VR, Nordschleife, GT4: The Rennsport Open Beta Update Is Here

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Since its announcement in August of 2022, Rennsport had only been accessible with a beta key. Now, the sim shifts to an open beta - here's what is coming in update 1.9.0.

Closed beta keys for Rennsport had become a bit of a meme ever since the sim was revealed in August of 2022. Now, there is no need for them anymore, as the open beta has arrived - and with it, update 1.9.0 is deployed. This time around, it does feel like a proper step forward in our opinion - check out our impressions in the video above!

The latest version adds new content, some of which is part of the three-tiered Founder's Pack - which, it has to be said, is quite steeply priced.

The good thing is that the Founder's Pack is completely optional - if you can do without the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, that is. Essentially, two of the three pack tiers give players access to the the Porsche 911 GT3 R Rennsport (a modified version of the usual GT3 car) and the Green Hell.

Rennsport Founder's Pack Contents​

Gold​

  • Early access to the Nürburgring-Nordschleife
  • Car Purchase Token
  • Gold Founder's Pack Badge
Price: €19.99

Platinum​

  • Porsche GT3 R Rennsport with exclusive eVIN
  • Nürburgring-Nordschleife
  • Platinum Livery
  • Two Car Purchase Tokens
  • Gold and Platinum Founder's Pack Badges
  • Your Name on a Race Track - Billboard
Price: €39.99

Diamond​

  • Porsche GT3 R Rennsport with exclusive eVIN
  • Nürburgring-Nordschleife
  • Diamond Dynamic Livery
  • Platinum Livery
  • Two Car Purchase Tokens
  • Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Founder's Pack Badges
  • Your Name on a Race Track - On Track
Price: €69.99
Click to expand...

Besides the Nordschleife and Porsche GT3 R Rennsport (named after the Rennsport Reunion event, not the sim, by the way), the Audi R8 LMS GT4 and BMW M4 GT4 make their debuts as new content pieces. This means it also introduces a new class to Rennsport.

OverTake_RENNSPORT.jpg

The Porsche 911 GT3 R Rennsport sporting the Dynamic Diamond livery, which actually changes very slightly over time.

Furthermore, the addition of VR could be considered the second centerpiece of the update. We have not had the chance to give the mode a closer look yet, but will do so as soon as possible to find out how Rennsport performs in VR. With Assetto Corsa Competizione being notorious for its less-than-optimal VR performance and Rennsport also using the Unreal family of engines (version 5 vs. 4 in ACC's case), we would hope for siginificant improvements in this regard.

Find out everything that is new in Rennsport v1.9.0 to launch the open beta in the release notes below.

Rennsport v1.9.0 Changelog​

UI​

  • Upgraded Main menu’s “My Rennsport” tab visuals
  • Improved in-game tire status widget readability
  • In car menu automatic disable logic is no longer active while player is in pit lane
  • Updated in-game controller icons
  • Improved overall visuals for main menu screens
  • Updated loading screens
  • Simplified in-game car dashboard is now enabled by default

Spectator​

  • Implemented helicopter camera for spectators
  • Improved overall spectator system logic for smoother experience

Bugfixes​

  • Fixed issue with lap times sometimes being inconsistent across the whole race
  • Some lap times being different than race time
  • Fixed issue with scoring being messed up when players cross the finish line
  • Fixed issue with player delta being out of sync for a few seconds after player crosses S/F line
  • Fixed some cases where player progress (distance and percentage) on a lap was not updated correctly
  • Fixed problem with players disappearing from leaderboards table when they quit the game
  • Fixed issue with players receiving error message upon being disconnected from game servers which were closed gracefully
  • Fixed problem with checkpoints being triggered a little bit to early by cars
  • Fixed issue with the day-night system sometimes being out of sync for some players
  • Fixed some edge case issues occurring in pit stops system
  • Fixed some issues with dynamic in-game minimap sometimes not rotating correctly
  • Improved overall game stability

Known Issues​

  • VR:
    • No default settings
    • Flickering when loading into level
    • Some menus don’t work in VR
    • No mouse support
    • UI colour is offset in-game
    • Camera position slightly offset
  • Spectator engine audio can be missing
  • Rank can still be affected if the server/client crashes
  • Automtic Headlight assist doesn’t always trigger after stage transition
  • Going back to pits on Orchard Road can trigger a pit stop
  • Using Vulkan can cause the game to crash
  • Nvidia Reflex can cause stuttering. Recommendation is to disable it for now
  • Replays can crash when scrolling through longer replays
  • Time Trial delta is only shown when personal best time 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 and possibly crash the physics engine. Restart your client if this happens.
  • 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
  • Porsche Mission R has the wrong TC sound, fix in future patch
  • Porsche Mission R has a refuel section during the pit stop even though the battery charge doesn't increase
Click to expand...

Will you give the Rennsport open beta a try? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
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About author
Yannik Haustein
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

More in Rennsport

Comments

Luca [OT]
Premium
trichens said:
Didn't Rennsport initially have some plans for "owning" cars and were, perhaps, talking about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to do this?
Click to expand...
From what I understand, the whole NFT thing was completely assumed by the community when they were talking about "digital ownership". Although it didn't do them any favours when during an ESL R1 broadcast in March '23, one of the driver names was mistakenly labelled 'NFT Dragstor' lol.

