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Kart Racing Pro


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#1 Gene and Tonic

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Posted 10 December 2010 - 21:40

http://www.virtualr....-beta-released/


Just tried the demo for this - it's very impressive, the best kart sim out there, very realistic. I don't think it has AI though, which if it did would make it a brilliant kart game, unrivalled on the market really.

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#2 SimMaker

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Posted 11 December 2010 - 14:23

"...the best kart sim out there, very realistic."

I beg to differ. :)

Just look at picture 5, we see a driver on a curb at Lonato. That particular curb is a serrated type, 3 sunken sections to each colour band(Image shows a prety flat curb), and the ground behind that curb is worn down to a depressed dirt area as the drivers often go wide there. The large building in the background should have LARGE white lettering on support posts that says "South Garda Karting" above the back of the grandstands. As for the tire barriers on view. In reality they are 3 tires tall each, and done in rows of 3 colour columns. 3 red, 3 white etc. In fact , if you want to get really anal about these things as some modelers do, the stack of red tires at left of that barrier, is collapsed at this current time (Unless very recently changed). The tall floodlight post seen in image should also have large advertising on it that says CRG in vertical yellow lettering on a black background. ;)

And no AI?

I wonder if the track is scanned data?

:smoking:

Edited by SimMaker, 11 December 2010 - 14:53.


#3 Gene and Tonic

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Posted 11 December 2010 - 15:08

erm :p What did you think of the driving? Are there any other karting games on the market? The mods for rFactor aren't as good as this imo


*For the record I got the tongue-in-cheek humour  ;)

#4 SimMaker

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Posted 11 December 2010 - 15:27

erm :p What did you think of the driving? Are there any other karting games on the market? The mods for rFactor aren't as good as this imo


*For the record I got the tongue-in-cheek humour ;)


To be fair, have not tried it, only looked at the screens and was being a smartarse. I know and have modeled Lonato to an insane level of detail. lol.

On the driving, thats all down to whoever codes the vehicals. And, the track data. I'm so used to the lumpy bumpy tracks of scanned data and professionally coded vehicals that everything else is like driving on glass, so I dont bother with "mainstream" sims/games too much.

Will be intersting to see how it does as one of the more popular pastimes in GT5 seems to be the Kart driving. Though again, it deffinately needs a kick in the arse on the graphcis front.

Will be interesting to see what moders and professionals get up to with the next generation rFactor.;)

#5 SimMaker

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Posted 11 December 2010 - 16:15

I'm downloaidng now, will give it a whirl. Will be interesting to compare the ride to what I have been driving (In a sim) lately.

Have you ever driven Karts for real?

#6 Gene and Tonic

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Posted 11 December 2010 - 17:01

Not professional karts, but I've driven karts extensively at Whilton Mill and some other UK circuits, and this feels very similar, although like I said it hasn't got much competition really.

#7 SimMaker

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Posted 12 December 2010 - 09:45

Thats not too bad at all. I don't really know what competition is out there for it, as in "widely available" dedicated karting games/sims. But it is "ok".

For one, it works. After some fiddling to get the G27 and it talking to each other, but then it was off we go. Started out in the right places, and the layout and look of the track are generaly quite accurate.

As for the feel of the driving, to me it feels very good, and that is where it is so important. I have not had time to get a real feel for it, but it feels very smooth and solid. The driving is not "faked" like we see other games, (canned spins, speed boosts) So in that respect I would call it a basic simulator, but a simulator none the less. Its not a "game", which is always a plus in my eyes. :)

I really do hate it though when artists put their bland specs on. What I mean is, when you go out and look at grass in the summer time, or the blue sky. It is really really green, or really really blue. Colours n the real world, when you study them, are very strong in places (think of flowers, cars, paint, advertising) but for some reason in computer world, a lot of people see reality as very desaturated, so I don't like the colour pallet(A personal opinion of course). There are also obvious topography issues, mainly around the control tower area of the track, as the ground rises up at that point. As you head from north of circuit to south(passing the paddock on your left), with factory in view, the track behind the red and white barriers in reality is several feet higher than the track you are on from that viewing point. And as mentioned yesterday, there are issues with curb accuracy, So though a driver could learn the general layout of the circuit, and be familiar with it from using this sim. He would not necessarily learn to "drive" the circuit, as there are too many discrepancies between reality and sim. Much additional learning would have to be done on site.

Would be interesting to see what others with Karting expeirence think of it. My real world experience is practically zero. I can only go on what I have found on games/sims and professional simulators. I will say though, that I get something from the pro sims, that I have only ever felt before in Crammonds games. You know when we get the slow-mo of a F1 car going around a corner and over curbs. You can see the tires "bouncing/squashing/compressing" with a sort of frequency. I could "feel" that in the GP games, and I can also feel it in the professional karting sims. The bounce of the rubber as it compresses into a corner, then bounces back, and you have to ride that wobble all the way around the bend as it can unsettle the wagon??? I did not feel that in this game, but it might be my rubber was never warm enough?? Or is it not grippy enough??? My best time was a pretty **** 51-55 seconds I think...Will have another go later and compare times with other software.

