GT3 Challenges Pack Released for rFactor 2

[Paul Jeffrey]

Four of the five new GT3 cars for rFactor 2 have been released today!

Released just 24 hours after the final car reveal yesterday, the five vehicle 'GT3 Challengers' DLC for rFactor 2 is here! Although containing five cars, players will have to wait for a little while yet until we get access to the brand new 2019 Aston Martin Vantage GT3, that one is undergoing final manufacturer approval and hasn't quite managed to sneak into the pack ahead of the release deadline today.

Even without the Aston, the new car pack from Studio 397 is an incredibly impressive achievement and in my opinion at least, really showcases the exceptional potential of what is one of the finest racing simulations currently available. The new cars, the BMW M6, McLaren 720s, Audi R8 LMS and Porsche 911 GT3 R are quite literally the highest quality Studio 397 have released to date, and represent the first pieces of content to be developed with the much anticipated new materials shaders for the title.

Although joining the sim as a standalone DLC, the new cars have received suitable BOP settings to allow them to race competitively with the current crop of GT3 machines, meaning rFactor will have a very impressive collection of no less than 10 recent GT3 cars within the sim (plus the older Camaro GT3 from the ISI era).. not bad going in the space of just over one year..

For me, these new cars that form part of the 'GT3 Challengers' DLC are testament to the quality Studio 397 are capable of delivering, and could, quite possibly, be some of the finest content in sim racing....

The Studio 397 announcement notes:

With a great heritage in GT class racing, we are proud to announce the next pack released for rFactor 2 – The GT3 Challengers Pack. Featuring not just one, but two world firsts! GT represents much of what rFactor 2 stands for, and fits into our feature set of day/night transitions, weather and driver swaps. We hope you enjoy this pack that also features our latest graphic engine technology.

With our existing GT3 Pack and the Endurance Pack we now have 13 GT class cars that can race on track – add a couple of LMP’s and we have one of the most diverse grids in sim racing.

Once again we are proud to have great support from partners to help us make this happen.

Download on Steam right here!

Now let’s take a look at what’s in awesome pack!

McLaren 720s

To bring one of their new incredible cars onto race tracks, McLaren developed the stunning 720S GT3.

Modern design, impressive aerodynamics and years of experience in Motorsport should help this car to claim wins among several premier GT3 events in 2019.

Porsche 911 GT3 R

It probably wouldn’t be called motorsport if the iconic brand Porsche aren’t part of a class.

The 911 GT3 R is once again a very balanced, race-proven car by the German manufacturer, reinforcing their image as being amongst the highest rated contenders in a series.

Audi R8 LMS GT3

Considered as one of the all-time favourites, this midship RWD car by Audi has been competing in GT3 since the beginning, winning significant races around the globe for a variety of teams. A demanding but rewarding choice.

BMW M6 GT3

From the very start, the BMW M6 GT3 hit the grids all over the motorsport world and proved the V8 concept to the German manufacturer. Leading several Endurance events in different series and also claiming the 2018 FIA GT World Cup title, this car is a winner.


Aston Martin Vantage 2019

The second generation of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is ready for some serious racing action. It will enter GT events in 2019 and beefs up the already stunning road version of the Vantage. With the prestige and expertise Aston Martin brings into racing, it’s a challenger you always have to keep an eye on.

*Please note this car will be released as part of the pack once approved


Final Notes
These cars are built with our new graphic technology, based on PBR lighting. We are converting more of our older content and yes, we are bringing more liveries to you shortly!

For painters, we are finalising the templates and the technology behind it, trust us, it will be a game changer for you! In the meantime, please read more on our December Roadmap here https://www.studio-397.com/2018/12/roadmap-update-december-2018/

rFactor 2 is available exclusively for PC from Steam now.

Check out the rFactor 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for all the latest news and discussion with regards to the simulation. You can take part in lively debates with fellow rFactor 2 fans and take part in some great Club and League racing events..! Head over to the forum now!

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[FeltHat]

Is R3E actually that good to be compared to rF2 ?

No Falkenberg in rF2 (why you dont acknowledge r3e as a sim?)

 

[Peter Kerényi]

This is subjective. I find both fairly priced.
Consider this for a second.

S397 allows mods, releases free cars and tracks. Their DLCs need to compete with free stuff, and for many users free always wins over paid content. R3E doesn't allow mods, doesn't release free cars (apart from the free to play stuff to get you in the door), and you need to pay for liveries. They have different business model, yet both need to make money to survive.

I think it's a little unfair to criticize rF2 for making you buy all the cars from the series to be able to race against them, while not recognizing the stuff they give away for free. It's true you only need a single car from R3E to race in the series, but then you have to pay for every microtransaction - different ways to make money.

