Energize Formula E rFactor 2 DLC Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 have today released their new 'Energize Formula E' DLC for rFactor 2, a first official DLC containing electric racing in PC simulation gaming.

The new pack contains the cars, drivers and teams of the 2017/18 FIA Formula E series in rFactor 2 and includes a version of the Hong Kong ePrix track to be used in the opening round of the real series later this week.

Due to embargos around liveries for the new cars the current pack contains the team colours of the previous season, however once the real world championship begins Studio 397 intend to update the content to reflect the current racing season.

Before we get into the detail of the new DLC pack from Studio 397, and in case you missed it on our YouTube channel, check out this little talk and drive first impressions video we recorded (very) late last night:

From the official release notes;

Featuring the Formula E Car 2018 and the teams, as well as a stunning rendition of the HKT Hong Kong E-Prix track!

All of us at Studio 397 are ecstatic about this release. It’s not just because we have achieved truly immersive physics and graphics, but we are equally proud of the close partnership we’ve developed with Formula E itself.

This newest release is part of our ongoing efforts to continually offer you, true fans of simracing, exciting and cutting edge motorsport content!

The series itself is thrilling and challenging in ways that will surprise you. You’ll have to rethink your strategy – no more easy flat footing to get on the podium! Although the racing still retains its close side-by-side action, tactics and strategy now play an equal role – a true test of your abilities to stay focused on the big picture!

We also wanted to use this opportunity to get in some exciting new features such as REGEN and power modes, as well as new cockpit and HUD elements to further increase the overall immersion and functionality.

Known issues:

• Track accuracy may be different due to late changes in layouts
• AI currently does not adhere to the 1 pit stop rule and does not try to save fuel by lifting and coasting
• Regen mode is based off braking and is automatic on braking
• Fuel indicator currently does not show granular detail on battery life, therefore we suggest using 3rd party plugins in the meantime
• Cars have one set of physics based on homologated data
• Liveries and helmets will be updated when embargoes are lifted
• AI will sporadically slow just after Start/Finish under full course yellow – this should not affect the race restarts.
  

How to drive the car - some important information

Formula E is different to most series you may have driven before, it’s about strategy and optimising your power and battery life.

Firstly you should set up a few more controls in the options menu.

• Increment mixture and decrement mixture – controls “eMotor Torque Map“
• Engine braking map up and down (New) – controls “Regen Mode

Now what this does is affect the regen – so the power you get back from braking and also the engine power output which also affects the battery life.

For a Formula E race you usually have 1 stop, and Hong Kong is 45 laps for instance, so that means you need to go at least 23 laps on 1 stint (4.3%) per lap.

This means you need to lift and coast, for instance down the back straight you start coasting before the 200 metre board! If you saved more energy early due to a safety car or being very conservative, you can start lift and coasting later. Conversely, if you had to pit early due to damage or whatever reason, you may have to lift and coast even earlier.

After the lift and coast phase, you then brake late and if you have regen mode high, you will get more battery power back – there easy eh! Accelerating hard out of the corners will yield the main lap time benefits.

This car is all about how efficiently you can drive it. You have a set amount of energy to complete a race, and you have to find the most effective way to get to the end, that results in the shortest time possible.

Top Tips

• In qualifying you can run max power and high downforce, however in race use lower downforce to help eliminate drag
• Save as much power as possible to go for an attack at the end!
• Paint lines on street circuits are slippery, especially in the rain!
• 3rd party apps will give you a more precise reading on fuel, which will allow you to plan your race better

rFactor 2 is a PC exclusive racing simulation available worldwide via the Steam network. The Formula E Energize DLC can be purchased for £8.70 HERE.

Check out the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for all the latest news and discussion with regards to the simulation. You can take part in lively debates with fellow rFactor 2 fans and take part in some great Club and League racing events..!

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Have you tried the new Formula E DLC for rFactor 2 yet? What are your impressions of the content? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Rob]

So excited I have access to this stuff now! Even though I distrust electronic cars , this is nothing but good. I drove the E cars in Forza, and although the physics suck, the cars were novel and different.No matter what your opinion of them (like my negative one) the new experience was great. I expect with good physics, it will be even greater.

BTW, the guy in the video was excellent. He gave a reporters view of the product, in a very factual way, and did it without prejudice or praise. That's rare. Plus he's a "Who" fan.

edit: Oh crap! That was Paul. lol. Nice job, man.

Those cars are all torque and no horsepower, so the "loose then grippy" comment was encouraging. That would be just as I expect.

 

[bFaria]

@Marcel Offermans
Has anyone looked at the conversion rates on Steam for countries like Brazil? And are the current rates "as intended"?

The reason I ask is because Kunos uses a more mainstream approach on Steam in that regard while RF2/AMS seem a bit at odds.

The track is R$ 30,61 and the car 19,12. It is indeed a weird price, specially with ",61 and ",12".
Seems they want to charge something similar to iRacing, but it's not laser scanned, half of the online community and well... it is FAR (!!!) from ready. Lot of stuff to be done.

BTW: looks like YT is compressing more and more those videos. feels similar to some upscaled 480p, even at 1080p.

 

[Steve Worrell]

Are people still moaning about £8.70 for a fully licensed series with a bunch of skins and a track? I think that is more than fair.

Having said that, it's not a piece of DLC interested so won't be buying just yet but still think the price is fair.

 

[natedogg1867]

Are people still moaning about £8.70 for a fully licensed series with a bunch of skins and a track? I think that is more than fair.

A fully licensed series would be something like RaceRoom did with their ADAC and DTM packs where you got every single track in the series as well as different cars. This is effectively 1 car and 1 track.

As for the price, if you include the GT3 pack which came before this, it adds up to $30 for 6 cars and 1 track.

Compared to every game sans iRacing, this is not a good value.

