How many active players in iRacing now?

>On Sun, 04 Apr 2010 09:53:21 -0500, Niles Anders > wrote:
>I hope ISI takes their time and does rF2 right. You know, improve the
>tire especially. In reality, ISI and iR should merge. Bring the best of
>both worlds together which might also merge the SIM community.

The real problem I have with ISI and Simbin are the tracks. While some
of them are relatively close some of them are waaaay off. When I run
in iRacing on tracks I have actually raced on i'm amazed at the
accuracy, right down to things like the nasty bumps coming through T17
at Sebring. I don't mind the expense, running with people (for the
most part) that want to run a good clean race. Do I like the iRating
setup as it is? No. I'm hoping as time passes they will continue to
refine how damage is done and how penalties are assessed for minor
contact and offs. For now if you want the best, this is it.

GP

(rcgldr) wrote:

> A significant part of the NR2003 fan base wasn't hard core sim.

>Less than 9000 GPL Rank entries, and less than 4000 of those negative.

The thing that has always puzzled me about iRacing is how they could have been so
ambitious, so early. It always seemed to me that all the evidence -- both actual
and anecdotal -- pointed to the fact that only a small minority of the relatively
small simming community is half as hardcore as it... ok, as we pretend to be. And
even if we'd like to take it more seriously, life, work, and other hobbies have a
way of eating your time, especially if -- like the vast majority -- you're just
making up the numbers in most online races.

And being a backmarking sim racer is not as attractive to mates down the pub or
potential girlfriends as being a backmarker in real world racing. :-)

I know many people take sim racing seriously, but they are, were, and always will
be a pretty small and opinionated (if the iRacing forums are anything to go by!)
bunch, and relying on the mythical pool of real world racers who are unaware of or
disinterested in simming (despite its long history now and the ease of internet
research) was always going to be a huge gamble.

That's why I still believe in a mass market version and an ultra hardcore version
of iRacing which dedicated enthusiasts can aspire to and pay extra for. But whether
that ever happens or not, iRacing remains a fascinating project to observe. It's
even highly enjoyable to race in. Well, sometimes anyway.

But then that's true of any online racing. That's why programmers gave us AI, so we
can all be legends in our own living rooms... though in my case tweaking AI was
only ever done so I could hang onto the back of the pack for at least a few laps.
:-)

Andrew McP

>> A significant part of the NR2003 fan base wasn't hard core sim.

>>Less than 9000 GPL Rank entries, and less than 4000 of those negative.
>
> The thing that has always puzzled me about iRacing is how they could have been so
> ambitious, so early. It always seemed to me that all the evidence -- both actual
> and anecdotal -- pointed to the fact that only a small minority of the relatively
> small simming community is half as hardcore as it... ok, as we pretend to be. And
> even if we'd like to take it more seriously, life, work, and other hobbies have a
> way of eating your time, especially if -- like the vast majority -- you're just
> making up the numbers in most online races.

> And being a backmarking sim racer is not as attractive to mates down the pub or
> potential girlfriends as being a backmarker in real world racing.

I also recall that they expected some significant influx of new players from the real
world racing community, but that seemed unlikely, because most of the real world racers
are amateurs and spend a lot of their spare time with racing related activities,
such as maintainance in addition to actual time spent on tracks. I'm not sure the
level of realism in a game such as iRacing versus the lack of it in NFS Shift would
make that much difference to a real world racer that would just view both of them
as racing games with different "feels", as opposed to realism.

> The real problem I have with ISI and Simbin are the tracks. While some
> of them are relatively close some of them are waaaay off.

For the vast majority of us who will never race the tracks, it doesn't
really make much difference. Eastern Creek was laser scanned, but I'll
never know the difference.

In the case of NFS Shift, they deliberately exaggerated the vertical
variation at Nordschleife, in order to capture the "essence" of the
actual track in a racing game where you only get visual cues instead
of being able to feel how steep a section of track is. It's a trade off
between duplicating a track physically, or trying to duplicate the
"feel" of the track.

"Andrew MacPherson" > wrote in message
...
> (rcgldr) wrote:
>
> That's why I still believe in a mass market version and an ultra hardcore
> version
> of iRacing which dedicated enthusiasts can aspire to and pay extra for.
> But whether
> that ever happens or not, iRacing remains a fascinating project to
> observe. It's
> even highly enjoyable to race in. Well, sometimes anyway.


Yeah, I'd have to agree with that. I think if they took say, the Mazda
and the Corvette, and made dumbed down arcade versions of both where locking
brakes and spinning the rears was virtually impossible, then that would be a
great stepping stone to the service proper. No setups, 6 tracks and just run
6 week series over and over like the rookie stuff. Maybe call it iRacing
Beginners.

It could be a cheapish service but still showcase the cars graphically
and the tracks - fun for all the family type thing and a bit of a demo.

"rcgldr" > wrote in message
...
>>> A significant part of the NR2003 fan base wasn't hard core sim.

