Every Sim Is a Bit Broken - Here’s How to Enjoy Racing Anyway

[@DiariesOfABadDriver]

Acceptance is the final stage of grief. Grief, of course, being an integral component of simracing and GM subscription.

[@mattjones1207]

I'm still in the denial stage.

[@ScottOmatic]

Racing simulators are the uncanny valley of racing games. They are just real enough to suspend our disbelief but also "creep us out" with their inaccuracies. Arcade racers, particularly the cute and fluffy kind, or ones that take place in a different reality, such as Mario Kart or F-Zero completely get a pass when it comes to physics; we don't expect or care for them to have the same rule set as real life.

[@chedhead3278]

UI design is undervalued imo. Nobody wants frustration to kick in before you even start.

[@Rave-agent]

I've got to the point where I can accept all of the various sims differences. I'm at the stage in my life where I cannot remember those nuances very well so I find myself sticking to just one for longer and longer.

[@kevinjbradley]

A good take Gamer Muscle. My thoughts: Sim racing is a great hobby so long as you remember: 1/ It's not actually real life, it's a bit of escapism for most of us. 2/ The simulators we all play, despite being very impressive for what they do, are just games at the end of the day (including i Racing) 3/ every sim has to fudge some real-life values to come up with an interpretation of what the developer thinks is realistic. This is not 'right' or 'wrong' in any one individual case, just different for each bit of software. 4/ The developers for the most part are all small teams trying their best to make products that we all enjoy. 5/ Using a bit of imagination and being a bit less serious/less critical goes a long way. Remember it is meant to be fun!

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

I think people should still be critical , and the denile of that criticism is a huge issue in sims and lots of things , the point is to not infer that the criticism is negative or whilst being critical to not have that end up being frustrating directly for an individual.

[@kevinjbradley]

@GamerMuscleVideos I agree 100%, critisism can be useful and we shouldn't point blank pretend that the sims we play are completely perfect (they're not of course). I just think some in the community spend more time criticising than actually playing the games. This is not unique to sim racing of course.

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

​@@kevinjbradley with competitive games criticizing the game is a core way to get better at it. Being honest about ACC tire behavior , AC curbs iracing insane tires ect is good way to be better or not be affected by a given sims weard and somewhat hidden aspects. Like finding out about rocket jumping in quake lol. I think because sims are sims lots of people don't want to think of them as games and then are reluctant and resist even get upset with people working out or pointing out very obvouse issues or aspects from game to game.

[@kevinjbradley]

@GamerMuscleVideos oh yes, very true on the competitive side of things. You have to understand where the quirks of each sim are to ''exploit'' or produce quicker laptimes. Matters less to a casual like me who races against the AI 70-80% of the time, but I certainly take your point. There is a balance to be had between criticising things in a constructive way and enjoying these games for what they are.

[@vogliounacocacola]

I am on the old side, I actually remember playing Grand Prix from Accolade. I now play iRacing, AMS2 and the like, and I am almost constantly in a state of bliss. I wish I had had this when I was a kid. Having said that, the only thing that really annoys the shit out of me are the obvious bugs, such as AMS2's AI not wearing a heir tyres.

[@motelghost477]

Gamermuscle is telling us not to be too critical of sims, just a take a moment to think about that.

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

That was not what was said in the video , I actually go into more nuance with this - the point is to not let that critical understanding be frustrating and actually be honest about what the issues are in each simulator.

[@tradesman1000]

NO! AC is the best. 🤨😁

[@DaveAdams222]

My coping mechanism is a varying combination of dark humor and whiskey.

[@stuie2112]

I found the best way to eliminate frustration and just enjoy iRacing was to stop being bothered about the iRating. I can have a quick half hour or so practice at a given car/track combo and just enjoy racing with whoever I'm around... and not give a toss about how my finishing position affects the high score rating. Just simply enjoy the fun of going racing. Could I do a Gamer Muscle and grind out 5K? Possibly, but then what? Then I'd find myself in top splits with people who live, eat and breathe that series whereas I just don't take it that seriously and frankly don't even want to spend that much time going round in virtual circles because I have plenty of life outside virtual racing. Frustration sorted and I'm having much more fun with it. That said, I'm looking forward to the next iteration of the tyre model. The new Gen3 Supercars are amazing fun to drive and the tyres don't fall off them just because you have a slide or get greedy on the throttle and spin them up a bit. Finally a car where you can rag it pretty hard without the tyres going into meltdown. And they drive brilliantly in the rain too... like being in an overpowered RWD rally car like e.g. the old Lancia's. You can get the Supercars really sideways and still recover it... heaps of fun.

