As empirical models go, Pacejka is pretty damn flexible. What it needs is decent input data. Crappy numbers give crappy curves, give an unconvincing experience. It's just a shame that such numbers can only be obtained by running fitting programs to real data, but from what I've seen it can reproduce real curves very well.
Its main limitations are a) it's not easy to use or adjust b) aside from slip, it only works across a small range of input parameters, so you need to add something to it, to cope with the full range of loads and camber angles and c) being purely empirical, you can't just tie in real tyre properties and have the curves changed appropriately (like dimensions, construction, pressure, deformation). It excels at reproducing one tyre, it's awkward as hell to try and use as a general solution.
Which is why I hate it as a programmer, it's usually simpler, faster, and gives better results to do it yourself.
Which is why I hate it as a games player, it 'suffices'.
I'm from the old school when it comes to coding, and by old I meen I started out saving my projects to BASF C15's . I'll do something myself sooner than use a 3rd party module, so the only times I use 3rd party code is when I don't want to do something myself (either i'm not interested, or i'm focused on something else and want a meens to an end). With that in mind when it comes to something like making a racing game I just cant see how anyone would buy a physics engine... I meen, surely the point of making a racing game revolves around the physics so why would anyone use a generic physics engine? What would be the point of making it?
Of course some software houses barely write a single line in anything more complex than LUA, but then again I don't play their games. So even if i'm "wrong" at least i'm true to my words
Interesting, i spotted the physics arrows in the youtube vid but thats the only thing that really popped out as something that coulda been taken from lfs.. white smoke looks pretty much the same in any game XP
Ehh i'll DL it if i think it's interesting maybe i'll give it a reveiw~