The new sim iRacing is previewed by Jens "McGonigle" Lindblad
http://www.simhq.com/_motorsports4/motorsports_121a.html

Thanks for the preview, Jens. I am looking forward to trying this out next week. Physics are the end-all, be-all for racing sims as far as I'm concerned and the reputedly high-fidelity dynamics and kinematics along with laser-scanned tracks are iRacing's main attraction. I have always felt that you can have fun with practically any car and track combination as long as the cars behave realistically so the relative lack of content at release isn't a concern. Heck, I've been playing LFS for years and that only has a handful of tracks.

Great preview.

Got me only more into this game. I like the part that you race on tracks with people you don't really "know" but your license keep track on how "good" you are. And also i am so fan of the concept "less is more". In soo many ways.

It seems, on paper, like an absolutly faboulus vagabond (or in between league) racer as me!

Or as i said in the motorsports forum, an MMORPG on wheel.

Oh man oh man. If this sim has even an ounce of the GPL/NR2003 "feel" to it it's a no-brainer for me, I'm off to buy it!

Good job as always Jens.

Shoot, after reading this I might try the one month deal. Just to fill in the bottom slot on the standings.

What,....The last place spot is mine...lol,race ya all later.This should be good.

Thank you, excellent preview. It answered a few lingering questions I still had.

I hope to see you guys out on the track.

I am interested... but I hate the pricing scheme. Hell, I think the entire business model is short sighted. Missing out on single player gamers and introducing an MMO type pricing scheme for something that is nowhere near a real MMO... puzzling. Plus, the cost of tracks and cars is a bit high. I really think they are going to suffer and be forced to shift into a different paradigm. If there is ever a free trial, I will test it out. Or, if enough people I know end up doing it, I might try it out for a month. Right now, there is really nothing driving me to abandon my super-modded N2003.

I think it's going to hinge a lot on the quality of the simulation itself and how streamlined it can make the process of racing online. It is expensive though, not so much the monthly fee, but the cars and tracks as well, particularly seeing as how it looks like you'll pretty much have to keep buying them if you want to get anywhere.

I'd be a lot happier if the cars were in the $5 range and the tracks $10. Even $10 and $20 would be better. It's going to be a bit to stomach spending $25 on a single track.

Anyways, I'm hoping that it turns out to be worth it. I'm interested to see how the dynamic changes once it opens up. From what I understand there were at least 400 or so beta testers, each of which got 10 invites, and most of those seem to be going pretty fast (though it also looks like it's not hard to get one if you want one), so there could potentially be a few thousand members in the next few weeks. That should make things even better, at least I hope it does.

Given that your average PC game costs $50, I think I can swing for at least a three month trial, a car, and a track or two and not feel like it was a waste if it turns out not to be for me. After all, I paid $50 for COD4, finished it in a weekend, and was reasonably satisfied with that purchase.

If you've got a sim you already like though, and a good league to race in, I can see why it wouldn't have much to offer given the price.

This stands and falls with the business model - and I cannot share the enthusiasm about it. Probably only the most ultimate of the hardcore racers will subscribe to it - which may show to be too few to meet the previous expectations. In europe, acceptance might be even lower, since over here customers are not as used and not as accepting towards paying without actually owning a solid, material entity of something that works for unlimited time by itself. Time-limited licences may be something Americans find acceptable and are used to - here in Europe it is a bit different in many countries.

This sim will maybe become a success - that needs to be fought very hard for in the US. Regarding Europe, I am sceptical. And finally, most trivial a thing: it simply is far too expensive. as much as I love the prospect of a competent racing sim in the physic's tradition of GPL and Nascar 2003: no way that I could prefer this business model to buying a solid DVD with GTR2 and next downloading 200 available tracks for it after having tested the included dozen ones.

Potential: yes, but beyond that: "Project Intention returned back for major corrections and redesigning."

It sounds suspiciously like the business model originally envisaged for West Racing's World Sports Cars - and we all know where that ended up...

Some of the Korean MMORPGs have a model whereby everyone can play for free, but subscribers get more options, powers, buffs etc. Translating that to motorsports would mean limited cars and tracks for free players, and many more options for pay-to-play members - modifications, tuning, telemetry etc.

Many of the free players find they like the game and make a purchase because they want better stuff to play with (or remain competitive)

I had no idea iRacing included on online "licensing" system whereby your virtual mistakes have real consequences. That alone is a big drawback for me. I love pretending that I am driving a real racecar once I am practiced and up to speed, but I can imagine a situation where hopping in a new virtual car would cause some first-lap crashing that I don't want on my "permanent record".

Laser scanning and fantastic physics aside, there is no way driving a car on a computer will ever give the feedback one gets from driving a real car, so even if you drive like you would drive a real car, incidents will occur that would not happen in a real car.

