Welcome to another competition blog! Work on our linked sessions is slowly coming to a close. There are quite a few things we added to this feature to make it as flexible as we can to allow us to do a lot of interesting formats going forward. In the meantime the same can be said for our release candidate. Despite all the work going on there is not that much news to share about this.

Obviously we are already looking ahead to plan our next set of features. We will probably start with a pass on the UI and after that we are looking to add the first iteration of a “rating system”. We are also planning a lot of new competitions, with some surprising content and formats, and we are really looking forward to pushing the boundaries on what we can do in (sim)racing. I think we will have some more news on that outside of this blog soon as well. Obviously we are also preparing ourselves for Formula Pro and Challenge. We had a lot of good, constructive feedback on that car and we are working hard behind the scenes to process all of that.

With the publisher and summer sale coming to a close, we are already preparing ourselves for the winter season and several updates in between. And closing this blog on a personal note, I (Marcel) just got my second vaccination, like many in this world trying to stay safe and slowly allowing us all to do all the things we were doing two years ago. I encourage you all to also stay safe and I wish you all the best in the upcoming weeks!

Q&A

There are a few of us developing a server automation system. I myself am developing a system that automates multiple servers from multiple games, and it’s all managed from one site, and it works. Do you plan to integrate some of us into the CS to make the system even better and accelerate the speed of compatibility of certain things that are essential for certain types of races, notably plugins for ovals? I’m thinking in particular, Gunther with APX and me?

Julien Lemoine

First, let me state I love all this user driven innovation. I started the same way, so I have a lot of respect for the things the community does and builds. I am trying to stay in touch with as many people as possible. As to integrating these though, I want to be a bit careful. For us, it’s important to provide users with a good experience out of the box, so that means we need some form of control over what is being offered. We will definitely look to integrate good ideas ourselves (and have recently done so with a few UI improvements for example). Not integrating third party tools directly does not mean we don’t appreciate them. There is a place for them in many user communities, and I’m open to a dialogue on how we can help make these tools better too.

When do you anticipate it will be possible to change our usernames inside the Competition System?

instinkt

Yes. We need to still design a system that will ensure you have the same name everywhere. The system we have now is not perfect, so we will improve it.

Q: Looked at the comp section for first time last night, looks nice. Do the series stay the same, EG if I start to get into one of the series it will not suddenly change to a completely different car?

Adrianstealth

Each series has a specific car (or class) that will not change, so once you’ve signed up and chosen your car, that’s the one you will use for all the events in that competition.

Q: How do you guys relate to 3rd party sim racing communities (such as simracing.gp or simracingsystem)?

 juninho tilambucano

I think I mostly answered that already above. The two you mention, we’ve both been in touch with. rFactor 2 is an open simulation to allow people to add their own tools, systems, content. That is fine. We have no intention to change that going forward.

Q: After I just missed the 60m Nürburgring qualy bc I had to opt out and it took to long I was wondering if we can expect to see 24/7 qualy sessions for this type of events?

Fabian Balle

24/7 might be a bit long given our current limitations, but definitely longer and “open” sessions are on our wish list.

Q: We currently have to set the car and its specs for an entire series. But could we change that in the future, thinking of Stock Car series events with all the different configurations?

Fabian Balle

Yes. Such configurations can typically be forced by the tracks, so in theory this should already work if we have a series such as the stock cars, and we end up with different upgrades for ovals vs road courses. We are also looking at the option to not ask for upgrades when signing up and leaving them completely open.

Q:  Is it possible to implement NVidia DLSS support in the simulator graphics options for use with VR, or is DirectX 12 required?

Jesus Garay R

I don’t believe that DLSS requires DX12. It is one of the new technologies we are actively discussing, but no decision has been made yet on implementing it (or the “rival” AMD equivalent which seems to be GPU-independent but perform slightly worse).

Q: This is a kind of CS and kind of rF2 question. With the BMW and the Formula Pro car now having DRS, do you plan on adding DRS zones to the tracks in rF2 that don’t currently have them?

TJG04

Yes, I think you can expect updates to several tracks soon to add those zones.

Like in, for example, the Indy 500 qualifying, do you plan adding 4 lap average single car on track Q sessions?

Jacko

Yes

 Love the different combinations in the CS, however, what sort of thought process do you use when selecting which cars and tracks to use in the Competition System?

BenRJ247

I would like to say something like “we use a combination of statistics, user research, feedback from real drivers and the moon phase, but the reality is that we just sit down with a small group and try to come up with a bunch of tracks for a series.

Do you plan on running any more special events, like the recent Summer Showdown? If yes, do you intend to make these a semi-regular occurrence – kind of like once a month / fortnight etc?

GamerBoi

We did the summer showdown as there was a clear gap in our competitions. With the Formula Pro/Challenge coming up there will be plenty to race again soon. That said, we are planning a few special events again, some aligned with upcoming new and updated content.

Any updates on having a dedicated web page with upcoming events / registration options etc?

GamerBoi

Our goal is to end up with a user interface like you see in the game, but available on a website and on mobile. That will allow exactly these things.

As a fan of realism, I’d love to see rF2 adopt a system where drivers have limited tyre sets per event, and can reuse old tyres / limited compound rules etc. Do you foresee this coming to the Competition System, and the wider rFactor 2 experience?

ArturRobo

It’s been on our wish list for quite some time but it needs a bit more code support to make it happen. If we implement this, it will be for all racing (online, offline and CS) so everybody can leverage this.

