RaceRoom Racing Experience drops massive update, includes new FFB

A new update for RaceRoom Racing Experience has dropped today. Many of the updates have been teased recently, and there is a lot to unpack here considering this update weighs in at a whopping 3.7 GB. 

Last month, Sector3 Studios posted what they were up to in the updates department over on their forums. As we near the end of the month, they are finally ready to release most of their work, including the big update planned for the improved Force Feedback system.  

the new FFB system was made completely from scratch and built from the ground up, shying away from the older system that neglected tangible factors such as forces on the tyres and used too many unrealistic slider options.   

The new system reels in those sliders to be crucial options only, and the tyre forces that heavily influence what the sim racer feels in their hands. The feeling through a wheel is meant to be more realistic and calculated based upon physics.

Taking into account that different cars will feel unique to one another after this update, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. 

Speaking of wheels, the Thrustmaster Ferrari SF1000 Wheel Add-on is picking up another sim to properly utilise the large display on the wheel. iRacing recently added this wheel display compatibility, and now RaceRoom can say they’re a part of the cool kids club with custom graphics for the display and the use of 25 programmable buttons.

Another neat addition – one of the best I’ve seen – is the new Field of View options available to use to get the perfect view from inside the race car.   

If you don’t necessarily need to precisely tune it, there’s an easy mode to slide back and forth, but the advanced options will provide a fine-tuning to get the view exactly as needed. There’s even bezel support for those using triple monitor setups.

The User Interface revamp that was teased in the May forum post is also now live. There is a new chat window in online multiplayer, specifically when chilling in the virtual garage. More UI updates are expected, but it’s good to see that things are already underway with the latest updates.  

One crucial addition is the ability to test drive cars you do not own. RaceRoom is free-to-play, but you only receive five tracks and limited vehicles to kick off. Each subsequent car, track or vehicle pack carries a fee, so now you’ll be able to test over 180 cars across the free tracks befoe you take the plunge. 

Other significant changes include new smoke effects, should some drifting be of interest to you, sparks now appear when cars bottom out and replays have been revised thanks to the addition of a keyframes feature and unlimited free camera movements. 

Alongside this large update, plenty of other items have been added to RaceRoom, including the Opel Astra TCR, the Norwegian circuit Vålerbanen and Czech Republic’s Automotodrom Brno. On top of that, the 2020 ADAC livery pack dropped and the 2021 ADAC GT Masters Esports Championship season began, so you could say that Sector3 Studios has been very busy of late.

The full changelog is below. Let us know what you’re most excited about in the comments!

RaceRoom Racing Experience June 2021 Update Changelog

New features

• New Force Feedback system ( click here for details )
• Options menu interface has been redone, with FOV tools, Triple Screen setup, Search field.
• Replays interface has been redone, with added keyframes feature and 100% unlimited free camera movements
• Gameplay menus interface has been redone with Timing Screen comparison tools, Multiplayer chat box, new Race Monitor controls.
• Test Drive feature in the store page now allows to select any of the free track layouts
• Particles – Smoke and dirt puffs improvements
• Particles – Sparks added on applicable cars. Sparks will be emitted with varying amounts depending on the type of material that hits the ground and the force of impact
• Particles – Added exhaust fumes. Cars will emit varying types of fumes depending on engine type, exhaust types, engine temperature.
• Sounds – Improved on how drivetrain oscillations at gearshifts are coming through for a selection of cars (Formula cars, DTM, Group C, GTE). All the cars will eventually receive this change in subsequent updates.
• Sounds – Updated sound from riding on curbs
• Controllers – Updated to latest Thrustmaster SDK, adding full support for their new SF1000 wheel.
• Added support for 16:5 aspect ratio with 3840×1200 resolution

Existing content updates

• BMW M235i Racing – Physics review
• Formula RaceRoom 2 – Physics review
• Formula RaceRoom 3 – Physics review + New Sounds
• Audi TT RS VLN – Improved sharpness of turn-in
• BMW M3 E30 – New sounds
• BMW Z4 GT3 – Resized wheels
• Ford GT GT3 – Resized wheels
• Formula RaceRoom 90 – Improved differential settings, less engine braking reduction
• Formula RaceRoom Junior, 2, 3, 4 and 90 – Tweaked rear tyre slip curves to give more progressive grip drop off beyond the limit
• Group 4 – Tweaked rear tyre slip curves to give more progressive grip drop off beyond the limit
• Group 5 – Tweaked rear tyre slip curves to give more progressive grip drop off beyond the limit
• Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO – Fixed a hole spotted in the dashboard
• P1 and P2 car classes – Updated brake heating/cooling behaviour. Cures some inconsistant brake performance issues.
• Pagani Zonda R – Switched to tyres GT3-spec
• Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019) – Fixed a decal on the seat that would still be rendered while the seat itself was disabled in visual settings.
• Brno – Fixed starting grid issues with maximum amount of AI opponents
• Vålerbanen – Fixed a strict cut detection