[@richardss8206]

The only thing I find frustrating about Simracing is not being able to unsubscribe from Simracing KZbinrs enough

[@dklassen]

Many years ago I read an article called Racing for Last Place Glory. It was written by an older guy racing motorcycles in a vintage class. Every single race he came in dead last fist pumping like he just won Daytona and he loved every second of it! That's the attitude right there. I play rF2, AC, ACC, LMU, AMS2, Dirt Rally 2, WRC, Wreckfest. it is what it is. Each has their own greatness and each their own failure. I exploit what I love and try to ignore what I don't. Love it or leave it.

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

It depends to what degree a person is driving for experience vs competition. I'd say an issue with sims is the "experience" is deeply effected by physics and FFB and that's why even if you want to be like that old guy it's going to be frustrating when a sim has super restrictive physics that are also nothing like other sims or reality. Accepting what something is and getting the most out of it is another thing 😆

[@Brundlesim]

For me, also, being an average sim racer is more enjoyable. Being fastest is frankly, boring…the fun is racing people rather than having a 20 second lead..may as well hotlap..

[@tradesman1000]

@@Brundlesim your slow then.. 🤔😄

[@Brundlesim]

Slow to average and proud!!

[@tradesman1000]

@@Brundlesim good on ya mate. 👍🏻 but I’m sure you enjoy a good battle no matter where you are on the grid. That’s what it’s all about, having fun.

[@jacohop]

11:37 this is the most true thing I’ve heard. 😆🤣😂🤣😆😂🤣

[@jacohop]

That whole section 😅🥹😂🤣😆🥴😮‍💨😄🫠

[@boomerxracing]

Yes and Yes and Yes... Perfectly stated. Great video!

[@davidmann1871]

"All models are wrong, but some are useful." - George E. P. Box, maybe

[@andygunner8531]

I tried vr for the first time today (Acc) I got it to a level where the immersion was so good I didn't care about the picture quality being perfect. As long as you're enjoying yourself don't matter what kind of sim u play.

[@rickthomas9894]

I thought it was rather Zen. Accept what is and adapt. Right now LMU is the bain of my sim racing existence. Hmmm. All this time I thought it was me, but really LMU is just representing reality differently than the other game I was playing. Almost like it's making different representations of physics more important, and I must learn what's more important in LMU,but not totally forget what's important in the other game. Wait a minute.....I must adapt. Not judge! Oh my. It is me! Gamer Muscle, you've freed me! With this knowledge I can go forth and learn to play and love all the games for what they each offer! A multitude of choices have opened for me! Thank you for this profound insight. Good thoughts! Thanks for sharing 🙂

[@Burntoilcoffee]

All these sims cant be wrong Reality must be flawed

[@nanthilrodriguez]

The primary sim frustration for me is that one may have great ffb, another may have a brilliant Tyre model, they all claim to be real life, but in reality the are still just video games. Video games that happen to prioritize realistic driving, but not one of them realizes that they are, ultimately, still just a video game, coming packaged with literally 0 gameplay features. They are, all of them, glorified tech demos where you get 1 primary game mode, but there is no game that comes with it. What I ultimately want is a sim, like AC1 or RF2 with a full single player career, an in game currency like GT7, game modes, not just fucking hotlap or race... I get burned out and frustrated because I have nothing to do with downtime except race. But maybe I want to cruise shutoko, maybe I want to drive my car to the paint shop and chill in the customization window for a bit, maybe I want to make the cops mad and get chased for a bit for a laugh, but not in GTA, on an actual sim with great driving and handling. I want a game with my game, not just a tech demo. And they get away with this bull shit because people who purchase sim racing VIDEO GAMES think they're somehow distinct from being a game, because they want their hobby to be taken seriously. Pull the stick out your ass. I want high level, clean and fair and realistic racing just like you, but sometimes I just want to jump into an open map and do some overtake runs too. There's so much fun to be had in a sim. Like what if shutoko revival had a crazy taxi mode? Having a fun mode to play for fun between races doesn't invalidate you or the realism of the driving model. Can we all just stop being so pretentious and have some fun? And expect actual features in our sims?

