Will WEC Receive Their Promised Sim Racing Game?

PEUGEOT_9X8_2205TC002.jpg

What's next for WEC?

  • A dedicated game

    Votes: 392 44.2%

  • rFactor 2

    Votes: 318 35.9%

  • Nothing

    Votes: 177 20.0%
  • Total voters
    887
With the 6h of Monza coming up this weekend and their classes LMH and LMDh shaping up nicely soon, one can't help but hope for some digital representation for this endurance racing series. However, with the way the WEC license holder, Motorsport Games, has been going lately, seeing the software come to fruition is uncertain.

The Motorsport Games Story so Far​

It all started with the acquisition spree of Motorsport Games in 2021. Acquiring licenses left and right and even right out buying Studio 397, the rFactor 2 developers, Motorsport Games seemed like an upcoming powerhouse in digital racing. One of the licenses involved was the right to give FIA's WEC or World Endurance Championship a digital representation.

However, things didn't work as planned. Their first big release, NASCAR 21: Ignition seemed to be not much more than a haphazardly rushed title. Reports from within the company later confirmed that. But everyone could see it. Game-breaking bugs were only the tip of the iceberg and the game became a critical failure.

This whole scenario sent Motorsport Games' stock tumbling down. Even worse so when they announced in March 2022 that their existing cash in hand couldn't even support them for “at least the next 12 months.” Further delays to the well-hoped for BTCC title and subsequent release of BTCC content via rFactor 2 left more questions than answers. All the while Motorsport Games stock dropped below 1$ per share meaning they could be kicked off the stock market if things don't improve until December.

And just for your knowledge, being delisted from the stock exchange could mean complete de-validation of the stocks meaning financial trouble.

What This Could Mean For All The Licenses​

The licenses held by motorsport games are some grand ones with many hopes of them coming to fruition. IndyCar, NASCAR, BTCC and WEC are the biggest ones. While Motorsport Games owns all of these licenses, they might not be able to create dedicated games for all of them.

As we have already seen with BTCC and IndyCar content, the existing rFactor 2 platform could become a host of some of these titles. This, however, is all subject to the terms and conditions of the licensing contracts. What we can expect is that several licenses might, for short-term financial gain, be published via rFactor 2. All of which boost the rF2 community and roster strength.

This however doesn't mean that dedicated titles are not on the horizon.

What Could Happen to WEC​

While everything is in a state of turmoil, the WEC license is the one we know the least about. IndyCar and BTCC have received their rFactor 2 content and you know NASCAR is going to continue one way or the other.

WEC so far has received little care. That could mean 1 of 2 things.
  1. A WEC game is deep in development and on the horizon.
  2. A WEC game is not at all in development and will be the odd one out of Motorsport Games roster.
Now as much as I personally hope for 1. to be true, I can't help but have that little devil on my shoulder telling me about 2. But I don't know what will happen.

What do you think lies in store for the WEC license? Are we going to see a WEC title? Or is rFactor 2 going to feature WEC? Or have they just completely forgotten about it? Let us know in the comments below!
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About author
Julian Strasser
Julian Strasser
Motorsports and Maker-stuff enthusiast. Part time jack-of-all-trades. Owner of tracc.eu, a sim racing-related service provider and its racing community.

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Comments

P
rFactor 2 has proven itself already in endurance racing. I think WEC will move from GTE’s to GT3’s and LMP2 will stay and for that rF2 already has the Oreca. We only need some hypercars now. Until Studio 397 delivers some of these (I think I have seen some comment somewhere before about rF2 becoming a testing ground for the WEC game), URD already has a Toyota and Glickenhaus hypercar as a workaround. On the tracks side, rF2 already has some high quality tracks used by WEC which could be expanded to other tracks.

It won’t deliver a total WEC experience though, since it is not a WEC game, but I would prefer it instead of some half baked dedicated WEC game by MSG.
 
P
MadDriver11 said:
Of course some could spill into RF2 but we all know RF2 situation: it's far too long in the tooth to be revived by new content on old graphics and old buggy core.
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Each time I startup rF2 after having played AMS2 or ACC, I notice how natural rF2 graphics and colors look compared to the oversaturated graphics of AMS2 or ACC. I think referring to rF2 having old graphics is really old news. rF2 graphics have improved a lot over the years and are more than good enough (for me). They only finally need to iron out some old bugs (some of these they fixed in recent updates) and make multi-class AI work better.
 
