The Steam Awards 2019 Selection vote has begun! You can nominate RaceRoom for the Best post release support (" Labor of Love ").

RaceRoom cannot be nominated as game of the year, of course, as it was originally released in 2013. However, there's one category that we can compete in: the "Labor of Love" Award. This is the "Best Post-Release Support" category - Nominating RaceRoom would mean a tap on the back of the entire team behind the RaceRoom service for the continued support throughout the years.

Even if there's only a very small chance that we get nominated considering the size of the community, it is still a very welcome gesture from you to everyone here in the studios.

In 2018, we had won the Team VVV award for best post-release support, which meant a lot to us and motivated us for an even better 2019.

We are all already happy of the progression of the Steam ratings as they clearly indicate that we're doing something good and keeps us all motivated for the future updates. Thank you all for taking the time to leave a rating, whether it's positive or negative, it really helps understanding what we are doing right and where we should improve.



Thank you for your time, now I'll get back to the preparations of our mighty December update!

Beside the release of the wonderful Dubai Autodrome, our first update after the summer break is also heavily focused towards league racing and your communities as we're continuing on our goal to deliver more tools to organize and manage events and championships.

We hope you will enjoy today's server additions and that they will allow you to make even greater competitions. We are very curious to hear your feedback on those and any wishes for further improvements of the dedicated server app for the future.

Of course let's not forget to mention the physics overhaul of various car classes as well as the introduction of needed AI improvements for some of the most problematic cars that AI has been having trouble managing.

You will find all the juicy details below!


Update details:
Download size = 2.1 GB
Client version = 0.8.0.6592
Client BuildID = 4249150
Dedicated server version = 55.0.1028
Dedicated server BuildID = 4249152



Dedicated Server:

• Added ability to determine the starting position of the race. When a starting grid is defined on the server, qualifying session will be skipped entirely. The server will place players on the grid in the exact order defined by the server administrator and will not perform any sorting by performance index.
  
• Added ability to import users from a given leaderboard and a given team name to pre-populate the starting grid.
  
• Added a chat box in the dedicated server interface to allow the broadcasting of messages to all players from the server admin.
  
• Added a Weight Manager tool to easily manage the administration of success ballast for a large amount of players throughout a league championship. The manager can be pointed at the result of a past race and all players can be assigned weight following any kind of regulation with the help of custom formula's.
  
• Added a latency indicator next to each of the connected players. It shows an average value that is calculated over a full minute.

Game:

• Adjustments to Slowdown penalties that have been too harsh since the previous update, especially in high speed corners.
  
• Increased connection timeouts from 30 seconds to 60 seconds in the hope to reduce the amount of disconnects from multiplayer sessions.
  
• Improved automatic choice of graphic settings (at first start) based on the detected hardware.
  
• Improved visibility of the message stating a game restart is required after switching to another monitor in fullscreen mode.
  
• Attempt at getting rid of weird laser weapon sounds when cars transition from track to their garage position ( example )
  
• Fixed saving of two identical screenshots when pressing the screenshot key while on a menu

Content:

• Dubai Autodrome is now available with 4 layouts ( Grand Prix ; International ; National ; Club )
  
• Audi R8 LMS - Fixed cockpit camera that was slightly off center
  
• Audi TT cup - Fixed underbody feelers that were 2,5cm too low and made the car scrape the tarmac when it in fact should not.
  
• Formula RaceRoom 90 - Updated physics (suspension and differential, rev limiter logic, increased oil cooling slightly); Improvements to AI behavior
  
• GTR1 car class - Updated physics (aerodynamics, turbo buildup, rev limiter logic, tuned dampers) ; Improvements to AI behavior
  
• GTR2 car class - Updated physics (Traction Control logic, dampers tuned, improved gearshifts) ; Improvements to AI behavior
  
• Honda Civic TC1 - Fixed an issue where this car couldn't easily alternate between forward and reverse gears.
  
