State of Sim-Racing.....Rant

Hey all, I've just spent what should have been some quality simracing time,
instead searching the web looking for tracks for rFactor.....I have less
time these days to simrace, but do still enjoy it a lot, when I can get it
to happen. I've been playing rFactor since the demo, and think it's very
well done, until it comes to one aspect. I can rarely hop online and join an
open race! I was just looking at the racelist, and found 28 races with at
least one player present.....subtract the 15 passworded races, and I have a
choice of 13 open races......until you subtract the tracks I don't have,
which cuts it about in half ( I have about 20 tracks installed).....then
there are the tracks I do have installed, say, Watkins Glen, which has 3
layouts included, but when I tried to join a WG race this evening I was
booted for a mismatch, I prolly don't have the correct version of the track.
Then subtract the races for series that I don't have installed, ( I have 9
mods installed) and.......%$#@, no races to join.
I enjoyed the hell out of the rFactor demo, because it worked, you could
choose from a variety of servers, get in a race, and race closely in fairly
large fields, guaranteed, anytime you felt like firing it up.These days, rF
is so fragmented that I can hardly find a race that I can join, much less a
race that I WANT to join. I realize that leagues are an option, but I can't
commit to that, especially in the summer months.
Is anyone enjoying the kind of open racing that N2003 used to provide? Yes,
some of it was horrible, but at least it was there.

</HissyFit>

Ed

"Ed White" > wrote in message
...
| Hey all, I've just spent what should have been some quality simracing
time,
| instead searching the web looking for tracks for rFactor.....I have less
| time these days to simrace, but do still enjoy it a lot, when I can get it
| to happen. I've been playing rFactor since the demo, and think it's very
| well done, until it comes to one aspect. I can rarely hop online and join
an
| open race! I was just looking at the racelist, and found 28 races with at
| least one player present.....subtract the 15 passworded races, and I have
a
| choice of 13 open races......until you subtract the tracks I don't have,
| which cuts it about in half ( I have about 20 tracks installed).....then
| there are the tracks I do have installed, say, Watkins Glen, which has 3
| layouts included, but when I tried to join a WG race this evening I was
| booted for a mismatch, I prolly don't have the correct version of the
track.
| Then subtract the races for series that I don't have installed, ( I have 9
| mods installed) and.......%$#@, no races to join.
| I enjoyed the hell out of the rFactor demo, because it worked, you could
| choose from a variety of servers, get in a race, and race closely in
fairly
| large fields, guaranteed, anytime you felt like firing it up.These days,
rF
| is so fragmented that I can hardly find a race that I can join, much less
a
| race that I WANT to join. I realize that leagues are an option, but I
can't
| commit to that, especially in the summer months.
| Is anyone enjoying the kind of open racing that N2003 used to provide?
Yes,
| some of it was horrible, but at least it was there.
|
| </HissyFit>
|
| Ed
|
|

Finding races using rFactor is certainly a problem. Part of the problem is
there is no uniformity in version number, which is ISI's problem. Some
servers run 1.087 and some run 1.070. The other reason, as you said, are
the mismatches. As soon as a track is released, five more updates appear,
almost within a week. That's a huge problem.

I know I run a server (USA Northeast) and have switched to version 1.070,
which is by far the most commonly used version. I also allow mismatches,
meaning that if there is a mismatch, the server will ignore it. It is
mostly when I run the default tracks that I get the most traffic-- like
Toban or Mills. A few of the most recently released mods are very popular.

But all in all it is the nature of the beast that can limit how many servers
and good racing you can find. With LFS, things are quite different. You
can jump on any server and race, but generally there are more people racing
rFactor than LFS.

I'm hoping that at some point Kunos gets NetKar Pro squared away and we'll
start to see more people there online. Right now, it's a ghost-town.

