Or you could go to
https://arcasimracingx.com/ where the game is free for all and still being updated
Correct! You could always do that. Whilst ASR has always leaned towards online racing since its first iteration in 2008, from my experience the offline racing in the current ASRX isn't the best. The AI is really stiff, cars are all grey or black, they have odd racing lines reminiscent of vanilla rFactor oval racing, there's this weird push-pull dynamic, some tracks are completely bugged for AI, etc etc.
Since finding this old gem I noticed some differences in the physics too. I've compared my lap times with the ARCA car in iRacing and the cars in ARCA Sim Racing 08 in tracks like Pocono for example, and the lap times are really similar, I found that ASR08 is slightly faster around Pocono for instance, by a second (fastest lap time I did was around 54.5 or so, in iRacing my average best would be 55.5). Given that ARCA is more than a decade old at this point though, the detail in the track surface isn't great of course, so this may contribute to the car being faster around the track (also setup differences). Not much has changed!
I have seen people discuss that the retail version of ARCA is better in terms of offline, and the racing is pretty tight I'd have to admit, despite it being an ISI-engine game, which is known for not being great in oval racing offline (
Looking at EA Nascar Sim Racing). Plus,
this is mostly for archival purposes, because ARCA Sim Racing '08 is literally impossible to get anywhere online, and I was really keen on experiencing it. There are some differences between ASR08 and ASRX, and I think it'd be fair to have an option between the two. So I am hoping that getting the original is more accessible now! Both are great and have their positives respectfully.
What really intrigues me is how rewarding it feels to drive in ASR08, The Sim Factory did a stellar job with all the data gathered from Hoosier tyres, and it's a dying shame that ASR isn't well-known today. It was bound to happen though, as this was the fate with many ISI-engine based simulators, many have simply moved on.
To finish off, there's also some really nice information you get about how the game was made, such as the cars being laser scanned and then re-created in low poly format, the physics development taking 2 years, gathering data from Hoosier, ARCA and Cup teams alike, aswell as with aero and suspension data. One of the best features of ASR is its netcode. Man, was it butter-smooth. Just looking at online races that were hosted in ASR08, there really was nothing quite like it. You could be banging doors three-wide and not cause a massive crash, which was something quite revolutionary at the time. I believe there's an interview by Inside Sim Racing featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr, who drove a race in ASR08 online and was praising the sim for how well it was done, physics-wise and multiplayer-wise.
Anywho, that's my opinion on ASR08. Obviously it is quite dated, but man it's really not bad at all!
I'd say it has aged like fine wine, just like NR2003 has. And it's so great to see the community still keeping the spirit of ASR alive, with ASRX.
