rF2: Sebring 'Talk n Drive' + Developer Interview

[Paul Jeffrey]

Check out our latest 'Talk 'n' Drive' video of the new rFactor 2 laserscanned Sebring, and developer interview with Marcel Offermans…

The release of Sebring as a new official DLC for rFactor 2 has got plenty of gamers excited in the sim racing world, with the track representing a very first laserscanned location for rFactor 2 and a significant step up in quality over previous content releases for the simulation.

With the circuit having now been in the public domain for a few days, we thought it a good time to have a go ourselves, share our experiences and have a chat with one of the men behind the magic, Studio 397's very own, Marcel Offermans…


RD: Congratulations on the release of Sebring! What does it mean to you and the team bringing the first laserscanned circuit to the sim?

MO: Thank you very much. This release obviously means a lot for us for a couple of reasons. First of all, because we wanted to bring popular and iconic tracks to rFactor 2. Secondly, because we knew we wanted to step up to bring a highly accurately built track based on a very precise laser scan. The unique challenge we had was how to combine that with the dynamics of our realroad system. We ended up building a very detailed road mesh that is used both for all physics calculations and for the visualisation: What you see is what you get!

RD: Does the Sebring release mark the first of more laserscanned content coming to the sim in future?

MO: Certainly! We have already licensed the next track, and this upcoming week we will start production. We're going to keep the name a secret for now, but it's safe to say we will be building more tracks of this quality.

RD: On to the track itself, what decision making process did you go through when choosing Sebring as a circuit to bring to rF2?

MO: There were many different factors that led us to choose Sebring as the first track.
We were looking for an iconic track, and obviously one that suited the cars we were developing. Another factor was the licensing discussions, and it turned out that Sebring was a great partner to work with, which helped us a lot, allowing us track time a few weeks before the 2018 12 hour event. Finally, we were looking for a track that would really showcase the details that a laser scan bring, and there is probably no better place than Sebring to do that, with all its cracks and bumps.

RD: Some people have questioned the price of this DLC, stating it is perhaps a touch high compared to some other simulations. What do you have to say in response to those comments?

MO: We set out and succeeded in creating a track that is of the highest standard, matching or beating tracks in the other simulations out there in terms of detail both on and around the track. We priced the track to match that quality and ended up being neither the cheapest nor the most expensive. Obviously everybody is entitled to their own opinion. We listen to those opinions and respect them and I'm not going to argue with people about that. I sometimes do wonder how people manage to spend thousands of euros on their rigs and computer hardware and expect the software to be so much cheaper.

RD: New GT cars, new tyre model improvements, Sebring, LMP2, LMP3, VR improvements, performance improvements… the list of upgrades to rF2 have been significant of late. Can you share some ideas of what is next in line for rF2, short and longer term?

MO: We are obviously still working hard on bringing our new UI and competition system, and those are two items that are really at the top of our list right now. Obviously the team will also keep bringing improvements wherever we can, both in terms of physics and graphics. Our car team is working on several new and free McLaren cars that will be used for the McLaren Shadow Project competition, as well as a couple of cars that will be part of our next pack. Our track team as I said is just starting on a new track, and we are in the final phases of production and testing for both Botniaring and Zandvoort. The latter will include no less than five layouts. Both will be free.

RD: S397 are heading for your 2nd year anniversary since taking over rF2, are you where you expected to be in the development cycle, and what would you say has been the biggest challenge encountered so far?

MO: Our second anniversary is coming up indeed at the SimRacing Expo in September. In terms of the development cycle I think we've addressed some of the core issues we saw. We have a much nicer and faster, DX11 based graphics engine with VR support. Big licenses for cars, such as being the first to have the BMW M8 GTE, and tracks, providing what we believe to be the best laserscanned version of Sebring in any sim, as well as a host of free content is pretty much on track and we're still ramping up there. Where we are a bit behind on our schedule is on the new UI and competition infrastructure. We're building on a lot of existing components, but still it is a lot of work and we probably underestimated that a bit. Our biggest challenge definitely has been to balance all the amazing opportunities we've had in the past two years!

rFactor 2 is available exclusively for PC from Steam now.

