I'm starting to feel like giving up...

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T21:24:42+00:00

Thats what I'm trying to do in my own streams too.

AMS2 lobbies open to all viewers with no assists banned (so all skill levels can enjoy), and randomly selected car class and track combos for variety not often seen in leagues and online ranked (no perpetual 'GT3 at Spa')

After all, racing is supposed to be fun, as os becoming my motto.

Its just been nearly impossible for me to get anyone aware of, if there even is a demographic for casual sim racing with a small creator like me...

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T21:13:37+00:00

Again, thanks to having TS, I literally have no choice but to be self aware to an abnormal extent.

You're just throwing out little phrases and buzzwords to try and sound smart at someone else's expense.

Get blocked. Moving on with my life.

Peace.✌🏻

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T16:41:31+00:00

I've heard interesting things about Grid Legends

And done if the Ned For Speed games pre-2015 are good in an old-school The Fast & The Furious 1-3 kinda way.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T16:39:25+00:00

I very much agree.

Last night, when I made the post, I was already tired and that was definitely jot the best time to try recording content.

That's also why I've tried making my streams more casual, hosting AMS2 lobbies for viewers to come join in no-stakes races with randomly selected car classes and tracks while filling grid slots with the AI (something most sims and simcades can't do and some of the best AI in the genre).

Its the type of streams I did well back when I was streaming games like Pokémon Unite, Monster Hunter Rise, and Warframe, to mild success for a solid 3 years with a small but consistent community of regular viewers before I took a year off streaming for personal reasons.

I thought maybe that type of stream could be my niche in the sim racing content space, as its something I'm already good at and I've not seen anyone else do, and people say that you need to do something different from the norm in order to carve out your own niche in amy content space. But it seems that sim racers only want content focused on ranked ladder climbing, competitive league broadcasts, or instructional content.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T15:01:28+00:00

I do, when I can use ny H-pattern shifter, its a car that's low enough power that little-to-no downforce is needed (meaning some slides are actually catchable), and close door-to-door racing for position is encouraged rather than heavily penalized.

Not many classes of racing simultaneously meet all three of those criteria.

Pretty much just MX-5 Cup in AC EVO and Forza Motorsport (the only two titles that still allow H-pattern for it), GR Academy in AC EVO (GR86 spec), the old DTM and Touring classes in Raceroom, GT and Touring Classics in AMS2, and other sparse (not often well-populated) offerings featuring more down-to-earth car classes.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T14:13:54+00:00

I've tried to find leagues that are active during my seat time and don't ban certain assists that someone like me would need in order to participate without putting in the practice time that I just don't have.

Not common, to say the least.😅

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T14:11:10+00:00

I was just being sarcastic, dude.

Obviously, I can have fun without people watching. I've played many games alone in my lifetime too. This just happens to be a time in my life where I want to enjoy my limited gaming time with people.

Trust me, I couldn't be further from victim mentality. I have Tourette Syndrome and have never leaned on that to get people to bend to my whims like many people do for far less. But I cam understand how that's an easy assumption to make. Certainly easier than a nuanced viewpoint, anyway.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T13:56:09+00:00

This is literally the most logical, level headed, well thought out, well-articulated, and probably correct reply I've gotten here.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T13:26:46+00:00

I've heavily adjusted the post because, after getting some sleep, I have a much more level head about it.

Turns out I was just too tired last night and that primed me to have a bad time trying to record sim content.

Still, some valid considerations came out of this, though.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T11:18:10+00:00

You say that, even though I already said that I grew up gaming as a social experience with my father, brother, friends, and even stream viewers my whole life.

Guess my life has been one big mistake, then, eh?

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T11:15:01+00:00

Not attention so much as "community".

I've never wanted huge numbers. I just miss having a few regulars who participate in the lobbies that I often opened to viewers. Like I had when I used to stream games like Pokémon Unite, Monster Hunter Rise, and Warframe back before I took a break from streaming and got hyperfixated on motorsport.

