iRacing's Upcoming Releases

[Yoeri Gijsen]

Let's keep a little thread going about what iRacing has in store for us in the (near) future. Some things have been announced, some targets have been rumoured and who knows what you have picked up in the darkest recesses of the net...

Below I will put up some things I find or found. Please post any news, rumours or hints below so one of the moderators can update this thread.

Cars

• McLaren MP4-12C GT3 - Next up, but time unspecified
• Lotus 49 - Next up, but time unspecified
• RUF Rt12R - October 2012
• Honda Civic BTCC - May/July 2013
• Honda HSV-010 - May/July 2013
• NASCAR Sprint Cup 2013 models - TBA

Tracks

• Auto Club Speedway - To be scanned (confirmed!)
• Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve - To be scanned (confirmed!)
• Hongaroring - Plans
• Kansas Speedway - To be scanned (confirmed!)
• Lukas Oil Raceway - In production
• Rockingham Speedway - October 2012
• Interlagos - To be scanned (confirmed!)
• Miller Motorsports Park - To be scanned
• New Jersey Motorsports Park - To be scanned
• Long Beach - 2013
• Oran Park Raceway - October 2012
• Tsukuba Circuit - In production
• Willow Springs - Scanned but on hold

Features

• Crew chief & spotter functionality - February 2013 at the earliest, but probably later
• Driver swaps - February 2013 at the earliest, but probably later
• DirectX 11 and x64 support - Long term project
• Dirt and oil build up on windscreen - Side project
• Enhanced sounds (DirectSound > XAudio2) - Groundwork in next build; the rest later
• Exhaust fire - Side project
• Teams - February 2013 at the earliest, but probably later
• Time transition - Long term and after DirectX 11

Your turn!

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Anyone can post to full release log?

http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/2021145.page

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

here's my favorite from the long list:
"Virginia International Raceway - The safety truck just outside pit road has been lowered so that it sits on the terrain."

I mean: who the ... points the developers to an error as insignificant as that one?

 

[Mikel Tapl]

http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/2021145.page

I mean post it here, I'm not a member so I can't see it, just curious what the changes are.

 

[Xosé Estrada]

Website:

Hosted Sessions

- Gridding - In a multi-class event you can now select a third gridding option "One class per car - grid all cars in a class together". The order in which the classes are gridded is predetermined based on the overall capability of the cars, not on the qualify times set by drivers using the cars in any particular session.

- Weight Penalty - You can now specify a weight penalty in kg for each car class independently. The value must be positive and currently the highest the penalty can be set is 250kg. The value can be set in either lbs or kg. If you click on the label "KG Penalty" it will switch to "LBS Penalty" and vice versa. Please note, it always stores the value as kg in the database, so there will be some loss of precision when switching back and forth between lbs and kg.


Notifications

- The notification icon on the footer has been updated so that it is more pronounced. The notification box has been re-styled.


Leagues

- You can now create or join a League through a new built-in League section of the iRacing member site. Leagues provide a place for racers to get together with a group of like-minded iRacers and custom tailor their racing activities to what interests them, as well as a social hub for discussion and organization. Within each league, competition on many levels can occur: "Race Seasons" can be set up where League admins create a schedule of races with or without Championship standings, or more casual one-off races can be set up at any time for fun.

This area is accessible via the new "LEAGUES" link that is located in the primary navigation links area.

When you arrive in this area, you are first presented with a Directory of all of the Leagues in iRacing. Some leagues may be openly recruiting members (indicated by a "Join" button in their row) while others will be closed for private competition. To join a league, click on that Join button to send the league admin an application for membership. If your interest is rather to create a league, click on the large "CREATE A LEAGUE" button in the upper right corner of the screen. This will bring up a dialog where you enter your desired League name and save it (there is a charge for this). Upon league creation, a league management wizard will appear which allows immediate access to adding members, creating race seasons, or personalizing your new League section.

