rFactor 2 October Roadmap Update is Here

[Paul Jeffrey]

The latest monthly roadmap update on the state of play in rFactor 2 is now live!

It must be difficult to find new things to discuss each month when Studio 397 sit down and plan out the latest roadmap blog posting, and it is testament to the Dutch studio that pretty much consistently since taking over the reigns of development for this outstanding simulation the developers have been able to bring news of progress with the sim, often breaking new ground as they continue to breathe fresh life into the title following acquisition of rF2 from Image Space Incorporated.

For the month of October, S397 have released another new piece of content in the form of the Finnish Botniaring track, plus updated fans on the progress of the mammoth task of bringing a modern laserscanned version of the epic Nürburgring track in Germany - one of the most sought after pieces of sim racing real-estate within our hobby.

So without further ramblings from me, let's see what Studio 397 have to say this month....

The full October 2018 rF2 Roadmap can be read below:

It´s getting colder outside, and most of us probably have either switched to winter tyres already or are planning to right now. Brace yourself, winter is here! But as simracers, we’re lucky, our season never ends, so let´s get into this month’s roadmap. It was once again a busy time for us. Let’s be honest here, that probably never ends either: we are pushing rFactor 2 further every single day, but it’s always great to head out to the community with good news like releases or announcements!

Botniaring
In 1989, the gates in Jurva opened to what now is known as the longest and most versatile racetrack in Finland, the Botniaring. It also features different layouts, thanks to the extension of the track in the past from a length of 2618 meter to 4014 meters, making it the longest racetrack in the country. Its smooth tarmac surface has invited multiple races to the region over the years, turning Botniaring into another Finnish motorsport center.

Mostly used for national championships, the track also became popular among northern European championships. With its 3 different layouts, the Botniaring offers thrilling racing action for all kinds of motorsport classes. It might not have seen a full European GT Championship yet, but you can change that in rFactor 2! Choose from the “Long”, “Long with Chicane”, and “Short” layouts to either be challenged by a high-speed track or to take on a breathtaking chicane that needs all your attention if you want to clock a fast lap time. Ah yes, we nearly forgot, the track is live now and servers are also running already, so what are you waiting for?!
​

Nürburgring
When we announced this track at SimRacing Expo, we already stated this is a monumental task. The 2018 scan data has now been fully processed, and in parallel we have been working on many of the track-side details. We don’t have a lot to show yet, as usually the phases of modeling a track involve a lot of work that is not immediately visible until quite late in the build. We did visit our artists and got some pictures from their workstations while they were working on the track. Planning-wise, we are on schedule, and in a couple of months we hope to be able to show you some in-game shots. Worth mentioning already is that this will be our first full track that is built using our new material system.
​

McLaren Shadow rFactor 2 Qualifier
After introducing three new free cars to the simulation, we headed into the harsh but exciting world of competitive racing, on the hunt for that one driver that would represent the rFactor 2 community in the McLaren Shadow final later on in Woking. But before anyone could claim this spot, three qualifier rounds broke down the list of participants to the last 30 that had a chance at winning this.

Road 1 at Silverstone
Round one saw our racers flying through Hangars straight at the iconic Silverstone Circuit in the McLaren MP4/8. With everyone ready to shine and willing to do everything to put their stamp on the first round of the new competition, our livestream saw plenty of action and great fights with everyone trying to get inside the top 10 to make their way to the Qualifier final. After 30 minutes we had our first podium of the rFactor 2 McLaren Shadow Competition with Jan von der Heyde winning in front of Michelle D Alessandro and Eros Masciulli.
​

Round 2 at Zandvoort
The first 10 had their ticket to the Qualifier final, another 20 tickets were still up for grabs. After everyone parked their McLaren MP4/8 in the garage again we went even further back in time with the McLaren M23, a pure drivers car. No electronics, just a steering wheel and pedals. And with these weapons, our best drivers out of the Hotlap Sessions had to go up against each other on Zandvoort. Long fast corners, a lot of banking, and the endless will to fight made up another great livestream during this competition, eventually seeing Georgo Baldi reaching for the top spot and sending Peyo Peev and Kuba Brzenzinski down to the other spots on the podium.
​

