Disappointed in rfactor 2

[Kevin Cordice]

Why I say disappointing,

Well over the years I have played some console titles which I did enjoyed and some what still do but with Sim Racing it change my whole perspective on my racing experience.

GSC and rfactor 1 did something to me that no one can take away from me, but looking the age of these gaming engine it is understandable what was achieve back then.

Currently it is 2013 on my side of the world but is seems that ISI is a bit stuck in the pass with rfactor 2 people talk about the physic/tire model of a good sim and don't get me wrong they seem to be heading in a better direction with improvements, but graphically wise it a huge disappoint for me take for example the console guys e.g GT&Forza the teams have huge I mean HUGE graphic leap/s over rf2 going back as far as 2-3 generations of their titles. If these groups were to step into the true Simulation market rf2 would probably be a back burner game.

Visually I'm not impress that why my topic is basis on, I think society accept mediocrity to easily.


This is just my outlook my take on what I have experience/lack there of so far with rf2, this post is not made to intentionally/unintentionally hurt anyone. To each man his own

Enough with the cartoons please

 

[David Ignjatovic]

I am able to react to snap oversteer just fine with my G25 including all the new cars. Do you have the FFB higher than default?

No.....

 

[Ryan Vickery]

Some of the user made track content for RF2 looks amazing, I set my resolution down to 1024x768 and It looked like GT5 on the PS3, I bumped it back up to 1920x1080 and surprised myself in realising the potential of the visuals in RF2 is pretty good, though often the lighting is a bit off and the game can look a bit too bloomy.

I honestly think that having done this little experiment it is the low resolutions of games like FM4 and GT5 that hide how bad they would probably look if scaled up to a sharp resolution on the PC, all of the turd would be plain to see. The graphics engine in RF2 is strong enough that with the right tweaks (mostly lighting) and quality made user content it is more than a strong contender graphically.


As for the physics, they have changed a lot over the last year. I recently picked it up again with the latest update and I must say I am enjoying myself. I play with a G27, not having any issues driving the cars. A while back I was coming accross issues driving some cars but the game is night and day compared to before with the new patch.



My dislike of the UI and how mods interact with each other hasn't changed though, it is worse than RF1 in this respect.

 

[stefaandk]

I agree that RF2 has been disappointing in too many ways, I've signed up for their beta which I believe was in January 2012, the progress on this game has been pretty poor to say the least, it feels to me like there are 2 people working on this as a hobby whenever spare time permits, I genuinely think that ISI has bigger and better things to do.

Graphics are always open to debate but the main problem is that the game doesn't even run well, triple screen support is still abysmally bad, the UI is a shocker, for the latter hire some people who do that type of stuff, the games industry has specialists in the field of UI design! In RF1 I get over 120 FPS and here I'm lucky to get 30 so that's 90 fps less, love or hate the gfx it certainly doesn't look to me like the graphical fidelity justifies that drop!

There doesn't seem to be any focus either at ISI, all of a sudden there's a new track and some new cars which are nice to have but the other shortcomings mean I don't get to enjoy them anyway, improving the core experience before adding more content would be my approach.

Most of my simming was still in RF1 using some of the better mods until reiza (pre) released Game Stock Car 2013, this sim feels more like RF2 than RF2 does! I wish someone threw reiza a few million bucks to develop their own engine from scratch as clearly these guys have got their sh!t together!

Hopefully we'll see a polished and completed RF2 product at some stage but I'm certainly not expecting this to become my number 1 sim any time soon.

A shame really, we'll see what Asetto Corsa brings to the table as that seems to be the only next gen competitor, even simbin seems to have made the worst possible decision as to what direction they want to go next and completely alienated their audience with some hybrid simcade overpriced product for lack of a better term.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

You are assuming a lot @stefaandk but is it also correct?

If we "threw millions to Reiza" are they actually capable of building their own engine? Do they have the know how or are they just developing a great game (agree ) on someone else's engine.

Simbin is doing better than ever before from a business perspective, this might result in a few losses from the hardcore simracers but gets overly compensated by a whole new crowd via Steam. Is that a wrong call? From a business perspective it certainly isn't.

