I have been racing online in leagues for over 5 years. I have racked up countless hours and laps on every type of track and in many racing discipline. By far, NASCAR Racing 2003 is where I have spent the majority of my time while behind my virtual steering wheel. Sim racing, to me, seems to be a somewhat underground community that the average person is not that aware of. Once you dive in though, you’ll find plenty of content and resources available from enthusiasts all over the globe. NASCAR Racing 2003 has kept the largest number of active drivers to race with over the years but the game is 6 years old and its age is showing. In comparison to what is available now, NASCAR Racing 2003 just doesn’t have the feel of a simulation to me anymore. I won’t disagree that there has not been a decent oval racing game since NASCAR Racing 2003. We can thank EA Sports for convincing NASCAR to sell them sole rights to the brand name. If you watch stock car racing and see a driver start to lose it, then pull off a save and drive away, you will be sadly disappointed when you try to simulate that in NASCAR Racing 2003. Now that the EA Sports / NASCAR friendship is broken, the opportunity exists for an upgrade to the oval racing sim world. Enter iRacing:

Online gaming is ever evolving. Online interaction is ever evolving. Social networks are ever evolving. Blizzard proved to the world that gamers are willing to pay subscriptions to play if the interaction and content is worth it. So how improve the sim racing world? Step one is to make a really good game. Dave Kaemmer was the co-founder of Papyrus Design Group, the company responsible for both Grand Prix Legends and NASCAR Racing 2003. Papyrus shut its doors, ending the “new year | new game” title NASCAR Racing. Without a doubt, those two titles were good enough to live long past the normal life span of any video game. In 2004, Kaemmer joined forces with John Henry to create iRacing. Henrey is the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Sports Group and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. In August of 2008, iRacing opened its doors to the public and has had 16,000 members join since then. They have the experience and passion to create the next big thing in the sim racing world. If you have any interest in sim racing, I recommend you take the time to read about the technology for car and track modeling iRacing uses. It is very interesting.

I have been backing iRacing’s concept and vision for a long time and I have been very interested in getting involved. There is no “game” to buy in the case of iRacing. You pay for a monthly subscription that includes the software and updates. The subscription includes 3 cars and 7 tracks, with a total of 14 track variations. This is everything needed for racing in the rookie series available to newcomers. They have much more to offer, but you have to pay a onetime fee for additional cars and tracks to make them permanently available on your account. In my opinion, this is a great concept for pricing but can produce a lot of expenses if you are interested in trying out all the racing options available. If you think about it, titles like Madden (EA Sports) sell a new game every year for $60. All you are getting is a new roster, slightly improved game play and a few new features. Essentially, what you are paying for is an entire game, year after year. Both the Xbox and Playstation 3 support downloadable content, why not offer content updates instead of full price for a few changes. I like iRacing’s concept but there was no way I was going to pay the original price structure iRacing was using. On October 15th, iRacing announced a drastic price drop to all of their current prices for subscriptions and add-on content. It still is not a cheap adventure but I decided it was worth a three month trial to see how it all worked. The subscription fee is not bad but since I enjoy all types of racing, the add-on content is the part I think is still too expensive.

I felt pretty clueless as to what I was getting myself in to. I understood their concept of obtaining licenses and having to have specific ratings to race in a specific series. You are expected to work your way up by proving you are a competent driver. I really wasn’t sure what the user interface was going to be like or how the events would be structured. I am currently in the rookie series for oval racing. I am racing a 5/8th scale 1930′s style NASCAR modified truck with a Yahama 1250cc motorcycle engine. A schedule runs on a weekly basis. So this week, my series has one track assigned for the week. At any time you have the option to practice, qualify, race or do time trials. There are typically multiple practice sessions going on all the time available for you to join and it is just that, practice. Qualifying occurs at a quarter till the hour. You can qualify as often as you like and the fastest time you post during the week will be your qualifying time for every race you join during the week. You don’t have to qualify before each race so if you can post a good time at the start of the week, you can spend the rest of the week racing. Each race occurs on the hour. The important thing with races, there must be enough drivers in the race for it to be an “official” race and count towards your ratings. As long as you are playing during normal hours, I do not see that being an issue. During races is when you need to worry about your driving because your driver ratings will be adjusted based on the cleanliness and skill of your driving. Every series can have different set of rules but this is how my rookie series works. I wasn’t sure about this structure when I first saw how it worked, but after my first evening of racing, I really enjoyed it. I am not sure how everything works yet. There are clubs, divisions and overall point totals that I have not looked in depth at. Right now I am focusing on racing. If you enjoy racing for the race, this is fun. You don’t have to commit to race on a specific night or at a specific time. You can practice as much or as little as you like. If you miss one race, you can jump in to the next scheduled race. I am looking forward to moving up the ranks for the next three months and see how things change once pit strategy and setups come in to play.

