iRacing: New Damage Model Video (Preview)

[Paul Jeffrey]

iRacing have released a fresh video showing the current state of the work-in-progress damage model for the simulation.

Seemingly making great strides with the way the iRacing simulation represents damage when out on track, this latest preview video gives fans a very impressive demonstration of just how far things are progressing within the title - although we still don't yet know exactly when this new gameplay feature will be arriving to the popular racing simulation.

In the latest video, we once again see various cars in action out on the circuit, however be sure to check out a sneaky look at the yet to be released Audi TCR machine - a very welcome new piece of content set to arrive within the iRacing store in the reasonably near future...

Stay up to date with the latest news, check out the iRacing sub forum here at RaceDepartment!

Like what we do at RaceDepartment? Follow us on Social Media!

 

 

[Deleted member 113561]

There is real drivers claiming it's great

Who? Where?

The days of 'iceracing' are over though

The video from Nicki Thiim proofs otherwise.

I dont play to iracing (too much money for a past time activity IMHO) but i can believe Verstappen ramming people in Iracing too

Yep, look at that v=nV4eErpxZlU?t=16

That's an urban myth.

No it is not, it was confirmed on Project CARS development forum.
And some of the car manufacturers were more strict than others and that can be very well seen in the game.

You realise that you can race with anybody you want, whenever you want on iRacing, right?

If you paid and it is not guaranteed to find enough drivers or decent drivers for a race. This is especially true for not so popular cars, so no your ad slogan is not true.

 

[Riblo]

You realise that you can race with anybody you want, whenever you want on iRacing, right? The official races are only a very small portion of the racing that happen on iRacing.

I dont have iR cause i dont want to pay 150$/year to play a game with 5 cars and 5 tracks unless i spend 2000$ to have half the cars and tracks i would have with AC or AMS or rF2 (that have modding too so the number of cars and tracks is about 20 or 30 times than of iR)
All people that own iR all talk only about the official races/rooms cause they want the world to know they raced with Norris or Verstappen 8and Max probably rammed them too) and never about private lobbies

Anyway the game still costs too much and doesn't have modding (the lack of modding is what i don't like about ACC but at least it costed me 35€ in early access and not 2000$) pity cause the game looks good and the damage model is visually impressive

 

[RCHeliguy]

You realise that you can race with anybody you want, whenever you want on iRacing, right? The official races are only a very small portion of the racing that happen on iRacing.

I've heard a number of people talk about league racing. Of course league racing doesn't count toward your rating.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I dont have iR cause i dont want to pay 150$/year to play a game with 5 cars and 5 tracks unless i spend 2000$ to have half the cars and tracks i would have with AC or AMS or rF2

Just so people don't consider this factual. There is a 40% off for new members for up to the first two years, but there are discount coupons if you ask around and black Friday sales etc.. And people typically never renew at list price.

I just joined iRacing a week ago at a pretty good discount and that subscription started with 18 cars in different categories from Dirt to Indycar and 18 different tracks ( dirt, road, ovals, etc ) I can't imagine anyone buying all the content that they have. It just doesn't work that way.

You pick a career track, and people recommend the tracks that are fun and the cars that they like the most that are being used in races regularly. For example it was recommended to me that I get a Ferrari 488 GT3 which I can't use in a race until I have at least a D licence, but I was curious so I picked it up for $11.95 and tried it out. It is a confidence inspiring car and I like it a lot. I also have an incentive to get my D license

I did some research on this because there is also a Ferrari 488 GTE which is faster and which shows up in races along side the 488 GT3, however the faster GTE is harder to drive, has no ABS, etc.. So to a less experienced racer the GT3 makes more sense. The point is you are invested and think about what you get because it all matters. You think about what car will help take me to the next level?

Every week they change the tracks being used for the official races on Monday evening. Then you decide which of the tracks you want to practice on and race. They have filters so you can see only the races with cars and tracks you own, or you can show them all and if something interests you that you don't have, you can purchase it.

In Rookies with the MX-5 there are multiple races every half hour.

