iRacing.com (First Racing)

discussed in 313 posts, 2004-2015 · overall tone negative

iRacing 2008

Posts per month

How the mood changed

Starts at zero. Every post that spoke well of them moves the line up, every critical post moves it down (weighted −2 to +2).

Press releases

Key threads

• Frustration over iRacing's lack of progress news 2007-08-03 · 64 posts
  Pat Dotson asked whether iRacing was doing anything besides real-world racing. Tim Wheatley denied it was simply NR2003 and defended long development times and the focus on marketing to real racers, but exchanges with Schooner turned sour and Wheatley said he would stop posting clarifications. Others debated whether real racers or sim racers would be the core market and worried about pricing.
• FIRST-Racing's stance against NR2003 executable hacks 2005-03-04 · 36 posts
  A Joystiq article reported that FIRST-Racing, which had bought the Papyrus code, warned against mods that hacked the NR2003 executable. Some defended Dave Kaemmer and John Henry's right to protect what they had bought. Others saw it as hostile to the modding community that had kept Papyrus titles alive, and worried it hinted that FIRST's product would be little more than an updated NR2003.
• iRacing subscription pricing announced and debated 2008-01-23 · 124 posts
  Posters discussed iRacing's newly announced pricing of about $13 a month on a yearly plan, with extra cars and tracks costing $15 to $25. iRacing's Tim Wheatley answered questions, saying the base content would cover a first season and that launch was planned for spring. Opinions split between those who found the price reasonable compared to other hobbies and sceptics like Backspace who attacked the cost and the $20 trial, leading to insults; the later posts drifted into GPL tyre grip and sensing speed in sims.
• Mario Petrinovic blames cockpitLookDeadZone for bad FFB 2013-02-23 · 20 posts
  Mario Petrinovic posted a long chain of self-replies claiming iRacing's cockpitLookDeadZone setting badly affects force feedback centering, and repeatedly revised his recommended values. Tony Rickard responded sceptically and the two traded remarks about lap times in a test session.
• Train analogies and FIRST-Racing's legal action over mods 2005-03-05 · 52 posts
  Tony Rickard parodied Dave Kaemmer's train analogy about modders. The thread became a long debate between Steve Smith, Malc and others on whether mods help or hurt developers, and whether FIRST was right to restrict hacks of the NR2003 executable. Goy Larsen then posted FIRST-Racing's legal filing and press release against modders, and most posters criticised the move.
• Reaction to FIRST-Racing's legal action against NR2003 exe modders 2005-03-24 · 69 posts
  JP linked FIRST-Racing's news page announcing legal action against modders who altered the NR2003 executable. Many were angry, and some vowed to buy EA's NSR instead. Others noted that most mods did not touch the exe, and Aero88 co-author Fred Anderson said his team had reverse-engineered the data formats. Reviewer Randy Magruder defended the NSR team's openness and ongoing patch work, and debate continued over NSR's state and whether the licence agreements transferred to FIRST.
• iRacing free trial auto-renewal complaint 2009-03-12 · 97 posts
  A poster complained that iRacing charged his card after a free trial because auto-renewal was on by default. Tim Wheatley of iRacing said the renewal terms were clearly stated in the welcome email, and posters split between blaming the customer and calling opt-out billing sneaky. The thread also covered credit card verification, real names and the Solstice, and was revived years later with excerpts of iRacing customer service messages.
• iRacing and Skip Barber Racing School announce alliance 2006-11-17 · 54 posts
  Tim Wheatley of iRacing posted the announcement of a strategic alliance with the Skip Barber Racing School, with a video comparing the real and simulated Lime Rock. Some found the graphics underwhelming, and Wheatley explained the tiny video hid the detail and that oval and other forms of racing would follow. Debate centred on the value of laser-scanned track accuracy and on iRacing's likely subscription pricing and league support.
• Many r.a.s. regulars rejected as First-Racing beta testers 2004-12-17 · 34 posts
  A poster said First-Racing, the new studio founded by Papyrus veteran Dave Kaemmer, had turned down his beta tester application, and a long list of regulars said they had been rejected too. People guessed the testers were picked by lot or for their connections, and one poster said he had been accepted. The thread then drifted into jokes about whether First's project, GTR and the coming rFactor were all just 'mods' of older engines.
• Excitement over rFactor 2 tyre physics video 2011-03-26 · 36 posts
  Andrew MacPherson shared an rFactor 2 video and ISI developer Q&A, noting triple-screen support and a commitment to strong AI. William Bradshaw, developer of the NSS stock car mod, discussed rFactor stock car mods and found iRacing's NASCAR car twitchy, and others traded insults about rFactor stock car mods. Later Mario Petrinovic and Tony Rickard debated how important force feedback is compared with visual and inner-ear cues.
• Active iRacing numbers and its business model in 2010 2010-03-27 · 29 posts
  Rcgldr asked how many players iRacing had after its price cuts. Andrew MacPherson estimated more than 20,000 had tried it, with about 16,000 oval and 15,500 road participants, and noted Dave Kaemmer had said they were surprised how small the hardcore market was. Posters debated whether a standalone boxed version, open forums, translations or a NASCAR licence deal would help.
• Will iRacing ever make a PC sim? Plus Crammond debate 2005-09-08 · 92 posts
  A poster noticed that iRacing's revamped website seemed to target commercial simulators and asked whether Dave Kaemmer's company would still release a PC sim. Jason Moyer was confident it would lead the field, while others noted that the competition was now stronger. The thread turned into a long argument about whether Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix series were real sims and about force feedback.
• FFB, latency and field of view on a new PC 2012-04-05 · 41 posts
  Mario Petrinovic posted many updates on force feedback, latency and field of view settings after getting a new PC. FolkGT shared settings recommended by the Project CARS developers and discussed differences between sims. GaryR attacked the thread as the death of the newsgroup, leading to insults with FolkGT, while others noted the lack of discussion of new sims like Assetto Corsa and rFactor 2.
• Mario Petrinovic's continued FFB settings experiments 2011-10-26 · 28 posts
  Mario Petrinovic posted a long series of updates on finding ideal Logitech Spring, Damper and Centering Spring settings for iRacing, repeatedly revising his conclusions. Others mocked or gently teased him, and FolkGT noted every sim implements force feedback differently. Tony Rickard pointed to iRacing's new SteeringFFBSmooth setting.
• Mario Petrinovic's force feedback settings and clipping argument 2011-08-20 · 27 posts
  Mario Petrinovic posted what he called the right Logitech force feedback settings for iRacing. Pat Dotson tested them and said they caused constant clipping, explaining that clipping is a loss of detail when motors stay at maximum force. Ken MacKay suggested Mario mainly wanted the right damping and that his points were lost in translation, while GaryR dismissed the settings.

