Paul Jeffrey

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Studio 397 have today deployed their latest DLC offering for rFactor 2 - the Endurance Bundle 2 - containing three new endurance specification cars within the simulation.
  • Endurance Bundle 2 available now for £8.13.
  • Contains Cadillac DPi, Ligier LMP2 and Corvette GTE.
  • Items can be purchased as a pack or separately.


The new DLC is here at long last, three new cars have arrived in rFactor 2 - introducing the Endurance Bundle 2 DLC - available now.

From the release notes:

Tis the season to be jolly… a time for giving, a time for receiving, festive merriment, a glass of something nice and more mince pies than is either reasonable or healthy. Rather than putting that much-needed pair of new socks or a thickly lined winter jumper under the tree this year, give the gift of endurance racing to your nearest and dearest (or treat yourself!) - why not take out some rather awesome endurance cars for a spin in rFactor 2?

Yes dear sim racers, we’ve gone and put together our latest car pack DLC for the simulation – and I must say we feel pretty pleased with the outcome – three epic endurance machines that include some of the most beautiful, iconic and potent race cars in modern motorsport.

endurance-bundle-2.png



Endurance Bundle 2 | Steam Store: Click HERE.

It’s hard to argue against the fun of multi-class endurance racing. That feeling of slicing a Prototype through slower traffic in the fight at the head of the field, or powering your GT racer within a crowded pack of cars while keeping half an eye on the mirrors and blue flags ready to let faster cars to pass – it’s something that just cannot be replicated in any other form of motorsport, and with rFactor 2 now containing four of the best endurance tracks in the world (Le Mans, Sebring, Silverstone and Spa), these cars never had a better place to be put through their paces against your rivals.

Endurance Bundle 1 | Steam Store: Click HERE.

With this new Endurance Bundle DLC, we at Studio 397 have tried to keep an eye on our existing content to both bring something new to the simulation, and add further depth to the popular car classes already available within rFactor2.

Endurance Bundle 2 DLC Contents:
  • Cadillac DPi-V.R
  • Ligier JS P217 LMP2
  • Corvette C8.R GTE
2020 Cadillac DPi-V.R

Cadillac_DPi_2020_10.jpg


Built in close collaboration with top North American sportscar team JDC-Miller Motorsports, the Cadillac DPi-V.R represents the very finest in American endurance racing engineering, having taken the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship by storm since an incredible debut in 2017, winning no less than the first seven events it contested in the category, including the prestigious Rolex Daytona 24 Hours. Wayne Taylor Racing pairing Ricky and Jordan Taylor would dominate the drivers’ standings in the new machine, securing the title convincingly from sister entry Whelen Engineering, themselves taking a victory at the demanding Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at the Canadian Tire Motorsport circuit in Ontario, Canada.

2018 would be just as successful for the popular return of the Cadillac brand, with a further four wins courtesy of Mustang Sampling Racing (2), Wayne Taylor Racing (1) and Whelen Engineering (1) enough to secure a clean sweep of drivers and teams' championships for the iconic American manufacturer.

A further four wins in 2019 would again see the Cadillac DPi-V.R at the sharp end of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship despite increased competition from the likes of American powerhouse outfit Penske and Mazda, although championship success would elude the manufacturer for the first time, with the Brazilian driving duo of former Formula One driver Filipe Nasr and SportsCar star Pipo Derani narrowly missing out on top spot in what was generally considered to be the most competitive championships in the recent history of the IMSA series.

Fast-forward to a truncated 2020 season and again Cadillac would prove to be force to be reckoned with, this time with JDC running two cars under the JDC-Miller Motorsports and JDC Mustang Sampling banner alongside entries from Konica Minolta and Whelen Engineering. Despite having to perform in front of mostly closed door audiences and with a hastily amended calendar, the American teams would put up another determined fight against racing royalty in the form of Acura Team Penske, with the manufacturer taking a total of three race wins and runners up position in the championship for the #10 Konica Minolta car of Australian Ryan Briscoe and Dutchman Renger van der Zande.

