iRacing's Upcoming Releases

[Yoeri Gijsen]

Let's keep a little thread going about what iRacing has in store for us in the (near) future. Some things have been announced, some targets have been rumoured and who knows what you have picked up in the darkest recesses of the net...

Below I will put up some things I find or found. Please post any news, rumours or hints below so one of the moderators can update this thread.

Cars

• McLaren MP4-12C GT3 - Next up, but time unspecified
• Lotus 49 - Next up, but time unspecified
• RUF Rt12R - October 2012
• Honda Civic BTCC - May/July 2013
• Honda HSV-010 - May/July 2013
• NASCAR Sprint Cup 2013 models - TBA

Tracks

• Auto Club Speedway - To be scanned (confirmed!)
• Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve - To be scanned (confirmed!)
• Hongaroring - Plans
• Kansas Speedway - To be scanned (confirmed!)
• Lukas Oil Raceway - In production
• Rockingham Speedway - October 2012
• Interlagos - To be scanned (confirmed!)
• Miller Motorsports Park - To be scanned
• New Jersey Motorsports Park - To be scanned
• Long Beach - 2013
• Oran Park Raceway - October 2012
• Tsukuba Circuit - In production
• Willow Springs - Scanned but on hold

Features

• Crew chief & spotter functionality - February 2013 at the earliest, but probably later
• Driver swaps - February 2013 at the earliest, but probably later
• DirectX 11 and x64 support - Long term project
• Dirt and oil build up on windscreen - Side project
• Enhanced sounds (DirectSound > XAudio2) - Groundwork in next build; the rest later
• Exhaust fire - Side project
• Teams - February 2013 at the earliest, but probably later
• Time transition - Long term and after DirectX 11

Your turn!

 

[Mircea Rad]

Here is the explanation I was talking about. Keep in mind this is about Start Mazda with NTM 5. This is something more obvious in the fast formulas and prototypes.

Thanks for the FFB tips, I'll be sure to try them out.

 

[Bakkster]

They could provide a way to test - say 50 cents for 6 hours private testing or so. It would imply a download, though, and content which would reside in the user's HD, useless should he choose to not purchase it afterwards. Complicated to implement, I suspect.

You can already download cars you don't own. Just 'placeholders' I believe, but that's what you use for racing against other cars you don't own. I think they're missing the internal views to save space.

 

[Chronus]

Here is the explanation I was talking about. Keep in mind this is about Start Mazda with NTM 5. This is something more obvious in the fast formulas and prototypes.

Thanks for the FFB tips, I'll be sure to try them out.

You ninja'd me, darn.

I just found quotes from that:

Well said Joey. The "pendulum" feeling is what turns off a lot of real drivers from being able to enjoy this car in game. They can not just get online and drive, but rather need to spend a lot of time learning how to predict what the car will do on the edge of traction since the feeling for weight transfer is severely lacking


The Star Mazda chassis IRL has good turn in rotation, iRacing has the overall balance of this car down pretty well in my opinion... but the problem I have always had with this game in general, is the lack of feeling for inertia. While the tire model keeps getting big improvements, this fundamental issue seems to remain unchanged.

Well, I disagree with his statement down below, about iR being closer to capturing the radial tire characteristics than "anything publicly available". Actually, it's not just me, I haven't met a pro racing driver yet that considers the TM from iR (or even AC) as "being close" to the real thing - this as opposed to what they feel they can get out of rF2 or rF1/GSC/Race07 (with proper data, no doubt).

@Bakkster,

that I know, thanks. I am about to resub (today or tomorrow), got one doubt: those placeholders, correct me if I'm wrong, are there to avoid that problem I mentioned in other threads (having to buy content/cars I don't want in order to use the cars I want), but are not drivable, yes?

 

[Mircea Rad]

Yes, if you don't own 'em you can't drive 'em When you update, there will be 2 update categories, required updates for the content you own and optional updates for content you don't own but you need in order to participate in the multiclass series.

 

[Chronus]

Thanks, Mircea.

Just resubbed. To a (bad) surprise: went from A-license (with plenty ratings to spare) to...rookie.

Never happened before. Was there a change in regs lately?

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Thanks, Mircea.

Just resubbed. To a (bad) surprise: went from A-license (with plenty ratings to spare) to...rookie.

Never happened before. Was there a change in regs lately?

That's weird, not heard about that happening before, but then again if you've been away for a lengthy time (I dunno how long) loosing license ranks would make sense in a way imo.

 

[Chronus]

From the License FAQ:

- Authored by: Shannon Whitmore
Saved From: http://faq.iracing.com/article.php?id=61

Once I progress from one License level to another, can I be
demoted to a lower License level?

