2518 replies to this topic

[HoldenRT]

Have a new beefy PC, G25 etc and no sim to race it on. That has alot of public people racing.. it seems people don't race sims much as they used to. Maybe a new one needs to be released to spike interest or something. Like rF2. I know public races have alot of crashes and wreckers but it adds to the fun sometimes to dodge all the carnage. I know leagues are where it's at, but sometimes you just want to race whenever, and for fun rather then points.

rFactor - only races Meganes (with aids on).
GTR2 - doesn't seem many race this anymore.
GTR Evo - might be okay but a few people have said not many race this either.
LFS - fantasy tracks?

Which sim does everyone race online?

Please no mention of Shift or GRID. I have 2 free copies of GRID that came with my video cards and the tracks don't even have pitlanes. I tried the Shift demo and it doesn't have a pitlane either. Correct me if I'm wrong but pitstops are a pretty important part of racing. Even MotoGP has pitstops when it rains. I think these can be alot of fun for alot of people, but for me, it's not the right fit.

At first glance iRacing seems overpriced but it's got alot of good things going for it. And to find that fulfilling sim experience that captivates you, you can't really put a price on it. Someone described it as digital cocaine. I had this experience with GTR1, and am desperate to get it back again.

This is what I have found out so far, but it'd be great if someone else could give their input.

Realistic licensed tracks and cars - Check (I really dislike fantasy stuff, and custom modded realistic stuff always has a question mark on it)
Large online community - Check (bonus points because no AI at all.. the best online communities are always the ones where it is the sole focus) Alot of people race online right? (Bloody well hope so)
License and ranking system - ? Weeds out the crashers I guess, so even the random public races should be more serious with more sensible drivers. The license system is realistic I guess.
Limited amount of tracks and cars - Quality over quantity? This is a bit dissappointing but maybe the quality makes up for it.
Real life pro drivers who race - Eh, it's okay I guess. Doesn't really matter either way.
Graphics - It seems they are dated on purpose so that people with older PC's can still compete = larger community. A proper sim with eye candy will be holy grail but will be a long wait.
Cost - Seems really overpriced. In a way, I think this is good as it could weed out the people who don't belong. And for some it might seem cheap, compared to the costs of amatuer racing in real life. But either way you slice it, it's alot of money and you never own the game. You are only renting/licensing it.
US based - Too much focus on US racing and we all know that in terms of road racing, it's inferior to Euro or worldwide race tracks and series.

I really wish there were more Euro tracks like Nurburgring or Spa, or even Suzuka. Apparently there will be V8 Supercar (Ford) and Phillip Island track in 2010 so that's something.

It would be really helpful if anyone could share there experiences with iRacing and if they regret it or not. A 12 month subscription seems best value, but maybe a 1 month trial might be better at first.

If you are a member, does the online experience justify the price? Sorry for the rambling.

[karlth]

iRacing Pros:
Superior car physics.
Superior force feedback.
Good graphics, not too flashy but very high quality.
Accurate circuit modeling
No deliberate online crashers, everyone drives professionally. Good community.
Multiple race series both oval and road, hourly races. There is always someone to race against.
Good flag system and checks for circuit cutting.
Excellent rating system, you are not allowed to compete in the faster cars unless you are qualified to do so.

iRacing Cons:
No AI races, if you drive offline you drive alone.
Very, very difficult.
A bit US and Oval centric.
Expensive unless you drive at least a few times each week.

--

If you want to drive online in a professional environment then iRacing is by far the best option. If you want to drive mostly offline and require European racing, like F1 or GT cars, then I would recommend rFactor.

[HoldenRT]

Thanks for the reply karlth.

I hate offline racing (offine anything really..), it takes human competition to motivate me to spend all those hours on setup tweaking and trying to get the best out of everything. Nothing beats human competition and they can even chat with you (or swear at you) and everything. If you do something right, you really accomplished something if it's against other people.

I do love the Euro tracks and cars though. But I guess you can't have everything. At least it has Laguna Seca. I appreciate your input.

What is the max amount of people that can race in one race? 30?

[karlth]

Thanks for the reply karlth.

I hate offline racing (offine anything really..), it takes human competition to motivate me to spend all those hours on setup tweaking and trying to get the best out of everything. Nothing beats human competition and they can even chat with you (or swear at you) and everything. If you do something right, you really accomplished something if it's against other people.

