Motorsport Games’ spending spree continues with the acquisition of Studio397.

[Bram Hengeveld]

A few weeks ago Motorsport Games was something of an enigma in the simracing world having produced a handful of Nascar titles but recently things have changed. Having burst onto the scene recently announcing the acquisition of Australian developers Black Delta they have quickly followed up with yet another studio acquisition, this time in the shape of Studio397.

Love it or hate it rFactor 2 does a lot of things right, like the physics and overall driving experience but there are certainly areas which could be improved, I don’t need to name them all here but graphics is an example of something which fans of the title have been hoping for a drastic improvement on for quite some time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, but it’s not the best in the industry.

The hope is that with the seemingly endless resources that Motorsport Games have at their disposal, they will iron out all the quirks and accelerate the development of the title. They already have some impressive licenses which could be leveraged such as BTCC and the aforementioned Nascar, so the potential for some exciting content to emerge is promising.

However, the hardcore sim racers will be waiting with bated breath to see what direction this new sim racing giant will take the studio. In previous communications MSG President Stephen Hood has said: "The BTCC title will not be a hardcore high-end racing simulation, but will also not be an arcade game". Read into that what you will.

rFactor2 is a beloved sim and we can only hope that this acquisition will propel the title to new heights.

What do you guys think about the news? Are you looking forward to seeing how Motorsport Games integrate with Studio397? Let us know in the comments.

 

[davehenrie]

Never ever have these problems with F1 2021, PC 2, AMS 2, Assetto Corsa 1 and 2....It has to be the game. Lots of others have the same problem as I. and I don't like the old UI. It works ok but takes a long time to load......

Enjoy the rest. Hasta!

 

[krzysiek_aleks]

Hindy said the following on the radioshowltd Facebook page about motorsport.com:

"Everyone... The site we are talking about continually steals copyright content including ours, that is a fact that is uncontested even by their editor.

That is aside from their woeful editorial standards and, complete lack of journalistic morals. There's nothing that anyone can say that will change our policy of refusing to have their links here, or indeed to mention them.

On a personal note, I have made it clear to RSL and others for whom I work that I will not be put in a position where my voice or any content containing my voice, will appear on that site.

Don't mention them, don't defend them. To make this completely clear, this is NOT a debate."

Motorsport Network's reputation is, let's be honest, really low and they really try to simply saying eat everything then find on the table.

They tried to monopolize news market by buying Autosport and other local websites.
They were close to kill Autosport magazine by price hike last year.
There is very little difference between content on Motorsport.com and Autosport.com and in recent years it became more "click-baity".

Photography market? Biggest share has Motorsport Images that owns LAT and Sutton + some of historic database.

If your favourite racing series doesn't offer YouTube streams anymore, it's very likely that they have a deal with Motorsport.tv and you need to go there to watch races.

Now they're trying to dominate simracing market. Despite not producing any game so far (only being publisher of NASCAR Heat series), they got WEC and BTCC license.

Only independent karting sim is now part of Motorsport Games.

Someone posted "exclusive interview" with Marcel Offermans for new website Traxion.
Why "exclusive"? Because Traxion is part of Motorsport Games.

They have massive, massive funding and potential, so let's hope that they will try to make titles both for sim and simcade markets.

 

[roadyroad]

minute 08:30
The MG developer said already that he's aiming to make the game more accessible for the novice players, but at the same time to keep it simulative for the current playerbase.
Let's hope for the best, because this can turn very bad.

Hey RD, what about the article about Codemasters being bought by EA? We're still waiting. Make one please, we want to make fun of Ian Bell.

Making fun of someone who probably made millions by selling shares of his company? He must be making fun of you...

After the video I think these are great news, the next nascar series could be what racing fans have been expecting since nascar racing 2003. I hope they'll keep the dirt part with the improvements brought by s397.

For rfactor2, not sure anything will change, as s397 can do whatever they want, although motorsport games wants better accessibility and AI.
It's probably not an interesting product for motorsport games, financially, as Paul stated, they bought s397's expertise, not rfactor2. I don't see anyone putting cash in rfactor2, it will probably use the cash it generates from its own sales. I see it as a hobby for s397, and a physics experimental environment, to improve their expertise, but their main job being new titles development. I see this as a positive move as rfactor2's state seems a bit in a dead end in terms of pure software improvements. If loading times and UI could be better, it would have been done long time ago. That's not a critic, it's just that this piece of software must be awful to work on, and it must be an amazing opportunity for s397 to move on and be able to work on other products. I can't imagine how tired the coding team must be with rfactor2.

