rF2 Interview, Roadmap and Raindrops

[Paul Jeffrey]

Following an interesting first reveal at the Sim Racing Expo, check out the new rFactor 2 roadmap including our interview with Marcel Offermans and first footage of the new rain effects...

Now confirming the beautiful 2017 Bentley Continental GT3 will join the recently released McLaren 650s in the new officially licenced paid GT3 DLC pack, Studio 397 have been hard at work these last few months bringing together a wealth of updates and improvements for their premium racing simulation.

Whilst of course the new Bentley will be a fairly major talking point for fans of rFactor 2, one of the most impressive improvements featured over at the Expo would undoubtedly be the impressive looking new rain effects coming in a future build, finally adding a much improved visual representation of the wet stuff in rFactor 2.. including windscreen wipers!!

Now able to match visually what is an impressive physical representation of rain in rF2, fans will no doubt be very keen to try out these new visuals and features (including dynamic puddles, dynamic raindrops etc), and accompanying shader improvements to the main game, once the proposed new build update is released in the coming days.

Of course with RaceDepartment on hand at the Expo we just had to have a quick chat with the ever jovial Marcel Offermans, spending a bit of time with the S397 CEO to talk rain, Bentley, DLC, updates, the future and plenty more in between. You can check the interview out below:

With plenty of food for thought coming from the Expo show and tell by Studio 397, the developers have now released the next scheduled monthly roadmap update, detailing what is happening behind the scenes, and shedding some more light (or not) on the next big GT3 DLC car coming in the near future and plenty more in-between...

Check out the full roadmap posting below:

We’re back! After a busy weekend at SimracingExpo held at the famed Nurburgring, most of us have both finished vacations and returned to the office, ready to make progress on our next update.

The Expo was a lot of fun, and we got to meet and greet plenty of hardware manufacturers, software studios, and of course a lot of simracers. Thank you to everyone who came to see us. Studio 397 attended with two cockpits: one triple screen and one virtual reality. Both were running an internal build with the newly announced Bentley Continental GT3 2017 racing in the rain at NOLA Motorsports Park.

McLaren's World's Fastest Gamer
Thank you to everyone who participated in the WFG using rFactor 2! It was a stunning success and something we’re really proud of. Not only did we take on a fairly short-notice build of the McLaren 650s GT3 for use in the competition, but we built, tested, and implemented a whole user registration and online session monitoring system that performed wonderfully. This makes us really excited about the future and how a working online competition structure such as that will really get people racing online in rFactor 2.

Bentley Continental GT3 2017
We are very excited to announce the Bentley Continental GT3 2017 as the second car in our upcoming GT3 pack. Used in many of the premier GT3 categories around the world, the car has a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and up to unrestricted 600hp. The GT3 pack is due for release in October.

Also mentioned in the FaceBook livestream was updated damage and a licensing agreement with Tatuus Racing s.r.l. for a number of open-wheel Formula cars. This allows us to fill out the ladder of progression from Karts to Grand Prix racing and will work well within our competition structure due out next year.

And to whet your appetite, here’s a sneak peek of the next car in our upcoming pack!

Very exciting times for rFactor 2 fans, with plenty of development and new content in the pipeline, one year on from the announcement of Studio 397 taking over the licence to develop rFactor 2 and the future has never been brighter for this outstanding simulation.

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 see Bentley coming to rF2? Looking forward to the GT3 car pack? What do you think of the rain features? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Marc Collins]

Yep, 7 years ago. Will be interesting to see how the real 2017 version looks in comparison.

I am guessing it is now more difficult to program to make it look good in VR as well as flat screens?

 

[takethree]

Don't get me wrong here, I do like rF2, but the wet weather physics are not their best feature...
I do hope they will change in time, but as for now I completely avoid racing in the wet in rF2.
AI seems completely unaffected, while you are driving with slicks on ice... (It has been a long while though...has it changed since last year ?)

The last time I raced the AI in the rain in rFactor2 I came in first. It was the only time I came in first lol. In dry sunny weather they usually leave me in the dust at the same difficulty level. They don't crash like a human sometimes do but you do see them struggling in the rain. Most times they simply slowed down to avoid sliding all over the place. I liked their implementation of wet weather racing but I don't do it too often because it took a hell lot of concentration not to crash. I try to stick as close as possible to the racing line where it is drier compared to the rest of the track.

 

[thepharcyde]

Yep, 7 years ago. Will be interesting to see how the real 2017 version looks in comparison.

I am guessing it is now more difficult to program to make it look good in VR as well as flat screens?

lol somewhat underwhelming, looks like it's been rendered over the top of an actual replay!!

I cannot wait to see what the future holds for RF2, it simply is the best sim in terms of offline racing with the AI and FFB for me.

It lacks content, but afterwork when the kids are in bed a quick 30min race at sebring is all I require to get my fix and destress from the day

 

[Steve Bird]

I just hope they can stop the rain mist entering the car though the bulkhead. A sort of poor clipping going on


I remember this image from around 7 years ago too.

 

[Davebrave]

"Private and confidential". Ok, fair enough, I won't post it anywhere else... ;-)

BTW I'm quite hyped with this next update. I just hope fps don't dramatically drop as it happens now with current wet weather implementation. At the moment I don't run the game at high settings just because I prefer consistent FPS in all conditions. Anyway, I really like how Studio397 are managing the development, they have definitely brought rf2 back to life.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

I wonder what hardware is in those triple screen setups in the interview video. Would be awesome to know what to aim for. Might be latest and best all around in them but might not be.

