Sim Discussion Monday - rFactor 2

[Paul Jeffrey]

Have an opinion on rFactor 2 or got a question to ask? Having something burning to discuss about the game or want to share a review? Well, now you can...

Monday.. back to work, back to reality. To help ease the pain we thought it would be a nice idea to have a good old discussion. Use this article to share your opinions on rFactor 2, tips on how to get the best performance from the sim, what content is great, what is less so and anything else you might so desire!

I will be running one of these each Monday, for all the major sims, as a place to get some community feedback on the game itself and everything associated with the title.

Let's use this as a place for some user reviews and a central spot for all things rF2. Found a good mod you want to let people know about, tell us! Have a particular favourite car or track? Well shout up! Know some tricks to get the game running in its sweet spot? Fire away! Want to muse about future content coming to the sim, or want to beg the developers to go out and secure a particular licence agreement? Well now you can... !

rFactor 2 has come a long, long, long way in a short space of time after its initially slow start to life under Image Space Incorporated. Now with DX11, VR, quicker development and several exciting pieces of content and features all in the pipeline, there really hasn't been a better time to be involved in the simulation....


Mondays be like...

Image credits - datasting (picture 1), jayarrbee36 (pictures 2 & 3), RoWo (picture 4)

 

[dd11]

I never liked rFactor or any of F1 2000-2002 games ISI made because of weird physics (cars felt like lightweight shells dancing around center of mass).rFactor2 had huge potential with its very dynamic tyre model.
ISI played with rF for too long which led to slow rF2 development. They've played with rF2 for too long as well. It looked and felt like unfinished product with stupid price and no future.
Kudos to Studio397 for trying to save it it before it is too late. They've proved to ISI that looks and costs could be fixed. Now they need to polish experience and bring some good / well made content via themselves or mods support.
Lots of people got a hard time seeing totally unrealistic behavior of physics or data via watching replay or controlling car through 2D "window(s)" (monitors). Now with VR it is much easier to see and feel when inertia, reaction to controls and other simulated processes way off (if you have followed subject of motorsports long enough or better tried at least clubracing on semi-slicks on a track).
For example, (VR in) ProjectCars - very wrong, DirtRally - fun, AssettoCorsa - sim light, iRacing - sim hard / overdone, rFactor2 - ... leave your VR experience here

 

[St3fan]

The driving experience differs way too much for me offline vs online. The grip level, the real road, and the general feeling are always very different, making it really hard and time consuming for a noob like me to prepare for a race and get competitive. Also in other sims such as AC, AMS, and R3E with just the default setup I can enjoy the driving and racing a log easier than RF2.

RF2 is not the casual driving sim I go to. After a long day of work if I want to have some driving fun, the super long initial loading time of RF2 always kills. I would just choose to run AC or AMS instead (I've recently bought an Oculus Rift so now it is pretty much AC exclusively with occasional LFS fun), which in the end makes me a lot more familiar and comfortable with these 2 sims than with RF2.

Speaking of VR, the camera shake in RF2 VR tends to make me motion sick. RF2 is at this transitional stage between DX9 and DX11 but in game there is no clear indication which content is DX11 updated. How about something like a loading screen in AC that says which tire model the car is on?

Despite everybody's praise I don't find RF2 AI enjoyable to race against. I usually run 96% strength and 20 aggression. The AI cars have extremely sluggish race start (standing or rolling) even when they are in prototype cars vs me in a GT car, and they disregard my existence so often that I do not feel comfortable racing side by side with them. For example at the long sweeping right handed at Watkins Glen if I am on the outside and have just 1 wheel over the white line the AI will keep pushing me wide, or hit me. In addition, while AI making mistakes can be cool sometimes, their consistency in making these mistakes also kills the experience. There are many cars that AI cannot handle going uphill at LRP, such as Flat6 and SkipBarber. They keep losing traction and sometimes go straight to the guardrail.

Sorry for the long rant. When I read news posts here I always feel RF2 is a game that its users have more confidence and less doubt than its developers, which is the opposite to currently prospering sims such PCars.

On the plus note RF2 looks quite good and immersive in VR at night. I highly recommend people try it. Also for some reason I don't see some famous RF2 supporters brag about how great RF2 is in every on topic and off topic discussion everywhere (or maybe I ignored them?), making me feel majorly less embarrassed to launch this game, and I have a lot more RF2 in game time now.

 

[Paul Bennett]

Not fired it up much lately gonna wait till it's out of beta

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

Good sim but sadly graphics are dated, does this matter ? Probably not as they do have everything else, physics, weather, great tracks, mods,
For me though visuals are important!

I do wish that rfactor 2 could have a love child with Assetto Corsa

Have you tried the DX11 version? The engine was just updated with post FX, AO and DX11, so in that sense it's not dated. Graphic quality depends a lot on content, lot of people drive mods on rF2, which are not comparable to quality DLC content for instance.

 

[Eric Bergeron]

we need more and more "standard quality tracks ! " scanned tracks would be stellar !

