Opinions on R3E: What's yours?

[Nigel Mansell]

This is fine for ppl happy to dry-lap. RRE has improved over time - but I'm in the, "this is an outdated platform now" club. Best way to vent my frustration = stop buying DLC. When S3 care enough to drag RRE into modern times, I'll restart support. I buy the DLC, yet hardly lap with it - makes zero sense. I'm fed up of dry lapping. it's a personal thing.

We had rain in sims many years ago, then it all went tits-up IMHO. YMMV of course, that's fine. Why were Microprose ahead of their time. How long have I supported this stale engine for now, jeez. I've been doing this for a great many number of years - too long (dry-lapping) tbh. Hence the frustration. Approaching my mid 50's, I'm going to be more selective about who I give my savings to. Free to play software isn't the future. Otherwise S3 would have taken RRE to a modern place already. RRE, feels like a pay-to-improve model to me. By that I mean, RRE just releases tweaks here and there, but the fundamental tech is missing. We own this sim software, but at a UK track, we can't create a cold/overcast/low grip/wet or even damp scenario.

Fair play to Kunos for gambling, and having the passion/balls enough to deliver what some of us long for. By that I mean, driving at differing times of the day, in low grip situations. I get that we all don't see this as the "be all" of simracing. We all have opinions about SMS. At least they could be bothered to create time of day/weather, and moved the genre along. S3 is holding back the only genre I purchase games from. I'm unhappy about this lol. RRE started to feel stale, years ago. Much like how people feel that Codemasters have stunted the growth of the F1 platform, in the many years they've had the licence. Like a huge number of you, I've sunk huge amounts into regularly supporting S3. I hope one day, that a scenario arrives where I look forward to booting the platform and using the content I've purchased.

I know SimBin UK supposedly works on a modern game engine, supporting time of day/weather. Both platforms will likely share the tech. For me, it long overdue. Sorry S3, this is the only genre I enjoy. You starved your own engine of the features I've wanted most for years. It can't get any more broken than it is. You'll get nothing more now, until you care enough to update your engine tech.

 

[Dohdoubleg]

I have PC2, AC and RaceRoom. PC2 AI is horrific. AC graphics and sound are dated. R3E has the best graphics (VR), sound and AI. It's just a shame that the user numbers aren't there. For offline it's my No1 sim. For online I go back to AC.

I have recently been stung by the Premium Pack, I bought all the content back in 2017 and now need to spend another £60 if I want the latest tracks/cars. IMO the pricing model does it no favours at all. People see it as microtransactions and are put off.

 

[Ciccina2016]

I have PC2, AC and RaceRoom. PC2 AI is horrific. AC graphics and sound are dated. R3E has the best graphics (VR), sound and AI. It's just a shame that the user numbers aren't there. For offline it's my No1 sim. For online I go back to AC.

I have recently been stung by the Premium Pack, I bought all the content back in 2017 and now need to spend another £60 if I want the latest tracks/cars. IMO the pricing model does it no favours at all. People see it as microtransactions and are put off.

I am on the same page here..
The adaptive AI is really good and VR on my GTX 1070 is amazing..
It is so frustrating that not a lot of people are racing online .

 

[Dohdoubleg]

It is so frustrating that not a lot of people are racing online .

I also found R3E when I got a VR headset and its true the performance is fantastic. The only hope for online is leagues. Have you tried the SOL mod for AC? There is so much great content for AC, a true AC2 would be amazing but it needs mod support, ACC is a dead duck IMO.

It's funny how R3E with a proper multiplayer rating system like SRS (in-game) and a high player count would be a great alternative to iRacing at a fraction of the cost. iRacing just has that whole thing sewn up.

 

[Dohdoubleg]

IMO this game could possibly be saved by adopting a pricing strategy in line with gaming industry norms.

£40 for the base game + additional cost for DLC's
Get away from the web GUI, people don't like it even if it does work
Remove the requirement to be always online (another thing I hear which doesn't bother me)
Adding night and day/weather cycles

These are the things that friends mention when I try to get them to try it. But what do I know, maybe that would break the business model. Sector 3 must be making money and know what they are doing we just need a much bigger player base otherwise it will die.

 

[UMC 22]

I know the business model isn't popular, but I don't think it can be changed without killing the sim.

I mean, R3E has been around since 2013 and has been in constant development during that time. Most sims get bug fixes and content-only DLCs for a few years post-release, but not many continue to get core updates and new features, and R3E isn't even slowing down yet. The only way you can sustain such a practice is by having a constant income. I'd be willing to bet that S3 make more money from lots of people buying small amounts of content that they really want, than most devs do from selling big, £20+ DLCs that people will think twice about.

It's also worth remembering that R3E started life as a competition platform rather than a standard sim, and that still plays a big part in it's business model. Again, they probably make more from running sponsored competitions than the average dev does from DLCs.

