RDLMS Announcement - DX11 and the New EnduRacers Mod

Paul Jeffrey · May 22, 2017

The RDLMS by Vesaro League Management Team would like to make an announcement with regards to the release of a new car pack for the upcoming Thrustmaster 24 Hours of Le Mans.

With the release of the brand new version V1.50 build of the Endurance Series modification from EnduRacers and the Gentlemen Modding Team on Friday 19th May, the organising team behind the RDLMS by Vesaro rFactor 2 league here at RaceDepartment have taken the decision to utilise the new build of the modification for the upcoming Thrustmaster 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday and Sunday 24th - 25th June.

Released to the general public in response to the requirements for mod teams to update to the latest DX11 rFactor 2 build standards, the Endurance Series V1.50 mod also contains considerable changes to the base physics and handling characteristics, so it will be worth noting that teams will need to revise their setup design principles for the remainder of the season.

So, what does this mean for the teams?

RaceDepartment will be using the the latest version of the Endurance Series mod (build 1.50) for the Thrustmaster 24 Hours of Le Mans and the remainder of the RDLMS by Vesaro season. The custom car / skin pack will be released to participants during week commencing Monday 22nd May.

All teams are advised to test their livery with DX11 to ensure no issues are present with the new car pack. If there are any problems with the albedo map (i.e. if it is missing, or has not been correctly applied) you will need submit an updated version of your skin files before 23:59 GMT on Friday 9th June. This deadline is final and late submissions received after the 9th June at 23:59 GMT will not be accepted.

NOTE: If there is an issue the symptoms to look out for will be a rather bright looking car that produces a bloom effect, as if it is emitting light.

Additionally the RDLMS organisers will be releasing a DX11 compatible version of the Virtua_LM Le Mans 1991-1996 track mod for the upcoming race.

A note from Senior RDLMS by Vesaro event admin Daiman Patel:

"We, the organisers, shall also assess the skins this week and compile a list of teams who will be required to provide updated files for Round three due to problems with their albedo map; the list shall be publicised next week. If teams could please do this themselves as well it would be much appreciated, to help reduce the workload for staff members because time is going to be very tight. In addition, it will be worth checking out this link - https://www.studio-397.com/guidelines-for-artists/ - which provides instructions on how to correct skin files under the section titled "How to quickly update car skins / color maps".

As an additional clarification it is to be noted that participants can elect to use either the DX9 or DX11 build of rFactor 2 for RDLMS events. Both versions of the simulation software are compatible for use within the league, and the game build version to use during the events is entirely optional.

Use of DX11 EnduRacers car pack mod released by the RDLMS League Management team is a mandatory requirement, as is the requirement to ensure your livery's are fully compatible with the latest DX11 build of rFactor 2, regardless of the version of the software you choose to race.

About the RDLMS by Vesaro.

The RaceDepartment Le Mans Series by Vesaro is the premium league racing endurance championship hosted this season by RaceDepartment. With support from our fantastic partners Vesaro and Thrustmaster and utilising the outstanding rFactor 2 software and EnduRacers modification, RDLMS by Vesaro Season 7 is an incredible virtual sporting challenge that is proving more than capable of living up to the incredible reputation of this long running league.

Round three, the Thrustmaster 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place over the weekend of Saturday 24th June. 40 cars, 24 hours and the greatest test in all of simracing, it's going to be an epic weekend of competition.

A reminder of what you can win.

this season. We will be streaming all the racing action, all season, in high quality and with top class commentary via our various social media and video streaming channels. If the spectacle out on track isn't enough for you however then we'll throw in the opportunity to grab yourself some quality sim racing equipment too!

For those of you familiar with RDLMS by Vesaro you probably already know about the awesome prize package we have in place for the season ahead. Just to remind you of what's on offer I invite you to check out a couple of links and see what you can be in with a chance of winning. Firstly we have the grandest of grand prizes thanks to the exceptional support of our series partner Vesaro. The high quality sim racing rig manufacturer have put up a superb €5,300 racing rig for fans and drivers to be in with a chance of winning. Check out prize details in the Vesaro announcement HERE.

