rFactor 2 to Release World Wide Technology Raceway in Q3

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Studio 397 have announced their first content for the 2022 Q3 pack. This Illinois-based oval racetrack may be a sign of what's to come for rFactor in the upcoming months. And the track has even been laser-scanned.

As part of this release, both the oval course and the in-field road course have been scanned and will be released as layouts of one circuit.

About the Circuit​

Formerly known as Gateway Motorsports Park, the 1.25 mile (2 km) oval with a 2 mile (3.2 km) infield course, the circuit was built instead of another circuit that existed before then. St. Louis International Raceway was demolished in 1996 to make space for Gateway.

The track has featured both NASCAR Cup Series and IndyCar Series races.

Despite the size of the track, it still features 3 different layouts. Apart from the 2 aforementioned layouts, there is also a shorter infield layout of 1.6 miles (2.6 km).

What This May Mean For rFactor 2​

A new oval circuit on the calendar for rFactor 2 is an interesting decision. This could mean the almost decade-old sim is planned to receive a new focus on ovals. For many race fans around the world, having an alternative to iRacing for oval stuff is quite the promise.

This, however, will need a bit of work on the AI too. As this is one of the few points people still have issues with, a DLC requiring AI improvements seems either off or promising.

Off, because if no AI update comes, this circuit would just show and facilitate the "adventurous" AI.

Promising, because one could hope the free update for Q3 would be the long-awaited AI-overhaul.

And on this hopeful bombshell, what do you think about this reveal? Please, let us know in the comments down below!
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About author
Julian Strasser
Julian Strasser
Motorsports and Maker-stuff enthusiast. Part time jack-of-all-trades. Owner of tracc.eu, a sim racing-related service provider and its racing community.

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Bela Valko said:
At 4:55? That was an overtake in a corner, I didn't see any slipstreaming there, it's a short track (Joesville). The car on the outside went wide giving space for the other blue car from behind.
I watched probably close to a thousand of laps or more of AI racing by now during my experimenting with the AIW values (and making improved AIWs) so I've seen what they're capable of AI vs AI. They play with each other, overtake here and there so yes, they're not completely stupid. In general they treat each other like they treat humans.
They overtake you with
a. divebombs
b. on straights after coming out of a turn faster than you IF you are not in their way
c. in turns if you make a mistake and IF you're not in their way

Btw try these two scenarios:
1. run a speedway or superspeedway race with 30+ GT cars. GT cars because you can see the braking lights on them (stock cars don't have braking lights). And watch the braking lights on a straight.
2. again, Indycars @ speedway or superspeedway track. The racing in this case without slipstreaming is a joke. 5-10 car/2wide packs form for long periods of time because they don't overtake each other. It's nothing like in real life.

Overall what you can modify in the track AIW are: their spread, their speed, their racing line.
I don't know the car talent files. I've read that from JuergenBY that with the right parameter combinations even slipstreaming can work yet I've never seen a full race with AIs as proof. And everybody else is complaining so I'm doubtful.
Click to expand...
Yes, JuergenBY has these examples:
But I think that the throttle input bug introduced with build 1108 plays a factor in the AI's inability to overtake better and I am pretty sure these videos precede that.
 
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B
v4v474 said:
Yes, JuergenBY has these examples:

But I think that the throttle input bug introduced with build 1108 plays a factor in the AI's inability to overtake better and I am pretty sure these videos precede that.
Click to expand...
Yea I know these videos and unfortunately they don't prove anything. I can make the AIs look like that mess in vid1 with the change of one line in the AIW file (acceptabledriverlinenoise) but that has nothing to do with slipstreaming.
In the BMW video there is one part (the very beginning) where the car should use the slipstream to overtake but it doesn't do that until the very end of the straight and even then it's just a divebomb. And based on the fact that the car behind is there for a long time I think it taps the brake periodically so this is not even a draft overtake because that doesn't work like this. The car behind should come from a longer distance and gain speed as it closes on to the car ahead.
Also I would like to see the pedal inputs but it's not in the video.
 
