R3E Pricing, Discounts, and Purchasing Tips

[UMC 22]

This is a rewrite of the excellent guide originally by @Kjell Eilertsen, to bring it up to date with current links and screenshots.

The sales and pricing model for RaceRoom is somewhat confusing for new players, and can certainly lead to more money being spent than is necessary. Following this guide could potentially save you a great deal of your hard-earned cash!

First of all, you can reach the R3E store either in-game or by clicking here. You will find the content under the various tabs for Cars, Tracks and Packs.

The first tip for purchasing R3E content, particularly if you are new to the sim, is to consider buying packs. The packs are bundles of content that are available for a substantially cheaper price than if you were to buy the included content individually. If you already own some of the content included in a pack then you will get a further discount on top.

You can see what discount you will receive by adding the pack to your cart, and then clicking the Checkout button. (Don't worry, it won't buy anything without confirmation!) The cart will also display the cost of the content in vRP, which comes in handy later in this guide.

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But wait, don't buy anything yet as there are more savings to be had! As well as saving money by purchasing packs, you can also save by making those purchases in R3E's virtual currency, vRP. In order to do that you need to purchase vRP, a process which is cunningly hidden away on another store. You can reach that store by clicking here.

You will see a list of vRP packs in varying amounts. Notice that the more vRP you buy, the bigger the discount you get! This means that it may be worthwhile purchasing more vRP than you currently need, and saving it for future content that is yet to be released. Either way, making your purchase in vRP will save you money.

An example of how much you can save as someone who owns no content:

R3E Premium Pack: £100 direct from the store, or 9,999vRP.
10,000vRP voucher: £65
Total saving by making purchase in vRP: £35

So to summarise:

• You can access the store from within R3E or via web browser here.
• Add content to your cart to see it's cost in vRP, and to see any discounts that apply.
• Go to this site and purchase vRP in order to save money when buying content.
• Buying packs works out cheaper than buying it's content individually.

There's one final thing worth a mention in R3E's store... you can test drive any car you like, as many times as you like before deciding to purchase it! You're limited to driving on RaceRoom Raceway, but this is still enough to get a good feel for the car and see if it's something you want to drop some money on.

To access the test drive feature, simply head to the store from within R3E, choose a car you don't currently own, and click the test drive button. Simple!

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If you have any questions then please feel free to ask them here and we'll try to help you out. Now, go buy some content and sign up for some club races here at RaceDepartment! See you on track!

 

[Shovas]

I'm going to suggest something here that applies to R3E and any other sim that now operates on the individual piece DLC model...I guess that's all of them. Anyway...

Their should be an easy, discounted way to keep your sim fully up-to-date for a reasonable yet meaningful discount.

For example, with R3E you can buy the Platinum(?) pack, as I have done, and get all content. Great. But you can never top-up again by buying that pack. Consequently, I haven't bought anything in years for R3E, one because I don't like closed source sims anyway, but more importantly there's no reasonable way to keep the sim fully up-to-date without spending too much money.

I wait for sales for rFactor2 DLC, as well, for the same reason. The individual piece DLC business model is unsavory, to say the least.

What's the solution? Easy, allow the purchase and periodic repurchase of top-up packs, or perhaps like AMS2, or Dirt Rally 2, or many, many other games, use season passes.

Sims are really out in left field when it comes to this stuff.

 

[UMC 22]

I don't really understand why you think we deserve a "discounted" way to stay up to date? We bought the sims, sure. But why should that mean we get new content for lower cost? That would literally mean nobody ever paying full price because you can't buy a DLC without the base game.

Like most other sims and games, R3E has periodic sales for those who don't want to pay the full price. Surely that is enough? You also get discounts for already owning certain content and also for bulk-buying, so if you don't buy anything for a while you are already getting a cheaper price for waiting!

I've never really been a fan of season passes, and I don't think they would work at all for a sim with R3E's business model. You can't make an informed decision if you have no idea what content may be coming, or how much of it may arrive in the course of the period covered, so there would be no way of even setting a fair price.

