Why Cost is Not a Reason Not to Play R3E

[Paul Jeffrey]

I have recently been made aware of an interesting post from one of our members here on RaceDepartment which I thought would be interesting to share with all of you loyal readers. The post in question addresses RaceRoom Racing Experience and its potentially prohibitive pricing structure for those new to the simulation.

Speaking from first hand experience and as someone who used to run the R3E Racing Club here on RD, I personally think this sim is one of the most impressive overall packages available today for fans of virtual racing cars to enjoy, with wonderfully reproduced sounds and car / track models accompanied by a number of extremely interesting licences for various real world series, which is exclusive to the game.

Arguably one of the most complete all round 'packages' available on the market today, it always jars me somewhat to constantly see the same sort of comments on forums across the internet questioning the pricing model and costs of becoming involved in this sim as a newcomer to the game. Yes, the pricing model isn't ideal and yes it can be annoying, confusing or awkward to navigate to the best deals but this should not be something that puts off those new to the simulation. Having seen this excellent post by RD member Alx^ I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you his findings, in the hope that you too can find a suitable financial solution that helps you join in with one of the most underrated and enjoyable simulations available today.

edited post below:

".... if anyone's on the fence about it because of the way the store works etc, here is what I did... maybe someone could use it as a loose guide, obviously accounting for their own tastes when purchasing I don't know if it's the most optimal way, but it worked well for me. Bare in mind I only ever bought 1 pack at a time, and completed the purchase. That way, the system sees that you already own that content, and applies the relevant discounts to other packs it affects thereafter, as has been covered already at the start of this thread.

I got the 10k vRP voucher from the Raceroom shop. This is €64.99 which is a touch under £46 UKGBP (virtually the same as the AC+DLC 1+2 bundle on steam, fyi). You can find out your own currency conversion by searching in google with "€64.99 in GBP" or whatever your currency happens to be.

Then I bought, in roughly this order:

• ADAC GT Masters Experience 2014 (contains several tracks which discount other packs below)
• ADAC GT Masters 2013 (wanted the cars and liveries, cheaper as you already have the tracks)
• European Track Pack (cheaper than buying the missing tracks separately, cheaper due to ^
• DTM Experience 2015 (cheaper because you have the tracks ^)
• Hillclimb
• Group 5 (cheaper because you own a car already from Hillclimb)
• 1x car from WTCC 2014
• American Track Pack (already had 2 of these from a sale the first time I tried this, but it's cheap anyway)

And I have some vRP left. Buying the Hillclimb pack means you get the track, and also 2 of the cars which are included in the Touring Classics Pack, which I believe is often run alongside DTM 1992, so therefore you would have a choice of 2 cars to race in that. When it comes to completing a pack that you own part of, for example, I have 2 of the cars from the Touring Classics Pack now, it is slightly cheaper to get those missing cars on their own, with only 1 livery each, than it is to buy the now-discounted Pack which you already own part of. The extra cost of the pack seems to be in the multiple liveries you get with it. But it depends on whether you want a choice of livery or not.

I hope that's of use to someone somewhere. Not as expensive as I had thought it was in the past to be honest. It feels better than it did when I first tried it. Maybe that's just me, or maybe their patches have changed things for the better! Have to say, if and when the devs get a rating system into this, and maybe scheduling/calendar of some kind for events... in my opinion it really does have the potential to be an iRacing beater for online stuff. The online-ness of it, web integration, leaderboards and competitions, highlighting the pro's times on the competitions, it's very compelling, and the sound and ffb makes it very immersive..."

Once you have this substantial amount of content you are also more than likely to be able to pick up the missing items you may fancy on one of the many sales offered by RaceRoom, and of course you also have the opportunity to test any of the vehicles available in game for free to help you decide what additional content you may wish to pickup down the line.

To compliment your new purchase(s) RaceDepartment runs a popular online racing club for Premium members to enjoy, featuring various cars and tracks in a friendly environment for you to get your racing kicks alongside your offline play.

I hope this little article helps those of you who are still sat on the fence with R3E, it really is an outstanding sim and deserves to achieve the numbers of users of other more mainstream titles available on the market.