I do love the Euro tracks and cars though. But I guess you can't have everything. At least it has Laguna Seca. I appreciate your input.

What is the max amount of people that can race in one race? 30?

I think it is around 10-30 cars per event, it is not limited by the netcode but on the type of car and track. If more sign up then the server divides them into separate racers based on qualifying times. The online code is very good, for example I race from Iceland and have no problem racing wheel to wheel with someone in the US.

Voice chat is available so there is often friendly chatter after the races, only once or twice have I witnessed angry exchanges.

As I said earlier the ranking system is excellent. You are ranked both on speed and safety so even if you are the fastest driver online you won't get to drive the fastest car unless you are safe on track as well.

[HoldenRT]

That's great.

The more I find out about it, the better it seems to be. It could also be a good motivator to learn some ovals as well. I have been enjoying watching NASCAR lately with JPM doing well. Where else can you race in a big pack of clean racers on an oval? I know there are leagues but being pickup/public races where you can race on short notice is a huge thing for me.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I know there are probably better places to ask, but it's good to know that there are autosport/atlas forumers enjoying it.

Edited by HoldenRT, 08 October 2009 - 12:01.

[Exar Kun]

Where are you from, mate?

If you are Aussie then you may find getting an official race (races must have a certain number of people in them to be classed as "official" and score points and full safety rating) to be a bit difficult - particularly in the higher series. It isn't too much of an issue when you're starting out - there should always be a Legend race (rookie oval car) and a Solstice race (rookie road car) should come along often enough. Above that you need to pick your times.

If you are in America then there isn't really a problem and if you are in Europe then it's somewhere in between.

Personally I love the game. I'm only running the one series this season - Lotus 79 - but am having heaps of fun (when I can find an official race!). I'm a Pro licensed driver but am not bothering to run in that series, mainly because it doesn't use the Lotus and I only have time for the one car.

If you're thinking of joining then do so ASAP as we are nearing the end of a season. If you join now, you can run the races you need to to go from a rookie license to a D license for a full season in that class (and the D license car, the Skippy is probably the most fun car in the game).

[cordell777]

For 6-7 years I'm driving only LFS. Becouse of:

- Physics model
- FFB model - with G25 superb feeling
- Really good and smooth (100FPS constantly on an pretty average computer) online racing (community)
- Totaly adjustable per-car-setups
- Realtime -> on-line statistics
- New car - VW Scirocco comming !
- New Rockingham track comming !
- From scratch re-programmed tyre-physics comming (together with ABS, traction control, etc. modelling)
- (maybe) car-body-parts falling apart when colliding with others/barriers
- etc.

Cheers racers!

All good

[HoldenRT]

For 6-7 years I'm driving only LFS. Becouse of:

- Physics model
- FFB model - with G25 superb feeling
- Really good and smooth (100FPS constantly on an pretty average computer) online racing (community)
- Totaly adjustable per-car-setups
- Realtime -> on-line statistics
- New car - VW Scirocco comming !
- New Rockingham track comming !
- From scratch re-programmed tyre-physics comming (together with ABS, traction control, etc. modelling)
- (maybe) car-body-parts falling apart when colliding with others/barriers
- etc.

Cheers racers!

All good

I think I will try LFS if iracing doesn't work out.

Where are you from, mate?

If you are Aussie then you may find getting an official race (races must have a certain number of people in them to be classed as "official" and score points and full safety rating) to be a bit difficult - particularly in the higher series. It isn't too much of an issue when you're starting out - there should always be a Legend race (rookie oval car) and a Solstice race (rookie road car) should come along often enough. Above that you need to pick your times.

If you are in America then there isn't really a problem and if you are in Europe then it's somewhere in between.

Personally I love the game. I'm only running the one series this season - Lotus 79 - but am having heaps of fun (when I can find an official race!). I'm a Pro licensed driver but am not bothering to run in that series, mainly because it doesn't use the Lotus and I only have time for the one car.

If you're thinking of joining then do so ASAP as we are nearing the end of a season. If you join now, you can run the races you need to to go from a rookie license to a D license for a full season in that class (and the D license car, the Skippy is probably the most fun car in the game).

Thanks for the heads up. Which series should I be aiming at joining for next season? Skip Barber?

