rF2 | Weekly Update Released - Includes VR Performance Improvements

[Paul Jeffrey]

The latest 'weekly update' for rFactor 2 is here.

In this new update for PC racing simulation rFactor 2, the developers have concentrated on making some small performance improvements to the way the game behaves in Virtual Reality - introducing a new "Hidden Area Mask" feature that prevents the software from rendering pixels outside of the viewable headset area.

This change should hopefully allow VR users some slight performance improvements, although the option only works with certain VR headsets, as explained in the changelog below:

....

No bogging down! Another week goes by, and we are keeping up the momentum with some fresh updates!

This week we have a handy set of updates for VR users, as well and a couple others minor fixes.

VR - Hidden Area Mask
In this latest update we have implemented the “Hidden Area Mask” in VR.

What is Hidden Area Mask ?

Inside a VR headset the images that are rendered in each eye are ‘rectangular’, yet your eyes only have access to circular cutouts.

The image below illustrates the area that is outside of your normal peripheral view – the black area corresponds to what is physically blocked by the edges of the headset’s view-ports.

example using the Vive Pro

So instead of rendering this extra space, that you can’t see anyway, when you enable “Hidden Area Mask” it will block those pixels from even being rendered, as they are outside the viewable space in the headset after barrel distortion is applied. Because the mask prevents the superfluous edges from even being rendered, this may offer a slight performance increase. In our internal tests we could indeed confirm a performance boost.

This option is also configurable in the player.JSON if you encounter any issues with it.

"VR Enable Hidden Area Mask":true,
Set to false to disable

*Oculus SteamVR driver currently does not support HAM.

Changelog

• Enabled VR “Hidden Area Mask”.
• Fixed flickering in the VR desktop ‘mirror’ when set to “HMD only”.
• Fixed paint damage not resetting on ‘restart race’ button in single player.
• Fixed a sporadic crash that was caused by an error in inter-thread communication with the Steam library.

Known Issues

• After content install in VR rFactor 2 does not restart. A workaround for now is to restart manually.
• There is still a black band on the bottom half of the track loading screen.
• Unrelated to UI, but we are also aware of the erratic throttle behavior of the AI cars, and we are looking into that.
• Parc Ferme is not working in the new UI.

Work in Progress

• Add skin download progress bar while on a server that allows custom skin transfers.
• Config tool sporadically fails to launch up after clicking PLAY for setting graphics resolution, VR or post effect levels.
• Team creation in the showroom is missing.
• Material editing in the showroom is missing.
• Forced setup and/or upgrades.
• Car (re)selection when on a server.
• Resume from replay.
• Sporadic ‘white screen’ when leaving an online session.

Original Source: Studio 397

rFactor 2 is a racing simulation available exclusively for PC.

Got questions about the sim, or just looking to make the most of your rFactor 2 experience? Hop over to the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment, and start up a new thread today!

 

[M.Guenette]

Nice little update, good to see more regular updates starting to appear no matter how small.

I do however wish they'd acknowledge the more serious AI issues instead of "appeasing" the Offline fans by talking about the known throttle behaviour in past Patch Notes (and again today). IMO the Slipstream & Safety Car issues are far worse than the throttle application of the AI and the former is something that should've been dealt with when Le Mans was released quite frankly.

Either concentrate and work on the multiple AI Issues at once or simply wait until you can concentrate on them all, however thankful we may be for the odd fix a long the way they really need to up their game with the AI this year regardless of the fabled "Online Competition System"

I couldn't agree more . The boys at Reiza got it right when they finally put there heads together and did a complete AI Passover for Automobilista after it's loyal user community expressed concerns with multiple AI issues. They turned AMS into a "Racing Simulator" with a Blue Flag fix that many thought impossible. They fixed the sporadic on/off AI throttle application. And gave the AI the ability to overtake by implementing there " Overtaking Radius Risk Bypass ". The only thing they left out was giving the AI the ability to run a defensive driving line when a pass is being attempted. And God knows this would have made Automobilista a 10/10 for me.