Please let us know in the comments section below if you found this information useful and share your experiences with R3E purchasing and of course enjoying the driving!

 

[kedy89]

I totally agree that the perpetual "discount" for pack prices can be misleading, though getting a bulk discount when you buy more isn't really something specific to R3E is it? Is it as such not a discount?

Sure it isn't specific, and it is a discount. I rather meant the way it is put here. If you spent some time looking into things it is clear how it's meant, but it might not be for new users. For me it was misleading, and made me not buy anything back then.

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Sure it isn't specific, and it is a discount. I rather meant the way it is put here. If you spent some time looking into things it is clear how it's meant, but it might not be for new users. For me it was misleading, and made me not buy anything back then.

Yeah, as I said, I agree that it can be misleading.

 

[Metzger82]

I would say that RRE is not expensive but other sims are cheap...Compared to games like call of duty that for 50 bucks you finish them for 2 weeks and then throw them out...If you play 1 sim for let say an year and pay for it 40euro this makes less than 4 euro per month....... You cant drink everyday coffe for this money.

 

[Ryan Ogurek]

It's also generated some good, mature discussion, which in the sim racing world is rare, especially with a somewhat touchy subject such as a pricing model. So that's great to see

Let this day be marked in sim racing history! Seriously good to see a touchy topic discussed in such a way.

 

[Rob]

I would say that RRE is not expensive but other sims are cheap...Compared to games like call of duty that for 50 bucks you finish them for 2 weeks and then throw them out...If you play 1 sim for let say an year and pay for it 40euro this makes less than 4 euro per month....... You cant drink everyday coffe for this money.

My call of duty experience:
1. See a map
2. Get dropped in the middle of nowhere
3. Notice I have a gun
4. Notice others around me have guns.
5. Get shot in the head.
(Repeat until I race, happily).

 

[InsaneOzzie]

Gotta throw my 2 bob's worth in here!!

I agree with @Robert Waddell theres worse things one can spend their money on and many do, without batting an eyelid.

Cant really see the issue, I have RRE, with most the Packs & tracks, Ive spent $130AUD to get all Ive got, but there's plenty more available if you can afford it, sadly some can't. I also think RRE is aimed at a particular age group, 30 to 45+, this is the stable, mature & financially sound age group, it's no longer an issue about money it's about the enjoyment

Now I think the pricing model is designed to "milk the masses" but really, is this any different to say the C.O.D series for example, Activision have been punching out copious Modern Warfare & Black ops titles over the past 5 yrs, at a premium price too I might add, EA aren't much better, and what of Codies F1, a fresh title each year since 2010, think about it?. Is RRE really that different.

So I for one feel that although RRE may seem to be on the dark side of the financial universe, it's still a better bang for your buck than most other Genre's, sure it's at the high dollar end of the Sim-Racing market, but Sector 3 Studios don't call the shots on price, thats Raceroom AG's dept.

Understand that these guys need cash for purchasing new licensed content, just like Kunos or ISI and working on making it more content rich.
Raceroom AG know RRE's been shunned for the micro transaction pricing model, but in the same breath, they don't seem too bothered by it either, as the pricing hasn't change.

Each to their own, you either like it or you don't, I'm happy to buy the content I want, and know I'll enjoy it for some years to come, and I think I'll get my money's worth in the end.

 

[Alx^]

Totally agree.

Also, just to clear it up, I originally posted on the R3E forum on the tips for purchasing thread, so the quoted bit was indeed a forum post. I didn't write the article, and I'm not sponsored in any way shape or form. I don't see any problem with the article either though, or my post. This thread is in danger of becoming mildy constructive. The store is convoluted, there can be no argument there, and it isn't 'cheap', but cheap is a nonsense word anyway because what's cheap to one person might be damn expensive to another. If I said it was cheap in my post, I'll edit it.

 

[Brandon Wright]

Gotta throw my 2 bob's worth in here!!

I agree with @Robert Waddell theres worse things one can spend their money on and many do, without batting an eyelid.

