Rennsport Beta Update 1.8.5 Adds Surprise LMDh Car, Rolling Starts

Rennsport-Beta-1.8.5-Patch-Notes.png
Image: Rennsport
The latest beta release is here: Rennsport update 1.8.5 adds two current endurance prototype cars, multiple new features and a new circuit.

After first being announced as a future addition to the sim almost a full year ago, Beta Update 1.8.5 now makes the Porsche 963 available in Rennsport. The car, running in its second season of IMSA and WEC, respectively, marks a departure from the content on offer thus far - it is one of the first high-power, high-downforce vehicles in the sim.

Note the wording, though: It is not the only car of its kind to be added, as Rennsport also threw in the BMW M Hybrid V8 as a surprise for the update. Competing in the same GTP/Hypercar class as the Porsche in IMSA and WEC, the BMW prototype now also takes the fight to the 963 in Rennsport. The title follows the trend of adding the current top-flight prototypes that multiple other sims have set with this release.


Meanwhile, the two cars also received a new playground in the sim: The Fuji Speedway makes its debut in the beta. The Japanese circuit is raced in WEC, so it fits well with the prototypes - although only the Porsche has raced there in 2023, as BWM only made its WEC debut with the M Hybrid V8 in 2024.

Meanwhile, Rennsport also added a few basic features to the sim with the new update. Pit stops are now available, although without visible pit crews which are supposed to be included later. At the same time, multi-class racing and rolling starts are now possible, the latter even featuring a safety car.

Further fixes and improvements, as well as a "mega key drop", as Rennsport put it in a Tweet, are also part of the update. You can find the full changelog below.

Rennsport Beta Update 1.8.5 Patch Notes​

New content​

  • Added Fuji Speedway track
    • Grand Prix layout
  • Added new car: Porsche 963
  • Added new car: BMW M Hybrid V8

New features​

  • Added Pitstop mechanics
    • In the current version pitstops are without any pit crew or animations, these will be included in a future update
  • Added multi-class race mechanics
  • Added safety car to rolling starts

General​

  • Implemented new suspension animation system for better visual experience of car suspension workings
  • Changed DLSS preset settings to reduce problems with “ghosting” behind cars when moving fast

Gameplay​

  • Improved rolling start logic

SFX​

  • Implemented electric motor sounds logic

Damage​

  • Implemented damaged parts replication and improved overall damage system

UI​

  • Implemented relative track positions table on in-game UI
  • Implemented rolling start radar
  • Implemented per-class game summary screen
  • Added tire wear to game HUD
  • Adjusted fuel remaining display to show how many laps player has left before running out of fuel
  • Added damage status to in-game HUD
  • Improved experience when binding controls in the input settings screen

New day-night system Updated​

  • Road Atlanta
  • Fuji Speedway
  • More tracks getting the night time treatment in a future update

Bug Fixes​

  • Fixed problem with Fanatec wheels sometimes not being recognized correctly by the game
  • Fixed issue with first flying lap sometimes being invalidated for players for no reason
  • Fixed bug with players receiving pit speed limit penalty just after exiting pit lane
  • Fixed some crashes occurring when scrubbing replays
  • Fixed some problems with day/night system giving random light changes when joining a server
  • Fixed some problems with engine / ignition sounds
  • Fixed potential crashes occurring by incorrect drafting-related structures initialization in physics engine
  • Fixed problem with time trials sometimes giving black flag penalty when they shouldn’t
  • Fixed issue with game giving more incident points than a max value allowed in contest settings
  • Fixed issue with lap times sometimes showing last 2 fractional digits instead of first 2 instead
  • Fixed bug with players receiving DSQ when standing in pit garage at night

Known Issues​

  • Using Vulkan can cause the game to crash
  • Nvidia Reflex can cause stuttering. Recommendation is to disable it for now
  • Potential client crash related to DirectX12
  • Curb sounds can disappear after pit stops
  • Replays can crash when scrolling through longer replays
  • Time Trial delta is only shown when PB is set
  • Ghost car does not move in Time Trial Replays
  • In online races, if a car crashes at very high speeds into a wall, it can cause a mini-freeze for all connected clients
  • Getting a black flag in Time Trial will soft lock the player. You have to leave the Time Trial and go back to the Main Menu
  • Updating your profile name will not update your name in any Time Trial leaderboards unless a faster time is set with the new name
  • EV has wrong TC sound, fix in future patch

What are your thoughts on the Rennsport Beta Update 1.8.5? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
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About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

Where did you read that they switched to another Engine and abandoned Unreal, maybe its the reason we've not heard anything from them in a while, please do tell.

