Rain and VR Improvements the Focus in New rF2 Update Released Today

[Paul Jeffrey]

rFactor 2 has received a small but important update today, adding much needed performance improvements under wet conditions to the simulation.

Having been through something of a troubled time performance wise since the latest major update to rain effects within the title, Studio 397 have been hard at work behind the scenes as they work away in the background to bring a more stable and hardware friendly performance - something it appears the developers have impressively achieved with this latest build update.

Aimed mostly at bring down the requirements for running decent frame rates under wet conditions in VR, many users are already reporting a significant increase in performance following this update - the first in hopefully several passes by Studio 397 to bring much needed performance gains to the simulation when racing in wet conditions.

Although designed with the VR user in mind, the new performance update also brings good results to players using a monitor or three for their sim racing fix - and offers benefits in both dry and wet conditions too...

You can read the new build update notes below:

Steam Build ID 2919230 - Steam Build ID 2919232 (dedicated server)

• Optimized VR performance in rainy conditions.
• Fixed windshield wipers showing a slight skip in the animation.
• Fixed windshield wipers when OFF showing slightly propped up.
• Fixed rain drops appearing too wide on certain resolutions.
• Fixed corrupted Flag animations (affecting both official tracks and mods)

Note: Server Admins - you will need to update all dedicated servers by re-running SteamCMD.

Has the new update improved performance on your system? Please share your settings and results (as well as your comments and opinions of course) in the comments section below..

rFactor 2 is available exclusively for PC from Steam now.

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 and share the love this simulation so very much deserves...

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[AyrtonForever]

why in wet race (ie gte pack cars in Silverstone) the ai cars ever go in the pits in the first lap?

 

[Bjarne Hansen]

For me on a gtx 970 it is a nice improvement.
Still have to select light car /track combo but can now use rain in vr.

 

[MarcG]

why in wet race (ie gte pack cars in Silverstone) the ai cars ever go in the pits in the first lap?

If you're referring to the AI Pitting for Wets on Lap 1, the Workaround is to have the previous session/end of session Wet so that the AI are already on Wet tires for the start of the Race, they then race as normal and don't pit on Lap 1. Whilst this is not a "fix" (you can't have a dry Qualifying end and wet Race start for example) it does and has been proven to work as a workaround for now

 

[AyrtonForever]

just tried, end qualyfing session with rain, race start with rain, all ai cars pitting in first lap

 

[MarcG]

just tried, end qualyfing session with rain, race start with rain, all ai cars pitting in first lap

Make sure the track is wet enough in Qualifying for the AI to put Wets on, if it's Raining but the track is dry enough for Slicks they will still choose them.

 

[AyrtonForever]

sure, qualyfing full wet all the time, ai cars still pit in lap 1.....don't works for me

 

[MarcG]

sure, qualyfing full wet all the time, ai cars still pit in lap 1.....don't works for me

What cars and track please and I'll take a look

 

[AyrtonForever]

gte pack at silverstone

 

[MarcG]

gte pack at silverstone

Which Silverstone layout?
I've already run them on the International and GT layouts and the workaround worked on both for me, perhaps the track wasn't wet enough at the end of the Qually Session for you?

 

[AyrtonForever]

Gt layout, it was eavily wet

 

[MarcG]

Gt layout, it was eavily wet

Edit: I forgot the obvious one make sure you have Naturally Progressing set in the Real Road section in the Menu! That's caught me out before.....try that first before below!

hmm ok go to this location, your install path may varyat the start:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\rFactor 2\UserData\player\Settings\Silverstonegtlayout

and remove any .rrbin & .wet files in there.

Also here:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\rFactor 2\UserData\Log
Empty your CBASH & Shaders folders so the game rebuilds them just in case this could be interfering.

Then try again and at the end of the Qualifying session note down the % of Rain on Track, it's in one of the pages of the bottom right HUD Menu

 

[M D Gourley]

I had a great performance boost with my old GTX 690 on triple screens 5760X1080...averaging 25-60 fps before on most tracks depending on where in the track I am and how many cars around me....now 25-90 fps...very happy with this
Sadly though not much of an improvement with Rain even on 'Low' setting, only averaging 12-35 fps...might have to play around with the settings more.
All in all very happy with the development of rF2 from S397...keep up the good work.