 

[RaceNut]

Usually this relationships ends with a bad child, with no behavior and no positive future.

I would stay with the adults cause i love both of them!

Some (much) of the rF2 content could certainly use your audio help; rf2 needs an audio overhaul as much as it does graphic improvements but, it has some great "Sim Bones" to build on.

 

[Facundo Estevez]

I think the main issue with rF2 is the Workshop model. It feels messy, and there can be miles of difference in quality between one mod and another. It's in a desperate need of a quality curation.
Also, please release the new UI already.

 

[Yapci]

Every time I reinstall the game I get the same sad feeling. Now there is more and more time between each reinstall.

I had this feeling with AMS till they wrapped things up and restarted the game with clean code and some new features. Now the game looks better, performs great, have a lot of content (including quality mods that performs well...), and well, NOW that the game feels almost complete they added DLC's (pretty cheaper than rFactor2 too).

For me, what Reiza did is the way to go for rFactor2. This game is just dead, and you don't simply revive a game with one expensive car and some "still dated" looking ligths in an alpha-beta stage version of the game. RFactor have potential, but nowadays it's not that far in simulation and feeling from competitors. That type model is not enough anymore (and AMS have got a great tyre model even at low speeds with older engine).

 

[Jockey]

Every time I reinstall the game I get the same sad feeling. Now there is more and more time between each reinstall.

I had this feeling with AMS till they wrapped things up and restarted the game with clean code and some new features. Now the game looks better, performs great, have a lot of content (including quality mods that performs well...), and well, NOW that the game feels almost complete they added DLC's (pretty cheaper than rFactor2 too).

For me, what Reiza did is the way to go for rFactor2. This game is just dead, and you don't simply revive a game with one expensive car and some "still dated" looking ligths in an alpha-beta stage version of the game. RFactor have potential, but nowadays it's not that far in simulation and feeling from competitors. That type model is not enough anymore (and AMS have got a great tyre model even at low speeds with older engine).

What is a type model?

 

[Facundo Estevez]

What is a type model?

He obviously meant tyre model.

 

[Matthew Allington]

A lot of my rF2 play time is spent with older (pre-1993) F1 cars. Absolutely heaps of fun

The F1 1998 mod comes with a trackpack - they may all be basic conversions, but the historical tracks do add a lot to it

On the other hand, I do like some more oddball track/car combinations - I recently enjoyed throwing F1 1979 cars around a lovely-looking Lienz conversion...

 

[Will Mazeo]

Every time I reinstall the game I get the same sad feeling. Now there is more and more time between each reinstall.

I had this feeling with AMS till they wrapped things up and restarted the game with clean code and some new features. Now the game looks better, performs great, have a lot of content (including quality mods that performs well...), and well, NOW that the game feels almost complete they added DLC's (pretty cheaper than rFactor2 too).

For me, what Reiza did is the way to go for rFactor2. This game is just dead, and you don't simply revive a game with one expensive car and some "still dated" looking ligths in an alpha-beta stage version of the game. RFactor have potential, but nowadays it's not that far in simulation and feeling from competitors. That type model is not enough anymore (and AMS have got a great tyre model even at low speeds with older engine).

hehe what Reiza did to AMS is what ISI should have done to rF2. You know do things in more "simple" ways (like tire flatspot) instead of spend hundreds or thousands of work hours on stuff like the new tire model and making modding more complicated, I mean the tire model is excelent and probably the best in market but people don't care at all most people don't even know it works at speeds about 5x faster than other sims
inb4 "everything is ok and not complicated" boyband appear
And then spend those work hours on graphics and racing immertion (like 3d animations, proper FCY and code 60, animated car repairs, etc). At least that's what I expected from a next gen sim when I was playing GTR2 10+ years ago. You know something that after watching Paul Ricard 1000km would give me the same feeling in a sim. But none of them do this
Hey at least PC2 got pit animations, now we arrived at 2006 yay
I enjoy what S397 is doing tho, gotta enjoy what we have

 

[Mankiewicz]

Any clues on finishing tyres physics model?

 

[Nick Hill]

I still play rF2, so don't misconstrue my comments as "rF2 sucks", but for me, rF2 is the living embodiment of:

- nailing the "hard numbers" side of simulation
- damn near failing the "soft" side of simulation

Net result? For me, rF2 has nowhere near the appeal that - on paper - I think it should.

 

[Stephen Gibb]

MINIMUM TORQUE

Set minimum torque to 0. (This setting tells the sim what is the minimum level of force your wheel will produce.) Then raise the torque by small amounts until your wheel gently oscillates on the start line when you take your hands off it. When you hold the wheel, you should probably feel nothing or just a faint vibration. (EDIT: At this point, I like to reduce the Min Torque by 0.5% or 1.0%.) With a bit of luck, your wheel will now feel a little livelier when driving. Make a note of the Minimum Torque level.

Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the Minimum Torque setting was used to get rid of the deadzone of your wheel. For example my G27 has deadzone of 19% which was calculated using iRacing wheel checker app, in rFactor 2 I then set my Minimum Torque setting to 18.5%.

