Ohhh okay now I see it and I guess thats kinda a "no" to this but you can do it but it means editing code!
you can change gravity from the console, kinda fun to hop around in low gravity actually. You can also change gravity with trigger points in maps.
i'm a little upset at this response as well. the game engine is not infallible. just because the numbers match up to what you heard in physics class does not mean it's actually perfect. it doesn't even mean it's more fun to play. the other devs have used similar arguments in the past, but continue to post about micro-adjustments they make that they seem to think makes something feel better, but also post about how they use real-world measurements so it *has* to be realistic. i'm sure they went out and recorded the tread durometer and toe-in on a civetta bolide in real life. there are some other glaring problems holding things back before you even get to micro adjustments... like tires having 12 sides and acting like jello if you steer side-to-side while stopped. and don't even think about checking the gforce meter while turning side-to-side like that... does this game even simulate downforce or drag? what if -12m/s of gravity happens to give just enough weight to act as if the car had real downforce at speed? who knows.
Yes, we do simulate downforce and drag. Yes, there are flaws with the physics. We have to sacrifice smoothness in the tire model so that we can simulate the rest of the vehicle, something no other real-time simulator has ever done. That said, the tire model has come a long way since release; it's approaching the accuracy and realism of some of the well-known driving sims. All of the real characteristics are there; weight transfer, lift-off oversteer, power oversteer and understeer, and all by virtue of building and simulating things as they exist in real life. We have a very learnable and reasonably realistic driving model which is enjoyable to drive without sacrificing realism in the way of adding extra grip or driving aids. The principles that apply to driving or racing a real car apply in BeamNG, just like any good simulator. There are certainly improvements to be made, but I dislike the cynical view of the whole thing. Think about how poorly the cars drove on release, how well they drive now, and then when the race update comes out, how much improved they are. Think about how much better the whole game will be when we implement force feedback; how that'll tie back into tuning the tires and suspension to be just right. You can go on about how you think X and Y are wrong, but the fact is; there hasn't been a game before us that simulates the whole car and not just 5 point masses (car + 4 wheels). There's no game that simulates how the suspension bushings deflect when you go over a bump or a curb. There's no game that simulates how the chassis twists and vibrates over bumps. There's no game that simulates what happens to the extra force the suspension can't absorb, causing the car to bounce into the air. Except BeamNG. I don't mean to come off as arrogant here, but these are facts. The other games sacrifice the simulation of the whole car so they can have a precise tire model. They don't have a damage model like BeamNG, and they don't model any kind of real time flex or deformation. The fact that we can even come near what driving a real car feels like with our approach to simulating a car is remarkable. The fact that we can simulate a family car, a race car, a rally car, and a semi truck with equal accuracy is something not seen previously in a real-time driving game. I've personally spent many, many hours in various racing sims and driving games, from Forza 4 to rFactor to Live for Speed to GT Legends to GTA V. For me, nothing comes as close to the authenticity of driving a real machine as BeamNG, because like I said; we simulate EVERYTHING. We don't cheat. We don't send extra suspension forces into the nether so the car doesn't bounce when it lands a jump. There are going to be teething problems and minor flaws because it's a radical approach to vehicle simulation, but in my opinion it's completely worth it, and if you can't see the difference, then BeamNG.drive isn't the game for you.
that was a reasonable post. i understand the difficulties and i think the product is very good right now. i am just a little irritated that so many people, including mythbuster above, put on their rose colored glasses and ignore the obvious issues of playability at this point in time. it's an alpha. i think the game is very good for what it is currently (or else i wouldn't be here posting!), but as someone who really enjoys pushing cars to their limit competitively in racing sims, the racing is just not very fun. the driving is very fun. racing is not. sadly, i like to race. i really hope the problems that I see can be fixed in the future, but the first step is having them acknowledged, which i see very little of around here - that's maybe why i sound so cynical all the time. i will take issue with this point, however. right now, we've seen that this engine can simulate balls-slow family cars pretty reasonably - but not any of the others. yet. maybe we'll see something good with the new bolide. -- right now i notice that, on my controller, the only way to maintain control of a car is by lightly tapping the stick in whatever direction and immediately releasing it. anything more results in way too much steering - i think changing that system a little bit would be an easy way to improve driveability in the short term. but this is pretty offtopic by now.
