rFactor 2: Gasoline Alley 3PA Content Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

rFactor 2 modding duo Gilles Benoit and Bill Guillaume have released a new Third Party Affiliate (3PA) mod depicting the legendary 1960's era Indy Racing scene - entitled Gasoline Alley.

Created by Gilles Benoit and Bill Guillaume with the help of former Indy driver Len Sutton and racing historian Gordon Eliot White, Gasoline Alley has been updated and improved from the original rFactor 1 version to reach the standards expected of 3PA content.

With further support from ISI providing physics tweaks and tyres, Gasoline Alley should make a compelling addition to the base rF2 content.

Car description :

• Speed: top 186 mph Texas (1963), end of Indy straights : 170 mph, Indy turns : +-140 mph
• Weight without driver and fuel: +-1600 lbs, 60% to the left
• Fuel: Methanol, 60 us gal. spiked with nitromethane
• Engine: 256 cu. In., 4 cyl. Offy, +-500 lbs, 2 speed, estimated +-400hp, running at 6000 rpm (ref1 p.84), fuel consumption 1 us gal/3.0 mile, exterior oil tank +-15 quarts
• Rigid front/rear axles with torsion bars
• Wheelbase: modeled at 96 in.
• Tires: Bias ply Firestones, front 7.60×16 (nominal), rear 8×18 (nominal), 50 psi, threads were showing after 51-52 laps at Indy, wear pattern on all four tires = inside of corner, described as noisy
• Pit stops: All four tires, 40 to 60 us gal. in 20 sec., every 51-52 laps

"Indy racing is part of the US culture, and in the early 1960s A.J. Watson dominated the manufacturing of the cars, at a time when Formula One machines were just starting to influence design. Watson’s history goes back to 1950 when, as a mechanic, he built his own car for the Indy 500 which Dick Rathmann drove. In 1954 Watson got his break with the John Zink Jnr team, and a year later his modified version of the Frank Kurtis-built roadster won the Indy 500. This 1960 example is typical of his racers, with a basic chassis with front/rear solid axles but torsion bar suspension that could be tweaked by the driver while going along. The Offenhauser Sprint and Champ car engine was offset to the left to make the car turn naturally in that direction, and gearbox only needed two speeds due to the massive torque available low down, plus the car’s light weight."

Head on over to the RaceDepartment rFactor 2 forum for news and discussion items and why not pick up a mod or two in our rF2 Mods section?

Don't forget racing other sim racers is fun, and in rFactor 2 the best place to do that is right here in the rFactor 2 Racing Club! Check it out today for good, clean, hard racing on a regular basis.

Have you picked up Gasoline Alley yet? How doe's it fair alongside some of the other top mods and ISI's own content? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Marc Collins]

I am shocked that these would be considered final release quality. I installed them as soon as they came available here, and they look and feel like a WIP with lots of promise. I fell out of my chair when I saw on the ISI forum that they were an official release. The author didn't even bother to properly calibrate the AI to 100%. The graphics are rF1 standard. Great addition to the sim, but either a rush job or just too few resources to do properly. This doesn't help the reputation of rF2 from criticism suggesting it has a bunch of quick mod conversions from rF1.

 

[Emery]

The author didn't even bother to properly calibrate the AI to 100%.

Considering ISI doesn't bother to do this, seems like a small thing.

The graphics are rF1 standard.

Boy you're jaded. Go take a screenshot of the rF1 version of these and compare. Compare to the ISI BT20, too.

 

[Slade Mitchell]

These cars are terrible, absolutely terrible. The sounds are completely broken, the physics are just bad, and the AI have superglue for tires -- taking the Indy oval at 250mph in the corners while you have to slow down to under 200... somehow these cars are going over 250 in the first place.

 

[Trimaz]

I am shocked that these would be considered final release quality. I installed them as soon as they came available here, and they look and feel like a WIP with lots of promise. I fell out of my chair when I saw on the ISI forum that they were an official release. The author didn't even bother to properly calibrate the AI to 100%. The graphics are rF1 standard. Great addition to the sim, but either a rush job or just too few resources to do properly. This doesn't help the reputation of rF2 from criticism suggesting it has a bunch of quick mod conversions from rF1.

The shoddy rFactor conversions are the cancer of rFactor 2. Every non-ISI stuff just looks like someone spent a lazy afternoon attempting to bring rFactor 2 more content by raiding the forgotten realms of rFactor Central.

 

[Emerson Meyer]

In fact, I hate conversions from rfactor, both cars and tracks. Cmon, it's 2016...time to move on.

 

[Trimaz]

In fact, I hate conversions from rfactor, both cars and tracks. Cmon, it's 2016...time to move on.

It's a joke and it's no-doubt killing the platform. While AC is getting fresh new content where conversions are frowned up, the rF2 community is lazily accepting these dirty old conversions like there's no tomorrow.

Nothing is more disappointing then reading about, and downloading a new rF2 mod to find out, despite what the modder says, still looks the same as it did 5 to 10 years ago.

