In iRacing there seems to be a cheating problem that is being noticed but possibly ignored. People in the community have been speaking up aboutSIM the situation.
Our series of reports on cheating in sim racing including iRacing cheats last week attracted well over 100,000 views (and continues to do so) at the same time it was refreshing to see that respected vlogger Random Callsign decided to tackle the cheating hot-potato subject that developers are avoiding like a plague.
In the video above, Random Callsign cites our post, he joins our chorus calling for more transparency regarding cheating from developers across the board who have seen their platforms turn into big money spinners during the COVID-19-inspired sim racing boom.
From an ultra-niche sport, virtual racing is now mainstream and with it the sponsorship of investment in competitions, leaderboards, races, championships, hardware, software, tuition and setup industries by blue-chip companies.
Accountability for the integrity of sim racing games, which position themselves as professional esports platforms with substantial sponsorship and prize money up for grabs, is what is required of all developers vying for this market.
In the video above, Random Callsign makes sensible calls for devs to come clean and address the issue, while suggesting that sim racing producers have been ambushed by the boom which, in turn, has attracted hackers to unleash their shenanigans at will.
He points out that the real problem is not the hobby-hackers such as Callum Cross2, who cheat for a laugh and eventually get caught then move on to the next game to terrorise, but rather the more sinister potential that such a tool could unleash.
Random Callsign paints the following picture: “In competitive online racing it’s not getting a tool that gives you Carmageddon-level physics that matters, it’s using a tool to get just a little more power or just a little more grip.
“It’s getting the tool correct, to the point that you are just getting one or two-tenths or even half a second per lap because, then, these examples would slip between the cracks.”
He also believes that sim racing developers are not ready to tackle the cheating problem and says: “I don’t believe that most sim racing devs would even think that their titles would be targets for cheating tools.
“iRacing does have an anti-cheat which I doubt has any success in catching anyone at all these days. With the events of the lockdown and the rise of the sim racing esports sim racing developers need to take cheating tools or exploits more seriously.
“As sim racing continues to expand more and more of these cheats will be used and the sim racing depths can’t keep ignoring this new reality or expecting it to go away. A runaway tool could very easily destroy in days what took them years to build,” adds Random Callsign
In the intro of the video, he echoes the sentiments of this website regarding the coverage of this ongoing saga: “Don’t panic over this, don’t assume anyone or everyone is a cheater. This video is merely for raising awareness of the specific topic. I hope that by raising awareness sim racing developers improve their software. Amen to that.
Meanwhile, in an earlier post, we drafted an open letter to the main professional sim racing game developers including iRacing, Sector-3 Studios (RaceRoom), Studio-397 (rFactor 2), Codemasters (and all their racing titles including F1 2020, Project Cars etc), Kunos (Assetto Corsa and ACC), Reiza (Automobilista series).
Watch this space…
iRacing cheating New grip cheat exposed
Because of the secrecy it allows for speculation, in fact encourages it. At least one Dev sees the light and realises we combat this together, not us simmers versus them the devs. We are not the enemy here.
If Random Callsign is way off the mark, iRacing should correct him. But the silence is deafening.
I agree that the statement is entirely speculative.
It’s also the case however that EAC doesn’t care whether or not you’re going fast or slow or how much grip you have. EAC code is operating on a much lower level than performance outcomes.
While I do not disagree that the tool only has to give you very small increases in speed/grip, I have to ask: Without proof, how can he make this claim? Otherwise, its just a broad shot across the bow with no substance.
“Doubt has any success” means in more or less terms “Doesn’t catch anything” which is a pretty bold claim. Hell, as it stands the claim is bold without any context. I need to know what he knows about the anti-cheat that makes it so easy to bypass before I buy that statement. Otherwise, its just a bit of hyperbole and we have enough of that right now in the political landscape.
The flipside to this is anticheat software in the past has at times been too much of an impost on the vast majority of genuine users. Either through game performance degradation or the hoops one has to jump through to play their game/sim