WTCC 2016, Flags and an Update All Come to RaceRoom Today

[Paul Jeffrey]

Sector3 Studios have deployed a new update for RaceRoom Racing Experience today, adding the stunning Polestar Volvo S60, WTCC 2016 cars and flag rules amongst other fixes and updates.

With the sizable new update only forming part of the new package for RaceRoom this month, perhaps the most anticipated changes deployed today consist of the long awaited inclusion of flag rules to the game and the new World Touring Car Championship pack from the 2016 season, featuring the new for RaceRoom Volvo Polestar S60 TC1 car, the Honda Civic, Lada Vesta, Chevrolet Cruze and Citroen C-Elysee that competed in the 2016 season of the highly competitive WTCC season, won by multiple champion José María López in his Total Team Citroen machine.

As we have already covered the new flag system previously (see article here) I'll not go into it again, however other highlights from the new build release include improvements to the way VR works in game, improvements to various aspects of the AI for some cars, a number of fixes to outstanding issues and the usual artwork updates for a number of tracks.

You can see the full build update changelog below:


What’s New (Summary)

• Flags
  
• WTCC 2016

Game:

• Changed so upon finishing a race with a slowdown penalty still active, the player will receive a penalty of 30 seconds added to his final result.
  
• Fixed issue with video options breaking when switching monitors with same resolution but different refresh rates.
  
• Changed so the slowdown time penalty you receive now factors in the actual track distance you have skipped to fix issue with finishing without receiving a penalty for cutting.
  
• Changed so if the accumulated slowdown time penalty exceeds the set post-race time penalty for finishing a race with a slow down on your head, you are now disqualified from the race. Current limit is set to 30 seconds.
  
• Fixed refueling sound continuing when refueling and returning back to garage in practice.
  
• Fixed issue where "Pit timer" from previous event was showing when player was in a new session after completing an event with mandatory pitstop with a minimum pitstop duration
  
• Fixed an issue where player was sometimes able to change fuel when fuel usage was off. Player car will now always use default fuel amount if fuel usage is off.
  
• Fixed issue with time of day setting not applying for race 2 and 3.
  
• Fixed so slowdown cannot reach more seconds than post race penaltytime.
  
• Xbox One controller profile: Swapped shift down and drs buttons so they match the 360 controller button layout.
  
• Fixed Xbox One controller vibration issue.
  
• Changed automatic DNF logic to allow players to stand still with their engine off if they're close to their pit box. So players can take breaks during long races without getting retired.
  
• Changed so replay is no longer saved when crossing the finish line but only paused. It is now saved and closed when player finishes the race.
  
• Fixed so headlights now strobe for 2 sec when button is clicked, or continuously if held.
  
• Shadow splits are now always enabled.
  
• Tweaked rumble pad/xinput ffb by disabling high speed constant rumble (steer force), rumble on grass and gravel (covered by slip effects) and engine vibrations.
  
• Added missing return so now players get returned to menu if the pit window range is invalid for single race or championships.
  
• Added session length format to shared memory. (if the session is time based, lap based or time+lap based).
  
• Increased shared memory minor version to 5.
  
• Various tweaks and fixes to data displays

VR:

• Support for displaying VR sessions on a monitor. (New control to map : “VR Toggle Monitor view”)

Note: What's displayed on the monitor is a cropped copy of the left eye render for the VR headset. The crop avoids including the eye's hidden area mask and maintains the monitor window's aspect ratio. The overlays (menus, etc.) are rendered flatly on top of the cropped VR eye render.

• The mouse cursor is no longer shown on the monitor window unless the game is set to show the VR session on the monitor.

Sounds, Cameras, Physics & AI:

• Various AI tweaks and improvements
  
• AI: spread out their pitstops more also in shorter races
  
• AI: moved what they consider middle of race in lapped races back one lap
  
• Idle engine sounds no longer include a slight presence of on-throttle samples
  
• Fixed a case where brake sounds could be heard when standing still and steering
• Brake sounds: ramp/fade/blend speeds/pressure settings improved for all cars except FRX, FR2 and FRUS
  
• Audi TT RS VLN: AI speed tweaks
  
• Aquila : AI speed tweaks
  
• BMW M1 Procar : Chase camera tweaks
  
• BMW M6 GT3 - Engine Throttle volume increased in cockpit
  
• Formula Raceroom US : new sounds, AI speed tweaks
  
• WTCC 14 and WTCC 13 : tweaks to fuel burn and fuel estimates
  
• WTCC TC1 : tweaked action cameras
  
• Karlskoga : lap not counting when passing through pitlane
  
• Hungaroring : tightened cut track detection
  
• Macau : Added TV camera sets
  
• Monza : cut track detection tweaks
  
• Moscow: Added helicopter sound sample to aerial TV cameras, cut track detection fixed on FIM layout
  
• Paul Ricard 2A: TV camera to see the starting grid properly
  
• RaceRoom Raceway: Added TV cameras sets
  
• Sonoma IRL layout: Tweak AI lines
  
• Zandvoort : Tweaked AI lines

Art:

• WTCC TC1 cars : New driver animation
  
• Switched Macau light setting to same as Paul Ricard.
  
