Real Driving Does driving for real make you better at racing games?

[Aequitas619 0]

Does driving for real make you better at racing games?And if so does it help to drive faster in real life? What do you think?I think it helps, especially with simulation racers! It helps you understand certain concepts better! Like two wheel drive vs four wheel drive. And camber on the road, things like that! Im not saying drivers are better than non drivers but i think it gives them an edge!

[Grafitti 0]

I think it does. That only works one way though. Driving for real gives you an edge in computer games, because you're familiar with everything, and it's the same basic concepts. The other way around, it puts you at a disadvantage. Because if you take someone who's only played computer racing simulation and stick them behind the wheel of a car, they're already conditioned to go fast. And real life roads and cars are a lot less forgiving. Camber on the road might help, but there's no way the average car can take a real curve at 100 mph. Throwing the car into oversteer or understeer is also a completely different experience. It's almost too simple to recover from a slide in computer games. Add to that an unexperienced real-life driver, and the combination could prove fatal. That said, I think the fatality/accident rate as i just described above is close to zero. Put bluntly, in theory it'd be a concern, but in reality there aren't that many idiots around who are stupid enough to drive a car the way they race in a game.

[KDEWolf 0]

Does driving for real make you better at racing games?
And if so does it help to drive faster in real life? What do you think?

I think it helps, especially with simulation racers! It helps you understand certain concepts better! Like two wheel drive vs four wheel drive. And camber on the road, things like that! Im not saying drivers are better than non drivers but i think it gives them an edge!

Actually, racing games (and some training of course...) made me drive much better than people who never had this kind of experience, mostly because of the sense of space, objects speed and motion, and basic car mechanics.

Since I don't play much using steering wheels, probably driving in real life makes little difference in the virtual experience. Also, the realism and physics (as also the gameplay) vary up so much from game to game that it's hard to bring the experiences from one thing to another.

And well, I usually drive a bit faster than normal, but I don't think it's related to how much racing games I play. It's more about my social circle (most of my friends drive as fast or even faster than me) and what I'm used to.
If someone who likes to drive slowly takes me for a ride, I might get a bit irritated...

Well, that's mostly it. =)

[Aequitas619 0]

Yes, I agree about the other way round! Playing games doesn't make you a better real life driver. Although it could have an effect on how fast you drive. Although no more so than the music your listening to or its volume!Although one thing I noticed is that I started enjoying racing games much more after I started driving! Although that may just be because the games have gotten so much better recently!

[tezza 0]

Having said this the other day whilst driving the rear end slid as it was very wet when I went around a corner. Quite a few people I know wouldnt have known what to do in the situation however it may sound stupid but from playing games on the playstation with a steering wheel it helped me know how to get out of the skid. All thanks goes to Gran Turismo and Need For Speed.

[Aequitas619 0]

Ye, games can help! We forgot to mention learning to countersteer! But I think Gran Turismo helped you out a lot more than need for speed!

[Grafitti 0]

Yes, when i was talking about gaming not helping in real life, i was mostly referring to arcade games such as need for speed. Gran Turismo, Colin McRae Rally and the like aren't so popular or widely distributed here, whereas everyone plays need for speed, and THAT is hardly realistic. ---It's still my favorite racing game.

[Aequitas619 0]

Really? Over here its the simulators that are more popular! Well, at least amongst the people I know!But take nothing away from the arcade racers! They are also great! And I guess more 'FUN' to play!Everyone knows the sims are the one's that get irritating! (*Looks at broken controllers*)LOL

[sujith 0]

I don't know real life driving nor I am interested in racing games (I never win those ).But I have read in Reader's Digest that playing computer games will increase your concentration while doing regular tasks like driving.May be it will also effect the real life driving, like turning changing gears, applying brakes etc

[austiniskoge 0]

I don't know about improving your actual technique...But it sure taught me a lot about different types of cars and racing! I have GT3 and GT4 to thank for that.

[HellFire121 0]

I would think that driving in real life would make you more familiar with the feel of driving if you use a racing simulator with the wheels and pedals. Some games i know of like rFactor which is a very realistic racing simulator would be good if you are training to be a grand prix driver or something because the realism aspect is pretty much perfect. So simply put if you are driving in real life yeah it can give you the edge but the opposite way around could cause disaster if you adapt the techniques used in the game to real life.-HellFire

[DeadlyMe 0]

sure it does you can simulate your brain

[Aequitas619 0]

Last week I read that racing games do make you a better driver. But Im sure it not better than practising the real thing!Another good point is how much it teaches you about cars! You can learn so much on different models, makes, styling, engine sizes, etc.

[Artluo100 0]

i think that it does help but to a certain extent whereas in need for speed you can turn a corner at 120 mph, no way in real life is somebody going to make a turn at 120 mph.

