Would You Recommend rfactor 2 ?

[2scoops]

Hi Everyone,
I've played Project Cars, too buggy at the moment. Just getting in to RaceRoom, which I really enjoy. But what about rfactor2. I want to race online more, not necessarily leagues but a lot a various classes to get variety in the cars you drive.
Would you recommend rfactor2 as a sim and also the popularity of online racing.

 

[PaulH]

Did @2scoops buy the game after the discussion here, would be interested to know.

For me I would 100% recommend RF2, its is for me the most immersive complete sim out there and the AI is simply above anything else out there.
Don't get me wrong I enjoy AC, Raceroom, AMS, Project Cars But its something about RF2 that makes the Sim feel more "real"

I was thinking about the price, while I feel £64 for the full RF2 package is too expensive(I have the yearly renewal) I would wait for a Steam sale as I'm sure I've seen 40% off in the past sales

 

[Deleted member 130869]

rFactor 2 Lifetime option would be extremely attractive if:
- We had a more regularly updated game and content to match
- Online was more attractive

As it stands Lifetime is sort of a way of ISI having everyone pay more and always obtain any content released by them, whether or not licensed after the previously announced licenses, sort of a Game of the Year edition of sorts. But the rate of that development is slow, and we still don't have all cars shown in the first rF2 image of the rendered models, so who knows if the highly desired content they have licensed will ever make it out for rF2.

To announce DLC, the base content part of the game has to be finalized. That still isn't here. Then theoretically, all new material licensed and developed afterwards, would be DLC (paid or not). Now the benefit of the ISI model is no one will ever be locked out of their published content, as only certain games let you join an online race if you don't own at least the cars.

Then there's always the trade-off: Buy lifetime and wait until the game is "widespread", or buy standard, let the year online run out, and wait to renew it only when truly engaged. It's possible the standard would be more cost effective these days, especially it being 2016 already. It's unlikely someone buying it now will keep renewing it for more than 4 years, which means they'd have the base price + $48 spent.

 

[The Iron Wolf]

Did @2scoops buy the game after the discussion here, would be interested to know.

For me I would 100% recommend RF2, its is for me the most immersive complete sim out there and the AI is simply above anything else out there.
Don't get me wrong I enjoy AC, Raceroom, AMS, Project Cars But its something about RF2 that makes the Sim feel more "real"

I was thinking about the price, while I feel £64 for the full RF2 package is too expensive(I have the yearly renewal) I would wait for a Steam sale as I'm sure I've seen 40% off in the past sales

Your response made me think of an anlogy: rf2 compares to other racing games like Operation Flashpoint compares to Call of Duty in FPS genre.

 

[Niki Đaković]

Here's an interesting point.

For what I've experienced, coming into AC are only new sim-racers, unexperienced folks.
Leagues starting there are also without tradition. This for me gave me less competition to battle with and also more and more are moving from AC to rF2 following the competition.
In rF2, I can't say I've had sky high amount of competition, there isn't any of that in iRacing either. Look into any top league, there is always few guys standing out. In real life series, never more then a dozen guys in fight for race wins. But, the competition is defenetially stronger in rF2.

I would recommend you to start competing competitively online. Start working on your craft and then you can make a full use of what rF2 has to offer. Or, single player with AI. To sit down at any time of the day and find a public race, worth doing, you could only have had in LFS many many years ago. Those days are sadly gone. The way we sim-race has changed nowdays. The entire culture of public racing seems to simply have moved on.

 

[Emery]

I really wish to ask what do you guys think is the most cost-effective way to do sim racing, in a more neutral and mature manner of speak of course.

Considering how much people spend on simracing gear, the software cost is secondary unless you're running iRacing... US $300+ for pedals & wheel acceptable to minimum level and everyone lusts after $1200+ wheels with the pedals extra and large triple screens (or VR). Not to mention the inevitable desire for higher framerates driving new video card/CPU purchases.

Basically, if the software is less than US $100 and you use it for 1000 hrs, then it's cheap. If you only use it for 100 hrs, well, maybe it wasn't worthwhile.

I have SportsCar GT (dang, can't make it run on Win10), GT Legends (only for Historix), GTR2 (only for Power & Glory), rFactor, Race07 with Retro expansion, rFactor 2 (lifetime), & RaceRoom Racing Experience. Add them up and the grand total I've spent for software is definitely less than I spent on a new Fanatec wheel. Definitely less than I paid for my G25 back when G25 hadn't yet been replaced by G27.

