rec.autos.simulators

Races on offer... half hourly Late Models at Talladega. Bound to be a disaster with
no safety rating in place, but there's potential for heaps of fun (and abuse from
the seasoned oval drivers, but that's a bonus!)

I used to race Talladega a lot in the Nascar series, and enjoy the big ovals as a
unique form of high speed racing. Well, until I fall off the end of the pack and
can't catch up. :-) It's a tempting format for me to buy into, but I'd need the car
and the track ($35) and probably wouldn't use them much again... though the Late
Model might make a pleasant change when I fancy some left turn racing.

Having said that, I think I'd need to buy about five tracks for a Late Model season,
so I'd hardly ever be able to race without spending more money. And I kind of
object to spending a penny on tracks with so few turns in them anyway. You'd expect
them to be $5, not $20!

Then there's the road racing. This time they're offering Laguna Seca with Solstice,
Riley, and Radical in mixed class races every half hour with up to 46 drivers!
Sounds very tempting indeed. Total chaos, but still tempting. :-)

Except at this stage you have to own all vehicles in order to drive (they're
looking at changing this apparently, eventually). So that means $30's worth of cars
which I probably won't (or can't in the case of the Riley) race after next week.

And of course the other factor is that at the times I drive there's rarely anything
like 46 drivers on the whole of iRacing, so I really shouldn't let that mirage drag
me into spending money.

Mmm... I can feel the enthusiasm leaking out of my fingers even as I type. I must
bottle this lack-of-enthusiasm and save it for the next weak moment.

Of course... if I signed up for a year (to justify renting more cars etc) that'd
give me 60 iDollars to spend on cars & tracks, and the 20% discount kicks in for
six cars or tracks, and... and...

And the iConfusion continues! It's a curse, I tell you, not a hobby. :-)

Andrew McP

One perspective, at least to me is....  When VHS triumped over Beta, the
movies available on beta became scarce as heck.  RPG games set this trend
(making money) with several genre's, sims, warcraft etc...  Servers and
bandwidth cost MONEY.  If you dont make money producing a product, you dont
produce it, for long.  (Unless you are the us government which confiscates
taxes to continue to give out when they cant make money providing goods or
services...  Ask General motors or Dodge).

There always is a balance, $15 ***little software for your Iphone that
makes some person that was smart enough to produce it and sell it, a 6
figure income in less than a year, or that $15 worthless iphone app that
nobody wants to "pay" for that the guy never gets rich off of for making it
the last 2 years.

Im saying Free servers to host games on are long gone.  if you wanted to
join a league with 12 of your closest friends, rent the server to run
rfactor on, and divide the costs between all of you (and share in the
headache of managment-scorekeeping-stewarding) it would cost ya somewhere in
the neighborhood of $40 per person per year, plus the software (for each of
you to install on the PC) plus the afore mentioned upkeep time...

So just how valueable it iRacing?  TO me, I hate hunting for the latest
rfactor/mod/track patch combination that works relatively well, and making
them easily to install for you and your 11 friends...  I go home after 12
hours lost per 4 day week trying to make a living, and boot my PC, click
Internet explorer's desktop link icon, sign in, pick my series and session,
(update if needed which happens not more than once a month it seems) and
race!

  WIth rfactor I would hunt for 3 hours, (give or take) upgrade the mod,
track whatever.  and goto bed and hope the next night I would still be
current enough to get in a race...  I agree somewhat, my time is "free," & I
should want to fill it doing things for "free" or low cost if I want to work
at it, but there are times I feel I really enjoy the work already done for
me!

 is it worth the $, well IMHO a 90 minute movie at the theater for $9 bucks
is utter ***9 of 10 times (before I quit going years ago when I was
younger).   so 20 bucks hold the pop and popcorn vs 3 hours of racing one
night a week?  excuse me?

No brainer.

iRacing wins.

We were thinking about iRacing again but we feel like going to SIM
racing drivers school is not needed because we have already been SIM
Racing for 10 years. And none of us really want to drive low powered
cars. And all the negatives that go along with iRacing just don't add up
to a great experience like we create in our other leagues.

With all the negative post I see from iRacing members, I can't see
getting involved again.

Basically, iRacing doesn't offer the ability to Drive the car I want to
drive and race with my friends when I want to race, in league races we
organize.

