iRacing

[Freude am Fahren]

Thought I'd start out new version of the iRacing thread. Because of moving I've been away for a while, but three versions of the RUF Rt12 have been released, a street version, and two race versions. Also Fontana has been released which means they have the entire sprint cup schedule I think.

In the pipeline are Monza, Imola, Tsukuba, along with quite a few English tracks. Car-wise, they're working on the Honda HSV-010 and a BTCC Civic (something to race on all the English tracks!). According to Wikipedia, they're also working on COTA, Willow Springs, Miller, and New Jersey, but I haven't seen any announcements on those (other than New Jersey, which is out as a 'tech track', which may mean they've given up on it. Same goes for Long Beach).

Link to Refuge Thread (http://gtxfrefuge.freeforums.org/iracing-t290.html)

[Zevious Zoquis]

So how's the Iracing thing going right now? Any interesting developments? Dale Jr still active? Whats the current membership at? I've been getting a fair number of special offers in my email to re-up but sadly I don't have a PC with the necessary horsepower anymore...

[Freude am Fahren]

Z4 GT3 and COTA have been released, along with some new Oval stuff.

[Kchrpm]

Nate: Z4 GT3 vs C6R on COTA. LET'S DO IT.

(buy me the game and a gaming computer)

[Freude am Fahren]

I know nobody cares about this anymore, but I am having a huge amount of fun competing in Star Mazda this season. I've actually been participating each week (missed actual races a couple weeks though). Been able to be at the top of the non-alien sessions. A bunch of podiums, and most importantly, I am finding some consistency, and not throwing it off so much, my biggest problem in the past.

I still can't set a car up worth a damn though.

[OldTimer]

I started iRacing about six weeks ago or so. I was surprised how easy it was to get started. Different mindset to GT altogether with far greater emphasis on online racing. The rookies races are fairly hit and miss and I had every second race ruined by one or more idiots. Advanced to a C licence now and running the Spec Racer Ford and really enjoying it. The MX5 is a blast to drive as well and I'll try to run some races in the Advanced MX5 Cup. Tried running the Caddy but keep blowing the donk after a couple of laps. :(
A little expensive once you get in to it having to buy tracks and cars but the racing at the higher levels looks very promising. I can't set cars up either but there are always plenty of setups available from other racers to try. I've just rebuilt a PC that is running at a frame rate of 84fps without a change although I'm still very much sorting myself out with this stuff. At least I can run some laps at Mount Panorama whenever I like and the few races I have had there have been fun. Got totally cheesed with GT6 as I was continually having my PS3 freeze during online racing sessions. No fun at all and if I continue to enjoy iRacing I doubt I will buy a PS4. I'm 60 now so the eye sight and joints are starting to become an issue for extended periods in the race frame. I'm looking to make the most of it before I get altogether too slow lol.

[Freude am Fahren]

BOOM

http://www.iracing.com/iracingnews/iracing-news/the-nurburgring-is-coming-to-iracing

Nurburgring (GP/Nordschleife/24hr) coming to iRacing!

[Kchrpm]

I played it for the first time today, Mazda had Laguna Seca with I assume Formula Mazda cars at their marketing truck. I did better than I expected, but still didn't get a clean hot lap in the 5 minutes I had.

[XHawkeye]

FWIW: 50% of sale (http://www.iracing.com/membership/)

[GB]

Keep an eye out for purple and yellow cars driven by guys named Barie. ;)

[Freude am Fahren]

I havent had iRacing open in a while, but the Nurburgring comes out tomorrow. As does the McLaren-Honda MP4-30

[21Kid]

I haven't played this game... but this looks neat.

Youtuber builds obsessively detailed iRacing simulator (http://www.autoblog.com/2016/05/07/iracing-simulator-detailed-youtube-video/)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJcQvXuHxkg

[Cam]

:twitch: Too much.

[Rare White Ape]

:up:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_aeNaIO3sU

[dodint]

I still have all my stuff but I don't race during school and my semester starts tomorrow. Heh.

[Tom Servo]

Well, after about a three year hiatus I re-upped today. Got a promotion for a discount for returning members, and between all the new computer hardware and the Rift I'm looking forward to seeing if I'm any better at not crashing into the back of people.

[dodint]

I am doing the same promo. Just waiting a few more days till we get most of the house settled.

[Tom Servo]

Took a lot of tweaking to get the Oculus working okay, but I think I'm pretty happy with it now.

Ran my first race, the rookie MX-5 cup at Lime Rock (w/ chicane). First time in the ND MX-5 and I think maybe my first time driving that track layout, but still managed 3rd place in the top split with one incident point (next to last lap, the two drivers in front of me took each other out under the bridge just before the final corner, had to dive to the grass to avoid it).

Definitely felt like I was better at avoiding incidents. Went three wide through T1 at one point with no contact. That was intense.

[Kchrpm]

How do incident points work, just one per incident and it matches you with people with similar number of points? Does it try to assign fault, or if you get plowed into by someone does it just give each of you a single point?

[dodint]

I haven't raced in a few years but 1x is usually just a wheel in the grass or whatever, 4x is car on car contact.

When I was racing the modeling was still kind of iffy where sometimes you'd get tagged with a 4x even if you never touched the other guy. Something to do with the inherent lag between the different drivers and the server.

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, that's the general gist. You get points and they're assigned no fault. You hit someone, you get 4 points. You get hit by someone, you still get 4 points. If you put more than half your car off the racing surface, you get 1 point for going off track. Losing control (basically having your slip angle pass 90 degrees) nets you two points. Contact with an object gets you two points as well. They're also non-additive. If you go off track, lose control, then plow into another driver, you get four points rather than seven (1 for off, 2 for loss of control, 4 for contact). You just get the points for the most serious infraction and the others are left out. Also of note, "light" contact gets you a notice, but you get no points. I'd imagine that's mostly for bump drafting in oval races or light taps while passing on a road course.

The incident points then determine your license, and your license determines which series you can race in. With a rookie license, you can only run a few series. As your "safety rating" (which is a rating determined via an algorithm they've kept under wraps, but has something to do with the number of incident points per corner turned over the past 'n' corners where 'n' is a specific limit that applies to everyone, but we don't know what it is) climbs, your license level goes up, opening up new series with faster, harder to control cars. The general idea is that they want you to prove that you can drive somewhat competently in slower cars (not have a ton of T1 crashes, keep it on the track, keep it pointing the right way) before you're allowed to compete at higher levels. You can, however, run private races and test sessions with cars outside your license level, I think the license levels really only apply to the official series.

There's also an iRating that's based on your actual finishes, and that's used to determine who you race against. They have "splits" because often more drivers sign up for a race than can fit in a race "room". The Rookie MX-5 series, for instance, allows up to 10 cars in a race. Last night I think we had 45 people signed up, so they were split into five different rooms based on their irating - trying to keep people of similar skill levels in the same room.

It actually works pretty well. I did a rookie race last night since it was my first time back in many years and even then, we didn't have any T1 crashes and you almost never get intentional wreckers like you do in Forza or what have you. They also have a reporting mechanism where you can save a replay and submit it with a protest for a specific driver, which for the most egregious offenses can get the driver banned from the service.

[Kchrpm]

Thanks for the explanation, sounds well done. I hope Turn10 copies some of that thinking for Forza 7.

[Freude am Fahren]

And I think a year or two ago, they instituted a policy of max points before you are black flagged. I can't remember if it's a set number, or based on length of the race, or something.

And of course, your SR can go down if you get a lot of incidents. I think if you go below a certain number at the end of the season (every three months, when they do the license upgrade), you can actually be demoted.

But yeah, good luck getting anything like that in Forza or even GT :lol:

[Kchrpm]

Forza 6's Leagues were supposed to do something like that, I don't know what really happened in the background though.

[dodint]

The 1x/2x thing kind of bugs me, actually. If they modeled the courses well, offs and and loss of car control would be self-punitive inherently. It's a problem that GT is terrible at, and Project Cars doesn't do very well with it either. I'm okay with the 4x for car contact, though, even the No Fault aspect of it is okayish.

[Tom Servo]

And I think a year or two ago, they instituted a policy of max points before you are black flagged. I can't remember if it's a set number, or based on length of the race, or something.

And of course, your SR can go down if you get a lot of incidents. I think if you go below a certain number at the end of the season (every three months, when they do the license upgrade), you can actually be demoted.

But yeah, good luck getting anything like that in Forza or even GT :lol:

So, that explains why during the event Race Control told me I had 1 of 17x incident points. I guess you hit 17 and you sit out the race.

Makes sense, I've definitely seen drivers who, upon racking up 20+ points, basically just give up and start driving like complete asshats.

[Tom Servo]

The 1x/2x thing kind of bugs me, actually. If they modeled the courses well, offs and and loss of car control would be self-punitive inherently. It's a problem that GT is terrible at, and Project Cars doesn't do very well with it either. I'm okay with the 4x for car contact, though, even the No Fault aspect of it is okayish.

I think the idea is that it's not supposed to be punishing, it's just supposed to help determine whether you're good enough at car control to safely race more difficult cars, making it more likely that higher level series have clean races. I also see it as a tool to figure out how well I'm able to recognize my limits and stay under them. I could have turned faster laps and often wanted to when I would have a guy right on my tail - it's one of the first races in a long time where I didn't let that get to me and just made sure to hit my marks and drive at a pace I could maintain without making mistakes. I think my average laptime in the actual race was about 1.6 seconds slower than my qualifying time, but I ended up third because I wasn't trying to turn qualifying laps for the entire race and was one of the few that didn't crash out. The guy in 4th qualified in 1st and was the only driver to turn in a sub 1 minute lap, but racked up 11 incident points presumably because he tried to go faster than he could reliably go for 20 laps straight.

In the end, I don't think it affects me all that much because I've got an A license and do almost all of my racing in C level or lower, I just have more fun in those series (probably because despite my license, I'm not good enough to race at a competitive speed in those cars without fucking up). I do think they model it well enough that the 1x/2x things are self-punitive when it comes to iRating though.

