rF2 | Development Roadmap For January

[Paul Jeffrey]

Another development studio to release their next monthly 'Development Roadmap' is Studio 397 - the Dutch team showing off what's been happening in rFactor 2 in recent weeks.

Having posted to the world just a few short days ago, Studio 397 have released their January Development Roadmap for rFactor 2, giving us all a look at some of the things that have been happening in rFactor 2 of late, and a look at a few upcoming items schedule for the simulation in the near future.

Oh, and don't forget to watch the race video from Sim Formula 2020 to catch yours truly on commentary duty

rFactor 2 Development Roadmap - January

Hello everybody, we hope you have all had enough time to read and digest the December roadmap? Here at the studio we have all enjoyed our holidays and are back in full force for the new year. It’s time to put on your racing gloves and fasten your seatbelts to blast through the first roadmap of 2020, all lights are green!

New User Interface

A lot of people have tried out the new user interface and provided feedback. We’ve been collecting this information and are scheduling a new “public beta” update next week.

We changed the way series, track and car selection works in the main menu, returning you right back where you came from instead of always going to the dedicated race menu. Talking about that race menu, nobody liked the way we loaded the favorite servers every time you entered that menu, so that now happens only once (and allows you the option to manually refresh later). Ultimately we will make the whole loading asynchronous, so you never have to wait for it.

We made the replay slider draggable for replays so you can quickly find that scene you were looking for. A few problems that prevented the client from downloading components from a server that was hosting them were addressed and they are now correctly downloaded and installed again while showing you the progress. Brake wear and tire temperatures in the garage after you’ve been on track with your car are back, which should help you analyze your setup. An issue where you could start driving again in a session after being disqualified was fixed. The intermittent issue where the pace car did not correctly load was also addressed. Tyre flex is now again being applied correctly to the visual model.

Unrelated to the UI, we fixed the join lag which accidentally slipped in after some internal refactorings.

We also have an exciting director mode in the works. Taking our broadcast tools from rFactor 2 and allowing you to stream and control the broadcast overlay easily. That also means we’ll start shipping a configurable, customizable overlay. More news on that in our next roadmap.

Looking Back at Sim Formula 2020

Thanks to all of you who visited the event or watched the racing being streamed live. The MECC in Maastricht was the perfect venue and the collaboration with InterClassics meant plenty of eye candy, with the city providing many opportunities for a great night out in between the four days. Overall the event was a big success, with both the esports convention and the student workshop drawing a lot of attention before the big crowds hit Sim Formula and InterClassics on the weekend. The exhibition area where lots of different hardware could be tested saw rigs in constant use and I think many visitors got introduced to the depth and experience of simracing that we have all grown used to. Saturday’s hotlap competition in the main auditorium saw people pushing hard on the virtual circuit of Maastricht. The three races on Sunday crowned Risto Kappet the overall winner, beating the four other finalists for the top spot on the podium.

Assisting Aspiring Game Developers

As well as continuing to improve upon rFactor 2, making time to support young aspiring game developers is something we value here at Studio 397. Members of our UK based team have been invited to a student event at Warrington & Vale Royal College to provide support and advice to students starting their game developing journey. Before the event, students will be taking part in a week-long game jam to which they must produce and pitch the best game idea to industry clientele. The work produced will be entered into a competition, and judged by industry guests, including one of our very own artists, Joel Pattie.

The event will commence from Monday 3rd February and run through to Friday 7th February. Students will be broken into teams of 4/5 members, and must produce a solid example from their idea generation. Tasks will include the creation of a Game Design Document, Level Planning, and 3D environments representing a level in their game, with each industry guest offering support and assistance to help the learners understand how the industry operates. Studio 397 will be providing 5 copies of rFactor 2 to the team awarded best voted game idea!

GT3 BOP Update

Over the past month we have been working on updating our GT3 cars to level performance as best possible. Our hardcore test drivers have put in a lot of laps to ensure a more equal performance across the board, ranging from qualification pace to performance over a full fuel stint. That has lead to the following adjustments for the cars:

• Radical RXC GT3: -30kg weight penalty
• BMW M6 GT3: -30kg weight penalty
• McLaren 650S GT3: -5kg weight penalty.
• Audi R8 LMS GT3 2018: +5kg weight penalty.
• Porsche 991 GT3-R: -1.5% engine torque/power output.
• Bentley Continental GT3: +10kg weight penalty, -2% engine torque/power output.
• Callaway C7 GT3-R: -2.5% engine torque/power output
• Aston Martin Vantage GT3: +15kg weight penalty

Unchanged are the McLaren 720s GT3, Audi R8 LMS GT3 2019 and Mercedes AMG GT3. Expect these updates to come in later this evening.

Tracks

The environment art team has been recovering from last years work load and setting about improving our core generic assets as well as starting work on some new projects which we’ll be able to share with you in the coming months. That said we do have a few updates to share with you this month. We’ve got a full update to the latest technology for the Monaco Formula E track coming which includes many upgrades over the current release version. Additionally, we’ve made some small tweaks to Le Mans to address a few common complaints.

