Paul Jeffrey
Premium
Studio 397 have released the new McLaren 650s DLC and opened pre orders for the newly announced GT3 DLC pack coming September...
Already confirmed as part of the 'Worlds Fastest Gamer' competition and marking the first time rFactor 2 has been in receipt of paid DLC content, the McLaren 650s GT3 DLC has caused something of a stir within the sim racing community in recent weeks.
Developed by Studio 397 in conjunction with both McLaren themselves and several GT3 teams who run the beautiful cars, the new DLC promises to be one of the most accurate first party additions in the history of the simulation.
Developed completely in house by Studio 397, the McLaren will be their fourth car release since taking over development of the simulation from Image Space Incorporated, and the new vehicle will be the first release under the new paid DLC structure introduced by the developers.
Retailing for £4.46 via the rFactor 2 Steam Store page, the car will actually form part of a wider five car GT3 release scheduled to hit later in the year in September.
Although pre order sales for the new GT3 pack have opened up, Studio 397 and rFactor 2 have yet to reveal which cars will be joining the McLaren in the simulation come release day. Although announcements are sure to come in the following days and weeks, it is known that the four as yet unannounced machines have been developed with full support and backing of the relevant manufacturers, allowing Studio 397 to lavish the same level of attention to detail across the whole pack as has been given to the new McLaren.
The 650s and upcoming GT3 pack are the first of several newly rationalised DLC offerings expected to be coming to rFactor 2 over the next few months and years.
Studio 397 have gone on record several times to reiterate that content releases for rFactor 2 will be more focussed towards releasing packs of related cars and classes in future, rather than the sometimes disjointed single car releases that seem to be the plague of the sim racing marketplace in recent years.
Catching a brief chat with Studio 397 head @Marcel Offermans tonight, the Dutchman had plenty to say about the bright future of rFactor 2 and the interesting DLC packs coming to the sim over the next few months.
When asked what the short, medium and long term future looks like for rFactor 2 content, Offermans confirmed that although plenty of officially licenced DLC is in the works, issues around non disclosure agreements and manufacturer approvals prevent the studio from revealing too much at this stage of development, however he did go on to confirm the studio plan to further make use of the Steam item store for not only official content, but third party releases too..
"We plan to open up this item store to third party paid content too, obviously making sure that content meets certain quality standards, is not ripped, properly licensed, etc (and we can work with people to achieve that)" said Marcel.
This could potentially be a game changer for modding teams, especially with the confirmation that Studio 397 are willing to work alongside modding teams to secure the proper licencing rights and quality standards required to bring paid content to the simulation.
Moving on to the subject of tracks, it has been stated again that the developers plan to bring laserscanning locations to the simulation in the near future, in an effort to best replicate tracks to a standard now becoming something of an expectation of the sim racing community:
"...that is something we’re working on behind the scenes at the moment, and similar to cars we want to also come with paid, licensed and laser scanned tracks there.
However despite the recent pay DLC McLaren and upcoming GT3 pack, Offermans has confirmed that the simulation will still be in receipt of free add-ons too, ensuring those not willing to go down the DLC route still get something new to enjoy in the near future:
"Our strategy won’t be to only create paid content, we will keep mixing it up with free content"
"(as for) volume, well, that depends a bit on how things go. We see content as an accelerator to further grow the platform, and also as the basis for our upcoming competition infrastructure as that clearly needs some good, aligned content"
On a final note during our brief midnight hours chat, Marcel confirmed the developers are in the process of "releasing a few guides on how to properly use this paid content when hosting a dedicated server and when using it in leagues", which should help clubs and leagues like our own here at RaceDepartment make the best use of this exciting new content.
Stay tuned to RaceDepartment for a more detailed interview with Marcel Offermans and Studio 397 in the next couple of weeks.... (when time allows anyway!!!)...
The McLaren 650s is available to purchase now, with the GT3 pack to follow come September.
rFactor 2 is a PC exclusive racing simulation developed by Studio 397. You can purchase the McLaren 650s HERE and pre order the upcoming 5 car GT3 pack 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..! Head over to the forum now and share the love this simulation so very much deserves...
Have you tried the new McLaren yet? Will you be pre-ordering the GT3 pack? What do you think of the new DLC pricing structure? Let us know in the comments section below!
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