rF2: Sebring Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 and rFactor 2 have released a fully laser scanned version of Sebring!

Rich in motorsport history, the Sebring International Raceway is a legendarily tough, bumpy, dirty and challenging race track in Florida, USA, home to many high level international grade motorsport events and something of a favourite with endurance racing fans.

With little margin for error and some delightfully fast corners mixed with slow and technical sections, Sebring has many of the characteristics essential for a classic race venue, and now, thanks to Studio 397 and rFactor 2, sim racers get the chance to try out the track in all its virtual glory, with a new and laserscanned version of the iconic circuit released earlier today - Happy weekend everyone!

And now for the big one, Sebring! Since taking over the development of rFactor 2, our goals have been clear: take an already incredible simulation as a base and move the bar higher, push new and exciting features that you want, and give you the chance to experience a professional grade simulator – at home!

So this track release is more than just “a track release”. It’s a milestone for our team in what we’ve set out to do. The level of fidelity and road feel is above and beyond anything that’s out there, and we’re boldly confident you will agree. Of course we’re excited to say the track was created using an extremely detailed laserscan – but it’s not just about the laserscan itself, it’s about the way we utilized the data and converted it into usable detailed information that gets back to the force feedback in your wheel, something that has not yet been done in rFactor 2 at this level. We feel we’ve achieved our goals in the high level of road fidelity thanks to some innovations and, of course, rigorous testing. The end result is… the ‘FFB’ doesn’t lie – you’ll feel every crack in the pavement and every undulation in minute detail. On the straights and as you dive into each turn, those subtle nuances in the track surface will give you the precise control and muscle memory that a real-life driver would have on track. Our development and test teams have all become addicted, driving endless stints and trying to get that elusive extra tenth or even hundredth of a second!

On the visual and graphics side, we’re just as excited and pushing ahead. We’ve paid close attention to those essential details that add to the overall immersion. The road surface itself is very precisely modeled on the real thing, with every crack and repaired and re-repaired crack. All the nuances and color variations as well as the overall worn-down, characteristic look from years of racing help to really convey the atmosphere. And with an ultra high level of trackside objects in the environment, from spectators to campers and vehicles, there’s a real ‘track vibe’ from any camera you’re viewing from, which makes watching an online event that much more exciting. Of course, as always, we’ve kept in mind scalability for performance.

So today we release to you Sebring. The main layout is available in two versions. One featuring the 12-hour race layout, with a packed infield and a lot of spectators, and another that gives you more of a “track day” feel. On top of that we also included two shorter layouts: School and Johnson Club. These layouts are very well suited for smaller fields of cars and somewhat slower cars.

Sebring is completely laser scanned in location, through professional high density, high accuracy, laser scan equipment. We scanned the track just a few weeks before the 2018 “12 Hours Of Sebring”. We then processed, filtered and optimized all the data to produce a clean stream of points for the simulation. We used that data to describe and model everything from centerline to first barriers, so even if you put your tires off the grass, you’ll still get a complete simulation of the grounds, through both physics/FFB and graphics.

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 and share the love this simulation so very much deserves...​

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What do you think of Sebring from the talk and drive video, do you think it looks like a good representation of the track? Are you excited to try a first laserscanned circuit in rF2? Happy with the choice of Sebring for the sim? Let us know in the comments section below!
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[davehenrie]

Did you try the horizon stabilization? From what I've read, the settings are counter intuitive...low seems to calm the horizion down more than high. I suspect it is a car setting and not an enviroment setting so those kinds of options would then make sense.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

The new Sebring is nearly useless unless you're running on a small monitor. I'm getting really bad motion sickness due to Rf2's lack of a working lock to horizon. I have a 49" 4k TV that I sit about 2.5 feet away from.

What's ridiculous is that, if you change your view to behind the car (ie Arcade mode), then the view is locked perfectly. But for some reason, they can't seem to program this into the cockpit view.

It's a deal breaker. My money wasted on this (otherwise excellent) track.

"The bumpy nature of the Sebring circuit is something that has lasted over the years. Some drivers reported that the bumps were so bad at speed that it caused blurred vision, an effect which lasted for several days after the race. Two times GT Class Champion Bill Adam remembers, “I can recall clearly the terror of going into Turn One in the Group 44 Jaguar GTP and finding my vision completely blurred by the bumps and vibrations."

