iRacing used a track modeling program called "Sandbox". One of the previous versions was free for the NR2003 community. What it makes so special is the track creation, which just allowed you to divide the track into separate parts like this: … there was never a track mesh structure like this: Now they have changed their method … and these are great news.
Even if a track is created from predefined track sections in an editor tool, those individual segments are still polygon meshes themselves. So I don't really get what's different.
Well,I jumped the gun a little on the earlier post as iRacing just uploaded this after. Looks fantastic.
AI not coming this year then, sub currently gathering dust so that's disappointing. Glad I didn't renew during black friday. Not really bashing iRacing here, just another classic example of a simracing buying into a product for what he wants it to be, not what it is.
Ok, iRacing was published in 2008. After 10 years of development and improvement they present one of the most important features for a racing sim. R3E was published in 2013 … sooo, I think we can expect the same beautiful sunsets and sunrises in 5 years at the latest. …
What i don’t get is the fact that flightsims for example got real day/night moving clouds and clouds casting shadows and rain 20 years ago! And racing sims struggle to implement this features still today. It can’t be that hard to code. But with iracing getting some of this features now i hope that R3E won’t be on the last position to get these effects too.
It can't really be compared. For planes rain is just a graphical effect. The only area it affects is the landing. The same can be said about day and night. It have little impact on the performance of the plane and can often be ignored to just be a graphical thing. On the other hand, rain have a massive impact on racing cars and so do the temperature changes when you go from day to night. The problem come with that you need to code it so that it feels realistic. With how the tires behave on a wet track. How the grip level changes when the temperature rise and drop as the time changes. It's a difficult and massive task if you want it to be correct but if it ends up being poorly implemented, then us Sim racers tend to be all over it with our complaints.
Still think it can’t be that difficult. You have already realtime grip level of the tires and it’s decrease because of worn out over time. Adding just another number because of changing track temp should be possible without month of coding. Same thing for rain. Should be even possible for parts of the track where more aqua stays on track. Daylight changes could be still done with directx9. For nice looking rain/water effects switch to directx11 (that’s the most difficult part imho)
Simulating sunsets is one thing, but what iRacing are doing here is next level stuff. Simulating temp changes on the surface as the sun/cloud cover changes. Simulating wind and its effect on braking distances. Simulating the rubbering in of the surface and how that changes over time. iRacing isn't just coming out with a pretty sunset. There's a lot going on here, especially with respect to how the sun is positioned and making the shadows correct at various locations. In terms of depth, iRacing is unparalleled right now but it may not be the sim for everybody. I'm like R3E again after the recent physics update and its fun to play. iRacing is still a lot of my time, but you need a fun sim too.
iRacing Patch Release Notes December 4th, Season 1 Build This season release includes the long awaited Day/Night & Time of Day system, a pair of free tracks, two new cars, and a host of updates, features, and fixes for your iRacing enjoyment. We hope to see you out on the track! Some highlights include: • Day/Night & Time of Day • Dallara F3 • Formula Renault 3.5 • Charlotte Motor Speedway (Roval) • Tsukuba Circuit (7 Configs) • iRacing BETA Interface – Home and Leagues • New Crowd System • New Controls and Force Feedback Settings • Brake Bias Adjustments for Fixed Setups Full Patch Notes: Patch/Hotfix Release Notes - iRacing.com | iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations
I hate to say this but Project Cars 2 already has everything what you're speaking of so.. it's not next but more like current level. Everyone else is just lacking behind.
That's next level from iRacing but not matter how hard I try I can not get iRacing ffb to feel as alive as it does in R3E and sounds are lifeless as well. Noting that the last time I tried iRacing was about 9 months ago
I have to say iracing does so so many things right its a shame they cant get the actual driving bit right. I resubbed today for a month to see what is going on there....the ffb and car feel is still absolutely awful. Completely dead. And so much for the matchmaking.....i did a fixed setup ferrari gt3 race, qualified 5th and got taken out within 2 laps....hmmmm I switched straight back to R3E and the difference is night and day, cars feel amazing in comparison. Perhaps slighty too grippy, they do let you abuse them a little to much....
yup as much as I love the whole concept of iRacing (I played it religiously for many years); whilst I enjoy the structure & implementation of the competitive racing I don't enjoy driving the cars. If they got that right (and the sounds) plus ai, I would be willing to sink some dollars back into the game especially with the new features they are touting. But as it is right now; would you pay premium sums on money on a flashy new super car with all the bells and whistles only to find that when you drove it; it handled like crap and you realised that driving your your grandma's mobility scooter was more exhilarating?
Just curious if you tried irffb? It doesn't fix everything, but it does improve the FFB quite a bit. I found it to be essential when I last played about 6 months ago.