2020 Season 3 Build Coming Next Week!
May 28th, 2020 by Chris Leone
May is about to turn over to June, and you know what that means: time for a new build! We may have dropped North Wilkesboro Speedway a few weeks early, but that doesn’t mean this won’t be one of the most exciting builds in quite some time. Here’s everything you have to look forward to:
1987 Cars: The highly anticipated Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Ford Thunderbird from the 1987 NASCAR Cup Series make their debut on iRacing next week. Raced by Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott to first and second in points with a combined 17 of 29 victories and the all-time NASCAR speed record, they’ll be part of the new NASCAR Legends Series.
Ford F-150: Get behind the wheel of Ford’s entry in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series for the first time and see if you’ve got what it takes to win in Class C competition!
Road Course Racers: Work your way up the Road to Indy ladder with the first two cars in the path to the NTT IndyCar Series, the USF-17 (used in US F2000) and the PM-18 (used in Indy Pro 2000). If GT racing is more your speed, never fear: the BMW M4 GT4 makes its debut in the iRacing IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Track Updates: The reconfigured Kentucky Speedway, reflecting the circuit’s most recent reconfiguration, will be made available free of charge to all members who own the current Kentucky layout. In addition, be sure to hit the track at Road America to check out its extensive art updates!
Race Control Updates: Starting with Season 3, limited tire sets will be the new rule in multiple official series, as well as available for selection in Hosted and League events. In addition, be on the lookout for other race control updates, including shorter cautions on superspeedways and drive-through penalties.
Tire and Damage Model Updates: Seven more cars, including the NASCAR Cup Series cars and Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, will be utilizing iRacing’s New Damage Model, which now features multi-threaded processing. Stock cars, trucks, and selected road cars have also received tire updates.
Audio Updates: Our latest build takes iRacing’s audio systems to the next level, with the long-awaited integration of XAudio2 API, iRacing’s new sound system. Over the coming months, expect new and improved sounds as we work to take advantage of its capabilities. You’ll be able to switch to XAudio2 API from the Direct Sound system under the Options menu.
Visual Updates: Our new auto-exposure camera system and camera shakes are part of a slate of multiple graphics improvements. Cameras now automatically adjust their exposure based on the image they’re capturing, while camera shake effects are available for static and mounted cameras. The auto-exposure camera system only works with HDR rendering enabled.
AI: Four new cars and eight new tracks have been unlocked for AI competition, including both new Road to Indy cars, the BMW M4 GT4, five NASCAR Cup Series tracks, and more.
Beta UI: Multiple performance and interface improvements to Beta UI are available, including a new race start-up loading system and screen that shows loading progress.
Be sure to check the Release Notes for the full slate of updates!