Round 3 at Indianapolis
The championship car of Mika Häkkinen, the McLaren MP4/13, was the car of choice for the last qualifier round, leading our drivers to Indianapolis for a last chance to earn their spot in the Qualifier final. With an aggressive rear end, this car meant serious business for our participants and Indianapolis GP wasn´t willing to make it any easier for them. As this was the last qualifier round, everything heated up quite quickly, with several fighting groups that had to be covered by our live broadcast. In the end it was too much pressure for some drivers which totally threw around the top 10 in the last laps of the qualifier. Managing to keep his MP4/13 under control, it was Mark Berends securing the first place with Kevin Ryan and Antonio Kolarec following closely.
​

Finals at Longford, NOLA and Sebring
All qualifier rounds had been done and it was time for the Top 30 drivers from around the world to face off in the Qualifier final. Due to it being the big finale with just one spot leading to the McLaren Shadow Event in Woking, we decided to send out drivers to 3 different tracks, using all the new McLaren cars to find out who will represent our beloved Sim.

Normally you would expect a write up about what happened, right? Yeah, me too… not gonna happen XD! There was just too much action everywhere and the battles really showed that everyone was willing to give his best to get the Ticket to the UK. So better watch it yourself! (You fancy a link? It’s down there!). To cut a long story short, after 3 intense races it was Nuno Pinto who leading the standings and lifting himself up to the next level of the competition, the on-site final. Nuno Pinto:

It was really good, I wasn’t really expecting to win the competition. The first race was almost perfect, pole position and win. The second race started really bad with the crash on turn 1, recovered from P20 to P9 and got some good points. The last race was so good, started from pole, but when I switched to 2nd gear the rear end stepped out and to avoid hitting the wall I had to lift the throttle and lost 5 spots, recovered to P3 and that gave me overall win. Really happy and I am already working to be in the best shape possible for the final in January, I don’t really know what to expect but I will try and do my best and make all rFactor 2 players as proud as possible!
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rFactor 2 is available exclusively for PC from Steam now.

Check out the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for all the latest news and discussion with regards to the simulation. You can take part in lively debates with fellow rFactor 2 fans and take part in some great Club and League racing events..! Head over to the forum now!


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Happy with the contents of the latest roadmap release? Looking forward to the future of rF2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!​

 

[=LM=908GTS]

you have a big problem on your PC it's not from the game sorry, I have an I5 3570k @3.8Ghz and a 1060 6Go and I'm between 60 and 70fps with 25 AI according to the combo

No problems, I run 5760x1080 on triple screen.

 

[=LM=908GTS]

and your system as stated is a 8700k, 64gb ddr4, and a 1080ti.

you know it helps if you put those pieces on a motherboard and connect to some power. Why come on here and bullshit, honestly. You are contributing nothing other than false nonsense which anyone who owns the game can see right through. There are settings you can adjust to find the experience that suits. Please find something else to do with today. Thank you

PS i7 3770, 1060, 16gb, triples no issue, locked at a moderate 85fps, 24 ai, sometimes track and car combo dependent, but overall, a good experience. Believe you me, I can make the game chug at 30fps if I want to, but I choose not to be so stupid

...But your answer has the taste of stupidity, isn't it ? I try different settings without finding the good ones. If you have any secret of S397, you'd better, please, to show me the way to rF2 paradise.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

i wanted buy this game but i've miss the 50% discount on steam yesterday for 1 minutes :-(

I suggest you put it on your wishlist on Steam as that means you will get a notification when we go on sale next time. Halloween Sale was a fairly short one, but there is always another sale coming up!

 

[T_rac3]

move from the old engine to UE4

PLEASE NOOOOOOO. No another simracing in UE4

 

[St3fan]

Why are so many people against UE4 in this community?

 

[Will Mazeo]

Why are so many people against UE4 in this community?

Would rather see GT Sport graphics as target (considering that game is static ofc, getting that in a dynamic sim would be a challenge I guess).