I'm trying to figure out what iRacing really has going for it except for
the very small group of the sickening "Come to iRacing Jesus" crowd.

I know John Henry has money to throw away ... but if he was smart, he'd
throw that "SIM Racing school" concept away and let the racers get back
to racing.

I don't need to have arrogant a-holes tell me how good I am, driving
their drastically underdeveloped racing game that they think is a new
sport. Man do they have their head up their arses.

Race2Play blows iRacing away!

Send iRacing a message .... stop subscribing.

These iRacing people are the same***heads that screwed with everyone
back in 2004. Now they want you to "submit" to their flawed concept.

I'd buy all the tracks and their cars I wanted to drive in one fell
swoop. Just get rid of the "iRacing brain police."

Niles Anders
"Having much more fun then any iRacer."

There continues to be a real divide inside iRacing between those who share the
*** iRacing vision, and those who want more flexibility. The recent
announcement of the schedule for next season has put the cat among the pigeons
because they're obviously (to me anyway) trying to cut down on the less popular
series to try and concentrate drivers together. But there are still way too many
series IMO, with way too few drivers to make this model work properly outside a few
peak hours every day.

But there are signs that iRacing is becoming more responsive to the desires of the
community. There's only one problem really, and that's the need for far more people
onboard. And until some real flexibility comes to iRacing, allowing people to race
what they want, when they want (to some extent at least), I'm not sure that'll ever
happen.

In some ways the developing project that is iRacing is more interesting than the
racing. Perhaps that's why I'm drawn back... iRacing is part race sim, part
sociological experiment.

Andrew McP

If this kind of relaxed racing was a permanent feature I think I'd be happy to part
with the money. But for one week in 13, or the occasional '24 heures du fun' which
I may not be able to race in, the sums don't really add up for a casual racer like
myself.

If only the Skip Barber (and perhaps the new Ford) weren't so satisfying to race in!
Then I could probably wave iRacing goodbye. But it is the only virtually car I own
in any sim now which makes me turn on the games PC down the desk. Nothing else is
doing that at the moment.

So for that, and maybe that alone, I'm very grateful to iRacing and would love to
see them succeed.... albeit in a somewhat different format to now. I suppose, being
rational, that means spending nothing on the gimmicks that will give me short term
enjoyment, and saving that money for another subscription after the good weather is
over.

Andrew McP

23-years for me, and I feel the same way you do. I know how not to wreck and
I don't need to pay out a load of money to prove it.

You have to give a little to get a little, for Jesus Chryslers sake man.  If
that effort is too much for you, then I don't know if I want to race with
you either, you know?   While im gone here where I probably crossed the line
there... answer me this:   if you were to start a real life racing career
you are telling me you would "start" in formula one?  I know, mostly not
just because of money?  No, not just money, but also because of Skill.  That
is all, fair enough?  Not saying you aren't damn fine sim racer, maybe your
real name is Skip Barber, but even he worked his way up.  but I haven't
raced you, so how would I know?  So you spend a very short 4 weeks showing
us (Iracing and me (ONLY  saying and me, because I am a member I can see
your stats as they accumulate)) that you can drive as fast as you talk...
then you move up, no sweat!  Some reason you think you should get to skip
all that?

To me, you sound less like you hate iRacing, but more like you hate
competition, earning your way up, and proving yourself.  Well IMHO I think
you (if that is right) should avoid iRacing at all costs...

Hell, if you keep your safety rating pegged at the top you can drive a
crapload of cars after the 4 weeks.  yes they are promoting rookies over 4.0
every 4 weeks now.  I was driving non rookie cars after 4 weeks, plus some
time to re-improve my ratings.

I will rescind your one point.  I agree, allow us to drive more cars (plus
the rookie series cars) when you are class d, yet they kinda do try and when
there are more cars, I bet they will.  if you have class d and above 4
safety you drive class c cars in events.  Right now there aren't that many
vehicles.

add that and the ford specs and I dunno not bad...  hell I beta'd the dang
rfactor nascar mods part, when there wasn't much there either, early on I
swear so many people think they are entitled to happiness for free, I guess
I was happy that 1/208th of what is around for rfactor now, was all we had
and stuff.

