Opinions on R3E: What's yours?

[Nigel Mansell]

This is fine for ppl happy to dry-lap. RRE has improved over time - but I'm in the, "this is an outdated platform now" club. Best way to vent my frustration = stop buying DLC. When S3 care enough to drag RRE into modern times, I'll restart support. I buy the DLC, yet hardly lap with it - makes zero sense. I'm fed up of dry lapping. it's a personal thing.

We had rain in sims many years ago, then it all went tits-up IMHO. YMMV of course, that's fine. Why were Microprose ahead of their time. How long have I supported this stale engine for now, jeez. I've been doing this for a great many number of years - too long (dry-lapping) tbh. Hence the frustration. Approaching my mid 50's, I'm going to be more selective about who I give my savings to. Free to play software isn't the future. Otherwise S3 would have taken RRE to a modern place already. RRE, feels like a pay-to-improve model to me. By that I mean, RRE just releases tweaks here and there, but the fundamental tech is missing. We own this sim software, but at a UK track, we can't create a cold/overcast/low grip/wet or even damp scenario.

Fair play to Kunos for gambling, and having the passion/balls enough to deliver what some of us long for. By that I mean, driving at differing times of the day, in low grip situations. I get that we all don't see this as the "be all" of simracing. We all have opinions about SMS. At least they could be bothered to create time of day/weather, and moved the genre along. S3 is holding back the only genre I purchase games from. I'm unhappy about this lol. RRE started to feel stale, years ago. Much like how people feel that Codemasters have stunted the growth of the F1 platform, in the many years they've had the licence. Like a huge number of you, I've sunk huge amounts into regularly supporting S3. I hope one day, that a scenario arrives where I look forward to booting the platform and using the content I've purchased.

I know SimBin UK supposedly works on a modern game engine, supporting time of day/weather. Both platforms will likely share the tech. For me, it long overdue. Sorry S3, this is the only genre I enjoy. You starved your own engine of the features I've wanted most for years. It can't get any more broken than it is. You'll get nothing more now, until you care enough to update your engine tech.

 

[BrunoBæ]

But this cannot be a criticism directed at R3E because it was an RD rule that unique liveries be used, not an in-game limitation.

What what?
So it was you - you evil man - who decided this.
I just thought that it was Raceroom which couldnt manage 2 drivers with the "same" car.
Hehe maybe Im spoiled by spending too many years in iRacing.
Because if 2 drivers in iRacing join a race with the same car (same number) the game just alter one of the cars number.
But OK even that cannot be critisiced in Raceroom

 

[UMC 22]

What what?
So it was you - you evil man - who decided this.
I just thought that it was Raceroom which couldnt manage 2 drivers with the "same" car.

Haha, sorry but yes, it was me. In R3E the entire grid can have the same car and livery if they choose to. We just sometimes ask people to choose unique liveries if we are doing a live stream, because it makes life easier for the commentator.

 

[BrunoBæ]

@Ross Garland
Conserning online races it has allways irritated me that its extremely common in the virtual world that a lot of people sign up to a race - and then on raceday they dont show up
Hehe but even worse is it to hear all their silly excuses.
Oh my father just died - 2nd time , or
My pedals just stopped working ½ hour before race start because of my cat, or
I was caught in a trafic jam where one person got killed 1 hour before race start , or, or...
Its so mandatory that its laughable

 

[Cote Dazur]

Interesting thread on an interesting SIM. I like R3E.
I like that you can buy one car and run a series with all the other cars, I like that the series are well balanced, you choose a car and a tracks and everything works. The physic is believable, the FFB is good, graphic in VR are not spectacular but they are good enough, VR is clear, driver animation is good. Overall it just works. R3E is a solid SIM, what is lacking is not essential and does not prevent it from delivering a totally enjoyable SIM experience.
How could it be better? Obviously additional interesting content, read not already overdone by everyone else, would be interesting. I am not sure what it would take for me to play R3E more. I usually fire R3E to drive either a car and/or a track I do not have in my go to SIM, so more of that could do the trick.

 

[Jason Mullin]

Raceroom is one of my favorites to drive, in fact when I came over from console two years ago it’s the first one I tried.
I’m not terribly keen on rain but love racing at dusk/dawn/night.

What sets R3E apart for me is I really like the way it looks, yes dx9 but it’s the color palette and they way objects come at and move past you that’s very lifelike.
Others do lighting and such better sure, but titles like AC look somewhat cartoonish I always have to turn saturation way down.

Post processing seems overdone in many titles, R3E looks very natural maybe a bit on the cool side but much better than red, warm tones.

The FFB is also intuitive and natural, the sounds are genre leading right up there with ACC.

