rF2 | Portland Released, GTE Updated And More

Paul Jeffrey · Jun 26, 2020

Studio 397 have dropped a sizeable new update for some content within rF2 - as well as finally adding the free Portland International Raceway circuit!

That's right, after a considerable amount of time in the works since it was first announced many moons ago, rF2 racers now have access to the lovely Portland International Raceway within the sim - complete with all the latest shader technology, and it's free!

As well as Portland, other highlights from the last 24 hours include a revised and updated Silverstone, plus many changes and updates to the various GTE specification cars following the successful Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans event.

rFactor 2 Update Details:

Cars

Aston Martin Vantage GTE v1.55

New minimum rear ride height of 50mm
Reworked and adjusted aerodynamics (mainly higher sensitivity to ride height changes)
Fixed high oil temperature threshold for engine lifetime calculations
Higher maximum differential preload
Longer engine longevity at higher rpms
Corrected fuel density (for internal fuel mass calculations)
Reduced engine braking
Small adjustments to anti-stall logic (used when auto clutch aid is enabled)
Radiator cooling options are now visible as steps in the pit menu
Increased damper travel to allow more suspension compression before hitting the bump stop
Increased maximum packer stack thickness to 60mm
Increased brake disc lifetime
BoP adjustments to weight engine power and fuel tank capacity
Adjusted fuel consumption
Fixed loading error when position light upgrade set to OFF
Adjusted car inertia
New default setup
Added 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual Liveries
Updated in-car dash

BMW M8 GTE v2.05

New minimum rear ride height of 50mm
Reworked and adjusted aerodynamics (mainly higher sensitivity to ride height changes)
Longer engine longevity at higher rpms
Corrected fuel density (for internal fuel mass calculations)
Reduced engine braking
Small adjustments to anti-stall logic (used when auto clutch aid is enabled)
Radiator cooling options are now visible as steps in the pit menu
Increased damper travel to allow more suspension compression before hitting the bump stop
Increased maximum packer stack thickness to 60mm
Increased brake disc lifetime
BoP adjustments to weight engine power and fuel tank capacity
Adjusted fuel consumption
Adjusted car inertia
New default setup

Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTE v2.45

New minimum rear ride height of 50mm
Reworked and adjusted aerodynamics (mainly higher sensitivity to ride height changes)
Longer engine longevity at higher rpms
Corrected fuel density (for internal fuel mass calculations)
Reduced engine braking
Small adjustments to anti-stall logic (used when auto clutch aid is enabled)
Radiator cooling options are now visible as steps in the pit menu
Increased damper travel to allow more suspension compression before hitting the bump stop
Increased maximum packer stack thickness to 60mm
Increased brake disc lifetime
BoP adjustments to weight engine power and fuel tank capacity
Adjusted fuel consumption
Adjusted car inertia
New default setup
Added 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual Liveries
Updated in-car dash

Ferrari 488 GTE v1.55

Fixed gear ratios for standard package
Reduced maximum differential preload torque
New minimum rear ride height of 50mm
Adjustments to standard aero package
Increased engine lifetime
Longer engine longevity at higher rpms
Corrected fuel density (for internal fuel mass calculations)
Adjusted gear change delays
Radiator cooling options are now visible as steps in the pit menu
Increased maximum packer stack thickness to 60mm
Increased brake disc lifetime
BoP adjustments to weight engine power and fuel tank capacity
Adjusted fuel consumption
Adjusted car inertia
New default setup
Added 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual Liveries
Updated in-car dash

Porsche 991 RSR GTE v2.45

New minimum rear ride height of 50mm
Reworked and adjusted aerodynamics (mainly higher sensitivity to ride height changes)
Longer engine longevity at higher rpms
Corrected fuel density (for internal fuel mass calculations)
Reduced engine braking
Small adjustments to anti-stall logic (used when auto clutch aid is enabled)
Radiator cooling options are now visible as steps in the pit menu
Increased damper travel to allow more suspension compression before hitting the bump stop
Increased maximum packer stack thickness to 60mm
Increased brake disc lifetime
BoP adjustments to weight engine power and fuel tank capacity
Adjusted fuel consumption
Adjusted car inertia
New default setup
Added 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual Liveries
Updated in-car dash

Oreca LMP2 v2.17

New default setup
Added 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual Liveries
Updated in-car dash

