rFactor 2 | New Build Update Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 have deployed a new build update for rFactor 2 - adding many fixes, tweaks and improvements to the simulation.

• Multiple UI improvements and tweaks.
• New controller profiles for various wheel manufacturers.
• Substantial modding support archive documentation refresh.

Studio 397 have been pretty busy of late, and today some of those labours have seen the light of day with a brand new build hitting the public version of the simulation - adding many fixes and improvements to the title in a number of key areas.

As rFactor 2 strives towards making the new UI the default interface choice for the public build of the simulation, Studio 397 have released a new update today with many tweaks, improvements and fixes to how the UI operates within the game - again taking another step forward in what is a considerable overhaul to the way the simulation looks, feels and functions when loading into the sim.

Other notable changes within the new build include a reworking of many broadcast overlay features, substantial updates to the documentation available to modding teams, additional wheel profiles, graphical tweaks and multiplayer fixes - the full details of which can be seen in the change log below:

Update Notes 04.09.2020

Old UI (opt-out)

• Client build ID: 5504070
• Dedicated server build ID: 5504080

New UI (public_beta)

• Client build ID: 5503999
• Dedicated server build ID: 5504004

User Interface

• Added key binding for hide cursor. This is useful when running the in-game overlays and doing a broadcast to a capture card that insists on showing your cursor otherwise.
• All replay controls can now be custom assigned in the controller tab. By default all replay controls are mapped to the same defaults unless re-assigned.
• Added first time start up wizard. For now only has name and nickname fields. This will be extended.
• Added player area in the main UI. For now only has name and nickname fields.
• In showroom we now check for upgrades on page load and do not show info if there aren't any.
• Disabled select button in list layout for category items. When switching from grid or thumbnail layout to the list layout, and having a "category" item selected, the select button would be available and would glitch things when clicked.
• Clear car configuration info when viewing a "category" item.
• Updated the pop-up layout and styling.
• Renamed event screen "Drive" button to "Passenger" when in multiplayer spectator mode.
• Made transitioning to packages area page smoother:
  • Get packages after the page has loaded to avoid blocking.
  • Show a pop-up message while getting packages.
  • Use a dark grey background during switching to the page.
• Enabled a chat message for single player admin commands.
• Fixed a game crash when switching sessions.
• Fix accessing garage data properties if data is not available.
• All controller profiles are updated. This fixes various issues when using 'Detect' on first time hardware setup.
• We have new controller profiles for:
  • Simucube 2 Sport;
  • Simucube 2 Pro;
  • Simucube 2 Ultimate;
  • Logitech G923 PlayStation 4 and PC;
  • Logitech G923 XBox One and PC;
  • VRS OSW;
  • XBOX One Controller For Windows.
• Added "PlayerFileOverrides" to various profiles to ensure proper driver aids are enabled/disabled on first time wheel detect.
• Added use thread "true" for all profiles.
• Ensured that the "920 workaround" is set to "false" on all non-Logitech profiles.
• Fixed profile naming and removed redundant profiles.
• Fixed stuck 'look left' on TS-XW profile.
• Thrustmaster F1 wheel Integral profiles: Fixed all mapping conflicts: T-GT, TS-PC, T500 RS, TS-XW.
• Thrustmaster Racing wheel profiles: Fixed all mapping conflicts: T-GT, TS-PC, T500 RS.
• Thrustmaster F1 wheel Integral profiles: Fixed all mapping conflicts: T-GT, TS-PC, T500 RS, TS-XW.
• Thrustmaster Racing wheel profiles: Fixed all mapping conflicts: T-GT, TS-PC, T500 RS.
• Added correct max torque to Fanatec CSW v1, v2, V2.5 and Direct Drive profiles.

Modding Support

• Published a ton of new information about modding for rFactor 2 on the documentation website.
• Large update to modding documentation, will full documentation on PBR material system, dedicated Development Tools section and more.
• First official release of 3ds Max 2021 Plugins.
• First official release of Material Editor.
• First official release of Maps Converter Tool.
• Added Loch Drummond (PBR Track) to ModDev.
• Added ability to disable auto albedo correction on pre PBR shaders.
• Added ability to choose cube Fresnel default settings on pre PBR car body shader.
• Corrected Deformable Tire shader naming in Max Plugins.
• Exposed Atmospherics section in Wet file to configure Haze and other settings..
• Updated ModDev to use main game HUD.
• Added ability to save preset positions in the Scene Viewer.

Graphics

• Added new pit exit marshal textures.
• Small refactor of glare settings in PostFX
• Many other minor tweaks to various shaders and settings.

