Racing Sim Thread, Part II

[GB_Simo]

I also got an e-mail from iRacing with a certificate attached that said that my club (Pennsylvania) has won the Season 2 Regional Championship. Evidently that qualifies us for the World Cup next February, but I'm not sure what that is!

I got one of those a while back. To this day, I've no idea what my contribution to the English cause actually was.

I know night racing's probably going to be the headline act here, but I'm really interested to see how people handle the new shifting model. I don't think I've ever had to shift like that in a sim before, and I'm sure some of the driving styles employed by the aliens used to exploit little flaws and weaknesses in some of the old shifting models, so it'll be interesting to see how much they need to change things and how long it takes us mortals to get rolling. I also note that the Lotus 79 has had its rev limiter removed, which brings back memories of blowing a BRM engine into a million pieces while sat on the grid at Silverstone in GPL. In my defence, I barely revved the bloody thing.

[pk500]

I have zero interest in night racing, for two reasons. One, it's nothing but window dressing. Two, there's no way my 128MB video card will handle the framerate hit created by the shadows of night racing.

Everything else in this build turns me on, especially the fixed setup racing! As Adam said, the new shifting model is going to be really interesting. I hope it brings some of the aliens closer to Earth. It's also going to be a challenge for me to adapt to the new shifting model!

[Rodster]

Anyone have a slight interest in Rfactor 2?

[pk500]

Anyone have a slight interest in Rfactor 2?

Not here. rFactor 2 could have a fine graphics and driving model, but it won't receive the constant updates of iRacing. Plus the modding community model is very flawed compared to iRacing, as the quality standards of mod teams fluctuates way too much.

Some mod teams actually gather real data and know physics; others simply blindly plug in numbers into Notepad and hope they get something that "feels good" and release it to the world. The end result is too much diddling with plug-ins and other crutches to get the mod to even approach reality.

iRacing has set an overall standard for consistency, quality and regular updates that rFactor 2 never will match. Plus the public online racing community at iRacing is far superior to anything I ever experienced with rFactor, and I don't expect that to change with rFactor 2.

[GB_Simo]

Fixed setup races are another major boon. What I've always wanted to do in a racing sim - F1CE on PS3 did this fairly well if you had the time and patience to go through it - is drive a car and provide feedback on it as if I was a driver, rather than being my own race engineer too. Since that's not an option, give me what everyone else has got and let me see what I can do with it. I just don't have the time to do the setup work to the standard required, and frankly I don't have the skill either.

Anyone have a slight interest in Rfactor 2?

Me. I do enough hotlapping and offline racing that a decent physics model and a good set of shipped cars might sway me. I am in fact downloading the new F1 1990 mod for the old faithful original as I type, and I see absolutely no way at all that this can end in crashing disappointment.

[Gurantsu]

Anyone have a slight interest in Rfactor 2?

I'm certainly interested, as I still play the original now and then (along with GTR2 and Race 07 and its expansions.) My biggest gripe is the AI in a lot of the mods. Some are decent, others drive like... well, me! Every now and then I just like to load up a field of AI cars and go at it.

The coolest thing is that my time in iRacing has made my driving in those sims much better.

I haven't tried the new iRacing build yet, hopefully later tonight I will. as far as setups go, I always hit the forums first and grab what guys are using there, and then tweak it if I need to. Besides, I know most of my slow time is driver error, not setup error!

[Rodster]

I went and downloaded the F1 1990 mod that Adam mentioned. Will give it a try later. I love the sound of those cars 1988-1994. The overpowering growling sound from the cockpit of the 1988 cars exude power and a nastiness the current cars don't offer.

[DChaps]

The new spectator mode in iRacing is something I didn't care about, but last night I watched parts of several races and it was actually really cool. The ability to see friends activity easier is also nice. I still wish they would do more with friends stats comparisons ala GPLRank type functionality, but they continue to slowly but surely move in the right direction.

