The developers at Image Space Incorporated have announced to be offering 64-bit support on their PC simulation rFactor 2 in the upcoming build.
This is fantastic news for gamers that have a passion to race with larger grids of cars on very resource demanding racing circuits such at the Nordschleife.
On their rFactor 2 website ISI stated the following about the memory usage upgrades:
We've been hard at work recently on the overall experience rFactor 2 provides. Key to this; decreasing the chances of users running out of system memory, and increasing code efficiency with more range for CPU instructions, improving overall performance.
What uses system memory, and why? Well, system memory (RAM) has much faster access times than a hard drive or swap file. Games use RAM to read, write and temporarily store items for quicker access than other storage methods.
For something like rFactor 2, this means every car, race track, car livery, track building, texture of grass, asphalt, concrete – everything you see in the simulation – takes up RAM. The more cars you add (be they A.I. or in multiplayer), the larger the track, or the more detail you have to load, the more RAM is filled.
With a 32-bit environment, it is only possible to allocate to 4GB of RAM. These days, with increased texture sizes, more accurate 3D models – like we have been producing since our first release of Silverstone Circuit – 4GB is becoming a lower ceiling.
A 64-bit environment is a fantastic thing, it can theoretically handle 17.2 billion GB of RAM. By going 64-bit, you effectively take the ceiling off. Systems with 8GB, 16GB or more can take advantage by running on larger tracks, with higher texture levels and more cars.
We highly recommend that upon release, those with suitable systems try our new 64bit executables. However, what about those of you who can’t? Good news! We have also made memory usage gains in 32-bit during this process. Not only will those using our new 64-bit executables gain from this work, 32-bit users will as well, although it is important to remember that in 32-bit, a 4GB limit will always hang over you if you run high texture levels, or many opponent cars. However, going forward, effective use of the swap file beyond the RAM limit may allow you to bypass halted execution at the expense of performance.
? I am in!
