MotoGP 08 (game)

[Javis]

After watching TT Assen last weekend i got curious about what's going on at the PC game front re motorracing. I found MotoGP 08 on Steam. It's quite nice actually but it seems you can only steer the bike either by keyboard or joypad. My steering wheel (G25) won't work...

As i see no fun at all by playing this game via keyboard that leaves the joypad but i haven't got such a thing...

Does anybody here play MotoGP 08 with a joypad ? How does it work ? I suppose you still have to push buttons to handle the bike ?....

Might there still be a way to make a G25 wheel work with this game ?....

Many thanks for any enlightment !

cheers,
jan

[wombat666]

A pad works and is actually more natural for riding a bike than a wheel.
I've done a few MotoGP and SBK sim races but haven't found time to get into them seriously.
So many good sims, so little time.

[Javis]

Thank you, Wombat !

I've been looking at a few of these gamepads. Usually there's a left and right button situated at the very front of the pad. I suppose you use these with your index fingers ?.... And is this where you steer the bike with ??....

I can imagine a steering wheel doesn't feel exactly natural to steer a bike but i find it totally impossible to do so with a keyboard. I am constantly all over the place !

Any tip as to which amongst the abundage of gamepads i'd best buy to handle a motorbike ?

(sorry for all the questions)


Thanks again !

Jan

[Milton Shupe]

I too have wanted to get back into racing games, mainly oval track cars like NASCAR. Alway loved the NASCAR 99 where you could setup suspension and tire pressures. My sons and I used to race Go Karts where setup was absolutely critical, weight distribution, tire sizes, compounds, gearing, etc. We won or placed in many local, state, and National events.

If it were me, I would purchase a good racing steering wheel but not sure that would work with that game.

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=402050011

[Ferry_vO]

Jan, maybe look for a pad with an analog stick on it? You'll need one to control lean, and more buttons for the throttle and brake (Or maybe use the same stick for that?)

[Javis]

If it were me, I would purchase a good racing steering wheel but not sure that would work with that game.

No shortage of steering wheels here, Milton..

I've had quite a few through the years ( as well as flight sticks and yokes, naturally.. ) of which most have found their way to family or friends. Only have a Logitech G27 now, which i like very much and a rather exclusive wheel, pedals and shifter from ACT Labs which i bought mainly because of the beautiful stick shifter that can be adapted to various types of gear. The MotoGP 08 game doesn't support steering wheels alas...

I suppose these motorracing games are probabely not popular enough to warrant a dedicated controller. Would be fun, having a steering bar in front of you with working gas grip, brake and clutch handles, shift pedal on the floor.


You must've had a lotta fun racing Karts with your sons ! Many years ago we had a Kart track just about right next door. Long gone by now sadly but i had my fun there for as long as it lasted ! ( mind you, i just hired one every now and then, didn't have one of my own, no money enough, then.... )


If you want to go virtually Karting, pCars comes with a few Kart tracks : http://youtu.be/Q5k1DIp4swE

Cheers,
Jan

[Javis]

Jan, maybe look for a pad with an analog stick on it? You'll need one to control lean, and more buttons for the throttle and brake (Or maybe use the same stick for that?)

Ok ! Logitech F710 gets very good reviews, even best of the bunch at some gaming sites. Has two analog sticks. It is wireless though and i don't have that much pleasant experience with a wireless flightstick i once had. Batteries would run out very quickly indeed. Very annoying to be confronted with a dead stick in the middle of flight ! I noticed that the F510 is wired and is just about the same as the F710 otherwise. I might go for that.

Say, Ferry, i bet you know all about "Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends", right ??.... I didn't !! Holy Moly !!!

I just stumbled over a video preview of this new race game a few minutes ago. Just about every Ferrari race and sports cars from 1947 on in glorious detail ! Right up my racing alley !! Yiiiiihaaaaa!!!!!


Then again.... it is made by Slightly Mad.... if i remember correctly you are not that ecstatic about these devs, aren't you ? ( pCars...? )

Me, i can't wait for the release of this title, that'll be 27 July as far as i know. I think i'm even more anticipating this release than the release of the PMDG DC-6. That says something, believe me !!