I again remember TV without cable, Am walkie talkies vs cellphones, and a
little bit about 8track stereos.  cassettes were so much better but yeah,
CD's in some instances are much better, but it just wasn't out yet and we
were tickled pink back then too!

See you on the track my friend.
Plowboy

First off let me say that I love the physics and the scanning concept.
Also I like the fact they are using a tire dyno to recon info.

I'm 56 years old and have already been to school ... even SIM Racing
school, I've been SIM Racing for 11 years. I want to race the cars I'm
driving now and I don't need to have a faux career to know I can SIM
race or get to a car I already know how to drive. That's the game part
of iRacing that turns me off. iRacing says it's more SIM but it's really
more game. rFactor has a career mode built into it and I don't know one
person that's done it ... mostly because they already know how to race
... at least the people I race with.

I'd beat you anyway. ;) I put in a lot of effort on my 1995 IndyCar
leagues ... you don't even know me and you think because it's not
iRacing that it doesn't count ... and your holier than thou attitude
typifies so many iRacing zealots and that is a main reason why I can't
do it. Not only that, iRacing doesn't offer a series type or a car I'm
interested in. And if you feel like you need to be validated by
progressing through a career, more power to you. But if you feel like
the only qualifier for you racing with me is that I have to play that
little game that iRacing offers up, rather then judging me on my racing
ability ... I don't want to race with you either. And that's exactly why
I find so many iRacing zealots arrogant and offensive. And the arrogant
divisiveness that iRacing has created, has done more harm to SIM Racing
overall then good and all you have to do is look at how many members
that have come, then gone, to know they have turned people off. It ain't
good. Their megalomaniacal management is flawed. Half the members that
have stayed don't like it.

People come back to our leagues saying definitively they will not be
doing any more iRacing. They have been alienated. It's not just the game
that turns people off, it's the arrogance of "We're in iRacing and
you're not!" that keep people from going.

While im gone here where I probably crossed the line

I started in Viper Racing. Then GPL then a dozen other SIM's. But now
because iRacing's here, I don't know how to race? "Come to iRacing
Jesus. It's the only path to SIM enlightenment."

  Not saying you aren't damn fine sim racer, maybe your

Done worked my way up, son.

  but I haven't

I have done iRacing and it takes more then 4 weeks, plus as I said above
they don't offer the car I want to drive. Plus I want to race the car I
want to race, when I want to race and with whom I want to race. And
there is a group of guys over there, that are in control that alienated
me and a large group of SIM racers in 2004 and now they want me to pay
there wages while being in a format of high restrictions ..... No.

I have heard this same argument from a dozen people and I've heard a
dozen more have my argument. But all you have to do is look at how many
people are subscribed and you have your answer. It's a loser. There is
no way that John Henry will continue to back this loser unless they get
some more paying members. When I say loser I mean financial loser. Take
there employees and estimate their salaries and expenses (office, IT,
....) and then estimate iRacing income and you will see that there is a
big hole over there that John Henry's throwing money down and it has no
bottom.

Again, your holier than thou attitude. You are what's wrong with
iRacing. You and your type.

The "Talledega Nights" fun week is with the Impala SS (COT) not the Late
Model just so you don't get the wrong car......:-).

Ed

In fact now I've calmed down and put homo sapiens back in charge instead of homo
iRectus, it's daft to even contemplate spending money on cars I'll get very little
use from.

Of course it is a nine day week this time, and once I start reading about 46 car
mixed class races I may get all over-e***d again. :-)

Andrew McP

DavErb (still having a great time)

Hopefully there will be big fields in these races though (a combination of
enthusiasts and rookies) then I might get dragged out of my Skip Barber for a while.
:-)

In the mean time initial race reports form the mixed class races are somewhat
glowing.

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Looks like suicide for Solstices though!

Andrew McP (facing a week in rookie Solstice/Legends races or nothing at all! So
not particularly enjoying being deprived of Skip races. ;-)

PS It occurs to me that SRF and Skip mixed races might be rather special,
especially if the faster drivers chose the slower car.

I'm sure there will be a lot of people who've bought cars just for this race, or
who haven't been able to drive them in traffic before because of the class system
restrictions. So that kind of driving doesn't surprise me... though that's a
particularly poor example!

Andrew McP