VR, Nordschleife, GT4: The Rennsport Open Beta Update Is Here


Since its announcement in August of 2022, Rennsport had only been accessible with a beta key. Now, the sim shifts to an open beta - here's what is coming in update 1.9.0.

Closed beta keys for Rennsport had become a bit of a meme ever since the sim was revealed in August of 2022. Now, there is no need for them anymore, as the open beta has arrived - and with it, update 1.9.0 is deployed. This time around, it does feel like a proper step forward in our opinion - check out our impressions in the video above!

The latest version adds new content, some of which is part of the three-tiered Founder's Pack - which, it has to be said, is quite steeply priced.

The good thing is that the Founder's Pack is completely optional - if you can do without the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, that is. Essentially, two of the three pack tiers give players access to the the Porsche 911 GT3 R Rennsport (a modified version of the usual GT3 car) and the Green Hell.

Rennsport Founder's Pack Contents​

Gold​

  • Early access to the Nürburgring-Nordschleife
  • Car Purchase Token
  • Gold Founder's Pack Badge
Price: €19.99

Platinum​

  • Porsche GT3 R Rennsport with exclusive eVIN
  • Nürburgring-Nordschleife
  • Platinum Livery
  • Two Car Purchase Tokens
  • Gold and Platinum Founder's Pack Badges
  • Your Name on a Race Track - Billboard
Price: €39.99

Diamond​

  • Porsche GT3 R Rennsport with exclusive eVIN
  • Nürburgring-Nordschleife
  • Diamond Dynamic Livery
  • Platinum Livery
  • Two Car Purchase Tokens
  • Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Founder's Pack Badges
  • Your Name on a Race Track - On Track
Price: €69.99

Besides the Nordschleife and Porsche GT3 R Rennsport (named after the Rennsport Reunion event, not the sim, by the way), the Audi R8 LMS GT4 and BMW M4 GT4 make their debuts as new content pieces. This means it also introduces a new class to Rennsport.

OverTake_RENNSPORT.jpg

The Porsche 911 GT3 R Rennsport sporting the Dynamic Diamond livery, which actually changes very slightly over time.

Furthermore, the addition of VR could be considered the second centerpiece of the update. We have not had the chance to give the mode a closer look yet, but will do so as soon as possible to find out how Rennsport performs in VR. With Assetto Corsa Competizione being notorious for its less-than-optimal VR performance and Rennsport also using the Unreal family of engines (version 5 vs. 4 in ACC's case), we would hope for siginificant improvements in this regard.

Find out everything that is new in Rennsport v1.9.0 to launch the open beta in the release notes below.

Rennsport v1.9.0 Changelog​

UI​

  • Upgraded Main menu’s “My Rennsport” tab visuals
  • Improved in-game tire status widget readability
  • In car menu automatic disable logic is no longer active while player is in pit lane
  • Updated in-game controller icons
  • Improved overall visuals for main menu screens
  • Updated loading screens
  • Simplified in-game car dashboard is now enabled by default

Spectator​

  • Implemented helicopter camera for spectators
  • Improved overall spectator system logic for smoother experience

Bugfixes​

  • Fixed issue with lap times sometimes being inconsistent across the whole race
  • Some lap times being different than race time
  • Fixed issue with scoring being messed up when players cross the finish line
  • Fixed issue with player delta being out of sync for a few seconds after player crosses S/F line
  • Fixed some cases where player progress (distance and percentage) on a lap was not updated correctly
  • Fixed problem with players disappearing from leaderboards table when they quit the game
  • Fixed issue with players receiving error message upon being disconnected from game servers which were closed gracefully
  • Fixed problem with checkpoints being triggered a little bit to early by cars
  • Fixed issue with the day-night system sometimes being out of sync for some players
  • Fixed some edge case issues occurring in pit stops system
  • Fixed some issues with dynamic in-game minimap sometimes not rotating correctly
  • Improved overall game stability

Known Issues​

  • VR:
    • No default settings
    • Flickering when loading into level
    • Some menus don’t work in VR
    • No mouse support
    • UI colour is offset in-game
    • Camera position slightly offset
  • Spectator engine audio can be missing
  • Rank can still be affected if the server/client crashes
  • Automtic Headlight assist doesn’t always trigger after stage transition
  • Going back to pits on Orchard Road can trigger a pit stop
  • Using Vulkan can cause the game to crash
  • Nvidia Reflex can cause stuttering. Recommendation is to disable it for now
  • Replays can crash when scrolling through longer replays
  • Time Trial delta is only shown when personal best time is set
  • Ghost car does not move in Time Trial Replays
  • In online races, if a car crashes at very high speeds into a wall, it can cause a mini-freeze for all connected clients and possibly crash the physics engine. Restart your client if this happens.
  • Getting a black flag in Time Trial will soft lock the player. You have to leave the Time Trial and go back to the Main Menu
  • Porsche Mission R has the wrong TC sound, fix in future patch
  • Porsche Mission R has a refuel section during the pit stop even though the battery charge doesn't increase