Yeah I'm from Aus. It hasn't ever been a problem before though, in GTR I had 30+ car races okay with a 300 ping and close racing wasn't impeded. In rfactor with 30+ cars it's even better. The time zones are annoying but I've been known to race at some odd times in the name of sim racing. FSR in rfactor was too much though as it would be 5am (every Monday) rather then a once off. Being American with iracing, it's a bit easier since their evening is our morning. It's not ideal but it's not that bad.

I bit the bullet and signed up Friday night, 3 months $25. I haven't driven in 12 months so the first night was mainly just acclimating with it, and setting up FF for the G25 and getting used to the POS, err I mean Soltice. My best time at Laguna was 1.51. Yesterday after watching some replays and seeing that I was sliding wide too often and missing apexes, I tried some more focussed practice. The hardest thing for me is the penalty thing for going off track, even if it's just a few inches too far. Really frustrating. Finishing a time trial was impossible to get 4 clean laps at first. I finally decided to join my first race, which had 11 people and a mix of quick and slow people. I started from the back and got past alot of cars, then went into the gravel in turn one braking too late, and had to overtake them all again. Ended up with 3rd and only 4 minor incidents so not too bad. I ended up having 5 races. Overall I had 2 2nd's, a 3rd and 2 4ths. After a few races, consistancy and avoiding those -1 offtrack penalties, things got easier. Best time is 1.49.3 but need to improve accuracy more to get it into 48's. My safety rating is now 3.41 so that's not too bad a start. Overall I am very happy.

So far..

- It doesn't have many tracks or cars that I like, but what it does have is 10/10. In this situation you can enjoy something even if you don't like that type of car, just because of how good it is made. Excellent.
- Never driven a Soltice or any of the real cars, but the tracks and force feedback are pretty amazing.
- Netcode has been very good, everything looks really smooth, and it runs well on my pc, only have had 11-12 cars at max but constant 60fps with vsync and good netcode is a really enjoyable experience.
- You can tell the goal for the graphics, it isn't about flashy shaders or smoke or sun effects, but for accuracy. Laguna is a beautiful track to drive on, especially at that moment as you are at the top of the corkscrew and the scenery opens up. Graphics are better then I expected, in terms of screenshots they look poor. In terms of practicality and the feel while driving, I think they might be better then Shift. I saw screenshots of Shift and got excited, but was very unimpressed ingame(even tho they are flashy).
- Only problem so far has been netcode where someone with a wireless connection (I think) flashes between being visible and being invisible. It's scary if you are on there tail and about to pull alongside and then they dissappear!
- With the irating and safety system, it makes some people overly cautious and overly generous. I think it would be really hard to learn your first sim through this system because it's so strict. It does teach you good habits though for the longrun. And some fierce battles can still be had! It would be really hard to go back to other public races after this though. It's like everyone drives like there are stewards or tv cameras watching. And to drive in other sims takes a different mentality. Both in being more aggressive and also trying to survive.
- It's soooo useful that you can tell the G25 to use all 900 degrees of lock and then iracing decides how much to use with each car. This is light years ahead of setting up steering locks for the momo and other sims.
- The whole internet interface, I thought I would dislike it but it's pretty good and works well.

So far so good, thanks to everyone for sharing your experience. Can't wait for some decent cars with some good aero though. I think I might like the Star Mazda's but who knows. Would it be better to renew after 3 months, or order another 12 months (making it 15 months) now? I want to drive Silverstone and it offers discounts for ordering in bulk?

[Exar Kun]

If you can see yourself hanging around a bit then definitely get 12 months. The $60 bonus is a big plus. Jump in and introduce yourself in the Aussie member's section of the forum if you haven't already - I'm Michael Dunn.

On cars, buying the Skip Barber and associated tracks for its series is a good purchase with the bonus $60 for a year's sign up. The Mazda isn't my cup of tea - a typical junior formula car with too much aero and not enough power. But it is a stepping stone... I never actually ran a series with it. I jumped straight from the Skip Barber to the Riley once my license got high enough and, like I said earlier, I now run the Lotus 79 which is a lot of fun.

[HoldenRT]

Will do.

I think it's a generational thing but I could be wrong. I've grown up watching the modern F1's with the high aero and love the fast circuits like Silverstone with these type of cars. Horrible for watching overtakes on TV but good fun to drive. I'm lost in the 70's F1's where it's more about getting the power down. It'll be good fun trying to learn though.

