rFactor 2, worth it ?

[leffty]

Hello
I want to ask you if it's worth to buy rFactor 2. How could you compare this game vs F1 2012 ?
I mean gameplay / graphic, etc
The prices are 43.99 USD standard and 84.99 USD lifetime.
What would you advice me, guys ? Just in case i order it, which one should i order ?
Thanks in advance

 

[Ian Franssen]

ah thanks for explaining, lack of knowledge from my side
Don't know, think it's just a businessmodel, nothing more, not explaining the amount of extra cost making it able to go online, but on the other hand they do have to develop the game for online and create a structure for it (the servers do have to show up in game) which cost extra money in development.
They do offer a lot for their money in my opinion, we already have 10+ cars and a lot in the pipeline, 8 tracks or so and expanding, new features in sameracing in general trying to implement every element of racing in real life, and they will update and add features for the coming years. For 80 euros for me it's a good buy for that reason, they need to fund it from somewhere, and they don't ask more money for everything that is new. Iracing you have to pay for everything, PS3 games come with Pay DLC etc, With that in mind I find it cheap.

 

[Rob Every]

Dino, I think the icy feeling is largely limited to a few cars, and it might be something to do with default setups

I tend to only modify a few general things like steering angles, brake pressure and the like And in the single seaters at least the default setups are maybe not the best I don't know?

I think they seem OK, but the cars seem really easy to slide, almost as if on a 3 inch pedal travel half an inch is 100% It just feels wrong.

I have tried turning down the sensitivity, doing all the usual pump the pedal checks, but its just really odd, the Skippy is the worst of the lot, for what is supposed to be a school car and fabulously nice to drive in IR, its terrible here, such a shame.

 

[Ian Franssen]

A lot of people have difficulty with default setups (not stable enough for a lot of people) and getting the setting right for your driving style is very important and takes time to get everything adjusted to your liking. There is a setup section on this website, try some of those setups, and see the change a setup can have on the feeling.
http://www.racedepartment.com/forum/forums/rfactor-2-setups.73/
Read the info that ISI gives with their cars, they also say how to drive the cars. For example, the skip you need to have always a little throttle, and you actually turn in corners with your throttle. If you apply what is suggested you will see with practice that it works and is a pleasure to drive, once you figured out the technique. http://rfactor.net/web/rf2/rf2dl/skip-barber-2000/
I after practicing for over a year can handle the default setups just fine, but it's a setup, which is good at one track and not on the other, but practice is really the key word.

 

[Dino Paolini]

Dino, I think the icy feeling is largely limited to a few cars, and it might be something to do with default setups

What I described from my perspective has only to do with Force Feedback and hardly anything with what the car actually does. I never race with defualt setups, as they tend to be too understeery for me on all the cars.
It is simply the way that rf2 ffb is. It is really the same more or less on every car. It is very good though in transmitting bumps and curbs and everything that has to do with terrain unevenness.

For throttle inputs and everything, which I think is what you mainly describe, stable setups and on some cars a lower throttle- (and sometimes also brake-) sensitivity is a good idea.

 

[Leon Charmant]

Am I the only one who thinks rFactor 2 looks like a cartoon? It has never looked right for me. In every screen it's either too light or too dark or the car doesn't seem to blend into the environment at all.

This is what I mean (click to enlarge):

Taken from the ISI forums

Comparing rF2 to iRacing (as above, iRacing looks washed out in comparison.. I'm going to have to do a LOT of desaturation once I decide to check out rF2.

rF2 does have better ''graphics'', as in reflections and lighting engine.. but a game like Race07 looks much better looking at overall colour and environment composition, in my opinion.

Thoughts?

 

[Ian Franssen]

The only thoughts I have, is that ISI has dynamic weather and time, and so dynamic graphics, where other games are able to optimize their static weather and graphics, which I guess should be more easy to make pritty. Don't have Race07 or Iracing, so can't compare, on top of that I have a low spec computer and everything at low , so can't judge

 

[Marco Bijl]

The problem is that the game is only as good as its content...

Take a look at some closeups from Croft or Proznan for instance. Far better then IRacing, or whatever I have seen (for a driveable game, not counting pre-release pictures).
Only there is little of that content around unfortunately.

Example:

Another thing is the PC and settings. Compare these 2 shots:

and

Same car, though total different looks.

Last thing, the grass. Again, textures and material choice are greatly of influence for the looks...

Compared to the screenshot posted by Leon, this grass is totally different, and realistic (photo) imo.

All in all, the game is certainly good enough. Is it worth it? When you have high expectations about graphics and performance, no due to little content. If you lack any computer knowledge, then again no due to its complicated mod system.
But if you get over those things, and are able to get it going right, it is THE immerse driving experience (I have ever had). But thats personal

 

[Andrew Ford]

this has lost quality due to upload but still think it looks good the driving physics are far better than iracing. only problem is: the linked mods you have to download and isi releasing it too early in the beta...then saying its not a beta when it obviously is. hope more people haven't jumped ship for good!

 

[James Andrew]

I spent six months on iRacing waiting for RF2 to mature and there's no doubt in my mind that graphically, iRacing wins hands down. The tracks are detailed and gorgeous and you feel like you're there, whereas in RF2 you feel like... you're driving round an accurate representation of the layout. Hard to explain.