At any rate Studio 397 needs to put there collective heads together and fix the glaring AI issues that hamper an otherwise fantastic Simulator.

For the love of God ... give the user the ability to adjust AI talents as well. So we can have some meaningful races with fast drivers/cars heading field as they should be. I am tired of random grids with drivers running all over the grid order from race to race. It's like Lewis Hamilton grabbing pole / winning a race and then languishing down in dead last the next race. It simply doesn't happen and neither should it happen in RFactor 2.

Time to get it right Studio 397 !!

 

[JoelGL]

Does this work with opencomposite?

 

[bluey]

I couldn't agree more . The boys at Reiza got it right when they finally put there heads together and did a complete AI Passover for Automobilista after it's loyal user community expressed concerns with multiple AI issues. They turned AMS into a "Racing Simulator" with a Blue Flag fix that many thought impossible. They fixed the sporadic on/off AI throttle application. And gave the AI the ability to overtake by implementing there " Overtaking Radius Risk Bypass ". The only thing they left out was giving the AI the ability to run a defensive driving line when a pass is being attempted. And God knows this would have made Automobilista a 10/10 for me.

At any rate Studio 397 needs to put there collective heads together and fix the glaring AI issues that hamper an otherwise fantastic Simulator.

For the love of God ... give the user the ability to adjust AI talents as well. So we can have some meaningful races with fast drivers/cars heading field as they should be. I am tired of random grids with drivers running all over the grid order from race to race. It's like Lewis Hamilton grabbing pole / winning a race and then languishing down in dead last the next race. It simply doesn't happen and neither should it happen in RFactor 2.

Time to get it right Studio 397 !!

AGREE 100%

 

[Stephen Gibb]

Does anybody know if this works with Oculus if you use OpenComposite rather than Steam VR ?
@Marcel Offermans is there any chance Nvidia SPS will eventually be supported in RF2 ?

 

[RobertR1]

@Marcel Offermans i have a pimax 5k+ which has its own hidden area mask setting. Should I enable both or they doing the same thing?

 

[Mantas Jokubauskas]

Regarding the throttle issues, it's actually not from ISI days - most of the current Throttle issues were actually introduced with a build v1110, from what I found out after testing some of the last ISI builds and then going forward to Studio 397 builds. Looking at the changelog, AI actually got an "improvement" which improved their straight line speed on lower difficulties, however, it seems they also introduced the Throttle bug (and with that, they might have broken other things with AI, hard to tell).

If you want to compare, you still can do it on Steam - just do a comparison between branches "v1109" and "v1110" in the Beta tab (same as selecting the public-beta branch, but just choose between those branches instead). After downloading, just do a quick race with AI - differences can be easily seen in the Monitor.

(And yes, I did report this information.)

 

[azaralamouri]

Give rF2 credit for being the first sim to do monthly updates. And now they up the game to WEEKLY updates.

 

[ears]

*Oculus SteamVR driver currently does not support HAM.

Yeah. Oculus loves VET. And VER. In fact it just wants to see someone else win for a change.

SteamVR Mercedes fanboys.

 

[MarcG]

Regarding the throttle issues, it's actually not from ISI days - most of the current Throttle issues were actually introduced with a build v1110

It's funny because i had a conversation with and reported the throttle issues directly to ISI many years ago, maybe they fixed it and it returned who knows, but i know for sure 100% it's been in the Sim for years.

Edit:
See this post from 2015 before S397 took over

Ai and throttle management

Is there a way for preventing the Ai to continuosly push the throttle up and down in the middle of a corner? It's a little bit annoyng when you have...

forum.studio-397.com

I can't find my specific report, may of been in a PM.

