How to: raise interest in online racing with GSC

[Bram Hengeveld]

Sunday afternoon, after long hours of watching motorsport I want to race a bit.

What suprises me: there is not a single soul in the online lobby!

Going to fire up a public server now with Interlagos running on it. Feel free to join if you would like some racing as well.

 

[Gian Carlos]

Yeap, I want to know how this happens with such a great game.. and so frequently..

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Can't be the price as this is ridiculously cheap for the new content you get.

 

[Patrick Giranthon]

To be honest, the bugs at the release time have not helped it... (quals, warmup, templates...)
I have made many publicity in french communities...
"Cost too much", "waiting for RF2", "too rfactor like", etc...
But we must keep hope. The patch is coming!
And the second car will help too!
The chance is that rfactor2 is not released yet.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Cost too much is bollocks. Typical response of some tight ass rFactor users that are not willing to pay for anything.

Name me one game for 20 euros that has 10 scratch build new tracks, a new serie of cars that havent been done before and free add-on packs on the way.

I often wonder if some people have that same cheap ass mentality in real life as well:

At the bakery: "Sorry but this bread is so arcade and expensive i am not going to buy it"
At the quality butcher: "OMFG this meat is sooooo expensive compared to the supermarket"
At the media store: "I am not going to pay for this DVD, Ill download it from piratebay for free you idiot"

It's time people realize that commercial games are a result of a development process by professionals and that costs money. People that have worked full time on a game have mouths to feed as well. Just like everybody else of us with a day job.

When Reiza released the Formula Armaroli everybody was cheering and shouting it was the best mod ever made. Now the same quality is made available in a commercial game and the same people that acted like total fanboys before are crying that they have to pay for it. Beats me but I think something is really wrong in the sim racing community when it comes to paying for licensed material.

I can't understand that people have an expensive high-end gaming pc, triple screen monitors, ridiculously overpriced steeringwheels and gameseats but can't be arsed to pay for a decent game that equals the costs of drinking four beers with your friends in a bar

 

[Patrick Giranthon]

You are right Bram.

Personally, some communities have really disappointed me when I have posted on their forum to help the game to be discovered.
But is a fact. The "free war" (for music, mods, etc..) started a long time ago...

As a player, I think that 2 or 3 more quality tracks would be a great value added to the game (not hard to do), with the second car...
When I see Vanport, I think it would have been a pity not have converted it...
But it is only my point of view...

Alex told us that he will convert Jerez if he has motivation.

I think it is time to motivate him...

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Although Vanport is an awesome track with the V8's I would have been satisfied with only the default content. Apart from Curitiba and Interlagos I have never driven the other tracks, so I really enjoy learning the new ones.

That said the Curitiba version of Reiza is so much cooler than the Simbin version from RACE 07. Great cracks and bumps racing that main straight with 250km/h, a correct chicane with the yellow curbs, so no more cutting as you see in the other game . The track feels accucarate. Interlagos is not my favorite track normally but it looks amazing.

 

[Nils Norberg]

Agree with all said above.
It is a big shame there are not more peeps that found this great piece of work, an awsome simulator is what it is

By the way.....Sweden will get something similar irl next year, that seems to replace STCC....V8s yum yum

 

[David Ignjatovic]

Boring is the answer+bugs.
One boring car and 10 largely unknown tracks equals boring, plus I'm still annoyed by the 30min demo limit as now that I have a G27 I can't test it.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

So what you are basically saying as that you haven't driven the 10 boring tracks and 1 boring car longer than 30 minutes minus the setup time of your wheel?

Great timeframe to draw such a conclusion David :thumb:

 

[Patrick Giranthon]

Although Vanport is an awesome track with the V8's I would have been satisfied with only the default content. Apart from Curitiba and Interlagos I have never driven the other tracks, so I really enjoy learning the new ones.

That said the Curitiba version of Reiza is so much cooler than the Simbin version from RACE 07. Great cracks and bumps racing that main straight with 250km/h, a correct chicane with the yellow curbs, so no more cutting as you see in the other game . The track feels accucarate. Interlagos is not my favorite track normally but it looks amazing.