Additionally are proud to have the support of our race partner Thrustmaster who have on offer a great selection of sim racing peripherals to win at each of the race meetings during the season. With great generosity Thrustmaster have offered up a stunning selection of products that will be offered to drivers and spectators alike during each round of the series. Again you can check out the announcement article HERE for more details of the products on offer.

So how can you be in with a chance of walking away with some incredible gear?

Basically in order to be in with a shout at winning something very special indeed all our viewers need to do is follow and subscribe to our Twitch and Youtube channels and watch our thrilling action packed broadcasts, which will be live streamed with professional commentary.

Round Three, the Thrustmaster 24 Hours of Le Mans will be live and exclusive Saturday 24th June via our Twitch and Youtube channels from 12:50 GMT. The Session timetable can be seen below:

Thrustmaster 24 Hours of Le Mans Session Timetable

10:55 | Race server reboot
11:00 | Official practice & Briefing (no duplicate cars allowed from this point)
11:40 | GT qualifying (30 minutes)
12:10 | Qualifying switch-over (5 minutes)
12:15 | Prototype qualifying (30 minutes)
12:45 | Warm-up
13:00 | Race start [Saturday 24th June] (in-game: 13:00 / 1PM)
13:00 | Race ends [Sunday 25th June] (in-game: 13:00 / 1PM)

All times are posted in GMT.

Matheus Machado · May 22, 2017

DX11 beauty

Good stuff.

RockABillyKilla · May 23, 2017

Hey...where to get:
"Additionally the RDLMS organisers will be releasing a DX11 compatible version of the Virtua_LM Le Mans 1991-1996 track mod for the upcoming race."???

Daiman Patel · May 23, 2017

RockABillyKilla said:
Hey...where to get:
"Additionally the RDLMS organisers will be releasing a DX11 compatible version of the Virtua_LM Le Mans 1991-1996 track mod for the upcoming race."???

The updated Virtua_LM Le Mans 1991-1996 circuit, for the RDLMS, shall be made available soon, but at the request of the original developers only participants of the league will have access to this version of the component - there will be no public release. However the Virtua_LM team will be looking to update their content in the not too distant future, to bring it up to DX11 standards.

Andrew Harper · May 23, 2017

Don't worry about the #105 car being tested @Daiman Patel

It's having a different livery for the Le Mans race anyway. I've tested it on the DX11 build and so far so good.

If it helps a little bit of advice to others. Avoid pure white as much as you can (which usually I never use anyway), I'm using a very pale grey for sponsor names (R245 G245 B245 or even R240 G240 B240) and that works ok. It still looks white on screen

I also toned down the alpha layer as well.

The guide from Studio 397 helps but the main issue was the cars themselves, now that's been resolved the problem is not so much of an issue but you still have to be slightly careful.

Daiman Patel · May 23, 2017

Andrew Harper said:
Don't worry about the #105 car being tested @Daiman Patel

It's having a different livery for the Le Mans race anyway. I've tested it on the DX11 build and so far so good.

I'm not at all worried about your skin mate, and I know that you'll be submitting an updated livery anyway!

Also, thank you for checking that it works with DX11 - if everybody could do this it would save a significant amount of time!

Andrew Harper said:
If it helps a little bit of advice to others. Avoid pure white as much as you can (which usually I never use anyway), I'm using a very pale grey for sponsor names (R245 G245 B245 or even R240 G240 B240) and that works ok. It still looks white on screen

We would actually recommend not using any RGB values above 210 as this could / would result in a bloom effect; if all 3 channels have a value of 210 then this will correspond to white in the game as far as I am aware (though I'm not sure if the updated shaders have changed this in any way - as you have said, now that the cars have been updated maybe using higher values won't be as much as of a problem, but I guess you still have to be careful not to go too high).