I joined some races last night and didn't even realise that it was at Lime Rock but luckily had practiced a bit a few days ago in advance, because I didn't know the layout. The good thing about Lime Rock is that I don't have the same -1 off track problems that I have at Laguna on some of the curbs. I've had some really good races and some horrible ones. The Solstice cars are a bit frustrating but it works really well to fine tune your racecraft especially in traffic/trains. I get so many memories back to GTR with iracing, the main difference was in GTR it'd be a F550 or Saleen at Spa or Donnington and in this it's a Solstice on US tracks. But still, there are people to race and the racing is very clean and good fun. Hard work too. Overall very happy with iracing so far. I can imagine it will only get tougher and tougher in the higher series, and already in a competitive field it's quite tough.

Edited by HoldenRT, 14 October 2009 - 09:20.

[Rick002]

Great to see iracing getting bigger.

Ive been a member since July. Its my 1st sim and I totally agree with you about the comment you made about being generous when racing other cars. If it looks like I am holding someone up, I will open up the door for them and let them through to avoid possible hits to my SR. Hopefully I will get more confident as I improve.

The cost of the subscription is reasonable, just a heads up about the cars and tracks... They quickly add up! I think it's worth it though. Currently enjoying the Mazda and late model. Cant wait till we get the V8 supercar. (Even if it is the wrong brand)

See you on there.

Edited by Rick002, 27 October 2009 - 19:20.

[Kaiser]

iRacing is great. The net code is excellent, tracks are very realistic. It's the only sim that I've liked since GPL. I just miss different cars racing each other. The rating system eliminates idiots racing the wrong way in pick up races. Word is they'll soon have a solution to private races, and league racing, ie a low cost private server.

[karlth]

A small warning. The current version of iRacing, released a few hours ago, does not allow any sector/split times to be displayed. If you rely on them for improvement or think they are an essential part of driving then I would recommend waiting a bit.

[Kucki]

One thing I would like to say about US tracks. I didnt knew before iRacing how awesome US tracks are. Its not just Laguna Seca... Road Atlanta, Road America, Virginia, there are some really fantastic tracks in the US that no motorsport fan should miss out

[PassWind]

One thing I would like to say about US tracks. I didnt knew before iRacing how awesome US tracks are. Its not just Laguna Seca... Road Atlanta, Road America, Virginia, there are some really fantastic tracks in the US that no motorsport fan should miss out

Limerock is my favorite US track, short simple and plenty of room for improvement with any car driven there.

Iracing for me is quite boring, I raced in a club is Aus with some very competitive sim racers, they are now dominating the pro series. Why is it boring? The time I have to invest in the license system in crap cars. I much preferred the community based Rfactor racing. I just do not have the time.

Oh and all the good drivers are only racing in the elite series so when you start its nob world on the track, seriously I am sick of Hick accents saying sorry for parking on the exits of turns (crashing everyone) saying they are just trying to let people through because they want to have a crack at left and right.

[karlth]

Limerock is my favorite US track, short simple and plenty of room for improvement with any car driven there.

Iracing for me is quite boring, I raced in a club is Aus with some very competitive sim racers, they are now dominating the pro series. Why is it boring? The time I have to invest in the license system in crap cars. I much preferred the community based Rfactor racing. I just do not have the time.

Oh and all the good drivers are only racing in the elite series so when you start its nob world on the track, seriously I am sick of Hick accents saying sorry for parking on the exits of turns (crashing everyone) saying they are just trying to let people through because they want to have a crack at left and right.

What series have been driving in?

[Exar Kun]

Limerock is my favorite US track, short simple and plenty of room for improvement with any car driven there.

Iracing for me is quite boring, I raced in a club is Aus with some very competitive sim racers, they are now dominating the pro series. Why is it boring? The time I have to invest in the license system in crap cars. I much preferred the community based Rfactor racing. I just do not have the time.

Oh and all the good drivers are only racing in the elite series so when you start its nob world on the track, seriously I am sick of Hick accents saying sorry for parking on the exits of turns (crashing everyone) saying they are just trying to let people through because they want to have a crack at left and right.

With the new fast track license system you can go from rookie to A-license in a matter of days. Problem solved.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Limerock is my favorite US track, short simple and plenty of room for improvement with any car driven there.

