Hey everyone,

I want to address some of the rumours and accusations that have been circulating in our community recently. We are proud to say that all content and libraries used for the production of RENNSPORT are created by us, commissioned, or licensed appropriately.

RENNSPORT as an ecosystem is designed to be modular, where best-in-class solutions are available we would be remiss to avoid them. This is why we use Unreal Engine and some of our in-game content is licensed on commission, such as laser scans for our tracks and several other parts of our ecosystem. It is our desire to work with external partners for the lifetime of the project, so this has always been a core value for us.

Our current technical direction is to first improve what we can with state-of-the-art technology and if we find fundamental limitations, we rewrite it. One example of this methodology is already apparent in our network replication implementation. There are also cases where we have intentionally chosen compatibility and thus will have some code that resembles other software. For example, our simulator supports exporting MoTeC Telemetry. At some point, there is only one way to implement a particular format and you will inevitably have similar code to serialise data that every other implementation also contains. There are, no doubt, countless other examples of software that is used in developing software such as this. In our case, we also use licensed software such as FMOD for audio, and Sentry for crash collection. Unreal Engine itself is a licensed technology, and so on.

Creating a really good product requires using really good technologies, not all good technology is technology that you create.

In the end, we want RENNSPORT to feel like RENNSPORT, and we are tweaking, changing, and refining the systems all the time. When we do physics implementations in the game, we work closely with the different car manufacturers and their car-specific data to ensure that every car in RENNSPORT feels unique and represents its real-life counterpart. That combined with our own interpretations of what digital racing is, and the direct input from esports drivers and real-life drivers will let us push further and further forward, and evolve the racing genre.

Morris Hebecker

CEO & co-founder

Hey racers, 

Before we begin, let me introduce myself, my name is Kim and I work within the communications department at RENNSPORT. As an avid gamer and sim racer since a very young age, I am very excited about what we’re building here; expect to hear more from me in the future.

Now that we have the Closed Beta running and the game is in more than 8 people’s hands, we thought it would be time to start doing regular updates on the game’s development here on the website.

Welcome to UNDER THE HOOD!

We’re looking at this as a monthly deep dive into what is happening in the RENNSPORT world.  Now, let’s dive into the juicy parts.

First and foremost, to read the latest patch notes, click here.

Second, did you watch our Closed Beta Trailer yet? Here it is. Enjoy.

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Today we will talk about the following:

• RENNSPORT Rating
• Safety Rating
• Split System
• Race Calendar
• The RENNSPORT Summit 2023
• 8ETA

The first update to the RENNSPORT Closed Beta is here, and it introduces multiplayer and our ranking system. During the Closed Beta period, we can test our systems in the wild and welcome all your feedback. The multiplayer sessions available now are a chance for us to monitor and for you to try out our systems. Let’s all have some fun together

As a part of this fun, any mileage you put into the car you picked when you first registered will be saved in your account, in the beta and beyond. You can also access any liveries you collected via stream drops or other activities to differentiate yourself from others.

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RENNSPORT Rating (RR)

Let’s start with the RENNSPORT Rating. This is our ranking system for players. Everyone in the Closed Beta starts at RR 1500 and will increase or decrease based on your race results. Higher rating = a better racer. At least this is the ambition, but remember that this is still a Closed Beta, and several systems are still subject to change.

The rating is based on the Elo system from chess and is designed to bring players of similar skill together in a race. It is purely based on the race results. Winning against higher-rated players will award more points than winning against lower-rated players. As a rule of thumb, you can expect to gain a rating if you finish in the top half of the leaderboard, although there are some edge cases where this is not the case. Generally, the higher you finish, the more rating points you will gain.

If the race cannot be completed because of a technical issue on the server side, ratings are not updated. However, if a client disconnects during a race, the rating will still be updated based on the final leaderboard.

There will be unranked races during the beta at a later stage, which do not affect the RR.

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Safety Rating (SR)

The second rating we have in the game is the Safety Rating. It indicates a player’s race craft and will increase or decrease based on how safe a driver’s racing style is. Everyone starts at SR 1.00. Getting penalties and being involved in incidents will lower the rating, while driving a clean race will increase it. 

