rFactor 2 "The Road Ahead" DX11 Update.. err Update..

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 have revealed more about the development plans for the new rFactor 2 DX11 update build released earlier this week.

In something of an impressively fast response, Studio 397 have already released several small update hotfixes to the new DX11 build of rFactor 2 - reportedly offering improvements in framerates for all users and especially those running AMD graphics cards.

Studio 397 have promised to continue pushing out quick hotfix updates to the game, accessible as part of the Steam Beta branch found within the Steam Library as the studio look to rectify some of the reported issues being suffered by a large proportion of players who have downloaded the most recent build of the software.

You can read the update in full below where you will also find the link for the Studio 397 thread detailing the change logs from all the released hotfix patches.


Regular Updates
Our strategy in the upcoming weeks will be to release small updates often. Whenever we fix an issue, we’ll quickly test it internally and push a new build, so you can confirm that it is indeed fixed. This way we might end up pushing one or more builds every day. On our forum we will keep a changelog as we publish those builds. To make it easier to report issues, we have added a “Contact Support” button to the Launcher (top right of the main window) and, for performance related issues, we added a feature that allows you to collect performance data in a file that you can send along with your report.

To enable the capture of performance data, please first press Ctrl+F to display the framerate information (which we’ve extended a bit). Then, as instructed on screen, press your Left-Shift+SPACE to start capturing data. After a little while, the capture will end and you get a file in your UserData\Log folder called PerfLog_DATETIME.txt which you can send to us along with your report. Then you can turn off the display by pressing Ctrl+F again.

Content Updates
In the mean time our content team is working hard on making more of the stock content available to you. Our plan here is to stick to roughly a weekly schedule for delivering updates. Those will be a bit bigger in size, and we will deliver them to both the stable DX9 build and the open beta simultaneously. Content updates will obviously also contain information about exactly what content gets updated.

Beta Labels
If you’re currently running the open beta release, you are on “v1108-dx11-open-beta” and this is the label we will be regularly updating as we address more and more issues. If for some reason this build is not working for you at all, after reporting it, you can optionally switch to the “v1108-dx11-open-beta-last-stable” build, which will point to an older build. If that does not work, you can obviously choose to temporarily “opt-out” of the beta releases altogether and go back to the stable release until we release another update.

If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on our forum or on Discord.

rFactor 2 can be purchased from the Steam platform right now and is available exclusively for PC.

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 and share the love this simulation so very much deserves...

Have the latest rF2 hotfix updates improved your experience, either in DX11 or using VR devices? Let us know your opinion in the comments section below!

 

[clemencaman]

How can i display fps in VR, ctrl-f dosnt work for me... also VR works one time, and next time i want start game it dosnt start, then i have to start without VR, then i can start VR again, also when i enter the car to drive, sometimes it works sometimes i only see the steamvr room with my sensors...

 

[F1Aussie]

The guy at my local sim center says a lot of the FPS woes people are suffering from is because many didn't follow instructions from ISI in regards to deleting certain files within the rF2 root folder.

It's 2017 and we really shouldn't be having to muck about with files, deleting folders or shaders to get a game up and running and looking modern, but I guess that's how they roll.

It is a beta and was touted as such so it is not going to be perfect straight away.

If you stay with dx9 then you dont have to do anything.

 

[xnorb]

Comparing development speed and community interaction of ISI, S397 and Reiza really makes you wonder if the only way to get rFactor sims moving forward is to take it from ISI and put it in the hands of some sim enthusiasts...

It is a beta and was touted as such so it is not going to be perfect straight away.

Absolutely no point arguing with him, just ignore him.

 

[JPL083]

Tried dx11, went back to dx9, went back to AMS..

The hatetrain-kinda people we dont need. BB!

 

[kkdrummer]

I am staying on dx9 now for...although Vsync shows as enabled and set to Video in game the fps fluctuates from 45 to 95 fps and what it hits 95fps and stays there for about 10 seconds the game doesn't run smoothly...Nvidia 970 here...latest drivers installed, folder cleared, plugins deactivated. On Dx9 with 30 AI the game keeps it at 60fps all the time. I've tried lowering all visual settings in game, but will not run smoothly and fps fluctuates heavily.

 

[leseb64]

 

[Jockey]

 

[Andy_J]

It's 2017 and we really shouldn't be having to muck about with files, deleting folders or shaders to get a game up and running and looking modern, but I guess that's how they roll.

The same can be said (and has been said) about Project Cars and it's woeful FFB mess and jumping through hoops to get that feeling good. Yes that's how they all roll including Pcars 2 most probably. But I doubt you will say anything about that now.

 

[Gijs van Elderen]

Comparing development speed and community interaction of ISI, S397 and Reiza really makes you wonder if the only way to get rFactor sims moving forward is to take it from ISI and put it in the hands of some sim enthusiasts...

Devs at ISI are adsolute number freaks. Recreating the real world in numbers. Not talking about the graphics and content.
If you set time and date and geo coordinats in the sim at 6-juni-1944 at 7am at Normandie. The sun, moon are the same as at was at D-day.
Just a detail, and there are many more of those "nobody cares" things.

