rFactor 2 New Build Released

Paul Jeffrey · Jan 16, 2018

rFactor 2 has today received a small update, adding various fixes as well as improvements to the way shadows are displayed within the game.

Deployed today to Steam, the new rFactor 2 build looks to be more of an intermediate hotfix update rather than a full scale new build, focussing mainly on addressing some outstanding issues caused by the recent build 1109 December release.

Although with a heavy focus towards rectifying outstanding issues, the new build is notable for the new inclusion of ambient undercar shadows, designed to both offer a visual improvement in various weather conditions as well as providing a more stable solution than that what was employed previously.

You can check out the latest build update notes below...

rFactor 2 Steam Build ID 2438696

Fixed join lag in multiplayer
Updated language files (to avoid crashing when the LSI screen was active)
Fixed wipers on/off in replay
Fixed rain in cockpit in MP sessions
Fixed V-sync software with 'custom resolution' (Config_DX11.ini)
Fixed TCP Matchmaker error message in the dedicated server UI
Added an all new ambient undercar shadow: more stable, reliable, and clearly visible even at night. The shadows can no longer clip through the ground, nor are they visible on the ground below a bridge when a car drives over that bridge. This new tech requires no intervention from content creators. We automatically remove the current undercar art and replace it with the new system. On subsequent updates, content creators can remove the old artwork.

Important Note: Please make sure and update your SteamCMD Dedicated server by running the command again in terminal.

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...

Like what you see here at RaceDepartment? Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow us on social media!

RaceDepartment YouTube
RaceDepartment Twitter
RaceDepartment Facebook
RaceDepartment Twitch
RaceDepartment Instagram

Have you tried the latest version of rFactor 2 yet? Do you like the new shadows? Let us know in the comments section below!

John-Eric Saxén · Jan 18, 2018

clemencaman said:
I have a strong pc (i5@4,4ghz,16gb ram and TitanXP) in my mancave and i only drive with rift (ASW is your friend), for me the game runs ok now, still needs some optimizations, but its on a good way and rf2 is really ok for having cool races with rain and day/night cycles

Well, if you are still forced to use ASW on a Titan, then that only highlights the problem.

Durge Driven · Jan 18, 2018

................full of people complaining about the performance with i7 and 1080

Searching for performance resulted in this:
https://forum.studio-397.com/index.php?threads/latest-1109-build-updates.59017/#post-930135
https://forum.studio-397.com/index.php?threads/latest-1109-build-updates.59017/#post-930138

But you can go on and on and on and on. The forum is full of performance issues.

They are the same thread and go to Post #48 in both
The issue was fixed before you even made this post ( Yesterday at 7:46 AM )

I have i5 and GTX1070 rF2 has always run as good or better then other current gen sims I have, no lie

You are the one with the issue if you can't let go of it after 5 years

MarcG · Jan 18, 2018

John-Eric Saxén said:
Well, if you are still forced to use ASW on a Titan, then that only highlights the problem.

Yes RF2 VR is not fully finished optimisation wise that much is obvious, in fact as we all know the core engine isn't fully optimised or running "great" compared to other Sims (well that's what people do, they compare everything!) so there is plenty of work to be done. Regardless even if you have a Titan ASW can still help in pushing the utmost settings to allow more fancy graphics, but seeing as VR is CPU intensive then there will be a cap somewhere, the world of VR needs time to evolve to take better advantage of the GPU & CPU combined after all it is still early tech lets not forget (other games struggle with a Titan at 90FPS on different setups).

No I'm not defending RF2 before the haters come calling (!), yes it needs a lot of performance work under the hood, but so does VR

rollpap · Jan 18, 2018

My potatoe PC had a 1080 extreme , 16 go Ram and I7...
I can play Assetto in full and in 4K....On RF2 i must play in 2K...

