Considering RF2

[dcully]

Veteran simracer reporting in, veteran doesnt make me fast however but i do enjoy my simracing

Lately i seem to be mostly racing against the AI and im hearing great things about the AI of RF2 hence my curiousity,

I have all the current sims, i enjoy them all with the exception of pcars2 it feels like a plastic sim to me.
I cant seem to find info on base content of RF2 but i enjoy GT cars, V8 supercars,LMP,touring cars etc mostly but also some open wheel stuff so with mods i hope im covered.

How is the FFB and physics compared to the likes of AC,raceroom, iracing and AMS?

 

[tlsmikey]

Hmm...well, i just purchased it and started using it and my background is similar to yours.

I'd graphics are pretty bad with rFactor2, but the FFB is decent. I don't think it's as mind blowing as some people make it out to be, but it is very good. I still rank AMS far ahead of it though. The menu is a little clunky and the content is all over the map in terms of quality.

The AI does seem to be good, although a bit wilder than AMS. I think it's worth owning, but i'm not paying the $15 for the GT3 pack at this point. It isn't that good to me yet.

 

[kph002]

Rookie sim driver here, so not sure my views are worth a great deal. Given my experience, rF2 has convincing physics and good FFB (don't flat spot the tyres!). The content is all loaded through Steam workshop- even the official stuff, which has been updated to the DX11 build. Unfortunately, most of the 'major' tracks are only available as mods, not all of which have been updated to full DX11 compliance. So you'll get washed out colors, missing textures, etc. on some of those. Many mods originate with the original rFactor, so quality varies. The UI is also a WIP and loading times are lengthier than the competition. If the 'feel' of driving is your primary concern, I think its worth a shot. The AI is good with separately adjustable skill & aggressiveness, and while the community is small, it is passionate. Lastly, you mentioned R3E- to me rF2 has sound quality close to it. Rambling, but hope something here helps.

 

[Karstenve]

I've been using rf2 for quite a while now. About a year. I've raced some other sims before like iRacing. I will make it somewhat easy to find what you want:
Graphics
This is the main thing people don't like about rf2. It's not as good as other sims. This doesn't mean it's bad. Everything in rf2 has one big goal: being straight forward. The graphics are no exception. The new post processing already makes it look way better though and the rain effects are great. Recently they updated rf2 for better performance. This really helps.
UI
The UI is straight forward. Not as good as other sims but it's not as important to rf2 users. They are quite close to release the new UI. This one is based on Chromium. This means you can basically use HTML and CSS to make your own UI.
HUD
The rf2 HUD's are good but also not as good as other sims. Again it's straight forward. They released their new HUD recently. This one is way better and optimized for higher resolutions.
PHYSICS
The tyre physics are the best. There are no sims that can tip to the rf2 tire model. The tire flex is insane. You can also see it in replays and it's unbelievably detailed. They cut open a few tires to replicate it and it's really good. The chassis flex is also insanely detailed. It really affects the car and it makes for a great experience. Rf2 is a real sim (my defenition of sim). It's straight forward but at the same time detailed as ****.
FFB
The ffb is good in rf2. Most people have problems with it because it's to raw. The others sims are way to smooth most of the times. This ffb is awesome but you need the right wheel. It works great on Direct Drive Wheels. Also pretty good on brushless motors. Not really good on geared wheels (like logitech). I have a Logitech so it (maybe) doesn't feel as good as other wheels on the market but it's enough information to be fast and have fun.
AI
To start: The rf2 AI is great when using the correct settings for a car/track combo. I don't race them that often because I like online racing. You can have quite good races on rf2 with the AI. It's practice and error though. You need to try out settings.