Again, I speak from only sim experience, so it would be great if a serious karter could have a go and report. The demo is free and no trouble to install and run.

Its a very solid little item. Will be interesting to see the final product, higher number of tracks, see if it has AI or a multiplayer community big enough to support it....etc.

#8 mahelgel

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Posted 17 December 2010 - 21:43

Just payed for it, as i felt it was good enough to support... The physics seems pretty ok, but i haven't really gotten the wheel set up as i want it. A little lack of feedback, and a bit too much "vibration" and "shaking", seems to be the compromise on my aging logitech momo wheel... Its fun though, and the shifter kart was quick and stressfull to drive :p will have to try it a bit more to make a proper judgement but so for so good :)






#9 Gene and Tonic

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Posted 19 December 2010 - 12:19

Does the full version have AI or just online multiplayer?

#10 mahelgel

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Posted 19 December 2010 - 13:05

no ai as far as i've seen.. just done training with the different karts, and an online session, and the online multiplayer seemed to work pretty well, atleast the little i tried it :)

#11 rhukkas

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Posted 22 December 2010 - 01:12

Fun, but physics need a lot of work.

#12 mahelgel

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Posted 24 December 2010 - 14:00

Fun, but physics need a lot of work.

For me, it is not that much work needed in the physics, but i do feel the FF on my logitech momo wheel isn't all that good... it gets bums and vibrations, but the turning force itself isn't that talkative. The way the kart handles though i feel is pretty good, although i have done a few changes in the setup to suit me. 


I've driven both rotax max and 100cc ica/ica jr.  competition karts, and i think it feels pretty good and realistic.  Compared to the go karts in the recent GT5, it is much better imho :)



#13 Myrvold

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Posted 28 December 2010 - 00:52

mahelgel!! Been some years since the last NGPLS race!! ^^,

Oh well, I really like this game, though, I actually thought I could just set a fast laptime on my first lap. I was wrong. The physics feels a bit wrong, not completely sure, where the error is, but there is something not 110%. However, I really loved the fact that the inner rear wheel is going up in the air. That's always a good sign! :)

IRL experience: Raced competition karts for 8 years, never won, but a podium in the jr festival in my country.

#14 mahelgel

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Posted 28 December 2010 - 02:15

mahelgel!! Been some years since the last NGPLS race!! ^^,

Oh well, I really like this game, though, I actually thought I could just set a fast laptime on my first lap. I was wrong. The physics feels a bit wrong, not completely sure, where the error is, but there is something not 110%. However, I really loved the fact that the inner rear wheel is going up in the air. That's always a good sign! :)

IRL experience: Raced competition karts for 8 years, never won, but a podium in the jr festival in my country.


Yeah.. been a few years since my last GPL race :)

Really like the kart racing pro sim, but i do have problem with the FF as it feels a bit weak and not quite as it should feel. It is still in the Beta stage though, so i guess there will be updates coming with probably a few tweaks to improve the overall feel.



#15 100cc

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Posted 13 January 2011 - 10:57

Would be great to give it a go since I've driven Lonato not too long ago. I can't seem to get the game to start though - Install seems to work but when I try to start the program nothing happens. :|

#16 mahelgel

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Posted 13 January 2011 - 23:45

Would be great to give it a go since I've driven Lonato not too long ago. I can't seem to get the game to start though - Install seems to work but when I try to start the program nothing happens. :|

Had that same problem myself, and for me atleast, it was a simple solution :)


In windows7 (perhaps other windows versions too) you have to run the game as administrator. That means you have to right-click the .exe and tick of the "run as administrator" under security i think it was... there is a thread on the games own forum how to get it working.

#17 100cc

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Posted 14 January 2011 - 08:32

Thanks mahelgel that did the trick.

I agree the track isnt exactly 100%, but this is easily the best kart sim (only kart sim?) I've tried. 2nd is an arcade kart game i tried once by namco i think. The rFactor kart mods don't even come close to this one.

With the standard setup i wasn't too impressed it just felt horrible to drive, but with a few setup changes it actually started to feel a bit like a real kart particularly when the tyres heat up.

Not having a pressure-sensitive hand brake makes using the front brakes a bit iffy - but turning them down to about 25% seems to work ok.

Oh and while you do get used to it the head movement is annoying. iRacing has it right. Most game developers seem to think that the view should be like that from an onboard camera - without realising that out eyes do an incredible job of keeping our view stable.

Edited by 100cc, 14 January 2011 - 08:35.