> I also recall that they expected some significant influx of new players
> from the real
> world racing community, but that seemed unlikely, because most of the real
> world racers
> are amateurs and spend a lot of their spare time with racing related
> activities,
> such as maintainance in addition to actual time spent on tracks. I'm not
> sure the
> level of realism in a game such as iRacing versus the lack of it in NFS
> Shift would
> make that much difference to a real world racer that would just view both
> of them
> as racing games with different "feels", as opposed to realism.

I have gotten the impression at times that they wish to rub shoulders
with the real world drivers and teams, etc too much. I hope they forget
about all that and simply cater for the sim racing world and let the rest
take care of itself.

It seems at times thet they get a little too caried away with novelty
stuff at the expense of really getting the sim and service right. If the sim
and service and competition structure and policing are good then word of
mouth will do the rest.

"Niles Anders" > wrote in message
news
> iR desperately needs Spanish and Portuguese language portals for their
> service.

What does that mean exactly? I mean, what stuff would you suggest be
translated?

I think you are fooling yourself that people "not involved in any way shape
of form, should somehow have a voice? you can, get an account and join in,
it is "a big !%king deal" then really you have not much of a conversation
base with people who inherently believe this to be true. It is like any
club, start your own or join ours, but I don't try to take my club and ruin
it.

I still believe the strength of iRacing is the ignoring of the "gamerz
community" to a large extent. sure I might have offended some on here, but
it is more complicated than that. I don't see the need for ****ing contests
from 12 YO kids trying to run on iRacing because it is cheap enough for them
too. I like the "little bit of elitist" in simming, but it is more
complicated than just that statement. Just like racing discussion groups I
have with Motocross, and other sports, it is and will be kind of exclusive,
when we have riders meetings, and we as a group might discuss anything
including racing, last thing I want to hear is bull**** from people who are
only involved via their mouths (posts/texts). We have one common thing, in
this case racing iRacing, (other than we breath air and have use of a
computer). that is what makes the conversation have merits that they don't
have with your uptight neighbor and ****.


"Niles Anders" > wrote in message
news
> "However the thing I still dislike most about iRacing is the fact that
> it's completely isolated from the outside world. Open forums would at
> least make me feel like I'm not hibernating from the real world outside."
>
> I don't understand the private nature of the forums either. It seems to
> me, if they would open them that the potential member could connect to the
> iR community easier.
>
> "Others would say it's a nice safe, warm cave, and it's very cold
> outside... at least until rF2 arrives to warm things up a little.
> Hopefully"
>
> I hope ISI takes their time and does rF2 right. You know, improve the tire
> especially. In reality, ISI and iR should merge. Bring the best of both
> worlds together which might also merge the SIM community.
>
> iR desperately needs Spanish and Portuguese language portals for their
> service.
>
> Andrew MacPherson wrote:
>> (rcgldr) wrote:
>>
>>> Last I recall it had increased from
>>> around 10,000 to 14,000
>>
>> I think in excess of 20,000 have now tried the service. I believe there
>> are
>> something like 16,000 people (or at least accounts, as some people have
>> several it
>> seems) who've taken part in oval races, and about 15,500 for roads. And
>> obviously
>> many drivers will have at least tried both.
>>
>> But how many of those are still paying? And how many of those are driving
>> regularly
>> enough to help give the service momentum? It's very hard to be sure, and
>> the guy
>> who used to do a brilliant job of measuring weekly activity on the
>> servers has
>> given that up.
>>
>> However he did recently make a special appearance with some stats which
>> seemed to
>> show that active participation, after rising very significantly over the
>> winter,
>> has sunk down again as people's special offer periods come to an end. The
>> hosted
>> side of things also seems to be growing in popularity, but perhaps at the
>> expense
>> of the main service, effectively soaking up much of boost given by new
>> membership.
>>
>> Overall the service is definitely busier than it was 6 months ago, but
>> not that
>> much in my experience outside the Rookie level where new members are
>> earning their
>> spurs. Numbers there have been very impressive over recent months, even
>> off-peak
>> when I race, though they've tailed off recently as people leave or
>> graduate to the
>> main classes.
>>
>> I rarely see peak hour racing though, and I think anyone racing in the
>> evenings
>> will be pretty happy with the choice of races and field sizes.
>>
>> Overall iRacing remains the best darned sim on the planet.... trapped
>> within a
>> structure which really annoys me much of the time. There are days when I
>> wish I'd
>> never joined, and there are others when I'd pay twice the price. Just not
>> many of
>> them. :-) Fortunately the England club is full of names I've "known" for
>> many years,
>> and the banter in there is good fun. However the thing I still dislike
>> most about
>> iRacing is the fact that it's completely isolated from the outside world.
>> Open
>> forums would at least make me feel like I'm not hibernating from the real
>> world
>> outside.
>>
>> Others would say it's a nice safe, warm cave, and it's very cold
>> outside... at
>> least until rF2 arrives to warm things up a little. Hopefully!
>>
>> Andrew McP
>>

Just to read so they would possibly join. But you are a moron for
jumping to that conclusion. If you are looking for an argument, call our
ex wife.

