Community Question Podcast | Your Sim Racing Esport Opinions

[Paul Jeffrey]

The latest episode of the RaceDepartment Podcast is now live, and we want to ask you, the community, about your thoughts on the current state of esport sim racing.

Yup, it's podcast release day, and after a short hiatus we are back with our fifth episode of the new season. In this edition, @Paul Glover, @Davide Nativo, @Daniel Monteiro and @Paul Jeffrey have a good old natter about many varied topics related to the current esport boom within our hobby, and we want you to share your opinions too!

What do you think of the latest current affairs within sim racing? How do you think the rapidly expanding world of esport can be improved? What do you make of the recent controversies? All these questions and more we answer in episode 5, and we want your opinions too!

Community Questions:

What is your favourite e-sports series?

• think about the whole package, racing + broadcast

Have you been surprised by the sim racing uptake by the real world professional drivers?

• If not surprised, give reasons why
• If surprised, give reasons why

Recently there has been some controversy with regards to pros and sim racing during events, what are your thoughts on this?

• Anything shocked you?
• Surprised you?
• What could be done to avoid such controversy?

Do us sim racers take sim racing too seriously? Or should pros be taking it more seriously?

As the current pandemic carries on for however long, real life racing may not be normal for a while.

• What would you like to see from E-sports and pros? What's missing?
• Do you think the pandemic will have a positive outcome for sim racing? explain your reasons for your answer

Don't forget, you can listen and download this and all our previous podcasts from your podcast provider of choice, links below:

RaceDepartment Podcast Links Here

Please do feel free to leave us a review on your podcast service of choice - help spread the word!

Do you have any special requests for future episodes? Do you want to share your thoughts, comments and feedback on what direction the show could take going forward? Please do let us know in the comments section, and at the RD Podcast sub forum location.

As always, our thanks to @RasmusP for his audio editing goodness.

 

[Kurupt CDN]

I watched several esport races across several sims in the past few months.

While most were really well done, I enjoyed the eNascar events on fox the most. Having a big broadcasting company like fox just showed where things need to get to imo....money helps.
I just found the rest to be a step up from your avg. Home YouTube streamer.

As for the racing.....it was pretty bad for the most part, some good fights tho mostly comical.

What would you like to see from esports in the future.
I'd like to see some more events in the future using pro drivers for say charity races etc.
Not gonna lie, I am not interested in watching the typical esport event with a bunch of no name drivers.
What would interest me would be an esport event with the top 3 landing drives/contract on a RL team or a $1,000,000 shoot out.
Ex. GT academy

Yes sim racers take it way too serious!
When professionals who get paid to race in RL struggle to do a lap and say it feels nothing like RL across several titles....just proves the gap between virtual and rl

Will the pandemic have a positive outcome on simracing.
Yes, a small portion will stick with it and the 2nd hand market will be flooded in the coming months with fairly new gear, so I can upgrade without paying the current insane prices

 

[Cristian Luis]

Taking into consideration that most PC sim-racing software is in a somewhat permanent WIP status, I'm not optimistic. Not at all.

What's more; there was a low point from 2014 to 2015 where all the PC sim-racing videogames were not objectively finished, and most of them still in development even today, with hilarious bugs and glitches and significant faults (iRacing's tires and gripflick, Assetto Corsa pit exploit strategies, rF2's downshifts and so on). Software development has a long way to go... even longer when talking about complete packages and game coherence.

I don't think that sim-racing eSports is going to go very far. Not with actual sims. Still not as followed as other eSports categories, and to be fast is more important know how to cheat the system that training your pure speed.

Events such as Marbula One are much more successful getting followers. I'm a fan of it as well.

 

[azaralamouri]

Esports mean nothing to me although I can mention a million aspect I like about cars, (driving myself, watching real competitive races, news...etc)


I don't understand why I should care about watching gamer boys doing unrealistic game exploits.

Maybe watching older REAL racing drivers gather again in one race (sadly virtual) and struggle to learn sim racing was fun to me, still not taking it seriously as I know some of them do sim racing as hobby or for money and some of them joined during the pandemic.