[dodint]

Yeah, I don't have a solution myself so I don't complain about it much. Just brought it up broadly in conversation. The incident counter thing is weird because it's meant, as you said, to keep drivers straight. It's part of a broader tool. I just remember doing TTs in my oval stuff and being 8 laps into the 10 lap window and getting 1x because my rear quarter brushed a wall. A brush that ended up tanking my time anyway.

It has to be tough for them. I mean, it's possible that breaking out the different goals that tool attempts to achieve into smaller tools would work. But then the drivers would get fatigued a bit by having more metrics to deal with. Tough situation.

[Tom Servo]

It does. I've often felt like it's overly strict as well, but then I think about the fact that I was able to go three-wide into T1 at Lime Rock and trust that the two guys inside me weren't going to hit me. It's the only one of these so far that I felt like actually worked, even if it really feels unfair sometimes.

[Tom Servo]

It's been years now, and my internet connection is much faster, my computer has a wired connection to the router, and the computer itself is faster. Somehow, I still have my latency graph in the yellow.

Also, I'm incredibly slow at Okayama. About 2 seconds off the pace. I'll take my 0 incidents, though.

[dodint]

I ended up not registering. :(

My computer area is still under a pile of furniture. Moving takes forever.

[Tom Servo]

I'm enjoying myself, another friend of mine who re-upped isn't and plans to let it lapse after 3 months. I'm sure you'll get another chance soon enough to get a discount.

I took the CTS-V out at Okayama for a bit. That car is way too entertaining. Really stable under braking with good turn-in, then progressive oversteer under power on corner exit. Rear visibility ain't so great with the Rift (it makes the rear-view monitor not so useful), but lots of fun to drive.

[Tom Servo]

I suuuuuuck. 3 seconds off the pace in the ND MX-5 at Laguna. Ouch.

Also:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDM9St4vvI


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJGZdLyD9-8&feature=youtu.be

I see some money going out the door.

[dodint]

Yeah, that's awesome. Really need to find my stuff. :lol:

[GreatScawt]

Oh, man, those first look videos are awesome. Great commentary and setup. And even the editing between the live commentary and the replay for different views is a nice touch.

[Tom Servo]

Went nuts getting stuff to get the 15% discount on six items. Picked up the AMG SLS GT3, Ford GT GTE and Ferrari 488 GTE, then Monza, Interlagos, and Le Mans. Le Mans takes *forever* to load, and also drops my framerate, so annoyingly it looks like I'll have to lower my settings for it.

Only took the Ferrari out for a few laps at Le Mans. It drives really nicely, but it's super easy to lock up the brakes if you don't ease into them. If I slowly apply brake pressure it can brake really well, but if I go too fast the fronts lock almost immediately.

Last time I checked I was 16th in the session, not sure how I was doing among the GTE cars (the Acura LMP-ish car was also in there as a different class).

[dodint]

I'm worried that my system is aging too much. It was really robust in 2012 but that was five years ago, yikes. Spa was what eventually killed my earlier rig. Might be LeMans this time.

[GreatScawt]

Do they update the models and textures as iRacing progresses? Are there like huge 2-yr comprehensive updates where they overhaul? Because the game looks pretty great for today's standards. And it's what... an 8 year old game?

[dodint]

I think so. I've had system updates come in and they list out what they're doing and often there are updates to the cars themselves, not just the tracks and sim. I assume they're textures being updated.

The sim was built on the NASCAR 2003 engine so, yeah, it's held up well all things considered.

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, Le Mans was dropping my framerates and I've got a GTX 1080 in there. The Rift was saying it was dropping to 45fps, which means it starts trying to "guess" at the missing frames to keep a perceived 90fps, as apparently that's what you need to not get VR sickness. That said, I only noticed because the FPS meter said 45, it looked fine to me.

And the track is gorgeous.

[Freude am Fahren]

I just picked up the two new GTE cars, plugged my wheel back in (taking it away from Forza) and had a couple laps around Le Mans in solo test. Man, I missed this.

I also got my free Gear VR in the mail yesterday. Trying it really makes me want to get the Rift.

[Tom Servo]

DO IT!

Seriously, I don't think I can ever go back. It *might* be worth it to wait for future headsets that have a higher resolution, but I'm finding the current one to be plenty good enough for racing.

[Tom Servo]

Ran a race at Le Mans with the Ford GT. Turns out I'm not super slow, my best lap was about one second off the top guys, which for a 3:50+ lap isn't all that bad. However, I neglected to check how many laps the race was and was down to 1.2 laps of fuel left when I decided it was time to pit for fuel. As I'm on pit road, I see the white flag, so I gave up three positions while I puttered along at 37mph down the front straight. Had a podium finish leading up to that. Oops.

[Tom Servo]

I'm really digging on the Ford GT, but it sounds like there's a damage-related bug with it. Drivers saying that just normal driving over curbs results in damage that the sim then wants to fix in the pits. Since the IMSA races are long enough that you need to pit for fuel, the Ford ends up with a time penalty as the "damage" gets fixed. Just saw someone mention they were held there for 22 seconds, that'll pretty much ruin the race for anyone in the Ford.

That's a bummer, 'cause I'm really enjoying that car and planned to focus on it this seasons.

EDIT: Also finding that apparently it results in aero damage that is enough to knock some top speed off on straights. Going theory is that the car at normal ride heights is causing the diffuser to hit the ground, damaging it. 'Course, raising the car high enough to avoid that also hurts laptimes.

[Kchrpm]

Better avoid the curbs in your fragile "road" car!

#fixorrepairineverypitstop

[dodint]

I found the packing case with my iRacing hardware (while looking for a baseball glove of all things) and iRacing sent me a 25% off coupon to come back, so it looks like the stars have aligned. I'm going to NCM this weekend for 24LM so I'll set my stuff up next week and start turning some laps. I never was as good as Brian (or Bryan) but maybe I'll see you out there. ;)

[Freude am Fahren]

Yeah, I just got the notice that my sub is up for renewal soon, at the same time I got a notice of the renewal bonuses. Hmm.

Did my first actual race last night in the fixed MX-5 cup at Summit Point. I though I had good practice times (low 1:23's high :22's optimal). Qualified last and finished last on the road (but like 7th with crashers, DNF's and DQ's). :(

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, I'm being reminded that I suck still. I think my fastest lap in either of the GTE cars around Suzuka is in the low 1:57s, most people seem to be in the 1:55s with a few people turning 1:53s.

I am looking forward to when I stop getting put in the top split.

[Tom Servo]

Didn't get much of a chance to race this week, so went for a last ditch one this afternoon before the week changed. Was still slow, but consistent, and a number of drivers were fucking up around me, so I had a shot at a marginal result.

Until an LMP took me out at the second ess at Watkins. He was lapping me, looked inside on me, I breathed out of the throttle and stayed right, he hit my rear wheel and sent me into the barriers. 22 minutes of required repairs with 20 minutes left in the race. Meh.

[Tom Servo]

I feel just like the guys at Risi. At least it actually feels like "well, that's racing" sorta incident.

[dodint]

I did sign up for the discounted rate. Just need to actually set my rig up. It's complicated some because my home desktop space is now, two days a week, my telework home office. Need to figure something out because my work laptop dock uses 2/3rds of my triple monitor setup and I have to move stuff around to make it iRacing optimized.

[Freude am Fahren]

Speaking of monitor setups, I finally figured out how to use three monitors, without using NVidia surround (which is a pain in the ass). You can use windowed mode, with a border, resize, then turn the borders off. You still have the start menu at the bottom, but it's soooo much better now than switching between surround and normal. I figured this out thanks to having to run Rocksmith windows to prevent crashes oddly.

[dodint]

Windows 10 doesn't recognize my CSR Elite Pedals via USB. :(

It's not even a matter of making sure the drivers are installed. The moment the USB plugs into the machine I get an 'Unknown USB Device (Invalid Device Descriptor)' error in the Device Manager list.

It did recognize my G27 and DSD Button Box right away. I might have to revert to my G27 pedals in the meantime but it's just another Win10 headache. I did a complete system reimage about two weeks ago which helped with a few things but here we are again with lost functionality over Win7.

[Freude am Fahren]

That sucks. My Clubsports have no issues now. I had a problem with both my pedals and wheel base basically braking the input every time I plugged them in/turned them on. I uninstalled the USB device and reinstalled and everything works again.

Are you able to update the firmware somehow? Maybe it got messed up.

[Freude am Fahren]

Finally won something today. Mazda fixed race at Laguna Seca. I switched to right foot braking for it, and find it much easier. I think I was overlapping with left foot braking too much, causing it to understeer.

[dodint]

I finally got my setup up and running. I was putting it off because I couldn't remember what I had to to do get the triple monitor setup to work. I have to put the graphics card into Surround mode which makes my array one big monitor. iRacing looks good in it as it used to and I'm happy with that, but as always Windows 10 is a big baby about things. It allows me to have my taskbar on the center monitor but when I click the Windows button the menu opens on the far left monitor. Just a pain in the ass. So every time I want to play iRacing I'll have to configure the card so special snowflake Win10 can have its way.

Anyway, a ton has changed in the two years or so since I've been in there. I'm sure the series layout is better now but I just couldn't seem to find a series to fall into at first. Ended up in the F2000 at Road America. Playing FM6:A has lulled me into a false sense of security and it took me a while to re-calibrate to iRacing. :lol: I didn't feel ready to go wheel to wheel yet so I figured I'd run a TT. Forgot that road course TTs were 5 clean laps. For an F2000 at Road America that's about 12 minutes of continuous lapping which just wasn't happening. The 1x for 'off' is still insanely strict to the point of it almost being unenjoyable. Running two wheels onto the runoff pavement in Turn 8 shouldn't be a penalty, in that case it's self-penalizing because if you're out there you're already slow. There are lots of places where if you're on the curbing and the curbing goes away you pick up a 1x. It's just way too strict, to me. I know they have to strike a balance but it needs to be dialed back some.

