Image credit: RENNSPORT
Content is coming: Thus far, RENNSPORT does not offer much variety when it comes to cars and tracks, despite revealing new additions at its Munich Summit just ahead of the start of the closed beta. The event also gave the first bits of insight into track modding, the specialty of Tyrone Hesbrook, who has been working with RENNSPORT in this regard. For RaceDepartment, he gives exciting insight into the processes involved and talks about the potential of mods in the simulation.
Known for his Assetto Corsa track mods, @Tyrone - Nukedrop Mods was contacted by RENNSPORT developers on RaceDepartment. "They wanted to involve me early on", remembers the author of circuits like Sebring 1966 or Toronto Exhibition Place 2021. As a result, he had the opportunity to look behind the scenes and has also gotten a first impression of the mod tools the RENNSPORT team is developing. "I have seen parts of them but not worked with them, it was very much a hands-off, demo. It looks like they may be a separate app or a plugin for the Unreal Editor."
While the mod tools should make life easier for modders, but "you still need to work your way around Unreal and know a few things about 3D modeling", says the modder. Compared to working on AC tracks, "you could say it is the same amount of work, but you end with a way better finished product."
Tyrone "Nukedrop" Hesbrook (left) and @omegas.tracklab at the RENNSPORT Summit in Munich. Image credit: omegas.tracklab
Even more detail should be possible via the inclusion of Nanite: The system automatically calculates LODs – simplified versions of objects that are displayed as they move further away from the player's point of view – "but more like a sliding scale", says Tyrone. This means there should be no visible steps in simpler versions of an object being displayed when moving away from it. On the other hand, near-unlimited detail is possible when moving very close – essentially, objects can be as detailed as they need to be at any given distance without eating up more hardware resources than they have to.
Tyrone's Cathedral Rock circuit in Assetto Corsa (left) and in RENNSPORT. Image credit: Nukedrop/RENNSPORT
Note: This in-development screenshot of RENNSPORT and Track Mod is illustrative only. It may not reflect the final product's quality or appearance. There might be significant changes and improvements made to the final product.
This can be added to with further details via track-specific code: Not only does this make it possible to include different lighting and shaders in certain spots of a specific circuit, it also allows events to be added in. Tyrone gives an example: "You could drive up to another car, honk your horn and challenge them to a street race that way." Possibilities like this should open the door to open-world maps and track-specific effects in certain places, allowing for more functionality baked into tracks, but also more authentic visuals.
What is going to be possible regarding car mods, on the other hand, remains to be seen. "I do not really know too much yet about RENNSPORT car physics", Tyrone admits. "At the moment, RENNSPORT mostly has GT3s, but it is not their end goal, clearly they want to expand to other racing categories and street cars. It might be a good starting point to get their physics right in GT3 and extrapolate from there for other cars." With the Praga R1, a prototype vehicle has also been revealed at the Summit in Munich – a potential sign of things to come.
While the closed beta may be underway, the simulation is not yet available to many sim racers. Once this changes, modding might pick up some pace rather quickly, though – especially if RENNSPORT keeps aiming to make the process for creators as easy as possible.
Content is coming: Thus far, RENNSPORT does not offer much variety when it comes to cars and tracks, despite revealing new additions at its Munich Summit just ahead of the start of the closed beta. The event also gave the first bits of insight into track modding, the specialty of Tyrone Hesbrook, who has been working with RENNSPORT in this regard. For RaceDepartment, he gives exciting insight into the processes involved and talks about the potential of mods in the simulation.
Known for his Assetto Corsa track mods, @Tyrone - Nukedrop Mods was contacted by RENNSPORT developers on RaceDepartment. "They wanted to involve me early on", remembers the author of circuits like Sebring 1966 or Toronto Exhibition Place 2021. As a result, he had the opportunity to look behind the scenes and has also gotten a first impression of the mod tools the RENNSPORT team is developing. "I have seen parts of them but not worked with them, it was very much a hands-off, demo. It looks like they may be a separate app or a plugin for the Unreal Editor."
"Unreal does a lot of stuff better"
Unlike Assetto Corsa, which uses a proprietary engine by developer Kunos Simulazioni, RENNSPORT is built on Unreal Engine 5, which uses more hardware resources, but also opens up more possibilities – which is also true for modders. "Unreal does a lot of stuff better than the KS editor. We can use physically based rendering, and PBR materials within the editor, also for trees Unreal has premade foliage systems that work with weather and wind", Tyrone explains.While the mod tools should make life easier for modders, but "you still need to work your way around Unreal and know a few things about 3D modeling", says the modder. Compared to working on AC tracks, "you could say it is the same amount of work, but you end with a way better finished product."
Tyrone "Nukedrop" Hesbrook (left) and @omegas.tracklab at the RENNSPORT Summit in Munich. Image credit: omegas.tracklab
Even more detail should be possible via the inclusion of Nanite: The system automatically calculates LODs – simplified versions of objects that are displayed as they move further away from the player's point of view – "but more like a sliding scale", says Tyrone. This means there should be no visible steps in simpler versions of an object being displayed when moving away from it. On the other hand, near-unlimited detail is possible when moving very close – essentially, objects can be as detailed as they need to be at any given distance without eating up more hardware resources than they have to.
Track-Specific Code
Access to the enormous library of Unreal assets that use this feature could be a way to ensure a certain quality of mods without having to have a quality control team in place. "Modding is going to be super important for RENNSPORT", says Tyrone. "And quickly being able to use the same assets as top tier game studio, means a basic project will look a lot better, even early on in development” WIP circuits or beta versions should get a more complete look already as a result.Tyrone's Cathedral Rock circuit in Assetto Corsa (left) and in RENNSPORT. Image credit: Nukedrop/RENNSPORT
Note: This in-development screenshot of RENNSPORT and Track Mod is illustrative only. It may not reflect the final product's quality or appearance. There might be significant changes and improvements made to the final product.
This can be added to with further details via track-specific code: Not only does this make it possible to include different lighting and shaders in certain spots of a specific circuit, it also allows events to be added in. Tyrone gives an example: "You could drive up to another car, honk your horn and challenge them to a street race that way." Possibilities like this should open the door to open-world maps and track-specific effects in certain places, allowing for more functionality baked into tracks, but also more authentic visuals.
AC Conversions Are Possible
Upgrading existing Assetto Corsa tracks is also going to be possible – and quite easily, too. "You can take an AC track, finish some of the necessary steps in the Unreal Editor, and then one or two clicks on a tree are enough to replace it with a higher-quality version", explains Tyrone. "That means it is completely possible to complete an AC track and then take it to RENNSPORT. However, it would not be as good a finished product compared to a circuit that was built for RENNSPORT from the ground up."What is going to be possible regarding car mods, on the other hand, remains to be seen. "I do not really know too much yet about RENNSPORT car physics", Tyrone admits. "At the moment, RENNSPORT mostly has GT3s, but it is not their end goal, clearly they want to expand to other racing categories and street cars. It might be a good starting point to get their physics right in GT3 and extrapolate from there for other cars." With the Praga R1, a prototype vehicle has also been revealed at the Summit in Munich – a potential sign of things to come.
While the closed beta may be underway, the simulation is not yet available to many sim racers. Once this changes, modding might pick up some pace rather quickly, though – especially if RENNSPORT keeps aiming to make the process for creators as easy as possible.
