iRacing | Season 4 Patch 1 Released

Paul Jeffrey

Premium
iRacing have released another new update for their online racing service - bringing to the simulation patch 1 of the Season 4 2020 build of the sim.
  • AI fixes in various scenarios.
  • Environmental audio improvements.
  • Various car and track tweaks.


If you aren't a fan of change, or have an internet connection that penalizes you for excessive downloading, then stay well clear of iRacing - the American development team behind the title are seemingly ever updating this long-standing simulation - producing yet another sizeable hotfix release to the game over the last couple of days.

The new build released just prior to the weekend, and although not a major build update it does come with plenty of nice tweaks and changes - details of which can be seen below:

iRacing Middle.jpg


Season 4 / Patch 1 Notes
iRacing UI

Paint Shop:

  • A download link for the Helmet pattern has been added.
  • A download link for the Suit pattern has been added.
  • Resolved an issue where Team Paints were being temporarily applied to the same car for the Member’s personal paint scheme.
Leagues:
  • Resolved an issue where registering for a Team Session from the League Sessions page was not allowing the user to select a team and register.
AI Racing:
  • For AI News, resolved an issue where certain race scenarios could potentially cause an error in rendering.
Broadcasting:
  • Resolved an issue where a user that has special roles, such as a Broadcaster or Race Official, was getting registered incorrectly as Spectators for a League session.
Simulation
Race Servers:

  • Fixed an issue where the Race Server could crash if it should somehow get into a situation where it is being asked to allow someone into the Session when they have not been assigned a pit stall.
    – – There was an issue wherein a Heat Racing Event, drivers that had not connected to the Session during the Open Practice prior to the Qualify Session were not being put into the Qualify Session’s “Starting Grid”. This led to them not being assigned a pit stall, which then crashed the Race Server when they tried to get in their car.
AI Racing:
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the Simulation to crash when loading the SCCA Spec Racer Ford at an Oval track.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause erratic AI driving on pace laps, sometimes resulting in spin-outs or off-track excursions.
Visual Effects:
  • The smoke color algorithm has been adjusted.
  • Fixed an issue where some backfire effects were firing in the sky instead of from exhaust pipes.
Environmental Audio:
  • PA announcements from Connery Maddick have been added to the following tracks:
    – – Brands Hatch Circuit
    – – Circuit of the Americas
    – – Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya
    – – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
    – – Circuit Park Zandvoort
    – – Circuit Zolder
    – – Donington Park Racing Circuit
    – – Road America
    – – Sebring International Raceway
    – – Sonoma Raceway
    – – Suzuka International Racing Course
  • Australian-specific soundscape has been updated.
  • Crowd sounds are now disabled when the Crowd Detail setting is on LOW.
    – – This is a temporary fix for anyone experiencing frame-rate issues with the new environmental audio. A permanent solution remains in the works.
Replay:
  • Fixed an issue where the Simulation could crash if a user attempted to rewind after the event was complete.
Telemetry:
  • The disk telemetry writer now flushes the disk telemetry immediately to disk in Test Drive and Practice Sessions, and it now reverts to the old method of opening .ibt files in exclusive access mode while writing to disk.
Cars

Dallara IR18:

  • Auto Club Speedway setups have been updated.
Dallara P217:
  • Rear packer thickness has been reduced.
  • Fixed an issue with the ID light color on top of the car not displaying correctly on opponent vehicles.
  • Fixed an issue with the dive plane not displaying correctly on opponent vehicles.
Global Mazda MX-5 Cup:
  • For the New Damage Model, reduced the impact threshold for sustaining engine damage, and increased the impact threshold for breaking the side-view mirrors.
McLaren MP4-30:
  • A variety of changes, including:
    – – Tire wear rate has been increased for all tire compounds.
    – – Braking authority has been increased – a driver should now be able to lock the wheels at any speed without taking away the feel at brake release.
    – – Rear suspension has been modified.
    – – Rear torsion bar rates have been adjusted.
    – – Maximum allowable rear ride height has been tightened to reduce the car’s tendency to bounce.
    – – Baseline setups have been updated.
    – – – The track-specific setups are Race setups and are designed to be run starting with full fuel.
  • Fixed an issue with wheel rims turning white at certain level-of-detail distances.
Tracks

Darlington Raceway:

  • Some floating fans have been ejected from the track for not possessing proper tickets for viewing.
Kentucky Speedway:
  • Fixed the “BMX FILE MISSING” message Members reported at this track.
Road Atlanta:
  • (Full Course) – The pace car now participates in short parade laps.
Texas Motor Speedway:
  • Fixed the “BMX FILE MISSING” message Members reported at this track.
  • Fixed a gap in the backstretch Safer barriers.
Weedsport Speedway:
  • Adjusted the inside barriers in Turn 2 to remove a section where the wall was sticking out.
  • Adjusted some mipmap settings.


iRacing is available now exclusively to PC.