 

[numbersevenhull]

...But your answer has the taste of stupidity, isn't it ? I try different settings without finding the good ones. If you have any secret of S397, you'd better, please, to show me the way to rF2 paradise.

Turn off post processing or go low/medium. Reduce visible AI to a level that won't impact your experience, say 18. Don't view simulation games as apples to apples. Don't assume with any game that if you have high end enthusiast equipment you have a god given right to turn any game up to maximum and expect optimum results. Put some effort into optimising the game for yourself, that's why you are playing on a PC not a console.

I'd also recommend the 1988 F1 track pack with the 1988 mod in the steam workshop which is really light on resource and helps hugely with whatever content you run on it. Tracks can hugely effect your mileage.

Apologies for being so stupid and managing to double the frame rate you achieve running 5760 x 1200 on a gtx 1060, guess I was just the way I was born that way.

 

[St3fan]

Would rather see GT Sport graphics as target (considering that game is static ofc, getting that in a dynamic sim would be a challenge I guess).

The negative opinion on this specific engine is just strange. I don't see why GT sport graphics is a no to using UE4.

At some point we need to move on. Using a well-established game engine may save time and effort in the long run and result in better stuff for the simracers. Many if not all racing sims are actually like this:

 

[Will Mazeo]

The negative opinion on this specific engine is just strange. I don't see why GT sport graphics is a no to using UE4.

At some point we need to move on. Using a well-established game engine may save time and effort in the long run and result in better stuff for the simracers. Many if not all racing sims are actually like this:

No idea why you are seeing this as negative. Cant people simply prefer something else? lol
See PC2 got theirs right. Maybe for rF2 would be better/faster/cheaper to upgrade their own without looking back at previous mods than upgrading to UE4. Only the devs know.

 

[St3fan]

No idea why you are seeing this as negative. Cant people simply prefer something else? lol
See PC2 got theirs right. Maybe for rF2 would be better/faster/cheaper to upgrade their own without looking back at previous mods than upgrading to UE4. Only the devs know.

Of course. People in this community can make an argument against anything and just say "can 't people simply prefer something else", no matter what the engine will be used, no matter if the devs are keeping the same engine, no matter the topic.

Also there is a reason why ACC goes UE4, and Sector3 is looking into UE4 too. Can't they simple use something else?

 

[Will Mazeo]

Of course. People in this community can make an argument against anything and just say "can 't people simply prefer something else", no matter what the engine will be used, no matter if the devs are keeping the same engine, no matter the topic.

Also there is a reason why ACC goes UE4, and Sector3 is looking into UE4 too. Can't they simple use something else?

They could if they wanted to

 

[delpinsky]

Does UE4 or any other up to date graphic engine hurt so much the community?
At some point devs must use a different engine. I hardly believe they will use GMotor2 forver til the ends of times. Also people forget that using a third party graphic engine, absolves the devs from spending a lot of time creating/updating their own engine, which is perfect for smaller software houses. Once devs master the third party engine, they can dedicate more time to the core of the sim: physics, FFB, AI and so on, because the updates of the engine will come directly from the engine developers.
A true to life, photorealistic graphics — which is the future of games — doesn't compromise physics, if this is the fear of people, but instead helps the immersion.

 

[MPortnoy]

Why are people already talking UE4 for rF2?
So far we only have one sim and it's only 2 months old and not without its issues. For what I've seen so far, I'm not impressed. Thankfully we already have a group of pioneers who went for it so only time will tell if it was the best decision and if it will prove to be a good engine for sim racing.

Plus Marcel said before they're still planning to develop rF2 for a couple of years didn't he? Which actually works for me

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

No, 60hz screens, 5760x1080. I have no issues with my hardware, other games run perfectly (AC, Automobilista, Dirt Rally). I don't know what is your secret/settings but I will be happy to know it...

Post your system specs and maybe we can help.

Why are so many people against UE4 in this community?

Due to bad experiences with ACC, lack of proper triple screen support and poor VR implementation (at least as of today). Neither of those things come native in UE4, so it's kind of pointless to move to a "ready made engine" when the engine is in fact not ready made for sim racing.

