iRacing

Spils said:
No excuses now with all that High end gear I want to see you really improve this season.

One screen, an half broken g25 with a throttle that sticks at 90% and has to be slammed hard to get the full 100% out of it. £1.99 casters to stop me sliding all over the place when I hit the brakes. I would love to get tripples, a nice shiney new T500 and 3 matching screens. I can only imagine how much better I would actually be.

Yes I am jealous lol.


BTW if you sell the TH8, Ill take it off you as thats another thing. My Shifter double down shifts or decides not to up shift unless I hit gear up 3-4 time. The double downshift is the one as it's locked my rear axel quite a few times making me feel like Senna as I catch a huge tail slap.
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The Fanatec shifter requires hard mounting I think, so I wouldn't be getting one until I have an Obutto Rev. 3

That won't be happening for a while.

Spent £500 on the screens, just bought a second GTX 680 £130, new motherboard, CPU, RAM, cooler bundle £400, a new PSU £80 and a new SSD £90.

In all out of favours with Mrs Llama for a while.
 
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Chunk you make some good points to be honest. But they have 2 scanning teams one of them dedicated to scanning europe. They need a 3rd to scan the rest of the world. They also said they prefer to build partnerships instead of paying for licences.

So that should stick to that. They should also forget about all the f1 tracks most are crap unless your in a car that pulls 4g's in a bend and hits 200mph we have 3 cars that can do that and one is extremely broken, the other needs major work and the other is an Indy car. Something no one outside north America care about.

They should stick to forming partnerships, with smaller none f1 tracks. This country alone has some great tracks like cadwell park castle combe which are a dam more exciting to drive in a tin top or low formula car. I'm sure most these kinda tracks would love the exposure iracing could offer them. There are 100s of these smaller circuits all over eruope.

They also don't help themselfs by not having a way to test content. I hear great things about vir but won't buy without driving it first I have a few bits of content I really regret buying. It's also so expensive for new players to get into I have loads of friends who come round love it ask about cost and it scares the hell out of them. To run gt3 just as an example with a 3 month sub the car and all the tracks you are talking at least 100 pounds.

Instead of selling one track at 15 dollars selling 6 at 5 would be better spent. I know the content is actually pretty cheap. But from a new guy looking in its crazy.

You could also buy 12 tracks for season 3 and by season 4 have to spend another 80 quid as the schedule as completely changed.

They also need to mix it up a bit its the same old circuits and the same old layouts. Oulten park as what 7 layouts, yet season after season its international no chicanes. Time and time again. They stick slow tin tops on f1 layouts of circuits.

They could do a lot to help new guys but it seems they do very little to me. Even the starter car as been broken for ages and compared to its real world version is a death trap. I know as there's one sat on my drive.

I love iracing and tell anyone who will listen to get it, but sometimes there really don't help themselfs, or new people get into the game and make some crazy decisions.
 
Yeah, the startup cost is crazy, might not be compared to IRL racing or hobbies, but its a lot for a computer game. I've never been interested in rFactor, but whether its rF1/2 or AC, those games cost about £30 once, and then the modding community make some fantastic content. Has it got EVERY bump? No, but will 99% of us notice??

IMO the only thing that iRacing has, which makes it better than the rest, is the also biggest thing i hate about it. The paywall. That helps keeps the arcade riff-raff out, the morons.
Thats why AC wont steal anything from iRacing, because unless they can create a virtual wall to keep riff-raff out, and create a community where you tend to get plenty of people wanting to do the same event you do on a consistent basis like iR does, people wont leave iR.

I started iR 2014 Season 2 Week 2. I bought 6 tracks for the Skip series (and the car), the RUF (swapped to Z4 thankfully) and remaining GT3 tracks for that season. I've also bought most of this seasons GT3 tracks. Its damn pricey. Fortunately i got in on a $1/yr sub, cos that'd be another $89 or whatever it is.
The fact that is subscription and paid content, really annoys me, the problem is there isnt an alternative. You can do random races, but they're kinda meaningless, or you can do organised events, but your stuck committing to 1 time each week or whatever.

