Thoughts on Le Mans Ultimate

When i tested it about one hour i got bad framerate under 60 fps with v-sync and when i reached my 60 fps it still stutters.No consistent framerate.That is the most important thing - For me it is a RF2 modification wich yet does not run smooth like AMS2.Nothing a hype is worth for.Refund,same mess as RF2,deleted.

 

I find the cars in LMU very easy and predictable to drive—but I certainly haven’t heard simracers complaining about it like they do when they label AMS2 as a simcade title.

 

I did the first race in the online MP today. I'm really impressed. Everything worked out very smooth, super reliable and clear. I had all the time between 130-160fps, the netcode is good...raced wheel to wheel over 3 laps next to the leader and all was fine.

Daily races with 8min practise, 8min qualifying, 16min race. And you have to manage your tires. In the end I had to let the leader pull away cause my tire management wasn't the best in the mid of the laps.

The Online MP seems to be on a proper level of maturity and looks professional. I will do a couple more races over the weekend and I try to join the special event at Le Mans on Saturday over 2,4 hours multiclass. But for the first glance, it feels like a good alternative to iRacing for this spectrum of races.

 

After 21 hours

Pros

• Great Online scheduled lobbies, so nice to know when what will happen, and it is presented in-game, Races with a reasonable length equipped with free-practice and qualification 5-stars option
• Nice ranking system
• No private lobbies
• Manageable amount of tracks and cars
• Nice graphics, especially at night
• Good performance, up par with AMS2 for me
• Good HUD and ICM
• a lots of map-able settings, and usable even with fixed setups
• ( I never thought it would matter for me, but due to the scheduled races, the game feels populated and makes me feel being part of something.......)

Cons

• Game is Early access lots of things simply not implemented.
• FFB is not that good, feels very floaty, not connected on low speeds (biggest con for me)
• Tire sound are terrible soft, tire scrubbing sounds seems absent (so the lack of tire sound and bad FFD at low speed makes taking slow corners always a gamble)
• Sound, in general to much effects, It sounds like you are driving inside
• AI isn't that great (but who cares with the great on-line)

Because the Formula and Classic content is snowed under by the short GT/tintop races, and the impossibility of joining a (nice) lobby in AMS2, I think I'll be mostly active in LMU, if I have to ride tintops I rather do it in a better organized game.
In the few days that LMU has existed, I've seen better races in LMU than in AMS2 since beta testing moved to a 3rth party.
It's a pity that the FFB and sound in LMU is so bad, but I'll have to settle for that, It only can get better (I hope)

 

Must say I'm fairly unimpressed as a first impression. It drives ok but ffb feels weird, sort of on/off canned understeer feeling rather than progressive. Graphics wise it feels a decade behind for a 2024 title with a big franchise name. I hope my £25 goes towards supporting the devs rather than subsidising the lifestyle of MSG directors, but this one is definitely one to park up and come and check in on every few months for me.

 

Looks okay but I'm quite hesitant to pay for another rFactor 2 software experience

 

Im running without FFB so can anyone tell how this game feels with low FFB (or without if anybody except me use no FFB ).
Does the cars feel rF2-ish - maybe?

 

Hey Bruno!
Regarding your specific question of whether Le Mans is good without FFB, I will give you my opinion at the end.First to reply to this thread.I used to love RF2 for a long time when I was still using belt bases.Even today, rf2 is still a very good simulation with a belt base or very low forces.But this is exactly where the problem lies with rf2 and now also with Le Mans Ultimate.With higher forces, these simulations become almost undriveable.Extreme impacts in the FFB while driving or over curbs or from a garage or in accidents or impacts.Everything is far too loud and too extreme to feel in the steering wheel.Le Mans is 1:1 with rf2 and unfortunately it is exactly the same.In order to be able to drive it with high real forces (10-12Nm), a lot of filters have to be set, but that doesn't make any sense and the extreme deflections will still remain.That's why, from my personal point of view, Le Mans is not good to drive (this only refers to physics and the FFB)


Now to you Bruno!I don't know if you already drive rf2 or not.But I can recommend Le Mans without using FFB. For me it is better than Ams2 to feel what the car is doing without FFB, but changes suddenly with FFB as described above.Do you have the ability to change the damping, friction and inertia on your base?Or just in the game?At Le Mans you can also change damping and friction in the game, which could perhaps be an advantage for you?


Addendum: Yes, you can also use damping in Ams2, but in my opinion (as I have already pointed out several times) the damping does not work properly in the game in Ams2.

Regards

 

Thank you.
I should have been clearer. I dont use a FFB wheel at all. Use SRW-S1 because of an injury.
I was very found of rF2 but because of some sudden unsolvable difficulties by this game I uninstalled.
Anyway I take your advice/rating of LMU without FFB so positive that I probably will buy it longer up the road. So thank you

 

My first impression of LMU was very positive, considering EA state. Of course, there are issues and missing bits but, the immersion factor was really impressive right out of the gate.