[Freude am Fahren]

Yeah, I got tired of changing my complete display configuration in both Surround and Windows, so I setup iRacing as in windowed mode, positioned it best I could, then turned off borders. I still have the task bar going across the bottom of the screen, but it's way better no having to go through those hoops.

I just did an IMSA race at Road America the other night in a Ford GT and got third in class. Would have had second if I didn't overshoot my pit box :angry: Showing how important a setup can be, I was like 2 seconds off the pace with what I thought was a good 488 setup. Changed to a great setup on the GT (which I'm usually slower in), and was right on pace with the leaders.

[Freude am Fahren]

God, I hate Montreal. If you go in and lose it in one, no matter how slowly you come back on the track, you have to sit there and yield. I went slightly off (barely even 4 wheels), lost about 3 seconds, then had to yield 2 more, losing third place. :angry:

[Freude am Fahren]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_yS7Tf-8HA&feature=youtu.be

[Tom Servo]

Ahh, see you beat me to it :)

[GreatScawt]

May be old news for you guys, but I found this interesting -

Scott Speed getting in trouble in iRacing
https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/3/16968222/scott-speed-iracing-suspended

[dodint]

Wow. Neat, thanks.

[Freude am Fahren]

Interesting.

No doubt a real racer will probably take things less seriously than a hardcore simmer, but that's unacceptable.

[dodint]

I have iRaced with Patrick Long and he was a bit of a knob, but nothing like this.

[Freude am Fahren]

Nicky Thiim is very active, and live streams on youtube. Also great resource for setups.

[Tom Servo]

Speed's apparent inability to handle the red mist explains a lot about his career.

[dodint]

Got my VR setup and boy is it a mixed bag of emotions. In terms of driving, the perspective is certainly much more realistic than triple monitor setups. You're 'in it' to the point that I drive more like I do at an HPDE than how I race in, say, GT:S. I went to VIR in the Z4 first and it was so much easier to stay on track near the limit as I had a much better idea of where the track really is. There are some parts of certain tracks, like Road Atlanta, that I had no idea were so steep and blind until I tried it here.

The flip side is that the sim is ugly. The best way I can explain it is that everything renders so crisp and distinctly that you can't help but notice that everything is a collection of shapes rather than part of a fluid universe. I think this is an iRacing characteristic, they say the graphics engine is completely updated but it looks like NASCAR 2003. ;) There is a lot to configure with VR in iRacing so maybe I can get the right combination to find some more realistic textures. I started with https://boxthislap.org/cv1-iracing-setup-guide/ and also the iRacing VR forum and will tweak it as I go.

Someone made a SpecE46 model for Assetto Corsa so I'll eventually try that out. I'm not in a big hurry because the AC track selection isn't super great. But that should tell me more about whether the ugliness of iRacing is headset or program related.

Screen door effect is there, but it's much less noticeable than with PSVR.

[Rare White Ape]

Don’t forget you can add mod tracks to Assetto. There are some absolute belters available.

[Tom Servo]

Pcars 2 also works really well with the Rift.

[dodint]

What about rFactor? They're the only ones that have Carolina Motorsports Park as a track (that I can find) and I'm running a TT there in May. Wanted to do some track familiarization. Not sure if it was in rFactor or rFactor 2, or if the tracks are compatible.

I have seen the AC track mod lists. Good to know there are some quality models. I mean, the SE46 model was crowdfunded and really well done from what I hear, not sure if the same attention to detail is paid to random club tracks in the wilderness. Can't hurt to try, though.

As long as we're here, I'm looking for the following tracks if anyone knows if the exist anywhere:

Carolina Motorsports Park
Heartland Motorsports Park
GingerMan Raceway
National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park
Pittsburgh International Race Complex (I have seen an old BeaveRun model from before they expanded to the 2.75mi circuit, for AC I think)

[dodint]

Pcars 2 also works really well with the Rift.

PCars burned me twice, I'm not giving them any more money (already have it on the PS4). If there is a super compelling car/track combo available I would pick it up dirt cheap since PC3 is already 'announced', but it would take something special.

[Tom Servo]

That's a bummer. It's definitely not as good a sim as iRacing or AC, but there was something about dropping into the Audi R18 LMP1 in VR. Just sat in it for a couple of minutes before driving off, you really got a feeling of a) how much crap is inside that car and b) how cramped it all is. Blasting it down Le Mans without the chicanes was a good time.

[Cam]

User-made tracks can be hit or miss. Passionate people that are good at it can make amazing, realistic tracks with minimal bugs.

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, you get that with almost anything. People figured out how to make user-made songs for Rocksmith. Some of them are brilliant, and some of them have you playing notes that aren't even remotely like the original song.

[Rare White Ape]

Quite a lot of the tracks that I’ve found have been converted across from rFactor 2, so if you’ve played that a lot and there’s a favourite track you had, then it might have been added to Assetto.

Start with Bridgehampton. It’s an absolute gem.

[dodint]

I've been reminded why I don't like PC gaming. I have exactly 21 days until my next semester starts and I wanted to see if I could get hooked back on iRacing.

The Rift I bought (used) is effectively broken, best case is I can get it repaired at a decent cost.
While troubleshooting the Rift I moved my Fanatec pedals from the USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 port. And in doing so the USB logic controller broke, again. I just had it replaced in Sept 2017 and have used it a grand total of about 3 hours in that 15 months.

So, the Rift is in limbo and I have a new controller interface coming from Germany.

I suspect all of it will be up and running in precisely 20 days. ;)

[Freude am Fahren]

Couldn't you use the pedal>wheel method in the mean time?

[dodint]

Easiest course of action would be to dig the stock Logitech pedals out of storage, wherever they are. Last time I needed a logic controller form Fanatec it came super quick. I'm going visiting for the holiday starting Friday so I'm hoping that it gets here by the 26th. With the weekend and holiday though I'm not sure.

[Freude am Fahren]

Ah, you're using a Logitech wheel. Fanatec wheels have a port for pedals.

[dodint]

Yeah, I have a G27. Got excited and decided to buy the bits I need to mount my Momo Mod 88 to it to get a proper 320mm wheel onto it. I have a strong tendency to jump into stuff with both feet and this time there is a lot of money on the table if I can't get the issues sorted. :lol:

I'm also not sure if I was being clear. The USB logic controller that went bad is the box mounted to the underside of the pedals, so now when I plug it into a PC nothing happens except the presence of an Unknown device is detected. That box died once on me and I replaced it in Sept 2017, and it seems to have died again. I might take this one apart after swapping in the new one to see if something obvious is going bad.

[Blerpa]

I've been reminded why I don't like PC gaming...

And how that thing breaking has to do with PC gaming since it was an accessory breaking down? An accessory probably faulty or badly designed, no matter if it was built for PC or consoles?

[dodint]

I can't remember the last time a Playstation controller broke, let alone twice.

Or the last time I had to dig into Playstation .ini files to make a controller work. Or rollback and try new drivers for the GPU.

PC gaming has tremendous upside, sure. Saying it doesn't take more work than a console is a lie to yourself and everyone else.

[dodint]

Now that I'm at a computer and can free type a little bit I'll expand on what I meant, I don't want Ang to think I am attacking him in another volley of the console v. PC wars.

To answer your question directly; it looks like the Oculus problem is an HDMI handshake problem that may or may not be due to the NVIDIA driver set, or any other number or issues. The Fanatec pedal issue is separate and is a failed USB logical controller on the pedal chassis; it has failed twice in 15 months of a mix of light play and storage.

More broadly:

PC gaming has a higher ceiling for user experience. As a guy that likes sims, I marvel at what people can do with sim racing gear and to an even greater extent flight simulator gear. It's fantastic. It also takes a lot of expense, planning, and trial/error to get everything working right, and there is no guarantee that it will stay working when one component has a firmware upgrade and upsets that balance. That's where I'm at right now with my sim racing rig. I'm at an investment point of about...$2700 all told and I can't race. Makes me sad.

Console gaming is limited, you get what they give you and the software they make for that platform. But, save for the annoying system and game updates from time to time, the shit just works. I meant it when I said I've never replaced a PS controller, they just go forever. The systems are getting more advanced and there is some factionalization (PS4 Pro v. PS4 concerns, etc.) but by and large for $399 I'm out the door with a high end console that just works all the time and delivers a very good experience.

I prefer console gaming, which is another way of wording what you quoted me saying above. I don't think PC gaming is bad. I also don't think it's fair to say that PC gaming is as easy as console gaming; it's just not. The only way it comes close is if you stick with a keyboard and mouse and run your game below optimal specs. But at that point, why not just get a console (PC exclusives and the like, aside)?

[Rare White Ape]

:D

https://i.redd.it/5nmwttle8fp11.png

[dodint]

Niiice.

[Tom Servo]

That took me way too long to get. And it's a bummer, I prefer to play on PC if for no other reason than the wife can watch TV while I play on the monitor, so I still haven't played either RDR1 or 2.

[dodint]

iRacing is so intense and takes a ton of practice. Feels great when you get something right, though.

Right now the Lotus 79 series is at the Charlotte Roval. It's as if they took Bathurst and crammed it down into a NASCAR infield. Pretty terrifying but loads of fun, particularly near the limit.

My series of focus is the Pro Mazda, though. Sadly the series is dying due to the Renault 2.0 and 3.5 hitting the scene, but it's still my favorite car in the sim.

[Tom Servo]

I'm assuming y'all have seen this, Max Verstappen appears to have joined iRacing and set a record at the Charlotte Roval: https://www.facebook.com/Teamredlinesim/videos/400356494038710

'Course, after that there are two videos of him intentionally wrecking drivers, so he's getting the same reputation on iRacing he has in real life. Who does he think he is, Scott Speed?

[CudaMan]

It's been well known that Max enjoys his sim racing. Cool to see him on an iRacing team. Team Redline no less.

