RF2 Sim Racing Expo News

[Paul Glover]

This weekend at the Sim Racing Expo Studio 397 have provided rFactor 2 fans updates on two long awaited additions.

At the expo in 2018 we first heard that the famous Nordschleife would be coming to the sim, a year later fans have been asking where the track was. Recently Studio 397 hosted their own 24 hour at Le Man that was to be red flagged due to performance issues, therefore much of their focus has been understanding these issues and working to resolve them so you could understand if the track was delayed.

It was pleasing to hear that they had an update for us, they have said the track should arrive in the next two to three weeks along with a new Porsche Cup.

rFactor 2 fans have also been wondering where is the teased new UI, well Studio 397 have for the first time allowed fans to see what it looks like and broadcast a live video from the expo which is available on their Twitch channel. They have not given any hints to when it will be released.

As well as these two updates we are also expecting a second update to the game which is to further improve performance and stability, therefore lots of excitement ahead for the game. So watch this space!

 

 

[Jason Mullin]

I really have nothing to say but okay looks great. Just tired of hearing about Nurburgring and the UI, I want to experience it on my PC at home.
That and apparently there’s the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the western Atlantic swirling about 250 miles away from me currently.

 

[bgil66]

I really have nothing to say but okay looks great. Just tired of hearing about Nurburgring and the UI, I want to experience it on my PC at home.
That and apparently there’s the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the western Atlantic swirling about 250 miles away from me currently.

Stay safe!

 

[wajdi]

The track looks great, but Studio397, please,improve these trees and vegetation. Even Lemans where the track is a high quality standard the trees look flat and with a wrong lighting. Studio397 should really address this issue in all the tracks.

 

[2stains]

I had put rF2 down for a good 5 months after 700 hours of nothing but rF2 and this expo gave me motivation to try again, knowing the UI is still nowhere to be found I'll just work around the mess. We'll bugger me does rF2 make all other Sims feel like games! Having the best races in such a long time again in rF2. I'm am going to buy all DLC after doing a few races in the GTE RSR I'm in love (again) with rF2.

 

[hazardic]

been there IRL for a first time and have tried 24h layout on tourist days with my tiguan - gosh, i guess everyone should do it if they are tired about s397 promises

 

[Tar Heel]

I think people need to seriously temper expectations for the new UI. Based on what was shown today it functions exactly the same as the current one, it just looks more modern.

In the live stream below they show off what some portions of the new UI look like, they didn't show off the competition system, the multiplayer had some filter improvements, but functioned the same. They did explain it will change based on feedback, but expect the beta to function exactly as it does today. If it bothers you today, the new UI in beta release will probably still bother you, but look more modern.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/475302804?t=12s

Based on what was shown in the stream if I was a betting man I would say it's still a ways off from release. They still had a lot of place holders and the competition system was clearly not ready to be shown.

My opinion there were some aspects shown that they have already received feedback on and it should be improved before it even hits beta. For instance something small like time scale. There are 24 hours in a day, having multiples of 5 makes no sense. Multiples of of 4 makes way more sense and makes setting up scaled races way easier. Another thing is opponent selection for AI. It's not ideal and improving that before beta should seem like a no brainer.

Anyways, it will be interesting to see it once it drops, and hopefully updating it based on community feedback will be as easy and quick as they are saying it should be.

 

[anton_Chez]

I love rF2 but only this title could have a live stream of a menu.....

Had to laugh at that a little.

 

[numbersevenhull]

I thought the new UI looked terrific. Evolution not revolution (yet), but already a clear and simple reconstruction with some great additions such as sector times (great aid to setups, immersion), love the replay buttons as well which brings back all that functionality for VR users. The set up menus looked so much more appetising to dig into, tool tips welcome, and what was hinted at regarding the competition area, events and rankings, is exciting. I hope the competition area will not just be for special events and hot lap fastest gamer type things, but where you can find a sensible collection of servers for ranked pick up races of a semi casual nature, leaving the multiplayer section for leagues etc as despite the filters it's still not hugely appetising if you just fancy a spin on the rig for an hour.