Yes, it is possible to be demoted to your previous license level. Like Fast Track promotions, demotions can occur during the season or at the end of a season.

During the Season:
If any driver's Safety Rating falls below 1.00 he/she will be demoted at least one license level. No drivers are ever demoted back to a Rookie license. The most they can be demoted is to Class D.

After the Completion of a Season:
If a driver's safety Rating falls below 2.00 he/she will be demoted at least one license level. No drivers will ever be demoted back to a Rookie License at any time.

Nothing about absences, but...I once was away for more than 8 months and my license status stayed the same.

 

[Stereo]

It's more "inexplicable" spins rather than "unexpected". They used to happen (according to friends who have tried the latest series of updates, it's still there) when:
- braking, even at ridiculously low speeds
- accelerating out of most corners if the car was slightly unsettled
- accelerating (not hard) from a stand still - it was particularly obvious with the Mustang and the V8 SC
- with fast steering input (eliciting either severe understeer or more frequently severe oversteer)

On the first point, I think it's fair to point at that for Okayama's (full course) turn 8 in the MX-5? The second hairpin. I last played in Season 1 2014... and like you say, it's not that it's unpredictable, it's just really unexpected to get into an uncontrollable spin on that corner, and it tended to have a domino effect - someone spins, people behind them brake and spin too. All at very low speeds. The other corner at Okayama is turn 2, fast left... especially on the out lap, way too easy to spin the MX-5.

The problem I had with it is that, because there's a fairly sudden point where you don't grip anymore, if you're trying to run competitive laptimes, you run very close to that edge, and it limits your options when an incident happens up ahead. If you're going full-bore into Okayama T2 and someone spins, you can't brake or steer suddenly without losing it completely.



If they've changed that (could even say 'improved') then maybe that $5 for 3 month resubscription is worth a shot, it was just aggravating seeing everyone spin in the same predictable places. And since I don't own all the content, I do spend a lot of weeks in the MX-5.

 

[nachtwache76]

Thanks, Mircea.

Just resubbed. To a (bad) surprise: went from A-license (with plenty ratings to spare) to...rookie.

Never happened before. Was there a change in regs lately?

Hi Chronus,
that should not happen (it's not possible to be demoted back into Rookie Class once you have reached D, and from A to Rookie must be a technical or other problem), but I've seen in the forums some members that had a similar problem.
You should contact the iracing support and describe your problem, I'm sure they'll sort it out!

 

[Bakkster]

Thanks, Mircea.

Just resubbed. To a (bad) surprise: went from A-license (with plenty ratings to spare) to...rookie.

Never happened before. Was there a change in regs lately?

Let me guess: You have an A-license on road, and it's showing your oval license right now because it's still week 13 and your selected series defaults to the first oval one. Go to your driver stats (or select a road series) and everything should still be there.

Either that or you accidentally created a new account.

 

[Bakkster]

If they've changed that (could even say 'improved') then maybe that $5 for 3 month resubscription is worth a shot, it was just aggravating seeing everyone spin in the same predictable places. And since I don't own all the content, I do spend a lot of weeks in the MX-5.

In the SRF big grid race this weekend, there was a lot of spinning. My thoughts on it:
1) The SRF in particular has seen a return to a solid amount of lift-throttle oversteer
2) Suzuka, like all the Japanese tracks, is a much greasier track than most others, which meant more spins than other circuits.
3) The tires get very greasy after a slide or oversteer moment. The first oversteer moment is pretty easy to catch, but if you don't cool the tires you'll go around the next time you try and push.
4) Along with 3, this means tire strategy and preservation is key. I finished 8th (after getting spun from 6th) and was not running fast laptimes in that range but ran a consistent comfortable pace.

Really, the SRF @Suzuka is a worst case scenario for grip, and I felt like it was pretty manageable once I realized I needed to run my own pace rather than the '45 minutes of qual laps' like we all complained about before.

 

[Chronus]

Hi Chronus,
that should not happen (it's not possible to be demoted back into Rookie Class once you have reached D, and from A to Rookie must be a technical or other problem), but I've seen in the forums some members that had a similar problem.
You should contact the iracing support and describe your problem, I'm sure they'll sort it out!

Hey, nachtwache76. Yep, heard that too, never happened to me.

I was about to send an email, when I did something apparently unrelated.

@Bakkster ,

yeah, was once surprised by that, obviously had forgotten about the season ending/beginning and starting out in OVAL and not in ROAD.

That wasn't the case yesterday/today.

The "unrelated" action I took was:
- turned the service off.
- turned it on.
- logged out
- logged in

Voilá. Everything as it should.

Thanks guys for the input.

