iRacing 2014 Season 3 build released

22/07/2014 iRacing 7 Comments

iRacing 2014 Season 3 build released

Iracing.com released the new iRacing 2014 Season 3 build. While the list of enhancements, fixes and new features is way to big to put in this little article, we have posted the full change log below.

This build introduces two new tracks. The all new version of Phoenix International Raceway based on changes which were made to the track in 2012, and the British Donington Park Racing Circuit including two configurations: GP and National layout.

As usual, the tire model has bene improved. Another small but interesting new visual feature is the implementation of backfire flames on the appropriate cars.

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Release Notes for 2014 Season 3

Website:

Leagues

– Enhanced League and Tournament Gridding Options:

· There is now a new grid algorithm called “Top N Inverted”. If you select this and click the “Apply Grid Now” button you will be prompted to enter the number of drivers to invert. Previously you were limited to inverting the top 8 or top 10 drivers.

· There is now an option to change a driver’s grid position by N positions in either direction. This is intended to make it easier to apply grid penalties. From the “Race Grid Setup” area of the grid builder you can right-click on any driver to access a new popup menu that includes an option to “change grid position”. This opens a dialog box where you can enter a number of positions to move the driver. Positive numbers will move the driver towards the pole and negative numbers will move the driver towards the back of the grid.

– Added a new interface for editing league member nicknames.

Race Panel

– Sorting of series has been fixed in the Race Panel pick list where they may have been out of order or miscounted.

– The Select list now lists series based on MPR.

Other

– Updated MPR Images and added tooltips.

– MPR images are now hidden for Class A License and above.

– Spectator pages now have smarter sorting of what’s available.

– Layering of elements in the main site has been adjusted to fix some display issues.

Simulation:

Tires

– There are no cars left using the version 4 NTM (New Tire Model). All the cars are on version 5 except the Silver Crown and Sprint Car which are both still using the old tire model.

– The tire model has an improved solver to find the amount of tread yaw under dynamic conditions (i.e. non-equilibrium). This has significantly improved transient behavior and tire response to changing loads.

– The modeling of tread wear depth and its effects has been improved. There is now more tread wear on the softer road compounds.

– There is a preliminary model for advancing the tread rubber cure as the rubber gets hot; this gives very reasonable lap time fall off for cars over the course of a race. This model is not enabled on all the cars yet, as there hasn’t been time for testing all the cars, but it is on all the high level oval cars and most of the faster road course cars.

User Interface

– Right clicking on any visible driver name or driver helmet will bring up a context menu of actions that can be applied to that driver.

Sound

– Disable using the recently added limiter layer sounds during ignition cut up shifts.

iRacing Telemetry API

– Output RadioTransmitRadioIdx and RadioTransmitFrequencyIdx in addition to RadioTransmitCarIdx.

– Output ClassPosition in QualifyResultsInfo section to match ResultsPositions.

– Output CarClassColor.

– Output car, suit, helmet paint info.

– Properly escape more strings in the YAML session string.

– Properly show pressure in telemetry when pressure based brake bias is used.

– Fix telemetry for steering angle on remote cars.

Cameras

– The driving camera can now be moved down 4″ instead of just 2″.

Backfires

– Many cars will now spit out backfire flames when appropriate. Some cars backfire when off throttle, depending on their engine tuning. Others will backfire if you hit the rev limiter or upshift if their engine tuning implements these features via an ignition cut (which passes unburned fuel through to the exhaust). And some of our cars don’t make flames at all, typically the lower level cars. The visual effect and the sound effect of backfires are not synchronized at this time. Also, opponent cars do not make backfires during upshifts at this time, only off throttle backfires.

Wind

– Reduce the strength of the wind applying to cars to 1/3, so even if the wind says 30mph, it will only affect the car at 10mph. This is to account for ground turbulence and non-wind transparency of solid objects reducing the effective wind strength at ground level.

Grime

– Cars will now accumulate grime as a race progresses. The amount is based upon both time and circumstances of the race. This new grime effect causes a dulling of the car, which combines with the dirt accumulation effect which was added previously.

Paint kit

– L.A. Racing, SimCraft, and diysim.com logos added.

– Wheel color support added to the Mazda MX5, Skip Barber Formula 2000, Legends Ford ’34 Coupe, and Street Stock.

Scenic Cameras

– Half of the tracks had their scenic cameras improved (or added if missing) in the previous season’s update. This update completes that work, with all tracks addressed.

Cars:

Chevrolet Camaro Class B

– Now available! The physics are identical to the other two Class B cars, and all 3 cars can load each others setups.

BMW GT3 Z4

– Updated to the latest tire physics.

– Now has lap time fall off from additional tire curing when the tires are hot.