Day 28 in the Big iRacing house <-- warning, long and about iRacing

On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:01 +0100 (BST),
(Andrew MacPherson) wrote:

>no@email (Remco Moedt) wrote:
>
>> Well, they're adding the Lotus 79, which is nice.... :-)
>
>Apart from worrying that it's another factor diluting the driver pool, I
>also wonder how different it will be from existing vehicles. Will it be
>different enough from, say, the Mazda to be significantly noticeable, or
>is it just a marketing tool?
>
>I guess we'll find out eventually.

What driver pool? I tried to find a race twice today, and both
times there was noone present. It made me cancel my subscription....


Cheers!

Remco

no@email (Remco Moedt) wrote:

> It made me cancel my subscription....

It's people like you that are destroying iRacing!!!!!

Oh, hang on... and me. :-)

Part of the reason I still struggle with the idea of returning is that I
see no future for the current business model. I don't want to get too
deeply drawn into a sim and community which I think is living on borrowed
time and money.

I am, however, usually wrong about most things in life. Which is why I
hope to continue dipping my toe in and out. I doubt I will ever pay for
more than a month at a time, and I envisage taking regular breaks from
it... unless they alter the structure and I get involved in some kind of
league. Though in general I'm inclined to agree with Groucho Marx. I
wouldn't want to join any league which would have people like me as a
member. ;-)

Andrew McP

> I see no future for the current business model.

How long ago did I mention 3 years? Maybe there should be an informal pool
on this. Place your bets ...

> taking regular breaks from it

Maybe wait until more content is released and/or included before trying it
out again.

(jeffareid) wrote:

> How long ago did I mention 3 years?

I'm sure that long before that they'll have had to radically re-shape, or
diversify the service on offer. Either that or I will have to eat my
words.

Andrew McP

PS. Can you buy banana-flavoured paper?

On Sun, 14 Sep 2008 07:26 +0100 (BST), Andrew MacPherson wrote:
> league. Though in general I'm inclined to agree with Groucho Marx. I
> wouldn't want to join any league which would have people like me as a
> member. ;-)

Hey Andy,

we're starting a new season in mid-October based on rF and we'd be
happy to have you at no charge at all ;-)

All the best, Uwe


--

(hoover) wrote:

> we're starting a new season in mid-October based on rF

I honestly can't drive rF any more. There isn't a vehicle in which I
really feel attached to the track any more.

I did DL NetKar Pro the other day, and that seems to have its tyres
firmly planted on the tarmac. But even that didn't really light my
candle... though that may just be the vehicle modelled. I may need a bit
less downforce to get virtual satisfaction.

I can forget about iRacing while I'm in traffic at the Ring in Evo, but
as soon as the adrenalin dies down I'm sitting in 'just another racing
game'.

iRacing has ruined my sim-life. I may be forced to sue. Class action
anyone? :-)

Andrew McP

PS I'd pay $100 for the 'Ring in iRacing. Mind you, they'd probably want
$300 for it and charge you by the minute for driving on it. But even that
might not put me off! GPL ruined my life as well. :-)

On Sep 12, 7:56*am, (Andrew
MacPherson) wrote:

> I'm on record as saying the Legends car should be the only rookie vehicle..
> It might need a more conservative setup for complete novices, but it's
> fun to drive and gives you an idea why iRacing can be so impressive.

The Legends are a lot of fun on the ovals, but they're insanely
grinsome on road courses. It's a real shame the races are only once a
week, and then only on a mid-week, which makes it quite tough to
participate. Still, they always run on the same track as the Skip
Barber, which makes learning a wee bit easier. On the other hand,
after spending some time honing the smooth slides of the Skip Barber,
a few laps manhandling the Legends around the same track really messes
up your balance!

> I re-read that email whenever I weaken and want to test the Skip Barber
> on my fledgling Tripleview setup. It helps quite a lot actually.

Hmm, nice - what triple monitor setup do you use? Software or hardware
based? I imagine it would be really good for immersion in the sim (if
not so much fun on the 'leccy bills!).

