rF2: Sebring 'Talk n Drive' + Developer Interview

[Paul Jeffrey]

Check out our latest 'Talk 'n' Drive' video of the new rFactor 2 laserscanned Sebring, and developer interview with Marcel Offermans…

The release of Sebring as a new official DLC for rFactor 2 has got plenty of gamers excited in the sim racing world, with the track representing a very first laserscanned location for rFactor 2 and a significant step up in quality over previous content releases for the simulation.

With the circuit having now been in the public domain for a few days, we thought it a good time to have a go ourselves, share our experiences and have a chat with one of the men behind the magic, Studio 397's very own, Marcel Offermans…


RD: Congratulations on the release of Sebring! What does it mean to you and the team bringing the first laserscanned circuit to the sim?

MO: Thank you very much. This release obviously means a lot for us for a couple of reasons. First of all, because we wanted to bring popular and iconic tracks to rFactor 2. Secondly, because we knew we wanted to step up to bring a highly accurately built track based on a very precise laser scan. The unique challenge we had was how to combine that with the dynamics of our realroad system. We ended up building a very detailed road mesh that is used both for all physics calculations and for the visualisation: What you see is what you get!

RD: Does the Sebring release mark the first of more laserscanned content coming to the sim in future?

MO: Certainly! We have already licensed the next track, and this upcoming week we will start production. We're going to keep the name a secret for now, but it's safe to say we will be building more tracks of this quality.

RD: On to the track itself, what decision making process did you go through when choosing Sebring as a circuit to bring to rF2?

MO: There were many different factors that led us to choose Sebring as the first track.
We were looking for an iconic track, and obviously one that suited the cars we were developing. Another factor was the licensing discussions, and it turned out that Sebring was a great partner to work with, which helped us a lot, allowing us track time a few weeks before the 2018 12 hour event. Finally, we were looking for a track that would really showcase the details that a laser scan bring, and there is probably no better place than Sebring to do that, with all its cracks and bumps.

RD: Some people have questioned the price of this DLC, stating it is perhaps a touch high compared to some other simulations. What do you have to say in response to those comments?

MO: We set out and succeeded in creating a track that is of the highest standard, matching or beating tracks in the other simulations out there in terms of detail both on and around the track. We priced the track to match that quality and ended up being neither the cheapest nor the most expensive. Obviously everybody is entitled to their own opinion. We listen to those opinions and respect them and I'm not going to argue with people about that. I sometimes do wonder how people manage to spend thousands of euros on their rigs and computer hardware and expect the software to be so much cheaper.

RD: New GT cars, new tyre model improvements, Sebring, LMP2, LMP3, VR improvements, performance improvements… the list of upgrades to rF2 have been significant of late. Can you share some ideas of what is next in line for rF2, short and longer term?

MO: We are obviously still working hard on bringing our new UI and competition system, and those are two items that are really at the top of our list right now. Obviously the team will also keep bringing improvements wherever we can, both in terms of physics and graphics. Our car team is working on several new and free McLaren cars that will be used for the McLaren Shadow Project competition, as well as a couple of cars that will be part of our next pack. Our track team as I said is just starting on a new track, and we are in the final phases of production and testing for both Botniaring and Zandvoort. The latter will include no less than five layouts. Both will be free.

RD: S397 are heading for your 2nd year anniversary since taking over rF2, are you where you expected to be in the development cycle, and what would you say has been the biggest challenge encountered so far?

MO: Our second anniversary is coming up indeed at the SimRacing Expo in September. In terms of the development cycle I think we've addressed some of the core issues we saw. We have a much nicer and faster, DX11 based graphics engine with VR support. Big licenses for cars, such as being the first to have the BMW M8 GTE, and tracks, providing what we believe to be the best laserscanned version of Sebring in any sim, as well as a host of free content is pretty much on track and we're still ramping up there. Where we are a bit behind on our schedule is on the new UI and competition infrastructure. We're building on a lot of existing components, but still it is a lot of work and we probably underestimated that a bit. Our biggest challenge definitely has been to balance all the amazing opportunities we've had in the past two years!

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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Enjoying Sebring? Happy with the progress of rF2 so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!​

 

[Gevatter]

Actually I wasn't comparing at all.