We are testing these systems during the beta to ensure they work the way we intend, and we might reset the values at any given time. The ratings will also be reset when the beta ends and RENNSPORT moves into full release.

SR and RR will only be updated if at least three cars participate in a race.

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Race Calendar

When multiplayer gets added, you will have direct access to the race calendar, where you can find the multiplayer contests set up by our team. There will be various races every day at a fixed time interval. Every week there will be a set of new combinations of tracks and cars to choose from. Let’s dig into what everything on this screen means:

On the top left, you have the calendar; click on any day to see what races are available. On the bottom left, you can filter out the race you want based on cars and rules. In the middle box, you see the races coming up in chronological order, how many people have already registered,  what the format is (P=Practice, Q=Qualifying, R=Race), and what track it is. You have a summary of the selected race in the box to the right. 

If you want to be notified when a race is about to start if you’re practising that last sector at Spa (like I need to do every single day), you can enable the notification by pressing the “Notify Me” button in the lower right corner but, don’t forget to register as well which you can do 30 minutes before the race starts.

You can also see races on the RENNSPORT app and choose to get notified before the race start directly in the app.

There are more things that the app is usable for, like checking in your car collection, liveries, and upcoming ESL R1 streams. To download, use the links:

For the first week, there will be races on four tracks, Monza, Spa, Hockenheim and Nürburgring, with the following GT3 cars: Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW. There will be a new race every 30 minutes. To be eligible to join a race, you must register within the race calendar. There will be some differences in these races, like qualifying rules and race length, and we would appreciate your feedback on which combinations you liked the most and what you would like to see in the coming weeks.

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Split System

After the contest registration period has ended, the grid is separated into splits based on each driver’s RR. For each split, the driver with the highest rating is assigned car number 1; the second highest is given number 2. Soon we will also enable you to create your contests in the game with the parameters and cars you want, but more on that in the coming weeks. 

All in all, this is a beta; we are still testing, and we want you to try with us. Join the multiplayer sessions with an open mind and have fun with other eager races, and don’t forget to give us your feedback on the official RENNSPORT Discord. 

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Summit Report

Oh boy. The RENNSPORT Summit 2023 was mad! We officially showed off the Closed Beta Trailer, we had CEO Morris on stage talking about RENNSPORT (did you see the parts about modding yet?), and we had a spectacular ending to the Spring Season of ESL R1 with Marcell Csincsik of R8G crowned as the first-ever champion of ESL R1. It was great to see so many community members coming to Munich to participate in it and all the conversations happening online. We also let some of the sim racing content creators out there have a go at the latest build of the game which resulted in great content and reactions; here are a few for you to enjoy:

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More than 8 Closed Beta Keys

As the week progress, we’re sending out more and more keys to the closed beta, and while we won’t share just yet how many keys are floating about in the wild, we are coming up to 60,000 (!) registrations to go through, so bear with us while we increase our capacity. If you’re not already on the waiting list, register here . We know the memes. We know we’re now forever tied to the number 8 (which accidentally also is our company logo). We have sent more than 8 closed beta keys out, we promise. The official RENNSPORT Discord had a blast, and so did we. Here are some of our favorite memes…

As a result of this, we have something special coming up… Let me be the first to show you. 8ETA.

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A track. That is an 8. Like the 8 Beta keys? 8ETA? Pretty wild, huh? When and if you can play this, we will share more news in the future.

This wraps up the first UNDER THE HOOD, and I hope you enjoyed it and that some of your questions have been answered in what to expect with the next beta update. Next time we will talk about the upcoming steps of the beta and dive into the topic of modding a bit more. If you still need more, jump in on our Discord channel, be greeted by our superb moderators, and share some conversations with the best memers in the world; looking at you, Wolf of no Key…

As a final note, please note that if you’re on the lower spectrum of our recommended hardware, perfomance might be different driving in multiplayer compared to single player. If this is the case for you, adjust your settings in the in-game menu to have a smoother experience.

So there it is, multiplayer is now live and we hope you will have fun with it. And, let me repeat myself, this is a beta, expect some parts to not work as intended and be vocal with your feedback on our Discord!

Until next time drivers, see you online.

