rFactor 2 Build 946 and Malaysia v1.58 released

[Oscar Hardwick]

Build 946 has been released for rFactor 2 introducing a number of new features and fixes to ISI's racing title for PC.

The highlight of this build is the new tonemapper which will provide a dramatic change to both the lighting and colours within the sim. Further CPU optimizations have been made within the sim along with the usual host of small bug fixes regarding both game play and the UI which changed in a recent build.

Here is the full changelog for Build 946:

Features

• Made “Time Scale” set to “Race %” work for percentage-timed races when a track’s default duration was more than 2 hours (but left mechanical failures work the same way as they had been).
• Added local content management to Launcher.
• Added support for batch downloads in Launcher’s remote content tab.
• Added ring stiffness multipliers to TGM files.
• Added third party content publishing to Launcher.

Fixes

• By default, the multithreaded physics are turned off for now. Set the PLR file variable “Sim Processor Thresh” to 3 to turn on, or 255 to turn off (note that we don’t allow them to be turned on for dual cores). Please do NOT use +procmask for the purpose of disabling multithreaded physics anymore.
• Number of pitstops as reported in results file and plugin will no longer count drive-thru’s nor Esc’ing from track to garage.
• Made unlimited laps in qualifying truly unlimited.
• Fix for aspect ratio problems in monitor.
• Disabled an unnecessary message pump in the simulation thread. The latter appears to fix the CPU spikes that some were experiencing.
• Added HTTP Basic Authentication to dedicated server mod downloads.
• Fixed halt when returning to monitor. (Cloud maps were being reloaded because the path appeared to change in retail mode.)
• Use any available car in a replay if the original can’t be found (can happen with clients viewing a server replay without having downloaded a virtual vehicle that was present).
• Fixed unnecessary reloads of matchmaker list.
• Lined up vehicle labels in monitor.
• Made vehicle labels more legible under different conditions.
• Fixed multiplayer client skin download status gizmo icons so they are again visible (when they should be).
• Fixed rare problem in ded server where rfm from previous mod was used if it (rmf file) has exact same name as rfm file in current mod.
• Fixed a crash that could happen while resuming a replay of a non-race session.

Modding / Public Dev

• Added playerfile parameter “Disable Resume in Replay”, that when set to 1, will let you jump into realtime during a replay instead of “resuming”. Did this so that a person could record fastest paths from replay files using the AIW editor in the Mod Mode.
• Added ability to look for digital flags so that that a track builder can have a mix of corner workers and digital flags around the track. (animations are: “DF_FLAGDOWN”, “DF_FLAGHELD”, “DF_FLAGWAVE”, “DF_SAFETYCAR”, “DF_VICTORY”, “DF_PRESTART”, “DF_START”)
• simplified grid, pit, & garage spot marking.
• Allowed AIW editor to set number of garages per pit spot for ease of editing.
• Fixed Camera FOV editing.

Multiplayer

• Added new MPFile parameter “SERVER_allow_loose_content_transfer” that will disable client to client propagation of custom skins and virtual vehicles (both disabled when set to 0, only virtual vehicles disabled when set to 1, and both working when set to 2)
• In the case of matching names while trying to boot someone, at least kick *someone* (current choice is client before AI).
• Improved multiplayer skin transfers so there is less chance of name mix up.

Graphics

• New tonemapper
• Optimized single-pass HDR for multiview.
• Adjusted some hdr/sky params to work with new tonemapper

You can also download v1.58 of Malaysia with new "balanced daylight" through the rFactor 2 UI.

Join the discussion in our dedicated rFactor 2 forum, check out awesome screenshots and videos in our rF2 gallery, get racing in our rF2 Racing Club and Leagues and make your game even more awesome with some rFactor 2 mods!

 

[Gijs van Elderen]

This is racing around 12-1pm, unfeasible before.

The default 9:00am with clear sky wasn't the best default setting. I think some new to rF2 drivers were i bit disappointed in the graphics when they just pick a car and track and clicked race, just because of this.
Every track used to have it's graphical sweet spot with the in-game time of day and cloud cover.

I'm happy to see they improved in this area.
(@Howard )

 

[vee10]

So far seems to be a significant upgrade for me on graphics and performance. ISI have been really nailing the last few updates. I have been able to turn up the AA in Inspector a bit and still get very good FPS. There is a nice more realistic look to everything now. The cockpit view is a more natural place to be.

 

[Deleted member 130869]

HDR on don´t mean realistic lightning. It´s rather pimped lightning.