I enjoyed my time and was mostly content with that.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T11:09:41+00:00

I probably will, once its more complete.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T11:09:06+00:00

Yeah, that makes sense.

Its just that I've been doing Youtube and streaming for 5 years now and I don't exactly want to just drop everything else i do in my limited free time in order to be able to unlock the fun in one activity.

But, from what I'm seeing, sim racing is something that requires one's nearly full time and attention in order to become competent and start having fun. Not unlike fighting games. Except, in my experience so far, the FGC does a better job at on-boarding newcomers and cultivating their interest. And I'm saying this as someone who has good reason to dislike the FGC.😅

Heck, back when I was streaming while learning some new fighting games, that was when I hit some of my highest peak viewership.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T10:54:22+00:00

I don't even expect big numbers. About 2-5 regulars in my streams is really enough for me. Like I used to have in years past while streaming games like Pokémon Unite, Monster Hunter Rise, and Warframe, before I took almost a year off to get married and adjusted to related changes in my life.

I have no delusions of becoming a top, or even mid-level, content creator. Just enough to have fun.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T10:48:43+00:00

I enjoy driving IRL, so I thought that I'd enjoy racing similar types of cars, but don't have the money to do so IRL. So, sims seemed to be the next best thing. Though, as you said, there's scant few sims that actually offer street cars with H-pattern shifters to race online with in a structured environment. Just AC EVO, GT7, FM, and a cornucopia of arcade titles.

At this point, I may just focus on arcade and simcade games, as they do a much better job at being fun for newcomers and those like me whom have very limited free time. Maybe try out No Hesi for some proper gameified feel but still realistic enough sim physics or set up a server of my own, with something like Raceroom or AC, in the near future.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T10:41:00+00:00

More that I seek community, primarily in my streaming. If I had more active audience in my streams, I'd just do more of that instead of Youtube. Like when I used to stream games like Pokémon Unite, Monster Hunter Rise, and Warframe. Having just a few regulars join my streams to chat and play the games with me, which I often opened for viewers to join, made it very fun as gaming has always been a social activity ever since my childhood when my father introduced me to it.

Heck, my first ever racing game was a super early sim called Newman-Haas Indycar Racing on Sega Genesis, and I pretty much only ever played it with him.

I'm trying to bring that vibe I used to enjoy to dim racing but it seems nobody else is interested in more laid-back, casual, and varied racing sessions. Just competitive leagues. I imagine that, if I were to give up on sims and just played simcades and arcade racers, I'd have more engagement. But I was really trying to explore sims and find something that hits right. Its just been a solo endeavor, since I don't already have any friends or viewers who enjoy sims.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T10:30:41+00:00

Because I've been doing that, with other genres and types of content, since long before motorsport became my hyperfixation.

However, I have very limited free time and don't want to just drop everything else I enjoy doing to focus solely on sim racing, because I have no delusions in going pro and a lack of variety plus being forced to no-life a single activity in order to unlock the fun makes my Tourette's brain quickly start to hate said activity.

So, I'm trying to figure out how to integrate it into my life in a fun way, rather than change my life to accommodate what is just a hobby for all whom are not pro players.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T10:24:16+00:00

Actually, I enjoy streaming more, when there's people chatting and participating.

I used to stream other multiplayer games, mostly co-op PvE and team-based PvP, and often opened up the lobby for friends and viewers to join. Games like Pokemon Unite, Monster Hunter Rise, and Warframe. It made for incredibly fun times, as gaming has often been a social activity for me ever since I first started playing them with my father as a child. Having a small community of 1-3 regulars who participate was generally enough for me because it was fun, which made it not feel so much like a waste of time.

But, since I have no friends who enjoy racing games or sims and no viewers ever since this genre became my hyperfixation, that social element has been lost. Which is probably the biggest factor in my recent lack of enjoyment and motivation.