To my knowledge, they intend for cars in Rennsport to have individual value. For example, in the first ever ESL R1 final, MOUZ driver Max Benecke won in an Audi R8 GT3. Like racecars in real life with chassis numbers, that particular R8 GT3 could then be valued as worth more than a typical R8 GT3 on the game.

It's this whole 'bidding room' and 'auction' mentality where people can go around looking to buy a load of items to then sell it for more and earn a profit. Might work for real racing cars, but I just don't see it working in sim racing. The Cadillac I drive on iRacing for example, to me it's no different than the one used by XSET in the IMSA Esports Global Championship in which eNASCAR champion Casey Kirwan took victory in the final race at Daytona.

Elaborate explanation, I know. But I hope it goes some way into helping you understand what they appear to be aiming for. I could be completely wrong but this is based on what I've been finding.
 
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Günthar Rowe
Premium
I get solid 150 fps on 49” on max settings and DLAA. Also get 85-90 on my G2’s. In comparison to ACC when it went to EA in 2019 (which was horrible to say the least) this is a much better EA/Open Beta release. If this was being called v1.0 I would be unimpressed.
You don’t have to do the founders edition, it’s simply a way to start generating income at a pre-release stage of development.
 
Günthar Rowe
Premium
Also, do not complain that a developer is spending too much time on say their app and not enough on say physics. The programmer that does one definitely does not have any involvement in the other. It’s the same as complaining that you keep getting more cars or more track but the tyre model sucks. These are unrelated in the development of a sim.
 
Metla
Premium
Günthar Rowe said:
Also, do not complain that a developer is spending too much time on say their app and not enough on say physics. The programmer that does one definitely does not have any involvement in the other. It’s the same as complaining that you keep getting more cars or more track but the tyre model sucks. These are unrelated in the development of a sim.
Click to expand...
That's nonsense. Anyone who has worked in project management would recognise it for the fluff that is.

Simple process to define your starting point, your goals, the actions that move you from one to the other, and then to assign resources.

If they are doing an app rather than physics then that is the goal they have given priority to and assigned resources. And resource means more then the guy at the end of the line doing the work, he is a result of the action, not the cause of it.

No one in the real world giving a progress report would get away with this line the game devs have trotted out time after time to their customers (also known as the lifeblood of their industry and survival).
 
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Günthar Rowe
Premium
Cool, so after 15-odd years in and out of the sim development industry, I'm talking fluff... cool
 
Metla
Premium
Günthar Rowe said:
Cool, so after 15-odd years in and out of the sim development industry, I'm talking fluff... cool
Click to expand...
If you weren't aware of a strategic plan, identifying of revenue streams and applications of resources, Then yes.
 
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W
Günthar Rowe said:
Cool, so after 15-odd years in and out of the sim development industry, I'm talking fluff... cool
Click to expand...
I'm sorry but if one of early milestones is to create the app it's a waste of resources. For me you can have even 100 years of practice in the sim development industry at any position what doesn't make difference at all because I'll always call it as a bad management.
Jason King said:
No support for Logitech G920 wheel.
Click to expand...
Developers should take care about above problem instead. If they don't know how (what is a joke in these days) they should be fired.
Günthar Rowe said:
You don’t have to do the founders edition, it’s simply a way to start generating income at a pre-release stage of development.
Click to expand...
I will be more happy if ALL companies start to deliver good products first and start generating income after it. This is a 'cheap one' sponsoring for naive customers.
Günthar Rowe said:
Also, do not complain...
Click to expand...
Excuse me for shortening the quote (yes, it's intentional). This is not complaining, but criticism. Is it constructive? That depends on the creators. I assume they have a plan, are having fun, and only forum users will read it anyway.
I would start complaining after buying a million digital pieces of crap that have no value and then paying full price for an unfinished product as a reward. Impossible? After all, the entire game development industry has been starting to take on this form for a few years now.

To be clear. I wish them all the best (really) but there is no way to protect weird or bad practices from my side. I'm not a one who pay 40 Euros for eVIN or other creative and bright ideas as well.

At the moment I say nay.
 
S
I got a closed beta key quite a while back and tried it on and off but it never really "stuck".

Somehow, I really enjoy it now. I don't know what changed but I like and enjoy the driving.
Got a good balance between graphics and fps aswell when I mixed around with the settings.

It could become my go-to sim.
 
trichens
Premium
Jason King said:
No support for Logitech G920 wheel.
Click to expand...
That's very much a surprise as my G29 works OK.
However, the UI for setting up the controls is... well, dire in my opinion.
Are the controls - pedals and wheelbase - not detected at all?
 
DC WOLF
trichens said:
That's very much a surprise as my G29 works OK.
However, the UI for setting up the controls is... well, dire in my opinion.
Are the controls - pedals and wheelbase - not detected at all?
Click to expand...
most input device work "generic" so you don't have to especially predifine it.
Every user can assign the buttuns and axis to his like.
Imho this is better than a predefined button layout and you cannot change anything.
 