> PS I still get emails from the forums threads I'm subscribed to (I forgot
> to change the settings before I left). It's the equivalent of sim racing
> water torture watching those land regularly in my in-tray.

:-)

You haven't succumbed yet though? Next week the Skip Barber series is
back at Summit Point, which is part of the default package. That would
be an ideal time to join for some Skip Barber racing.... ;-)

I'm pretty much going season by season. This time running Skip Barber
and doing enough ovals to keep my SR up, and just move up the license
classes. The racing is really enjoyable, and strangely is a lot
cleaner than in the (non-iRacing) league I run in. I guess the SR
threat must work! I still find it more fun racing with people I know,
but at the same time that's not the way racing usually works - being
on-track with your mates. So both are good, but I am expecting it's a
concession iRacing will need to make to attract the business volume.

It has a cost, but relative to what people spend on the paraphernalia
to run their sims, it's sufficiently small. And, living outside the
US, I must also say how grateful I am to the US government for their,
frankly superhuman, efforts to turn the US dollar into worthless
paper, and make it cheaper for us foreigners to race on iRacing. Sadly
those efforts have been matched by the UK, and our "Great" British
Pound is swirling down the toilet equally quickly, but I must thank
them for their efforts...

Cheers!
John

(JohnW) wrote:

> It's a real shame the races are only once a
> week, and then only on a mid-week, which
> makes it quite tough to participate.

Exactly. My whole problem with iRacing is not the really the cost, or even the
annoying 'always on' SR racing, which does serve a purpose. It's the fact that they
have a *great* product but refuse, so far, to put enough flexibility in their
service. A half price service to be able to drive just the Legends cars on three or
four open, no SR servers running different tracks would be a great advert for the
sim IMO. The payment & registration would keep many of the muppets out, and those
servers would also allow the main iRacing fraternity to let off a little steam
whenever they wanted to.

I love the sim code, I just get wound up by their way of serving it up. :-)

> On the other hand, after spending some time honing the smooth
> slides of the Skip Barber, a few laps manhandling the Legends
> around the same track really messes up your balance!

I think the main reason I got so heavily into GPL was the ability to stick with one
car and drive it in every race. I'm barely good enough to cope with one vehicle and
its behaviour/braking points etc, let alone two or more. But it'd be worth the
effort if there were more fun races to enjoy.

> Hmm, nice - what triple monitor setup do you use? Software or
> hardware based?

This thread (watch the wrap)...
http://groups.google.com.vc/group/re...hread/bee03d90
d2664bb0
....contains my experiences. I did a little experimenting with two screens (easy on
Nvidia cards if you have two monitors handy) and ended up buying a Matrox
Triplehead. I use a messy 19"crt, 17"lcd, 17"crt setup, which isn't ideal, but it's
certainly good enough until I find three matched LCDs. I can't go back from
widescreen now I've tried it. It makes racing a totally different experience.
Absolutely incredible.

I haven't tried the software solution (softTH) because I've only got one PCI-E slot,
and although the second card doesn't have to be fast, it does need the bandwidth of
a PCI-E slot, apparently.

Tim Wheatley found that you can also get a 'free' triplehead by using the two DVI
outputs and the TV-out. Whichever way you try it though, it really does have to be
experienced to be believed. The peripheral vision is *so* immersive. I fired up the
games box, and EVO yesterday for the first time in nearly a week and was freshly
impressed. I'd sort of persuaded myself that it wasn't that important, and was
starting to eye up a cheap 'normal' 16:9 widescreen monitor as a compromise. But no.
That's slightly wider screen, not true widescreen!

> (if not so much fun on the 'leccy bills!).

My 19" CRT, which was what I used alone on the games box before, is 120W.
3x1280x1024 17" monitors may use as little as 105W. Obviously that goes up for
bigger screens. But 50W is still quite a lot for an LCD, so my bills shouldn't get
too out of hand. Having said that, I invested (in the same way that buying shares
is an 'investment' these days ;-) in a GTX260 to drive three screen faster last
week, and that sucks quite a few watts when thrashing pixels.

