Will WEC Receive Their Promised Sim Racing Game?

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What's next for WEC?

  • A dedicated game

    Votes: 392 44.2%

  • rFactor 2

    Votes: 318 35.9%

  • Nothing

    Votes: 177 20.0%
  • Total voters
    887
With the 6h of Monza coming up this weekend and their classes LMH and LMDh shaping up nicely soon, one can't help but hope for some digital representation for this endurance racing series. However, with the way the WEC license holder, Motorsport Games, has been going lately, seeing the software come to fruition is uncertain.

The Motorsport Games Story so Far​

It all started with the acquisition spree of Motorsport Games in 2021. Acquiring licenses left and right and even right out buying Studio 397, the rFactor 2 developers, Motorsport Games seemed like an upcoming powerhouse in digital racing. One of the licenses involved was the right to give FIA's WEC or World Endurance Championship a digital representation.

However, things didn't work as planned. Their first big release, NASCAR 21: Ignition seemed to be not much more than a haphazardly rushed title. Reports from within the company later confirmed that. But everyone could see it. Game-breaking bugs were only the tip of the iceberg and the game became a critical failure.

This whole scenario sent Motorsport Games' stock tumbling down. Even worse so when they announced in March 2022 that their existing cash in hand couldn't even support them for “at least the next 12 months.” Further delays to the well-hoped for BTCC title and subsequent release of BTCC content via rFactor 2 left more questions than answers. All the while Motorsport Games stock dropped below 1$ per share meaning they could be kicked off the stock market if things don't improve until December.

And just for your knowledge, being delisted from the stock exchange could mean complete de-validation of the stocks meaning financial trouble.

What This Could Mean For All The Licenses​

The licenses held by motorsport games are some grand ones with many hopes of them coming to fruition. IndyCar, NASCAR, BTCC and WEC are the biggest ones. While Motorsport Games owns all of these licenses, they might not be able to create dedicated games for all of them.

As we have already seen with BTCC and IndyCar content, the existing rFactor 2 platform could become a host of some of these titles. This, however, is all subject to the terms and conditions of the licensing contracts. What we can expect is that several licenses might, for short-term financial gain, be published via rFactor 2. All of which boost the rF2 community and roster strength.

This however doesn't mean that dedicated titles are not on the horizon.

What Could Happen to WEC​

While everything is in a state of turmoil, the WEC license is the one we know the least about. IndyCar and BTCC have received their rFactor 2 content and you know NASCAR is going to continue one way or the other.

WEC so far has received little care. That could mean 1 of 2 things.
  1. A WEC game is deep in development and on the horizon.
  2. A WEC game is not at all in development and will be the odd one out of Motorsport Games roster.
Now as much as I personally hope for 1. to be true, I can't help but have that little devil on my shoulder telling me about 2. But I don't know what will happen.

What do you think lies in store for the WEC license? Are we going to see a WEC title? Or is rFactor 2 going to feature WEC? Or have they just completely forgotten about it? Let us know in the comments below!
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About author
Julian Strasser
Julian Strasser
Motorsports and Maker-stuff enthusiast. Part time jack-of-all-trades. Owner of tracc.eu, a sim racing-related service provider and its racing community.

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Comments

Italotracks
MJQT said:
I agree. WEC game will require multi-class capable AI that doesn't exist yet.

Strangely, when I tried LMP/GT races in all my sims a while ago, I was most impressed with RaceRoom (with rF2 as a close second). The only real issue in RaceRoom was that the LMPs gave no extra room to cars they were lapping, and would sometimes drive the GT out almost into the grass on corner exit – like they were two touring cars racing each other, or something :roflmao:.


The AI in any isiMotor game (even back to F1C, GTR2, or rF1) cannot slipstream. And usually struggle to drive past slower class cars in a straight line (although rF2 is noticeably better, albeit imperfect, on this front). Definitely big issues that need to be solved. Unsure if RaceRoom added slipstreaming in their AI or not.
Click to expand...

Not quite, AMS1 has slipstreaming AI that works really well! Reiza introduced new code in v1.05b, it makes offline racing immersive like no other old gmotor game! :inlove:
I was there on the forums nagging them every step of the way, but they cracked it!