I think its a real shame they dont offer the ability to test content offline, cos who's paying a subscription and doing just offline? If there is someone, they deserve to be able to access the content, cos they're missing out on the only thing worth paying for.
At least then people could try stuff, I wont buy a few cars i fancy, not after trying the RUF. If i could try the Corvette, Ford GT, Riley Proto, cars like that, there might be a series there i'd enjoy doing. Im not paying for a car i dont know if i'll even like driving. Screw that.


As for COTA, its a really horrible track. Its all the 'famous' corners in F1 without any of the life and soul those corners actually have, without the history that made them famous, its just a big car-park. Its so very very American, the Las Vegas of race tracks.
 
Yer I'm with you there the pay-wall does keep the riff raff out. I actually don't have a problem with sub charges and I dont mind paying for the tracks and cars especially the cars as every other racing game does DLC packs where you pay £6 for about 10 cars 9 which are crap and one decent. The quality of the content is second to none. I just think they could make it a lot more affordable and easier for proper Motorsport fans to get into. We are not all daddys little boy, silver spoon feed, Brandon's.

Devs have to eat and pay bills to I fully get that...But I just think they could make the cost to new proper Motorsport fans a bit easier to digest. Some of the older content could be at a reduced price and season packs could come with a heavy discount.

The service and online feature is worth the Sub at a slightly lower price though I do think they could attract at least double there current figure of 35,000 members and an average of 3,000 members online each evening world wide.

Some of the series are like a ghost town and your lucky to get one official race a night. Not everyone is a douche theres thousands of people out there who if I-racing was a wee bit cheaper would be all over it. I do believe they screw there selfs alittle with a way to test content and make entry a bit more affordable to new guys and us older members who need 4-5 tracks to compete in a season. 10% discount is very meeeeh
 
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The big problem I have with iRacing is not being able to test the cars before you buy them.

I've got loads of cars I don't use offline, let alone race with them online. If could give then back for a a refund, or even credit, I would.

The tracks it's not so bad because to can try some of them in another game to see if you'll like them. And even you don't you end up racing if it's in the schedule and you want to race that week.

The other thing is you get no access to the content you've bought without an active subscription. It's an online game so making your content available offline shouldn't be a problem. There aren't any sever set up files with the content you have offline, so it's not like you can run a private server for free.
 
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Finally finished skinning late last night :D

Probably around 10hrs in total, although the design is based on a long-running scheme ive done from my RC days, then into LFS, pCARS, Assetto Corsa and now iRacing.
Theres been a couple of hours getting used to how to view skins in-game, how to 'free-cam' to be able to closely examine line-up, how to reload the skins, where everything appears on the car etc. It was probably about 6hrs to get it looking about right, then after that lots of tweaking, painting in the little pieces which overlap main body areas. Then decals, layer effects, stuff like that.

Z4_C2K_01.jpg


Here's a handful of screenshots @ 2560x1080 (~600kb each)
Z4_C2K_02.jpg

Z4_C2K_03.jpg

Z4_C2K_04.jpg

Z4_C2K_05.jpg

Z4_C2K_06.jpg

I've already made a few changes between writing this post with the screenshot :D
I've emphasised the UK & Ire decals, adding a light grey outer glow, you dont see it but it makes the decal whiter, so it stands out a tiny bit.
I've also switched the visor background to green, although it'll only be for this Spa race as i'll be bumped to the Blue A License, buts its a 1-click change.
 
Ooh, didn't know you could do custom skins now? Are they seen by all or just local?

I wish I didn't sell my wheel gear, but I don't have the space and time to play at the moment it sucks :(
 
I think its been possible for a while tbh.

Its only local, the iRacing service doesnt do anything in this avenue. What does though, is the TradingPaint service, you can upload the file there (which im doing while i type) and you run a process in the background which downloads other peoples skins from their server.
If you're not running the TP service, you'll see peoples 3-colour design. So you wont just appear as a white paintjob to everyone else.

http://www.tradingpaints.com/
They're also, as the name suggests, a good place for finding a custom skin someone else has created, and from what i understand you just need to tell it which skin, by ID or something like that i'd imagine.

