Because, well... 1/ They are creepy sentient objects. They have a life of their own it seems, since they are not connected to anything nor, indeed, to anyone. They just hover above ground. Creepy. 2/They do nothing for immersion anyway. Because, well, there's the blue one, and the green one etc...but that have nothing to do with what cars are actually on track. 3/and maybe the worst: I see gifs of cats on a daily basis that have a better animation than those flags. And of course, turning track animation off in the option menu does nothing for the flags... I may sound harsh, but that is truly how awful they are to me. I can get past them when I'm driving (barely), but when watching a replay or a stream... The worst part is that they feel..antiquated. Like, pre-2010 old; and make the whole game look worst - like an old house where you can still see patches of the old, molded tapestry under the new fresh coat of paint. Sorry, but I had to get that out of my chest.
Bit dramatic choice of words probably...but yes..you're right, actually.....these flags add nothing to the (Race Room Racing) experience.
I honestly dont think they need an option, they need to just be removed. I have never heard any positive things about them and i dont think they add anything instead just break the immersion a bit. if you do like them now is your chance to speak up as this is a simple opinion issue. i think "i wouldnt mind them gone" needs to be added to the poll.
I'd say take them all out; I've been to hundreds of races and don't remember ever seeing flags like these being waved on spectator mounds. The rest of the atmosphere and number of people is believable and not over the top like other titles (I'm always amazed when 100,000 people show up to watch a Ford Focus ST race at Hockenheim in Project CARS), but the flags are the one immersion breaking part to me. I was disappointed to see them at the incredible new circuits.
I like how r3e feels like regional league racing it feels more realistic considering i'm not a professional driver and none of the leagues are either.
In one of the last Patch-Notes I've read something about new 3d-Model of specators. Maybe that will have an effect on the flags for the future...
Usually almost no flags are constantly waved during a race, but more likely after the race at the victory lap. So flags in general are fine, but mostly the fans just holding a flag in hands or flag poles are attached to something. The wind does the rest. But yes, graphics-wise the flags in R3E need an overhaul.
Was just about to post something similar to @Ernie I'm not against flags but they need to be more realistic. A mix of realistically sized national flags hanging behind the catch fencing or on poles at the back of grandstands would look infinitely better than what we have now.
Its movement on the trackside that I notice almost subconsciously while flying by, and that adds to the illusion of life in the track environment. One could as well complain about the static audience - that too is not realistic, lets delete it! In the end you then get a track like in AC - as good to drive as before, but lifeless, empty, sterile, sober. Boring. Leave the flags in.
As I've got Dirt Rally recently I must say Codies have found a very convincing way to animate and position the crowd, actually didn't noticed much of it (got used to that cars and physics first by practising intensively) but entering a Championship It`s absolutely cool , to see them fireing you up, cheering, raising their arms...even in "low" mode, well yes hardly to compare cause with just one car on the track there is room for such eye candy gfx wise...and thats the special area of their titles anyway (what y can't say about the physics side of things until DR )...nevertheless...in another world maybe S3 (FFB/Wheel Support) and Codies (GFX/Track atmo) would help each other out
Looking at the grandstands you can see flags waving during the race, but not nearly as many as in R3E. Just a couple here and there. And they definitely need an overhaul!! Would be nice to both get warm up / formation lap implemented, and also a victory lap back to the pits after the race. And on the victory lap there could be some more flags, especially of the nationality of the winner!
I voted to get rid of them altogether. I think also there should be a track level of detail setting between low and medium where we get some trackside detail but without the crowds populating all the stands. Very few racing series attract big crowds these days so the game would be all the more immersive for reflecting this. The difference in fps between low and medium tack detail is also significant so there would be benefits here too.