 

[M D Gourley]

The new Sebring is nearly useless unless you're running on a small monitor. I'm getting really bad motion sickness due to Rf2's lack of a working lock to horizon.

Have you tried the 'Stabilize Horizon' setting in the 'Display' Options...down at the bottom in the first column..see attached screenshot.

...from the testing I have done with my triple screen set up, setting it to 'LOW' gives the best result by stabilizing the view outside the cockpit while the cockpit moves to the bumps...where as 'HIGH' stabilizes the cockpit and the view outside is moving...having it set to 'OFF' is un-drivable for me personally.
EDIT: See Ace King's post below as there seems to be an error with the 'Stabilize Horizon' settings and a Hotfix will be set up.

 

[Ace King]

Have you tried the 'Stabilize Horizon' setting in the 'Display' Options...down at the bottom in the first column..see attached screenshot.View attachment 262188 ...from the testing I have done with my triple screen set up, setting it to 'LOW' gives the best result by stabilizing the view outside the cockpit while the cockpit moves to the bumps...where as 'HIGH' stabilizes the cockpit and the view outside is moving...having it set to 'OFF' is un-drivable for me personally.

https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...ased-for-rfactor-2.157177/page-2#post-2798235

 

[randMracer]

An update with my issue installing the DLC, just in case it will help anyone else.....
Turns out running v1108-dx11-open-beta was creating the issue. Once I went to v1110 it installed with no problems. I've been using v1108 for months, thinking that was the only version to use for VR. I had no issues installing any workshop mods or the Endurance Pack DLC. I was completely unaware that v1110 was dx11 and VR compatible. Now I know.

Ran about ten laps and starting to test. Overall looks better than the Virtua_LM version. But the shaking effect of the track and scenery in VR is an overkill. Trying to eliminate that now.

Is it worth $10.49 more than the free Virtua_LM version....no, not yet. But I'm still early in the testing. Once I get used to everything and tweak some more, it may get better. I'll do some more testing and will update. Yeah, like my opinion matters!!

 

[Bwana]

Jeez although I can afford it without flinching, what amazes me is how many are whinging about the cost ?? Feel very sorry for you guys and hope things turn around for you..

 

[GP20]

Now Road America or Watkins Glen.

 

[Gasper Zupan]

or Daytona

 

[Boby Kim]

or Daytona

Yay!, lets do the whole Imsa package and Daytona first

 

[Boby Kim]

So far i have only 1 remark about Sebring: kerbs. At certain places they do not fit the real thing. The exit kerb in turn 1 seems too small and too "high". Looking at the Imsa race the kerb seems to be wider and more "sunken" into the ground. That's the same for the exit kerb on turn 16 (when it rains there is a huge puddle on the kerbs).
Is it possible to create "dynamic" kerbs: instead of straight forward kerb sections that a kerb differs in height in that section?

 

[randMracer]

Jeez although I can afford it without flinching, what amazes me is how many are whinging about the cost ?? Feel very sorry for you guys and hope things turn around for you..

I think it's been mentioned in this forum or maybe another, I've been reading so much today I forget. But it's not the actual cost that's the issue, I think it's the idea of the investment. Are we putting money into something that's going to get better, or is it just too old of a game to keep dumping money into?

Is it like putting lipstick on a pig? Not to say rF2 is a pig. It's like investing in an old car. Sure you can drop in a new engine and restore it with new interior and a paint job, but underneath it's still the same old car as it was designed originally. Like the aerodynamics of a 1960's car compared to modern day aerodynamics.

I think that's where the skepticism comes in. Are consumers investing in something that's going to keep on improving, or will the devs just drop it in a year or so because the software engine will limit any more improvements they want to implement?

Hope that makes sense. I'm pretty tired so it makes sense to me. I've been messing with Sebring all day. Should've been doing the lawn and the house, but been sitting on my ass all day long. I'll post more later today about my thoughts on Sebring. It's actually not bad.

Right now it's time to .

 

[Gevatter]

I think it's been mentioned in this forum or maybe another, I've been reading so much today I forget. But it's not the actual cost that's the issue, I think it's the idea of the investment. Are we putting money into something that's going to get better, or is it just too old of a game to keep on putting money into?