 

[Spinelli]

It seems the problem with VR headsets - correct me if I'm wrong - is things are too proprietary. Things have to be specifically made from the game devs for each headset. Unlike using regular monitors where the user simply chooses the resolution (and FOV) and everything works as intended, too many things have to be specifically altered by the devs for different headsets. And if that wasn't enough, it goes even beyond just the game developer. Now there are even "middle-men" in the equation with their own software and further things to consider, for eg., Steam has it's own settings which are seperate from the game's settings as well as from the graphics card's settings if I'm not mistaken. And of course, some of those settings are also only for certain headsets as well. It's a little "messy" and "all over the place" in the VR world (I'm a huge fan of 3D/VR BTW).

The Merc in the picture is for sure driven by some Alien. Judging by the shape of his hands

Total alien. It looks like he's/she's 10 feet tall judging from the view in that pic. That's borderline t-cam view, lol.

I couldn't agree more . The boys at Reiza got it right when they finally put there heads together and did a complete AI Passover for Automobilista after it's loyal user community expressed concerns with multiple AI issues. They turned AMS into a "Racing Simulator" with a Blue Flag fix that many thought impossible. They fixed the sporadic on/off AI throttle application. And gave the AI the ability to overtake by implementing there " Overtaking Radius Risk Bypass ".

Totally.

There are some very good AI mods and edits you can do with RF1, GT Legends, GTR2, etc. in the player.PLR file, AI talent files, etc. - and they really improve things - but those could only go so far no matter how skilled of a developer/modder you are. Only when the game's engine's coding itself was changed did the AI really take a nice step forward as is the case with Reiza's and ISI's AI in AMS1 and RF2 compared to RF1.

The mentality of just trying to manipulate a game's engine to get what you want out of it by playing with the numbers you plug into the variables it makes available to you can only get you so far (and often means compromises in other areas). Regardless whether it's for the engine of physics, sound, graphics, AI, UI or whatever, to really get true "proper" change and fundamental improvements, you need to go into the coding and program things so they're changed from the ground level up.

 

[mrbungle83]

Rfactor 2 really is a phenomenon, unrivalled, astonishing, unbelievable, unparalleled...That it's been in an alpha state for 7 years (feels like longer)

It's amazing that ACC feels like a complete game that's been around about 15% of the time RF2 has (feels like a lot less)

My guess is when AMS2 Releases it will be more compelling and feature complete than rf2 also.

I spent so much time thinking when this is done I'll pick it up again/when that is done! but I'm fed up it's too far behind and I just dont think there is anything they could do to compell me to play it. (obviously hope that I am wrong)

I emplore you guys to start a new project for our great grandchildren.

 

[Anomalistics]

Regarding the throttle issues, it's actually not from ISI days - most of the current Throttle issues were actually introduced with a build v1110, from what I found out after testing some of the last ISI builds and then going forward to Studio 397 builds. Looking at the changelog, AI actually got an "improvement" which improved their straight line speed on lower difficulties, however, it seems they also introduced the Throttle bug (and with that, they might have broken other things with AI, hard to tell).

If you want to compare, you still can do it on Steam - just do a comparison between branches "v1109" and "v1110" in the Beta tab (same as selecting the public-beta branch, but just choose between those branches instead). After downloading, just do a quick race with AI - differences can be easily seen in the Monitor.

(And yes, I did report this information.)

I also reported this information directly (literally a week ago) and got confirmation the very same day that they could reproduce the bug. In fact, I actually reported this back in 2018 - but it went unnoticed. The only way to contact developers directly is via Discord. It worked this time and within a few days they posted the issue on the roadmap.

 

[azaralamouri]

Give rF2 credit for being the first sim to do monthly updates. And now they up the game to WEEKLY updates.

In easier words, what VR brands support this feature?

 

[MarcG]

In easier words, what VR brands support this feature?

See here, pointless trying it with my Reverb (not that i need too!)