There are some things about iRacing that I hope they improve. Previously, you had no way to host a league in iRacing and you are not able to run your own iRacing server. I am not sure if you even have a way to race with a friend during a public race. My races have had way more drivers join the race session than were available spots on the grid. The iRacing system automatically splits that pool up in to the correct size of races and places drivers together with similar ratings in an effort to keep the racing exciting for everyone involved. If you add someone as a friend, it mentions your likelihood to race with them is better but I would assume you’d need to be at about the same level. Private race sessions were just announced at a cost of $3 per race. If you really wanted to run a private league in iRacing it is at least possible now. If a friend is racing in the same session, I want to race with my friend regardless of the ratings. I am also not impressed with their idea of customization. In sim racing, your car and your number becomes your identity. When you enter a session, you are randomly assigned a different number each time. I would appreciate the ability to select up to 3 numbers and have the system attempt to assign me one of those numbers. If none of them are available for that session, then assign me a random number. Drivers would have to understand if they pick 24, 48 and 88 there is a slim chance of getting your number but most drivers should be able to find one number that is not overly popular in professional racing. The car customization consists of picking a predesigned base scheme, modify the three colors that make up the scheme, picking your random number’s font, and adding optional logos. Your logo options are either iRacing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. related, or the logo for the region you live in. I would love to see this drastically improved but for now, it is not likely to see two of the same cars on the track. These items do not take away from the racing but they would significantly add to the experience.

If you are interested in sim racing I highly recommend you give iRacing a try for three months. So far, I am greatly pleased with almost every aspect of the service and its execution. If you opt to sign up and don’t have a referral, I will gladly supply you with my email address and would be very appreciative of anyone using me as a referral. I have completed four races so far and was very excited to grab a 2nd place finish in my forth race. I have had some close calls and a roll down the front stretch; those are the things that keep online racing exciting. If you have a bad race, you can always hop in to the next session and try again. Enjoy the clips from my first three races. I am driving the red truck with the black fenders. In case you were wondering, I still got 7th after the tumble down the front stretch.

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After a small bout with winter, fall has finally arrived. The leaves are changing colors and the weather is comfortable again. I was beginning to think we were not even going to have fall this year. With the arrival of fall comes Halloween. A nice thing about having a little one being a part of your life, you get to do fun things that normally you would not do. Last Sunday, Cece and I took Sandy to the Roca Berry Farm’s Pumpkin Patchfor an afternoon of fun and hunting for the perfect pumpkins. This was the first time I had ever been to the Roca Berry Farm but Cece and Sandy had been there in past years. There were a lot of activities for the little kids. We walked around the giant Candy Land game and then Sandy wanted to ride the Roca Berry Express.

Wandering through the pumpkin patch at Roca Berry Farm, these pumpkins looked like they needed a little attention to hold them over until Halloween.

I opted to wander around the pumpkin patch and take some pictures. I tend to take the best pictures when I am not under pressure of other people. I really wish I could photograph people better but it seems the do not ever meet my standards. After the girls were done with their train ride, we wondered over to catch the last pig races of the day. The pig races were pretty humorous actually. How can you not be amused by a bunch of kids yelling “Soo-Ee” until they are red in the face? Then we went through some of the Haunted Barns. Sandy braved the Haunted Castle so she decided she wanted to go through the big Haunted Manor… that did not go quite as well. Even though Sandy decided to make use of an emergency exit at the Haunted Manor, she wanted to go through the kid’s themed Haunted Barn still. Afterward, we hopped on the hayrack ride out to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. Carrying around pumpkins for a long time gets tiring but I think we all found some good pumpkins for carving. Although… one of my pumpkins may actually be a squash according to the lady at the cash register. If it is a squash, apparently it is one of the biggest ones she has seen.

Image courtesy of www.omahaperformingarts.org

Now that summer is officially over, I appreciate not having every weekend on my calendar full for the entire weekend. Even when I do have plans, it is usually only part of the weekend. Next weekend, Cece and I are off to the symphony. That is not 100% accurate actually. Imagine the original Phantom of the Opera (1925) silent film with the Omaha Symphony playing a spooky soundtrack in sync with the movie (event information). Back during my younger days, I took a trip to Minnesota for some band function and I remember we ate at a dinner theater and they performed Phantom of the Opera. I really enjoyed it and have always wanted to have the chance to see something similar again. I realize this will not be exactly the same but I thinking it will be equally entertaining. Additionally, the Holland Center looks to be a pretty amazing venue with a modern touch. There is also a nearby restaurant I have wanted to take Cece to for awhile so I thought I would throw in a little surprise for the evening. Great food, a classic film and wonderful music should make for a perfect evening.

Everything else in life is pretty normal. Work is always busy and there is always something to do at the house. I am still trying to get everything outside prepared for winter. It sounds like we may be having a little Halloween get together so I need to work on a costume. I am really looking forward to making and freezing some big batches of Chili for the winter. Remember that blog post about my horrible racing season? Since then, I have missed one race and finished three laps of the next race. I am really enjoying my racing games on the 360 lately and the wheel stand project has only made it more enjoyable. I also am considering a different venue for my online racing leagues because I just have lost interest and patience for my current league. I really feel iRacing is going to be the next big thing in the online sim racing world and now that they dropped their prices I think it is time for me to give it a try. I still think some of the pricing for the add-on content is too high, but maybe it will be worth it.

