rFactor 2 Moving to DX11 - New Company Partnership Announced

[Paul Jeffrey]

With the build up to this weekend’s Sim Racing Expo, Image Space Incorporated have announced a strategic partnership with the Dutch software group Luminis. The new alliance has been created to help increase development in rFactor 2, including a number of exceptionally exciting announcements in relation to the sim.

The partnership will be brought together into a new company: Studio 397. Studio 397 will have its headquarters in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands and will operate under the leadership of Marcel Offermans, a fellow sim racer and the man responsible for bringing both rFactor and rFactor 2 to the Steam platform.

Gjon Camaj, Vice President of Image Space Incorporated:

“We at ISI are very pleased to have found a partner that shares our enthusiasm and vision for the continued growth of rFactor 2. We look forward to working with Luminis to expand the reach of rFactor 2 both in Europe and beyond. After having worked with Luminis for some time and seeing their passion for motorsport simulation, this partnership was a natural next step. By leveraging each of our company’s individual strengths, we will be better able to serve our current customers and further expand our reach into the world of motorsports”.​

Marcel Offermans, Luminis Fellow and Managing Director of Studio 397:

“I’m really excited by the opportunities that our partnership with ISI offers; rFactor 2 represents the best of breed, stable simulator platform in the industry. Online simracing has been my longtime personal passion, so the opportunity to combine my passion with my business feels like a great privilege. By infusing the platform with some of our own technology we see great opportunities to accelerate development in general and specifically in the areas of competitions and training”.​

The new partnership have released an ambitious roadmap for rFactor 2’s further development including the stated plans to move over to a DX11 compatible graphics engine, including VR support for both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. With the move to DX11, Studio 397 have committed to bringing performance improvements for high end video card users as well as maintaining compatibility with current content.

Other highlights from the announcement include a proposed new HTML based front end interface and Matchmaker support, in game UI updates and a promise to make more frequent car and track releases, working on racing cars and series as well as "popular and challenging" tracks. The new partnership also promises to work more closely with the community to support development of free and paid mod releases...

Oh, and the game has a new logo too....


All in all, this is fantastic news for rF2 and the sim racing community. I can hardly wait.

Check our rFactor 2 sub forum for news, discussions, mods, club and league races and everything in between!

What do you think of the announcement? Excited about DX11, VR support, new content? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[jimortality]

Complete opposite of what I want to hear. Many of us are "racers" not "gamers", we would prefer the list to say something like the following:

I don't understand this! we are gamers playing a racing game. If I was a racer, I would be out on a track doing it in real life. Let's not big up what we do, it's all just game.

 

[DaVeX↯]

Complete opposite of what I want to hear. Many of us are "racers" not "gamers", we would prefer the list to say something like the following:

- Tons of physics engine development work since that is, by far, the most important part of this game/genre - this includes the physics engine itself, the tyre model, combustion engine modeling, drivetrain, chassis, aerodynamics, and working with the core ISI PMotor engine in order to improve it massively from the ground-up.

- Sound engine improving / new sound engine with much more physics based stuff and much more connected to vehicle physics

Hey Spinelli, happy to see you again!!!Where are you been?
BTW, they are working on physics, tyre model, drivetrain, etc but also plugins, rules, etc too
The "gaming" part you are talking about is the part of the story wich had most coverage on various forums but if you read all the interviews to Marcell you will see also a lot of work on physics engine...

 

[Andy_J]

Complete opposite of what I want to hear. Many of us are "racers" not "gamers",

The engine is what makes a game...If your engine is the same as another game then the driving experience doesn't change much.

Make your mind up.
Of course we are gamers. You might want to think you are a racer but I can tell you now that crashing your RF2 Dallara into a wall at Daytona does not hurt you in any way, neither in the wallet or your body. Try and do that in real life and see the difference. See, you are a gamer after all.

 

[Alex Townsend]

And actually doing it costs a fair bit unless you're already loaded or have friends or family in high places that can sponsor you.

One day they'll get there. But I think it will probably be some sort of neural implant to actually trick your brain into sending electrical signals for weight transfer and g-forces

 

[Will Mazeo]

What I don't get is why people think it's impossible to have improvements on all sides.... this stuff is not black or white folks...

