01.05.2020
There is still doubt by many r/c racers about the realism of VRC sim and whether it is good for them to start using it next to their real r/c activities. A sim never reaches 100% realism, not even in professional F1 or aircraft simulators. When we started the VRC project back in 2005 we had no idea how close we would get, with both graphics and physics. Because after all, our r/c sim is about these 2 things, contrary to most other sims where the physical feedback plays a very important role in the whole experience. I ask 5 minutes of your time to explain.
Our aim was to create realistic looking cars and tracks so that the visual experience of the sim would be just like in the real world. I honestly think that we have come a long way, especially considering that we developed the graphics engine and all the 3D graphics ourselves which took us 9 years to where we are now.
In 2005 we departed on an experiment we had no idea of where it would lead us, what we could achieve. The task was simple: make the car behave as closely as possible to a real r/c car. To do this we had to develop a full understanding of the physical aspects of an r/c car, the geometry, dampers, transmission, tires, aerodynamics, you name it. For the geometry we relied on data from manufacturers but there it ended. The physics modelling required us to start testing all these things, we used datalogging to understand acceleration, braking and cornering speeds, we developed a tire testing machine to gather the indispensable tire data which is needed to make the tires behave like they should, and which determine very much the feel of the car. We even went into wind tunnel testing to understand the aerodynamics of the bodies and wings used in r/c. All these areas were absolutely unchartered territories, but we have gone there, there was simply no other way about it.
Last part of this process was endless testing to adjust the physics model parameters to bring the different cars as close to the real thing as possible. Have we achieved that? I believe we have. We are probably at 95% of realism and there it stopped. To edge even closer to 100% the efforts would far outweigh the gain we could possibly make. See the comparison videos between real and virtual r/c, I think no one can deny that we have come close.
Some will say it is not even close to how my car feels. Well, there are endless set-up and tire options to bring the car closer to your liking. And don’t forget, when someone would hand you his real r/c car to try, chances are that you think ‘how on earth can he drive that thing’.
It will take time to adapt yourself to the car and the visual experience, after all a pc monitor is not your real world view. If you take that time you will soon appreciate all our efforts to create this r/c sim.
Just this week John Galbraith from Canada posted the following:
“When I first tried VRC about 5 years ago I signed up for the limited, free version.
With the way the default settings are in the game, as soon as you first try it there is all kinds of latency between the transmitter and the car reacting to driver input making the cars virtually undriveable. Trying a different transmitter did not change the issue. With this game being so big, I didn’t take the time (and perhaps other users as well) to search around the website for setup tips , nor did I easily find any explanation about how to set up the transmitter, exponential which is key in getting rid of latency. Nor was I aware that buying an expansion pack not only gets me faster cars, but that it also will present a more realistic driving experience. I just wanted to install it, try a few tracks and cars without putting a lot of time into it (instant gratification) to see how well it worked and if I should spend money on it. I was impatient and initially disappointed in the performance of the cars, blamed the game for having a poor physics engine, (which it does not) and after a few days walked away from it never to return.
Something over this winter inspired me to order another adapter and give it another try (before the lockdown) it sat in my toolbox for a few months. Finally, I gave it another go. Only after weeks and hours of tweaking, trying different expansion packs, figuring out how to get better tires, wheels, bodies, watching many replays, and YouTube videos have I been able to get to the point where I have a vehicle that does not have latency and drives like the real thing. I think if many other people experienced the same thing early in trying the game maybe they walked away.
Perhaps the free version should have access to better performing and setup vehicles and a brief video link to YouTube about the importance of transmitter setup. I am using a cheap transmitter that has no exp adjustment on it. It took a while for me to find how to tweak it in the game software.”
Thanks John, this is exactly what I am trying to get across. Don’t expect everything to work to your liking at first go. You will have to invest time. Do you remember the time and frustration it took to drive a real r/c car at first? Give it another try, just like John did. You won't regret it!
ENJOY VRC – DON’T WAIT FOR THE WEEKEND
(special thanks to all the VRC team members who devoted so many years to this project and to achieve this dream become reality)
Comments
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3 (Total posts: 21)
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Alexis P.
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It feels like driving a real rc car (offroad), it is great
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Marc Mirabet
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Best Sim RC! <3
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Holy A
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Good sim RC
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Brendon B
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I am loving VRC and lookiing at the licence for this now. I am also going to try get an adapter to run a proper controller instead of my F710 Logitech controller.
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Sebastian K.
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I am running a RX Vega graphics card and yes it is a proper gaming card. With all graphics options maxed out I run at over 250fps.
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Ian C.
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I think this is a great sim, i have been on and off since 2009, i did previously have account but for the life of me i could not log back on, so i decided to start over with the steamed version, i still have so much to learn, i used to have a 1/8 electric off road, but after moving there was no clubs in my area so i sold it, then i turned to VRC and even though i do find it frustrating at time not being able to fully grasp RC cars i still very much enjoy using VRC.
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Anders B.
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Thank you guys for the great sim. Been running it since 2012 on and off and now when I finally have started to compete a little I absolutely love it  .
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Pieter BFounder
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thanks Yilmaz, we can do with some positiveness!!!
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Ignacio H
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I have version 4.1, is it the last?
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Yilmaz T
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Dont worry, there will always be negativity in this world. I love your game, I played it a lot. It improved my racing skills 100%, taught me
consistency, keeping calm and learnin the race lines. Me and many of my friends, spread the word for you here in Canada.
The Game you started building in 2005 is looking pretty good for 2020
standards.
Keep up the good work, hope you can come up with newer cars, some 10th
scale buggies and tracks soon.
Yilmaz Tuncel
Nanaimo, BC
Edited by author: 9.5.2020 17:31:57 GMT
Edited by author: 9.5.2020 17:32:28 GMT
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