rFactor 2 is coming to Steam, Stock Cars out this weekend

[Alex Franchini]

Image Space Incorporated have just announced that their PC simulator rFactor 2 will be coming to Steam in the near future.

The team's flagship racing sim will be joining rFactor 1 on Valve's popular digital store soon, even though there's no further details or a release date for now.

ISI is putting rFactor 2 on Steam to make the game more accessible to an ever-growing user base. A launch trailer has been created for the purpose, and it contains a sneak peek of the much anticipated Stock Cars, which will please the oval racing crowd on RaceDepartment. Get ready to make lots of turns soon!

The Stock Cars are going to be available this weekend! For our early impressions on the Stock Cars, check out our review of rFactor 2.

Are you going to switch your rFactor 2 copy to Steam? Let us know in the comments!

 

[St3fan]

Although the 40% off is quite tempting, not populated pub servers + no RD club race in US = save for future for me.

 

[Ace King]

Take the 40% off deal, it's really a no brainer for a true simulator like no others! This deal should bring alot more drivers to populate the mulitplayer experience!

 

[Kurei]

rF2 is not SCE or R3E.

Did I ever say that it is ?

In R3E you have to pay for every car-

Which is content, not a 'core' gaming feature, function or mode. We're talking about putting 'the other half' of rF2 behind a paywall right from the start, where as in SCE for example, you can access online right off the bat - whether to just to try it, or get serious with league racing - it's there and readily available, no barriers, no nothing. Reiza even set up official servers for sim-racing newcomers & veterans alike to try, quite the welcoming action IMO.

I've never said the price or pricing-model is the issue, it's the principle of the decision they've made that bugs me.

 

[Gringo]

bugs me

Could you consider the lifetime version as the full price product, then look at the lesser version that could support multiplayer via subscription as rF2 lite (or something)?
As has been pointed out its about three years (of online subscription) to make lifetime practical in a cost only sense.

Edit... Don't miss the 40% off sale as it is a very good value.

 

[Frederic Schornstein]

Although the 40% off is quite tempting, not populated pub servers + no RD club race in US = save for future for me.

There are other big leauges and events out there. My team is currently running in an endurance leauge with over 80 sign ups that needed to be split onto two servers.

 

[Kurei]

@Gringo, I get what you're saying, trust me, value/price isnt the issue, it's just that I see the issue like this...

Imagine if rF1 had a paywall to its online functions, would the modding-scene and game community have exploded with life like it did back then ?.

I fear we won't see that with rF2 because of this paywall-barrier

But maybe with the sale, there's still hope, it's still less than the cost of a new game at full retail, which could attract those 'on the fence', myself included, so I may just get it this weekend after all, beats $80, haha.

 

[Gringo]

would the modding-scene and game community have exploded with life like it did back then ?

The current rF2 scene is pretty active and churning out some top notch content. It would be a challenge to get bored of whats out at the moment. Steam should only increase the exposure and continue driving the demand / interest. The ISI strategy has slowly been building up to this point and the method in the madness might start to shine through. The game itself is polished nicely, lots of content, outstanding realism, new sophisticated mod tools, cool plugin system... the list goes on.

The next few years should prove interesting for the sim racer.

 

[Tobbe Bergman]

Although it's nowhere near what the AC community have produced and are producing !

 

[Tobbe Bergman]

The current rF2 scene is pretty active and churning out some top notch content.

Although it's nowhere near what the AC community have produced and are producing !

 

[Gringo]

AC community

Skins aren't mods

 

[Tobbe Bergman]

Skins aren't mods

All 3rd party content are considered mods

 

[St3fan]

There are other big leauges and events out there. My team is currently running in an endurance leauge with over 80 sign ups that needed to be split onto two servers.

Can't be dedicated to a league due to limited spare time, and sims that I own, plus RD club races already make me quite busy.

If stock car content becomes more popular and RD starts to have club races in US I would invest in a copy.

 

[Gijs van Elderen]

All 3rd party content are considered mods

View attachment 108339

IMO: The comparison is not fair.

- rF2 3rd party content cars/tracks are downloadable upon server login. If you are active in the rF2 multiplayer, you'll gether much more tracks then the RD download section has to offer.
Just click on a server in the lobby, type in the password and download the required cars and tracks.

- Custom skins wil transfer automaticly on the server to all clients. So you won't see a lot of rF2 skins in the RD download section, because it's not needed to pre-install skins.

- Setups can be send on the server. Just ask for one if you meet someone on a server.

- Plugins/Apps: you'll get the best support from the 3rd party plugins developers on the ISI forum: click here

BTW: A custom skin a mod ... I'm a modder!

 

[Tobbe Bergman]

IMO: The comparison is not fair.

- rF2 3rd party content cars/tracks are downloadable upon server login. If you are active in the rF2 multiplayer, you'll gether much more tracks then the RD download section has to offer.
Just click on a server in the lobby, type in the password and download the required cars and tracks.

- Custom skins wil transfer automaticly on the server to all clients. So you won't see a lot of rF2 skins in the RD download section, because it's not needed to pre-install skins.

- Setups can be send on the server. Just ask for one if you meet someone on a server.

- Plugins/Apps: you'll get the best support from the 3rd party plugins developers on the ISI forum: click here

BTW: A custom skin a mod ... I'm a modder!

All 3rd party content are still considered mods

 

[Mat Holloway]

I don't think it is a fair comparison either.
I convert AC stuff to rF2 for personal use and in all cases I've witnessed to date, the quality of work, both visible and invisible is simply an evolution of rFactors level.

To bring one track up to a standard acceptable for me (certainly not for public release) a normal sized circuit will require 100s of hours of work.

Primarily, mesh density is poor. Upgrading this using a variety of methods in Max can take a minimum of several days testing and tweaking.

Textures are generally poor quality(unless sold) and made with assumption that the graphics engine, shaders and PP effects will compensate.
I do worry for AC's future following this path as it inevitably painting them into a corner that will be difficult to maneuver out of. You just can't continue to make low quality work and tart it up with makeup forever... can you?

 

[Von Butters]

What gets me with this swapping to steam, I've just bought another another 12 months as I've been itching to try our the new features and tracks. If I want to migrate to stream, will I have to wait until the 12 months I've just bought runs out, or will my account and the remaining time, whether it be 11,10 or whatever, all transfer to my steam account?

Not quite sure. What's written in the ISI FAQ's seams contradictory.

 

[Will Mazeo]

You just can't continue to make low quality work and tart it up with makeup forever... can you?

If low quality means faster work for moders they not only can but they'll continue with that, unfortunately.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

What gets me with this swapping to steam, I've just bought another another 12 months as I've been itching to try our the new features and tracks. If I want to migrate to stream, will I have to wait until the 12 months I've just bought runs out, or will my account and the remaining time, whether it be 11,10 or whatever, all transfer to my steam account?

Not quite sure. What's written in the ISI FAQ's seams contradictory.

What ISI tried to explain in their FAQ is that it is impossible for them to migrate the remaining time for a subscription if you choose to switch your existing account to Steam. Therefore they advise you to wait until it runs out and then migrate. If you migrate earlier you need to buy a new subscription, or buy it with a lifetime subscription.