 

[hitm4k3r]

It's a joke and it's no-doubt killing the platform. While AC is getting fresh new content where conversions are frowned up, the rF2 community is lazily accepting these dirty old conversions like there's no tomorrow.

Nothing is more disappointing then reading about, and downloading a new rF2 mod to find out, despite what the modder says, still looks the same as it did 5 to 10 years ago.

I don't know where you get the idea from that a) AC has no conversions and everything is scratchmade and b) that rF2 community is lazily accepting dirty old conversions. People like you don't understand that there are maybe other people out there who really enjoy this piece of content, who like to get there hands on it ... for free. Nobody is forcing anybody to install and use this content. So stop being the drama queens and avoid it.

It seems to be a common practice in the sim racing community to slag everything of that doesn't look good at first glance totaly ignoring the fact that somebody offered something created with his own efforts to the community for free. Respect has to go a long way, wich is especialy disapointing when people can't bring anything to the table on their own. And this applies for every platform. You guys are so spoiled, that you forget some common manners.

 

[Helmut Skrdla]

I'm sure that the two creators spent many a hard hour working on this, for free, and they deserve recognition for their efforts. Despite that, it's is a perfect example of everything that's been wrong lately with RF2.

1) Too much focus on oval racing ever since the oval & stock car rule .dll was developed. I understand that this kind of US-mainstream racing is popular and deserves attention, but not at the cost at nothing else being officially released or supported. The last non-US content released was Montreal in Sept. 2015, and that is a very bland and quick RF1 conversion. The 1960s tracks were all updated in October which was appreciated, but that's it. Brabham has been updated, the Matra and "Spark" haven't. Yes now we get a '76 Brabham as Steam beta, which has neither other cars nor appropriate tracks to race on... leading to...

2) Even after years still a lack of appropriate car/track combinations because of a...

3) General lack of high-profile content and licenses. Almost no FIA Grade 1 tracks (Formula One tracks). The ones we have are usually illegal Codemaster conversions with more or usually less detail. Very interesting historic cars which had been announced (Bentley Speed 8, Eagle...) not being released

3) Move to Steam, which I personally find annoying (but understand I'm in the minority). Where I'm not in the minority being annoyed: this also means that mods like the above will automatically download and be cached on your drive, even if you never want to use it (i.e. losing the "lite install").

4) Endless heaps of RF1 conversions with barely an update. Big irony being that one RF1 conversion I use looks better in AC than RF2 - drive shafts that actually rotate, chome that actually reflects, driver models that look like human beings.

In sum total, even after years there are three or four community mods that really stick out in RF2 (Lola Spyder, F1 2013 season, Palatov, Longford track come to mind.) Whereas in AC we have a huge default stock of high-quality modeled cars (including such legends as the GT40, Merc-Sauber C9, F1 GTR...), and user mods like ACFL where the current F1 season is portrayed accurate to within 1s of the Spain GP Times, on a laserscanned Barcelona that Kunos made for us.

Not a hard choice to make for someone interested in European top class racing. Yes, RF2 may still lead in tire physics (the visual tire deformation alone is spectacular to watch) and race features (AI pitstops, Safety Car, Marshalls, rain, night...) but overall I'd rather have a few great famous cars and tracks to race in a more limited mode than great physics and shootout qualifying rulesets without any interesting cars, and looking like five years old GFX.

 

[Helmut Skrdla]

Nobody is forcing anybody to install and use this content. So stop being the drama queens and avoid it.

Actually ISI is. The mod above, like any other 3PA content supported by ISI, is part of ISIs own Workshop and as such automatically downloaded and installed with their forced move to Steam. You can't even free up the disk space because RF2 will redownload it with the next update.

 

[Trimaz]

I don't know where you get the idea from that a) AC has no conversions and everything is scratchmade.

You might want to have another read of what I wrote, Hitm4k3r.

 

[hitm4k3r]

Actually ISI is. The mod above, like any other 3PA content supported by ISI, is part of ISIs own Workshop and as such automatically downloaded and installed with their forced move to Steam. You can't even free up the disk space because RF2 will redownload it with the next update.

No, they don't force it on you, that's just not true. You have to subscrive to this item to use it. And reading this comment next to the others here I get the impression that noone commenting here (besides Marc) has really tried this piece of content and is instead trying to complain about something.


So my little review:

I just did a 50 laps race at Indy, 85% AI strenght, 0% AI Agression and 0% AI Limiter (as recommended) to see if it really is that terrible and at the end it was a fantastic and fresh experience. The cockpits look nice, the driver models look really good and not terrible as claimed before and the sound is immersive, especialy getting closer to walls and getting a nice reverb. On top of that you have very nice FFB (even on a DFGT) and great physics. Stepping the rear end out on turn 1 while going 3 wide and wheel to wheel with the AI makes tons of fun. Dancing those cars on the edge while applying gentle inputs to achieve the best slide angles is something you won't find in many other sims. AI needs to be calibrated better as mentioned before, but it is not a big issue as you can set it up to your skill level anyway. Other than that a top quality mod.

It is like a time machine and I can only recommend trying this content before you judge the book by it's cover or by the comments of people here who haven't really tried it. It is a really good conversion and brings alot of enjoyment and a different perspective on a long gone decade of racing.