You know, I have just gived a look at the servers...
0 + 0 + 0 = 0...
So what is the problem?

Let's consider the players demand. If 30$ is too much for 10 tracks, perhaps 20 is better!
I also gave a look at netkar pro servers. 20 players on 3 different servers at the same time...
The game is more ancient but you can drive more quality tracks than the 6 first. And I think that is why a community grows...

But! It depends on how we see GSC.
If seen like a super mod of rfactor, so, 10 tracks are engouh...
If seen like a new game (for me it is, I don't have rfactor), so, I imagine myself driving on new tracks regularly released... It is a driver reflex to think about this...

Be sure that I love this game.
The fact : 0 players on servers
The options : more quality tracks or a lower price. For me the price is ok...

But we can debate a long time. Egoism push me to think about new tracks. Most of players a not like you Bram, they hope in new things to keep the game living.
And if tommorow there are 10 new tracks for GSC with only 1 with a good quality, be sure I will put only this one on my computer. Players like quality instead of quantity after playing GSC...

Jerez, Jerez, Jerez!
Come on Alex!

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Pricing is not the issue. Whatever the price is it will be too much for some people. I have seen hundreds of people pirating a 4,99 Euro simbin expansion.

Its a small group of sim racing "fans" that are screwing up the sim racing community systematically by not showing any form of civilization, values or respect for other peoples work.

GSC will survive and eventually grow: the content and price are very good.

I also gave a look at netkar pro servers. 20 players on 3 different servers at the same time...
The game is more ancient but you can drive more quality tracks than the 6 first.

To be honest I still have to run into the first high quality add-on track for NKP. Also in that game I see way too many crappy conversions from ancient titles. The recently released Nordschleife is an exception but that track also needs to have better graphics.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

Great timeframe to draw such a conclusion David :thumb:

Exactly, it's not possible to form a reasonable conclusion, so it hardly surprises me the MP is dead......so why not release a proper demo.
I'll give them all the props in the world if it works well with my wheel and doesn't do something funky which might annoy me.

 

[Patrick Giranthon]

Bram, I only try to understand why the servers are empty. I am a player, like you.
Bugs at the release date were a big big problem (and a mystery for me...).
So, with the patch and the new layouts, I hope that the servers will grow...
Wait and see...

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Me too We are on the same side

 

[AProst]

Bram, I agree 100 % with all you said.

A pity more people don't invest such a small sum for a great game and the opportunity to support a studio who wants to release great and true sim. When I think about the figures that will make the average sim F1 2011, it makes me sick.

 

[Mat Venn]

I thought £20 for this was a good price . I would say this is a very close second to iracing at a fraction of the price. Great tracks which leave plenty of room for racing , and with these cars there is all ways time to shave of your best lap time.

But i must say I would rather see more people online .

 

[Kenneth Jurmann]

+1 for more peeps online.

Is it the different timezone? It looks like there are more Brazilian peeps online (when there is someone online at all) and those have day when the Europeans have night I guess... (something like that...)

But it really is a shame. Specially because the content is frozen. You don't have those mismatches and the long searching for the right track and mod to go racing... Just like iRacing and GTR2 in the past. Click online and race.

Hmm...

 

[stefano.schivari]

totally agree with Bram,i think we could have the same problem with nkp,14 euro and someone who says that's too expansive.
I can understand if someone say i dont have enough money for it so i dont buy anything and i dont play it,everybody is free to think with his mind.
I dont understand those who say it's too expansive and then play with it with a crack.

 

[Patrick Giranthon]

Sure.

Another thing is asking me question about the empty servers.
If I was the director of Reiza, I think I would have made an official announce to present excuses about the bugs at the release date.
Some players think it is a lack of personal respect to sell a game with such bugs, and another lack of respect not to present excuses about them.
Mistakes are a human thing, so, it can happen.
But an official announce with excuses and explanations of the reasons of such bugs could be a mark of respect for players...
I don't want to launch another debate, but I only wonder why such an announce doesn't exist (unless I have not seen it...).
Perhaps simply opening a "bug report thread" is not enough for this kind of situation...