rFactor 2 | New Build Update Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 have deployed a new build update for rFactor 2, adding a number of fixes and improvements to the simulation.

• New build adds VR flat desktop mode.
• Various art fixes and tweaks.
• 32-bit installers ceased.

The new build has been deployed in anticipation of the upcoming Spa-Francorchamps release this Friday 20th November, and comes complete with a number of fixes and tweaks to the simulation. It is worth noting as part of this build, as detailed in the October Development Roadmap, going forward Studio 397 will no longer be supporting 32-bits version of the simulation, and the Dutch team also recommend migrating to the 'new UI' to maximise current and future developments within the title.

Of interest in the new build are various performance improvements for the UI and the addition of VR flat desktop mirror, plus new controller profiles and some further tweaks to the graphic aspects of the title.


Update Notes:

• Removed the 32 bits builds, we are now officially 64 bit only. To ease the transition, we have left some 32 bit utilities in their usual locations for this build only. Please migrate and report any issues you might have.
  • Note: there is a known issue that the ModMgr.exe inside Bin64 folder on SteamCMD dedicated server distributions may crash when toggling certain settings. Please use ModMgr.exe inside Bin32 folder for now.
• Changed the way the new UI gets rendered, making it smooth even when the back-end is busy.
• Fixed several memory leaks and a possible crash on changing graphics settings in-game.
• Ensured that when a user is entering text in a text field, keys he/she presses don’t accidentally trigger other controls.
• Fixed the mouse cursor from going missing when pressing ESC in VR after driving the car.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes when restarting or forwarding sessions, the UI would not (re)appear after that transition.
• Fixed several aspect-ratio related rendering issues with the new UI.
• Fixed the new UI being one pixel too wide and too high on triples.
• Added new VR flat desktop mirror. Please note this is only available in the new UI on the public_beta branch.
• Controller profiles
  • Simagic M10 new profile added.
  • VRS Direct Force Pro corrected typo in controller profile.
• Re-enabled & Improved Sun God Rays / Light Flare settings (requires PostFX enabled, mostly only visible when the sun is occluded slightly)
• Tweaks to Air Pollution colour blending and params
• Corrected Moon Brightness
• Reviewed various lighting parameters
• Moved “Atmospherics” section for Track Weather file (.WET) to Track Game Database file (.GDB)
• Added option for static mappers to disable omni lights
• Fixed auto static mapper assignment, so Static01 mapper is auto assigned only. (prevent mappers for specific situations being auto assigned to assets)
• Fixes for issues with No Rain Zones including when falling back to bounding box, and sorting issues with the currently rendered no rain zones.
• Fixed an issue where reflections would stop updating after rejoining track
• Fix for track side cameras not always showing the correct number of objects
• Updated PBR track shaders to make use of new sampler methods to allow for more textures to be used.
• Fixed an issue where DXT1 and DXT5 textures would not sample sRGB when they should when using new sampler method (This was an issue on the Road Shader only previously)
• Fixed a rare issue causing texture animations to stop working
• IBL Road and IBL Curb:
  • Added ability to use a second normal map (overlay on road, switch on curbs)
  • Tweaked Groove Blending logic (This may result in more noticeable dust, you may wish to tone this down in your Road Details Map)
  • Updated default settings for Groove & Dust IBL Standard
  • Fixed some issues with the Detail Map
• IBL Standard & Blend
  • Added option to use detail map as an alpha masked decal IBL Standard Blend
  • Added the option to use a detail map with the same logic as IBL Standard
  • Removed Multiply Square albedo blending mode, since this can be achieved by saving the texture in the correct format.
• IBL Terrain:
  • Added the ability to set per Albedo strengths for Pattern map
  • Added an optional splatter overlay map, which applies alpha to specular mask
  • Added Albedo Tinting to Specular on Terrain Shaders
• IBL Vegetation
  • Added a new Vegetation Specific shader, which contains only appropriate logic from IBL Standard
  • Added Specular Tinting with a static colour in the Vegetation Shader.

Steam Build IDs
Old UI (opt-out)

• Client build ID: 5842885
• Dedicated server build ID: 5842895

New UI (public_beta)

• Client build ID: 5842938

The new build is available now, and should download automatically the next time you restart your Steam client.



Original Source: Studio 397

rFactor 2 is available now, exclusively on PC.

Check out the rF2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for a great place to hang out with your fellow fans of the title, discuss the latest news and get advice on how to make the most from your simulation. Join in and start a new thread today!

