rFactor 2 Development Roadmap Released

Paul Jeffrey

Premium
rFactor 2 Dev Roadmap 1.jpg

The last 'Development Roadmap' of 2017 has been released for rFactor 2, with plenty of exciting news regarding the new rain effects, lighting, content and more!


It has been a very busy year for rFactor 2 developers Studio 397, ending in the brand new build update released earlier today, and it looks like things are continuing on an upward trajectory as the current year comes to an end.

In the last of 2017's roadmap posts Studio 397 go on to talk about the new "rain build" update and plenty of other exciting stuff, all of which you can read about below:

When we look back over the past 12 months we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved, additionally we are grateful of our ever-growing community who continue to support us.

Now with Christmas on the way let the sales begin! rFactor 2 is currently half-price, so make sure you get involved if you haven’t already right here. If you were interested in the Formula E Energize Pack or the GT3 Power Pack, look no further, we have created a bundle for a limited amount of time – check it out here

Over the past few months we have been working heavily on improving the graphics engine in many ways, so let’s look at a few updates:

Lighting:
Our lighting has been transformed, reflecting the environment, this is called IBLA – Image Based Lighting and it substantially improves the overall lighting in our graphics engine, creating a richer, more realistic view. This technology will help us improve and develop the engine and bring in new elements.

rFactor 2 Dev Roadmap 2.jpg
rFactor 2 Dev Roadmap 3.jpg
rFactor 2 Dev Roadmap 4.jpg


DX11 is now Go!
We are now bringing our DX11 as the default build people will see for the first time. With that we will be no longer supporting DX9, in fact, this is our last official supported version of DX9 – already you will not receive some of the visual benefits, such as the windscreen effects and moving wipers. Removing DX9 will allow us to concentrate on one build and enhance it – it also means new users see rFactor 2 in the correct light!

We do recognise that many draw to screen plugins are affected, however, our intent it to bring in tools to allow new ways to show data on screen without impacting stability or performance. Shortly we will have an update for the HUD which will provide access to additional data.

Cache folder:
Ever since we migrated rFactor 2 to Steam, we’ve been getting a lot of user feedback about the implementation of our “cache” folder and how it holds a lot of components that not everybody wants installed. Because it came with the base install, there was no good way to delete that folder as Steam would simply download those files again if you did. We’ve now removed that folder completely. On first launch we will still subscribe you to all Studio 397 content, but you will be able to unsubscribe from any item you don’t need.

Rain:
Our rain is still work in progress in many areas, however we are pleased to to bring a significant change, creating more atmosphere in and out of the car. We have converted much of our content to incorporate rain, however there is still work to which will go into early 2018.

Cars:

Our cars now simulate rain effects, including wiper animations and spray. There are different levels of detail which affect the windscreen which the ‘Rain Drops’ option in the display menu will control. These effects include water on the windshield as well as the car body with ripples dependant on your speed.

Tracks:

Tracks now have additional reflections, with the real road being redone. Kerbs also reflect correct in wet conditions and now on some tracks we will start to see dynamic puddle buildup, based off research and CAD. Currently these effects do not affect physics, however we intend to build that in as well.

rFactor 2 Dev Roadmap 5.jpg
rFactor 2 Dev Roadmap 6.jpg
rFactor 2 Dev Roadmap 7.jpg


3rd Party Content
We have mentioned this a few times before and now are starting to build the framework to allow creators to potentially license products. Our ambition is to help legitimise creators within our community and promote their incredible work. Our first venture will be with Kartsim, who have created a super realistic Karting platform and laser-scanned kart tracks – stay tuned for more info.

Final note
As we said before, thank you so much for your continued support! We are super-excited about 2018, with lots of new features and content coming – not only that with the world looking at sim racing as a bona fide esport we are in a great position to bring you not only great competition infrastructure, but the events to go with it!

rFactor 2 is available from Steam as a PC exclusive title now.

Check out the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for all the latest news and discussion with regards to the simulation. You can take part in lively debates with fellow rFactor 2 fans and take part in some great Club and League racing events..! Head over to the forum now and share the love this simulation so very much deserves...

Like what you see here at RaceDepartment? Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow us on social media!

RaceDepartment YouTube
RaceDepartment Twitter
RaceDepartment Facebook
RaceDepartment Twitch
RaceDepartment Instagram

Excited about the latest Roadmap contents? Looking forward to the future of rFactor 2? Let us know in the comments section below!
 
Last edited:
Great to see the Kartsim getting incorporated. Karts needed a bit of work in rF2. Now it gets even better than hoped for. Just been converting a real kart in to a Simrig for further development, with big Mige OSW. Is pretty cool to drive a virtual kart now.
 
Our ambition is to help legitimise creators within our community and promote their incredible work.
I hope this means Studio 397 has some sort of a 'Stamp of Approval' to apply to third party mods to ensure the integrity of the sim. Currently judging mods on number of downloads or reviews that may not have tested them thoroughly doesn't instill confidence when putting code on your hard drive.
 
