Filed under: Coupes, Etc., BMW, First Drive
Today's time-waster: BMW puts you in control of the M3
BMW is serious about its M3 coupe, so much so that the German automaker is willing to invest big bucks to show potential buyers just how great the M driving experience is. To give you control of the M3, BMW created a video game where you get to dance around the Nürburgring. The file is a mega-load at 345 MB, and BMW suggests having a steering controller for the PC to get the best possible experience. We didn't have the wheel, so we stuck with the keyboard controls. The interface seems like it was designed by the architects of iDrive, and trying to exit the game almost crashed our fortified quad-core gamer machine, but the graphics were pretty sweet. That said, if the M3 handles as poorly as it did for us in this video game, most of us would rather have a Crown Victoria rolling on DUBs (Readers, be advised: "Most of us" refers to Chris and the other voices in his head. Just a clarification. - Ed). It took us 20 minutes to get to the point where we could keep the virtual 414 HP on the track, and steering was too sensitive on pavement and flat-lined on anything else. Let us know how you do if you take the time to try it. Heck, it's a time waster, but it's free.
[Source: BMW]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vern 4:03PM (9/16/2007)
I think BMW would be better served if they shipped an M3 to every dealer for the sole purpose to be rented (for a reasonable hourly fee) for people to drive.
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Barney 4:06PM (9/16/2007)
What ever happened to the series of BMW mini-movies? They lasted only about three minutes but had a theme resulting in car chases. Perhaps the expense put an end to them.
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J.D. 4:10PM (9/16/2007)
It's an .exe file. Won't work on Macs. Damn. And BMW even says it'll work on all "standard computers". Macs aren't "standard computers"?
Looks like I'll have to get an AMG Merc.
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Juvenille 4:41PM (9/16/2007)
No, they aren't! Only 3% of the computer users use MAC. And that's for a reason, The macintosh is overpriced, and has limited usability. There's barely any software for it . I still don't get people who buy it.
Have fun NOT playing the BMW game.
Strongbadinator 8:50PM (9/16/2007)
Juvenille: Your name accurately describes your comments. First off, anyone who writes MACs in all caps is a nimrod, because MAC= Media Access Control address. If you are referring to Apple's computers, they are referred to as 'macs'. Secondly, they aren't overpriced. Apple has some of the best laptops out there right now, and they outperform almost anything else on the market. The Quadcore Mac Pro offered MORE hardware and speed for less money than a similarly equipped Dell, so that isn't overpriced either. Limited useability? Ha. How about INCREASED usability, as shit just automatically freaking 'works'. I've owned both Macs and PCs before, and although I prefer the 'cheap cost' of PCs, it's ultimately like having a really fast Chevy Cavalier. Crap interior, crap ride, crap quality, and crap reliability. My 24" widescreen iMac does everything I ask of it, I can play the latest games (if it isn't available in OSX I can boot into windows), I can watch movies with the built in remote, scroll through my music or photos from across the room, use industry standard video editing programs like Final Cut, and the Adobe Suite. Your comments are just ignorant.
Chris Riley 6:44AM (9/17/2007)
@Strongbadinator
Quaint, another fanboy.
My PC will outplay any game that your Mac. Regardless of your setup. Regardless of your options. Regardless of how many thousands and thousands you spent.
I will get better framerates in every single game I play. My games will load faster. They will run more stably.
Photoshop will run faster. It will open and save faster.
Why? Because building my PC means that I have access the parts incredibly more powerful than any mac. Sure, the MacPro's are very well built machines, and very powerful. But without a good RAID setup, they're harddrive limited. And, you either get a Quaddro card (Not so good for anything but rendering) or a last-gen card.
Mac's don't get current generation video hardware -- period.
Nor do you get name brand low latency memory.
Or incredibly well built motherboards by the best-of-the-best companies like Asus.
My PC "just works". With the right drivers and a solid build, it's never crashed once.
But hey, keep stroking your mac ego and validating your purchase. I'll laugh all the way to the bank knowing that this gamer built a much better gaming and everyday use machine for no more than half the cost.
rv 1:16AM (9/17/2007)
Juve, I guess you don't use ProTools or do any sort of video production - I can't use LogicPro without one. My friend's editing house in LA is all Macs as are many video/audio studios. Heck, many creatives prefer OSX simply to create and not have to worry about Windows. Don't be bitter, child, they're great machines.
Strongbadinator 11:58AM (9/17/2007)
Chris Riley: You are exactly the type of fanboi I'm talking about. So you get more FPS in Quake 4? Who gives a crap? I don't. I get over 70FPS in any game I've tried so it doesn't really matter. You're just stroking your own ego about "Mah peecee is fastar!!!!" Yeah. It is. It's also cheaper. FOR A REASON. A used camaro Z28 is a cheap car and it's faster than a nice BMW M3, but I'd rather have a BMW. PCs are also generally loud. I used to be into the PC modding scene, and it is VERY difficult to achieve a silent PC, while still having good performance. Another thing, your PC will be worth almost nothing in just a year or so, whereas I sold my used G4 Powermac on ebay last winter, when it was 5 years old, for $1600. So keep on bragging about how fast your PC is, and putting down macs. You sound like a hick bragging about his Firebird and ripping on 'dem ricerockets and euro cars'. You're an idiot.
