rF2 | UI Updates & Other Improvements

Paul Jeffrey

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Studio 397 recently deployed their first major update to the new rFactor 2 UI - releasing build 1117 into the wild on Friday afternoon.

Long awaited, the brand new rFactor 2 UI enjoyed a public release to the simulation userbase back in December last year, and since then the Dutch development team have been hard at work collecting data and feedback prior to this first major update. Deploying a new build of this simulation back on Friday 7th February, the latest updates adds a few significant improvements to the sim, as well as addressing some of the initial issues with the new UI design.

Fear not fellow sim racer, if the update isn't to your liking just yet, Studio 397 have confirmed plenty more tweaks and improvements will be heading your way in the coming weeks and months - full details of which can be found below:

.....

The first update of the new UI public beta is here! Although it’s taken a bit longer than anticipated, we’ve addressed a lot of issues as you can see from the changelog below. We held off on this release for a bit longer than we anticipated, as we felt we had to get a number of problems fixed in this next update. Going forward we anticipate we can get roughly two updates per month done for the new UI, with smaller fixes and added features, and also addressing a few other issues in every new build. Below the changelog we’ve added some known issues and work in progress, This is not an exhaustive list but should cover what we’re currently looking to release in the next updates or are working on for a later update. As always we would like to give a big thanks to you, the rFactor 2 community, for the detailed reports and feedback.

rF2 Update 1.jpg
rF2 Update 2.jpg
rF2 Update 3.jpg


New UI: public_beta: Steam Build ID 4648512

  • ‘Favorite servers’ will only update when manually refreshed.
  • Added tyre wear, temperatures and hot pressures to the garage page, so you can see those after you get out of your car.
  • Added practice, qualification and race progress in the event screen.
  • Added brake wear to garage page, so after you get out of your car, you can see how much your brakes have worn.
  • Added plugin management tab to options, allowing you to enable and disable installed plugins. This still requires a restart after making changes.
  • Added class color coded icons and class names to event standings if such an event has more than a single class.
  • Added a replay ‘seeker’ that is now drag-able so you can immediately see where you are in the replay.
  • Added confirmation dialog when deleting a setup
  • When you select a car, track or series, you will now return to where you came from, instead of going back to start page or in some cases the race page.
  • Fixed the missing package download and install process when joining a server.
  • Fixed the missing blinking cursor in text fields.
  • Fixed that you could always start driving again in sessions, even after for example being classified as DNF in a race. Now correctly disables the button when needed.
  • Removed certain display settings that shouldn’t be available when in a session.
  • Key assignments now show the key modifiers, such as ALT and CTRL.
  • When clicking a folder in save setup, the setup name is no longer lost and goes blank.
  • Server text commands do now work when pressing ‘return’.
  • Fixed the intermittent pace car loading error on track load
    • Removed additional pace cars “Clio Cup” and “Pace Car With Lights” from base install.
  • In VR, fixed a glitchy loading screen in the headset in both the old and new UI.
  • In VR, fixed a flashing desktop mirror while track loads in both the old and new UI.
  • Updated openvr libraries.
  • Fixed the lag when other clients joined a server.
  • Fixed AI limit of 19 when adding them in single player using ‘session controls’.
  • Removed old UI images that would appear sporadically.
Known Issues
  • Showroom does not go full screen when pressing ‘return’.
  • After content install in VR rFactor 2 does not restart. A workaround for now is to restart manually.
  • There is still a black band on the bottom half of the track loading screen.
  • Some are seeing some micro stutters in the new UI, more prominent in VR, we are aware and working on a fix.
  • Unrelated to UI, but we are also aware of the erratic throttle behavior of the AI cars, and we are looking into that.
Work in Progress
  • Add skin download progress bar while on a server that allows custom skin transfers.
  • Config tool sporadically fails to launch up after clicking PLAY for setting graphics resolution, VR or post effect levels.
  • Team creation in the showroom is missing.
  • Material editing in the showroom is missing.
  • Forced setup and/or upgrades.
  • Car (re)selection when on a server.
  • Resume from replay.
  • Sporadic ‘white screen’ on server exit.


rFactor 2 is available exclusively for PC.