R3E - need to buy only one car to race against others, but you need to buy tracks.
rF2 - need to buy all the cars from the pack to race against them, but you have tons of free tracks, and tons of mods.

All have strengths and weaknesses

Indeed. I agree.

R3E made the Formula Jr. and Sepang free permanently BTW so they also make free releases. It's much more frequent with rF2 though. With the modding argument... there is really not enough mods that reach my personal quality expectations (both in rF2 & AC) and one can really get into wasting time by searching for mods and trying them, deleting them, finding better versions, etc. (I know I do) so it's really a two-sided sword.

Anyways, at the moment you can buy every content in R3E for 49.99 EUR (incl. many seasons of licensed series and a bunch of great quality, although not laser-scanned track), while in the case of rF2 for 40 EUR you can get 10 GT3s, the Endurance Pack and Sebring + of course you have a bunch of free content of different age and quality. If you bought ACC in the 1st phase of EA you get two full seasons of the Blancpain GT Series with ~20+ cars and 11 laser-scanned tracks (eventually) for 25 EUR. If you look at DEALS (<- this is the important thing), rF2 suddenly feels much more expensive (other than iRacing), while NOT producing very high-detailed cars (display argument). I might get negative feedback for this, but if I downloaded the current rF2 pack as a free mod for e.g. AC, because of those displays I would not keep them. And that is sad -> because I can't help having such high standards (graphical) & because paid content should have higher standards.

This is only about graphics and details though. If some people feel rF2 is the best for them (from a driving perspective and such petty things don't bug them) and like this new pack of GT3s, I am very happy that they are happy. I am unhappy because I can't enjoy it.

Anyways, I am off to sleep. Everybody have a Merry Christmas.

 

[M D Gourley]

Trying out the Assetto Corsa's 'Nordschleife' conversion to rF2 using the GT3 Challengers Pack with some old friends...lol...unedited Triple Screen shots

 

[Ami_M3]

@FeltHat what are you disagreeing with? Or do you like to just click red X whenever you see my name? You've done it in the past, and twice in this thread already. What's on your mind, don't be shy

 

[Ami_M3]

Indeed. I agree.

R3E made the Formula Jr. and Sepang free permanently BTW so they also make free releases. It's much more frequent with rF2 though. With the modding argument... there is really not enough mods that reach my personal quality expectations (both in rF2 & AC) and one can really get into wasting time by searching for mods and trying them, deleting them, finding better versions, etc. (I know I do) so it's really a two-sided sword.

Anyways, at the moment you can buy every content in R3E for 49.99 EUR (incl. many seasons of licensed series and a bunch of great quality, although not laser-scanned track), while in the case of rF2 for 40 EUR you can get 10 GT3s, the Endurance Pack and Sebring + of course you have a bunch of free content of different age and quality. If you bought ACC in the 1st phase of EA you get two full seasons of the Blancpain GT Series with ~20+ cars and 11 laser-scanned tracks (eventually) for 25 EUR. If you look at DEALS (<- this is the important thing), rF2 suddenly feels much more expensive (other than iRacing), while NOT producing very high-detailed cars (display argument). I might get negative feedback for this, but if I downloaded the current rF2 pack as a free mod for e.g. AC, because of those displays I would not keep them. And that is sad -> because I can't help having such high standards (graphical) & because paid content should have higher standards.

This is only about graphics and details though. If some people feel rF2 is the best for them (from a driving perspective and such petty things don't bug them) and like this new pack of GT3s, I am very happy that they are happy. I am unhappy because I can't enjoy it.

Anyways, I am off to sleep. Everybody have a Merry Christmas.

Fair enough. Merry Christmas

 

[Ami_M3]

Is R3E actually that good to be compared to rF2 ? I constantly see R3E mentioned everywhere, I haven't tried it, but personally I don't acknowledge it as a simulator. Though due to increasing bias towards content, graphics and all that other background stuff every title soon will be considered as simulator

Try it. The free to play content is quite good. It's a sim. There are some setup adjustments missing (tire pressure for instance) but still, it's a very good title.

