rF2: Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans) Released & rF2 Updated

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 have released their beautiful laser scanned Circuit de la Sarthe for rFactor 2.

One of the most iconic tracks in world motorsport, this weekend has seen the 87th running of the Le Mans 24 Hour race in France - the centrepiece event of the sportscar racing calendar and the season finale of the 2018/19 FIA World Endurance Championship season.

To mark the big event in style, Studio 397 have released their latest DLC for rFactor 2 - the laser scanned 2018 version of the famous Le Mans circuit!

Available to purchase now from the rFactor 2 Steam Store page for 10.99 eu, the new track is once again an impressive creation from Studio 397 - continuing the recent very high quality track standards achieved by the Dutch development studio.

rF2 Le Mans: Check out our test drive and Marcel Offermans interview HERE.

Alongside the new track comes a brand new update for rFactor 2, one that brings a number of fixes and improvements to the simulation as Studio 397 continue work towards refining and updating this highly regarded simulation. To catch up on the latest changes, check out the new build update notes below...

rF2 Update Notes:

With the track release comes a new build too. As always we advise people to update their dedicated servers and game clients. In fact, Le Mans requires this new build.

rFactor 2 version: 1.1112
Steam Build IDs: 3921932 (client), 3921933 (dedicated server)

Changes:

• Improved performance logging to be faster and give more information.
  
• Fixed skewed driver labels on triple screen multi-view (cockpit and track-side full-screen cams).
  
• Removed aggressive threading as it’s not that helpful.
  
• Improved timing to help avoid stutters and real-time freezes.
  
• Improvements on materials and lighting.
  
• Implemented all new ‘digital flags’ – for ‘Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans’.

Here's what Studio 397 have to say about the new release:

Just a few weeks ago, in our latest roadmap, we announced that Le Mans was coming to rFactor 2. Now, on the weekend that the 2019 edition of this famous 24h race is held, as the real cars pass the checkered flag after yet another memorable race, the racing won’t stop! We are proud to announce the release of the Le Mans 24h track, available immediately!

For those of you who can’t wait, here’s the link to the store, where you can buy your copy of the track right now and start driving!

Background
The story of the creation of this iconic track goes all the way back to the days when Studio 397 was founded, almost three years ago now. I guess, when we chose the name of our company we already showed our intention.

Being new to the game obviously meant that we had to first introduce ourselves to the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and build a relationship with them. Such things always take time. Over the first two years, we met regularly, explained our ideas and plans, and listened to their feedback. In that same time period, we also entered into discussions with various other tracks and car manufacturers and showed that we were serious about making rFactor 2 the most realistic racing simulation for everybody who enjoys the experience of driving race cars. All these things led to a licensing agreement, roughly a year ago, that all parties were happy with.

Just in time too for doing a laser scan of the 2018 track, as obviously Le Mans only exists in this configuration for a couple of weeks a year. With the license in place and the scan in our possession, production work started a little over half a year ago, with us balancing our track team resources at the time between three big tracks, the Nürburgring, already in production at that time after we announced it at SimRacing Expo last year, Monaco and Le Mans.

As with Sebring, our goal was to create the most realistic model of Le Mans possible for any consumer-oriented racing simulation available. By pairing our highly accurate physics with a very detailed road mesh, we have recreated the track in a way that makes you feel every bump and curb out there.

Graphically, we have used our latest shaders on this track. Improvements to our lighting model and materials are still in full swing. So whilst you will find this track already looks gorgeous, it is safe to say we will do an update once everything is finalized later in the year, and we will provide a more in-depth update on this process in one of our upcoming roadmaps.

For more from the world of rFactor 2, head over to the RaceDepartment rFactor 2 sub forum and connect with your fellow rF2 fans today!

Like what we do at RaceDepartment? Follow us on Social Media!


 ​

 

[falster]

ok, if you don't want to talk, don't reply me, i put my opinion and you replied me, but you don't want my reply to your reply... interesting.

/facepalm

This guy......

