rFactor 2 | New Build Update Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

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

• New build adds VR flat desktop mode.
• Various art fixes and tweaks.
• 32-bit installers ceased.

The new build has been deployed in anticipation of the upcoming Spa-Francorchamps release this Friday 20th November, and comes complete with a number of fixes and tweaks to the simulation. It is worth noting as part of this build, as detailed in the October Development Roadmap, going forward Studio 397 will no longer be supporting 32-bits version of the simulation, and the Dutch team also recommend migrating to the 'new UI' to maximise current and future developments within the title.

Of interest in the new build are various performance improvements for the UI and the addition of VR flat desktop mirror, plus new controller profiles and some further tweaks to the graphic aspects of the title.


Update Notes:

• Removed the 32 bits builds, we are now officially 64 bit only. To ease the transition, we have left some 32 bit utilities in their usual locations for this build only. Please migrate and report any issues you might have.
  • Note: there is a known issue that the ModMgr.exe inside Bin64 folder on SteamCMD dedicated server distributions may crash when toggling certain settings. Please use ModMgr.exe inside Bin32 folder for now.
• Changed the way the new UI gets rendered, making it smooth even when the back-end is busy.
• Fixed several memory leaks and a possible crash on changing graphics settings in-game.
• Ensured that when a user is entering text in a text field, keys he/she presses don’t accidentally trigger other controls.
• Fixed the mouse cursor from going missing when pressing ESC in VR after driving the car.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes when restarting or forwarding sessions, the UI would not (re)appear after that transition.
• Fixed several aspect-ratio related rendering issues with the new UI.
• Fixed the new UI being one pixel too wide and too high on triples.
• Added new VR flat desktop mirror. Please note this is only available in the new UI on the public_beta branch.
• Controller profiles
  • Simagic M10 new profile added.
  • VRS Direct Force Pro corrected typo in controller profile.
• Re-enabled & Improved Sun God Rays / Light Flare settings (requires PostFX enabled, mostly only visible when the sun is occluded slightly)
• Tweaks to Air Pollution colour blending and params
• Corrected Moon Brightness
• Reviewed various lighting parameters
• Moved “Atmospherics” section for Track Weather file (.WET) to Track Game Database file (.GDB)
• Added option for static mappers to disable omni lights
• Fixed auto static mapper assignment, so Static01 mapper is auto assigned only. (prevent mappers for specific situations being auto assigned to assets)
• Fixes for issues with No Rain Zones including when falling back to bounding box, and sorting issues with the currently rendered no rain zones.
• Fixed an issue where reflections would stop updating after rejoining track
• Fix for track side cameras not always showing the correct number of objects
• Updated PBR track shaders to make use of new sampler methods to allow for more textures to be used.
• Fixed an issue where DXT1 and DXT5 textures would not sample sRGB when they should when using new sampler method (This was an issue on the Road Shader only previously)
• Fixed a rare issue causing texture animations to stop working
• IBL Road and IBL Curb:
  • Added ability to use a second normal map (overlay on road, switch on curbs)
  • Tweaked Groove Blending logic (This may result in more noticeable dust, you may wish to tone this down in your Road Details Map)
  • Updated default settings for Groove & Dust IBL Standard
  • Fixed some issues with the Detail Map
• IBL Standard & Blend
  • Added option to use detail map as an alpha masked decal IBL Standard Blend
  • Added the option to use a detail map with the same logic as IBL Standard
  • Removed Multiply Square albedo blending mode, since this can be achieved by saving the texture in the correct format.
• IBL Terrain:
  • Added the ability to set per Albedo strengths for Pattern map
  • Added an optional splatter overlay map, which applies alpha to specular mask
  • Added Albedo Tinting to Specular on Terrain Shaders
• IBL Vegetation
  • Added a new Vegetation Specific shader, which contains only appropriate logic from IBL Standard
  • Added Specular Tinting with a static colour in the Vegetation Shader.

