iRacing.com – First Brands Hatch Screenshots

iRacing has released first screenshots of Brands Hatch, the second European track to make it into their online racing simulation.

The shots show the track as it’s currently undergoing the development process, including the laser-scanned surface and the buildings around the track’s main straight.

he 3,7 kilometer Brands Hatch circuited hosted 12 Formula One Grand Prix and is well known as a touring car venue these days, hosting both the WTCC & DTM as well as the British BTCC.


  • scca1981

    Aww man a laser scanned Brands? Making it tough for me to stay away from this game!

    Throw in Mid-Ohio and you have a new customer :)

  • Lincoln Miner

    scca1981: Aww man a laser scanned Brands? Making it tough for me to stay away from this game!Throw in Mid-Ohio and you have a new customer :)

    Yeah, Mid-Ohio is number 1 on my North American waiting list. Mosport is a good stop gap, but I love Mid-Ohio! It will be interesting to see the other Euro tracks. So far they’re coming out with Zandvoort and Oulton too. Wonder what else this coming year?

  • carbonfibre

    What I still don’t get is why you have to pay extra for tracks and cars. If people don’t like a track they won’t pay for it and that saves them what? A cheaper monthly subscription?

    You could scrap the extra purchases and include everything in the subscription making sure they cover the costs of all new track/car developments in a guaranteed income rate. It would make more business sense as you can force customers to buy all products.

  • HoweeEA

    IrAcinG SuX BuY NFS SHIFT . ITS THE BEST AND MOST REAL 2day

  • Suarez10

    For real! Those iRacing noobs even left out the circus tent!!! :cool:

  • Will Fly

    i live wright next to brands hatch track and driven it quite a few times now and padock hill doesent seem wright not steep enough and it doesent rise enough to hailwoods hill

    i know only 35% but brabham stright looks the tits that rise before padock bend is spot on

  • http://racingrenders.com F1Racer

    Sorry, I can’t let that go. You live next to Brands Hatch, therefore you are in UK.
    You’re supposed knowledge of Brands means you are probably English at a guess, or at least were educated there in the UK.

    If all that is so, then where are you getting ‘wright’ from ? A wright is someone who repairs or constructs things. Kill the ‘w’ and you’re good to go.

    Jeez whats happening to education levels these daya ? Eeee when I were a nipper…… :sd:

  • http://www.syncro-racing.com Damo

    Mate with spelling like that, i’m surprised they let you anywhere near a car.

    The track looks great so far, not an iRacing customer anymore but it looks to be a great start of what will be the most accurate version of Brands in a sim.

  • Diswanio

    IrAcinG SuX BuY NFS SHIFT . ITS THE BEST AND MOST REAL 2day

  • Diswanio

    Sad boy, its a shame you can leave comment here..

  • Com8

    Will Fly: i live wright next to brands hatch track and driven it quite a few times now and padock hill doesent seem wright not steep enough and it doesent rise enough to hailwoods hilli know only 35% but brabham stright looks the tits that rise before padock bend is spot on

    the track is laserscanned so i’d say its 99,9% spot on…

  • hoboracer

    Com8:
    the track is laserscanned so i’d say its 99,9% spot on…

    They only use the scan data for the track surface, not the road side objects. Have you ever seen a tire wall or tree in iRacing? They aren’t scanned or the trees wouldn’t be shaped like ‘plus’ signs. Same trees in GPL and NR2003. The buildings are created from pictures, not scans.

  • Com8

    i WAS refering to the track surface aswell

  • riches

    I hope the textures are not going to be like the other californian sunshine shades the other iracing tracks.
    English tracks are much darker, partly because of our great weather.

  • ral42

    The road side objects are pretty darn good in my opinion. In real life, I’ve been to Lime Rock Park once and New Hampshire Motor Speedway a number of times. At Lime Rock Park, I followed the fence all the way around the infield and it appears the same in iRacing. At New Hampshire, I recognized plenty of objects in the infield as things I stood next to, like the fuel tanks, the building where they post the lap times on the wall, the winner’s area, and so on. Even the small bleachers I sat on way outside the oval area up by the separate road course section were faithfully represented.