Competition

We are confident that 2020 will be an exciting year, both for us in the Studio but more importantly for simracers (obviously rFactor 2 drivers will have more fun, and yes you can use that as a bumper sticker). In the December roadmap we revealed a glimpse of the future by announcing 4 major endurance special events, so let’s elaborate a bit more on those now. The first three will be the Sebring 12 hour, the Nordschleife 24 hour and the rF24 Le Mans race. The fourth one will be announced later this year. These races will be partially based on invites and have qualification routes for entry for everyone else.

That’s not all. In roughly a month from now our new rF2 GT Pro Series and rF2 GT Challenge Series will kick off. Our First Pro Series season will last for three months and will be handled by invitation and a hotlap qualifier. After this season we will have people moving up from Challenge Series to compete for the prize money in the 2nd season of GT Pro Series. The Challenge Series will be fluid and can consist of multiple splits, giving everybody a chance to climb through the ranks, so don’t worry if you are not a hotlapper, you will have your chance to prove your racecraft and quickly advance to the top tier!

The GT Pro Series will be broadcast live and the top split in the GT Challenge Series will be broadcast as well. Invites will be sent out in the upcoming week and qualifying will start in two weeks time. Based on the results there, the Pro Series Grid and the Challenge Grids will be determined. Look out for our announcement and more details shortly!


Original Source - Studio 397

rFactor 2 is available exclusively on PC.

Throw down a new thread on the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment if you want to ask our awesome community anything about this popular racing simulation.

 

[Gasper Zupan]

I would just like someone to point me to the title and say: this sim has better AI than rFactor2. Ok, AMS is high up there with rF2, but what else is out there? "It could be a lot better" is just a thing of imagination and expectation. Usualy we set both to high, thats for sure

 

[Salvatore Sirignano]

I dont understand many posts here. What's wrong with rf2 AI? I mean, I mostly race online, but sometimes I go singleplayer for the exotic combos or train with heavy trafic. It's not perfect, but better than AMS, AC and iR AI. So, what sim is the refeence title to compare with?

@Gasper Zupan AMS has significantly better AI slipstreaming and overtaking, vs each other and vs the player. Reiza made significant code changes from build 1.5 onwards that really nailed it.
In rF2 at Spa 66 I have never seen a slipstream pass.

Since late 2017 when I bought a rift to play with rF2, maybe further back, something in the AI had changed regarding how they drive. In the corners they stab the throttle several times, on and off, meaning that every corner exit is in effect a drag race and they can´t overtake each other as well as they should. They used to blend the throttle. Sounds minor, but it is actually a huge difference. Here´s a vid..

 

[numbersevenhull]

I would just like someone to point me to the title and say: this sim has better AI than rFactor2. Ok, AMS is high up there with rF2, but what else is out there? "It could be a lot better" is just a thing of imagination and expectation. Usualy we set both to high, thats for sure

That would be iracing, and it's still in development. Park any cost issues, on the basic question of AI right out of the box it shows rF2 up for the shambolic mess it is. It's staggeringly good in iracing and you can race it with absolute confidence which ultimately is what it is about.

 

[Gasper Zupan]

Ok, but this does not mean one needs to abandon rF2 does it? Because most of the time I have a decent experience with AI. You can see for yourself:

 

[MarcG]

I would just like someone to point me to the title and say: this sim has better AI than rFactor2. Ok, AMS is high up there with rF2, but what else is out there? "It could be a lot better" is just a thing of imagination and expectation. Usualy we set both to high, thats for sure

iRacing & RaceRoom are equal/if not better, ACC has good AI, AMS2 will more than likely have good AI at release. RF2 AI has been left to gather dust and therefore others have caught up.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

Yep. Going back five years, rF2 had by far the best AI implementation and the only thing that came near it was rF1. I remember the horror of racing early AI in Assetto Corsa, at the time it looked like Kunos and others will never even get close to the ballpark of rF2. But five years is a long time and things move on. If you look at how AI applications have advanced in society, sim AI should actually be a lot further along than it is, but at least we should be at a point where old and tested "fast path" based AI should work bug free.

 

[Salvatore Sirignano]

Ok, but this does not mean one needs to abandon rF2 does it? Because most of the time I have a decent experience with AI. You can see for yourself:

@Gasper Zupan you just proved my point
At 4:12 in your first video, what could be an awesome 3 wide battle is ruined because the AI car in front of you is tapping his brakes instead of slipstreaming and overtaking the other guy. Instead you go by them as if they aren´t there. Since 2012 rF2´s AI has done that...

And at 5:55 too, watching more of it.... 11:10....

 

[tr1v1um]

@Gasper Zupan you just proved my point
At 4:12 in your first video, what should be an awesome 3 wide battle is ruined because the AI car in front of you is tapping his brakes instead of slipstreaming and overtaking the other guy. Instead you go by them as if they aren´t there. Since 2012 rF2´s AI has done that, for me it ruins it completely.

And at 5:55 too, watching more of it.... 11:10....

