Looking for indoor entertainment in the winter months? Organising a social for your society? Or just keen to try out virtual reality? Try SimRace1. Offering a VR car racing experience with TopGear style leaderboards, the casual competition and welcoming staff make it a great place for solo visits or group trips.
Five simulators are all equipped with the incredibly immersive 2020 4k resolution headsets which offer 90 frames per second, providing a very real racing experience. One of the most appealing aspects of SimRace1 is the group opportunities on offer, such as the group multiplayer and endurance racing both ideal for small parties. The group multiplayer can include up to 5 players and is a great way to compete against your friends and sessions are available to book for 25-50 minutes.
Alternatively, there is the endurance racing which offers a slightly more intense experience; an experience for groups and racing enthusiasts alike. This innovation of multiplayer gaming typically involves groups being split into pairs or threes and the competition is essentially relay race. The endurance racing has the edge over the standard multiplayer option as it’s more accommodating for larger groups, and the relay aspect enables a regular turnover of drivers, meaning that everybody can get involved and is a great option for society events. Unfortunately, the endurance racing does not use the VR headsets, instead, the gaming is on the monitors; although the headsets replicate a more real experience, the monitors do not disappoint with the high quality of the graphics.
The staff are very friendly and quickly introduce you to how the headset and simulator work before allowing you to take to the wheel. Although the experience with the headsets is a lot of fun, there is some post racing dizziness, which is why the recommended time for beginners is approximately half an hour. The staff take particular care with the clients’ dizziness and tailor the sessions to each individual player. The price for these sessions is £6 for 30 minutes or £10.70 for 55 minutes, and if neither time slots are long enough for any reason, then slots can be booked one after another. It’s suggested that for parties or large groups it’s better to book online or ring in advance so that the centre can be prepared for your event.
The centre’s ambitions go beyond just wanting to offer immersive gaming experiences, as they see VR becoming beneficial to those learning, or wanting to learn, how to drive. The stimulators can be used in manual and automatic, making it accessible to both sets of learner. As a learner myself when I tried out the VR, I could see it becoming helpful supplementing the normal lessons, and would highly recommend the experience.
You can contact SimRace1 by going to their website www.simrace1.com or visit their Facebook page for updates and to learn more.
by Henry Burgess