Kim

The time has finally come to distribute access keys! Community members who are on the waitlist should check their inboxes if they are among the ones who got a key during this drop.

You may have already heard the big news over the weekend. In case you didn’t – are you ready for some big news?
 
Today is the day you have been waiting for patiently! It is finally time to start handing out Closed Beta keys for RENNSPORT! As promised for months, a spot on the Closed Beta waitlist was worth it. Over the next weeks, Closed Beta codes will be sent out to the wait list, keep an eye on your inbox for more information. 

This is how the distribution works

50% of the available keys will be distributed among the first ones that signed up to the waitlist. The other 50% of the key drop will be distributed to randomly chosen members of the whole waitlist. If you don’t receive a key right away you don’t need to worry as we are increasing the capacity in the upcoming weeks. 

You are not already signed up? Make sure to secure your spot and get a chance to receive a key with the next drop. Furthermore, it is also a good idea to already put RENNSPORT to your Epic Store wishlist.

During the second RENNSPORT Summit last weekend, our CEO Morris Hebecker presented the official trailer for the Closed Beta. We can’t stop watching it and still get goosebumps when we do. We let it speak for itself – make sure to check it out.

WHAT TO EXPECT

We will add more features over time during the next weeks and months, so please be aware that when you start racing not all of the features, cars and tracks will be unlocked immediately. Currently, you can experience the following:  

• Game Mode: Single player
• Cars: Porsche 911 GT3 R, BMW M4 GT3, Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II, Mercedes-AMG GT3
• Race tracks: Hockenheim Ring, Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, Autodromo Nazionale Monza

Since the simulation is still in an early development phase, we want to make you aware that the Closed Beta is not the final product so some errors might appear while playing it. However, you are ALLOWED to publish in-game footage or any other content of the RENNSPORT Closed Beta.

We have a dedicated Closed Beta tester area on our Discord for all people who have received a key. Our development team is keen on proceeding with the valuable exchange about your impressions on there. We are happy to enter this exciting next chapter and are excited to create the future of virtual racing together!

More information coming soon!

For the first time ever, you will have the chance to celebrate this major milestone together with us live on-site. Tickets are now available for free!

The RENNSPORT Summit returns to Munich, with the Motorworld hosting the second edition of this thrilling virtual racing event on June 3 and 4. For the first time ever, you have the chance to experience this event live on-site. Secure a ticket for you and a friend now at summit.rennsport.gg.

HOW TO GET IN?

Enter the code “SUMMIT23” and follow the registration process to block your ticket and to join us for an unforgettable weekend. A confirmation mail will be sent one week before the event, ensuring you and your friend are ready to go. As the event draws near, anticipation builds, and all eyes turn to Munich for an incredible weekend of virtual racing action.

The official press release can be found at the end of the article.

Here’s what you can expect: Gain first-hand impressions of the latest version of RENNSPORT and test your skills on one of the professional sim rigs sponsored by our partner VRS inside the venue. Quick participants also stand a chance to win a €250 voucher from VRS and enjoy a free one-month trial of the virtual racing school. Additionally, meet well-known content creators from the virtual racing world and have a chat with them. Capture the moment at our photowall, with a professional photographer ready to take images of you and your mate in the best angles.

SCHEDULE   

Saturday: 

11 am: Location Opens 

12 pm – 8 pm: ESL R1 Races   

Sunday:  

11 am: Location Opens 

12 pm – 8 pm: ESL R1 

WHAT MORE TO EXPECT?

The RENNSPORT Summit will also provide updates on upcoming car and track releases, future developments, and innovative features within the sim. It’s an important weekend where we share our progress with the community.

If you’re from Munich, you’re likely familiar with the incredible venue hosting the Summit. Motorworld Munich is a Mecca for motorsports enthusiasts, showcasing a collection of historic and new cars from renowned brands. The venue exudes the racing adrenaline that motorsport fans adore.

To get a taste of last year’s atmosphere, check out the official aftermovie.

