rFactor 2 Online: Public Release Is Here

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After seven weeks of testing on the release candidate servers, rFactor 2 Online has officially left open beta. As the rFactor 2 Online public release is here, we take a look at what this means for a sim that is all the rage at the end of 2023.

rFactor 2 online has taken the sim racing world by storm over the past seven weeks. Dedicated releases of fresh weekly content have seen the platform grow again after many had left the sim. Not only does the service offer sim racers a new view into rFactor 2, but it gives hope that, despite the Motorsport Games drama, Studio 397 are still working hard to deliver on its ambitious rFactor 2 content plan.

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rFactor 2 Online Public Release: What It Means For The Future

The main impact of the online build going public should be a significant spike in user numbers, especially in the free-to-play beginner events. Whilst the user base will increase, can the current system retain the impressive numbers? New content and special events will dictate that, as well as consistency regarding regular content updates.

With rF2 Online releasing well before 2024, rFactor 2 may well have a lot of ambitious plans for the new year. With the record-setting player numbers for 2023 achieved back in October, at the start of the release candidate, rFactor 2 continues to go from strength to strength.

Special Events

Heading into next year, the special events included in the new online mode will most likely include non-licenced and, potentially, licensed events. Whilst other sims have the rights to events such as IMSA’s Daytona 24 Hours, nothing is stopping Studio 397 from recreating the event with the content they have available.

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What’s Next For rFactor 2?​

We mentioned that rFactor 2 online lacks free up-to-date content. What would you like to see added or improved regarding free content? In our opinion, with ageing content being pushed weekly, rFactor 2’s next logical step would be to revamp and overhaul cars such as the Radical SR3 XX.

The BMW M2 CS, the car given out to players for signing up to the online mode, received a revamp at the start of the release candidate. The Radical and the multiple iterations of the Tatuus junior formula cars are more than likely in the pipeline for a similar treatment.

The week 7 schedule is out with a striking American theme. Tracks that feature include Laguna Seca, Lime Rock Park and the newest addition to the online roster, World Wide Technology Raceway.

Have you had a chance to check out rFactor 2’s new main build online implementation? Let us know how you get on over on X @OverTake_gg or down in the comments below!
About author
Connor Minniss
Website Content Editor & Motorsport Photographer aiming to bring you the best of the best within the world of sim racing.

Comments

Joined a online race...spent 40 minutes practicing..it went to race ..bam.. disconnected:mad: the whole server with that race is gone ...okay ..fine ..a glitch..it happens ..joined the radicals ..another 35 minutes of practicing.. went to race ..bam!!... exactly same thing :devilish: .. .i'm hoping this is not a common occurance? ..has this happened to others?
Are you moving from the Practice server to the race event? They are two separate servers. If you are practicing on the PRACTICE server, you have to exit and go to the Race Control to prepare to join the actual race event.
 
Both i and my buddy are in diffrent locations in North America...exactly same thing happening to us ? It must have been a issue with the rf2 server I'm guessing...unless by chance we both had connection issues with our internet providers on both races..which seems very unlikely
 
thank you for that info Davehenrie...no..did not..and how was i supposed to know that?? I seen only a couple people leave the server ..everyone else stayed ..I assumed it was going to roll session like it typically does in rf2 server. So basically 92% of the people in both races did not leave the server and go to the other "race" server. once the timer ran out,,I was dissconnected ..there was nothing there to tell me to go to "race server" and there was nothing there to indicate there was a " race server"" .... well ..thats good to know ...in iracing a message comes up telling you to leave the current server and go to the race server..
 
Premium
thank you for that info Davehenrie...no..did not..and how was i supposed to know that?? I seen only a couple people leave the server ..everyone else stayed ..I assumed it was going to roll session like it typically does in rf2 server. So basically 92% of the people in both races did not leave the server and go to the other "race" server. once the timer ran out,,I was dissconnected ..there was nothing there to tell me to go to "race server" and there was nothing there to indicate there was a " race server"" .... well ..thats good to know ...in iracing a message comes up telling you to leave the current server and go to the race server..
Yeah they could make that clearer.
 
thank you for that info Davehenrie...no..did not..and how was i supposed to know that?? I seen only a couple people leave the server ..everyone else stayed ..I assumed it was going to roll session like it typically does in rf2 server. So basically 92% of the people in both races did not leave the server and go to the other "race" server. once the timer ran out,,I was dissconnected ..there was nothing there to tell me to go to "race server" and there was nothing there to indicate there was a " race server"" .... well ..thats good to know ...in iracing a message comes up telling you to leave the current server and go to the race server..
Yeah - there are messages in the Message Centre that say something along the lines of 'Event starts in x minutes'.

Apparently, they can't automatically move you from the Practice Server to the Race Server due to the way the UI has been built (technical reasons I can't quite remember the details of).
 
Back to rf1 again seems like it.. and accepting the limits of the game.

Untill they learn to make things right before releasing stuff.. they will lose lot of players.. waiting for propper updates for cars or tracks is not i repeat is not something most people would like to do when they buy a game to find out that things arent right.

The new racing class system its fine but you need propper content and there is not one standard. Some cars have bad ffb some car lacks other stuff.

