rFactor 2 is finally here! - I will download it when my DL quota is reset 1st of Feb For those of you that aren't familiar with rFactor, it could probably be considered the premier PC sim from 2005 before iRacing was released and I still get enjoyment out of it although the graphics have been a bit dated for a couple of years now. It's a one-off purchase (not a subscription) and very open to modding by the community, offering alot of freedom and user control over event paramaters including tyre wear / fuel consumption rate and time scale (x1, 2x, 5x etc). rFactor 2 has many improvements, notabley dynamic tyre modelling with visible tyre deformation, flat spots, and wearing. Also dynamic rubbering and marbelling of the track. Although dynamic time and weather were already a part of rFactor 1 (iRacing does not have this!) these have been improved so a the dry line dries according to where you drive, not a predetermined racing line. [video]youtube.com/watch?v=0ZWeEoOxKKw[/video] [video]youtube.com/watch?v=PrsILzyYHRQ[/video] This time they have licensed early era forumla cars - just like Grand Prix Lengends - this I am really looking forward to! [video]youtube.com/watch?v=O_bq51EDmWc[/video] Read more about the vids above at http://rfactor.net/web/rf2/. The TTR rFactor 2 beta reviews are also very helpful and there's heaps more indepth info at SimHQ rFactor2. The beta can be downloaded from the developers (ISI) forums: ISI rF2 beta download. It's 482MB and installs to just under 800MB. Plus you'll need at least one of the three car/track packages at 716/822/280(+525 v1.0-v1.1)MB each. EDIT - track pack torrent link
Loooks great and it doesn't have the outrageous cost of Iracing, i be downloading it but not sure when I'll get to run it, got 2 leagues going and I'm giving iracing v8's a bit more of a go this season too. Worth looking at Neishy, those old F1s @ Monaco look awesome, not sure if there is a payment required for the Beta.
I reckon I'll give this a crack, always heard good things about rFactor but never did give it a try, if the visuals are updated (a big part of the experience imo) I'll be sure to grab it once released, how do the screenies look? (They be blocked at work)
This does sound pretty good, is it an online beta? If so we should all get it and give it a run together.
Best looking Monaco i've seen yet, in the old time f1 clip, but it is a replay demo not sure how it will look driving it around there. This game is modded a lot so not sure if its open to performance mods wich can open it to cheating.
Visuals are reportedly not quite as nice as iRacing 2.0, but definitely a nice improvement on rFactor1 with HDR effects etc. Have a read of those TTR reviews. The screens look pretty good IMO, especially when the time of day changes and the shadows get longer. That video will be game beta quality I imagine, just like exported iRacing replays are. That's fairly common place in PC sims. The final build may even be tweaked a bit better. The Monaco track looks very much like the version in the old Grand Prix Legends! You have to pay for the beta but that rolls into the full game release when it comes... Although you may get a grace trial period of a few hours which is how rFactor 1 worked, so you can try before you buy. Apparently it's $89 or you can pay $42 for a one year license. Pretty cheap and there's alot of freedom in this game. Hacking is fairly well controlled I believe; if there's a mismatch of any of your files with the version running on the server you're joining you will get disconnected. Failing that, just don't join public servers! I mean face it, even without hackers public servers are often filled with 'tards anyway. (GT5 for example)
Does look awesome, but nothing tells me if it will run on my Mac OS X, cause iRacing runs on nearly everything except it. You mention 'modding', i'm not sure what that means. Is it things like what happened to early Forza's with 1000 hp cars with 'no need to slow down for corners' grip and stuff. That will make me turn away quicker than a flashing Granny.
Modding should be things like track creation & livery editors.n Just a guess but a modding community so that is best % guess. It has been a long time since i had a game where 'modding' was allowed Far Cry was a good example back in my FPS days.
Nearly all PC games are able to be modded to some extent. Some developers release construction sets and modding tools, actually encouraging the community to get amoungst it. The Elder Scrolls games are a good example. Bethesda will be releasing the Construction Kit for Skyrim sometime in the next couple of weeks, for example. Modding in racing games is awesome though. If you have the skills to do it, you can recreate pretty much any racing series in the world, which is super cool.
I bought this Beta on release date. It's definitely got some pros and cons. There tyre model has some really innovative effects that I think iRacing should learn from. Wet weather driving is awesome. The 60's GP cars are a blast. Graphics is sad, but who knows, it's still a beta.
Thanks for the feedback Beau. Modding is community created content that runs on an existing game engine. Example; Star wars mod for BF2142. It's virtually a stand alone game but requires the base install's game engine to run and is limited to the fundamental principals of this engine. Next to the physics engine, modding was a cornerstone of rFactor1's success, as the content released with the game was a reasonable but modest array of vehilces from obscure origins (such as Panoz) - but covering all bases; GT, open wheel, 4wd, FFD, coupe, oval. This keeps liscensing costs down, and hence the cost of the game down. I paid only $60 and happened to get another copy free when I bought my G25. The non-profit community however can replicate and create whatever real world content they like. So rFactor 1 had a huge array of free content from truck (line hauler) racing and stadium trucks, to v8 supercars (ford and holden and bathurst), McLarens and classic touring cars like MkI Escorts. rFactor encouraged this and provided tools for modding to build on the modest content it was released with. The only downside is that graphical and 'true-to-life' quality of mods is variable and will never be on par with laser scanned and fully engineered content (such as iRacing), no matter how good the physics engine is. So no need to worry that it will be ridiculous Miki, unless thats you want, then you can probably find that to DL too! Have a look at http://www.rfactorcentral.com/ and you can see what sort of mods are available for rF1. Content is rated 0 - 5 stars and popular content gets into the HoF (hall of fame) so it's easy to narrow it down to the good stuff.
Just reading the ISI forums - confirming there is no demo or trial period for the beta - this will be available with the full version but if you don't want to wait, you have to pay. System Requirements are detailed here They're fairly modest, no mention of MacOS.
[img=http://www.thedailyrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/prescription-glasses-optometrist-rage.gif]http://www.thedailyrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/prescription-glasses-optometrist-rage.gif[/img]
Forgive me for getting the impression, you haven't played it yet. PS: I do need glasses, and the contact lenses I wear everyday.
Damn it! I downloaded this last night (partially shaped until off-peak period) and purchased today. Was super pumped for some action until I realised I have no car or track content! I didn't realise these were separate downloads. Grrr