Steam Build IDs
Old UI (opt-out)

• Client build ID: 5842885
• Dedicated server build ID: 5842895

New UI (public_beta)

• Client build ID: 5842938

The new build is available now, and should download automatically the next time you restart your Steam client.



Original Source: Studio 397

rFactor 2 is available now, exclusively on PC.

Check out the rF2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for a great place to hang out with your fellow fans of the title, discuss the latest news and get advice on how to make the most from your simulation. Join in and start a new thread today!

 

[Squared Circle]

Lots of criticism Maybe it's always a good idea to use things for their strengths not against their weaknesses. Example:
I enjoy rf2 a lot. FFB and car handling in general at least to me is superior to anything else. I'm a lot into LMP2 and Endurance Racing. I love to drive whenever I feel like it.
That rules out MP (PC2, Wreckfest instead), VR (makes me slower, I feel dizzy when using it for 2 hours straight). I don't need heavy modding (just use the Endurance Mod) or a new UI. I don't care about track loading times for a 8h race. My car/race type preferences rule out many other sims. Of those that remain as options to me rf2 is the best.
Of course, it's not perfect - but I try to enjoy what I have (in the end it's just a hobby) instead of being sad about what I don't.

 

[Squared Circle]

In comparison, the AMS2 UI is genius. And it can load 6 Nords the time it takes to load it one time in rF2...

What would make you want to load 6 Nords?

 

[tr1v1um]

What I can't get my head around is their glacial work tempo: over four years for a frickin' UI? And it's not even finished, Other developers make a complete game engine in four years.
And soon you won't even be able to roll back to the old stone age UI. We'll be stuck with the new UI, whether it works or not. The usual unfinished b*llshit from Studio397.
And what about the disaster that is trying to drive online? Where you need a degree in programming to even use it? Or the bugs that have been there since the beginning of time? The full-course yellow joke, the clownish rain and dust effects, the awful optimization for VR, the fact that you have to spend hours deleting piles of stone age crap from the library when you do a new install, I could go on and on.
Why can't they make the workshop so that when you install for the first time, or re-install, you get one car, and one track? And whatever else you want, you can download it from the workshop, instead of having to unsubscribe all the stuff you don't want.
This week I bought a RTX 3080 for nearly a grand. And guess what? Nords still runs like shite because it's so badly optimized for VR. I suspect it has a bad memory leak, but I'm not holding my breath that they'll fix it any time soon. Why should they? They already have my money, onwards and upwards to the next unfinished DLC.......
And people complain and complain about all the bugs that should have been the first priority when they took rF2 over, nothing happens, they ignore all criticism,. All you get from them is the next expensive DLC, which almost certainly has bugs when they release it. A few hotfixes later, then it runs like it should have run at release. Don't they beta test all this stuff? It boggles my mind when I see the unfinished state of their releases....
Last night I had to rollback to the old stone age UI, after using the new UI almost from the beginning.
Why, I hear you ask? Because now my mouse doesn't work anymore since they broke, I mean updated the new UI. I tried three different mice, but now the new UI is unusable: you can move the mouse pointer, but when you click on something, nothing happens. Or the cross disappears when you lay the pointer on it, I mean WTF?
I've cut Studio397 a lot of slack since they took rF2 over from ISI, but my patience is slowly running out.
Instead of showing us what they can't do, it's about time they started to deliver, and read a few books on VR optimization, and how to beta test properly. And fix the long bug list, among other things.
Does it sound like I'm p*ssed off? You bet I am, I spent nearly € 3000 on a gaming computer, mostly so I could drive rF2 looking like it does in their promo videos, all to no avail. Something is always broken in rF2, they fix one thing, and break something else.
I'll tell you what, if I treated my customers like Studio397 treats theirs, I'd have been bankrupt years ago.
But I'm still going to buy the Spa DLC tomorrow. Why? Because I'm an idiot

I think you are picturing the development in a very wierd and abstract way. In fact I would say that your assumption are just wrong.

