iRacing | 2020 Season 3 Patch 3 Is Here

[Paul Jeffrey]

iRacing update patch time is here once again folks!

• Third patch of the series adds multiple improvements
• AI added to 2 cars and 2 tracks
• Damage models thresholds improved amongst other changes

Yes, as regular as the week turning into a weekend, iRacing are back once again with another new build update, although somewhat smaller in size than the more traditional sized releases we've seen in the recent past.

This new build has been designated the title of 2020 Season 3, Patch 3, and as such comes with a number of tweaks and improvements to the current season build of the software, with a few useful additions such as further AI feature deployment that now includes the Kia Optima and VW Jetta TDI cup machines, and Atlanta Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway oval locations.

Update Notes:

iRACING BETA UI:

– Safety Rating is now always displayed with two decimal places.

– Fixed an issue where some car images could fail to load in the Entry List.

– Fixed an issue where Team Results were not scaling correctly.

– Fixed an issue where AI Drivers could use negative car numbers.

– A “Requesting iRacing Data” step has been added during iRacing BETA UI initialization for more clarity.

– Fixed an issue where the iRacing BETA UI could time-out if it was not receiving data from the back-end.

– Fixed an issue where the Reconnect button could appear off screen.

SIMULATION:

Race Servers

– Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause the Simulator to re-assign a Team in an Open Practice Session to a different Run-Group when additional teammates joined the session.

AI Racing

– AI Drivers may now pilot the following additional vehicles:
– – Kia Optima
– – VW Jetta TDI Cup

– AI Drivers may now race on the following additional track configurations:
– – Atlanta Motor Speedway – Oval
– – Martinsville Speedway

– AI Drivers have received additional training at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course.

New Damage Model

– For cars utilizing the New Damage Model, the threshold for track contact causing a 0x has been increased.

– Fixed an issue for vehicles using the New Damage Model where incidents were being incorrectly assigned, particularly to the aggressor, during impacts.

Audio

– Jet flyover volume has been increased.

Pit Crew

– Fixed an issue where the pitcrew could be buried in the ground if a tire was detached prior to starting repairs.

Rendering

– Fixed some issues when rendering fog at the periphery of wide angle Field-of-Views.

Paint Shop

– A new sponsor, FilterTime, has been added to the Paint Shop!

– Fixed an issue with some missing car number fonts.

Virtual Reality

– Fixed a numerical rounding error that could cause the Oculus Rift’s “PixelsPerDisplayPixel” setting in the “rendererDX11.ini” file to adjust itself slightly after running the Simulator.

CARS:

ARCA Menards Chevrolet Impala

– An iRacing setup has been added for Texas Motor Speedway – Oval.

Aston Martin DBR9 GT1

– For the New Damage Model, overall vehicle “stickyness” has been reduced.

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

Audi R18

– Fixed an issue with the visual appearance of the stopped tire texture in foggy weather.

Audi R8 GT3

– 2020 Season 3 Balance of Power Adjustment: Engine power has been reduced slightly.

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

BMW M4 GT4

– A BMW Motorsport Sim Racing decal has been added to the cockpit dashboard.

– Tire compound has been adjusted.

– Driveline loss has been adjusted.

– Baseline setup has been updated.

BMW M8 GTE

– Balance of Power Adjustments: Minimum weight reduced by 5kg, and aerodynamic drag has been reduced slightly.

– Minimum ride heights have been set to 50mm for both axles.
– – This should allow stable and high performance setups.

– Tire parameters have been updated.

– Fixed a visual issue where the grills and radiator occupied the same space.

– Baseline setup has been updated.

BMW Z4 GT3

– Balance of Power Adjustment: Aerodynamic drag has been reduced slightly.

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

Chevrolet Corvette C6R

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

Ferrari 488 GT3

– Balance of Power Adjustment: Engine power has been reduced slightly.

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

Ferrari 488 GTE

– Minimum ride heights have been set to 50mm for both axles.
– – This should allow stable and high performance setups.

– Tire parameters have been updated.

– Baseline setup has been updated.

Ford GT GT2

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

Ford GT GT3

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

Ford GTE

– Minimum ride heights have been set to 50mm for both axles.
– – This should allow stable and high performance setups.

– Tire parameters have been updated.

– Baseline setup has been updated.

Formula Renault 3.5

– Fixed a visual issue where white artifacts could spread from the tire rim onto the tires at certain camera distances.

HPD ARX-01c

– Adjusted some texture parameters.