HMD Geometry Database

Collected geometry data from some commercially available VR headsets.

risa2000.github.io

 

[GOV47]

I tried rF2 in VR again last night and I did see a nice performance boost on my Index. Was able to turn most of the eye candy on and race some GT3 races with the official content. Looked good and was fun. I do have the issue now that SteamVR has to NOT be running before I start rF2 or I get an error. Which is weird. It is the opposite for nearly every other sim. Once I did get into the game, applying any graphics adjustments crashes the game to the desktop. Meaning I had to shut down SteamVR and start rF2 again. After doing this about a dozen times adjusting different settings and testing it, I finally got it to a good place. It ran pretty well with a full grid on most tracks I tried (Sebring is still a ball buster performance wise). I did get some dips and stutters here and there but mostly was able to run a consistent 90fps.

Then after I was done I hopped into iRacing and was reminded how good things can look in VR, at least from a clarity perspective. I have been a rFactor fanboy since the early days of the first game, but rF2 has been such a letdown for years now. I keep getting my hopes up that it will finally find its way again. I love the way the physics feel, but all of the little stuff adds up and just isn't worth the effort most of the time. I am starting to get to where I can enjoy it again, but the little bugs like the crashing to desktop and what not is annoying af.

 

[avenger82]

I like this frequent progress updates. It's in contrast to almost zero feedback and responses on official S397 forum. It's good some long standing issues are at least acknowledged and planed to be addressed. Some issues still aren't:
- soft tires always best choice (for GT3 and Endurance Packs ). They should be more prone overheating
- lowest pressures virtually always best choice
- GTE cars handling after BOP(which was several months ago). Many people say something is wrong with current physics. Generally they are too prone to overseer, making them too slow and difficult to drive in (i.e. (comparison to GT3 without ABS). There's also issue with engine inertia during starts.

 

[azaralamouri]

See here, pointless trying it with my Reverb (not that i need too!)

HMD Geometry Database

Collected geometry data from some commercially available VR headsets.

risa2000.github.io

you mean the bigger tha HAM (what ever this is) the bigger the benifit? mostly Valve then Vive then Pimax? What about Samsun Odyssey for example? (interesting chart, it shows that no extra FOV for the Valve Index and the HP Reverb and the Rift S what so ever despite what the makers say).

 

[MarcG]

you mean the bigger tha HAM (what ever this is) the bigger the benifit? mostly Valve then Vive then Pimax? What about Samsun Odyssey for example? (interesting chart, it shows that no extra FOV for the Valve Index and the HP Reverb and the Rift S what so ever despite what the makers say).

Yeah bigger the HAM the better the performance increase (probably), hence my Reverb won't see much gain at all.

 

[Emery]

I don't know if it exists in Rf2 but the cure for Gtr2 is to edit AITorqueStab in the .HDC.

As I recall, AITorqueStab has been deprecated in rF2.

Edit: Yup, checking the physics blog (https://www.studio-397.com/2016/05/updating-hdv-and-tbc-files/), the AITorqueStab line is now obsolete and hardcoded to (1.0, 1.0, 1.0).

 

[tr1v1um]

Rfactor 2 really is a phenomenon, unrivalled, astonishing, unbelievable, unparalleled...That it's been in an alpha state for 7 years (feels like longer)

It's amazing that ACC feels like a complete game that's been around about 15% of the time RF2 has (feels like a lot less)

My guess is when AMS2 Releases it will be more compelling and feature complete than rf2 also.

I spent so much time thinking when this is done I'll pick it up again/when that is done! but I'm fed up it's too far behind and I just dont think there is anything they could do to compell me to play it. (obviously hope that I am wrong)

I emplore you guys to start a new project for our great grandchildren.

Sounds as if you haven't played it for a while. So what makes you think that it is too far behind? There are quite a few areas where it is still best or one of the best in business, but if you don't explore it you will never know. Judging a book by it's cover is easy. And if AMS2 will be really more feature complete needs to be seen. Going by my experience with Madness engine games I won't count on it.