Iracing for me is quite boring, I raced in a club is Aus with some very competitive sim racers, they are now dominating the pro series. Why is it boring? The time I have to invest in the license system in crap cars. I much preferred the community based Rfactor racing. I just do not have the time.

Oh and all the good drivers are only racing in the elite series so when you start its nob world on the track, seriously I am sick of Hick accents saying sorry for parking on the exits of turns (crashing everyone) saying they are just trying to let people through because they want to have a crack at left and right.

Since you're such a hot shot you should be able to deal with the regional wildlife without any problem.

[karlth]

Participated in a practice session at Lime Rock yesterday in a Spec Ford racer. 20 racers on track and I ended up trailing NASCAR racer TJ Majors for 4 laps as he cut through traffic.


Absolutely stunningly brilliantasticasticas boooooooooo!

[Kaiser]

Not a fan of this week 13 crap. Nothing but crashfests and I have to buy all kinds of tracks cars to race. Monday I can go back to the F Mazda.

[scolbourne]

Cant wait till we get the V8 supercar. (Even if it is the wrong brand)

It would suprise me if they do not release a Holden as well and somehow allow both brands on the track at once. I am looking forward to Bathurst in iRacing. I do drive a Falcon though.

I am still pushing to get bikes included as we have several good bike tracks already available. They ought to sub-contract it to Melbourne House who wrote GP500 which is still the best bike sim out there. The users have kept it up todate so you can now race the latest MotoGP 800 bikes as well as Superbike.
It would be nice to have laser scanned tracks as well.

Edited by scolbourne, 01 November 2009 - 09:28.

[Exar Kun]

Dallara is all kinds of awesome!

[l8apex]

I've used Iracing since a few weeks after it was released. It's definitely the best SIM I have tried. My favorite car is the Radical SR8, and I am still learning the Lotus 79 (having problems getting a setup that I like). My favorite tracks are VIR and Barber... the most difficult track for me is Infineon (even with racing experience there before ever trying it on Iracing).

I mostly just test these days as a little practice here and there. I enjoyed racing the junior series in the Solstice. I was initially really frustrated with the Solstice understeer, but eventually enjoyed the challenge of driving around the understeer and winning races. I haven't done much in the oval cars. I am somehow blisteringly fast in qualifying (I used to have the fastest lap ever in the rookie legends car at Lanier, all within the first hour of ever driving on an oval)... but I just drive the tires off the car in the race, it's pretty funny.

I previously drove LFS and liked it better than RFactor in regard to physics, however Rfactor wins on cars and tracks over LFS. The problem is that Iracing is just a lot better than my previous favorite LFS. Iracing isn't cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than a race weekend and the physics are great for learning tracks before an actual race.

If you want the most realistic SIM with decent graphics, great tracks and good cars than Iracing is the way to go. If you want to save some cash and still have fun, LFS and Rfactor are both good, I would choose LFS for physics and Rfactor for tracks/cars.

[TonyS]

I have been driving iRacing now for a couple of months and i find it a very realistic sim.

next year should be interesting with Brands Hatch, Outen Park and Zandvoort all coming out .

I am enjoying the Skip Barber car at the minute but have not driven mush of hte faster cars yet.

It does take some time to get used to it, but teaches you to keep on track and not to crash into people. You will always get a few idiots who crash and cause havoc but this is rare to find.

[Peat]

I had iracing for 2 months, 1st month free trial then they sneakily billed me without asking for teh 2nd month. That left a bit of a bitter taste.

I loved the sim, great physics/tracks etc. But i got bored of having to race the same cars over and over and slowly gain points etc. But the biggest downer for me was the price. I play maybe once a week , then a little bit at the weekend. I could'nt justify paying that much for it.

So, i will stick to RFactor. I race once or twice a week with a particular league with great competition, choice of cars and tracks. Suits me fine.

[Exar Kun]

Yeah, the cost is a downer. But once you're past that, it's the best out there. I, too, only play a couple of times a week - I get maybe an hour to practice on a weeknight and then a couple of hours on the weekend to hopefully find time to race. It's still worth it for me. Especially in the Dallara. I've never liked IRL cars but oh god I love the car in this sim. It's just awesome. The immersion when driving at indy is amazing.

