Video game development is rarely about one man, but if it was, then Terence Groening should certainly get a mention for his contributions to the genre as the man responsible for the physics of Sportscar GT, EA’s PC F1 and NASCAR games of the early 2000’s, rFactor, rFactor 2 and every title and rFpro simulator that spawned from ISI’s engine.
This interview with RSC details his early life and career, through to him joining iRacing in 2021.
As a direct ancestor of iRacing, the ‘Grand Prix Legends engine’ had multiple stock car racing false starts, before eventually releasing as NASCAR Racing 4. The original NASCAR 3, cancelled and replaced by one that used NASCAR 2’s engine, is barely remembered.
Posting this item late due to sickness. Apologies for the gap in coverage (whole of February, 2024).
Along with their recently released Monster Energy Supercross content drop, Rainbow Studios also updated MX vs ATV Legends with a significant patch to fix input exploits, tweaks player assists, adds Split Screen to series mode and adds gear from Grindhouse Nova and Sanguaro. New bike graphics are also coming for 2023 Suzuki and Yamaha, Dunlop tires and much more.
Patch notes:
Gameplay
Replaced Pro-Physics in Gameplay Settings with 5 individual assist settings. Pitch, Yaw, and Roll assists can be adjusted along a sliding scale (0-100%). Wheelie and Stoppie assists can be toggled (On/Off).
Added Series mode to Split Screen play. Compete against a friend to score the most points and come out on top.
Fixed a bug which could cause the incorrect amount of MotoCoin to be awarded at the end of a Series.
Fixed the bugs causing the loss of specific controls between events. This issue primarily affected the Left Bumper (typically Clutch) and the D-Pad (Quick Look) controls.
Fixed bugs in First-Person camera caused by rider head and body animation.
Fixed a bug in First-Person camera which caused the camera to move to the right when leaning back.
Fixed a bug which could result in save data loss when exiting an Online event at a specific time during the end of race.UI
Improved readability of Personal Results by increasing font sizes, especially in Split Screen.
Added Tool-tips to Gameplay Settings to provide information about each setting and how it behaves when adjusted. Includes tool-tips for Gyro, Scrubs, and the new Assists.
Changed the Version filter to the Timeframe filter and added new leaderboard options. Season 3 will display the best records of this season. Current Patch will display the best records set on the current version of the game; it will be reset each patch. Season 2 will display the best records up until the release of Season 3. All-Time will continue to display the best records ever recorded.
Updated Series menus. Changed the progress icons, updated the UI elements for readability, and fixed navigation bugs.
Added a Final Series Results screen to the Post-Race Results menus so finish position, points totals, and rewards can be clearly seen.
Fixed a bug causing the incorrect settings to be displayed when resetting the Gameplay Settings to default.
Added Player labels to Vehicle Selection menu during Split Screen event setup to indicate which player is actively selecting a vehicle.
Disabled Preload and Seatbounce HUD elements when using a UTV.
Updated Title Screen and Loading Screen art.
Fixed various minor bugs and inconsistencies across the UI to improve appearance and uniformity.DLC
Updated data for the release of the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship DLC. Rounds 1-7 will be available on release. Rounds 9-17 will be released each Tuesday before the weekend of the race event. This DLC will not contain Round 8 at Daytona.
Changed existing 2023 Honda bikes to 2023/2024 year-model. Owners of the 2023 Honda pack DLC will gain access to the 2024 HRC graphic kit, and 2024 HRC Fox Flexair team jersey and pants.Online
Fixed a bug which could cause a short Best Lap time to be recorded when playing online.
Revived the Spectator HUD with accurate tracking of player positions and other improvements.Customization
Fixed number plate colors and improved visual fidelity of number plates on most MX bikes.
Fixed issue preventing some suspension parts from being visible on all ATVs.
Fixed issue causing colors of THQN vehicles to be incorrect when viewed initially.
Added new FastHouse Grindhouse gear in Nova and Sanguaro styles. Each set includes jerseys, pants, and gloves in standard and custom color.
Added new Rival Ink Rush graphic kits to 2023 Suzuki MX bikes.
Added new Back Yard Design Ice graphic kits to 2023 Yamaha MX bikes.
Added FMF 50th Anniversary Edition exhausts to all MX bikes and ATVs. Powercore 2.1 for two-strokes and Factory 4.1 for 4-strokes.
Added variant Dunlop tires with colored sidewall logos for MX bikes.
Added more Renthal Half-Waffle Grips in more color variants and custom color.
Added KYB suspension parts for all MX bikes.
Added a custom color Thrill Seekers seat to all MX bikes.Physics
Implemented changes to rider elevation “lurch” mechanic to disincentivize input spamming. The effectiveness of a lurch is determined by the relative position and velocity of the bike. Additionally, the effectiveness of subsequent lurches are progressively reduced until the bike transitions from air to ground or back. This results in converting the spamming advantage into a timing-based advantage which penalizes triggering too early/late and rewards careful/considered use.
Increased the thresholds for near-wrecks during lateral slides to reduce the occurrences of wrecks and near-wrecks when sliding through a turn or sliding into a rut hookup. Also removed the steering near-wreck penalty triggered by a sliding near-wreck.
Improved whoops physics by maintaining constant pitch torque on the rear tire when leaning back while not in a wheelie. This makes it much easier to keep the front of the bike up when skipping whoops and leaning back.
Fixed a bug which caused excessive forces to be applied when playing at >60fps.Animation
Reduced the distance the rider is thrown from the bike during big wrecks.
Improved the cornering animations by sitting the rider more upright the more the bike leans into a slide, giving the appearance that the rider is counter-steering a power-slide. The Rider will still lean with the bike when not in a sideways slide, like when railing inside ruts.
Added animations for rider elevation lurch. While pushing down, the rider pushes the bike down and will stiffen/extend their legs to get the bike as far down as possible. While pulling up, the rider will pull the bike up into themself until nearly sitting on it.
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