• NSU TTS - Improvements to AI behavior (no more rolling over big curbs)
  
• Pagani Zonda R - Updated physics (Traction Control logic, ABS improvements, dampers tuned, improved gearshifts)
  
• Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport - Updated physics (tuned dampers, tyre model, Traction Control and ABS improvements; Improvements to AI behavior
  
• Porsche 911 GT3 Cup - Updated physics (tyre model refinements to have much more response to tyre pressures, tuned dampers and rear camber, differential tweaks) ; Improvements to AI behavior
  
• Porsche 934 RSR - Tweaked rearview mirror UV
  
• Porsche 911 Carrera (964) - Updated physics (rev limiter behavior, differential, suspension and dampers, tyre model, ABS improvements); Improvements to AI behavior
  
• WTCR - Improvements to AI behavior

• Road America - Updated the high resolution road surface, fixed a misplaced curb at turn 11. Added ambient occlusion from walls.

Update details:
Download size = ca 350 MB
Client version = 0.8.0.6583
Client BuildID = 4056801


Content

• WTCR 2018 / 2019 - Massively reduced the amount of smoke and skidmarks left behind the cars
  
• Updated all the suspension sound samples with cleaner and more varied recordings
  
• By popular demand from competitors, the Lada Vesta from the "Lada e-championship" competition has now received latest WTCR physics.

Update details:
Download size = 726 MB
Client version = 0.8.0.6581
Client BuildID = 4026381


Content

• Fixed the Lada Vesta TCR (esport competition) that mistakenly had received WTCR 2019 physics in yesterday's update. The Lada Russia Round 4 competition will re-open shortly after this push. All my apologies for this terrible oversight! The leaderboard laptimes recorded during the period have been erased.
  
• WTCR 18/19 - Further improvements to AI behavior. They should now be a tad quicker.
  
• Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup - improvements to AI behavior. Less rolling over from high sausage curbs, slight improvement on car to car collision detections. Reduced their tendency to overdrive the car.
  
• Porsche Cayman CS - improvements to AI behavior. Less rolling over from high sausage curbs, slight improvement on car to car collision detections.
  
  
• Mercedes AMG GT3 - Fixed the right side mirror
  
• AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse DTM 1995 - Fixed the rearview mirrors that were showing a tilted world.
  
• Spa-Francorchamps - Modified trackside advertisement banners for upcoming competitions
  
• Nuerburgring GP - Modified trackside advertisement banners for upcoming competitions
  
• Updated a set of banners for upcoming competitions

Today's small update is only client side and therefore did not require a maintenance.


Update details:
Download size = 190 MB
Client version = 0.8.0.6579
Client BuildID = 4021994


Game

• Fixed some elements being offset to the left on Ultrawide resolutions

Content

• The 2018 WTCR car class physics have now been brought equal to the freshly released 2019 cars, and the Peugeot has been balanced accordingly. The Alfa 2018 older bodykit suffers from a bit less downforce and increased drag but this was compensated in BOP (power and weight)
  
• Formula RaceRoom Junior - default setup adjusted
  
• Hillclimb Icons class - Smoothed gear changes
  
  
• WTCR AI - Improved behaviour
  
  
• Cupra TCR 2019 - Adjusted gearshift sounds
  
• Formula RaceRoom 90 V8 - External sounds improved
  
• Formula RaceRoom 90 V10 - External sounds improved. A bit more aggressive at high revs and removed an excessive oscillation in mid revs.
  
  
• CUPRA TCR - Added a horizontal structural bar between the rearwing supporting arms.

The 2019 season of the FIA WTCR is in full swing, and you can already experience it in RaceRoom with this car pack! New liveries, a new Alfa Romeo bodykit, a brand new car with the Lynk & Co 03 TCR, and of course all your favorite drivers of the #WTCR2019SUPERGRID.

Read the full press release at https://www.fiawtcr.com/get-your-wtcr-car-on-raceroom-today


Update details:
Download size = ca 860 MB
Client version = 0.8.0.6577
Client BuildID = 3998534
Dedi version = 53.0.964
Dedi BuildID = 3998571



New content

• Added the WTCR 2019 car class with 7 cars and 26 liveries.

Game

• Now allows to bind up to 128 different button ID's on a controller.
  
• Now allows to bind each traction control preset individually instead of only Next / Previous TC level controls.
  
• The HUD notifications (aka "butterHUD") can now be moved around as well using the "move&scale HUD elements" binding.
  
• Increased the rear view mirror y-resolution.
  
• Prevented the HUD position bar from automatically scaling to gigantic sizes on ultrawide monitors by limiting its width to 1920px.
  