The sound in rf2 is good but can be improved. Heavily depends on the car that you are using.
So, rf2 is a great sim and a must own to me. Not only because of the sim itself but also the community. The Discord server is great and actually the server I use most of the time. It paves the road between the developers and the users. It's awesome. Rf2 is a great sim but you need to put a lot of time into setting it up correctly for your situation. Normally this would take ages. Luckily you can use the Discord server to get your information. I would also buy it because Studio397 is doing some interesting things to the sim. I'm always hyped about upcoming stuff. If you don't buy it now you will probably buy it in the future. It's being improved really fast. The new content coming is great (like sebring, lmp3 cars, some historic cars). You should check out the roadmaps. There you can see what rf2 is all about and what is being worked on. Coming from iRacing I like the leagues but that's personal preference. The modding community is great but the mods can be low quality. For this you need to look around and ask what mod is good quality. For V8 supercars for example you have the RSM Mod. You can look around in the Steam Workshop. Most mods are reasonable quality there.

 

[thepharcyde]

After 5 years of ownership I keep coming back for more despite of it's niggles.
Marcel is a top guy who clearly has passion in the product.
For your requirements it does tick the right boxes, the content is hit and miss as others have said but the right combo it's hard to be beaten by the competition for an AI race.

Cannot wait to see what Sebring will be like as this is my favourite track.

 

[dreamer al]

I bought RF2 last Xmas sale. I own all major race sims. I now find I drive this sim more than the others. I think that AMS have the best physics, but RF2 comes a very close second. I disagree with most other comments, in as much that I think the graphics, recently updated to DX11, are great. I have a selection of mod tracks as well as mod vehicles. I also purchased 3 GT3 vehicles (DLC).

The major thing that attracts me is that RF2 has a future. Studio 397 is now regularly updating and appears to have a number of further updates in the pipeline. So, yes, I would encourage anyone to purchase RF2, especially when on sale. I doubt you would be disappointed.

 

[Cote Dazur]

@dcully , from a sim veteran to an other sim veteran, I bought it on sales because some people where swearing it was so good with outstanding FFB and physic, plus rain and night. A.I. was also supposed to be excellent.
I am glad I got it very cheap, because after a few month trying to find something to like in RF2 it has been uninstalled for a while now. There is nothing very good and a lot of aggravating issues.
I really do not understand what the fuss is about. Apparently when looking at the appalling low number of player displaying in steam charts, I am not the only one.

 

[Amanda]

I was going to say that 'if you want an actual good racing experience that doesn't involve offline with AI then IMO you should skip rF2 for now' because multiplayer just isn't there, but since you're mostly doing offline races for now I think you could at least give rFactor 2 a try to see if you like it.

However, even for offline racing, at times rFactor 2's AI can be extremely stupid where it shouldn't. To me, one of the best AI is R3E's, and even multi-class racing in PC2 gives a better experience than offline racing in rF2.

And to be honest, since you own all other sims you'll feel that the overall experience on rFactor 2 is extremely shallow since it lacks a ton of cars and tracks commonly found in all other modern simulators. You'll find yourself not driving a lot of cars and also the vast majority of popular tracks, having to either resort to downloading stolen tracks from sims you already own, using bad quality mods, or not playing them at all.

But I still think you should buy it. rFactor 2 still has interesting qualities and certainly has it's merits. Plus, there's no harm in helping another sim in the market

Cheers.

 

[MPortnoy]

I couldn't have summarized it better than Karstenve did. For the things you want, i think rF2 has you covered.

I would add just one more thing....Where i think rF2 AI separates from the rest is in multiclass racing.
The game has a flag system and slower classes give way to faster classes better than any other sim and alongside day/night cycles and sunny/rainy days, it results in endurance/multiclass races that no other sim can provide (please no one dare say PC2, I agree it's a plastic game )

 

[dajdosta]

Physics, ffb and AI are among the best if not the best.
Driving feels alive and responsive.
Graphics are average. Depending on hardware it can look pretty good.
Sounds are very good.
Karstenve explained it better.

 

[Logan812]

(please no one dare say PC2, I agree it's a plastic game )

I'm guessing the last time you've played it, if at all, was probably last year before any of the updates. I hated Project Cars 1, but PC2 has quickly become my second-favorite sim behind Automobilista.

