RaceRoom Racing Experience Review

[Ryan Ogurek]

In the shadow of this years sims and latest releases, there remains a loyal following of RaceRoom Racing Experience (or R3E) by Sector 3 Studios. With the majority of the content requiring purchase, the graphics not as pretty as that of competing sims on the market, and still being under development, how can they maintain their following? So, is it just another case of so-called "fanboy-ism" or have they really got something going for them?

R3E is a free-to-play racing simulator, which means you can download it for free, and drive a small selection of cars and tracks. The rest of the content is purchased using "vRP": R3E's own currency. vRP can be bought for a reasonable price, or can be won in competitions. This makes R3E somewhat of a budget friendly sim. After all, it can indeed be played for free - if you can restrain yourself after you've been teased by monetized content. For those who can't bear the thought of not having full access to all content, R3E can become somewhat expensive in comparison to other simulators which come at a one-time fee, plus a DLC or two perhaps.

R3E does host hot-lap competitions with real prizes, which is similar to some elements found in iRacing (which can cost considerably more with its monthly fees). These prizes range from vRP to VIP tickets to a real ADAC Masters race or a new Fanatec wheel.

The rather unique pricing model may seem reasonable depending on your specific desires, or may seem expensive by comparison. So, does the gameplay make it worth the risk of being sucked into paying for more content?

THE SOUND! That's the first thing that caught my attention. There's no denying, these guys have got the sound down. The difference between interior and exterior views is quite large as you would expect, and the reverb sounds amazing in tunnels. Simply put, the sounds are very, very good.

Today we are seeing graphics that are near photo quality, and after driving some of the other sims on the market, I must say R3E looks a bit cartoony. This is not to say to graphics are poor by any stretch of the imagination, because that's not true either; the sun glare looks good and the reflections in the paint are accurate. It just doesn't have that certain shine to it. But once you start driving, you won't really notice the difference, and that's really the most important bit.

The force feedback (FFB) is strong and detailed. One of the most noticeable traits is the satisfying kick it gives on shifts. This shift effect seems a bit overdone from default, but with some adjustment, it can be tuned to your own personal liking. Also very noticeable, is the way the wheel is strong and resistant without being heavy. It doesn't have that constant resistance that usually comes with strong FFB, it only pushes against you when the tyres and suspension are really under load. Although the FFB doesn't seem to change much from car to car, it feels just the way I imagine a purebred racecar should. It does have some flaws, but it seems most of them are small and will likely be worked out over time. Overall, the FFB feels very well done. More importantly, the FFB and all its traits add endlessly to the immersion.

Initially I felt the cars were a bit too grippy, but as I have become more comfortable with the cars my opinion, for the most part, has changed. Once you start to get your times up to pace, and you start to really push the car, it begins to feel very different. And that is a good thing. Modern race cars have loads of technology packed into them, and are relatively easy to drive, until you get them to the edge. Really, the physics are very good and I find that it is quite easy to transition from R3E to other accurate sims.

The combination of the physics and the FFB alone make for a quite immersive experience, add to it the sounds, and it is very easy to get lost in hot-lapping for hours on end. The AI isn't too bad either, they can be a bit aggressive during practice and qualifying, but most of the time they are able to safely race alongside and navigate around you. The dynamic AI difficultly setting however seems a bit too easy, I was able to easily put a large gap between myself and second place on a very short race. So, finding the preferred difficulty myself was a better option.

So, the driving experience itself is good, but what about the content? That is after all, the thing we have to pay for.

Well, the content seems to uphold a consistent quality, which is quite good. The tracks do not feel flat and smooth, the feel detailed and bumpy. The differences from track to track are noticeable, especially regarding kerbs, which is just as it should be. They may not be laser-scanned, but the tracks all have a good feel to them, unlike many other non-laser-scanned interpretations. It may not be 100% correct, but I nor vast majority of sim-racers have ever driven on these tracks in real life, so spotting the differences isn't as easy as it may appear.