I think the fixed setup series options they have for next season is great - fixed setups and shorter races. Only problem is that it is only for Class B (Corvette and Nationwide). I wish they would apply those options to the other classes. I have been in Class C for some time, but never race there (only timetrial, test), because (a) I don't have the time to figure out the setups needed to be even close to competitive, and (b) the races themselves are just too long for me to realistically schedule time for them.

As for the night racing, I had the same feeling as Paul as I never raced night races in NR2003 or rFactor, but it is really well implemented in iRacing. Took an Indycar out there in test and I was shocked that I did not seem to have a performance hit (may be a different story once there are cars on the track), and the immersion/sense of speed was awesome. I did not benchmark it with FRAPs, but overall it seems like framerates have improved for me with this build.

I am definitely interested in rFactor 2, but my limited gaming time has made it where I just don't have the time for the whole modding aspect. I even abandoned my most recent attempt at re-installing my beloved GPL because I just want to run some laps as opposed to all the time spent downloading, installing, and tweaking. I would guess I spent 10 times as many hours installing and tweaking rfactor mods over the last few years, as I actually spent racing. With iRacing it is exactly the opposite. I am sure I will pickup rFactor 2 when it comes out, but I doubt it will be released this year as is being reported.

[pk500]

I'm sure rFactor 2 will be a quality sim. But Don nailed the reason why the game doesn't appeal to me that much -- it takes a lot of work to install mods and get them to work properly.

Boo-hoo, you say, and that's a fair analysis. But wasting hours tweaking mods and plug-ins was fine when rFactor was the leading sim on the market. I spent literally 100 hours tweaking and installing mods, testing car suspensions and downloading telemetry from test runs to determine true RealFeel compatibility, etc. I spent more time tweaking rFactor than I did racing it. Seriously.

But now iRacing has spoiled me. It's so plug and play. Updates are downloaded and installed automatically, plug in my G25 and drive. Plus it's the best PC sim I've ever touched.

rFactor 2 is going to need to blow me away -- from a physics and ease of use standpoint -- for me to divert my limited free time away from iRacing. I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I doubt rFactor 2 can do it.

[Gurantsu]

I like the new shifting model in iRacing. I don't know, it makes it feel more immersive, having to learn how to shift each car. I've only tried the Spec Racer Ford, DP Riley, and Radical, but the differences were huge.

I'd like to check out the spectator view, but the only dudes on my friends list are you guys! I'd have to get used to spectating time trials!

[DChaps]

Grant, you can spectate any race, not just your friends. I can't believe it, but I love this specatator mode. You can even turn on a ticker to see the standings. You can also do all the camera angles and take control to free roam the camera, pick a place to sit in the stands, whatever. I saw some people complaining that now you could spectate and watch your rivals qualify. Seems like it could be a good learning tool as well. As I was reading the iracing forums, I saw another cool way to use the spectator mode:

Had a couple friends on ventrilo with me earlier during a tour mod at Richmond race. One got on the spotter stand and the other got where my pit box would be and they spotted for me. It was so awesome and made the sim that more immersive. And both of them got to see a great race. Good work iRacing!!!

Now that is freakin cool. I may have to sign up my brothers just so that I can have a spotter and crew chief for races. We need to get some DSP iRacing going? Anyone up for tonight at 10:30pm EDT? I will host.

[GB_Simo]

I'm going to have to look into this spectating business. I saw that Don was online just now but I couldn't work out whether he was driving anything, or how to watch him if he was. If they ever introduce spectating on private tests, Don will be able to watch me practicing my shifting...

I buggered my ankle playing football almost 4 years ago, and I've never really had the mobility to heel-toe for any length of time without it hurting, so I've always been an Auto Clutch guy. I've done some work on the troublesome joint, and tonight seemed as good a time as any to measure my progress. The ankle's much better. The driving isn't.