 

[GuitarTech]

You complain about their lack of customer communication, but I guess you didn't see Ermin Hamidovic's recent 65 minute interview with Marcel Offermans (available on YouTube), in which he couldn't have been more open, and he even touched on your query on R3E and how by limiting what is possible in R3E, i.e. no day/night cycle, no dynamic road surface etc, it is so much easier for them to increase graphical fidelity etc.

I guess the bottom line is, if you are content with the limitations, and consequential stability of R3E, stick with that. For myself, I much prefer the diverse and yes, sometimes erratic, RF2.

After you made me aware of it here, I ran the video on you tube (all 1.06hrs of it)' for the sake of fairness.
But it was as I thought, and the reason why I don't watch Marcels videos any more: because he never really says anything concrete. It's all about looking at this and that, and we'll have to see, and yes, we have that planned for the future, yada, yada, yada. He reminds me of the average politician: they can waffle on or hours, and still manage to say bugger all..
And his interview partner didn't really help the matter, he fed Marcel questions that he knew the answers to anyway, and stayed away from anything remotely controversial, like for instance why Studio397 has needed four years (up to now, who knows how long till it's finally finished), to make a new UI, which is a nice to have, but the old UI is perfectly serviceable.
There are so many things that they could have used the time for, like the flag rules for example.
That's a bug that's been there since the beginning of time, and when Studio397 wants to be taken seriously as a realistic sim, and not a casual game, proper flag rules are one of the most important things. Or fixing the truly terrible on- line system, the one where you need a degree in computer programming to use. I gave up on it long ago, and only drive against the AI (another thing they could've fixed in four years), and I know I'm not the only one. II could go on and on with the bug list, but we all know which bugs I mean.
There were (and still are), so much more urgent things they could've fixed. And the best bit is, after four years, the new UI is a horrible mess. That they wasted four frickin' years on this carp just boggles my mind.
And their habit of releasing unfinished DLCs doesn't do them any favours either: havn't they ever heard of beta testing? And they take forever to fix the bugs. Nords is a case in point: a lot of people are having problems with the memory leak that it has, and when Marcel is telling the truth when he says that they listen to what the users say, why havn't they even acknowledged the fact that it has a problem?
I have the feeling that one they've managed to sell you a DLC, then they're done with it. Onwards and upwards to the next money-making DLC, which will probably have some bugs anyway.
I think part of the problem is that they are a virtual company: when your team is spread out all over the world, communication suffers, despite emails etc.
There is no substitute for all sitting round a desk, and thrashing things out.
I'll be interested to see what Spa turns out like. I'll be buying it today of course. Why? Because I'm an optimist who never gives up hope, and despite all its failings, it's still the best driving experience out there. But it could be so much better if Studio397 was more focused, and could better prioritise.

 

[goffred]

New build adds VR flat desktop mode

Thank you for this!

 

[GuitarTech]

New build adds VR flat desktop mode

Thank you for this!

I'd find it good too, if I could only use the new UI. I've been using the new UI for a while now, but the last update broke it for me, I have no mouse pointer any more. One step forward, two steps back.....

 

[Durge Driven]

Don't people get tired of listening to themselves
I wouldn't spend a single sentence on something I never liked let alone years
You are all just one big downer

And hey ! ISI or S397 ....they don't owe you a thing !

 

[goffred]

I'd find it good too, if I could only use the new UI. I've been using the new UI for a while now, but the last update broke it for me, I have no mouse pointer any more. One step forward, two steps back.....

The pointer seems to be out a bit, my guess is it's the difference between the VR resolution ratio versus the screen ratio, but at least I have a pointer. It is still ok in VR just out on the mirrored screen only. Do you have a pointer in VR?

 

[GuitarTech]

The pointer seems to be out a bit, my guess is it's the difference between the VR resolution ratio versus the screen ratio, but at least I have a pointer. It is still ok in VR just out on the mirrored screen only. Do you have a pointer in VR?

I can see the pointer, how could I miss it, it's frickin' humongus. But it doesn't work: either I can click on something and nothing happens, or when I put the mouse pointer on a cross, the cross disappears. And that after four years in development? Jeez..

 

[tr1v1um]

New UI is an absolute mess. Those defending it by saying things like, "You have to spend some time getting used to it" are completely missing the point in what is and isn't a good user interface. How much effort did you have to give navigating the menu of literally every other game in your library? After some quick familiarization, you can usually immediately accomplish whatever it is you're trying to do. Content Manger is an order of magnitude more complex, yet still manages to have a sensible "workflow."