Are you still broadly on course to achieve the things you stated in the recent mini CS roadmap post you published earlier this year?

EyeCYou

As you know, we recently updated it to reflect our current thinking. That’s only a little while ago, so I think we’re pretty much still on schedule now. Things might change in the upcoming months though, as we are also having a lot of discussions within MSG to see what else can be done with the competition system.

Dream scenario with no limitations – what 1 thing would you like to press a magic button and appear in the Competition System?

JackDobby

That’s a great question, and I have a very good answer for that. I would love to have a fully automated system of race stewards that can evaluate racing incidents, hand out penalties and make sure the competition system is a safe and fair place to race. Could you point me to that button again? 😀

What is the next big and exciting thing coming to the Competition System, and when do you think it likely to appear?

SiC58

This is not going to be a big surprise, but after we finish our implementation of “linked sessions” the next big thing of focus will be the first iteration of “ratings” which also means that UI wise we will do a pass to expose all past results (which are now “hidden” from view as the UI for it is not done yet).

Both myself and some others I know have experienced various error messages and little issues over time in the CS, is it worth adding a bit of an FAQ or list of known errors and how to go about resolving them, as sort of a reference page for people to look back on and try and solve whatever problem they are coming up against?

SiC58

My goal here would be to improve these messages and make sure they are understood by users without having to write a FAQ. We need to do another pass on this as things like “too late” are messages that are really not communicating very well what is actually going on.

A question for when we get statistics – can we have something that shows us the names of drivers we’ve regularly raced against? Something like people who’ve shared the same split multiple times, or people who we’ve raced closely with? Would it be cool to start building up a picture of who is running to a similar level as yourself?

CaptainFantasticSlow

I like this idea.

 On a similar note, would it be possible to manually “follow” certain drivers we so choose, so we can see what servers / series / events they are in if they are someone we would like to race against?

CaptainFantasticSlow

Yes, that is certainly on our list. Either as “friends” or as people you want to “follow” (probably both are needed). In fact, we could build a whole network of social relationships over time, including not just these, but also things like teammates, the things you mentioned above, and probably a few other things.

New car release!

Can everyone please stand up and offer a warm rF2 welcome for the latest addition to our ever expanding content offering within the simulation – the brand-new Formula Pro – the pinnacle of open wheel racing action in rFactor 2. 

Here at rFactor 2 we pride ourselves on our ability to offer a diverse and immersive collection of sim racing content, from low powered junior race cars to some of the most exotic and dramatic machinery in the world. With such a fine variety of choice already available to take out onto the track within the software, back at Studio 397 HQ we decided it is about time we add a new and high performance open wheel car into the equation…. something that will represent the fastest and most modern racing experience within the sim, a car that will grab our drivers’ attention from the moment you get behind the virtual racing wheel and turn your first laps out on circuit. After much consideration, research and exchanging of design ideas – the Formula Pro was born.

Formula Pro | Steam Store: CLICK HERE.

With this new car we wanted drama, style, noise and speed to be at the absolute core of our design principles. Right from the very start the Formula Pro lets its intentions be known, from an aggressive stance on those 18-inch Goodyear wheels, to the dramatic sweeps of the aerodynamic lines that make up the body of this new car – the Formula Pro screams speed, aggression and performance, even when standing still. 

Bucking the trend of modern open wheel motorsport, for this new car we didn’t want to bolt a hybrid, low revving and muted engine to the back of such a beautiful design, so rather than go down that route we’ve decided that 18,000 RPM and 800 HP sound (quite literally) like a good solution – evoking memories of the V10 heyday of motorsport and giving this car a suitable soundtrack to blast around the circuits of the world.

Although the Formula Pro will be available to purchase as a standalone item within the rFactor 2 Steam Store, we are also pleased to present the new car as part of a wider Formula Pro Pack – a new collection of content that will include three superb Grade 1 listed racetracks: Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring and the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza – plus of course the new Formula Pro car itself. With this pack, we have curated some of the best content available to really stretch the legs of this new machine, and give players the perfect playgrounds on which to get their open wheel racing thrills.

Formula Pro Pack | Steam Store: CLICK HERE

The release strategy for this new car has been broken down into three distinct phases to support the development and expansion of our base offering. Our initial release is scheduled for July 1st 2021, and has been dubbed the ‘Shakedown’ phase – simply put, this represents the very first launch of the Formula Pro car, complete with a set of 12 two-car livery designs and four different tyre compounds (Hard, Medium, Soft and Wet). The car will then be used for the qualification programme of the new Formula Series Esport activation, which begins on July 2nd and is available to enter via the rFactor 2 Competition System. Although the car will already be at a very advanced state of development during this period, we will use the weeks following initial release to further refine both the model and physics, based on our own plans and community feedback, as well as adding additional features and tweaks prior to the full V1 release rollout later in the month.

As the weeks progress from our initial release, players will see the car upgraded to what will be considered as a full Version 1 build update, including all the final finishing touches and updates to bring the Formula Pro into line with our vision for what we want this new car to become. Physics, graphics, features and 3D model will all be aligned and into their final version state, and the car in its standard form will be considered complete barring any unexpected fixes and updates that may present themselves over time. 