Its a free service, though there is a Pro version for a sub fee, which lets you hold multiple skins (day/night, different designs etc) but the basic free service is good enough for most people.
 
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Just done the first 2.4hr Road Warrior race @ Spa.

Fantastic race too. Had intended to do a load of practice this week, its a 2.4hr race so its not like these 30min races where you just do another if it goes meh.

So i went into the race having done about 20min practice on Monday, which was straight after the new build, did maybe 10 laps in bits. Did the qual 30min before race, wasnt too bad.

Had absolutely no idea for pit strategy, read that it wasnt possible to do 2x full tanks, it's just short. So opted for something i felt would work as 3 equal stints, rather than 2 full heavy stints with ropey tyres towards the end, then a 5-10 lap dash.
Did warm-up then too too long sorting myself and missed the grid. First time ive done that. So by the time i'd left the pits i was 34th and over 1min behind the next guy.

Made a few really minor 'off-track' incidents, particularly in the 8-16 lap phase of the tyre wear, as it was all completely new to me. The pit strategy, i pitted slightly earlier cos someone was holding me up, put a bit less fuel in, even less in the final stop which was on schedule, but realised 30min left 2m20 laps need less than 15 laps worth.

Managed to unlap myself having patiently followed the 2nd for ages, before the leader got DQ'd and at that point i decided im not ruining his race by pushing for a pass, i want to get chasing down the rest of the field (looking for top 10 by this point) and fortunately i think he got the message as previously i'd used the tow to gain a little then moved out, just kinda letting him know im not trying to attack. He moved over, and i ended up getting a few places, a few did their late pit stop, and i had a 8-10 lap race for what ended up being for 5th, sadly my tyres were about 6 -8 laps old, i could stick with him through slipstream but couldnt hold the same lines and was pretty much hanging on. Damn good race, and not bad for less than 1h practice, not knowing the tyre wear situation, only bought the track on Monday, and starting from the pitlane like a dummy :D.

Hopefully i'll do the 9pm race too, and i might try for the 2am Sunday one as well. Definitely cant do the 9pm tomorrow :(

The longer races are soo much more fun, its less sprint, more a case of survival.
I was going to say i didnt have any contacts... i hit the outside of the pit-wall the T1 corner while taking it flat with the limiter on, and fortunately didnt do and damage :D (0x too).

I'd also realised they dont count for MPR, and for some reason i thought that meant no IR or SR scored, so that was a nice little treat.
Im now exactly 2400 iR and B 3.79 SR. So should get fast-tracked in another race, or on Tuesday anyway :D

Anyone else planning to do it?
 
And thats 2 done :D

Started 4th, things got underway nicely... till about lap 2 when i spun like a complete bell... yeah :D
Managed to plough my way through, first 7 laps i had 7x, really wasnt looking so great.
By lap 50 i was 3rd, made another off-track, i'd gone 34 without mistake and it was the most stupid of mistakes too, realised i was pushing (the double-apex left, just after the 2nd split timer) slowed it down a lot, then stupidly carried on and the car just pushed over the curb slightly.

Had a cracking fight in the last 20 laps though, 14sec behind the next guy (4th) got it down to 9sec and we both pitted in 2nd/3rd with 7 to go. The tyres were off and i'd been reluctant to pit sooner to avoid the drop-off coming on the new set. But what ended up happening is the tyres took longer than the fuel, by about 4sec.
Still got out about 4sec behind him, with 2 cars right infront of him. i was out of the slipstream, but managed to pull them in before he'd passed them both, got past them with pretty aggressive (but fair & safe) moves and was right on his tail.
Ended up screwing up right behind him, just slide the rear out, grazed the wall but carried on fine, 3.5sec behind.
He'd started to close down 3rd, and i was 2.5sec behind when the white flag went out, got to T1, and theres smoke, yellow flag, and like an idiot i spin/slide, with the other guy facing me :D i managed to go inside while he corrected himself, and he chased me all the way to the line.

So started 4th, finished 4th. Pretty much the story of my life in iRacing :D
Tons of screw-ups along the way, but somehow finish where i start.