There is no point in owning everything.

I also own AC, ACC, PC2 and DR 1&2. If I have a friend over, I drop him in PC2, and rotate around everything from cart racing to F1. No muss no fuss, lots of cars and tracks and it looks great in VR. There are no stakes, but lots to play with. I intend to keep my copy of PC2 on my computer, but I won't be using it much.

I do however really enjoy Dirt Rally and expect to continue using that game despite liking iRacing. That's perfectly fine too. iRacing doesn't cover that niche. However, iRacing has Rally Cross covered and that looks like fun too.

I'm not suggesting that there is one perfect sim for everyone. There are good reasons to use different sims. I'll probably get a copy of Automobilista 2 eventually just because.

Just for reference these are the official races on the half hour that I as a Rookie with the 18 cars and tracks they give me with the subscription are eligible to take part in. Typically each race will be broken in to multiple groups by safety rating. For example you can see 115 people registered for the MX-5 cup at Lime Rock Park, and another 53 registered for Charlotte Motorspeedway and a bunch will drop in at the last minute.

 

[cupra_abf]

The problem is, with the lack of feel, the tires go from "we can do this all day, c'mon man - push!" to "say, do you see that tire barrier over there...?" in what feels like an (usually uncatchable) instant.

I should add my tire model complaints go for road...on the oval side, I've always felt iRacing to be very good. It's on the road side - where you have lefts, rights, curbs, elevation, bumps, heavy braking, etc - that I begin to get very irritated.

I've driven cars on tracks (and driven them relatively hard). I know how strong the total feedback sensation package (sight, sound, wheel, butt...) is in real life...for me, other Sims come much closer to providing that level of feedback (through FFB) than iRacing.

You mention some interesting points. Serious question, not meant do critizise or attack or anything like that. What kind of tires did you track on?

A lot of the things you describe literally sound like the difference between street legal tires and full racing slicks. Even the step between Dot Rs and full slicks is still quite significant. Full racing slicks have grip for days, but are incredibly snappy and hard to control once they let go. It's really surprising just how extreme it is. There is nearly no gray area with road racing slicks.

Now, oval cars use different slicks (Radial vs bias ply). Bias ply tires are a million times easier to slide around in and give more feedback, while not being as snappy and direct. iRacing captures that difference quite well.

I've always thought the closer the tires on a car are to street tires, the worse iRacing captures the feeling. iRacing is mainly good at replicating slicks (bias ply and radial), while being only okay with Dot Rs and street tires. rF2 is the other way around IMO. iR tire model isn't perfect, but neither are any of the other ones out there. It's an incredibly difficult things to replicate well.

The FFB topic is difficult tbh. In real life, the steering wheel really doesn't give all that much feedback. In a decently build and setup car, it gives plenty, but it's just one puzzle piece. And iR does capture that quite alright. I've driven similar cars in iR and on track on back-to-back days and paid a lot of attention to FFB, trying to blend out all the other effects like G-forces, and found the FFB to be quite accurate in iR.

It probably explains why iR FFB always felt very natural to me. Now, in some other sims, there is additional effects, trying to give you a whole 'sensation package'. I can see how that helps some people and why some people prefer it. For me, it always felt very artificial though, the steering wheel just always feels 'off'.

So, I believe FFB is not a one size fits all thing. You could have 100% accurate FFB compared to the real thing, and some people would still hate it, there is just different preferences.

Who? Where?

The video from Nicki Thiim proofs otherwise

I'm not gonna search for it. But there have been plenty of positive comments over the years. Some in the forums, some in person, some in interviews. There is a bunch of professional, semi-professional and amateur racers that do like iR physics. Of course, there is also a decent amount that does not.

And one guy making a video isn't exactly 'proof', you know? Even if he is a professional driver.

 

[David Faraday]

Well at least you can crash realistically.....even if you can't drive realistically in it...

 

[Dietmar]

I don't think any car has an auto pit limiter or it is an option in iRacing. Some have put limiters but even they have to be manually activated.

