rFactor 2 | April Release Candidate Brings Fixes to Sound and Wet Weather


A new release candidate is available for rFactor 2 via Steam which previews a long list of upcoming changes to the title, including improved sounds, engine and brake cooling and shift protection for select open-wheelers, and improvements to wet weather driving.

For those looking to preview what will be coming to rFactor 2 in the coming months, a new release candidate build is now live.

The preview build brings a long list of changes to the title, highlighted by global improvements to the in-game sound engine and the wet weather experience.

Studio 397 notes that the changes to the sound engine will immediately be applied to all cars, but specific improvements will be applied in time to certain cars.

There are also physics improvements available with this build, but they currently only apply to the Dallara IR-18 and Formula Pro vehicles, and these updated cars can be found temporarily in the "TEST" category from the vehicle selection screen. Each has received a new shift protection feature, along with improved engine and brake cooling physics.

Racing in the rain will also be an improved experience in rFactor 2, as the S397 team has enhanced how the rain accumulates and evaporates, as well as how AI cars deal with adverse track conditions.

The full list of changes available in the new test build can be found on the next page and in rFactor 2's blog, along with how to opt into release candidates via Steam. Let us know your thoughts on this build, or anything else rFactor 2 related, in the comments below.
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About author
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Comments

Shovas
Premium
That new UI does wonders for first impressions. I'm coming back to it after a month or two off and it feels polished. That's something I never could have said before.

The 3D sound is not just a gimick, either, it's really good. The sound of cars coming up behind, alongside, and past you in 5.1 is really nice.

Good work, S397.
 
J
Luciano Santos Filho said:
Question: did they fix that issue that prevents the AI from overtaking slower cars in the in-lap for a pit stop?

Because so much is being said about how the AI will be smarter in terms of changing weather conditions, but if they can't behave in the inlap that really doesn't help much.

Sorry if it is a dumb question but honestly I gave up following RF2 updates a while ago. But if this MAJOR problem got fixed I may want to give it another go.
Click to expand...
no they didn't fix that yet or the litany of other issues with the AI. However, this is the first update to the AI that I can remember since S397 broke them in 2018. Honestly, I never expected them to fix the AI tire selection logic, but they did here.....so maybe....just maybe.... for the first time ever there is a slight glimmer of hope the other AI issues will be addressed.
 
Durge Driven
You can have AI races I do 1-2 hours with pitstops
Turn off SC and flags you have best AI races of any sim
rF2 has been best offline sim since first build
Why anyone would want to follow a SC and yellow flags is beyond me
Supposed to be fun and rF2 is if you use it the right way

ACC and AMS2 AI are like sheep, no character at all
 
G
Finally, after all these years my request is fulfilled: SURROUND SOUND.
So you can finally hear where the cars are actually driving around you, a major achievement for S397! This is the biggest improvement after the PBR shader introduction without joking. Thanks for this!

Now let's hope that they get a lot of online drivers playing the default S397 content somehow; because the online lobby's with the original cars/tracks are now always empty. Sad but true. Still waiting for this title to come out of alpha stage, VR still doesn't work with the Reverb G2(unsolvable lag spikes...).
 
D
MJQT said:
Not at all a dumb question, and like davehenrie above, I doubt it was fixed this time.
Click to expand...
I may have been wrong. One of the changes refers to WHEN the AI checks if new tires are needed. Before it was done at the start of a pit in lap.(probably why they got stuck behind other cars) Now the AI won't check until they reach Pit In.
 
MJQT
davehenrie said:
I may have been wrong. One of the changes refers to WHEN the AI checks if new tires are needed. Before it was done at the start of a pit in lap.(probably why they got stuck behind other cars) Now the AI won't check until they reach Pit In.
Click to expand...
Interesting. Well, please do let us know here if the AI is no longer slow/stuck on the in-lap! Don't have the time to try this out in rF2 at the moment, otherwise I'd offer.
 
MarcG
FINALLY some AI fixes, I'd rant about how long it's been but it's been so long I lost all interest! Not enough for me to reinstall though, the most obvious/well known/very old AI issues still need fixing, I'll come back if they ever get attention.
 