I agree, without HDR there should be no imbalance and it should look natural. But this isn't the ISI approach here, they create their content with HDR on so it only looks balanced with it on.

Try day/night cycles the HDR is borked at various times. Doing endurance races I hardly ever bother with HDR anymore in rFactor 2. Ruins the fps and the lightning. Though running without during night time it hardly gets dark?

You shouldn't have this issue with b946. Anytime there is a build update you should delete the contents in CBASH and Shaders folder. I like to backup my controller and settings folder, and delete my player data so the new build can create a fresh one.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

There has been a lot of discussion about HDR vs LDR. Whilst I agree with Pär that HDR does not mean "realistic lighting" (it means High Dynamic Range ) it does give an overall better experience, provided that the content you use was actually created for HDR. All recently released content by ISI is, but a lot of older and some third-party content is not.

Now why is it that content must be created for HDR? Recently, ISI wrote a short article about this on their website: http://rfactor.net/web/rf2/devscorner/texture-maps-and-color-saturation/

The take-away from it is that you need to create texture maps specifically for HDR to make them work correctly. If you simply take a texture (which might have color values for RGB from 0 to 255) then it will look completely wrong in HDR. The colors become fluorescent and for most materials that is not correct. So you need to design textures to take into account the actual material that they represent and if you do that, HDR will look (very) good.

However, that means that if you use those same textures for LDR, which knows nothing about the mentioned "albedo maps" or "fluoresence" then the same track that looked great in HDR will look a bit dull in LDR. That's where sometimes the compromise comes in. Track/car makers have tried tweaking their textures for LDR (or maybe just plainly making them for LDR without even considering HDR) with the end result probably that the content looks less than great in both LDR and HDR.

That is why ISI now recommend everybody to create all content for HDR as that is the "normal" mode for rFactor 2 going forward. There even has been talk about disabling LDR completely, but so far that has not been done because really low-end systems still gain a bit of performance when turning off HDR so if you don't care about the looks but do care about the frame rate, you can still use LDR.

On a side note, HDR performance over time has improved a lot. I run a triple screen setup myself with a single graphics card (GTX 780) with HDR on and multiview and can run decent framerates (60-120 Hz) with most (not all) graphics options maxed out. Okay, that's still a ~$300 card, but about a year ago I had a lot more problems running rFactor 2 in HDR like that.

 

[Deleted member 130869]

In earlier builds when I needed the frames, HDR would cost me about 15-18 FPS. Now with a much better card it will cost me about 10 with higher settings. Performance has improved but unfortunately the minimum GFX card for rF2 will be a 660.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

HDR on don´t mean realistic lightning. It´s rather pimped lightning. Try day/night cycles the HDR is borked at various times. Doing endurance races I hardly ever bother with HDR anymore in rFactor 2. Ruins the fps and the lightning. Though running without during night time it hardly gets dark?

You are wrong. A computer screen cannot output realistic light intensity ranges (compare for example light emitted from sun and from a car headlight). HDR tries to emulate how true lighting would look to your eye on a PC screen with limited light range. Games have moved to using HDR engines from mid 2000's onwards.

In HDR mode, rF2 uses real units for calculating intensity of light sources and reflection of light from any object (kilocandela per square meter). These real-world intensity values are then converted for your limited computer screen range with a function called tone mapping. In SDR mode (HDR off) all light sources and reflections are using fake values from the beginning, which is why rF1 never looked good in evening or night (environment was still too bright).

 

[Pär Öqvist]

I am not wrong. HDR is not handled well in rFactor 2 resulting in unrealistic lightning

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

I am not wrong. HDR is not handled well in rFactor 2 resulting in unrealistic lightning

Part of HDR calculation was not handled so well (the part that converted real lighting values to your screen), this was changed in build 946 with new tone mapper. This new tone mapper produces quite similar results as other modern engines such as Assetto Corsa. Most games don't have option to turn HDR off and I expect it's removed from rF2 very soon as well.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

I am not wrong. HDR is not handled well in rFactor 2 resulting in unrealistic lightning

I think it would help if you would explain what exactly rFactor 2 is not handling well and how their HDR mode could be further improved. My personal opinion is that their new tonemapper is doing a good job, but I'm no expert in this area so I'd like to know your view on this.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

I think it would help if you would explain what exactly rFactor 2 is not handling well and how their HDR mode could be further improved. My personal opinion is that their new tonemapper is doing a good job, but I'm no expert in this area so I'd like to know your view on this.