– Fixed an issue with the visual appearance of the stopped tire texture in foggy weather.

Indy Pro 2000 PM-18

– Fixed an issue where the specular map for spinning rims of a custom color were inaccurate.

McLaren MP4-12C

– 2020 Season 3 Balance of Power Adjustment: Engine power has been reduced slightly.

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

Mercedes AMG GT3

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

– Rear wheel locking due to engine braking has been reduced.

– Baseline setup has been updated.

NASCAR Xfinity Chevrolet Camaro

– An iRacing setup has been added for Pocono Raceway.

NASCAR Xfinity Ford Mustang

– An iRacing setup has been added for Pocono Raceway.

NASCAR Xfinity Toyota Supra

– An iRacing setup has been added for Pocono Raceway.

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR

– Tire compound has been adjusted.

– Baseline setup has been updated.

Porsche 911 RSR

– Minimum ride heights have been set to 50mm for both axles.
– – This should allow stable and high performance setups.

– Tire parameters have been updated.

– Baseline setup has been updated.

Ruf RT 12R Track

– Tire parameters have been updated slightly, including:
– – Tire wear has been reduced.
– – Carcass temperatures have been reduced when running at Daytona International Speedway – Road Course and Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

Super Late Model

– An iRacing setup has been added for The Bullring (Night).

USF 2000

– Fixed an issue where the specular map for spinning rims of a custom color were inaccurate.

– Garage adjustment ranges have been adjusted.

– Season setups have been updated.

TRACKS:

Fairbury Speedway

– Fixed an issue with flood lights at this track.

 

[Maaznz]

One thing that's rarely talked about but is a massive bonus to iRacing is Trading Paints - https://www.tradingpaints.com/

There's nothing that comes close to this for other sims and it's an advantage that really sets iRacing apart in the skins department.

Add to this the TP collections with AI racing and you really have a feature-rich AI racing sim where you can create your own custom seasons with the opponents at a skill level you want and have thousands of skins to choose from for them. It's a real hidden gem in iRacing.

You'd think by now that other sims would have replicated this as it must be one of the easier things to copy from Iracing.

 

[BP]

Spot on! Although I find its handling and feedback bizarre sometimes, iRacing does do a lot right.

In regards to the handling and feedback: I felt the same way about it too for quite awhile, until I got the settings in-game and on my wheel dialed in right...now it's actually one of the most detailed in feeling out of all the sims. Not saying that's the case with you, but something to think about. In my case, the in-game FFB was set too low on most cars, and on the wheel the FFB was too high and the turning resistance was too heavy (drift mode on Fanatec wheels). Night and day difference.

I'm definitely no alien, but i'm high enough in iRating to race in the top split all the time now (racing mostly the F3 and the HPD in multiclass)...I only mention that because I've found in recent months I can race people at that level hard, keep the car on the edge of grip and can feel when it's about to lose it and catch it predictably.

Before I had it dialed in, it was mostly a guessing game on where the limit is and would either race slower and lose positions or push but almost always lose the back end later in the race as the tyres wear down.

 

[DonZmeuheu]

Best Sim available.. best AI... Best Car in any Sim - 911 Cup.. and cleanest GFX

Only my opinion!

Totally Agree

 

[DonZmeuheu]

iRacing has the worst 911 Cup car of any sim in my opnion after comparing it with ACC, rFactor2, ...
Tire model and force feedback are just awful in iRacing. Physics and graphics in ACC are far superior to iRacing too.

The 911 Cup in IRacing is the best 911 Cup in any Sim. Why do you think Porsche host their official virtual Cup Races on IRacing and pay 100'000 USD to the winner. To drive the 911 Cup in IRacing on the Edge is a feeling you cant get in any other sim....it just feels perfect. The Cup Car is extremly hard to drive on the edge in real life too and for me the IRacing version is hands down the Best. But of course I like the Cup Car in all other sims too

 

[STF YVR]

Why do you think Porsche host their official virtual Cup Races on IRacing and pay 100'000 USD to the winner. To drive the 911 Cup in IRacing on the Edge is a feeling you cant get in any other sim....it just feels perfect. The Cup Car is extremly hard to drive on the edge in real life too and for me the IRacing version is hands down the Best. But of course I like the Cup Car in all other sims too

You are confusing two topics.
Is iRacing a good platform for online racing ? Certainly.
Why is F1 eSports using the Official F1 2020 EA game for its championship rather than Assetto Corsa ? Nothing to do with physics or accuracy and more to do with money and a large player base.
The RSS Formula Hybrid mod for Assetto Corsa has far better physics & handling than the official EA F1 cars yet it does not get the backing of the Formula One Group ∎
GT cars in iRacing in general suck big time. Why do you think the SRO partnered with Kunos to develop ACC ?

