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Real Racing In the Virtual World

Posted by timothy on from the actually-the-other-way-around dept.

zebadee writes "The BBC has a story about a company aiming to pit gamers against the professionals. iOpener Media has a patented system that sucks in real-time GPS data from racing events and pumps it out to compatible games consoles and PCs. This means you can race in real-time against the like of Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. The company also claims to have an AI that solves the problem of overtaking and crashes." It would be great to see this applied to historical events and other game domains, too -- like trying to beat Amundsen to the South Pole, using best-known weather data.

25 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. I'm pretty sure... by BZWingZero · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm pretty sure the Rocket Racing league is planning something similar.
    According to the Wikipedia, they are planning a game which will allow people to compete virtually along with actual racers.

  2. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  3. What would *really* be cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Feed the GPS data from cars stuck on the 405 in LA into the on-car computers during the Indy 500.

  4. All kinds of games!!! by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Funny

    This would make The Oregon Trail new again!!

    Or how about, Poll Chasing With the Best: On the Trail With Barak and Hillary.

    Or Across the Ocean With Thor Heyerdahl: The Rowing Game.

    Maybe from historical data we can recreate the spreading pattern of the black plague. Across Europe: A Flea's Tale.

    The potential is limitless.

    --
    Qxe4
  5. Revisit "historical events". by arthurpaliden · · Score: 5, Funny

    You could actually go to the cantina and see that Han Solo actually did shoot first.

    --
    Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
    1. Re:Revisit "historical events". by Admiral+Ag · · Score: 4, Funny

      star wars is for fucking faggot dick smokers. shut the fuck up!!! shut up!!!! fuck star wars. it's a faggot movie. only faggots like it. get over your fucking youth and do something real. fuck that faggot shit. burn it and flush it down the shitter with all the faggots and their pr0n. fuck it. Wow, I had no idea. I've just thrown out my DVD box set and signed up for hetero restoration therapy.

      Thank you Anonymous Coward for saving me.
      --
      "by that I mean people who don't sit on slashdot all day wondering why everyone else isn't building robots" DECS
  6. That's the worst idea I've ever heard in my life by iamdrscience · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It would be great to see this applied to historical events and other game domains, too -- like trying to beat Amundsen to the South Pole, using best-known weather data.
    This is horrible, this idea.

    The possibilities are interesting, but the most exciting idea you can think of is a game where you spend 3+ months riding behind sled dogs across the Antarctic tundra? Sounds like Penn & Teller's Desert Bus.

    I mean, don't get me wrong, Roald Amundsen was an interesting guy with a great story, but that doesn't mean it would make a good videogame.
  7. Re:Sports entertainment on slashdot by wagnerrp · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sadly... you fail.

  8. How would this work... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can't really call it a race when the gamer sees and reacts to the real drivers, but the real drivers don't see or react to the gamers, can you?

  9. Sounds pretty pointless by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 5, Insightful
    A major limiting factor for any RealWorld racing etc is self preservation. In other words, the risk analysis to determine how fast you are prepared to drive without killing yourself.

    The virtual world racers have no such risks.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
    1. Re:Sounds pretty pointless by Cairnarvon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      At least if you crash into something you're pretty much guaranteed to have all cameras on you, thereby giving the your advertisers more screen time. It balances out.

    2. Re:Sounds pretty pointless by vux984 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Although imho you would replace "killing yourself" with "destroying your employer's vehicle which costs millions of dollars and forever to repair".

      One of my favorite quotes from a driving instructor/professional driver was "If the driver doesn't come back with just the steering wheel once in a while, the rest of the team thinks he's not trying hard enough."

    3. Re:Sounds pretty pointless by vux984 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In other words, the risk analysis to determine how fast you are prepared to drive without killing yourself.

      Unlike games, and street racing, in professional race conditions, drivers are usually going as fast as they can go without losing control. The question is more about control (holding the line, maintaining ideal friction during turns), and efficiency (drafting, tire wear, fuel). Its really not about going faster. They're pushing the car as hard as they can.

      In my limited race track experience the gas pedal is usually floored, except when the brakes are floored. And choosing when to switch from one to the other is part of holding the line. The only exception is through tight S-curves - where you are still going as fast as you can go while holding the line go without your wheels losing traction.

      There is rarely a situation where a driver could be going faster, and not be immediately involved in an accident.

      Risk analysis is a factor, to be sure, but good professional drivers are pretty good at getting right up against the edge of losing control without going over.

      Personally I think the vast majority of gamers will lose to the pros everytime if the simulation is any good. It is much harder to gauge where the control line is in a video game... you don't have the g-force feedback, nor the feel of the tires that you'd have in real life. A pro driver can tell the difference without even trying between wet track, dry track, tell his air pressure is off, how worn his tires are, how warm his tires are, and how tight a turn he can take at what speed without slipping more than 10-15% based on all that ... when was the last time you played a game where that was really relevant...or that you could really tell the difference?

