Simraceway

[Ryan Vickery]

Should mention that aside from the massive list of exceptionally well modelled cars with excellent physics that have been added to the sim they have also added.

SQ (Skill) Rating system - It's early stages but it works by analysing your driving over a series of tracks and cars to create an average starting at 20.00 it will then calculate you up to a maximum of 99. It's still early stages but will be used for matchmaking in the future.

Bigger payouts : They are now regular in paying out the top 50 in an event with a cash prize, alongside that beginner events can only be won once, so once you have recieved a prize for a beginner event you're then considered an intermediate/advanced driver and will only be able to cash out on those event difficulties (each event has 1 catagory for each difficulty). This makes it much more likely that new users or non aliens can get some of the pie.

Quick Race 2.0 - The quick race 2 system is still early stages but it is really starting to take off with many more events being added, these are short sprint races as the name would suggest. Longer races, leagues and bigger things do appear to be coming in the future but for the now in the Beta they are working on getting the QR system in full swing.

Race to the weekend : A new event where by you qualify on the saturday to attempt to make the race, the fastest drivers get through, this is a multigrid event with a prize payout. This is the only event of its type in the sim at the moment but more of this type of thing is likely to come in the future.


Everything is pretty much early stages infrastructure wise with the sim and it's community but the content is top quality, the cars are some of the best I've driven and the tracks are detailed with the best out there. Last thing : Don't judge the game by the Evo X starter car, I hate the bloody thing, it has been going through some changes but the current version has suicide brakes, if you're going to try then Test Drive Tuesday is the day to do it. Todays car is the 1973 Mclaren M23 Formula 1 car!

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Sounds interesting indeed, but one has to wonder who's paying the bill if people are still easily winning enough credits/cash to keep buying content for free?

 

[Rupe Wilson]

Well ill give the 1973 Mclaren M23 Formula 1 car and have a drive round Watkins Glen..


Edit.. All i can say is WOW.. what a nice surprise..im really impressed its great fun..

 

[Ryan Vickery]

Sounds interesting indeed, but one has to wonder who's paying the bill if people are still easily winning enough credits/cash to keep buying content for free?

Buying the expensive content with credits would be a massive grind just for 1 car and prize giveouts are not a daily basis kind of thing (you have to win a leaderboard style hotlap or sprint race timed event based on your overall race time), fact is that for some of the more premium content most people are buying the cars with their own cash.

Which is fair enough in my eyes, it is quality content and considering the game is free to start with you don't have much to lose. I've bought a fair bit of content from credits, prize winnings and my own pocket and though I mainly do hotlapping for my own pleasure I've had more than my moneys worth, almost everything I buy with cash is on Test Drive Tuesday though, have to take advantage of those discounts!

I should also say a word of warning, don't judge the racing by the Evo X quick races, those should be avoided if you know what's good for you! Imagine a bunch of hooligans in indestructable 4X4 cars with suicide brakes, some of them driving with their keyboards.. Not only the car should be avoided but also the people racing it.. Lol.

A replay of one of my hotlap practice laps for an event I eventually won in the Mclaren MP4-27 Formula 1 car!

 

[Rupe Wilson]

I will spend 20 pounds on a game and not think twice, I look at what i'd get for the same money in this sim its a steal... I actualy got it to look at the kart as KRP is just not cutting it for me online..
but it drive's real good. you can feel the car moving and breaking grip ... i cant believe this has not got a bigger fan base on RD

 

[Ryan Vickery]

I will spend 20 pounds on a game and not think twice, I look at what i'd get for the same money in this sim its a steal... I actualy got it to look at the kart as KRP is just not cutting it for me online..
but it drive's real good. you can feel the car moving and breaking grip ... i cant believe this has not got a bigger fan base on RD

The biggest issue with the game in Beta at the moment is that it is still a beta, they are still working on content, fixing issues and trying to setup completely new systems that aren't native to the game engine. What that means is that while the content is there and is fantastic, the racing to go with it is not.

There is no league racing, a lack of long races, basically a lack of infrastructure in the game to support proper online competitive racing. So the content is there (and if you check their licence list you can see what tracks/cars are coming, and that list is very impressive) but the systems and connections to allow this to be able to compete with iRacing/Rfactor for real online racing have not yet been implemented.

Still, the content itself is fantastic and I can't wait until everything falls into place.

 

[Travis]

I posted my thought on Simraceway over on NeoGAF:

"I'm trying SimRaceway for the first time and it looks like most other ISI based games; slightly old but fine for the most part. Not taxing on the hardware means one can crank the anti-aliasing up to make the experience smooth and jaggie free 8) Physics seem good aside from the Evo; BMW M coupe is a lot of fun and the F3 feels good but is marred by ugly cockpit texutres. The tracks all feel a little smooth compared to other sims I own; I hope the dev team add a few bumps to the tracks over time. I'm impressed by the generous demo - download the client and let it update the base tracks to around 20 with 3 free cars! I wish more games did this. The car cost ranges from very fair with many cars under $1USD to extremely mental pricing with the higher end cars around the $30 to $35 USD mark! Some of the lower car bundles are very well priced but the McLaren cars pack is $95 for 11 cars which is an insane price unless you are a McLaren nut.

