A few members of the RaceDepartment team were recently invited to Munich to try out the as-yet unreleased RENNSPORT racing simulator. Here are some impressions after driving an alpha version of the title.
Myself and two others from the RD team were fortunate to have been invited to Germany for the hands-on premier of RENNSPORT. We were able to spend three days learning about the project from the key stakeholders behind the sim, as well as spend several hours driving in it. Here are my impressions based on this alpha version.
The sounds are good, though not on the level of ACC or RaceRoom at this stage. The infamous 6th gear whine of the Porsche 911 GT3 R is present, which is certainly a good sign, but the in-car knocks and bangs that pull the player into an immersive driving audio experience aren’t there yet. Tire-related noise was also absent or set very low in the mix. It’s evident at this early stage of development that a complete and immersive timbre is not yet present, but RENNSPORT does show promise.
The feeling of the three cars on offer so far, the BMW M4 GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R and Porsche Mission R, behaved in a manner similar to other titles like ACC and RaceRoom. There was plenty of grip available, and a good sense of connection to the road. Car setups could not be adjusted, and ABS and Traction Control systems were forced on. These electronic assists yielded inconsistent behavior, but didn't ruin the overall enjoyment of driving.
The physics weren’t perfect, of course. Two obvious quirks of the title so far are the very lively handling of the cars mid-corner, and the quicksand-like curbs in many areas around the Hockenheimring. But generally speaking, the sim seems to be built on a solid foundation. Most attendees were able to connect with the cars quickly, and the physics were consistent enough for the pros to begin chipping away at small fractions of seconds over time.
Perhaps more interestingly, there was confirmation that the ambiguous marketing statement concerning "digital ownership" was not in reference to conventional NFTs. The door was left open for unique content to be used through the title, meaning that a specific car that was used to win a high-profile sim racing event could be bought and sold, for example.
There are still many looming questions about this facet of the title, and we are far from having a complete picture of the available content at launch or how the economy of unique content will work. The limited cars and tracks we’ve been shown so far seem to be nicely detailed, so we can hope that this level of quality is carried forward to whatever is brought to the title in the future.
In other areas of the venue, however, Fanatec DD2 bases and a CSL DD were used. The differences in force feedback were noticeable in more than just strength and speed. As this version of RENNSPORT was an alpha build, the different bases yielded varying results in smoothness as the SDK was not yet finalized for all Fanatec wheelbases.
At its best, the FFB was informative and offered a good sense of connection between the car and the road. Assuming that all major wheelbases will be aimed to get as close to the feeling of the VRS or DD2 bases, this should be a great feeling title by the time it gets released.
Participants in the hotlap tournament or multiplayer races logged into their respective rig by scanning a QR code using the RENNSPORT app on their smartphone. This was used as a game profile and tracked each racer’s statistics and placing. It worked well, and the on-track action was similarly successful.
While battling with multiple cars on track, players at the Summit experienced a consistent collision model that allowed for close battles. The server was in the building for the event, meaning that ping-related multiplayer issues could not be tested, which will be a significant question to be answered as development progresses.
There was no evident car damage model, but a penalty system was in place that punished jumping the green light at the race start, passing a car while off the track, or cutting corners.
Similarly, the broadcast system was utilized for the event, and picking up live feeds either in car or from trackside cams to stream to the large overhead screen seemed to run well.
There are bugs or imperfections in nearly every facet of the title currently, but generally speaking the RENNSPORT team seems to have established a firm base on which to build a solid racing sim.
Be sure to let us know what your own impressions are of RENNSPORT based on what you’ve seen to date in the comments below and make sure to join the RENNSPORT community.
Myself and two others from the RD team were fortunate to have been invited to Germany for the hands-on premier of RENNSPORT. We were able to spend three days learning about the project from the key stakeholders behind the sim, as well as spend several hours driving in it. Here are my impressions based on this alpha version.
Graphics and Sounds
The use of Unreal Engine 5 for RENNSPORT seems to have been a good decision. The team behind the title began their work on Unreal 4 and adapted it to UE5. The results so far seem encouraging. The parallels to Assetto Corsa Competizione are obvious, but the colours in RENNSPORT seem less vibrant and perhaps more realistic in the current build.The sounds are good, though not on the level of ACC or RaceRoom at this stage. The infamous 6th gear whine of the Porsche 911 GT3 R is present, which is certainly a good sign, but the in-car knocks and bangs that pull the player into an immersive driving audio experience aren’t there yet. Tire-related noise was also absent or set very low in the mix. It’s evident at this early stage of development that a complete and immersive timbre is not yet present, but RENNSPORT does show promise.
