rF2 McLaren 650s Released - GT3 Pack Confirmed...

[Paul Jeffrey]

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!

 

[Will Mazeo]

As pointed by ChargingCar there are so many GT3 cars that a bit of diversification is welcome, instead of having always the same cars in all the games.

Yeah but while there are so many "only" 12 or 13 of them are actually important and more used in the big race series. After these the other nice ones are the GT300 spec but I heard Japanese people are not much cooperative on sims

 

[Ricky78]

I really would like to see an official representation of Emil Frey's Jaguar and Lexus GT3.

 

[Will Mazeo]

Lexus and Callaway C7 to me would be nice. But then I also want all the others like 488, Huracan, etc

 

[CC]

Probably because we hope that they will be cars not available on AC.

Main things from personal experience and its a lot over the years ,
Is that AC really made the importation of cars and the base physics engine simplified ,
to be honest its a pleasure importing cars ,
Back when I was hardcore into RF and RF2 came out , its 10 times more complicated to import the cars ,
on all aspects ,
this is simply why AC is a modding powerhouse , its a superpower that cant be stopped , its impossible ,
its easy and simple to make and import cars , do liveries and updates ,

RF2 had you even registering the content ,

If studio 397 wants to take over in this aspect ill gladly follow ,
but the process of creating content wants making so much simpler ,
better tools for modders wants making available , specially the digital stuff , its such a pain in RF2 ,

If this happens they will be number 1 on PC and youll soon see the entire DEV of mods turn from AC to RF2 on RD , Lets hope S397 really turn this sim around and make it available to everyone .

 

[snyperal]

I don't use RF2 a lot, but i will buy the DLC, and support any further content as i believe it has potential. All good things take time, so i am looking forward to seeing where they can take this title. I do think they are really up against it though, with good looking titles like PC2, R3 and Assetto corsa producing some tidy content. If those titles had a full feature set then RF2 would probably be dead in the water.

 

[CC]

I don't use RF2 a lot, but i will buy the DLC, and support any further content as i believe it has potential. All good things take time, so i am looking forward to seeing where they can take this title. I do think they are really up against it though, with good looking titles like PC2, R3 and Assetto corsa producing some tidy content. If those titles had a full feature set then RF2 would probably be dead in the water.

In 2-3 years time people will think of AC like people think now of RF2 ,
They will simply forget about it , and been honest I pretty much forgot about RF2 ,
But recently its looking really impressive , and now there offering DLC ,
again to be this is a must to better the game content for everyone , simply because the DEVS have more money to spend on tracks , CARS cost nothing accept 3D , and a % of sales , physics audio bla bla ,

But tracks cost real money , you need to put your hand in your actual pocket , take the money from your pocket and actually hand it over and pay for the scanned tracks and tracks ,

where as cars you pay jack , and just costs you development of the product yourself ,

this is why AC as **** all tracks , simply because no one wants to pay the them .

 

[St3fan]

Looking here the Super Mario Kart was released in 1992 , good memory from me and yes ,
it did offer more tracks than AC does 25 years later .....
https://www.mariowiki.com/Super_Mario_Kart

But when I take screenshots they look sick

BUT! If my understanding of light, color, and weather is correct, there is no possible way that rainbow road is laserscanned.

 

[CC]

BUT! If my understanding of light, color, and weather is correct, there is no possible way that rainbow road is laserscanned.

Its a fictional track created in someones mind ,
every single fictional track ever made on the entire planet , is laserscanned from the creators mind and is mm perfect , this is reality and fact ,
same with cars , If I sit and design a car in my mind that is fictional , and make it in 3D ,
this car then is classed in my opinion as lasercsanned , straight from my mind ,
there is only 1 so its perfect as created and was designed ,

so yes rainbow road is lasercsanned

 

[Chobonator]

BUT! If my understanding of light, color, and weather is correct, there is no possible way that rainbow road is laserscanned.

But that lava castle with the period-accurate sett pavement clearly was and still to this day remains one of the most authentic track surfaces in any sim racing game.

 

[Ricky78]

LOL guys, all this talking about the first Super Mario Kart makes me feel so old!!!
So many good memories, played with friends in the same room, not online with perfect strangers: multiplayer can be so sad nowadays...

 

[CC]

LOL guys, all this talking about the first Super Mario Kart makes me feel so old!!!
So many good memories, played with friends in the same room, not online with perfect strangers: multiplayer can be so sad nowadays...

I was 12 when it came out I had a imported snes from japan , cost like twice as much ,
this game is 25 years old as of this year ,
and back in 92 it offered more tracks than assetto corsa does ,

obviously if you pay and get a track scanned yes ?
and you sell it as DLC on steam , mother of DLC ,
and with 1 track you can generate a profit , and earn a profit ,
and you are a large business , with now new investors and still have full control ,
and this is a fact ,

then WTF is the problem with paying for 100 tracks scanned and taking over the world ?

somewhere there is an issue with no one wanting to pay 20-30k to scan a track .

and yes Mario Kart lives in all our memories

 

[Facundo Estevez]

I think currently AC offers 10-11 GT3 cars there list is pretty impressive to be honest ,
I think so anyways , a very large offering ,
Problem is there is no wet weather , no night and day , no track marbles , no tire damage ,
and less tracks than a 1992 Nintendo Mario Kart ,

EDIT ,
Looking here the Super Mario Kart was released in 1992 , good memory from me and yes ,
it did offer more tracks than AC does 25 years later .....
https://www.mariowiki.com/Super_Mario_Kart

But when I take screenshots they look sick

* No proper clutch simulation, no stalls, no full stereoscopic mirrors (neither rFactor 2 has those, long live LFS).