Weird thing is, the developer responsible, Alex Sawczuk, has been at S397 for years, but they haven't touched the AI behaviour in RF2 in that respect..
 
maranello78
After the crash of Grid Legends i hope they will not release more games for kids. I was dreaming about a BTCC or WEC game but when i saw all the absurd and stupid things on Grid legends i prefer they not touch WEC.
Simracing community need something like ACC, great physics, night and day, rain and driver swap.
What Motorsports Games did it on Grid Legends was oposite to simracing, points to drop a fart, points to destroy your car, points just be idiot on road... fireworks at the end of the race? why just the end? all the time like you was drinking LSD, is this the idea from wec? better use a serious team, we like more close to the reality, and not people with "great ideas" after come back from the disco. Maybe answer is on Raceroom, ACC, AC, Ams2, Rf2.
We need more things like puncture (on ACC), random mechanical failure (on Gtr2), fog (on AC), some parts of the tracks raining others dry (Pcars2), more realistic damages (on Ams2 or Wreckfest) and a better knowing of races, at least in my opinion, and i´m still playing races game from Indycar Racing 2. to present day, always choosing better real.
 
Metla
Premium
Need to throw these licenses and some big money at teams that can make good games, Namely Kunos and Reiza.

Indycar came from reiza now they have mastered the pcars engine?

Hell yeah.
 
Metla
Premium
Laughable that anyone on this forum thinks they know anything about a companies business plan, costings or contracts.

Hell, You wouldn't even know about them in the company you work for unless you are specifically responsible for them as part of your role.
 
MJQT
Italotracks said:
Not quite, AMS1 has slipstreaming AI that works really well! Reiza introduced new code in v1.05b, it makes offline racing immersive like no other old gmotor game! :inlove:
I was there on the forums nagging them every step of the way, but they cracked it!
Click to expand...
Wow, that video is impressive. Strangely, I have AMS1, but haven't noticed deliberate slipstreaming in a straight line with the AI's foot to the floor quite like in that video there. Hmm. I was once told AI have a better time driving by other cars in a straight line before version 1.5, but saw little difference when I tried an earlier version for myself recently. Do you know anything about this?

If pre v1.5 of AMS1 truly is that much better, that's what we all should be using as our WEC simulator then :roflmao:

Italotracks said:
Weird thing is, the developer responsible, Alex Sawczuk, has been at S397 for years, but they haven't touched the AI behaviour in RF2 in that respect..
Click to expand...
That's a shame. But I'm happy for Alex - he's done wonderful work at Reiza. Hope he's happy doing whatever he's doing (probably tracks?) at Studio 397.
 
Last edited:
Italotracks
MJQT said:
Wow, that video is impressive. Strangely, I have AMS1, but haven't noticed deliberate slipstreaming in a straight line with the AI's foot to the floor quite like in that video there. Hmm. I was once told AI have a better time driving by other cars in a straight line before version 1.5, but saw little difference when I tried an earlier version for myself recently. Do you know anything about this?

If pre v1.5 of AMS1 truly is that much better, that's what we all should be using as our WEC simulator then :roflmao:


That's a shame. But I'm happy for Alex - he's done wonderful work at Reiza. Hope he's happy doing whatever he's doing (probably tracks?) at Studio 397.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you run an AI race or just watch them fight, you should see similar behaviour, so long as they have RPM headroom for it and a long enough straight, they don't back off unless there's a pinch point in the straight, they only duck back in behind if they run out of RPM or speed differential.
The F vintage at Johannesburg historic is a good combo to observe it, you might even see a V8 slipstreaming past a more powerful V12, although it's usually the other way round.
 
Zeekkai
BrettSinclair1 said:
However, AC is unfortunately a lackluster racing sim. There are tons of quality cars and tracks, but I cannot ever see a WEC race working properly in AC (singleplayer, that is).
Hopefully AC2 will turn out to be more than a driving sim, and combine the best of AC and ACC.

EDIT: You laugh? Enjoy "simulating" your WEC races with standing starts!
Click to expand...
He's laughing because you're too far short sighted to not know that rolling starts are coming
 
B
Bela Valko said:
You show us a video in which there is no actual gameplay footage from the game but instead a camera pointing on to monitors. Who knows the camera settings and the monitor settings. Not to mention that's a mod track from 2020 or 2021 (I have that COTA and it would need a big update in terms of textures).