Enoneado is the greatest guy ever!

EDIT hahahah just wanted to see if you would blindly disagree with every post i write much like this fatal chap, and WOW, carl has a lot of friends on this one....

I like how they all disagree with him being the greatest. that's nice

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

As Mr Offermans said,the track will be updated to Rf2 quality standards in the next time,it is now V1.1.Look up the other Studio397 tracks as Sandvoord and Monaco 1966,they all got/get updated,when there is time.
Keep looking forward to the Nordschleife.
And yes,it is a bit expensive as i expected a price about 7-8 Euro,but who cares.
No time for worrying.....
DC

You either didn't watch the same stream as me or you must have misinterpreted horribly. Nowhere did I hear Marcel speaking anything about "updating to rF2 standards later". He said part of the new PBR shaders for tracks aren't yet fully implemented for Le Mans. Those PBR shaders are in 0% use in Sebring or any other rF2 track for that matter, it doesn't mean those tracks are "incomplete".

These kind of posts just serve to add confusion.

 

[Neils on Wheels]

It's brilliant i love it & i don't even like Le Mans.

 

[Copef1]

I just spent two hours running around Le Mans in a Porsche GTE car with 50 AI cars. I had LMP, GTE, and GT3 cars in the race. It was a blast. The track looks great, and drives great. I had to aviod AI cars crashing out in front of me, and did some late braking passes on them too. All in all plenty of excitement. I recently purchased a Fanatec DD1, and I was soaked with sweat by the time I finished the race. Time well spent I think.

P.S. I'm not too bothered by the price of the track, as I frequently spend a lot more than that on my mountain bikes, just for a tire.

 

[falster]

It's brilliant i love it & i don't even like Le Mans.

Dont worry, no doubt someone will be along shortly to tell you that you dont love it and indeed why you shouldnt.


EDIT hello carl, good seeing you here

 

[falster]

I just spent two hours running around Le Mans in a Porsche GTE car with 50 AI cars. I had LMP, GTE, and GT3 cars in the race. It was a blast. The track looks great, and drives great. I had to aviod AI cars crashing out in front of me, and did some late braking passes on them too. All in all plenty of excitement. I recently purchased a Fanatec DD1, and I was soaked with sweat by the time I finished the race. Time well spent I think.

P.S. I'm not too bothered by the price of the track, as I frequently spend a lot more than that on my mountain bikes, just for a tire.

and GT3 cars!?! You absolute mad lad heretic

 

[Case_]

Nobody is forcing you to buy it Martin? how can it rub you up the wrong way ..just do not buy it ..simple logic.

How is it even relevant if I buy something or not in this specific context? Are you suggesting that if I don't buy something, the "sell now, finish later" approach somehow stops being a huge issue? That not owning the item in question somehow makes it perfectly fine to say "well it will be updated later, when there is time"? Such approach to business is a huge issue regardless of whether you bought the item or not (but obviously much bigger when you did), so really, how can it *not* rub me the wrong way? This is simply a matter of principle. Saying "well you don't have to buy it, nobody's forcing you" is absolutely right and I agree with you...but it also doesn't make the problem go away.

I wonder what a customer would tell me if I sent them a job that's kinda sorta finished and told them "hey, don't worry about it, it's not exactly perfect, but send me the money now and I'll work on it within the next two weeks or so when I have more time for you"... Yeah, I'm sure it would go splendidly. Yet that's exactly what's increasingly considered normal in the gaming industry, and it's now apparently reached the point where people can apparently genuinely defend it. A bit of a Stockholm syndrome it would seem...

This is the ACC discussion all over again, tbh. And I get it, you seem to have no problem paying for an unfinished product and then patiently waiting for it to be gradually fixed, but even after that discussion, I still thought you can at least understand why some people have an issue with that.

(But again, and for the record, I want to emphasize I strongly suspect what the guy I was responding to has said is not what Marcel has said about the Le Mans track at all - because it doesn't sound like him *at all* - which makes all this even more just a general discussion not really related to the topic at hand.)

