iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations

[Bram Hengeveld]

iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations check it out

 

[Richard Hamstead]

OK, but this isn't a real car. It is just a game. There is no reason for it to cost soo much.

 

[Gareth Hickling]

What gets me is that you spend £100+ on content then when your subby runs out thats it. Seems like ££ wasted so you tend to renew your subscription just because you have already spent so much on it.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Spot on! Thats exactly why i dont even start with it anymore I know myself that when i spend too much on content i will automatically continue the subscription. Its actually a very good strategy from iracing to keep members returning.

I am still amazed that everybody is taking this way of subscribing and buying content for granted. As far as I know not one other game uses this system of having to pay "double".

I think that when you only have to pay for the monthly subscription the amount of players will be much much bigger with also a better gross amount of profit for them. (<---- based on nothing really, but i think there are many people out there feeling the same way)

 

[dcully]

I agree iracing is on the expensive side but you simply cannot compare the likes of gtr evo,rfactor,gtr 2 to iracing.
Its like chalk and cheese.

As the old saying goes you pay for what you get.
Other sims are just so easy and arcade like to me after iracing.
No im not speaking of a months trial of the software where all you drive is the solstice.
So often i see people judge iracing based on the solstice,thats simply nowhere near experiencing what iracing is about.

Nowhere else can i get competitive racing all day long in many different series.
Nowhere else can i race with such a rock solid netcode.
Nowhere else can i race such incredible physics and tracks.
Nowhere else can i get to race the best simracers on the planet like Huttu,Hackmann and co,nowhere esle can i get to grid up alongside Dale jr or Justin Wilson.

Nowhere else did i ever pay so much to simrace
BUT and its a massive but this sim just takes my hobby to a whole new level.
Dave Kaemmer had always been the king of simracing physics and netcode - enough said really

Dont get mwe wrong, gtr evo etc has its place,i still fire it up the odd time.
Fine communitites like RD will see to that but theres more than enough room for iracing too

 

[Jamie Wilson]

I've had some absolutely brilliant races since I 'came back' to iRacing; that's my justification for spending the money. I can certainly 100% appreciate the argument against the pricing structure, but my two criteria of "Do I enjoy it?" and "Can I afford it?" are both satisfied.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

I didnt say that the game wasnt good Damien I think it's great actually! But the time i have to race is too limited. I am sure if i would only focus on iracing it would be worth the money.

How many people are actually still active racing it after the first hype?

 

[Kalen Johnson]

Yeah that's what I mean, for those who can afford it and have time for it, it IS great. I mean, as long as you don't buy everything at once, you can rationalize it down to probably under $30 a month if you get the yearly price and buying a track or car once a month. That's like going to the movies twice, and if you spend more than 4 hours on Iracing, it might be a good price for you.

Like I said though, for me, I don't think I can afford it since I don't have that much time, I have other needs for my money (cough wife cough), and I already bought 3 sims although 2 were pretty cheap which should keep me busy racing for a while to come.

I'll definitely take a look at Iracing if they cut back on their pricing scheme a bit. Because even after rationalizing on it, it is still more expensive than any other MMO game that you pay monthly for. Usually it's $20 max per month but that's it.... other than maybe buying the game as well for $20-50.... lol, everything is just too expensive these days.

 

[Gareth Hickling]

As I have heard on the grapevine (the iR forum) there is around 7000 racers who race it every week, week in week out. Not alot really..

 

[dcully]

I didnt say that the game wasnt good Damien I think it's great actually! But the time i have to race is too limited. I am sure if i would only focus on iracing it would be worth the money.

How many people are actually still active racing it after the first hype?

Yeah i agree once you have the time its well worth it.
So it really does boil down to time and cash flow for each individual.
Having said that i put more time into than i should,time i dont really have tbh lol.

A short while after the beta went public i quit for 3 months as it was a really busy period for me so i fully understand one needs the time for it,
Having said that the basic package is well worth it even for those on limited time.
I dont mind the monthly subs when you consider what you get for it but i do think the tracks and cars are too expensive.