Here is a video from S397:

Btw I also wouldn't call the graphics realistic but for some reason when I'm driving it's more immersive than the rest of the sims.
Click to expand...
Especially if you see these distorted E.T. hands on your wheel. You really feel like from another world. Driving in fF2 with hands displayed is the proper way to become an alien Lol
 
B
Bela Valko said:
I'm not gonna try to convince you about anything because you clearly have a bias so there is no point but
1. the digital dashboards looks not good/pretty bad in rF2 and a lot of people criticized/complained about it already
2. the car vibration or whatever we can call it is a setting so you can make it however you like it
3. 2D and lifeless, what does that mean? I've only seen one racing game which doesn't look lifeless and that's the F1 series mainly because there I can see moving things and I can hear the crowd. Every sim looks lifeless
Here is a video where you can see night and rain stuff
Click to expand...
The cars in front of you lit up by your own lights during night are so cartoonish. There are no reflections on the cars only solid color areas with almost no shading. For me it is so disturbing that I can hardly do any night racing in fr2
 
P
Speednut357 said:
A few things I see in the usual arguments!

1, Just because the people who play multiplayer are the most vocal does not mean everyone plays multiplayer.

2, Many people still play rFactor1 online and in single-player, as well as GTR2, AMS, and AC.

3, Most sim racing enthusiasts don't care if the game looks "Real." Many other factors are much more important.

4, rFactor2 is slowly failing. Yes, it's a great game with great potential, but it has some significant failings. Licensed content at extra cost will not save it.

5, AC is still the most popular game. Get over it.

6, Game developers don't care if a game is good enough for you. They are in it to make money.
Click to expand...
A very good summary. But on 6 I don’t think it is true for all game developers. Companies like Reiza, Kunos and Studio 397 (not MSG) also care I think. For me these are totally different from EA/Codemasters/SMS for example. On 4 I really hope you have it wrong, but I am afraid it could be true, especially now Marcel has left that company.
 
Last edited:
R
About a WEC game...

I guess it depends on what they've done with the licence and the contract terms they've agreed with entrants. Will ACO have the rights to more than just the name? That's far from certain.

The real value in that licence would obviously be the next few years after this one, with Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac et al joining the fray, but if any company would still have to licence those cars directly from the manufacturer (plus acquire track licences) then it's far from a guaranteed complete experience anyway.

For me personally, I'm more than happy with them just releasing the cars for another game; if it were a dedicated game with just the 8 tracks of WEC, that would be much more restrictive than them being part of another game with a wider choice.

I just hope Reiza finds a way to get a bunch of the cars into AMS2...


pcraenme said:
A very good summary. But on 6 I don’t think it is true for all game developers. Companies like Reiza, Kunos and Studio 397 (not MSG) also care I think. For me these are totally different from EA/Codemasters/SMS for example. On 4 I really hope you have it wrong, but I am afraid it could be true, especially now Marcel has left that company.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure all developers care about the quality of the game. EA (and even Codemasters within that) is not an amalgamated blob, it's full of different studios with different levels, abilities, cares and objectives. If you say the top-level publisher doesn't care, I'd agree with you, but I don't think it's fair to suggest the developers don't.
 
Last edited:
R
In MG's roadmap, le mans title is forecasted in 2023. Would that be a full WEC title? In 2023 are also forecasted the indycar and nascar games. Rfactor2s physics engine won't be used anymore, karkraft's one will be used. There's nothing in 2022 apart updates for nascar ignition (at least the game has not been abandonned ; is it good.now?).

So a WEC pack for rfactor2 would make sense, good for rfactor2's users, good for MG getting some cash from rfactor2, and no competition with the 2023 le mans game.
 
S
Honestly, I don't know the details of how the collaboration is arranged, but if ASO (or FIA?) has the mandate of withdrawing the contract with MSG, it's about due time by now.

From this on, I don't see why Reiza or Sector 397 should'nt throw their glowes for a fine deal.

Now an 80% VR racer myself by now, I'm settling for Reiza, ofcourse such a deal demands larger ressources, especial economical backups, but they are able to do it, and this could be Reiza's breakthrough to the big mainstream market. They deserves some broader rekognition.
 