> You haven't succumbed yet though?

Too busy enjoying the turmoil on the world markets. While that sounds unpleasantly
schadenfreude-ish, my pleasure comes from *finally* being proven right. For five
years I've been marvelling at the way the US & UK have lived on increasing amounts
of borrowed time & money. It just made no sense to me at all. And the more I
studied, the less sense it made and the more concerned I became.

It's always nice to be proved right... though I'd have preferred it to have
happened a few years ago before the whole world got infected with corrupted debt.
Anyone would think that was the plan all along.... put the world in a position
where it can't afford *not* to bale out the banks. Though arguably that was always
the case anyway... the relationship between banks and governments has always been
somewhat incestuous, thanks to the role Central Banks play.

Anyway, with things moving so fast out there I've been doing a lot of reading and
not a lot of gaming. So the urge to rejoin went away... assisted by the news that
in iRacing we'll soon be rubbing shoulders with a bunch of pick-up truck drivers.
There ought to be laws to prevent that kind of thing. ;-)

> So both are good, but I am expecting it's a concession iRacing
> will need to make to attract the business volume.

Yes, I don't buy the slow steady growth thing. At this rate it'll take about twenty
years to break even, let alone get the initial investment back. Mr Henry may be
generous, but he's not a charity! iRacing needs more bums on virtual seats sooner
rather than later in order to achieve critical mass.

> I must also say how grateful I am to the US government for their,
> frankly superhuman, efforts to turn the US dollar into worthless
> paper, and make it cheaper for us foreigners to race on iRacing.

I've been experimenting with a little precious metal insurance against inflation
(which is surely the only real way to destroy the debt mountain that's been
created). So I've been keeping a close eye on this the exchange rate...
http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/co...submit=Convert
....hoping to pick another sweet spot before the pound joins the dollar in a race
towards wheelbarrow for a loaf of bread territory. It's probably a bit sad to be
taking so much interest in this stuff, but no sadder, on balance, than sitting in
front of a screen making Vroom! Vroom! noises.

What, you don't? Oh, it's just me then.

> You're right, Skippy is *so* much fun at Sears Point

Yes, it's a very satisfying track once you get over the initial WTF! blind corners
and elevation changes. I hated it and VIR at first (though I still get dangerously
bored on that back straight at VIR) but both are very nice tracks to race on
indeed.

It sounds like the VIR week may be a useful time to start another month 'in'. If I
can time it so I get to drive week 13, and another week in the next season that
would be good. Then I'll be scoring... ok, donating points in two seasons, and
having some fun as well.

Having said that, talking about the tracks has whetted my appetite again, and I
quite enjoyed Summit Point... though I was glad to escape before the Jefferson
course. That was fun to test on, but must have been evil to race on!

Andrew McP

Andrew MacPherson wrote:

> (JohnW) wrote:
>> It's a real shame the races are only once a
>> week, and then only on a mid-week, which
>> makes it quite tough to participate.
>
> Exactly. My whole problem with iRacing...

Erk, I didn't see that one coming! I went for the positive comment, but
left the door open for an iRacing rant. Rookie, rookie usenet error by
me! I can only say I haven't been here for a while and need to sharpen
up... ;-)

In fairness I think the Legends road-racing league is left as a kind of
"Easter egg" - not many people know about it, but it's fun for the
aficionados.

> I think the main reason I got so heavily into GPL was the ability to stick with one
> car and drive it in every race. I'm barely good enough to cope with one vehicle and
> its behaviour/braking points etc, let alone two or more. But it'd be worth the
> effort if there were more fun races to enjoy.

The iRacing structure caters well to that - one chassis per league (so
far), and several races/night to join. In league racing one a week or
once a fortnight is usual, with pickup races inbetween. From that
viewpoint I like iRacing, but it would benefit from tweaks, which will
be added based upon experience as it develops. There seems to be feeling
now that if open servers are allowed it will fracture the current
membership - or it could add more. Which is correct, or are both, and to
what degree?

