rFactor 2
Released | Formula Pro V0.99 and DRS Zones
Welcome to a brand-new week here in rFactor 2 land, and to get you all off on the right foot, what better idea than to have ourselves a nice little update release! Yes, today marks not only the new V0.99 Formula Pro update, but also a much more minor, but still useful, addition of DRS zones to two of our more popular tracks within the simulation.
Formula Pro V0.99
Back at the very start of July we released our new Formula Pro open wheel car with a promise of more to come in anticipation of a full V1 release. Well, since our initial ‘shake-down’ build deployed on July 1st, we’ve been absolutely astounded at the reaction from our community for this new machine. First and foremost, thank you to everyone who has shared kind words on our latest work, and to those of you who have taken the time to offer detailed feedback on how we can further improve the experience within what is now the highest performance official vehicle within rFactor 2.
As promised back then, we’ve spent the weeks following release looking at how we can make improvements to the Formula Pro, as well as running our exceptional Formula Pro and Formula Challenge Esport series with the new car (check out the racing so far, HERE). We still have a lot of very interesting and exciting ideas to bring forward to the Formula Pro in the future, what you see now is very much the base of bigger and better things, but while those developments are cooking away nicely in the background we still want to continue reviewing, testing and gathering feedback from both our community and professional esport drivers. Plenty of additional laps later and that feedback has proven an invaluable source of data for the car development team, enabling us to develop this new V0.99 build and improve a couple of areas related to both the force feedback behaviour, and how tyre life impacts performance on track with the three Goodyear tyre compounds available with this car.
Formula Pro V0.99 Update Notes
- Reduced FFB vibrations
- Greater tyre degradation spread. (more degradation on Soft, same on Medium, less on Hard tyre).
- Slight step increase in degradation per compound.
The new update has been allocated the V0.99 build reference number as we continue to work towards the V1 base release of this car, so stay tuned over the next weeks and months for more exciting news and developments that we look forward to being able to share with you all fa little further down the road.
DRS Zone Track Updates
As well as the new Formula Pro build, we have also taken the opportunity today to add additional DRS zones to the Silverstone and Indianapolis tracks already available within the simulation. For Indy, the original layout within rFactor 2 is from the 2013 Formula One season, a time long before the sport introduced DRS, and as such we shipped the circuit and subsequent build updates without this feature being activated. Since we recently upgraded the track with our new PBR technology and brought the 2020 configuration to the sim, we thought it would be a good time to introduce DRS in order to add another element of strategy for our players to enjoy – especially considering we now have both the Formula Pro and the BMW M4 Class 1 that utilize this feature.
Indianapolis v1.12
- Added DRS Zones to 2020 GP Layout
Silverstone v2.13
- Added missing second DRS zone to GT Layout
Both the Formula Pro V0.99 and the DRS zone updates to Indianapolis and Silverstone are available now, and should download automatically the next time you restart your Steam client.
July 2021 Development Roadmap
Happy end of July everyone – we’ve made it through the month, and now it’s that time once again to sit down, take stock and get excited about the future development of rFactor 2! The days have been long, the nights have been short, and we’ve even managed to find time to pull ourselves away from the sim rigs for a little while to do some more development work, as always marrying together our own internal roadmap plans with feedback from our ever loyal and expanding community here in rFactor 2 land.
Development has been very intense behind the scenes of late, and we’ve exhausted a lot of our resources in recent weeks on bringing together the latest big build update for rFactor 2, so much of what we have in the works for the next few weeks is perhaps a little too early in development to start discussing in this Development Roadmap post – however, we really can’t let July pass without giving you some bits to get excited about.
Read all about it here:
https://www.studio-397.com/2021/07/roadmap-update-july-2021/
Released | Tatuus MSV F3-020 2020
Hello rFactor 2 fans, today we have good news for those who love lower powered open wheel cars in our simulation – joining our substantial collection of slicks and wings machinery this afternoon is a brand new addition to the fleet of free Tatuus cars in rFactor 2 – the Tatuus MSV F3-020 is here!
