New build day!
Today we are very pleased to release another new build update to rFactor 2, as we deploy the latest ‘release-candidate’ update to the simulation and transition our former release-candidate branch to become the main public ‘opt-out’ version of rFactor 2.
The new build deployed today comes ahead of our next content release for rFactor 2 – the Diriyah E-Prix Formula E street circuit – which should be made available to purchase in the rFactor 2 Steam Store later this evening.
How build update branches work
We now have three separate branches of rFactor 2 for players to select, and depending on your individual requirements you may have a preference for the particular build you wish to use when launching rFactor 2. Below we will quick a quick overview of what each build is, ahead of looking into the detail of the latest changes.
‘Opt-Out’ – This is the main public build of rFactor 2, without any beta branches or additional early updates applied. This is the build that will be available as default.
Release-Candidate – This build will always feature the latest updates and improvements that have been introduced by our development team ahead of main public release. Although these changes will have been reviewed by our test team here at Studio 397 prior to deployment, we will use this build branch to give our users the opportunity to opt into these changes early, and report any unexpected issues that may or may not occur before we launch to the main public ‘opt-out’ branch of the software.
Previous-Build – Our new ‘previous-build’ branch will contain a copy of the last public ‘opt-out’ version of rFactor 2, prior to updates being deployed, should any communities need to revert to the last known stable branch of the software for any reason.
As we release new updates for rFactor 2, each branch will ‘move up’ to the next step of the branch ladder, from ‘release-candidate’ to ‘opt-out’ to ‘previous-build’, replaced by the respective new updated version.
With that all out of the way, let’s move on to what new updates and improvements we can look forward to in this latest release-candidate build that has been deployed to Steam today.
New release candidate build
In this latest update the development team here at rFactor 2 have been working hard to continue to address a selection of bugs and missing features from the current build of rFactor 2. Of course, this is very much an ongoing piece of work and will continue to be worked on by the team here at Studio 397, however we are pleased to report that plenty of progress has been made by the development team already in regard to our ongoing progress, as you will be able to see in the below update notes.
March 4th Release Candidate Notes – release-2021-2 (Client Steam Build ID 6276424)
Changelog
General
- Fixed an issue enforcing physics upgrades
- Fixed an issue where custom skins would be allowed even when the server does not allow them.
- Fixed an issue where a custom skin would glow white after changing session if skin transfers are disabled. Also ensures other players see you with the default skin of your car.
- Fixed an issue where a series does not initialize correctly on first time use. This would manifest in not being able to select upgrades when joining a competition.
- Fixed an issue where FFB changes would not register until you go to the track for the second time.
- Fixed a crash to desktop during game load when the current selected series was uninstalled, however the install file remains in packages folder.
- Removed a setting that exited the game after leaving a server
- Added extra logging during the loading of content for debugging purposes
HUD
- Fixed an issue where the time remaining in a race session would not be shown.
- Message centre now displays same name/value as show in the garage screen when changing vehicle settings
Graphics
- Fixed an issue where secondary wet weather reflections would not show on roads. (The reflections from a damp road surface, rather than puddles)
- Fixed some issues which could cause graphical glitches in the skies.
- Fixed VR UI boundaries showing a faint black line when in game
UI
- Added driver and car info displays to full screen replay; steering, throttle, brake, clutch, speed, rpm, gear and g-force traction circle. This information will also be shown live for a driver.
- Fixed an issue where Wheel Loads were not shown in the UI
- Fixed an issue where the UI would run at uncapped FPS
- Fixed an issue where the refresh button in package management would not detect newly copied in files in the packages folder
- Fixed an issue where real road settings weren’t reset in the session settings screen if the user changes track.
- Fixed an issue where session settings would remain from a previously selected series
- Now automatically update the favourite server list on race screen after adding or removing a favourite.
- Fixed an issue where Tracks, Cars and other components would inherit the uninstall status of the last series.
- Fixed wrong driver name displaying in replay when there was a driver swap
- Fixed an issue where disqualified drivers could still go to track
- Fixed an issue when joining a server the ui would display invalid cars
- Fixed an issue where a server client mismatch was reported the wrong way around
- Removed language toggle from player profile
Modding
- Added reporting for driveable surfaces which are not defined in the TDF file in ModDev
- Fixed issues with using Vertex Colour in the Standard Blend Shader
‘Opt-out’ public build
As we have developed a new release candidate, with all the latest changes and improvements we have brought to the simulation, the time is right to now migrate our current ‘release candidate’ to the main public build of rFactor 2. This means that the default public branch of the simulation will automatically be updated to incorporate the changes from our existing ‘Release Candidate’, in effect turning the build that we released under the RC banner back on February 10th into the main public build of the simulation.
For those of you wishing to review the changes that will form the main ‘opt-out’ build of rFactor 2 from today, please find below the update notes that originally formed our February 10th ‘release candidate’ build deployment:
March 4th Opt-Out Notes – release-2021-1
- We’ve removed the Max 2012 plugins as they no longer work, and provided the last working Max 2017 plugins. We have no intention to upgrade them any longer as we can’t get these versions of Max any more to test. Furthermore, we urge the modding community to upgrade to current Max versions.
- Fixed: Reflection mapper in Scene Viewer, so it renders from the same point as the user sees.
- Fixed: Bind a mouse click to any input control.
- Fixed: Issues with showroom performance.
- Fixed: Missing error prompt when textures are missing from content.
- Fixed: Issue with a white screen you get when you try to assign a control.
- Fixed: Visible damage sometimes corrupting car bodies, to properly fix the hotfix that temporarily disabled the visible damage.
- Fixed: Issue where clouds could show similar corruption as car bodies.
- Fixed: Showroom Upgrades not displaying which require MAS Files.
- Fixed: Glitch where “the lights would suddenly go off” when transitioning from light to dark at dusk.
- Fixed: Exploit where you could still set the FE car to use 250kW in the setup in a race when that setting is reserved for “attack mode”.
- Fixed: Overlays would not correctly follow the attack mode countdown timing.
- AIW Editor: Added new line smoothing option, and added soft selection for manual adjustments.
- Added an internal option to the player.json to turn off multi-threading in the UI. Defaults to “on”.
- Added code support, so we can detect a disabled Steam overlay, to warn you about why a shopping cart won’t show up.
- Changed how a dedicated server shuts down when asked so it no longer crashes with a non-zero return code.
- Pausing sessions in a dedicated server will now only pause the first one.
- Increased an internal timeout when talking to Steam to give it more time before we give up or retry.
- Scene Viewer Changes: Moved Web UI Port to 5396 by default and added support for up to 128 scenes in configuration file
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, we have also taken the decision to retain what was until today the main opt-out public branch of rFactor 2 – this will now become the ‘previous-build’ branch, and will remain active for players to select until the next time we deploy a release candidate build, whereupon the current release candidate will be migrated to the public build, and that current public build will then become the ‘previous-build’ branch.
We hope you enjoy the new update(s) to rFactor 2, and we look forward to continuing to work hard behind the scenes as we look to further develop and improve the simulation in the weeks, months and years ahead.