 

[Simon Trendell]

I must admit, I'm impressed by the lack of fanboy'ism going on

I'd of expected a slagging off match to of started by now on any other forum

 

[James Yates]

I must admit, I'm impressed by the lack of fanboy'ism going on

I'd of expected a slagging off match to of started by now on any other forum

Don't worry, ill give it a go.

STFU GTR EVO OWNZ IRACINGZ!11!

...

I must admit, i didn't like the idea of iRacing, nor see the point in spending money on it, but after some practice sessions with Jamie, Simon, Theo, Gareth and a few others i really started to enjoy it, and that was just in the Solstice! The best thing i find is that if i want to race i can just jump in a race and not worry about being punted off by a bunch of people who don't have a clue to what they are doing - as is the case with most other racing games if you join a public server. Really good fun to race and even just do some laps on and there is a great attention to detail too.

 

[Kalen Johnson]

Interesting observations James, and it's true from what I've seen in my short sim racing career: Public servers are 90% crap. Not even just bad drivers, but drivers who will hit you and push you off the road.

The only thing I see though James, is that you were joining a practice session with friends.... You can do that in any sim and have a good time or a clean race. But I'm sure Iracing is clean racing all around.

 

[Richard Hamstead]

I agree iracing is on the expensive side but you simply cannot compare the likes of gtr evo,rfactor,gtr 2 to iracing.
Its like chalk and cheese.


Nowhere else can i get competitive racing all day long in many different series.
Nowhere else can i race with such a rock solid netcode.
Nowhere else can i race such incredible physics and tracks.
Nowhere else can i get to race the best simracers on the planet like Huttu,Hackmann and co,nowhere esle can i get to grid up alongside Dale jr or Justin Wilson.

Funny thing was when I first tried iRacing it felt very, very similar to GTR2 in terms of physics and force feedback. I'll agree that rFactor and Evo are a bit too arcadey after driving either of these two but unfortunately no one plays GTR2 anymore .

Generally there is a race going every hour for me when I want it, most guys are clean but some have a tendency to crash out and then rejoin back on the racing line as you lap them! (This is the South Boston speedway I'm talking about

I'd argue that rFactor has equally as good netcode as iRacing.

I have 6 tracks, and TBH they aren't as impressive as I'd have thought. The Eastern Creek Laser and Oran Park laser in rFactor are far more detailed IMO.

Tell me Damien, have you ever actually gridded up alongside Dale Jr or Wilson? I looked up Wilson's stats and he hasn't raced in any series since last year.

Then again I noticed in the ILC standings that one of my all time heroes Marcos Ambrose was running twenty fifth a few days ago. That sure did excite me hehehe

Happy Simon?

 

[Richard Hamstead]

Then again I noticed in the ILC standings that one of my all time heroes Marcos Ambrose was running twenty fifth a few days ago. That sure did excite me hehehe

Happy Simon?

On queue is this article from VirtualR - http://www.virtualr.net/iracingcom-to-open-australian-severs/#comments

Maybe this will improve download speeds?

 

[Gareth Hickling]

Ive raced against Jr in a Silverado, Probrably one of the worst events I ever had in iR typically. Hit the wall a few times at Lowes and had to end it.

 

[dcully]

Funny thing was when I first tried iRacing it felt very, very similar to GTR2 in terms of physics and force feedback. I'll agree that rFactor and Evo are a bit too arcadey after driving either of these two but unfortunately no one plays GTR2 anymore .

Generally there is a race going every hour for me when I want it, most guys are clean but some have a tendency to crash out and then rejoin back on the racing line as you lap them! (This is the South Boston speedway I'm talking about

I'd argue that rFactor has equally as good netcode as iRacing.

I have 6 tracks, and TBH they aren't as impressive as I'd have thought. The Eastern Creek Laser and Oran Park laser in rFactor are far more detailed IMO.

Tell me Damien, have you ever actually gridded up alongside Dale Jr or Wilson? I looked up Wilson's stats and he hasn't raced in any series since last year.

Then again I noticed in the ILC standings that one of my all time heroes Marcos Ambrose was running twenty fifth a few days ago. That sure did excite me hehehe

Happy Simon?