Once we have hit that milestone, this is where things start to get interesting. We have some pretty big plans for this car currently in the pipeline, that should see a few very nice changes coming to the public version of the vehicle. Unfortunately these plans are still at a very early stage, so we can’t say too much about them at this juncture, however stay tuned to the Studio 397 website and rFactor 2 social accounts, and we will certainly share more information in the weeks and months ahead. 

Goodyear Tyres

In order to bring as much realism and variety into the driving experience as possible, we have worked extensively with the world renowned Goodyear brand to develop a much more detailed and realistic tyre for this new car. Although not a new tyre model as such, we have been fortunate enough to have access to considerable amounts of data from Goodyear for this project, which has given us the opportunity to look much deeper into how our tyres behave within the simulation, how the forces are applied and react with our physics engine, and how we can hopefully improve both the feeling and behaviour on or over the limit out on track. 

We have been delighted with the level of insight this new collaboration with Goodyear has started to yield, we hope our community will enjoy the benefits we believe this new data has brought to the wider driving experience. 

Stay tuned to the Studio 397 website for more information about our collaboration with Goodyear in the next few weeks. 

Formula Series – Qualifications Open July 2nd

Formula Series| More Info: CLICK HERE.

As well as the new car, and the new competition ready Formula Pro Pack detailed above, we also have exciting plans in the form of our latest high profile esport activation with the new car – The Formula Pro Series! 

Developed in answer to the requests from our community to host a high profile open wheel championship in rFactor 2, the Formula Series is about to step up and take the accolade as our top level formula championship, featuring the biggest and best esport teams and drivers as they look to do battle on some of the greatest tracks in rFactor 2. 

Following along the same lines of our now well established GT Series structure, the new category will be opened up for both ‘Pro’ and ‘Challenge’ competitors, with multiple splits and live broadcasts supporting what we expect will be something of an action packed new series of races for the simulation.

For our community drivers, the Formula Challenge Series is right around the corner, with qualifications for the championship set to open from Friday, July 2nd, and will run up to and including Monday July 12th. During this period, drivers will have the opportunity to access the Formula Challenge qualification events via the in-game rFactor 2 Competition System – whereupon they will have to set a time at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit during one of the official qualification sessions. Alternatively, should you not wish to try and set a time during the qualification sessions, you can simply turn up on race day – however be aware, this will mean you are put into the lowest split of the competition. 

Formula Series | Official Forum Post: CLICK HERE.

We cannot wait to hear your reactions from a car that we are particularly proud of here at Studio 397, and we are greatly looking forward to sharing with you more details of the exciting ideas we have for this car in the coming weeks and months ahead. We hope you enjoy racing the Formula Pro as much as we have making it, and we look forward to seeing you all out on the virtual tarmac in the very near future! 

The Formula Pro 2022 – Now available in the rFactor 2 Steam Store.

New track release!

Hot off the heels of our free BMW M4 Class 1 2021 release earlier today, another new piece of content is now available for rFactor 2 – the beautiful, iconic, historic and frighteningly fast Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is here! Yes, one of the most prestigious and well-used motorsport venues in the world is now available for rFactor 2 players to enjoy, in all of its 2021 configuration glory.

Here at the Studio we have long been fans of the famous Monza Circuit, admiring both the beauty of the venue itself, and of course the fact that it is a perfect fit for a vast array of different types of racing – from old school thrills in our many classic formula cars to more modern endurance racing adventures – something that is very important to us when we sit down and decide which circuits to licence for the simulation going forward. Another aspect of this new track that we are particularly proud of, especially considering the constraints we are all going through with the latest pandemic travel limitations, is the fact that we could leverage the locality of the track with some of our Italian colleagues, giving us the perfect opportunity to get a highly detailed and fully up-to-date scan of the circuit and surrounding environment, giving us the distinction of having the very latest version of Monza in any racing simulation, and all in millimetre laser scanned accuracy. Monza Circuit | rFactor 2 Steam Store: CLICK HERE

I’m sure most of you reading these release notes are already intimately familiar with the nature of the Monza Grand Prix circuit from the many years of its active presence in National and International motorsport, however this is the very first time this track has appeared in rFactor 2, and we hope you share our excitement to get out on the virtual tarmac within the simulation and take one of our many cars out for a high speed blast through the Monza parkland. 

Before you fire up the simulation and try out the track for yourself, let’s have a look at some key corners from the home of the Italian Grand Prix in a little more detail…

Rettifilo Chicane

Without doubt the biggest pinch point on the whole of the 5.793km circuit, the Rettifilo Chicane not only marks the opening corners of the lap, but represents by far the biggest braking event at any of the 11 turns that make up a lap of the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. Approached at full speed from the seemingly never ending start/finish straight, the initial braking point for this corner is critical to hit at exactly the right moment in time – too soon on the brakes and you will be swamped by your rivals, too late and a quick jump up the T1 escape road is the only reasonable course of action available to you. First lap nutcase moves are sadly all too common here, so beware of danger!

Curva Grande

The Curva Grande has become something of a simple acceleration zone after navigating your way through the opening chicane, easing gently to the right drivers are faced with the decision of hugging the inside line and using the camber of the corner to assist with a smooth exit, or allowing the car to run freely to the outside of the turn with a view to maximizing the speed and acceleration of your car on the run-up to the Variante Della Roggia chicane. In race conditions, this corner offers a reasonable opportunity to slipstream a rival into the second chicane, potentially also opening up opportunities to take the high outside line with a view to securing the inside for the next braking zone that will be rapidly approaching.