That said, my first few corners in RF2 were an instant revelation in terms of feel. I felt like I knew when my tyres were sliding and how much grip I had to work with. Best of all, when I lose control (still far too often!), I almost always feel like I knew why and what to avoid next time.

My simracing background is with Grand Prix Legends, (still in a league) and it has so many mods and free tracks that I always knew that I would never be with iRacing very long because I need that option of just downloading a new car or track and trying it out.

I'm very happy with RF2 so far and it will only improve.

 

[Marco Bijl]

I rest my case about the tarmac and grass with these 2 shots, posted to day by Rini Braat in the screenshots section.

Now this has nothing to do with cartoon(isch). Its the quality you should expect from a game released at this time. To bad it requires quite some tuning, and a superb PC to get it.

 

[Kevin Knorpp]

What are you looking for in a sim? What are your favorites cars, championships, tracks? What do you want to do with rf2? For example, I race offline with AI and online. My favorite cars are historic tintops but I have grown to love the 60s formula cars. I also like tight closed circuit courses with lots of turns. However, historic accuracy (I.e. some only want to drive historic cars on historic tracks and F1 cars on F1 tracks, etc.) does not matter to me nor does having full championship with all cars and tracks. What's important to you? How patient are you?

 

[Jason Hunt]

Am I the only one who thinks rFactor 2 looks like a cartoon? It has never looked right for me. In every screen it's either too light or too dark or the car doesn't seem to blend into the environment at all.

This is what I mean (click to enlarge):

Taken from the ISI forums

Comparing rF2 to iRacing (as above, iRacing looks washed out in comparison.. I'm going to have to do a LOT of desaturation once I decide to check out rF2.

rF2 does have better ''graphics'', as in reflections and lighting engine.. but a game like Race07 looks much better looking at overall colour and environment composition, in my opinion.

Thoughts?

The segment second from the left looks like it's suffering from HDR silliness. The game seems to balance the brightness based on what is displayed on screen. This makes for an over bright track if the dashboard is displayed. Switching to bonnet view darkens the track noticeably.

I'd turn HDR off if I could but the cars look like they've lost all their colour if I turn if off.

 

[Miroslav Davidovic]

This HDR profile from Tosch should help there.
It works almost on every track very nice.

http://www.file-upload.net/download-7595088/NoAutoExposureHDR.hdp.html

 

[Jason Hunt]

Thanks. Do I copy that in to each track directory under the settings directory?

 

[Miroslav Davidovic]

...rFacto2/UserData/player/Settings/YourTrack

 

[Leon Charmant]

There's just something about rF2 that doesn't look right in my opinion, I don't exactly know what.. but what I've seen from videos is that the cars don't seem to blend into the surroundings. Also, where are the clouds? That's something that really bugs me in a game, it makes the picture look dull.

Aside from that I have quite high expectations of this game, but ISI needs to make it more user friendly for sure

 

[MarcG]

There's just something about rF2 that doesn't look right in my opinion, I don't exactly know what.. but what I've seen from videos is that the cars don't seem to blend into the surroundings. Also, where are the clouds? That's something that really bugs me in a game, it makes the picture look dull.

Aside from that I have quite high expectations of this game, but ISI needs to make it more user friendly for sure

I have clouds, lots of them and they look great, check what weather you set, you have overcast it's gonna be dull. might have something to do with special effects settings, not sure as mines always on
the highest.

 

[Ian Franssen]

The clouds are there, I was hinting to the dynamic weather in post 26, you can select the weather you like, clear, light clouds, heavy clouds, storm etc, different kind of weather during one race and not to forget the angle of the sun that changes over time, and you are able to manage when it happens. A very nice feature to have I think and one of the things that makes Rfactor2 great in my opinion. You can find it at race settings.

Edit: Pulley was faster than me with replying

 

[Jason Hunt]

After a few days of intensive playing, I think I'm going to keep it. I've had swings from "get a refund", "keep it", "upgrade to lifetime" all in the same day so it is creating mixed feelings.

I still think the performance is lacking (seems a fairly common problem for AMD cards) but I've tweaked various things to make it almost acceptable.

But, the handling makes my other games feel boring and if I did get a refund I know I'd be missing out and would just want to play it again.

I just have the nagging doubt I'm buying a beta that still needs a lot of refinement so I'm paying for the potential rather than what it is now.

 

[RaceNut]

After a few days of intensive playing, I think I'm going to keep it. I've had swings from "get a refund", "keep it", "upgrade to lifetime" all in the same day so it is creating mixed feelings.

I still think the performance is lacking (seems a fairly common problem for AMD cards) but I've tweaked various things to make it almost acceptable.

But, the handling makes my other games feel boring and if I did get a refund I know I'd be missing out and would just want to play it again.

I just have the nagging doubt I'm buying a beta that still needs a lot of refinement so I'm paying for the potential rather than what it is now.

Your last line is true enough but, ISI has a pedigree in developing Racing Sims so I don't see it as much of a gamble - more of an investment in the future. Then consider all of the mods and possible spin-off games that can come from rF2.