I think there is noone blindely defending the new UI. First of all it is a beta so everyone who joins this beta should be aware what it is. It's also clear that there are structual issues and a few problematic design choices, like the wierdly angled shapes and the bright colours. But at the end of the day it allready offers quite a bit of nice functionality and some slick features and now being more fluid than the old one aswell. How changes in the setup screen are indicated in a very clean and simple way, is something that I haven't seen in any other sim yet. And it just makes it alot more easy for me to find my way around the garage menu and work on my setups. It's just great. The way how you can create race weekends is second to none aswell. And not just the pretend race weekends as in AC, AMS 2 or your beloved content manager but real race week ends with tons of options for sessions - everything bundled in a modular way. Just great aswell. I really like the option to switch between rasters, lists and horizontal sorting at the bottom, because each of those sorting options is usefull in different ways. The option to get into the workshop or forum through the UI is fantastic. Have I mentioned the search function? People pretending that there is no positives simply try to find all the negatives to sum it up as trash. You can be sure I could do the same thing for any other sim if I just tried to pick apart the different UIs.

It's allways funny to read people thinking that CM is a good UI holding it as the holy grail of sim racing. Quite frankly, I find it terrible to stuff hundreds of buttons, sliders and information on the same page. That's just as bad if not worse. And this has nothing to do with complexity, but information overload, wich isn't good UI design either. If you stuffed every option of the json files in rF2 into the new UI you would end up with alot more "complexity" than CM for sure. S397 tried to split up stuff in sections wich sadly requires more clicks than needed in some places - again it's not everywhere.

At the end of the day I simply don't understand the overreaction of some people leading to total rants about a beta UI that is optional at this point. It's the same as the switch do DX11. At the start, when it was optional I read alot of complaints and rants from people not understanding what beta means. I would argue that 100 % of the rF2 users run the DX11 version nowadays. And I suspect it'll be the same for the UI.

 

[GuitarTech]

Don't people get tired of listening to themselves
I wouldn't spend a single sentence on something I never liked let alone years
You are all just one big downer

And hey ! ISI or S397 ....they don't owe you a thing !

 

[dajdosta]

And his interview partner didn't really help the matter, he fed Marcel questions that he knew the answers to anyway, and stayed away from anything remotely controversial, like for instance why Studio397 has needed four years (up to now, who knows how long till it's finally finished), to make a new UI, which is a nice to have, but the old UI is perfectly serviceable.

Old UI is not perfectly serviceable.
S397 said multiple times the reason behind new UI is not only visuals but to be able to expand it with new features like competition system etc. which wasn't possible (more precisley it was too complex) in old one.
And they did add some features.
Why it took them so long, why is the result as it is that is another matter.

 

[GuitarTech]

Old UI is not perfectly serviceable.
S397 said multiple times the reason behind new UI is not only visuals but to be able to expand it with new features like competition system etc. which wasn't possible (more precisley it was too complex) in old one.
And they did add some features.
Why it took them so long, why is the result as it is that is another matter.

My point was, there are very much more pressing problems than the UI that they could've (and should've) spent the four years on, and the fact that it's still such a dogs breakfast after four years work just beggars belief. I wouldn't be so p*ssed off if it at least was fit for purpose. It is a long way away from that, how many years still?

 

[Oldzeb]

always the same mourners on RD....

 

[dajdosta]

My point was, there are very much more pressing problems than the UI that they could've (and should've) spent the four years on, and the fact that it's still such a dogs breakfast after four years work just beggars belief. I wouldn't be so p*ssed off if it at least was fit for purpose. It is a long way away from that, how many years still?

I agree final(?) result is disappointing after all the time it took them.
But I don't see time on UI is wasted as it was necessity for future upgrades. S397 stated that.
Another thing to consider is that person who works on UI probably isn't responsible for AI so argument that something could be done on AI instead is not entirely valid.
While I agree development and bug fixing pace is very slow I would never call rf2 a mess or bugfest as some do.
It's perfectly playable for me.

 

[Case_]

First of all it is a beta so everyone who joins this beta should be aware what it is. It's also clear that there are structual issues and a few problematic design choices, like the wierdly angled shapes and the bright colours. But at the end of the day it allready offers quite a bit of nice functionality and some slick features and now being more fluid than the old one aswell.

It won't be beta for long (well, supposedly, if we're to believe the vague hints...). And also - it has been in beta for a year now (OK, will be in like three weeks or so). Can't really think of many visible changes in that year. Can you? I would be genuinely curious how many changes in that one year have people noticed, and what they were.

People pretending that there is no positives simply try to find all the negatives to sum it up as trash.