    Sure, the construction of particular staple objects like tires and trees could be better, as other games have clearly shown. I hope iRacing improves on those things, as well as their lighting model. But I think there’s a tremendous amount of good work that’s been done with trackside objects that you don’t see in other sims, unless it’s a community-made track that someone has obsessed over for years. (You know what I’m talking about right?) This work shouldn’t be discounted because the trees or tires look bad. Once again though, it shows how critical attention to detail is because no matter how good your work is, many people will only focus on the bad parts. ESPECIALLY in the sim racing community. :)

  • moppenheimer

    carbonfibre: What I still don’t get is why you have to pay extra for tracks and cars. If people don’t like a track they won’t pay for it and that saves them what? A cheaper monthly subscription? You could scrap the extra purchases and include everything in the subscription making sure they cover the costs of all new track/car developments in a guaranteed income rate. It would make more business sense as you can force customers to buy all products.

    NOBODY cares what you think about the price, shut up already

  • triple_a

    The color palette looks way off, but then again it’s only 35% complete. Hopefully the final track will have much darker colors.

  • Howie47

    scca1981: Aww man a laser scanned Brands? Making it tough for me to stay away from this game!Throw in Mid-Ohio and you have a new customer :)

    I predict that a couple of years down the road, there will be a cheap package deal on iRacing content. If it doesn’t it will be the (first) software that didn’t depreciate in value greatly.

  • http://www.racedepartment.com TehFuzzi0n

    triple_a: The color palette looks way off, but then again it’s only 35% complete. Hopefully the final track will have much darker colors.

    Probably hasn’t got any sort of lighting on at the moment – once it has the proper lighting it will probably look better.

    Cant wait for the track, should be great fun in the Jetta.

  • Paul Kelly

    Howie47:
    I predict that a couple of years down the road, there will be a cheap package deal on iRacing content. If it doesn’t it will be the (first) software that didn’t depreciate in value greatly.

    So you actually think iRacing will survive a couple of more years, Howie? Wow, you’re really getting soft in your old age toward your most hated sim.

    Kudos.

  • Lincoln Miner

    hoboracer:
    They only use the scan data for the track surface, not the road side objects. Have you ever seen a tire wall or tree in iRacing? They aren’t scanned or the trees wouldn’t be shaped like ‘plus’ signs. Same trees in GPL and NR2003. The buildings are created from pictures, not scans.

    Actually, they do scan the entire area around the track. You can see them in the cloud point data. The quality of a tree is different than whether they have the 3Dpositional data. They could model the trees textures etc, better, but it’s a trade off on performance vs graphics, but they do have the 3D positions.

    Dave Kaemmer talks about his experience with the early version of Lime Rock. He’s raced there for 5 years in the Skip Barber series. He noticed something wrong when he drove the iRacing version. He figured out the track modelers had the cloud point data for the tree canopy, but had just put the tree trunks under the canopy, because they didn’t think the tree trunks mattered. He made them go back and place the tree trunks to match the cloud point data. Sight lines and objects are very very important for real world racers and they need all the trackside objects to be as accurate as possible.

    Now that’s what I call attention to detail! So, yes they do have the trackside laser data. :-)

  • http://www.bsimracing.com BSR-WiX

    I am a rfactor,LFS and GTR2 worshiper… But i keep saying it … NOTHING beats iRacing when it comes to realism and accuracy. And the real power of iRacing lies not in the sim alone, but its structure behind it. iRacing is more a sport then a sim. Expensive, i admit, but worth every cent. I hope it will not get to cheap soon , because this would have a side effect. It would become a crash fest of gamers instead of a serious Sim for the Autosport enthusiast Sim Racer. For me thats where the power of iRacing makes a difference. It does consists mostly out of Autosport fans. Not casual gamers. If you take your simracing serious i cant see how one would not love iRacing. When in search of some fast fun and graphical crash delight, i can imagine people like Shift… but thats as far as the comparison goes. As far as there is a Hardcore Sim scene, there just about all on iRacing. That must have a reason. I cant imagine somebody telling Team Redline , SHIFT is a contender, or even a comparison to iRacing, or LFS for that matter.
    I have a hard time taking these comments serious