We have lots of content, more LMP/GTE would be a nice addition.
I want to make it look even more lifelike so if you guys have any suggestions with Nvidia or filters I’d be glad.

 

[manu68]

Race room is Just a great simitation.

I purchased it Last year on sale with some content, and I love it.
Okay, I admit I dont play it much , but it is for sure not because of the game itself. It is just because life is short and there is to much fantastic simulations avalaible (I mean from GPL, nascar2003, GTR2, RBR, kart kraft, asserto corsa, ACC, race room, rfactor, ...)
Just to much !!!

That said, i love the fact that it is possible to enter a race without owning the all game content (i just own about 1 car and livery in the category i prefer the most )

Just driving the 911 cup on the nordschleife is such a special thing that it worth alone the game price.

Not my current main sim (ACC and assetto corsa ), but also a fantastic game with nice graphics and terrific sounds

 

[kanine]

I'm turning into a bit of a fan of R3E. After starting down the track of iRacing I really liked the feel of it at first but quickly realised just how costly it is. Once out of Rookie it's about $130 just to race a whole series in one car.

So +1 in terms of value for money for R3E.

For someone like me, who's just not that good, I also find the experience in R3E great, the leaderboards are a good touch although with all the combos available it can be tricky finding an active leaderboard for the Track / Car I have interest in.

The AI racing whilst of course not perfect is a great substitute for online play and allows you to get a race where you want, driving what you want and when you want. Thats a huge +++ for me, like most I'm pretty time poor so fitting my schedule in with a a fixed racing schedule is problematic. Also online multiplayer can be quite toxic so leagues would generally seem the best way to go for a decent online experience. It is something that R3E could really work on.

Also where is the spotter? I know Crew Chief can be used but I'm not a fan of plugin software like this.

 

[Wilko Jones]

@kanine

About a spotter. I am not sure if you are familiar with the web overlays in Raceroom. If you aren't theres info on it at Sector3 's forums. I also believe it's also here on racedepartment, I'm not sure where to look though.

What the overlays give you, are options to use a more informative HUD. It also has simplistic overhead radar that shows how close you are to other cars, and where those cars are around you. It helps if you don't run CrewChief. I tend to listen to the spotter in CrewChief more than glancing at the radar.

 

[brc19]

New to the sim racing world. That said, I enjoy R3E a lot. That amount of content is almost overwhelming to a noob such as myself. The thing I really like about it is the club racing, great group of guys in the US!

 

[UMC 22]

About a spotter. I am not sure if you are familiar with the web overlays in Raceroom. If you aren't theres info on it at Sector3 's forums. I also believe it's also here on racedepartment, I'm not sure where to look though.

Either here or here.

 

[Calvyn White]

As much as I love this game as I do think it is the best. It just hasn't got the candy that attracts drivers old and new. Much of the candy that I speak of is unnecessary and not often used. But obviously, a must-have all the same.
But if it's got that candy people want it whether it's going to be used or not.
It's not only at race department that this game is suffering.

Sector 3 studios need a big input of unnecessary content IMO. Not to mention some massive really necessary improvements. And it needs it soon as I do believe not only form the evidence that we can see here at racedepartment but elsewhere. Or I'm afraid this game is destined for disaster. Like I said I love this game I consider it the best over the rest. But I also think it's not going to last much longer. And I don't believe more cars more tracks is the direction that this game needs to go in at this present time.

The area of content is fine is the other stuff night to day wet and windy and looking as good as any other SIM whilst doing it this is what the people want and this is what the raceroom needs.
To me, this is quite obvious and too many other uses. But unfortunately, sector Studios are not pushing anywhere near this direction. Content will mean nothing without an excellent or on par with other Sims core.

So from tonight, I'll be looking elsewhere for my racing enjoyment with the numbers are higher on the grid. I know I have said this before but now I don't have a choice. As much as I hate having to do this as I don't believe like I said sectors 3 studios are going to step up.
There really hasn't been any significant improvements to the sim for some time and VR is the latest that I know of and we all know that was some time ago.
What happened to the new UI, tyre compounds, tyre pressures etc all a bit too slow and none incomplete. I just don't believe the direction of resources is in the right direction.
Let's face it who's gonna pay for this game when there are graphics cards available that would make it pointless having for this SIM if you were to spend £1,000 on a graphics card you certainly would want to get the best out of it.
Anyway enough of my moaning and remember I love this SIM, RIGHT...

