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iRacing Article from Orlando Sentinel
OrlandoSentinel.com
COMMENTARY Right on track: Stunning detail sets iRacing apart Steven Cole Smith AUTOMOTIVE December 15, 2007 The last video game I mastered was Pong, which should give you an idea of how sophisticated and cutting-edge I am when it comes to that world. That said, there was an exhibit at the Performance Racing Industry trade show, held last weekend at the Orange County Convention Center, that may require some personal investment. First, to set the stage: The Performance Racing Industry show is open only to the trade, drawing 45,000 attendees from around the world. As you would suspect, the vast majority of equipment on display was for hard-core racers -- engines, tires, wheels, suspension components, bodies . You could easily have built a complete race car by touring the show with a very large shopping cart. One smallish exhibit seemed to be drawing more than its share of attention, and it featured software, not hardware. The company is called iRacing, and it develops stunningly realistic electronic re-creations of racetracks. The company was founded by Dave Kaemmer, co-founder of Papyrus Design Group, developers of NASCAR Racing computer games, and John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and a major investor in the Roush NASCAR teams. Many of you know far better than I that lots of online racing games already exist, allowing gamers to either "race" by themselves on their own computer, or race in real time against others online. Where iRacing is different is in the startling detail that goes into its simulations of racetracks, mapped out by lasers at an expense of some $100,000 per track. The idea is not so much that this is a computer game, but more of a professional flight simulator for race car drivers -- it will allow them to show up at an unfamiliar racetrack having already experienced it to a degree existing racing simulators can't match. "If there's a bump coming out of turn four," says Steve Potter, iRacing director of communications, "you'll feel it, and the car will react to it." And iRacing will update the tracks regularly -- should a bump appear on a track a year later, it will be added. See, iRacing software is delivered online each time you race, not on a CD, or stored in your computer's hard drive. They had a couple of simulators set up, so I took a "drive" around USA International Speedway in Lakeland, one of 60 racetracks the company has mapped. I drove a V-8-powered late model -- you can choose a variety of race cars. And you can customize those cars with a huge number of variables, including stiffness of the shock absorbers, tire pressure, weight balance, you name it. Add a couple of pounds of air in the right-side tires, and the iRacing program will show you how the car should react. Indeed, the realism is remarkable, from the slightly darker "groove" around the asphalt track, to the accurate billboards in the turns. During the weekend, a number of professional race drivers stopped by the booth and tried it out: I went immediately after Eric Curran, who drives a Chevrolet Corvette in the Speed World Challenge GT series. He said the realism is "amazing. This would definitely help before visiting a new track." Not yet, though, as iRacing remains in the testing stage, with a probable spring debut. The price has not been set, but expect an online subscription to cost less than $500 a year. Of course, you can spend anywhere from $300 to $30,000 on the simulator itself -- some are enclosed in realistic race car cockpits, and the seat moves as you tear around the track. While I was testing the system, I had another thought: How valuable something this sensitive, accurate and realistic -- not to mention fun -- would be in teaching driver education. Yeah, I may have to join the 20th century. Or whatever century this is. Pong has lost its appeal. Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smith can be reached at or 407-420-5699 . Copyright © 2007, Orlando Sentinel |
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iRacing Article from Orlando Sentinel
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iRacing Article from Orlando Sentinel
Michael Sisson wrote:
>> The price has not been set, but expect an online subscription >> to cost less than $500 a year. >> > > Well, turn one ought to be a vocabulary enhancing experience... Though I would guess your $ buys some serious moderation, just as fighting in the pit lane is frowned upon... Bridging the gap between sim racing where anyone who has bought the software feels they have the right to use it and race online and real racing where you might pay the championship registration fee but be prevented from racing due to inappropriate behaviour is going to be a challenge for sure, yet necessary if you want to transition the genre from game to sport. Maybe those VROC T1 Monza days will be a (not so) fond memory? We shall have to wait and see what the iRacing minds have for us. Cheers Tony |
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iRacing Article from Orlando Sentinel
> We shall have to wait and see what the iRacing minds have for us.
> > Cheers > Tony I agree, but a monthly fee of around $25.00 (US) a month seems like it would be logical. World of Warcraft is half of that, but there are so many more people involved, so I could see a doubling of the monthly fee. $40.00 a month (which would get us closer to that $500/yr number) would be too high for most people to justify. I know some of us have much more then that in our wheels and pedals, and computers, but that fee would still really not serve to offer the widest range of competition. But Spring will be here soon enough, so all questions should be answered then. btgoss |
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iRacing Article from Orlando Sentinel
"btgoss" > wrote in message ... >> We shall have to wait and see what the iRacing minds have for us. >> >> Cheers >> Tony > > I agree, but a monthly fee of around $25.00 (US) a month seems like it > would be logical. World of Warcraft is half of that, but there are so > many more people involved, so I could see a doubling of the monthly > fee. > $40.00 a month (which would get us closer to that $500/yr number) > would be too high for most people to justify. I know some of us have > much more then that in our wheels and pedals, and computers, but that > fee would still really not serve to offer the widest range of > competition. > > But Spring will be here soon enough, so all questions should be > answered then. > > btgoss Going with the $40/month assumption - if you were talking about - a) a first rate sim b) a first rate run service that has very close to no clowns c) very well run comps d) So very well run comps and sims that one of them could legitimately claim to be a true "World Championship" then I think a figure of $40/month sounds pretty good. Also, patching, modding, finding tracks, series, etc, etc, etc becomes a thing of the past. Some might pay $40/month just to be rid of that VERY tiresome aspect. I would prefer to see a pay for series format i.e. $100 say for a 16 race series or so as well as a monthly or whatever structure for those who cannot commit to anything to regular. Anyway, time will tell - never thought I'd say this but I hope it is not TOO elitist! |
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iRacing Article from Orlando Sentinel
On Dec 18, 3:04 am, "Byron Forbes" > wrote:
> then I think a figure of $40/month sounds pretty good. > > Also, patching, modding, finding tracks, series, etc, etc, etc becomes a > thing of the past. Some might pay $40/month just to be rid of that VERY > tiresome aspect. > Nothing I can really argue with about your post. I just can't see paying that much myself. Could I pay that much? Yes, and I might to give it a try. But I really think that price is going to keep too many people away. Besides, this is racing. We need a little riff raff. Don't we? BT |
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iRacing Article from Orlando Sentinel
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