rFactor 2 to Release World Wide Technology Raceway in Q3


Studio 397 have announced their first content for the 2022 Q3 pack. This Illinois-based oval racetrack may be a sign of what's to come for rFactor in the upcoming months. And the track has even been laser-scanned.

As part of this release, both the oval course and the in-field road course have been scanned and will be released as layouts of one circuit.

About the Circuit​

Formerly known as Gateway Motorsports Park, the 1.25 mile (2 km) oval with a 2 mile (3.2 km) infield course, the circuit was built instead of another circuit that existed before then. St. Louis International Raceway was demolished in 1996 to make space for Gateway.

The track has featured both NASCAR Cup Series and IndyCar Series races.

Despite the size of the track, it still features 3 different layouts. Apart from the 2 aforementioned layouts, there is also a shorter infield layout of 1.6 miles (2.6 km).

What This May Mean For rFactor 2​

A new oval circuit on the calendar for rFactor 2 is an interesting decision. This could mean the almost decade-old sim is planned to receive a new focus on ovals. For many race fans around the world, having an alternative to iRacing for oval stuff is quite the promise.

This, however, will need a bit of work on the AI too. As this is one of the few points people still have issues with, a DLC requiring AI improvements seems either off or promising.

Off, because if no AI update comes, this circuit would just show and facilitate the "adventurous" AI.

Promising, because one could hope the free update for Q3 would be the long-awaited AI-overhaul.

And on this hopeful bombshell, what do you think about this reveal? Please, let us know in the comments down below!
About author
Julian Strasser
Motorsports and Maker-stuff enthusiast. Part time jack-of-all-trades. Owner of tracc.eu, a sim racing-related service provider and its racing community.

Comments

The release Candidate build for this quarter is already out for a while, getting AI fixes for the Drop is unrealistic, as it should have been in the RC. The AI in general has its problems, but even on Oval still far from unusable.

As for the track, its a really cool choice in my opinion. Definetly a Highlight for me
 
Tried Gateway on another game, I would say this is definitely not something up my alley. The road course is not as fun as I hoped even though i love Daytona road course.
 
This track is in the 2022 Indycar schedule (MSG has license for a game) so I guess that's why it's coming to rF2. I hope they come out with more US tracks for rF2, if they do then we can expect them from this list. https://digbza2f4g9qo.cloudfront.net/-/media/Files/Current-Schedule.pdf?vs=1&d=20220412T215555Z

Btw now that we have a modded stock car rules DLL plugin the oval racing is very good in rF2, the problem with the AI is that they don't overtake with slipstreaming and in general they're very timid in overtaking.
 
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unknown circuit for me, it doesn't really give me the hype...
I hope they will continue to release BTCC content which is really good!:thumbsup:
 
I really enjoy this track. It has some challenging infield corners requiring precise apex execution and control. Combined with the high-speed aspect, it's challenging in terms of car setup and strategy, as well.

I too, hope to have more BTCC content soon.
 
I won't hold my breath. AI oval behaviour has been missing for too long, from rF1, rF2, AMS, & others, and there has never seemed to be any will and/or ability (or capability within the game engine) to really get it up and running properly. I would be very happy to be wrong, but it seems to me that most tracks are built with online multiplayer in mind, and single player/AI behaviour generally comes a poor second.
 
wonder if the track released its own scan data to devs so everyone jumped on board?
There have been a number of releases from both Reiza and Studio 397 of the same track close to each others release. I have assumed that the partnership that they had for the Reiza pack in rFactor has continued unacknowledged. Most rFactor tracks seem to be Reiza releases, or fan workshop tracks slightly improved for official release.
 
There have been a number of releases from both Reiza and Studio 397 of the same track close to each others release. I have assumed that the partnership that they had for the Reiza pack in rFactor has continued unacknowledged. Most rFactor tracks seem to be Reiza releases, or fan workshop tracks slightly improved for official release.
I don't think so, s397 makes its own laser tracks, not reiza and I don't think they share anything since reiza chose the madness engine, I thought I'd believe that MSG would help a "rival" simu!
 
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Gotta say I don't understand this one from S397. Oval racing is IMO in alpha state (if you're being generous) in rF2 right now. And it's an odd road course. Maybe a release in the same category as oddities like Atlanta Motorsports Park and NOLA Motorsports Park?

The AI in general has its problems, but even on Oval still far from unusable.
Unusable is a very strong word. In fairness, it's not quite that. But as Julian put it entertainingly in the article, rF2 oval AI is pretty "adventurous" :p

I don't own the DLC IR18, so I can't speak to the single player experience with that – but with Indycar mods and the S397 Stock Cars, even with tweaking, I've never had anything close to what would be needed to drive me away from NR2003. Little overtaking, weird slowdowns, train tracks, throttle stabbing, no slipstreaming... to me, it's just felt janky and inconsistent. Not "unusable"... but would you want to use it?

Btw now that we have a modded stock car rules DLL plugin the oval racing is very good in rF2, the problem with the AI is that they don't overtake with slipstreaming and in general they're very timid in overtaking.
Very good? I'm unsure. Especially given your own words about overtaking. Besides, you CAN get working oval racing rules functionality thanks to this guide – but only after downloading a community-updated StockCarRules plugin to implement functionality that is supposed to ship with the game, but the vanilla plugin from S397 is broken.

An important thing. Will Gateway be free on the Steam Workshop? Or paid DLC? Because if it's on the workshop, the community (like Bela, who I replied to above :) ) can work on fixing the track's AI, whereas if it's DLC, it'll be encrypted and unfixable. And S397 hasn't had a good record of delivering well-optimized AIW files functioning with many different cars, even with paid DLC (see this video about the Daytona release).
 
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And an important thing. Will this be free on the Steam Workshop? Or paid DLC? Because if it's on the workshop, the community can work on fixing the track's AI, whereas if it's DLC, it'll be encrypted and unfixable. And S397 hasn't had a good record of delivering well-optimized AIW files functioning with many different cars, even with paid DLC (see this video about the Daytona release).
It would be shocking to see this as free content... :D I don't remember a free laser scanned track from S397.
 
I been doing AIW work from the start of rF2 and can assure you that S397 AIW files are not encrypted but car physics are.

I add additional fastlines for different mods that are troublesome on a track which makes the ai really great.

Note: Since S397 car physics files are encrypted i need to choose a similar third party car mod to make the fastline.
 
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