The thing about rF2 is that it's a fantastic tech demo... and that's about it. There was a point where rF2 was unparalleled in almost every department, but it has since been surpassed by almost every other modern sim and has only been slowly catching back up recently. The physics and other features are top-notch... for the small percentage of cars and tracks that actually take advantage of it (about 10% of the countless open-wheel cars, the same GT3 cars you see everywhere, and the *very* rare historical/actually interesting car.)

By all accounts, rF2 should be the best sim, yet it isn't. The modding community which kept rF1 alive just isn't there for rF2 because almost no one can figure out how the tire modeling works. It's essentially just the same stuff now that it's been since I bought rF2 over two years ago (well, we have Kartsim and Formula e DLC. That's neat I guess.) I've actually gone back and replayed it again recently, and while I had fun, there was just nothing to do with it especially compared to every other sim (including Assetto Corsa which I personally can't stand because of the ridiculous understeer and lack of mechanical grip across the board.) If the oval AI was good then that would be something very cool about rF2 given that the only good offline oval sim is still NR2k3, but nope.

 

[infamouswaine]

ill add my ten pence in too aha
i made the change over from pc2 because it was awful not to mention the plagues of idiots, i generally used pc2 for endurance however since taking the dive back into rfactor2 its hard to go back to pc2 and enjoy endurance racing there , rfactor2 is a every day thing i am constantly drawn back time and time again to better my progress at lap times, after the take over by the new studio its come on leap and bounds and rfactor2 will have alot more to offer soon. its challenging and fun at the same time and there is a decent amount of professionalism too

 

[MPortnoy]

@Logan812 I guess we agree to disagree. It seems that infamouswaine here feels the same way I do. Yes it's been a while since I last touched PCars2 and that's because I haven't needed to since rF2 is offering me everything I need. I was never a fan of the physics on PCars2 either so no point for me to go back.

 

[Msportdan]

Rf2 bad gfx people clearly haven't got the HP or even tried the sim!

This is a pure Simulation (something you may find at a motorsports teams HQ) not a game like F1 or PC2 is. Rf2 is a barebones sim all that is required to hone your lap times. Caveat is theres a good AI there too, needs further tweaking by s397, but its more than a challenge.

TRack Content - ok that's its downside. but theres is a few good tracks on steam from some talented guys(mcnolo, ODb, senorman). Theres enough cars from ISI and S397 to keep you busy. Your not mastering them any times soon before jumping to the *better than most other sims/not quite rf2 handling* enduracers mod. Not to mention a few other classic rf2 mods.

Give rf2, PC2 content weather system. And you would have the best Sim hands down. and NO I don't need no career! just a good season editor!

Yes rf2 is far from perfect but out of a bunch of sims - it has the most convincing FFB, physics and AI..

 

[mibrandt]

RF2 graphics has gotten much better. But overall impression is still that it is "dark and grainy" IMO. Especially the tarmac is dark and dull. But S397 has improved graphics alot and hopefully they are not done yet.

 

[ErikNZ]

I own AC with all the DLC which is much better looking, has a lot more content and probably a much bigger online racing community.. but my AC install is gathering dust and I just keep coming back to rF2 instead. The main thing that keeps me racing rF2 is the "feel", the experience of driving. I don't know if that is because of the tire model and physics or because of the FFB or a combination of those, but rF2 just feels so much better to drive than AC to me.

This may be different for someone else but with rF2 I can feel how the tires connect to the road, I can feel when I'm pushing too hard and I can feel the back starting to slide and catch it... I just don't have that with AC. With AC, I race on what I can see and hear but with rF2 I can almost race with my butt .... if you know what I mean?