None of the current gen sims was written in four years time. With the sizes of those studios that's propably not gonna happen. Most of them are the result of many many years of programming, knowhow and experience, in the case of rF2 with a codebase going back propably 15 years or more.

If you listen to Marcel's last interview, you will understand this a bit better. It isn't as if S397 just wrote the UI over the last four years and did nothing else. They had to manage a code base with millions of lines - comparable to a bookshelf - to fully rewrite the graphics engine, rewrite the backend for the new UI, integrate the comp system, fix the netcode issues and develop new content and features at the same time. Should I mention that they helped developing a full game at the same time? If people really think that S397 are slow then they should propably do a bit of research and check the portfolio of Luminis. They aren't some freakin' amateurs.

Did it come to your mind that your mouse issue could be a very user specific issue? Maybe try a bit of trouble shooting and opt out of beta or back in. And the workshop topic has been discussed so many times I don't understand why this doesn't get into your head. It's a system to make it easier for new users to get going. In every other game you get the full content aswell, and nothing else.

 

[GuitarTech]

The new UI has some problems:

- way slower to operate than older UI, with stuff divided in so many places that are not immediately obvious. And fade and other animations surely does not help.
- it uses eye destroying white backgrounds, especially at night in a low lit room
- horizontal scrolling should be banned in any UI
- fonts are blurry at 4K
- would be nice to have mouse back button going back to previous screen

In comparison, the AMS2 UI is genius. And it can load 6 Nords the time it takes to load it one time in rF2...

Wenn they can finally offer a version of their new UI that actually works with a mouse, they should add the option of having a dark mode, before I go blind from the searing white background. They've had over four frickin' years to get it to work, and it's still broken......

 

[GuitarTech]

I think you are picturing the development in a very wierd and abstract way. In fact I would say that your assumption are just wrong.

None of the current gen sims was written in four years time. With the sizes of those studios that's propably not gonna happen. Most of them are the result of many many years of programming, knowhow and experience, in the case of rF2 with a codebase going back propably 15 years or more.

If you listen to Marcel's last interview, you will understand this a bit better. It isn't as if S397 just wrote the UI over the last four years and did nothing else. They had to manage a code base with millions of lines - comparable to a bookshelf - to fully rewrite the graphics engine, rewrite the backend for the new UI, integrate the comp system, fix the netcode issues and develop new content and features at the same time. Should I mention that they helped developing a full game at the same time? If people really think that S397 are slow then they should propably do a bit of research and check the portfolio of Luminis. They aren't some freakin' amateurs.

Did it come to your mind that your mouse issue could be a very user specific issue? Maybe try a bit of trouble shooting and opt out of beta or back in. And the workshop topic has been discussed so many times I don't understand why this doesn't get into your head. It's a system to make it easier for new users to get going. In every other game you get the full content aswell, and nothing else.

I concede you're point with the time frame for programming. But the Madness engine, or indeed other implementations of the gmoto engine like R3E for instance, differ from rF2 in that they're not a buggy mess....
I've opted in and out of the beta four or five times. I've tried full screen, windowed mode, and borderless. I have tried it with three different mice, two wirelessUSB, and one with a cable. I did several complete system new starts, no change. Oddly enough, all the mice work flawlessly in R3E, PC2, AMS2 and RF9.5. Of course it is'nt Studio397s fault. Funnily enough, before they broke the new UI yesterday, the mouse worked perfectly. I've been using the new UI since it came out, I know how it should work. I'm 66, I've been doing this s*it for a while....
I'm sick of having to put up with Studio397s sloppy crap, and I'm not alone, They have an excuse for everything, why just can't they do it right? How hard can it be? R3E uses the same gmoto core, why can't rF2 run and look like that? God, back then even GT2 had a better UI. How Studio397 could take over four years to produce such a dogs breakfast is beyond my comprehension.

 

[Squared Circle]

How Studio397 could take over four years to produce such a dogs breakfast is beyond my comprehension.