Some cars do seem to have some errors when it comes to the interior, compared to real life photo and video. But where that may be wrong, the sounds are spot on. I found myself driving cars for lengths of time simply to hear the reverb of my motor coming down the front straight. The accuracy of the sounds from car to car makes the sound of the motor a deciding factor in what is your favourite. This is something many sims and games alike fall short on, so when they get it right as they have with R3E, it is sensational.

While the FFB itself doesn't seem to vary much car to car, they do feel entirely different. The FWD cars especially so. They react just as you would expect them to, and can be loads of fun to throw into the corners with the tyres howling like the alpha-male of a wolf pack. Older cars such as the BMW M1 Procar are amazing fun to slide around the corners, and I must say the level of feeling and control when doing so is very, very good. That is a particular area many, if not most, sims struggle, and Sector 3 Studios seems to have gotten it right.

Really, when it comes to the content, it's about what you enjoy the most. Some cars, I can't seem to walk away from simply for the sound. Others, it's because of the ability to enjoy a bit of hooliganism. So I won't attempt to say which are best, I can however, tell you which are my favourite combinations.

5. BMW M1 Procar @ Circuit Zolder - This one is for fun. The car sounds amazing and just feels amazing to slide around Zolder's slower corners. Give it a try, it's sure to put a smile on your face!

4. Ford GT GT3 @ Circuit Park Zandvoort - Also a great race, and the roar of the GT is amazing. This one has a lot to do with that sound.

3. Audi R8 ADAC Masters @ Nurburgring Sprint - This one makes for a great race, especially online in multiplayer. It's a track I know well, and a car that is simply brilliant.

2. Zakspeed Capri @ Laguna Seca - This one is also for fun. The Capri has so much boost it kicks the back end out at high speeds without any problem. I know Laguna Seca well, so this one is loads of fun to drift around a bit.

1. Radical SR9 Judd @ Bathurst - If I were to recommend any one car, this would be it. The sound is astonishing and just a pleasure to listen to, combined with the hills and tight walls of Bathurst, this combination really gets your immersion level up, and your pulse as well.

When all is said and done, I'd say this is a great simulator and I would recommend it to anyone who calls them self a Simracer. It may have its bugs, and multiplayer may still be in alpha, which is why I haven't mentioned it much, but the little things that are wrong with it are quickly overcome by pure immersion.

The sounds, the looks, the feel, it all comes together to form something that is simply a high quality product. Whether you play only the free content, or you buy it all, there is no question that this sim is worth the download, and worth giving it a try. Give it a chance, once you find yourself in a car you can't stop listening to, and realize you have put on far too many laps and shrugged off all your responsibilities, you will know there is indeed something to RaceRoom Racing Experience. Do I intend to keep driving R3E? Yes I do.

Get involved in our RaceRoom community by checking out our dedicated R3E forum, or by posting awesome videos and photos in our R3E gallery!

If you would like to have your product or game reviewed, contact me at ryan.ogurek[at]racedepartment.com

 

[Richard Eriksson]

Well as far as visuals go, i actually like them more than say AC... I think they are more realistic, in terms of looking a bit "dull"... So does the real world actually

 

[William Wester]

I play golf on my consoles (which is the correct thing to compare with) and in total, over the last year, I have spent around £50 on Tiger Woods 14 and all the add-on courses (in a sale) and £27 on The Golf Club, which has a built in course designer that can make a new golf course in literally 3 minutes after about 6 mouse clicks.

You can not compare the cost of sims to the cost of the real 'game', or a track-day. It's just a computer game. The real cost comes in the PC, GPU, Wheel, Rig, etc.

I think you missed my point, I wasn't comparing the costs associated with IRL golf to a game. The point is people will pay for what they enjoy whether that's a weekly round of golf or game content.

