RaceRoom Racing Experience News

[h2]Join now on game.raceroom.com/competitions
[/h2]
We received a lot of great feedback after the first two seasons of the Ranked Championship in 2022: we've listened to you, and made some changes we hope you'll like.

[h2]Introducing the three series that comprise Season 1
[/h2]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Let’s start with the biggest change. Each of the three series within the Ranked Championship (Mazda MX-5 Cup, KTM GTX Trophy and GT3 Pro Series) will have their own self-contained championship with leaderboards and points-scoring races. The calendar is designed so the races for each series will be held over thee consecutive weeks, meaning there are no clashes.

This gives everyone the possibility to enter as many series as they would like!

Each series has four competitions: the global leaderboard plus three regional, four-race championships.

Everyone is invited to participate in the leaderboards, even if you don't own the cars or tracks – all the content will be made available for free for these events. However, you will need to own the relevant content in order to participate in the championship races.

The global leaderboard standings and regional race championships have a vRP prize pool for the top drivers, with a cool 5,000 vRP going to the winners of each category. The number of drivers who can win vRPs will also increase based on the number of participants in each competition – from the top 15 to the top 30 – so the more drivers who enter, the more players will win!

The nine winners of the regional race championships will also win a coveted Raceroom victory trophy to celebrate their performance: these physical trophies will be shipped to you once Season 1 is concluded.

Bonus: if you participate in all races of a series, you will receive a 500 vRP bonus regardless of your final position in the standings.



[h2]Race day: Wednesday[/h2]
Each series within the Ranked Championship will have a race day on Wednesday. If you participate in one series, you will race once every three weeks. If you participate in all series, you will race every week.



Everyone is invited to race, of any skill level and from any region! There is no limit to the maximum number of players per series per region.

A confirmation form will be opened on the Friday before the race. On Monday, all drivers who set a lap time on the leaderboard for that series will receive an email with the same confirmation form.

[h2]Calendar for Season 1
[/h2]

[h2]Timetable for race days per region
[/h2]

On each race day, when the confirmation form for a region closes, the Ratings and Reputations of all confirmed drivers within that region are fetched.

The confirmed drivers are then sorted by a simple formula to determine the grids:
rating * (reputation/100)

The first European split for every series will be broadcasted live on the official RaceRoom channels. Drivers are allowed to stream their race. Broadcasters are encouraged to stream the Oceania and America races and can request access to the servers.

[h2]Good luck and have fun![/h2]
Let us know what you think about the new season. Will you be participating only on the leaderboards, are you going for more than one series or maybe even taking on racing in multiple regions? We certainly hope you enjoy this new season of Ranked on Raceroom. Good luck and have fun!

Rulebook will be published on Monday, June 5 2023. Balance of Performance will be applied for the GT3 Pro Series. The BoP will be posted in this topic for each round once it's available. The bonus vRP for participating in all rounds of a series is limited to 1x500 vRP per account.

[h3]Update details:[/h3]

Client version = 0.9.4.76
Client BuildID = 11326713
Dedi version = 93.0.1424
Dedi BuildID = 11326726




[h2]Changelog:[/h2]

• Fixed a game crash that was occurring when attempting to save certain ghost files. Users who experienced the crash likely have a corrupted .gh (ghost) file in their game folders.
  Get rid of the .gh files with a timestamp from May 24th, 25th or 26th (after this week's release but before this hotfix) to prevent the game from ever attempting to load them again.
  Those files can be found in My Documents\My Games\SimBin\RaceRoom Racing Experience\TimeAttack\[TrackName]\
  
• Dedicated server - Fixed "SAVE" button not showing up when only changing the LiveUpdate interval value
  
• Dedicated server - Fixed "UserID" being wrongly logged with -1 value in the LiveUpdate file.
  
  

[h3]Update details:[/h3]

Client version = 0.9.4.75
Client BuildID = 11304184
Dedi version = 93.0.1422
Dedi BuildID = 11304297




[h2]Changelog:[/h2]

• New content - BMW M4 GT3 in GTR3 car class
  
• GT3 car classes have received physics updates - remember to reset your car setups
  
• WTCC 2013 cars have received physics updates - remember to reset your car setups
  
• Force Feedback - Introducing dynamic linearity which will allow us to tune the forces on a per-car basis through steering geometry and power steering adjustments. It makes all the cars feel more grounded and solid to drive, particularly at low speed. This update makes the existing FFB Linearity slider obsolete, so slider was removed with the update. The changes will help to get the most out of any type of wheel, however, you may find that some weaker wheels need a slightly higher ‘Minimum Force’ setting with the removal of the linearity setting. Users who were running above 85% linearity before shouldn’t have to change anything. However when used to 80% and lower, it is recommended to up the minimum force by 1% or 2%.
  
• Brands Hatch - updated to 2023 specs
  
• Donington - Updated to 2023 specs
  
• Sonoma - Updated to 2023 specs
  
• Dedicated Server - Added a LiveUpdate feature. The setting takes a value in second and defines how often the dedicated server will update ..\Documents\My Games\SimBin\RaceRoom Dedicated\UserData\Log_Dedicated\Results\Live.txt with everything happening in real time on the server. Information is provided in json format.
  