Obviously you have tried turning it off and on again So I'm afraid I can't offer any idea that would solve this problem. And I know it doesn't solve a problem pointing you to others but given the fact that Windows Explorer does not see all WINDOWS servers on the network since now 20 years and that NVIDIA broke driver support in Linux Core 5.9+ should tell us the two awfull truths about software:
- It is a daily miracle that some of it still works and
- BIG IT companies also have incomprehendable problems keeping their s..t together

 

[mrbungle83]

This is really shaping up nicely for the Beta in 2029

 

[GuitarTech]

This is really shaping up nicely for the Beta in 2029

Well said that man....

 

[ReisF1]

Is there anyway to disable the "Loading Favorite Server"? It's so annoying having to wait for it to load my nonexistent favorite servers because I only race offline.

 

[GuitarTech]

Is there anyway to disable the "Loading Favorite Server"? It's so annoying having to wait for it to load my nonexistent favorite servers because I only race offline.

As far as I know, it isn't possible. I've looked too. But don't ask them to implement it, it'll delay the release for another two years, and probably break something else at the same time

 

[Cheesenium]

I concede you're point with the time frame for programming. But the Madness engine, or indeed other implementations of the gmoto engine like R3E for instance, differ from rF2 in that they're not a buggy mess....
I've opted in and out of the beta four or five times. I've tried full screen, windowed mode, and borderless. I have tried it with three different mice, two wirelessUSB, and one with a cable. I did several complete system new starts, no change. Oddly enough, all the mice work flawlessly in R3E, PC2, AMS2 and RF9.5. Of course it is'nt Studio397s fault. Funnily enough, before they broke the new UI yesterday, the mouse worked perfectly. I've been using the new UI since it came out, I know how it should work. I'm 66, I've been doing this s*it for a while....
I'm sick of having to put up with Studio397s sloppy crap, and I'm not alone, They have an excuse for everything, why just can't they do it right? How hard can it be? R3E uses the same gmoto core, why can't rF2 run and look like that? God, back then even GT2 had a better UI. How Studio397 could take over four years to produce such a dogs breakfast is beyond my comprehension.

I think R3E is very careful with making changes, they seemed like they will do one major patch per year in December and that's it. Madness Engine can be a mess but after years of working on it by SMS and now Reiza, they worked out some of the kinks of the gMotor issues and new visuals for it.

I always have an impression that this engine is fiddly to manage and you get a lot of bugs that pops up during development.

S397 is either slow or incompetent. There are a lot of long-standing issues that they took a year or years to fix or implement them. The issue with AMG GT3 AI was a long-standing problem that they took over a year to fix? The Oreca AI also has a similar issue, how long they will take to fix that?

I am pretty sceptical in buying content because bugs will be ignored for years before fixing. Even though I really want Porsche Cup and M2 cup in this game.

 

[mibrandt]

My impression: Incompetent, sloppy, unstructured, unrealistic, in way over their heads. Ppl defending rf2 load times, 4 years developing an unfinished UI, breaking stuff with every update, half finished features, poor communication skills etc etc really are saints with patience I have never witnessed before. Hats off to you ! I honestly envy your ability to ignore all the frustrations that comes with this sim.

 

[b)b]

S397 is either slow or incompetent. There are a lot of long-standing issues that they took a year or years to fix or implement them. The issue with AMG GT3 AI was a long-standing problem that they took over a year to fix? The Oreca AI also has a similar issue, how long they will take to fix that?

They are surely competent but probably waaaay understaffed in term of developers (though not so much for the track/car artist department). The number of actual developers working on the code largely determines how fast things can be done. If you have 2 coders, they are not going to do the work of 10 coders. In comparison, behemoths like Turn 10, Polyphony digital and other AAA game shops have an army of coders.
Add to that that the code of rF2 is old, huge and complicated, making it difficult to improve things fast.
And also, they must not break old stuff introducing new stuff... And there's compat with mods to preserve as best as possible.
Development is really complicated: what can be seen from outside as a 'simple' fix can prove to take weeks to fix. Nothing is ever really simple. How do I know that ? I'm a developer.