[Nasty McBastard]

I got on this **** yesterday to give it a shot. obviously im just plugging around in legends and the solstice, and only just branched out into some time trials....but its pretty sweet.

im not having trouble stringing together laps to get a timetrial rank, but im probably losing about a second a lap just from not flogging it and stuffing it in a wall, compared to tests.

no races yet. how long are they generally? and whats a rough guide laptime wise to bother entering a race at say sobo or lime rock? i dont really want to end up binning it watching my mirrors for leaders lapping me and whatnot.

[karlth]

You'll be paired with drivers of a similar rating into the race, don't worry about it. If for some reason you end up in a race with much faster racers then just hold your racing line an be aware of it when the leader tries to lap you, and give him room then.

In the rookie classes the races usually last around 20 minutes.

[Kucki]

Average race length for the Solstice series is 21 minutes, for the Legends races 13 minutes.

Qualy times for the Solstice at Lime Rock are between 1:03 and 1:13.

Legends at South Boston are between 17.9 and and 19.4 sec.

[MaxScelerate]

Heh..

Just got started with iRacing, too. Pretty interesting I might say, even though I'm still a bit loss regarding licenses and such.. (Solstice, Rookie-Solstice... like, uh?) ..

I just went and did a few laps (maybe a half hundred), brought my Lime Rock Park time to around 1.08.xx and then I plateau-ed.. Guess I'll have to try other tracks to learn a bit more about the car before I know how to attack the corners properly but it's a load of fun. I hope I could at least bring my times under 1.05... (I'm one of those who only *just barely* made it to the 'dark side' in GPL...)

(edited to add: just completed my first race. Finished dead last after towing back to pit because I couldn't dodge the car that spun right in front of me. Still, I plugged in through the end of the race with no hope of points but that's how I've learned to play racing sims. Fun, fun, I really missed racing with more than one or two people. )

Edited by MaxScelerate, 20 November 2009 - 05:49.

[Nasty McBastard]

Yeah, i just jumped in and had a shot. Not much point playing an online racer if youre gonna **** yourself too much to log in.

My first wace was at sobo. i skipped prac, started at the back and was generally going ok....till i lost it on my own and got nailed by the 2 leaders as they come around. Woops!. still gained in rating though lol. Just finished a race then, minded my own business...nice and clean, only lapped once, and avoided some mess. its good fun. I probably could have pushed it more and gone for a pass or two, but meh... Managed to hold on to the leaders ok when they passed, but im about 2/10ths off their best laps.
Just ran a TT after though and managed to shave some time off....theres a bump or something in turn 2 which was causing me grief, but i think ive figured it out.

Dont even want to know what laptimes are at other levels though.

[MaxScelerate]

I tried the ovals..

But my old red Momo wheel has developed some trouble and it feels like there's a golf ball stuck somewhere in the mechanism that goes thump-thump! and rattle-rattle!, I think I lost a few dents (teeth?) on some cogwheel.. While I can manage to compensate for it driving on road course, when I tried SoBo it would kick me from one lane to the next (or to the wall) a few times during cornering (and as you're cornering for 75% of the track, well...)

I'll open it up, though, and see if I can fix it but I doubt it much.

[Mat]

I got free one month trial of iRacing yesterday and i am very impressed. Despite being stuck in under powered rookie cars for the moment i am having a ball. iRacing for me, is the most fun i have had on a game for a very long time.

I have only driven the Solstice and Legends Rookie car but both have been fun to drive. The solstice is a bitch to get used to but i have only done a couple of sessions with it.

I am in Australia and the netcode is great, the one thing holding me back from iRacing was the fear that the connection would be too slow. Being so far away from most of the racers in USA/Europe i was expecting a torrid time, but this has been one of the best aspects of the game. Driving 3 wide around South Boston with no lag issues is pretty impressive and creates a great racing experience.

I have mostly focused on the legends car at this stage, I have competed in 10 races and i won the final 2 and got my rating up to 3.41! So im sorted with the legend now until i get the licence upgrade and i have moved to the Solstice. Only 1 race with the Solstice at Laguna and finished last (but still improved my SR). My best lap was only a 1.54 so still need to lose 2-3 seconds, time to practice!

[Tenmantaylor]

Sounds good Mat and Max Out of interest have any of you guys driven other Papyrus sims extensively such as NR2002/3 or GPL?

[Mat]

I have played all Papyrus titles since Indy 500 days. Mostly enjoyed the NASCAR series, still get lots of enjoyment out of N2003.

[karlth]

Sounds good Mat and Max Out of interest have any of you guys driven other Papyrus sims extensively such as NR2002/3 or GPL?