Driving Physics
RENNSPORT will ultimately be judged by most of us based on how it drives. Most attendees at the Summit event were eSports professionals rather than media, and these pros put the title through a test over the weekend, and it ultimately passed the test.The feeling of the three cars on offer so far, the BMW M4 GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R and Porsche Mission R, behaved in a manner similar to other titles like ACC and RaceRoom. There was plenty of grip available, and a good sense of connection to the road. Car setups could not be adjusted, and ABS and Traction Control systems were forced on. These electronic assists yielded inconsistent behavior, but didn't ruin the overall enjoyment of driving.
The physics weren’t perfect, of course. Two obvious quirks of the title so far are the very lively handling of the cars mid-corner, and the quicksand-like curbs in many areas around the Hockenheimring. But generally speaking, the sim seems to be built on a solid foundation. Most attendees were able to connect with the cars quickly, and the physics were consistent enough for the pros to begin chipping away at small fractions of seconds over time.
Content
At the Summit event players only had access to three cars and two tracks. The two Porsches and the BMW were available, along with Hockenheimring and the Goodwood Hill Climb. A Q&A session at the event opened the discussion of whether RENNSPORT would be limited to GT only, and the team stated that future content is very much undecided, but open wheel cars are certainly a possibility.Perhaps more interestingly, there was confirmation that the ambiguous marketing statement concerning "digital ownership" was not in reference to conventional NFTs. The door was left open for unique content to be used through the title, meaning that a specific car that was used to win a high-profile sim racing event could be bought and sold, for example.
There are still many looming questions about this facet of the title, and we are far from having a complete picture of the available content at launch or how the economy of unique content will work. The limited cars and tracks we’ve been shown so far seem to be nicely detailed, so we can hope that this level of quality is carried forward to whatever is brought to the title in the future.
Force Feedback
Like the driving physics, the force feedback shows promise. The event was largely centered around 12 high-end sim rigs that offered VRS direct drive wheelbases paired with load cell brake pedals, and these rigs were well tuned for the current build of the title.In other areas of the venue, however, Fanatec DD2 bases and a CSL DD were used. The differences in force feedback were noticeable in more than just strength and speed. As this version of RENNSPORT was an alpha build, the different bases yielded varying results in smoothness as the SDK was not yet finalized for all Fanatec wheelbases.
At its best, the FFB was informative and offered a good sense of connection between the car and the road. Assuming that all major wheelbases will be aimed to get as close to the feeling of the VRS or DD2 bases, this should be a great feeling title by the time it gets released.
Multiplayer and Broadcast
With 70 elite sim racers present for a hotlap tournament and multiplayer racing, plus several media outlets present to report on the state of the title, the pressure was on for RENNSPORT to perform. And it performed well, with no major complications or delays being reported through the three days of testing.Participants in the hotlap tournament or multiplayer races logged into their respective rig by scanning a QR code using the RENNSPORT app on their smartphone. This was used as a game profile and tracked each racer’s statistics and placing. It worked well, and the on-track action was similarly successful.
While battling with multiple cars on track, players at the Summit experienced a consistent collision model that allowed for close battles. The server was in the building for the event, meaning that ping-related multiplayer issues could not be tested, which will be a significant question to be answered as development progresses.
There was no evident car damage model, but a penalty system was in place that punished jumping the green light at the race start, passing a car while off the track, or cutting corners.
Similarly, the broadcast system was utilized for the event, and picking up live feeds either in car or from trackside cams to stream to the large overhead screen seemed to run well.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Summit event seems to have been a successful showcase of RENNSPORT, especially considering that it won’t be in public hands for at least another 18 months.There are bugs or imperfections in nearly every facet of the title currently, but generally speaking the RENNSPORT team seems to have established a firm base on which to build a solid racing sim.
Be sure to let us know what your own impressions are of RENNSPORT based on what you’ve seen to date in the comments below and make sure to join the RENNSPORT community.
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