I’ve joined iRacing

[Kenadian]

Since playing competitive Battlefield 3, I’ve gotten slightly addicted to competitive gameplay. I was sincerely hoping I could take my game to the next level in Battlefield 4 but the competitive scene there has completely diminished due to the buggy state of the game and horrendous netcode issues that seem to plague players not located within minutes of the Servers hosting the game.

In comes Assetto Corsa and bringing with it one of the most authentic and compelling racing experiences I’ve ever had. The game taught me quite quickly that I have no idea how to drive a race car and my laptimes often reflect this when competing against little P and Stokes (you guys are awesome btw!).

I can honestly say that for the first time in my gaming history, I’m very much interested in improving my racing skills but since there is nothing recent to keep me satisfied (AC still needs a lot of work) I thought iRacing may be a good fit.

I joined a few days ago, read all there was to read and watched the Driving School series just to get an idea of car handling and what to expect ingame.

The first times out were horrid as I spent more time off track and in the wall than anywhere else. That’s why I concentrated on not competing and only turning Practice Laps until such time as I could string together 7 decent laps.

Well that happened on the weekend and as of last night, I raced my first Time Trials (which count against your Safety Rating) and did well in both.

I’m still very much feeling this out but so far it’s a pretty invigorating feeling to actually gain points given the rough start I had in Practice Sessions.

I’m not sure how long I’ll be in this but I do want to give it a fair shot so I purchased a one year subscription to the iRacing Service and plan to see it through as much as possible.

I’ll likely post some YouTube footage of exactly what I’m up to for those interested.

BTW, if anyone here decides to join iRacing please let me know as it would be great if you could use me as a referrer.

Ken

 

[little P]

Oooh I've always toyed with the idea of iracing, but never went through with it, it looked quite complicated (with all the licenses and rules etc.) and I didn't look into it anymore. I'm looking forward to watching your youtube videos, your commentary is always interesting and good for a laugh.

How much is a years subscription out of interest? Oh, and good luck!

If you get on alright with it I might give it a whirl, I assume there is a monthly sub too.

 

[StrokesUK]

I tried it for a few months a while back when they had a special offer on. It was ok (won a few races as well) but i just couldn't justify the massive cost of it all to myself, especially as you get a very limited amount of actual race time. Also at the time the physics were iffy, i'm guessing they have improved by now but Assetto Corsas physics far out strip any other sim i've played and i think i'd struggle going back!

Also i didn't like that i would have to grind so much for so long just to get to competition at my level, i don't have the time to sink into this sort of thing really i suppose.

 

[little P]

I've just looked at it, and evfen with the 50% off that is a lot of money! Rfactor 2 looks a lot cheaper, and it's got the BTCC civics in

But iracing to be fair looks a lot more organised?

 

[little P]

Wow. I just tried the Rfactor 2 demo. Don't waste your bandwidth :icon_eek: GARBAGE.

 

[Kenadian]

Oooh I've always toyed with the idea of iracing, but never went through with it, it looked quite complicated (with all the licenses and rules etc.) and I didn't look into it anymore. I'm looking forward to watching your youtube videos, your commentary is always interesting and good for a laugh.

How much is a years subscription out of interest? Oh, and good luck!

If you get on alright with it I might give it a whirl, I assume there is a monthly sub too.

I think I ended up paying around $50 and I know I'll have to pay at least another $50 because I need more tracks and a few more cars like the MacLaren, Porshe and Corvette.

It seems pricey because a lot of this is up front costs however is it really that much more expensive than any game with expansions?

You're paying more for a service that tracks virtually everything you do and measures it against everything everyone else does. It's a pretty amazing setup they have there so I'm ok with the price.




Sure I wish it was cheaper but it beats being ripped off by EA time and time again.

I tried it for a few months a while back when they had a special offer on. It was ok (won a few races as well) but i just couldn't justify the massive cost of it all to myself, especially as you get a very limited amount of actual race time. Also at the time the physics were iffy, i'm guessing they have improved by now but Assetto Corsas physics far out strip any other sim i've played and i think i'd struggle going back!