[Elepzia 0]

La saga Colin McRae Rally de Codemasters siempre será recordada por mostrar el camino a seguir a la hora de diseñar un juego de rallies. Hasta esa fecha, los demás se habían reducido a mostrarnos carreras más o menos arcade en entornos offroad, compitiendo contra otros rivales. Codemasters no inventó nada nuevo: la originalidad del primer Colin McRae consistía simple y llanamente a imitar la dinámica del World Rally Championship, es decir, la carreras contra el crono, y a ofrecer al jugador una experiencia realista: léase daños en el coche, y un control exigente. Fue un éxito, al igual que su secuela, y solo a partir de su tercera entrega, que resultó una decepción para muchos al limitarnos a “ser Colin McRae”, obtuvo una dura competencia por parte del WRC de Sony y otras apuestas de variadas compañías.Esta quinta entrega parece que adopta finalmente la nomenclatura “por años”, como hacen los juegos deportivos, y viene a solucionar algunos de los puntos débiles de las anteriores, y a incluir algunas novedades, siendo la más destacable de ellas el modo online. En las mejoras destaca el gran número de circuitos, la ampliación de los modos de juego con el nuevo “Carrera” y, especialmente, un apartado gráfico que da un salto cualitativo respecto al de la cuarta entrega y que posee una sensación de velocidad mucho mayor.Todo un clásicoPero antes de profundizar en las excelencias técnicas de esta quinta entrega es necesario hablar del nuevo planteamiento que ofrece Codemasters esta vez. Demostrado obtuso aunque bienintencionado el “sé Colin McRae, únicamente Colin” de la tercera entrega, y corregido este defecto en la cuarta, esta quinta toma ejemplo del otro juego de velocidad de la compañía, Toca Race Driver, y nos ofrece la posibilidad de empezar desde cero en este deporte e ir progresando de competición en competición, algo que es muy de agradecer una vez hayamos exprimido el modo campeonato, en el que competiremos en los diferentes rallies del WRC imaginario de Codemasters al volante de un coche oficial.En dicho modo tendremos que ir creciendo en fama y éxitos como piloto, compitiendo en 23 eventos diferentes. Aunque no tan “abierto” como en otros juegos como Rallisport Challenge 2 o el ya mencionado Toca 2, en ocasiones podremos optar por varios caminos, y tendremos una verdadera sensación de progreso ya que iremos desbloqueando nuevos coches, mejoras para estos y campeonatos. Aparte, tendremos el clásico modo campeonato, al que esta vez se le añade un nuevo rally: el de Alemania, de hecho para complacer al fiel público alemán del juego. El escenario teutón se une a los de Grecia, Australia, España, Japón, Reino Unido, Finlandia, Suecia y los Estados Unidos, cada uno con ocho etapas. En el total del juego hay unos 300 tramos, que pueden jugarse en diferentes condiciones climatológicas y a diferentes horas del día, lo que de hecho modifica bastante tanto la conducción como el aspecto visual de estos.En cuanto a los coches, existe una notable variedad, divididos en clases:Clase 4WDSubaru Impreza WRX, Ford Focus Rally Car, Citroen Xsara Rally Car, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII, Peugeot 206 Rally Car, Volkswagen Golf R32, Audi A3 Quattro.Clase 2WDMG ZR, Citroen Saxo Kit Car, Volkswagen Polo Super 1600, Toyota Celica GT-S, Ford Fiesta Rallye Concept.Clase Group BAudi Sport Quattro S1, MG 6R4, Peugeot 205 T16 Evo2, Ford RS200.Clase RWDLancia Stratos, Lancia 037, Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV.Clase Super 2WDAlfa Romeo 147 GTA, Renault Sport Clio V6, Volkswagen Golf GTI.Clase 4x4 OffroadLand Rover Freelander M-sport, Mitsubishi Shogun Montero Evolution II, Nissan Pickup - Dakar 2004.Clase EspecialVolkswagen Beetle RSi,, Ford Escort Mk1, MGC Sebring Special, 1967 Morris Mini Cooper S.Clase ClásicosFord Escort RS Cosworth, Lancia Delta Integrale Evo, Toyota Celica GT-Four (ST185), Subaru Impreza 22B STi.Poniendo el Stratos a puntoEl sistema de partes de coche y de configuración del mismo sigue la línea de la anterior entrega, con un sistema muy sencillo y no demasiado técnico, basado en “grados” más que en datos técnicos del vehículo como en el caso de Gran Turismo 4. Se mantienen también los minijuegos de “testeo” del vehículo introducidos en la cuarta entrega, que teníamos que superar (léase cambiar de marcha en el momento adecuado, hacer un tramo en un tiempo límite) para conseguir algunas partes extra para nuestro coche.