 

[Jack Lloyd]

Great show gentlemen. Just downloaded a podcast app to subscribe to the series.
Haven't seen everything on offer, but have been setting the alarm for 2am on Sunday mornings for the past couple of months to catch "The Race All-Star Esports Series". Fantastic entertainment, and on my favourite simulation. Can't wait for Le Mans.

 

[Daniel Monteiro]

Quote of the podcast from Paul J: "I'm out of beer, I can't count."

 

[Andrea Cerisara]

Awesome job as usual guys, very enjoyable

 

[Jean-Paul Sarti]

Great show.

Regarding “real” drivers and sims, and sim racing as a spectator sport, the only series that’s caught my attention is The Race’s Legends series. Why? Name drivers, many of whom I’ve watched in real world competition, who obviously want to be there, are having fun, and at the same time are “taking it seriously” in that they acknowledge both the realism and un-realism of sims and are intelligently adapting to the new-to-them sport. And the coverage: we get to see their faces and the interviews are fun. Not to mention the choices of cars and tracks.

By contrast the esports races are pretty sterile and the drivers (no offense meant) are a bit dull.

Yeah, ”it’s a game“ but so are football, marathon running, and chess — we expect participants to take them seriously within the context of the game, or it’s no fun for the spectators. And it’s more fun for spectators when the participants don’t take themselves too seriously.

And Alonso shows real potential as an esports/sim driver, just in case that whole real world racing thing doesn’t work out for him

 

[Jean-Paul Sarti]

One of the guys on the show mentioned getting interviewed on another podcasts. I was doing dishes and didn’t make note of it. Could you please tell me where I can hear that? Thanks.

 

[Jonathan Young]

I haven't yet listened to the podcast, but will do asap - as I don't have a commute right now, I'm not listening to as many podcasts as I did!

But is it just me that has very little interest in eSports? I get why there's such commercial interest from RD, from developers etc. but I slightly resent that the focus of the sim-racing "establishment", if there is such a thing, has completely switched to eSports.

I have two interests in terms of motor-sports - watching real racing live or on TV and participating in sim-racing myself. That interest really doesn't extend to watching a more organized sim-racing competition - I'll watch YT videos of course, but that's usually just for the banter and to see people's views on sims / hardware that are of interest to me.

I know right now we only have sim-racing to watch, but even then, I'm finding other things to do. I'm patiently waiting for the return of F1 in July, but until then, there's AMS2

 

[Davide Nativo]

One of the guys on the show mentioned getting interviewed on another podcasts. I was doing dishes and didn’t make note of it. Could you please tell me where I can hear that? Thanks.

It's "The Auto Express Podcast", @Paul Jeffrey was their guest last week

Question: shouldn't your name be "Jean Pierre Sarti"?

 

[Jean-Paul Sarti]

Absolutely, but when I signed up I typed it wrong!

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

It's "The Auto Express Podcast", @Paul Jeffrey was their guest last week

Question: shouldn't your name be "Jean Pierre Sarti"?

Yup it's the Auto Express Podcast. Was going to be this Wednesday, but it is now rescheduled for Wednesday 17th. Got bumped for Mark Blundell... what's he done in his career that I haven't... oh wait

 

[Davide Nativo]

Absolutely, but when I signed up I typed it wrong!

Oh, I see!

Yup it's the Auto Express Podcast. Was going to be this Wednesday, but it is now rescheduled for Wednesday 17th. Got bumped for Mark Blundell... what's he done in his career that I haven't... oh wait

argh I remembered it wrong then! Sorry!

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

argh I remembered it wrong then! Sorry!

No, no, you remembered right, the one I'm briefly in has been pushed back to fit in the MB one - your memory continues to serve you well sir!

 

[Alex Harkett]

Paul Jeffrey's comments at around 13:45 about the community sort of being swept aside for pro's who automatically just have the best kit and don't have to wrestle with a G27 attached to an Ikea desk... that's exactly how i've been feeling about it.

Great pod as usual guys, thank you.