Cant really see the issue, I have RRE, with most the Packs & tracks, Ive spent $130AUD to get all Ive got, but there's plenty more available if you can afford it, sadly some can't. I also think RRE is aimed at a particular age group, 30 to 45+, this is the stable, mature & financially sound age group, it's no longer an issue about money it's about the enjoyment

Now I think the pricing model is designed to "milk the masses" but really, is this any different to say the C.O.D series for example, Activision have been punching out copious Modern Warfare & Black ops titles over the past 5 yrs, at a premium price too I might add, EA aren't much better, and what of Codies F1, a fresh title each year since 2010, think about it?. Is RRE really that different.

IMO this isn't the issue. The few of us who race in R3E would love to see more people using it, to get the great guys at S3S more money/resources and also to fill up the servers so we can have some good online racing. The issue is that in the current form, the price isn't so much a problem as the fact that the way it's presented is confusing and makes it look much more expensive than it is and that discourages a lot of people from ever giving it a chance. Sim racers have proven that we'll spend a small fortune to get what we want, but the devs must first convince us that we want their product and having a confusing sales model doesn't help to convince people.

Sure, for those of us who have taken the time to figure out how the model works we realize it's not that much more expensive than the COD, Madden, FIFA, F1 model of having to buy a "new" version every year. But for people just browsing by and having a quick look, what they see through the window makes it look very expensive and confusing so they just dismiss it and move on to the next shop. In reality the model works fairly well (with a few simple tweaks it could work a lot better), but if you can't get that across to a window-shopper in the few seconds you have to get their attention, then you're not going to attract many customers. There's a saying in marketing that you only have one chance to make a first impression, and you usually only have a few seconds to do so, and the current presentation of the R3E store doesn't give a good first impression.

 

[Emery]

Every car is available as "Try before you buy". There's no need to spend a dime to check out whether you like it. If you do find a car you like, then the decision becomes whether to buy the package that contains it (which hopefully comes with more tracks rather than the "Experience" versions without tracks) or buy just that car (because your pocketbook is empty or you don't care about the other cars/tracks). And the final decision is whether you can wait until the content goes on sale at a big discount.

Like iRacing, most of the content requires money. Unlike iRacing, there is free content. Unlike iRacing, you can play for free using whatever content you've collected. Unlike iRacing (and most other racing sims), you can't paint your own cars.

 

[St3fan]

I tried a couple of cars last night, but the problem is that they are not that impressive to me imo. Maybe I'm not that picky on sounds, but I am actively playing AC, PCars, and GSC, it's really hard for me to believe get into R3E is worthwhile. I can go AC for GT2/GT3 races, go to PCars for eye candy, and go GSC for different formula cars, copa petrobras de marcas (btw I can't believe I can spell this correctly now), etc. I know R3E is good, but is it much better than others?

I think what will really make R3E attractive is redesign what contents to show for free. How about 1 or 2 really nice and impressive cars for free, instead a whole bunch of prototypes, which if I don't change the settings I could hardly see anything from the cockpit because a huge steering wheel is right in the middle of the screen? How about a beautifully rendered real-world track for free and for test drive instead of a fictional track with ugly concrete on the sides that many people don't like?

 

[Mike85]

the game is too expensive and it requires constant internet connection! ...id*ot idea

 

[Brandon Wright]

I tried a couple of cars last night, but the problem is that they are not that impressive to me imo. Maybe I'm not that picky on sounds, but I am actively playing AC, PCars, and GSC, it's really hard for me to believe get into R3E is worthwhile. I can go AC for GT2/GT3 races, go to PCars for eye candy, and go GSC for different formula cars, copa petrobras de marcas (btw I can't believe I can spell this correctly now), etc. I know R3E is good, but is it much better than others?

I think what will really make R3E attractive is redesign what contents to show for free. How about 1 or 2 really nice and impressive cars for free, instead a whole bunch of prototypes, which if I don't change the settings I could hardly see anything from the cockpit because a huge steering wheel is right in the middle of the screen? How about a beautifully rendered real-world track for free and for test drive instead of a fictional track with ugly concrete on the sides that many people don't like?