PlowBoy wrote:
> I think you are fooling yourself that people "not involved in any way shape
> of form, should somehow have a voice? you can, get an account and join in,
> it is "a big !%king deal" then really you have not much of a conversation
> base with people who inherently believe this to be true. It is like any
> club, start your own or join ours, but I don't try to take my club and ruin
> it.
>
> I still believe the strength of iRacing is the ignoring of the "gamerz
> community" to a large extent. sure I might have offended some on here, but
> it is more complicated than that. I don't see the need for ****ing contests
> from 12 YO kids trying to run on iRacing because it is cheap enough for them
> too. I like the "little bit of elitist" in simming, but it is more
> complicated than just that statement. Just like racing discussion groups I
> have with Motocross, and other sports, it is and will be kind of exclusive,
> when we have riders meetings, and we as a group might discuss anything
> including racing, last thing I want to hear is bull**** from people who are
> only involved via their mouths (posts/texts). We have one common thing, in
> this case racing iRacing, (other than we breath air and have use of a
> computer). that is what makes the conversation have merits that they don't
> have with your uptight neighbor and ****.
>
>
> "Niles Anders" > wrote in message
> news
>> "However the thing I still dislike most about iRacing is the fact that
>> it's completely isolated from the outside world. Open forums would at
>> least make me feel like I'm not hibernating from the real world outside."
>>
>> I don't understand the private nature of the forums either. It seems to
>> me, if they would open them that the potential member could connect to the
>> iR community easier.
>>
>> "Others would say it's a nice safe, warm cave, and it's very cold
>> outside... at least until rF2 arrives to warm things up a little.
>> Hopefully"
>>
>> I hope ISI takes their time and does rF2 right. You know, improve the tire
>> especially. In reality, ISI and iR should merge. Bring the best of both
>> worlds together which might also merge the SIM community.
>>
>> iR desperately needs Spanish and Portuguese language portals for their
>> service.
>>
>> Andrew MacPherson wrote:
>>> (rcgldr) wrote:
>>>
>>>> Last I recall it had increased from
>>>> around 10,000 to 14,000
>>> I think in excess of 20,000 have now tried the service. I believe there
>>> are
>>> something like 16,000 people (or at least accounts, as some people have
>>> several it
>>> seems) who've taken part in oval races, and about 15,500 for roads. And
>>> obviously
>>> many drivers will have at least tried both.
>>>
>>> But how many of those are still paying? And how many of those are driving
>>> regularly
>>> enough to help give the service momentum? It's very hard to be sure, and
>>> the guy
>>> who used to do a brilliant job of measuring weekly activity on the
>>> servers has
>>> given that up.
>>>
>>> However he did recently make a special appearance with some stats which
>>> seemed to
>>> show that active participation, after rising very significantly over the
>>> winter,
>>> has sunk down again as people's special offer periods come to an end. The
>>> hosted
>>> side of things also seems to be growing in popularity, but perhaps at the
>>> expense
>>> of the main service, effectively soaking up much of boost given by new
>>> membership.
>>>
>>> Overall the service is definitely busier than it was 6 months ago, but
>>> not that
>>> much in my experience outside the Rookie level where new members are
>>> earning their
>>> spurs. Numbers there have been very impressive over recent months, even
>>> off-peak
>>> when I race, though they've tailed off recently as people leave or
>>> graduate to the
>>> main classes.
>>>
>>> I rarely see peak hour racing though, and I think anyone racing in the
>>> evenings
>>> will be pretty happy with the choice of races and field sizes.
>>>
>>> Overall iRacing remains the best darned sim on the planet.... trapped
>>> within a
>>> structure which really annoys me much of the time. There are days when I
>>> wish I'd
>>> never joined, and there are others when I'd pay twice the price. Just not
>>> many of
>>> them. :-) Fortunately the England club is full of names I've "known" for
>>> many years,
>>> and the banter in there is good fun. However the thing I still dislike
>>> most about
>>> iRacing is the fact that it's completely isolated from the outside world.
>>> Open
>>> forums would at least make me feel like I'm not hibernating from the real
>>> world
>>> outside.
>>>
>>> Others would say it's a nice safe, warm cave, and it's very cold
>>> outside... at
>>> least until rF2 arrives to warm things up a little. Hopefully!
>>>
>>> Andrew McP
>>>
>

Everything that isn't in Spanish or Portuguese.

Byron Forbes wrote:
> "Niles Anders" > wrote in message
> news >
>> iR desperately needs Spanish and Portuguese language portals for their
>> service.
>
> What does that mean exactly? I mean, what stuff would you suggest be
> translated?
>
>