I'd like to pretend I made it round more than a single lap of Mosport before my Lotus 79 did its Exxon Valdez number but I can't, any more than I can pretend I didn't throw up smoke signals with my very first downshift at Watkins Glen. The engine revs up to about 10,700 down the back straight, the tach goes to 12,000, it sounded like my throttle blip ran the DFV up to about 13,500 or thereabouts...

If I don't blip it enough, then either the downshift won't go in or it'll engage gear but I'll lock the rears and have an accident instead. The consequences of making a similar mistake in the Mustang or the Skippy seem slightly less catastrophic, but it's a new challenge and it really brings an added dimension to the experience. The idea of having to get my heel-toe shifts sorted out with other people on track brings me out in a sweat.

Don, I'd love to run tonight but it's a bit late notice for me at this hour, I'm afraid. I'm bang up for some racing at some point in the next few days, though.

[GB_Simo]

I went and downloaded the F1 1990 mod that Adam mentioned. Will give it a try later. I love the sound of those cars 1988-1994. The overpowering growling sound from the cockpit of the 1988 cars exude power and a nastiness the current cars don't offer.

Would like to hear your thoughts. I watched the AI at Phoenix and I was quietly encouraged, even if the sounds seemed a bit off. Then I ran a weekend at Adelaide, the frame rate was dreadful, the force feedback non-existent and I turned it off after half a lap.

[GB_Simo]

Perhaps not strictly a sim, but I happen to feel this is looking rather good:

[Gurantsu]

It does look interesting. But if Bernie the Troll ever gets into a motion capture suit I'll have nightmares for weeks.

[pk500]

We need to get some DSP iRacing going? Anyone up for tonight at 10:30pm EDT? I will host.

Yes, yes and more YES! Give me the room name and the time, and I'm there. If you're night racing, I may not be able to do it. Haven't tested the new build yet, but I'd be stunned if my little 128 MB ATI Radeon Mobility vid card could chug-chug its way through night racing.

Very eager to try the new build. I'm going to try to go with no clutch or blip aids and learn to do everything manually.

[Gurantsu]

PK,

You're on a laptop right? If not I may have a video card I can send you, it's just collecting dust here.

I have been checking out some of the spectator stuff, and it's actually pretty cool. it's neat to watch some of the practices and see and hear some of the aliens discuss their lines and setups.

I jumped into a Legends race at Lanier this morning, did OK but spun once; didn't damage the car but took a tow since there is no way you are getting back on track if you are facing the wrong direction there. It was a lot of fun but man one thing bugs the heck out of me... do you really need to thank every lapped driver who lets you by? I swear there were at least 4 guys who I know were just being nice, but it was a constant stream of "thanks dude!" "thanks for going high!" "thanks for moving!" "coming up behind, thank you sir!" I was about ready to crash into one of them just to get them to say something else. I seriously need to turn off the voice in race, but I'm always afraid I may miss something.

[pk500]

Grant:

I'm on a lappy. Thanks for the offer, though!

[Rodster]

Just in case you're interested PK. Desktop graphics on a laptop for the cheap

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming- ... ost5324240

[GB_Simo]

Just in case you're interested PK. Desktop graphics on a laptop for the cheap

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming- ... ost5324240

The contents of that link are going to need to contain a lot of zeroes with no other digits preceding them before you grab Mr Thrift's interest, Rod...

[pk500]

Just in case you're interested PK. Desktop graphics on a laptop for the cheap

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming- ... ost5324240

IMS owns my lappy. I can make no hardware modifications. In racing parlance, "I run what I brung."

Thanks.

[DChaps]

iRacing 2010 Season 3 - Buy One - Get Two Free Deal!

Ok, I renewed iRacing for another year, but it is time for me to "sh*t or get off the pot" so to speak. While I have been an iRacing subscriber for 2 years, I have barely raced outside of the original beta test and our very few hosted sessions. That is just sad for such a great sim. I have done a lot of testing and a good bit of time trials, but it's time for me to race. I have been a C class license due to my time trialing, but there is no way I am ready to race in C class, so I have decided to go back to Rookie Class and focus on the Spec Racer Ford Series and try to race each week for this new season.