Yo @Marcel Offermans sir, is this something you can share with our friend Mr. @Alex72 maybe? /\

Cheers

 

[Andy_J]

I just hope they can stop the rain mist entering the car though the bulkhead. A sort of poor clipping going on


I remember this image from around 7 years ago too.

Already posted #57.

 

[Will Mazeo]

View attachment 213907
"Private and confidential". Ok, fair enough, I won't post it anywhere else... ;-)

BTW I'm quite hyped with this next update. I just hope fps don't dramatically drop as it happens now with current wet weather implementation. At the moment I don't run the game at high settings just because I prefer consistent FPS in all conditions. Anyway, I really like how Studio397 are managing the development, they have definitely brought rf2 back to life.

tbh I'm impressed how they managed to upload a video without Youtube destroying it
the quality is amazing there, maybe because it's dark

 

[aka2k]

rF2 finally got my attention. Maybe now I won't regret buying this game over 3 years ago. Really hope so.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

rF2 finally got my attention. Maybe now I won't regret buying this game over 3 years ago. Really hope so.

So you will only stop regretting buying it now when they added cool-looking rain effects? Fair enough, but for me rF2 was never about the looks. I can find better looking games elsewhere, and I knew that when I bought this title. Btw, probably all the cars will need to be updated with working wipers for these new effects to be fully utilized. With the pace that some modders work lately, it will take a while.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

In one of the blogs it was mentioned that at the end of October/November time they were looking at going completely DX11 and removing the DX9 version of the game. At the moment on high settings I can get 60(ish) FPS at 4k on the DX11 version so I'm happy. No I can't run with the post effects on full (low to medium) but it's good enough for me

No, I read the plan was to keep DX9 updated in parallel with DX11 until the end of the year. And it's kind of important, because from what I've seen, 90% of league racers rely on plugins, which is why they are at the current time still using DX9. The sooner DX11 non-beta and a working plugin interface gets released, the sooner those plugins can be made, but all this means that there is no way they can get rid of DX9 completely anytime soon.

 

[aka2k]

So you will only stop regretting buying it now when they added cool-looking rain effects? Fair enough, but for me rF2 was never about the looks. I can find better looking games elsewhere, and I knew that when I bought this title. Btw, probably all the cars will need to be updated with working wipers for these new effects to be fully utilized. With the pace that some modders work lately, it will take a while.

Good for you. I can't stand a game that looked like something pre-Grand Prix 2 in 1996.

 

[Alex Townsend]

Good for you. I can't stand a game that looked like something pre-Grand Prix 2 in 1996.

But it doesn't and never has looked like that. Maybe you need to check your settings as mine has always looked pretty decent as I'm sure a lot of other users of this title have experienced.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

I wonder what hardware is in those triple screen setups in the interview video. Would be awesome to know what to aim for. Might be latest and best all around in them but might not be.

We brought two rigs to the expo:

1. Our "Studio 397 rig": i7-7700K, SSD, 1080ti, 3x27" Dell S2716DG@1440p with GSync, SimSteering with GT3 wheel, Heusinkveld GT Rig, Pro Pedals, Seq Shifter, Handbrake
2. My "home rig": i7-7700K, SSD, 1080, 3x24" Asus PG248Q@1080p with GSync, SimSteering with GT3 wheel, Heusinkveld GT Rig, Pro Pedals, Oculus Rift with dual tracker setup

 

[Alex Townsend]

We brought two rigs to the expo:

1. Our "Studio 397 rig": i7-7700K, SSD, 1080ti, 3x27" Dell S2716DG@1440p with GSync, SimSteering with GT3 wheel, Heusinkveld GT Rig, Pro Pedals, Seq Shifter, Handbrake
2. My "home rig": i7-7700K, SSD, 1080, 3x24" Asus PG248Q@1080p with GSync, SimSteering with GT3 wheel, Heusinkveld GT Rig, Pro Pedals, Oculus Rift with dual tracker setup

Well... good to know I'm not too far off with a i7 3770k, GTX1070, single 40" HDTV, Fanatec CSW V1 and CSR Elite pedals!!!

 

[Alex72]

We brought two rigs to the expo:

1. Our "Studio 397 rig": i7-7700K, SSD, 1080ti, 3x27" Dell S2716DG@1440p with GSync, SimSteering with GT3 wheel, Heusinkveld GT Rig, Pro Pedals, Seq Shifter, Handbrake
2. My "home rig": i7-7700K, SSD, 1080, 3x24" Asus PG248Q@1080p with GSync, SimSteering with GT3 wheel, Heusinkveld GT Rig, Pro Pedals, Oculus Rift with dual tracker setup

Thanks Marcel!

 

[Andy-R]

The upcoming wet weather looks interesting, can't say the same about the new content announced so far though

Thankfully there are already a couple of great cars in rF2

 

[David Jundt]

I'd love the Emil Frey Jaguar instead of the same old GT3 cars

 

[Alex Townsend]

I'd like the Jag too. But also Aston Martin and Porsche
All in all I'm just really over the moon about the focus this great title is getting from Marcel and the rest of S397.
It really is a great time for our hobby.

 

[takethree]

I want the Aston Martin!