Graphics: Very nice upgrade to rF2 graphics with improved lighting, special effects, very good performance on my system (2k triples). Things just feel more refined over rF2. Shadows are still problematic and best turned off, at least for now. I've had 1 CTD since release.

Audio: outstanding immersion overall, even though some aspects are not present (overpass reverb / wall reflections). Sounds samples are clean and transition nicely. Tire scrub seems very realistic (lower pitch) but, volume can be too low at times with no adjustment possible. Overall cabin (resonance quality) is very good. Opponent volume, spatial quality and cone of sound is excellent (Similar to ACC). Replay audio is excellent, maybe the best I've heard, due to proper approach > Flyby > Departure transitions (Volume / Tone / Pitch) with Immersive Mode enabled in sound settings. Overall, this has a major impact on immersion in LMU, imo.

Physics: I sense a few minor tweaks but, very much like rF2 overall. The way the TC works is very convincing, especially with the Hyper-cars on cold tires. The electric rolling start effect is nicely done, too.

FFB: Again, very much like rF2. Very good overall but, I miss AMS2 advanced ffb grip-loss cues. Still, nice progressive ramping of steering resistance. Hyper-cars ffb range (from super light resistance to very heavy) seems excessive, at least with DD-wheels.

AI: Can be overly aggressive at high settings in multi-class as the disparity and contrast in speed can lead to contact incidents, reducing AI Aggression may help. Still, I've had some good racing.

Cars: Improved over those of rF2 in various ways. Interiors look better with more details, better textures, etc.

Tracks: Nice graphics, nice detail. Sebring still rocks hard (as in rF2) with brutal surface bumps. Laserscan'd and accurate seems to be fitting here. Loading times are still very long.

MP: Haven't tried it.

Menus / UI: Very nice overall appearance. Clean and easy to navigate. Some room for improved settings location logic, though. I had zero issues with lagging as reported by some.

 

I think you won't do anything wrong. As I said, I also drive RF2 from time to time and will do the same with Le Mans. If the forces (FFB) are deep enough then it is very good. Without FFB, it is superior to Ams2 and therefore definitely a good investment for you. And always remember that it is early access

 

From the pictures I have seen the driver detail still looks as horrible as in rF2, is that the case?

 

I played LMU for almost 10 hours this weekend & I really like it. It really runs fine on my mid-price AMD/ATI hardware & I only got some crashes when trying to enter a practice server.

I don‘t really like the GTE cars (in any game), but I really really like the LMP2 Oreca!
The immersion driving these cars at dawn or sunset at Spa or Le Mans is really incredible.

I also like that the hybrid system for the Hypercars is implemented like on the real cars. The Toyota drives really nice.

And one big plus: My Moza R9 Base & Wheel and my Asetek pedals were working fine right from the start.

 

Yeah, that aspect could use work, along with driver animations. Some look better than others though, so perhaps are further along.

 

As far as physics and the FFB are concerned, I have a different opinion, as I said above it is 1:1 rf2 for me. It's exactly the same and not a new sim. Many Youtubers just talk crap and tell people about new physics and new FFB. One of the few who finally noticed is Nils Naujoks, who says exactly the same thing

 

it has Sebring, so no matter what.. it wins!

 

Let’s hope AMS2 gets it too

 

recorded this for my mate who has a lower end machine, most settings dragged as low as they can go, not sure what they changed compared to the rf2 engine graphics but its SO much nicer than rf2 even in this depleted state, MSG have screwed the pooch many times recently, but this time they got it right. (graphics settings at end of clip, and this is the center monitor of my triples )

 

I fully expected the physics and ffb of rF2 to remain in LMU, it only makes sense. However, there are some subtle signs of changes to tires, heating, cold to warm grip levels, etc., and that can be felt in the FFB as well, not necessarily always with positive results.

I feel that rF2 FFB provides better sense of grip / grip-loss near the limit whereas, LMU just feels numb, like iRacing. Fortunately, with SC2, there are some tricks to improve the ffb in LMU but, there's clearly been some changes under the hood. The other notable change is how FFB actually improves somewhat when tires reach optimal temps. I've not felt that in rF2.

As far as the graphics, audio, and overall immersion of LMU, those are much improved imo, over rF2. We'll see what the future brings but, my expectations for LMU were very low going in. However, I am pleasantly surprised by the EA release and the title being untethered from maintaining backwards compatibility with mods (like rF2) may bring even more significant improvements for what may evolve into a much better platform in the end.

 

The quality of Sebring, yes. But all the tracks are amazing. The level of detail is second to none and they also set the bar a bit higher for Le Mans with some nice additions here and there to the rF2 version. It was already superb but it's even better now.

I tried the online mp a lot over the weekend. I had so much fun and it's hard to stop. The climax was the special event on Sun, the 2,4h of Le Mans. It was crazy exciting and I worried in between a lot whether I've choosen the right strategy or not. I won the split with 5sec ahead of P2 and I was so cheering then and exhausted. It just was an outstanding immersive experience. It's like the iR MP, concentrated on Endurance stuff and rF2+ physics.