Busiest threads

• Frustration over iRacing's lack of progress news (20 posts about it)
• FIRST-Racing's stance against NR2003 executable hacks (18 posts about it)
• iRacing subscription pricing announced and debated (13 posts about it)
• Mario Petrinovic blames cockpitLookDeadZone for bad FFB (11 posts about it)
• Train analogies and FIRST-Racing's legal action over mods (11 posts about it)
• Reaction to FIRST-Racing's legal action against NR2003 exe modders (8 posts about it)
• iRacing free trial auto-renewal complaint (7 posts about it)
• iRacing and Skip Barber Racing School announce alliance (7 posts about it)
• What's up with FIRST? (6 posts about it)
• Many r.a.s. regulars rejected as First-Racing beta testers (6 posts about it)
• Excitement over rFactor 2 tyre physics video (5 posts about it)
• Active iRacing numbers and its business model in 2010 (5 posts about it)
• Will iRacing ever make a PC sim? Plus Crammond debate (5 posts about it)
• FFB, latency and field of view on a new PC (4 posts about it)
• Mario Petrinovic's continued FFB settings experiments (4 posts about it)

Sentiment by year

Who talked about them most

Mario Petrinovic · 47 Andrew MacPherson · 21 Tony Rickard · 21 Tim Wheatley · 17 Byron Forbes · 14 ymenard · 12 Dave Henrie · 11 Uwe Schuerkamp · 9 Jeff Reid · 8 Niles Anders · 7 Steve Blankenship · 7 Steve Smith · 6 GaryR · 5 David G Fisher · 5 JP · 5 mcewena · 4 Pat Dotson · 3 rcgldr · 3 GaryP · 3 Schooner · 3

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