I hope this means Studio 397 has some sort of a 'Stamp of Approval' to apply to third party mods to ensure the integrity of the sim. Currently judging mods on number of downloads or reviews that may not have tested them thoroughly doesn't instill confidence when putting code on your hard drive.

They can't approve anything unless it's 100% sure that the mod has no licensing issues, and such mods are perhaps 5% of all rF2 mods. Rest are more or less not fully legal.
 
"...with the world looking at sim racing as a bona fide esport..."

ROFL Sure! If you say so.

eSport....yes, why not? If virtual football is why not virtual racing where you do actually pretty much everything bar the danger?
The only difference about taking a virtual car and a real car out is G forces and danger. And i'm saying that as person who does drive race cars occasionally for fun (lucky my family run a team).

I even agree with real race driver when they say its actually easier in a real car as you have much more feel to work with....
 
View attachment 227408
The last 'Development Roadmap' of 2017 has been released for rFactor 2, with plenty of exciting news regarding the new rain effects, lighting, content and more!


It has been a very busy year for rFactor 2 developers Studio 397, ending in the brand new build update released earlier today, and it looks like things are continuing on an upward trajectory as the current year comes to an end.

In the last of 2017's roadmap posts Studio 397 go on to talk about the new "rain build" update and plenty of other exciting stuff, all of which you can read about below:

When we look back over the past 12 months we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved, additionally we are grateful of our ever-growing community who continue to support us.

Now with Christmas on the way let the sales begin! rFactor 2 is currently half-price, so make sure you get involved if you haven’t already right here. If you were interested in the Formula E Energize Pack or the GT3 Power Pack, look no further, we have created a bundle for a limited amount of time – check it out here

Over the past few months we have been working heavily on improving the graphics engine in many ways, so let’s look at a few updates:

Lighting:
Our lighting has been transformed, reflecting the environment, this is called IBLA – Image Based Lighting and it substantially improves the overall lighting in our graphics engine, creating a richer, more realistic view. This technology will help us improve and develop the engine and bring in new elements.

View attachment 227409 View attachment 227410 View attachment 227411

DX11 is now Go!
We are now bringing our DX11 as the default build people will see for the first time. With that we will be no longer supporting DX9, in fact, this is our last official supported version of DX9 – already you will not receive some of the visual benefits, such as the windscreen effects and moving wipers. Removing DX9 will allow us to concentrate on one build and enhance it – it also means new users see rFactor 2 in the correct light!

We do recognise that many draw to screen plugins are affected, however, our intent it to bring in tools to allow new ways to show data on screen without impacting stability or performance. Shortly we will have an update for the HUD which will provide access to additional data.

Cache folder:
Ever since we migrated rFactor 2 to Steam, we’ve been getting a lot of user feedback about the implementation of our “cache” folder and how it holds a lot of components that not everybody wants installed. Because it came with the base install, there was no good way to delete that folder as Steam would simply download those files again if you did. We’ve now removed that folder completely. On first launch we will still subscribe you to all Studio 397 content, but you will be able to unsubscribe from any item you don’t need.

Rain:
Our rain is still work in progress in many areas, however we are pleased to to bring a significant change, creating more atmosphere in and out of the car. We have converted much of our content to incorporate rain, however there is still work to which will go into early 2018.

Cars:

Our cars now simulate rain effects, including wiper animations and spray. There are different levels of detail which affect the windscreen which the ‘Rain Drops’ option in the display menu will control. These effects include water on the windshield as well as the car body with ripples dependant on your speed.

Tracks:

Tracks now have additional reflections, with the real road being redone. Kerbs also reflect correct in wet conditions and now on some tracks we will start to see dynamic puddle buildup, based off research and CAD. Currently these effects do not affect physics, however we intend to build that in as well.

View attachment 227413 View attachment 227414 View attachment 227415

3rd Party Content
We have mentioned this a few times before and now are starting to build the framework to allow creators to potentially license products. Our ambition is to help legitimise creators within our community and promote their incredible work. Our first venture will be with Kartsim, who have created a super realistic Karting platform and laser-scanned kart tracks – stay tuned for more info.

Final note
As we said before, thank you so much for your continued support! We are super-excited about 2018, with lots of new features and content coming – not only that with the world looking at sim racing as a bona fide esport we are in a great position to bring you not only great competition infrastructure, but the events to go with it!

rFactor 2 is available from Steam as a PC exclusive title now.

Check out the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for all the latest news and discussion with regards to the simulation. You can take part in lively debates with fellow rFactor 2 fans and take part in some great Club and League racing events..! Head over to the forum now and share the love this simulation so very much deserves...

Like what you see here at RaceDepartment? Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow us on social media!

RaceDepartment YouTube
RaceDepartment Twitter
RaceDepartment Facebook
RaceDepartment Twitch
RaceDepartment Instagram

Excited about the latest Roadmap contents? Looking forward to the future of rFactor 2? Let us know in the comments section below!
It's also worth mentioning that RFactor2 is on sale on Steam right now for $15.99.
 

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