 

[FeltHat]

@FeltHat what are you disagreeing with? Or do you like to just click red X whenever you see my name? You've done it in the past, and twice in this thread already. What's on your mind, don't be shy

from last two posts i disagree with:
-"doesn't release free cars (apart from the free to play stuff to get you in the door)"
-"it's a little unfair to criticize rF2 for making you buy all the cars from the series to be able to race against them"
-"you have to pay for every microtransaction" (what this one even mean? are there microtransactions you dont have to pay for?)
-"but you need to buy tracks."
-"SimBin does the same and gets away with it - yet they don't release free tracks nor cars like Studio 397 does."
If your statements are not true or you simply express your subjective opinion then be prepared to face "disagree" rating (ideally without asking why)

hyper off topic, sorry Kenny

 

[carzogliot]

Good handling, pretty good sounds and the exteriors are nice, but the interiors......come on studio 397!!! The Audi and the Mc 720 are ok but the Porsche (my fav car) looks awful. It seems incomplete! Textures are horrible and the car has gaps everywhere. I don't get it!

 

[mantasisg]

No Falkenberg in rF2 (why you dont acknowledge r3e as a sim?)

I'll reply here after I'll try it I suppose it should be higher than PC2.

 

[Case_]

Is R3E actually that good to be compared to rF2 ? I constantly see R3E mentioned everywhere, I haven't tried it, but personally I don't acknowledge it as a simulator. Though due to increasing bias towards content, graphics and all that other background stuff every title soon will be considered as simulator

Why don't you try it, then? It's hard to give you an answer since we don't even know why you don't consider it a sim. You can install if for free with some free content available (for both single player and multiplayer) and you can also test every single car in the game for however long you like, even though you're limited to a single track with this.

Personally, I'd say the two games are very close to each other in regards to driving feel, and Raceroom certainly wins for me when it comes to the "user experience". I don't really care much about the absence of weather or night driving or non-adjustable tyre pressures. But that's just me, YMMV.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

They should fixed the bugs in devmod,wipers and rain stop working in some of the mods i have almost ready for release,lights of the cars are a mess when the safety car is activated.......and others stufs.

Please report any bugs you find on our forum, one post per bug preferably.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

they look just as bad, but in higher resolution

Actually the higher res one doesn't look as bad as your screenshot by any stretch of imagination. Obviously resolution will help since all this gauge thing is showing is a very simple flat material. It's all about the textures really, little to do with rendering or anything.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

Current engine doesn't allow for more complex dashes. Currently they're based on bitmaps and they're rendered in pretty much same way like the games from, for example Super Nintendo. That's how you do the font (it's not taken from rF, I just googled it):

Notice how every symbol has exact same width and height.

The fonts are rendered using a bitmap, that much is true, and the same goes for fonts in the current HUD but the part where you state they have to be fixed width is actually false. If you are interested, I can explain how they work, but that might go off topic too much for this thread.

 

[Durge Driven]

So let me get this right , rF2 cars drive better then the corresponding cars in other sims

They always have

 

[E304LIFE]

My bad..I started this by injecting my thoughts through text, about my concern with too many GT3 cars etc, when I should've started and ended with "great to see this title moving forward, and the GT3 cars are a great addition also".

@Marcel Offermans Thanks for the continued work on Rf2, and keep the polishing and improvements coming!

 

[Logan812]

I haven't tried it, but personally I don't acknowledge it as a simulator.

That logic is mind-blowing. "I haven't tried ice cream, but I don't think it's a dessert."

 

[muzikant]

I think studio 397 has made the most progress this year in simracing!!

tonight again driven with the Porsche on road atlanta.. For me there is nothing that comes close to the Porsche gt3 maybe RRE a bit .. but the Rfactor2 car is alive..more than the RRE version (only my opinion and that sound!! Very happy with the Gt3 pack.. Whe need more real famous tracks hope in future

 

[Durge Driven]

was only a joke to lighten the atmosphere

Of course many disagree with me, like 99.0% of everything in here it's personal opinion

I don't understand why people don't stop and think for a minute

Many debate subjects like physics, visuals, FFB , audio .....as if everyone else has identical OS, hardware and setup to them

edit: .....imagine trying to get developers to tell the truth

Get some rascals on each continent like Jimmy B to kidnap physics guru from each studio
Take them to busiest part of town and ask them 1 question...

" in your opinion which studio has the best physics...... oh and if we don't like your answer we will shave your head and leave you naked "

Point being they still wouldn't agree so what hope have we lot got

 

[OZ67]

No cars in rf2 have shifting animation unfortunately

How can one small Team (Kunos) build a whole sim from scratch in 12 months but yet another small team (Studio 397) is still working on a UI after 5 years? Someone is a bit lazy

I should add to keep on Topic , these new cars are awesome, just like the rFactor 2 physics are second to none imho.

 

[wajdi]

It’s incredible how you guys have all that time to check all these details in the cockpit?!
All I did after downloading the cars was to pick the R8, make some small changes in the setup and then enjoy driving a 20 laps test in Silverstone with my oculus rift.