I'm a big fan of one of the nerdiest game niches there is: sim racing. In a gaming world where racing games are increasingly arcade-y and easy to play, with some even giving you the option to pause and rewind the race to try again if you crash (DAMN YOU CODEMASTERS!), sim racing is an escape for those who want a racing game that's actually satisfying and rewarding to play.
The downside is that a lot of people take it extremely seriously, even to RP levels, thanking their teams and pit crew (even though it's all automated AI) after a win or inventing reasons why they didn't finish if their internet connection drops out halfway through the race. I'm not that extreme, but I do have a racing wheel simply because it's impossible to compete with a keyboard + mouse or even a controller when racing against people with wheels and pedals.
I know this because my wheel broke a few days ago (the mounting assembly burst out of the back just because I was leaning on it, and I'm not even that fat or muscular), and rather than buy a new one I decided to try using the keyboard and mouse. I even created a new profile with a new name and car colours just so people wouldn't realise it was me. Terrible idea. It's akin to having your mouse break in a game of TF2 and deciding you can use the D-pad to aim. First attempt, I crashed out on the first lap because having a car on either full lock or no steering at all will only end one way. Usually in the wall or the side of someone else's car.
So then I spent an hour getting my PS3 controller to work and mapping all the keys to that. It was better, but still an absolute nightmare to drive! I was 8 seconds off the pace in the first race with the controller, and in the second one I got kicked from the server because the brake button (L2) decided to stop working and I wrecked two other people due to not being able to stop.
So after discovering why "controller" has the word "troll" in it, I set off for B&Q with a few ideas of how to fix the wheel. After messing around with superglue, then a hacksaw to cut my way in to reattach the bolt, and finally attempting to tie it to the desk I gave up. It's only a cheap wheel and by this point I'd spent about half of what the wheel was worth trying to fix it. Rather than head back to B&Q to try my next two ideas - heavy duty velcro and suction cups - I'm just gonna buy a new one.
Funnily enough, this will be the third one now. When I cancelled my WoW subscription I thought it would save money. Ironically I'm spending more on this free-to-play racing sim just through buying peripherals.
All this just to be tooling around at the back of Race2Play events! I can't help it, it's fun.
Profile here. http://www.race2play.com/homepage/show_member/22073
ADDENDUM: Got this wheel just in time! Had a mail from R2P saying the first of their members has received rFactor 2 keys. Seems like the sequel we never thought would arrive is finally almost here!
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