Steve Worrell · Jan 18, 2018

I don't know my spec of my machine exactly as I'm not that technical. All I know is it's i7, 32gb ram gtx1080 and cost me over £2k. Every game I have runs brilliantly. Rf2 still struggles. I have to play in 720p to get smooth frame rate. Any ideas?

Jockey · Jan 18, 2018

VernWozza said:
I don't know my spec of my machine exactly as I'm not that technical. All I know is it's i7, 32gb ram gtx1080 and cost me over £2k. Every game I have runs brilliantly. Rf2 still struggles. I have to play in 720p to get smooth frame rate. Any ideas?

Every day when you wake up. Stand in front of a mirror and say: Rfactor 2 is running GREAT!

DND · Jan 18, 2018

VernWozza said:
I don't know my spec of my machine exactly as I'm not that technical. All I know is it's i7, 32gb ram gtx1080 and cost me over £2k. Every game I have runs brilliantly. Rf2 still struggles. I have to play in 720p to get smooth frame rate. Any ideas?

I am not a tech wiz either but I think you might want to take a look at the AA and other enhancements and turn them off or try lower. With your hardware it really shouldn't need much help to max stuff out and have it look fantastic with high FPS. Somebody will correct me if I am wrong, but most of the filtering stuff is to make things look better through software enhancements when the hardware may not be able to accomplish the task at hand.

Transyt · Jan 19, 2018

Hey, none of you guys noticed that now you can see car shadows in the rear view mirror? Yes, it's just like AC, shadows in mirrors are just static mapping, but it finally make the game looks decently in every aspect.

Alex72 · Jan 19, 2018

VernWozza said:
I don't know my spec of my machine exactly as I'm not that technical. All I know is it's i7, 32gb ram gtx1080 and cost me over £2k. Every game I have runs brilliantly. Rf2 still struggles. I have to play in 720p to get smooth frame rate. Any ideas?

Try turning down post processing if it is on max. It gives the new radiation/shine look from the sun etc and it doesnt have to be on max to look good.

apex11 · Jan 19, 2018

VernWozza said:
I don't know my spec of my machine exactly as I'm not that technical. All I know is it's i7, 32gb ram gtx1080 and cost me over £2k. Every game I have runs brilliantly. Rf2 still struggles. I have to play in 720p to get smooth frame rate. Any ideas?

I have a PC that cost £400 all in and RF2 runs buttery smooth and is a joy to own, most settings on high or max and running 20-25 AI.
I run AC pretty much maxed also just use more realistic AI levels, most races are between 15-25 grids in real life so happy with that compromise.

Alex72 · Jan 19, 2018

apex11 said:
I have a PC that cost £400 all in and RF2 runs buttery smooth and is a joy to own, most settings on high or max and running 20-25 AI.
I run AC pretty much maxed also just use more realistic AI levels, most races are between 15-25 grids in real life so happy with that compromise.

Its definitely better now. I could never even run with medium shadows but i tested a while back to put it on high and even though i dipped a little bit (54ish FPS with all cars close together) it was smooth when we spread out. The GT3 cars are heavy though thanks to cockpit when together with more cars, but i couldnt even go above low shadows with any other cars. So now i can have high shadows on triple screens with GTX980 and AMD FX8350 and be above 60FPS as long as all cars arent together. Compared to a bunch of builds back that is a very big optimization.

Gijs van Elderen · Jan 19, 2018

John-Eric Saxén said:
Well, if you are still forced to use ASW on a Titan, then that only highlights the problem.

With “low” resolution and low graphic setting, CPU is usually the bottle neck and that’s not an rF2 specific thing.

The rift has a relatively low resolution (compared to tripple screens and 4K). So VR requires a very bulky cpu. It’s more important then the GPU.
If you have a 3,5ghz CPU, runs max and it loads to GPU only up to 40% with ASW off: you basicly wasted money on your bulky GPU. Best thing to do is increase graphic setting and AA, SS to make the GPU work harder without a big fps loss.

IMO: ASW is not a bad thing. It doesn’t add noticable more input lag. It looks nice and smooth. Much better then ASW off.