I drove GPL from the earliest demo until around 2000-2001. Lovely game but was never any good though.

[Exar Kun]

Great to hear, Mat - have you come and introduced yourself in the Aussie forum yet? You'll find we tend to organise races in the higher series to ensure we have enough people to make events go official.

I'm really enjoying the Dallara so far - was sitting on top of my division and third overall after the last round! (Only because a bunch of quick guys sat out the oval courses).

[Mat]

Thanks Exar, will check out the Aussie forum once ive moved up a class or two i think.

I practiced more with the Solstice yesterday and increased the my road SR to 3.50. So im above 3.0 on both oval and road now, so if i have read the schedule correctly, i should get upgraded next Monday.

The Laguna races turned out to be pretty clean. Again, i did 10 races, ended up winning on of them. My best time in the Solstice is a 1m51.1.

[Exar Kun]

Yep, this is week 4 so you should be promoted Tuesday our time. Then you can get started in the Skippy (if you've bought it) which is probably the most fun car in the game. Once again, there's a little Aussie league racing them on Wednesday nights which you can find out about in the club forum.

The solstice has changed a bit since I last ran it (new gear ratios and ABS) so I'm not sure what I could run with it. My best time back when I started was a 1:49.3 but I think it's slower now.

[Nasty McBastard]

possibly a daft question, but championship points.....how do they work?

Am i right in guessing they average your race points for each week and add the weeks together? thats the only way i can get the numbers to work.

Im assuming points on your results screen that are red are dropped races? how does it work out dropped races? is it just your one worst race? does it only count your X best races? something else?

Not that it matters, ive got like a grand total of 80 or something, but just trying to figure it out.

[MaxScelerate]

Thanks Exar, will check out the Aussie forum once ive moved up a class or two i think.

I practiced more with the Solstice yesterday and increased the my road SR to 3.50. So im above 3.0 on both oval and road now, so if i have read the schedule correctly, i should get upgraded next Monday.

The Laguna races turned out to be pretty clean. Again, i did 10 races, ended up winning on of them. My best time in the Solstice is a 1m51.1.

Mat, maybe I understood it wrong but I thought it was *4.0* rating you have to get to be promoted to D-class.. 3.0 only affords you the advanced rookie competitions (legends advanced and spec racer Ford)... However it's available to you like right now, Rookie3.0 is not a class license it is more of a dynamic sub-category of rookies. (Well, I base all this on me just getting a +.58 increase to 3.53 which seemed to insta-open the Spec Racer for me.. At least check up on that and maybe make sure you're at 4.0 for monday (I'm not sure I can do this )

[Mat]

Max, its all good!

My Oval SR is 3.43, and i have access to advanced Legends which is cool, and im expecting that to be upgrading to Class D on Monday/Tuesday.

My Road SR got to above 4 but now it has automatically upgraded me to Class D with SR of 3.43. I also have access to all Class D road races now so i can jump in the skippy! I have a bit on the next few days so i haven't purchased it yet, but i will grab the Skippy next time i get a chance to iRace. Im just hoping its soon!

[karlth]

possibly a daft question, but championship points.....how do they work?

Am i right in guessing they average your race points for each week and add the weeks together? thats the only way i can get the numbers to work.

Im assuming points on your results screen that are red are dropped races? how does it work out dropped races? is it just your one worst race? does it only count your X best races? something else?

Not that it matters, ive got like a grand total of 80 or something, but just trying to figure it out.

Average strength of field (iRating) / 16 = Championship Points for the winner. The rest get a certain percentage of those points.

Championship points for the current week = Your average Championship points for your best 50% races during that week.

[Nasty McBastard]

Average strength of field (iRating) / 16 = Championship Points for the winner. The rest get a certain percentage of those points.

Championship points for the current week = Your average Championship points for your best 50% races during that week.

Ahh, that makes some sence. The fact i only joined a few days before a week change, and had only done a few races in the 2 weeks meant i hadnt got must 'data' to play with.

Its funny how cars/tracks just 'click'. or maybe it was just that i was rusty. probably 2 years since i played a sim on the PC. Id done some legends races, mostly just piddeling about making sure not to get in anyones way, and then bam....im happy going for passes etc, got some podiums, but still winless.

