R3E Major Update Released

Paul Jeffrey · Oct 20, 2015

Sector 3 Studios have today released a major patch to their premier 'free to play' simulator, RaceRoom Racing Experience.

Alongside number of enhancements to the game mechanics the latest update also installs the much anticipated DTM 2015 expansion pack, available for purchase soon(tm).

Following on from the earlier DTM 2013 & 2014 Experience packs, this new content will contain all the cars all the tracks and all the rules and regulations of the 2015 DTM season. Featuring updated physics created with the help and support of 2015 DTM drivers Bruno Spengler and Daniel Juncadella this promises to be a significant step forward from earlier content, bringing the racing experience closer still to the feeling of driving these high downforce touring cars in real life.

Also including the controversial 'downshift protection' this latest additional to the sim is sure to cause much debate among the racing community.

Proposed content release of the ADAC GT Masters 2015 has been slightly delayed due to the recent announcement of the licence to bring Bentley into the game and anticipated to be released in the near future.

With this new update Sector 3 Studios once again show great signs of improvement for the ever more impressive simulation. With many additional improvements in the pipeline and several pieces of exciting new content on the horizon, the future is looking bright for RaceRoom Racing Experience.

Full Change Log below:
Due to car physics changes, it is advised to reset Car Setups and Steering Settings to their default values. Due to the downshift prevention implementation we have cleared all the leader boards.

Game:

Added new content that will be released very soon.
Downshift prevention logic implemented. Sequential gearbox will refuse to downshift if revs are going to end up above the limiter. H-Pattern gearbox will try and engage the gear and fail until revs are lower.
Tyres of the DTM 2015 cars will pick up Dirt & Gravel when driving off-track, reducing grip on the affected tyres until they’re clean again. Game will play a sound effect of pebbles hitting the car body that will reduce as tyres become clean again.
Added new things in Shared Memory block. Check our forum for details and link to updated github rep.
Removed exclusivity of certain Experiences. All content is now accessible and usable in the main R3E.
Added a new argument “-disableReplay” that can be added in Launch options on steam to disable replay recording.
Fixed an issue where you start in the wrong car when number of cars is more than the visible cars set in options.
Fixed an issue with not being able to select each car when number of cars is more than the visible cars set in options.
Improved random grid position so it’s now really random.
Implemented a new shadow system that improves performance and visuals.
Fixed an issue with time left where it was returning the session duration if the session hadn’t started yet.
Fixed an issue with drivetrain wobbling out of control when in Novice or when TC is 100%
Fixed so the shifts without clutch in semiautomatic transmissions are damage free.
Fixed an issue in audio where the coast backfire sound wasn’t stopping in some cases.
Fixed an issue with cars behaving jerky in novice mode by smoothing the brake and throttle changes when brake assist is applied.
Fixed an issue with the TV cameras where you could see a couple of seconds of a wrong one.when switching to TV Cam.
Allowed use of handbrake regardless of track being hillclimb or not
Various HUD tweaks on areas where text would often not fit the given frame/field.
Optimized motion blur
Made changes how frequency and damping are affected by gear ratios, to increase oscillation effect in higher gears
Removed oscillation from differential distribution on driven wheels, to normalize torque output a bit
Added an option to load opponent cockpits (Video/Custom Settings)
Reverted a drivetrain tweak that was done to differential torque
Fixed an issue where the order on the left hand side of position bar was reversed.
Fixed an issue where the shortened names were being used despite having enough space for it in the position bar.
Tweaked G25 & G27 FFB values in default profiles.
Fixed DRS animation not working after rewinding in replays.
Fixed game video playback issues that were causing the experience menus to get slow and sluggish after a while.
Fixed an issue where the players could not resume their lap if they opened the pause menu after session timer reached 0.

Multiplayer

Added full name, total time, finish status and lap information such as time, position and pit stop status to race result logs.
Fixed a crash that occurred to everyone in the race if one of the participants had a name longer than 32 characters which was exceeding the buffer and causing issues in replay creation.
Fixed an issue with players not seeing each other outside of P2P zone.
Fixed mp dedi front end not loading properly on Internet Explorer.