With JDC in the unique position of being the only team to run two Cadillac DPi-V.R entries this season, we found them to be the perfect partner to team up with as we looked to maximise the available data and resources when creating this new car. Our collaboration with JDC has been nothing short of sensational these past months, and working alongside our colleagues at the team has opened up some exceptional opportunities to really get under the skin of this outstanding car, and most importantly for the players at home, recreate what we consider to be one of our most accurate and detailed vehicles for rFactor 2 so far.


Key Performance Stats

Engine: 5.5L V8
Power: 580HP
Weight: 930kg
Top speed: 360km/h



2020 Ligier JS P217

Ligier_LMP2_2020_04.jpg


As costs continued to spiral during the previous generation of endurance racing regulations, many teams and drivers found themselves migrating to the much more financially friendly and increasingly competitive LMP2 category of racing – high downforce prototype machines that don’t quite reach the ultimate lap pace of the table topping LMP1 / LMdH / LMH group, but offer seasoned professionals and up and coming drivers multiple opportunities to race in championships throughout the world.

With the recent influx of professional teams and drivers to the category, the popularity of LMP2 has exploded over the last few years. Offering arguably the most competitive and sizeable grids week in, week out in endurance prototype racing, LMP2 has become what the original Le Mans Prototype class never quite managed to achieve - the peak competitive proposition for prospective drivers looking to carve out a reputation and career in endurance prototype racing.

With such popularity and the sheer volume of cars produced, many championships throughout the world have been quick to adopt LMP2 regulations within their own series, either as a standalone category, or as part of a wider multi-class structure, such as can be found in the World Endurance Championship, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and European Le Mans Series.

We already have the Oreca 07 LMP2 car within the simulation, and keen as we are to ensure rFactor 2 has a wide range of vehicles suitable for close and competitive racing as possible, we felt the time was right to introduce another mighty LMP2 car. With the technical knowledge of a former Formula One race winning outfit in the form of Ligier, the French marque partnered up with Onroak Engineering to produce an exceptionally efficient and competitive vehicle, one that competes with some success in national and international endurance racing events.

Debuting in time for the 2017 racing season, the car immediately proved to be competitive in the hands of numerous racing teams, with a debut fourth place finish (and fifth overall) at the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours in the hands of United Autosports proving without doubt that the new JS P217 is a car to be reckoned with. That form would be carried forward in the European Le Mans Series by the US squad, the team snapping up an impressive three outright race victories for the new car en route to second overall in the teams standings.

Further Le Mans LMP2 success would come the way of this attractive closed top prototype, despite the numerical dominance of Oreca within the category, with United Autosports once again carrying the flag for Ligier with a exceptional class podium in 2018, following up with a further top four finish within the series the following season.

Having released in 2017, the JS P217 immediately showed promise on the circuit, and the following years have seen the car wrap up wins in various categories throughout the world. A mainstay in series such as WEC and stateside with the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship – we are sure you will agree that this is a great car to add to our ever growing collection of official content within rFactor 2.



Key Performance Stats

Engine: 4.2L V8
Power: 600HP
Weight: 930kg
Top speed: 330km/h

2020 Chevrolet Covette C8.R

Corvette_C8R_2020_05.jpg



Replacing the venerable Corvette C7.R was never going to be an easy task for Chevrolet, however the new Pratt & Miller developed machine has immediately picked up the baton dropped by its predecessor and proceeded to firmly establish itself as a competitive force to be reckoned with in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Straight off the bat following its debut at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona the two car entry proved to be quick in the hands of the works Corvette Racing Team, going on to secure wins in over half the rounds of the 2020 season, unsurprisingly culminating with titles in both the team and drivers championship at the conclusion of its debut year of competition.

The eighth-generation Corvette represents something of a departure from expected norms from the American brand. Gone is the traditional front engine concept so revered by the partisan fanbase of the car, and in its place comes a move to the somewhat divisive modern mid-engine design, Still kicking out in excess of 500hp to the rear wheels and a top speed of just under 200 mph from the fire breathing 5.5 litre V8 engine, the car is very much a Chevrolet under the skin, but with significantly different handling characteristics than those that have traditionally been associated with the bright yellow machines of years gone by.

According to Corvette Racing driver and sportscar ace Antonio Garcia, the new C8.R is "very agile" compared to its elderly predecessor, allowing the driver to "fight it harder and push pretty hard", which should translate into a very popular choice of car for our online players to select in the white hot heat of battle!

