iRacing Adds Virtual Workshop, Pay To Fix Crashed Cars

Damaged cars in iRacing now need fixing at the Virtual Workshop.png
In the latest update, iRacing has introduced lasting damage for cars. Pay other players to repair crashed vehicles at the new Virtual Workshop.

Image Credit: iRacing

Driving standards in simracing have often been a hot topic of discussion. When you can't get hurt from a crash and crash damage costs you no more than a bit of ego, players tend to make moves they wouldn't dream of doing in the real world.

For many years, iRacing has been at the forefront of the driving standards battle. Its Safety Rating system has been copied in several other ranking systems and certainly plays on many drivers' minds. But at times, players still feel free to send a risky move up the inside for a lowly position.

But now, the online racing service is taking an extra measure to limit the amount of accidents on its servers. Official races will now implement a feature called 'lasting damage.' Aiming to deter foolish moves this April and inspire players to take things more easily, the game will remember the damage caused to each car. The same damaged parts from a previous session will be kept for future races and practice sessions.

Don't worry though, iRacing has a plan to help you out. Much like the real world, player must now send their damaged vehicles to the so-called "Virtual Workshop" where their cars will get a make over. Furthermore, this new feature will add a new game mode for the title. iRacers will get the chance to open their own Virtual Workshops in a bid to earn credits to use in-game.

Pay or be paid​

Virtual Workshops allow iRacers to earn in game credits.png

With this new game dynamic, iRacing allows players to earn Credits. Set yourself up as one of many mechanics and get a virtual workshop from which you can repair other players' cars.

The details of how one will fix cars is as yet unclear. But as RaceDepartment understands it, iRacing has followed a similar route to the newly released Apex Point and Car Mechanic Simulator. Players will reportedly remove individual parts, check their damage levels and either replace them, fix them or leave them as they are. Better still, they can do all this in VR for a truly immersive racing mechanic experience.

By fixing race cars, virtual workshop owners can earn up to $2 per car. For those that would rather race than sit in a garage, crashed cars can cost up to $5 in the case of a totally wrecked vehicle. However, minor bumps will certainly cost a lot less.

A long time in the works​

Releasing in April 2023, this new feature has reportedly been in development for a long time. In fact, the development team seems to suggest that the New Damage Model in which cars break apart more realistically was created for this purpose.

"We have always pushed ourselves to make our virtual race tracks safer," says the release statement. "It is of the upmost importance to us that our users have the most entertaining experiences possible on our service and we believe this new pair of features will help to do just that. We have been working on this ever since the introduction of our New Damage Model and are excited to see the community's economy thrive."

It's true that when your money is on the line, it affects how you drive. We often see this from amateur racing drivers coming into the real-world sport. And now, it seems iRacers will think twice before sending their car into a wall.

Do you think this new feature is a good move for iRacing?
About author
Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

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just imagine tho, you crash your vehicle rather heavily and can't race it again until you find your online mechanic and PAY him to fix your car. Will he get the job done in time? THEN, as I've said for years, we should use one of the TRUCKING sims to transport your vehicle to the track. I live in the Pacific NW, it takes DAYS to get to Florida. It all adds up to will your hired drivers get the transport to the next event on time?(especially after losing so much of the week for repairs)
 
I crashed my car just for the fun of getting to pay more for the game.

Seriously though, something I would love to see featured in a game someday (or is it featured in any game already?) is cars having lifespan, individual race history etc. where you can really start to form a relationship with that piece of machinery. I think this was the idea behind a very old game that never came to be, Racing Legends by the West brothers. Even back in the day, in Gran Turismo, you got to take your car to the car wash, which I think was one of the small things that added character to that game.
Yeah. I loved the fact that Gran Turismo had little things like that. Chassis overhauls, engine overhauls, as well as the body kits and the oil changes and car washes were all really cool and contributed well to the CarPG aspect of the game. I think in Gran Turismo 5, engines even would break in after you've driven the car a bit, taking a couple races to reach their peak power output if you bought the car new. Sounds maybe a little weird but I don't know how else to explain how my Minolta Toyota 88cv just gained 40 hp over time for no reason
 
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nice one, best part is: "Releasing in April 2023, this new feature has reportedly been in development for a long time. "
 
There is no mention of how iracing itself takes a cut here for this exciting new feature, e.g. 30% of $2, are you sure this is a real feature???
and no mention, if some jerk want to get on and blow $20 wrecking everyone else making them spend money to fix their cars>?
 
Respect for the people here who doesnt edit and change their comments because they want to hide that they "bought" the april joke:thumbsup:
 

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Angus Martin
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