Anyway, while I don't exactly promote R3E's business model, I also don't think it is the big deal that some people make it out to be. I think the problem is that many people view it in the same way they see "micro-transactions" in other titles, which in my view is not right. In such titles, MT's are a "pay-to-win" button, or they add nothing more than cosmetic crap that you don't really need. That isn't the case in R3E, since you're paying for actual content.

I think £65 for all the content R3E currently has is a bargain, quite frankly. No other sim offers so much for that price. And paying £5-£6 for new cars and/or a track every couple of months? I can go without a couple of choca-mocha-latte-chino coffees in order to afford that, if I have to.

 

[BrunoBæ]

I'd be willing to bet that S3 make more money from lots of people buying small amounts of content that they really want, than most devs do from selling big, £20+ DLCs that people will think twice about.
()
I think £65 for all the content R3E currently has is a bargain, quite frankly. No other sim offers so much for that price. And paying £5-£6 for new cars and/or a track every couple of months? I can go without a couple of choca-mocha-latte-chino coffees in order to afford that, if I have to.

Pretty competent post.
Most of the content I have bought in either smaller packs(european/US tracks + 3xFR90) or when Raceroom as now are offering some fair rebates on single cars/tracks..

Its difficult to directly compare the prices of the different racing games - but checking my total payment for the cars and tracks I own in Raceroom my guess is that its less than if I did buy the same content in any of the other racing games.

Ahh Im not so sure with pCars2

 

[Ciccina2016]

has anyone analyzed all the physics features of Raceroom?
i cannot find any exhaustive articole or youtube video

 

[BrunoBæ]

Probably not.
Just like you cannot find documentated analyses of other racing games physics.
The only thing you can find is some hype from the different games devs - and maybe some undocumentated conclusions from users.

 

[Emery]

I think £65 for all the content R3E currently has is a bargain, quite frankly. No other sim offers so much for that price.

<cough> I haven't checked the numbers, but maybe AMS?

 

[UMC 22]

I haven't checked the numbers, but maybe AMS?

I did a comparison post some time ago. When both sims, along with rF2 and AC, were all considered "current", R3E offered the best value based on the prices of those sims with all of their available DLCs. (This did not make a direct comparison of how many cars, classes, and tracks were available in the various sims. If it did, R3E would likely prove even better value.)

That comparison may no longer be the case directly, because at least two of those other sims are cheaper now. However, with the exception of rF2, the others are also out of development. R3E is not.

 

[UMC 22]

I found the post. It's from 2017 and my actual purchase was some time before that, so prices are different now, but the gist of the post is still true. The R3E Premium Pack is what I'm talking about there, which cost me £50 at the time. (With vRP.)

I got hooked and ended up buying every piece of content the sim offers in one go. You know how much it cost me? £50.

How much does Assetto Corsa cost right now with all DLCs? £56. How about Automobilista with the season pass? £37. Project Cars plus DLCs? £40. So you see that the price difference between these sims really isn't that much, and it's fair to say that at least a couple of the others offer far less content overall. If you were to divide the total price of the other sims by the number of cars/tracks they include, I dare say that the cost per individual car/track would be quite similar to R3E.

 

[Ciccina2016]

simracers are really a weird category.. we spend thousands on hardware and we complain about 100 pound of software...

 

[Nick Hill]

What we'd really like is an iRacing style competition system. R3E has an incredible spread of cars/tracks, most of which are an absolute joy to drive. The leaderboard competitions are a lot of fun, but some sort of competition/safety based rating system would be incredible.

 

[Momperface]

so very much this ^

 

[Kurupt CDN]

What we'd really like is an iRacing style competition system. R3E has an incredible spread of cars/tracks, most of which are an absolute joy to drive. The leaderboard competitions are a lot of fun, but some sort of competition/safety based rating system would be incredible.

As much as id like to see this....there simply aren't enough online users in this title to make it worthwhile....by 5pm north American time your lucky to see 10 people online, unless ESR has a race that evening.

A few yrs back when I was a tester I could have sworn they were talking about adding some type of rating system, but I could be mistaken?

 

[Momperface]

the reason nobody plays it online in because it doesn't have a good online structure

 

[Kurupt CDN]

the reason nobody plays it online in because it doesn't have a good online structure

I think there is more to it than just that

 

[sc4dr]

As much as id like to see this....there simply aren't enough online users in this title to make it worthwhile....by 5pm north American time your lucky to see 10 people online, unless ESR has a race that evening.

A few yrs back when I was a tester I could have sworn they were talking about adding some type of rating system, but I could be mistaken?

You guys should join our club races. Very clean, close racing!

 

[Peter Kerényi]

I am happy R3E is getting new content, but I unfortunately cannot enjoy it due to the poor CPU optimization in single player races. Hopefully they improve it eventually, as it is the only sim that has my home track.

 

[Kurupt CDN]

You guys should join our club races. Very clean, close racing!

I raced here for several yrs during Racerooms lows and highs and had alot of fun.
Things changed and personally I am now waiting for an engine upgrade before getting back into the title.