R3E has lots of GT races, GT2 and GT3, and even ADAC, and with the GT3 and ADAC classes it's far more "complete" than AC as it features many cars instead of just a choice few. In fact, most of the classes are more "complete" than most of the other sims, just look at ADAC, DTM, Group 5, and DTM '92 which all feature several cars that competed in those classes. It will also soon have open wheelers, at least 3 different varieties. The Silhouette's are free cars that aren't prototypes, and with the recent physics updates they're brilliant to drive. You can disable the on-screen steering wheel so it's not in your face, and you can map keys on your keyboard to be able to quickly adjust the seat position to where you want it. Portimao is a free track that exists in the real world and IMO it's beautifully rendered.

Is R3E better than any of the other sims? Each person will have their own answer to that, there is no right or wrong, it depends on what you want from your sim. R3E puts a bigger smile on my face than most of the other sims, and the chaps that race with it seem to be a great bunch that I really enjoy rubbing fenders with. It's still in beta, it's still missing some important features and functions, but it's made greater strides in the last year than any of the others IMO.

 

[Andy_J]

How about 1 or 2 really nice and impressive cars for free, instead a whole bunch of prototypes, which if I don't change the settings I could hardly see anything from the cockpit because a huge steering wheel is right in the middle of the screen?

Surely you remove the wheel? You already use a wheel to race with, why would you want another in front of it?

Now back to the topic. I think it is overpriced and they know it. But I have purchased just about all of it anyway coz I is stupid. The prices are silly in my opinion. The discount system is just plain bollocks. I still love the damn thing though. And I really wish it wasn't an always online thing too. We know where that will end one day.

 

[Ghoults]

I would say that RRE is not expensive but other sims are cheap...Compared to games like call of duty that for 50 bucks you finish them for 2 weeks and then throw them out...If you play 1 sim for let say an year and pay for it 40euro this makes less than 4 euro per month....... You cant drink everyday coffe for this money.

I don't think 40€ per game is too cheap for a racing sim. Sims are games like everything else and I don't see anything in sims that would require more money to make a sim compared to making other type of game. I'd say that because of the repetitive nature of the sims a relatively cheaply made package can do really well.

And I'd also say that sims by nature are repetitive experiences where you can do the same thing over and over (one track, one car) and keep doing it for fair bit of time. In most other games you start from place a and go to place b without ever going that same route every again because for that type of game doing the same bit over and over actually makes the game worse

Sure, production costs are going up when the car and track models become more and more advanced and detailed. Main costs in racing sims still are the licenses and laser scanning I'd think. Both of which are optional. A well made hand made track surface can be as good as laserscanned version to drive (although not even close to identical to the real track) and big lisence costs can be avoided by going through the reiza route by making content that looks and drives like the real thing but doesn't come with the real badges, logos and brand liveries.

I don't think it is a valid argument either to say people play sims really long times. Some people for example play call of duty as long as they can. Some people even play free2play games for really long periods without every paying one single cent. I don't even know if it is even true to say that sim racers spend more playing their games than everybody else. Sure for hardcore simmers the average period of play per game might be longer due to not that many sims coming out compared to other genres but even if that was true then the same is surely true for other niche games. If you for example like realistic modern day team based tactical shooters there is not that much choice so if you are hardcore niche genre player then you will play the games longer.

I certainly hope that the day never comes when 200€ is considered the average decent price for racing sim.

 

[Kenny Paton]

I certainly hope that the day never comes when 200€ is considered the average decent price for racing sim.

I don't understand where that figure comes from, there's been enough posts informing people how to get best value from the game, the test drives and free content, 11 cars and 3 tracks, could keep anyone wanting to get a feel for the game occupied at no cost. Ultimately people will buy what they want, no one is forcing them to buy. Do I think the business plan could be better, Yes, but it is what it is, hopefully it will change and help encourage more people to try it.

 

[Nestoche]

I don't mine the price, I'll purchase what packs/cars/tracks I enjoy the most. I really enjoy the DMT packs and will buy the 2015 soon. What I don't like is the always online to race single player. I just hope they can get rid of that and soon!

 

[thewarmer]

There is always the option to make like Reiza & other have taken in the past Euro Trucks got through several years using fake names & very close but not quite the same looking branded trucks.

Rfactor 1 used none real world cars to avoid the hi costs of buy Licencing.

Problem is most players want real world cars .I have no problems with close to real world as I think the whole brands having to be paid money to give the developer the rights to use them is stupid & a rip off.
For the brands they get paid even more money to add to their profits & then gain all the free no cost to them free advertising of their products to a target audience .

