VirtualR – Sim Racing News
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Very good news. I would love to have the boxed version, even having the digital version of NKPRO already. 

best physics out there.

netkar is finally getting some of the recognition it deserves.  Hopefully this is a sign that AC will become a big success in the sim racing genre.  

Well… better late than never I guess.

cool news, but on the other hand, i think internet distribution is the way to go.

+1 for the visibility of what have become a *must own* simulator in the recent patches.

What about a demo of AC in the box to hype things up even more?

What’s the point if you need net connection anyway? May as well accept the fact that the good ole’ days of pop in a disk and go are over. I’m still trying to figure out how to hack my neighbor’s wifi so for me not all hope is lost perhaps. Monthy broadband charges?? NEVER!!!

NKP is still more realistic and better to drive than rf2. Fact. if you disagree, you are wrong – go and drive a race car and see. 

the question is this – why the hell is no one playing it? COME ON PEOPLE PLEASE BUY IT AND LETS HAVE SOME FUN ONLINE RACING. 

Would have preferred a release on Steam.

 its almost like saying ill wank off instead of geting myself a girl
i would love to walk into a store and get a copy
i like digital but i prefer physical way more

No doubt trying to raise more funds for AC development.  A good thing!

No problem. Let’s make a virtualr.net online meeting :-). I’ll be there.

Well, a CD / box version is great if you get some bonus with it. An extensive print manual, a poster or something like that… But if it’s just a plastic box with a CD / DVD inside – and nothing more, then there’s no difference between it and the downloaded *.exe installation file.

Straight up. I don’t buy boxed games ever anymore. Boxes take space and CDs get scratched.

With Steam I format the PC, install Steam and still have access to my whole library of games. At my mouse tip. ;-) 

To be honest, the main reason I don’t play it much these days except for hotlapping is because even after all the patching, the netcode is still pretty poor.  It isn’t broken any more, and you can certainly race, but not very closely, and the difference between racing NKP online and sims like iRacing and RF2 is like night and day.  Even on a good server with all solid pings (say, <75ms), the other cars are pretty warpy and jittery.

lots of us hate Steam.    

It would have got all the recognition it deserved had it not been released in such a broken state and then it’s developer disappearing. I pre-ordered netKar Pro and it was one of the worst sim racing purchases I ever made. What made it worse for netKar Pro customers was when Kunos did finally surface he was off chasing other projects like BRD and the Ferrari Academy while netKar Pro was still very broken. I had high hopes for the game when I pre-ordered it but was really left disappointed so while Assetto Corsa looks fantastic I’ll wait for reviews first.

I understand what ur saying.Im newer nkpro racer so i know these things from older players etc.
I think back then Kunos wanted to make steps forward,to take bigger projects as he was almost alone or with 2 people more..Im not saying that ur wrong,u were a customer.But now they wrote in the AC page that they learned from their mistakes and i think they mean mistakes like u wrote in ur post.
Also i dont think the support is equal with the product itself,support maybe was bad back then but the product is still a reference in the sim market so i think if some devs need support from us are definetely them,even if u had bad expeirences.We need those devs who make such realistic simulators.
Imagine if Kunos decide to go to the simarcade market or go to a big company!
It was maybe a risky choice to stay in the sim market and as indipendent.

Im not sure if ur wright,i mean nkpro hasnt visual damage but has mechanical damage so if u touch with another car u will have mechanical damage.Imagine if it had visual..i think u would see it in a diferent way.But yes i aggree of course that other netcodes are a lot better,but if u learn to drive fast with other cars in the same pace and going wheel to wheel,enjoying those physics and ffb,i think is something magical.

Thats the thing that makes netkar pro so aewsome.For example it has a bug if u make race in rain(sometimes).I dont care cause if u take the car in the rain and push it,while feeling in ur wheel when u loose grip and then gain it back and the car reacts like the real one,then u forgot everything,the feeling is absolutely aewsome!

But most people dont reach these things..They stuck on small things and dont pay attention to what is good in netkar pro,thats why there are no people online.If u want to feel all that join a league,practise to be in same pace with some cars and then after race when u fought for ur position u will end up thinking that u were real driver,i mean it.But these will happen if u put ur mind out of the small things that netkar pro isnt good ;)

Well,all of u that u feel like AeroMechanical,u will have a second chance…
When Assetto Corsa will be released,make sure to pay attention now to such things :D

(even though i dont think most people will do xD,i admit graphics look absolutely stunning :P)

Why?

Truth be told, I just bought NetKar PRO last night after a good month with the single car demo. I’m glad I did because at $18 US it’s totally worth it to feel the benchmark of the sim world. I hear rFactor’s “real feel” plugins and other mods can supposedly be better but I was never able to find the right combination. rFactor 2, even, is quite difficult to use for someone who didn’t use rFactor 1 much and the FFB needs work.