 

[InsaneOzzie]

I think R3E will be the slow mover for some time, due to the fact pCars & AC have become the go-to sims over the past 6mths mainly based on eye candy, but in all honesty all the eye candy in a game means **** if the FFB and game play are crap.
The other big player in Sim popularity is fanboyism look at rF2, personally I find it lacking graphically due to sticking with DX9 and for me the game play sucks, but try to convince a fanboy of that and it's flame wars everywhere lol. TBH I don't enjoy rF2 or pCars.
I'm not a fanboy of any Sim but R3E has my attention more than any of the competition ATM, purely based on its sound, car feel, track immersion and raceable AI, who are quite aggressive if your aggressive, been bumped off track a few times for leaning on the AI in ADAC races, otherwise the AI are very clean and provide an awesome battle once they adapt.

Also, whats the big beef against micro-transactions, it's becoming the norm these days, and you only buy what you want anyway, same as anything else, if you don't want it or like it fine, no-one is forcing you to purchase the content. As I stated previously Ive spent $60Aud on R3E which equated to 5000vrp and have purchased most the content with 900+vrp remaining, in comparison to AC which cost me $44Aud, and there will be a "DreamPack" dlc released soon, what the cost will be I can only guess. A pCars senior kit $138Aud, rF2 $87 Aud, even GT6 for PS3 $79Aud and that is so void of FFB compared to any PC sim it's laughable. My point here is that the cost of R3E's content is very comparable if not somewhat cheaper than the competitions, but the FFB, sound, gameplay and immersion are far better, so in fact I'm getting more BANG for my buck from R3E than the opposition sims, in my opinion anyway.

Cheers

 

[Richard Eriksson]

@Andrew Scott, i definitely agree on your view of the pricing model.

As you say, you only pay for what you want, and with money involved the addons is often more substantial and has better quality, as evidenced also in other genres of sims (see DCS World flight sim for a similiar model). It is good for the company as the base is solid, giving time to focus on many different content packs for many different crowds on top of that.

In fact i like choice... Some cars does not interest me, i can now choose to not have them in my sim package. Nothing wrong with that, as i also pay less if i want less, more if i want more.

My view of RRE is that, like DCS or iRacing or 777 flight sims, it is a platform tech. An underlying simulation engine, that is needed to experience different simulated stuff. What that stuff is depends on what you want it to be.

RRE is thus not the product, it is the content packs that are the products. The base is just the enabler of those.

Also, this is NOT a new thing in the world of professional simulation. When i was working as a dev lead on a defence project some years ago, this is exactly how our product (a simulation platform) was sold to end clients. We gave them the base platform and some content for a small sum, with any additional content available for purchase later, as it became available. The client bought what they needed. Sometimes also requests where made for content. So we made it for that client, then sold it to anyone.

The model is fairly new to regular customers but professionally, it has been the norm for simulation products for a long time.

 

[Krzysztof Volek]

I think both Andrew, and Richard are missing the point here. It's not the pricing itself that most people complain about, nor the microtransactions, which as I previously staded are perfectly OK for most of us. It's all the rest about business model which I mentioned in my previous post.

 

[Andi Goodwin]

a lot of what you posted about in your previous post has been answered prior to you posting to be honest ....

Andi

 

[Krzysztof Volek]

I would be surprised if it has not been answered. Probably I didn't have luck to find all the answers. But my intention was not simply bitching this game, like i wrote, it's currently nr 1 racing game for me and I still enjoy playing it (mostly WTCC because apart from lonely hotlapping I find ADAC unplayable due to AI behaviour). I think that I gave it justice by stating what's in my opinion are it's strongest points. But it's also far from flawless, hence my complaints in second part of the post, I think that if someone is considering buying it, then he deserves to know about both, pros and cons.

 

[Richard Eriksson]

I think both Andrew, and Richard are missing the point here. It's not the pricing itself that most people complain about, nor the microtransactions, which as I previously staded are perfectly OK for most of us. It's all the rest about business model which I mentioned in my previous post.

Well my reply was general and not really directed at your post. On the contrary i agree with some of your points there, like the vrp currency system. I would really like to see real currency used as these cryptocurrencies is greatly confusing and bring little benefit. Also, your point on buying extra liveries is fully valid. I think all the liveries should be included with the purchase of a component, as it doesn't make sense to not sell the full package when selling in component form.