Having issues with the sim? Let the community be your guide! Post a thread in the rF2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment!

rF2 Update 4.jpg
 
And the point is...?
That expectations for a new UI were too high in the first place. The reaction of many was forseeable, even if the new UI would've been better to use.
The new UI is slow, some functions aren't there and it's convoluted, though, so there is an even more difficult base to work with, now.

This will get better with more testing (which probably would've helped more before releasing it) and reports in the future. They bogged down the start a bit, time to go full send into turn one now, without hitting things. :D
 
That expectations for a new UI were too high in the first place. The reaction of many was forseeable, even if the new UI would've been better to use.
The new UI is slow, some functions aren't there and it's convoluted, though, so there is an even more difficult base to work with, now.

This will get better with more testing (which probably would've helped more before releasing it) and reports in the future. They bogged down the start a bit, time to go full send into turn one now, without hitting things. :D
It is not released tho
 
  • In VR, fixed a glitchy loading screen in the headset in both the old and new UI.
  • In VR, fixed a flashing desktop mirror while track loads in both the old and new UI.
Thanks you S397! Hoping for a stability update in VR next as those crashes that only seem to affect VR users is a bit troubling.
 
Tried it, was OK with it but still reverted to the old UI. All the ?????? against modded content was no good for me, couldn't tell what I was about to drive or where;).

I don't really need all the different layouts for each page either, I adopt the simple list view anyway.

I have to delete cbash and shaders before launching, when switching to the new UI, another minus point.

Finding things in the new UI, on first trying it out, is a bit of a challenge. Took ages to find how to advance the sessions and having to scroll around on the timesheet was a pain. Overall I'm sure I'll soon get used to it when they remove the option to use the old UI.
 
agree FFB rf2 is the best But with only 1 sim as you mentioned ,ACC, in the world then we only can drive streetcars GTR3 thats not what everybody likes , would hate :(
The FFB is the ONLY reason i still play RF2 but today i've discovered a FFB setting for RRE.Not as good as RF2 ffb...but very close...but better that AC,ACC etc in my opinion..i think RF2 is done for me. I'm tired with outdated mods, few contents, snail speed developed UI...
 

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Rfactor2 is far from perfection and I have many doubts about the direction taken by s397 for the game, but why people dare compare a modding platform, full of content, with a unique category sim? What's the point? If you only race on gt3 cars, for sure, everybody out there already know acc is the sim to chose. It is absolutely irrelevant to compare rfactor2 and acc.
Most of Rf2 official DLCs are GT3 based...comparison is relevant. They try to find the money where it is that's all, now the strategy is failing because of ACC...also the most popular mods from the workshop are GT3 cars , there are only few other categories of cars that are worth the try BTCC, WTCR (paid mod) etc. So it's mainly a GT3 game + few good non GT3 mods + outdated or oldish official contents for me
 
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I would have been pretty annoyed if S397 came up with something like CM after 3 years. I use the CM and it is ok for what it is, but it's just too cluttered with way too much information and very convoluted. I don't get the hype for the CM at all. If I have to search through a single page with over 50 settings just to find the setting I am looking for, then something is terribly wrong. The new rF2 UI is actually on the complete other end of space management spectrum, while offering far more complexity and functionality than CM in certain areas. I think they could use the space in a few areas a bit more efficient but everyone who has tried to setup a race week end in CM and in rF2 should be able to see the difference. So next time you make a snarky remark better check what you are talking about. Because it is pretty obvious that you only use CM and are here to troll. :whistling:
CM is very good and fast, i will never come back to AC original UI ...you just need some time to understand it. CM is like RF2 the firts time you touch it but after that...people are get hyped by RF2. New Rf2 Ui is like a website design slow and confusing many slow enducing visuel effects, redundants and many useless click to activate or chose contents, small texts eaten by big empty spaces...clearly not baked by experienced designer
 
Most of Rf2 official DLCs are GT3 based...comparison is relevant. They try to find the money where it is that's all, now the strategy is failing because of ACC...also the most popular mods from the workshop are GT3 cars , there are only few other categories of cars that are worth the try BTCC, WTCR (paid mod) etc. So it's mainly a GT3 game + few good non GT3 mods + outdated or oldish official contents for me
We obviously don't play the same rfactor2! That's almost funny but telling lies about a specific game won't help the community though...
 