They're be some snarling form the community of course, because well it's rF2 and those are the rules, but I think you have to imagine that interface for new players, and it's a night and day introduction to the sim. Good work. Hope we get the Beta this year

 

[GermansInAction]

Good news, a big "Thank you" to the developers! I cant await to drive finally on the Nordschleife.
But there is one question... Didnt the developer talked about the Südschleife (Southloop) too? Thought they would publish them both???

 

[M D Gourley]

Take it easy....settle down mate...patience...Nords is nearly here, cash in the kitty ready to unload. New UI, does not bother me whether it shows up as the UI is only a stop gap between me starting up rF2 and hitting Race...looks good though from the videos I have seen

 

[muzikant]

Very happy that the Nordschleife is coming !!! But I also hoped for a historic version. after +20 years Papyrus GPL. Hope that S397 later makes a version of this.

 

[mibrandt]

I thought the new UI looked terrific. Evolution not revolution (yet), but already a clear and simple reconstruction with some great additions such as sector times (great aid to setups, immersion), love the replay buttons as well which brings back all that functionality for VR users. The set up menus looked so much more appetising to dig into, tool tips welcome, and what was hinted at regarding the competition area, events and rankings, is exciting. I hope the competition area will not just be for special events and hot lap fastest gamer type things, but where you can find a sensible collection of servers for ranked pick up races of a semi casual nature, leaving the multiplayer section for leagues etc as despite the filters it's still not hugely appetising if you just fancy a spin on the rig for an hour.

They're be some snarling form the community of course, because well it's rF2 and those are the rules, but I think you have to imagine that interface for new players, and it's a night and day introduction to the sim set. Good work. Hope we get the Beta this year

According to the August Roadmap the new UI is very close to first public beta release:

https://www.studio-397.com/2017/08/roadmap-update-august-2017/

( )

 

[DonZmeuheu]

Good news, a big "Thank you" to the developers! I cant await to drive finally on the Nordschleife.
But there is one question... Didnt the developer talked about the Südschleife (Southloop) too? Thought they would publish them both???

The only thing I know is that a payable Mod for Südschleife exist for RF2 and AC which is absolutely great.

 

[bgil66]

I enjoyed watching the UI stream over a nice cup of coffee and it looks good to

 

[mr Sw1tchblade]

UInter is coming

 

[numbersevenhull]

According to the August Roadmap the new UI is very close to first public beta release:

https://www.studio-397.com/2017/08/roadmap-update-august-2017/

( )

Haha, you made me click the link without seeing the date you bugger. Looking forward to DX11

 

[mantasisg]

Very happy that the Nordschleife is coming !!! But I also hoped for a historic version. after +20 years Papyrus GPL. Hope that S397 later makes a version of this.

That would be so epic ! A pre 1967 Nordschleife ! Perhaps even 30s Nordschleife ! The purest one. I have been going through some photos of Nordschleife construction and then the first years. It was incredible, very different, a lot more open, much more like a Targa Florio which it was inspired by.

Unfortunately there is no way for it to happen, it would need tremendous skill and enthusiasm to make it, and oficial content seems to be only the top popular modern race cars and race tracks.

 

[thepharcyde]

Haha, you made me click the link without seeing the date you bugger. Looking forward to DX11

Me too lol until like you got to DX11 and thought hang on a minute de ja vu

 

[Trebormoore84]

From what I understand the new UI is to make the game more appealing to first time users as getting to grips with the current system is really offputting, with only hardcore enthusiast bothering to put up with it. It looks great from what I saw, although not sure it solves the underlying problem of too many people joining a server problem. Will have to see.

On this issue, as regards to the state of the updates at the moment, even with release 1.115 there are still massive server issues with even more frequent freezes than before. So bad that many leagues are rolling back to build 1.112 risking server crashes over the constant freezes. I really hope they keep up the work fixing these issues before releasing any more content, and especially before releasing the hallowed competition system.

P.s. Nords look amazing!