I skimmed through a broadcast of a Porsche Cup iRacing race (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDlqXbe7_Uc) a couple days ago. In the couple years I've been away from iRacing it seems to have come a long way. The cars looked *really* right in terms of how they move around and interact with the track (or grass...) surface. I'm trying to work out a way to get back into it, which will involve a new PC at the minimum. Three screens and/or VR would be really nice, too. And a direct-drive wheel instead of the G27... and some hydraulic pedals... which all means a real chassis is needed... man, it gets expensive to do this right. :)

[dodint]

Was interesting reading about that race from the people that were in it. I'm not good enough to jump into that pool but the water sure looks fine.

With the delivery of my cockpit the pieces I have been assembling since 2010 are really starting to look and feel good. It's the first time I've ever been able to comfortably use the h-gate shifter. Tomorrow the parts come in to mount my Momo wheel (the one that used to be in the E36) onto my G27, that'll feel really nice I think. I'll post pics up when it's done. Specs:

Triple monitor or Oculus Rift
G27 w/320mm Momo wheel and extended paddles
Fanatec Clubsport pedals
DSD Button box mounted to the cockpit
Next Level Racing F-GT cockpit
Wireless keyboard/mouse combo

The next thing will end up being a Buttkicker, the cockpit already has a mount for it. After that I think I'd like to look into a higher quality H-gate shifter; but it seems like the gap between 'good' and 'real feeling' is like a $200 to $1200 jump. Yikes. Down the road I'll be looking at a direct drive wheel.

[Tom Servo]

It's been well known that Max enjoys his sim racing.

I am apparently very much out of the loop.

[Rare White Ape]

Jimmy Broadbent put up a video recently where the Redline guys invited him to have a race, which also had Verstappen and Lando Norris taking part.


https://youtu.be/32a-MHsD5nc

[dodint]

Was interesting reading about that race from the people that were in it. I'm not good enough to jump into that pool but the water sure looks fine.

With the delivery of my cockpit the pieces I have been assembling since 2010 are really starting to look and feel good. It's the first time I've ever been able to comfortably use the h-gate shifter. Tomorrow the parts come in to mount my Momo wheel (the one that used to be in the E36) onto my G27, that'll feel really nice I think. I'll post pics up when it's done. Specs:

Triple monitor or Oculus Rift
G27 w/320mm Momo wheel and extended paddles
Fanatec Clubsport pedals
DSD Button box mounted to the cockpit
Next Level Racing F-GT cockpit
Wireless keyboard/mouse combo

The next thing will end up being a Buttkicker, the cockpit already has a mount for it. After that I think I'd like to look into a higher quality H-gate shifter; but it seems like the gap between 'good' and 'real feeling' is like a $200 to $1200 jump. Yikes. Down the road I'll be looking at a direct drive wheel.

Finally got around to snapping a lousy pic:

http://nathangess.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cockpit.jpg

I'm really happy with it. Just need to carve out some time to actually practice. My Rift has been replaced and is working great.

[Tom Servo]

Damn, that's impressive!

[dodint]

Thanks. Most of the components are so old because I've been piecing it together since 2010. I have a picture somewhere of my setup in 2012 and it's mostly all the same stuff. The purchase of the seat really pulled it all together. It's great being able to race and not have to press the wheel down to the desk to keep it from sliding around. :lol:

[Rare White Ape]

I wanna have a go!

How are you finding the seat?

[dodint]

The seat is good. The wheel, shifter, and pedals are very secure. The pedals have some play but not enough that I notice while driving. The seat looks minimalist and uncomfortable but I really don't notice any fatigue. It does come with a movable pillow (you can see the strap running around the back) for lumbar support and I think that addition goes a long way.

The negative is the adjustability. It's adjustable to a wide range but you have to use a wrench to make many of the changes, even tilting the seat. The only thing you can do on the fly is move the seat forward and back like a real car. Everything else requires using a wrench to loosen bolts, move the component, and then tighten. I keep a socket wrench and the two torx sockets the rig uses in a drawer nearby if I need to change anything. Not a huge deal but if you're allowing others to jump in at a party or something it may result in non-optimal seating arrangements for some. The plus side is that once you dial it in for yourself it's rock solid.

Some folks may find it difficult to get in and out. I don't mind it but I did bang my knee on the wheel mount once.
I'm thinking of adding wheels to the bottom so I can move it around a little easier. It's not difficult to move but adding casters would certainly make it very easy.
I use that little wireless keyboard/mouse combo so I don't have to contort myself to use the one attached to the PC.

[CudaMan]

That's a pretty sweet home rig. :up:

[stephenb]

Very tidy rig :up:

I would definitely recommend the addition of a ButtKicker and Simvibe for some tactile feedback. I have a Gamer 2 mounted on a post under my seat and it's great for feedback from curbs, gear changes etc. Just generally making you feel more like you are in the cockpit of a real car, especially when using VR.

[dodint]

Yeah, the F-GT has a post under the seat specifically to mount a ButtKicker Gamer 2. It'll be a little bit before I get to it, maybe in the summer.

[dodint]

Still amassing seat time to get comfortable again. Finally had a good race, only made one mistake that cost me a podium but I picked up .32 SR. It almost went sour quick, tho:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIMHlk8Q5OM

:lol:

[MR2 Fan]

been watching Jimmy Broadbent videos as they were randomly recommended by YT and now I really want a racing rig....once I move out of my tiny apartment (Yes, I know it's possible to make one in a tiny place like his shed, but I prefer a bigger place)

[dodint]

I like JB in manageable doses.

There are some really high production value race broadcasts out there that I have been watching lately. Currently watching this one:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJJDHe1aj9M

[Rare White Ape]

been watching Jimmy Broadbent videos as they were randomly recommended by YT and now I really want a racing rig....once I move out of my tiny apartment (Yes, I know it's possible to make one in a tiny place like his shed, but I prefer a bigger place)

Jimmy got me back into buying wheels and seats and stuff :up:

[Freude am Fahren]

Yeah I enjoy Jimmer from time to time. I enjoy his random challenges he does, like Pikes peak in the 918 or his Nordschleiffe laps more than his actual racing streams (mostly because they're shorter). I originally go into his channel because of the old Gran Turismo play throughs.

I also want to get a rig of some sort, and VR. But it's a big investment. New PC would be needed to handle VR I think. But I think a simple rig is coming soon. Maybe something like that F-GT. I like the idea of being able to move it in and out of the desk area as one whole unit, so I can use the desk as normal still.

Jimmy just did a video with the HTC Vive Pro. That'd be nice, but at 4x the price of the Rift, not so much.

[dodint]

re: F-GT pic above. Because I race solely in VR the entire rig itself is moved into the corner where that office chair is. It's pretty nice as it's out of the way but close enough I can jump in whenever I want. If I ever have folks over that want to try the sim but prefer triples I can just move it back over in a minute or so. The rig is setup to have wheels/castors put on it if that's something you think you would use a lot.

I'll take a new pic sometime. I kind of like being between the desk and the wall as it has a more enclosed feel.

[Freude am Fahren]

Nice, exactly what I'm trying to do, except it will be triples for a while before I upgrade to VR. So a lot more moving in and out.

[MR2 Fan]

the last good sim racing experience I had is when I visited Sega Joypolis in Tokyo where they have Initial D arcade games with......real cars


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I-a5onDg7s

[dodint]

Keith, Tyler, and I were able to do a full motion simulator while sitting in a C6 Corvette at the National Corvette Museum. It was really neat having the front of the car dive on braking.

[Kchrpm]

I couldn't beat the kids whose dads just kept giving them more and more money to keep doing runs :angry:

[dodint]

Yeah, I only did one or two runs and did pretty poorly. I am absolutely not the guy that can jump in any car/track combo and lay down a blistering pace. I wasn't about to keep feeding it $10 spots even if it was fun on its own.

[dodint]

The next thing will end up being a Buttkicker, the cockpit already has a mount for it.

Turns out https://thebuttkicker.com/ is having a 20% off sale and free shipping until 2/28 so I went ahead and picked one of these up. Promo code NEWYEAR19 I think. Should be at the house tomorrow and I should have it up and running by the end of the weekend.

It's a bit of a milestone for this rig I've been building since 2010. I now have at least one of everything I planned to get. So moving forward it will just slowly be replacing stuff and improving the existing kit. I can tell already that a direct drive wheel is in my future in the next 2-3 years. The G27 is great but with the 330mm wheel attached to it the feedback power feels diminished, even when I turn it up.

I'm really determined to see if race driving proficiency can be learned. I want to be a N.Lauda type; I won't ever be the most naturally talented but I want to see how far hard work and attention to detail can take me.

[Freude am Fahren]

I went ahead and ordered the F-GT today.

How much of a pain do you think it'd be to move it between a bedroom and living room on two different floors? I figure take off the wheel portion and make two trips, maybe it wouldn't be too bad? Maybe the seat too and make 3 trips? I have my PC upstairs in the 2nd bedroom, and PS4/XBone in the living room downstairs.

Alternatively I can get another power cable and HDMI and just move the PS4. Obviously the easy choice, but the XBox is more complicated since it has the power brick. Also, I want to sit in front of the 65" screen in the living room. :lol:

[dodint]

I think it would be a considerable pain. Just changing it from GT to Formula would take 10 to 15 minutes. It's a solid, substantial unit.

Do yourself a favor and get some Torx sockets if you don't already have some. Will save you a lot of time.

Oh, congrats! I really like mine.

[Rare White Ape]

Maybe just move the PC down to the big arse TV :shocker:

[Freude am Fahren]

I've already got a small desk with my work laptop down there, don't really want to add the big triple screen setup too.

Built the rig up in front of the TV. Haven't tried the move yet. Had a bit of fun in normal GT:S Going to try VR with it tonight. And maybe some Forza as well. Then eventually move it up and have a go in iRacing.

Building it wasn't too bad, but they shouldn't have you put the cross supports one before the seat, since the seat is kinda needed to make sure everything lines up. I also had some threading issues on the seat back's adjustment knobs. I solved the problem of the poorly place/hardly adjustable shifter mount by using the desk clamp I had for my shifter already as an intermediary.