Well, I just see one thing : better motorsoport games racing titles in the future thanks to s397. Good move motorsport games, a great and positive competition with EA is on the way...

 

[roadyroad]

Positive point
Large group having the means to develop games quickly with prestigious official licenses and the latest technologies (graphics engine etc...) KUNOS ACC style
(Partners: ACO, WEC, LE ManS, NASCAR,BTCC)
Simulation acquisition: rfactor2, kartkraft (simulation)
Negative
Recent statements:
Simulation accessible to as many people as possible: for greater profitability and satisfy shareholders and profitable acquisitions
The future BTCC simu-arcade
End of modding to be expected: The goal is to earn maximum money with DLC, subscription etc...
End of the development of rfactor 2 to be expected within 1 year or 2 years...

The pure and hard simulations will satisfy the "hardcore" simracers but unfortunately it's too unprofitable to believe the game developers (very positive reviews but average sales ...)

So rather than doing arcade games for the gamer who just wants to have fun (forza gran turismo) and/or make pure and hard simulations for others (rfactor2 iracing) ,

game developers want to systematically at the moment lay us simu-arcades in the hope of reaching the largest number of players (PC-consoles)
Personally I left the world of consoles for the PC for 5 years and invested in rather high-end hardware it is in order to always get closer to the sensations of reality and not play pseudo simulations.
EA sport which buys codermasters
Motorsport game which buys studio 397 and black dela
Is this the end of the "small" studio - the locking of certain licenses for several years
(porsche for more than 10 years with EA sport)

It's not very reassuring

Maybe the end of unfinished prodycts with neverfulfilled promises with high prices after years of dlcs? Independant developers went the flight sim business way, it doesn't work. I hope Reiza will manage to do it with AMS2, they did it with AMS1 (by avoiding false promises).

 

[roadyroad]

Alright, what else to say... Hoping we get a fantastic rFactor 3 within a couple
of years at the most, with the same great physics, tyre model and FFB, but
with the addition of top quality graphics like ACC has, all rendered with the
Unreal Engine 4 or the new upcoming version 5.

Do you guys like that prospect? That would be awsome - Sim heaven!

Fingers crossed.

Unfortunately I don't think this will happen.

 

[Jan Larsen]

“We see this as great news for the sim racing community as we can now leverage the best elements of the rFactor 2 platform, combine it with our foundational use of Unreal Engine (developed by Epic Games)"

Source: Stephen Hood on Autosport: https://www.autosport.com/esports/news/motorsport-games-to-acquire-studio-397-and-rfactor2/5562475/

So, Unreal pretty much confirmed. UNLESS they somehow, magically, manage to adapt the Unreal engine to work with anything other than ultra-highend systems (looking at you ACC), I'm out when the switch happends.

Did S397 just sell the soul of rFactor for the sake of money? The low'ish requirements on systems are one of the main draws of rf2.

Where's ISI when you need them...

 

[passenger]

Are all games made with the Unreal Engine very demanding? I don't play
games, only sim race, so I can't tell, but I doubt that is the case.

ACC is very demanding because it is very poorly optimized - to start with, it
uses very few processor threads.

Not sure, but I believe someone said here that Kart Kraft, that great looking
Karting Sim is also developed with the Unreal Engine, and some people say
it runs very well on any medium decent PC.

It's not the engine, is what you do with it what matters. Besides, it's been
said that ACC could run much faster with more FPS if ported to the new
upcoming Unreal Engine 5.

Anyway, hopefully this becomes a reality with ACC, and with the much
desired rFactor 3.

 

[RaceNut]

It might be interesting to hear from (ISI and/or S397) developers in regard to how they would design rF2 if they were to start over from scratch. ISI made a strong case against upgrading the platform to improve the graphics and other aspects of the title when they were still developing it. They sighted the code complexity and size as major obstacles, iirc.

Perhaps one day, with the aid of AI and new PC tech, simulation coding can be accomplished much more efficiently & quickly but, I can't imagine that is a new concept at all.

