[jdmlight]

I love racing games, and would love to get one/some after I buy my iMac. Are there any good racing games for the Mac? I tried reading the other topics here in "Mac Racing & Sports", but got nowhere.

By the way, here's my discussion on a new iMac.

edit: Oh, by the way, I hate spambots as much as you do.

[teamturbo_2000]

jdmlight, on December 14th 2006, 03:58 PM, said:

I love racing games, and would love to get one/some after I buy my iMac. Are there any good racing games for the Mac? I tried reading the other topics here in "Mac Racing & Sports", but got nowhere.

By the way, here's my discussion on a new iMac.

edit: Oh, by the way, I hate spambots as much as you do.

No, no racing games for Mac that are worth. There was suppose to be a rally racing game out for us, but it looks like nothing is going to happen. There is a couple for Windows. I use my iMac to play Nascar 05.

[Lord Heavy]

There is a small but select batch of games currently available:

Nascar 2003
You should be able to pick this up pretty cheaply on eBay. It's an excellent racing game that you really get the most out of if you use a wheel, but is very playable even with the keyboard. Even better there are at least three mods available to extend the game, giving you Craftsman Trucks, IROC and TransAm cars. It's not just ovals either: you get a decent number of road tracks. There's also an amazing GTP mod (one of many for the PC version) that was available for a while, but is now tricky to track down.
http://rlrl.firebran...dia.com/phpBB2/

Total Immersion Racing
A difficult one, this: very mixed reviews and it can be frustrating to play, but there's a great selection of real cars and tracks. Worth getting if you can find a cheap copy.

F1 2000
A solid F1 simulator - a rounded, good-looking game but showing its age. In fact, it showed its age the moment it was released on the Mac - about two years after the PC version!

Racer
This a free cross-platform racing sim. There are some lovely cars available, but because it's completely community based there's not a lot of cohesion about releases. Then again, because people make what they feel like there's an incredible selection of eclectic cars. Fun to play solo; I've always had issues with multiplayer though.
http://racer.nl/

Redline, Ford Racing
I put these two together as they're much more in the arcade style: fantasy tracks and average quality modelling, but fun for thrashing around.

Colin McRae Rally
This is the one that Mac racers are waiting for: my copies been on pre-order for about 18 months! It is promised to ship... sometime. It'll look great and play fantastically well. As usual, you'll want a wheel to get the most out of it. Controlling opposite lock on keys is hardly easy...

Windows gaming
If you're getting a new iMac then you've the possibility of using Boot Camp, and this opens up a multitude of possibilities. You can use any PC wheel (there's a much greater choice and they're much better quality than the few available on the Mac), and there are some killer games with huge mod communities. I've maintained a PC for years through working on various mods for SCGT, F1C and rFactor, but now with the Intel Macs I don't have to upgrade my PC every two seconds... The new iMacs are strong Windows gaming boxes, so you'll get a lot out of these frame-rate hogging race titles.
http://www.bhmotorsports.com/

These are a must:
GTR or GTR2
Awesome games: based on the FIA GT series from 2003 and 2004. The first version you'll be able to pick up very cheaply; the second version adds cars like the Maseratie MC12 and realistic weather effects. There's a decent mod community around the games. From the same stable is GT Legends, which is a stunning-looking game based on '60s and '70s GT and touring cars.

rFactor
This is an open platform: developed as an advanced racing engine that people can build whatever they want for. There's already a wide range of tracks available and some impressive mods in development (including our VLM Le Mans 1977-85 track ). Very good multiplayer as well.
http://www.rfactorcentral.com/

F1C 99-02
After SportsCarGT this was the one that kick-started big league modding: there's still an incredible range of top-quality mods available, and you can pick the game itself up for tuppence.
http://forum.rscnet....splay.php?f=478

Unfortunately it's unlikely any of these will find their way to the Mac, but there's a tiny chance of a company like Feral (who worked on the Mac version of F1 2000, the engine that evolved into rFactor) picking it up...

[jdmlight]

Well, I looked for Nascar 2003 and couldn't find the Mac version on eBay, but the PC/PS2/XBOX descriptions sounded pretty awesome. I found Total Immersion Racing, but can I get a demo for that? I don't know if I like super-adaptive AI. It could either make the game impossibly hard or impossibly addictive. Hoping for impossibly addictive. I don't really want arcade-style racers: they get old fast. I also don't like "animated" racing games: I want real cars (and shiny textures!). When is Colin McRae Rally coming out? (approximately) Sounds cool, but if you've had your copy on preorder for 18 months, I doubt that I'll be able to find it when it comes out.

[Lemon Lime]

i hate red line. period.

::lemon lime prepares for a full on barrage::

[Eric5h5]

jdmlight, on December 15th 2006, 11:26 PM, said:

When is Colin McRae Rally coming out? (approximately) Sounds cool, but if you've had your copy on preorder for 18 months, I doubt that I'll be able to find it when it comes out.

Probably fairly soon; Feral had some delays with stuff this year but now they're getting their games out. You won't have a problem finding it when it's done...all those people who were holding their breath waiting for it have expired by now, so just take one of their copies.

--Eric

[iRolley]

Lemon Lime, on December 15th 2006, 11:04 PM, said:

i hate red line. period.

::lemon lime prepares for a full on barrage::

I LOVE Redline.

period

Simulation is the only mode I play with and the networking is working very good. It is a lot of fun to play over the net. I bought a gamepad just for this game... and for Colin McRae, one day.

Total Immersion racing is good enough, but unplayable on Intel. As for F1, it plays fine on Intel.

[jdmlight]

iRolley, on December 16th 2006, 03:20 AM, said:

Total Immersion racing is good enough, but unplayable on Intel. As for F1, it plays fine on Intel.

So Total Immersion is a PowerPC game? How old is it? aka How will it run under Rosetta?

And I'll probably pickup Colin McRae Rally when it comes out. Is there a website that I can watch for the release?

[plracing]

Quote

Well, I looked for Nascar 2003 and couldn't find the Mac version on eBay

Head on over to www.racingmacs.com, we'll see if we can hook you up. We're the ONLY Mac racing league on the Net, come on over and have some fun. Yes, you will definitely need a wheel though.

Tom