Most of Rf2 official DLCs are GT3 based...comparison is relevant. They try to find the money where it is that's all, now the strategy is failing because of ACC...also the most popular mods from the workshop are GT3 cars , there are only few other categories of cars that are worth the try BTCC, WTCR (paid mod) etc. So it's mainly a GT3 game + few good non GT3 mods + outdated or oldish official contents for me
A company in business trying to find money?
What a strange concept...
GT3 and GTE are very popular IRL so doesn't it follow that maybe they would be popular in a sim too?
Or do you think they should be making official banger racing championship cars for the 30 or so people that may actually go and watch that? How would that pay the bills?

Or do you think that S397 is some sort of not for profit company helping poor sim racers get their fix with content that each of them wish for individually, regardless of whether it will be popular enough to pay the staff for their hard work in sourcing the vehicles, travelling to the garages and circuits, getting licenses if required and then doing the work that take weeks and months to produce the content...

For me, rF2 still has decent F2, Clio Cup and formula cars, but to be honest I love GT cars so I'm mainly found racing those...
 
A company in business trying to find money?
What a strange concept...
GT3 and GTE are very popular IRL so doesn't it follow that maybe they would be popular in a sim too?
Or do you think they should be making official banger racing championship cars for the 30 or so people that may actually go and watch that? How would that pay the bills?

Or do you think that S397 is some sort of not for profit company helping poor sim racers get their fix with content that each of them wish for individually, regardless of whether it will be popular enough to pay the staff for their hard work in sourcing the vehicles, travelling to the garages and circuits, getting licenses if required and then doing the work that take weeks and months to produce the content...

For me, rF2 still has decent F2, Clio Cup and formula cars, but to be honest I love GT cars so I'm mainly found racing those...
He said RF2 is not comparable to ACC i don't agree. Since 2017 (before acc release) Rf2 has released 13 Gt3 cars and 1 Gt3 compatible Laser scanned track as latest DLC , it's clearly the new direction that the studio heading at least for an external point of view. 3 years from now they mainly have released GT3 cars and some FE and mclaren free cars etc. If you go on youtube most of the Rf2 videos here are GT3 not Clio cup etc. It's mainly a GT3 game now.

About money i understand your point but if you want a successful business especially in sim racing or simcade the best way is giving to the audience a game or content with which they feel not paying enough for the value ( look at AC, AMS, F7,Pc2 etc). I know Pc2 and f7 etc are not considered as sim but the business model is interesting and they are using the method... i admit i bought them. It's not about poor sim racers not wanting to pay , it's about sim racers rich enough to be financially educated so able to evaluate prices vs values. Rich people think twice before spending...

After the formula E hype....Rf2 add Gt3 packs with an expensive price without the adequate tracks to go with. I suspect that s397 considers it as a gt3 sim with some occasional showcase contents ( mclaren ope wheeler etc) but the community still think it's a generalist sim.

You say it's a more broader game , i would believe that if they release WTCR official contents for example which are very popular among rf2 the players. Mods contents are not good enough to maintain that position. It's the studio job not the community job...Related to this topic i said Modding is not good for Rf2 , we don't have enough good contents and the studio secretly seems to rely on mods to maintain the game instead of working hard to fill the gaps.

A good example of broader game would be Raceroom which has many classes of cars. Each category is very well crafted. It's an example of how "no modding" can push a studio to elaborate a better game. For me, i may be the only one ( or not) ,free RRE version gives me more satisfaction than the base paid version of RF2. After that as a customer it's a sure value for. After buying some packs and cars i will upgrade to the 100$ premium pack soon. I'm going to pay twice for some contents but there is no problem for me....money that could go to RF2....

If we consider the gt3 contents... ACC cost 39 dollars 24 cars and 15 laser scanned tracks , Rf2 cost 31$ vanilla and you'll need 16$ for the gt3 pack ans zero tracks...Rf2 introduced to simracing the high quality Gt3 feel and contents, ACC is giving the same thing with the right amount of contents....RF2 becama a kind of Starbucks sim, able to stay expensive and alive because of the brand and the hardcore simmers that are using it. But peoples are migrating..this strategy is about to fade

Believe me i wanted to give this sim a chance by buying contents , by trying to explore it to the deepest side, by testing workshop contents... but the lack of contents and the slow pace of development always pops up. We are in 2020 competition is stronger i hope i'm wrong but the end is neer for Rf2. RF2 is expensive and old we don't have the time to spend in basic stuffs like UI wip, tweaking ini files , using incorrect mirrors orientations...ACC is here, AMS 2 is coming, RRE is becoming better after each update.
 