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D
Bela Valko said:
Yea I know these videos and unfortunately they don't prove anything. I can make the AIs look like that mess in vid1 with the change of one line in the AIW file (acceptabledriverlinenoise) but that has nothing to do with slipstreaming.
In the BMW video there is one part (the very beginning) where the car should use the slipstream to overtake but it doesn't do that until the very end of the straight and even then it's just a divebomb. And based on the fact that the car behind is there for a long time I think it taps the brake periodically so this is not even a draft overtake because that doesn't work like this. The car behind should come from a longer distance and gain speed as it closes on to the car ahead.
Also I would like to see the pedal inputs but it's not in the video.
Click to expand...
The inability to draft and pass, often with a much faster car is known to the Devs. And it has more to do than just the on/off/on/off throttle in corners. In the previous Q2 release they began to address some of the AI issues like when does the car make the decision to pit for fuel & tires. In the past, the check began at the S/F line. This caused the problem of the car then driving essentially a PIT IN line all the way around the circuit. They have moved that decision point much further in the lap.
That is NOT a cure for the slip-streaming bug but does show they are FINALLY beginning to address Solo play issues. Q3 seems focused on the immense Real Road upgrade, so hopefully Q4 will see more improvement in offline racing.
 
MJQT
davehenrie said:
The inability to draft and pass, often with a much faster car is known to the Devs.
Click to expand...
It goes all the way back through all isiMotor 1, 2, and 2.5 games... which started with Sports Car GT, through GTR 2, RACE 07, and rFactor 1. It even persists somewhat with AMS1, although Reiza found a partial workaround and implemented it in their own code on top of the rFactor 1 base.

So it's a deep and long-running bug. At this point, my evaluation is that isiMotor AI (whether in rF2 or well before) were only coded to overtake by outbraking and were never explicitly coded to slipstream and overtake. S397 have mitigated it somewhat by forcing rF2 AI to be able to drive by a slower car in a straight line (which was another big bug in earlier isiMotor titles) but this 2019 fix in then (as I understand it) introduced the on/off throttle bug.

davehenrie said:
In the previous Q2 release they began to address some of the AI issues like when does the car make the decision to pit for fuel & tires. In the past, the check began at the S/F line. This caused the problem of the car then driving essentially a PIT IN line all the way around the circuit. They have moved that decision point much further in the lap. That is NOT a cure for the slip-streaming bug but does show they are FINALLY beginning to address Solo play issues. Q3 seems focused on the immense Real Road upgrade, so hopefully Q4 will see more improvement in offline racing.
Click to expand...
Amen to that. I was thrilled to see that fix! And hopefully more in the future :)
 
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FriendOfJah
MaxStokes1 said:
I don't think it's free, I'm fairly certain it's planned for an upcoming DLC (Part 3 of the Racin' USA series, the oval-focused one)
Eitherway the price is almost certainly going to be far more reasonable than rF2 but that's just how it is, rF2 is the most expensive non-iRacing option after all
Click to expand...
I purchased the Racin USA DLC when it came out, so I’ll get it for free if it’s in Part 3. I just love racing the GTE cars at Long Beach and the DPI cars at Road America and Watkins Glen too.
 
M
FriendOfJah said:
I purchased the Racin USA DLC when it came out, so I’ll get it for free if it’s in Part 3. I just love racing the GTE cars at Long Beach and the DPI cars at Road America and Watkins Glen too.
Click to expand...
Yeah Reiza really knocked it out the park with their DLC offerings so far, the DPI is my favourite prototype in any sim and the CART cars are about as fun as you'd expect CART to be, makes me hopeful that Part 3 will be up to that standard (hopes are still muted though since oval racing is a very difficult thing to get right)
 
P
Back on topic…;)…the Q3 drop is all about surprises… first this track, which I did not know yet, and today the Mk1 Austin Mini Cooper S Group 2 race car. Come on Studio 397/MSG, give us some official hypercars next!
 
S
pcraenme said:
Back on topic…;)…the Q3 drop is all about surprises… first this track, which I did not know yet, and today the Mk1 Austin Mini Cooper S Group 2 race car. Come on Studio 397/MSG, give us some official hypercars next!
Click to expand...
Hypercars not this drop.

But a free car apparently is being annouced tomorrow
 
S
tahzib said:
after the **** that was Ignition, are rfactor2's owners trying to put NASCAR as paid mods instead of a new game?
Click to expand...
there was no NASCAR content released since Daytona from Q1, although that mainly due to the overwhelming Fan request for the Road Course
 
J
Gateway is a great track...but I'm not sure what we are supposed to do with it. Ovals with AI or online are a hot mess in rf2
 
Durge Driven
Complaints about load times but happy to follow a safety car round and round with your precious offline time ? Why ?

If I run a oval use heavy fuel loads and no flags, Increase aggression heaps
I have decent races not sure what you lot are trying to accomplish
observing reality, wasting your time.
 
Durge Driven
Oh I buy DLC just to upset people :x3:
lol Nah yes great car to have
Can't deny I rather some more BTCC, having said that you can add the
DLC, Honda and BTCC mod and still have fun races with 2013-2022 cars
Most all races I had models were spread up and down grid and results
 

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