Everyone enjoy the decent weather… before it is gone.

Early last week, the Lincoln Journal Star posted an article regarding a new arena for Lincoln and the new proposed taxes that will be used to pay for this arena (additional article). Lincoln has been crying out for a new arena for a long time because the Pershing Center is apparently too old. Honestly, I have no problems with the age of the Pershing Center and I think it is still a good venue. The age of the Pershing Center does show when you compare it to the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. The problem I do have with the Pershing Center is the events they get, or it may be better to say the lack of events. My first question regarding a new arena for Lincoln would be why Lincoln is not getting events at the Pershing Center in comparison to the Mid-America Center. Is the arena too old for bands to want to come to Lincoln or is something else preventing bands from coming to Lincoln? Granted, an arena can be used for much more than concerts but that is primarily what I go to arenas for, so that is what I am focusing on. The last concert I went to at the Pershing Center was Evanescence with Julian-K and Sick Puppies. At the time, Sick Puppies was not even popular enough for the average person to know who they were and Julian-K hadn’t even release a CD yet. I can understand the Pershing Center not selling out for this show but the floor was probably only about 30 people deep, which was just sad. The Evanescence show at the Mid-America Center was close to sold out. If a new arena is just going to be used for UNL sports and our concert scene is still going to be pitiful, I will feel like the University pulled a fast one over on the city and then kicked the taxes payers to the curb. So, what is the real reason for such a pitiful concert scene in Lincoln?

One of the biggest complaints about the new arena is paying the additional taxes. They proposed a 4% tax on hotels and rental cars and a 2% tax on restaurants and bars. I enjoy going out a few times a week, so paying an additional 2% at restaurants and bars is not something I am happy about, but I realize the city needs to pay for the arena somehow. Omaha and Grand Island already have similar taxes to pay for projects to boost entertainment in their cities. These kinds of taxes are not unheard of by any means. The amusing part, some people seem to think they should not have to pay for an arena they never plan to use. Sports, concerts, kid’s events, and “giant liquidation” sales… I am sorry your life is so boring you will never attend anything hosted at an arena. If you never plan to attend anything at the new proposed arena, you should at least look outside of the tiny box you live in. Most people in Lincoln probably do not have to worry much about the additional taxes on hotels and rental cars; unless your spouse kicks you out of the house and takes your car. The tax at restaurants and bars is likely going to hurt the staff more than anything. I assume people will likely cut back on their gratuity to make up the 2% difference. The bigger picture, events draw people to the city and those people spend money. This creates additional revenue from shopping, dining, drinking, and paying our city’s taxes. It is not required to attend an event at the arena to benefit from the addition to the city. Plus, when the city decides to build the “Museum of Boring and Whiney People”, the rest of us will be too busy enjoying the arena to complain about it.

Another compliant revolved around the idea that the people of Lincoln will travel to Omaha but the people of Omaha will not travel to Lincoln. There is probably a lot of truth to that statement, but last I checked Lincoln and Omaha were not the only place where people reside in the state of Nebraska. People will travel to see the events they want to see. I personally have traveled to Kansas City and Denver just to see a specific concert. I think I need to explain something at this point to those that do not keep up with concerts. Bands do multiple tours. Bands are interested in making money. The average person is not going to pay to see the same band, at the same venue, on the same tour, more than one time. In the last three years I can think at least four bands I have seen four times in this area. None of these bands played the same venue more than twice. If they did play a venue twice, it was because one instance was festival they were involved in. It is common for a band to cross the US multiple times and they will hit our area multiple times if we provide them a place to play and an audience to attend. The Qwest Center is a nice venue but it is expensive. I have only been to the Qwest Center twice and I have seen well over 50 shows. Personally, I do not even consider it a viable option for most concerts I am willing to attend. The Qwest Center hosts very big names with fairly expensive ticket prices. If I was a country music fan, the Qwest Center would be about my only option for seeing a show. I realize country music is big in Nebraska, but country music is not the only music people enjoy in Nebraska. So, the proposed arena is going to be competing with the Mid-America Center for the most part, which is not even in Nebraska. Why would we want to keep pushing events across the river?

Lincoln seems to want to keep its “big city with small town charm”, but does that mean we need to prevent all growth? Taxes are required and they are not going away. I would be interested in seeing the projected taxes if we opted to find a different location for the arena. I understand the appeal of the Hay Market but spending $350 million to move the railroad tracks seems like an unneeded expense when so many areas of Lincoln are growing. I assume that area seems like a good place for the city so they can opt to charge for parking versus free parking. I also assume the University wants the arena as close to home as possible. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I am sure many people disagree with my opinion. I am just hopefully for a positive outcome and a new arena, especially if it draws better events to Lincoln.