> Tim Wheatley found that you can also get a 'free' triplehead by using the two DVI
> outputs and the TV-out. Whichever way you try it though, it really does have to be
> experienced to be believed. The peripheral vision is *so* immersive. I fired up the
> games box, and EVO yesterday for the first time in nearly a week and was freshly
> impressed. I'd sort of persuaded myself that it wasn't that important, and was
> starting to eye up a cheap 'normal' 16:9 widescreen monitor as a compromise. But no.
> That's slightly wider screen, not true widescreen!

The setups I've seen for triple screen are amazing, and I'm sorely
tempted to try it. Unfortunately it's way down the financial queue
(but.....!) :-)

> It sounds like the VIR week may be a useful time to start another month 'in'. If I
> can time it so I get to drive week 13, and another week in the next season that
> would be good. Then I'll be scoring... ok, donating points in two seasons, and
> having some fun as well.

Week 13 might be a lot of fun, especially if we can race different car
on the same track, or open up some races in Radical, that kind of thing.
I imagine that must give iRacing themselves some ideas - what people go
for, what's popular, what's not.

> Having said that, talking about the tracks has whetted my appetite again, and I
> quite enjoyed Summit Point... though I was glad to escape before the Jefferson
> course. That was fun to test on, but must have been evil to race on!

Oh, my SR graph quite clearly shows the "Jefferson dip". It's amazing
how frequently, given no passing opportunity, people will decide to just
drive through you! I actually quite liked Jefferson (the last turn is
insane when nailing it right), but the races got samey - too many laps,
and really tight, no mistakes, driving. Same with LRP - not really my
thing. VIR I love, as with Sears, and the main Summit Point track, but
I'm glad we can drop certain tracks in the season!

Cheers!
John

(John Wallace) wrote:

> Erk, I didn't see that one coming! I went for the positive
> comment, but left the door open for an iRacing rant.

I am very, very messed up by iRacing. I want to hate it, but can't because I love
driving the Skip Barber. :-)

To be totally serious (not that I wasn't), one reason for my continuing reluctance
to re-join is that the racing is both enjoyable (when I find other slow drivers to
race) and also too much like hard work. Sometimes I'm in the mood for that 'serious'
side of iRacing, but if there were open, no-SR servers then that's where I'd live.
The point scoring side of things doesn't interest me at all. I just want to turn up
& race those wonderfully satisfying cars without worrying about ruining someone
else's SR (mine doesn't bother me).

> There seems to be feeling now that if open servers are allowed it
> will fracture the current membership - or it could add more. Which
> is correct, or are both, and to what degree?

I can understand their reluctance, and I do think open servers would seriously mess
with the status quo. But I think the status quo is a sim Dodo, and wing evolution
is required pronto, before the financial mariners arrive for a snack.

> The setups I've seen for triple screen are amazing, and I'm sorely
> tempted to try it. Unfortunately it's way down the financial queue
> (but.....!) :-)

Until I tried the two-screen trick I had absolutely zero interest in even normal
slightly-widescreen gaming, let alone the expensive Triplehead solution. All my
monitors at 4:3. But even with the meeting of the two monitors directly in front of
me I *immediately* realised why people put up with the cost and hassle. I can only
suggest you don't try it. It's addictive!

> Week 13 might be a lot of fun

I've realised my timing's not great. I'm currently trying to escape from Pipex
after 6 years. Tiscali taking over wasn't a good thing! However my MAC is invalid
and hassle lies ahead. I may end up ADSL-less for a week or two if I have to cancel
in order to escape. So I'm reluctant to sign up now if a significant chunk of my
month might be lost in <shudder>dial-up land</shudder>. Only time will tell.

> Oh, my SR graph quite clearly shows the "Jefferson dip".

:-) I couldn't believe it was being included in the season. A very entertaining
track to mess about on (trying to hang the back end out round some of those corners)
but for racing it looked like my worst nightmare. And with so many laps required to
complete a race it looked like a great time to leave. So I did.

Andrew McP