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...

Like what you see here at RaceDepartment? Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow us on social media!

 
Enjoying Sebring? Happy with the progress of rF2 so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!​

 

[Case_]

With the circuit having now been in the public domain for a few days

Damn, I had no idea the track is in the public domain. I had to pay 9 euro to get it

 

[Knoxstar]

I'm honestly afraid to purchase another D/L from Marcel and the gang at Studio 397 since they cannot resolve my missing file for the Porsche 911 RSR issue.

 

[pcraenme]

Loving the Sebring track as well. Even with a cheap Logitech G27, the FFB details you get from the track are great and better than I have experienced in any other game/track combination. Imagine how it feels on a DD wheel!?

One small issue I have with the track is that the AI is crashing very regularly in the first lap. A lot of races have a safety car in lap 1 and when you race short races (e.g. 5 laps) that means you only have until lap 4-5 before the safety car goes into the pit. So most of the time I just restart the race and hope no big lap 1 AI crashes happen the next time.

Btw, being a Dutch company, the next laser scanned track should be either Zandvoort or Assen!

 

[Deleted member 99238]

I sometimes do wonder how people manage to spend thousands of euros on their rigs and computer hardware and expect the software to be so much cheaper.

This is their main misconception. I do not have a rig and I did not buy my PC for simracing. I only have a g27 for virtual racing. What are the thousands of euros he tells us? They make the product only for hardcore simracers.

 

[F_B]

Sentence of the interview:
»I sometimes do wonder how people manage to spend thousands of euros on their rigs and computer hardware and expect the software to be so much cheaper.«

 

[Gasper Zupan]

They (Studio 397) should raise the price of this track to €10 and never ever put it on sale!! People who understand the meaning of "to support" already bought it anyway

 

[UnixRoot]

It's nice to see some quality content, but not my cup of tea. I'll buy it anyways, to support the development team.

Now do the Nordschleife.

 

[Alex Townsend]

I don't have a 'rig' although I have spent a bit on kit.
And yes... I think it did cost thousands a few years ago.
Main build was in 2012 with Fanatec equip and PC based on i7 3770k etc. Then in 2017 for a GTX 1070 upgrade so I have spent thousands...
Even a modest PC can cost a fair amount if you get a half decent GPU. Then there is a screen and steering wheel, pedals etc.
Regardless, I know what you mean. Some people don't spend the big bucks but still want access to the sim.
Thing is, it should be looked at another way, should the teams who create these games work for free? No.
Should new content that has taken considerable time and resources be free? No.
Does the content warrant the price tag? In this case YES it most certainly does.
Thing is the beer analogy works very well here. The amount of beer you can buy for what is, let's face it, a few hours of being tipsy or drunk, vs content that will keep you entertained for hours into days, weeks, months and maybe even years.
Take however many beers, divide it by the hours you get out of it and there is the value.
Do the same with some of the content you've bought for your favourite Sims and you may find the value is much greater... I say may as we are all different and have different lives and time for sim racing etc.

 

[gianlucaP]

I love everything about rF2 except the load time. Using nvme still 3 to 4 minutes to get on. Just if devs are reading this, apologies and Im not critical BTW. But if theres a possibilty to faster load times like newer titles, thats a big bonus.

I find it hard to believe.
If I have the game installed in two mechanical HDD configured in stripe (Raid 0 performance) the first launch of the tracks different from Sebring takes about 30+ seconds, depending on their size.
The next times the loading time significanly decrease. And installing the game in the SSD makes things faster.
Using the SSD the Sebring laser scanned 12hr race layout took me 2:05 the first launch, 1:35 the second launch.
This is my hardware: AMD FX 8320E @4.0, Sandisk Ultra II SSD 240GB, 16GB ram.
I was about to ask you guys the performance with the NVME drives and your experience doesn't sound right for me. Something's wrong in your pc. What's your cpu and nvme drive?