• Bathurst - removed tirewall blocker in mountain chicane
  
• Zolder - Fixed weird bushes and smoothed track bumps a bit further

Portal & Backend:

• Changed Leaderboard divisions to work on a percentage based system.

Division 1 0.00% 2.00% of best laptime.
Division 2 2.00% 4.00%,
Division 3 4.00% 6.00%
Division 4 6.00% 8.00%,
Division 5 8.00% 10.00%,
Division 6 10.00% 12.00%
Division 7 12.00%+

• Fixed so when a content is set to be free e.g. for a weekend it is not excluded from packs (essential and class packs) and still gets added as owned upon purchase.

RaceRoom Racing Experience is a PC exclusive racing simulation with several pieces of content available to play at no cost. Additional content can be purchased from the RaceRoom Store.

The RaceRoom Racing Experience sub forum is the best place to enjoy the simulation online. We have an awesome club racing scene, open to all skills and experiences. Check out the club today, and swing by our sub forum here at RaceDepartment to discuss the game with you fellow fans and catch all the latest news.

Do you like the new RaceRoom update and WTCC 2016 cars? What part of the update do you like best? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Case_]

Bloody hell, joined some public races today and I don't think there was more than a few seconds in those races between yellow flags the whole time.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

Lada Vesta, not Vestra.

Oooops sausage finger moment Thanks for the heads up

 

[CCL71]

Soooo, what is the difference between older versions of WTCC and this latest version? It's hard for me to wrap my brain around buying content that I already own because it's a newer version. The cars didn't change right?; Just the physics?? I have no problem buying the Volvo but buying the rest of the cars seems like a waste of money since I already own them. With that being said, if I buy only the Volvo, can I race it against the older WTCC cars or do I have to race the 2016 experience? Am I missing something?

 

[F1Aussie]

Did they fix the issue with the game randomly minimizing itself during a session?

never seen that in all the time I have been playing it

 

[natedogg1867]

Soooo, what is the difference between older versions of WTCC and this latest version? It's hard for me to wrap my brain around buying content that I already own because it's a newer version. The cars didn't change right?; Just the physics??

I would say the physics being updated and them driving different is a pretty huge difference, but maybe that is just me...

Apparently if you own the WTCC 15 pack, this new pack will only cost you a few bucks.

Check out the WTCC Experience pack in the store and if you already own the other content in that pack, these new cars will be discounted (aside from the Volvo).

. With that being said, if I buy only the Volvo, can I race it against the older WTCC cars or do I have to race the 2016 experience?

In multiplayer, if a server is set up to have a lot of different classes available to choose from, you simply need to own a single car from that list to be able to join.

In single player, we dont have multiclass racing yet, so this is irrelevant.

never seen that in all the time I have been playing it

Same here.

 

[Christian Moreau]

Apparently if you own the WTCC 15 pack, this new pack will only cost you a few bucks.

Sounds about right, I already own the 2013, 2014 and 2015 versions of the pack so the 2016 pack only cost me $2.63. Insanely low price! And the new physics on them are fantastic, a huge thank you should go to the Polestar WTCC team for giving Sector 3 as much data as they needed to perfect the physics.

This sim gets significantly better each month. If they continue at this rate, I like the outlook of the game going into the fall/end of the year. Fantastic work the boys in Sweden are doing!

 

[Nick Gregory]

public races

 

[Christian Moreau]

I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

[Magnus Stjerneby]

 

[Boby Kim]

Three long years i waited for flags and now that they arrived actually i cant be bothered anymore.
A long time ago the AI could go broke running slow or there was an accident which i slammed into due to the lack of flags. Back then i begges for flags and S3 solved it not by implementing flags but just making sure AI would not run slow and all on track ai accidents disappeared. Since then flags were (are) not nessecary anymore for racing the AI.
In the Netherlands we have a saying: mustard after dinner. That is exactly what this feels like.

 

[Case_]

It's hard for me to wrap my brain around buying content that I already own because it's a newer version. The cars didn't change right?; Just the physics?? I have no problem buying the Volvo but buying the rest of the cars seems like a waste of money since I already own them.