On the topic of rF2. I am also not very happy with its current state but lets be honest were you happy with rF1 when it first came out? Under average content, bad sounds, bugs etc.

Took ISI some time to polish that title into what it is today and I am confident they can do the same for rF2 as well.

 

[stefaandk]

Sure Reiza developed a product fundamentally upon someone else's foundations but I guess that's the point, with enough financial resources I would like to think that the expertise currently missing like developing an engine from scratch comes down to the statement "there are few problems that money can't solve."
This then comes back to ISI which largely seem to have the right expertise but maybe not the time or the manpower to deliver a product within a timely fashion and unwilling to commit additional resources to it, I have the impression that all the development is 100% in house in all areas of this product. There's no shame in outsourcing parts of your game/sim to developers with specific expertise in the interest of both quality and time, one of the most common things in game development.
Assumptions based on perceptions I suppose, no desire to be right, if anything would love to be proven wrong!
And sure I rather see a quality product that takes longer to finish vs a poor rushed product yadda yadda and that's all fine if my assumptions are indeed wrong but if my assumptions are correct the rate at which rf2 progresses becomes a lot more difficult to accept.

I was happy with RF1 upon release I guess but admittedly I bought RF1 back in 2006 I think and it was pretty solid when I got it, I certainly was "happy" with it, was there an equally drawn out beta process for RF1, I don't know.

I'm surprised that Simbin is doing well from raceroom but all power to them, I hope they do well as maybe that revenue will translate into the development of GTR3.

 

[Justin Swan]

Looking forward to the BTCC Honda Civic, that's certainly going to make up for some of negatives ,hopefully

 

[David Ignjatovic]

Mak corp's F3 is a gripfest{but still a decent enough car}, and one of the G4 things spun me 360 based off of the lightest tap of throttle.

 

[Randy Chamberlin]

The folks having problems with rF2 obviously don't spend enough time getting it set up. I run just fine with mine in the sim. Comparing to your other sims doesn't help. rF2 is getting better.

 

[Dino Paolini]

The folks having problems with rF2 obviously don't spend enough time getting it set up. I run just fine with mine in the sim. Comparing to your other sims doesn't help. rF2 is getting better.

Even more helpful than thorough setting up is to drive it a lot My settings over time are coming back closer to default settings for some reason.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

I did actually just realize, that rF2 have changed quite a lot over the almost 2 years it's been out. Also stock-content wise.

(Shameless self-advertising)

 

[Guy Moulton]

Kevin
It seems to me (without getting too technical as I'm not a programming guru) that ever since 15 years ago there have been almost two tribes of racing gamers.

The visual tribe and the physics tribe. This applies equally to console and PC gamers.
EG the Xbox Physics tribe loves Race Pro as its based on the ISI G Motor engine (RF1). The Visual tribe hate it as Forza has much better graphics.

Neither tribe can really understand the culture, language and philisophy of the other tribe.
I am a member of the Physics tribe and will happily sacrifice world class eye candy for state of the art physics.
Its a choice we are all free to make.
Happy racing
Over and out.

This guy said it best. Style vs. substance is not only a sim racing thing, but it is a human thing. In our personalities as in our games, some people base everything on looks, some don't care about looks. rF2 looks OK, but it drives like no other game, it is amazing. The online is fantastic.

As for online- if you want to do pubby racing- rF2 is not the game for you. rF2 is squarely focused on league racing- right down to the rfmod system. Once you are with a regular group and have the mods, racing online in rF2 is the best. Real time skin sharing, dynamic racing line, best physics out there, fantastic car-to-car collision detection. The FFB is the best of any game so far- if you have the controller for it.

 

[RaceNut]

Of course - it's not that black & white. I am one that wants both good physics and good graphics, and I'll even add another layer - good sound. Don't get me wrong, I can live with rF2 graphics but, I certainly would like to have better so long as it doesn't mean compromising on the physics. The sound aspect has been the main area where the really big improvements need to be made in most titles IMO. Nothing kills immersion like poor engine and tire squeal for me. Thankfully, the titles currently in development seem to be getting extra attention in the sound dept.