 

[UMC 22]

The trouble is that this "candy" that people keep crying out for is generally nothing more than a novelty. It gets put in a game, used a couple of times, and then ignored entirely by 90% of the player base. I mean, PCars2 had night racing, very good weather affects, and looked fantastic in VR. Did it save the sim from obscurity? Nope. People just found something else to whine about and other demands to make. Race 07 had weather and we even used it in the club. Was it enjoyed by the majority? Nope, and we were forced to drop weather in our events entirely.

And there's one of the fundamental problems these days. People are never happy. No matter what you do and how you do it, the vocal minority will always whinge and whine and make things out to be worse than they are, and the sheeple majority follow along blindly. This is one of the reasons I've tried so hard to keep the negativity out of the R3E community over the years, because if you're looking for a new sim to try and all you see is bitching, then you're not even going to give that sim a chance, are you? But I gave up on that some time ago because no matter how hard you try, the negativity crowd will always win the day.

That said, I don't think the way R3E is sold does it any favours. If you actually look into the pricing model it's not that bad at all. I myself am not against the system in principle. If you buy from scratch then £65 for all the content the sim currently offers is a fantastic deal. That's far more content for the money than any other sim can hope to offer. And £4 every month or two for a new track and/or car class? That's nothing, even if you're skint like me. But hiding those prices and deals behind their stupid vRP is what does the damage. New players know nothing about vRP or even where to get it, and £100 (direct sale, no vRP) for a sim is a price very few would consider paying. It's idiotic.

Regarding R3E not really changing or adding anything other than VR support, I have to disagree entirely with that. In the last couple of years the sim has come on leaps and bounds, not just in added features but in terms of physics overhauls. You said yourself that you consider R3E to be the best and I agree, but it certainly didn't used to be. It is where it is now because of all the work that's been done to it.

Do I think the direction of R3E could be improved? Absolutely. I agree entirely that they should focus on the core sim and forget about new content for the short and medium term. Get the physics for all current cars up to the latest version. Give us fully featured car setups to replace the "lite" version we have now. Get the new damage model sorted and released. Give us parade laps, rolling starts and safety cars online. Etc etc.

About the £1000 graphics card, if that's what some people choose to spend their money on then that's fine, but they cannot and should not expect many games to make use of it. Why would any developer waste time and resources on features only usable by a tiny minority? That is exactly why most VR games are shite, and why VR support is not as good in most sims as it could be... because the high price point of the tech required means it is only owned by the minority, and therefore not worth too much of a developers time and effort.

Well anyway, I'm sorry to see you go Calv but I can't blame you. There's no sense wasting time on a sim/club which isn't providing any actual racing for you. All the best mate, and I hope to see you on track again somewhere in the not-too-distant future.

 

[Calvyn White]

Let me put it this way apartment very few things I think the SIM is perfectly fine.
But the problem is people want more for their money. Whether they use these features or not which in my opinion is not used enough to warrant the money. Hence why I feel raceroom is worth every penny always have done.
I myself have no use for transitions from night to day all weather conditions of several sorts.
Not going to be used not interested.
But unfortunately I feel these things are required to keep interest whether used or not come down to the individual but they are required to keep up with opposition.
Like you say people want these features and of course when they get them they want more. Human instinct I want what they got. Also known as greedy for the sake of being greedy.
All I want is better graphics better VR things like driver swaps, more tyre compounds etc.
Lots of small things really that make a big difference in my opinion.
Like I said I love this game and I certainly want it to succeed. But I fear it may not as I only see the direction of content and fixes with an occasional enhancement of a different kind which never seem to be complete. It's the small things that make all the difference and they've got to be done quicker or this game is going to be certainly left behind. And I certainly don't want that so things are going to be done big, bold, completely and quickly. Just saying.

 

[FeltHat]

And it needs it soon as I do believe not only form the evidence that we can see here at racedepartment but elsewhere. Or I'm afraid this game is destined for disaster. Like I said I love this game I consider it the best over the rest. But I also think it's not going to last much longer.

Game is bigger and better than ever with player number steady or rising, big Asia and esport push, a lot of leagues and tournaments, new on track raceroom experiences, great new updates and new content, upcoming big december update- but yeah, game is dead, because midweek rd event is cancelled

Let's face it who's gonna pay for this game when there are graphics cards available that would make it pointless having for this SIM if you were to spend £1,000 on a graphics card you certainly would want to get the best out of it.

not true/doesnt make any sense

I want raceroom improvements as much as next racer but cmon man

 

[Calvyn White]

What a selfish ass I am for wanting more from my game. What a selfish ass I am for wanting my game to keep up with the others so it doesn't die out from members on the grid.
How dare I point out what this game hasn't got that others have, what a selfish git I am. How dare I mention if these improvements are not forthcoming I think this game may not survive in this graphically spectacular gaming world.
How rude of me to mention I'm happy with the way the game is but unfortunately, most people are not they want more and when they get more they want more still more more more.
But I only want a little of the right thing that will suit me fine, **** the rest.
How dare I, am so selfish. I should be ashamed myself even thinking of it let alone mentioning it. I apologise for saying it. I should be stabbed in the back oh wait I think I just have been. And so I should be for wanting more that I want to survive and to continue to improve in the direction that is unfortunately required for survival. Too greedy I guess.

