ARCA Sim Racing

[Bram Hengeveld]

The only bad thing with TSF/ARCA is the total lack of support and exposure for their european customers. Its US only unfortunately.

Shame though as ARCA is relatively cheap to get into some good oval racing if you cannot (or want to) afford iRacing

 

[Eric Martel]

yeah is this Bram, the europeans customers is abandonned completly, for the moment i placed my money on iracing and i'm plenty satisfied by this product and i abandonned my ARCA game on my new pc.

 

[Randy Chamberlin]

Randy you running at Premium racing league? you running on mod track, for me all this track is not realist.

Thats correct PRO_RCR here. I havent been a huge fan of the PRO tracks either. Just dont have the feel of the TSF tracks so you are correct their.
I totally understand frustration on european side.
I have a 2 month deal on iRacing going now. Pretty expensive to run for sure. But is also tough to keep yourself from buying more content. But I am having fun racing when I can. I ran NR2K3 also and I feel that in iRacing. Which is ok. I just like simracing period.So I have fun whatever I drive.

 

[Eric Martel]

yeah real very expensive to run on Iracing, but for me more than candy, i run too on nr2003 and i dont have the same impression to you. the fustration is TSF abbandonned the europeans oval racer, i discuted with zippy for the creation of santionned serie and the answer is europe is not good for us. me i'm not european i'm canadian and i'm big fan of oval is just bad i live in Switzerland. I hope 1 day return in my country and i have the possibility to participate on American league

 

[Randy Chamberlin]

Sad indeed.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

As said if you ask TSF directly you always get an answer. I did it via Twitter and this is their response on the question if the trucks are ready to be released:

@RaceDepartment​

Not yet, they are in closed beta stage though and testing is taking place each night ...​

 

[The Sim Factory]

Sorry for the delay everyone:

Note: Video is of beta development testing of Chevrolet trucks to be added soon to Arca Sim Racing. Artwork, content and other subject matter have yet to be finalized and are included here as an example only. ARCA Sim Racing is available here: www.thesimfactory.com/ASR_L1.zip Enjoy!!

 

[The Sim Factory]

Just a few things to get everyone up to speed. Chevrolet, ProParts and many others have been brought onboard to help bring these awesome beasts to life and into your living rooms

Below is a brief update of where we are:

- Cheverolet Truck is on track in game and currently under going closed beta testing
- Spek guages are almost completed and will be a part of the truck package when delivered
- Template is 99% ready and should be released in very near future
- Car Viewer will be released in tandom with the template
- Physics work continues daily for the trucks, completed are Talladega, Kansas and Chicagoland
- A small video of some testing will be posted soon for those interested
- This is a free addon to be offered to current owners of ASR and will only contain the Chevrolet Silverado truck
- Soon after the truck is joined to ASR, our NW and Cup vehicles will be close behind.

Along with a laser scanned model, we have extended our reach in physics development immeasuraby. Our tires, suspension, aero and mechanical physics have all been radically updated and expected to bring some real excitement to leagues and online racing environment overall.

More info soon ....

 

[The Sim Factory]

Here are a few pics of our trucks in WIP state and as painted by our beta testers.

 

[Randy Chamberlin]