• Changed the default steering lock value for Mouse controls from 8 degrees to 13 degrees
  
• Slowdown penalties and giving back of the time illegally gained have been reworked. Added a progression where the more penalties you have received, the longer the penalty will get. Each clean lap will reduce the penalty count by one.
  
• Change so the Pit stop menu elements such as Preset and Tyre Compound selectors no longer wrap around when trying to go beyond the last possible choice. (Meant to improve CrewChief's voice commands)
  
• Possible improvement for players reporting issues on the game menus (cursor flickers, video freezes, etc)
  
• Fixed a broken start procedure of a leaderboard challenge on Stowe layouts.
  
• Fixed rev LED's that were not lighting up on Logitech steering wheels
  
• Fixed a case where the messages about switching modes for LED displays were not always clearing
  
• Fixed a case where the "delayed start from pitlane" message wasn't clearing when french localization was used.
  
• Fixed so the MiniHUD can now be moved further on ultrawide monitors
  
• Fixed broken bindings on the default Mouse control profile

Content

• WTCR 2019 has received new and improved physics. The 2018 car class will be updated to match in a later update (required BOP for the Peugeot)
  
• WTCR 2019 features a new bodykit for the Alfa Romeo
  
• WTCR 2019 features a new steering wheel for the CUPRA TCR.
  
• Porsche 911 GT3 R - New cockpit sound recordings with separated transmission and engine channels.
  
• Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup - New cockpit sound recordings with separated transmission and engine channels. Improved external sounds.
  
• Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup - Updated physics and tuned dampers. Suspension geometry is now more accurate.
  
• Saleen S7R - New sound recordings for both cockpit and exterior
  
• Silhouette car class - Made cars a bit less tail happy under braking, improved FFB
  
• Cadillac (GTR2 car class) - Fixed the default final drive being too long at Spa-Francorchamps
  
• GTR1 car class - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• GTR2 car class - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• Aquila Cup - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• Audi TT Cup - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• Audi TT VLN - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• Hillclimb Icons - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• BMW M235i Cup - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• WTCC 2013 - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• WTCC 2014 - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• WTCC 2015/16/17 - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• Zonda Cup - Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
• AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse DTM 1995 - Tuned dampers and Implemented different shift times depending on the gears being shifted
  
  
  
• Paul Ricard - Added one additional TV camera in the start/finish straight as the elevation was hiding the cars at race starts.
  
• Red Bull Ring - Resurfaced and made a higher resolution HUD track map for the GP layout.

The much anticipated Formula RaceRoom 90 is out! Designed to bring you back to the atmosphere of formula cars racing of the early 1990's, the FR90 comes with three engine choices: V8, V10 and V12, each with their own characteristics, and of course, sound melodies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmpmO4nlVZw


Update details:
Download size = ca 975 MB
Client version = 0.8.0.6561
Client BuildID = 3889446
Dedi version = 52.0.945
Dedi BuildID = 3889460



New content

• Added the Formula RaceRoom 90 V8, V10 and V12 cars.

Game

• Added a key assignement to Move&Scale HUD elements. Once pressed, the mouse cursor will appear. Left click will drag a HUD element around while a Right click will scale the size of the element up or down.
  
• Added a key assignement to reset the HUD elements positions and scale.
  
• Updated to Fanatec SDK 3.8
  
• Added default profiles for Fanatec Podium DD1 and DD2.
  
• Added support for the flag LED's on Fanatec rims
  
• Added a key assignment to turn the displays and LED's on rims and wheelbases off.
  
• Added Tyre loads to shared memory (using a reserved data holder to preserve backwards compatibility)
  
• Added support in physics engine for different shift times depending on the gears being shifted.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where brake disks were pre-heated to optimal temperatures when spawning the vehicle in sessions other than Time-Attack.
  
• Fixed an issue where in-game web overlays settings would be lost with every game update.
  
• Changed the amount of analog input required to register a key assignment from 50% to 25% of the axis range. (this is relevant when assigning an axis to an on/off toggle control)

Content

• AMG-Mercedes 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II 1992 - Sounds improved
  
• Porsche 911 Carrera Cup (964) - Tweaked some logos on livery #15
  
• Volkswagen ID. R - Various visual upgrades to match the final design of the real car.
  
• Circuit Zandvoort - Fix for a TV camera in the straight that was sitting a bit high.
  