 

[sebduloiret]

I suggest you put it on your wishlist on Steam as that means you will get a notification when we go on sale next time. Halloween Sale was a fairly short one, but there is always another sale coming up!

yes , he was in my wishlist but.... i don't watch often my email and it seems that i don't have notification in steam itself but now i keep an eye on my wishlist and next discound , rfactor2 with sebring will be mine ( maybe with the blackfriday )

thanks for the answer and a nice day to you !

 

[St3fan]

Post your system specs and maybe we can help.



Due to bad experiences with ACC, lack of proper triple screen support and poor VR implementation (at least as of today). Neither of those things come native in UE4, so it's kind of pointless to move to a "ready made engine" when the engine is in fact not ready made for sim racing.

Other options aren't necessarily better. Triple screen support doesn't necessarily affect too many people (look at R3E). VR support is there and will become better and better just with the updates of the engine itself and may save dev time in the long run. Also more funding is definitely better, and a modern engine with good graphics is a good selling point to increase user base.

Of course it doesn't have to be UE4, and it appears that Debs need to spend some time figuring out UE4 for sim racing. But will there be enough benefit/time saving to write from scraching/keep using current/make upgrade to current engine to have better graphics that attract more people just for inherent triple monitor support? I doubt it.

I am not trying to argue with anyone. I do software development myself although not gaming. I am just stating my ideas based on my experience how to save time and effort so that there can be more interesting updates and contents sooner to attract more people and avoid people leaving.

 

[mantasisg]

I'd be an advocate against UE, because something about it I don't like, something doesn't look entirely right to me there. I don't know any UE4 game which would really look superior, well they usually have powerful graphics, a lot effects, superb textures and lots of objects, but I don't like clarity, colors, lighting IMO is not realistic. Though I saw some super realistic renders made by using UE4, but games aren't so much impressive in terms of realism. I suspect that UE4 is choice of many mainly because it is easy and fast to use, I guess.

UE is just uncharacteristic and unromantic IMO.

 

[=LM=908GTS]

Post your system specs and maybe we can help.

I78700K + 64gb ddr4 Corsair 3000mhz + MSI Gaming X 1080ti + triple screen 60hz + rF2 installed on a 1To SSHD.
If you have some tips... Thanks ! Because I run AC and ACC without any trouble with high graphical settings.

 

[Will Mazeo]

Why are people already talking UE4 for rF2?
So far we only have one sim and it's only 2 months old and not without its issues. For what I've seen so far, I'm not impressed. Thankfully we already have a group of pioneers who went for it so only time will tell if it was the best decision and if it will prove to be a good engine for sim racing.

Plus Marcel said before they're still planning to develop rF2 for a couple of years didn't he? Which actually works for me

Idk people have a fetish for this engine lol like it's the only option, as fanboys of games were not bad enough we now see this on game engines, I'm kidding I'm kidding
They forget ACC was in the works for more than a year before first announcement and after it happened it will take at least one more year for release. Many of the things UE4 does is already present in rF2 engine (like 3d animations), all rF2 needs is a different visual which can be done with shaders and better color palette.
Like I said if they had something to go as target I'd rather see GT Sport replay mode working "live" (without all the blur in cockpit of course), that would be a lot of work tho as GTS is static.

My God this game sounds are horrible

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

I78700K + 64gb ddr4 Corsair 3000mhz + MSI Gaming X 1080ti + triple screen 60hz + rF2 installed on a 1To SSHD.
If you have some tips... Thanks ! Because I run AC and ACC without any trouble with high graphical settings.

Ok so the hardware isn't the problem then. I would first check that the GPU is running in PCI-E 3.0 x16 mode, you can do this by downloading a tool called GPU-Z. Next I would make sure everything is set to default in Nvidia control panel settings. Finally the game settings, make sure sync and aggressive threading are disabled from rF2 launcher graphics config. And make sure you don't use more than medium post FX, as anything higher makes little sense other than for replays. Most of the in-game graphics settings are less important and should be able to run close to maxed with a 1080 Ti.