He said RF2 is not comparable to ACC i don't agree. Since 2017 (before acc release) Rf2 has released 13 Gt3 cars and 1 Gt3 compatible Laser scanned track as latest DLC , it's clearly the new direction that the studio heading at least for an external point of view. 3 years from now they mainly have released GT3 cars and some FE and mclaren free cars etc. If you go on youtube most of the Rf2 videos here are GT3 not Clio cup etc. It's mainly a GT3 game now.

About money i understand your point but if you want a successful business especially in sim racing or simcade the best way is giving to the audience a game or content with which they feel not paying enough for the value ( look at AC, AMS, F7,Pc2 etc). I know Pc2 and f7 etc are not considered as sim but the business model is interesting and they are using the method... i admit i bought them. It's not about poor sim racers not wanting to pay , it's about sim racers rich enough to be financially educated so able to evaluate prices vs values. Rich people think twice before spending...

After the formula E hype....Rf2 add Gt3 packs with an expensive price without the adequate tracks to go with. I suspect that s397 considers it as a gt3 sim with some occasional showcase contents ( mclaren ope wheeler etc) but the community still think it's a generalist sim.

You say it's a more broader game , i would believe that if they release WTCR official contents for example which are very popular among rf2 the players. Mods contents are not good enough to maintain that position. It's the studio job not the community job...Related to this topic i said Modding is not good for Rf2 , we don't have enough good contents and the studio secretly seems to rely on mods to maintain the game instead of working hard to fill the gaps.

A good example of broader game would be Raceroom which has many classes of cars. Each category is very well crafted. It's an example of how "no modding" can push a studio to elaborate a better game. For me, i may be the only one ( or not) ,free RRE version gives me more satisfaction than the base paid version of RF2. After that as a customer it's a sure value for. After buying some packs and cars i will upgrade to the 100$ premium pack soon. I'm going to pay twice for some contents but there is no problem for me....money that could go to RF2....

If we consider the gt3 contents... ACC cost 39 dollars 24 cars and 15 laser scanned tracks , Rf2 cost 31$ vanilla and you'll need 16$ for the gt3 pack ans zero tracks...Rf2 introduced to simracing the high quality Gt3 feel and contents, ACC is giving the same thing with the right amount of contents....RF2 becama a kind of Starbucks sim, able to stay expensive and alive because of the brand and the hardcore simmers that are using it. But peoples are migrating..this strategy is about to fade

Believe me i wanted to give this sim a chance by buying contents , by trying to explore it to the deepest side, by testing workshop contents... but the lack of contents and the slow pace of development always pops up. We are in 2020 competition is stronger i hope i'm wrong but the end is neer for Rf2. RF2 is expensive and old we don't have the time to spend in basic stuffs like UI wip, tweaking ini files , using incorrect mirrors orientations...ACC is here, AMS 2 is coming, RRE is becoming better after each update.
I see what you're saying but they're just keeping with the times.
Name one sim that has released lately without some form of GT car in it.
GT Sport... it's in the name
AC 1 - that had GT cars in it and was by far the most raced class of vehicle online iirc
ACC - default GT3 cars
Raceroom has ADAC GT series
rF2 was actually lacking in GT cars a while back, they only recently brought them out to stay relevant I think
iRacing I'm sure has GT cars in it
Again PC2 must have but I don't know as don't own it

Just because something is old doesn't make it obsolete. The content within it and the lack of users will though.
You say we don't have the time like you're speaking for everyone. I do have the time to jump in my rig, load up a track and race. It's really not that difficult for me.
At the moment it's being brought up to scratch. This takes time and we still have all the original content in the base sim but also GTs, Prototypes, Karts, FE and the other content available. It can't be compared to ACC as it has multiple racing disciplines. It really is as simple as that.
The tracks released can be used by all cars I think. Not sure what a GT compatible circuit would be, kind of anything really...
 
If we consider the gt3 contents... ACC cost 39 dollars 24 cars and 15 laser scanned tracks , Rf2 cost 31$ vanilla and you'll need 16$ for the gt3 pack ans zero tracks...Rf2 introduced to simracing the high quality Gt3 feel and contents, ACC is giving the same thing with the right amount of contents....RF2 becama a kind of Starbucks sim, able to stay expensive and alive because of the brand and the hardcore simmers that are using it. But peoples are migrating..this strategy is about to fade
I think I agree with everything.