Peter Kerényi
pcraenme said:
Each time I startup rF2 after having played AMS2 or ACC, I notice how natural rF2 graphics and colors look compared to the oversaturated graphics of AMS2 or ACC. I think referring to rF2 having old graphics is really old news. rF2 graphics have improved a lot over the years and are more than good enough (for me). They only finally need to iron out some old bugs (some of these they fixed in recent updates) and make multi-class AI work better.
Click to expand...
rF2 graphics is really good with the best looking content. The amount of said content is very limited unfortunately. Last time I tried rF2 I was fighting the terrible blurry trees. Turned off transparency AA in player.json but it didn't fix it. Is there a fix currently?

Regarding the WEC topic. I have zero expectations. Better to be positively surprised than disappointed. All the MSG drama needs to be solved as well somehow. Clouded, its future is.
 
Fineraft
tahzib said:
instead of going to rf2 or iracing, WEC could utilize R3E to increase competition....GTR3 has been the biggest lie of the decade....so much false hype....
Click to expand...
They do not have a 24h cycle. Only from dusk to dawn. That doesn't work so immediately falls away
 
M
pcraenme said:
Each time I startup rF2 after having played AMS2 or ACC, I notice how natural rF2 graphics and colors look compared to the oversaturated graphics of AMS2 or ACC. I think referring to rF2 having old graphics is really old news. rF2 graphics have improved a lot over the years and are more than good enough (for me). They only finally need to iron out some old bugs (some of these they fixed in recent updates) and make multi-class AI work better.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't call this realistic graphics. Feels like a cartoon...

Even with that there is more to graphics than the visual quality of the track. Wet tracks in RF2 are nowhere close to the visual and even racing quality of ACC and AMS2 just to make a couple of examples.
The MP experience in terms of stability for RF2 is only better than AMS2 which is yet to have any attention from its developer: ACC (and likely AC2 when it comes) and iracing are far more stable. The virtual Le Mans 24 hours events on RF2 were plagued by so many server restarts. Some events in the last Virtual WEC season were canceled as they couldn't even connect all the players to the server.
MSG and S397 are trying to revive RF2 from deads on the basis of the assumed best physics but other sims similarly wide content are catching up if not overtaking (AMS2) and other more focused sims like ACC have found far more popularity. I don't think RF2 can be revived: they would have to build RF3 from ground zero up, but they have no money so they keep doing CPR to something that is now too old to get any traction with users.
 
Fineraft
KoeleKoen said:
If only kunos had that license... A wec version of acc... A man can dream
Click to expand...
Please not. For an endurance focused sim, it is horribly designed. And I am not talking about graphics. What I mean is that there is no A.I. whatsoever to properly support endurance. AMS2, rF2, and GTR2 all have a system to switch to A.I. drivers if you're playing single player. Of course, some people do not care about this option and only point to multiplayer where you can easily switch drivers. Not everyone enjoys or has the possibility to play online and especially ACC which is designed as an endurance sim lacks this simple and important feature and instead focus only properly on endurance. It is not possible to drive a 24h in real-time on ACC while playing single player when one of their marketing posts specifically mention that you can recreate the 24h of Spa. So no, for me AC2 or ACC WEC edition would be the stupidest move there is.
 
Fonsvinkunas
BrettSinclair1 said:
However, AC is unfortunately a lackluster racing sim. There are tons of quality cars and tracks, but I cannot ever see a WEC race working properly in AC (singleplayer, that is).
Hopefully AC2 will turn out to be more than a driving sim, and combine the best of AC and ACC.
Click to expand...
Good point. While short races with time acceleration are great fun, online endurance racing is really complicated, as AC doesn't have well-implemented driver swaps.
 
Fineraft
Fonsvinkunas said:
AC modders will get all hypercars made for that game way quicker than Motorsport games get their job done if they'll do it at all. 3/4 hypercars that exist atm are out as AC mods, and good ones. Also, Peugeot teased some friendship with Kunos in their initial 9X8 reveal.
Click to expand...
Yet AC is not designed as an endurance sim. It required modders to implement this feature
 
nepal roade
pcraenme said:
rFactor 2 has proven itself already in endurance racing. I think WEC will move from GTE’s to GT3’s and LMP2 will stay and for that rF2 already has the Oreca. We only need some hypercars now. Until Studio 397 delivers some of these (I think I have seen some comment somewhere before about rF2 becoming a testing ground for the WEC game), URD already has a Toyota and Glickenhaus hypercar as a workaround. On the tracks side, rF2 already has some high quality tracks used by WEC which could be expanded to other tracks.

It won’t deliver a total WEC experience though, since it is not a WEC game, but I would prefer it instead of some half baked dedicated WEC game by MSG.
Click to expand...
I wonder how difficult it would be for S397 to repackage rF2 with just the WEC content if a standalone game was desired.
 