Yes, of course. They're just trying to find all the negatives so they could criticize it. On purpose. There are no other possibilities to explain it, like, maybe, they simply don't care about the handful of positives, because they didn't really need them.

It's the same as the switch do DX11. At the start, when it was optional I read alot of complaints and rants from people not understanding what beta means. I would argue that 100 % of the rF2 users run the DX11 version nowadays. And I suspect it'll be the same for the UI.

Well, it's not like they had a choice. The DX9 version was effectively phased out. Yes, it was still available, but it was frequently an older build that couldn't be used to join servers running the newer build, and even if the build versions matched and you did use it, it caused issues with newer content. I actually tried running the DX9 version several times during the time DX11 was already well established, but simply couldn't if I also wanted to actually race. So the fact probably "100% of users run it nowadays" is not exactly surprising, and means very little in regards of them wanting to run it willingly.

And yes, it will obviously be the same with the UI. It has already started.

 

[billyblaze13]

Don't people get tired of listening to themselves
I wouldn't spend a single sentence on something I never liked let alone years
You are all just one big downer

And hey ! ISI or S397 ....they don't owe you a thing !

+1000000 bro....If I don't like something, it's out of my life, period. I won't waste one second even thinking about it. It becomes tiresome listening to these consumer "victims" railing about the evil company that went in their wallet and stole their money. They have 100% of the power in the consumer/retailer relationship, but they lack the discipline to exercise that power. Some of these guys, it's like they buy things just for the privilege to bitch about them. And true S397/ISI owes them nothing. If they declared bankruptcy tomorrow, and closed their doors cutting off all access to RF2 - nobody could do a damn thing about it.

 

[Equipe Matra]

Update Notes:

• Fixed several aspect-ratio related rendering issues with the new UI.

One thing I noted is that the new UI is still being stretched out if you select the widescreen option, instead of being rendered at the correct resolution. Or is that not what they meant?

 

[Demichkd]

I read this thread front to back a few times and thought no way I'm jumping on the new UI. So of course I jumped on the new UI. For me, a very positive experience. No issues finding my way around, no lengthy load times (no more than normal that is), and generally l like it. I think reading the tips provided here from @Case_ made it a simple move. I benefited from both points of view - thanks!

 

[MetalMania]

Since the new build update "strongly recommended" moving to the new UI, I finally opted into the public beta and tried it for the first time today. I don't like it, but after years of the old one I'm willing to give it time to get used to. But, one issue I had is when selecting a car if I go to "customize" (which appears to have replaced the "tuning" button), it brings me to the settings screen but where it should show the car I see it for a split second then the whole "showroom" goes black. I can barely see that the car is rotating around in the dark but it's 99% invisible. Is this a known bug?

 

[sentry87]

Since the new build update "strongly recommended" moving to the new UI, I finally opted into the public beta and tried it for the first time today. I don't like it, but after years of the old one I'm willing to give it time to get used to. But, one issue I had is when selecting a car if I go to "customize" (which appears to have replaced the "tuning" button), it brings me to the settings screen but where it should show the car I see it for a split second then the whole "showroom" goes black. I can barely see that the car is rotating around in the dark but it's 99% invisible. Is this a known bug?

Happens to me as well, eventually shows up after 5 seconds or so. This didn't happen in previous builds

 

[pcraenme]

It's allways funny to read people thinking that CM is a good UI holding it as the holy grail of sim racing. Quite frankly, I find it terrible to stuff hundreds of buttons, sliders and information on the same page. That's just as bad if not worse. And this has nothing to do with complexity, but information overload, wich isn't good UI design either. If you stuffed every option of the json files in rF2 into the new UI you would end up with alot more "complexity" than CM for sure. S397 tried to split up stuff in sections wich sadly requires more clicks than needed in some places - again it's not everywhere.

Totally agree with you... CM is a very powerfull UI, but I also don’t consider it a good UI. I just mentioned it in my comment earlier, because one of the options it has, I would like to see in rF2’s new UI. After I setup a race weekend with all the session settings and opponent selection, I would like the possibility to save that, so I can use it later. About all the options in json files... it would be nice though to have more of them in the new UI, but they could use ‘advanced/expert’ pages to make them visible and editable, so the screens with the most commonly used options/settings would not become too busy/crowded.

 

[b)b]

S397 cannot flip the switch on the new UI on the main version fast enough.
Whether you like the new UI or not, this will bring a lot of new feedback (good or bad) and will force S397 to address the remaining issues of the new UI, and iterate and improve on it fast.
I think they should have done this months ago to speed up the process.