I want to like RF2.....

[Hal Burns]

Picked up RF2 in a Humble Bundle sale ( where I also got ACC, Nascar Heat 5, both AMS titles which I had and some bits for $17aud). As a long time user of AC, Raceroom and AMS 1 and 2, I have to say I was pretty under whelmed with RF2. This video pretty much sums up how it seems to me:

ACC astounded me....looks good ( I have a mid range PC with a GTX1650), plays great and I like the career aspect. The multiplayer is terrific. That was a bargain.
As the dude in the vid says, the base RF2 content is pretty dated ( I run at High settings), but I have found some good stuff.....
The physics and FFB are outstanding...running the USF2000 at Lime Rock is terrific.
Mods like the Acura DPi and Road Atlanta give me something I don't have in my other sims and are very good. The M4 Class 1 BMW is great to drive, but cockpit looks like it came from AMS1. In fact most of the base content looks like AMS1 mods.
But I am not here to bash RF2.
I am very happy with RRE, AMS2 and ACC, so I probably don't need to waste time and money on another sim, but I am tempted to fork out for quality content when its on sale. I'm looking at the new Indy car, maybe the Formula E and Lemans and Sebring as candidates to help me like RF2.
Is the paid content going to change my mind?

 

[Botmeister]

Is the paid content going to change my mind?

When I drive in RF2 I mainly use the Endurance Pack (paid dlc). Love the LMP2 and the GTE's and Le Mans. This pack is what makes me fire up the game at least once a week And I bought the Nurburgring/Norschleife.... because of reasons. Standard content I don't play that much to be honest.

 

[jgf]

When I drive in RF2 I mainly use the Endurance Pack (paid dlc). Love the LMP2 and the GTE's and Le Mans. This pack is what makes me fire up the game at least once a week And I bought the Nurburgring/Norschleife.... because of reasons. Standard content I don't play that much to be honest.

To me this underscores a shift in marketing which I decry. It hasn't been too long since you could download a demo of most new games; you could play one level, or play for twenty minutes, or run one car on one track, and if you liked the demo you would purchase the full game. It seems modern developers want to sell you that demo then nickel-and-dime you to death with "DLC" to flesh it out to a full game.

Some years ago I was interested in a new railroad sim, but for your initial $60 all you got was two trains and two tracks. That's all. Though via "DLC" you could buy locomotives, cars, complete trains, new maps, etc.; in a forum someone noted all the DLC together totaled over $9k. I'm not saying all that should have been default, but certainly with that much available they could have included more than two trains and two tracks with the base game.

 

[Hal Burns]

Yes, for $46 AUD, RFactor 2 in base form is not a bargain. It should be about $10. If you like it, you can purchase DLC to improve your experience. For the retail price you should be getting the Endurance pack and Daytona and Sebring. That would be reasonable value, I think. I am enjoying the game ( great road feel) and will look to Steam sale to pick up some updates. As Botmeister suggested, it would make a good Le Mans simulator.

 

[Botmeister]

To me this underscores a shift in marketing which I decry. It hasn't been too long since you could download a demo of most new games; you could play one level, or play for twenty minutes, or run one car on one track, and if you liked the demo you would purchase the full game. It seems modern developers want to sell you that demo then nickel-and-dime you to death with "DLC" to flesh it out to a full game.

RF2 is only for sale on Steam. All Steam purchases can be refunded within the first 120mins of play time. That's a even a better service than a 20min demo Dlc's excluded of course but you can't win 'm all.

 

[davehenrie]

Yes, for $46 AUD, RFactor 2 in base form is not a bargain. It should be about $10. If you like it, you can purchase DLC to improve your experience. For the retail price you should be getting the Endurance pack and Daytona and Sebring. That would be reasonable value, I think. I am enjoying the game ( great road feel) and will look to Steam sale to pick up some updates. As Botmeister suggested, it would make a good Le Mans simulator.

About 6 times a year, S397 & Steam have seasonal sales where the base price of rF2 is dramatically reduced. Just wait for Memorial day or thereabouts and you'll often see a 75% price cut.

 

[jgf]

RF2 is only for sale on Steam. All Steam purchases can be refunded within the first 120mins of play time. That's a even a better service than a 20min demo Dlc's excluded of course but you can't win 'm all.

Not to rekindle the old debate, but I am one of those who abhor Steam's business paradigm, so will never purchase from them no matter how cheaply they offer something.

Though Steam could be ignored were it not for those developers who decide to solely release their product via Steam, thus denying me the option of where to spend my money. As I wrote to Bethesda years ago, "I will gladly give you $50 for a version of Skyrim on disc which I can install and play as i did Morrowind and Oblivion, but I will not give 50 cents for a Steam version".

 

[Botmeister]

Not to rekindle the old debate, but I am one of those who abhor Steam's business paradigm, so will never purchase from them no matter how cheaply they offer something.

So....that leaves iRacing and Richard Burns for you?

 

[jgf]

So....that leaves iRacing and Richard Burns for you?

well....

GPL, two installs

GTL, two installs

GTR2/P&G, separate installs

N2k3, with two installs of GTP mod

rfactor, two installs

Rally Trophy

RBR

...the only thing lacking is time

 

[Durge Driven]

Nothing wrong with being stuck in the past, once upon a time I did not like Steam either
in fact it took rF2 moving to Steam for me to finally relent and use it and I waited till last day to move
Today ? I would not have it any other way because positives outweigh negatives simple as that

 

[davehenrie]

When Steam first became a 'thing,' I avoided it like the plague. Back then I had a system that would barely suffice for sim racing so ANYTHING adding to the load was a no-go. Now...shoot, most of the time I just bypass it. Steam was started by Valve as a way to bypass the CD production which allows a content provider to save money and NOT risk having a wharehouse of out of print game cds. But you have a full stable of products you use...shame about that GPL tire
keep enjoying.