I don't get the comments about rF2 not being for online racing. We exclusively race rF2 in our league and we have some awesome, tight races without any major lag or other issues. And unlike AC, we absolutely do not need some "radar screen" widget to show where other cars are. You can hear them and you can feel them and you can swamp paint without sending cars off into the wild blue yonder. Especially in our GT3 races, it is door to door with a nudge and a grudge and none of that is a problem whatsoever. I guess what rF2 lacks in graphics it makes up with decent netcode? There are some pretty good mods out there for rF2, both in cars and tracks. While the selection isn't maybe as vast as for AC or other sims, there is still plenty there for us to keep having different multi-week racing series back to back. However, public online racing is pretty non-existent with rF2, I'll give you that. But I have no interest in racing on public servers to be honest - I rather race in a league with like-minded individuals who are all attempting to make sure we're all getting through turn 1 without some dive-bombing idiot taking out half the field.

I'm not taking a crap on AC - it's a great racing sim, with lots of content. And it also has SRS support. (they seemed to have dropped support for rF2 for the moment which is a real shame.) I just happen to get far more out of rF2 even though it has less to offer. AMS is also a great racing sim, based on rFactor it shares a lot of similarities with rF2 but it has a truck load of awesome content. I did purchase AMS but ended up returning it as I couldn't justify the cost of both rF2 and AMS with both being so similar. However, I will say if I had more cash in hand at that time, I would have certainly kept both as AMS and its content is seriously good.

But this is all subjective and I don't expect anyone to agree with me. PC2, AC, AMS, RF2, Dirt Rally, etc... they are ALL worthwhile to own and play. They are all different and will offer different things, which will resonate differently with different people. For me, right now, rF2 is just my sim of choice.I actually like all of them for the different things they offer so I'm not going to say that rF2 is better or best, it's a very personal choice.

 

[Satangoss]

Graphics: 1990 wise, unconvincing light, heavy on FPS, stuttering and hiccups.
Weather: doesn't work and cap your FPS to one quarter. AI is broken on wet.
User interface: atrocious
On-line: useless
Content: very few due the horrible and complicated mod system
The state of art physics ignores the tyre pressure and the track temp. Some cars as F2 and some FWD have the worst force feedback of all games industry history

Tried few days ago have a race with paid GT3 content. Hours to configure the race and opponents. Terrible and unfriendly interface. Picked Suzuka and my 1080ti almost fried trying to render the billion polygons opponents when maximum lod. Low FPS and then started the rain. My gosh the rain. AIs turned crazy and pit every lap FPS decreased to 20ths and then game crashed.

Uninstalled from my precious SSD space. Launched Asseto Corsa which I hate but 200 fps, decent physics but no weather and retard AI. Turned off the computer and went to a kart circuit to enjoy the sun and the real life.
Who disagree just prove I'm wrong instead click in dislike Prove the rain is perfect AI doesn't pit every lap the performance is marvelous. Or quit the fanboyism and go get a life.

 

[Andrew Harper]

This is an interesting topic and I do enjoy RF2 a great deal and S397 have made great strides with it. As mentioned by others, give it a shot and see what you think.

The one thing I would mention though is the mod content. It reminds me a little of buying on the Google Play Store. Some apps a brilliant, others are the Satan's offspring! lol

To start off with stick to the S397 content (there is free content to start with) and go from there.

I'm also a fan of the United Racing Design packs (admittedly they are paid for). Look good, low detail (in other words they don't put huge strain on your PC). Also the Enduracer mod is great as well, so try that and see what you think.

 

[Crashhard Banger]

You should definitely give rF2 a try, but don't expect a polished product. pC2 and AC are shiny cars in main dealers' showrooms which you drive every day and don't need much attention. rF2 is the project in a mechanic's garage. It's there to be tinkered and played about with it. It will put a big smile on your face when you take it for a blast.. however, there's a good chance something will fall off - and you'll need to rebuild it before your next drive.

 

[iwn]

I would like to ask that with which car and on which track I could notice most clearly the praised FFB and tyre/car physics in rf2? I have been testing a bit, but I haven't noticed anything peculiar? Maybe its just different from other racing games?