Will you give the Rennsport open beta a try? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

Premium
So I managed to make VR work, had to turn off some stuff like nvidia frame generation, OpenXR toolkit, then I launched the game, menu was OK (in a way), and I was finally able to do some laps, just to learn again that I don't like how gmotor handles FWD cars (I tried TCRs obviously). Porsche Cup was OK though. But since lock to horizon does not work I was not able to give it a proper try, my brain couldn't stand the amount of camera shaking which is in this sim :D
 
Yep, seems so. Rennsport is even more beta than LMU.
Rennsport is more a game than LMU will ever be though. It has a functional menu system that does not require you to manage it like you would a Unix Server-Farm through config files. Stability and performance wise it is also way more up to today's standard than the 10 years old rF2/LMU engine that run so poorly. And for what it's worth, RS has a radar and a replay mode from day 1 of its public release, never thought that would ever be a thing to mention...
 
I was almost about to get the 19.99 Euro pack, but then realised it's ONLY Nordschleife. If I want the 911, the pack is 39.99, with 1 car unlock token. So it means all current cars will lock on release, and then each will cost you 10 Euros? No thanks, I will save those 40 Euros for ACE.
 
For the folks that care, it is really good on gamepad, surprisingly good even.

I played it back in November when I got my key and put it down after a few hours, but today I have to say the progress done in that regards impressed me. It is very close to ACC and RaceRoom in term of feeling on the gamepad, you feel very much in control. It also offers a lot of customisation for the stick and triggers responsiveness, including limiting the maximum input (for instance reducing wheel rotation to 80% for more precision and less scrubbing), which I usually have to set using SteamInput for other sims.

Hey thanks, that gave me the push to start the download ( controller player here). Yes it drives really well on gamepad. The vibrations could be better , but overall it´s good. Have to spend further time with tweaking.
 
Already took your settings and honestly don´t know at the moment what I would change, thanks. I´m positive surprised how native and comfortable this game feels from the beginning.
Hope there will be AI one day.
 
I was almost about to get the 19.99 Euro pack, but then realised it's ONLY Nordschleife. If I want the 911, the pack is 39.99, with 1 car unlock token. So it means all current cars will lock on release, and then each will cost you 10 Euros? No thanks, I will save those 40 Euros for ACE.
Wise decision, with 40 bucks you could have bought AMS2 with all the DLCs during this summer sale on Steam, those guys at Rennsport are completely out of their mind lol
 
We might be witnessing the birth of a physics engine that might not only be the main theme of a possible mainstream sim, but also be used in different sims for years to come. What you're feeling now (whether good or bad) might be what people are going to think driving feels like in the future.

Despite my little experience with games/ sims, I learned that once a physics engine is created and no one gives feedback to the developer in the early stages, it becomes near impossible to change some specific way the driving feels. Those specific feelings become a characteristic of that sim.

In short, if someone helps sculpting this sim today. He might have something to brag about in the future.
 
Wise decision, with 40 bucks you could have bought AMS2 with all the DLCs during this summer sale on Steam, those guys at Rennsport are completely out of their mind lol
It's nice to listen to a wise man.

I'll add only:
  • Your Name on a Race Track - Billboard
  • Your Name on a Race Track - On Track
Modders: Hold my beer;)
 
Premium
So you can track the cars life, owner, races, wins, milage and sell it.
Didn't Rennsport initially have some plans for "owning" cars and were, perhaps, talking about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to do this?
 
We might be witnessing the birth of a physics engine that might not only be the main theme of a possible mainstream sim, but also be used in different sims for years to come. What you're feeling now (whether good or bad) might be what people are going to think driving feels like in the future.

Despite my little experience with games/ sims, I learned that once a physics engine is created and no one gives feedback to the developer in the early stages, it becomes near impossible to change some specific way the driving feels. Those specific feelings become a characteristic of that sim.

In short, if someone helps sculpting this sim today. He might have something to brag about in the future.
"The birth of"? The basis of Rennsport's physics engine is old enough to get a driver's licence. It's based on ISI's gMotor, the engine used in rFactor, among others. It's not "made from scratch" at all, as was claimed by the developers.
 
Did someone get TrackIR to work with Rennsport or isn't it supported yet?
I assume you have TrackIR right? Is it worth a money? I play mainly in AMS2 but as I do not have much time for hobby I still thinking if I should buy it or not. I'm sorry for OT and thank you in advance for honest answer.
 
I assume you have TrackIR right? Is it worth a money? I play mainly in AMS2 but as I do not have much time for hobby I still thinking if I should buy it or not. I'm sorry for OT and thank you in advance for honest answer.
Never want to play without TrackIR again. AMS2 is my sim of choice and I have a blast using TrackIR. Works with most racing games (ACC, AMS2, F1 24).
 
Last edited:
"The birth of"? The basis of Rennsport's physics engine is old enough to get a driver's licence. It's based on ISI's gMotor, the engine used in rFactor, among others. It's not "made from scratch" at all, as was claimed by the developers.


Source?
 

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