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=3206&d=1549756825

[dodint]

I didn't have an issue with the shifter mount except that I confused it with the rear upright behind the seat and when it wouldn't fit I tried to grind down the welds. Whoops.

I legitimately did have to widen some of the pre-drilled holes for the G27 to bolt in which was kind of a bummer.

Installed the transducer tonight. Took a while to get things going right with it but it's a very cool addition.

[MR2 Fan]

Another thing I remembered when I was thinking about this (if anyone cares).........I broke the force feedback on a Daytona USA (2?) arcade machine once, accidentally. Steering got a LOT easier after that.

[Rare White Ape]

I played a Daytona arcade machine recently. It’s force feedback is b0rked. Although that could be because most Daytona machines are over 20 years old. It didn’t feel very nice to play.

[Cam]

I've been thinking a lot about this game lately. Anyone have a trial code or anything like that they can share?

[CudaMan]

It looks so good in broadcasts now. [I'm talking about how the cars move on their suspension and tires.] I have a code but it's at home (won't be home until the 22nd) and I think you have to be an SCCA member.

I'm hoping to get back into it this winter myself! Scope creep is crazy... first I need a new system, then I need to do better than an old 60hz monitor, then I need a cockpit, then I need triple screens or VR, then I need real pedals and a direct drive wheel instead of the G27... :lol: Pretty awesome that sim racing has gotten this amazing for those who can invest in the serious hardware.

[dodint]

I've been thinking a lot about this game lately. Anyone have a trial code or anything like that they can share?

Their Black Friday pricing is already live, it's not going to get much better than that.

2 Years : $99.50 ($4.14/mo) Regular Price: $199
1 Year : $55 50% Off! ($4.58/mo) Regular Price: $110
3 Months : $16.50 50% Off! ($5.50/mo) Regular Price: $33
1 Month : $6.50 50% Off! Regular Price: $13

That three months for $16.50 is a great entry point. Long enough to give you an honest look.

https://www.iracing.com/membership/

If you plug one of our e-mails into the referral box we'd get $10 in iRacing content credit. Though I don't have an active subscription so it might not work for me, maybe someone else here has one.

[dodint]

It looks so good in broadcasts now. [I'm talking about how the cars move on their suspension and tires.] I have a code but it's at home (won't be home until the 22nd) and I think you have to be an SCCA member.

I'm hoping to get back into it this winter myself! Scope creep is crazy... first I need a new system, then I need to do better than an old 60hz monitor, then I need a cockpit, then I need triple screens or VR, then I need real pedals and a direct drive wheel instead of the G27... :lol: Pretty awesome that sim racing has gotten this amazing for those who can invest in the serious hardware.

I got my Rift for $200 from a guy on rrax. It was broke, but Rift replaced it for free. :lol:

I'd like to get a direct drive wheel. I've had my G27 for years and like it a lot, I have it modified with a 330mm Momo racing wheel and relocated buttons. But people have been singing the praises of the direct drive stuff pretty loudly and it has me thinking. But, if I did that I'd have to buy a new shifter too and the price gap between a 'good' one and one that feels somewhat realistic is like $200-900. Woof.

Don't forget transducers so you can feel the bumps. :D

[Rare White Ape]

I’ve tried an OSW-based direct drive. It was the tits. Very detailed, and super strong. You’d want to be getting your thumbs out of the way when you hit stuff though. I’d probably dial down the overall strength if I owned one and go for information over power.

It was paired up with a Fanatec shifter, and honestly that’s as good as you’d want. The dual-mode H pattern and sequential works well and makes it great value. Got a nice chunky shift to it too - it would be amazing to use with GTLM cars like the 550 Maranello, Viper GTS-R, etc.

If I had the wedge for a DD wheel I’d go for the PS4 compatible Fanatec. It comes with a seriously gorgeous formula style rim and a set of advanced shifter paddles that feature the dual hand clutch lever setup. Plus you don’t need to incorporate any of those hectic power delivery boxes for them as it comes as a plug-and-play device in a single unit. No problems with electrical interference!

[Cam]

Their Black Friday pricing is already live...
Yeah, that is really freakin' tempting right now, especially since I sold several big art pieces in the past few days. :cool:

[Cam]

Is anyone here actively iRacing?

[Cam]

I pulled the trigger on it for a year. Oddly, it put a 2 at the end of my name. If you are iRacing, look me up.

[Freude am Fahren]

I hate how impatient I am. I had let my membership lapse earlier in the year. After the PC upgrade, I decided to renew, but I did so at full price (minus some credits I had). D'OH!

[Cam]

The 50% off is for new members. I assume you would not get that price for renewing.

[Cam]

Any tips for this iRookie? :lol:

[dodint]

The forums inside iRacing are a great resource.

Start from the pit lane if you're apprehensive about L1 T1. You need to learn that skill, but you can get out of the Rookie chaos faster if you let them all crash out and you drive a clean race. To start from the pit lane grid like normal, then once you're in your car get back out by Escaping to the garage menu. When the timer to grid runs out, get back in the car and you'll be on pit lane and will be released when the field goes by.

[Cam]

I actually did that once because my shifter was not working. I quit the grid to reset it. By that time, the race started. I started from the pits late. I finished fourth. :lol:

How to get a top five in rookie: 1. Start last. 2. Finish race without crashing.

I won my third race ever, RallyX in the Beetle. :)

I am having trouble shifting, as I am used to paddle shifting without using the clutch. I am trying my G27’s H-shifter in the MX-5. I am frequently missing shifts in one way or another. I may try auto-clutch. I tried heel-and-toe, but I just can’t do it effectively right now.

I expected cleaner racing. :(

[dodint]

Cleaner racing will come as you progress up to higher licenses and series.

Where you will eventually need more content. ;)

[Godson]

Slow the clutch release until the shifter is absolutely in gear.

[Cam]

Still figuring things out. I basically spent the entire day racing. :lol: I had some ups and downs. I was DQed from a MX-5 Cup race for accumulating 17 incident points. Other drivers crashed me twice. I also dropped a few wheels here and there. What sealed it was a spin and crash. I later raced the MX-5 again and got a win.

I did several off-road truck races to moderate success. I had to map a wheel button for the handbrake. Then, I went back to RallyX and couldn’t drive it because I was used to the truck. :lol:

I have yet to do an oval race. It is nice to know it does not require you to.

[stephenb]

A bit late but just seen a promo code, 3 months for $10: PR-24HSERIES

[dodint]

I haven't done any rallying at all.

[Cam]

Gah, my SR keeps getting tanked by dudes crashing me. I guess I will have to do a few start from the back races. :rolleyes:

[CudaMan]

It's worth it to forget about competitiveness for the first several races and just be clean to get your SR up as soon as possible. The racing gets much better when you do! It's also good practice for extra awareness of the unexpected. :lol: When I was last on iRacing I found it not terribly hard to keep my SR at 4.7 or higher, once already established at 4.99.

Cool to see you back at it! Wish we could get the ol' Monday night band back together. Those were the days!

[Cam]

I had two near-incident-free (1x each race for barely dropping a wheel) races in a row yesterday and my SR jumped from about 2.5 to 3.5. It's strange to be more excited about my safety rating than my finishing position. :lol:

[CudaMan]

The SR is (probably still) weighted towards staying in a number range, to avoid people oscillating between, say, 2.9 and 3.1, because SR determines which races you're eligible for and lots of people like to compete in the 11-12 week Championship seasons. So you end up jumping up like that sometimes.

[Tom Servo]

Re: Monday night band - having an organized time to get together would likely help me get back into the swing of things. I've felt pretty paralyzed by the whole thing for a while now, it'd be nice to race with friends again rather than people calling me various epithets.

[Rare White Ape]

It would tempt me to join but you guys live in a stupid time zone.

[Cam]

I'm pretty much hooked now. I like being able to get online any time and have a full field to race with. So far, most racers are respectful. I have my D license now and there is already a noticeable improvement in the quality of other racers. Although, I am going to have to start actually making setups. One race last night, I was four seconds a lap slower than a fellow racer in the same car on a track that took ~1:10 to get around. :eek:

[dodint]

I would renew for a regular hosted race with you folks. I actually still have the old 'Thursday Night iRacing' spreadsheet. :lol:

It won't have much use now, but for nostalgia's sake: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wiQr0nPZvwF-VNM2Slqh87yresugGJDcyPsWx179Tl8/edit?usp=sharing

It was last modified in 2012.

[dodint]

The existing member Black Friday renewal isn't very good this year, naturally. 25% off 1 year or 2 years. Traditionally it's been 50% off of a year.

[Cam]

Jerk wrecks me with amusing result. :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-70sekdYCI0

In other news, I had a couple of good, clean, consistent road races tonight. My SR jumped to 4.5.

[Cam]

Does anyone know if using assists affects your iRating? I’ve been using the suggested line.

[dodint]

It shouldn't, it's not like Forza where you get degree of difficulty modifiers based on settings. It's a product of how well you place in a given field based on the fields strength. So if you win a race against a bunch of noobs it might not be as valuable as placing well in a field with high irating drivers.

A good rule of thumb is to always try and finish higher than your car number. The car number is effectively an irating ranking for that race.

[Cam]

That's a good tip, thanks.

Now I am in the quandary of being required to purchase more content to advance my license. :| I suppose I should have expected that.

[dodint]

Yeah, that's the hook. And the more you buy the better the discount! :lol:

[Cam]

I guess I better start painting cars. :lol:

[dodint]

Trading Paints Pro is $23.99 a year, as well. But I'm not sure what it does that regular Trading Paints doesn't, other than Custom Number paints.

As a reminder if it wasn't clear, Trading Paints is required if you want to use and see custom paints like the one you made for me. It's not the in-site easy customizer.

[Cam]

I do not quite understand how it works, I guess. I am sure I will figure it out eventually.