Multiplayer

• Significantly improved logging for multiplayer sessions.
• Fixed race conditions in our low level socket node list.
• Increased the size of an internal array to accommodate all possible cars in a session.
• Fixed an issue where not just the server would send out node reordering messages.
• Changed some very "spammy" log messages.
• Fixed several crashes where some code would reference invalid data.
• Added descriptive names to all threads.
• Improved the handling of an application crash to ensure logs get flushed.

Broadcast Overlays

• Made qualifying box sector colors correspond to best lap sectors instead of absolute best sectors.
• Added fallback for drivers with no last name set.
• Added dropdown in control panel to select overlay configuration.
• Made replay transition follow the configured series color.
• Added an option to show more data in tower field 4 (gap to next, number of pit stops).
• Added an option to automatically enable race update box when timing box is enabled.
• Fixed pit timer getting stuck after leaving pit lane.
• Fixed displaying of gaps to leader/fastest lap time in tower and banner.
• Extended field 2 data with manufacturer and team logo.
• Added turning lap time green or purple in the qualifying box after the lap.
• Added option to minimize boxes in the control panel.
• Fixed starting order not working with multiple events.
• Fixed replay jumping to wrong time.
• Cleaned up the CSS to make it easier to make changes in the custom.css.
• Added a replay marker button to mark replay events.
• Updated team name and car number to use the entries from the .VEH file.
• Added mixed/overall standings option.
• Added an option to toggle between driver name, team name and description.
• Made b-roll a standalone element.
• Added option to condense tower by hiding field 2 or 3.
• Fixed schedule slide date comparing.
• Added an option to start the overlay in multi-class or single-class mode.
• Updated banner behaviour based on the selected car class (or mixed/multi-class mode).
• Rearranged control panel.

Original Source; Studio 397 forum.

rFactor 2 is available exclusively on PC, via the Steam network.

Want to get the best from your rFactor 2 experience? No worries, head over to the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment, start up a new thread and let the community help you out!

 

[Nano10]

RF2 (along with AC and ACC) has the best physics and FFB on the market.

In addition, an AI that perfectly adjusts to the level that each player wants to have, in addition to weather changes, day and night transition.

In terms of graphics they are very good and they improve it more and more.

The UI is not the most modern but it is easy to use.

The raod surface is spectacular, it feels fantastic.

In summary this game is notably superior to AMS2, RR3, PC2, there is a huge difference.

Besides they keep improving it, there are plans for new content, congratulations to S397, they are doing a fantastic job.

 

[Case_]

It is interesting time, and most importantly better performance in rF2 ! Now have to work out how much of bottlenecking will be caused by weak processor lol

What processor, what resolution, what target framerate?

 

[passenger]

There are certainly times when rF2 is running all cylinders properly, and it is always amazing time. I think it is happening more and more often as time goes by and development goes forward. Also as a user one gets more used and keeps on navigating faster, doing better choices, knowing what is worse and what is better.

@passenger I suppose it is logical to assume that new 2080Ti should become a lot cheaper in near future, maybe 2x cheaper ? No need to speculate that it should become more cheaper in used market. I am not an expert on these things, so hard to predict, but I expect card like 2080super to get ~350$ before end of the year in used market, or perhaps even cheaper ? Right now in ebay 2080super has buy out options with prices around 600$. And there is still lots of time before October, when 3070 will be released, and that one really will make a difference in the market, being not worse than 2080Ti and costing 700$ less. It is interesting time, and most importantly better performance in rF2 ! Now have to work out how much of bottlenecking will be caused by weak processor lol

The RTX 3070 launch is on september 24th, just in a few days. And the
RTX 3080 even earlier, the 17th. The second hand market for the RTX 2000
series cards is going to be very busy these coming weeks...

 

[Sally71]

For the haters

Dont hate just realistic.

 

[General_Failure]

RF2 (along with AC and ACC) has the best physics and FFB on the market.

I'm curious about what steering wheel are you using on AC. AC FFB is totally dead compared to rF2, and in fact AC FFB reminds me of original PC2 or even PC3 FFB, just a basic resistance without info about the surface.

 

[Nano10]

General Failure

A old G27.

Some tweaks in Logitech Profiler, 70% gain in the game, zero min force and.....a brilliant FFB.

 

[mantasisg]

People keep separating physics and FFB as two major islands of simulators. There is not much of FFB island really, at least shouldn't be. Specifically FFB should be as little as possible, like strength multiplier, min force... The rest is all physics. So when you guys talk about FFB, you really talk about various fragments of physics, that compute outcome of force in time, magnitude and direction. And as a matter of physics, parameters of each individual cars and tires are major factors for how FFB is. Of course many sims probably has all sorts of fakery that is 80% FFB and 20% physics. Just look at rF2 FFB specific settings, how little there are, that is a good thing.