• Game client - Adjusted the formatting of results files being written inside ..\Documents\My Games\SimBin\RaceRoom Racing Experience\UserData\Log\Results\ - Changed file data and time prefix to be the same for any session of the same event, making it easier to match sessions together. Modified to use userID’s instead of strings where applicable. Added LiveryID
  
  
  

Today, the BMW M4 GT3 joins RaceRoom’s ever-expanding roster of GT3 machinery. Based on the latest G82 body shape it’s as fast as it is aggressive looking, but then also features the latest driver-friendly suspension technology to make it even more of an ultimate driver’s machine.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



Some seemingly counter-intuitive design decisions have led to some seemingly counter-intuitive outcomes. The M4 has a rearward weight distribution (about 48/52) despite being front engined, and features high levels of anti-dive and anti-squat in its suspension geometry. The configuration means that the nose actually slightly rises as you brake and the rear end doesn’t squat when accelerating. This can take a bit of getting used to, as the car won’t seem to pitch ‘normally’, but it provides a phenomenally stable platform for drivers of every level.



The M4 is extremely aero efficient, giving it a great top speed despite having a relatively lower power output in comparison to its rivals. While it’s still completely in the ballpark of balanced GT3 allowances, with ‘up to 590hp’ coming from its twin-turbo inline-six, the optimised power output level combined with the suspension set-up helps deliver fantastic traction in acceleration zones, while still achieving a high terminal velocity that will match any other current GT3.



These approaches are setting a template for how it’s expected the next generation GT3s are going to be: more efficient and easier to drive, while no less fast overall. And don’t think it’s going to take less skill to drive this thing: just check out the footage from last weekend’s Nürburgring 24 Hours to see just how hard M4s can be pushed. Or what they can deliver, viz a second place overall at the Green Hell, just 27 seconds off the winning Ferrari after another gruelling twice-round-the-clock marathon.



BMW’s successor for its M6 GT3 is more aggressive looking, with sharp body lines connecting super-wide fenders, and a plethora of grills and louvers to channel air either to where it should be or away from where it shouldn’t. The rear-wing is suspended on de rigueur swan-neck mounts, and the rear features a predictably huge diffuser. Unusually, the exhaust is actually just ahead of the righthand side front-wheel, exiting in the fender upright.



The BMW is going to star in our online races, and will further strengthen our current-get GT3 grid. You won’t have long to wait until the next new GT3 is coming, in the shape of the 992 911 GT3R – and more are also in the pipeline!



Along with this content drop, everyone will be able to benefit from the latest game build update, which features some evolutionary changes to our GT3 physics. This will bring them bang up to date and ensure our GT3 cars are well balanced and extremely fun (but accurate) to drive. There’s also a change to our already well-respected force feedback system, with per-car tuning in the background that will replace the current Linearity setting through steering geometry and power steering adjustments. It makes all the cars feel more grounded and solid to drive, particularly at low speed. The changes will help to get the most out of any type of wheel; however, you may find that some weaker wheels need a slightly higher ‘Minimum Force’ setting with the removal of the Linearity setting. All the beta testing feedback has been really positive, and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on these updates.

We introduced Raceroom’s new formal content release plan for 2023 off the back of last month’s On The Edge pack, which has proved to be super popular. Next up on the roadmap is an intermediary release between our bigger quarterly packs: we present the mighty BMW M4 GT3, due for launch next week.



BMW have a history of creating sledgehammer GT3s. They just don’t do ‘just enough’ when ‘all-in’ is an option. Back in 2009, BMW Alpina’s supertanker-size B6 GT3 dwarfed pretty much everything else on track, its supercharged V8 delivering a unique rasp. The factory Z4 GT3 that followed took what was a pretty compact pseudo-roadster on the street and bolted on planet-side fenders and aero to make a low-slung Batmobile of a racer that stood out from the pack: it too carried a rumbling V8 that meant you heard it coming before you saw it.



2016’s M6 GT3 was hardly a shrinking violet: again BMW opted for one of the larger cars in its range, still stuffed with V8 power. Over the last decade, BMW’s GT3 racers have delivered 24 Hour endurance wins at Spa, the Nürburgring and Dubai, and a huge number of victories in international championships. The Z4 alone counted for 67 race or class wins in 12 major series!



This is all meant the M4 GT3 had a lot to live up to when it was launched last year: so it won the Dubai 24 Hours at the start of 2023, so it wouldn’t feel out of place with its older sisters. And M4s also came third and fourth… So, new BMW, same as the old one, from the point of view of its competitors. M4s are competing all around the world, from IMSA through DTM to Super GT: and now you’ll be able to drive them in Raceroom!



The M4 GT3 is powered by a throaty 3-litre straight six, dialled up to 11 by twin turbos. In the typically vague parlance of GT3 manufacturers, it delivers ‘up to 590hp’: which is plenty, believe us. The gearbox is an Xtrac six-speed sequential with an electro-hydraulic clutch.



Its suspension is provided by KW’s Competition department, developed at their headquarters in Germany. The 4-way adjustable racing dampers use solid piston designs so the damper liquid doesn’t overflow the working piston – and that enables a much larger force range than normal as well as more control for the driver, no matter the conditions.



The M4 GT3 adds to our already super strong GT3 field, which stretches back across a decade of this fantastic class (and includes all the previous BMW models). There are more contemporary GT3s to come in the near future, with the 992 911 GT3 R joining the fray at the beginning of July.



This release will also include two other important development updates. There will be an evolution to our GT3 physics, paying close attention to balance of performance, power to weight ratios, downforce/drag and other general performance indicators. We are also introducing a new FFB linearity update, which will be more dynamic and will allow us to tune the forces on a per-car basis. It should make all the cars feel more grounded and solid to drive, particularly at low speed. It will makes the existing FFB Linearity slider obsolete, so that will be removed with the update.