Audio & Physics & AI & Camera

Aquila CR 1 Sports GT

Physics update, now mounted with a 4.0L V8 BMW M60 engine

Silhouette Class

Physics update, now have actual Silhouette specs
Canhard R51: 3.5L V6 normally aspirated (New sound!)
Canhard R52: 2.5L Inline-5 Turbo charged
Cougar C14-1: 1.8L Inline-4 Turbo charged
Cougar C14-2: 3.0L V6 Turbo charged

BMW M1 Procar

Massive physics update

GTR3 Class:

Massive physics update

AUDI 90 QUATTRO:

External sounds improved and pitch note increased

Hockenheim:

Merged cut rules between amateur, novice and get real
Tuned AI speed for latest code changes
Fixed bad AI behaviour in the exit of hairpin

Norisring:

Tweaked AI logic to limit wall-hitting behavior

A selection of cars have received additional onboard cameras (accessible with HOME key)

Art

Tracks:

Zolder: reduced bumps
Hockenheimring:
Curbs tweaked and adjusted (they were way too high)
Gravel texture update
Ravenol is now the sponsor on the oil bottle on pitbuilding
Fixed some fences clipping into ground
Fixed missing collisions with fence between T12-13 and also at entry of pitlane

Spa-Francorchamps:

Removed unsafe escape road in the middle of the Raidillon
Adjusted and added some missing road entries/runoffs and some green curbs.
Tweaked height of some curbs.
Added marshals at pit entry
Tweaked blend stripes.
Various bug fixes and changes

Paul Ricard:

Some performance boost by fixing the 2d audience that was casting shadows and optimizing some meshes. Also fixed some steel fence collisions
Moscow: Performance optimization

Cars:

Silhouette class: New colors
Mercedes C63 DTM 2015: Added Dekra sticker on side rear windows
Corvette Greenwood: Fixes to visual damage model
Nissan Silvia: Fixed visuals for front brake calipers
Audi V8 DTM: Fixed tail lights
Volvo 240: Filled some hole in cockpit
BMW 635 CSI: Hip replacement for the driver so his feet don't clip through the floor
Citroen C Elysee 2014: Side mirrors UV’s were not straight

Portal & Backend

Default livery is no longer forced upon purchase. Player can now choose a livery to go with the car.
Cleared all the leaderboard due to physics changes and downshift prevention implementation.
Removed season passes from portal and the checks associated with them.
Removed Pixlr screenshot editing tool.
Changed so that all the external URL’s are opened externally (new tab in a browser, steam browser in game).
Shortened the registration form by removing some fields.
Various fixes to the championship in portal.
Fixed a small exploit that allowed players to use an unpurchased car after leaving test drive.
Fixed user not getting redirected from the experience after a competition, if he/she did not own the experience.
Fixed horizontal scrollbar appearing on purchase popups.
Added subcategories in cart.
Tidied up purchased content page.

Have you tried the new update yet? What are your impressions of the new physics? Leave your impressions in the comments section below!

James Cook · Oct 22, 2015

Steve Bird said:
Still runs like a dog on my 4790k and R290. I shouldn't expect that from a game with dated graphics when compared to a game like Assetto Corsa and PCARS, both of whiich I run at over 100 FPS. With RRE I get 40 fps if I'm lucky with a lot of options turned down.

Something isn't right there. By comparison I'm running an i5 2500k and GTX 780 and can max the graphics settings and still get a pretty solid 60fps at 1080.

Greg Latty · Oct 22, 2015

James Cook said:
Something isn't right there. By comparison I'm running an i5 2500k and GTX 780 and can max the graphics settings and still get a pretty solid 60fps at 1080.

this is exactly my setup..8gb ram. and Im maxing this game plus bumped up the resolution with DSR and im getting over 70 fps easlily

Trimaz · Oct 22, 2015

Steve Bird said:
Still runs like a dog on my 4790k and R290. I shouldn't expect that from a game with dated graphics when compared to a game like Assetto Corsa and PCARS, both of whiich I run at over 100 FPS. With RRE I get 40 fps if I'm lucky with a lot of options turned down.