@FeltHat I understand what you mean that doesn't make much sense about the graphics card. But you failed to mention anything that did. Why would you, contradiction is so much more fun?
Most people upgrade their hardware sooner or later. That's the nature of things as new games come out better equipment is required.
Whether you got this equipment all ready or not what you want to pay the best looking game as your main game to play. Candy sells it can't be helped we all want it. But it's not exactly needed.

Like I said before this is my favourite Sim racing game. But unfortunately, the influence of the iCandy of other sim-racing games is too good to refuse by most. Like flies around irresistible. Which I feel is doing this SIM no good as it does not have what people want, plain and simple. After all, you want the best to go with the hardware. Despite much of the iCandy not being used.
Just saying, said enough.

 

[UMC 22]

Game is bigger and better than ever with player number steady or rising, big Asia and esport push, a lot of leagues and tournaments, new on track raceroom experiences...

Which is part of the problem, in my opinion. The vast majority of players will never get involved in or even follow the esports side of R3E, or bother with leagues and tournaments. They want to race how they want, when they want, offline or with their friends. So this focus on esports rather than upgrading the core game with essential features is probably doing more damage than good. The delay of the latest update to allow the current online competition to finish is a perfect example.

but yeah, game is dead, because midweek rd event is cancelled

Two years ago we had 25-30 people in most races, three times per week. A year ago we had 20-25 once or twice per week. Now we have 10 on a good day once per week. The evidence pretty much speaks for itself. A feature list of things they've added or competitions they've run does not indicate success if people aren't bothering to play the game day-to-day.

Is R3E a successful esports venue? Yep. Is it a successful game? Not so much. But given the money paid to R3E's parent company for hosting esports competitions, compared to the money made from selling content, I doubt it's surprising why they're focusing on the former.

 

[FeltHat]

@FeltHat I understand what you mean that doesn't make much sense about the graphics card. But you failed to mention anything that did. Why would you, contradiction is so much more fun?

I assumed that if i point out things that are not true or i dont agree with, you would think rest is kinda ok

Two years ago we had 25-30 people in most races, three times per week. A year ago we had 20-25 once or twice per week. Now we have 10 on a good day once per week. The evidence pretty much speaks for itself.

I meant game in its entirety, what you said is rd eu r3e club's problem. Player number doesnt decline and other groups i check seem healthy to me
I agree with esport and update delay tho, rly unfortunate

 

[balage06]

I kinda agree with Calvyn in a sense that I also think Sector3 is too late with certain improvements, the majority of the potential userbase already labeled R3E as an "outdated" sim and they cannot be convinced about the opposite, they base their opinion on experiences from years ago. In my country, RaceRoom never got popular in the first place, the only thing that saves it is the Hungarian involvement in the real WTCC-WTCR and the story of Michelisz, who actually started in our league as a sim racer, but the attempts with different series pretty much failed with almost no exception.

 

[UMC 22]

I meant game in its entirety, what you said is rd eu r3e club's problem.

I disagree. Nothing has really changed in any RD clubs, yet R3E is suffering the most. What has changed is that the R3E club has declined over the last two or three years while the rF2 club has increased.

I'm not suggesting that rF2 has "stolen" R3E drivers, but I am suggesting that rF2 has been focusing on the right type of development. Not so long ago it was lagging well behind, practically dying out. Then it got it's big revitalisation and it worked wonders on both the sim and public perception of it.

While R3E may have come a long way in a similar period, it doesn't change the fact that the general public perception by those that don't really play it is that it is a dated sim being used as a content-heavy cash cow. If S3 (or rather, those in charge) would go back to basics and work hard on the core sim rather than content and competitions, R3E could quite easily see the same kind of bounce-back that rF2 has.

 

[tlsmikey]

I'm going to withhold judgement until their December update which is promising new physics and TC updates for a lot of cars including GT3. I really like the latest physics updates with the cup car and I think they're on to something, but the rest of the cars on the older tire model are a little too easy and simple for my taste.

Graphics could use an update as well, no question. They need things like particle effects, bloom, and some day/night transitions, but I don't think that's my biggest issue with the sim at the moment. The biggest issue for me is that you can use any GT3 without TC at the moment and the cars are very easy to drive. That doesn't seem realistic.