Kunos talked about the modular nature of their game-engine for AC. Perhaps that's what made the transition to ACC (Graphics engine) feasible.

I'm guessing that's not the case with rF2 at all. It may also be why rF2 hasn't received an upgrade to the drive-train physics and sound-engine over the years. It's just too complicated and demanding of dev-resources.

 

[Carl Gianetti]

I've been driving R Factor & R Factor 2 for years. I'm in it mostly for the physics. As long as they don't change it to a Arcade style game I'm all in on progress.

 

[tr1v1um]

“We see this as great news for the sim racing community as we can now leverage the best elements of the rFactor 2 platform, combine it with our foundational use of Unreal Engine (developed by Epic Games)"

Source: Stephen Hood on Autosport: https://www.autosport.com/esports/news/motorsport-games-to-acquire-studio-397-and-rfactor2/5562475/

So, Unreal pretty much confirmed. UNLESS they somehow, magically, manage to adapt the Unreal engine to work with anything other than ultra-highend systems (looking at you ACC), I'm out when the switch happends.

Did S397 just sell the soul of rFactor for the sake of money? The low'ish requirements on systems are one of the main draws of rf2.

Where's ISI when you need them...

There was nothing said or written that would indicate that they are moving to UE4 with rF2. They will use UE for the Nascar, WEC and BTCC lisenced games and plugin pmotor engine. rF2 will in return propably recieve more manpower, knowhow, a financial boost and help with lisencing negotiations as explained with the Ferrari deal. All in all there is nothing to worry about and rF2 will be developed as before in the foreseeable future.

 

[roadyroad]

Are all games made with the Unreal Engine very demanding? I don't play
games, only sim race, so I can't tell, but I doubt that is the case.

ACC is very demanding because it is very poorly optimized - to start with, it
uses very few processor threads.

Not sure, but I believe someone said here that Kart Kraft, that great looking
Karting Sim is also developed with the Unreal Engine, and some people say
it runs very well on any medium decent PC.

It's not the engine, is what you do with it what matters. Besides, it's been
said that ACC could run much faster with more FPS if ported to the new
upcoming Unreal Engine 5.

Anyway, hopefully this becomes a reality with ACC, and with the much
desired rFactor 3.

Indeed kartkraft is smooth and well optimized. I don't have issues with ACC with a now obsolete PC, with an old i7 2600k and a gtx 1070. I play in single screen 1920x1080 though, or in VR. Rfactor2 is more demanding on my system sometimes, so a switch to the unreal engine would not bother me. But I don't think it will happen, nothing will happen to rfactor2, except maybe a slower developpement, grabing a bit more cash with new licences linked to esport events.

Unreal engine games have the rep of being demanding but some of them run smoothly, so it is possible to have a good experience. It depends on the developpers abilities. Gravel, a racing game, runs fine for example (edit : it runs perfectly fine on a 2019 laptop with an i7 and a gtx1060 in 2560x1444 in 100hz).

 

[Jan Larsen]

There was nothing said or written that would indicate that they are moving to UE4 with rF2. They will use UE for the Nascar, WEC and BTCC lisenced games and plugin pmotor engine. rF2 will in return propably recieve more manpower, knowhow, a financial boost and help with lisencing negotiations as explained with the Ferrari deal. All in all there is nothing to worry about and rF2 will be developed as before in the foreseeable future.

Optimistic. 20 years of experience tells me a different story. I may be right, may be wrong, but I've seen these types of aquisitions before.

 

[Roman1987]

I think this is great news for rf2 and the Sim Racing Community! And I do not get the negativity here within some posts.

Life will be always about evolution so you just need to stay agile and adapt to what is ahead of you while being aware that there is always uncertainty along the road. Looking at the video here from Sim Racing Paddock you can clearly see how often the base of rfactor changed over time and delivered great content with each iteration/new franchise.

I guess that will be the same for now on moving forward with motorsport games. And I remember all the times here basically with every roadmap update that it was claimed s397 need to do this and that and in general are too slow with everything. Now with new ressources at hand they might speed up and are able to explore different opportunities for future developments and I think this is great news.

Cheers

 

[passenger]

rFactor can not go on with its old engine forever, it has to evolve. These guys
at Motorsport Games have bought it to use its techonology in their games,
but rFactor also has to grow in every aspect, graphically too.