We know everyone loves free content, so once again the new Tatuus MSV F3-020 will be added to rFactor 2 as new content for no additional costs to owners of the simulation – joining the pre-existing T318, F4 T104, FT50, FT60, MSV F3 T106, PM18 and the USF 17 – lots of Tatuus cars!
Tatuus MSV F3-020 2020
Run exclusively in the BRDC British Formula 3 championship, the MSV F3-020 is a new take on the tried and trusted Tatuus formula – bringing the latest technologies and refinements to the core chassis and engine whilst still retaining the lively handling characteristics that have made the Italian manufacturer so popular across multiple national open wheel series.
Launched in time for the 2020 racing season, the 020 benefits from a brand-new and bespoke developed Mountune 2-litre normally aspirated engine, capable of producing a healthy 230 bhp – an increase in power that coupled with advanced aerodynamic and mechanical grip improvements brings the MSV F3-020 much closer to official FIA F3 lap speeds. On the aerodynamic front, the 020 enjoys a substantially revised front wing structure over previous models, something that Tatuus have developed with the specific intention of introducing greater levels of setup variability for drivers – aided by the additional introduction of a Formula One style spinal fin, a two piece rear-wing and revised front splitter and rear diffuser. The subtle changes to the overall look of the car adds downforce and performance, as well as uplifting the visual aspect to a more modern aesthetic.
Under the skin of the new design, the Tatuus MSV F3-020 packs a six-speed sequential gearbox operated by paddle shifters on the steering wheel rather than a more traditional stick shift design, and unique to the BRDC British F3 Championship the car also features a limited-slip differential, helping amongst other new changes to differentiate this machine from the many other open wheel cars current on offer from the brand throughout the world.
The car comes complete with racing slick and wet tyres provided in spec compound from Pirelli, 4-piston front callipers and floating, grooved and ventilated discs with 2-piston rear calliper and fixed vented rear discs from AP Racing, and a twin wishbone suspension with two-way adjustable dampers. All in all – a very smart, punchy and compact race car that should easily allow our drivers to enjoy some fierce and competitive racing across the wide selection of circuits currently available within rFactor 2.
Released | rFactor 2 July Build Update
Great news, today we are delighted to release a new build update to the public branch of rFactor 2 – packed with a veritable feast of new and exciting improvements to the software that we can’t wait for you to try for yourselves!
If you are not a part of any existing beta program within rFactor 2, the new public build will download automatically the next time you restart your Steam client. This new build will be formed from recent improvements developed by the code team and the content of our current Release Candidate that we have been running for the last few weeks. For those of you who have been enjoying the current Release Candidate, thank you once again for your time reporting any issues that may have cropped up ahead of this public release – I’m sure you’ll agree we’ve had a pretty good run with this new build, and we hope you share our enthusiasm to get all these new updates finally out into the public domain for everyone to enjoy.
As this new update is quite frankly a pretty large one, we’ve taken the decision to delay our next RC build for a little while longer, so while the public ‘Opt-Out’ is now available, no new Release Candidate is scheduled for the next few weeks – fear not though, we are continuing to work on the next RC, so stay tuned for more information on that in a short while.
Linked Sessions
As part of this new build, we are delighted to introduce a feature that we think will prove to be very valuable for our sim racing community, and one that we are extremely excited to get out into the public – Linked Sessions!
Throughout the ongoing development of our rFactor 2 Competition System, we have always held the desire to run various different types of racing styles and formats, with an aim to produce an experience that our drivers find both interesting and easy to engage with for extended periods of time. As we’ve undertaken quite a substantial task to develop the Competition System from scratch alongside the new UI, while maintaining and tweaking the core code to ensure it remains robust even in the more extreme situations, we’ve had to take pragmatic decisions on the timings of future feature improvements, both in terms of our capacity here at the studio and also as we gather the data and feedback from the community we need in order to make effective development decisions.
One of the biggest things we planned on introducing to the CS during this first phase of development is Linked Session functionality, of which a first pass has been brought into the system as part of the build released today.
What are ‘Linked Sessions’?
Simply put, the aim of a linked session is to allow the player to remain within the same server and engage in multiple sessions without having to leave and re-enter / re-register, as is the case at present. So in reality, what this means is that from now on it will be possible for example to join a qualification session, then move straight into a race, into another race, another qualifying, race etc etc without having to exit at any point in the process.