I've had a few glitches such as racing around Sonoma in the BMW at 4am and the headlights weren't working on some corners and a few track downloads are completing with error messages yet have installed fine. Overall for the short time I've played Simraceway it seems rather solid experience. Not sure how much the real world drivers are helping hone the physics engine and tyre model but the physics feel fine to me and I'm yet to have a 'I'm racing on ice' feeling or 'WTF just happened?' moment. It appears the user base is quite small compared to the 500,000+ likes the sim has on FB but I'm sure it'll grow over time and another option for sim racers is always welcome. Although the old ISI based sims still look okay, I'd love to see the various development teams get their hands on the isiMotor 2.5 in the near future."

Can anyone suggest a good car bundle or cars to buy seperately? I know the Supra and BMW Z4 GT3 were singled out as great vehicles however anyone have thoughts/opinions on the available car bundles? Happy to spend $20-$30 to support the developers if that helps with a list of great cars to buy.

 

[Rupe Wilson]

I'm in the same predicament my self .What car bindle to buy.. I had a blast last night in the 1973 Mclaren M23 Formula 1 car on there Tuesday special, try before you buy..
I was just hotlapping and playing with the ffb setting then carried onto the car setup. The track Watkins glen has allot of bumps in places. Although it might not have say the graphics of AC, they are good enough for me. For me everything is running smooth as silk on what I've tested,
ill defiantly be having more fun with this sim..

 

[Rupe Wilson]

Ive just made my first purchases on a few cars... 20 Dollers
Jag E type
Statos Stradale
Z4 gt3
Megane trophy
Kart
FSAE B11
Renault alpine A110
2000GT
John cooper works S coupe

And ive got change in the pocket

 

[Ryan Vickery]

This got me excited like a little kid, 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth! Price is $0.76 or 760 credits

And it doesn't disapoint, this car sounds amazing, is really well modelled with attention to detail and is amazing to drive. Really happy, I just wish they would hurry up and release Nordschleife so I can drive it around a worthy track!

 

[Rupe Wilson]

Im loving the alpine. Retro heaven
but i might just have to spend the last 5 dollers that's burning a hole in my pocket
you've tempted me with that car

 

[traind]

the atom v8 is great fun if you like a car that will snap sideways in first through third gear anytime you stretch your right foot The oversteer is fun and very catchable but ever present with that car.

I also like the LFA (one of the better looking interiors I've seen in this title) and the modern McLaren GT1 car quite a bit. The M3 GT sticks like glue in most situations but the McLaren slides a bit more and is a bit more fun as a result. I can say the RX7 (which is really cheap) is pretty accurate feeling compared to real life (I used to own one and tracked it quite a bit) and also has one of the better looking interiors.

I am interested to try the modern open wheel cars to see how they drive. The 73 McLaren felt quite good from this week's test drive Tuesday and I ended up buying it (which seems the fiscally prudent way to go at 50% off). The Audi R18 LMP would also be interesting as Alan McNish helped them dial in the correct feel for that car.

 

[Rupe Wilson]

I was having alot of fun in the E type tonight
But i think ill stick to KRP if i want my kart fix ..
for a free sim and very small layout for a few great cars i still not complaining..
Its a bit weird not seeing a driver in the car though on replays or have i missed a box to check

 

[Ryan Vickery]

the atom v8 is great fun if you like a car that will snap sideways in first through third gear anytime you stretch your right foot The oversteer is fun and very catchable but ever present with that car.

I also like the LFA (one of the better looking interiors I've seen in this title) and the modern McLaren GT1 car quite a bit. The M3 GT sticks like glue in most situations but the McLaren slides a bit more and is a bit more fun as a result. I can say the RX7 (which is really cheap) is pretty accurate feeling compared to real life (I used to own one and tracked it quite a bit) and also has one of the better looking interiors.

I am interested to try the modern open wheel cars to see how they drive. The 73 McLaren felt quite good from this week's test drive Tuesday and I ended up buying it (which seems the fiscally prudent way to go at 50% off). The Audi R18 LMP would also be interesting as Alan McNish helped them dial in the correct feel for that car.

I posted a video above of the 2012 Mclaren Formula 1 car, second half is a lap in the cockpit view so it will give you a fairly decent idea of how it is. I personally think the car is great, it has a massive ammount of performance with a slight neutral understeer feeling to it, you have to be smooth on the power and precise on the brakes to avoid locking. If you have driven other F1 cars in other games then it is a simular but perhaps more refined car, comparable to the iRacing Williams F1 but easier to catch slides with, perhaps not so sensitive on the brakes.