Andrew Harper · May 23, 2017

Daiman Patel said:
We would actually recommend not using any RGB values above 210 as this could / would result in a bloom effect; if all 3 channels have a value of 210 then this will correspond to white in the game as far as I am aware (though I'm not sure if the updated shaders have changed this in any way - as you have said, now that the cars have been updated maybe using higher values won't be as much as of a problem, but I guess you still have to be careful not to go too high).

Ok, cool. Thanks for the tip, added to the mental note book

Christian Moreau · May 23, 2017

@Daiman Patel @Andrew Harper

And once again the "livery god" has worked his magic.

I really like it, took heavy inspiration from an M6 that recently competed in a big endurance race, and it looks absolutely sick in DX11.

Still on the fence as to whether I will use DX11 for Le Mans. Not having any plugins, while not necessarily rendering me blind, kind of takes away a lot of useful info I can look at to make strategical decisions. Do we know if DX11 will become the stable build in early June? I'm hoping that perhaps it will be enough time for some of the more recent telemetry plugins to update using the new API.

RichardHessels · May 24, 2017

Daiman Patel said:
I'm not at all worried about your skin mate, and I know that you'll be submitting an updated livery anyway! Also, thank you for checking that it works with DX11 - if everybody could do this it would save a significant amount of time!

We would actually recommend not using any RGB values above 210 as this could / would result in a bloom effect; if all 3 channels have a value of 210 then this will correspond to white in the game as far as I am aware (though I'm not sure if the updated shaders have changed this in any way - as you have said, now that the cars have been updated maybe using higher values won't be as much as of a problem, but I guess you still have to be careful not to go too high).

I would even stay a bit lower than that value of 210, bit of sunlight on it and it's breaking out and blooming.

Andrew Harper · May 24, 2017

Richard Hessels said:
I would even stay a bit lower than that value of 210, bit of sunlight on it and it's breaking out and blooming.

Yes I've noticed on the BMW GTE with it's white wheels, there's some bloom effect there. All depends on the angle of sunlight. Not much I can do about it (as far as I'm aware) but still slightly annoying.

Daiman Patel · May 25, 2017

Christian Moreau said:
And once again the "livery god" has worked his magic. I really like it, took heavy inspiration from an M6 that recently competed in a big endurance race, and it looks absolutely sick in DX11.

I cannot wait to see it, and I'm not even in your team!

I just know how awesome Andrew's skins are, so I am excited to see the final result!

Christian Moreau said:
Still on the fence as to whether I will use DX11 for Le Mans. Not having any plugins, while not necessarily rendering me blind, kind of takes away a lot of useful info I can look at to make strategical decisions.

I am facing exactly the same dilemma, but once again I will probably opt for DX9 so that I can continue using at least the TrackMap plugin (though I am considering switching to the V-HUD plugin - it looks incredibly smart). An alternative to both of these are the Proracing Dashboards and in-game widgets; I believe the widgets are rendered independently of the game, so they might still work when using DX11, but the dashboards should certainly work.

Christian Moreau said:
Do we know if DX11 will become the stable build in early June? I'm hoping that perhaps it will be enough time for some of the more recent telemetry plugins to update using the new API.

According to this month's Roadmap Update from Studio 397, the DX11 upgrade is "moving towards a stable release in a few more weeks" - it is possible that this might be before Round 3, but it is difficult to say for certain. Either way, given the frequency of the updates and the progress that has been made over the past few weeks, we shall probably not be imposing any restrictions or making any recommendations against the use of DX11 for the next race. Unless there are significant issues, we will state that everyone is free to make their own decision (which was the case anyway, but there will be no guidance this time). I have been impressed with the way in which fixes, improvements and updates have been continuously rolled out by the developer, and their hard work is certainly paying off! An official announcement shall be made closer to the event.

As for telemetry and other UI based plugins, Studio 397 have said that they will provide updates soon on how to interact with the screen from plugin code in DX11. They may do this in the lead up to the stable release, or they might decide to wait until after the baseline work has been completed on the DX11 upgrade before moving on to this matter. Once again we shall have to wait and see, but certainly at the moment any existing UI plugins cannot be updated as there are no details about how to do this in DX11. Fingers crossed they will sort this out sooner rather than later.