 

[Ghoults]

This is their main misconception. I do not have a rig and I did not buy my PC for simracing. I only have a g27 for virtual racing. What are the thousands of euros he tells us? They make the product only for hardcore simracers.

It is a poor analogy though. Racing sim prices should be compared with other racing sims and games in general. And dlc prices (cars and tracks) should be compared with similar packages in other sims and games. If you go over the average then your product is more expensive and if you go below the average then you are cheaper.

 

[Deleted member 99238]

Racing sim prices should be compared with other racing sims and games in general.

You can buy all existing racing games, but that does not mean that you will all use them. It is important to compare the amount of time that you spend in them. You can play with your GTE and Sebring in a week and then you'll go for content to other simulators - AC, R3E, PC2. RF2 will be very soon abandoned.

 

[Case_]

They (Studio 397) should raise the price of this track to €10 and never ever put it on sale!! People who understand the meaning of "to support" already bought it anyway

I bought the track, mostly to support the developers. I still think it's on the pricier side of things (which is also why I didn't buy it the moment it was released, but was somehow hesitant about it).

And, BTW, to be honest, I think the hype surrounding the release of the track is part of the reason I am somewhat underwhelmed with it. I mean, it's a pretty nice track, don't get me wrong. But I've seen so many people talk about it in superlatives and calling it "the best track in simracing", I kinda...expected a bit more I guess. I can't tell you what exactly, because there really is nothing wrong with it in the slightest, but really, I think the hype is doing the track a disservice. But hopefully I'm the exception here.

 

[tr1v1um]

This is their main misconception. I do not have a rig and I did not buy my PC for simracing. I only have a g27 for virtual racing. What are the thousands of euros he tells us? They make the product only for hardcore simracers.

Reading some of your comments I wonder how you get on in life with that whining attitude. I life in a country where constant whining and complaining is a trademark, but you allways pull it to another level.

I don't have a rig too and I am not rich by any means, but 10 bucks for a decent quality track, wich this track seems to be going by the comments and reviews so far, is ok so at the end I will most likely vote with my wallet. It is pretty easy, as nobody forces me to buy anything and it is my own desicion. That's also a reason why I skipped Honkong and the FE. Sebring is expensive but certainly not unaffordable.

What I find even more hilirious is that you complain about a sim being tailored to hardcore sim races on a sim racing website. And as you don't seem to like rF2 one bit and allways call for it's doomsday, why not simply skip all the topics if you aren't interested? There are lots of sims that have nice game elements aswell.

 

[pitkin]

This is their main misconception. I do not have a rig and I did not buy my PC for simracing. I only have a g27 for virtual racing. What are the thousands of euros he tells us? They make the product only for hardcore simracers.

I don't consider the hardware comparison a valid one.

I can use my PC for work, hobbies, Internet, chatting to old friends who live abroad, gaming with many different games, etc.

I can use my wheel on all my sims, everything I own from GPL, to everything I will own in the foreseeable future.

The variety of uses is where the value comes from.

I can't use DLC on all my sims, I have to have multiple versions of car and tracks for each game. I've bought some content many times over either through base content or DLC.

Imagine if they decided to add the 2019 F1 schedule. 21 tracks at £8, that's £170, each car is £4.45 so that's £44.50 for 10 teams. Maybe if you bought the whole lot as a pack it could be £150. It'd probably cost more than that though, because of licensing such a high profile series. And you still wouldn't be able to do a championship in it without external software, because there's no championship mode within the game.

This isn't a rant about the DLC btw, it's about the comparsion to spending "thousands" on hardware. Personally, I've spent thousands on both over the years. But we seem to be accepting more and more that software, that we don't actually own in a lot of cases, only license to use (I'm looking at you iracing), is of equal value to hardware, that can last us for years, and we can pass it on when it's time to upgrade to get back some of the "thousands" towards the next purchase.