At various times it get pitch dark and the lights on your cars does do nothing. Other times it get overly bright like nothing I have ever seen. Sometimes it looks spot on. Will see if I have time to really test it on 946 again all hours of the day.

My tv is decently calibrated but if anything it lacks dynamics as it can´t get pitch black and I have put it so it´s nog a light cannon either but on a better monitor these problems would be even worse. (run a sony W653A driven by a nvidia GTX 980. Run GTX 580 before same issue with HDR in rFactor 2.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

You should re-test this on the latest build. Also make sure to use a recently released track with proper textures (see my earlier reply) and a recent ISI car with proper headlights (or if you use a third party car, use one without a windshield, because for example the URD cars have windshields that are too dark and also have issues that make track objects flicker, which has been identified as a bug in these car models). Before this tone mapper I had issues in the dark with strange colored artifacts in the dark areas of the track. Also, in broad daylight, there were similar color issues where the colors on the track looked bland and sometimes even "too green".

 

[Tero Dahlberg]

To give "up to date" feedback on rF2 you really need to test with up to date tracks and cars.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Yes but what is the point having a feature to work on one singular track? Then that feature is broken.

I tried on Sao Paolo now and at certain times it get very dark but the lights do nothing. It´s a new track there is no excuse that ISI have to redo it

 

[Simon Christmann]

Old tracks cant support new features

 

[Marcel Offermans]

First of all, how can you ever innovate if you need to keep everything backward compatible? I think it is unreasonable to demand that, especially for an "open" community where it is impossible to get third-party content updated.

Secondly, Sao Paulo is a track that was converted with help from Reiza from basically rFactor 1 to 2. Such conversions are never as good as scratch-built tracks.

Still, that leaves quite a few tracks that look really good with the new build and I'm sure modders are working on updating their work (as is ISI).

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

Yes but what is the point having a feature to work on one singular track? Then that feature is broken.

I tried on Sao Paolo now and at certain times it get very dark but the lights do nothing. It´s a new track there is no excuse that ISI have to redo it

Nothing is broken with Interlagos. What cars are you testing with? ISI bumped headlight power to comply with the new night lighting. All ISI cars I tested work perfectly well in night (see screenshot).

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Well it was not an ISI car. I have not driven the car in pitch black yet so not sure how the lights will work then. That is the problem with HDR that the light can work fine 1 hour and not work at all the next.

 

[Patrick Moore]

Shout out to ISI for making a good game!
: )

I originally bought rF2 lifetime membership about a year ago and the URD mods (darche, ferrucio, etc...I think it had 5 or 6 cars). I could never get the game to work correctly and ended up deleting it from my harddrive. I reinstalled Windows OS last month and put on a clean install of b946 two weeks ago and so far the game has performed flawlessly!
: )

The two rF2 mods that I found essential for my enjoyment of rF2 was the Trackmap plugin and a thread at the ISI forums on getting rid of the FFB Deadzone (iibc, the thread was titled something like "optimal ffb").

Of the few sims that I have played (GT5/6, FM3, iRacing, RRRE, AC) I find the AI in rF2 to be the best for good, clean, close races.

edit. Is there a mod to allow the user to have AI on the track with different performance values? (e.g. 20 cars total; 10 cars at 100 peformance/50aggression and 5 cars at 93 performance/35aggression and last 5 cars at 90Performance/30 aggression). The AI run so close together and head-to-tail that it can look like a nascar train. I need to go ask this at the ISI forums, too! cheers!

 

[Mat Holloway]

Yes, one of the beauties of rF2 is... If you don't like something, change it.
You can create a talent file to do as you describe, then repack the mod but to get the desired effect you are after which is to eliminate that annoying head to tail racing, you can change the parameter:
AI Limiter="1.0" // Range: 0.0 (no limiting) - 1.0 (limiting used to make racing closer but also make more driver differences on flat-out tracks) to 0 in your player.json file. This will spread them out a bit.

 

[Gijs van Elderen]

You don't have to repack a mod to create talent files.

You can make your own virtual rides. (Click here)
- You can give virtual rides custom skins.
- When you select a virtual ride "AI edit" will be highlighted. You can adjust the talents with sliders.
- You can also give each AI/virtual ride different setups per track.

Your own virtual ride can also be used online:
Your virtual ride with your custom skin, your name as AI and with your team name and with your chosen talents will be shared automaticly via the server.

If a lot of people use this feature
You'll gether a lot of new cars from your friends to have some fun with offline.

Note: in build 930 virtual rides caused some issues on the server. Those should be fixed with this build but i haven't tested it yet.

It's enabled on all the RD servers.