A great deal more functionality is available, and a quick look at this functionality is available in video form by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOriRMFpwsc&feature=plcp



Simulation:

Graphics/UI

- A mouse rollover help capability has been added to the simulation user interface. For now, help is available on setup items in the garage for all the oval track cars, and also on the graphics options screen.

- Try to do something more reasonable if Direct3D 9 has to deal with more than 4 GB of texture memory.

- Allow specifying an alternate FPS limit when on battery power.

- Auto hide the mouse cursor instead of permanently disabling it while driving.

- Fix a bug that caused the mouse scroll wheel to stop working when on secondary monitor.


Spotter

- Make damage spotter messages only play when chatty set to high.

- Make leader/pace positions only play when chattiness set to medium.

- Bump suspension damage threshold up to > 0.8 from > 0.5 to try and minimize how often we hear the 'you've got wheel damage' message.

- Make SPCC_N21 to SPCC_N99 messages optional, so international translations can override them as needed in custom spotter packs

 

[Xosé Estrada]

Telemetry

- Log pit stop and in car adjustments to telemetry (dcBrakeBias, etc).

- Turn on shock deflection to live telemetry (LFshockVel, etc).

- Output shift indicator RPM's to telemetry.

- Marked shiftIndicatorPct telemetry variable as deprecated. Replaced by DriverCarSLFirstRPM define in the session string.

- Output relative track location of players pit stall to telemetry (DriverPitTrkPct: in the Session string).

- Output gear grind info to telemetry (ShiftPowerPct and ShiftGrindRPM).



Controls/Force Feedback

- Stop G27 shift lights from getting stuck on when you exit the sim.

- Tweak G27 shift indicator to be more linear.

- Finish filling in shift indicator data for all cars.

- Fanatec wheels now display their gear/pit limiter info on the built in numeric display.

- Fanatec CSW wheels now use the shift indicator lights.

- Fanatec pedals vibrate when locking up the wheels with the brake assist aid turned on.

- You can turn off all wheel displays by setting app.ini [misc] enableWheelDisplay=0.

- FFB wheels now use FFB effect to limit wheels rotation to the rotation of the virtual car. Can be disabled with app.ini [misc] steeringBumpStopDeg = -1, or adjusted to any level of firmness using the same variable.

- New app.ini option [misc] steeringFFBLinearForce=0, setting it to 1 will turn off the boost we apply to small FFB forces giving you true linear FFB force output. This will make it more difficult to dial in your FFB feel, so be careful when applying this.

- New app.ini option [misc] steeringFFBBaseOffset=0 that forces the FFB motors to output a minimum force. This can help tighten up a wheel around neutral, when the drivers have a lot of FFB dead zone. Settings in the 0.05 to 0.15 range are typical (5% to 15%).

- Smooth out joystick data when using it to look left/right while driving.

- Improve joystick detection code to better deal with small joysticks, like those found on the Fanatec CSW wheel.


Garage

- Added a notes tab for entering notes that get saved with a setup, for all cars.


Physics

- Fixed a bug in the detroit locker differential that wasn't unlocking the correct wheel when it should have when unloaded. Makes a noticeable change to turn-in characteristics of all the NASCAR cars.

- Fixed a bug which would cause engine torque to produce twice as much rearward weight transfer as it should, but only while the clutch is slipping.


Black Box

- The F3 black box now indicates cars that are in the pit lane by dimming them.

 

[Xosé Estrada]

Cars

- The "Chevrolet Impala SS 2009" and the "Chevrolet Impala Class B" (formerly part of the same package) have been split out into their own packages. With this split the Chevrolet Impala SS 2009 has been re-named the Chevrolet National Impala. Members who owned the single combined package of both cars prior to the Season 3 build will continue to own both cars, but now in the form of two packages instead of one. Going forward the cars will need to be purchased independently.

- The way numbers are displayed on the cars have been adjusted so that there is less space (kerning) between the numbers. This mainly concerns forward and back leaning numbers.


Chevrolet Corvette C6R

- Maximum braking torque has been decreased to reduce likelihood of tire lockup.


Chevrolet Impala

- Tires have been updated and may feel more forgiving at the limit. Newer more representative tire staggers have been applied.