Same with the solstice at laguna, did some TT's, could string like 58's together, did one race keeping out of the way and almost got lapped (in 11 laps lol), then one race, it put me like 3rd on the grid. I mildly shat myself, not wanting to feck peoples races up, somehow made a place and finished 2nd, stringing 54's together.

Just finished a race there then, all sorts of passing and stuff, the time flew by, did every lap in the 54's except for 1 53. was 2nd, but got mugged and had a wee bit of a prang on the 2nd last corner...still got 4th.

Im bloody loving this thing.





EDIT: editing out my edit that i edited in before realizing no edit of the edit was needed.

Edited by Nasty McBastard, 30 November 2009 - 09:07.

[Tenmantaylor]

Just signed up on the $75 deal, really enjoying it! Im suprised Im only the 2nd Paul Taylor Bagged my first win just now (ok a tie to the nearest 1000th)

http://img697.images...acing1stwin.jpg

The realism of the track surface makes such a huge difference compared to most sims ive driven. The skipping and jumping of the car makes it difficult to find a perfect line and you really have to work at it to be consistent.

Is playing with setups something that comes as you progress the license system? Im finding the web menu navigation a bit confusing to start with. See alot of ineligibles and content required. Random clicking till a cockpit and steering wheel appears seems to be the order of the day at the minute.

[MaxScelerate]

'Series'->'Current Seasons' and then you have every seasons with description and a note showing wether you're eligible.

Setups seem to come with higher level cars.. When you hit 3.0 SR you'll be elligible for Spec Racer and they have a good lil' page worth of setups. I assume other cars have more.

I'm very slow (always was) and jealous of your times, Paul

(also, I dunno why but while my MOMO is still ok to drive the slowstice, whenever I try the spec racer, or a legend, the big play in the FF motor goes banging way to much for it to be driveable.. I really ought to open up the sucker and thighten a few things but I'm afraid of making it crapier still.. )

Edited by MaxScelerate, 01 December 2009 - 02:34.

[Exar Kun]

Yeah, heaps of setup options the further up you go. Wait til you see what can be changed on the COT and Dallara. I tend to grab someone else's setup though - not enough time to drive around making my own (even if I was any good at it). I prefer to just be able to jump in and drive.

[Nasty McBastard]

Just signed up on the $75 deal, really enjoying it! Im suprised Im only the 2nd Paul Taylor Bagged my first win just now (ok a tie to the nearest 1000th)

http://img697.images...acing1stwin.jpg

Jesus, 18.0's at sobo already. I hate you lol

I had a horror day, had 2 top 5 finishes and should have stopped there. Had a disconnect, a race with some clown causing everyone drama, and a race where i caused myself drama. Gained a touch on my SR, but my irating took a hit.

After my 1st (and everyone elses i guess) 1st race of season 4b, i was on the front page of the rankings....should of took a screen dump lol.

Im really struggeling to get below 18.2's at sobo, ive watched, followed some of the guys who get into the 17's....and i can SEE what theyre doing, just cant do it. Seem to be losing my time in t2. If i run 1 lane up, im fine, but slower. If i run the bottom, i get my 2's but its oversteery as buggery getting on the power. If i could get on it a bit earlier, and not be waiting to catch it when it breaks loose, i could probably shave a bit off.

Seems to be the same general story, only worse, with the advanced legends.

You guys who get decent times, right from the get go, give me the shits

[Mat]

(also, I dunno why but while my MOMO is still ok to drive the slowstice, whenever I try the spec racer, or a legend, the big play in the FF motor goes banging way to much for it to be driveable..  I really ought to open up the sucker and thighten a few things but I'm afraid of making it crapier still.. )

Max, check your FFB settings in the game, it is recommended to have the in game FFB strength set to about 20%. 

[Mat]

An update on my iRacing. http://img121.images...3/image2xlo.jpg

I have decided to race the Advanced Legends and Spec Racer for the moment. The legends I found pretty tough at Lowes, but the racing was a lot cleaner than SoBo! Best qualy time was a 18.1 but with a downloaded setup i got my best race time to 18.0. I ran 3 races at Lowes with a 3rd, 10th and 3rd. Think ill keep those points for the week?

I was alot more comfortable in the Spec Racer around Laguna but the competition was fast! I only ran two races. First race started 12th, finished 11th. Second race started 2nd finished 6th. I definitely think i can get a top 3 here as well, i just need to get a solid start and limit those mistakes.