So, after the iRacing Thread died, I decided instead we should do a thread about SimRacing games in general. Assetto Corsa, iRacing, rFactor, NR2003, anything really.
iRacing is a Racing Sim based on the code for Nascar Racing 2003, widely considered to be one of the best oval racing sims of all time, killed shortly after release by NASCAR signing an exclusive agreement with EA. It's subscription and content based, and Multiplayer only, and usually has anywhere from 2-4k concurrent online users depending on time of day. The shortest races tend to run a minimum of 25 min, and at the longest during special events run the entire length of a real world race, such as the yearly Daytona 500 event. Despite all this, it also has a just as complete Road Racing side, featuring everything from Mazda Miatas to GT3s, Formula 1, and more. On both sides it features races split by ranking and a saftey rating system designed to keep unfit drivers out of cars they can't handle without crashing.
So in iRacing news, Season 4's update just dropped, and while the content itself is slim pickings, the Holden V8 car has been added for the V8 series, Gateway Motorsports Park has been added as the new track, and the Ford GT2 has had a GT3 version released for the GT3 Series, (both are now sold in a package for the price of 1 car, much like the RUF Porsche and it's 4 variants before it) bringing iRacing's GT3 series to a total of 4 cars, the main update this time is team racing for endurance series. Now you and several friends can all compete as one team, with driver swaps during pitting procedures during the race. They are going to have a few series specifically dedicated to team racing, although what they are aren't announced yet, it's assumed GT3 will be one of them. Come next week when the update week is over we'll know for sure.
Currently,
Reddit runs a weekly race league based entirely around the free content.
I've taken the liberty of creating a Bay 12 Motorsports team here if anyone wants to have races together. Current promo codes for new iRacing customers are:
PR-LIONEL for 3 Months for $9 and a free Gen 6 car
PR-INRACING for 1 Month for $5http://www.iracing.com/nurburgring1000/ For three months FREE, valid until 10/15PR-NURBURGRINGEXPO for 3 months free, valid untill 1/1/15Assetto Corsa is an up and coming primarily single player Road racing simulator with a more modest multiplayer component comparable to standard multiplayer games. Currently featuring a handful and tracks and a much larger handfull of cars, the current release candidate is promising. Currently races are usually much shorter than iRacings, and all races, multiplayer and singleplayer, are custom setup by the users, and as such tend to be on the short side, although pitting is now available for multiplayer sessions.
In Assetto Corsa news, the current release candidate is out, adding a few new cars and 3 more tracks. The Career Mode is also implimented
Assetto Corsa is currently $40 on Steam Early Access.
Race 07 Going to be honest, don't know much about Race 07, other than the fact that's it's pretty decently regarded and can be had for only $4 on Steam, so that's probably worth a look.