ACC gives for a small sum laserscan a lot of tracks and the whole championship.
RF2 must develop GTE/VLN to be competitive, because feedback it is not something that can always be based on. Especially because in ACC the feedback is very good. ISI deflated because they didn't realise that people didn't need hotlap simulator, hopefully the S397 will draw conclusions.

Laserscan N-Ring - I think this is the main thing to count on, so GT3/Porsche CUP/M2 CUP is a step towards "VLN". The only thing missing is Audi RS3.
 
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After buying some packs and cars i will upgrade to the 100$ premium pack soon. I'm going to pay twice for some contents but there is no problem for me
Sorry for the off topic. You won't, they discount you for content you already own, even with the premium pack you only pay for what is new content to you.

Back to rF2. I'm not playing it presently, as there is not much to do for me. The driving is great of course, but there is just not that much interesting content (for me). AC has the variety through modding, R3E has it through official releases. GT3s are way better in ACC (for me), including the whole structure behind the content, with the official SRO licence and honestly the ICGTC DLC sealed the deal (for me).

What I am looking forward to in rF2 however is the Le Mans Endurance content. If I remember correctly they plan to release the more of the new Hypercar GT class that will run instead of the LMP1s, maybe there will even be more of whatever LMP2/LMP3 cars will run in 2020/20201 FIA WEC. Hopefully they can bring some more tracks that are run in the WEC and allow for the race formats the WEC runs. Even without an official WEC licence one could then replicate those races quite well.

My wish for rF2? After bugfixing, build a proper transmission model and then release a pack of historic 60s/70s touring cars. Then get the VLN licence. :inlove:
 
I think I agree with everything.

ACC gives for a small sum laserscan a lot of tracks and the whole championship.
RF2 must develop GTE/VLN to be competitive, because feedback it is not something that can always be based on. Especially because in ACC the feedback is very good. ISI deflated because they didn't realise that people didn't need hotlap simulator, hopefully the S397 will draw conclusions.

Laserscan N-Ring - I think this is the main thing to count on, so GT3/Porsche CUP/M2 CUP is a step towards "VLN". The only thing missing is Audi RS3.
Again, rF2 and ACC are two completely different products with different philosophies. Sure you can compare what they have in common, like some of the cars, tracks and features. But that's basicly it. PC2 has GT3s, RR has GT3s, iRacing has GT3s and AMS2 will have GT3s. Some of them have much more in common and even more focus on GT3 content than rF2, but noone sees them as GT3 focused games per se.

The focus for rF2 is clearly not on GT3, it is on endurance racing, simple as that. And GT3 is part of it. I wouldn't be surprised if the next tracks are Daytona or Spa and that we will see content based on the new DPi/LMP2 and hyper car regulations in the future. There might be a reason why S397 employes hang around at Daytona. Next to the fact that you have tons of other 3rd party content, might it be DLCs or mods that are focused on completely different disciplines. There is everything from Karts to OW racing and GT3 is only a fraction of what you can get.
 
Again, rF2 and ACC are two completely different products with different philosophies. Sure you can compare what they have in common, like some of the cars, tracks and features. But that's basicly it. PC2 has GT3s, RR has GT3s, iRacing has GT3s and AMS2 will have GT3s. Some of them have much more in common and even more focus on GT3 content than rF2, but noone sees them as GT3 focused games per se.

The focus for rF2 is clearly not on GT3, it is on endurance racing, simple as that. And GT3 is part of it. I wouldn't be surprised if the next tracks are Daytona or Spa and that we will see content based on the new DPi/LMP2 and hyper car regulations in the future. There might be a reason why S397 employes hang around at Daytona. Next to the fact that you have tons of other 3rd party content, might it be DLCs or mods that are focused on completely different disciplines. There is everything from Karts to OW racing and GT3 is only a fraction of what you can get.
I will be happy with any RF2 development - let it be GT3 or GTE or something else.

The fact is that a VLN license is a direct way to success. People love GT3 and N-Ring. S397 already has it all, it's left to get a license and everything will be fine... but it's all thoughts by ear. I think if it were possible, we would have seen it by now.

But on the whole, Daytona is good news.
 

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