[dodint]

Trading Paints is companion software. It's an executable that runs when iracing.exe starts up. It enables custom paint jobs to be seen in sim, and when it's running you will see everybody else's custom paint jobs as well. If you're not running Trading Paints you will see the in-game paint customization that you can access from the main iRacing menu. Trading Paints has its own website and login where you can upload/download .psd files. You have to be an iRacing member to access the Trading Paints website.

I don't know the difference between Trading Paints and Trading Paints Pro. If you're designing your paints schemes in .psd you may not need the Pro version at all.

[Cam]

Did one race at lunch time. Qualified fourth. Got into turn one in third. Passed a guy to take second and he wrecks me. Get back on track, then catch the dude ahead. I make a pass and he wrecks me. WTF? Do people not give a shit about their SR? :(

[Cam]

The "Go Racing" tab in the beta UI started showing me C-class races, even though I told it to only show me events I'm eligible for. I'm like, "Stupid broken beta. I don't have a C-license." Then I remembered that I read somewhere that if your SR is high enough, you can enter races above your class. :hard:

[retsmah]

I started getting into iRacing a couple months ago. I had mostly been doing the MX-5 Cup races, I've recently been doing Ferrari GT3 Challenge and the Skip Barber formula series. I think I might stick with the Skip Barber and MX5s for a while, I struggle more with the Ferrari.

The MX-5 cup is kind of a mess though, I've had a lot of good races but then also a lot of stupid crashes and crazy dive bombing.

[Cam]

Cool, I will look you up. :cool:

Because I do not have any extra content at this time, the only road races I can do this week are the MX-5 Cup, RallyX in the Beetle, Pro-2 Truck and a multi-class series where I’ve been using the Solstice. I did a SRF race or two last week, but this week, it is at a track I do not have.

My MX-5 cup races have been hit or miss. The race I complained about earlier was an MX-5 Cup race. I raced another tonight that I started from pole, won by nearly ten seconds and had zero incidents. :hard:

[Rare White Ape]

Cam and others, how are you finding it in terms value-for-money? Especially given that you are now needing to shell out for more content.

I ask, because I've suddenly taken up GT Sport's online racing in a fairly big way and I'm having an absolute ball. Clean races are easy to find as long as you qualify pretty well and keep away from the first lap mishaps, plus you can pick up the game for like $20 anywhere you want to look and you don't have to pay any more aside from a yearly PS+ subscription (comparisons between iRacing a GT are limited to the quality of the driver rating systems, and whether GT is a sim is left for another time...).

At this point I feel like I want to be convinced to jump into iRacing, rather than needing to be convinced, but the ongoing cost is a huge barrier.

Please furnish me with your opinions!

[Cam]

The vets can talk more about it than I can. It is too early to say for me if it is good value. As I mentioned, the races available to me at the moment are limited. Most of the official races require extra content. Therefore, as far as I can tell, it is not possible for me to advance my license at this time. :( That may change from week to week.

I’ve been racing every day. If that continues, I will get my money’s worth. The novelty may wear off. $60 for a year is the same as my XBL subscription and I certainly get awesome value out of that. I have not touched the Xbox since signing up for iRacing.

Pros (so far):
-I think it looks good, but I am easy to please.
-Easy to use.
-Official races every 30 minutes. Always have a group to race with.
-Keeps track of all your stats.
-Good quality cars and tracks.
-Penalty system encourages clean racing.

Cons:
-Microtransactions; having to pay for every individual car and track.
-Limited races available without buying extra content.
-Penalty system does not work on many racers.
-Wreckers can easily ruin your ratings.

[Tom Servo]

My experience has been that you definitely get what you pay for. Because things are expensive, there's a lot less variety than there is with something like GT:Sport, but the experience sticking with a single car/series is so good that you don't really mind keeping with it.

I've never had more exciting or exhilarating races in any other sim, nor have I had as much frustration.

I've only driven on one track in real life, Laguna Seca, and can comfortably say that the recreation in iRacing is pretty much exactly right. The VR support is top notch - I sat in a Skip Barber F2000 at Laguna and felt instantly transported back to sitting in the real thing.

I also find that there's a time commitment to actually racing a series that I have been unable to keep up with, and also a mental stress level (mostly around worrying that I'll ruin someone else's race) that I've had a hard time getting past, so I'm mostly just wasting my money on it.

[Cam]

Oddly, it put a 2 at the end of my name. If you are iRacing, look me up.
I asked for a name change and got it. Now, my first name is Cam and the 2 was removed. :)

[Freude am Fahren]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wALArd2rvo

[dodint]

I don't car for oval racing, let alone dirt, but a local track is coming to iRacing. So that's cool. We go once a year just for the spectacle. A friend's Dad and I looked at doing an enduro team but my friends wife is a shrew and it never materialized.

Anyway, it looks cool. Supposedly being the first track with exterior pits is a big deal.


https://youtu.be/x20KjRDa2Mc

[Cam]

My road SR is now 4.99. :D

[Cam]

I spectated a race, just to try it. I saw retsmah online and joined about half-way through. I watched him finish on the podium. That’s a cool feature.

[Tom Servo]

A very long time ago I was racing a 'Vette I believe and pulled off a semi decent pass, getting a strong run out of a corner onto a long straight, and then outbraking the other driver at the end of it. Krunch told me he was watching later and cheering as I did it. So that was cool.

[dodint]

I do think iRacing delivers on the investment. If you race enough (which it sounds like you are) you'll get 'iracing dollars' at the end of the season that you can put towards a new track or another car. It's called Participation Bonus or something.



-Official races every 30 minutes. Always have a group to race with.


Just to help manage expectations, the higher up you race in license the longer the interval is between races. The smaller pool of eligible racers means smaller fields, so they start less often. Spec Racer Ford, for instance, starts every two hours on the even hours.

[CudaMan]

But you can always "race down" in a lower license level race, too. And if other people do the same in that time slot, you'll get matched with them and can still have a fun challenge. Dunno how often that happens these days but in theory the greater the participation the greater the chances of this.

[dodint]

Yeah, absolutely. I wouldn't advise dipping into the Rookie races but you can absolutely race anywhere you're qualified to run.

I'm the type of racer that can't hop around like that. I have to really get dialed into a car (and even a track) to rise to even mediocre ranks. My last stint with iRacing I knuckled down and only ran the SRF, both in the official series and in a league. It cost me a ton of SR and even dropped me one or two licenses. :lol:

Cam, if you ever get into SRF I highly recommend joining SRF Weekend Warriors. It doesn't cost anything extra and it's a great group of racers to compete with. Serious, but not serious bizness. League races do not affect your SR or iRating. And it's a broadcast league with adds a whole new layer of fun to it. They generally race the same schedule as the official series so you don't have to practice two places a week.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywg23hhAwnQ

[Cam]

:cool::up:

[retsmah]

I spectated a race, just to try it. I saw retsmah online and joined about half-way through. I watched him finish on the podium. That’s a cool feature.

That is pretty cool! I got hit by the same guy twice in the beginning two laps, went from starting 1st to last and then back up to 3rd.

[Cam]

I did an official RallyX race where I was the only competitor. Alas, iRacing does not count it. The race does not even show up in my recent race results. I would have just quit out had I known that.

Had a couple of other crazy rally races. First one, I started near the back to play it safe. Cars crashed and flew off the track ahead of me. All of a sudden, I was leading! Then, my car blew up. :rolleyes: That is the first time I suffered a mechanical failure.

Second one, I started on the front row and was in second after lap one. The two guys behind me were faster and eventually caught and passed me. With one lap to go, 2nd place crashed hard and 3rd place did a celebratory spin over the finish line. Unfortunately for him, it was a lap too early. I took home second. :lol:

Had a couple of exciting SRF races. First one, I started 13th and finished 6th. Second one, I started 9th and finished 6th. I know 6th place would not normally be a big deal, but I was against a full field, using default set at a track/car combo I never raced before.

I was promoted to C license after the second SRF race. My SR dropped to 4.44 from 4.99, even though I had no incidents. :?

[Tom Servo]

Doesn't your SR drop when you go up a license? I think it's essentially "your SR within this license", so like a 4.0 in B is about the same as a 5.0 in C.

[Cam]

I figured that was the case.

[Cam]

Is there some shifting trick I am missing in the SRF? Some dudes are pulling on the straights like I am down 20 hp. :?

[dodint]

There are optimal shift points, check the guide in the SRF forum. They're lower than you probably expect.

[Cam]

Well, that might be it. I’ve been shifting at 6200-6300 rpm, when it should be more like 5600-5700.

[Cam]

I read of a shifting technique that works in the MX-5 Cup car. I have not tried it in the SRF. If you use the H shifter, you can pre-select a gear, then just stab the clutch without even lifting when you want to shift. :erm: I gained some speed on the straights because of it.

[Cam]

What can you do against complete idiots? I just raced a Sim Production Challenge race in the Solstice. I qualify first in my class, over half a second faster than my closest competitor. I think to myself that I can just cruise to victory with no incidents. I get a good start and put a gap on my competitors in the first couple of laps. Lo and behold, here's this Mustang driving super-slow like they're drunk. I'm like, WTF am I doing catching up to a Mustang, the fastest class in the race? He goes wide in a corner, and I take my normal line on the inside to pass. He turns into me and wrecks us both. I get going and keep up with the other guys in my class, all in a group. I pass the guy ahead of me, and I'm keeping up with the leaders in my class. Here comes the Mustang, recovering from his earlier idiocy. I let him through and he seems to be driving normally now. The guy ahead of me goes wide in a corner to let him through, I follow the Mustang on the inside, making a pass on my competitor. The Mustang is not done with me yet though. He loses control wrecking all three of us! My car is now damaged enough to affect my speed. I was so frustrated I quit out. The first time I've done that in frustration in iRacing. :smh:

I should have reported the dude, but I did not save the replay. I do not remember who it was.