@Martin Fiala Nothing amazing, it is i5-7600K, I have already checked in online bottlenecking calculator, that 2080 would have 12% of bottlenecking at 1440p. I guess that would mean that card would still be usable.

@passenger I did not realise there were precise date for 3070 already. Yes the second hand market of 20 gen going to be big in next few weeks then. I guess pricess will settle by the mid october then.

 

[Highbank]

Sometimes I get the feeling that some folks (not mentioning any names) but you seem to sit back and wait for any rF2 thread to be posted so you can drop the same old complaints without ever really spending any time using the sim in between...just an observation..but whatever...race on dudes!

 

[Alex72]

i mean ams 2 has a bigger changelog in one of its weekly updates, sorry just done with this title its pretty much a dead offline sim now.

Newer engine that is built for easy changing and fixing (AMS2). Dont think you can compare them that way.

 

[Case_]

@Martin Fiala Nothing amazing, it is i5-7600K, I have already checked in online bottlenecking calculator, that 2080 would have 12% of bottlenecking at 1440p. I guess that would mean that card would still be usable.

If that's a single screen 1440p, then I'd say 2080 is an overkill for that CPU. You don't need 2080 for 60 fps 1440p in rF2 (I can almost do solid 60 fps in 2560x1600 - so more pixels - in rF2 with my 1660Ti with generally just a dip below that here and there, and that's way below a 2080), and you're unlikely to be able to do stable 120 fps, let alone more.

 

[mesfigas]

lot of people dont trust bottleneck calculators

 

[mantasisg]

If that's a single screen 1440p, then I'd say 2080 is an overkill for that CPU. You don't need 2080 for 60 fps 1440p in rF2 (I can almost do solid 60 fps in 2560x1600 - so more pixels - in rF2 with my 1660Ti with generally just a dip below that here and there, and that's way below a 2080), and you're unlikely to be able to do stable 120 fps, let alone more.

I am over 60fps. There were days I used to race Assetto with 35-45fps online lol. Upgraded to new PC and have raised to stable 70fps. Right now I am using rF2 with stable 100fps, with mid-high settings, there is quite a bit of struggle with rain and other cars on track, also depending on track the sunset, sunrise and sometimes night has quite an impact. I use 1060 6GB card. Single 32" 2560*1440.

 

[RichardHessels]

Loch Drummond with Tatuus F4-F3, simracing bliss!!!

 

[Lefthook]

This sim is never going to grow bigger. The driving experience can be really fantastic but it can also suck depending on what content you use. Physics aren't the reason this game isn't more popular. It's how much of a pain the game is to use, and how fragmented and varying the quality of content is. I have had RF2 for a long time and been a league admin and every single series there are always a LOT of issues encountered by users asking for help because they can't run the game or join a server for "x" reason or whatever. I have also gone through the very time consuming process of weeding out a lot of the terrible and abandoned content.

A lot of people won't have the patience to do that, and I get it. You want to race, not be an IT department and troubleshoot a bunch of nonsense. Most of the mods are garbage or are ripped illegally...or both. There are some amazing mods, but they are rare. There is also a good amount of ISI content that has also been abandoned.

Offline experience is unimpressive, the ai is much worse now than it was 5 years ago and now this latest update caused the VEC to have to abandon a league race over a ridiculous oversight. There are also a few red flag mega events that flopped miserably for RF2. So you have dissatisfied offline and online racers.

The new ui (new...lol... 4 years in the making and still in beta) is awful. It is still missing features from the old ui, is slower and much less efficient. So now people that think this new ui sucks are going to have to hope that modders can make a ui that isn't a hot mess. I'm still getting glitchy artifacts on my selection screen (new or old UI) and people are still randomly being booted during session changes and there is still join/ leave lag experienced by many.

If you have had RF2 for as long as I have you are used to having to put work in just to get to track, but form someone new, this is offputting and I believe a large reason the game will never grow. People don't choose AC, ACC, iRacing over RF2 because RF2 is "too sim" for them... it's because people are busy and don't want to spend hours NOT driving and instead, troubleshooting.

No sim is perfect, I get that. But this game has been around nearly 10 years and still has missing features/physics/elements and is plagued by some very annoying issues. The graphics are improved and look decent, VR runs very well, but the audio is some of the worst. I have over 2,000 hours in this game and totally enjoy certain content, but no way can I recommend it to anyone because I don't want to have to babysit them for 40+ hours so they can get the game working.

 

[CrimsonEminence]

People don't choose AC, ACC, iRacing over RF2 because RF2 is "too sim" for them... it's because people are busy and don't want to spend hours NOT driving and instead, troubleshooting.