      For the gamers to stand a chance the simulations will have to be markedly more forgiving than the real world... and that sort of defeats the point.

    4. Re:Sounds pretty pointless by Burning1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Have you ever raced? Because I have.

      A racer interested in self preservation usually only reduces his speed by about 5%-10% of what is theoretically possible. Most motorcycle racers use lines that provide space to recover if they exceed traction limits, usually at the cost of position or lap times. Most racers use a delayed apex line that allows the driver to get on the throttle hard and early. If the vehicle does start to go out of control, there is usually plenty of room to recover.

      Because exceeding the limits can be recovered, and because it usually reduces lap times, I highly doubt that being able to run near maximum speed would provide a significant advantage. After all, a casual gamer is just as likely as a racer to botch a corner and go off-line. If doing so hurts lap times badly enough, there is not a real advantage in getting so close to the edge.

      The biggest advantage a simulated racer will have is that simulations tend to be a little watered down from reality, and are usually more predictable. Top gear had an excellent video on the matter, where Jeremy Clarkson attempted to beat his GT4 time in reality using the same car (Acura NSX) and course (Laguna Seca.) I'm sure you can find the video on YouTube.

  10. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  11. Re:In real time? Sounds awfully complicated... by wagnerrp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    let the programmers watch the replays and all reliable information to create an accurate "Ghost" representation of the professional racer I think doing time trials against a professional ghost would be interesting, but actually racing against them is worthless. Once you reach them (or they reach you), and the AI kicks in, you're no longer racing the professional, but against the AI.
  12. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  13. Worthless by chanrobi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As a fairly new but hardcore motor racing simulation fanatic (F1 challenge, rFactor, GTR2, GPL) this article is just a load of hogwash. First, simply pumping the GPS data from real racecars into an online track is useless. Why?

    Because you cannot replicate exactly

    1) the track itself, the bumps, kerbs, asphalt, track layout
    2) track conditions at the time the gps data for the "real" racers cars, ambient temp, track temp, rubber laid down by previous sessions, debris etc.
    3) car setup (good luck getting real time telemtry of all the parameters of the car from the real F1 teams), this would reveal too much information to competitors

    These 3 factors combine to change grip and ultimately laptimes.

    As anyone who has raced competitively online will tell you - lap times in the virtual world is incomparable to real world runs with the same cars, same track. As a small example, some of the best line sim race drivers in the world are doing = 1.17 laptimes on the '02 version of silverstone in F1C. While the fastest lap in the real world was a 1:18.9.

    Almost 2s difference. Which is huge. This is one example of many. The only way this situation can be rectified is by making a hyper realisitc simulation that has never been seen before or, start fudging grip, engine power and other statistics. Which by the way the article says it won't do because "it defeats the point". Yeah right.

    1. Re:Worthless by Psychotria · · Score: 4, Funny

      You are right. A better idea would be to get Mythbusters to hack up a remote-controlled car or two that we can put on the real race track. And when we lose horribly, blow it up.

  14. Re:South Pole Position by edgr · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe. Just like force-feedback controllers, you could put a cooling unit in the controller so your hands get very cold.

  15. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  16. Games just aren't reality. by elynnia · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Jeremy Clarkson did an interesting segment on Top Gear a while when he drove around a racetrack in the very same car but once in Gran Turismo 4, and then in real life.

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=rkdWkAs9qmo

    He points out that no matter how realistic a game is, it is just not a real-life experience:
    "The one thing I've learned today... is that you can have the skill to get this car around here in 1:40, and it could do 1:40... [but] it's that part of your brain that makes you frightened."

    Of course, games are essentially there to entertain, and I'm sure that a lot of people will enjoy racing against the professionals from the comfort of their own couch. But just because you can play Guitar Hero and have a blast of a time doing so, it doesn't necessarily mean you can play the guitar.

    Aly =]

  17. Go Speed Racist Go! by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hitting Speed Racist's car Here he comes! Here comes Speed Racist!
    He's a bigot on wheels, he's a bigot
    and he's gonna be hatin' on someone.

    He's a racist so don't let him meet your friends,
    If you do they might not talk to you again,

    And when people are the wrong color
    Or come from the wrong place,
    You bet your life Speed Racist
    will get all red-faced,

    Go Speed Racist
    Go Speed Racist
    Go Speed Racist, Go!

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  18. Re:In real time? Sounds awfully complicated... by drsquare · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Although I agree that live would probably be more exciting... but does even 1% of racing gamers actually KNOW precicely the days and times of each race start around the world?
    I'd suggest the opposite problem: the people who would be most interested in this, would be actually watching the race rather than playing games.

    P.S. Lewis Hamilton, please stop crashing.
  19. Jeremy Clarkson video... by Doctor+O · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkdWkAs9qmo

    --
    Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?