@123rem said: ↑
Imagine if that was the original product, six cars and one track for $28? No one on earth would buy it.

I was simply stating that AC early access was released with 1 car and 1 track for roughly the same money and people bought it. It wasn't about comparing the DLC.

Well, it read like a comparison to me, bringing up the content of the AC EA for the price paid as an answer (or counterpoint) to rem123's quote of the content of the rF2 DLCs for the price paid. But if you didn't intend that, there's nothing for me to argue against.

 

[Alex Townsend]

Happy Friday then!

 

[Ami_M3]

At he end of the day, thay are nothing more than a COMPUTER game. I own nearly every sim and most DLC, also looking forward to ACC. Hell I play Forza on my Xbone and GT sport on my PS4 both with a gamepad. ( I feel dirty now, gamepad on a sim forum) Simple FACT rFactor2 is fast becoming a paid mod fest with Studio 397 and Reiza coming onboard. Mark my words, hell even flame me in 18 months time. rFactor2 is going to be more expensive to own than iRacing, at least iRacing has a future.,..

Explain how is it going to be more expensive to own?
iRacing is subscription based, rF2 is not. Whatever you purchase you can enjoy as long as you want, and then there is tons of free content, both by S397 and 3rd party. Nobody forces you to buy more DLCs in the future, how exactly is it going to be more expensive to own?

 

[mopro]

The next greatest thing for me today is Sebring, next month will be ACC, then back to rF2... It never ends.

Exactly! my loop is rf2 then PC2, AC, back to rF2, then AMS, R3E, back to AC, fire up PC2 again the next week. Definitely will add ACC to the loop once it is released

 

[bgil66]

wow most of this thread is cray cray lol

 

[Dirk Steffen]

Oh it's weekend ... almost forgot!

 

[123rem]

I think the real issue is that the price of sim games are ridiculously underpriced. Sure, you can go and compare the prices to other random games, but we are talking about pieces of software with engineering value; so much that lots of racing teams use them for training purposes. I don't want to sound elitist, but if you are interested in a deeper driving experience, this is the price to pay. And if you just want to have some casual fun driving cars, well, there are tons of racing games out there that are very fun but they have very elemental driving mechanics.!

Total rubbish. The market is always fair, what people will pay is the market. Nothing that sells is ever under or over priced.

 

[123rem]

Bottom line is if you've got a sim people like, you can price it correctly to maximise your profit. Charging a crazy amount for one track because you worked really hard on it, is not good business and you will eventually go under.

Kunos: Great product, good pricing and another sim on the way, with the official Blancpain licence. Huge customer base pre-ordering this new title. This is the way to do business.

 

[David Dominguez]

No rubbish at all, because you are using the videogame market as comparison, while my point was that many of these sims have real engineering value and shouldn't be compared to standard videogames.

 

[Deleted member 99238]

No rubbish at all, because you are using the videogame market as comparison, while my point was that many of these sims have real engineering value and shouldn't be compared to standard videogames.

Videogames? Do you remember which website you are on?
Tell me racing games without the engineering component...

 

[David Dominguez]

Yes I know where I am, and that is my opinion.

 

[Deleted member 99238]

Yes I know where I am, and that is my opinion.

Then my opinion is that RF2 is a scam.
Are you satisfied with my rationale?

 

[David Dominguez]

You are entitled to think whatever you want, that's what forums are for.

 

[Deleted member 99238]

You are entitled to think whatever you want, that's what forums are for.

Then why do they call me a troll here and do not give me the opportunity to respond to these insults? I justify my opinion.

 

[123rem]

No rubbish at all, because you are using the videogame market as comparison, while my point was that many of these sims have real engineering value and shouldn't be compared to standard videogames.

Everything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. That's it. That's the bottom line. You can argue the "real engineering value" of an rfactor2 DLC, but to everyone else it's overpriced.

Just think - if they'd sold the track for $5, we'd all be singing their praises, rFactor2 would be the most popular sim right now.

Instead, they tried to profiteer, and the general public says no thanks.

Someone in Studio 397 should give Kunos a call, before they lose all their customers.

 

[Kenny Paton]

Think this thread has gone so far off track that it's lost it's marbles.
What a shame it is another one that got derailed.