To be honest, the more I see other games charging high prices for small DLCs, the more I prefer R3E's model of releasing each addition separately at a cheaper price. It allows you to get exactly what you want, and ignore the stuff you don't.

 

[amsterDAN]

I don't really understand why you think we deserve a "discounted" way to stay up to date? We bought the sims, sure. But why should that mean we get new content for lower cost? That would literally mean nobody ever paying full price because you can't buy a DLC without the base game.

Offering a discount to loyal customers who continually purchase your products is literally one of the most common business practices that there is, not just in video gaming but in nearly everything. On Steam, the overwhelming majority of games with DLC for sale offer a "complete your collection" sort of deal. It's nowhere near as strange or unusual or bad for a company's bottom line as you seem to be suggesting. It's one of the most common methods to turn casual customers into loyal ones that there is.

 

[UMC 22]

Offering a discount to loyal customers who continually purchase your products is literally one of the most common business practices that there is, not just in video gaming but in nearly everything.

No, it really isn't, not these days. I could give a myriad of examples of how loyalty doesn't get you anything extra, and how new customers are treated better, but the list is too long. Just because Steam offers a collection discount it doesn't mean everyone should.

I mean, who would determine when a customer is "loyal enough" to qualify for the discount? If every owner of the base game gets it then it's not a discount, it's the price. If only a select few get it, what would be the criteria?

And who would deal with all the whinging and whining about how "unfair" it is from people who don't qualify? You already see people accusing developers of foul play because they happen to buy a game the week before it goes on sale. How much harder would they complain about being a have-not?

Sorry, but I just don't agree that this system would work. (Nor do I think it necessary.)

 

[Shovas]

Offering a discount to loyal customers who continually purchase your products is literally one of the most common business practices that there is, not just in video gaming but in nearly everything. On Steam, the overwhelming majority of games with DLC for sale offer a "complete your collection" sort of deal. It's nowhere near as strange or unusual or bad for a company's bottom line as you seem to be suggesting. It's one of the most common methods to turn casual customers into loyal ones that there is.

This is demonstrably true with all the loyalty programs out there.

I have a loyalty card for my gas chain, my grocery chain, my credit card is specific to a chain of stores where I earn points and where i shop more often because of it. The big coffee chains here all have it. McDonald's has it.

Loyalty discounts have been a proven thing since the 50s. i actually watched some video or documentary on this that was pretty fascinating. I wish I could remember it and share it here.

Sector 3, itself, proves this by *already* discounting purchases based on what you already have. That's great. It just seems sensible that there should be a season pass or re-purchasable platinum pack offering the same discounts.

iRacing has discounts based on how much you've purchased. AMS2 has season passes.

It's not controversial.

 

[UMC 22]

I have a loyalty card for my gas chain, my grocery chain, my credit card is specific to a chain of stores where I earn points and where i shop more often because of it.

The only reason your grocery chain offers such a card is because they use it to monitor your shopping habits. The discount they give you pales in comparison to the potential extra profit they can make by knowing who is buying what and when. That system clearly cannot apply to a sim developer. It also doesn't apply to many other businesses, hence the reason you don't see every company in existence offering loyalty schemes... it's not worth their while and would cost them money.

Sector 3, itself, proves this by *already* discounting purchases based on what you already have.

Which is all the more reason they don't need to add a whole other scheme that would not benefit them in any way, especially financially.

It just seems sensible that there should be a season pass...

Yet I'm still not hearing any ideas on how this would work given that S3 never make future content or the amount of it public until just before release. How many people are going to buy a "season pass" with no idea what they're going to get, when they're going to get it, or how much of it there will be in a season?

... or re-purchasable platinum pack offering the same discounts.

Wait for the end of each year, buy all the released content in the Winter sale, and you get both the sale discount and the bulk-buying discount. Problem solved.

 

[Jan Larsen]

Or use the summer sale. I bought every DLC for all the games I own with at least 50% off.

 

[Ryan Soucy]

Or use the summer sale. I bought every DLC for all the games I own with at least 50% off.

That's the best part of being a PC Gamer... the sales!!

Works with RRRE, too. I've bought the DTM Experience first on sale. Then the Legends and European Track pack, then this spring got the "Premium" pack. Bought the AC DLC at the Humble Store on sale at a deep discount too.