Although the convenience factor of this new feature is one of the key benefits from adding linked sessions, especially for those who want to experience prolonged multiplayer engagement in one sitting, the new code also opens up some incredibly interesting opportunities for us to have a look at different grid sorting options within the Competition System. With Linked Sessions, we can now explore the possibility of introducing reverse grids of different types – examples of which could be a top 10 reverse in one session, top 3 in another or full reverse grid – and any other variation of our choosing.
Additionally, we also now have the opportunity to incorporate different weather and time of day variations into a Linked Session, so in theory a player could qualify with an in-game time from say, 10am, race at in-game 1pm and in-game 4pm and then straight into a nighttime event. All within the same session, all immediately following on from one another.
Another benefit to this new feature is that we can now carry Real Road settings from one session to the next, helping us fully recreate a progressive format where weather and track conditions continue evolving from one session to the next.
All in all, we think this opens up some very exciting possibilities for how players engage with the Competition System races, and of course we will continue to monitor and refine this new feature set over the coming weeks and months, as we work to ensure everything is behaving as expected, and to add further feature improvements as development progresses.
Build Update Notes
Steam Build IDs
Client 7070526
Dedicated 7070530
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
- Steam Id 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
- Fixed some road objects not having wet weather reflections
- Improved Puddle Normal Maps
- Fixed some issues with how reflections work at the side of the screen.
- Improved blur and general tweaks to level of road reflections
- Fixed some car parts not reflecting (including enabling reflections on car headlights)
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
The new build is available now and should download automatically the next time you restart your Steam client. The next Release Candidate build update is still under development within the Studio 397 code team – no new RC build will be deployed alongside this latest Opt-Out branch, however more information on what to expect as part of the new RC will be shared on the Studio 397 social media channels and website in the weeks ahead.
For now, enjoy the new build, and we will see you out on the track!
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Update & Alternative Layouts
Following up on the successful and well-received release of our new Monza Grand Prix Circuit for rFactor 2, our development team have spent the past few weeks ironing out a few outstanding issues and community reported feedback, as well as waving the magic track development wand to introduce not one, but two brand-new layouts for the venue!
Monza is absolutely one of the most well known and highly respected racing circuits in Europe, and as we've said in previous messages, we are delighted to finally have the opportunity to bring this track to life within rFactor 2 - helping us continue in our quest to add the most relevant, exciting and high profile content possible to the simulation as we look to further flesh out and expand your racing experience within the simulation. Already we've observed some outstanding feedback and reaction from the rFactor 2 community about the track, which fills us with a great deal of pride here at the Studio to see just how much many of you are enjoying the new release.
With that all said, we also recognize that as a regular host to Formula One racing and other International events, most of the attention around the Monza release would likely have been focussed on recreating similar experiences for yourself - namely the high speed Grand Prix layout of the track. As we spent the majority of our initial development time looking at bringing this layout to life within the title, we also recognize that many drivers would be, like us, excited to sample some other circuit variations that exist at Monza, especially as these different configurations also suit a wide variety of car types that are perhaps slightly slower than the traditional top level machinery that is often employed around the Italian venue.
While we were out at the track earlier this year collecting the vast amounts of scanning data and reference materials for this project, we always had the intention to take some time out to look at the shorter variants of the circuit, with a view to bringing these into the main release a little after the full circuit goes live in the rFactor 2 Steam Store. Well dear reader, that day has come, and now it is time to share these two new configurations with the world...
Monza Junior Circuit
In effect the smaller, national, circuit to the main configuration, the Junior layout at Monza has played host to a number of minor race events and series over the years, and continues to be a popular variation of the main circuit layout for lower powered machinery. Opened in 1958 and originally called 'Pista Junior', the shorter variation of the Italian circuit links the grandstand straight with the opposing back straight through a series of several curves, presenting at least one reasonable additional overtaking opportunity despite the tight nature of the new section of track. Ideal for smaller, lower powered machinery and touring car style vehicles, the Junior layout at Monza most certainly adds another very different dynamic to the Italian venue.
Monza Grande Circuit
One word. Fast.
