Why compare? Why compare only two sims? Why not play more than one sim? Why always these kind of topics that generally don't lead anywhere? Why do I bother to type this? Well as long as I'm here, I might as well go on
These are the simes I drive or have driven.
SportsCar GT
GrandPrixLegends
Nascar Heat
F1C 99-02
Nascar Racing 2003
Live For Speed
rFactor
Each of those has it's own ups and downs and none of them cover everything that I value in a racing sim. If I had to chose only one, LFS would be the obvious choice, but I'm glad I don't have to.
Some of them I've stopped driving because of issues that has not been solved or improved upon.
NR2003... This one has virtually killed a gfx card for me. And nearly took another one out a few weeks later. Long discussions with all kinds of people and no one managed to figure out why or managed to solve the problem. All I got out of it was an empty wallet. I don't play it any more.
F1C... You can say what you want, but this one could have been great if the multiplayer function had been better and the graphics performance had been better than average at best. Mod's for this sim is what kept it alive. I don't play it any more.
rFactor... You talk about LFS not being finished, and so we can not compare it with rFactor. Well in my not so humble opinion, rFactor is far from finished. It lacks a lot of stuff that really should be in a professional sim from day one. If this sim had been relesed like this and not been open to modders, I would probably have gotten a refund after about an hour or so.
GPL... I don't drive it as much as I used to, but it's still on my harddrive. And when ever I feel the need to focus on something other than real life for a while, I start it up. Because, let's face it. If you don't focus when you drive in this sim, you're no longer on the track.
SCGT... This is the one that never will die. I stoped counting available cars when they hit 1000, and I've lost count on tracks a long time ago. An educated guess would be somewhere between 400 and 700 availble tracks made. It has a lousy multiplayer code, but the AI cars can (with a little editing) be really tough. Some of the tracks has better AI than ever was seen in F1C. This one will never leave my harddrive.
Nascar Heat... If you find a better multiplayer code in the universe, please tell me. This one is second to none when it comes to online racing. If you think that the Papy sims have cood multiplayer, you're in for a treat if you try this one. For those that don't like the "turn left, go fast" kind of racing, there is ton's of roadcourse mods for it. The only thing this sim lack is that truckload of roadcourses. Only about 70 roadcourses availble for it, but all the classics are there avialable. Try it, you'll like it
LFS... This is the crown jewel in my collection of sims, and it's not even finished yet. If I could wish for only one thing, it would be that ability to create cars and tracks for it. But for now, I'm more than happy with what's in there. Keep up the Good Work Gentlemen
Why drive only one sim, and why fight over witch one is best? Just drive them and make up your list of favourites like I have. If the sim you drive doesn't make you feel good, stop driving it and remove it from the harddrive. Simple as that.