ARCA SIM RACING X PATCH EXPLAINED:
What content will be integrated into the first X-Patch?
Currently we are planning to integrate the Chevy Silverado Truck into the first patch. As it has been a complete overhaul of the physics system as well as integration of 2012 engineering, race rule standards and vehicle dynamics, it has been a very large development process.
In doing so we have found much that has changed in the cars and trucks since original release and prior patches and have also received new tire data and engineering data that has allowed a physics re-development that we feel far exceeds the realism in comparison to our original content.We are going to attempt to provide a complete re-development of the ARCA Car physics as well in the original X patch V-1.12.
If we feel that development time will stall releasing the trucks past what we feel is acceptable, we will release the trucks in the first X-Patch and continue our efforts on the ARCA chassis so that we may quickly follow that patch with the ARCA updated 2012 chassis and engine.
What changes can be expected in regards to setup restrictions?
All gear rules restrictions are in place track-to-track, which levels the competitive playing field and allows only the gear adjustments allowed at each track, which means you can run only two gears combinations at each track per the actual rulebook and your final and fourth gear must be 1:1 in ratio.
Setup changes that would put your vehicle out of technical inspection limits have been implemented to the garage. Our setup philosophy has and always will be based on what you can actually run in a real race car. The setup philosophy between the truck and a NW or ARCA car are very similar in regard to suspension and aero tuning. The truck simply has different aero and drag characteristics as well as a other items that all are all currently in place on that vehicle. You may want to setup your car slightly more mechanically loose and aero tight, in comparison to a far higher horsepower ARCA car or a NW car which has equal horsepower and has different aero setup philosophies. Mainly due to the nature of the trucks reaction in an aero situation this manner of a setup is common when at Intermediate and Speedway tracks where aero protocols are far greater than at non aero condition tracks.
What is the main difference in physics design in the ASR-X Patch in comparison to the original ASR release as well as our competitors?
First and foremost, as a developer our focus has always been to produce professional level simulated physics and vehicle performance characteristics for the stock car racing industry. As we do not currently focus on the whole spectrum of race vehicles and solely on stock cars, every aspect of what we do with physics and vehicle modeling is fine tuned for the stock car driving professional and team engineer and we do it hand-in-hand with them. Our development goal is to create a simulated race car that is effective for training on actual real life protocols. The by-product of this and equally our intent is to also provide a great platform for online league racing and the die-hard stock car racing and simulation enthusiast looking to use real life setups to create true to life simulated racing.
The gmotor physics engine by ISI allows un-matched capabilities for the developer in regard to vehcile dynamics and realism. We are able to program a vehicle with a level of realism that can match the data exported from the real life vehicle, at each track, within the ninety percentile. We feel this is a true feat when looking how far sim racing has come since its inception.
While we are aware that the graphics system is still limited in comparison to our competitor’s software engine, the bar has been lifted and we will meet or exceed expectations in our next full version in regard to track texturing, surface design and the overall visual graphics experience. While our next version is still at least a year away, our goal is to expand the integrated content of ARCA SIM RACING with the ASR X-Patch and following updates, to create a more thriving community and league racing environment.
To the nutz and bolts of the Z-Patch. Any real life engineering data that we have from 2011 and now 2012 that was to go into the next retail released version of software, is being implemented into the ASR X-Patch. With the next version using a tire model that allows the developer to replicate a tire far beyond what we ever thought would be available in a commercial sim engine, as well as more physics and ruling additions and the fact that car changes are expected in 2012 for 2013, the decision to integrate this new data into the X-Patch was a simple one to make. As stated we will be providing the Chevrolet Silverado vehicle this patch and hope to also include the revamped ARCA physics, with the NW and CUP car to follow.
All manufacturers as well as more tracks, features and much more will be in the currently untitled next release of software at the time of its release. For 2012 our goal is to put every ounce of our ability into the currently released software to provide our community the best racing experience that we can with current technology and the X-Patch is our first step at doing so.
How was our truck model made?
Starting with a laser scan of an approved body for the 2012 racing season and with every bit of warp, we have created a truck that is within a fraction of a millimeter of its real life counterpart. We did not symmetrically build the model for what would be thought as an easier sim car to paint...instead we are providing an exact replica and a template that is truly revolutionary in regard to painting on a non-symmetrical race vehicle.We are pushing the limits of this graphics engine to the limits and are excited with the quality that we will provide.
Is there a difference in the system requirements for the X-Patch in comparison to the original released version.
Absolutely. If we are to remain competitive and at the same time provide you the best physics system as well as graphics within the ability of the engine and the power of consumer PC equipment, we must lift the bar in comparison to our original release which was four year ago.
The truck is far more detailed in regard to the 3D modeling. It also has a higher quality of texturing and to provide you what can be powered with today’s technology, we cannot develop graphics for graphics cards from 2008. But we are confident that if you can run our competitors software at max visual quality, you should be fine doing the same in ours for the trucks.
We are using the same racing computers in our cockpits that we originally used when developing ASR. Obvious upgrades have been made to graphics and modeling stations but our race cockpits have always been the same. Since starting the truck we have purchased a new video card for each cockpit as the cards we had from 2007 were not allowing max settings and we cannot develop quality we cannot see. Other than that, no changes have been made to our computers and we purchased cards for less than a hundred and forty dollars each to make sure commonly used cards will still be fine so mostly users will not require an update. Some users of cards that are out of date may need to update or turn some settings down.

 

[Randy Chamberlin]

Not sure why the text is white lol

 

[Fredrik Arbegard]

Looking forward to it!
Sadly I'm sure that there won't be any European league (Oh Europe why hate ovals?)

 

[Eric Martel]

no league in europe for ARCA in futur, is sure or practicly dead. why europe hate oval? is not hate, it's a mentality, usa and canada have on all city a little oval shorttrack where racing all sunday.

 

[The Sim Factory]

Developer blog update #2 02/16/2012

Development of the Chevy Silverado Truck is moving quickly toward a final release version, as all Oval Tracks are now in the software and only road courses left to do which is far easier for physics. Currently we have physics to dial in on four of the remaining ovals which will be done very soon. During final physics testing, final model enhancements and changes are also being made. At the same time we are moving to the rebuild of the ARCA physics, tires, engines and aero data to update them to 2012 specifications and parameters.

ASRX PATCH - FEATURE LIST (may be updated)

* Integration of functioning Spek Guages to the Chevy Silverado
* Complete redevelopment of the physics system
~ Silverado Physics completed with 2011 & 2012 Chassis and Aerodynamic Data
~ ARCA Physics re-development with 2011 & 2012 data (May be included post patch date but trying to make this patch)
~ Gear Restrictions in place including Allowed fourth and final gears per track with 1:1 final restrictions
~ Completely re-developed tire coding for better race protocols and proper pressure ranges
* New Shader Level System for both ARCA and Silverado enhances reflections and shine
* Complete re-branding and misc re-texturing at all tracks
~ Completely Re-Built Nashville SuperSpeedway
~ Pavement, Specular and Texture Update at IOWA, Daytona, Michigan & Pocono
~ Pavement, Specular, Press Box and Texture Update at Kansas
* New Track Loading screens and minor UI enhancements
* Working on bug fixes for on track rulings
* Other misc changes and bug fixes throughout

 

[The Sim Factory]

 

[The Sim Factory]

Not final...WIP. We still are doing some adjustments and specular lighting work. Just wanted to give you a glimpse.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Oh those tucks on Salem Really cool

 

[Randy Chamberlin]

Awesome stuff Bill Tx

 

[The Sim Factory]

The new TSF Forums are up and running and you are able to register there. More information is going to be added as they just went online.

Register free to get support or News on the latest release information. Our support site at arcasimcentral.com will be closing at the end of the month.

http://www.thesimfactory.com/forums/

 

[The Sim Factory]

When talent is applied to these templates, it's freaking unreal what is produced. And YES< they drive better than they look!
Just a few pics of Jimmy Collins concept art for developer Nick Steelman's Octane Racing League truck!