 

[KODIAK]

that gt3 pack better be complete with all the cars

 

[CC]

* No proper clutch simulation, no stalls, no full stereoscopic mirrors (neither rFactor 2 has those, long live LFS).

Games are a ****ing joke man ,
there is simply no features at all , but when I make a 3D model I used to get really excited to bang it in AC ,
to take some screenshots ,
now im excited I have content manager , the program is off the charts with features and created by 1 single person alone ,

Lets just hope these DEVS start giving us **** ,
because last 2 weeks I have installed unreal engine and read 100,s of documents ,
I love all this stuff ,

I want unreal tire damage , I want track marbles that can bust a tire , I want deformable tires ,
night and day , awesome dynamic wet weather ,
damage that you look at curls your toes ,

Brake disc glow only got added into Assetto Corsa because I was the 1st person to do it and make it work and everyone want crazy on the DEVS to add it on AC forums ,

I think soon if no ones taking care of these details everyone wants , Ill simply make a game myself .

 

[thepharcyde]

any help on setup, struggling to break into 2:05, mostly lapping 2:06/2:07

 

[David Dominguez]

any help on setup, struggling to break into 2:05, mostly lapping 2:06/2:07

Focus on your own driving first.

 

[Ricky78]

Games are a ****ing joke man ,
there is simply no features at all , but when I make a 3D model I used to get really excited to bang it in AC ,
to take some screenshots ,
now im excited I have content manager , the program is off the charts with features and created by 1 single person alone ,

Lets just hope these DEVS start giving us **** ,
because last 2 weeks I have installed unreal engine and read 100,s of documents ,
I love all this stuff ,

I want unreal tire damage , I want track marbles that can bust a tire , I want deformable tires ,
night and day , awesome dynamic wet weather ,
damage that you look at curls your toes ,

Brake disc glow only got added into Assetto Corsa because I was the 1st person to do it and make it work and everyone want crazy on the DEVS to add it on AC forums ,

I think soon if no ones taking care of these details everyone wants , Ill simply make a game myself .

Maybe because I'm not a modder (the only mod I created was for Race 07 and was wiped out by Steam when they decided to change the file format of the game just days before the planned release: months of work wasted and I didn't had a backup because what happened was completely unxpected) but sincerely I don't have so much faith in AC.
I loved it since the Tech Preview and during the first 9 months of the early access but then I started to maturate a love/hate relationship.
I continued to support Kunos, in fact I own all the DLCs, but I can't find it enjoyable any more, mostly because the lack of features.

In my opinion if they really want to improve AC they need to completely rewrite the engine, actually on my PC it's the heaviest game of its category, it's fully playable with max 24 cars on track but it's on the limit.
Both pCars and rF2 maxed out with many more cars on track are a lot lighter than AC, so probably it will become unplayable if they'll add new features.

 

[Manwith Noname]

where as cars you pay jack , and just costs you development of the product yourself ,

Hmm, I don't know about that. If you want to put a real life car in your game with real life branding and charge money for it, you pay a license fee or risk being chased for various infringements, potentially having it removed completely. I have no idea how much it cost mind you compared to tracks but it is likely variable between manufacturers and tracks.

 

[CC]

Maybe because I'm not a modder (the only mod I created was for Race 07 and was wiped out by Steam when they decided to change the file format of the game just days before the planned release: months of work wasted and I didn't had a backup because what happened was completely unxpected) but sincerely I don't have so much faith in AC.
I loved it since the Tech Preview and during the first 9 months of the early access but then I started to maturate a love/hate relationship.
I continued to support Kunos, in fact I own all the DLCs, but I can't find it enjoyable any more, mostly because the lack of features.

In my opinion if they really want to improve AC they need to completely rewrite the engine, actually on my PC it's the heaviest game of its category, it's fully playable with max 24 cars on track but it's on the limit.
Both pCars and rF2 maxed out with many more cars on track are a lot lighter then AC, so probably it will become unplayable if they'll add new features.

Yes they are running stuff to the max ,
back in 2013-14 it could load the engine around 11-12 million traingles ,
now I believe AC runs in 2017 around 15,000,000 triagles ,
so in 3-4 years the coders like Stefano , have improved the engine around 25%
but in saying this the earlier cars they was creating was around 135-180k triangles ,
so they have improved the performance by 25% but then decided to load this extra % on cars , not the game itself ,

A standard map on unreal engine , runs a minimum of 20,000,000 triangles ,
so thats another 25% on AC engine yet again ,

I am unsure what the ca[abilities are on RF2 , but it must be around 10 million max , and unreal engine is 20 ,

all these games vary simply due not to coding but the amount of detailed physics running not just 3D meshes and triangles , but running damage simulation , tire wear , night and day , I doubt effects anything that much ,

Dynamic dry to wet weather is a must in any simulation game specially someone calling it simulation ,
what exactly does AC simulate , a car in a track with 4 tires ?

 

[Will Mazeo]

LOL guys, all this talking about the first Super Mario Kart makes me feel so old!!!
So many good memories, played with friends in the same room, not online with perfect strangers: multiplayer can be so sad nowadays...

So true man, the days of Mario Kart till I think CS 1.5 (in Lan Houses) were the best, after that Internet got fast, people stayed home, kinda boring