Variante Della Roggia

The second chicane of the Monza lap is often the more difficult of the opening three sections of corners, as once again drivers need to judge the fine balancing act of late on the brakes for a fast corner entry, with keeping up the minimum speed and ensuring a strong launch off the corner and down the short straight into the first Lesmo right-hander. Here at the Variante Della Roggia another strong overtaking opportunity presents itself if a driver is either brave enough on the brakes or has a better run through the Curva Grande, but beware, the sausage curbs on the outside of the turn will heavily disrupt your car should you shoot a little too far into the corner, very quickly putting the car in danger of significant time loss or even a spin.

1st Curva di Lesmo

Monza boasts not one but two Lesmo corners, the first of which requires significant reduction in speed and a timely downshift in most cars in order to ensure the vehicle is balanced and ready to change direction into the opening right-hand turn. Depending on how you have set up your car and which vehicle it is you are driving, many drivers here like to make contact with the inside curb and let the natural flow of the corner help pull the car through the turn, otherwise you may spend far too long balancing steering input and throttle application as you try and force the reluctant front end to grip up and pull the car through the corner. This is another of those sections of track where good time can be won or lost in a heartbeat. 

2nd Curva di Lesmo

The second Curva di Lesmo is a slightly easier proposition to navigate that the previous turn, however the benefits from getting this corner right are considerably higher than Lesmo 1, thanks to the long back straight that follows immediately after drivers complete this two corner sequence. To help drivers carry the maximum speed through the turn a handy astroturf run-off area exists on corner exit, however misjudge how soon to get on the power and a trip over the grass will be your reward – with ample time and places lost as a result. 

Variante Ascari

Named after legendary double Formula One World Champion Alberto Ascari, the Variante Ascari is perhaps the most dramatic and satisfying of corners on the entirety of the Monza circuit. Approached at nearly top speed, drivers often use the underpass from the old circuit as a brake point reference before throwing the car into the opening left-hand portion of the sequence at seemingly impossible speeds – relying on the ultimate grip of the car as you monster the curbs and quickly swing the wheel to the right-hand side in an attempt to flatten the radius of the corner, and get the best run possible through the middle of the sequence before launching out the other side and making your final blast into the last corner of the lap….

Curva Parabolica

The final chance to win or lose time before crossing the start / finish line, the Curva Parabolica is a high speed right turn that requires just the right amount of speed to be shaved off in order to make the corner, but not lose apex speed which will compromise the end of your current lap and the start of the next one all the way down the mighty long start ./ finish straight. The challenge of the Parabolica has been reduced somewhat in recent years thanks to the removal of the gravel traps from corner exit, but this still remains one of the most challenging and potentially rewarding corners in motorsport. 

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Well fear not dear reader, you too now have the chance to try out this stunning venue for yourself – just head over to the rFactor 2 Steam Store and pick it up today! 

In other rFactor 2 news, in case you missed it earlier, we have also deployed a brand-new free car to the simulation – the stunning BMW M4 Class 1 2021 touring car. Developed in close cooperation with the team at BMW, this car represents one of the finest racing machines never to have been released in the real world. Thanks to a late change in regulations, the BMW M4 Class 1 wouldn’t have the opportunity to hit the real circuit once design work was completed, so together with BMW we have brought this car to life in rFactor 2, and offer it to all our players as a free content addition to the simulation!

BMW M4 Class 1 2021 | rFactor 2 Steam Workshop: CLICK HERE

The addition of Monza is our next step in the ongoing quest to bring the biggest and best content to rFactor 2, as we look to develop a collection of high quality, highly accurate cars and tracks to enhance your simulation racing experience. Although we have enjoyed a busy year already for both content releases and software updates, we’ve certainly got more on the agenda to announce in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned to the rFactor 2 social media and discord channels, as well as right here at Studio-397.com! 

The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is available now in the rFactor 2 Steam Store. 

New car release!

Today is a very good day indeed for people looking to get their motorsport thrills in rFactor 2, as we are exceptionally proud to release a wonderful new free car to the simulation – the BMW M4 Class 1 2021 is here!

Built in very close collaboration with the development team at BMW HQ, the Class 1 marks the introduction of a new type of tin top racing machine in rFactor 2, one that is rather unique and special as it sees the realization in our software of the considerable development work undertaken by BMW to create this brand-new car, a machine that would never see the light of day in the real world thanks to changing regulations introduced before a wheel could be turned in anger.

While the world of real life motorsport loses out, our simulation community gains with this new car, as the hard work and heavy development undertaken by BMW have all gone into helping our car team here at Studio 397 produce an incredibly detailed and accurate representation of a timeline that never quite managed to break out into the real world – simulation wins again!

BMW M4 Class 1 2021 | Steam Workshop: CLICK HERE.

This new car isn’t simply a case of BMW issuing us with a few dimensions and artistic direction for our car team to incorporate into the simulation – far from it. Because the Class 1 rule set ceased to exist before BMW could bring the new M4 to the racetrack in real life, and thanks to the long-standing and close relationship between our two companies, Studio 397 are delighted to have been furnished with quite literally every piece of technical information and documentation that exists for this new model, from the smallest CAD drawings to the most detailed and robust tech sheets and background developments that would have been used to allow the engineers to build the car in real life – an absolutely incredible experience for our car team, and something that has led to many, many, many long hours into the evening pouring over data as we look at ways to best implement this wealth of information into our software.