Cheers,
Jan

[Ferry_vO]

I've heard about Ferrari legends; if it drives anything like pCars it will be great!

[wombat666]

Jan,
I use an older Logitech Dual Action Pad I purchased about 8 years ago, mainly to try for bikes.
Rough setup IIRC was hat switch for vision, left toggle for braking, right toggle for shifting up and down, and buttons 1 - 4 to start and manage engine, with a couple of others [9 - 10?] for pit in and out signals.
It worked reasonably well, as you do get a sense of handlebar mounted controls.
In my case art imitated life, I fell of a lot!!

[Javis]

Jan,I use an older Logitech Dual Action Pad I purchased about 8 years ago, mainly to try for bikes.
Rough setup IIRC was hat switch for vision, left toggle for braking, right toggle for shifting up and down, and buttons 1 - 4 to start and manage engine, with a couple of others [9 - 10?] for pit in and out signals.

Thanks, mate, that'll get me going ( ordered the Logitech F510 ), but didn't you forget the most important part ?... The steering ?.... I saw a couple vids where you can see both the monitor and gamepad handling. No bike sim, i think it was Shift2 or something like that. If i'm not mistaken the steering is done with the so called 'D-Pad' ?... The guy is constantly thumbing it to keep the car on the road. I suppose that'll take a LOT of practise for me ! Looking forward to give it try !

In my case art imitated life, I fell of a lot!!

Same here for me for the time being. I'm more off the bike than on it... Nicely animated though.

Thanks for the tips, Wombat !


Cheers,
Janinni

[Javis]

I've heard about Ferrari legends; if it drives anything like pCars it will be great!

Well, these guys seem to like it a lot : http://youtu.be/nBTTfw_NdBU

But this guy is a bit less enthusiastic ( dunno what he means with 'no sense of speed' ... ): http://youtu.be/GZoaRVjFmY8

Can't wait to check it out myself !

Cheers,
Jan

[Javis]

Well, got my Logitech F510 gamepad today. Funky little gadget !

I find it pretty difficult to handle though, atleast with this MotoGP game. I'm still all over the place. I suppose it'll take hours of practise to really get the hang of it ( if ever.... ).

In the mean time i found that there actually ARE ( or rather WERE, so it seems..) handlebars for PC motorbike games in the market. Thrustmaster has this one :





No chance of buying it anywhere though, seems to be discontinued. Same for two similar sets offered by Ducati. Rotten bit of luck...

So i'll try to get the hang of this gamepad. It feels great. Currently trying to program the setup which might suit me best. The game looks pretty nice and runs as smooth as butter on my rig even with 20 AI bikes ( not that i see them much, only when they overtake me for the umpteenth time... )

Great fun wachting the replays though !

Cheers,
Jan

[Javis]

Fun! Fun! Fun!!!

Well, in the mean time i've got my hours of practise and i absolutely LOVE IT !

I've got my gamepad setup the way i feel most comfortable with now and am really getting the hang of it. I can keep up with the boys now ( Ok, rookie settings, naturally.. ) and even move up thru the pack 10 or so places but then comes the inevitable mistake and i'm back at the back.

Bought SBK 2011 too, just to see the difference. Actually i don't see much difference.... This one has a lot more camera views which is very nice but i think MotoGP has the better graphics. Must be the same devs i guess....

But hey, i was wondering, looks like everybody here is much more interested in realworld racing than actually simming ?.... How come ??.... We're all simmers here, aren't we ?....

Really no other virtual Stoners, Pedrosa's, Rossi's or Lorenzo's here ? Really hard to believe i seem to be only one around here because it's so much fun ! At the moment i like it even better than my car race games. Or is it like you've all been there, done that, got the T-shirt ??....

It's probabely because i never had any interest in motorracing games, dunno why. No time i guess. Well, i DO now, very much so, and it's all because i accidently stumbled over the broadcast of the TT Assen a couple weeks ago....

If there's anybody here that plays MotoGP 08, i DO have a couple questions to ask...

Cheers,
Jan