A beginner’s guide to getting started

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Featured Picture: RaceRoom Race Expertise

KW Studios’ RaceRoom Racing Expertise was launched method again in 2013, providing free-to-play driving thrills on PC amid the onset of competitors from rFactor 2, Assetto Corsa and iRacing.

Shaped from the ashes of SimBin, the studio behind traditional sim racing titles comparable to GT Legends, GTR 2 and Race ‘07, RaceRoom has discovered its place amongst its friends however has barely fallen again when it comes to visible aptitude in current instances.

Nevertheless, with a complete graphics replace and thrilling traditional DTM content material on the horizon (4th September 2024), plus the addition of the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo and the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 in a forthcoming DTM 2024 Automobile Pack, issues are trying up for the beginner-friendly racer.

To assist introduce new gamers to RaceRoom we’ve collated some helpful data and suggestions under.

What’s RaceRoom Racing Expertise?

RaceRoom Racing Expertise (usually recognized merely as RaceRoom) is a free-to-play racing sim from German developer Sector 3 Studios. It’s out there on PC solely and will be installed via Steam.

How a lot is RaceRoom?

As acknowledged already, RaceRoom is free-to-play sim racing game however has non-compulsory DLC vehicles and tracks that are principally moderately priced in comparison with rival sims like iRacing and rFactor 2.

How do you put in RaceRoom?

Putting in RaceRoom is so simple as looking for it on Steam and clicking the ‘set up’ key! You’ll want to join an account, nevertheless it’s a painless course of.

How do I purchase content material for RaceRoom?

Now, that is extra difficult than it must be, for my part. To get essentially the most bang to your buck out of your RaceRoom content material it’s finest to buy the sim’s in-race foreign money, digital race factors (VRP), in bulk.

From RaceRoomStor e.com, you should buy packages containing 500, 1,100, 2,000, 5,000, 7,500 or 10,000 VRP, with gross sales bringing the overall value down.

For reference, 10,000 VRP will purchase you an enormous chunk of the sim’s content material, and, it at present retails for €69.99.

You can too purchase undiscounted particular person content material from the primary RaceRoom website.

Does RaceRoom ever go on sale?

Sure, and that is one of the best ways to choose up all of the sim’s content material for round £50-60.

RaceRoom additionally presents free weekends the place all content material is free to strive, whereas each automotive will be test-driven earlier than buy. iRacing might do with taking a leaf out of RaceRoom’s guide right here…

What varieties of vehicles and tracks can be found in RaceRoom?

RaceRoom has all kinds of vehicles and tracks to strive, though on-line servers are sometimes choc-full of GT3s.

Nevertheless, single-seaters, classic sports activities vehicles, historic and trendy touring vehicles and legendary GT vehicles all characteristic in its roster, with KW Studios additionally lately experimenting with drift content.

By way of circuits, all the same old suspects are there: the Nordschleife, Spa-Francorchamps, Crimson Bull Ring and Paul Ricard, for instance, however there are additionally a number of great outliers not seen in different sims. Take the upcoming Avus and Diepholz as shining examples of this.

RaceRoom has a number of real-world championship licences too, together with a number of DTM eras, WTCC, WTCR and F4, in addition to quite a few multiplayer Particular Occasions and official esports sequence, just like the DTM Esports and ADAC GT Masters Esports championships.

Gamers may take part in official on-line Ranked championships in addition to common informal races, with one or two occasions catered in the direction of free-to-play content material.

Which tracks are free in RaceRoom?

Lakeview Hillclimb
Portimao Circuit
RaceRoom Raceway
Sepang
Stowe Circuit

Which vehicles are free in RaceRoom?

134 Judd V8
Aquila CR1 Sports activities GT
Canhard R51
Canhard R52
Cougar C14-1
Cougar C14-2
DMD P20
DMD P21
Components RaceRoom Junior
Lada Vesta
Mistral M530
Mistral M531
Saleen S7R

Can my PC run RaceRoom?

Even with the sim’s upcoming graphics improve, most mid-range PCs will be capable to run RaceRoom at over 100 fps, making it an ideal sim for these with ageing programs.

Contemplating most sim racers are more likely to personal no less than a modestly-specced gaming PC, it’s extremely probably most gamers will be capable to run RaceRoom on excessive element settings.