The end result is, I’m sure you will all agree, a truly sensational car to drive and to race, and a very fitting tribute to a category of racing that has produced some of the most spectacular and enjoyable machines in recent memory. 

The Reveal Show

Ahead of the release of this new and free piece of content, we wanted to celebrate our relationship with BMW as we revealed the new car to the world for the very first time, and we thought what better way to do that than to organize a quick race with a number of YouTube personalities and rFactor 2 sim racers! Seeing as we are incredibly close to deploying our brand-new Monza circuit to rFactor 2 later today as well, the opportunity to pair these two exceptional pieces of content together was just too good of an opportunity to miss! An wildly fast tin top racer and the temple of speed certainly made for a juicy combination, one that I’m sure you will enjoy watching on the link below if you missed the action live on Wednesday evening.

BMW Reveal Show | Catch up on all the action: CLICK HERE

With the new car and track releasing today, Thursday 24th June, get ready for some exciting rFactor 2 Competition System races with these new content additions over the coming weeks. Beginning on Friday 25th,  both the BMW M4 Class 1 2021 and the Monza Grand Prix Circuit will be introduced to the Competition System within the simulation for the very first time, adding another interesting new form of racing for our rFactor 2 community, and offering up the opportunity for what we expect to be exciting and intense racing on the platform.

To access the rFactor 2 Competition System, load the simulation and click the ‘Competition’ tab on the new UI, navigate to the race event you are interested in, click register, download the content and make sure to sign up for the sessions you wish to participate in – quick, simple and your passport to some great online racing in rFactor 2.

The Car

The BMW M4 Class 1 2021 is a high downforce, high-power tin-top touring car that delivers 610 hp to the rear wheels, features the latest safety developments and represents the end result of several years of racing development for BMW under the Class 1 set of regulations. At just 986 kg minus the driver, a Class 1 touring car is closer in performance to a top level open wheel racer than the traditional touring car style, as such, to drive a car of this calibre will require a healthy dose of bravery and technical finesse as you try and cope with insanely short braking distances and incredible downforce on offer, while trying to retain traction to the large real wheels putting out ridiculous amounts of horsepower – a combination that is sure to leave plenty of thick black lines of rubber out on the tarmac!

Technical Specs

• Engine |  Type: 2.0L Turbo R4
• Power | Max power: 610HP Max rpm: 9500
• Weight | 986kg
• DRS | Practice/Quali any time – Race within 1 second of car ahead in DRS zones
• Fuel tank | 120L
• Brakes | Carbon discs and pads (Front 380x35mm, Rear 340x35mm)
• Gearbox | 6 speed Hewland gearbox with limited-slip differential
  

The BMW M4 Class 1 2021car is the latest new car content offering to players of rFactor 2, and can be downloaded for free from the rFactor 2 Steam Workshop. While you are there, don’t forget that Studio 397 have a range of exciting and interesting content available for the simulation, from classic Formula One cars right the way through to the very latest racing machinery on offer. Make sure to check out the Cars and Tracks content list for the title, and try your hand at something new today!

BMW M4 Class 1 2021 Available Now

Being part of a bigger group has some major advantages. For one, we’re surrounded by other like-minded development studios that are also innovating and expanding in the realm of simulation / motorsport / esports. And hey, it literally says it on the tin now -> “Motorsport Games”. 

Now that we’re part of the Motorsport Games family, it means things like ‘Publisher Sales’ are another great opportunity for you to get into the Motorsport universe at a great price.

The Steam Publisher Sale includes all Motorsport Games titles (up-to 80% off the NASCAR Heat Franchise, 60% Off rFactor 2, and 66% Off KartKraft).

The Motorsport Games Publisher sale is HERE

60% off rFactor 2

We at Studio 397 are throwing our hat into the mix with a whopping 60% off rFactor2. It’s a perfect time to get into the rFactor 2 ecosystem, or if you already have it – grab it for a friend! 😉

Buy rFactor 2 on Steam HERE

GT3 Starter Pack

A sim like rFactor 2 thrives with high quality content. Cars and tracks made to the latest standard take full advantage of the advanced physics and graphic engine that’s under the hood. The content quality can be seen in every nuance and it’s what adds that extra layer of pure immersion. Cars like the GT3s and highly detailed laser scanned tracks help get the most out of the driving experience. So we’ve added a very enticing “GT3 Starter Pack” comprised of every-single-GT3 – 13 of them, to be precise. On top of that, two absolutely legendary and iconic tracks – Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Sebring International Raceway – are included in the pack. All for just 31,39€! (In total 57% off)

Buy the GT3 Starter Pack HERE

GT3 Starter Pack Content

Cars

• Aston Martin Vantage GT3
• Audi R8LMS GT3 2018
• Audi R8LMS GT3 2019
• Bentley Continental GT3 2017
• Bentley Continental GT3 2020
• BMW M6 GT3
• Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R
• Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo
• McLaren 650S GT3
• McLaren 720S GT3
• Mercedes AMG GT3
• Porsche 911 GT3 R
• Radical RXC Turbo GT3

Tracks

• Sebring International Raceway
• Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

As always, happy racing and see you on track 😉

Generally, we try to keep ‘release candidate’ updates a low-key affair, since as a user you need to take some extra steps to be able to run the build. But this time we made an exception, this ‘RC’ is bursting with new and exciting things to test drive.