B
MadDriver11 said:
Wouldn't call this realistic graphics. Feels like a cartoon...
Click to expand...
You show us a video in which there is no actual gameplay footage from the game but instead a camera pointing on to monitors. Who knows the camera settings and the monitor settings. Not to mention that's a mod track from 2020 or 2021 (I have that COTA and it would need a big update in terms of textures).

Here is a video from S397:

Btw I also wouldn't call the graphics realistic but for some reason when I'm driving it's more immersive than the rest of the sims.
 
Last edited:
Shovas
Premium
It seems Le Mans Virtual has found a solid home on rF2 and I imagine that speaks volumes to other brands

They could go with a more arcade-racing name to make their product but that's a big risk when you can already see with your own eyes another brand that is ready to step in
 
Richard Wilks
MadDriver11 said:
Wouldn't call this realistic graphics. Feels like a cartoon...

Even with that there is more to graphics than the visual quality of the track. Wet tracks in RF2 are nowhere close to the visual and even racing quality of ACC and AMS2 just to make a couple of examples.
The MP experience in terms of stability for RF2 is only better than AMS2 which is yet to have any attention from its developer: ACC (and likely AC2 when it comes) and iracing are far more stable. The virtual Le Mans 24 hours events on RF2 were plagued by so many server restarts. Some events in the last Virtual WEC season were canceled as they couldn't even connect all the players to the server.
MSG and S397 are trying to revive RF2 from deads on the basis of the assumed best physics but other sims similarly wide content are catching up if not overtaking (AMS2) and other more focused sims like ACC have found far more popularity. I don't think RF2 can be revived: they would have to build RF3 from ground zero up, but they have no money so they keep doing CPR to something that is now too old to get any traction with users.
Click to expand...
So, has Renato hired you already? It seems that to work at Reiza, what you need to do is be a big enough fanboy and shill for it at every oportunity, so for sure you got that offer by now...
 
M
Bela Valko said:
You show us a video in which there is no actual gameplay footage from the game but instead a camera pointing on to monitors. Who knows the camera settings and the monitor settings. Not to mention that's a mod track from 2020 or 2021 (I have that COTA and it would need a big update in terms of textures).

Here is a video from S397:

Btw I also wouldn't call the graphics realistic but for some reason when I'm driving it's more immersive than the rest of the sims.
Click to expand...
Even considering this as the best RF2 can give is pretty poor graphics quality. The car is completely plasticky and missing any form of life and texture on surfaces.
The dashboard has no resemblance in the graphics to the real fonts either.
Nothing moves or vibrates in the car. Everything surrounding the track appears clearly 2D and lifeless.
And like I said that is before even discussing track evolution from dry to wet and back or anything that is not dry track on a shiny day in terms of graphics appearance like clouds and light through them or day/night transitions.
As far as the tracks being without textures in RF2 it is easy to take as example of decent content the latest 2-3 official tracks. But use any of the older ones like Silverstone and others and things are not quite as shiny and there is no real hope that in the short terms those tracks can be revamped.

Richard Wilks said:
So, has Renato hired you already? It seems that to work at Reiza, what you need to do is be a big enough fanboy and shill for it at every oportunity, so for sure you got that offer by now...
Click to expand...
People like you with nothing serious to say can only resort to personal attacks. You were a ridiculous person in discord and you are a similarly ridiculous person in the forums who only wants to hear the sound of his voice.
 
Last edited:
Richard Wilks
MadDriver11 said:
Even considering this as the best RF2 can give is pretty poor graphics quality. The car is completely plasticky and missing any form of life and texture on surfaces.
The dashboard has no resemblance in the graphics to the real fonts either.
Nothing moves or vibrates in the car. Everything surrounding the track appears clearly 2D.
And like I said that is before even discussing track evolution from dry to wet and back.
As far as the tracks being without textures in RF2 it is easy to take as example of decent content the latest 2-3 official tracks. But use any of the old ones like Silverstone and others and things are not quite as shiny.


People like you with nothing serious to say can only resort to personal attacks. You were a ridiculous person in discord and you are a similarly ridiculous person in the forums who only wants to hear the sound of his voice.
Click to expand...
Oh come one, lighten up :) why so serious... ah yes discord, where the honest and valid concerns and criticisms from a league who actively uses AMS2 and supports the product were aparently too much for you. Just like any non positive mention about AMS2 summons you instantly, ready to turn any thread into a firestorm. Then i am the one that loves to hear myself...
 

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What is the reason for your passion for sim racing?

  • Watching real motorsport

    Votes: 530 68.6%

  • Physics and mechanics

    Votes: 329 42.6%

  • Competition and adrenaline

    Votes: 351 45.4%

  • Practice for real racing

    Votes: 175 22.6%

  • Community and simracers

    Votes: 206 26.6%
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