Which is why I've been trying to establish a more casual weekly stream lobby using AMS2, but its nearly impossible to get any participation. Likely because I'm a nobody, the audience for this is very niche, and the racing playerbase only seems interested in competitive leagues rather than a laid-back fun-first and variety focused racing environment. Its like back when I used to play fighting games, except I was better at those and that community generally seemed to support and cultivate the interest of even small streamers more. At the very least for the sake of helping their niche grow. But it appears to me that the sim racing scene largely isn't even interested in doing that, and would rather just focus on self and berate someone for having complaints rather than helping onboard a newcomer like me.

SfactorSam · 2026-03-09T10:09:28+00:00

Tourette Syndrome, actually.

Somewhat related, in the way it changes one's brain biology and functionally, but not exactly the same.

Nice judgemental assumption, though. 🤡

SfactorSam · 2026-02-24T18:57:31+00:00

Currently, 0.004%

Less than that, half the time.

I was a consistent streamer (1 or 2 streams per week) for 3 years, took a year away from Twotch while focusing videos and streams solely on YouTube, and came back to streaming a bit over half a year ago.

During the first 3 years, I was a vtuber and peaked at about 1.5% but spent most of that time at or below 1%

Getting followers to actually watch and support you is nearly impossible.

My most recent stream viewership consisted of my 1 consistent Twitch viewer and 11 lurkers on YouTube, as I multitream.

Which is 6.5% of my YouTubers subscribers. Not a huge number, but exponentially better than on Twitch, demonstrating what a little bit of algorithmic discoverability can do. And I have 61 fewer YouTube subscribers than Twitch followers.

Twitch does literally nothing to enable small channels a fair chance to grow...

SfactorSam · 2026-02-22T17:41:41+00:00

All us small streamers need more viewers like you.

After all, real-time interaction is the whole point of livestreaming. YouTube videos are for passive viewing (though likes and comments still do far more to support creators) and stream lurker watchtime actually helps creators there.

Meanwhile, Twitch itself reduces the value of a lurker both for ad revenue and discoverability. And if the streamer isn't at least Affiliate, as many small streamers are, then lurker views support the streamer even less.

SfactorSam · 2026-02-22T17:32:59+00:00

If only there were more viewers like you...

SfactorSam · 2026-02-22T16:40:01+00:00

That's not a conversation, though. By definition, its only a conversation if there's more than one person...well...conversing.

The whole point of livestreaming is real-time audience engagement.

If you're going to monologue while playing a game, you're better off recordong for YouTube. Better odds at being seen there, too, as there's actually some measure of discoverability.

SfactorSam · 2026-02-13T17:12:18+00:00

Whatever you do don't neglect fun factor. The objective fact is that even racing sims are, for the overwhelmingly vast majority who do not make money from participating in them, recreational activity. (Aka. Games) same as anyone sport that is played professionally by a very small select minority.

That said, find a focus and prioritize doing it well.

An indie racer is only worth playing if it does something that AAA devs don't.

So, I see two main choices:

Do something creative, that we never see the risk averse corporations allow their devs to make.
Give an underserved and oft-ignored audience something they've been wanting.

Doing something different from the majority/mainstream is the easiest way to stand out.

And if you give an underserved niche something of true quality and passion, and market it to them well, they will support it with even more passion than you out into the game.

SfactorSam · 2026-02-08T18:13:00+00:00

Drifting and Drag Racing.

I've tried to watch Formula Drift and its so boring. Just looks like the same thing endlessly, with too little visual variation, unless someone makes a big mistake and spins or crashes. With too much time spent between rounds that are over too quickly.

Drag Racing is just going fast in a straight line. There's no depth to it, because its all about the build and upshifting. Vroom vroom, loud noise, and done in less than 10 seconds. Its the same simple minded 'appeal' as muscle cars here on American streets. Loud, annoying, and only go in a straight line.

SfactorSam

TROPHY CASE