Tracks as good as Barcelona...

racinjoe013 · May 6, 2020

Been downloading some of my favorite tracks to drive in AC into rF2 and to be honest, most of them have been a disappointment visually. So much so that I was finding myself wondering how much enjoyment I would get from rF2 if the tracks looked this bad. Then I downloaded a version of Barcelona and I could see that rF2 has the potential to look as good or almost as good as AC when the track is done right. I imagine a lot of it is whether the track has been updated to DX11, but i'm so far behind on this game that i'm still trying to figure out the best places to go for tracks that have been updated.

So i'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for tracks that are as high quality as the Barcelona track I got from www.************************** forum because it's the best looking rF2 track i've tried so far. While i'm at it I might as well ask if it is better to buy the DLC of Nords or use a user made version I have seen posted? Which version do people find to be the best? Can't wait to try Nords in rF2, although as bad as I am at this game right now, me driving Nords might not be a good idea.

davehenrie · May 6, 2020

Rieza's DLC track pak for rF2 has gotten good reviews, Imola with multiple years of layouts, and VIR(Virginia Int. Raceway) are fine driving tracks. There are also some South American tracks included that have really nice atmosphere.
If you really want to see rF2 at it's best, then Sebring 12hr DLC consistantly gets positive mentions. The DLC Nords is laser scanned like Sebring, but from 2018 so those familiar with the circut may notice some small differences compared to earlier versions(the jumps have been neutered) The DLC of Monaco is called Circuit de Azur, I think to avoid naming conflicts. Le Mans DLC has a few detractors but it really is a special laser scanned track.

atomed · May 6, 2020

The Laguna Seca laser scanned version is great. Brands Hatch, Donington has a great one too. Melbourne 2020 is very nice, Leipzig Porsche as well. Matsusaka (Suzuka), Ascari, Atlanta MP, Road Atlanta, Bathurst 2016, Barber Motorsports 2020, the ficticionals Magnificent Park, Mills Metropark and Toban look great too, Okayama and the latest laser scanned Oran Park.
Anyway, have in mind graphics are not the biggest priority in rF2 as much as driving experience and car feeling. I also was disappointed at first with the visuals of the sim, but at some point I got so inmersed by the feel that I no longer care that much about it. It is the best sim to drive and the worst to watch.

Edit: Buy the Nordschleife. That place was built to suffer, if you´re not suffering you´re not doing it right

Ace King · May 6, 2020

Watkins Glen International v1.02 is fabulous! You can download it from Steam Workshop:

Original track for Assetto Corsa created by LilSki
Track is built off of aerial LIDAR data from 2014.
Converted for rFactor 2 DA-DIGGA, LilSki, Schumi and Heikki21.
Incredible work was done specifically for rFactor 2 to create a zone of garages and paddock (Big thanks LilSki)

- Included all 4 layots
- 2 versions of each layouts
- Track has 43 garages and 43 pits (American racing style)
- You need to be very careful when starting a track with night lighting with a full starting field. This requires high performance from your PC!

racinjoe013 · May 6, 2020

Thanks all for the tracks list. I will start looking for\downloading them this afternoon. It's not so much that I want modern looking visuals. It's just that some of the tracks I tried had weird lighting, either too bright or too dark. Unfortunately a couple of them were some of my favorite tracks so it will be a bummer not to have them to drive if I can't find better versions.

passenger · May 6, 2020

Check the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This is one of the best looking, more realistic, tracks mod
made for rFactor 2.

Here you can see it:

racinjoe013 · May 6, 2020

I think I have that one but have forgotten to test it. Either way, i'll get it and give it a go.

One things for certain, the one plus to trying to find good tracks is that i'm getting a lot of seat time. Driving in rF2 is a funny thing for me right now. In some ways I find it easier to drive than AC and in others not so much. For instance, I can save a car in rF2 a lot easier when I start to lose it. On the other hand, I start to lose the car more often in rF2.

atomed · May 6, 2020

It maynot be as user friendly as Assetto, but once you get in control on it, the feeling id something you will enjoy like no other sim.

atomed · May 6, 2020

Do you use VR or screen? For the screen you can use reshade and different settings, It may help as well.

passenger · May 6, 2020

rFactor 2 is the best simulator in terms of physics and FFB, and this is the most important part
in Sim Racing.

To me it is also very important the graphics side because it adds immersion. I enjoy driving surrounded by nice looking realistic trees and grass plus lots of trackside objects and
buildings, but with rFactor 2 this is a tradeoff.

Reshade can make it look prettier.

Another nice looking track is Bridgehampton, the track on the beach with many trees and the
sand.

racinjoe013 · May 6, 2020

passenger said:
Reshade can make it look prettier.

Another nice looking track is Bridgehampton, the track on the beach with many trees and the
sand.

Funny you guys mentioned reshade because I took a break from driving and spent the last hour fooling around with reshade to see if I could get a warmer tone in rF2. I found a mod here on RD that added a warmer tone, but I am currently tweaking it a bit more to my liking. He made LUT changes to eliminate the blue tone. I also added some customized technicolor2 settings to brighten things up a bit. Still a work in progress, but these showed me the difference. First one is stock, second one is from the mod and the third is my tweaked version. Very subtle difference, but a little brighter and more what i'm looking for. I could have lived with his version as well. Both are far better than stock.

And I already have Bridgehampton. It was my favorite AC track and i'm sure it will turn out to be the same in rF2.

atomed · May 7, 2020

Looks great Joe, reshade still doesn´t work for VR, right?

racinjoe013 · May 7, 2020

atomed said:
Looks great Joe, reshade still doesn´t work for VR, right?

Sorry, I don't know because I don't use VR.

Just did a race with these settings and I will be honest, the game looked every bit as good as AC except for maybe the nice weather\lighting effects that Sol and the Custom Shaders Patch gives you. Other than that, I couldn't tell the difference between the two games.

If I could ask one more question. Is there any way to edit my player name so that in the Standings it doesn't list my Steam nickname? I tried editing the player.json file, but it reverted back to my Steam name once I loaded up the game again. I'd much rather see my real name listed.