- The aerodynamics have been updated with newly received data.

- Grill tape options now come in 10% increments.

- Detroit Locker tuned with more locking/unlocking action torque to match better with the unlocking bug fix.


Chevrolet Impala Class B

- Tires have been updated and may feel more forgiving at the limit. Newer more representative tire staggers have been applied.

- The aerodynamics have been updated with newly received data. A fraction less drag at Super Speedway tracks.

- Grill tape options now come in 10% increments.

- Detroit Locker tuned with more locking/unlocking action torque to match better with the unlocking bug fix.


Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS

- Aero forces now act in a fashion more similar to our other high level stockcars. Handling should remain similar or with no noticeable change at all.


Chevrolet National Impala

- The aerodynamics have been updated with newly received data.

- Engine power updated to use NASCAR-spec engine.


Chevrolet Silverado

- Tires have been updated and may feel more forgiving at the limit. Newer more representative tire staggers have been applied.

- The aerodynamics have been updated with newly received data.

- Detroit Locker tuned with more locking/unlocking action torque to match better with the unlocking bug fix.

- Spek gauges have been added to the cockpit.

- Roll bar camera has been updated so the view isn't blurry.


Dallara IndyCar

- Steering effort reduced at oval tracks.

- More accurate speed estimates for selecting gears in the garage.

- Drafting performance improvements at all track types.


Ford Falcon FG01 V8

- Increase power steering assist.

- Reduced caster limits to more realistic range

- Increased tire degradation.

- Engine fuel economy has been reduced.


Ford Mustang FR500S

- Updates to collision sphere stiffness, damping and strengths.


Legends Ford '34 Coupe and Rookie

- Full physics refresh to suspension, chassis, tires and baseline setups.


Lotus 79

- Reduce radiator blockage effects while in slipstream.

- Aero oversteer with trailing car in close proximity has been reduced.


Modified - SK and Tour

- Added the New Tire Model, along with a full physics refresh to suspension, chassis, tires, aero and baseline setups.

- Additional garage variables added for setup tuning including: track bar heights, ballast adjustment, steering ratio as well as rebound and compression damping.


Pontiac Solstice and Rookie

- Added the New Tire Model, along with a full physics refresh to suspension, chassis, tires, aero and baseline setups.


Riley MkXX Daytona Prototype

- Increased power steering assist.


VW Jetta TDI Cup

- Added the New Tire Model, along with a full physics refresh to suspension, chassis, tires, aero and baseline setups.

- The gauge needles and lit numbers shouldn't overlap each other at night anymore.


Williams-Toyota FW31

- Fixed a bug inside our inerter function. Inerter ranges have been reduced to satisfy simulation integration step limitations.

- A fraction more max braking torque available.

 

[Xosé Estrada]

Tracks

- Flaggers have been added to the Start/Finish Lines of all tracks to display Green, Yellow, White, and Checkered flags. The initial implementation of the flagger is limited to live timing only and will not display the flags in replays, rather it displays the current live state of the flag in the current session. The flagger will not be visible if Vertex Shaders are disabled. Replay functionality and corner works with local cautions will be coming in a future update.

- Older tracks have had their base lighting edited to match some of our newer day tracks. Difference will be subtle.

- Updated track surface shaders have now been added to the following tracks:

Barber Motorsports Park

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Iowa Speedway

Thompson Speedway

Watkins Glen International


Barber Motorsports Park

- The gas station has been edited so it displays properly, it is no longer inside out. The attendant at the station is relieved.


Charlotte Motor Speedway

- Fixed a section of track exiting pit road where the car would sink below the surface.


Darlington Raceway

- Fixed the problem with the black box resetting pit requests - a painted line in the middle portion of the pit lane thought it was racing surface instead of pit lane!


Daytona International Speedway

- Adjusted night lighting to reflect the lack of Musco lights.


Infineon Raceway

- Fixed a bump/seam on the corner that leads onto Indy config.


Oulton Park Circuit

- Removed some x-sections on curbing for Fosters config to improve FPS.

