I think NR2003 is on its way out

[stevehobo]

Hey all,
I think NR 2003 is finally on a real decline. I know there are still some leagues around , including the league i run in Hobo Racing . www.hoboracing.com
But trying to get drivers is getting harder and harder and the numbers a falling.
We still have about 20 on race nights which is very good. I try to keep it 20-25 . But those days are gone. We have a great league and like i said we still have a good amount of drivers. But I dont see it lasting much longer. Prove me wrong ! We are looking for drivers at Hobo. We race 3 nights a week. Tues Gen6 , open sets , Thurs Whelen , fixed , Sunday Cup12 fixed. track opens at 730 , Q at 850 PM est for all nights.

Thanks, Steve
www.hoboracing.com

 

[games123]

People don't have to race online for it "not to be on its way out". Almost everybody I know races offline. It is to difficult to coordinate online racing anymore because of everybody's busy schedule.

 

[stevehobo]

I guess . Just seeing league numbers fall. Hope it has a rebound.

 

[Mystical]

I purely race offline. NR2003 is definitely not on it's way out for me. Been making more content these last few years for the game than I ever have. I've also been racign more too.

Then we have all the awesme mods that just came out in 2015 as well.

 

[Sgt Slaughter]

...FTF gets 50-60 drivers every weekend for the Cup Series races, and soon 40+ for FTF SS. It is nowhere close to "on it's way out".

 

[stevehobo]

yea i saw ftf was getting alot of drivers. Like i said we get 20 everyweek at Hobo Racing. But most leagues are not getting many . But my point was trying to find new drivers to keep the numbers at 20/25 is getting very hard.
I hope I'm wrong, I love racing this sim !

www.hoboracing.com

 

[Benjamin Fruth]

@stevehobo I think what you're noticing is simply people choosing sides. If you want to race online, iRacing has NR2003 beat; If you're in to racing AI, NR2003 is the place to go. I agree that online racing for NR2003 probably IS on it's way out; Gamers (in all gaming genres) clamor for that experience where AI no longer stands for Artificial Intelligence, but Actual Intelligence. People have to be connected at all times (for some reason), and they want to race their friends.

However, iRacing has no offline and there are no competent PC oval sims, so for gamers like me (and others who've posted in here) who aren't interested in racing against some dude from Utah, U.K., Uruguay, etc., NR2003 is still the best option for offline oval/NASCAR racing. Until another game comes out that competes with everything that NR2003 does well (which is basically everything except for today's rules for G-W-C finishes, restarts, etc. and some physic hiccups), our little Papy game will live on.

Personally, I think we're in an awesome place right now because, for the most part, new content is coming out that is more spectacular than what originally came with the game, and there is STILL more potential for growth as there are files that have never been edited. NR2003 content creators are getting very good at what they do and all of the game's life has not been squeezed out.

 

[bowtie]

Well said, Benjamin Fruth....

 

[twcom]

I also have never raced online. With the amount of refocus and promising work being done with NR2003 AI, I can only see even more
satisfying offline racing. So I can only ask online racers such as stevehobo, are there wish list items that the online racing family have that would
improve NR2003 online.

twcom
nr2003 4 life

 

[stevehobo]

twcom, my wish list is that people race in online leagues . I run at Hobo Racing and its a great league and we have alot of fun. Its been runing sunce 2001 and the league is still running strong . yes I love all the new stuff that comes out for it even still. My thing is while we still have a good number of drivers at each race. I'm finding it very tough to get new drivers. Yes we get a couple here and there , but to keep the league going strong into the years to come. I fear of not being able to keep up the head count. So to me with this down trend of online drivers I see it bleeding a slow death.
I race with computer cars and yes that is fun , but Ive never raced an off line league and not even sure how that all works .

stevehobo
www.hoboracing.com

 

[stevehobo]

Well this week we got two more drivers. Last night in our Gen6 race we had 21 drivers and about 4 regulars that couldnt make it. We are still doing good as a league and not ready to give it up just yet. Thank you to all that support N2K3 !!!!
Very curious how the offline racing works ???

 

[Mcc457]

Well this week we got two more drivers. Last night in our Gen6 race we had 21 drivers and about 4 regulars that couldnt make it. We are still doing good as a league and not ready to give it up just yet. Thank you to all that support N2K3 !!!!
Very curiuos how the offline racing works ???

The usual offline league is simply where you run only the AI cars and note where each driver finishes, and apply that information to a points system, much like how you do with an online league, just without actual drivers. You can see tons of them on YouTube, there at least a few new ones every month. Here at SimRacingDesign and Earnhardt Fan Racing also have official offline leagues that you can see

Another way to do it is to ace against the AI using championship mode, or save the results from each championship or single race mode and apply them to a custom points system.