 

[David Dominguez]

Wish we could go back to the Netkar Pro, Live For Speed, etc. days when single guys, or tiny dev teams, only cared about making the best technical racing sim possible. They did it out of passion and hobby and didn't care about massive car lists, graphics, etc. All they mostly cared about was constant deep physics work. Now it's just the same few racing engines being re-hashed on game after game after game.

Indeed, back in the days were one went almost bankrupt and the other one literally stopped any development for years.

And surely other devs aren't pushing forward the physics department, no. So far, compared to the previous sims, rFactor 2 replaced the entire tire model, with many updates through the years, added turbo and throttle modelling, chassis flex, a new steering model, a bit more sofisticated aerodynamics, fuel mixture modes, and probably more things that I forget. Kunos on the other hand have added to their previous sim a more accurate suspensions modelling, more suspension layouts, more realistic tyre model that simulates many more things (with constant updates since it's been released), active aerodynamics, all the complicated energy stuff (KERS, ERS, etc), drivetrain, and so on... Maybe Stefano should stop making 3d models and come back to develop the physics engine. Oh wait...

Your comment is so far from reality and so unfair that you should really think about it.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

The "gaming" part you are talking about is the part of the story wich had most coverage on various forums but if you read all the interviews to Marcell you will see also a lot of work on physics engine...

Actually Marcel outlined pretty clearly that the focus would be on updating the game to DX11/VR and designing a new web-based interface. So far he has said very little about physics. Luminis is a cloud service company, so it would make zero sense if they decided as first project to dig deep into the physics engine as @Spinelli was suggesting. Surely understanding and working on such physics engine requires years of knowledge, as the existing code is based on 20 years of research from ISI and working together with real teams on rF Pro. Studio 397 would be better off consulting ISI with eventual problem areas with the physics and focus themselves on the main things that rF2 lacks compared to competitors.

 

[Ghoults]

- DX11
- VR support
- PC performance improvements
- HTML based front end interface
- Matchmaker support
- In game UI updates
- More frequent car and track releases

Complete opposite of what I want to hear. Many of us are "racers" not "gamers", we would prefer the list to say something like the following:

But those are not the only things they will do. I'm not tying to hype it up when I say this but overall this deal is all about making sure rf2 is developed and new stuff is added. Dx11 and vr support are important for the future. Dx11 does not just mean prettier graphics but technically it allows rf2 to do more with the same amount of processing power. This can mean more fps, more stable fps, faster loading times and new graphical features. Like those damn wipers. It can also mean more physics stuff can be added when the game can handle the modern hardware better. I don't think moving from dx9 to dx11 is a bad move. It is definitely not a bad move from simulator point of view.

Doing something completely different than everybody else can be a good way of doing things if it works for you. Rf2 tried something very unique and I don't think it worked. Clearly the sales have been poor because there was no money to invest back into rf2. As a modding platform rf2 has completely lost to ac. As "a serious racing simracer" who has been doing this since gp circuit (everybody look how hardcore I am) I think mostly it is just opinion of taste which you like the best. Rf2, ams or ac. Each have their strengths and weaknesses. Rf2 at this stage maybe has more of the latter and hopefully some of that stuff is now getting fixed as time goes on.

In the end ISI was just about to drop rf2 to focus on their next game and yet there are so many people who think things should left be as they are because they happen to like it. I think new direction can only be good for rf2. There are many ways to create realistic simulator and it is clear the current way is not the way to go. At least with this 397 deal rf2 gets a second chance. Maybe this time it gets the chance it actually deserves.

 

[jlnprssnr]

designing a new web-based interface

HTML based, not web based. Assetto Corsa's menu is rendered in HTML, too, but you don't notice it if you don't know. Just gives them more flexibility to rearrange menu items etc and show/hide stuff where it's needed

 

[Marcel Offermans]

Actually Marcel outlined pretty clearly that the focus would be on updating the game to DX11/VR and designing a new web-based interface. So far he has said very little about physics.