- Turn 1 had a segment that was set to concrete that was causing a spec issue, fixed to be set as asphalt.

- Fixed a seam in turn 5 sand trap.


Oxford Plains Speedway

- Fixed a seam in the infield grass on Turn 2 exit.


New Smyrna Speedway

- Adjusted night lighting to reflect the lack of Musco lights.


Suzuka International Racing Course

- Fixed a bug in the West configuration so that pit stalls 14 through 23 will have their laps counted properly.


USA International Speedway

- Fixed a few camera issues with the camera set.

- Widened the race groove by creating a new min and max race line.

- Fixed camera tv1_00; turned off manual focus so cars will no longer be out of focus on the front stretch.


Virginia International Raceway

- The safety truck just outside pit road has been lowered so that it sits on the terrain.

 

[Xosé Estrada]

Anybody tried the new FFB linear?

People in iRacing forums says it's awesome.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Yea i did, feels good!

Had to almost double my in-game FFB strength but i will probably lower it a tiny bit tomorrow, car felt a little bit sluggish.

Basically you will get less information but you will only recieve the correct information.
So you feel only bumps when in corners pretty much instead of the usual where you felt every bump on the main straight.

Atleast on T500RS and optimal settings, 4 something in game.

 

[Mikel Tapl]

Damn I so want to get back to iracing, but I can't afford to buy a new wheel right now.

Thanks Xose Estrada for the changes log.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

 

[Yoeri Gijsen]

Zolder looks really good. I look forward to racing on it.

 

[Niel Hekkens]

Yup indeed! In October i'm going to drive at Zolder myself! I can drive 10 laps on my own and 10 laps with a driver. It's my birthday present and now I can practice on a good version of Zolder!

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

nice one Niels, keeping all my fingers crossed the weather will be fine. what car?

 

[Niel Hekkens]

I don't know, probably an older BMW or so.
I think something like this

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

fair enough

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Old BMW´s are the purest Lower weight!

If it´s an M3 then you will be able to dance with her anyway you want

 

[Nico Van Elk]

http://www.iracing.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-cat-herder-xvi/

Nice stuff

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Montreal track is coming!!

I am just going to put this next one out there so – hopefully — I’ll stop seeing threads regarding BMW in our forums about why we have our heads in places that are technically not possible to reach (as far as I know, anyway). For awhile now we have had ongoing conversations with BMW about bringing some of their cars to the service and I actually have a first copy of the contract on my desk. I am cautiously optimistic that this will happen but no promises will be made by any means. Quite frankly I have indigestion just by typing that…

Obviously you are doing something wrong as other companies get the license FOR FREE.

We are shooting to have both Oran and Rockingham ready for the Season 4 build that should go out the last week of October.

As for cars, we are working on getting the NTM on the Lotus 79, Sprint Car, and Silver Crown car for the next build. We are also working on the McLaren MP-4 GT3 and Lotus 49 but I have no update on when those will actually be finished. However, they should be the next two new cars to come out.

Hopefully, the driver changes and crew chief functionality should be in the Season 1 build but that could be optimistic.

For example, we’ve started work on building a proper turbo model for our engines, a model which will be needed for the McLaren and the Ruf. We have also been working on all-wheel drive, which will likely allow us to make both a rear wheel and all wheel driver version of the Ruf. I have a feeling the rear wheel drive version of the car will be for fun and the all wheel drive for racing!

rojects falling into this category include continuing work on adding course flaggers to parts of the track other than start/finish, particularly on the road courses. We want to also look at adding-in the accumulation of dirt and oil on the windshield, and backfires from the exhaust. As well, we want to look at starting to add time of day changes into the sim, but that is probably a much longer term project, one we’ll tackle after moving to DirectX 11.

 

[Yoeri Gijsen]

http://www.iracing.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-cat-herder-xvi/

Nice stuff

That's a good read indeed. I update the top post accordingly.

Good to see the Lotus and McLaren are finally coming.

Pretty disappointing the driver swap features are going to come in February 2013 at the earliest, but very likely even later...