Leo 4:22PM (9/16/2007)
Downloaded and installed, it comes up with a "bmw challenge encountered an error and needs to close" every time I try to run it.
Standard computers my butt, I have a 7600 geforce go with a gig of ram and a dual core processor, logically, I should be able to run this... I guess not
Silly Germans! Optimize your software next time? Mmmkay?
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mattypape 5:10PM (9/16/2007)
works perfect on full graphics with my average pc, with 7300gt, 1gb ram and amd 4600+ cpu
your 7600 should not have any problems, try downloading laster drivers from nvidia site.
Strongbadinator 11:43AM (9/17/2007)
Gooooo Windows! This is why I own a mac. I don't like dealing with this crap.
Mayur 4:28PM (9/16/2007)
Your getting an error because your computer has parts made in China and we all know how BMW feels about the Chinese lol.
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Dave ellis 4:53PM (9/16/2007)
The game is developed by Blimey Simulations, for BMW. Blimey developed the official FIA GT games (GTR, GTR2) and the official Historic FIA GT game (GT Legends) under the name Simbin and are working on a Ferrari licenses game. They have a great history of producing incredibly detailed simulations, which many top racing drivers use.
Don't know why you guys struggled. It's meant to be realistic, so you can't just go out and drive it like Need For Speed, braking as late as F1 cars and defying the laws of physics in the corners. I have a steering wheel and peddles and was well in control...you can't expect a game which simulates real life to be controllable with a digital device like a keyboard.
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mattypape 5:09PM (9/16/2007)
the simbin simulation games (i think this one is based on wtcc race 07 as demo came out on same day) are only really playable with a controller or even better with stearing wheel. a keyboard gives it full lock full brake and full acceleration everytime you press any of them so of course it will be bad.
i do think the damage is disappointing though, hope its better in race 07.
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Ashwin Benjamin 5:55PM (9/16/2007)
Like dave mentioned before, its based on gtr 2. one thing you can do to improve youre driving is to turn on the traction control (level 2), abs and Dynamic Stability Control. You NEED to do this if you dont have any pedals to control the amounts of throttle\brakes you're applying.
Secondly, ditch the keyboard and use the mouse to steer (and for throttle and brakes while youre at it). It might be tough at first, but it gives you the analogue control you need on turns where u need to hold partial lock for a reasonable amount of time.
Any other tips would involve driving it like you would a real car.
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darkmastyr 6:08PM (9/16/2007)
Works perfect at max settings on my 7800GT w/ 820 D proc and 2GB ram. I use an Xbox360 usb controller.
You need to dial down the steering sensitivity in the configuration. I use traction control level 2.
My best time so far is 2:20... still loads of practice needed since I'm having trouble with maintaining the right line and throttle control.
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Go5Go 6:28PM (9/16/2007)
I enjoyed playing this game this past week.. Keyboard stinks. Was able to do some adjustments in the advance controls to dial down the keyboard controls. Mouse works much better, but wish I could set the gear up/down to the buttons. Worked pretty well on a low rez setting on my 3ghz 1gig w/ Nvidia NVS workstation. Its real nice to do a little network racing to with the guys at work! got down to around mid 1:40's for a lap time (manual tranny and full electronics of course)...
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Dave ellis 7:30PM (9/16/2007)
I take it you aren't using the full layout for a 1:40. Full circuit my records 2:13.8.
Ed 7:28PM (9/16/2007)
This is a FANTASTIC deal... you're basically getting the GTR2 engine with just one track and one car...and the GTR2 engine is one of the best sims out there. As such...if you're using a keyboard or mouse, you're pretty screwed. It's damn near impossible to play without the loads of information the game transmits back through force feedback wheels (e.g.- this engine is the best I've seen at giving the sort of feedback that lets you _feel_ the amount of grip your front tires have).
I'm just _stoked_ b/c we never see street cars (y'know, the sort of thing we can legitimately even dream about) in sims of this caliber...
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SOAPYTPIRATE 8:25PM (9/16/2007)
Just installed this on my machine with an X2 3800+ and 7800GTX, with my 32" Sony 768P DVI monitor this is almost as fun as the real thing. I'm using the Xbox 360 controller and after alot of tweaking the control is near perfect. Now all I need is a force feedback wheel to up the ante. Only wish there was AA available, for some reason it's grayed out in the options box for me. This car is soo much fun to drift in. TC, ABS and DSC really let you see how the cars systems help you keep out of danger.
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