 

[PaulH]

Not my vid but

 

[falster]

Not my vid but

Yep, fairly spot on isnt it?

im sure the trees or something will be an area of concern for some but personally i think its great.

 

[Copef1]

Not my vid but

Doh!!!!! the trees at Tetre Rouge have more foliage in real life. I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!!

 

[Bonehead]

Of course there is. No UI, no fixes for the numerous people suffering from freezes, but lots of DLC. If people wonder why S397 gets more push back than other studios, read the previous sentence.

I would like to politely reply sir, that there is in fact a UI for rFactor2 and a new one has been promised and the release of it updated. The people suffering from 'freezes' might be related to their computer not being up to the standards of today's needs for a higher end computer system. I have been sim racing for 19 years since the birth of Papyrus, and have purchased numerous upgrading computers, wheels, pedals, stands, motion rigs, VR, and Lord knows what else.

I have watched the magic and realism of simulation racing sims/ games grow over the years and my jaw drops in awe with the improvements. It has become more real than I ever thought it could be way back when. I am very much appreciative of their time and massive effort, along with great 3rd party content be it free or paid for. I consider my money well spent purchasing new computer systems etc. to make them work and also look and run well.

I have spent over $1000.00 on iRacing products alone and stopped using it. I also have purchased just about every racing simulation you can think of for the last nineteen years. Some I still love and use, and others not so much if at all. In all these years and the monies I have spent, I have never bashed a product on any forum. I have offered constructive criticism and suggestions, however never put them down.

It gets old reading flaming short content about how this *uxs, and that stinks, and I'm not buying your product. Maybe it's time to grow up, possibly accept the fact that your computer is out dated, and needs a boost. rFactor2 has it's heart and soul into giving us a quality product now, and in the future. That costs money to do, and to me justifies the $12.00 (US) I spent on this track. This track is worth every penny.

If you cannot afford the tariff, then just not post here. If you are quick to slam/ bash and run with a short jab, most people here ignore you so why bother even posting? I am here at Race Department to support every racing sim developer and offer kind suggestions as to what I feel might improve their product for myself, and the true and dedicated sim racing fans in the community.

How difficult is it to post something along the lines of " My game freezes, and here are my computer specifications. Thanks."? That will get a developer to pay attention, not the short replies criticizing with no explanation as to what you are using and dissatisfied with.

Back to the Le Mans track I go!

Jack

 

[Bonehead]

Not my vid but

Amazing!

 

[tpw]

Sigh, another instabuy.

Pros:
Very high quality track by rF2 standards
Lots of visual detail
Great detailed road mesh, as befits a laser scan
Runs well on my midrange (i5/1070/16GB/SSD) box

Cons:
A seriously expensive piece of sim racing content, regardless of licencing, projected sales volumes etc
Horrific loading time
Where's the bloody skybox?
Why is the green light in the pit lane obscured by a speed sign?

Neutral:
Setting up an offline race Le Man race and driving my expensive rF2 endurance/GT3 content with variously missing cockpit details, misaligned mirrors, misaligned in-car displays and no drivetrain simulation, against AI who can't slipstream pass. I'm more or less happy to keep buying DLC to support S397, but there are a range of systemic and QC issues with rF2 beyond the UI that I hope some of my $ are being used to address.

 

[falster]

I would like to politely reply sir, that there is in fact a UI for rFactor2 and a new one has been promised and the release of it updated. The people suffering from 'freezes' might be related to their computer not being up to the standards of today's needs for a higher end computer system. I have been sim racing for 19 years since the birth of Papyrus, and have purchased numerous upgrading computers, wheels, pedals, stands, motion rigs, VR, and Lord knows what else.

I have watched the magic and realism of simulation racing sims/ games grow over the years and my jaw drops in awe with the improvements. It has become more real than I ever thought it could be way back when. I am very much appreciative of their time and massive effort, along with great 3rd party content be it free or paid for. I consider my money well spent purchasing new computer systems etc. to make them work and also look and run well.

