iRacing Rain Is Realistic But Are We Enjoying It?

After our first few weeks with rain in iRacing there are some interesting trends in participation and sentiment. How are you feeling about rain and what can iRacing do to keep improving it?
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[@rudiscoo]

10/10 "iTs A sImUlAtIoN" jump scare

[@hoffie7456]

I definitely agree with many of the points you made. One thing I wish iracing changed is instead of a set week of weather with variation of that weather within the session, I’d rather it be every single hourly session has its own forecast. They could make sure to mix it up so that people in different time zones don’t end up getting 3 days in a row of rain at the only time they can play but it would definitely give people who are avoiding rain a chance to still race the open series for super formula lights for example. Side note road Atlanta has been ridiculously tricky for me in the wet so I only can imagine what it was like in real life for you.

[@elgatoconlapipa]

A change in how rain gets used in the schedule might be a good call. It's a bit disappointing to have a combo you really like get completely rained out. RAtl was definitely tricky but honestly not as bad as in sim because I was more cautious IRL to not rack up a repair bill. Feeling the car a bit more definitely helped knowing where the limits were too.

[@JesusGonzalez-sd3ql]

Completely agree with every point… this week Ive been racing the Super Formula Light at Road Atlanta, fixed series. Avoiding the regular series, particularly because of the rain, my iRating took a drop because of accidents in the rain that I didn’t cause, guys want to jump in the car without any practice in the rain not knowing how or where to brake and messing other drivers races

[@elgatoconlapipa]

Yeah I think for rain to be successful longer term people really have to make a mental shift about how to approach it. Some of the fastest people I know are avoiding it until they feel more comfortable but we're seeing many jump in and send it which is definitely hurting the experiyfor others

[@mchl_mchl]

Makes you wonder if this sets a new paradigm for sim racing and in 1-2 years, even just casual sim racers, will be accustomed to driving in the wet. Choosing to have optimism on that haha Great video Jeff!

[@elgatoconlapipa]

Haha I like the optimism! I think more time with it will definitely make a positive difference.

[@Tia_Bea]

I don't mind the rain, but my main series (Formula Ford Open) is being the guinea pig of the rain and that will get old and less fun as we progress through the season since we have rain EVERY WEEK OF THE SEASON!

[@elgatoconlapipa]

I can see that getting old for sure. I think some cars are better suited for wet. I haven't tried it yet but at least from what I've seen the FF seems to fall closer to LMP2 and GT3 in terms of fun vs say the GTP or even SFL. Still a dry week is probably welcome.

[@Beardboost]

Rain shouldn't be in the series that have stayed dry, they should have their own series

[@tetley3737]

I think they only had one choice here, which was to implement it as realistically as possible. Anything less would have come under great scrutiny (even if it would be a more enjoyable experience). It's definitely challenging. I think with time and practice you will get used to it and much more consistent. But there will be a big divide between veterans and rookies in rain. Side Note: Is that a SimCore button plate on that Momo in the background? I was thinking of putting that on my Momo too. If it is, how you liking that setup?

[@elgatoconlapipa]

For sure, they had to make it realistic. I think a lot of people just underestimated what that would be like. I have no problems with the rain it's just that IRL and in sim I'd almost always choose a dry track and I know a lot of people who are avoiding the wet. like you said though people are still getting used to it. The simcore button plate is great. The momo prototipo is alright but I think a different rim would be better with the way I grip the wheel. Overall though it's a nice combo for my round rim. Their updated button plates look like a nice refresh as well. Would recommend.

[@chrisstewarttv]

Great video! Given the development resources that went into this system, I do think it was a mistake. I wonder what could have been done these last ~5 years with those resources focused somewhere else...

[@elgatoconlapipa]

Yeah there are a ton of quality of life improvements that could have been made instead. I think it's a good addition to the sim but there are a lot of other improvements that would have taken priority for me

[@FamNation]

Nailed it. Realistic or not for the casual iracer rain is less enjoyable. The seat of the pants feeling even with a motion rig just isn't there. I would like to see them add 10% more grip to all wet conditions and also speed up the rate at which the track dries.

[@bjornkok12]

great video