    Every time, over and over again, when i read iRacing bashing and price tag discussions, i cant help but think that apart from simracing fans we still have allot of bigmouth gaming teenagers on these forums. Its just plain riducule to read the same lame comments. The rest of us must be mature enough to appreciate every product in its own right. So if you like SHift , Forza or whatever… praise you self lucky…nobody will stop you from using it, or annoy the hell out of you on forums and blogs.

    As stated before.. we all like different things. If you have fun with a certain product, that product is the way to go. But like sombody in here said before….
    There are to many “Internet Tough guy´s” with an urge to post these meaningless comments.

    Voila … that makes me feel better… :-)

  • kill4f00d

    I dislike subscription services because it’s like paying a coin fed arcade game, except much more expensive. It would be worth it if I could devote many hours of my day to playing. I’ll buy in a few years if they ever sell it on DVD or Steam.

  • mastersetter

    BSR-WiX: I am a rfactor,LFS and GTR2 worshiper… But i keep saying it … NOTHING beats iRacing when it comes to realism and accuracy. And the real power of iRacing lies not in the sim alone, but its structure behind it. iRacing is more a sport then a sim. Expensive, i admit, but worth every cent. I hope it will not get to cheap soon , because this would have a side effect. It would become a crash fest of gamers instead of a serious Sim for the Autosport enthusiast Sim Racer. For me thats where the power of iRacing makes a difference. It does consists mostly out of Autosport fans. Not casual gamers. If you take your simracing serious i cant see how one would not love iRacing. When in search of some fast fun and graphical crash delight, i can imagine people like Shift… but thats as far as the comparison goes. As far as there is a Hardcore Sim scene, there just about all on iRacing. That must have a reason. I cant imagine somebody telling Team Redline , SHIFT is a contender, or even a comparison to iRacing, or LFS for that matter.I have a hard time taking these comments seriousEvery time, over and over again, when i read iRacing bashing and price tag discussions, i cant help but think that apart from simracing fans we still have allot of bigmouth gaming teenagers on these forums. Its just plain riducule to read the same lame comments. The rest of us must be mature enough to appreciate every product in its own right. So if you like SHift , Forza or whatever… praise you self lucky…nobody will stop you from using it, or annoy the hell out of you on forums and blogs.As stated before.. we all like different things. If you have fun with a certain product, that product is the way to go. But like sombody in here said before….There are to many “Internet Tough guy´s” with an urge to post these meaningless comments.Voila … that makes me feel better… :-)

    I could not agree more Wix, iracing is more of a sport than a game. I mean i enjoy the competition, the racing is clean and free from wrecking idiots.. and it feels like im involved with a proper racing season.. yes it does cost a few quid but it’s worth it in everyway for me ;)

  • Lincoln Miner

    kill4f00d: I dislike subscription services because it’s like paying a coin fed arcade game, except much more expensive. It would be worth it if I could devote many hours of my day to playing. I’ll buy in a few years if they ever sell it on DVD or Steam.

    Yes, it’s expensive and if it’s not worth it to you, that’s fine. It’s like Cable TV or Cell Phones. You rent the use of iRacing similar to Salesforce.com and all the SaaS vendors popping up these days. You see it in business software, not not so much in gaming except in MMO’s. It’s dfferent business model than Simbin, ISI, LFS etc, but it’s not revolutionary for businesses like software (ie SaaS vendors or MMO’s) or hardware/intellectual property (ie Phones, Cell Phones, Cable or Zune subscription music etc).