So yes, it’s that time again to be part of the rFactor 2 elite and try out a bunch of new features, a slew of bug fixes, or just enjoy previewing and taking in what’s ahead – before the masses get to!

During this last phase of development we’ve focused on a few key areas. On the graphics side, one hugely noteworthy addition is the brand new tech in the form of Screen Space Reflection (SSR). This means wet tracks will accurately reflect the environment in a way they never have before. Try out SSR by running any track in wet conditions. Additionally, we’ve done some extensive work on cloud rendering and balancing lighting in different conditions. You can read all about that below in more detail.

Devil’s in the details – some minor but long awaited requests like ‘remember password’ (we know, we know, we love it too) , ability to see and boot spectators, and various optimizations to make the UI more fluid and just-run-better overall, especially when transitioning from one area of the UI to another. We also added “asynchronous” server list loading. This means when you go to the race page where your favorites are, or the full matchmaker server list, the UI won’t annoyingly lock up anymore while it loads more entries.

Another very key area we have focused on heavily is making sure new users get some help with setting up their hardware and picking some base content from a simple list at start up. On a clean or first time install of rFactor 2 new users will be greeted with a wheel calibration wizard and simple set of Steam collections to choose from to quickly get some base content and start driving.

On the broadcasting front if you use our built-in overlay system, there are some very nice additions: DRS display for one, and RPM, speed, gear and pedal inputs are now visible – this should really spice up your league race battles!

As for the competition system, if you decide to try out the new RC, this version is a build bump to the latest opt-out default build. This means you won’t be able to join the public competition system.  However, we are going to have some test competitions up and running for you to try out on the new RC. These test competitions will show up in the same place, you just need to join normally, no special steps needed. There will be two competitions running parallel: one with the Ferrari 488 GTE, the other with McLaren MP4-8. The McLaren MP4-8 can be downloaded for free by subscribing in the Studio 397 workshop, and the Ferrari 488 GTE can be purchased in our item store.  On a side note, both competitions will be running the first ever ‘fixed setup’ races. This should even out the casual racing field a bit – less time fiddling setup parameters, more time racing!

If you haven’t already, opting in to the release candidate is easy: Follow these four steps and you’re good to go.

rFactor 2 Release Candidate Update Notes:

Steam Build IDs

• Client 6847975
• Dedicated 6847983

General

• rFactor 2 Build Bumped to 1125
• Added MetallicNoise.dds to Vehicle Common Maps so that it does not need to be packed with each car
• Updated Flag Stations so they will not assign to the Pit Path.
• Updated parsing of Flag Station Instances (cornerworkers, safetyworkers, digitalflags) so all instances are parsed and do not require any specific naming order.
• Added auto grouping of flag stations to the same point on track. Note: It is now recommended to only place Safetyworkers next to Cornerworkers or Digital flags to ensure a flag is waved or shown correctly.
• Made the distance to group flag stations together configurable (GDB: FlagStationGroupDist=30)
• Updated Yellow Flag and Blue flag logic to work correctly with flag station grouping
• Made the distance before and after an incident at which a yellow flag is waved configurable (GDB: FlagStationIncidentMinDist=20, FlagStationIncidentMaxDist=250)
• Fixed digital flags all flashing checkered the second a car finishes the race. Instead they now follow the logic of other flags and only flash progressively around the track as cars finish.
• Enabled chat command “/callvote nextsession” on a dedicated server to advance to next session.
• Removed Hide Cursor default assignment to “delete” key from controller settings. Note this does not affect existing profiles.
• Fixed cars showing up with the team name missing when using a custom team in multiplayer via the new UI
• Synced min/max ranges for options in the backend (playerbasefile) with the new UI’s default (JNIOptions)
• Added ability to specify slot using steam id for some chat commands
• Save steam id when a driver disconnects from a session
• SteamId is saved when somebody disconnects, so it appears in the result xml

Graphics

• Reviewed & updated all Cloud Textures
• Improved Lighting Calculations on Clouds and Atmospherics
• Fine-tuned and optimized rain particles (50% less particles now)
• Improved ModDev options with ability to force a specific cloud texture as well as set cloud cover at any point.
• Ensured that cloud textures are never loaded ad hoc, which would previously cause some stuttering online or in replays.
• Fixes for various issues that were present when the cloud update was previously released.
• Fixed an issue when saving PNG screenshots via the built-in game function where alpha information seems to get saved around the glows and glares, for example around the sun.
• Fixed an issue where Sunglare at dawn or dusk on ultra-wide or triple screens would be undriveable.
• SSR – screen space reflection implementation for wet road reflection
• Reduced Sky Exposure and rebalanced auto exposure for these changes
• Fixed issues with Night Time under-exposing.
• Enabled Auto Exposure adjustments whilst game is paused
• Slightly reduced TV Camera low-sun exposure levels
• Faster Exposure Adjustment on TV Cameras to reduce the noticeable fade when changing camera
• Fixed Differences in ToneMapper and Exposure in Showrooms vs In-Game
• Added Missing Ambient and Static Mappers to Default Showroom
• Fixed an issue where Static Mappers would not update after a game session time change