 

[MarcG]

The Game:
At this moment in time and just like when ISI held the reigns you really need to take RF2 for what it is, focus on the strong points and just Race, once you start to focus on the negatives you may as well play something else. This Sim still has many features other Sims don't, whilst some of these features are annoyingly half-baked they are still 50% more than what the others have, give it time and as below S397 should get around to sorting them out.

VR:
Good early implementation, some optimisation still to be done after a very good first few weeks of beta builds, a Lock To Horizon (or variant) is needed, overall though like other Sims it provides a fantastic experience and certainly beats a flat screen!

AI:
*Was* the best in the business but RRE & AC have recently really caught up (not quite overtaken), by all accounts AMS is right up there as well but I'm (yet) to try it out for myself so will reserve judgement. I'm hoping S397 have a plan for the AI, so far nothing has been said which is fine (DX11 integration far more important right now) but there are certain areas that need to be tweaked, changed or fixed completely.

Graphics:
Not for me to say as I'm not one that must have fancy graphics, I'm from the old skool Amiga days where Gameplay is everything (Sensible Soccer still beats FIFA hands down!!). From what I've read though the DX11 improvements have been a reasonable success thus far.

The Niggles:
Disappointed by the Radical AI being released in the state it was, I understand if S397 just wanted to get the car out there for us to enjoy but they should've made the AI fix a top priority after release and so far there is no sign of it. The lack of Talent files in this and the Civic (literally a 10 second hotfix) release is also a worry, it would make the below mentioned Offline Championship a bit of a let down if the AI don't have that great Individuality you can acquire from a Talent File.

The Future:
I'm excited for a better Online Experience through Safety Ratings and the like that S397 have planned, the new UI is going to provide a better experience with the Sim especially the MoTeC integration, further GT3 cars and more tracks are always welcome (Paid DLC is fine with me), Offline Championship is long overdue and the recently seen Formula-E advert may push the numbers up a bit if done well enough.
Further improvements to Physics & the Tire Model are always welcome, we need to be pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve in both these areas, more Realism the better for me.
As above I would like to see further AI improvement, certain areas that ISI left stale need to be either dumped completely or fully integrated, the weather (which is being worked on) is probably the #1 on my list in that department.
Overall so far so very good with S397s takeover, they are sim racers at heart and know what we want from a Sim so that should go a long way to producing a top quality racing game, something that RF2 always strived to be but got held back over time unfortunately.

Wishes:
Virgin Australia Supercars Official Content, with the Aussie/NZ tracks that every Dev seems to be scared of including (there's more to just Bathurst Down Under ya know!), Short Oval UK Cars & Tracks, a Damage Model improvement not just for physical but also mechanical...oh yeah and AI improvements..think I've mentioned that already

 

[tornadof1]

I have question about AI in rF2. I played rF2 on early alpha and have big problems with offline racing - AI ramming my car regularly so I had big disappointment in rF2 and stop to play it. is rF2 AI better now?? In fact I was stopped to play rfactor1 also because of the same reason - crazy ramming AI. I think it is problem in all racing sims

 

[Helldriver]

Do you plan to remaster the old Spa track?
It looks so cartoonish, this steals the immersion for me.

 

[tornadof1]

AI:
*Was* the best in the business but RRE & AC have recently really caught up (not quite overtaken), by all accounts AMS is right up there as well but I'm (yet) to try it out for myself so will reserve judgement.

absolutely can't agree with you about RRE and AMS. I tried both games a few dayes ago so I can surely telll that you are wrong! both RRE and AMS have terrible AI. In RRE AI just pushed me out of the track at start of race without any reasons. So I removed this game from my PC without any sorrow. AMS AI looks like a copy old rFactor's AI, they are also so rude, reckless, I checked it and they just ram into me all time when I tried change ideal racing line. It is the same problem as rfactor1.
I can agree with you only Asseto Corsa AI. They really look like very good, but I am not tested much yet

 

[MarcG]

absolutely can't agree with you about RRE and AMS. I tried both games a few dayes ago so I can surely telll that you are wrong! both RRE and AMS have terrible AI. In RRE AI just pushed me out of the track at start of race without any reasons. So I removed this game from my PC without any sorrow. AMS AI looks like a copy old rFactor's AI, they are also so rude, reckless, I checked it and they just ram into me all time when I tried change ideal racing line. It is the same problem as rfactor1.
I can agree with you only Asseto Corsa AI. They really look like very good, but I am not tested much yet

How can you disagree with my opinion on AMS AI when I never gave an opinion!? only going on what others (that I trust) have written elsewhere, besides, I think I know what makes a good AI for me and RRE has very good AI. Yes all Sims could benefit from further improvement, RRE & AMS (probably) included alongside AC & RF2 but you have to remember that coding AI is no easy task, if it were then we'd have fantastic AI in every Sim and no one would batter an eyelid.

So it's fine if you disagree with me, but don't say I'm "wrong" please and the AI in all Sims are far from "terrible"...even AC lost that title in recent months