There is actually a driving aid, which activates the pit limiter for you, which you can activate. With that on, even cars that do not have a pit limiter have an active pit limiter (bug?), e.g. the MX5. Without dirving aids, not pit limitter, but you can activate the auto pit limiter and that works.

 

[OtherWorld]

Can't believe people are impressed by that, it's barely better damage model than what GTR2 was doing 15 years ago. Look at how the sidepods of the Formula cars show almost no damage after sidecontact with the wall, in real life such an impact smashes the sidepod - but the engine cover doesn't suddenly decide it's time to fly twenty meters into the sky.

 

[Andy_J]

About time. Well done I Racing. This is what all race sims should feature, proper damage. Even Indy 500 by Papyrus had great damage modelling. I also want cars exploding into flames and disintegrating if impacted at high speed. Drivers being flung through the windscreen on fire etc. It's only virtual, it's only a game. So come on devs give us damage big style.

I always remember Dirt 2 with the damage mod enabled, that was great too. As was Grand Prix 3 and 4 from Microprose.

 

[Wayne Hutchison]

I've heard a number of people talk about league racing. Of course league racing doesn't count toward your rating.

True. But it's also where most of the best racing takes place

 

[Wayne Hutchison]

I don't think any car has an auto pit limiter or it is an option in iRacing. Some have put limiters but even they have to be manually activated.

Auto pit limiter is an option on the first tab of the Options menu, just underneath the clutch options.

 

[Wayne Hutchison]

If you paid and it is not guaranteed to find enough drivers or decent drivers for a race. This is especially true for not so popular cars, so no your ad slogan is not true.

Join a league and there will be drivers there to race against whenever the league holds their races. And even for the least popular cars in official racing you can always find some races that go official each week. I race the Silver Crown 2-3 times every week and it's one of the lowest participation cars on the service.

 

[Wayne Hutchison]

I dont have iR cause i dont want to pay 150$/year to play a game with 5 cars and 5 tracks unless i spend 2000$ to have half the cars and tracks i would have with AC or AMS or rF2 (that have modding too so the number of cars and tracks is about 20 or 30 times than of iR)
All people that own iR all talk only about the official races/rooms cause they want the world to know they raced with Norris or Verstappen 8and Max probably rammed them too) and never about private lobbies

Anyway the game still costs too much and doesn't have modding (the lack of modding is what i don't like about ACC but at least it costed me 35€ in early access and not 2000$) pity cause the game looks good and the damage model is visually impressive

Have you ever owned and raced a real car? $150 won't cover 1 tire for one weekend. iRacing is extremely inexpensive compared to what it's simulating.

 

[Wayne Hutchison]

There is actually a driving aid, which activates the pit limiter for you, which you can activate. With that on, even cars that do not have a pit limiter have an active pit limiter (bug?), e.g. the MX5. Without dirving aids, not pit limitter, but you can activate the auto pit limiter and that works.

It may be a bug with a certain car but I can tell you it does NOT work like that with the NASCAR cars, Sprint cars, etc. Rely on the auto pit limiter at your peril

 

[Nick Hill]

You mention some interesting points. Serious question, not meant do critizise or attack or anything like that. What kind of tires did you track on?

A lot of the things you describe literally sound like the difference between street legal tires and full racing slicks. Even the step between Dot Rs and full slicks is still quite significant. Full racing slicks have grip for days, but are incredibly snappy and hard to control once they let go. It's really surprising just how extreme it is. There is nearly no gray area with road racing slicks.

Now, oval cars use different slicks (Radial vs bias ply). Bias ply tires are a million times easier to slide around in and give more feedback, while not being as snappy and direct. iRacing captures that difference quite well.

I've always thought the closer the tires on a car are to street tires, the worse iRacing captures the feeling. iRacing is mainly good at replicating slicks (bias ply and radial), while being only okay with Dot Rs and street tires. rF2 is the other way around IMO. iR tire model isn't perfect, but neither are any of the other ones out there. It's an incredibly difficult things to replicate well.