The C8.R should stick to the road better than the C7.R as well, with an estimated additional 10% downforce possible from the new model thanks in part to the aggressive styling characteristics and complex aerodynamic details, coupled with a flat floor design as per the IMSA series regulations, These design touches, and plenty of ingenious work creating a much more use friendly and driver focussed interior layout have all contributed to the incredible success of the car on the world stage, right from its very introduction into racing at the beginning of 2020. With fierce competition from the likes of both Porsche and BMW chomping at the bit to recover lost ground to their American rivals, the race for GTE honours looks set to be another glorious one next year, and you can recreate it at home in rFactor 2 from the comfort of your own racing rigs!

Key Performance Stats

Engine: 5.5L V8
Power: 500HP
Weight: 1260kg
Top Speed: 300km/h

Corvette_C8R_2020_07.jpg


Don't forget, as it is the Holiday season we've also got our Steam Winter Sale in full swing, with some exceptional offers on content for rFactor 2. If you've been missing a few key items, want to complete that collection or just fancy taking a look at something a bit different, head over to the rFactor 2 Steam Store page now and check out some brilliant new deals - the Steam Winter Sale ends on January 5th, so act fast!

social_rf2_2020_winter-sale.png



These new cars represent the pinnacle of modern endurance racing as we head into 2021, and coupled with the already rich array of Prototype and sports car machinery within rFactor 2 (with more to come next year), we feel pretty confident that the Endurance Bundle 2 is a great way to say goodbye to what has been a fantastic year for rFactor 2, and set the tone nicely for what should be an even better 2021...

Enjoy the cars, enjoy the festivities and see you out on track soon.


Original Source: Studio 397

rFactor 2 is available now exclusively on PC.


Got questions? Our community have answers! Check out the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for a great way to engage with your fellow fans of the simulation.

Cadillac_DPi_2020_08.jpg
Corvette_C8R_2020_04.jpg

Ligier_LMP2_2020_03.jpg
 
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The LODs are the usual crap whereby the cars in front suddenly lose their tyres a short distance ahead. The LODs on all the new DLC seem really half arsed to say the least. Opponent detail is set to full btw.
Maybe check you don't have any LOD tweaks enabled without realizing, either in rF2 config files or in drivers. Had something like that happen to me once as I did some testing/tweaking and forgot about it. Sadly I don't remember anymore what it was exactly.
 
Maybe check you don't have any LOD tweaks enabled without realizing, either in rF2 config files or in drivers. Had something like that happen to me once as I did some testing/tweaking and forgot about it. Sadly I don't remember anymore what it was exactly.

Hey, Thanks for that! This made me go through my player.JSON and I found I had set "Auto Detail FPS" to 90 at some point. This does indeed cause dropping of opponent detail. Set it to 0 and problem fixed. So, LODS are fine, I am just stupid :)

Thanks again. :) :thumbsup:
 
Been practicing for and participating in RD Club races in RF2 and AC... Now there's a club break, and finally got ACC fired up!!! So damn amazing... Haven't tried R3E in months.... Wow it's amazing too!!! Now RF2 releases new cars??? Now my focus will be on these cars Christmas eve evening lol... We need 48 hours in a day not 24... Just not enough time for all these great sims.

RF2 so damn immersive with base shakers, super ultra wide monitor and trackir
 
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That's cool and all, but I'm not buying it. I've had enough experience with the game to know its not worth any more of my hard earned cash. AI strategy is broken in most cases, lots of options are still hidden in the files of the game, older ISI/3PA content has been abandoned (why?), game has random crashes far too often, system for renaming drivers is too much of a pain to use. They put out the Stock Car 2018 car with individual options for each of the 3PA tracks + some mod tracks, but a lot of those don't work, and the safety cars still don't work.

Why should I bother when I can buy the entirety of Automobilista for less than S397 is going to charge for this?

Almost daily I'm reading critical comments about the sim that I honestly don't understand. Just to pick out some:

- A lot of options hidden in files. rF2 has a lot of options, do we really want them all in the UI? Without complaining then the UI would be unusable? I love the possibility to switch fuel load from relative to absolute. Isn't it better to "tune" this in some text file than not having the option at all?