As far as i understand 2D fps = 2 x VR fps.
45 fps in the rift looks like 90 fps on a flat screen.
90 fps in the rift looks like 180 fps on a flat screen.

The difference between ASW 45 fps and 90 fps in the rift is as noticable as the difference between 90 fps and 180 fps on a 2D screen.

Bwana · Jan 20, 2018

Durge Driven said:
They are the same thread and go to Post #48 in both
The issue was fixed before you even made this post ( Yesterday at 7:46 AM )

I have i5 and GTX1070 rF2 has always run as good or better then other current gen sims I have, no lie

You are the one with the issue if you can't let go of it after 5 years

Agree old mate, mine did have an issue with last update in that it froze at splash screen, updated windows runtime and set W10 settings to default , swept Nvidia drivers and downloaded latest ,fresh rf2 install and with same card and i5 i can run everything at max settings for nothing under 70 fps with wet weather and 36 cars . a lot of people have tweaked their own systems and are suffering from issues.

2stains · Jan 21, 2018

John-Eric Saxén said:
Well, if you are still forced to use ASW on a Titan, then that only highlights the problem.

He is still using a i5 so he is CPU limiting that Titan .
I have a i5 6600k @ 4.5 with a 1080 Ti and find the i5 to bottleneck the 1080ti when gaming at lower res and in VR .

2stains · Jan 21, 2018

VernWozza said:
I don't know my spec of my machine exactly as I'm not that technical. All I know is it's i7, 32gb ram gtx1080 and cost me over £2k. Every game I have runs brilliantly. Rf2 still struggles. I have to play in 720p to get smooth frame rate. Any ideas?

Stop watching porn and uninstall all the bloatware and scan for viruses . I had a 1070/i5 /16GB RAM that ran rF2 okay @ 4k but with Low settings and a 1080ti that smashes all original content at 60 FPS .
Unless you are trying to get 144Hz or something your system shouldnt have a problem as long as you drop PP and AA down to Low and x3 .

John-Eric Saxén · Jan 21, 2018

2stains said:
He is still using a i5 so he is CPU limiting that Titan .
I have a i5 6600k @ 4.5 with a 1080 Ti and find the i5 to bottleneck the 1080ti when gaming at lower res and in VR .

i5 vs i7 is irrelevant because rF2 is dual threaded app, so fundamentally single core performance is always the limiting factor. I remember Marcel saying that all you need for most FPS in rF2 is the fastest single-threaded CPU, so in theory an i3 would do. But you are right that rF2 is CPU limited in VR, which is paradoxical as it more or less never is CPU limited in non-VR, at least not on a single screen setup.

Steve Worrell · Jan 21, 2018

2stains said:
Stop watching porn and uninstall all the bloatware and scan for viruses . I had a 1070/i5 /16GB RAM that ran rF2 okay @ 4k but with Low settings and a 1080ti that smashes all original content at 60 FPS .
Unless you are trying to get 144Hz or something your system shouldnt have a problem as long as you drop PP and AA down to Low and x3 .

Lol ok so by your logic watching porn has downloaded a virus that specifically targets rFactor 2....

Just a guess but I'm pretty sure hackers and scammers are not out to steal my set ups or peek at my lap times.

Ace King · Jan 21, 2018

Refer to main topic "Micro Stuttering and Scenery Judder"

Paco572 · Jan 22, 2018

jonelsorel said:
DX11 is supposed to be a new game. The fact that even Mad Max looks better and moves smoother on the same specs is just a sign that there's plenty of room for engine optimizations. And while I hope there will be more, can't ignore what's already been done. I don't have a potato pc (4790k + 1070 gtx), and rf2 used to move like a brick on wheels up until 2 updates ago.

As far as I know, the game engine is the same outdated engine, I've tested and have not seen any improvement in FPS whatsoever with this latest update, but also I haven't seen any loss of FPS either.

First Officer PACO