ISI is a software/game engine developer. Not a game developer. Let them concertate on that, as they are currently do with Reiza, S397, rFactor Pro (Maybe Simbin, SMS, Sector3)
I guess the "not rF3" is a product not released in their name.

 

[Andrew Harper]

I'd admit that I haven't deleted any of the shader files etc. before running the DX11 update but I can probably see myself returning back to DX9 build for the time being.

It needs work from the modding side to reduce the flaring on anything too white at the moment. For example the white gloves and white paint on some of the Enduracer cars flare badly. It's all bits and pieces of work nothing major just fine tuning. I'll have to do the same on some of the skins I've created. I never use pure white anyway but cars that use 90% white are still "glowing" on camera

The bit that's harder to deal with though unfortunately is the performance drop. I could run about 30-40 cars on the DX9 build but I can't run more than 2 now without bad FPS drops.

I haven't looked into it closely yet but I am running an SLI setup and I'm just wondering if the game is not detecting the second card, will have a closer look over the weekend.

However top marks to Studio 397, they've done a pretty major piece of rewriting of the software and for the most part it works. All day yesterday my Steam account was downloading little updates for the game so they are certainly working very hard to get everything sorted

If you use the updated official content it looks pretty awesome, it's just a case of waiting for other addons to catchup.

It's a shame in a way that they didn't do the route that Reiza did. Have a separate beta build versio on the Steam account so you can choose which to run. Yes it would take up considerable space on the PC but it would mean keeping them separate whilst all the niggles are sorted out.

 

[Jockey]

The bit that's harder to deal with though unfortunately is the performance drop. I could run about 30-40 cars on the DX9 build but I can't run more than 2 now without bad FPS drops.

Would you be so kind and provide info about your performance drop in this thread?

https://forum.studio-397.com/index.php?threads/official-dx9-vs-dx11-performance-difference.55385/

They said many times that every performance data they can get is helpful. And according to your claim you have a serious performance drop.

 

[Andrew Harper]

Would you be so kind and provide info about your performance drop in this thread?

https://forum.studio-397.com/index.php?threads/official-dx9-vs-dx11-performance-difference.55385/

They said many times that every performance data they can get is helpful. And according to your claim you have a serious performance drop.

Hiya, yep no problem my friend

Yes I was surprised too. The game will run but the FPS has taken a pretty big hit. I haven't experimented too much with settings in game yet but will try various things and report back

 

[Bez]

just got a small update on steam for rf2 and now im getting much more consistent fps, tried same combo yesterday and noticed drops especially in the pits, after todays update it seemed much more consistent throughout the track, also looks less "bloomy" in the cockpit

 

[whip]

BTW anyone using this with a Rift, any suggestions on how to get the best experience please? For me it was exceptionally choppy both in menus and the track, with low FPS and kinda felt like I was driving a racing kart on a million speed bumps.. properly shaky!

Any help appreciated

it's normally out of your control, lods seems to be a big impactor on vr from my experience, my hardware doesn't get near 100% usage yet the fps can be low enough for asw to trigger with a medium sized grid, stuff just needs to be optimized

 

[whip]

omg hi xnorb, your name instantly reminds me of the aggro days in bc2

 

[Tigerteeth]

The guy at my local sim center says a lot of the FPS woes people are suffering from is because many didn't follow instructions from ISI in regards to deleting certain files within the rF2 root folder.

It's 2017 and we really shouldn't be having to muck about with files, deleting folders or shaders to get a game up and running and looking modern, but I guess that's how they roll.

I deleted one file and emptied two folders, probably a minute or so of work on my behalf. Runs as well as the DX9 version apart from some plugins and third party mods that need to be updated.

Even in 2017 beta means install and test at your own risk.

 

[Jockey]

I deleted one file and emptied two folders, probably a minute or so of work on my behalf. Runs as well as the DX9 version apart from some plugins and third party mods that need to be updated.

Even in 2017 beta means install and test at your own risk.

Hm I just switched between the two build and it's not even required anymore.

Steam downloaded ~50mb data and that's it. All of my settings was there. I can switch back and forth quickly.

 

[RustyDriver00]

Been having a great time with VR, shadows seemed to be the fps killer for me, with them off and ASW always on can run 2.0ppd and x16 with everything else on high without issue.
i5 3570k at 4.3k and 1070.

 

[BazzaLB]

I posted this in another thread but I ended up using 3Dmigoto to force proper fullscreen which in turn enabled vsync to work. I then tested 3DVision and it is still perfect with DX11 and all post processing effects.

Hope they fix the fullscreen mode soon so I am not forced to use 3Dmigoto to achieve the same thing.

 

[JeffL]

Am able to get around 60fps avg on single screen with almost max settings, vast improvement in just a couple days. First time I've been able to run shadows and blur on max in rf2. It really helps immersion. Keep it up guys.