rF2 GT3 Power Pack Released Alongside New Update

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 have released the new 'GT3 Power Pack' DLC for rFactor 2, adding five new GT3 spec cars alongside a brand new build update.

Now unfortunately it looks like those of us excited to try out the new rain effects will have to wait just a little bit longer, as the new build update released today has more of a focus on some impressive new visual damage modeling and tyre model updates, as well as the new cars of course. Despite its relative compact size the improvements should immediately be noticeable for rFactor 2 fans, with some subtle but encouraging enhancements made across several areas of the simulation, and plenty more planned for the near future.

The new build and car DLC are both available now, with the update automatically installing when you next restart your Steam client.

Want to know more about the future of rFactor 2? Don't forget to check out our interview with Studio 397 head man @Marcel Offermans HERE.

Build Changelog:

• Added: An extended visual damage model featuring a combination of dents, scratches and cracks on the bodywork of cars, which has been implemented on the GT3 pack.
• Added: New window and headlight glass shader that produces more realistic reflections. All five GT3 cars use it.
• Added: Controller Profiles for Thrustmaster T-GT, T-GT Ferrari F1 Addon, TS-XW, TS-XW with Ferrari F1 Addon.
• Added: Updates to the CPM model.
• Fixed: Various small fixes to the no rain zone code that prevents rain from entering closed cockpits.
• Fixed: All controller profiles default inputs are now assigned to JOY1.
• Fixed: Bumped the rFactor 2 version for multiplayer compatibility to 1109 because of the new visual dents that required changes to the multiplayer protocol.

The GT3 Power Pack DLC
Available now via the Steam store, the GT3 Power Pack can be purchased as either a full five car package or as individual items. The pack retails for £13.35 and can be purchased HERE.

Bentley Continental GT3

The Bentley Continental GT3 was first unveiled at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed in 2013; and since has been competing in many different GT3 championships across the globe. Even though the car looks big, it is actually very light; and its 600 horsepower 4.0 liter twin turbo engine makes it a force to be reckoned with.

Radical RXC Turbo GT3

The Radical RXC Turbo GT3 is a bit of a rare appearance in the GT3 field, but it certainly is a very strong contender. Its light and stiff body holds a 3.5 liter Ford Ecoboost V6 engine with twin turbos and intercoolers, delivering over 500 horsepower. This car competes in the GT Open and debuted in 2016 at the season opener at Estoril. Of all the cars in the pack, this one probably feels the most like an open wheeler.

Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R

The Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R, designed and built by Callaway Competition in Leingarten, Germany, started life on the drawing boards in 2014 and hit the tracks in 2016 when it started competing in the ADAC GT Masters. That campaign proved to be very successful; and recently it was announced that this car is now also ready to debut in the US, with GM giving permission to run in its home country. This 600 horsepower, 6.2 liter V8 packs a serious punch and sounds great. Nick-named “Darth Vader”, as it was first shown with an all-black carbon fiber body, this car will definitely remind you to hit your braking points and apexes if it shows up in your rear mirror!

Mercedes AMG GT3

The Mercedes AMG GT3 was presented to the world in March of 2015 at the Geneva Motor Show. The 6.2 liter naturally aspirated V8 engine and carbon-fiber body ensure this car can always be found at the front of the pack. Apart from racing in GT3, this car has also been entered in both the Super GT GT300 and IMSA GTD classes.

McLaren 650S GT3

The McLaren 650S GT3 is a car we already released earlier this year for the World’s Fastest Gamer competition. The car made its debut in 2015 and was designed and optimised to contest GT3 championships. Building on the MP4-12C GT3, it offered optimisations in many areas, including aerodynamics. Powered by a 3.8 liter twin turbo V8 engine that is known to spit fire like there’s no tomorrow, this car is definitely an awesome appearance on any track. We have updated this car based on community feedback and additional data we received.

rFactor 2 is a PC exclusive racing simulation available worldwide via the Steam network.

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..! Head over to the forum now and share the love this simulation so very much deserves...

Excited to finally get chance to try the latest rFactor 2 DLC? What are your impressions so far? Which is your favorite car of the pack? What would you like to see next from S397? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[pcraenme]

I am happy to pay the amount that is asked for this pack. I bought rF2 years ago when it was released in beta by ISI and rF2 was almost dead until Studio 397 came along and took over. We got an upgraded dx11 graphics engine (and a lot more updates and fixes), a few great new cars and a few tracks, all for free and now they have released their first paid content (they have to make some money!). Price per car may be higher than AC, but is similar to R3E.