 

[Highbank]

Really an "Offline League" is a "Painters League" it's about painting cars and have them raced by one individual and the results are posted. It's a fantasy league with a little more involvement than just picking a car, though that kind of "Offline Leagues" exists as well. "Offline Leagues" have came and gone just as "Online Leagues" have come and gone. Just as there are "Online Racing sites that are focused on a specific form of NR2003 racing, meaning they use stock car racing mods, or they use dirt track racing mods, etc.., there are "Offline Leagues" that do the same thing.

All these kinds of "Leagues" are valid parts of the NR2003 community, they all bring something to the community that is unique, just as painting sites do. There are a few folks out there that have been able to support all these various forms of NR2003 racing sites and involvement. I always say, "don't knock it until you try it"

NR2003 is alive and well. Just keep at your side of the NR2003 world and it will survive and thrive. There are always new faces in the NR2003 community, there are old faces that have never tried "Online Leagues" or "Offline Leagues".

The biggest reason I see NR2203 continuing to thrive is that after you've bought the game the new content (as well as the wealth of older content) is 100% FREE! New games cost money, new DLC cost more money, while NR2003's newest community created content is free as well. The game makers HATE NR2003. They think it robs them of customers and you know what, they are right, it does!

No NR2003 is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

 

[Mystical]

Very curious how the offline racing works ???

It is different for everyone really. Some race with the same drivers in sprint cup and use the same racing schedule and points. Some offline races are done with a group of peopel or just one person. Others like myself race with fictional drivers and carsets I manage myself that has its own custom schedule. I could go on forever on the pros and cons of offline vs online but the short rundown for me would be:

- Online unless you are with a really solid group a lot of repeat wrecks happen and this can get annoying when half the field races like a demo derby. The online league I used to be in was ok but some races were just a mess. Offline this isn't an issue if the AI are setup to race hard but clean. You can actually get some good long green runs in.
- Offline always has a full field. Not having to wait for people to show up. You can race literally whenever and as often as you need.
- Offline is of course not going to be as true or as competitive to racing against real people but with NR2003's netcode offline can still be very competitive if you set the AI to race to your skill level as I do. You can set them to be so good they are like on rails so finding a good medium on each track is the way to go.
- Offline racing the way I see it is like the franchise mode in a madden game. You can simulate the races and see who comes out the winner, participate in the races, and/or be the manager for all teams, sponsors, and silly season just having a good time

 

[Highbank]

The drivers in offline are more professional...LOL... Mostly because they don't wreck you, or swear like sailors, or dominate like their cars have "special matched tires"

 

[kirbyfighter12]

NR2003 Online racing is a hit or miss.
A good small group can burst out of it's capacity zone with racers if properly advertised. However that itself is a two edged sword. You can have newbies that know what they're doing. Or some {explenetive} who's there to ruin someones day.

 

[John Norton]

There is still a few new mods being released and worked on and there are a lot of new tracks lately. I wouldn't say it's dying.

 

[stevehobo]

Thanks for all the feed back guys. I guess offline racing is like running the single season which i used to do before i got into the online racing.
What I'm trying to say is getting online racers is getting harder. I wish we had an arena where we could race and chat , sorta like the old papy arena.
We have 47 drivers for 3 nights of racing . We average about 20 per night, if everyone shows we get more. I love all the mods and paints and in Hobo Racing we use many of them mods as we which mods and tracks each season to keep it fresh. We have been around since 2001 , which may make us one of the longest running N2K3 leagues around. I still have guys from when we first started . We always gave , tee shirts , mugs, mouse pads to the season champs and run special live races. This Tuesday in our Gen6 series we are having an addon race. A 200 lapper at a fictional track. Winner gets a tee shirt. Should be fun. Sometimes we have a safe driver race. Where we may give a coffee mug with your car on it. BUT you must drive a clean race and then we pick the car numbers from a hat of ONLY the drivers that ran clean. I really feel we have and had a special group of drivers and the friendly format has kept us in business all these yrs. I am 53 yrs old and have no intenstions of stopping racing this sim !
Please check our website , or our race vids on youtube. If you want to join thats great but atleast check us out and see what we are doing.
Thanks again , your racing friends over at Hobo Racing , and I look foward to more N2K3 mods and paints and tracks , addons . All of it. \
www.hoboracing.com
Steve

 

[kirbyfighter12]

Well if you want your league to grow you have to advertise it.
RTG used to be a 20-30 group. With advertising on the NR2003 Facebook they run Knockout Q every race.

This also comes at a price as I've stated before.
What used to be long green runs could turn into horrible yellow after yellow.
With advertising must come a quality control. To make sure your loyal group stays loyal at risk of having newcomers who drop the hammer without knowing the proper time to do that. Or set up a Rookie league if you're going to do that. Then newcomers can be voted into the pro league depending on their performance.

Getting more people into the league is a double edged sword.

 

[stevehobo]

Kirby I've done all that for the last 15 yrs owning and running the league. We still have 20 guys racing each night give or take. But its getting harder to find drivers as I try to keep the head count at 25. Again any clean drivers that want a clean and friendly league. Join on the Hobo Racing website.
Thanks , Steve
www.hoboracing.com