[@jedijon1228]

So true GM at 62 I enjoy the racing & competition really only use 2 sims now yes one is the iR & the other is LMU - I am not that fast but always in the top 10 or the occasional podium, but I really enjoy it & try not to get bogged down with all BS - having competitive fun is what I am all about.

[@5JSX5]

Sometimes I am reminded that I haven't driven anything other than karts in real life and I am thankful that I can't tell what realistic physics are and therefore can have the time of my life with any game that's more realistic than need for speed carbon (currently I am going through the project cars 2 career mode and trying out one of the 189 cars in private sessions when I feel like I need a break from racing against ai). People need to remember how wonderful it was to feel how realistic a simulator is compared to any arcade game before you got used to it. I also don't agree with your statement that we're basically torturing ourselves. I find the process of figuring out the quirks of each car and each track very enjoyable and only get frustrated once I feel like I know what to do but fail at executing a good lap or keeping the car on track. Oh and when someone takes me out in multiplayer. That's frustrating too.

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

@@5JSX5 The issue is if you have the skill to ballence cars or helicopters or planes and move them around in specific ways when a sim does not support that you have removed that aspect of gameplay. For example many combat flight sims historically don't support some basic acrobatic manevours that are fundamental to winning a fight. Or dont have any depth to the stall behavior , basically those games remove the ability for a player to do those perfectly natural things and limit them to having to stick to more simple and less creative maneuvers. So for sure it's a bit frustrating when you play a racing sim that's supposedly realistic but doesn't let you actually take advantage of more advanced driving skills because it has huge hole in its tire physics. And the only reason the other guy then beats you is because they simply out memorized you because they had more time to spend memorizing the game than you. Id argue a well designed arcade game is less problematic as it's not marketed or pretending to be something it's not so it's not expecting the player to go into playing it with a specific expectation as they would have with a sim.

[@hectormiranda2863]

I enjoy ac for mods, ams2 for vintage racing/onestopshop, iracing for competitiveness. They are all great in their own way!

[@tallesttreeintheforest]

my tip: do not underestimate the power of the correct seating position, it will be your cars pivot reference.

[@chubbs6504]

at the end of the day their just video games.

[@nanthilrodriguez]

I wish this were the case. Do other video games get away with empty maps and tech demos and nothing else? When is the last sim that actually came with game modes? Every sim has "hardcore race event" and "hotlap" and nothing else. Games have fun stuff. Like open maps, quests and missions, customization, progression... you know, gameplay Driving simulators are like if an FPS developer implemented realistic walking simulation in various locations, and you could race against other characters in those locations on fixed circuits, but every FPS only ever featured the same small list of locations. But that wouldn't be fun. FPS have guns, or bows, or spells, or exploration, or campaigns, or missions to do... you know because they're games I wish sim enjoyers would stop being so pretentious and let us have fun in our sims. I want a goddam single player career with progression, and unlocks, and fun modes, but in a realistic driving sim. How hard is that?

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

How do you avoid getting frustrated ? Maybe it being frustrating is part of the fun ? I think we all play sims because we hate ourselves lets be honest , its one of the dumbest hobbies ever invented after stamp collecting.