Join in with your fellow fans over on the RaceDepartment iRacing sub forum - fire up a new thread and get yourself in on the action today!

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Edit--I checked iRacing website duh lol
I haven't followed iRacing in awhile but the recent reviews of the new cars has me interested again. Is the AI ready for all tracks and cars?
 
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Edit--I checked iRacing website duh lol
I haven't followed iRacing in awhile but the recent reviews of the new cars has me interested again. Is the AI ready for all tracks and cars?

Nope, unfortunately not.
I also wonder why it takes so long to add more cars and tracks.

Here's a current list what you get with AI:

Cars
Audi RS3 LMS TCR
BMW M4 GT4
Dallara F3
Global Mazda MX-5 Cup
Indy Pro 2000 PM-18
Kia Optima
NASCAR Cup Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
NASCAR Cup Ford Mustang
NASCAR Cup Toyota Camry
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
SCCA Spec Racer Ford
Skip Barber Formula 2000
USF 2000
VW Jetta TDI Cup

Tracks
Atlanta Motor Speedway - Oval
Barber Motorsports Park
Brands Hatch Circuit
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway
Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - Grand Prix Pits
Daytona International Speedway - Oval, Road Course
Daytona International Speedway [Legacy]
Donington Park Racing Circuit
Dover International Speedway
Homestead Miami Speedway - Oval
Iowa Speedway - Oval
Kansas Speedway
Kentucky Speedway - Oval
Kentucky Speedway [Legacy]
Lime Rock Park - Grand Prix, Classic
Martinsville Speedway
Michigan International Speedway
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Nürburgring Grand-Prix-Strecke
Nürburgring Combined - Gesamtstrecke Long
Okayama International Circuit
Phoenix Raceway - Oval w/open Dogleg
Road America
Road Atlanta
Sebring International Raceway - International, Club
Summit Point Raceway
Talladega Superspeedway
Tsukuba Circuit - 2000 - Full
USA International Speedway - Asphalt
Watkins Glen International - Cup, Boot
WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca - Full
 
Ai list is growing but not very fast. That said, the AI that is there is as good as any AI I have raced against. Still some issues here and there but mostly solid. Wish we would get V8s or GT3s.
Absolutely agree:), the iRacing AI is good which makes me ponder, because they have very believable AI would it hurt the 'Online' user base a little if they had 'All Cars / All Tracks' by now especially if they had the newly introduced 87 Monte Carlo / Thunderbird Nascars and Wilkesboro track as selectible AI as well as some other combinations, such as the 'V8 Supercars and Bathurst combo :inlove::thumbsup:, looking forward to that day:geek: ...just a personal opinion;)
 
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I think f they add AI for GTE, Supercars and more nascars, I will be subscribing the game. Even better if I can play off line with AI without paying the sub.

Iracing has some really interesting content that kept me intrigued for a long time.
 
I don't play online, so iRacing seems like a waste to me, because of having to pay a monthly subscription fee and buy cars and tracks on top of that... And because I don't play online, and the AI list isn't very big at the moment, the only things I would be able to do are AI racing with the limited base content or hotlaps on my own, which isn't very fun in my opinion.
 
The ai in my experience is very good and just keeps getting better....but why anyone that's just a single/offline player would even consider iracing is beyond me?
It's bread and butter is mp, the the ai single player mode is just an added bonus.

Really enjoy the new audio!

Funny, I've been an on/off member for the past 9 yrs trying all the other sims in search of something better, yet I always seem to come back to iracing.
In no way is it perfect but I find it does many things well and continues to build on the engine and add new features.
It just works well for me on my system.
 
Nope, unfortunately not.
I also wonder why it takes so long to add more cars and tracks.