Utilizing the full circuit configuration just like the main layout, the key difference with the Grande layout is the removal of the T1 chicane at the very start of the lap. Without the need for cars to brake heavily into the opening Retiffilo right left, the speeds achieved on the Grande Circuit are seriously impressive. Foot absolutely planted to the floor from the exit of Parabolica all the way down into Variante della Roggia, this is as close to an oval as you are likely to get from a modern purpose build road course circuit.
As well as adding these two new and very different configurations to our existing track release - at no additional cost - we've also taken the opportunity to further work on the track and add some additional refinements and improvements that have been possible to put together since the original release back on June 24th. In this new build update, our track team have spent some time working on AI behaviour at certain points on the circuit, as well as bringing a few visual tweaks to the various configurations and introducing some optimizations for different shadows and detail settings - a full change log of which can be found below:
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza v1.21 Update Notes:
Added Junior and Curva Grande Layouts
Updated Cut Detection on Main Layout
Replaced a few tree types and some minor foliage updates
Updates to road tyre marks
Reduced crowd density in practice sessions
Some optimization to Shadow and Detail settings
Fixed road line decal clipping before first chicane
Fixed AI car behaviour swapping lanes on rolling starts
Slight adjustments to AI lines through Lesmo turns
Fixed some minor lodding issues with Trees
We are sure you will have some great racing adventures on the main configuration and the two additional layouts of Monza we now have in rFactor 2, and we can't wait to hear your tales of heroic overtaking manoeuvres and, more likely, frustrating T1 spins and crashes over the weeks and months ahead. Don't forget, the new Autodromo Nazionale di Monza track is now active in the rFactor 2 Competition System, so if you fancy trying your luck against fellow members of the rFactor 2 community, make sure to pop over to the Competition tab in the rFactor 2 UI and sign yourself up for a race - just be careful under braking into T1!!
KartSim Hotfix Update Released
Following up on the major new KartSim release from over the weekend, we are delighted to today deploy a further complementary update to this awesome collection of content, as we look to continue fine-tuning and improving what has already proven to be a very well-received new release within our kart loving community here at rFactor 2.
Available as a free update to the main KartSim build, the new hotfix deployed today addresses a number of reported issues from our community, ranging from visual tweaks to the behaviour of the karts themselves on the 10 tracks available across the European and UK KartSim Track Packs.
In terms of the karts, this build looks at making further developments to the brand-new KZ shifter kart that some users have been reporting generates a crash to desktop situation. Although this issue hasn’t manifested itself across all players, the potential cause of the problem has been identified and should be repaired as part of this latest build, with further work on the kart also addressing a reported glowing parts problem when racing in nighttime conditions. Other kart updates include fixes for the Rental, X30 and X30 EU Mini Cadet, plus further AI development work at Whilton Mill, Glan Y Gors and Adria circuits that aims to reduce the tendency for the AI to take excessive curbs which can lead to destabilization, and in some extreme cases, flipping of AI controlled karts.
KartSim Hotfix Update Notes
IAME KZ EU 2021 v1.73
Improved nighttime PBR shaders
Improved compatibility issues
IAME X30 2021 v1.68
Improved nighttime PBR shaders
fixed tyre temp sensor bug
Rental 2021 v1.68
Fixed UI Bug
IAME X30 EU Mini Cadet 2021 v1.73
Improved night time PBR shaders
Kristianstad 2021 v114
Improved AI
Glan Y Gors 2021 v130
Improved AI
Adria 2021 v120
Improved AI
Whilton Mill 2021 v120
Improved AI
The new update is available now, and should download automatically the next time you restart your Steam client. The latest fixes are available free to players who already own the content, and will be included in the base KartSim installation for new players who purchase these items going forward.
Hotfix update!
December Build Release with new UI
The Competition System is now live as part of this build update, with the first racing events due to be uploaded and set to begin on Thursday December 24th. And with this update also comes the switch to the new user interface.
Read all about it here:
https://www.studio-397.com/2020/12/rfactor-2-december-build-release/
Hot-fix update for Build 1121
Release of Build 1121
https://www.studio-397.com/2020/09/release-of-build-1121/