[@nanthilrodriguez]

Even despite having a steam library full of sims, and switching frequently, I do find myself frustrated. I want 1. the Tyre feel of rf2 2. the Tyre wear from acc 3. the online rating system of iracing 4. Modding community of AC1 5. the single player career mode of GT7 6. the free roam map of GTA6/shutoko/etc 7. the game mode of crazy taxi 8. the customization of NFS underground 2 All within the most realistic of realistic driving simulations. Why are sim drivers so against having fun outside the single mode of racing? When there is so much more fun to be had behind the wheel of a car. I'm addicted to shutoko, but put in custom paint garages, put in quests and missions to give a purpose to driving around. Let driving simulators be games.... expect features from the products we all spent so much money on... I get burned out because when I have some time to kill, and want to drive for fun but don't have the time for a race or practice, or just don't want to sweat, I'd sure like something to drive that isn't HARDCORE RACE MODE Why can't we have something like an NfS underground but which emphasizes realistic driving? "Simcade" used to refer to the driving model, but now "simcade" is used by the pretentious sim community to dissuade developers from adding fun to their sims. And I'm sick of it.

[@JustWilson]

I actually need this video so badly.. As good as AC is, the kerbs have got me ripping my hair out again and I can't shake the feeling I'm playing on some game. Hopefully they iron them all out for AC Evo, but its got me wanting to play other sims like RaceRoom and LMS just to test what the feeling is like on those

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

@@JustWilson Just don't drive on the curbs when on the throttle 👍 RR and LMU are worse than AC in basic driving ( though no curb issue and better suspension)

[@JustWilson]

@ appreciate it, I’ll try just feels unnatural letting off the throttle for 1mm of death paint that puts you into an instant spin the moment you touch it lol.. shame to hear bout the other games, don’t know why its so hard for one to just get the sweet spot with all the physics

[@TheDive25]

Great video. I was juggling about 5 sims at a time for awhile and using VR. Spent about 99% of the time tweaking settings and trying to get things to work and 1% actually racing. Really excited for EVO and I hope it lives up to the hype. BTW, which track was that in the video. I can usually name a track after 1 turn. That one had me stumped.

[@lastscatteringsurface9950]

These games need a car creator like Automation, and combine that with online servers where people build cars to spec of the race they want to go to. Also why not have fantasy car brands? It seems like a real missed opportunity to not have that, just imagine the merch sales.

[@lastscatteringsurface9950]

And a lot more fantasy tracks, like 50 of them, and goofy ones like Rainbow Road.

[@lastscatteringsurface9950]

Also, not to go on about this, how do they not just have a f2p game where like half the content is paid for, but you can still get into every league and be competitive? With a few ads as well, and merch sales they could make way more than a one time payment.

[@Vindisify]

All I care about is if the last patch was GAME CHANGING or not

[@Steeljohnjo]

For me it’s just great fun even the worst sim are good in their own way. VR is how I play never use single screen.

[@andyrachy]

time to drink a cup of TEA, thanks for the video

[@frankzappa2274]

I'm a glass half full guy... I believe if You build your rig they will come. Simulation Glory awaits

[@nicolopastore28]

“One video, to rule them all”

[@MattOLC]

Wise words from the FFB Prophet himself 😌

[@automaton450]

We go intuh ‘batt-ul' wit the sims wut we 'ave, not the sims wut we want! Bloody hell!

[@SimracingArnout]

It is like languages Spanish, French, and Dutch they are all different yet they are all languages learn the language and then judge it and see the beauty of it

[@speedgoat7496]

Mate to maximise ur epic setup I would lower the camera by two inches, or situp a bit. I Know other sim KZbinrs are desperately trying to purchase IMAX cameras trying to catchup with you, so we need to perfect the detail lol

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

Lol the camera is bolted to the back of a screen stand It can't go lower and if I angle it down more you just see more of my carpet with cables and my fat belly 😆

[@speedgoat7496]

@@GamerMuscleVideosthat reminds me I also need to start my treadmill shenanigans from Monday 😂

[@jbeeches1]

Would be nice if you could stream in 1440 or 4k not 1080p

[@Hustler9g]

my iracing teammates tell me AC is crap yet have never played it. i just tell them that all sims are crap and if they would pull their heads out of the sand they would see that.

[@MaD-_-HaX]

GM hit the nail on its head, very well explained. I'm unsubscribing because he is no longer an AC fan boy 😢

[@MegaIronica]

Another video of GM talking to his past self to try to prevent future rants. While the attempt is admirable, we all know it will fail 😂

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

The rants are good fun 🤣

[@MegaIronica]

@GamerMuscleVideos keep them coming!