-> Basically this (Simulations may differ and my bussyness is varying but in core, yes).

 

[TheRealCeeBee]

I love rf2 for the 4 tracks that actually look good in it. Wonder if the devs can call it a day, hire Ilja to develop CSP for RF2, bring the game what it needs. (how good would it be to have grassFX for example instead of potato grass?)

 

[tr1v1um]

This sim is never going to grow bigger. The driving experience can be really fantastic but it can also suck depending on what content you use. Physics aren't the reason this game isn't more popular. It's how much of a pain the game is to use, and how fragmented and varying the quality of content is. I have had RF2 for a long time and been a league admin and every single series there are always a LOT of issues encountered by users asking for help because they can't run the game or join a server for "x" reason or whatever. I have also gone through the very time consuming process of weeding out a lot of the terrible and abandoned content.

A lot of people won't have the patience to do that, and I get it. You want to race, not be an IT department and troubleshoot a bunch of nonsense. Most of the mods are garbage or are ripped illegally...or both. There are some amazing mods, but they are rare. There is also a good amount of ISI content that has also been abandoned.

Offline experience is unimpressive, the ai is much worse now than it was 5 years ago and now this latest update caused the VEC to have to abandon a league race over a ridiculous oversight. There are also a few red flag mega events that flopped miserably for RF2. So you have dissatisfied offline and online racers.

The new ui (new...lol... 4 years in the making and still in beta) is awful. It is still missing features from the old ui, is slower and much less efficient. So now people that think this new ui sucks are going to have to hope that modders can make a ui that isn't a hot mess. I'm still getting glitchy artifacts on my selection screen (new or old UI) and people are still randomly being booted during session changes and there is still join/ leave lag experienced by many.

If you have had RF2 for as long as I have you are used to having to put work in just to get to track, but form someone new, this is offputting and I believe a large reason the game will never grow. People don't choose AC, ACC, iRacing over RF2 because RF2 is "too sim" for them... it's because people are busy and don't want to spend hours NOT driving and instead, troubleshooting.

No sim is perfect, I get that. But this game has been around nearly 10 years and still has missing features/physics/elements and is plagued by some very annoying issues. The graphics are improved and look decent, VR runs very well, but the audio is some of the worst. I have over 2,000 hours in this game and totally enjoy certain content, but no way can I recommend it to anyone because I don't want to have to babysit them for 40+ hours so they can get the game working.

I agree with you that rF2 needs to be a bit more accessible, but I think it is a myth to believe that you need to spend so much more time or work than anywhere else to get on a server or a race going with AI. And it's quite naive to think that rF2 is the only sim that makes it hard to give you proper offline and online racing, when some of your mentioned "better" examples have actually far worse implemented features. Anyone who has used the ACC server browser will propably know that the rF2 server browser, wich I consider pretty bad is actually better and offers more settings. Join and leave lags, discos and warping cars are as much of an issue in AC/ACC as they are in rF2. The AI, while it sure could be improved, is still very good and amongst the best and setting up SP races has certainly been improved with the new UI. Wich brings me to you mentioning iRacing while laughing about the long development time while here it's been in beta in iRacing for how long?

Like it or not, one of the biggest drawbacks of this sim is it's reputation while I haven't experienced any more or less drama while getting to race than anywhere else with the exception of hosting races with friends, something that really needs to be improved and more straight forward without packing vmods and stuff like that. Most of the complaints though (while some of them are valid for sure) are from people overlooking the fact that you get much more freedom and options in rF2 than in any other product on the market straight out of the box. And that freedom comes at a cost.

 

[passenger]

I love rf2 for the 4 tracks that actually look good in it. Wonder if the devs can call it a day, hire Ilja to develop CSP for RF2, bring the game what it needs. (how good would it be to have grassFX for example instead of potato grass?)

I contacted this guy Ilja a while back to ask him to develop his great post
processing filters for rFactor 2, but he didn't reply. Hiring him would be
a great acquisition for rFactor 2.

I hope Paul is reading this and can talk Marcel into this.

 

[mantasisg]

I think you are underestimating the work with game engines. Ilja obviously was studying construction of AC for years, and I'd suppose rF2 is multiple time more complex to study and to modify/implement. It is on another level.

 

[sbabb]

I love rf2 for the 4 tracks that actually look good in it. Wonder if the devs can call it a day, hire Ilja to develop CSP for RF2, bring the game what it needs. (how good would it be to have grassFX for example instead of potato grass?)

Don´t scare me with people making the game worse
the CSP would ruin the look of rF2 too much and make it look unrealistic