I have spent over $1000.00 on iRacing products alone and stopped using it. I also have purchased just about every racing simulation you can think of for the last nineteen years. Some I still love and use, and others not so much if at all. In all these years and the monies I have spent, I have never bashed a product on any forum. I have offered constructive criticism and suggestions, however never put them down.

It gets old reading flaming short content about how this *uxs, and that stinks, and I'm not buying your product. Maybe it's time to grow up, possibly accept the fact that your computer is out dated, and needs a boost. rFactor2 has it's heart and soul into giving us a quality product now, and in the future. That costs money to do, and to me justifies the $12.00 (US) I spent on this track. This track is worth every penny.

If you cannot afford the tariff, then just not post here. If you are quick to slam/ bash and run with a short jab, most people here ignore you so why bother even posting? I am here at Race Department to support every racing sim developer and offer kind suggestions as to what I feel might improve their product for myself, and the true and dedicated sim racing fans in the community.

How difficult is it to post something along the lines of " My game freezes, and here are my computer specifications. Thanks."? That will get a developer to pay attention, not the short replies criticizing with no explanation as to what you are using and dissatisfied with.

Back to the Le Mans track I go!

Jack

Great post mate.

on a side note I always loved the papyrus games ICR 1 and 2 nascar etc. I still have and run nr2003 and gpl.

Id say nascar racing back in (i think) 93 was a real epiphany moment for me and my birth of love for the genre.

EDIT and also, i give you "carl hungus" another f*ckwit that just goes through disagreeing with a persons every post....even ones like this one where.... It makes no sense....but "gotta hammer that point"

 

[falster]

Just out of interest, im seeing a few people mentioning a "proper simulation" of a drivetrain.

This is something thats not really crossed my mind before or wondered at the lack of and i was wondering what other sims possess this that i may have unwittingly used as i dont seem to have noticed anything radically different across sims

EDIT there we are again...carl hungus...randomly disagreeing. Im not even sure he can read

 

[dreamer al]

How Much!!!!?????

Were you really surprised ($A17.95)??? It is a money making machine!!!. Time to acknowledge that the Emperor wears no clothes.

I am more than happy with Diggas, Le_Mans_2017_v0.91 version.

 

[PresidentSmug]

All those who choose not to purchase the track for whatever reason i completely understand. In my honest opinion rf2 is 10 tracks, 3-4 classes, 1 UI and an online system away from being a real competitor to most other sims. Yes the FFB and physics are great but sorry it needs more polish in many areas.

With that being said i drive on the sim as if its still in beta (which if we're all honest with ourselves most games are nowadays). Now is it an expensive beta? Yes. Still loads of fun though with now the most accurate Sebring and Le mans. Another 10 track at this price is expensive but i'll pay it for the quality like this.

 

[Greg Latty]

i got a chance to try out the track today for 10 min before work. It looks great in VR so far. I havent had a full race on there yet but so far so good. As far as price, while its not cheap, i dont mind spending money on my hobby. Hell i just spend more than that for lunch at work.

 

[Dady Cairo]

You either didn't watch the same stream as me or you must have misinterpreted horribly. Nowhere did I hear Marcel speaking anything about "updating to rF2 standards later". He said part of the new PBR shaders for tracks aren't yet fully implemented for Le Mans. Those PBR shaders are in 0% use in Sebring or any other rF2 track for that matter, it doesn't mean those tracks are "incomplete".

These kind of posts just serve to add confusion.

Please help,i'm German....
That is what i meant as "update",the PBR Shaders.Then i did get it wrong!
This was my interpretation,not meant as a citation.Guys...
But i'm sure they upate the tracks and cars as they do for three years.
I see many have somthing to complain about rf2.It was never "complete".
No Sim is complete.And yes,i like RF2 very much...
DC

 

[Dady Cairo]

(I'm really sorry, I don't want to be an asshole on purpose,

"You can't catch me"
Chuck Berry