Alanb

Alan Bernardo wrote:
> "Ed White" > wrote in message
> ...
> | Hey all, I've just spent what should have been some quality simracing
> time,
> | instead searching the web looking for tracks for rFactor.....I have less
> | time these days to simrace, but do still enjoy it a lot, when I can get it
> | to happen. I've been playing rFactor since the demo, and think it's very
> | well done, until it comes to one aspect. I can rarely hop online and join
> an
> | open race! I was just looking at the racelist, and found 28 races with at
> | least one player present.....subtract the 15 passworded races, and I have
> a
> | choice of 13 open races......until you subtract the tracks I don't have,
> | which cuts it about in half ( I have about 20 tracks installed).....then
> | there are the tracks I do have installed, say, Watkins Glen, which has 3
> | layouts included, but when I tried to join a WG race this evening I was
> | booted for a mismatch, I prolly don't have the correct version of the
> track.
> | Then subtract the races for series that I don't have installed, ( I have 9
> | mods installed) and.......%$#@, no races to join.
> | I enjoyed the hell out of the rFactor demo, because it worked, you could
> | choose from a variety of servers, get in a race, and race closely in
> fairly
> | large fields, guaranteed, anytime you felt like firing it up.These days,
> rF
> | is so fragmented that I can hardly find a race that I can join, much less
> a
> | race that I WANT to join. I realize that leagues are an option, but I
> can't
> | commit to that, especially in the summer months.
> | Is anyone enjoying the kind of open racing that N2003 used to provide?
> Yes,
> | some of it was horrible, but at least it was there.
> |
> | </HissyFit>
> |
> | Ed
> |
> |
>
> Finding races using rFactor is certainly a problem. Part of the problem is
> there is no uniformity in version number, which is ISI's problem. Some
> servers run 1.087 and some run 1.070. The other reason, as you said, are
> the mismatches. As soon as a track is released, five more updates appear,
> almost within a week. That's a huge problem.
>
> I know I run a server (USA Northeast) and have switched to version 1.070,
> which is by far the most commonly used version. I also allow mismatches,
> meaning that if there is a mismatch, the server will ignore it. It is
> mostly when I run the default tracks that I get the most traffic-- like
> Toban or Mills. A few of the most recently released mods are very popular.
>
> But all in all it is the nature of the beast that can limit how many servers
> and good racing you can find. With LFS, things are quite different. You
> can jump on any server and race, but generally there are more people racing
> rFactor than LFS.
>
> I'm hoping that at some point Kunos gets NetKar Pro squared away and we'll
> start to see more people there online. Right now, it's a ghost-town.
>
> Alanb
>
>
LFS is crap, imo.

(Ed White) wrote:

> Is anyone enjoying the kind of open racing
> that N2003 used to provide

Welcome to the future, where the phrase "divide and conquer" has never
been so applicable. Life was so much simpler when GPL was king. Just a
few tracks to learn (not that it was easy :-) and only one place for
everyone to gather... VROC. Now we have so much choice of sim and track
I never really settle anywhere for long enough to feel comfortable in
the seat and venture online.

Which is probably just as well. I was never really good enough. :-)

Andrew McP

Ed White wrote:
> Hey all, I've just spent what should have been some quality simracing time,
> instead searching the web looking for tracks for rFactor.....I have less
> time these days to simrace, but do still enjoy it a lot, when I can get it
> to happen. I've been playing rFactor since the demo, and think it's very
> well done, until it comes to one aspect. I can rarely hop online and join an
> open race! I was just looking at the racelist, and found 28 races with at
> least one player present.....subtract the 15 passworded races, and I have a
> choice of 13 open races......until you subtract the tracks I don't have,
> which cuts it about in half ( I have about 20 tracks installed).....then
> there are the tracks I do have installed, say, Watkins Glen, which has 3
> layouts included, but when I tried to join a WG race this evening I was
> booted for a mismatch, I prolly don't have the correct version of the track.
> Then subtract the races for series that I don't have installed, ( I have 9
> mods installed) and.......%$#@, no races to join.
> I enjoyed the hell out of the rFactor demo, because it worked, you could
> choose from a variety of servers, get in a race, and race closely in fairly
> large fields, guaranteed, anytime you felt like firing it up.These days, rF
> is so fragmented that I can hardly find a race that I can join, much less a
> race that I WANT to join. I realize that leagues are an option, but I can't
> commit to that, especially in the summer months.
> Is anyone enjoying the kind of open racing that N2003 used to provide? Yes,
> some of it was horrible, but at least it was there.
>
> </HissyFit>
>
> Ed

That is the exact reason I quit playing rFactor. I like the game but
it's too difficult to keep up with all the different stuff thats out
there for rFactor. The offline part of rFactor isn't too good and like
Ed said it's very difficult to find an open race to join. I prefer LFS
because the developers are keeping a tight lock on things so everyone
is using the same tracks and cars so it's very easy to find an online
race.
Rick

Same here. I just don't have time to keep up with rFactor.