Last edited:
P
Rodger Davies said:
I'm pretty sure all developers care about the quality of the game. EA (and even Codemasters within that) is not an amalgamated blob, it's full of different studios with different levels, abilities, cares and objectives. If you say the top-level publisher doesn't care, I'd agree with you, but I don't think it's fair to suggest the developers don't.
Click to expand...
Correct. I assumed that in the earlier post which I reacted to the publisher was meant instead of the developer who does the coding. I am a software developer myself, so why would I criticize my fellow colleagues!:)
 
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R
stenovitz said:
Honestly, I don't know the details of how the collaboration is arranged, but if ASO (or FIA?) has the mandate of withdrawing the contract with MSG, it's about due time by now.

From this on, I don't see why Reiza or Sector 397 should'nt throw their glowes for a fine deal.

Now an 80% VR racer myself by now, I'm settling for Reiza, ofcourse such a deal demands larger ressources, especial economical backups, but they are able to do it, and this could be Reiza's breakthrough to the big mainstream market. They deserves some broader rekognition.
Click to expand...
It seems Nascar tried to withdraw the licensing agreement after the nascar ignition failure but they're still there and MG has radically changed their plan for the future game (no more rf1ctor2's engine).

S397 is owned by MG so they won't do anything. Kunos ans Reiza would be able.to make a good job but I doubt they have the ressources to developp another game as they are currently developping their own games (respectivelt AC2 and AMS2). About Reiza, I'm not sure EA would allow them to use the madness engine for any official championship game as rhe WEC.

Best chance to have another developper making the WEC game is that MG sells the license to another company. But that doesn't mean the game would come out sooner.

Let's just hope MG will do something right with the kartkraft engine for their next games.
 
M
maranello78 said:
After the crash of Grid Legends i hope they will not release more games for kids. I was dreaming about a BTCC or WEC game but when i saw all the absurd and stupid things on Grid legends i prefer they not touch WEC.
Simracing community need something like ACC, great physics, night and day, rain and driver swap.
What Motorsports Games did it on Grid Legends was oposite to simracing, points to drop a fart, points to destroy your car, points just be idiot on road... fireworks at the end of the race? why just the end? all the time like you was drinking LSD, is this the idea from wec? better use a serious team, we like more close to the reality, and not people with "great ideas" after come back from the disco. Maybe answer is on Raceroom, ACC, AC, Ams2, Rf2.
We need more things like puncture (on ACC), random mechanical failure (on Gtr2), fog (on AC), some parts of the tracks raining others dry (Pcars2), more realistic damages (on Ams2 or Wreckfest) and a better knowing of races, at least in my opinion, and i´m still playing races game from Indycar Racing 2. to present day, always choosing better real.
Click to expand...
Grid Legends is a Codemasters / EA game, though. Motorsport Games doesn't have anything to do with it.
 
T2Beatnik
Premium
It occurs to me that if their stock has fallen so low, everyone who has posted in this thread could buy numerous shares of MG stock. If enough people in the sim racing coommunity bought MG stock, we could have a voice in the future of the company. I wonder how many of these companies have actual end-users sitting on their boards?
 
wolftree
T2Beatnik said:
It occurs to me that if their stock has fallen so low, everyone who has posted in this thread could buy numerous shares of MG stock. If enough people in the sim racing coommunity bought MG stock, we could have a voice in the future of the company.
Click to expand...
You go first.
 
T
It's funny to read all the complaints about rF2 being crap and ugly, while it's the only modern sim that you can use for multiclass endurance racing with all bells and whistles, out of the box without having to wade through forums and install 3rd party stuff with full time TOD cycle, dynamic weather, driver swaps, online and offline. And when you use the actual high quality content it holds pretty damn well along the current crop of sims. And for all the issues that the software has no sh*t talking about it will change the fact that it simply does alot of stuff that other products simply don't offer at all.

Maybe AC2 will change that, but there is still a bit of time until we really see if it is as good as we all expect. Until then, the easiest way to create an official WEC game for MG would be going the same way as Kartsim and create a standalone product using rF2 as a platform. And I won't lie, I would buy such a product if the price is right and if it offers the full package - aka not the insane Kartsim pricing. Production costs for such a product should be reasonable aswell as alot of the content is allready available.
 

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