Any plans to finish the beta and complete the game or just a $$$ grab?

Development and bug fixing seems to have slowed to a stop.

Yet DLC is coming out all the time asking for more money.

I understand that there are different teams that are developing new features but come on.....

No saving setups
Wrong positions recorded after a race
No ability to set up custom championships or mixed classes
Slow shunt from behind sends car into a wild spin (no respect to the laws of physics on that one)
Frequently hanging multi player
No day / night transition
No weather

Don't get me wrong - I play this sim more than any other, I've bought ALL the content and I defend this a lot on steam and get flamed for it.

But.....I can't shake the feeling I'm now going to be shelling out money on a game that will never be finished, will never have widespread appeal due to the lack of marketing and will always be reliant on the company's servers online.

At the moment....the day and hour those servers come down then none of us can play the content we've all paid a lot of money for.

So is there a definite roadmap that's been committed to recently or radio silence?

 

http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/sector-3-studios-exclusive-interview-part-1.114420/

 

Sorry mate, but I stopped reading after this.
https://forum.sector3studios.com/index.php?threads/raceroom-patchnotes-thread.261/page-2

 

Here you ha e the last update's changelog

09-12-2015


Game:

• Added new content that will be released very soon.
• Implemented Refuelling in pitstops. This is still work in progress and there will be additional fuel options in car setup later. For now all cars will start with full tank.

• Increased session length up to 6 hours.(R3E only. Does not apply to other experiences.) Please note the replay file size will be rather big on longer session races. You can disable replay recording by adding “-disableReplay” to Launch Options for the game on Steam.

• Added Push-to-Pass logic with a temporary HUD element for it. (HUD will be changed in the near future). Push-to-Pass info is available for spectator overlays and in shared memory.
• Removed the hidden fuel and wear multipliers that were automatically applied depending on race length in R3E.
• Added mandatory pitstop, tyre wear and fuel use options to R3E single player races.

• Fixed a crash that was occurring when car status hud was getting disabled.
• Fixed Mandatory pitstop not counting for player on certain experiences.
• Fixed issue with window values getting wrong if window was minimized, which caused hud objects to appear incorrect.
• Fixed a couple of memory leaks.
• Fixed background video being stretched to right monitor on triple screen setups.
• DTM 2013 - Fixed an issue with 4th round of qualifying ending after the outlap and ending the session with no qualifying time.
• DTM 2014 - Fixed mandatory pitstop not counting for the player.
• Fixed an AI related crash that could have occurred while updating certain events.
• Fixed an issue where the menu would show two “End Session” buttons after returning to Garage from Pause menu after session time has run out.
• Fixed car setup screen blinking red when using non English languages.
• Tweaked AI to improve AI starts on grid.
• Fixed an endless loading issue that could occur on slow connections that would timeout mid loading.

Multiplayer:

• Increased default connection timeout to 30 seconds.
• Removed a double call to set a connection related option (TCP_NODELAY) for server-client tcp socket.

Sounds, Cameras, Physics & AI:

• A.I. logic improvements. More racy, less hesitant to overtaking, handles crashes better; AI’s now try and avoid cars even when collisions are disabled.
• Improved AI behaviour coming into sharp corners and pitstop area, and various other small fixes.
• Improved AI logic for the chosen gear when player regains control from AI.
• Tweaked AI speed on 2nd hairpin of Norisring.
• Tweaked AI speed on 2nd turn of Oschersleben.
• Tweaked Bathurst AI behaviour.
• Tweaked Monza AI behaviour and merged cut corridors for all difficulty levels.
• Nurburgring: Fixed "empty pitboxes" problem where AI couldnt perform pitstops
• Redbull Ring: Fixed "empty pitboxes" problem where AI couldnt perform pitstops.
• Lausitzring: Fixed "empty" pitboxes and merged cut corridors for all difficulty levels.
• Hockenheim: Fixed “empty” pitboxes and tweaked AI behavior in turn 1.

• Updated single screen chasecam positions for all cars
• Added missing action cameras for RUF RT12R (GTR3)

• Increased FFB strength for Prototype and Radical cars

Art:

• Mid Ohio - Fixed some flickering banners.
• Nurburgring - Fixed mixed advertisement banners.
• Paul Ricard - Tweaked distant terrain texture
• Zolder - Reduced bumpiness of the track, fixed some flickers in turn 10.
• Monza - Updated curbstones to current design, lowered some rounded curbs, and various tweaks
• Hockenheim - Curbs tweaked and adjusted to match drivers feedback. Gravel texture update. Oil bottle on top of pitbuilding now has new sponsor.
• Bathurst - Small tweaks
• Suzuka - Removed an abandoned truck in pitlane

• Fixed Aquila car shadows.
• Fixed flickering labels in Nissan GT-R GT3 cockpit

Portal & Backend Systems:

• Fixed certain content returning error 20103 when trying to use them.
• Fixed leaderboard challenge launch function checking whether the player owns the livery instead of the car.
• Fixed newsletter subscription option not saving in Account Settings.