No i havent raced with Wilson but i have raced jr once.
There are many more real life pro racers that race regularly,jr and wilson were just a quick example.
Your the first person ive seen say gtr2 is close to iracing and to say the tracks are not impressive.
The physics and ffb are poles apart imo.
While the 2 rfactor laser scanned tracks are light years ahead of other rfactor tracks they are nowhere near as detailed as iracing ones.

 

[Richard Hamstead]

No i havent raced with Wilson but i have raced jr once.
There are many more real life pro racers that race regularly,jr and wilson were just a quick example.
Your the first person ive seen say gtr2 is close to iracing and to say the tracks are not impressive.
The physics and ffb are poles apart imo.
While the 2 rfactor laser scanned tracks are light years ahead of other rfactor tracks they are nowhere near as detailed as iracing ones.

GTR2 is very close to iRacing, especially considering the costs involved in each. Also I didn't say that the tracks are not impressive. They are, they just didn't make me go "wow" like the rFactor ones did.

 

[dcully]

GTR2 is very close to iRacing, especially considering the costs involved in each. Also I didn't say that the tracks are not impressive. They are, they just didn't make me go "wow" like the rFactor ones did.

Lets agree to disagree

 

[Richard Hamstead]

I'll agree to that

 

[Ricky Willox]

Some good news for those down under

News about iRacing in Australia and New Zealand

Ambrose & iRacing.com Join Forces for Australia/New Zealand Initiative

BEDFORD, MA (May 11, 2009) - Marcos Ambrose is competing these days on America's NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit, but his heart and his racing roots are in his native Australia. That's why he's partnering with iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, the global leader in on-line auto racing competition, to expand the presence of the company's internet racing service in Australia and New Zealand.

"iRacing is an amazing simulation system and it has helped me enormously as I've tackled my first year in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition," said Ambrose. "It's the closest thing to racing in the physical world that you can get. There is a growing list of professional drivers — including guys I race against every week, like A.J. Allmendinger, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — who use iRacing.com to fine–tune their skills, especially before heading to a particular track."

Fans in Australia and New Zealand now have the opportunity to race Ambrose, his fellow professional racers, and other enthusiasts from nearby and all over the rest of the world. The passport to this global world of virtual motorsport is an inexpensive subscription to the iRacing service.

"The great thing is that iRacing.com is for everyone," Ambrose said. "Lack of budget is not an excuse here — you just go out and race. And iRacing.com is also a terrific social venue for racers to find like-minded friends from all over the world. It is a fantastic service for individuals or a bunch of mates who want to get together regularly, wherever they are in the world, to race."

Five years in the making, the iRacing.com service has been developed at a cost to date of more than $US 25 million. Monthly subscriptions are regularly priced at $US 19.00 ($US 13.00 per month for an annual subscription), but as a special introductory offer to new subscribers in Australia and New Zealand, iRacing.com is offering a $US 25 three-month membership.

"Australians and New Zealanders have traditionally had a presence in international motorsport far beyond what you'd predict based on population size alone," noted Steve Myers, iRacing's executive producer. "And they represent an outsized proportion of our membership as well. Our partnership with Marcos will help us spread the word about iRacing.com even more widely in two countries that are already keen on motorsport. As this relationship develops we expect to add local tracks and cars that will then be available to iRacers all over the world. But we'll also have events and special membership offers, including the one we're announcing now, that are only available to Kiwis and Aussies."

New iRacing Servers Set to Open in Australia

The physical distance to much of the rest of the world has proven to be a challenge when Australians and New Zealanders participate in global online activities. In order to facilitate better service for its growing cadre of members in this part of the world, iRacing is setting up a base of dedicated race-hosting servers in Sydney.

"Eventually we expect to have a number of 'server farms' located in different parts of the world, in addition to our main one near our company headquarters in Massachusetts, but this is the first one to come online," said Chris Page, iRacing's vice president of technology. "We have quite a few members in Australia and New Zealand already, and we expect that number to grow sharply over the next few months. The opening of the new servers will help ensure that all of our customers have the best possible online racing experience."