rFactor 2 | July Release Candidate Now Available

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rFactor 2 July Release Candidate 01.jpg
July's rFactor 2 Release Candidate build is now available via Steam, and brings notable updates to track surfaces, track limits, and electronic systems in vehicles.

rFactor 2 players looking to preview the latest round of updates and fixes for the title can now opt into a new Release Candidate build in Steam.

The latest Release Candidate offers many significant improvements to the sim, including a new major build of Real Road, a customizable track limit system, and updates to ABS and Traction Control systems.


The new Real Road 2.0 improves the simulation of track temperature by adding a number of new sources of data. Time of day and ambient temperatures are obvious contributors to the surface temperature of the road surface, but rFactor 2 now also accounts for cloud cover levels and vehicle tires scrubbing across the tarmac.

Additionally, Studio 397 has also added a feature to compensate for one of the hottest topics in sim and real racing. Track limits can now be adjusted by the user. Limits can be turned off, left at the default limits, or set to a stricter standard.

The last major update contained in this build addresses vehicle ABS and Traction Control systems. These electronic systems now have improved behavior.

Do any of these new features interest you? Have you opted into this Release Candidate yet? Let us know 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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Vilmos Vas
Evi said:
Maybe, just maybe, try to think.... and you might discover that you are trying place more cars in pits than there are pit slots on that track. That might take less time than making a youtube video, but results in less views, for sure.

Sorry if I'm a bit harsh, but this behaviour is the same on all ISI motor sims from the very beginning.
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Which is rF2's fault because there's no indication of exceeding the pit slot limit when you're setting up the race. In 2006 in GTR2 the opponent counter turned red to inform you about that. RF2 can't do that in 2022. Or at least didn't do that when I last tried rF2 about 2 months ago...
 
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banenab said:
Is it just me, or is rFactor 2 performing poorly? I have 16 gigs of ram, ryzen 5 2600 cpu, and Radeon RX6600 gpu, and framerate was extremely inconsisten last time i checked the game out, so about 2 or 3 weeks ago.
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The recently introduced new sound engine could cause those issues, but this Release Candidate also brings news on that front, with the sound engine being allocated to a separate CPU core/thread.
 
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Nitro McClean said:
I am trying to understand what you are saying. S397 has destroyed the sound of cars made by modders. Racing simulators such as rFactor, rFactor 2 and Assetto Corsa are largely as popular as they are today due to the many modders who have taken the time to make many cars and tracks for them. They have often invested a lot of time and energy in this in their spare time, for which they have not received any money but only the credits. And now you are saying they have to fixed their soundmix which is destroyed by Studio S397, and I would have to contact them (the modders) for asking them to do this? If somebody is in charge to do this, it is S397, not the modders.

It would be difficult and a lot more work to contact all these modders, and easier to contact S397. So that is why I have asked S397 to fix it. I am waiting for an answer.
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And I answered it....S397 will not adjust non S397 cars. YOU can play with the legacy sliders somewhat. I have engine at 100% and everything else below 10%. That is the work-around for the moment. If nothing else, you can select a previous version before launching.
 
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Nitro McClean said:
I am trying to understand what you are saying. S397 has destroyed the sound of cars made by modders. Racing simulators such as rFactor, rFactor 2 and Assetto Corsa are largely as popular as they are today due to the many modders who have taken the time to make many cars and tracks for them. They have often invested a lot of time and energy in this in their spare time, for which they have not received any money but only the credits. And now you are saying they have to fixed their soundmix which is destroyed by Studio S397, and I would have to contact them (the modders) for asking them to do this? If somebody is in charge to do this, it is S397, not the modders.

It would be difficult and a lot more work to contact all these modders, and easier to contact S397. So that is why I have asked S397 to fix it. I am waiting for an answer.
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The overwhelming majority of mods still sound good (or better, actually), just by adjusting the "Legacy" sliders in the sound preferences.
So... I think you are going overboard with "destroyed".
 
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roadyroad said:
I absolutely agree. I've been stating for years than s397 should have a dedicated team to help the modders to keep their content up to date and to validate mods' publishing in steam workshop. Yes, it's a lot of work, but how amazing would be rfactor2 today with such a work? When you sell your game on its modding capacity you should be proactive. It seems now that S397 is just trying to make a new game in rfactor2, ignoring the previous official content and the modding community. Maybe it's time to let rfactor2, with its fans who love it in its current state, and launch rfactor3 with these new features and content...
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Who would pay that dedicated team, helping modders?
Do you think that there money to fund activities which do not generate any income?
Modding being still available in rF2 is a "gift" for the us the users and not an obligation for a studio...
 
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eg01st said:
1. Marcel leaves.
2. rF2 starts getting fixes users begged for years.

Coincidence? Hmmm...
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rF2 also received something like 5 million Euros or Dollars from the MotorSport Games acquisition. rF2, while still under Marcel, went on a hiring spree last year which included poaching one of the Sound experts from iRacing. I'm guessing the raft of major updates, which probably began under Marcel's leadership and are now starting to appear are the result more of the hiring and cash infusion than whether Marcel or XXX is in charge.
 
Nitro McClean
Premium
Mitch9 said:
I´m trying to understand what´s so hard to understand about this.

There´s a new sound engine wich requires updates to existing files - the only thing s397 havent delivered is proper documentation, but some general guidelines to do the update have already been given, and some modders have already done such update.

It´s the same thing as when they changed from dx9 to dx11 and pbr; older workflow was deprecated to make way for improvements, and the content that wasn´t updated suffered.
This also happens with Assetto Corsa and CSP; core stuff gets added or improved and older content will have to be updated or it will show it´s age. Those modders that make content for ac don´t get paid to update their stuff to use a new CSP feature either, and yet the ones that are active will take the time to do so if they deem it necessary.