• Circuit Zolder - New static TV cameras
  
• Moscow Raceway - Changed 3 trackside banner billboards so they show on both sides. Upgraded HUD track maps for FIM and Full layouts to higher resolutions.
  
• Zhuhai - New static TV cameras
  

We are sorry to announce to all of Citroën and FIA WTCC fans that after a very successful presence in both the real and the virtual WTCC series, the vehicles of the french manufacturer Citroën are no longer allowed to be sold in the RaceRoom store.

As a consequence, all Citroën cars within RaceRoom are pulled out of the RaceRoom store as well as DLC packages on Steam.

Players who had purchased those cars can continue to use them without limitations.

The Starter Pack, which used to promote the french brand by featuring the C-Elysée TC1, now contains the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR as a replacement.

We at Sector3 Studios were very proud when Volkswagen Motorsport entrusted us with carrying a project that consisted in several firsts for us: It is the first appearance of a fully electric race car in the RaceRoom simulator, and our team has worked miracles to deliver physics and sound engines modifications to support this. It is also the first time that we have worked on creating a virtual rendition of a car that didn't exist yet. We have worked hand in hand with the Volkswagen team, looking at the data and telemetry from the Pikes Peak ID.R, and extrapolating the new handling characteristics that this brand new long tail / low drag version of the ID.R would bring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMrs_fKeztA

Once the real car has been on the Nordschleife, we will receive actual telemetry and will be able to fine-tune the simulation of all its characteristics.

Sadly for us, the DRS unit was added to the real car in the last weeks and couldn't possibly be added in-game in time for the start of this competition. We will however bring it in a later RaceRoom update.

You can now judge the result of all this work in the Time Attack challenge that is now available in RaceRoom : http://game.raceroom.com/competitions/900/leaderboard

You will find Romain Dumas in the leaderboard, as he could record some laptimes in the brand new RaceRoom 3Motion rig from the Nürburgring Boulevard ( https://twitter.com/volkswagenms/status/1121119651134607360 )

Dumas is also an avid simracer and you'll probably need to work hard to beat him on that leaderboard! He's waiting for the challenge.





Also, make sure to check out Jimmy Broadbent's review of the VW ID.R in RaceRoom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrJ7U2eBNls






Update details:
Download size = ca 100 MB
Client version = 0.3.0.6552
Client BuildID = 3764446



Content

• Added Volkswagen ID.R "Long Tail".

Game

• Added support for electric engines with energy regeneration under braking
  
• Fixed the suspension damage icon that had found its way into yesterday's update

Update details:
Download size = ca 550 MB
Client version = 0.3.0.6551
Client BuildID = 3761129
Dedi version = 51.0.918
Dedi BuildID = 3761402

Known issue in this update

• An icon on the Mini HUD display for suspension damage has found its way into this build. It's purely visual and no suspension damage is actually happening just yet. We'll get it removed asap.

Content

• Added new layouts for Oschersleben.
  
• Ruf RT12R (GTR2 car class) now has latest physics as it had slipped from previous patch.

Game

• Dedicated server - BETA - Added Car and User weight ballast. We couldn't fully test on full servers given the small size of the betatesting team, so please let us know of any bug you may encounter.
  
• Menus - Reworked the track selection screen to show all the tracks on one page, along with a search box.
  
• Improved slowdown penalty calculations
  
• WebHUD - Added support for URL's that contain dashes.
  
• Virtual Mirror can now be moved lower than 0.970370 in hud_options.xml
  
  
  
  
  
• Fixed an issue with slowdown penalties not counting down when slowing down on the pitlane exit path. (Thanks to Jardier for experiencing this bug first hand)
  
• Fixed a game crash on hillclimb tracks
  
• Fixed the live delta timer that would break at the third restart of a hillclimb run.
  
• Fixed spectator client not receiving all data when joining a race in progress.
  
• Fixed some localization issues on the notification area of the HUD
  
• Shared memory - Added thorough checks to "num vehicles" and whether or not a slot is valid in the "driver_data" array to limit occurence of duplicates.
  
• Shared memory - Fixed engine_type that was never set.
  
• Live Timings - Fixed a case where split times would be incorrect when a player left the server while being first within a given class.
  
• Fixed a missing localization for "Delayed start in pitlane" message.