[WIP] Apex Modding - World Sportscar Championship 1989

ApexModding

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Hello all,

We've been silent for a while because we have quietly begun developing this mod, starting with the Sauber C9, and are focused in making this our best mod to date. But it's taking some time not just due to the focus on getting the car(s) right but due to real life commitments. As usual, this will be free content although we greatly appreciate and use donations (be it PayPal donations or Patreon subscription) to spend in our mods.

At the moment we have two cars modeled but the finished car list goal is the following:
  • Sauber Mercedes C9 (modeled)
  • Mazda 767B (modeled)
  • Toyota 89C-V
  • Jaguar XJR-9
  • Porsche 962C
  • Aston Martin AMR1 (Stretch goal)
  • Nissan R89C (Stretch goal)

The Sauber C9 is the first car we are developing and it is currently in early beta with a long way to go but available in our Patreon. Once we feel we've nailed the main aspects of physics, between tires, suspension, and aero, we will begin work on the 767B, first by putting it in the game and then using some C9 adjustments as placeholders alongside its own technical details. Little note that this will be the first time ever the Mazda 767B will be represented in a game! The focus will be on two sets of physics for each car, one being Le Mans configuration and the other Sprint. The focus is on realism so 1989 performance is the target but despite the C9's dominance, for 90-120 minute races the field should prove competitive especially in the hands of able drivers.

This is a mammoth task and will take years to finish. We greatly welcome not only donations to hire artists to create the models, but we also welcome collaboration from other modders in the community - be it for 3D, audio, or physics work. If you have an interest in contributing, please PM us. Everyone participating in this mod will be credited, as usual. If we can meet our stretch goals, we will then look for a little bit more of a stretch and develop the 1988 version of the cars and have two of the greatest years in Group C racing history represented!
 
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9YES ! BEST GUY. LEGIT MODDS. I LOVE YOU GUYS, C9 was like my favorite car in AC along with Cobra, Lotus 25 and F40. Amazing to have that exact car in rF2, it is great.
 
It's nice to see the amount of "Likes" coming in with this topic. Post #2 has been updated with some C9 previews.

As mentioned on the first post, we are looking for any contribution from the modding community. We have unfortunately lost our 90% there Toyota 89C-V and Nissan R89C as our modeling contributor chose to quit the scene, and we spent all of our Patreon earnings (and some more) on the 767B. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you can help add to this mod. We also have hope that this can inspire more (free) era/calendar appropriate tracks get made for rFactor 2 so we can keep our game alive for years to come.
 
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Small update - @Nicola59 has been kind enough to jump onboard to assist us with the physics development. We already have an improved suspension and are now going through the extensive/exhaustive steps of fine-tuning the tires, and revisiting the aero balance to replicate the car as best as we can for both Le Mans and Sprint configurations (starting with Le Mans). Due to his assistance and parts of the work which will serve as a base to then be modified for other cars, he'll be credited for contribution to the physics of all cars instead of just the C9.
 
Motec says our downforce levels are good (for Le Mans). Now it's fine tuning to make sure the lift-to-drag ratio is correct, and then go back to stiffen up the car properly, then review numbers again to see what we need to do to ensure the car doesn't flip on Mulsanne straight, and then further refine tires. Thanks to the talks with Nicola, we have a better understanding of tires and can more confidently make different adjustments and will also provide talent files (we will eventually introduce talent files for the other WSC mods).

Hopefully before the end of June we'll have a nice new beta package for our Patreon folks to test. The next hurdle will be ensuring the engine and torque specs can be replicated in the game without having to massage too many other figures.
 
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We just wanted to update that this is not dead. Testing is still underway with Nicola continuing to extend a welcoming hand to assist with physics (and put up with endless feedback) for the C9. Currently the Sprint version of the car is doing good-ish times on tracks like Brands Hatch and Donington, a bit too quick at Le Mans.

We have unexpected work and will end up having a new driver made by Yoss - this means doing each animation step again, from scratch - but we're really pushing for this to be our best content. Work is in alpha state for the Jaguar XJR-9, we have our model with correct dimensions now, so once Yoss has some time and has had a mental break, he will work on putting the 767B and XJR-9 in the game.

We are still in the early stages of driver detail discussion and there's a chance each driver will be represented with their own suit (Gui already completed suits, though he may need to remake them all) and helmet but this is where we'll reach out to the community. It's a monumental task and we'll open submissions from folks here to recreate helmets. It is OK to not be 100% accurate with all logos but at least it would be nice to populate them. Once we have our helmet completed/decided, we can share which template will be used so our fellow simracers can help.
 
Just a quick update - the car exists and we're still moving along. The main update is now we have near-finished liveries, driver suits will be remade as Yoss will have to completely rebuild the driver and redo the animations from scratch.

(Our Patreons will have access to the next build (physics have been changing frequently, we don't want you to drive something that isn't representative of the RC/final release).
 

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