“The RENNSPORT Summit is gearing up for its highly anticipated second edition, and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate it with you. Our goal is to bring together the world’s best drivers, our passionate community, and provide an immersive experience that celebrates the thrilling world of virtual racing,” said Morris Hebecker, CEO of RENNSPORT. “Hosting this event in Munich, a city that embodies our roots and serves as our headquarters, allows us to showcase thrilling races, engaging activities, and forge stronger connections within our community.”

If the excitement hasn’t grabbed you yet, fasten your seatbelt because this year, our esports racing series ESL R1 will feature its first Major of the season during the summit. Get ready for lights, camera, and action as our partner ESL sets the stage to host the finals of ESL R1. Two action-packed days of racing await you, where you can enjoy all the races in the venue and cheer for your favorite teams and drivers. Watch the world’s top racers battle it out for a chance to win a share of the €225,000 prize pool. Expect fierce competition and intense battles on the virtual racetracks. This video will help you to fresh up your knowledge around the ESL R1 Spring Season:

This high-stakes racing action adds another exciting dimension to the RENNSPORT Summit, further solidifying our commitment to bringing all relevant stakeholders of virtual racing together on one platform.

The RENNSPORT Summit is a must-attend event for virtual racing enthusiasts, industry professionals, and gaming enthusiasts alike. So, make sure to grab your FREE tickets now and bring your friends along for this incredible experience.

For more information about the RENNSPORT Summit and to stay up to date with the latest news and announcements, be sure to follow us on our social media channels. Don’t miss out on any of the exciting updates leading up to the event.

More than 10k international members joined the server already.

We are super glad about what has happened on our Discord server so far. Thank you all for the great support and valuable exchange!

Community management has undergone a real transformation in recent years due to the growing interest in games and Esports. Discord as the most used platform offers us as a publisher many opportunities to interact with you. This is a very powerful and helpful option that allows us to get first-hand impressions of what sim racing fans really care about. Since we made our Discord server public, we’ve seen a steady increase in members. By signing up for the Closed Beta waiting list, you became part of our Closed Beta waiting room on Discord, where we constantly interacted with you ever since. Our development team can incorporate your input into the development process. It’s great to see how active you all are when it comes to various polls or discussions about features of the sim.

Going along with our claim of creating the future of virtual racing together with you we hosted our first ever Discord Talking Session on Friday, October 28. During that our CEO Morris sat down with our Lead of Game Development, Krzysztof, and Lucas from the Marketing Team to give you some insights about the current development phase, previews to the Closed Beta and further content releases. They also answered some frequently asked questions of the Discord community. But as there were already a lot of questions handed in before via our Discord #questions channel we couldn’t answer all the live questions of the session. But don’t worry, there will be another session coming up soon. You can watch the whole and uncut video of our Discord Talking Session here.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our Closed Beta Waitlist and become part of the RENNSPORT Community now here. 

Make sure to also follow our Social Media channels in order not to miss potential Closed Beta Key drops. See you around!

Almost around 10 k registrations to the waitlist within the first week!

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who has engaged with RENNSPORT through various channels or events. You have already helped us a lot in drawing attention to our simulation and the journey around it.

In order to make the first preparations for the start of the Closed Beta, we wanted to collect everyone who is interested in racing in the RENNSPORT Closed Beta on a waitlist. Among those people Closed Beta keys will then be given out. Nobody could have expected how eager you were to participate, and we are still overwhelmed of your support! Alongside the crazy amount of new members on the waitlist, it makes us also super happy that around 10 K of you have also joined our Discord server after roughly 1 month. The exchange and discussion we had with you on that lately is helping us a lot in developing RENNSPORT.

Our CEO Morris and our Game Development Lead Krzysztof welcome everyone who is interested to the first AMA session which will be held for all our Discord waiting room members on Friday, October 28 from 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm. They will sit down with Lucas from the Marketing Team to give some insights about the current development phase, previews to the Closed Beta and further content releases. They will also answer some frequently asked questions of the Discord community. You can now hand in your questions in the respective Discord Talking Session question channel. We would be happy to seeing you on Friday. You can join our Discord with the button at the end.

In the next weeks, it’s all about getting the sim ready for the start of the Closed Beta. We want to repay your trust and go live with the best possible product. Only a handful of features will be available at the beginning, but you can already look forward to 4 cars (Porsche 911 GT3, BMW M4 GT3, Porsche Mission R, another release) and 3 race tracks (Hockenheim, Goodwood Hillclimb, another release). After that, we will test and implement more and more functions together with you. In this continuous process we will work with you to create a sim that offers the best possible racing experience.