    It’s just new for race sims, so some people have a problem with the approach. That’s ok, it’s not for everyone and is expensive compared to boxed sims. People had a huge problem with Xbox Live’s micro transactions and digital distribution at first, but now Sony does it and Nintendo and Steam of course. Change is tough for people. Someone moved their cheese. :-)

    I’m willing to pay for iRacing, because it’s a better experience for me and the competition is top notch ect. To each their own though.

  • http://www.syncro-racing.com Damo

    hoboracer:
    They only use the scan data for the track surface, not the road side objects. Have you ever seen a tire wall or tree in iRacing? They aren’t scanned or the trees wouldn’t be shaped like ‘plus’ signs. Same trees in GPL and NR2003. The buildings are created from pictures, not scans.

    That’s not true. Do you honestly think laser-scanning is just about mapping bumps on a surface? It’s all to do with mapping the entire object it’s measuring. So yes, the surface bumps are accurate, but so is the camber, elevation, and ultimately the track layout. And just for good measure, you can very easily laser-scan buildings, whether iRacing do or not, i’m not sure.

    You made me laugh about the trees being scanned though.. do you honestly know anything about laser-scanning and modelling? It takes much less time to plonk 3d objects into a track than to individually model laser-scanned trees – but the trees are partially scanned (infact you can see that) and gives the devs a good idea where to put said 3d objects. Come on, use your head a little.

  • Lincoln Miner

    Damo:Come on, use your head a little.

    That comment is a little harsh. I would imagine quite a few people think the laser scan is just the track surface.

    Dave Kaemmer has confirmed it’s all the trackside objects including trees. The cool colored cloud point images we’ve seen including the ones at the top of the article should be the 3D cloud point view of what the scanner “saw”.

    I imagine then they make (or buy) the 3D objects and line them up to the cloud point data. They probably have a few different tree types to use and they place them as best they can to match the cloud point data. It still takes work, but they have a “trace” in 3D so to speak, so they can get very very accurate with placement, but the trees still only look as good as the 3D models they start with… They could make the best looking trees ever, but at the expensive of frame rate. Plus, they aren’t going to worry about the tree 7 trees deep etc. There’s a limit to the detail they need to worry about.

    I’ll take getting the prominent trees and tree trunks etc in the correct place over perfect tree accuracy of leaves, tree type species etc… :-) If it’s a Douglas Fir vs a Cedar, I don’t care so much. Get the position and relative height correct and I’m thrilled. Signs and buildings probably need to be more accurate, because at times they are used as specific brake markers, turn in points etc by us and real world drivers. :-)

  • Will Fly

    F1Racer: Sorry, I can’t let that go. You live next to Brands Hatch, therefore you are in UK.You’re supposed knowledge of Brands means you are probably English at a guess, or at least were educated there in the UK.If all that is so, then where are you getting ‘wright’ from ? A wright is someone who repairs or constructs things. Kill the ‘w’ and you’re good to go.Jeez whats happening to education levels these daya ? Eeee when I were a nipper……

    but you knew what i meant
    and im 43

    sorry but spellings not on the top of my list
    and thanks for pointing it out ive learnt something

  • sediol

    @Will Fly
    Don’t take that personally, he is always doing this. Forgetting this place is about race simulation and _not_ about linguistics. :tongue:

  • Howie47

    Paul Kelly: So you actually think iRacing will survive a couple of more years, Howie? Wow, you’re really getting soft in your old age toward your most hated sim.Kudos.

    I love you Paul. But “hate” is a rather strong evaluation of my comments. It’s more like displeasure of their business practices. But then it is a wicked world, and if you want to compete, you’ll probably have to compromise a few morals.

  • http://www.bsimracing.com BSR-WiX

    As we all know… There is a thin line between love and hate :-)

  • Zenitchik

    Can’t wait for this one, oh and zandvoort!

    Howie, try a few laps in the vette at mosport and you’ll forget about all about the prices :wink:
    BTW, they dropped the prices, so it is depreciating. But the software + services business model is not going to go away any time soon!

    carbonfibre: What I still don’t get is why you have to pay extra for tracks and cars. If people don’t like a track they won’t pay for it and that saves them what? A cheaper monthly subscription?