- Random crashes: I never had rF2 crash. So there MIGHT be the possibility that the crashes are triggered by rF2 but the cause is somewhere else (if the cause would be within rF2, it would crash in EVERY single installation).

- If there would be another sim offering the same feel of realism, day/night, random changing weather and similar content (minimum being LeMans, Sebring, LMP2, GTE) with at least similar graphical quality for ANY price, I'm interested. As stated elsewhere already, it is nonsense to compare any two sims that offer different things. You don't run F1 if you are interested in GT3.
 
As stated elsewhere already, it is nonsense to compare any two sims that offer different things.
What you can do however is to compare the same things in different sims. For example, you could run the Porsche GT3 GT-R or AMG SLS GT3 around Silverstone in rF2, AC, ACC, R3E and AMS2 and see which version you like best.
 
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Almost daily I'm reading critical comments about the sim that I honestly don't understand. Just to pick out some:

- A lot of options hidden in files. rF2 has a lot of options, do we really want them all in the UI? Without complaining then the UI would be unusable? I love the possibility to switch fuel load from relative to absolute. Isn't it better to "tune" this in some text file than not having the option at all?

- Random crashes: I never had rF2 crash. So there MIGHT be the possibility that the crashes are triggered by rF2 but the cause is somewhere else (if the cause would be within rF2, it would crash in EVERY single installation).

- If there would be another sim offering the same feel of realism, day/night, random changing weather and similar content (minimum being LeMans, Sebring, LMP2, GTE) with at least similar graphical quality for ANY price, I'm interested. As stated elsewhere already, it is nonsense to compare any two sims that offer different things. You don't run F1 if you are interested in GT3.
Options hidden in files should be accessible in-game. The new UI is bad as it is. A tab with advanced setting never hurt anyone. No need to cram them all on the same page.

Yes, rFactor 2's selling point for me is the LMP, GTE content as well. Although I have many issues with the sim itself I am still thinking about getting the new pack... However, that is no excuse for other core issues. The infuriating thing is that there are two sims that offer such content to some degree (rF2 and AC), both of which offer pretty subpar AI experience :/
 
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That's cool and all, but I'm not buying it. I've had enough experience with the game to know its not worth any more of my hard earned cash. AI strategy is broken in most cases, lots of options are still hidden in the files of the game, older ISI/3PA content has been abandoned (why?), game has random crashes far too often, system for renaming drivers is too much of a pain to use. They put out the Stock Car 2018 car with individual options for each of the 3PA tracks + some mod tracks, but a lot of those don't work, and the safety cars still don't work.

Why should I bother when I can buy the entirety of Automobilista for less than S397 is going to charge for this?
Because Automobilista 2 drives like **** compared to rF2. ;)
These cars are only 3 euro's each.
 
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That's cool and all, but I'm not buying it. I've had enough experience with the game to know its not worth any more of my hard earned cash. AI strategy is broken in most cases, lots of options are still hidden in the files of the game, older ISI/3PA content has been abandoned (why?), game has random crashes far too often, system for renaming drivers is too much of a pain to use. They put out the Stock Car 2018 car with individual options for each of the 3PA tracks + some mod tracks, but a lot of those don't work, and the safety cars still don't work.

Why should I bother when I can buy the entirety of Automobilista for less than S397 is going to charge for this?

Thanks for saying this. I feel largely the same way. I want to love this game. There’s a lot of good stuff going on. But every time I try to play I immediately run into a problem that just makes it too frustrating.

I bought a 2 year sub to iRacing and am starting to buy content because I wanted a good option for oval racing and some of the road racing content that isn’t available elsewhere. I definitely am not a fan of their pricing and the time and planning required to run multiplayer, but it seemed like the only option. I was so hopeful the new stock cars would fill my oval itch. To give them their fairest shot I loaded them up on an ”official” track (Mountain Peak) instead of some random mod. It was immediately unplayable. Behavior wasn’t appropriate for oval at all, and AI cars slowed dramatically at start/finish every lap before blasting off at alien speeds.

And nothing bugs me more when the solution to every problem, and to tweak even the most basic options, involves diving deep into the game files to manually edit a json file. I *can* handle that - my day job involves operating the DiL for a major OEM - but when I hop on my own modest rig to get my own laps in outside work, I want it to be fast, easy and user friendly.
 

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