 

[Flip-Flop Driver]

Are people still moaning about £8.70 for a fully licensed series with a bunch of skins and a track? I think that is more than fair.

Having said that, it's not a piece of DLC interested so won't be buying just yet but still think the price is fair.

When I bought it was 11.63.

But for countries with a very weak currency many publishers use a special exchange rate on Steam.
Kunos and Codemasters follow this approach. But even Reiza that knows Brazil very well doesn't follow suit.

It is their right to do as they please and they certainly know why they have to charge what they charge.
Kunos is the odd example among smaller guys that practice very aggressive prices for poor countries.

 

[MarcG]

For £8.73 all in it's a bargain, I mean that's cheaper than two beers! I honestly think they should charge more for their hard work as I feel like I'm robbing them somewhat, anyway I've bought it to support S397 and look forward to driving these "things" later.

 

[Dan ONeill]

So just a curious question how does one track how much battery life you have left while driving? Do you need a Third Party app?

So from reading here and on the other forum the battery charge is represented roughly as the fuel on the default hud, plans are in place to include a more granular display on the wheel at some point.

 

[Jockey]

For £8.73 all in it's a bargain, I mean that's cheaper than two beers! I honestly think they should charge more for their hard work as I feel like I'm robbing them somewhat, anyway I've bought it to support S397 and look forward to driving these "things" later.

I hate when people arguing how much bottles of beer they can get from a certain amount of money.

Well, good for you that it's cheaper than two beers. For me, it cost 14 bottles of beer.

According to google the Fe pack cost this much in Ft

 

[Matthew Allington]

I have the sudden desire to go to Hungary...

 

[davks11]

Two beers? it would be great the price of the games infers from the price of beer. in my country the eformula pack would cost about $1. Sorry S397, but I don't buy it too. But it looks great!

 

[apex11]

I don't drink anymore.......gave up 4 years ago. Its pretty easy to rationalize any sim racing purchase based on that.
I got the car and track, i'll use the car on the normal race tracks so easy get my monies worth.
I agree that realy DLC always seems quite cheap hence why when its a bit more than £5 for several cars etc it looks bad.
I blame Turn 10 and Codemasters (obvioulsy) for simply selling back the same stuff over and over as DLC but at a 'cheap' price. At least this RF2 stuff is the first time ever....
If they made RF3 ad then tried to flog it back then i'd say stuff them..

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

I hate when people arguing how much bottles of beer they can get from a certain amount of money.

Well, good for you that it's cheaper than two beers. For me, it cost 14 bottles of beer.

I think he was probably referring to buying two beers at a pub. In my country a single 0.5L beer at almost any bar typically costs around $7, but people happily seem to buy them .

 

[Carlitox]

I agree that the beer analogy is not the best. How about milk? The complete pack costs the same as 17 litres of milk (bagged milk, like in Canada ). Bread? We don't usually buy bread on loaves, we buy baguettes, and the pack costs the same as about 9 of them. If you still want loaves, for the price of the pack you can get 5. And if you want your regular tetrapack milk (we have it, we just don't buy it), you can get 10 for that amount.

The thing is, if you begin to compare gaming-related purchases to your regular stuff, you end up buying nothing. Whenever I ponder whether a DLC is expensive or not, I look at competitors, like anything else. The GT3 cars had lots of cheaper and just-as-accurate competitors across different games, such as R3E and AC. These FE cars have no competitors, as the only other game with an official license was Forza and those were, well, not optimal. But looking at price/content ratio compared to other games, it looks a bit pricey. Especially considering that FE is not for old school racing fans.

I personally like it and will buy the cars but not the tracks for now. If the track pricing model is similar to the Beijing one, that's gonna hurt in the pockets. It's not like racing FE in good old Sardian Heights sounds bad.

 

[Warsaw]

Hey guys!

How I can delete the „Showcar“ Skin.
Or is it possible to select skins so i dont have to drive against him.

Currently i can‘t play my FE Championship so.

Thanks for help

 

[BenCollins]

Is this worth buying? It's over $15 here in Oz.

 

[apex11]

Is this worth buying? It's over $15 here in Oz.

It's like anything really. Netflix is only £7.99 a month. But if every month you find you are not watching it then its a waste of 7.99.
If you watch 3-4 + films / episodes a month, your winning!
If you know pretty much you will use this FE car a good few times and at least get 2 hours out of it i'd say that's worth it..

If you purchase and use it once and say "i hate it" then pointless..
If the thought of an electric race car makes you want to retch, then dont buy it..

 

[VirtuaIceMan]

I'm going to hang on for a complete 2017/2018 season pack, hopefully... maybe next year?

 

[Istvan Schmidt]

Hi!
I have a big problem. I bought the car and Hong Kong track. The car installed properly but when the track is installing the process stopped at 18% and don't continue. Anyone met this problem? How can I solve it?

 

[BenCollins]

It's like anything really. Netflix is only £7.99 a month. But if every month you find you are not watching it then its a waste of 7.99.
If you watch 3-4 + films / episodes a month, your winning!
If you know pretty much you will use this FE car a good few times and at least get 2 hours out of it i'd say that's worth it..

If you purchase and use it once and say "i hate it" then pointless..
If the thought of an electric race car makes you want to retch, then dont buy it..

I honestly can't justify it. I've bought all AC DLC on day of release, but this sounds half-finished. It seems like they are trying to boost cash, but the whole sim needs work. Way too soon for this I think.

Added to that, it's very expensive for what it is.

Pass on this one.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

Hi!
I have a big problem. I bought the car and Hong Kong track. The car installed properly but when the track is installing the process stopped at 18% and don't continue. Anyone met this problem? How can I solve it?

We've seen this a few times before. Please check your virus scanner. It could be interfering.