 

Ok guys I am more than happy to admit I'm misinformed / dumb / having a bad day.

This is very good news - thank you very much

 

Let's not tear the OP to shreds here. Clearly he is wrong about development slowing to a stop because R3E has made steady strides over the last 18 months. However, I feel the sentiment expressed in his post is shared by many users of this product. To those on the outside (who don't follow this forum or RD), R3E could appear to be a cash grab stuck in perpetual beta. New content comes thick-and-fast yet some of the most basic of features are still missing. I can understand why some users feel frustrated. I do too, even though I keep my ear close to the ground on all R3E developments.

I appreciate development roadmaps bring their own problems but I think at least a 'loose', non-committal roadmap would be beneficial for a product that has been in beta for years.

...and he's right - this product isn't marketed at all well. A fantastic racing sim is going under the radar.

 

I also feel frustated but You have to understand that they arent a big team so they cant have an every day update like Pcars did
They use the content releases to put "masive" updates that they use to fix bugs, do minor fixes, and they also implement new systems as they did last time with the early refueling system

 

Leaving aside my stupidity, a really big help would be a simple wee facebook update or something like that once a week just telling us what's being worked on....not even release dates just a 'we're coding the xyz feature this week'.

I've raised this point with the guys at Reiza (Stock Car Extreme) also saying basically 'great sim but you have to keep fans in the loop'...sadly I got a response which was 'we are so busy we don't have time'.

Too busy to have time to tell the world the amazing things that you're working on? In the time it takes to brew a coffee?

But you get the point. I think we all feel sad / frustrated to see Raceroom - the creme de la creme getting bypassed on so many levels.

I sometimes intrude onto other Steam forums and post footage of Raceroom and the response is always 'WOW thats amazing what game is that?'........but most people just aren't aware of this gem.

 

Never intended to do so, but I hope you understand why I did actually stop reading after that first sentence. If that is the premise of somebody's approach then I don't see how we could have a reasonable discussion.

I'm sure nobody wanted to imply that you're dumb, I didn't.
I'm always open for a constructive debate, but...well, see above.

 

I think it is very difficult to get the communication right, maybe especially with racing sims. They'd like to share what's going on but at the same time they don't want to create any sort of hype or raise expectations, cause the risk of disappointing those is just too high.
And the same applies to a roadmap I believe. Many people will feel upset if they don't meet their targets and maybe it would even create a false impression of their work.

As for the marketing part, totally agree.

 

Sure, but you're a beta tester who knows far more about the development of the game than the OP. This all goes back to marketing, communication and how development of the game is perceived by those on the outside.

 

You're right. Nothing else to say, except sorry to the OP.

 

i thinks its the same in any profession or from a business standpoint. You don't want to overpromise and not deliver. But at the same time still excite the crowd. It must be a hardline to meet. You want to spill the beans but don't sort of thing. RRe's getting more publicity than it used to and I'm afraid to say its more about its new content than its sim-esque features.

 

A new dev stream would be a great move!

 

It may well raise expectations, mine were high coming from R07 to this.
It dosnt really have to be a road map, there are a few beta testers that post here and there are subtle clues or what appear to be as to what is currently being tested or may have been, a simple we are working on or testing this at the moment but xy or z is hampering progress, we`ve tried this and like it or dont!
Something to keep people interested and talking about the game and its future rather than finding fault and looking to the past!

It propogates, word of mouth is a mighty tool, get people talking about possible new features, fixes or additions to the game, if someone who walked away unhappy a little while ago suddenly reads on an obscure forum somewhere that this is in testing or that is being tried it may just encourage\inspire them to come back to the game.

 

I agree. Forum people have shown over the years that they can be very rabid and get bent out of shape quickly and if the devs were to give updates like that some people would get their panties more and more twisted the longer it takes for the promised things to arrive. It's probably best just to keep specifics to themselves so hopes don't get too high and instead just randomly tease us with sexy IMSA car photos.

 

Well, we'd love to, but I'm already walking on thin ice with some of the "read between the lines"-statements I make. Always feeling J-F's cold breath on my neck when typing, like he's watching over my shoulder and whispering "are you sure you want to click send?", in a frighteningly calm voice. Every day I expect him to come for me and cut off a little finger, just as a friendly warning.

But seriously, just look at some of the comments in the Nordschleife thread, people are already going slightly mental, and might I add way too early. (There's that chilly breeze again )

 

Agree.
Every month a short video with some dev talk would be really appreciated.
Its doesn't have to be 1 hour just an update what is coming.

 

Is it just me, or is this the only forum where I see "sorry I was a bit wrong" all the time...decency abounds.

More features sooner definitely would be nice, especially once we get the nordschleife.

 

People get excited by news, its human nature especialy when there is a vested interest, they also get disheartened by none or a very very slow trickle. I think keeping people informed is the wiser move myself.

LOL, didnt you say on that other forum that that Chardon fella was a bit of a pussy in reality, always putting on you and you have to make sure you keep up the yes boss appearance