 

[jgf]

Well, when I purchase anything, from a hamburger to a new car, there are options, don't like one merchant? go to another. Distribution solely from one vendor deprives me of that choice.

When I purchase something the merchant gets my money, I get their product, end of relationship as long as the product functions properly. Someone once said buying from Steam is like buying a new car and finding out the salesman gets to ride around in the back seat forever. Installation of anything other than the game itself is a dealbreaker (the fanboys tell me you can disable all the auto-updates and snoopware, but I remain skeptical - if all those items can be truly disabled, why force the installation to start with); except for multiplayer I recognize no valid need for any game to go online. If Steam would drop their totalitarian demands of installing unnecessary and unwanted bloatware/snoopware, they could quadruple the cost of their games and i would be over there right now, credit card in hand; but currently I would not give a penny for their entire catalog.

On another forum someone's solution was to maintain a separate, otherwise barren, computer jsut for Steam games. I don't see the purpose, they are still buying from Steam, thus supporting their, in my opinion, execrable business model.

End of soapbox. Not trying to change anyones' opinions, just expressing mine.

 

[Austin Ogonoski]

Anytime I've booted up rFactor 2 for a singleplayer race, the experience devolves into nonsensical lunacy with AI cars braking on wide-open straights, and other cars smashing into walls. I've also raced in rF2 online leagues and failed to understand what was so revolutionary about it - it has the same features and functionality as every other isiMotor and Madness engine sim and doesn't really drive any different to them.

I'm unsure what people are referring to when they claim the FFB & physics are leaps and bounds ahead of everything else on the market.

That being said, there is a cult around rF2 that almost force it into relevancy at any given opportunity, screeching the exact same talking points about physics and FFB incessantly.

If it was great, a huge chunk of people would actively play it. They don't. It's now a dumping ground for ripped/converted mods. For the most part, sim racers have moved on to other platforms.

 

[azqa]

Lol.

Guys rF2 is absolutely awesome, I really think the best sim.

Do yourself a very big favor, don't listen to the huge haters present on the web, AND TEST FOR YOURSELF ! MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND.

Do yourself a big favor......

 

[Botmeister]

Lol.

Guys rF2 is absolutely awesome, I really think the best sim.

Do yourself a very big favor, don't listen to the huge haters present on the web, AND TEST FOR YOURSELF ! MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND.

Do yourself a big favor......

Metaphore. You know when you drink brand A beer and then continue with brand B. It can taste better of worse. You'll know right away with the first sip.

RF2 tastes worse after playing ACC.
ACC tastes better after playing RF2.

Since ACC update 1.8 this became evident (to me). Especially when driving from cold to warm tyres ACC is the clear winner in terms of gradually getting grip. And when warmed up using that grip for micro adjustments when cornering. I still enjoy RF2 very much and I play it every week, but the FFB is dull compared to ACC, it lacks information.

 

[jgf]

Anytime I've booted up rFactor 2 for a singleplayer race, the experience devolves into nonsensical lunacy with AI cars braking on wide-open straights, and other cars smashing into walls. I've also raced in rF2 online leagues and failed to understand what was so revolutionary about it - it has the same features and functionality as every other isiMotor and Madness engine sim and doesn't really drive any different to them.

I'm unsure what people are referring to when they claim the FFB & physics are leaps and bounds ahead of everything else on the market. ....

I recall when rf2 was first released, consensus at NoGrip was that it had great physics but otherwise wasn't that much advanced over rf1. Many said it wasn't a true V2 so much as just a patch to V1, and could have been released as such (of course they couldn't have charged $50 for a "patch").

I have never encountered a race sim with good AI right out of the box. Increasingly it seems devs are more interested in promoting multiplayer so AI is an afterthought, tacked on for us Neanderthals who still enjoy offline racing. Fortunately what they do provide can usually be tweaked for quite acceptable performance ...if you have the time and patience.

 

[Deleted member 1066209]

I want to like rF2, also. However, I've only purchased the base game and my content is limited to 1 car and, I think, 2 tracks. Is that normal?

 

[davehenrie]

I want to like rF2, also. However, I've only purchased the base game and my content is limited to 1 car and, I think, 2 tracks. Is that normal?

should be quite a lot more. I know the initial setup has changed so there may be a lite install to save time. (unless you purchased the demo....)
make sure at the content tab, you click on the ALL TRACKS & CARS choice. If nothing else shows, exit to Steam and visit the workshop.

 

[Austin Ogonoski]

Lol.

Guys rF2 is absolutely awesome, I really think the best sim.

Do yourself a very big favor, don't listen to the huge haters present on the web, AND TEST FOR YOURSELF ! MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND.

Do yourself a big favor......

Guys, don't be an informed consumer.
Don't watch raw rFactor 2 vids of the AI falling apart.
Don't spot patterns in message board comments saying it's really not all it's cracked up to be.
Just BUY BUY BUY the game.
And BUY BUY BUY the DLC.
You know, to "test" it.

I'm not saying you're a shill, but if you were, what would you be doing different?

 

[Deleted member 1066209]

should be quite a lot more. I know the initial setup has changed so there may be a lite install to save time. (unless you purchased the demo....)
make sure at the content tab, you click on the ALL TRACKS & CARS choice. If nothing else shows, exit to Steam and visit the workshop.

Oh goodness, I hope I didn't purchase the demo! xD

Thank you for your help. I'm going to follow your advice later this week and see if it works!

[edit]: sorry for sidetracking this thread!