Here's a current list what you get with AI:

Cars
Audi RS3 LMS TCR
BMW M4 GT4
Dallara F3
Global Mazda MX-5 Cup
Indy Pro 2000 PM-18
Kia Optima
NASCAR Cup Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
NASCAR Cup Ford Mustang
NASCAR Cup Toyota Camry
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
SCCA Spec Racer Ford
Skip Barber Formula 2000
USF 2000
VW Jetta TDI Cup

Tracks
Atlanta Motor Speedway - Oval
Barber Motorsports Park
Brands Hatch Circuit
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway
Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - Grand Prix Pits
Daytona International Speedway - Oval, Road Course
Daytona International Speedway [Legacy]
Donington Park Racing Circuit
Dover International Speedway
Homestead Miami Speedway - Oval
Iowa Speedway - Oval
Kansas Speedway
Kentucky Speedway - Oval
Kentucky Speedway [Legacy]
Lime Rock Park - Grand Prix, Classic
Martinsville Speedway
Michigan International Speedway
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Nürburgring Grand-Prix-Strecke
Nürburgring Combined - Gesamtstrecke Long
Okayama International Circuit
Phoenix Raceway - Oval w/open Dogleg
Road America
Road Atlanta
Sebring International Raceway - International, Club
Summit Point Raceway
Talladega Superspeedway
Tsukuba Circuit - 2000 - Full
USA International Speedway - Asphalt
Watkins Glen International - Cup, Boot
WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca - Full

Without full AI I'm not playing again. I'm not going to pay in order to have people ram me off the track.
 
The new ambient sounds on the tracks are a welcome addition, never realised how much it adds to the race environment until I played sims like RaceRoom and ACC.

The MP4-30 is a blast to drive, the tyres do fall off quite dramatically when you're near the end of life, which doesn't seem too far off given what I see happening in F1 in recent seasons.

The ai in my experience is very good and just keeps getting better....but why anyone that's just a single/offline player would even consider iracing is beyond me?
It's bread and butter is mp, the the ai single player mode is just an added bonus.

Really enjoy the new audio!

Funny, I've been an on/off member for the past 9 yrs trying all the other sims in search of something better, yet I always seem to come back to iracing.
In no way is it perfect but I find it does many things well and continues to build on the engine and add new features.
It just works well for me on my system.

Agreed...the point of the AI in iRacing isn't to only do SP racing, it's to practice for the MP races you plan to do later (or at the very least get a feel for the limits of the car when battling other cars). MP is still the main focus on the platform; if offline only is your thing, best to check elsewhere.

The subscription you're paying for is for the boatload of official race servers and practice servers (some races run every hour, most every 2 hrs)...plus the ton of user created hosted practice and race sessions, many of which are not password protected and open to all, and then online recordkeeping for everyone's race sessions and career stats, to be accessed by everyone (i.e. I can see X driver's career history and the results of every race he's ever run)...these are all available 24/7/365 to race on, except for the short times they do a full system shutdown for maintenance (between each of the 4 official 12-week seasons), during which time you can test drive any car, whether you own it or not.

iRacing isn't perfect (it's missing rain, but I feel that's coming in the near future given all the things they've added in recent updates), but no other sim on the market offers all of that, especially that "test drive any DLC you don't own" part. The more I think about it, the more I understand why a subscription is necessary; maintaining all of those servers in multiple countries can't be cheap for them.
 
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I think f they add AI for GTE, Supercars and more nascars, I will be subscribing the game. Even better if I can play off line with AI without paying the sub.

Iracing has some really interesting content that kept me intrigued for a long time.

Doubt they'll ever do that, a reduced sub maybe, but not for free. I believe they view the AI as a training tool for MP races, not as a standalone product.
 
But you'll pay a subscription to have AI ram you off the track? ;)

It will never be as bad as Forza AI.

I have zero interest in MP so why should I pay a lot of money for something that I will never use. I rather use the sub money to pay for more cars and tracks than MP sub. It is up to them at the end as there is still money to be made from solely offline AI players.
 
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iracing nice with all those update, but we need new engine like in Flightsimulator 2020 bing maps. Common its a must to go that way especiality for the realism viewing and yeah there are people who is gonna defend it because they have low end hardwares. but am not 3090 RTX i have just wanna use ultra and real realism for game. So please common iracing we need new engine
 

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