The FFB topic is difficult tbh. In real life, the steering wheel really doesn't give all that much feedback. In a decently build and setup car, it gives plenty, but it's just one puzzle piece. And iR does capture that quite alright. I've driven similar cars in iR and on track on back-to-back days and paid a lot of attention to FFB, trying to blend out all the other effects like G-forces, and found the FFB to be quite accurate in iR.

It probably explains why iR FFB always felt very natural to me. Now, in some other sims, there is additional effects, trying to give you a whole 'sensation package'. I can see how that helps some people and why some people prefer it. For me, it always felt very artificial though, the steering wheel just always feels 'off'.

So, I believe FFB is not a one size fits all thing. You could have 100% accurate FFB compared to the real thing, and some people would still hate it, there is just different preferences.



I'm not gonna search for it. But there have been plenty of positive comments over the years. Some in the forums, some in person, some in interviews. There is a bunch of professional, semi-professional and amateur racers that do like iR physics. Of course, there is also a decent amount that does not.

And one guy making a video isn't exactly 'proof', you know? Even if he is a professional driver.

Very fair points! I don't feel criticized/attacked in the slightest.

So, you are absolutely correct in your assumption - my track experience is strictly on road tires. Perhaps this is warping my impressions of what a car "should" feel like...entirely possible!

I am lapping in an open wheeler next month - it'll still be on road tires, but has downforce, extremely low CoG, etc so I will be interested to see if any of my opinions change after that. I try hard to keep an open mind when it comes to sims but you do form opinions that are sometimes harder to shake than they were to form (if that makes sense). I also still periodically revisit sims that I'm not a huge fan of (like rF2, iRacing, PC2) just to see what they are up to, see if my opinions have changed, etc. Even though I do tend to sink the lion's share of my lapping into just a court faves (AC and R3E), for me it's a big part of the fun to compare/contrast and try to understand what a given sim is/isn't doing that I either like or don't like. I think it makes you a better driver because you really have to hone in on both what you need as a driver and what the sim is offering.

 

[Nick Hill]

Have you ever owned and raced a real car? $150 won't cover 1 tire for one weekend. iRacing is extremely inexpensive compared to what it's simulating.

Technically true, but I've never found this to be a compelling argument. It's still very pricey for what is ultimately a game.

It would be like someone saying "$60 for Hearts of Iron PLUS all that DLC?!? That's steep!" and someone jumping in and countering with "do you have any IDEA what WW2 cost in real life?!? HoI is a bargain!"

But it's not WW2, it's a game!

 

[Riblo]

Have you ever owned and raced a real car? $150 won't cover 1 tire for one weekend. iRacing is extremely inexpensive compared to what it's simulating.

If i have to SIMULATE cause It costs a lot less than a real racing car then ACC costs a third of a year subscription to iRacing and i can play with It FOREVER
And don't tell me that iRacing Is Better simulation only because the cars explode to Pieces cause there are arcade gsmes like wreckfest where Cars explode too

 

[snyperal]

View attachment 319676

Auto pit limiter is an option on the first tab of the Options menu, just underneath the clutch options.

Blimey! Just shows how long it's been since I've raced.

Thanks

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

It's still very pricey for what is ultimately a game.

I'm afraid, this is exactly where many people are wrong: you pay the service not the content. It's the other way round in most other games, but with iRacing you actually only borrow the content to use on their servers. It really is more like going to your local karting track and paying for your 10 minutes with your five mates. You pay for the experience of a structured pretend-racing experience, no more no less. That's why complaining it costs 2,000 euros or dollars is just way off the point. I paid about 800 Euros the first two years, now I have rented about all the content I need, so some years I have actually paid 0 Euros, because of all the benefits and race participation incentives figured in. Overall it works for me, but I can easily see someone thinking he buys a video game and then being confronted with an 800 euro price tag being ever so slightly put off.

 

[Jayblue]

Looks very impressive. When this and the AI are added I will look at resubscribing to try it out.