The big difference is that you mostly get a choice with AC+CSP while you can only roll back a few versions with rf2, but it´s honestly ridiculous to take these massive improvements to the core game as an insult or even suggest that developers should be updating content that isn´t even their own.

Modded content has always been responsibility of the modders, how is that news all of a sudden?
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v4v474 said:
The overwhelming majority of mods still sound good (or better, actually), just by adjusting the "Legacy" sliders in the sound preferences.
So... I think you are going overboard with "destroyed".
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There is no Legacy slider to lower the opponents cars volume. And the problem is the way to loud opponents cars. So I don't think I am going overboard with "destroyed".
 
Nitro McClean
Premium
Mitch9 said:
I´m trying to understand what´s so hard to understand about this.

There´s a new sound engine wich requires updates to existing files - the only thing s397 havent delivered is proper documentation, but some general guidelines to do the update have already been given, and some modders have already done such update.

It´s the same thing as when they changed from dx9 to dx11 and pbr; older workflow was deprecated to make way for improvements, and the content that wasn´t updated suffered.
This also happens with Assetto Corsa and CSP; core stuff gets added or improved and older content will have to be updated or it will show it´s age. Those modders that make content for ac don´t get paid to update their stuff to use a new CSP feature either, and yet the ones that are active will take the time to do so if they deem it necessary.

The big difference is that you mostly get a choice with AC+CSP while you can only roll back a few versions with rf2, but it´s honestly ridiculous to take these massive improvements to the core game as an insult or even suggest that developers should be updating content that isn´t even their own.

Modded content has always been responsibility of the modders, how is that news all of a sudden?
Click to expand...
The point is, good sounding mods are not sounding good anymore because of a change in the mix balance in rFactor 2. The right balance between the different sounds is already stored in the mods. Only now the mix is suddenly different. We are talking about the mix ratio between different sounds. That's not exactly rocket science. A slider to adjust the volume of the opponent cars would already make a lot of difference. How hard can that be?
 
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Nitro McClean said:
There is no Legacy slider to lower the opponents cars volume. And the problem is the way to loud opponents cars. So I don't think I am going overboard with "destroyed".
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I can guarantee you that you can balance the sound appropriately.
I drive all sorts of cars and I had little to no issues finding a good balance.
Also, a new slider has been added to improve the legacy sound tuning.
 
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Premium
Nitro McClean said:
The point is, good sounding mods are not sounding good anymore because of a change in the mix balance in rFactor 2. The right balance between the different sounds is already stored in the mods. Only now the mix is suddenly different. We are talking about the mix ratio between different sounds. That's not exactly rocket science. A slider to adjust the volume of the opponent cars would already make a lot of difference. How hard can that be?
Click to expand...
Harder than you trying a bit more to use the sliders appropriately :-D
 
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D
WHEN THE HELL are they going to fix these HORRIFICALLY bad shadows that draw in right in front of you?!?!?! Seriously people!! COME ON!!!
 
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banenab said:
Is it just me, or is rFactor 2 performing poorly? I have 16 gigs of ram, ryzen 5 2600 cpu, and Radeon RX6600 gpu, and framerate was extremely inconsisten last time i checked the game out, so about 2 or 3 weeks ago.
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You might want to check this update. I've had poor performances too with the 1128 and with this build they apparently addressed this issue, moving the sound system to another thread. This was the cause of random frame time spikes and loss of fps
 
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Premium
Defender said:
WHEN THE HELL are they going to fix these HORRIFICALLY bad shadows that draw in right in front of you?!?!?! Seriously people!! COME ON!!!
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So... we have an article talking about a WEALTH of SIGNIFICANT and MATERIAL IMPROVEMENTS in rFactor 2 physics and your impulse was to post a commentary ONLY to talk about the SHADOWS? :rolleyes:
 
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Durge Driven said:
Funny had awesome offline races in endurance BTCC and Historic this week.

You got to know how to setup and what combos so try.

That you can't have a good AI race speaks volumes for your lack of understanding.
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And it's just tough luck if the combo you want to race doesn't work, even if that combo is all official content... Like GT3 at Silverstone for example where they're hideously slow around some corners.

Imagine paying for stuff and having it just work without hours of trial and error. Wouldn't that be better than having to develop an 'understanding'?
 
S
I hope they do a pass over the sound of the sim. There is a lot more to be fixed still, but this is a step in the right direction.
 
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pitkin said:
And it's just tough luck if the combo you want to race doesn't work, even if that combo is all official content... Like GT3 at Silverstone for example where they're hideously slow around some corners.

Imagine paying for stuff and having it just work without hours of trial and error. Wouldn't that be better than having to develop an 'understanding'?
Click to expand...
Yup! You are correct! Why just the other day I bought that fancy new airplane and loaded up the sim to fly it....hmmm. Where is the starter button? I have to do what? A Checklist just to start the freakin' thing?

Sorry, got a bit snarky there.

rF2 will NEVER be completely hands off, it is the in the bones of the sim, the original ISI team never reached the point of having a polished product. S397 has made advances in user functionality but the long list of items to address continues to pile up.
S397 releases an entirely new feature and completely revamps another and one of the first reviews was from a user who loaded too many cars on the track and couldn't exit his pit garage. Nothing to do with the updates, another user reads the upcoming changes and complains his 3rd party mods sound funny. Nothing to do with the updates. Just above is a comment about the shadows. Again nothing to do with THESE updates. Because there are so many unpolished areas within rF2, portions of the user base will always be frustrated because the item they want addressed is not or has not been changed to what they prefer.
 

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