NetKar Pro? Load it up and drive. Everything from the steering ratio/lock, buttons, and pedals all seem to just work and the FFB is amazing from the jump.

I will absolutely buy Assetto Corsa when it’s available and I now have a benchmark for other sims to meet. The guys over at RSR say the current builds of AC are already better than NKP 1.3.

That being said, I highly doubt they’ll sell [NKP] much in stores. How many random people are going to pick up the game in a store and say “Yes, I do have a racing rig at home but I’ve never heard of this game!”.

Yeah…..I dunno about this.

How many people are going to buy a hardcore racing sim that has ZERO single player off the shelf?
I hope the announcement includes some surprises in terms of content, because as the game stands now a boxed version is simply not going to sell. As much as I love it to bits.

You don’t know the reasons?

First off, Steam is fine – if it’s available as a choice.     If people want to use it, great.   

The problem is if and when it becomes mandatory.    Choice is good, no choice is bad.

Steam uses resources otherwise better used by whatever application you’re using.  It force-feeds updates.  It removes user control.  It adds a wrapper layer.  It’s DRM.   It adds cost.  It’s an advertising portal.  It’s a sink for user-details, and makes the users vulnerable for that reason.  etc

I think the netcode’s pretty good now (in previous patches it was shockingly bad).  You can race mm’s apart, & tbh I see just as much warping etc. in iRacing, maybe even more.  Maybe server locations has something to do with this.

I’ll buy a copy just to support Kunos =) but I also hope it has some surprises in terms of content (hope more than expect).  Even a ghost car would increase the hot lapping appeal, but seeing as I paid less than 20 euro’s for a game which has kept me entertained for 3 years, I can’t really complain.

lol

Steam is the best invention after the net. :)

Steam uses resources: negligible
Force-feeds updates: updating is rather a good thing
It removes user control: ?
It adds a wrapper layer: who cares?
It’s DRM: less headache than many other softs
It adds cost: it has the best promotions on earth!
It’s an advertising portal: of course it tries to sell games…
It’s a sink for user-details: you aren’t force to tell your life to everyone.

Imagine it includes a demo for AC… huge :)

hmm nice idea ;)

If you like it, fine.   The point is, it shouldn’t be mandatory.

If Steam were merely a voluntary means by which people who are incapable of maintaining their software on their own could obtain updates etc, then it’d be fine.  However, that isn’t how it works.

Your personal positive view does not change the facts.

Then it would sell out :P

I am a steam user (big time) with over 110 titles in my games list right now and I have to agree with you.  What happens if steam goes tits-up?  I’m out hundreds of games and nearly $1,000 US.

You make a good point.  Most anything that “makes things easier” makes things a lot worse if it goes wrong.  It’s another layer of complexity – not always good.  Especially if it’s based on strict control – DRM for example.  However, I don’t think Steam disappearing overnight would be an especially severe case, except in the (very) short term.  There would be a hell of a shake-out but eventually most of the titles currently tied to Steam would re-emerge.   For one thing, if Steam suddenly disappeared you’d be entitled to use pirated versions – morally for sure, maybe even legally.   Where’s the EULA when one party has gone bankrupt and is incapable of fulfilling the terms and providing due consideration?   Anarchy would prevail again (not such a bad thing – some titles would be back up and running by alternative *and voluntary* means within hours) and capitalist publishers would obviously be keen to find alternatives asap.  So, I can’t see it as a real problem beyond a few days inconvenience.  But it does point to how large and central Steam (or rather its structure) has become – and why gamers’ interests are not best served by it being mandatory.
It’s sold as a benefit.  Sure – it has benefits.  But mandatory ones?  Well, I hate that principle and in terms of software engineering and running networks and communities it’s just dumb, against doctrine, and against the grain.    Freedom huh?    No – Steam is a corral – with big bouncers on the door.  I started online playing Quake 1 – it was so anarchic!   The need for a Steam-type affair was obvious……and gamespy made an initial effort at filling it. Then came Steam……and the PayWalls etc.  Boo.  Don’t get me wrong…..Steam is great if you want an XBoxLive type experience.   But beyond that there are real (and quite serious) issues with it.  It’s a paradigm – and not the only one.  There *are* all these other possibilities…..  :D

edited

They have said in the past that they would release a Patch that would remove authentication if Steam were to fail/go under.. and also have said that it is so large that it is highly unlikely to happen anytime soon, and would be a slow process either way with it being world wide and all. But if it ever happen they are prepared to release a anti-authentication patch and would put steam clients into a permanent offline mode.

All this stuff about steam is entirely moot.

I doubt this title would get on Steam even if they wanted it to.
It’s simply not good enough.

I found that on UIG Entertainment site:

Territories for offline distribution:
Australia
Germany (GSA territory)
France
Hungry
Italy
Poland
UK
USA

Partners for online distribution:
Amacon.com
Direct2Disc
Gamesload
Gamersgate
Metaboly
Steam
Wildtangent