 

[Andi Goodwin]

i dont understand your take on the liveries, for me its simple , do i need them? No ; i need one ; when playing single player the rest are visible , what i would like is when i buy the car it comes with a choice of what skin i want but other than that i dont really need them ....

Andi

 

[Krzysztof Volek]

Of course I don't need them, I wouldn't complain if they would show in store as what they are - payware liveries. But they are shown as they were separate cars for purchase. So each time I have to be carefull if what I'm buying in store is really new model of the car (discounted of course, how nice), or just a livery for a car I already own. It's unfair because it makes it look like there was more content than there really is. For example the only car that is different between ADAC and GTR3 is McLaren MP4. All the other cars are the same, but you can't race in GTR3 class if you don't own GTR3 Liveries for the cars, that you already own from ADAC.
If they want to sell liveries than there should be separate tab for it in store labeled "liveries" instead of mixing it up inside "cars" tab.

 

[InsaneOzzie]

- Business model, which I consider nothing short of simply ****ed up. I have nothing against microtransactions, really. I previously played the game that had this and it prooved to be working good (Rise of Flight) so I'm not an enemy of this type of marketing, but in RRRE there are too many things that make it very customer unfriendly. One of them is VRP which can only be obtained in predefined amounts, which strangely poorly corespond with pricing of content. Second are payware liveries for cars I have already bought. Then, there are those so-called "discounts" all over the place that are trying to convince me that I can get the stuff cheaper than it's worth, when no one saw it beeing sell for that sick full price before. Another one is the fact, that DTM Experience stuff cannot be used inside RRRE, and while I already have about half of the content from DTME I won't get discount for it, which is single reason I don't have it yet and I don't intend to buy it in the future. That kind of marketing makes me constantly watchful not to be ripped off, doesn't seem straightforward and honest and it simply leaves very bad aftertaste.

I fail to understand why this is so bad to you, the vrp is really no different to putting money in your steam wallet or debit card, so the products have varying prices as do everyday living products, how often do you go shopping and spend the exact amount you took with you, rarely. But I do agree that the vrp is not an ideal situation for the consumer, but it is what it is, we either accept it or not.

The discounts are real, I have purchased items that were full vrp when I first purchased my 5000 points to get the ADAC, G5series & some tracks, but were reduced in vrp last week, which included the Radicals, GT3 cars, Mid ohio & some liveries, so I had a spend and saved between 500-600 vrp. It's all about managing your VRP, and not blowing it all on the day you initially purchased the points.
I do agree with you in the fact liveries should be inclusive of the car purchase.

As far as having DTME and then getting discount for RRRE or vise-verse, what do you expect from a company with staff to pay, sorry but I find that expecting a discount just because you have product X is ludicrous, I own a Samsung Galaxy4 smart phone, so I should expect discounts on all Samsung products? or owning Codemasters F1 2012 and expecting F1 2014 at a reduced price, come on I think your expecting more than is possible from any company, who is in business to make money.

- Lack of some major settings in setup, like tyres compound and pressure and many more.
- Unable to save car setup! Really - how difficult can it be to implement?
- Damage model which is very arcade-like, and even worst - it is permanently turned off while in competition mode. The game that lets me hit the wall at 100km/h and then move on racing with just a broken bumper kills much of the previously created immersion.
- Penalty system! You can't imagine how mad I get, when I accidentaly miss the apex, go off track , loose much time trying to get back to the track and then get Drive Through for "cutting the track"! Or even worse - I got pushed off the track by AI and get drive through for that! Of course AI car which pushed me off the track at the same time keeps on racing undisturbed.
- Some minor inconveniences like inconsistent and laggy menu, broken gearbox while having autoclutch off in cars with paddle-shifting, terribly jaggy shadows when set up lower then highest possible, lack of "look to apex" function known from Race07 and many more.