UI

• Load server lists (Internet, LAN, Favorites, Friends) asynchronously
• Added extra UI options for setting up steering wheel rotation settings (Rotation limit mode, max wheel angle mode, default max wheel angle).
• Ensured that appropriate settings are enabled/disabled with the right options.
• Readjusted Controller Calibrate layout so that all items fit without scroll bar
• Fixed Point to Point tracks wrongly closing loop
• Fixed unnecessary scroll bar on Display Options Screen
• Made it possible to sort the packages list by the installed column. Also made it possible to sort the multiplayer list by version while refactoring the table component config a bit.
• Fixed standings table alignment where long class names would cause problems.
• Replaced underscores in car class name with spaces and allow it to wrap to second if needed.
• Fixed bottom shadow sometimes being positioned wrongly in the lap history pop-up.
• Fixed an issue when losing a connection to the dedicated server that the network connection error dialogue would only show up when leaving a subsequent single player session.
• Added spectators to player list when in race monitor, and allow kicking/banning of them via the same process as kicking/banning an active player
• Updated event full-screen so only data that is needed for the elements being visible is fetched and updated.
• Fetch live standings in event screen with WebSocket instead of polling.
• Show total race time for race winner and the final gaps to winner for other drivers as they finish the race.
• Added start-up Wizard to assign basics controls at startup
• Fixed server join button not working if you clicked it on the outside of the “join” text.
• Fixed upgrade description not being visible with a long list of upgrades on the tuning screen.
• Fixed shadow positioning in packages table with only a few packages showing
• Fixed series list being empty if there were two series with the same name
• Added checkbox option to remember the password for a server.
• Your last selected server list type (Internet, LAN, Favorites, Friends) is now remembered on the multiplayer matchmaker screen.
• Removed useless scrollbar on options calibrate page when in an event.
• Added UI setting for toggling FFB strength direction between negative and positive.
• Added track type and length to track loading screen.
• Added disabling of “next session” button in single player admin controls when there is no next session.
• Made list layout the default layout on all pages that use it.
• Made changes to reduce time the light grey screen is shown, for example when leaving an event and returning to the main menu.
• Fixed the current selection (series, car, track) sometimes not loading in the main menu start and race screens.
• Made sky setting also affect the rain chance setting.
• Added showing raw range (min, max) for control axes on the options calibrate page.

Live stream overlay

• Class colors on text no longer working: No code changes; text color needs to specified with a “color” field in the custom overlay config.json along with the previous “backgroundColor” field.
• Added RPM, speed, gear and pedal inputs to the driver info overlay.
• Added error checking for endpoints failing when overlays folder does not exist.
• Added driver name options drop down to overlay control panel and updated overlay elements to use it.
• Added DRS active classes to battle box, extended battle box and tower overlay elements.
• Added DRS active text to battle box element.
• Fixed color swipe animation being positioned slightly wrong on some overlay elements.
• Fixed in-game panel toggling not always working.
• Fixed overlay not working at all if the configured overlay folder does not exist.
• Added prev/next buttons for season standings and in-race season standings elements.
• Added background color to control panel table rows when showing multiple car classes. The color is faded from the one defined in config.json for that class.

Modding

• Added a content error if a Cube Map is wrongly assigned.
• Added New AI Editor Methods for updating Cut Corridors including Finding, Normalizing, Setting to Corridor values, Setting to Collision Corridor values as well as setting if adjusting Corridors effects Cut Corridors.
• Added specific functions for Normalizing Corridors and Normalizing Collision Corridors.
• Fixed RealRoad errors loading Loch Drummond in ModDev
• IBL Road Shader: Made configurable the effects of the blue channel of a Road Detail Map. Now can enable/disable masking of the overlay function and the decal map.
• Added the ability to constrain a Camera to the Pitlane or the Main Track.
• Enable Trace logging by default in ModDev

As always feel free to report any issues or give your feedback via the forum or Discord release-candidate channel.

Happy racing ! (and testing) 😉

Two weeks ago in this blog we presented an updated roadmap, and since then we have been working on extending our concept of “linked sessions”. Those who have driven in GT Pro or Challenge will be familiar with the concept: linked sessions are a group of sessions that are run one after the other with the same entries in all sessions. So at the start, a split algorithm will divide people and from that moment on, all of those sessions will be executed with the same people. This allows us to for example run a qualification session and then have two races, allowing for things like reversing grids based on results from earlier sessions. It goes beyond what rFactor 2 would support out of the box on a dedicated server as we can also vary session settings for each session beyond the normal things. It’s a fairly big task, but it gives us a lot of flexibility going forward and we know we will need this for new and upcoming series!

In other news, with our new “release candidate” imminent, we will also be launching a “staging server” for the competition system. Since we are bumping the build, it’s no longer multiplayer compatible. At the same time we wanted to make sure that people on this release candidate would have something interesting to race online, so we have set up a separate environment for that and your rFactor 2 client will automatically switch.

And with the summer holiday and sale approaching fast, we still have a few tricks up our sleeve. More about that in a future blog though, it’s time to go over some more community questions. If yours is not answered yet, we will probably fix that in the next blog. In the meantime, keep it on the black stuff!

Q&A

Q: Is there a way you can implement race results history? For example, for GTC I right now have no idea where I finished last race, since the standings in the comp system in game have not been updated yet. And since I can’t find the race results back, I can’t calculate myself where I ended up after the penalties?

Remco Majoor

We will add historic results to the system. That is planned. About your specific question about the last race in the GTC standings, that ended up being your worst result so it was dropped (which is why you did not see any points for that event).

Q: What were the technical constraints you encountered during the creation and still now in relation to the CS and the integration in the game?