Without going too much into detail here and trying to avoid all those sim vs sim discussions, I think that I wouldn't stick my nose with confidence into a three wide battle in most of the products that have been mentioned here, besides rF2. Most sims have their own pros and cons, while player/general awareness is still one that stands out most in all of the products. AMS AI is good at slip streaming, but it has other shortcommings that make me restart races quite often and it shows that the AI has shortcommings in how it defends compared to rF2. AC was never good when it comes to AI and I have no idea how people even mention the AC AI train here. The first glimpses of iRacing look good, but how good it really is needs to be seen when all the cars and tracks are supported and how it integrates with the general feature set. ACC AI is decent, RR AI seems far too agressive at times with zero player awereness and PC/PC2 AI is what it is. In that regard I am looking forward to the feedback from the hyping bregade who allready praise AMS2 as the second best thing since sliced bread.

With that said, the whole problem with rF2 AI is that it once worked really great, making it possible to use all the features within the sim and making it a general great racing experience. In the past you could have coop endurance races with proper working FCYs, dynamic weather while racing against human players and very competent AI with very good player awreness that didn't tap the break in mili seconds gaps braking the immersion. Where else do you get that currently in sim racing? I don't think that the competition from other products is too strong. The real competition comes from users who know that all this stuff once worked and that the protential is there within the sim.

 

[Anomalistics]

@Gasper Zupan AMS has significantly better AI slipstreaming and overtaking, vs each other and vs the player. Reiza made significant code changes from build 1.5 onwards that really nailed it.
In rF2 at Spa 66 I have never seen a slipstream pass.

Since late 2017 when I bought a rift to play with rF2, maybe further back, something in the AI had changed regarding how they drive. In the corners they stab the throttle several times, on and off, meaning that every corner exit is in effect a drag race and they can´t overtake each other as well as they should. They used to blend the throttle. Sounds minor, but it is actually a huge difference. Here´s a vid..

If I recall correctly, a patch was introduced that changed the behaviour. I told the developers and they were like 'nothing has changed'

This video is a perfect example of what I was going on about, it was driving me crazy! To think that the AI has now regressed..

 

[Tr0nic]

Please fix the Ai inputs... it is horrible...

 

[Durge Driven]

 

[mr Sw1tchblade]

Simracing e-sport market is in terrible condition now, if product w/o quality control like rf2 can provide big prizes.

 

[Oldzeb]

always surprised by the gathering of hater on the rf2 topics on racedpt...

 

[Gevatter]

View attachment 347576

Number 3 will shock you!

10) Finish the UI you've been teasing for years.
9) Don't release buggy/unfinished DLC content...
8) ... for double the money everybody else charges.
7) Stop focusing solely on e-sports.
6) Bring AI back to par with the other sims.
5) Implement a proper transmission model.
4) Don't prioritize paid content over core upgrades.
3) Release hotfixes/optimizations for new DLCs in a timely manner.
2) Implement Single player game modes like championship/carrer.
1) Fix the bugs everybody was telling you about for years!

//Errata:
8) should read "... for double the money everybody else (except iRacing) charges." Thanks @MarcG

 

[cprelot]

Overall? What happens if I want to race open wheelers?

you have RaceRoom!! If you haven't tried go check this out it's even better with a Directdrive wheel

 

[MarcG]

Number 3 will shock you!

10) Finish the UI you've been teasing for years.
9) Don't release buggy/unfinished DLC content...
8) ... for double the money everybody else charges
7) Stop focusing solely on e-sports.
6) Bring AI back to par with the other sims.
5) Implement a proper transmission model.
4) Don't prioritize paid content over core upgrades.
3) Release hotfixes/optimizations for new DLCs in a timely manner.
2) Implement Single player game modes like championship/carrer.
1) Fix the bugs everybody was telling you about for years!.

#8 is an out right lie

 

[Gevatter]

#8 is an out right lie

Yeah you're right. While we get four tracks for 15€ for ACC a single track for rF2 costs between 7€ - 12€.
It should say double to triple the money.

 

[Diogenes3.14]

Number 3 will shock you!

10) Finish the UI you've been teasing for years.
9) Don't release buggy/unfinished DLC content...
8) ... for double the money everybody else charges
7) Stop focusing solely on e-sports.
6) Bring AI back to par with the other sims.
5) Implement a proper transmission model.
4) Don't prioritize paid content over core upgrades.
3) Release hotfixes/optimizations for new DLCs in a timely manner.
2) Implement Single player game modes like championship/carrer.
1) Fix the bugs everybody was telling you about for years!.

This 100%. An excellent list for the devs to keep in mind. Thanks.

 

[MarcG]

Yeah you're right. While we get four tracks for 15€ for ACC a single track for rF2 costs between 7€ - 12€.
It should say double to triple the money.

You said "everybody" last time i checked RF2 DLC was cheaper than iRacing and even so if you can't afford it then you have bigger problems at hand.

 

[Gevatter]

You said "everybody" last time i checked RF2 DLC was cheaper than iRacing and even so if you can't afford it then you have bigger problems at hand.

Maybe I don't want to afford it because it isn't worth it for rF2 in its current state
But yes, everybody except the subscription based Service is cheaper. I'll add an annotation.