rf2: Released - Spa & Monaco 1966 Updates

[Paul Jeffrey]

Continuing the regular content updates and releases for rFactor 2 of late, Image Space Incorporated have today released substantial updates for their 1966 historic track content, namely Belgium and Monaco 1966.

With both versions having been around for some time and starting to show its age in both graphical quality and performance on some systems, ISI have been hard at work providing numerous substantial updates to these impressive pieces of historical content.

It is advisable to uninstall and delete currently installed versions, then either download the tracks at the ISI website, or grab them directly in the rFactor 2 launcher packages icon in game.

Monaco Update Info:
Having recently updated 1966 “Autodromo Massimo Angiolucci” Brianza, Monaco and Belgium concludes the set of historic track updates from ISI.
Due to the nature of the circuit many users have suffered from poor performance on this piece of content including massive stuttering on some systems and numerous popups as an attempt to limit the number of rendered polygons and reduce the load on the hardware. The latest improvements claim that both the popups and the stuttering are gone, while performance has remained equal or better, resulting in a much smoother and more consistent driving experience.
Additionally, the ISI track team have been hard at work cleaning up the old art and its glitches as much as possible to bring Monaco 1966 up to modern standards in line with the latest releases for the sim.

Belgium Update Info:
Although one of the oldest tracks within rFactor 2, Belgium 1966 has gathered somewhat of a cult following and this latest update is sure to be greatly received amongst the rFactor faithful.
Despite a number of problems (including loss of trackside objects due to issues with ISI hard drives), the latest update again brings the track up to the latest visual and performance standards within the game.

Changelogs for both updates can be found below.

Monaco Changelog:

• Implemented latest RealRoad shader
• Optimized road and terrain objects for smoother performance
• Cleaned up and improved road texture set
• Made road textures tile better
• Improved road wet masks
• Improved trackedge and sidewalk specularity and wet mask
• Replaced textured stripes with physical ones
• Rebalanced painted stripes textures
• Implemented new terrain shader
• Vertex painted terrain for new terrain
• shaderRemapped terrain for new terrain shader
• Fixed a few minor terrain gaps
• Fixed a few missing terrain shadows
• Optimized armco and other barrier objects for smoother performance
• Optimized fence textures and materials
• Enhanced stone walls normal maps
• Made tunnel a bit darker
• Improved sponsor logos
• Optimized billboard vegetation for better and smoother performance
• Applied subtle random vertex colours to vegetation
• Improved vegetation texture set
• Fixed transparent tree issue
• Reduced vegetation flickering
• Removed messy cubemap reflection property from building materials
• Optimized building materials
• Optimized building objects for better and smoother performance
• Fixed smoothing on buildings
• Cleaned up and improved building textures
• Optimized LOD and shadow distances on all objects for better performance
• Optimized grandstands
• Optimized crowds
• Slightly enhanced billboard crowd textures
• Slightly improved marshal textures
• Removed pitlane props to reduce the load in the busiest area
• Fixed various UV glitches
• Fixed dozens –if not hundreds– of object and shadow popups
• Cleaned up messy wet reflections
• Repopulated all reflection maps
  
• Tweaked fog values
  
• Optimized and cleaned up night lighting glitches
  
• Reverted MIP Map bias to default
  
• Updated TDF to latest set of values
  
• Set speed limit to 999
  
• Defined more realistic movable object reactions
  
• Removed HDR Profiles
  
• Cleaned up, replaced and improved trackside cameras
  
• Replaced loading screen with new HD version
  
• Improved AIW
  
• Added Test Team RRBINs

Belgium Changelog:

• Bias fix for all materials/stages
  
• Various MIP texture fix to avoid flickering and glitches
  
• Various 3D models fix to limit flickering and glitches
  
• Improved outer scenery (mostly to hide bigger holes)
  
• Removed obsolete materials
  
• Removed obsolete textures
  
• Completely new set of LOD Out values to reduce models popup while driving
  
• Completely new set of Shadows Out to reduce shadows popup while driving
  
• Fixed floating trees in the distance
  
• Fixed terrain holes (tuned LOD out) in the distance (for both back and front)
  
• Fixed terrain edge textures to avoid lateral “”running”” white glitches
  
• Fixed houses albedo and saturation
  
• Fixed buildings element detaching/smoothing
  
• Fixed buildings/houses with broken AO mapping
  
• Fixed Buildings albedo maps
  
• Fixed Structure albedo
  
• Fixed Crowd albedo and saturation
  
• Fixed Vehicles albedo, saturation and reflection
  
• Fixed Animals albedo and saturation
  
• Fixed mats using a black specular color
  
• Fixed powerline intersecting houses
  
• Fixed floating Haybale
  
• Fixed chimneys flickering
  
• Fixed building cornices flickering
  
• Fixed Yellow banner flickering
  
• Fixed Blue sponsor flickering on building
  
• Fixed terrain smoothing
  
• Fixed road mesh gaps and T vertex
  
• Fixed terrain gaps
  
• Fixed overhang composition to limit flickering
  
• Fixed pit exit road
  
• Fixed Loading Screen to show correct max vehicles and new logo
  
• Fixed bridge flickering
  
• Fixed houses windows flickering
  
• Fixed doors and extrusions flickering
  
• Fixed sponsor signs flickering
  
• Fixed houses sponsor flickering
  
• Fixed BP tower flickering
  
• Fixed Shell tower flickering
  
• Fixed stickers on marshal huts flickering
  
• Fixed some overdone material speculars
  
• Fixed RaceGroove map
  
• Fixed Groove line reflectivity
  
• Fixed distance signs popups
  
• Improved glass materials
  
• Racegroove map balancing to avoid a pitch black groove line for saturated RRBINs.
  