I bought it on Test Drive Tuesday though, I don't think it's worth buying at the full price, you might do better to wait until either the 2010/2011 versions come on to the TDT.

 

[Travis]

Sunk $20 into this sim and I must say it's an excellent experience

Anyone take a look at the BMW Z4 GT3 car model? All I can say is wow! The interior needs some work (e.g. the Motec display looks very average) however the sound and physics are both excellent as far as I can tell. Also bought 10 other cars and still have money to spend later on. I wish they'd release a GT class pack as the various GT spec cars look rather tasty.

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

I too spent $20 on this and I'm very happy with it! Bought a total of 28 cars and still have a couple of bucks left on my account. I was particularly impressed with the Viper and Saleen, both handled and sounded like I expected them to do irl. The Saleen was very impressive, second to only the one in R3E Imo. That said I have no experience with either car irl so it's purely based on assumptions of how they behave in reality.

 

[Travis]

The WMD forums are always good for a laugh; first the nitpicking over every aspect of Assetto Corsa and now SRW is stealing vehicle sounds from pCARS because the exact same car sounds very nearly identical in two different games I know it's just one member but I find it funny to read such an accusation from a senior member (FWIW I'm at the same level). I hope the fellow never plays NFS: Most Wanted (2012) as the V8 Ariel Atom created by Criterion in MW sounds pretty much the same as SRW and CARS

SRW really is a hidden gem; there are some rough spots but there is enough good or great aspects to keep me amused for quite some time to come. Is there a list of outstanding bugs/issues any where on the SRW forums? I find the SRW forums a little chaotic and quite difficult to navigate at times.

It was mentioned here that DX11 could be used; any ideas if this is an upgrade from ISI to their graphics engine or something custom? Plenty of great games both past and present still use DX9 including some to be released racing sims.

 

[Ryan Vickery]

It was my video of SRW that the guy used to make the example, I was also the one who defended SRW. But on the other end of the scale I have to agree that there may be atleast something to what he is saying, I don't think they are exactly alike but I can see how someone would get suspicious as they are surprisingly simular, they could easily have come from the same engine recordings.

But then they 2 games could easily have purchased the same engine recordings to use for the sounds of the car. I honestly have no idea either way, it's not news that I'm a big fan/follower of SimRaceway and that is simply because I was impressed by the quality of their car models (in terms of driving physics) and the excellent customer support and communication with their userbase.


As for DX11, SimRaceway doesn't currently support it but it is something I was told they are currently developing and will be coming in the (hopefully) near future, in specific they mentioned DX11 shaders. For now it is running DX9, they have also mentioned that some tracks will be recieving big graphical updates. Circuit of the Americas will likely recieve updates to the layout/surface as it was released as a promotional track with the 2012 COTA F1 race, obviously they did not have 100% accurate data on the track at that point. Still I'm told it is more accurate than the version in F1 2012, how true that is I have no idea.


As for their forums... I moaned about the forums, apparently that is all they have to work with right now and they are even aware that the forum platform sucks balls. Either way it seems to be a relatively good place to discuss the game and the SRW staff do get involved in conversation, a lot of things mentioned on the forum are things that have made it into the game or have been taken on board by SRW. So while it is a bit chaos, it does to an extent get the job done and SRW do appear to follow it closely and are interested in what the community wants for the sim.


And why not, throw in a video of me racing the Sierra Cosworth - Was a rough and bumpy race with only around 5-6 cars, most of which seemed to disapear (crash and dropped behind i guess) after the first lap leaving 3 of us to duke it out. All around excellent fun though, just give me a bigger field and a longer race.

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

I had my mind set on an evening with playing The Secret World, but instead I started playing some R3E and after a short while felt like comparing the Saleen to the one in SRW (sidenote as it's not the point of my story, they are both good to me, R3E version sounds better but both handle beautifully although different). I proceeded with playing some with the Cosworth and some other cars, and found myself chatting to the devs while playing (and racing one of them). Had a real blast! And when I finally figured I should call it quits and get 30 mins worth of TSW before bedtime I started looking at the events, bought the Ariel Atom and took it for a spin on that oval event they had running, car felt amazing but on a oval? Bit boring so I took it to the track of Mid-Ohio, and good god that car is fun to drive! Highly recommended buy at a mere $1.60!!! Nimble, lots of power, snappy but still controllable if you're ready for it. FUN FUN FUN!
It's now 2 am at night here and I reckon it's bout time to hit the sack, tomorrow maybe I'll play some TSW, maybe...

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Btw, I asked the devs some questions last night (and got good answers!), one of them being wheter there will be implemented a way to host player driven races, preferably password protected to accomodate things like community races, and the answer I got was "Yes, VERY soon". So maybe, just maybe we could see some RD Club Racing in Simraceway some day? Maybe?