There are a couple of reasons we have not given the community an update on our plans in the physics department. The most important one is that we are still collecting ideas on what areas to improve and even though I am convinced that physics are already a strong point, there are still a lot of smaller and bigger things on the list. We can still leverage the knowledge within ISI. I'll elaborate a bit more on this in a future monthly update.

 

[DaVeX↯]

I'll elaborate a bit more on this in a future monthly update.

I hope to see them soon, I really love the idea to follow the rF2 evolution from the early stages (similar to Reiza monthly updates for AMS), also will bring some movement and visibility on your website too...

 

[Andy_J]

I personally hope the physics stay as they are. They are the best of all the race sims at this present time and no one can really deny that. If they do change, is there a way that owners can revert back to the current build or keep a current build if they are happy with it?

 

[DaVeX↯]

I personally hope the physics stay as they are. They are the best of all the race sims at this present time and no one can really deny that. If they do change, is there a way that owners can revert back to the current build or keep a current build if they are happy with it?

They are going to improve physics with bug-fixing, performance optimization, etc etc...
...they never talk about changing it...
...why good news are going to be read as a drama?

 

[Andy_J]

...why good news are going to be read as a drama?

? What are you on about? Drama? Like I said I just prefer that they concentrate on other things and leave the physics alone. Is that ok with you that I have my opinion?

 

[DaVeX↯]

Ok, let me explain better...

I personally hope the physics stay as they are. They are the best of all the race sims at this present time and no one can really deny that.

This is your opinion and I am perfectly fine with it, so as you can see I am ok with you that you have your opinion...

If they do change, is there a way that owners can revert back to the current build or keep a current build if they are happy with it?

This is what I call "drama", they still haven't released a single bit of their work and you want to be sue there will be an option to turn back. This statement sounds very different from...

Like I said I just prefer that they concentrate on other things and leave the physics alone.

Also, is "drama" such a bad word?

 

[Gijs van Elderen]

? What are you on about? Drama? Like I said I just prefer that they concentrate on other things and leave the physics alone. Is that ok with you that I have my opinion?

So H-shifting without a clutch for you then.
No head wind on the straights for you...
No changing track temps by cloud cover for you...
No humidity...

Don't worry mate. If there is a physics change, they'll be made by ISI.
ISI is part of Studio 397.
Luminis: the other part of Studio 397 will concentrate on other stuff.

 

[Andy_J]

Whatever boys, whatever.........

 

[Risto Kappet]

I don't understand this! we are gamers playing a racing game. If I was a racer, I would be out on a track doing it in real life. Let's not big up what we do, it's all just game.

Yes players of racing games are gamers. But drivers of simulations are racers.
And RF2 is a simulation, not a game. We are simulating being out on track in real life because we cant/dont afford the real thing so its much more than a game for many of us

 

[Andy_J]

Yes players of racing games are gamers. But drivers of simulations are racers.
And RF2 is a simulation, not a game. We are simulating being out on track in real life because we cant/dont afford the real thing so its much more than a game for many of us

You are still playing a game. Like it or not. You might be one of the fast guys who practices every day or not wearing your race gloves and helmet (no one outside of this little niche hobby really cares), but you are playing a game where you can't get hurt and hence you drive faster and take more chances than in real life. That's a fact.
Try this: get your partner/friend to stand at the side of you whilst you are playing your game(racing your simulation) with a 5 kilo lump hammer. Every time you crash he/she is to hit you hard in the face with the hammer. Now you are really a racer playing a simulator OK. Try it. I bet you drive/race a bit more careful after your visit to the local hospital.
Oh and RF2 is a racing game unless there is "real" setting in the options that makes me pay for any damage, fuel costs, racing licence, new race tyres, R&D, Workshop repairs, team salary's, funeral costs, etc blah etc. I ain't ever found that "real" setting, have you?

 

[Mat Holloway]

You are still playing a game. Like it or not.
Oh and RF2 is a racing game unless there is "real" setting in the options that makes me pay for any damage, fuel costs, racing licence, new race tyres, R&D, Workshop repairs, team salary's, funeral costs, etc blah etc. I ain't ever found that "real" setting, have you?

That may be true for yourself, but it's not really on to judge everyone by your standards is it?

Plenty of us going to the track and then practising at home. Best of both worlds, you know!