• Overall terrain/surfaces albedo/saturation tuning and color balancing
  
• All Billboards albedo/saturation pass
  
• All Normal Maps channels fix
  
• Improved materials where using just T1 (added spec and normal)
  
• Improved surfaces/mat fresnels for houses, buildings and structures
  
• Improved RealRoad material settings/specular/fresnel/color dominant
  
• Improved RealRoad material Normal Maps
  
• Improved Road details/multi
  
• Alpha to Chroma conversion to reduce the impact of transparency renders
  
• Fixed wrong sorting/fight between treelines and outer ring
  
• Stone/Concrete walls remapped and improved
  
• New textures pack for garage sponsors
  
• New textures pack for main sponsor towers
  
• New textures for sponsor flags
  
• New texture for concrete barriers
  
• Sponsor signs 3D model normalization (to avoid streched projection)
  
• Sponsor signs remap
  
• TDF tuning to match actual standards
  
• New texture set for main trees
  
• Tweaked Fog range and intensity
  
• Tweaked MaxRange to limit shadows running
  
• HDR profiles removed
  
• New Loading Screen
  
• Test Team RRBINs added
  
• Improved CAMs
  
• Some Join Path Tweaks
  
• Minor corridor restrictions
  
• AIW tweaks
  
• Track is now labelled as Belgium 1966 instead 1967
  
• New 1966 track logo version
  
• Re-estimated fuel usage
  
• Attempt to narrow some lines and make AI take a more conservative approach
  
• Added support for two more cars
  
• Some TDF tuning to match latest standards

Will you be playing the updated content in rFactor 2? Why not come along to the rFactor 2 Race club here on RaceDepartment and join in the weekly fun?

 

[Kurei]

Well now I'm glad I waited for a bit to get rFactor2, I don't have to uninstall old versions of anything, I can just download everything new.

Some hefty changelogs too

 

[Blkout]

These updates are beautiful. These historic tracks look amazing now.

 

[Jake Fangio]

Great news.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

bought a lifelong pass when the pre-version came out ages ago. uninstalled it some years back because i was hugely disappointed. looks like it is time to send them an e-mail concerning my login data and have a go at a fresh install. nice news.

 

[Dave Fox]

This is great and it shows even a small team like ISI given some patience from its community can really deliver quality !
I've been running offline since my sub expired a few months back but am gonna grab the lifetime sub soon,,,worth every penny

 

[William Wester]

Loving these tracks, had to slow down to admire the scenery

 

[igearzone16]

WELL, The tracks look descent, slightly bland in color, but I do like the Farm animals, sorry if I don't sound super hipped up, because I'm a Codie... so I give the tracks 4.5 out of5 only because lacking g some extra color.. the car physics in these videos, I will give 1 out of 5. looks like the physics of a hovercraft. the wheels slightly go up and down, but the shell floats like on a cushion of air, if it was an air ride limo. OK. race car, with minimal shocks, needs some more time in the garage with the mechanic. and the graphs in my opinion look somewhat cartoonish, or painting style... again this is just my opinion, we all see things differently..
A note to the R factor guys, After your Game Engine writes the lighting file, then Configure your lighting code manually, this will fix your graphic issue in a snap...
Otherwise, R Factor for sure has come a long way.. and I hope they keep going this direction..
Well done R Factor Team...

 

[Andreas Lündin]

... the car physics in these videos, I will give 1 out of 5. looks like the physics of a hovercraft. the wheels slightly go up and down, but the shell floats like on a cushion of air, if it was an air ride limo. OK. race car, with minimal shocks, needs some more time in the garage with the mechanic. and the graphs in my opinion look somewhat cartoonish, or painting style... again this is just my opinion, we all see things differently..
A ...

If that is a comment on the video above... Don't use another players settings as a base for evaluating something. Get a copy, play with a friend who has it and so forth, try out the different settings... I guess William Wester has set headmovement to 0 or is using the realview mode and done some other personal settings to get RF2 to work as he wants it. Personally I do the same because It is very strange to see the car frame and environment all shaking around when I sit in a static cockpit. And when you see it in a video like this, its sort of strange compared to when the view simulates headmovement and eye-movement...

 

[igearzone16]

If that is a comment on the video above... Don't use another players settings as a base for evaluating something. Get a copy, play with a friend who has it and so forth, try out the different settings... I guess William Wester has set headmovement to 0 or is using the realview mode and done some other personal settings to get RF2 to work as he wants it. Personally I do the same because It is very strange to see the car frame and environment all shaking around when I sit in a static cockpit. And when you see it in a video like this, its sort of strange compared to when the view simulates headmovement and eye-movement...

good point. i didnt think of that...