Also i didn't like that i would have to grind so much for so long just to get to competition at my level, i don't have the time to sink into this sort of thing really i suppose.

Sorry d00d but it's an MMO and I don't think there's one ever created where you don't experience some kind of grind.

I'm also surprised by the lack of races you experienced because there's tons of races all the time. My guess is you were still at a lower class license so a lot will be locked from you which is fair.

You really don't want every single racing season opened to rookie or low Safety Rating and/or iRating players because all their going to do is spoil it for everyone else.

You have to grind to get every single point and license up which I don't think would be any different if you wanted to race in the real world.

I'm very much ok with this and am using the time to practice, practice, practice and run Time Trials which also count toward your SR and IR.

I'm a bit surprised to hear your take on physics though because if different from Assetto it isn't massively different. My guess is that you were on an older tire model when you played and that has been changed numerous times.

Unlike Assetto though, this a much larger, active and existing base of players from no level of experience all the way up to people who actually race real world.

In creating their racing school they actually collaborated with the Skip Barber Racing School which has helped iRacing become a recognized training tool for new racers world wide.

I've just looked at it, and evfen with the 50% off that is a lot of money! Rfactor 2 looks a lot cheaper, and it's got the BTCC civics in

But iracing to be fair looks a lot more organised?

Very, very organized on a scale I never thought possible.

Wow. I just tried the Rfactor 2 demo. Don't waste your bandwidth :icon_eek: GARBAGE.

I could have told you that, rFactor 1 was pretty much shit as well.

The only thing ISI is good at is, well really nothing. Their AI was ground breaking back when they were under the EA blanket with Sports Car GT. Since then they've focused on creating their own thing but you cannot play it without heavy modding.

Even then it's just ok especially when compared to games like Assetto Corsa and iRacing.

BTW, Sports Car GT was bl00dy awesome back in the day!!!

 

[little P]

One thing I'd like to know, in the race series I'm assuming you have to be there at a certain time etc. is there practice, then qualifying then the race? How is the grid determined? And are the setups locked? I remember back in my live for speed days it was incredibly frustrating because a certain team would have all the best setups, not share them, and even though you know for certain you are faster than an individual on even stakes, with his setup from his team I wouldn't stand a chance. That frustrated me incredibly.

The more I look into this iracing the more I like. You are right of course, the costs are no more than you spend on some game with all the dlc etc.

I'm still a little confused as to how you actually enter a race series etc.

What are you doing at the moment in it? Like what series etc.

 

[little P]

I've just seen they are building the NGTC BTCC Civic, and there will be eight UK tracks in total... that really has got me interested... like Strokes though it's justifying the cost and the time. If I had the choice I'd throw myself into it and never come out, I love motorsport with a passion, but life is just mental busy at the moment with no sign of it letting up, so I just don't think I'd be able to commit the time to it (even though I wish I could).

I do however look forward to following your progress mate

 

[Kenadian]

One thing I'd like to know, in the race series I'm assuming you have to be there at a certain time etc. is there practice, then qualifying then the race? How is the grid determined? And are the setups locked? I remember back in my live for speed days it was incredibly frustrating because a certain team would have all the best setups, not share them, and even though you know for certain you are faster than an individual on even stakes, with his setup from his team I wouldn't stand a chance. That frustrated me incredibly.

The more I look into this iracing the more I like. You are right of course, the costs are no more than you spend on some game with all the dlc etc.

I'm still a little confused as to how you actually enter a race series etc.

What are you doing at the moment in it? Like what series etc.

Your options are exceptionally limited when you first sign up because there just isn't a lot of racing to be had as a Rookie. The system is clearly setup to micro manage you to the point you either grind it out a bit and move up a class initially or give up quickly and do little harm while you're there.

If you're a really good racer and have some good luck, I'm sure you can level up quickly to the next class and then things start opening up. The issue is though that even to race a series the chances of you having all the tracks in that series is next to nothing so you'll need to purchase additional tracks.

I'm likely to pick up all tracks for the Mazda Cup and some more cars such as the Corvette, MacLaren and Ruf.

To enter a series all you need is the car/track combos and the iRating/Safety Rating required.