 

[natedogg1867]

You don't pay twice.

You are absolutely right! You dont pay twice. Saying anything like that would be Major disinformation!

Although, you do need to pay a yearly fee 4-5 extra times to match the lifetime version in price if you buy the base version. Major truth.

Everyone knows paying an extra ~$50 to access the server browser is nonsense and a major deterrent for some to get motivated to try out rF2. There just simply isnt any reason for ISI to be charging so much extra to access the server browser. Major truth.

You can defend it all you want and claim that this extra fee is for the ISI server upkeep and funds additional development without having paid dlc... but you can build that cost into the actual game without locking one of the major game modes behind a paywall.

Beyond the price debate semantics, rF2 still lacks content quite badly. Crummy rF1 conversions are simply too low quality to be worthwhile anymore, and if you are interested in those, you can get rF1 for $2.50 from BundleStars. As for ISI content, they still majorly lack filling out the classes. This can be said going years back, and still hasnt been remedied. Having 1 official gt3, 1 official gt2, 1 official gt4, 1 official BTCC, etc, just isnt going to cut it anymore. It's a shame because the content that is there, isnt too bad.

Sadly, ISI seemed to think modders would fill in the huge gaps in the car roster, but that simply hasnt happened. And what has tried to fill in the gaps, simply isnt very good. With the exception of a small handful of mods. Major truth.

 

[Niki Đaković]

You are absolutely right! You dont pay twice. Saying anything like that would be Major disinformation!

Although, you do need to pay a yearly fee 4-5 extra times to match the lifetime version in price if you buy the base version. Major truth.

Everyone knows paying an extra ~$50 to access the server browser is nonsense and a major deterrent for some to get motivated to try out rF2. There just simply isnt any reason for ISI to be charging so much extra to access the server browser. Major truth.

You can defend it all you want and claim that this extra fee is for the ISI server upkeep and funds additional development without having paid dlc... but you can build that cost into the actual game without locking one of the major game modes behind a paywall.

Beyond the price debate semantics, rF2 still lacks content quite badly. Crummy rF1 conversions are simply too low quality to be worthwhile anymore, and if you are interested in those, you can get rF1 for $2.50 from BundleStars. As for ISI content, they still majorly lack filling out the classes. This can be said going years back, and still hasnt been remedied. Having 1 official gt3, 1 official gt2, 1 official gt4, 1 official BTCC, etc, just isnt going to cut it anymore. It's a shame because the content that is there, isnt too bad.

Sadly, ISI seemed to think modders would fill in the huge gaps in the car roster, but that simply hasnt happened. And what has tried to fill in the gaps, simply isnt very good. With the exception of a small handful of mods. Major truth.

Oh but modders did fill in GT2 with on pair with model and physics GTE, gt3 and the BTCC as well as F1 plus LMP. What I would like to see is more real life tracks done by ISI. Their standard is great. Especially in track surface, bumps, curbs, elevations. Can never have enough of that.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

Considering how much people spend on simracing gear, the software cost is secondary unless you're running iRacing... US $300+ for pedals & wheel acceptable to minimum level and everyone lusts after $1200+ wheels with the pedals extra and large triple screens (or VR). Not to mention the inevitable desire for higher framerates driving new video card/CPU purchases.

Basically, if the software is less than US $100 and you use it for 1000 hrs, then it's cheap. If you only use it for 100 hrs, well, maybe it wasn't worthwhile.

You are absolutely correct. Still, it will sadly not work like this in the mind of the average Steam user. Steam user will see price tag for AC is 39.90, pCars 49.90 (obviously doesn't include any DLC). Then rF2 29.90 (all good so far, but they will probably think it's not the full product) and besides that lifetime 79.90. In the best case user will go ahead and buy the non-lifetime version knowing that it still works as a full product, read that rF2 multiplayer is dead and decide not to pay the extra 50€.

The price gap alone is perhaps the biggest factor for not attracting new Steam users. This in turn will lead to less mods being made, less interest, less multiplayer activity, it's a circle.

 

[BoogerMac]

Is the Steam version of rF2 the same as the DRM-free version? rFactor 1 is very different between the versions since anything using the RFE plugin series doesn't work on the Steam version.

 

[AussieDucker]

I've grown a bit weary of the AI in rF1 and AMS because of their inability to adhere to blue flags, forcing the front runners to Trulli Train behind the last placed car.

Do the AI in rF2 adhere to blue flags?

