R3E Update Preview - Multi Monitor Support, New Cars, Physics Updates and Lots More...

[Paul Jeffrey]

Sector3 Studios have revealed some highlights from the upcoming November update, it's a big one...

The new patch looks likely to bring some of the biggest improvements and features to the simulation in recent months, with such interesting and much requested support for triple screen support, new 64bit launcher, three new GT3 cars, brand new physics and improvements to the current GT3 vehicles in the game and quite a bit more on top!

It has been a while since Sector3 Studios pushed out a new update for RaceRoom Racing Experience, and despite a few little previews coming from the studio the general feeling amongst the community in recent weeks has been one of frustration as players continue to wait for the next set of updates to hit the simulation.

It appears from todays preview information release that the Swedish developers are gunning for a rather tasty looking patch indeed, adding plenty of the stuff players have been patiently waiting for as well as a couple of little extras we've not been expecting...

You can check out the details of the upcoming November patch released by Sector3 below:

64bits
After the patch you will be able to choose between a 64bits executable or the traditional 32bits version. Provided that your operating system is 64bits, selecting the 64bits executable will allow the game to use as much RAM as it needs from your system, instead of the limited access to 4GB of the 32bits version.

Until now, the game was limited to use under 4GB of your available RAM, resulting in crashes when you attempted to load many cars on a big track like the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
After the update this will no longer be an issue for 64bit users.

NOTE: You need a 64-bit operating system and sufficient available RAM (4 GB+) to fully benefit from this update.

Multiview Triple Screen Support
As we already announced, we will release a first iteration of our improved Triple Screen Support,
featuring Multiview rendering, bezel- & angle correction.

Driver animations
We have updated a fair amount of our cars to use the full 360 degree driver animation, which especially VR users will be glad to hear.

A new Competition Concept: Race 2 Win
Competitions played a huge role in RaceRoom since day one. From the Time Attacks on the leaderboards to today's full online championships endorsed by official Series and manufacturers such as the WTCC and Mercedes.

Now we want to take it one step further, by allowing everyone to compete for actual prizes, 24/7.
Drivers will be able to participate in selected competitions by paying a small amount of vRP's, and get the chance to win awesome prizes.

Rules of R2W Competitions can vary, from time limited sessions to a limited number of laps available to set your laptime.

The development of this concept is still in its early days, but we hope to expand it in the future, and to reward our best drivers with top prizes.

GTR 3 Class Update
We know we've kept you waiting for quite a while, but we promise it will pay off.
In preparation for the new GT3 car releases, the entire GTR3 class has been updated in terms of physics, AI and BOP (Balance of performance).

The word "update" might even be an understatement, as recently joined Sector3 Studios Physics developer Alex Hodgkinson pretty much reworked every single aspect of the cars physics.
Thanks to some great insights and data we received from real GT3 teams and manufacturers, such as Callaway Competition, we were able to recreate the cars to an unprecedented degree of realism, especially in terms of suspension geometry, tyre modelling, weight distribution & aerodynamic aspects.

The results are much better driveable cars, that follow the driver's input very precisely, also giving much better information in the FFB (force feedback) through the steering wheel.
Many hours have been spent comparing real life footage and data to simulate the cars as close to reality as possible.

On patch day you will be able to experience this in all available GT3 cars, as well as in some new additions that will become available

Porsche?
We promised you 3 Porsche race cars in 2017, and we still stand by that promise. We will reveal what exactly we have in store for you after the November patch.

RaceRoom Racing Experience is available exclusively to PC on a free to play platform with additional content available at a further cost.

Love RaceRoom? Want to share the excitement with your fellow community members? No worries, we have all this and more at the RaceRoom Racing Experience sub forum right here at RaceDepartment:

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• Community

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Happy with the contents of the upcoming November update? What aspect of the information reveal are you most interested in seeing once the patch releases? What are your thoughts on paid competitions ? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Case_]

I was just about to post about the patch release date being postponed a bit

 

[Nevini]

Triple monitor support, meh. so 2006. Nice that they are now fully supporting the past, 2D gaming at its best. Modern cutting edge gamers use VR. ;-)

 

[DND]

They've changed the targeted date from the 14th to the 21st

Guess I should quit checking every few hours to see if it's out yet. After getting a taste of the GT3 C7 on RF2 really looking forward to this one.

 

[WallyTP]

Triple monitor support, meh. so 2006. Nice that they are now fully supporting the past, 2D gaming at its best. Modern cutting edge gamers use VR. ;-)

While I agree that VR is the future it still has a long way to go due to the crappy low resolution. Some people(YOU) probably just don't care since they don't know any better. When VR resolution looks just as good as my triple screen setup then I'll make the switch.

 

[Brandon Wright]

While I agree that VR is the future it still has a long way to go due to the crappy low resolution. Some people(YOU) probably just don't care since they don't know any better. When VR resolution looks just as good as my triple screen setup then I'll make the switch.

While it doesn't look quite as good as my triple monitors my Rift resolution is definitely not crappy. Far better than I expected after hearing all the reports of "crappy resolution" and it's awesomeness far outweighs the slightly inferior resolution for me. Really depends on the game too, I have some non-racing games that look 10x better than R3E, AC, and PC2. Hell, I haven't played non-racing games for over a decade and now I have a half dozen that I'm currently playing, that's a testament to the coolness of VR. It's not for everyone, sure, but for anyone willing to sacrifice a tiny bit in one area in exchange for huge gains in other areas will find it to be a literal game changer.

 

[Will Mazeo]

Triple monitor support, meh. so 2006. Nice that they are now fully supporting the past, 2D gaming at its best. Modern cutting edge gamers use VR. ;-)

Well... lots of stuff from 2006 and even before that year are still missing in simracing so....