You can Practice, Time Trial, Qualify and Race throughout the day. I don't know how many races that translates to in total but it appears as if the Mazda Cup Races are being held hourly this entire week so 24 races/day over 7 days. That's a lot of racing and that's only one track, next week it's onto another track.

Qualifying also runs hourly, Time Trials run every 2 minutes and Practice Sessions are up all day long.

 

[little P]

So when you say Series, does that translate to a proper championship? For example there are say 22 entrants in a series/championship over 10 races. Do you race against the same 21 opponents to determine final placings at the end of the championship?

That's what I can't get my head around, if that's the case that would be great and something I've wanted to do for a long time, but I'm afraid you're going to tell me it's just random people each time...

Also, are there any race series you can partake in once you've paid the initial money, or are you forced into buying new tracks if you want to race in a series?

 

[Kenadian]

So when you say Series, does that translate to a proper championship? For example there are say 22 entrants in a series/championship over 10 races. Do you race against the same 21 opponents to determine final placings at the end of the championship?

That's what I can't get my head around, if that's the case that would be great and something I've wanted to do for a long time, but I'm afraid you're going to tell me it's just random people each time...

Also, are there any race series you can partake in once you've paid the initial money, or are you forced into buying new tracks if you want to race in a series?

Ya it's a Series in the way you'd think of a Series. For example, below is the Mazda Cup Racing Schedule for 2014:



It is random racers all the time but I don't know why this would be an issue, racing is racing?

Also grid sizes can vary wildly from about a dozen or so to over 40 cars, possibly more.

You have to understand, at a Rookie level everyone and their dog is wanting to race so you have to lock them tards in a room to battle it out. The ones who practice, run clean and consistent will move up in class while the others will sink to the bottom and give up.

Once you start getting up in classes you start to see the same racers time and time again but you have to work your way up to that level.

It's a good system where chaos is weeded out at each level. I think anything else would result in bedlam and it wouldn't' be fun at all.

 

[Wapwap]

I've looked at iRacing before, it seems pretty interesting.
How do you like it so far (difficulty wise, etc)?

 

[Kenadian]

I've looked at iRacing before, it seems pretty interesting.
How do you like it so far (difficulty wise, etc)?

I love it, in fact I can see it changing the way I approach gaming in general as I'm not known as the worlds most patient gamer.

The racing is exceptionally challenging especially as your iRating increases as you end up in higher splits with much more difficult and capable drivers. I've been placed in higher splits because of the Qualify Time I posted and so far the best I could manage is a 4th place finish and that was really pushing it.

The community around iRacing is also really helpful and knowledgeable so if you want to be a better racer they'll help you achieve it every step of the way.

 

[little P]

I second what Duke says.

Honestly the experience is like nothing else I've had in gaming, let alone a motorsport sim.

It's hard to explain (even though Duke did a good job and got me into it) until you experience it yourself. It's just so well organised and you actually feel like you have a career in motorsports... brilliant stuff.

 

[Wotan]

No reply from iracing.com regarding my problem. :icon_sad:

 

[little P]

No reply from iracing.com regarding my problem. :icon_sad:

Have you tried posting on the iRacing forums Wotan?

 

[Kenadian]

Have you tried posting on the iRacing forums Wotan?

I would definitely encourage you to post in the forums. The iRacing Team has had all kinds of issues since the last patch rollout and they may be inundated with requests.

Even yesterday the Member Site uptime was spotty so there's much more going on behind the scenes than we know about.

 

[Wotan]

A google search brought up nothing relevant, but the forum search pointed me in the right direction -> the Killer network card. It has a QoS background service, that needs to stopped. Did that and was online the very next attempt - no lag, no warp, everything dandy.

 

[little P]

A google search brought up nothing relevant, but the forum search pointed me in the right direction -> the Killer network card. It has a QoS background service, that needs to stopped. Did that and was online the very next attempt - no lag, no warp, everything dandy.

Great news well done See you on the track!

 

[Shilka]

Yeah saw you online with no problems, even followed you around for a bit but I'm not sure you noticed. Good to see you got it solved!