I understand that this game is in alpha stage, so I give it a credit and will gladly support it if I will see it heading in the direction that could be more promising. If I could give single advice to the Devs, than it would be: "Guys, go on and just take GTR2, or even Race07, merge it with RRRE graphics, FFB, sounds and tracks design and you have perfect racing game/sim".

About the only thing I find valid in the above is the "penalty system", I agree it's seriously flawed. As far as the rest is concerned, you actually negate much of your argument with the statement
"I understand that the game is in Alpha Stage". Here your admitting there is much scope for the game to be improved, which would potentially include much of what you currently find sub-standard.

On another note, I think you will find having autoclutch off with paddle shift cars is similar in response as having autoclutch on when using a H pattern shift and not using a clutch, it just doesn't simulate the real thing and is designed to break if not used correctly. Just my thoughts doesn't mean I'm right.

Cheers

 

[Krzysztof Volek]

Out of nine tracks included in DTME i already own six. This means that without discount I only get three additional tracks and three cars. Person that has not bought any tracks prior to purchasing DTME gets three cars and nine tracks for exactly the same price. Can you see now that your analogy with smartphone is not valid?

As for autoclutch I would just expect the game to simulate the real systems of the car when I choose "get real" mode without having me to manualy change autoclutch in menu each time I switch between the cars. The same goes for TC, when "get real" is chosen than there should only be possible to switch on TC in cars that has it in real life. But I believe this is something that will be changed in the future. In fact, I hope that most of the cons I mentioned will be adressed in the future - that is one of the reasons I write about it. I thought that this is the point of discussion in this topic - to talk about strong and weak points.

 

[Majuh]

Well, there wasn't any discount for the WTCC 2010 expansion pack either although Race 07 and Race On already contained some of these tracks.

 

[Tibor Solyom]

Sorry guys, but for me this whole conversation sounds like an advertisement.
I loved Simbin earlier, I bought all of their programs, which I've played for years. But unfortunately their Marketing Department became stronger year by year, and they sold me the same thing again and again.
Of course the RRE is a very good SIM, but I think not the best. And if I care what I can get for my money right now on the market, nor the second one.

 

[Connor Caple]

I did read quite a long thread here somewhere about why DTME is not part of R3E. Basically, S3 don't get the money for DTME sales as it's licensed/created for a third party. Pretty sure that was the gist of it, and that's why they can't give 'free' tracks in R3E for things that they were never paid for.

 

[Richard Eriksson]

Sorry guys, but for me this whole conversation sounds like an advertisement.
I loved Simbin earlier, I bought all of their programs, which I've played for years. But unfortunately their Marketing Department became stronger year by year, and they sold me the same thing again and again.
Of course the RRE is a very good SIM, but I think not the best. And if I care what I can get for my money right now on the market, nor the second one.

Well, no sim on the market is "the best" unfortunately. They are about equally good, but differ in what strengths and weaknesses they have. And subjective opinion of course.

But the value for money argument is a bit hard to follow... RRE with three or four major content packs and some additional tracks, is about the same as rF2 lifetime license and has about the same amount of content. Assetto Corsa is likewise priced, and will have a bunch of costly DLC packs as well.

Good content costs money to develop.

 

[Tibor Solyom]

Well, no sim on the market is "the best" unfortunately. They are about equally good, but differ in what strengths and weaknesses they have. And subjective opinion of course.

But the value for money argument is a bit hard to follow... RRE with three or four major content packs and some additional tracks, is about the same as rF2 lifetime license and has about the same amount of content. Assetto Corsa is likewise priced, and will have a bunch of costly DLC packs as well.

Good content costs money to develop.

Yes, you're totally right, subjective opinion is very important.
Both of us is a little bit prejudiced.

"Assetto Corsa is likewise priced"? Which planet you mean?
Your final argument is: "and will have a bunch of costly DLC packs".
Yes, but probably in that DLC packs there will be new cars and new tracks.

Yes, developing good content is very expensive. And marketing as well.

