Paul Jeffrey
Premium
In the build up to next weeks 2017 Season 1 release build, iRacing President Tony Gardner has revealed some further details on the progress of dirt racing for the online only simulation alongside several small development updates.
In the first real confirmation that dirt oval racing is indeed just around the corner, Gardner goes on to state that although next weeks build is too soon to receive the update, dirt is expected to be released before March 2017. This is excellent news for those fans who have been eagerly anticipating the new content since its reveal back on April Fools Day, and no doubt the new form of racing for the sim will entice many new customers to iRacing once it is released.
You can read the full statement from Tony Gardner below:
"Good afternoon,
We are excited about the build next week! You will see multiple enhancements and improvements to the simulation and overall service. Right now the plan is to do the usual quarterly software update on December 6th at about 8:00 AM EST.
However I wanted to discuss just a few things that are NOT going to be in build next week and provide a brief update. You will see soon enough what will be in the build next week!
Dirt:
As you probably are aware we are very excited about “dirt” and have heard the same from so many of you. Major pieces of it have been finished for months. There are so many details, facets and challenges to this new form of racing for us graphically and physically. We had many new development challenges to tackle and many new and unique features to develop. I think you will be very impressed with all the work and detail put into this when you get a chance to see it and drive it. However, a few smaller things are still lingering and we want to nail this down to our satisfaction. The small things can make a big difference. We would not expect to release it by year end either with the year winding down and holidays etc. The good news is we feel we are close and are still optimistic to release before the March build. We would do a “mid-season” release if the feature/Dirt was ready. As far as content we have Eldora, Williams Grove and a dirt version of USA Speedway about done and more tracks in the works already. We have 305, 358 and 410 versions of a Dirt Super Late Model. We have a wingless dirt 410 sprint car. We have a winged Sprint Car including 305, 360 and 410 versions. We are putting the cars through our CFD “wind tunnel” to get better aero data, especially for the Winged Sprint car. We also will have dirt versions of our NASCAR truck and a dirt version of the legends car out of the gate. Much more coming and already in the works including global rally cross. Thanks for your patience. It is heart-breaking not to release some of it for year-end with all the work we have put in and being so close but it is the right thing to do.
Time-Attack:
This new hot-lapping competition/feature we think is going to be a great fun and will be something that almost everyone from rookies/time constrained people to veteran sim-racers will really enjoy. We are also close on this new feature and also would release at a point in time, not necessarily needing to wait until a season end build. We will be doing a video about it soon to give you a better idea of it.
Other:
We are also still working on many other things discussed previously like the new damage model, new in-sim UI, web interface, improved and new sounds including working on utilizing XAudio 2, animation and graphics, new forums, physics, incredible content and working on many other things not yet discussed!
Happy Holidays!"
RaceDepartment has its very own iRacing sub forum where you can discuss the simulation and share setups for each of the cars in game with your fellow community members. Head over to the iRacing sub forum and join in the discussion today!Do you like the sound of Gardner's update post? Looking forward to dirt? What content would you like to see added in the near future? Let us know in the comments section below!
Photo Credit @James Nance
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