: > I consider it mandatory. > Personally, I'd like to see a "No Wheelie, No Joinie" option when hosting > races :) Well, that would be sad, because a wheel is _not_ mandatory for the majority of racing sims, GPL included. There's nothing you can do with a wheel that you can't do with a stick. +Cinquo [GPLRank 27.14]

Great..this keyboard racer feels soooooooooo bad. =P

On Mon, 12 Feb 2001 16:39:49 -0500, "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote: >While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to wonder. > >I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a >mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, >for example. > Yes! That said, if you only planned to race against AI (and not play GPL), you might be able to use a joystick or even a good gamepad - even the keyboard! (i've played GP2 with the keyboard, and with steering help on could drive quite well). That said, once you use a wheel, you'll never, ever be able to sim race without one, try as hard as you like... DG

On Mon, 12 Feb 2001 23:39:29 -0500, "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> thus spoke: >We have a staples..we don't ahve a Office place. Well, at least not >reachable on foot anyhow. > > I see Office Place does do shopping online, but they don't list software (just office stuff). Maybe give them a call and see if they will ship it to you. -- Jagg

You've asked a question that will likely evoke religious fervor. I'll throw in my $0.02, but try to remain agnostic. The most important thing is that you have analog controls for steering, throttle and brake. If you use an on/off device for any of these controls (e.g. a button or a key), you are, by necessity, relinquishing some control over the vehicle to the programmer (ahem) that decided how to ramp the input to the physics model in response to your pressing or releasing the control (it would be utter nonsense, for example, to simply pass "full throttle", "no throttle" directly to the physics system). Next, it is important that you be able to utilize these controls naturally and effectively. For example, it would be difficult to exercise effective throttle, brake and steering using just your thumb on a 2-axis analog D-pad. It's not impossible, but it's definitely not "natural." Next, it is important that you be able to affect subtle changes to your control inputs (feather the throttle *slightly*, modulate the brakes to remain just shy of locking a wheel). For example, using just a joystick (push forwards for throttle, pull back for brake, push left for steer left, ...) has this advantage over an analog D-pad due to the greater range of motion of the stick vs. the D-pad. A wheel and pedals wins on all counts. A joystick and pedals is pretty good. But a stick, generally, has less physical travel than a wheel, so it's more difficult to affect subtle steering corrections. It's also less "natural" to the vast majority of humans (who, if they have ever driven a car, have only ever driven one with a steering wheel). There are also other issues (force feedback, independent throttle and brake, a pressure sensitive rather than a position sensitive brake pedal, to name a few). Randy > Cyril Ma wrote: > > > While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting towonder. > > > > I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a > > mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in onlinegames, > > for example. >

On Mon, 12 Feb 2001 16:39:49 -0500, "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote: >While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to wonder. Both Chips and Bits and Compuexpert have GPL, albeit for $20.00. If you don't want to spend that much, you'll find at least a dozen auction hits for GPL on Ebay. > >I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a >mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, >for example. You can race online with a joystick, but I don't think you will have the fine degree of control that a wheel allows...unless your hands are rock-solid steady. And not just *any* wheel, a good, solidly constructed wheel that holds it's calibration, doesn't spike and has smooth resistance throughout its arc. The first time I played GPL was with a problematic TM Grand Prix wheel (my second after the lousy TM T2) and I thought at the time the game was unplayable. It wasn't until I played GPL again on my roomate's wheel, a more reliable Saitek, did I discover what a huge difference in gameplay a quality wheel makes. I mean, it was the difference between driving to survive the track and opponents and actually driving to *race*... Since then I've been extremely selective and wary about wheel purchases...I'm currently on a MS USB Precision and it works like a champ. And it's more enjoyable than racing with a stick/keyboard will ever be.

I think you could get pretty decent at GPL with a joystick, but NOT without pedals! Pedals are a must in GPL because much of your steering is done with throttle and brake. A wheel and pedals are still the best solution though. -- Chris "Ambulater" Lee "Don't Bother Running.........You'll Just Die Tired." Reviews at www.sim-arena.com "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:969ld6$4pv$[email hidden]... > While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to wonder. > > I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a > mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, > for example. > >

On Tue, 13 Feb 2001 19:07:36 -0600, "Ambulater" <[email hidden]> wrote: >I think you could get pretty decent at GPL with a joystick, but NOT without >pedals! Pedals are a must in GPL because much of your steering is done with >throttle and brake. A wheel and pedals are still the best solution though. Wolfgang Woeger proves you wrong here.. he drove with a joystick only, no pedals, and was one of the fastest drivers. He switched to a wheel a couple of months back though, to have a new challenge. Andre

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> >-- >Chris "Ambulater" Lee >"Don't Bother Running.........You'll Just Die Tired." >Reviews at www.sim-arena.com > > >"Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:969ld6$4pv$[email hidden]... >> While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to >wonder. >> >> I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a >> mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, >> for example. >> >> > >

Some are very fast with Joy Sticks, but for realisim, there nothing like a good quality wheel/pedal combo . -- Robert http://pages.infinit.net/robertg/index.htm "Cyril Ma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:969ld6$4pv$[email hidden]... > While I'm continuing my hunt for a copy of GPL, I'm just starting to wonder. > > I've never had a wheel, (FF or not) and I was just thinking is it a > mandatory piece of hardware in order to stay competitive in online games, > for example. > >