 

[RichardHessels]

But the beta is for people who want to try the DX11 version, which is not finalized yet, so we need to download it. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, you click on the beta option.. voila 5 minutes later you are running the DX11 version. If it does not suit you, revert back to DX9 in 2 clicks.

 

[Steve Worrell]

Boy oh boy...external damage model...serious?? The best sim ever is becoming just a mainstream game for Pcars 2 players

For me damage is a serious feature that hasn't been done right for years. I'm not saying it needs to be beamng levels just enough to stop you from driving recklessly.

I tell you a sim that did it well. GTR2. You felt like you were being punished if you made a mistake.

I'm bored of hitting a car/wall and thinking I "really should be out of the race but I will carry on anyway"

I just find it bizarre that developers go to extraordinary lengths to create the most realistic driving sim ever but forget that protecting your equipment is one of if not the most important part of racing. The person who gets to the finish line first without bending Thier kit wins.

Before I forget f12017 doesn't do a bad job either.

 

[=Fieldzy=]

Clear your shaders and damage will work. That is how I got mine to work.

 

[Bez]

But the beta is for people who want to try the DX11 version, which is not finalized yet, so we need to download it. Correct me if I'm wrong.

i think your right, recently reformatted my PC and thought id seen it mentioned that it was out of dx11 beta, thanks for the heads up!

 

[Andrew Harper]

Nice update by Studio 397. Looking forward to trying out the new cars.

I'm slightly saddened by some of the criticism on here. Only because as mentioned in previous posts this title was dead in the water before Studio 397 took over.

Ok there have been issues but they are a tiny team in comparison to others and they've worked very hard to get the DX11 version working well. They did much of their development work in public rather than with private beta testing and that's very risky. It's pretty much perfect on my system so far so I have no real complaints.

All the updates, fixes and so on have been for free. The GT3 pack is the only thing they've asked money for so I'll gladly support them on that.

Visually it looks very good to me, not as great as Project Cars 2 but certainly as good as any other DX11 based title I've seen. Yes it does depend slightly on the time of day that you choose but as seen with the pic of the corvette it does look almost real if the time, detail level is spot on.

I'm not worried about the UI. As long as it works and does the job I'm happy, Studio 397 have been very open on that front and have explained that they are still fine tuning it to include new features (which is probably what's causing the delays) but as long as the other one works I'm fine.

Not 100% about the damage looking at the picture, usually with carbon the car "breaks" rather than bends but I'll see what it looks like later on tonight.

No sim is perfect, they all have their good points and bad points.

Well done to Studio 397 and keep up the good work

 

[apex11]

Nice update by Studio 397. Looking forward to trying out the new cars.

I'm slightly saddened by some of the criticism on here. Only because as mentioned in previous posts this title was dead in the water before Studio 397 took over.

Ok there have been issues but they are a tiny team in comparison to others and they've worked very hard to get the DX11 version working well. They did much of their development work in public rather than with private beta testing and that's very risky. It's pretty much perfect on my system so far so I have no real complaints.

All the updates, fixes and so on have been for free. The GT3 pack is the only thing they've asked money for so I'll gladly support them on that.

Visually it looks very good to me, not as great as Project Cars 2 but certainly as good as any other DX11 based title I've seen. Yes it does depend slightly on the time of day that you choose but as seen with the pic of the corvette it does look almost real if the time, detail level is spot on.

I'm not worried about the UI. As long as it works and does the job I'm happy, Studio 397 have been very open on that front and have explained that they are still fine tuning it to include new features (which is probably what's causing the delays) but as long as the other one works I'm fine.

Not 100% about the damage looking at the picture, usually with carbon the car "breaks" rather than bends but I'll see what it looks like later on tonight.

No sim is perfect, they all have their good points and bad points.

Well done to Studio 397 and keep up the good work

Agreed... I wouldn't worry about the guys being negative, so long as you enjoy it. I'd imagine the negative ones are littering the PCars 2 forums with praise and slagging off anyone who dares to suggest PCars 2 has issues..
If anyone had written what a few people had written on here about SMS / PCars 2 by now we would of had several of Ian Bells attack dogs and a bunch of wannabees all dishing out abuse. Not to mention most likely the man himself would pop along to stir the pot.....
PCars 2 does seem to attract that console child vibe around its fanbase....