We are very hyped about this and hope you are too. If you haven´t already, make sure to register for the Closed Beta waitlist here.

Besides checking your inboxes, you better follow our channels in order not to miss further Closed Beta key drops. See you around!

When starting the Closed Beta we will be moving on to the next stage of the development of RENNSPORT. You can sign up for the waitlist now.

Attending the RENNSPORT Summit in May was not only good fun for everybody as this event was one of the first ones that was held with a big group of people meeting in person again. During this weekend all guests were also promised to get the chance of becoming testers for the first ever RENNSPORT Closed Alpha testing. We are very happy that we managed to hold on to that promise in time and have been testing with those guys for over a month now. Lately we also had our first multiplayer races within the Closed Alpha – that was good fun!

From the Summit until now we have already implemented a lot of feedback. To track the updates we made, you can check out the overview here.

The Closed Alpha phase is currently running but we are already preparing for what´s about to come next. So, from today on, which is 16 weeks after the Summit, the Closed Beta waitlist is open for all RENNSPORT fans around the world. By signing up to the Closed Beta waitlist, you guys can increase your chances of getting your hands on RENNSPORT and test more features and functions. Besides giving you the possibility to make your rounds in RENNSPORT, a key to the Closed Beta will also grant you access to Discord channels where the exchange with the game development team will be extended. A focused and more direct way of communication for feedbacks, questions and ideas can be enabled there.

We will hand out keys with a 50/50 distribution way. To ease the wait you can already become a part of our Closed Beta waiting room Discord channel by signing up to the Closed Beta waitlist. If you want to sign up to the waitlist or check more information around the development stages just follow the button.

To stay tuned about the latest videos and in-game content from RENNSPORT and many more interesting topics you can also get our Newsletter.

Next step in the development process of RENNSPORT has taken off. Sim racing professionals are part of the Closed Alpha test group.

Since the first ever RENNSPORT Summit and the RENNSPORT Roadshow we have been implementing a lot of feedback to the game. In the list at the end, you can see what has changed during the last 2 months. To enter the next phase we have been sending out keys to all Summit guests to access and test the current status quo of the Alpha and gather their feedbacks to all possible contents.

All testers have got the exclusive opportunity to test RENNSPORT and be part of the further developments. There will be more and more features added by time during the next weeks so when starting to race not all of them will be unlocked right away. Currently there is the single player practice mode, the Porsche 911 GT3 R and the BMW M4 GT3, the Hockenheim Ring and Goodwood Hillclimb racetrack available.

We will keep you guys posted and create some new gameplay content of the current Alpha build shortly. Make sure to check out our socials.

Once the testing phase of the Closed Alpha is finalized, the Closed Beta stage will start, and the number of testers will be increased. To stay tuned about the Closed Beta registration process and many more interesting topics sign up for our Newsletter.

List of changes in the Alpha build compared to Summit build

• Improved overall graphics quality and consistency (better materials)

• Goodwood Map Graphical Improvements

• Improved foliage

• More objects added

• Improved scene lighting

• Added blockade behind the finish line

• Added more details to objects close to the track

• Hockenheimring Map Graphical Improvements

• Adjustments for StartGrid line, curbs, grates, white lines and manholes

• More banners added

• Force-feedback fixes and improvements + added per-car scaling and adjustments

• New loading screen

• Physics adjustments

• Improved damper parameters for both Porsche 911 GT3R and BMW M4 GT3

• Minor fixes and improvements

• Fixed and improved minimap behavior

• Added possibility to change User First Name, Last name and used Car number via the in-game player profile menu.

• Improved models and materials for both Porsche 911 GT3R and BMW M4 GT3

• Car Mirrors Performance and Visual improvements, with more configurable settings added

• Improved physics of the on-track loose objects

• Added downshift protection to BMW M4 GT3

• User Interface Legibility and User Experience improvements

• Fixed bug in controller setting preset management

• Single Player Main Menu overhaul