Hello again, sim racers!
Well, we’ve got off to a pretty good start with the 2023 Q1 hype train now, haven’t we? What with the introduction of the new GT3 update, Package Management improvements, adding the ability to race against content that you don’t own, Long Beach and the BTCC specification Honda Civic Type R… so how about we turn our attention to the new physics aspects of the British Touring Car Championship – namely, the introduction of Hybrid Boost to these potent little tin top cars.
Introduced to the BTCC for the start of the 2022 season, Hybrid is an entirely new technology to the top class of touring cars in the UK, and has been designed by series organisers, TOCA, as a tool to aid both the on track spectacle, and as a replacement for the unpopular success ballast system employed in the championship up to this point.
After what has been a successful introductory year for Hybrid in 2022, we’ve taken the opportunity to develop the same system for rFactor 2, as a first step into hybridization of power units for the software.
On launch, you will need to map your ‘Push to Pass’ button found in the Settings screen in the UI, under the Powertrain heading. On the dashboard of the BTCC cars, you will see the various information fields related to the hybrid status. For reference, this boost feature comes with a number of variables you will need to consider when racing on track:
- Time limit for activations is 15s per lap
- Boost only enables from 3rd gear onwards
- Boost remains active so long as the player keeps the boost button depressed – up to a maximum of 15s
- A minimum delay of 2s exists between activations (including once passing the start/finish line)
- Boost will disengage once player passes the start/finish line
As mentioned earlier in this post, we have developed a new LCD dashboard display for this new feature, that presents all the relevant information to the player, such as number of seconds deployment on the current lap, number of deployments on that lap, battery and motor temperature, hybrid deployment bars and activation status – all for you to study whilst three wide with hungry touring car drivers trying to relieve you of track position!
Q1 2023 Announcements so far:
- GT3 Update
- Package Management
- Long Beach Grand Prix Street Circuit
- Racing Against Unowned Content
- Honda Civic Type R BTCC
The addition of hybrid technology for our BTCC cars is an exciting one for us here at Studio 397, we can’t wait for you all to get your hands on this new feature in a few days time – this really does make the art of driving a BTCC car even more enjoyable than it already is !
BTCC Hybrid Boost – Coming February 21st to rFactor 2!