 

[Alex Townsend]

Totally agree. Those who understand the history of this title wouldn't be blaming the people that are helping to keep it from going under.
Calling it a cash cow for DLC after all the free stuff they've given us is just beyond ridiculous. But hey, guess everyone is entitled to their opinion and we'll get a few on here that are vwey different than the happy core group I'm sure.
I'm loving the new update and cars and was totally worth the money. Supporting a small team doing amazing things with a great sim is what it used to be about anyway.

 

[apex11]

Totally agree. Those who understand the history of this title wouldn't be blaming the people that are helping to keep it from going under.
Calling it a cash cow for DLC after all the free stuff they've given us is just beyond ridiculous. But hey, guess everyone is entitled to their opinion and we'll get a few on here that are vwey different than the happy core group I'm sure.
I'm loving the new update and cars and was totally worth the money. Supporting a small team doing amazing things with a great sim is what it used to be about anyway.

I'm new to RF2, spent many years on consoles and once i switched to PC i just knew i had to have RF2, if for nothing else as a reference point as i'd constantly heard about its physics etc...
I picked it up for £11.99 and once i'd worked out about the green track and cold tyres giving silly ice wheels on glass results i saw a wonderful experience ahead.
I go between RRE / AC / AMS and of course RF2 and enjoy them all.
As soon as i went onto the beta and got DX11 i even found i liked the graphics, great colour palette and nice details on the cars, some mods are ropey but hey they are free!
For £11.99 RF2 is worth that simply for the USF2000 which is one of the best sim cars ever IMO.
I'd never ever say it was a cash cow as since i spent that £11.99 I've clocked up 90 hours on it and downloaded countless tracks and cars for free.
It has issues for sure but i rarely see people ever defending them as strictly as the PCars and AC crowd, most RF2 players seem to just deal with the issues but don't blindly pretend they don't exist like PCars fans..
Great game and for my out lay of £11.99 i can't believe the amount of stuff that has been improved since then not to mention more mods and free stuff...

 

[Terry Rock]

Anybody even still able to run RF2 in multiplayer?
Every time I try to join a MP session I get a 'bad file descriptor' error.
I have not been able to run a multiplayer session in years.
Great to see S357 take the ball forward though.

 

[Emery]

Anybody even still able to run RF2 in multiplayer?
Every time I try to join a MP session I get a 'bad file descriptor' error.
I have not been able to run a multiplayer session in years.
Great to see S357 take the ball forward though.

You've got something seriously broken in your install.

 

[makan]

how can I notice that my client downloaded the 1 gig update?
Yesterday I switched to 1109 dx11 from 1108 dx11. after that, steam just downloaded 56 MB!
I verified the game, restarted the PC and steam, nothing happened.
It is possible that steam downloaded 1 gig update before I switched to 1109 dx11?

 

[Gijs van Elderen]

Yesterday I switched to 1109 dx11 from 1108 dx11 and steam download just 56 MB!

That's correct. No worry's.

It is possible that steam downloaded 1 gig update before I switched to 1109 dx11?

Yes, it did the 1 gig download when you switched from the main build to the DX11 beta.

 

[Andrew Harper]

Anybody even still able to run RF2 in multiplayer?
Every time I try to join a MP session I get a 'bad file descriptor' error.
I have not been able to run a multiplayer session in years.
Great to see S357 take the ball forward though.

There are a couple of things that go through my mind, whether they are correct I don't know but I'm sure someone will add-on to this if needed.

Which version of RF2 are you using? The game went entirely over to Steam from the standalone version. The standalone version is no longer supported (I think I'm right in saying that) so if you try joining a server with that version of the game I assume it would not work and you'd be thrown out. You mention "years" which makes me think it's the older non-steam version.

There can be issues with build numbers on DX9 versions of the game. I only experienced it once but the game updated itself to a different build to the server I was trying to join and it wouldn't let me join the multiplayer. I had to roll back the game version to finally join in (again this was on the Steam version). A rare occurrence but it does happen. I've had no issues with the DX11 version.

There is also the usual issue with mods. If you have even a mildly different version of the mod, track, etc. you will get mismatch file errors and get thrown out. That's the same with a lot of modded content though.

As mentioned above, something could be seriously wrong with your install.

