Signed up

Von Butters · Feb 7, 2014

I have decided to go with another 3 months of iRacing, and this time, I want to get it right.
Anybody want to hold my hand and guide me through it, as I got it all wrong last time and didn't enjoy it at!

Cheers

yusupov · Apr 23, 2014

oh, forgot about my second question -- would i be able to buy & drive (not necessarily race) eg the RUF cars immediately? similar about the F1 cars

Blkout · Apr 23, 2014

yusupov said:
oh, forgot about my second question -- would i be able to buy & drive (not necessarily race) eg the RUF cars immediately? similar about the F1 cars

Yes, any content you purchase, you can use immediately, either in practice or in hosted events regardless of your license.

Blkout · Apr 23, 2014

yusupov said:
thanks a lot guys. i wish theyd make stuff like this more clear/offer a brief trial preview (though if its a difficult curve i suppose that might put people off so maybe thats their reasoning). ill have to give this a go.

I do agree that a trial would probably help them but I doubt iRacing is hurting for money. They have a pretty loyal fanbase.

yusupov · Apr 23, 2014

actually, i have read quite the opposite, that they have yet to turn a profit. and if you think about it, as much as i hate their pricing, the appeal for what they offer is pretty tiny. this is one of the reasons im really rooting for assetto corsa, they really seem to be trying to make simracing accessible & doing a good job of it...incredible for such a tiny team. i had not heard of iracing before AC so i really think of them as friendly rivals & that the 'rising tide lifts all boats' cliche is especially true here.

Blkout · Apr 23, 2014

yusupov said:
actually, i have read quite the opposite, that they have yet to turn a profit. and if you think about it, as much as i hate their pricing, the appeal for what they offer is pretty tiny. this is one of the reasons im really rooting for assetto corsa, they really seem to be trying to make simracing accessible & doing a good job of it...incredible for such a tiny team. i had not heard of iracing before AC so i really think of them as friendly rivals & that the 'rising tide lifts all boats' cliche is especially true here.

I read somewhere that iRacing started turning a profit last year, but didn't for the first few years due to the huge investement up front, like $20 million.

As for being competitors to AC, I really don't see that and I'll tell you why. Their business model is totally different to start with but the biggest difference is that iRacing is an online racing community fully developed with schedules, points, stat tracking, and there just isn't anything like it in sim racing. To be quite honest, its staggering and overwhelming just how developed iRacing's online network is. AC will never be as developed as iRacing in online racing capability due to the amount of funding it takes to develop and the infrastructure it takes to run it. I love AC dearly but its a different kind of sim, and I also respect iRacing a lot for what it offers. I would love to see AC's physics in iRacing which would probably be the best of both worlds for me, but as it stands, they're just two entirely different sims and both very good at what they do individually.

Bakkster · Apr 23, 2014

It is in the FAQ that your content can always be used, but as you said there's a lot to read and it's easy to miss it.
www.iracing.com/membership/faqs/

And you can join most series open practice sessions even if you aren't eligible to race the series. That's in addition to running whatever you want in hosted and private testing.

As for profit, they said 2 years ago they still weren't breaking even. I don't remember hearing affirmatively they began making a profit, but if they do they're likely not so comfortable as to start throwing money away. I'd guess most of the difference they've seen is coming from increased sponsorship, rather than sales to members.

indiemo20 · Apr 24, 2014

Bakkster said:
It is in the FAQ that your content can always be used, but as you said there's a lot to read and it's easy to miss it.
www.iracing.com/membership/faqs/

And you can join most series open practice sessions even if you aren't eligible to race the series. That's in addition to running whatever you want in hosted and private testing.

As for profit, they said 2 years ago they still weren't breaking even. I don't remember hearing affirmatively they began making a profit, but if they do they're likely not so comfortable as to start throwing money away. I'd guess most of the difference they've seen is coming from increased sponsorship, rather than sales to members.

indiemo20 · Apr 24, 2014

Guys you do know who ownes Iracing?

Is it not just a hoppy for him?

Not like he is desperate for money.

Blkout · Apr 24, 2014

indiemo20 said:
Guys you do know who ownes Iracing?

Is it not just a hoppy for him?

Not like he is desperate for money.

Yes I know, but he's also a businessman. I'm sure he would like for it to turn a profit one day. He's just got enough money to be patient and ride it out.

Blkout · Apr 24, 2014

Bakkster said:
It is in the FAQ that your content can always be used, but as you said there's a lot to read and it's easy to miss it.
www.iracing.com/membership/faqs/

And you can join most series open practice sessions even if you aren't eligible to race the series. That's in addition to running whatever you want in hosted and private testing.

As for profit, they said 2 years ago they still weren't breaking even. I don't remember hearing affirmatively they began making a profit, but if they do they're likely not so comfortable as to start throwing money away. I'd guess most of the difference they've seen is coming from increased sponsorship, rather than sales to members.

http://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/1ehlp5/iracing_a_ripoff/

This is where I read they just started turning a profit but I have no idea how accurate the source is. Could just be one guy spreading rumors.