I think that the driving simulator is an awesome invention and is a really neat item to invest in. Even if you don't think that you need driving instruction, you can just play around on it and have fun. The crazy thing about the driving simulator is how realistic it is. It has three monitors that surround you so you actually feel like you are driving on the road, except you can't hurt anyone if you're inexperienced! The way the driving simulator works makes everything feel so real; it's like you're in your own virtual world. It can make you think you're driving in extreme conditions or on a sunny day.
The driving simulator also lets you choose from different settings so you can practice driving in different conditions. You can make it rain or drive in fog or you can drive in the city or on the highway. There are a lot of different settings you can choose from and they all help you become a better driver. Plus, it gives feedback and tells you what you've done wrong so you can practice for your driving test. It isn't just for teen drivers either.
If you need your bus or semi-truck license, you can use the driving simulator to help you learn. It will get rid of your nerves once you actually make it to the road because you'll already have a feel for how to drive your desired vehicle.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
The three monitor driving simulator is really neat and it isn't even that expensive. For less than $1,000 you can get cool items, but how many people have a driving simulator in their home or at their school? It seems expensive at first glance, but when you consider all the features it offers and the benefits of a driving simulator, it is actually quite affordable. It can be more than just a learning tool-it's actually a lot of fun as well.The Pros:
* A driving simulator is like a video game, but designed for learning purposes it comes with a lot of cool features. You can pick from a variety of road conditions and even decide on different cars to drive. Some of these features include automatic or manual transmissions, small passenger vehicles, bus, or truck, city driving, country driving, or highway driving, and you can even decide what whether conditions you want to drive in such as in fog, at night, in rain, or on a sunny day.
* With three screens on the driving simulator that semi surround you, it feels like you're actually driving in these conditions. It's designed to help you learn how to drive, and it really works! The driving simulator even displays your mistakes and gives a final report. It records when you don't stop at stop signs, don't wear your seat belt, when you speed, and other mistakes you might make.
* What's so cool about this driving simulator is that the army uses software like this to train pilots and teach their soldiers to drive tanks. It actually feels like you're in that situation and it teaches students muscle memory and puts them in situations they might never be in--simply to prepare them for the road.
* The person using the driving simulator can actually feel that they have control of the car. You can use it as a simple at-home video game, or the driving simulator can be used to teach students the rules of the road, how to control a car, and other aspects of driving before actually driving a real car. Plus, a driving simulator speeds up your training and helps you have an advantage to passing your driving test.
The Cons:
* It is slightly expensive but let's face it paying for time to drive a truck is really costly too.
* It isn't the real road. While this game is great for learning, practicing and getting a feel for how things should be, you will still need some practice in a real vehicle.
Is it worth it?
In short: Yes! It is a great way to practice from your own home or school without paying the hefty rental fees to use a real vehicle. It is a great tool to add into your learning process.
Best Deals for Driving Simulator - SIMURIDE for car/bus/truck manual/automatic
I had the privilege of owning its predecessor several years ago, the G25, so I knew mostly what to expect with this new G27, but I was still expecting so much more from Logitech. The expression "Logitech giveth and Logitech taketh away" seems most pertinent.So, let's start:
Opening the box and getting everything out is very simple. All the parts are well designed, but you're immediately greeted with what I think is the biggest issue with the G25/27 set, the cables. So many cables! 400 cables! (at least it feels like it)
The wheel has a cable coming out of it that goes into your PS3; the pedals have a cable coming out of it; the shifter has a cable coming out of it, and then there's the power brick that has a cable to be plugged in. All these cables plug into the wheel itself, and it's definitely not a pretty sight. I don't know about other people, but I don't have a place where I can leave my steering wheel/shifter/pedals plugged in 24/7, so setting all this up and putting it away again is a COMPLETE pain in the rear.
Putting the cable issue aside, there's a lot to like with the G27. It's an improvement over the G25 in many ways:
1.) The G27 wheel uses helical gears (or diagonal-cut gears) vs the G25's straight-cut gears. What this means is that there's a reduction in noise when turning the wheel, and it's also smoother while maintaing powerful force feedback! Great stuff!
2.) The shifter on the G27 no longer has a sequential mode (i.e. clicks up and down only), which is no big loss to me. I prefer either the regular 6-speed or using the paddle shifts on the wheel. While it may seem that this is still a LOSS compared to the G25's 6-speed AND sequential shifting, the new addition to the G27 is that the gears don't CLICK into place. On the G25, every gear change would greet you with a CLICK as the gear was put into place. Logitech have removed this sound so the gear movements don't hurt your ears with their plastic sounds as the G25 did. Now, some people have modified their G25 shifters to remove this sound, but it voids your warranty and I've read of several people irreparably breaking their shifters by doing this... In any case, for me, the G27 shifter is an improvement over the out-of-the-box G25 shifter.
3.) The pedals are now adjustable, which makes it a joy to heel-and-toe while racing. The pedal layout is a huge deal more comfortable than on the G25 pedals. This, for me, is a huge improvement. My right foot would get very uncomfortable with the G25 layout.
4.) There's a new set of tachometer LEDs on the wheel, though I've yet to play any game that supports them yet... It's a neat little feature, though, if it does as advertised.
5.) The G27 also has some more buttons on the steering wheel, which you can customize, of course.
So how does it play?
VERY well, depending on the software!
Need for Speed: Shift PS3:
I first tried out Need for Speed: Shift on the Playstation 3, and was pleasantly surprised to see that no setup is needed, and the controls just work. In fact, it even shows you a picture of the wheel/pedals on the control screen (albeit just the G25, but still...). It's great to have the wheel work out of the box with no tinkering. THAT said, there's perhaps too much force feedback in Shift to be particularly comfortable. The faster you get, the more the wheel fights with you. At 120mph, it's very hard to keep the wheel straight. I've track-driven several times at near 150mph speeds at times, and I can safely say my steering wheel doesn't fight me in real life like it did in the game...
So, for ease of use with Shift, I'd say 5/10. It's just too hard to keep the wheel straight at relatively high speeds...
Gran Turismo: Prologue PS3:
NOW we're talking. None of the fighting I experienced in Need for Speed: Shift, and plenty of smooth corners and subtle force feedback. It's fair to say the force feedback is a tad muted in Prologue, but it's infinitely more comfortable to play than Shift, and a real joy to hit those apexes time and time again. 9/10.
Overall, this wheel is excellent, but the pain of setting it up is just too much to ignore. It really is a cable nightmare. The wheel, pedals and shifter could easily be wireless by this point, meaning the only cable needed would be a power cable to the steering wheel for the force feedback to work. I suspect the inevitable G29 will remedy this, as the way the G27 currently works is a direct copy of the G25 which is 3 years old as of November, 2009.
Overall, though, a great wheel, if you can be bothered to go through the setting it up...!
4/5
Note: This wheel is for PC AND PS3.
No comments:
Post a Comment