That's why I still run NR2003. It's stable, it's fun, and there are lots of
races.

-Larry

"rb21" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> That is the exact reason I quit playing rFactor. I like the game but
> it's too difficult to keep up with all the different stuff thats out
> there for rFactor. The offline part of rFactor isn't too good and like
> Ed said it's very difficult to find an open race to join. I prefer LFS
> because the developers are keeping a tight lock on things so everyone
> is using the same tracks and cars so it's very easy to find an online
> race.
> Rick
>

The corner changes every other day. It's not possible to keep up.

-Larry

"mcewena" > wrote in message
oups.com...
\
> Why keep up? Find the corner of the rfactor world that works for you
> and ignore the rest.
\

Larry wrote:
> The corner changes every other day. It's not possible to keep up.
>

Not unless you have a short attention span. You're right it's not
possible to keep up with the new & changing mods (especially when the
forum for them is rsc) So don't try.

I found I like rF3/EuroF3 so that's what I race, I haven't bothered
downloading Mclaren, GT Legends, Miata etc. etc..

I've got the classic tracks like LRP, the glen, Mido, brands etc..
There's always servers running one of those with combinations

Find the mod that appeals to you and ignore the rest, assuming it's
well developed others will find the same one.

Now I'll admit it was easier when the only place to look for sim
updates was Eagle Woman's site...

"Andrew MacPherson" > wrote in message
ddress_disguised...
> (Ed White) wrote:
>
>> Is anyone enjoying the kind of open racing
>> that N2003 used to provide
>
> Welcome to the future, where the phrase "divide and conquer" has never
> been so applicable. Life was so much simpler when GPL was king. Just a
> few tracks to learn (not that it was easy :-) and only one place for
> everyone to gather... VROC. Now we have so much choice of sim and track
> I never really settle anywhere for long enough to feel comfortable in
> the seat and venture online.
>
> Which is probably just as well. I was never really good enough. :-)
>
> Andrew McP

My post isn't really directed towards you Andrew.

I'm bewildered by this line of thinking that having more choice is a bad
thing.

Run what you like. Simple as that. No one is forcing anyone to try
everything. I only download the highest quality tracks, and mods I think I
will enjoy. Here is a great sight with all the trakcs and mods rated by
users. http://www.rfactorcentral.com/index.cfm

RACER http://www.raceralex.com./ is a great place to keep up with what's
going on with rFactor, and there are servers available 24/7, weekly races,
and monthly event races with some of the best drivers in sim racing. It's
easy to find a league that runs any of the major mods.

Weren't there a **** load of tracks for a number of other sims?
F1C/GPL/N2003 all had a huge amount of tracks created for them. Arcade
racers like MTM2 and 4x4 Evo had a few thousand. Why is there suddenly a
problem with this when it's rFactor?

I think a sim which only has one type of car which I dislike is a far
greater problem than a sim which enables me to run virtually anything I
want. I've had zero difficulty keeping track of mods and tracks with
rFactor.......maybe because I don't have ADHD. :-)


--
David G Fisher

--
David G Fisher

Ed,

You definitely have a valid point, it is a double edged sword. I love
rFactor, and I love all the content created for it. However, I don't
even try to keep up with "all" the material for it. Especially right
now, during the summer, where I might go weeks without driving a single
lap. If I have time, I do check the rFactor sites and download via the
torrent tracker site just to keep the mods I do race updated to the
latest version. I check RSC to see what happening when I can but that
is about it.

I'f I were you, I'd pick a few mods in the types of cars you like and
just try and keep up with those. The tracks are an issue, but isn't as
much if you are in a league - which of course you stated you aren't and
I understand because I'm in the exact same situation. Currently I'm
just mostly hotlapping (If I'm running at all) but that will probably
change come fall/winter again.

If you haven't, check out the prototype mod... I've really enjoyed that
a great deal. The McClaren is good, as is the Porsche Challenge and
Aussie V8s IMHO.

Now if someone would just make a Vintage Can-Am mod... I'd be the
happiest sim racer on this side of the pond.

Scott




--
Scott B. Husted®
http://www.Husted.cc
ICQ# - 4395450 | AIM - Hylander12871 | Yahoo - sbhusted
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