Apologies if you know all of this stuff, I'm just trying to think of different solutions for you

 

[makan]

That's correct. No worry's.

Yes, it did the 1 gig download when you switched from the main build to the DX11 beta.

Strange
I always monitor my software/game updates , didnt saw steam downloading 1 gig.
Anyway , thanks

 

[Rastas]

€30 for a hand job seems excessive

Loooool

 

[William Wester]

Agreed... I wouldn't worry about the guys being negative, so long as you enjoy it. I'd imagine the negative ones are littering the PCars 2 forums with praise and slagging off anyone who dares to suggest PCars 2 has issues..
If anyone had written what a few people had written on here about SMS / PCars 2 by now we would of had several of Ian Bells attack dogs and a bunch of wannabees all dishing out abuse. Not to mention most likely the man himself would pop along to stir the pot.....
PCars 2 does seem to attract that console child vibe around its fanbase....

Actually, it's clear (from time on the forums) that most of the "negativity" I'm seeing on here is from those with clear AC and AMS bias. But that's neither here nor there, there is a lot of negativity to go around on all of the forums. Someone will always give their negative $0.02.

On topic, I've only driven the Corvette other than the previously released McLaren - nice! I like to see improvements to the visual damage model even though it may not be a perfect demonstration of IRL accidents. Sh*t happens in racing, battle scares are welcome.

I wish rF2 development could move faster but hey, I don't know anything of the technical challenges or business limitations/priorities of Studio 397.

 

[Dirk Steffen]

I may have asked that question a few weeks ago elsewhere but can't remember nor find an answer:

For people with AMD crossfire setup - was the rF2 DX11 built best run with or without crossfire enabled and if crossfire was working, which profile was best to use.

I have just seen that with my usual setup one of the two GPUs would just stay completely idle (0% load) while the other would fluctuate in load and frame rate would generally abysmal (30-50 FPS alone on the track).
Both GPU clocks stay rock solid at their designated 3D rendering clock.

I remember that I had the DX11 rF2 build running relatively smooth when the McLaren 650s was released and was very happy about the car @ Paul Ricard and Silverstone (running GT3 offline races with the AI on Apex mod GT3 cars).

For some reason I cannot get the new GT3 pack to run properly (and wrote this off initially as an issue with the GT3 pack as others earlier have commented performance issues with the new cars apart from the McLaren).

 

[hitm4k3r]

The cars are all of very good quality in terms of their 3D and 2D and especialy in DX11 with PP at ultra they look very good. Got to say though that this comes at the cost of performance so I really hope to see more improvements to the performance of the DX11 core engine before they are really usable for me. In DX9 they work perfectly fine and the Bentley is just a blizz to drive. Had an offline race at Estoril yesterday in DX9 and it allways reminds me what makes this sim so good, even if DX9 looks a bit dull at first glance. After few laps going side by side with the AI and fighting for positions you get into the zone of total immersion it's like a workout. How people can say that AMS looks better is a bit beyond me and when ever I boot up AMS (wich is pretty often) it certainly feels like a step back, same as rF2 will feel like a step back from PCars 2. To each his own I guess. The sound is pretty good on all cars, especialy the Bentley and the Radical, but they need to work on the balance of in car volume vs. opponent volume. Physics and FFB are on par with other official content - no further comment needed

The problem of the skins has allready been pointed out and it is one of the things that leaves a bit of a sour taste from my POV to release a DLC with just one skin for three of the cars. People don't want to start PS once they buy the DLC - they want to race and get immersed. But reading comments on the forum and on discord they are working on that aspect allready. So thumbs up from my side. Now gimme a 90's CART DLC

 

[m_mirk]

I really like the cars and the DLC. I have and love all the other sims, but these cars with the rfactor2 AI fits my demands at best for the moment. I love the physics and the FFB and there are no WTF moments with this sim. I can push the cars to their limit and squeeze them out - I have this feeling for pushing a little bit more every lap at most with R3E and rFactor2. Which is really good fun. With AC I somehow think you have to drive careful and more precise slipwise to be fast.


Sadly I have no time atm to join RD Races and bad AI keeps me away from PCARS2. But I can really enjoy rFactor2 with these cars! I got late to this game, but now I enjoy it even more. Hopefully we will get some more skins with an update.


On my PC (Geforce 1070) the DX11 Beta looks fabulous and I have enough frames with 30 cars on track and everything maxed out.