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Racing Game Cameras

TheUnk

Golden Member
Why is it no racing games I've played so far have an interior view with the dash and all that but without the wheel? I mean if I have a wheel then why do I want to see double? Seeing my hands/wheel along with the computer generated hands/wheel is just silly and breaks immersion for me. I'd like to still see the dash and such, but usually resort to the hood cam or nothing but the gauges.
 
Yeah I haven't seen a racing game with a view that simulate the actual view when we drive. Usually the interior view tried to show too much of the dash, which makes the view outside the windshield too small. Usually I drive with the over the hood view.
 
For what is worth, Live For Speed has an option to not draw the steering wheel, and you can adjust the cockpit viewing angle. I still like to see the wheel as it provides useful information, unless you have ridiculously powerful force feedback. And it looks more realistic, the wheel in my hands is not really a part of the cockpit on the screen that''s 1-2ft away.
 
Do you really role play your racing sim so hardcore that seeing the wheel distracts you from the experience. When I am playing Dirt2 I find it difficult to pay any attention to the wheel rendered on the screen because I am always trying to maximize my speed through every corner.
 
I for one use third person in racing games. To me that's the closest to a real driving experience. The normal field of view through the windshield is too small to be realistic.
 
In Dirt2 I almost exclusively use the over the hood view. The internal view is as easy to drive, but 50% of the screen is occupied by the dash. It just doesn't feel quite right.
 
I for one use third person in racing games. To me that's the closest to a real driving experience. The normal field of view through the windshield is too small to be realistic.

Your normal view of the road is from 20 feet in the air? 😕

I use hood or bumper camera...I love the look of the in-car cameras, but the view is too small.
 
Bumper view. In real life your field of view through the windshield would be much larger than your computer screen, so why limit yourself to a tiny view just so you can see the dash?
 
They're all flawed.

Period.

Just go with whatever view you're most comfortable with. Talking about which is the "most flawed" is like arguing over who is the shortest midget.
 
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Another vote for bumper view, which is the most efficient view to use. In my opinion also closest to what you see IRL.
 
by bumper view you mean the view where you see no part of the car and only the road ahead right? My only problem with it is that the camera sits too low and make it hard to see far ahead. I prefer the hood view more where the camera sits a little higher. Third person view is only good for arcade racer driving with a gamepad.
 
If you play racing games online I think 3rd person cam is actually an advantage because you can see everything around your car, and you can see far ahead since the cam is so high up. I still use bumper/heed cam though.
 
Some time ago there was some discussion about different views, and some guy made this drawing, it's kinda funny, but does reflect my position: cockpit view is the only realistic one since you drive a real car from the cockpit. Wheel/bumper view can give some advantage, but looks too unnatural to me, just doesn't feel like you're driving a car.

lfsdriverpos.jpg
 
Some time ago there was some discussion about different views, and some guy made this drawing, it's kinda funny, but does reflect my position: cockpit view is the only realistic one since you drive a real car from the cockpit. Wheel/bumper view can give some advantage, but looks too unnatural to me, just doesn't feel like you're driving a car.

lfsdriverpos.jpg

The cockpit view has too much dash and not enough road. I have to look down to see gauges when I'm driving - in a game, they're pretty much right in front of me.
 
You may not be looking into the gauges while you drive in RL, but a good portion of them is still part of your peripheral vision. You only need to look down because peripheral vision has a much lower acuity. Buy some gigantic multiple screens and you'll have a better immersion. Even if the complete screen was just road, you could be arguing that you need to be looking left or right in RL, and this is not the case with monitors.

In my setup, dash is about 25-30% of my 24" screen, I find that more than reasonable and I still need to specifically divert my look from the road to the gauges to see the rpms or speed, it's not automatic knowledge. Using a road view with an f22-like HUD is far more unrealistic to me...
 
Generally, this is why I always pick the "over the hood" position you get on DIRT2

it offers the most realistic perspective to being in the actual drivers seat

with an eyefinity setup, you are actually as close as ever with being in a VR pod because the viewing angle and pixes makes it maybe 1/4-1/3 scale of actual windshield visibility
 
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