 

[Zolazem]

I’m thinking of buying the premium pack, can we expect some sort of winter sale in the raceroom store or VRP store?
I was waiting for steam winter sale but there is no option for the premium pack.

 

[dcully]

I’m thinking of buying the premium pack, can we expect some sort of winter sale in the raceroom store or VRP store?
I was waiting for steam winter sale but there is no option for the premium pack.

I hope so , i have the premium pack but there some new content id like to grab.

 

[UMC 22]

I’m thinking of buying the premium pack, can we expect some sort of winter sale in the raceroom store or VRP store?

They've already had at least two sales since the Summer. Apparently the last time they had a Christmas sale was 2017, so there might not be another until Easter now.

I hope so , i have the premium pack but there some new content id like to grab.

Since the new content was released with the December patch, it would be unlikely to be included in a December sale anyway.

 

[Zolazem]

They've already had at least two sales since the Summer. Apparently the last time they had a Christmas sale was 2017, so there might not be another until Easter now.


Since the new content was released with the December patch, it would be unlikely to be included in a December sale anyway.

Thanks, when i now buy it with VRP it will cost me 65€ for every car and track released until now?

This also includes the latest Brands Hatch and the new VW?

And also all the liveries for all the cars in the game?

 

[UMC 22]

Thanks, when i now buy it with VRP it will cost me 65€ for every car and track released until now?

This also includes the latest Brands Hatch and the new VW?

And also all the liveries for all the cars in the game?

That's right, the Premium pack contains all content currently available in the store, which will include the latest stuff from the December patch.

I say "store" rather than "game" because there are a few cars it won't include, as they've been removed from sale.

 

[FeltHat]

Hmmm sale was hinted here and there but no guarantee it will feature packs- id say wait till christmas and then buy vrp pack and premium

 

[racinjoe013]

Was considering just biting the bullet and purchasing the full on RRE package so I have everything. It would cost me roughly $122 or 9999 vrp points according to the popup box on their store site when I hover over the Add to Cart button. Did another search and saw I could buy 10,000 vrp points for $65. Obviously that's the better route, but that can't be right. How could they sell their entire package for half off via vrp points. Makes me think I have to be missing something or not understanding what the vrp points mean.

Does this sound right? Could I really get their full package for $65 and why would they even offer such a discount just for using vrp instead of a credit card or paypal?

 

[UMC 22]

Does this sound right?

Yes it does. As explained in this guide, the best bang-for-buck method of buying anything in R3E is to buy vRP first, and then use it to buy stuff in the R3E store. If you pay cash you are always going to be paying more, especially when it comes to the packs.

 

[racinjoe013]

OK. Guess i'll go ahead and buy the whole package if it's that cheap. Thanks for the info.

EDIT: Turns out because of past purchases, I only needed 7800 points to get all the content. So now I have 2200 points left for future content. Guess this a was a really good idea.

 

[Majuh]

Does this sound right? Could I really get their full package for $65 and why would they even offer such a discount just for using vrp instead of a credit card or paypal?

When you buy vRP, the 30% Steam tax does not apply, that's why it's cheaper.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

When you buy vRP, the 30% Steam tax does not apply, that's why it's cheaper.

But why paying cash directly on RaceRoom store cost more, is it still considered Steam purchase, how, I own all content (purchased from R3E store) but none of Steam listed DLC are marked as owned/in library.
So my guess that even selling it directly without VRR, R3E still avoids paying Steam.

 

[UMC 22]

But why paying cash directly on RaceRoom store cost more, is it still considered Steam purchase

Because you're not paying cash directly to the R3E store, it's going through Steam's system and is therefore probably eligible for their cut of the proceeds. But when you buy vRP you are sending your money direct to RaceRoom, and are then using their own virtual currency to "buy" content, which is nothing to do with Steam.

I own all content (purchased from R3E store) but none of Steam listed DLC are marked as owned/in library.

You own the individual cars and tracks, you do not own the Steam-based DLC packs unless you bought them as a Steam DLC through the Steam store.