 

[Helmut Skrdla]

No, they don't force it on you, that's just not true. You have to subscrive to this item to use it.

ISI Website here http://rfactor.net/web/2016/05/16/gasoline-alley-by-gilles-benoit-now-available-for-rfactor-2/

Says clearly in the last line: Steam users will find this under the Image Space Inc. workshop uploads, and by default will automatically download it.

Does the cockpit look like this video or is the guy just running super low detail?

It's just not my definition of "nice", which would be more like this (same era car):

 

[xnorb]

Just opened rF2 and Gasoline Alley is downloaded automatically.

It seems to be a common practice in the sim racing community to slag everything of that doesn't look good at first glance totaly ignoring the fact that somebody offered something created with his own efforts to the community for free

That's mainly because people are so passionate about "their" sim and want it to do well, and poor mods usually don't sell a sim well.
But i don't know why in the simracing community everybody should get congratulated for quick and dirty conversions or sub-par content. Just because they created it?
(Not talking about this mod, i just only installed it)

 

[Helmut Skrdla]

^ You raise an interesting point (not particularly about this mod). Just because someone offered something he created for free isn't automatically grounds for congratulations. I could sing in the inner city plaza all day long for free, but it wouldn't necessarily be of benefit for the people around me given my qualities as a singer.

I'm honestly interested to see videos or screens of this mod on highest settings, as the above video comparison might suffer from low details. I would certainly expect that the cockpit is self-shading which would improve it a bit.

OTOH the video above - and others by that user - show the problem with a mix of third party content and low quality settings. Certainly not the kind that sells sims, and it's bothered me for that reason to no end in the past that people would showcase low-quality conversions of tracks on Youtube, destroying the public image of the sim.

 

[hitm4k3r]

ISI Website here http://rfactor.net/web/2016/05/16/gasoline-alley-by-gilles-benoit-now-available-for-rfactor-2/

Says clearly in the last line: Steam users will find this under the Image Space Inc. workshop uploads, and by default will automatically download it.

Does the cockpit look like this video or is the guy just running super low detail?

It's just not my definition of "nice", which would be more like this (same era car):

That's pretty wierd then or maybe they gave a wrong information there. On my end I had to describe to the item in the workshop. Also following the link in the forum you get to a link where you have to subscribe. Anyway, this is pretty nitpicky considering the fact that it is a tiny 150mb download and every other game does force content on you that you will not use, so time to get over it. I don't go to the Kunos forum and slag them off for forcing 15th different Lotus road car versions on me that I never use. It is really not that much of a problem if you ask me.

About the video: on my end the cockpit looks nicer and I get the impression that he turned stuff off or played without HDR. Especialy the bolts on the inside of the windscreen look much better on my end so as said, go try it yourself and max it out. I don't see a big difference in quality to the Lotus 49 in AC tbh given the fact that both show the bareness of a racing car cockpit and especialy the Lotus 49 cockpit looks like plastic to me. After all that is subjective, but it is certainly not ugly.

@xnorb: I didn't say that everbody needs to be congradulated, especialy not for dirty conversions, wich frankly speaking this content is not. First of all it is quite obvious that people haven't tried it really, so how can you "hate" something that you don't know or how can the physics be terrible, when you spend five minutes in the car? And at the end it is not a dirty conversion but a well crafted piece of content, so all I am asking for is some respect, nothing more.

 

[hitm4k3r]

OTOH the video above - and others by that user - show the problem with a mix of third party content and low quality settings. Certainly not the kind that sells sims, and it's bothered me for that reason to no end in the past that people would showcase low-quality conversions of tracks on Youtube, destroying the public image of the sim.

Tbh, I like to have the freedom of choice and wich content I want to use same as the person who used the content shown in that video. It is his own decision and nothing that I blame him for. Sometimes I get the impression that peoples intelligence has developed backwards (not aiming at you personaly Helmut despite the huge amount of information we have access to nowadays. So instead of educating ourself and building an own wellfounded opinion we either rely on the comments given by people who have no idea what they are talking about ot just trust youtube videos. Best thing you can do is try it yourself.

Infact something that looks crap on youtube, can be a really immersive experience for a person behind the steering wheel or screen. Best example are the Oculus videos: it looks pixelated and ugly just judging by YT.

 

[Eduard Mallorquí]

With all due respect to the creators I fail to see whats the point of releasing this as official content unless it's just a meaning to justify the salary that the marketing/licensing guy gets to actually do nothing. ISI should forget about rF2 and start something new, this is just getting embarrassing.

 

[William Levesque]

Nice conversion

RIP rF2, even tho you were never really born.

 

[Emerson Meyer]

I remember, 10+ years ago, that the first question regarding any new sim was: what about the graphic engine?
I agree that nice graphics alone don't make a good sim, good sounds only, either. But man, in times of DirectX 12, the graphic quality is VERY important.
I just can't accept that some sims out there are still stuck in DirectX9...

In time. My criticism toward these poor rfactor conversions applies as well to AC.