 

[Sean Lander]

I love the selection of tracks and cars in R3E. What I don't love is that the cars and tracks that are my favourites have yet to be updated. This is a game with two stories. It's not a consistent experience. The menu system is a complete mess. (anyone know how to change the time of day?) Load times are glacial. Graphics are so so. If S3 could just clean this mess up with consistent content I'd be very happy and it would be my go to sim.

 

[Martin Edmunds]

This game has it's very strong points, one of them
- absolutely fantastic "alive" tracks with superb lightning and great feel I have already mentioned in this thread. In this field it is undoubtedly nr 1 from sims currently available on the market.
- Another one would be sounds which for me are spectacular. Here I also hardly see any competition for RRRE.
- AI is strong point, but only in WTCC, I can race them having much fun from it and it can be quite demanding. On the other hand in ADAC I'm simply unable to complete single clear lap as I'm constantly beeing bounced off the track by them. It's bummer.
- Very good FFB, I have tons of fun with it and I own only Logi DFGT.
- This game is capable of creating very convincing atmosphere of the race and is great experience overall. I'm not an expert in car physics, but it seems fair enough for me and gives me decent driving experience. For now it's my race game number one and I'm spending most of my sim-racing time hotlapping in RRRE. Second place is Assetto Corsa, but it stays significantly behind RRRE.

That will be all for strong points, now, down to cons:

- Business model, which I consider nothing short of simply ****ed up. I have nothing against microtransactions, really. I previously played the game that had this and it prooved to be working good (Rise of Flight) so I'm not an enemy of this type of marketing, but in RRRE there are too many things that make it very customer unfriendly. One of them is VRP which can only be obtained in predefined amounts, which strangely poorly corespond with pricing of content. Second are payware liveries for cars I have already bought. Then, there are those so-called "discounts" all over the place that are trying to convince me that I can get the stuff cheaper than it's worth, when no one saw it beeing sell for that sick full price before. Another one is the fact, that DTM Experience stuff cannot be used inside RRRE, and while I already have about half of the content from DTME I won't get discount for it, which is single reason I don't have it yet and I don't intend to buy it in the future. That kind of marketing makes me constantly watchful not to be ripped off, doesn't seem straightforward and honest and it simply leaves very bad aftertaste.

- Lack of some major settings in setup, like tyres compound and pressure and many more.
- Unable to save car setup! Really - how difficult can it be to implement?
- Damage model which is very arcade-like, and even worst - it is permanently turned off while in competition mode. The game that lets me hit the wall at 100km/h and then move on racing with just a broken bumper kills much of the previously created immersion.
- Penalty system! You can't imagine how mad I get, when I accidentaly miss the apex, go off track , loose much time trying to get back to the track and then get Drive Through for "cutting the track"! Or even worse - I got pushed off the track by AI and get drive through for that! Of course AI car which pushed me off the track at the same time keeps on racing undisturbed.
- Some minor inconveniences like inconsistent and laggy menu, broken gearbox while having autoclutch off in cars with paddle-shifting, terribly jaggy shadows when set up lower then highest possible, lack of "look to apex" function known from Race07 and many more.

I understand that this game is in alpha stage, so I give it a credit and will gladly support it if I will see it heading in the direction that could be more promising. If I could give single advice to the Devs, than it would be: "Guys, go on and just take GTR2, or even Race07, merge it with RRRE graphics, FFB, sounds and tracks design and you have perfect racing game/sim".

I agree with everything you just said.
You are fair in your assessment except for one thing.
I personally really like the Vrp system. I enjoy now having to "F*** around" when i decide i want to try a new car. I keep an amount always available in my wallet and it works as intended. But i do agree that for some user and mostly new users its a bit messy.
They need to have the cost in Vrp and the exact amount it equals in whatever currency you are using. They must allow someone to buy that exact amount when they want to buy only one items.

 

[James Cook]

Agreed. Although I don't like vRP and would rather see costs displayed in real currency, I can live with vRP if I'm allowed to buy the exact amount I need to make a purchase. I'm not keen on buying vRP in predefined bulk amounts.