Pit Stop – Driving Blind

There’s one thing I do in most driving games at some point, that is to turn the HUD completely off. Personally I think it adds an extra level of challenge and realism as well. Most race drivers aren’t going to have a big number in the corner of the windscreen telling them in what position they are. Sure they have a radio, but no constant indication of all these things we’re spoiled by.

I think it’s great to play a racing game like this, especially long or endurance events. Where concentration needs to be kept high you don’t want all these annoying numbers popping up all over the screen for the entirety of the event. I may well be the only one in the world that likes to turn all these things off, and that’s fine, just give me the option to do it and I’m a happy man.

it’s a natural evolution from the head tracking a lot of racing games have built in…

A lot of modern games have virtually eradicated any kind of HUD, or at least kept it very minimal and unobtrusive, something I think is lacking in current racing sims. I’ve been playing a lot of GT6 recently and one great thing about that game is if you pause you can quickly turn off the HUD mid race. Excellent if mid way through a large endurance event, I can just concentrate on the track and nothing else. Though there aren’t a lot of options to customise the HUD, I’d like to be able to turn off all elements bar lap times really.

A couple of events have got me thinking about this recently. They would be the reveal of the PS4 VR Headset, Project Morpheus, and the ever growing popularity of the Oculus Rift. I think these are ideal platforms for racing sims, especially when paired with a decent racing wheel. Reading some of the news surrounding these headsets I’ve read all sorts, from it works really well in racing games, to it not working so well and being very disorienting. I think it’s a natural evolution from the head tracking a lot of racing games have built in. I can imagine this would eliminate the need for a HUD in a racing game entirely, you would just need to look at the instruments in the car, or the mirrors to look back. Having been unable to try one of these headsets at all, I’m not sure how a HUD would work.

I’m probably one of very few who play a racer like this and I eagerly await the chance to try a racing sim with a VR headset, racing wheel and no HUD. I can’t think of a purer racing experience without getting behind the wheel of an actual super car… I think I know which one is more likely to happen in the near future.