Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic racing simulations and more fantastical arcade-style racing games. Kart racing games emerged in the 1990s as a popular sub-genre of the latter. Racing games may also fall under the category of sports video games.
Irrlicht is an open-source game engine written in C++. It is cross-platform, officially running on Windows, macOS, Linux and Windows CE and due to its open nature ports to other systems are available, including FreeBSD, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, Symbian, iPhone, AmigaOS 4, Sailfish OS via a Qt/QML wrapper, and Google Native Client.
Gran Turismo is a series driving simulators primarily developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation consoles. Gran Turismo simulators are intended to emulate the appearance and performance of a large selection of vehicles, most of which are licensed reproductions of real-world automobiles. Since the franchise's debut in 1997, over 90 million units have been sold worldwide, making it the best selling driving simulator under the PlayStation brand. The series has partnerships with Japan Race Promotion, Brembo, Michelin, Mazda, Toyota Gazoo Racing, BBS and Fanatec. The series uses data from car companies and real-life races for its car physics simulation. It is also used as a concept car simulator for many car manufacturers. In 2023, a film was made about the series, and it became a sport for the Olympic Esports with the backing of the FIA.
A train simulator is a computer based simulation of rail transport operations. They are generally large complicated software packages modeling a 3D virtual reality world implemented both as commercial trainers, and consumer computer game software with 'play modes' which lets the user interact by stepping inside the virtual world. Because of the near view modeling, often at speed, train simulator software is generally far more complicated software to write and implement than flight simulator programs.
Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a driver must understand all aspects of car handling that make real-world racing so difficult, such as threshold braking, how to maintain control of a car as the tires lose traction, and how properly to enter and exit a turn without sacrificing speed. It is this level of difficulty that distinguishes sim racing from arcade racing-style driving games where real-world variables are taken out of the equation and the principal objective is to create a sense of speed as opposed to a sense of realism.
Driving simulators are used for entertainment as well as in training of driver's education courses taught in educational institutions and private businesses. They are also used for research purposes in the area of human factors and medical research, to monitor driver behavior, performance, and attention and in the car industry to design and evaluate new vehicles or new advanced driver assistance systems.
TORCS is an open-source 3D car racing simulator available on Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, AmigaOS 4, AROS, MorphOS and Microsoft Windows. TORCS was created by Eric Espié and Christophe Guionneau, but project development is now headed by Bernhard Wymann. It is written in C++ and is licensed under the GNU GPL. TORCS is designed to enable pre-programmed AI drivers to race against one another, while allowing the user to control a vehicle using either a keyboard, mouse, or wheel input.
UNIGINE is a proprietary cross-platform game engine developed by UNIGINE Company used in simulators, virtual reality systems, serious games and visualization. It supports OpenGL 4, Vulkan and DirectX 12.
FooBillard is a free and open-source, OpenGL-based sports simulation video game.
PokerTH is an open-source Texas hold 'em simulator that runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android. PokerTH is written in C++ using the Qt framework and allows for up to ten human players, with computer-controlled players filling in if there are not enough humans. Players can also play against other PokerTH users online. The game has ample settings so that players can configure and customize play. The online community is still active as of July 2022, with dozens of active players and several running games at any given time.
OpenCity is a free and open-source software 3D city-building game started in 2003 by France-based Vietnamese programmer Duong-Khang Nguyen. The game mechanics are similar to SimCity, although the game developers do not strive to make it a direct SimCity clone.
The Logitech Driving Force GT is a racing wheel peripheral designed for racing games on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows and Linux PCs. It is manufactured and distributed by Logitech International S.A of Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The wheel was released on December 13, 2007.
A sim racing wheel is a control device for use in racing games, racing simulators, and driving simulators. They are usually packaged with a large paddle styled as a steering wheel, along with a set of pedals for the accelerator, brake, and clutch, as well as transmission controls. An analog wheel and pedal set such as this allows the user to accurately manipulate steering angle and pedal control that is required to properly manage a simulated car, as opposed to digital control such as a keyboard. The relatively large range of motion further allows the user to more accurately apply the controls. Racing wheels have been developed for use with arcade games, game consoles, personal computers, and also for professional driving simulators for race drivers.
Live for Speed (LFS) is a racing simulator developed by a three-person team comprising Scawen Roberts, Eric Bailey, and Victor van Vlaardingen. The main focus is to provide a realistic racing experience for the online multiplayer game and to allow single player races against AI cars. Users can set personal bests which can then be uploaded to LFSWorld in hotlap mode, and take driving lessons in 'training' mode.
SimCraft, a privately held company headquartered just outside Atlanta, Georgia, is the creator and manufacturer of a proprietary motion simulation technology. Focused primarily on racing driver development, SimCraft technology has also been applied to flight as well as promising and pioneering health research on neuroplasticity restoration in cancer patients. The motion simulator technology, in development since 1998, was designed to recreate the manner in which vehicles move in earth physics. SimCraft offers a range of motion simulation products that provide a true tactile motion experience for Motorsport Simulation and flight simulation. The company's core innovation and technology is the simulation of movement through proprietary physics based software interfaces and a patent pending hardware architecture based on Center of Mass principles of motion. The company's product applications range principally by variation in chassis design and material and are found in usage from military training/research, medical research, neuroplasticity rehabilitation, professional training, entertainment, gaming enthusiast, and esports.
rFactor 2 is a computer racing simulator developed by Image Space Incorporated and released for Windows in 2013. Like its predecessor rFactor, rFactor2 is designed to be modified and used by professional racing teams for driver training and race car development. Much of its source code is derived from rFactor Pro, which is also used by professional racers and most of the Formula One teams and NASCAR manufacturers.
X-Moto is a free and open source 2D motocross platform game developed for Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows, where physics play an all important role in the gameplay. The basic gameplay clones that of Elasto Mania, but the simulated physics are subtly different.
Speed Dreams, often shortened to SD and formerly known as Torcs-NG, is a free and open source 3D racing video game for Linux, Microsoft Windows, AmigaOS 4, AROS, MorphOS and Haiku. Started in 2008 as a fork of the racing car simulator TORCS, it is mainly written in C++ and released under GPL v2+ and Free Art License, the most recent release being version 2.3.0 of March 2023.
Assetto Corsa is a sim racing video game developed by the Italian video game developer Kunos Simulazioni. It is designed with an emphasis on a realistic racing experience with support for extensive customization and moddability. The game was first released through the Steam Early Access program on 8 November 2013, and officially left Early Access as final release version on 19 December 2014.
Pioneer is a free and open source space trading and combat simulator video game inspired by the commercial proprietary Frontier: Elite 2. It is available for Linux, and Microsoft Windows.