I know a other game on steam..
Dcs.. a free platform but every content costs around 50 to 70 euros
The content is most times released about 50% complete and you have some times wait for years to get a up date, while they release in the same time more and more content 50% complete and also have to wait for years to get a up date..

This is how rf2 starting to feel like.
Such great potential but they F ing it up for the "big" money dream.
While if they release something really good they would make a lot more money by having more players around to begin with.
 
Premium
Back to rf1 again seems like it.. and accepting the limits of the game.

Untill they learn to make things right before releasing stuff.. they will lose lot of players.. waiting for propper updates for cars or tracks is not i repeat is not something most people would like to do when they buy a game to find out that things arent right.

The new racing class system its fine but you need propper content and there is not one standard. Some cars have bad ffb some car lacks other stuff.

I know a other game on steam..
Dcs.. a free platform but every content costs around 50 to 70 euros
The content is most times released about 50% complete and you have some times wait for years to get a up date, while they release in the same time more and more content 50% complete and also have to wait for years to get a up date..

This is how rf2 starting to feel like.
Such great potential but they F ing it up for the "big" money dream.
While if they release something really good they would make a lot more money by having more players around to begin with.
So how much are they charging for this online system? Oh wait, its free. And the new content from S397, is very reasonably priced. This is clearly being put in place for LMU, and they have not denied that. But its a good system so not sure what you are moaning about tbh.
 
Much more detail over here


I like the daily races and and renting official servers but I'm still waiting for iRacing-like hourly races where you can just jump in. People's time is limited more than ever. This is a must.

This is the key for any other sim to compete against iRacing. There's a huge opportunity since iRacing' achille's heel is still their rigid and unintuitive tire model and driving model which is exactly where the other sims surpass it.
Couldn’t have said it better myself
 
Joined a online race...spent 40 minutes practicing..it went to race ..bam.. disconnected:mad: the whole server with that race is gone ...okay ..fine ..a glitch..it happens ..joined the radicals ..another 35 minutes of practicing.. went to race ..bam!!... exactly same thing :devilish: .. .i'm hoping this is not a common occurance? ..has this happened to others?
Yes, it happens to me every time at change of the servers ( I know this now, thank you @davehenrie ) But every time I was able to (re)join the race server and participate to the race.
I like this new online face of rFactor2 and I think it is a big step in the correct direction. A step I expected for a very long time and now I'm not disappointed at all.
I think rF2 has much more to offer so let's see what time will bring to us
 
So how much are they charging for this online system? Oh wait, its free. And the new content from S397, is very reasonably priced. This is clearly being put in place for LMU, and they have not denied that. But its a good system so not sure what you are moaning about tbh.
Reasonably priced as long as you live on EU or North America that is cuz their store does not feature local pricing for ppl living in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Japan, etc
 
So how much are they charging for this online system? Oh wait, its free. And the new content from S397, is very reasonably priced. This is clearly being put in place for LMU, and they have not denied that. But its a good system so not sure what you are moaning about tbh.
How old is rf2 by now? And how long are these issues around. Thats why they lose out on players to even less "great" games
 
Premium
How old is rf2 by now? And how long are these issues around. Thats why they lose out on players to even less "great" games
So what are they supposed to do, release a new game? Sounds like you are complaining now that an old game is being fixed? S397 have only been involved relatively recently, and everything they have done has been of a good standard IMO. Yes its taken a long time, but nothing the S397 can do about that is there?
 
What about tattus update? the old content updated? I race only offline and the content is inconsistency.....with nordschleife in ACC, rf2 will take the dust for me...
You've been consistently praising rF2 for months and now it's taking the dust for you.

Talk about inconsistency.
 
Back to rf1 again seems like it.. and accepting the limits of the game.

Untill they learn to make things right before releasing stuff.. they will lose lot of players.. waiting for propper updates for cars or tracks is not i repeat is not something most people would like to do when they buy a game to find out that things arent right.

The new racing class system its fine but you need propper content and there is not one standard. Some cars have bad ffb some car lacks other stuff.

I know a other game on steam..
Dcs.. a free platform but every content costs around 50 to 70 euros
The content is most times released about 50% complete and you have some times wait for years to get a up date, while they release in the same time more and more content 50% complete and also have to wait for years to get a up date..

This is how rf2 starting to feel like.
Such great potential but they F ing it up for the "big" money dream.
While if they release something really good they would make a lot more money by having more players around to begin with.
Go there and make better.....if you can.....
 
Go there and make better.....if you can.....
They had all the time to fix some issues they didnt.. thats not my fault.

How do you think to attract players to a game thats many years old now and have over the years some bad reputation. By launching a online multi player system while most content is not up to date? Getting driver ratings is not a new invention by rf2 dev's its applied to many games. Its not something world first or a new reason to buy rf2 just because they are the first game to have driver ratings.

But we will see over time if rf2 is getting daily 10.000 online at one single time
 
Haters gonna hate !
Yeah, I can't get why so many people hate rf2 that much. If you don't like it just don't play it and move on, there a lot of different racing games to everyone liking.
Excuse me for being self-referential but when I started with this hobby I moved from ac to rf2, not because I think ac isn't good but because rf2 offers me something different which I like
 
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