Take a look at RaceRoom’s system necessities under.

RaceRoom’s system necessities

Minimal

OS *: Home windows 7
Processor: Twin Core 2.4 GHz
Reminiscence: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: VRAM 512MB
DirectX: Model 9.0c
Storage: 70 GB out there house
VR Help: SteamVR. Keyboard or gamepad required

Really useful

OS: Home windows 11 64b
Processor: Quad Core 3.0 GHz
Reminiscence: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: VRAM 8GB
Community: Broadband Web connection
Storage: 70 GB out there house
VR Help: SteamVR. Keyboard or gamepad required.
Further Notes: To boost your expertise with the simulation side, we extremely suggest utilizing a steering wheel controller for optimum gameplay.

For those who’re struggling to keep up a good body charge with a grid stuffed with vehicles, then think about turning down the next graphics choices, as these are essentially the most resource-intensive:

Automobile Reflection High quality
Automobile Shadows
Rear View Mirror High quality
Seen Automobiles
Observe Degree Element
Observe Texture High quality
Shadows
MSAA

How do I arrange VR in RaceRoom?

Because of its form system necessities, RaceRoom is one of the best-performing sims in VR. Nevertheless, as of late the sim suffers barely from CPU bottlenecks, so it could be crucial to cut back sure in-game graphics settings to attain silky-smooth body charges.

For Meta Quest headsets, for instance, RaceRoom must be pretty plug-and-play. Nevertheless, I needed to take a number of steps earlier than I might even get VR working with my Pimax Crystal Mild.

RaceRoom: Settings for Pimax Crystal Mild

To make sure you get your Pimax Crystal Light working in RaceRoom, first take the next steps:

Ensure that RaceRoom is put in on the identical drive as your principal Steam set up folder.
Flip off Mounted Foveated Rendering (FFV) within the Pimax Play software program.
Flip off VSYNC, Bloom, and Depth Of Subject Results.
If in case you have graphics stuttering points, flip down your graphics particulars as per the checklist above. Automobile Shadows, Seen Autos and Automobile Reflection High quality will probably have the smallest influence on immersion, so flip these down first.

To start out RaceRoom in VR, right-click on the RaceRoom icon in Steam and choose ‘Play’, earlier than selecting the ‘Launch RaceRoom (64-bit) in Steam VR mode’ choice.

Vital RaceRoom key bindings for VR

Head to the controls menu after which the VR sub-menu. The 2 most necessary controls you have to map listed below are ‘Reset Place’ and ‘Toggle Monitor View.’ Map these to your steering wheel (if attainable) to keep away from taking your headset off.

‘Reset Place’ centres your view in VR whereas ‘Toggle Monitor View’ pipes your in-headset view on to your monitor (RaceRoom will show a black display by default, unusually). Doing this may assist you to file RaceRoom VR footage utilizing OBS or Nvidia Recreation Seize software program.

RaceRoom pressure suggestions information

Fortunately, RaceRoom’s pressure suggestions is well-optimised straight out of the field, with a helpful in-game instrument serving to get rid of and mitigate FFB ‘clipping’ points.

As a normal rule, in case you personal a wheelbase able to 10 Nm or below of torque, set the in-game ‘FFB Power’ to 100%. For wheelbases able to over 10 Nm, it’s maybe higher to think about lowering FFB Power.

This may minimize off overly sturdy forces however could depart you devoid of nuanced emotions close to the higher finish of your wheel’s capabilities. Experiment together with your wheelbase settings to discover a good compromise.

RaceRoom’s beginner-friendly nature comes into play right here, as the vast majority of entry-level sim racers are unlikely to personal a wheel able to over 10 Nm, with informal gamers catered for because of gamepad compatibility.

Organising your FOV in RaceRoom

RaceRoom has a helpful field-of-view information built-in, describing and explaining learn how to set your FOV for finest outcomes, even when utilizing a triple-screen setup.

By inputting your display measurement and your eye-to-monitor distance, the sport will routinely calculate your ultimate FOV setting, with nice changes out there for pitch and head peak.

This instrument can be out there once you begin a race or apply session, so you will get a correct take a look at your on-track view.