Hello sim racers,
Welcome back to the freshly restarted hype train for our 2023 Q1 update and content drop! In this new post, ahead of the revised date of February 21st for our release, we decided it’s probably time to give an official announcement to what is arguably one of the biggest changes to rFactor 2 in our recent history – the ability to race against vehicles you do not own!
Now, before we get started, let’s get one thing perfectly clear – this functionality will work in both online and offline environments. This means you only need to own a single car (the one you drive) and the track, then race against any other cars available within rFactor 2, either in multiplayer on a server against other people, or in a race / qualifying / practice session you have set up offline on your own machine…
This is a massive change to the way the core fundamental code of rFactor 2 has previously worked, and should significantly enhance the user experience for our players. With these changes, you now have the opportunity to race in a field of unique cars without the need to own those cars, just the one you are set to drive yourself. Of course, hopefully this means you find yourself curious to try out the other cars over time, as each vehicle in rFactor 2 offers up a very different and rewarding driving experience, and what better way to settle in slowly than to have all the different cars out on track with you and fighting for position!
In order to allow this new feature to work, players will need to download the content to their PC in advance of driving, although please remember, you will not be able to drive the cars unless you own them through the rFactor 2 store (accessible either through the rF2 UI, or in Steam). The easiest way to see what you own is to review the cars and tracks list in game, those items that you don’t own will be greyed out, with a button available to click that takes you directly to the store page for that item. Downloadable items can be seen and actioned via the Content Management portion of the UI.
In terms of how you interact with this feature, the options are entirely dependent on what you want to do. Here are a few key areas you may wish to explore in order to take advantage of this change:
- Spectating. As long as you have the content installed, you can spectate a race even if you don’t own any of the content in use.
- Driving. You may only drive cars you own, and cannot driver swap into an unowned car. Cars you race against (AI or multiplayer) must be installed, but you don’t need to own them. You must own the circuit on which you race.
- The simulation will show you which cars you do not own upon joining a server, these will be greyed out.
- Server Managers. Generate server keys as normal to allow you to load unowned content on the server.
Here at Studio 397 we are very excited about this new feature, and we hope that by introducing this change we have removed another barrier to entry for rFactor 2 users, as we look to grow our player base and develop a more friendly and accessible user experience for us all to enjoy.
Hopefully, this change helps our online footprint continue to grow, and presents greater opportunities for all of us to enjoy larger fields, and closer racing online.
Exciting times ahead!
Q1 2023 Announcements So Far
The Q1 2023 rFactor 2 Update – Arriving February 21st!