    Good question!
    I’ll rather pay a smaller subscription and not pay for the oval content. I just don’t have the level of concentration, that it takes to drive on ovals, with cars so close together throughout the whole race!

  • hoboracer

    Damo:
    That’s not true. Do you honestly think laser-scanning is just about mapping bumps on a surface? It’s all to do with mapping the entire object it’s measuring. So yes, the surface bumps are accurate, but so is the camber, elevation, and ultimately the track layout. And just for good measure, you can very easily laser-scan buildings, whether iRacing do or not, i’m not sure.
    You made me laugh about the trees being scanned though.. do you honestly know anything about laser-scanning and modelling? It takes much less time to plonk 3d objects into a track than to individually model laser-scanned trees – but the trees are partially scanned (infact you can see that) and gives the devs a good idea where to put said 3d objects. Come on, use your head a little.

    Laser scanning and modeling are two completely different fields. I already used my head when I studied laser technology in college 20 years ago. Don’t even ask me if I know cad/cam, surfcam or solidworks. Use my head LOL.

  • hoboracer

    Lincoln Miner:
    I’ll take getting the prominent trees and tree trunks etc in the correct place over perfect tree accuracy of leaves, tree type species etc…:-)If it’s a Douglas Fir vs a Cedar, I don’t care so much. Get the position and relative height correct and I’m thrilled.Signs and buildings probably need to be more accurate, because at times they are used as specific brake markers, turn in points etc by us and real world drivers.:-)

    Isn’t a douglas fir a christmas tree? Signs need to be accurate but not the trees? A cedar and a douglas are very different trees.

  • Paul Kelly

    BSR-WiX: As we all know…There is a thin line between love and hate:-)

    :lol: :lol: :lol:

  • free2game365

    triple_a: The color palette looks way off, but then again it’s only 35% complete. Hopefully the final track will have much darker colors.

    The colors/lighting look off in every iracing track, it doesn’t even have HDR

  • Lincoln Miner

    hoboracer:
    Isn’t a douglas fir a christmas tree? Signs need to be accurate but not the trees? A cedar and a douglas are very different trees.

    I guess we look for different things in a sim. Tree species aren’t high on my list. Very funny post. :grin:

    Not that it matters that much for race sims, but I prefer Spruce for my Christmas tree, which oddly isn’t even on the list below. Here are the Christmas Tree types used in North America and Europe… ;-)

    Oh, and my dad and I cleared about 2 acres of property in Washington State and every board in our house was from the trees we cut down. It took us about 4 years to completely finish the house, so I know the difference between a Douglas Fir and Cedar tree, but still don’t think it matters in a sim. :-) We had both on our property.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree

    In northern Europe most commonly used are:
    Silver Fir Abies alba (the original species)
    Nordmann Fir Abies nordmanniana (as in the photo)
    Noble Fir Abies procera
    Norway Spruce Picea abies (generally the cheapest)
    Serbian Spruce Picea omorika
    Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris
    Stone Pine Pinus pinea (as small table-top trees)
    Swiss Pine Pinus cembra

    In North America, Central America and South America most commonly used are:
    Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
    Balsam Fir Abies balsamea
    Fraser Fir Abies fraseri
    Grand Fir Abies grandis
    Guatemalan Fir Abies guatemalensis
    Noble Fir Abies procera
    Red Fir Abies magnifica
    Colorado Pine Pinus edulis
    Jeffrey Pine Pinus jeffreyi
    Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris
    Stone Pine Pinus pinea (as small table-top trees)
    Norfolk Island pine Araucaria heterophylla

  • http://racingrenders.com F1Racer

    free2game365:
    The colors/lighting look off in every iracing track, it doesn’t even have HDR

    Neither does rFactor or GTR2 or Race07 or LFS or GTL etc etc. I don’t see the benefits of HDR lit tracks unless you have a decent gfx engine to go with it. Pointless.
    In fact who’s lighting tracks with HDR anyway ? I really don’t get that comment because what are you comparing it to ?

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