 

[dreamer al]

My Xbox One Controller, for some unknown reason, no longer vibrates (rumbles). Hoping this will be fixed in future update. Other than that, I am greatly impressed with updates. New DLC vehicles are fabulous. Also looking forward to new track(s). RF2 has now become my race sim of choice (previously, Assetto Corsa, which I still enjoy).

 

[Cote Dazur]

fix head shake , in vr it is horrible

Exactly!

Currently being worked on, Marcel has said as much elswhere

Every time we ask, we get that reply, they have been working on it for so long that either they are <snip> or they have forgotten what they are trying to achieve, common, it is not that hard to implement.

 

[2stains]

Exactly!



Every time we ask, we get that reply, they have been working on it for so long that either they are <snip> or they have forgotten what they are trying to achieve, common, it is not that hard to implement.

I don't know if its that hard to implement or not but it shouldn't be that hard !

 

[Marcel Offermans]

Every time we ask, we get that reply, they have been working on it for so long that either they are <snip> or they have forgotten what they are trying to achieve, common, it is not that hard to implement.

I don't believe we say that we work on every little wish or bug that has ever been reported. We note them all down, prioritize them and start from the top.

To address this specific feature, we initially did not implement anything special for VR, giving you the raw experience as you would in a real car. That gives you quite a bumpy ride, and some of our users were having issues coping with that. We then started looking into ways to fix that. Simply implementing "lock to horizon" does not really work that well in a simulation that also runs on heavily banked tracks (like ovals) so we had to come up with something better. We started experimenting a few weeks ago and have something in testing that is promising. At the moment we are literally testing and finetuning that and once that is done we will come up with an easy way for users to configure this to their own liking. So it's not done, but we anticipate we will be able to release it in time for the release of Sebring.

 

[thepharcyde]

Exactly!



Every time we ask, we get that reply, they have been working on it for so long that either they are <snip> or they have forgotten what they are trying to achieve, common, it is not that hard to implement.

I'm surprised Marcel even bothered to reply to your rant/name calling; hardly the way to grab their attention or take you seriously.

I have VR and personally do not find it an iissue.As Marcel has mentioned not limited to S397 but all projects are subject to prioritisation and you are just going to have to get used to that fact

 

[Cote Dazur]

simply implementing "lock to horizon" does not really work that well

Marcel, thank you for your elaborate answer, what you are describing sounds very interesting and will probably be very nice to have, looking forward to it.
I still would prefer if a simple implementation of lock to horizon had been offered and would be available, as to me and many other, LTH works perfectly fine in other SIMs and is definitely better than no LTH.

 

[kevin kennedy]

though that is true lock to horizon does not work perfectly on elevation it does work for some as for getting used to eye shake which is the issue . In a car your eyes do not shake they are in fluid , go read real head shake motion it will explain it , so it is fine to not implement it or put it lower in priority but it is unplayable to me . raceroom / asetto corsa do not have the same effect to the eyes so i then will go to them first as my priority is simulation first .

 

[2stains]

I don't believe we say that we work on every little wish or bug that has ever been reported. We note them all down, prioritize them and start from the top.

To address this specific feature, we initially did not implement anything special for VR, giving you the raw experience as you would in a real car. That gives you quite a bumpy ride, and some of our users were having issues coping with that. We then started looking into ways to fix that. Simply implementing "lock to horizon" does not really work that well in a simulation that also runs on heavily banked tracks (like ovals) so we had to come up with something better. We started experimenting a few weeks ago and have something in testing that is promising. At the moment we are literally testing and finetuning that and once that is done we will come up with an easy way for users to configure this to their own liking. So it's not done, but we anticipate we will be able to release it in time for the release of Sebring.

It's not the bumps that are the problem ! It's the world bumping around the car instead of the car bumping around the world !
Personally , i love the bumps ! Hence my preference for your Formula cars ! Just make it bump the way it would irl
Please just release what you have and update it as you need