 

[Ciccina2016]

View attachment 420785

This starts in 0,5 seconds,try this!

ehm.... I don't know if you have realised yet.. RF2 ..is a... videogame??

 

[mibrandt]

They are surely competent but probably waaaay understaffed in term of developers (though not so much for the track/car artist department). The number of actual developers working on the code largely determines how fast things can be done. If you have 2 coders, they are not going to do the work of 10 coders. In comparison, behemoths like Turn 10, Polyphony digital and other AAA game shops have an army of coders.
Add to that that the code of rF2 is old, huge and complicated, making it difficult to improve things fast.
And also, they must not break old stuff introducing new stuff... And there's compat with mods to preserve as best as possible.
Development is really complicated: what can be seen from outside as a 'simple' fix can prove to take weeks to fix. Nothing is ever really simple. How do I know that ? I'm a developer.

in an interview here on RD Marcel Offerman Said that they are roughly 30 ppl in the company working on RF2. I have also seen him commenting that they are about 50/50 in terms of content creators/coders.

 

[muzikant]

a lot of complaining, but i'm happy with the new updates on my system rfactor 2 is running fine!

 

[DriverJay]

I dont normally complain because i know the developers do alot of hard work, But finally took the plunge and just updated to the new UI and it seems to run in 20FPS when i enter any option screen and the fans on my GPU are going crazy, its fine when i start my hotlapping on lemans, but again when i try to watch the TV cam FPS dips to the low 40s, My system is getting on abit but i dont push it too hard and aim for 1080p 60FPS on a 60Hz display
System i7 3770, 16GB 1600MHz, RX 480 1342MHz 8GB Running Games on separate 2TB mechanical HDD (Soon to be 1TB SSD)

 

[Squared Circle]

My impression: Incompetent, sloppy, unstructured, unrealistic, in way over their heads. Ppl defending rf2 load times, 4 years developing an unfinished UI, breaking stuff with every update, half finished features, poor communication skills etc etc really are saints with patience I have never witnessed before. Hats off to you ! I honestly envy your ability to ignore all the frustrations that comes with this sim.

They are no saints. They are just average adults who know that everything in life comes at a price. If I want these features, I have to cope with the imperfections.
Those complaining obviously note that rf2 has great features. Otherwise they wouldn't use it and thus be unable to see the imperfections.
The difference obviously is just a sense for realism.

MS Windows is a real bad piece of software. I live with it, because I like its main feature: Running my favourite sims

 

[Alfredino]

ehm.... I don't know if you have realised yet.. RF2 ..is a... videogame??

Most people think that rF2 is only a sim rather than a videogame. First goes the videogame development to make your product accessible and easy to use, then comes the sim development. Wouldn’t the logical progression then be to expand on the “gamey” elements, with physics improvements popping up gradually rather than being the ultimate priority?

I think if Studio397 made its product more accessible it would sell a lot more. When constant DLCs are released and there is no solid game behind it, they give me to understand that they are trying to survive.

Spa is going to be a great job, but ... it's a shame that this simulator can't bring out its full potential by making life easier for many. Assetto Corsa won over a large part of the modding community because its product was easier to modify and important errors were gradually corrected.

 

[Case_]

I did a quick compare with Nurburg combined
clean start after update 06:06 mins
second (hot) start 02:01 mins

I also run rF2 off the 860 QVO. Nürburgring combined loads in around 2:30 for me, and the first start after the update took bloody ages (that's an exact scientific measurement).

I have a fair amount of mods installed. I would uninstall quite a few of them, but that would mean unsubscribing from them on Workshop, so I won't. Wish there was a way to be subscribed to a mod, but not have it installed at the moment.

And while 2:30 is something you can kinda tolerate, even though it's certainly slow as snail for 2020, it can quickly become really annoying, like when you need to restart your game several times in a row because an update suddenly caused your VRAM usage to double (and the performance to plummet accordingly), even though you didn't change anything in your config, and you need to find new settings that will work for you...