There are improvements to the Bolide coming in the next update, and we are also researching and working on a new steering aid for controller/keyboard users driven by the steering forces. As far as racing/hotlapping: We have been rigorously testing the physics and the lap timing system, and maybe it's the rose-colored glasses, but it feels pretty good to all of us involved, and we're having a really fun time trying to beat each other's lap records. Please understand; we want the same thing you do; the best sim possible. We're not trying to scam everyone out of their money from the initial attractive car crash footage. We're in this for the long haul and we want to make the best possible driving sim we can. We highly value everyone's feedback. At the same time, we know what we're doing We also don't know what we're doing, in many ways. Everything is highly experimental, because like I said, we're doing things that have never been done before in a real time environment. Let me describe the Bolide 390 GTR to you. 440 horsepower, 3000 lbs, 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds. It's a vicious beast, and yet you can learn its quirks, tame it, and set insanely fast lap times. That, to me, is the mark of a good simulator. Challenge, learnability, and consistency.
Really can't wait till the race update, hopefully it is this weekend. These awesome car updates sounds awesome.
In a way its realistic, but for purposes of playability needs to be (and is planned to be) improved. A real car at speeds you wont be throwing the steering wheel lock to lock, which is what BeamNG tries to do. Most other games (very easy to spot in GTA 5 and also forza) scale your steering input proportionally with speed so at 30mph pressing the left and right arrow keys might only cause the car to go to 75% of wheel lock and at 70mph only 25% or something. Gamepads may be analogue, but I think getting the right deflection for precise handling at speed on a thumbstick that doesnt move very far in the first place is rather tricky, alright if you have a racewheel, but most of us only have keyboards (I do have 360 controllers though). At least gabester says its being worked on, should be awesome. Recently I have found that cars do become easier to drive in manual as pressing the left trigger actuates the brake instead of the game trying to shift into reverse all the time which is what usually happens to me. Would be nice if we could get a mode where we can shift the car into reverse, neutral and drive where it manages the gears but cant shift into reverse automatically. Otherwise I am rather happy with the simulation as it stands. It has its little issues here and there (wheels bug me) but its an alpha. It can only get better.
I can't even express how much I hate it when games to the steering scale thing. Please don't do that to steering. It really isn't that difficult to play with an xbox controller or keyboard, as I have done both. I have been using my wheel for a few months now, and I think they changed the dynamic steering settings or something since then. One of the devs said somewhere the current transmission is just a place holder and they're gonna redo it.
Increasing gravity doesn't give the same effects as having heavier cars. If you only increase the gravity, sure the cars will be pulled down against the road stronger but they will keep their low inertia. - - - Updated - - - BeamNG will add this too, but it will be all physics based. Real cars have a similar thing. The steering wheel is pulled towards the center stronger the faster you go.
You're talking about clipping the max steering value with speed and other factors, which we had in our dynamic steering in a while and which just about every game/sim with controller support has. Basically, if you're at speed, and you fling the stick fully one way, it'll quickly steer to just past the slip threshold for the speed you're going, not max lock. We're hoping to achieve this with the forces from the tie rods and not with guesswork (like the previous dynamic steering).
Gotta get a steering wheel man, ebay, pawn shops, local classifieds are your best friends in that case.
Yes it is possible. 1. Open up the folder for the vehicle you want to make more heavy. 2. Open up the J-Beam of the piece you want to make more heavy. 3. find the bit that says something like "Node-mass" and increase the value.
What you are failing to realize is that this is the first REAL driving simulator. All the other games don't use physics engines like this. You try racing in real life. It can be difficult. Now, do it with a keyboard in real life. Now its extremely difficult. The other racing sims don't simulate realistic behaviors of cars that well. This is as close to the real thing as you will get, and unless you have a wheel with pedals, it is very difficult. The only reason you don't think the racing is fun, is because this is the only thing like this. It cannot be compared to anything else.