[Tom Servo]

It's frustrating, and we've all been through it. The thing is, everyone else is running into the same idiocy, and while it'll feel like progress is slow, you will make progress if you just stick to your driving. You will get wrecked, it's a fact of life in iRacing. The other fact of life in iRacing is that if you keep driving within your limits, you'll continue to ascend the SR ranks.

I chalk it up to feeling the same feeling in real life racing when some idiot hits you and now you're on the hook for repairing your car. It wasn't your fault, but it's just a fact of life, and chances are that idiot will end up having to deal with that way more often than you will.

[Cam]

No doubt you have all experienced the same. I guess I was just expecting better overall racecraft with the SR and all.

I raced the Kia Optima for the first time earlier. That was kind of fun. I intentionally started last and let everyone go at the beginning. I watched a dude go super-wide into the grass ahead if me. He regained control, then cut across the grass and came back on track completely 90 degrees from traffic and t-boned a competitor. Of course, that caused a pile-up that I was lucky enough to avoid. I quickly caught a competitor and attempted to pass with a good head of steam out of a corner. He swerved to block, causing an incident. I was going to protest, but did not realize you need the replay. His iRating was 400 and his SR was barely above two. The thing is, he’s been racing for seven years. :erm:

I had a really enjoyable race with the Solstice yesterday. Me and another competitor were nose-to-tail the entire 35 minute race! I was a bit faster, but just could not make a pass stick. We were side-by-side numerous times and never touched. Fun, clean and fair race. That is what makes it worthwhile.

[Rare White Ape]

I’ve taken up Gran Turismo quite heavily in the last few weeks and it seems I’m copping less bullshittery than you are in iRacing :lol:

Do they ghost any cars that are super slow or out of control like they do in GT?

[Cam]

No. Maybe they should.

[dodint]

Why would they do that? It's a simulator, not an arcade game.

[CudaMan]

^This.

Unfortunately, Cam, you can't fix stupid. :) But you can learn to deal with it on occasion. Strange behavior on track happens in real life, even in 'Pro' racing. In that environment you don't have to learn self-preservation around these kinds of drivers -- you already have it. In sim racing, though, it can pay off longer term to learn ways to avoid errant drivers, or ways to deal with them, or predict their behavior. Sometimes that means giving them an extra wide berth. Sometimes that means tricking them into mistakes. Over time you learn better how to spot them and make it less likely they will ruin your races. It's all part of the challenge of sim racing, at the end of the day.

One way to practice this mindset is Rookie oval races. :)

[Rare White Ape]

Why would they do that? It's a simulator, not an arcade game.

It’s not H4RDC0R3!!1 enough.

[Cam]

Because people treat it like an arcade game.

Bryan, I’ve read things like that on other forums. I agree and I think I already have the mindset. Although, I feel like many situations cannot be avoided except by parking, which is not a practical solution.. As dodint said, it is a racing sim, not a Sunday drive sim.

Perfect example is the guy that was t-boned by an off-track car. The incident happened behind him. He would not have even known it was happening. All of a sudden, he gets wrecked out of nowhere. Another example is the aforementioned Mustang. It was slow on the left side of the track. I thought I was giving it a wide berth by going right to pass. He suddenly jinked to the right and hit me. I would bet good money that all of you would have done the same thing I did.

Oh well, I’ll stop bitching.

[dodint]

If you can't bitch to some car guys on the internet where else can you bitch? :finger:

I think iRacing heightens the annoyance of those moments because there is such a build up to even get to the race. Like I said before, the higher series with the more high quality fields don't meet as often. When you finally get to the race and in the car and you're ready to kick some ass it can all get wiped out by one inconsiderate driver that doesn't seem to care as much as you. It's hugely disappointing but makes the good races that much better.

[Cam]

If you can't bitch to some car guys on the internet where else can you bitch? :finger:
I'll take that as an invitation. :lol:

[Cam]

I got depressed last night. I entered a rally race and qualified P1. I thought that I had a good chance for a win. Wrecker had other ideas though and bashed me hard into the tire barrier in turn one. My car was so broken, I could not even limp it around the track. Had to quit. I quietly shut off my computer.

Ultimately, I realized it bothers me, not because I got wrecked, but because of how selfish and inconsiderate people can be.

Has anyone ever reported another driver? If so, does iRacing notify you of the outcome? I have not reported anyone yet, but I should have.

[Cam]

I am happy to report that I had a few successful races today. :lol:

[dodint]

:up:

[Cam]

Another Sim Lab Production challenge race in the Solstice at Laguna Seca. It requires a pit stop. Alas, I forgot to pit without enough fuel to finish the lap. :( I nursed the car around the first half of the lap, using only half-throttle. The car started sputtering out of turn seven and the spotter told me, "That's it we're out of fuel." My fuel indicator still showed 0.1 litre left. I thought that if I can just make it to the top of the corkscrew, I can coast it into the pit. At the top of the corkscrew, I took it out of gear and coasted to the pit entrance. I sputtered my way up the pit lane and coasted into my pit with zero fuel left! Got refueled and got back on track second in my class. I took 30 seconds out of the gap in the last half of the race, but it was too little too late. I am still pretty proud of myself though. :lol:

[Cam]

Intentionally tank qualifying lap. Start mid-pack. Every. Single. Time. :|

[Cam]

I was just poking around iRacing's web site. I was basically clicking all the buttons and tabs to see what they do. One of the things I ended up looking at is the standings for various series. Without even realizing it, I am in the top ten in the standings for the current season of the Sim Lab Production Challenge. :eek: :lol:

[dodint]

I'm thoroughly enjoying living this vicariously through you. :lol:

[Cam]

Oh? I thought y'all were just rolling your eyes at me. I am sure you have all been here before. Well, I will keep entertaining you then. :lol:

[Cam]

Since I only have two road series available to me this week, I've been doing a lot of racing at Laguna Seca in the MX-5 Cup and Solstice (Sim Lab Production Challenge, SLPC.) I showed up to a SLPC race earlier in the Solstice as the only car in my class. No prob, I sez, all have have to do is finish and I'll have no incidents. Two minutes left in the race and an MX-5 is about to lap me at the top of the corkscrew. He overshot his braking, even though I kept right and backed out early. Instead of trying to make the corner, he just braked in a straight line and STOPPED DEAD ON THE TRACK. Of course, I hit him. :rolleyes: :smh: I should have saved the replay and made a video of it.

My next race was in the MX-5. I intentionally tanked my qualifying lap to start at the back. Two dudes behind me, as they did not do a clean lap or just did not qualify. I let them go at the start and I am last (12th) after turn one. Over the next two laps, several cars flew off the track. All of a sudden, I am fourth without even trying. :lol: Oh well, I might as well go for it now. I very slowly reeled in the great battle for 2nd, for which I had a front row seat. Alas, I did not have enough laps. I am pleased with that performance. :lol:

[CudaMan]

I feel like it's most fun to either start at the back and work your way forward, or start at the front (or as close as you can) and hope for a good battle. Starting in the middle is usually more stressful. Amirite?

[Rare White Ape]

I totally agree. The last-to-first challenge is a good one. Mid pack is just hell.

[Cam]

I would like to get the "X number of races in a row with no incidents" awards. I am finding it surprisingly difficult. I keep telling myself that I am just going to cruise around at the back. When I realize that I am actually keeping up with the backmarkers, I get caught up in the thrill of the chase and drop a wheel once or twice. :lol:

[Cam]

I filed my first protest, but I was not involved. It happened in front of me during a race. Intentional retaliatory wrecking attempt for contact in a previous corner. Luckily, it was not successful. The perp only wrecked himself. :lol:

In the same race, I intentionally tanked my qualifying laps to start at the back. I still started 5th out of 12 cars. :lol: I let everyone go at the start. I trolled around at the back for the whole race, as cars flew off the track ahead of me. I finished 5th. :lol:

[Freude am Fahren]

I forget, is there a way to start from the pits, like by resetting after gridding or something?

I need to get back into iRacing, but I've just been spending so much time in Xplane.

[Cam]

I think if you just wait, then join after the green flag, you start from the pits.

[Cam]

Did a couple of “13th Week Ridiculousness” races tonight. What a laugh riot. Cars flying and tumbling through the air. It’s like racing in a minefield. :lol:

[retsmah]

Do these races have an impact on your SR or rating or anything, or all just for fun?

Haven't been online since before thanksgiving, I got an H pattern shifter so I was working on that a bit. I've actually only done a very small amount of racing in vehicles with an h pattern and a clutch pedal, I need to learn how to downshift!

[dodint]

AI racing is iRacing jumping the shark. Change My Mind.

[Cam]

I have not tried it.

The silly races do not effect your ratings.

[Rare White Ape]

AI racing is iRacing jumping the shark. Change My Mind.

Are they adding AI to the game?

I know racing against very hard AI is good practice on being faster, but nothing compares to racing against real hoomans.

[dodint]

Yeah.

In my experience with AI racing the pack is either way behind you, way ahead of you, or driving through you with no regard for racecraft. But then the bulk of my non-iRacing is done in GT:S so that could skew my impressions of it.

In iRacing you can run single events or championship seasons against AI now. Doesn't count against iRating or SR. It's basically practice with moving chicanes.

[Rare White Ape]

AC and AMS have really good AI that actually displays decent racecraft.

ACC has okay AI. It’s fast but they tend to group into trains of 3 cars that don’t make any moves. But you can’t crank the aggression slider too high to counter it, because they then begin dive-bombing the player. I’ve been taken out too many times by AI in that game.

GTS has by far the worst AI.

[CudaMan]

The GT Sport AI was actually pretty darn decent when the game was first released. I'm not sure what happened, but it went downhill sometime not too long after that. No big loss to me, as the majority of the players with A/S ratings are quite good to race with.