[@carlosangalang]

Comparison is the thief of joy. Instead of comparing sims, take what each gives you and run (away) with it. Actually stole that bit from SuperGT when he was simracing The OG Stig in AC

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

I think that saying is actually largely bullshit when applied to most things , Comparison is only the Thief of joy in specific contexts and if one is applying emotive weighting to the comparison. Where comparison is genuinely a thief of joy is when people compare them self's to other people or when people make false comparisons or think of things with limited information or as a zero sum game or through a lens of things having to be identical to be fair ( in all those cases the issue is not really the act of comparison though) So things should be compared and comparison is one of the best ways to understand things and see how things are different and understand things, but again the key is how one is emotive about these comparisons and if a person applies a negative emotion to things and when one is making a comparison.

[@jbeeches1]

Less back light bleeding

[@wibblewabblewoo6249]

I’m agreeing with a lot of this… personally, I enjoy AC ACC RF2 LMU AMS2 R3E, each has their positives and negatives, and I use each sim for different things. Even PC2 has some really fun car&track combos! Never tried Iracing and don’t intend to, coz, money innit. However, I have to respect the opinion of simracers like James Baldwin when they say ACC & LMU are more realistic than other sims in most ways, because he races the McLaren 720S in real life, who are any of us to disagree with him?! 😂

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

You would have to ask James Baldwin to be super specific and pin down each specific thing he thinks is more or less realistic. The fact is no real driver would think ACC passenger slides is realistic because objectively it's not No real driver would think ACC suspension over large bumps is realistic because it's not. (Why kunos supposedly have fixed it for Evo) Then you have other aspects to LMU and ACC that are crap compared to other sims. The really obvouse issues sims have at the moment don't require a person to be a real driver to notice , it's not like we are talking about some mega subtle system issues you might see in a flight sim that only happens when plotting some specific flight path adjustment that only a real pilot would notice as being off lol So I'm not saying real drivers are wrong but general simracers put way to much undefined wight behind what ever real world drivers happen to say something positive or generally like there choice of sim. Again I'm.not saying I disagree with Baldwin last time I talked with him I think he basically had similar views to me , but then again he is far less direct in his criticism of sims compared to some other e-sports drivers I have talked to so is hard to pin down on exactly what he thinks is good or bad. Have to keep in mind real world drivers need to be very anodyne to avoid losing sponsorship or being controversial as they are promoters as much as they are drivers.

[@wibblewabblewoo6249]

@ not disagreeing with you re: ACC bumps etc, I’m agreeing with you that each sim has aspects that are good & bad, none are perfect! Just suggesting that if a real life racing driver like JB says some sims have less wrong than others, then I’d trust his opinion 😂

[@coxyindubai2929]

Be honest, you watched the video i posted in Jan 1st didn't you?! To be fair, mine was way more meandering and from a less experienced point of view than you, but it did basically say, that a you aren't racing a SIM as such, because all platforms are different. If they were a SIM (simulation) they would all be exactly the same.

[@studlydudly]

What if Sims are Reality, and we are a Simulation!

[@steelin666]

That's not different to real racing cars. They all have their intricacies and nuances and what works in one may not work in the other. Some Formula 1 drivers learned that the hard way when current regulations were introduced. So, in a sense, it's perfectly within realism that different sims drive differently. In fact, even with the same cars it can be put on different tyres being simulated in each game. What is actually not realistic is when a sim has such a strong trait that it determines driving style across all the cars available. That's why I think all-in-one sims are inherently inferior to dedicated one category games, like F1, LMU or ACC (flawed as it is regardless).

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

The key thing is things drive differently within a coherent reality where as different sims have litrally different laws of physics , so its not really analogous to the differences you find with different cars or car tires or conditions. Sims can be more or less broken and broken in different ways , I think all sims effectively end up having a single meta ultimately even ones with different content the meta is just more or less drawn out or at higher lower speeds , you could probably identify each sim by looking at telemetry lol and even if it was different cars could tell from how each one has to be driven which sim it was due to how limited they tend to be. But sure some sims have more freedom of driving style and are more dynamic than others and i think that's better.