Tracks

Silverstone v2.02

Full update to all latest shaders and techniques on all materials
Complete overhaul of terrain, road and foliage materials
Added Endurance layout with extra lighting at night
Added Historic Chicane layout using alternate Stowe Chicane and old pits
Adjustments to various curbs for accuracy
Added many extra objects and replaced generic props with newer assets
Revised advertisements
Added outer terrain and replaced static horizon
Added Digital Flags
Optimized collision meshes

Portland International Raceway v0.91

All new version of Portland with full PBR

In other rFactor 2 news, the studio have also released the livery pack used in the recent virtual Le Mans 24 Hour event, which will be free to users who own the content within the sim.

... and if you don't own the content, now is a good time, as rFactor 2 recently launched their Steam Summer Sale, with plenty of discounts included!

Original Source; Studio 397

rFactor 2 is available exclusively on PC.

Want to know how to get the best from the sim? Start a thread in the rFactor 2 sub forum and let our community offer you the benefit of their massive combined experience.

MetalMania · Jul 1, 2020

Only had time for about an hour on Portland over the weekend, nicely done and a very welcome addition. I haven't tried updated Silverstone yet.

I had left RF2 alone for a few months while I decided to give Project Cars a go in career mode. Also revisited Assetto Corsa for the first time in a while. Truthfully, despite some flaws, I was starting to think maybe I had all I really needed outside of RF2. Better UI, better graphics (though RF2 can look good, it's just not uniform across the board), better car selection (mostly), better track selection, better mod support (AC, arguably?).

Then a week or two ago on a whim I jumped back into RF2 and ran some laps around Sebring in a GT3. It took me about one lap to remember how much I like RF2 and why it's not leaving my hard drive - it just feels more like I'm driving a car to its limit (or over it). I spent the rest of the afternoon with it. Like any sim or game, it has its flaws and areas where it could be better - but for the actual driving to me this is still one of the best. Any perception of the graphics or sound not being as good or better than others fades to irrelevant while I'm trying to knock more tenths off my lap times. It's fine, and certainly better than a few years ago.

jlnprssnr · Jul 1, 2020

Roadmap Update June 2020 – Studio-397

www.studio-397.com

In closing there is one topic we want to quickly address. In the sale we changed the bundles we have on sale. We thought it was time to do that. In that process we might have taken away the opportunity for some to “complete their collection”. We did listen to your feedback and will come with a one-time solution for that soon.

Good that they listened, although locking the thread in the S397 forums without a comment like this was not a good move. Will be interesting to see what they do, if they bring back the GT3 challengers pack for a week I'll definitely buy it.

passenger · Jul 1, 2020

MetalMania said:
Only had time for about an hour on Portland over the weekend, nicely done and a very welcome addition. I haven't tried updated Silverstone yet.

I had left RF2 alone for a few months while I decided to give Project Cars a go in career mode. Also revisited Assetto Corsa for the first time in a while. Truthfully, despite some flaws, I was starting to think maybe I had all I really needed outside of RF2. Better UI, better graphics (though RF2 can look good, it's just not uniform across the board), better car selection (mostly), better track selection, better mod support (AC, arguably?).

Then a week or two ago on a whim I jumped back into RF2 and ran some laps around Sebring in a GT3. It took me about one lap to remember how much I like RF2 and why it's not leaving my hard drive - it just feels more like I'm driving a car to its limit (or over it). I spent the rest of the afternoon with it. Like any sim or game, it has its flaws and areas where it could be better - but for the actual driving to me this is still one of the best. Any perception of the graphics or sound not being as good or better than others fades to irrelevant while I'm trying to knock more tenths off my lap times. It's fine, and certainly better than a few years ago.

Everytime I go back to rFactor 2, same feeling, it feels like the best simulator, the most life-like
racing simulator there is out there - how the cars respond, the best and most detailed FFB...
And now with better graphics and lighiting effects, it really shines.

BazzaLB · Jul 2, 2020

Gave this another go tonight with the Ferrari at Portland and Silverstone. This time I turned on some Post Processing (Medium). I usually have this off completely in VR.

I want to correct what I said earlier about not noticing a blind bit of difference. I think the updated Silverstone and Portland look great. Combine this with the new Ferrari cockpit and I have no complaints about rf2 graphically any more.

Here's hoping they update some older content cars / tracks to these standards.