 

[Keith_G]

it's awesomeness far outweighs the slightly inferior resolution for me.

I totally agree. Been using triple monitors for years (yes, in R3E even though it was a single image) but using VR is a completely different experience! There are a number of video snobs (def: a person who believes that their tastes in a particular area are superior to those of other people) who believe that their way is the only way! For me VR makes the immersion complete and even though the resolution isn't perfect it works very well. I also realize it isn't for everyone and that everyone can't afford it but no need to bash gamers who prefer one type of setup over another. I appreciate all the racing games that have implemented it and look forward to it getting better over time.

 

[Case_]

There are a number of video snobs (def: a person who believes that their tastes in a particular area are superior to those of other people) who believe that their way is the only way!

Yeah, because that's something that's exclusive to monitor users and doesn't concern the VR advocates at all... I mean, just by calling people "snobs", you're pretty much saying you believe your tastes are superior to theirs.

It really is OK to have a different opinion on something that's actually quite subjective.

 

[Brandon Wright]

Yeah, because that's something that's exclusive to monitor users and doesn't concern the VR advocates at all... I mean, just by calling people "snobs", you're pretty much saying you believe your tastes are superior to theirs.

It really is OK to have a different opinion on something that's actually quite subjective.

I don't think that's really the point Keith was trying to get across. For someone who gets upset about every little frame drop or graphical glitch, VR definitely isn't for them. But for those who can overlook such things they will find pleasure in VR. The person Keith was referencing who definitively declared that VR resolution is crap seemed like the type who thinks only his opinion counts, we are just rebuffing that for the benefit of any potential VR users trying to decide if it's right for them. I've raced with Keith and chatted with him on TS many times, I really don't get the impression that he's one who thinks his opinion is better than anyone else's.

 

[Nevini]

While I agree that VR is the future it still has a long way to go due to the crappy low resolution. Some people(YOU) probably just don't care since they don't know any better. When VR resolution looks just as good as my triple screen setup then I'll make the switch.

You actually get used to the lower resolution, this does not become an issue as the immersion far out weighs the graphical limitations. I still stand by my first post, triple screens are the past, VR is the future. ;-)

 

[FeltHat]

to everyone:

 

[Christian Moreau]

Oh boy, a VR vs Triples debate!

 

[DavidDraexe]

I had a triple screen setup before but now that I've tried VR I just couldn't come back.
I had the same feeling twenty years ago when the first person view behind the wheel replaced the 3rd person camera behind the car (yes I'm old , VR is THAT good, an absolute game changer.
I understand that some people are afraid of the low resolution but soon the new 4k headsets will arrive (pimax, LG, CV2), cheaper, with a larger Field of view and foveated rendering. IMHO, VR is clearly the future, it's juste a matter of time.

 

[MPortnoy]

I understand that some people are afraid of the low resolution

I'm more afraid of motion sickness tbh. I read some people get it and even though I haven't tried it, I get motion sickness with 1st person shooters so I have a feeling this will be the same for me and not sure if stores will accept returns, haven't asked, tho i did read about a case in which Best Buy didn't.

 

[Will Mazeo]

I'm more afraid of possible side effects caused by VR in the very long term. I remember reading some articles with doctors saying there is no experiments done on them to confirm they are safe but there was a theory that said it could cause bad effects in the future.
As with every new tech people jump on it early but we need a generation to learn about if it is bad or not.
So since VR is not a must to enjoy simracing I decided to wait (I mean even if I had the money for it, I'd wait) and watch other people playing "laboratory rat" for now. Keep it going folks, we need that data

 

[DavidDraexe]

I'm more afraid of motion sickness tbh. I read some people get it and even though I haven't tried it, I get motion sickness with 1st person shooters so I have a feeling this will be the same for me and not sure if stores will accept returns, haven't asked, tho i did read about a case in which Best Buy didn't.

Usually, even if you're experiencing motion sickness with first person shooter, it disappears with simracing because you're sitting behind a wheel in the game AND in real life too, so it can "trick" your brain more easily.

 

[MarcG]

I'm more afraid of possible side effects caused by VR in the very long term. I remember reading some articles with doctors saying there is no experiments done on them to confirm they are safe but there was a theory that said it could cause bad effects in the future.
As with every new tech people jump on it early but we need a generation to learn about if it is bad or not.
So since VR is not a must to enjoy simracing I decided to wait and watch other people playing "laboratory rat" for now. Keep it going folks, we need that data

Yes if anyone's seen the old film The Lawnmower Man then basically we're all screwed!

 

[Kenny Paton]

I think it's fair to say that vr is "a" future and it's great that S3 are implementing multiscreen support so that allows us all different ways to enjoy the game.

 

[Wolf_XII]

Sure, now they can concentrate the whinging on no day/night cycles instead.

And don't forget weather!

I atleast want that as well......after that what else would we need? I mean we would have great sounds, great Cars and weather+day night!

Ok, ok

And well the 64-bit might help build a basis for weather, as that is rather performance intensive, especially if you want to do it right.

As for the competitions they sound interesting, might be necessary to organize "leagues" or rather something that acts like a skill bracket, putting people into certain groups.
Like:
-Aliens
-really, really good drivers
-really good drivers
-good drivers
-average joes
-journeymen
-nuggets*

-and an "simbin sinbin" for the idiots, griefers and crashers



*And yeah I used the Naval Aviation term for a first tour aviator instead of Newbies or such, as it is more friendly, and also implies that they are just unfinished.....and that with a bit of work they can be great.

 

[Case_]

I really wouldn't be expecting time of day and/or weather any time soon, based on what they said about these on multiple occassions. Doesn't seem they plan on doing it before they switch to Unreal engine, and that's probably at least a year or two away.