Who will join me in this challenge?

For anyone still on the fence with iRacing, the Spec Racer Ford series is a great starting point, especially if you take advantage of the new promo deal posted today of Buy One Month - Get Two Free.

http://www.iracing.com/promotions/buy-1-get-2/

For $14 you will get 3 months of iRacing which will give you the complete 2010 Season 3 Series. For the Spec Racer Ford 12 week season, the only track you would need to purchase would be Watkins Glen ($14.95 gets all 4 configurations of the Glen), as everything else comes with the basic subscription, including the Spec Racer Ford car. So for $28.95 you can get a full iRacing Spec Racer Ford season, not to mention the Legends Oval Racing and Pontiac Solstice Road (if you are so inclined).

2010 Season 3 starts tonight after the servers come back up from Class promotions and maintenance.

Spec Racer Ford - 2010 Season 3:

Week 1 Summit Point (Full Course) - 14 laps
Week 2 Lime Rock Park - 20 laps
Week 3 Summit Point (Jefferson Course) - 25 laps
Week 4 Charlotte Full Road Course - 20 laps
Week 5 Laguna Seca - 11 laps
Week 6 Watkins Glen (Cup) - 14 laps
Week 7 Summit Point (Jefferson Reverse) - 25 laps
Week 8 Lime Rock Park (Chicane) - 20 laps
Week 9 Summit Point (Full Course) - 14 laps
Week 10 Charlotte Full Road Course - 20 laps
Week 11 Watkins Glen (Boot) - 11 laps
Week 12 Summit Point (Short Course) - 25 laps

For those of you that already have iRacing memberships, there is some great information on the Spec Racer Ford series provided by long time racing sim community guru John Bodin. In fact, it was his posts that motivated me to take this approach to Season 3. Links are provided below and are recommended reading.

SRF Season 3 Week 1 -- Summit Point Main

Rookie Road Racing Tips: Preparing for Season 3, 2010

Rookie Race Tips: Learning About Setups

Rookie Race Tips: Putting SR into perspective

Anyway, sorry for always being the iRacing informercial, but this is a good deal for anyone wanting to give it a shot, plus I wanted to see if any of the current iRacing DSP crew (all 4 of you), would be willing to come along with me for the Spec Racer Ford Season 3, 2010.

PS - Using the new and improved myRacers feature, I noticed that our old friend Arnold Sribhen (Neckthai), has been pretty active on the iRacing servers recently, even scoring a couple wins in the Legends cars. Arni, if you are out there I would love to get you in on this challenge as well.

[Gurantsu]

I may be up for it. I've been trying to do some of the more advanced races, but they don't run as often and I always end up having a conflict with other stuff going on. I think the SRF series runs on a more regular schedule, so I should be able to do it.

Is there any way we can just track our friends stats to see how we are doing against each other?

[DChaps]

The Spec Racer Ford Series runs every day, every 2 hours at :30 past the hour-odd

For me on Eastern Daylight Time this means races at

11:30am
1:30pm
3:30pm
5:30pm
7:30pm
9:30pm
11:30pm
1:30am
etc.....

The 9:30pm and/or the 11:30pm schedules should work for me. We could even try to have everyone from DSP that is interested pick a day and time to try and race together. I think there are still no guarantees we get matched into the same race/split, but I believe it does factor your friends list into it now. While the myRacers (Friends) interface is improved, I don't think it gives a great way of filtering just how you stack up to your friends stats, but it should not be too difficult for me to pull info manually. I think there are a couple 3rd part iRacing stat sites that may give a better friends filter, but I have never checked them out.

I will probably shoot for doing the 11:30pm EDT race tonight.

[Gurantsu]

Just saw your last post. Didn't race yesterday, but hopefully I can today some time.

They keep point stats for everyone right? I guess we could just dig our stats out of there and post them here so we can compare them. That way we'll at least see overall series standings even if we don't actually race together.