F1 2019 AI is really good. They'll race each other and the player, and usually get it fairly close to how a real world driver would drive. Not always. But they can be aggressive and dive bomb, but in a way that is fairly realistic so that they 'steal' your apex and you better give them a little space. If you have them turned up enough it's like racing a handful of Maxs out there. :lol: Online has been less good by some margin, but I'm still in Placement rank so I'm holding out hope there are quality drivers higher up the safety ladder. There was one guy at Bahrain the other night who was leading but wasn't very fast, and would just hip check or run off the road anyone who tried to pass him. I saw it going down for a few laps as I started 6th after totally botching my qualifying lap. Sure enough when he had dispatched of all challengers (some of whom dove into the pits to get their stop out of the way early, probably to avoid him) he did the same to me twice and gave me some front wing damage. Third time I managed to sucker him into understeering past an apex so I could safely do the over-under before he could get his car turned to hit me again. That felt good, and if I could have given him a virtual middle finger as I passed him I would have. :lol: I was going to pit that lap but stayed out one extra to build a gap in clean air. After it was all said and done he wasn't even on the podium.

Clearly a "gamer" not a "racer."

[Cam]

I have determined that it is not possible to keep your SR up by racing in rookie races. There are just sooo many cars spinning, colliding and doing odd things. Even when I am as careful as reasonably possible, I get incidents. The only solution is to simply not race and where’s the fun in that? I race for the thrill of the chase.

A good example is an MX-5 race I did earlier today. I tanked my qualifying lap so I would start at the back. I was 18th on the grid of 20 cars. I let everyone go at the start and did some safe laps. I was not even fast. I only made one actual pass on another car and finished 8th. :lol: I got 1x for going off track to avoid colliding with a spinning car. :rolleyes:

[retsmah]

They have a race this week that's Dallara F3s and Skip Barber cars, it's a train wreck. From what I can tell from other discussions online the F3 series is terrible all the time, I'm glad I did the skip barber car!

This is pretty funny though. (https://streamable.com/sstna) Also an example of the problem, the two F3 cars couldn't even make it out of the pit without incident!

[Cam]

Just did a MX-5 race. I intentionally started at the back of 20 cars. Just stayed out of trouble and finished fourth. :lol:

Retsmah, I saw you registered, but did not see you in the race. :(

[Rare White Ape]

This is pretty funny though. (https://streamable.com/sstna) Also an example of the problem, the two F3 cars couldn't even make it out of the pit without incident!

Double murdered!

[Cam]

If you are not cautious, you hit someone. If you are cautious, you get hit from behind. :rolleyes:

[Freude am Fahren]

I did one of the mixed class races you've been doing Cam. I was in the MX-5, and had no fewer than 3 run-ins with dumb Mustang drivers :lol: One of them sun in Andretti hairpin right in front of me. The next spun to the inside at the exit of turn 3 and just decided to reverse across the track as I was exiting on the racing line right in front of me. I ended up with 17x and losing about .4 of SR.

[retsmah]

Retsmah, I saw you registered, but did not see you in the race. :(

Yeah I saw that too! I haven't driven the MX-5 in quite a while, I was surprised how slow I was, I think at best I was like 2.5 seconds off my previous best lap.

I didn't realize the MX-5 cup still counts towards SR and irating this week, so doing a few of those races before I'm back up to speed has hurt my irating quite a bit! I'm probably a few splits down from you.

[Cam]

I've pretty much exclusively been doing the rookie MX-5 Cup races this week. It's the only series available to me right now, besides the ridiculous races. I occasionally switch to Pro2 Lite trucks. I got wrecked hard in my last truck race and lost about 0.4 dirt road SR. I managed to get my road SR back up to 4.99, but it's freakin' hard to do in rookie races when the vast majority of the competitors are under 3 SR. There was a dude in one of my recent races who's SR was 0.8 and he had an A license!

My iRating is not really an indicator of how I am doing at this time. This is how I race iRacing right now: Set a super-slow qualifying lap so I start near the back. Let everyone go at the start. Stay clean as possible, and if anyone gets close, let them go. (Most of the time they wreck the next person they catch.) Get top-ten (and sometimes top-five) finish. :lol: Although, the fields are smaller in the truck races, so I almost always get a top five.

[Cam]

I had two more 20th to top five races today. I was feeling good about that. I decided to try during qualifying for the next race and got front row. The pole sitter disco’d. I got a good launch and dominated them using only my left foot and auto-clutch. (I hurt my right ankle earlier in the week.) The next race, I crashed myself out. :lol:

[Cam]

I just had a zany Pro2 Lite truck race. I intentionally threw my qualifying to start near the back. It was a heat race, and I was in heat one. Four trucks started and I let them go. One wrecked and I hounded 2nd place for the whole race. He was really sloppy, but I could not get by cleanly. I finished third and the fourth place guy quit out. I was gridded last for the feature. I think there was seven trucks on the grid. Again, I let them go, but stayed close. Trucks were wrecking left and right. I even rolled it once, but managed to keep right on going. I was 2nd by the end of the race, 10 seconds down from the winner. Once all the trucks finished, I was promoted to first place! I can only assume the winner was DQed or something, but I do not see that in the race results. A win is a win? :lol:

[CudaMan]

That's weird! Congrats? :) Where is that guy in the results? 2nd? First of the non-finishers?

[Cam]

On a bad luck streak now. The last three or four races I've started from the pit lane, only to be wrecked by cars I've caught up to or passed because they were off-track. :rolleyes:

[Cam]

Finally got a C-class series I can participate in, the Radical SR8. My first race, I qualified like tenth out if about 18. Took it really easy in the start. I my rear-view, I saw multiple cars spin out without moving much at all. :lol: Several cars immediately crashed ahead of me. I managed to avoid that mess. I was settling in nicely, doing consistent laps. Then I just lost it in a corner and tagged the wall. 16 minutes for repairs! Doh. I’m sitting in the pit right now waiting for my repairs to be over so I can finish. :lol:

[Cam]

Aaaand, finished 4th in a Radical race simply by finishing without damaging my car. Although, I did spin a couple of times. Once because a backmarker blocked the track on the last lap and I spun avoiding it. The other was a solo spin. :thppt:

[Cam]

I finished a Radical race without incident and got my B Road license. Yay!

[Rare White Ape]

Noice won m8 :up:

I love reading your iRacing diary.

[Cam]

I get so excited when I see a not-rookie race available to me in the upcoming race list. I have not purchased any extra content yet, so my options are limited. I never thought I would get enthusiastic about racing a Kia Optima. :lol:

[dodint]

Might want to take it out for a practice before hopping into a race. It's built.

[Cam]

Yeah, I raced it once a couple of weeks ago. I like it, but I'm a second a lap behind the leaders at the moment. It's an easy drive, unlike the Radical. :eek: Tried a Radical race earlier and crashed out on the first lap avoiding a slowed car. :thppt:

And then there's this:

3433

Am I understanding correctly, it's $100 to race in this series? :twitch:

[dodint]

You'll get a volume discount for buying them all at once, it will be reflected in your cart:

Purchase any 3 or more cars or tracks at the same time and receive 10% off.
Purchase any 6 or more cars or tracks at the same time and receive 15% off.
Purchase a total of 40 or more cars or tracks and receive a 20% discount on all future content purchases.

[Cam]

Yeah, I understand the volume discount thing, but jeez.

[dodint]

Oh, wait, I didn't look closely. I thought that was the series page with all the tracks on it.

For multi-class you only need to own the track and the car you want to drive. In this case, if you buy Sebring and the BMW (or whichever car you prefer), you can enter the race. You'll have to download the other car content so they can be rendered for you, but you'll only be able to drive the item you've licensed.

[Cam]

Besides the track, I would only need to buy one of the cars?

[Tom Servo]

Yep, only the car you want to drive. It's free to download enough data to have the other cars on track with you, you just have to pay for the ones you actually want to drive.

[Cam]

OK. I know I will buy content eventually. I just was not sure about having to own all the cars involved in a series.

[CudaMan]

Yeah, you're good. This whole subscription + content model made more sense when iRacing was new and there was more limited content to begin with. As cars and tracks trickled out, the $12 here or there didn't seem like much. Now that a lot of content is established it looks daunting for someone who's getting into it.

[Cam]

Raced the Caddy for the first time and failed miserably. :lol:

[Freude am Fahren]

Yeah, I can't imagine just getting into iRacing right now. After my hiatus, I'm missing a lot of stuff I want, but I still have the max discount outside of the one for 100% content. Over the last 10 years it didn't seem to bad. If I had to suddenly fork over what must be close to if not more than $1k for all the content I currently have... Ouch.

[Tom Servo]

In anticipation of maybe having some time to get back into things over the next few days, I'm installing the 20 gigs worth of updates that I had waiting for me.

[dodint]

Part of the issue of having so much content is that you'll have a really fun car, like the Pro Mazda, that struggles to fill more than a few official races per week because they brought in the Renault 2.0 and now the Renault 3.5 which really splinters the crowd that's interest in that kind of racing. Multi-class racing helps a bit with that in certain contexts but it's not enough.

[Cam]

I've raced against one particular guy in the trucks numerous times now who is really good. I noticed he was at the top of the standings in week 13. The next time I saw him, we had a brief conversation about it. He said that you win iRacing credit for winning a series/season. He mentioned that he can normally make enough credits to pay for his iRacing subscription. That's pretty cool.

[Cam]

I just did a noteworthy truck race. Everyone raced clean and no one crashed. All six competitors had 0 incidents. First time I've seen that in any race. :lol:

[Cam]

I am enjoying the Radical, once I realized I could adjust the brake balance. It's a fixed setup series, so I did several races before I realized I could adjust brake balance on-the-fly, in-car. I am doing OK with it now. My last two races, I got a 2nd and a 3rd simply by keeping it pointed straight the whole race. :D

[Tom Servo]

Are you registered under your real name? I went to go see if I could find you on there tonight and didn't see your name pop up in the search.

EDIT: You are. That's weird, I just saw you under friend requests, but I didn't find you if I just searched all drivers.

[Cam]

Yay, I have another friend! :lol: That seems odd about my name. Maybe it is because I requested a name change.

I tried watching your session, but I don't have the content. :(

[dodint]

They always find a way to get you.