They should not charge at all & should only make sure their brand is shown in the best way that suits them.
That goes for track or racing series they all get their products or events into a wider public domain that would other wise cost them a lot more money than they have already spent.

If you had told me back in 1983 /84 that games would come out with half the content locked & full of bugs, plain over hyped or just serialized junk & with a ton of over priced DLC
with the avg game now always around the 50 euro mark without adding the now standard two or three DLC packs into the mix that could also be anything from 3 euros to even almost the same costs as the core content.
I would have said not cat in hells chance people will do that.

So yes I can see 200 euro or dollar games at some point in the next ten year.
I though 5 to 10 pounds back in the Uk in the mid 80's was crazy.

Now look at the cost next to no one produces a finished game anymore any an shape or form.
I understand in the case of R3e that they need to bring in money to get the rights to new content.
As S4E decided to not make R3E open to modding they have to work much harder the keep people playing the game.

So that means buying the rights to racing series that are doing well & have wide market or at least a big national market.

People from most parts of Europe & parts of the USA know of the likes of the DTM & WTTC series R3E have used the likes of ADAC masters to bring some style of GT3 racing to the game.
Seing how Sony PD now have the rights to that series.

But unlike other that have extra content you do not have to buy content you will never want to use.
You could just pick one or two Cars from all the series or at least you fav one's
But you really need to get all the tracks & the best way for that is to buy at least one of the bigger packs..

The very fact that you can get by with only one car from all the series & buy all the tracks I find very good if funds are little low & at least you can still racing online then.

None modding at least means at you do not have to suffer the mixed bug for quality that modded content can be & to get around mods been broken every time you have a update to the core engine like in AC .

As much as I love the work that modders do and bring to many sims it is always a pain when things stop works after a few things are change in the game.

the discount at least if a better way than some games handle the whole added content pricing.
its not perfect but better than some.

 

[Greg Latty]

I have 95% of the content and i don't regret it one bit. Sim racing is a hobby and hobbies aren't free. To each his own, but I love this game and will gladly spend money whenever I see content I like. at the end of the day its a lot cheaper than other hobbies out there. If you spend money on something you love then who cares what other people think or do.

 

[Duke55]

This is only because I'm a latecomer to R3E, It's a little disappointing all this effort was done based around the rF1 engine (gMotor2?). That said, they've done a outstanding job with their content, it surpasses anything else I've seen using the same engine.

So far I have upwards of $120USD vested in game content (All Tracks, and all DTM, WTCC), but I intend on getting more in time. Most likely Group 5 and Retro etc...

 

[InsaneOzzie]

IMO this isn't the issue. The few of us who race in R3E would love to see more people using it, to get the great guys at S3S more money/resources and also to fill up the servers so we can have some good online racing. The issue is that in the current form, the price isn't so much a problem as the fact that the way it's presented is confusing and makes it look much more expensive than it is and that discourages a lot of people from ever giving it a chance. Sim racers have proven that we'll spend a small fortune to get what we want, but the devs must first convince us that we want their product and having a confusing sales model doesn't help to convince people.

Sure, for those of us who have taken the time to figure out how the model works we realize it's not that much more expensive than the COD, Madden, FIFA, F1 model of having to buy a "new" version every year. But for people just browsing by and having a quick look, what they see through the window makes it look very expensive and confusing so they just dismiss it and move on to the next shop. In reality the model works fairly well (with a few simple tweaks it could work a lot better), but if you can't get that across to a window-shopper in the few seconds you have to get their attention, then you're not going to attract many customers. There's a saying in marketing that you only have one chance to make a first impression, and you usually only have a few seconds to do so, and the current presentation of the R3E store doesn't give a good first impression.

Agreed, the pricing model does hinder RRE's ability to garner more simracers, Ive been opposed to this micro-transaction model for just that reason, the prices aren't really that bad, it's just that micro-transactions immediately give the prospective buyer the impression it's a rip-off because it's in bits and pieces rather than a bulk purchase, the exchange rate to USD makes it expensive for many aswell, it does for us Aussies currently AU 70c for 1 US dollar.