If my PC, which I use for many different things, was used solely for playing race sims, and I had to throw it away when something newer or better came along, I might consider the comparison valid.

 

[DaVeX↯]

@pitkin you should look at rF2 like the simracing "flight simulator", lol, I mean...rF2 doesn't look like as price model and purposes to a "normal" race SIM but it is more near to DCS or other flight simulators. Basically they are aiming to rise the rF2 level from "common" simracing title to "in home professional grade" one. If you give a look to flight sims complexity (physics, attention to details, simulation/immersion levels) and look to their pricing model for content (a single plane can cost you near to 50€ in some cases) you will understand what is happening to rF2 (and I like this just to be clear).

 

[tr1v1um]

I don't consider the hardware comparison a valid one.

I can use my PC for work, hobbies, Internet, chatting to old friends who live abroad, gaming with many different games, etc.

I can use my wheel on all my sims, everything I own from GPL, to everything I will own in the foreseeable future.

The variety of uses is where the value comes from.

I can't use DLC on all my sims, I have to have multiple versions of car and tracks for each game. I've bought some content many times over either through base content or DLC.

Imagine if they decided to add the 2019 F1 schedule. 21 tracks at £8, that's £170, each car is £4.45 so that's £44.50 for 10 teams. Maybe if you bought the whole lot as a pack it could be £150. It'd probably cost more than that though, because of licensing such a high profile series. And you still wouldn't be able to do a championship in it without external software, because there's no championship mode within the game.

This isn't a rant about the DLC btw, it's about the comparsion to spending "thousands" on hardware. Personally, I've spent thousands on both over the years. But we seem to be accepting more and more that software, that we don't actually own in a lot of cases, only license to use (I'm looking at you iracing), is of equal value to hardware, that can last us for years, and we can pass it on when it's time to upgrade to get back some of the "thousands" towards the next purchase.

If my PC, which I use for many different things, was used solely for playing race sims, and I had to throw it away when something newer or better came along, I might consider the comparison valid.

In the case of rF2 the content will last for years though, propably longer than most people use their hardware before they upgrade their systems. And there is nothing that will stop you from firing up the sim in 5 years and race the track and I hope that this applies to my other sims aswell. The reason why we got used to accept DLC prices is because otherwise we woulnd't have developers around. Most people just don't have an idea what software development costs. With this we aren't just talking the lisecning costs for content but the creation itself. Maybe take around the UE4 marketplace or on pages like turbosquid and you get a little glimpse. Now add the lisence costs for software, hardware and manpower needed and you easily get a figure why we pay as much as we do. Technical progression brings new complexity and more expensive development processes.

 

[Craig Dunkley]

I will buy the track @ some point, just have not yet..so much going on.

Thanks to @Paul Jeffrey for another great video, under such hard conditions

 

[RichardHessels]

I'm honestly afraid to purchase another D/L from Marcel and the gang at Studio 397 since they cannot resolve my missing file for the Porsche 911 RSR issue.

I never had a missing file error, i run rF2 on 2 machines with all DLC's and a lot more.
What file is reported missing on your end?

 

[Deleted member 99238]

Reading some of your comments I wonder how you get on in life with that whining attitude. I life in a country where constant whining and complaining is a trademark, but you allways pull it to another level.

You do not quite understand what I'm talking about. It's not about me or my financial capabilities. I'm interested in the game industry in general and its prospects for development. Any racing game should be a commercially successful project. Commercial success is the number of copies sold and regular players. Otherwise, you lose.

 

[Oldzeb]

Enjoying Sebring? Happy with the progress of rF2 so far?

obviously Sebring and by far the most successful of all current sim, S397 took back rf2 and like a phoenix it returns on the front of the scene of the simracing!
now the most expected remains the online competition and the UI question contained we know what the team is capable of!
for people who are offended by the price, you cry less when S397 gives free quality content! what other sim makes so many gifts?