Something I don't understand: if iRacing is supposed to be a training tool for real racers, and some mystery server somewhere decides which tracks you will race on and which skill sets you will race with, then how do the professionals use the sim the way they want?


One last thing: when the resurfacing and reprofiling of Lime Rock is completed in the next few weeks, is iRacing going back to Lakeville to re-scan the track?

It all looks great. But doesn't sound that good.

$156 to join?! Then, essentially $96 per year after that? Then have to buy cars and tracks on top of it. With two tracks costing as much as your typical entire PC game?

$20 to try a demo for a month?

I don't see how they'll get enough subscribers at those costs.

It looks great. But, clearly, the hardcore-only need apply.

Now that is a model I could get behind. Play for free but upgrade for cost. This motivates people to learn the game and then upgrade their game as they evolve within the world. At worst, I would have suggested a free single player testbed (one track, one to three cars) that can be played without any account, so that players can practice offline long before they join online matches.

Thanks for the preview. I've also been reading about iRacing in the last two issues of A.S.S. (auto sports sim)


good points.

from the article
"...the online code is the best there currently is, bar none, as unintended taps and bumps will not result in the bumped car being launched into orbit, and the contact will be clearly felt and seen in the sim, not side-stepped by allowing cars to drive through one-another. Please note that I said unintended taps and bumps. You should absolutely never ever drive into other cars on track, in fact you must take the utmost care to avoid contact between you and another competitor as contact will cost you incident points that are subtracted from your iRacing license, that�s right dear reader, you have to earn your license and work at being promoted up the ladder towards bigger and more powerful cars, and if you throw away points by even accidentally hitting other cars, the retaining wall, go off course or spin out, your promotion beyond rookie license will be moving further and further away."

How does the game determine that a 'tap or bump' was unintentional? And, pardon my ignorance, but is the game coded well enough to determine the difference between a 'tap or bump (no incident points lost)' and 'contact (incident points lost)?' If there is contact do both drivers receive equal blame? I would hope their is some system in place to try and fairly administer the blame to the driver who caused the contact...cuz i can think of many odd circumstances (for example, during a race, car A is off the track. The pilot of Car A does not check for oncoming traffic and pulls onto track directly in front of cars B, C, and D. The pilot in car B does not have enough time to stop, or manuever to safety, and hits Car A. This then causes a pileup as Car C hits Car B and Car D hits Car C...)

Thanks for all your comments. You bring up some very good points.

Patrocles; The sim is not able to tell any difference between intended and unintended bumps and taps which is why anyone who hits another car, even a little rubbing, will recieve incident points.

My observation about launching into orbit is a reference to what happend online in Nascar Racing 2003 is you hit another car and meant as an example to descr�be the improvement in the online code that has been achieved by iRacing.

I hope this clarifies that bit.

For what it's worth, it's a good review but not without reservations after looking at the developer's terms of usage.

I really wonder how much longevity people will derive from a product (no matter how realistic) if you severely limit their freedom of choice in usage, in particular the ability to dictate when, where and how they use the product.

If I'm not wrong, the iRacing main event attraction and terms of usage mirrors an online meet ....only that you need to pay for it.

I was one of those early birds when SimHQ Motorsports first started their multiplayer events. Judging by the continuing challenges SimHQ had in attracting participants and maintaining their interest to stay....and all of that for free.....I just really wonder how iRacing plans to sell the same concept for $$ and manage to pull it off.

As much as I am loath to express my opinions so bluntly, I guess they better have a product that is so earth-shatteringly good to attract the kind of dedicated and consistent patronage that they are hoping for.

I'm just skeptical the typical simmer (much less the typical gamer) will actually fork out good cash merely to submit themselves to schedules, venues and cars that are beyond their control....all for the sole reason of competing online for ranking rights...something which is already available for free with the various race leagues using existing sims....well, maybe not as realistic as the iRacing product, but I don't think the typical simmer will be mindful of a little less 'realism' (there's that word again and again) as long as they get their speed fix.

Speaking personally, I'd have to be pretty hardcore consumer to the point of eccentricity to go the length for iRacing's commercial model.

I have zero interest in this due to the asinine pricing scheme. The article was an intresting read though and it gave me some good laughs.

Seconded, sounds interesting but the pricing scheme is flat out ridiculous. 20 bucks for a demo?!?

Yes, it makes perfect sense. On the surface it seems to be a bit harsh since the victim will also be punished for any contact, but in the end it could make better/safer drivers.

I guess the ultimate would be to have folks serving as 'virtual race marshals?' Or some ability to record races and have a board review any 'incidents.' However, I don't see folks volunteering for the former (unless it is a prestigious race event) and the latter would be too cumbersome and possibly swamped with complaints.