[@steelin666]

@GamerMuscleVideos The underlying cause for the differences may be different, but the mentality you have to adapt is exactly the same - that something that worked for your driving for most of the time, sometimes your entire life, may not work in that new car, and you simply have to adapt your driving.

[@tvdg93]

How does a walking man know about simracing?

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

Grip hacks

[@Rene_Bo]

Lets be real, sim racers complain no matter how much dynamic range there is 🤣

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

80% Of simracing is complaining its half the fun !

[@DannyGiusa]

These are all games, turn off when frustrated and enjoy life. :)

[@awakeandwatching953]

they are racing simulation games, simulators placed with in the frame work of a game.. you know, to make it fun

[@Brundlesim]

Why aren’t you doing a podcast my guy. Having in depth view with your background would be refreshing..

[@jw2722]

It’s also the most realistic

[@Jonny._.]

This sounded wery rambly even for GamerMuscle, but point taken, I’m not offended at all. I would like to unsubscribe now :)

[@nope3152]

Techno party hardy!

[@daren42]

Come to terms with the fact that they're all shit and not worth bothering with if you value your time (especially if you're trying to race offline against "AI").

[@chrisstaples182]

10 seconds into this video, I almost unsubscribed.

[@jbeeches1]

Get a small lg oled

[@jbeeches1]

Samsung 4k 32in 240fps

[@artemouse2007]

hmm interesting

[@simonjohnade]

😂 Well said

[@jbeeches1]

27in 4k oled 240fps

[@snaqqha6145]

i am back :D WHY do not ALL Sims have AUTO FFB setting ( only good thing about iRacing ) ?? I hate fiddling with FFB in all sims ... -.-

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

Lots of different wheels , developers don't want to go through every wheel and set them up - lots of sim-racers like crazy settings and nothing is standardized , also each manufacturer of wheel might update firmware and make changes and then putting a different wheel rim on a specific wheel base can change the required ffb settings quite a bit. Lotsa of sims also have really quite bad fundamental FFB and physics so its all a bit of a mess really lol.

[@snaqqha6145]

@@GamerMuscleVideos I see you point but from what i see with iRacing is, it only adjusts FFB Strength do not clip. For me this would be very much enough for all sims. Let me figure out if i want setting x or y more or less on the base but dang give me an Auto button to not clip like crazy.. or ran 5 laps looking at a bar checking if it gets red... oh and then i swap cars now the process starts again...

[@channelvr1293]

Best thing about simracing is my usb espresso maker on my rig...😂 and unsubbing to GM channel at least 3x a day🎉

[@jbeeches1]

Lg oled 42c44la tv

[@jbeeches1]

Oled

[@ramblefish]

Raging simulators, amirite??

[@danielcase2189]

Whoo hoo I'm view #2. And first to say decent video. From a hack.. lmao. J/k

[@Steeljohnjo]

Just enjoy simple as that.

[@jonp3890]

Maybe they should be called ‘approximators’ instead. Save ‘simulators’ for those 9 billion dollar F1 rigs.

[@GamerMuscleVideos]

Those 9 Billion dollar F1 rigs have many of the same issues as home sims and there own issues , Just think how manny corperate tools you have used and how bad some of them are compared to open source solutions or other solutions that exist. Just because something is expensive and corporate does not neccecerly mean its much better than other tools that exist. The big sims are more about doing specific forms of simulation or specific tasks or specifc testing in some cases they will litrally drive worse than AC or RF1 but it's not important as the sim is being used for getting specific data where the general end drive or feel is not neccercerly the most important thing.

[@Jonny._.]

Say what you want, rFactor 2 is perfect. All the other sims have flaws :D

[@snaqqha6145]

1st YEAH

[@danielcase2189]

Well shoot you hit the accept button b4 me. Got me by 10 seconds. Lmao.

[@PS3DEADMAN69]

whenever i get pissed off with simracing i just play call of duty, after 9 and a half minutes of 12 year olds screaming in my headset, i find iracing chat to not only be enlightening but positively delightful 🤪

[@jbeeches1]

Oled