I also got my A license, and im soo close to 2500 iR now.
5th Split though! Lowest guy in the top split was 3966 :D

Jeeze, someone in my race did only 1x +2.08 SR (inc licence bump)

Wont be doing the 2am or the 1pm, both due to the F1 tomorrow, and my back is killing. 5hrs of racing in 22hrs is more than enough (plus qual, practice...).

I also made myself my own live-stat sig
PaulChapman3.jpg

I've set it up to update every hour. I might extend it so that it only updates if ive done +1 races or my iR or SR has changed, otherwise its kinda pointless, esp if peoples browsers are downloading it again.

Sebring on Tuesday. Completely new to me. I thought it was an Indy track from Mansell's days, but turns out they dont race at Sebring (or at least didnt in the 90s).
Looks a bit run down and dull though. I know the other day i was commenting on 'tin-pot tracks' and was criticized for putting VIR in that group, but i think i'd add Sebring too. Its just not a race-track. Theres race tracks, street tracks, and then theres people who've got a bit of land and some tarmac they've nothing better to do then to make a few squiggles on the land.
Theres certainly some rubbish designed tracks (im looking at you COTA!) but there are a handful of British tracks which are every bit as good as these, and yet they have this bonkers prestige. Im guessing its the 24h race @ Sebring which gives it kudos, but its still a pretty poor idea of a race track.

It'd be like Castle Combe or Thruxton, nothing particularly wrong with them (and tbh i'd say the same for VIR and Sebring) but they're not anything remotely special. Their nice track day tracks, national series stuff. Thats my idea of 'tin-pot'. It just doesnt do it for me, sadly.
 
barmyllama said:
The Fanatec shifter requires hard mounting I think, so I wouldn't be getting one until I have an Obutto Rev. 3

That won't be happening for a while.

Spent £500 on the screens, just bought a second GTX 680 £130, new motherboard, CPU, RAM, cooler bundle £400, a new PSU £80 and a new SSD £90.

In all out of favours with Mrs Llama for a while.
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LOL :D

FYI you can get a table clamp for the Fanatec shifter as I have one.
 
Yeah that's a big plus to me. Unfortunately with my iRating I'll be in the lower splits so I can expect some 'interesting' opponents. My lack of iRating simply comes from a lack of talent :p
 
GT3 for me again.


I've been doing some practice at Sebring, nice track but very bumpy.

Spent an hour or so in each GT3 car and I still prefer the Z4, the MP4 is still rubbish over the curbs and I just feel like I have a bit more control with the Z4 than the Ruf.

I would like to know why iRacing change the cars so much from one season to the next. Non of last seasons set ups for any of the GT3 cars pass inspection.
 
4 way adjustable suspension. Don't worry same for all of us none of my 50 RUF sets work either.

BTW I'm one track short for almost every season, so Ill just be racing for fun unfortunately this season. Nice to see a lot of the sheep have jumped ship on the Z4 now its not got a 2 second advantage, done a SPA session weekend and it was a nice mix of the 3 cars again.

I'll be driving the RUF again for the 3rd season in a row, feels very manly again this season. Ran some Laps with Tamas the weekend the RUF god between us we worked out a superb Q and R set. He managed a 2:17 In the Ruf around SPA.:eek: got an OPT of 2:19 but the dam 1x's killed my lap everytime low 2:20's was all I could hit without wrecking the lap.
 
Radical for me. Awesome fun car to drive with great little community and clean racing. Last season was a disaster for me in GT3 it's reminiscent of destruction derby in the lower splits. My irating had a massive boost just from the last few radical races of S2 so I'm looking forward to a full season in it :)
 
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Well, I let my month sub expire, and not more than 3 days later, they had a renewal email for a full year at $49. I decided to ignore that, and the other day, I got a 3 months for $5. The mrs is away later this week, so for $5, thats £3!!! I might as well resub.

God only knows why people use the auto renewal functionality. More money than sense!

Edit: lol! Just realised I had $5 of credit for my last years sub. Result. 3 months for free!
 
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