ICYMI: Laserscanned Nordschleife Coming to rF2...

Paul Jeffrey · Sep 22, 2018

At the 2018 Sim Racing Expo Studio 397 had plenty of big news to share, not least of which was the announcement of a laserscanned Nordschleife coming to rFactor 2...

Now I know this is pretty late in being written up, I blame too much beer and too good company for that, but I think it is probably big enough and exciting enough to deserve an article all of its own - even if it is several days after the actual event.

Clearly very pleased with their latest licence agreement, Marcel Offermans and Christopher Elliot of Studio 397 used the recent Sim Racing Expo in Germany as an opportunity to announce to the world the recent acquisition of a licence to recreate the spectacular Nordschleife in rFactor 2.

Nordschleife is often one of the most favoured and requested race tracks in sim racing circles, with many of the current breed of sim games already featuring the epic circuit, however what makes the move to bring the circuit to rF2 a little bit more special is that Offermans and co have secured brand new laser scanned data, giving the studio the opportunity to recreate the circuit as it is in 2018, including several updates to the track that are not present in other recreations of the venue elsewhere in sim racing.

This is good, and marks a significant step for Studio 397 as they continue to look to bring yet more interesting official content to the simulation.

As well as the big hitting news of Nordschleife coming to rF2, the Dutch developers have also announced and subsequently released three new historic McLaren Formula One cars, of which you can read about HERE, plus they have previewed some rather impressive shader improvements that are coming to the title very soon - Studio 397 making yet more progress with an increasingly improving graphical power of the simulation.

You can check out some of the shader preview images below:

Sim Racing Expo 2018 was a big weekend for Studio 397, and it looks like things can only keep on improving from here...

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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!

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Happy with the rF2 announcements last weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Alex72 · Sep 24, 2018

Classics on the Nords in rf2?

OH YEAH HELL YEAH!

Ami_M3 · Sep 24, 2018

For the past 6 weeks I've been so swamped with work I haven't had time to touch any sim. I'm so pleased to hear rF2 development is moving forward. I've been out for a while and now I read about new McLarens, upcoming Nords and other improvements. So excited

, can't wait to fire up rF2 again, but it'll have to wait another month or so, too much work atm

beetesjuice · Sep 24, 2018

Would love a 60's version of the Nords in a sim. Add to that the Südschleife

Robertinotje · Sep 24, 2018

Yeah bring it on to daddy.

Deleted member 503495 · Sep 24, 2018

Will the AI drove ok in historic cars? They don't in most other official tracks and a decent AI path will be important in such a long track.

Two Hands · Sep 24, 2018

This is exciting. I've been so busy with work that I haven't had much time to drive in Sims much but I will be glad to throw more money at s397, especially for this.

Ken Tegrum · Sep 24, 2018

Hopefully they can apply the shader upgrade to the track surfaces as well.

Marcel Offermans · Sep 24, 2018

Ken Tegrum said:
Hopefully they can apply the shader upgrade to the track surfaces as well.

The new material system and lighting will be for both cars and tracks, so yes, we do plan to do this.

Paco572 · Sep 25, 2018

Do I have to live in the dog house forever Marcel? I'm looking forward to this shader update and I will pay for this track. It's my favorite track. Only second to Pikes peak on another platform. Keep up the the good work. Your definitely headed in the right direction! Cheers dude. PACO

beedeetwelve · Sep 25, 2018

Please someone tell me what I have do to get a 30's Nords made.
Mod Edit: Inappropriate.

MetalMania · Sep 27, 2018

I'm surprised and somewhat relieved to see I'm not the only sim driver on Earth who isn't enamored with the Nordschleife. Respect to those who love and have mastered it, but I've never really enjoyed the narrowness, murderous curbs, and what seems to be lack of good passing areas for a track with a bazillion corners. I suppose it's fun for hot lapping, but I've never liked trying to race on it. I don't particularly like the modern GP Nurburgring either - I pretty much hate the first half of the course, then it gets better. Not sure I'll buy this one, just not a track(s) I've enjoyed in other sims to date, and wasn't really missing in RF2.

With the recent GT/Endurance cars added to RF2, I'd love to see more tracks that are part of the IMSA schedule: Daytona, Mosport, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, Road America, Watkins Glen, Sears Point, VIR. Lime Rock already in the sim isn't laser scanned, but still seems pretty accurate. There are good mod versions available for most of those, but after S397's Sebring it's easy to want more.

Alex72 · Sep 29, 2018

beedeetwelve said:
Please someone tell me what I have do to get a 30's Nords made.
Mod Edit: Inappropriate.

Step 1: download Blender.
Step 2: read a bucket load of tutorials.
Result: PROFIT FOR EVERYONE!

Marcel Offermans · Sep 29, 2018

MetalMania said:
I'm surprised and somewhat relieved to see I'm not the only sim driver on Earth who isn't enamored with the Nordschleife.

I'm not surprised that no matter what track we pick, there is always a group of people who wants a different one. Now I say that in the most positive tone, because first of all we are trying to listen to the community to see what tracks they would like. Second of all, we have no intention of stopping to build tracks. In fact, during the Nordschleife build we are already planning to do another track (which I can't reveal just yet so don't bother to ask).

manc0ntr0 · Sep 29, 2018

Nords is a must have track in my opinion, so I'm very happy with it. The 24 hour race is one of the best and now we are going to have the chance to doing nice races with the GT3 or GTE cars...or both

MetalMania · Oct 20, 2018

Marcel Offermans said:
I'm not surprised that no matter what track we pick, there is always a group of people who wants a different one. Now I say that in the most positive tone, because first of all we are trying to listen to the community to see what tracks they would like. Second of all, we have no intention of stopping to build tracks. In fact, during the Nordschleife build we are already planning to do another track (which I can't reveal just yet so don't bother to ask).

I know it's been a while since this post, but @ Marcel Offermans I hope you didn't take my comment as a complaint. I'm happy with the progress we've enjoyed in RF2 since you and S397 have taken over development. I imagine as a developer RF2 is both a blessing and a curse. It covers the gamut from historics to modern F1 and everything in between (except off road and/or rally), and not everyone is going to be excited about every specific thing that is announced or released. That's a lot of ground to cover and I know it's a big job, I applaud you and your team for your dedication and quality of work. I really believe RF2's best days are yet to come, and I'm eager to see what lies ahead.

MetalMania · Oct 20, 2018

manc0ntr0 said:
Nords is a must have track in my opinion, so I'm very happy with it. The 24 hour race is one of the best and now we are going to have the chance to doing nice races with the GT3 or GTE cars...or both

As much as Nords isn't exciting for me personally - I think you're probably right in that it's "must have" for a modern sim. In recent years it has risen to some mythical status among many car and racing enthusiasts. It seems to have become sort of a "rite of passage" that Nords must be there, like a heritage that can't be ignored. Whatever my own or anyone else's level of excitement is for this track in RF2, I'm confident S397 will do a commendable job on it.