W
Premium
It’s a very long changelog, unfortunately even though I like RF2 and have learned to live with it’s faults it’s still dissapointing when you can’t see the things that were on your priority list being mentioned . Some ”nice to have things“ on the list even if they aren’t top of my list of needed fixes, at least it shows they are still working on it.
 
Last edited:
Just2Laps
Great update, but still a little bit buggy.
Shifting is not possible on Formula Pro and Dallara IR18 in the release candidate, no matter if I swicth to automatic or manual transmission.

The improvement of sound feels really great, get a completely new immersive feeling with sourround sound on the headphones or in VR you can easily locate other cars by sound if they are close, near, left or right of you.

What impresses me most is the new camera control with free configurable keys or controller switches for Aperture, Focus, Sensor etc.,
I have waited long time for this.

The new Wet Weather also looks pretty good.

I have made a first look video which is available in the media section.
 
W
Premium
I’m quite interested in the sound update and will have a go later. As someone who plays single player on most games I have the opponent sound reasonably high as I like the sound of the cars all around me, apart from RF2 where I just can’t put up with the on-off-on throttle the AI has to use go round corners which sounds terrible.
 
R00b_Driver
Wreckoning said:
I’m quite interested in the sound update and will have a go later. As someone who plays single player on most games I have the opponent sound reasonably high as I like the sound of the cars all around me, apart from RF2 where I just can’t put up with the on-off-on throttle the AI has to use go round corners which sounds terrible.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's definitely a step in the right direction.
It still needs a few QOL improvements, like being able to adjust the volume of individual sounds (for example tire squeal, curbs etc).

I read in discord that one of the Devs said that AI is on their priority list right now - so hopefully we'll get some more improvements next RC release.....
 
Ole Marius Myrvold
Staff
Premium
davehenrie said:
Try the Competition System, Before you sign up it will alert you if you are missing content and usually even link you to the store or workshop. ButI agree, the online descriptions for the regular multiplayer sections do need more information.
Click to expand...

If server hosts use GetMod, all info needed really is required DLC. The rest can be downloaded when trying to join a server.
 
D
MarcG said:
FINALLY some AI fixes, I'd rant about how long it's been but it's been so long I lost all interest! Not enough for me to reinstall though, the most obvious/well known/very old AI issues still need fixing, I'll come back if they ever get attention.
Click to expand...
AI tire selection both for racing and weather appear to have been worked on. The AI getting stuck behind slower cars on their pit-in lap 'may' be fixed as well. I don't know about cars drafting and not passing though.
 
G
The choice of tires by AI is good, you can see different strategies at the beginning of the race and tire selection according to the state of the track.

Finally after 10 years they fixed a defect that persisted since launch
 
eg01st
My first impressions after 30 minutes of trying were bad. Car engine sound was set to 25% by default and it got lost in other noises around. Simple fix.
But AI clearly needs work, or there is another setting that needs to be changed. 1st race with mod F1 cars was ok, bet then 6 tries in a row on Spa and Silverstone AI would just stay on grid with engines off. Several restarts each time, 2 different car classes. Official content.

Turned it off. See you in a few months when this is fixed.
 
Ole Marius Myrvold
Staff
Premium
eg01st said:
My first impressions after 30 minutes of trying were bad. Car engine sound was set to 25% by default and it got lost in other noises around. Simple fix.
But AI clearly needs work, or there is another setting that needs to be changed. 1st race with mod F1 cars was ok, bet then 6 tries in a row on Spa and Silverstone AI would just stay on grid with engines off. Several restarts each time, 2 different car classes. Official content.

Turned it off. See you in a few months when this is fixed.
Click to expand...

You know this is a "Release Candidate", or better known as a "beta". This is opt-in on Steam, and by opting in you know that you will use a beta-version of it, which is specifically meant to find bugs and issues.
I doubt that the engine sound is set to 25% on default tbh.
AI issues with this RC is known, or as said by S397 staff "please run lapped races for now, seems to be a bug with AI on timed races." in regards to AI not moving, not having engine sound etc. at race start.
It's all a part of being a tester.
I would guess the Release Candidate being there for about a month, before they release it as a stable version after applying fixes to things like this.

The fact that it is a beta, is also why the rFactor 2 Club Races at RaceDepartment, always use stable builds and not Release Candidates :)
 

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