 

[Chronus]

On the first point, I think it's fair to point at that for Okayama's (full course) turn 8 in the MX-5? The second hairpin. I last played in Season 1 2014... and like you say, it's not that it's unpredictable, it's just really unexpected to get into an uncontrollable spin on that corner, and it tended to have a domino effect - someone spins, people behind them brake and spin too. All at very low speeds. The other corner at Okayama is turn 2, fast left... especially on the out lap, way too easy to spin the MX-5.

Interesting.

I had the same experience for years, but with the Mustang and the V8SC.

Someone mentioned early 2013 at iR forums, that some of the inexplicable spins were mostly due to an issue they had with a numerical solver being used with the TM. Thing was, anyone could notice it with both the NTM and the OTM with several cars.

I am not obviously talking about those odd motions due to hacks done to the TM at low speeds - the kind NetKar Pro final still has (car stopped; brake and accelerate at the same time, then let go of the throttle and finally of brakes and the car will oddly move (in place) as if on a car rotating platform), but rather the loss of grip at low speeds and mysteriously induced spins.

The problem I had with it is that, because there's a fairly sudden point where you don't grip anymore, if you're trying to run competitive laptimes, you run very close to that edge, and it limits your options when an incident happens up ahead. If you're going full-bore into Okayama T2 and someone spins, you can't brake or steer suddenly without losing it completely.

As Wyatt G. and others have said, we adapted (with iRacing) to doing things we wouldn't dream of doing in real life.

The more the TM evolves, the more it comes close to real life and the less adaptation will require from drivers (simracers and pro racing drivers alike).

 

[Chronus]

Got a question, does anyone know the weight distribution (as reported, perhaps) of Mp4-12c, the Ford GT and the BMW Z4 GT3 in iRacing?

A fellow iracer told me yesterday that the WD of these 3 cars was deliberately set 2 to 3% higher towards the rear than the RL counterparts. He said he had read it in a thread somewhere, but I can't find any such posts in the official forums.

 

[Bakkster]

Got a question, does anyone know the weight distribution (as reported, perhaps) of Mp4-12c, the Ford GT and the BMW Z4 GT3 in iRacing?

A fellow iracer told me yesterday that the WD of these 3 cars was deliberately set 2 to 3% higher towards the rear than the RL counterparts. He said he had read it in a thread somewhere, but I can't find any such posts in the official forums.

I haven't heard anything to that effect. I know iRacing does all its measurements with the virtual driver in the cockpit, not sure if that's what they're seeing or something else.

 

[Chronus]

Yes, and so it should be. Professional racing teams do the same (with all laser sensors, force transducers on) with the driver assigned to the car seated, in all static measurements, for simulation purposes. Not that frequent, true, but that's how it is usually done.

--

Just been perusing the Z4 GT3 forum and found 1 post mentioning the 50/50 WD of this car and several others reflecting on the consequences of that WD.

So, contrary to what that fellow said, at least with this car, WD is exactly on spec (50/50 for the road going version, around the same for the GT3 version).

Begs the question: if all other cars mentioned above are also spot on, why the heck do people come up with these ideas...?

I'll keep on looking.

EDIT:

just realized, perhaps some people confuse brake bias (which is obviously dynamic) with WD. From this confusion to this odd idea of WD being biased towards the rear is just a small leap...

 

[Stereo]

WD is also affected by whether you include unsprung weight - which is usually higher at the rear (bigger wheels, axles, ...)

It's easier in the real world to measure corner weights including unsprung, but in a simulation or with high-end telemetry kit you can easily measure sprung weight at each corner, and the weight distribution will be a little different for that.

 

[indiemo20]

WOW was in a 58 car race on spa in the WSCS series....AMAZING.

Most fun i have had on there,,,,my spotter was going mental couple of times,so
much traffic.

And with the tire wear also,,,so much fun.

My opinion,,,,,,is iracing worth it hmmmmmmmm big fat YES.

Time slot before that had 60 cars

 

[Bakkster]

Begs the question: if all other cars mentioned above are also spot on, why the heck do people come up with these ideas...?

Some people just don't know what they're talking about and make rookie errors. Others have an agenda to push sour grapes.

 

[Mircea Rad]

WOW was in a 58 car race on spa in the WSCS series....AMAZING.

Most fun i have had on there,,,,my spotter was going mental couple of times,so
much traffic.

And with the tire wear also,,,so much fun.

My opinion,,,,,,is iracing worth it hmmmmmmmm big fat YES.

Time slot before that had 60 cars

Looking forward to some races today or tomorrow, the field also looks evenly spread, from what I saw in yesterday races. Are you racing the HPD? How are the tires lasting the 22 laps? I haven't done any long runs yet, just qualy, but will probably do a long run today before racing to adjust the set-up.