Realism is setting back simracing
Simracing is a fascinating hobby. Its vast with plenty to do, many things to experience and many ways to experience it. If theres a hobby that could be disposable income made manifest like a succulent chinese meal, is this one. Though with all of the money being spent in top of the line, high tier equipment and the amount of flame wars in the comment sections of which simracing title is the best boy, theres always this thing at the back of my mind that never quite made sense about our ego measuring championship of a hobby. In reality, this is a video that I should have done a long while ago, and its probably is going to be my hottest take ever.
Get ready for it: Fuck Realism. You can yell at the screen now as much as you like, just dont forget to sub.
What Im saying is not what you think it is. Im not asking for “arcade or simcade handling”, if you stop here and take that conclusion from the video, It wont be correct. Regardless, this is conversation we really need to have in simracing. Urgently.
Anyways, lets take a step back. Im going to ask a question: which video do you think is the most important video ever made about simracing? Some review video, field of view setups to avoid the FOV police? The perfect run?
In my opinion, this is the one: reycevivks “I Love racing games, they suck”. Its a wonderful video released a few years back, go watch it, its amazing. In his video, he breaks down not only arcade racing games and how the genre is beyond stale, but also gripes with simracing titles and why its stale. Some of the criticism, actually most of the criticism, still stands today. If Raycevik can get it, why cant we?
Watching this video, which is in reality a documentary about the folly in simracing titles, but not only. Having watched some titles detonate live, and reading a lot of comments out there about simracing from non simracers and simracers alike, got me thinking. what is really the issue regarding simracing titles, why do they often times just feel clunky, like there was no love given to the user experience, so the user can experience some love and give it back to the sim, or something like that.
Well, after some thought I figured its something like this:
The mindless pursuit for ever more realistic physics, which most of the time dont really deliver anything substantially different or even improve the driving experience, at the expense of everything else that is required to make a title compelling to use, is setting back simracing.
Racing physics development is hard. It could be argued that those who develop these physics are not too far away from mad scientists or alchemists. Its time consuming, money consuming, it requires leaps in faith due to sometimes lack of correct information, and then at the end of the day every single part of the physics needs to work together to provide a coherent experience that is reasonably correct and accurate- now you may argue in the comments which sim has it best, and you really should because engagement helps a lot, but at the end of the day the law of the diminishing returns starts to kick in, and in this case, it probably has hit it collectively when baby shark was released. So, essentially its nice to have better physics, but does that really matter after a certain point?
In a previous video I have argued that iracing despite all its flaws, and it has so many of them, has the focus in just the right places to make up for its problems and keep having its community come back. Even though some of the issues can be quite race-breaking. Ive argued as well that LMU got better not because of the physics. But then again, the relentless pursuit of hyper-realistic physics has started to work against the very interests of sim racers and I believe the future of sim racing itself.
What I mean is, developers pouring countless hours into refining tire models, tweaking force feedback calculations, and simulating the most minuscule real-world driving dynamics probably is not the best use of times when other things may be needed . While realism is a key pillar of sim racing, this singular focus comes at a cost. Essential features that actually impact the user experience—such as UI improvements, stability, multiplayer reliability, and general quality-of-life updates—are often neglected or outright ignored.
How many times have players had to navigate outdated, slow or clunky interfaces just to start a race? How often do online races suffer from connection instability, desync issues, im looking at you iracing, or lack of proper matchmaking? These are problems that directly affect every single player, yet they often take a backseat in development because physics refinement (or new content) is prioritized above all else. Do we know sims like this?
When a game spends years perfecting its tire model but still lacks intuitive UI, a solid ranking system, or a bug-free experience, it alienates the very people it’s supposed to serve. Or at the very least gives a bad impression, often times the wrong one too, to possible newcomers looking into joining our expensive hobby.
This overemphasis on physics also raises the barrier to entry for new players. Instead of making sim racing more welcoming and engaging, it becomes an exclusive club for only the sweatyboys willing to overlook all the other shortcomings. Sim racing needs more than just perfect physics, it needs to be enjoyable, accessible, and functional. Having working software, in this economy?
At some point, developers need to ask: Who are they making these sims for? If the answer is the players in general, then it’s time to balance physics development with the improvements that actually enhance the overall experience. Otherwise, sim racing risks driving itself into a wall of its own making, because if you are making these sims to those just willing to go through the pitfalls of a good sim but not very good software, I suspect we are never going to have much more than what we have now as a hobby.
Ive always had this idea that if some supposedly hardcore simracing title recieved adapted gran turismo 7 physics, the hardcore fans would say it would be the best most accurate update ever. Even when are there are actual physics shortcomings, the “community” will always say its perfect now.
Ironically, much of this problem is fueled by the sim racing community itself. Hardcore enthusiasts often demand ever more precise and detailed physics, sometimes at the expense of broader gameplay improvements. Online discussions and forums frequently criticize any attempt to simplify or streamline aspects of a simracing title, reinforcing the idea that physics must always be the top priority, often attacking those that want some focus improving the user experience or stability. You know things that dont make us throw a keyboard at the screen out of sheer frustration. This creates a feedback loop where developers feel pressured to chase absolute realism, whatever that is, instead of delivering a well-rounded product because they think the community at large wants that. Its almost like a self inflicted wound.
The community-driven push for hyper-realism can also alienate newcomers, as experienced players champion complex physics as the ultimate measure of a sim’s quality. The result? A scene that can feel unwelcoming and overly technical, making it harder for casual players to find enjoyment because its incredibly hard to even get started let alone the rest of the bullshit that sometimes we need to endure. By fixating on the most minor physics details, the community sometimes overlooks the bigger picture—ensuring that sim racing remains a fun and sustainable genre for all not just a circlejerk for pretend race car drivers.
Of all simracing titles at the moment, the one I dislike to drive most intensely in the classes that I like to race the most, is iracing. And yet, its appeal its absolutely undeniable because part of the focus is to improve the user experience and game loop together, so they can focus and justify the other part which is take 15$ out of any piece of content. Remember, they do it because they can, theres really no competition. If they couldn't they wouldn't.
As a community, we can start by broadening our perspective on what makes a great sim racing experience, in reality we need to ignore super focused physics development for a bit because most sims do the sim and the race part of simracing. Fixing issues, sure.
We need to understand that first and foremost, simracing is software, and if the software part sucks, well nobody will care about it. Instead of demanding ever more complex physics, we should also advocate for improvements in usability, stability, and multiplayer features. Developers, in turn, should engage more with the wider player base to understand what truly enhances the experience beyond just realism. By understanding this, sim racing can continue to evolve beyond the bullshit of fixating in a racephysics arms race and actually start to become software that people want to engage in, and ultimately race on.
Simracing titles are games. Games are software. Dont make them frustrating to use.
Thank you for watching my TED talk