My take on it is that people look at what they get for their money, and as 8 or 9 Euros usually isn't that much money for most (not all) people to spend on anything, in the end it's 9 Euro for just one track, which is a lot of money for little content compared to what you can get in other sims for the same amount, especially if rF2 isn't the sim you spend the most time in.

On the other hand, if rF2 happens to be you go-to sim, I guess it's an investment that will easliy pay off for you, as you'll get the mileage out of it to justify the price point. I say this as someone who owns all DLC and most paymods for AC, which is my most played sim, making it worth it for me.

 

[MarcG]

So far i have only 1 remark about Sebring: kerbs. At certain places they do not fit the real thing. The exit kerb in turn 1 seems too small and too "high". Looking at the Imsa race the kerb seems to be wider and more "sunken" into the ground. That's the same for the exit kerb on turn 16 (when it rains there is a huge puddle on the kerbs).
Is it possible to create "dynamic" kerbs: instead of straight forward kerb sections that a kerb differs in height in that section?

They are the real curbs as they have been laserscanned, from the Press Release:

"Sebring is completely laser scanned in location, through professional high density, high accuracy, laser scan equipment. We scanned the track just a few weeks before the 2018 “12 Hours Of Sebring”. We then processed, filtered and optimized all the data to produce a clean stream of points for the simulation. We used that data to describe and model everything from centerline to first barriers, so even if you put your tires off the grass, you’ll still get a complete simulation of the grounds, through both physics/FFB and graphics."

 

[tpw]

Fantastic piece of work, in my opinion easily the best official track, in terms of look and feel, ever released for rF2. Totally alive driving surface, massive levels of immersive detail, actual modern looking textures and shaders, and given the detail and objects, surprisingly good performance on my system.

S397 have decided upon a premium pricing model for their DLC, much of which is not however premium quality at release (if ever). Sebring definitely is. Sebring + GTE is a combo which highlights all that is good about rF2 for me.

I only have 2 problems - the horrific loading time (SSD); and just how poor this track makes some of the other official tracks seem by comparison.

 

[DND]

Bought Sebring, Endurance Pack and more than a couple of beers I have to say the quality of these are top notch. Going from one car to another is a noticeable change, not simply aesthetics and audio, but significant differences.
Having bought the GT3 pack a while back I was a bit skeptical of getting the EP as I did not feel as the GT3 was a huge leap forward compared to other DLC in rF2.
Now some of this can be attributed to the track I feel, but by any measure I would recommend this track and the EP as must haves.

 

[SunBro]

If only global economics were equal... there'd be a LOT more people typing here, saying how much they love sebring... Because it's really a great track, such a shame politics won't let all those people enjoy it. At least the cars are purchasable from a poor country perspective.

Sigh... Disagree all you want @speedfreak75 Disagree with only my posts

 

[Terry Rock]

Having finally read through the twelve pages of comments, I see a definite pattern emerging.
There seems to be something bigger than the outright asking cost in 'play'.
If you read 'carefully', you get the sense that folks are still a bit angry at what they perceive as deception by the previous developer...followed by what they view as a money grab on top of it all.
It's the perfect setup for an impasse on simracing cost going forward.
I don't know what the answer is, but you can rest assured...I'll be watching from right here.

 

[SunBro]

Well, i think the only thing that can be viewed** as a money grab by the previous developer was the "lifetime subscription model" and all that jazz that's now left in the past. Other than that, i don't recall anything that can be labeled as a money grab by ISI.

** my personal view is that it was not a money grab by any means but hey, everyone has their own opinion, i'm personally more bitter about the promised but the undelivered content, which s397 seems to be making up for it quite nicely. I mean, could we even imagine having more than one licensed mclaren under the development of ISI? I don't think so.

Edit: Oh i must've missed the part about all of the mclarens being free. Amazing news!

 

[jason_peters]

Not been a fan of rF2 for a few years with my time with AC mainly. Thought I would give it another go and it’s come on very well and the VR image (with shadow blur on) is up there with iRacing (which has the best out of AC, RRRE, PC2 in my opinion)

Shame you have to turn off the driver in vr as it looks like an alien!!

Anyway - purchased the track and the gt3 stuff. Let’s see if it better than ACC in physics / FFB and VR image.

 

[johnnymat]

A very good review.