 

[Steve Bird]

God.. how long does it take to release the AI GT3..... for all cars.

I still don't understand why people spent so much time commenting on something that they have no interest in or that they seem to hate so much. I mean, I am no iRacing expert and certainly wouldn't rate me as a fan as I only spent a three month test period with the sim, but to cleaim that this sim with all it's updates, constant development process and huge playerbase reached it's limitations years ago is quite hillirious. If anything, it's good for us - the fans of other sims - that this sim is still going strong and offering a benchmark in some areas, so that new genre standards are set and that other developers step up their game. I certainly see a few things in iRacing that I would like to see in my favorite products.

People have their opinions. RD would be pretty poor if people just patted their preference on the back constantly. Do you only talk to people face to face that have the same opinion as you or do you only relate to people that have the same opinion?

 

[sjb266]

One thing that's rarely talked about but is a massive bonus to iRacing is Trading Paints - https://www.tradingpaints.com/

There's nothing that comes close to this for other sims and it's an advantage that really sets iRacing apart in the skins department.

Add to this the TP collections with AI racing and you really have a feature-rich AI racing sim where you can create your own custom seasons with the opponents at a skill level you want and have thousands of skins to choose from for them. It's a real hidden gem in iRacing.

You'd think by now that other sims would have replicated this as it must be one of the easier things to copy from Iracing.

Well said Maaznz..

I've done a lot of skins on Trading Paints and I have a customised AI roster set up in iRacing for the 911 Cup with 18 F1 and Aussie Supercar drivers competing!!! It's so much bloody fun...

 

[mozzie]

You are confusing two topics.
Is iRacing a good platform for online racing ? Certainly.
Why is F1 eSports using the Official F1 2020 EA game for its championship rather than Assetto Corsa ? Nothing to do with physics or accuracy and more to do with money and a large player base.
The RSS Formula Hybrid mod for Assetto Corsa has far better physics & handling than the official EA F1 cars yet it does not get the backing of the Formula One Group ∎
GT cars in iRacing in general suck big time. Why do you think the SRO partnered with Kunos to develop ACC ?

SRO partnered with Kunoz because Kunos would dedicate an entire game to the SRO brand- that would never be possible with iRacing. It’s got nothing to do with game physics; I highly doubt the people that make these decisions would even know what the word physics means.

The latest version of the 911 cup car has been praised by a number of real life cup drivers, (including championship winning drivers) on the iRacing forum. They’re saying its remarkably similar to their real life version of the car. So, I’m not too sure why you would think it has the worst physics of “all” the sims.

 

[Ross McGregor]

In regards to the handling and feedback: I felt the same way about it too for quite awhile, until I got the settings in-game and on my wheel dialed in right...now it's actually one of the most detailed in feeling out of all the sims. Not saying that's the case with you, but something to think about. In my case, the in-game FFB was set too low on most cars, and on the wheel the FFB was too high and the turning resistance was too heavy (drift mode on Fanatec wheels). Night and day difference.

I'm definitely no alien, but i'm high enough in iRating to race in the top split all the time now (racing mostly the F3 and the HPD in multiclass)...I only mention that because I've found in recent months I can race people at that level hard, keep the car on the edge of grip and can feel when it's about to lose it and catch it predictably.

Before I had it dialed in, it was mostly a guessing game on where the limit is and would either race slower and lose positions or push but almost always lose the back end later in the race as the tyres wear down.

Yeah I’ve just recently found the brake hack that stops the wheels locking up constantly, so that’s a start! I have a g29, so I’m hoping with upgraded equipment I might enjoy it more.

 

[Deleted member 205301]

SRO partnered with Kunoz because Kunos would dedicate an entire game to the SRO brand- that would never be possible with iRacing. It’s got nothing to do with game physics; I highly doubt the people that make these decisions would even know what the word physics means.

The latest version of the 911 cup car has been praised by a number of real life cup drivers, (including championship winning drivers) on the iRacing forum. They’re saying its remarkably similar to their real life version of the car. So, I’m not too sure why you would think it has the worst physics of “all” the sims.