 

[Associat0r]

Do the AI in rF2 adhere to blue flags?

Yes they do, it's one of the many crucial improvements ISI made to the AI in rF2.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

Is the Steam version of rF2 the same as the DRM-free version? rFactor 1 is very different between the versions since anything using the RFE plugin series doesn't work on the Steam version.

No DRM with rF2, just one version and everything authenticates through launcher in both Steam and non-Steam.

 

[BoogerMac]

No DRM with rF2, just one version and everything authenticates through launcher in both Steam and non-Steam.

Steam is a form of DRM, but from the sounds/looks of it, there isn't anything special that runs on one version vice the other (like RFE in rF1). Thanks for the reply.

 

[Andy_J]

You are absolutely right! You dont pay twice. Saying anything like that would be Major disinformation!

Although, you do need to pay a yearly fee 4-5 extra times to match the lifetime version in price if you buy the base version. Major truth.

Everyone knows paying an extra ~$50 to access the server browser is nonsense and a major deterrent for some to get motivated to try out rF2. There just simply isnt any reason for ISI to be charging so much extra to access the server browser. Major truth.

You can defend it all you want and claim that this extra fee is for the ISI server upkeep and funds additional development without having paid dlc... but you can build that cost into the actual game without locking one of the major game modes behind a paywall.

Beyond the price debate semantics, rF2 still lacks content quite badly. Crummy rF1 conversions are simply too low quality to be worthwhile anymore, and if you are interested in those, you can get rF1 for $2.50 from BundleStars. As for ISI content, they still majorly lack filling out the classes. This can be said going years back, and still hasnt been remedied. Having 1 official gt3, 1 official gt2, 1 official gt4, 1 official BTCC, etc, just isnt going to cut it anymore. It's a shame because the content that is there, isnt too bad.

Sadly, ISI seemed to think modders would fill in the huge gaps in the car roster, but that simply hasnt happened. And what has tried to fill in the gaps, simply isnt very good. With the exception of a small handful of mods. Major truth.

Great post.

 

[Niki Đaković]

Great post.

how is it great post, when

Oh but modders did fill in GT2 with on pair with model and physics GTE, gt3 and the BTCC as well as F1 plus LMP. What I would like to see is more real life tracks done by ISI. Their standard is great. Especially in track surface, bumps, curbs, elevations. Can never have enough of that.

 

[Andy_J]

how is it great post, when

Because I said so. Is it ok for me to actually agree with him?

 

[Deleted member 130869]

Is the Steam version of rF2 the same as the DRM-free version? rFactor 1 is very different between the versions since anything using the RFE plugin series doesn't work on the Steam version.

I've had the Steam version alongside my other licenses and the only benefit comes from joining a friend on a server very quickly. I find Steam very restrictive.

Yes they do, it's one of the many crucial improvements ISI made to the AI in rF2.

Can you link to an actual place of information? I have struggled with AI and blue flags in every single game I have played, though it hasn't been a regular occurrence in recent games as there's no real drive for single player, and I don't do long enough races. But when I have come across times where, say I was in the lead and hadn't pitted, and the AI had and was being lapped, it definitely never made an attempt to let me through.

 

[Niki Đaković]

Because I said so. Is it ok for me to actually agree with him?

well you're allowed to agree with first half of his post though, 2nd half has to be corrected

 

[Associat0r]

Is the Steam version of rF2 the same as the DRM-free version? rFactor 1 is very different between the versions since anything using the RFE plugin series doesn't work on the Steam version.

Steam version of rF2 should be compatible with every plugin.
Here are a few I use:
http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/7546-rF2-Pedal-Overlay-Plugin
http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/19517-Delta-Best-plugin-for-rFactor-2
http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/22203-rF2-Spotter-Plugin
http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/25689-DAMPlugin-for-rF2
http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/23056-TrackMapPlugin-V0-96-32bit-64bit

Steam version also has many advantages such as, auto-updating of mods through the Steam workshop, access to beta builds and switching regular builds with just a few clicks , , faster downloads, multiplayer integration with your Steam friends lists, synchronizing settings across multiple devices/installs, auto-updating of SDK and some more.

 

[James Cook]

Nope. Not a sim I would recommemd to any prospective buyers unless it's on a generous sale.

An ambitious, technically proficient simulation but one that, ultimately, doesn't cut it as an all-round product befitting of the year 2016.

rFactor2 feels like a perennial, plodding tech demo, and an increasingly moribund project.