Later he replied to someone that it will be "something like the Madness engine" if I remember correctly(couldn't find it now).

Yes it's the reason indeed and it's bigger news than this "Rennsport update" imo.
 
I'm glad that GTRevival switched to an other engine because of the VR issues, Rennsport should do the same. I have enough of these Unreal Engine disasters. UEVR runs terrible with Rennsport so I'm not able to play it.
the best devs for UNREAL ENGINE are MILESTONES, the Ride and MOTOGP games are perfectly done about the graphics. Maybe blame the devs and not the Engine
 
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Something is off when you search youtube for Rennsport 1.8.5 that was out today with a new track and a new class and theres 2 videos on the whole place and being one of them from Rennsport itself .... guess i wont reinstall Epic stuff again to check :p
 
the best devs for UNREAL ENGINE are MILESTONES, the Ride and MOTOGP games are perfectly done about the graphics. Maybe blame the devs and not the Engine

Kunos ! ACC albeit with all the issues that entails to use UE is still the best implementation of the engine on a SIM, and you can see the benefits on a screen when comparing to sims with other engines.... the performance toll when on NIGHT and RAIN is still the lightest when compared to the performance during day of all sims ... other sims with decent graphics when those 2 variables enter the equation shoot into the sky in terms of heaviness in high resolutions ... DLSS does give a hand ofc !

If it wasnt for that i would say the best compromise so far is the madness engine ofc, specially the implementation done by Reiza without all the crap effects PCARS had... still it takes a dive in night and rain with more cars but by far the best compromise that pleases everyone ( visualy at least ), by everyone i mean VR and Screens not all people ofc...
 
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I was solely talking about Unreal Engine as a VR user. For 2D/screens it can be good but for sim racing in VR simply not.
maybe with rtx 6090 and i9 16900K you will crank up the graphics ;), I think you need far better hardware this engine is far more advanced and shines at very high resolution.
I start enjoying the graphics on ACC with 4090.... but need more 5090 is welcome
 
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Yeah, I saw that engine switch for GTRevival on AMS2 forum days ago. Wondered why it hadn't been covered here yet.
IMO, not such a big news at this point for deserving an article on its own. It may warrant covering when GTRevival has more to show, which has not been the case for some months now.
 
Premium
Are you a VR user?
He is not, and he is not a developer either. Professional troll, yes. ACC is horrible in VR and WRC has the same issues. The unreal engine is clearly not designed for VR. It is telling that iRacing have chosen to develop their own engine to support all the graphical options people use. Throwing a 5090 at it probably won't make much difference tbh, I can get ACC running at 90 fps on my 4090 but it still looks horrible, the cars float and the draw distance is abysmal. It's a great sim but it loses 20% of the market due to the VR performance.
 
Its funny how under a topic about a Rennsport update the discussion is about ACC, VR and GTRevival. Comes really to show how not interested many people are in Rennsport (me included).
About GTRevival: Well, now that they changed engines its basically a reboot of the game? As far as i understood it the game was already in an internal alpha testing phase, or at least a small part of the game.
 
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Probably a bit of an unpopular opinion but imo Rennsport doesn’t really need a unique selling point. Especially not on the content side of things. Plenty other sims have no strong USP either and are doing just fine.

If they can continually improve the physics to the point where it’s just great fun to drive then that’s probably good enough. Throw in some game modes people care about, provide decent modding tools and docs and players will come.

I will definitely check out the update. I still think the game has some promise and want to see where it goes.
 

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