If you already own the 2015 version of the car, all you have to buy is a skin for 0.30 euro to get the 2016 version. If that isn't a bargain, I don't know what is.

That was kinda my point.

 

[CCL71]

Update for me was $5 US and some change. I figured it was worth it if for no other reason than the cost of the Volvo. I still wish they would get rid of the experiences and just update the existing cars to the newer physics. To the best of my knowledge, no other sim does this. But I digress. Volvo is a fun car.

 

[natedogg1867]

I still wish they would get rid of the experiences

Well, they did get rid of experiences. There are no separate menus with portions of the game hidden away behind them.

What is in the store is quite different from what we used to know as 'experiences'. For whatever reason (and I am guessing this was the publishers choice), the name 'experience' was kept in the store.

However, all that actually means is that you are buying a pack of content.

And I dont see anything wrong with that. For instance if you buy the "WTCC Experience," it gives you all of the WTCC cars from every season, all the liveries, and the WTCC tracks that they raced on that we have in the game.... all for a highly discounted price.

and just update the existing cars to the newer physics.

All the modern DTM cars were updated in one of the last patches

WTCC doesnt really need that same treatment as the WTCC 15 cars were already up to date. And I would prefer they not touch the physics on the 13/14 WTCC cars because those drive much differently and are a lot more 'fun' to me without the somewhat sterile physics on the newer versions (by comparison).

 

[eljueta]

Great update. I must say I just tried this like two weeks ago and now it's probably my favourite thing to play right now.

 

[Boby Kim]

Soooo, what is the difference between older versions of WTCC and this latest version? It's hard for me to wrap my brain around buying content that I already own because it's a newer version. The cars didn't change right?; Just the physics?? I have no problem buying the Volvo but buying the rest of the cars seems like a waste of money since I already own them. With that being said, if I buy only the Volvo, can I race it against the older WTCC cars or do I have to race the 2016 experience? Am I missing something?

I would not be surprised if there is no change at all. Charging money for updated physics...

 

[Christian Moreau]

Great update. I must say I just tried this like two weeks ago and now it's probably my favourite thing to play right now.

Join us in the R3E club! We've got awesome club races running Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays (US), and Sundays. Should have an event with the WTCC 2016s in the coming weeks.

 

[eljueta]

Join us in the R3E club! We've got awesome club races running Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays (US), and Sundays. Should have an event with the WTCC 2016s in the coming weeks.

I will! I might have time to get in the Indianapolis race on Sunday, let's see if I manage

 

[Kevin Troschinski]

Update deleted 2 of my long-term single player championships i am mad as hell.....

 

[Deleted member 205301]

the new physics on them are fantastic,

...damn...I was thinking exactly the contrary
Seems like I'm the only one totally unhappy with these 2016WTCC ...they are reallyweird to me, very wrong...
Some will probably respond that the problem is somewhere between the seat and the wheel ( ,) ) ..But for now, I really hate this, steering lock is totally wrong, rear go for a spin each time I release gaz, car is shaking a bit, and I could easily make a fast lap without touching brakes (at all !) ...very strange behaviour...
Maybe I have to try more, and adapt myself to this, but damn, I know what a car (and a racecar) do and react, and this is not what I expected (maybe I expected wrong...)
@++
(I will try harder, but for now...it really confuses me)

 

[CCL71]

Well, they did get rid of experiences. There are no separate menus with portions of the game hidden away behind them.

What is in the store is quite different from what we used to know as 'experiences'. For whatever reason (and I am guessing this was the publishers choice), the name 'experience' was kept in the store.

However, all that actually means is that you are buying a pack of content.

And I dont see anything wrong with that. For instance if you buy the "WTCC Experience," it gives you all of the WTCC cars from every season, all the liveries, and the WTCC tracks that they raced on that we have in the game.... all for a highly discounted price.



All the modern DTM cars were updated in one of the last patches

WTCC doesnt really need that same treatment as the WTCC 15 cars were already up to date. And I would prefer they not touch the physics on the 13/14 WTCC cars because those drive much differently and are a lot more 'fun' to me without the somewhat sterile physics on the newer versions (by comparison).

I have both WTCC 2014 and WTCC 2016. The liveries are not the same and if I want to race against the Volvo, I have to do so in 2016. My point, is why segment the series? Why not put all of the cars/liveries under one WTCC umbrella and update the physics for everything? My belief in why they operate like this is so we are forced to buy new car packs, that aren't really new at all. Yes, I paid a discounted price, but the fact remains that I now own 2 of each of the WTCC cars...2014 and 2016. Maybe I'm wrong but please tell me of another sim that does that.