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trichens
Premium
DC WOLF said:
most input device work "generic" so you don't have to especially predifine it.
Every user can assign the buttuns and axis to his like.
Imho this is better than a predefined button layout and you cannot change anything.
Click to expand...
That's why I'd be surprised that the G920 doesn't appear to work.
I've got all sorts of controls connected and had no issues with any of them.
If Windows "knows" the device is connected then I'd expect Rennsport to be able to use it.
 
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T
shadow82 said:
Rennsport is more a game than LMU will ever be though. It has a functional menu system that does not require you to manage it like you would a Unix Server-Farm through config files. Stability and performance wise it is also way more up to today's standard than the 10 years old rF2/LMU engine that run so poorly. And for what it's worth, RS has a radar and a replay mode from day 1 of its public release, never thought that would ever be a thing to mention...
Click to expand...
UE comes with very easy to setup UI implementations so it would be very hard to f*ck up that part. And despite not really being the strongest point of LMU development I think the UI is pretty decent and functional and the sim actually comes with a fair amount of content for a very reasonable price and an experience that excells where it counts - on track. That radars are a standard requirement at this point just shows how times change, because it wasn't a thing about ten years ago when rF2, AC and the PC-titles released and people still got around the track. It's only became a thing because someone developed an app for AC and Kunos then implemented it for ACC. So much about genre standards.

From what I have seen so far I still don't feel motivated to install the beta because I still don't get what this sim aims to offer. Graphics seem too blurry for me and the sound and physics don't seem to be anything sepcial either. And the prices asked for the founders pack are pretty insane while I have no idea what I am even buying, nor do I care about my name appearing in a game or some badges. But that's just me. I still wish the Rennsport guys best of luck to develop a decent product, because more choices are allways better and maybe they can come up with some stuff that benefits this genre, but at this point I will give it a pass.
 
J.J.McClure
Premium
At some point they will start collecting money for every lap driven and if you hit the guard rail
and the vehicle is a total write-off, you have to pay the guard rail and the towing costs.
Oh yes, before you want to play online, take out insurance on our homepage. Today it's extra cheap.
Only 6 annual salaries for a whole 6 months.
If you take out insurance for a whole year, you get a 0.001 percent discount.
Don't buy it. As simple as that.
What do we owe them?
Nothing.
Why do we care about their employees?
It is the company's job to look after its employees.
Do you all run off when a corsetry shop in your town goes bankrupt and save the business from
going under by buying the goods?
Most likely not. You, like me, don't care at all.
When I read that they get my money no matter what the product is like because I'm happy
to support a million dollar company that doesn't give a **** about consumers,
I honestly doubt people's common sense. You're happy with a single line of code as long as it's moddable. Moddability should be the last thing you base your purchase decision on.
The most important thing should be that it's reliable and does what it's supposed to do, as advertised.
Unless that is 100% guaranteed, don't buy.
In no other industry are consumer rights trampled on as much as in the software sector.
As was said in the James Bond film "Tomorrow never dies" when asked if the software is ready for sale.
Yes, and it is full of errors so that users have to buy it for years with paid updates. ( German synchro)
Then they will realize that it doesn't work like that and will stop their crappy payment models
or disappear from the scene. DLC´s are one thing, because you don't need them to have fun.
It's an accessory like a cigarette lighter in a car.
I've decided that I won't buy another sim unless they finally implement fully operable cockpits,
as is common in other genres.
I see no point in buying a Nordschleife, Monza, Porsche 911, etc. for who knows how many times.
There is no development in the sim racing sector. Always the same cars, the same tracks.
You can look for changes to the physics with the James Webb telescope if you ignore the marketing
and promotional nonsense. They just want to sell. They're only interested in bare numbers.
So they say what you all want to hear. I would do exactly the same. I would tell you all sorts of nonsense.
If I drive almost identical times in three different sims with the same car on the same track with the same
setup at the same time in the same weather, the whole physics nonsense is nothing more than esoteric superstition.
Ohhh, all these developments that are currently taking place on the software market with alphas, betas,
zetas and still images really make me angry.
The saying is actually true here.
Everything used to be better.
Games were developed by players for players and no manager wanted you to pay extra for trees or the colour yellow. Maybe the legislature should take care of this.
None of these greedy companies are going to get my money anymore.
I'd rather nail a meatball to my knee and turn it until I get FM reception.
Let them all drive into the wall.
The companies don’t want it any other way.
Of course I know that my decision not to buy any racing games has no impact. I'm not stupid either
We as consumers determine the rules of the game. Not the companies.
I could explode.
Of course, it's an exaggeration, but ultimately you're paying for faulty products that no other industry
would bring to market. All the consumer protection agencies and authorities would kick down the
companies' doors and hang those responsible from the yardarm.
Nonetheless, I wish everyone a nice, peaceful weekend. Spend it with people you love.
 
menacegtr
Wow, Rennsprt open beta just released to everyone and the big YT players are slating it big time. 2 years but very little to go on.
 
trichens
Premium
eVIN... does that mean your "virtual" car can be written off in a big accident? :)
 

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