 

[David O'Reilly]

In my opinion the immersion level now in RF2 is incredible.
We did a multiplayer 8 hour race on Saturday. The RD VWEC
That experience included

• 3 car classes all cars with unique skins.
• Ultra realistic physics
• great graphics
• 2 X 2 hour stints for myself.
• Rain in which teams chose between slicks and wets. the Slick drivers HAD to stick to the drying line and did ok unless the went for a pass and had to brake off that line.
• A night session.
• Damage
• All of which was managed with "team radio" (teams peak) to manage tactics
• Battles for position in the last 30 mins of an 8 hour / 230 lap race.

I have raced real cars (up to 450ps) on real tracks and done 12 hour Go Kart endurance events.
I left this event exhausted, ecstatic, elated with P5 outright and in class.
It took me 48 hours to recover.
So as black and white as it sounds. I think its awesome.

here is the link
by all means tell me if realism and sound aren't up to spec

 

[Richard Eriksson]

I love rF2, to me it represents the way forward for serious simulation of
race car dynamics. pCARS and the like, is just to
simplified, both in it's handling (i find it floaty and dull) and general approach.

Also, to me, rF2 looks prettier than pCARS. Maybe not in the "omg! Dat shader man!!?!" way, but in
the "realistic looking" department. I find the so-called "next-gen" graphics sims to look artificial
and "plastic". It is soulless. So i dont see the reason to complain there either.

However, i have a theory of my own as to why some people seem incapable of getting along with rF2
and some of the cars they try... Default set-ups. Most people from a "non-sim" background trying
the title will only ever use default set-ups. And for some of the cars in rF2, they are quite poor.

For instance, i have more than 15 years of simracing experience, combined with actual track experience
but in the default set-up, the F2 is undriveable. Change some stuff to get rid of the strange snap
oversteer, and the odd tendency to give up all weight at the back, when in neutral throttle, however...
and the car is manageable and works like a dream and i can clock decent times.

So, i think maybe some other products are better at giving the cars a "friendly" beginner set, like
SimBins titles always have done, in my view...

Also, rF2 more than probably any other title, demands the right hardware to show it's strengths.

A 270 degree, plastic toy wheel is not going to cut it. When the right stuff is used, the FFB and
response, when using automatic set, is amazing for most vehicles represented.

And before we have a hatefest, i like pCARS too, and i am a supporting member. But i like it
in a different way, and view it more as a competitor for Forza and GT and the like. To me it's
not really a "racing simulator" per say, it's a more advanced Shift 2, for what it's worth.

 

[Barry Mitchell]

Kevin
It seems to me (without getting too technical as I'm not a programming guru) that ever since 15 years ago there have been almost two tribes of racing gamers.

The visual tribe and the physics tribe. This applies equally to console and PC gamers.
EG the Xbox Physics tribe loves Race Pro as its based on the ISI G Motor engine (RF1). The Visual tribe hate it as Forza has much better graphics.

Neither tribe can really understand the culture, language and philisophy of the other tribe.
I am a member of the Physics tribe and will happily sacrifice world class eye candy for state of the art physics.
Its a choice we are all free to make.
Happy racing
Over and out.

I dont get why we cant have both? I like playing grid 2 for a short time. I looked forward too it for months! i a very bored with it now simply because it feels like a toy game and not like Race 07 or similar games,,,

I want cool and real!

hopefulLY ASSETTO CORSA WILL DELIVER THIS.

oops caps off

 

[David O'Reilly]

I dont get why we cant have both? I like playing grid 2 for a short time. I looked forward too it for months! i a very bored with it now simply because it feels like a toy game and not like Race 07 or similar games,,,

I want cool and real!

hopefulLY ASSETTO CORSA WILL DELIVER THIS.

oops caps off

Well as far as my opinion is concened I do have both in RF2.
Many will differ in their views.
However my original point is that there are two tribes who prioritise these two elements differently and i reckon its true.