In one way I agree 100% with you (saying SRO choose Kunos for the "official title" because of physics is as stupîd as saying that F1 choose EA because of physics : it just have nothing to do with). In another way I'll be more prudent about what IRL drivers says about one sim or another...For example, nicky Thiim is not conviced by the iracing Porsche Cup (and he perfectly knows what he's talking about)...so some IRL Porsche cup drivers says that, some others says the contrary... I had a talk with the french Porsche Cup 2 times champion (and one of the Mobil1 supercup leader) Guven (turkish driver, now an official Porsche Junior), and he absolutely assure that it's perfect, but as some others says others thing, it's barely impossible to know exactly. One of my best friend is a professional driver IRL (and a multiple GT champion), when I let him try one sim he says : "oh ! it's brillant ! it's perfect !" then, I let him try another, and he says "oh ! it's perfect !" etc etc... he's just not enough used to simracing to compare XD
So, I dont know if iracing Porsche Cup is the more realistic or not, and actually, I just dont care, it's, for me (and some others guys could says the opposite if they feel it diferently), one of the very best car, for sure the most rewarding car I drove in my simracing carreer (i began "real" simracing with GTR2 in 2007), and the tag heuer esport supercup is one of the best simracing serie I've ever watched, and that's enough for me
i mean, the one trying to say "this one is THE best" is acting like a kid, nobody knows exactly, even the IRL Porsche Cup drivers don't really knows, so who are you to affirm that ? (I aim nobody, it's just an expression)
@++

 

[BP]

Yeah I’ve just recently found the brake hack that stops the wheels locking up constantly, so that’s a start! I have a g29, so I’m hoping with upgraded equipment I might enjoy it more.

Yup I only discovered that one a month ago, that was a big one as well. Still don't know why there isn't an option for max brake pressure.

Yea it's a lot more informative on my CSW v2.5 vs. using my G27 couple years back...but my driving has also improved so maybe I'm more attuned to the different nuances now. Some people claim that IRFFB helps with getting better feeling in Logitech wheels.

 

[mozzie]

In one way I agree 100% with you (saying SRO choose Kunos for the "official title" because of physics is as stupîd as saying that F1 choose EA because of physics : it just have nothing to do with). In another way I'll be more prudent about what IRL drivers says about one sim or another...For example, nicky Thiim is not conviced by the iracing Porsche Cup (and he perfectly knows what he's talking about)...so some IRL Porsche cup drivers says that, some others says the contrary... I had a talk with the french Porsche Cup 2 times champion (and one of the Mobil1 supercup leader) Guven (turkish driver, now an official Porsche Junior), and he absolutely assure that it's perfect, but as some others says others thing, it's barely impossible to know exactly. One of my best friend is a professional driver IRL (and a multiple GT champion), when I let him try one sim he says : "oh ! it's brillant ! it's perfect !" then, I let him try another, and he says "oh ! it's perfect !" etc etc... he's just not enough used to simracing to compare XD
So, I dont know if iracing Porsche Cup is the more realistic or not, and actually, I just dont care, it's, for me (and some others guys could says the opposite if they feel it diferently), one of the very best car, for sure the most rewarding car I drove in my simracing carreer (i began "real" simracing with GTR2 in 2007), and the tag heuer esport supercup is one of the best simracing serie I've ever watched, and that's enough for me
i mean, the one trying to say "this one is THE best" is acting like a kid, nobody knows exactly, even the IRL Porsche Cup drivers don't really knows, so who are you to affirm that ? (I aim nobody, it's just an expression)
@++

I wasn’t claiming that iRacing’s 911 cup car is better than other sims. I was merely pointing out to Stephane Yver that some real life cup drivers think iRacing’s cup car is very similar to their experience in real life. Stephane was claiming that iRacing’s cup car was the worst out of all sims.

I completely agree that it’s all subjective. A lot of it also comes down to the hardware people are using. Unfortunately, one does need a direct drive to bring all of iRacing’s subtle nuanced FFB through to your hands and a DD is still out of the price range of many.

 

[STF YVR]

 

[Maaznz]

Really?? That's your reply?

 

[STF YVR]

Really?? That's your reply?

Watch this and you will probably recognize yourself ...

 

[mozzie]

Stephane, you obviously didn't read my posts thoroughly. I stated the Porsche 911 Cup car in particular for a reason as this car received tyre updates, (after the video that you posted with drivers complaining about the GT3/GTE & V8 Supercars) and since then real life 911 Cup drivers have praised the handling and physics of the 911 Cup car.