Julien Lemoine

Obviously we are adding a system to an existing game, so we needed to take into account the possibilities and impossibilities of the multiplayer system. The biggest constraint we had initially was the old UI which simply was not fit for purpose for adding such a system at all. So that needed to be replaced first. Another puzzle we are looking at solving is how to best share custom liveries. We have a few systems to do that, but none of those map particularly well to how we would like this to work in the competition system. Mostly though I think we found that the many configuration options in rFactor 2 have helped us a lot in getting the whole infrastructure up and running.

Q: Is an entry list system that fixes car, name & surname to a file for solo and crew races under consideration? Both for CS and for multiplayer?

Julien Lemoine

I think this question is a bit related to the issue I mentioned above regarding car skins. When you sign up with an entry, we would like to get as much information from that entry into the client and it would be great if that information could be persisted in single player too. It’s a puzzle we’re still working on!

Q: In the most far-fetched parameters that can be created, is it possible to make a series that changes car and track every time?

Julien Lemoine

Right now, when you sign up for a competition, you do so with an entry and that involves choosing a car and a specific livery. So no, we did not design the system to put you in a different car every time right now. It would not be impossible to change that though, I could envision the sign up process being extended to pick a car for each event. If the changes are small, like in F1, where teams bring new upgrades to the track at every event, we can support that with upgrades that are forced by specific tracks. For a “race of champions” style competition, we would need to make some changes to the sign up process. Food for thought!

Q: With the rF250 we will have the first oval race ever in the CS. Normally every driver has a spotter on this type of track. So could we have a spotter in CS races some day?

Fabian Balle

Yes. We have already designed the system so users can have different roles in each competition. So you can be a driver, but you can also be a spotter, and if you are a spotter you would get access to the server as a spectator. Similarly we have a way for a broadcaster to join and we’re using that internally but it has not been exposed yet. It is planned though.

Q: With oval races in the CS proving to be very popular, it begs the question of a more thorough set of oval racing rules in future. I know this has been problematic in the past, however is it something under consideration for the future?

AlessioGoPro

We continue to work with our stock car community who have been improving the stock car rules plugin. We’re not yet at the point where we feel confident that a new stable release of that can be included, but that will certainly happen going forward and will bring more of those rules. Another thing we are considering is to bring some of the extensions we have been developing for the upcoming NASCAR game back to rFactor 2. That could include concepts like the different “stages” they have.

Q: Now we’ve had different types of racing, and no doubt street tracks and Formula E will come in future, do you plan on offering ratings per type of racing? For example an oval licence, street track and road course type of thing?

RacecarDriver17

Still an open question. We can apply ratings to different scopes. So we can make an overall rating, one per competition, or type of racing, or series. We have not decided yet what we will end up doing.

Q: Loving these Summer Showdown type races – keep them up! On that topic, are we likely to see more of these kind of community events / broadcasted races in future within the CS?

Jack

Yes, we did those races as a test and I agree they were a success so we intend to do more of them, as well as bring more competitions into the system and broadcast those.

Back in July 2018 we released the very first rFactor2 laser-scanned track, Sebring International Raceway. Looking back now, the thought occurs, “What a track to start our laser scan journey, with its knobbly undulating concrete slabs and constantly changing road surface.” To say it was a challenge to reproduce would be an understatement. But we took on this new challenge, and after months of painstaking work released one of the most iconic endurance tracks to the anxiously waiting rFactor 2 public. The reception was incredibly positive. The road feel was like nothing ever experienced in rFactor 2, or any sim for that matter. The professional drivers that tested the track for us in its initial stages commented on the sublime realistic feel that mirrored the real track down to the most subtle details. This feedback together with the post-release public reception motivated the Studio 397 team to forge ahead with new and exciting laser-scanned tracks.

Fast forward to 2019, when we introduced PBR. What is PBR? you might ask. In simple terms Physically Based Rendering is a graphics approach that seeks to render images in a way that models the flow of light in the real world.

So as you can imagine PBR is a game changer in terms of how it allows the track environment to come alive with all its real-life subtleties. Sebring, which was created before the use of PBR, has been on the waiting list to get the full PBR treatment. We are therefore excited you can finally see it in all it’s glory.

In the words of the the track team:

“Updating a track to PBR is no minor task. Whilst some assets can just have a few textures replaced from a stock library, quite often it means reworking many entire materials which compromise of many textures which are all linked together which let the game engine know different information about how to light this material. When it came to updating the track we wanted to make sure that we retained all it’s unique character both in terms of racing surfaces and all the spectators and vehicles that surround the track too but also improve those details too. Additionally we’ve upgraded some assets that needed extra attention and worked hard to ensure the overall atmosphere of the track all fits and works well. We hope you enjoy racing at the updated track!“

If you already own Sebring the update will download and install automatically once you open Steam, and if you don’t yet have it in you inventory then sprint on over to our Steam Item Store and pick it up!

Sebring International Raceway | Steam Store: Click Here.

Changelog

Sebring International Raceway

v1.29

• Full update to PBR on all assets and materials
• Remodelled and updated Hotel
• Updated Spectator and Foliage materials
• Added various updated support and rescue vehicles
• Reviewed Visgroup settings for more optimal performance on Medium/Low details
• Minor adjustment to AI line at T10
• Fixed Inconsistent Pit Exit placement
• Fixed issues with shadows on tyre barriers

Sebring International Raceway is available to purchase in rFactor 2 now.