I have been experiencing some performance issues as well. It runs okay for the best part of a race, but I get very inconsistent frame rates. I'm running a first gen i5-650, GeForce 750 GPU and 8GB RAM, and while all other sims (pCars, AC, iRacing, rFactor 2) run 60FPS+ on high settings, @ 1080p. R3E seems to struggle on mid settings to get a consistent frame rate.

TzZyO · Oct 22, 2015

Is it just me, or do GT3 cars now feel rather wooden and not so exciting anymore?
Edit: as for the downshift protection, barely even noticed it. If a real car has it, let the modelled one have it too.

Steve Bird · Oct 22, 2015

James Cook said:
Something isn't right there. By comparison I'm running an i5 2500k and GTX 780 and can max the graphics settings and still get a pretty solid 60fps at 1080.

Greg Latty said:
this is exactly my setup..8gb ram. and Im maxing this game plus bumped up the resolution with DSR and im getting over 70 fps easlily

Thanks Gents. I may just delete it and download all the content again and see how it goes.

Luis Villalba · Oct 22, 2015

I do not share at all the new gear change, the pilot has the right to know When the gears must come down and not have it imposed. Juncadella would have to ask if you want to run a car that the change decided by the car and not the driver, of race Messrs room would have to propose that we all rookies

Víctor Aldana · Oct 23, 2015

Slowly, but always in the right direction. S3E good job, hopefully soon implement an online with a saffetyrating sistem, online championships and not only hotlaping, tire choice, different setup, a system of flags ...

F_B · Oct 23, 2015

Tested it yesterday (ADAC 2014 and the Silhouette series) and it felt better, the boat-like steering is almost gone. I enjoyed a short race against the AI at Hockenheim and yes…beside rfactor 2 this is the best AI in simracing at the moment. So for all the people who like racing against AI you should give this a try. Sounds are from outer space, graphics are fantastic, the available carpacks are great (can’t wait to try the Gr. 5 with the new physics) – this title is really improving. Personally I’d like to see more online participation but perhaps that will come.

kamackeris · Oct 23, 2015

Fabian Biehne said:
Tested it yesterday (ADAC 2014 and the Silhouette series) and it felt better, the boat-like steering is almost gone. I enjoyed a short race against the AI at Hockenheim and yes…beside rfactor 2 this is the best AI in simracing at the moment. So for all the people who like racing against AI you should give this a try. Sounds are from outer space, graphics are fantastic, the available carpacks are great (can’t wait to try the Gr. 5 with the new physics) – this title is really improving. Personally I’d like to see more online participation but perhaps that will come.

i find that the ai needs to be more racey....races seem to end up being processions. also i am beginning to hate the fact that any slight contact with the ai leaves you flying off the track but the ai not so

Kenny Paton · Oct 23, 2015

Víctor Aldana said:
Slowly, but always in the right direction. S3E good job, hopefully soon implement an online with a saffetyrating sistem, online championships and not only hotlaping, tire choice, different setup, a system of flags ...

You'd be pretty safe racing with us at the R3E club, clean and safe, plus fun makes for a champion experience online.

Víctor Aldana · Oct 23, 2015

Kenny Paton said:
You'd be pretty safe racing with us at the R3E club, clean and safe, plus fun makes for a champion experience online.

Thanks mate,

Before the last summer I raced some online races, the most of it clean. The problem is the number of participants, as much riders more equality and funny races; but this game has a not to large community in online races. So I think S3E should work on that aspect , Kunos is doing it even though indirectly. (Raceme.io , Minorating).

Anyway, thanks for the invitation.

Brandon Wright · Oct 23, 2015

Luis Villalba said:
I do not share at all the new gear change, the pilot has the right to know When the gears must come down and not have it imposed. Juncadella would have to ask if you want to run a car that the change decided by the car and not the driver, of race Messrs room would have to propose that we all rookies

Actually, if you watch the dev stream with Bruno he said the downshift protection was a good thing because that's how the real car behaves. He said it was a little too strict at first as he wasn't able to downshift when he normally would be able to, so they adjusted it based on his recommendation.