rFactor 2 Roadmap Released - DX11 and VR Coming May 1st!

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 have released the April development roadmap, confirming DX11 and VR for May 1st plus lots of interesting new things coming for rFactor 2...

Fans left disappointed by the slight delay to DX11 and VR implementation in rFactor 2 need worry no more, Studio 397 have last night confirmed the newly proposed May 1st release date for this major new build release is on schedule to meet the internal deadline and find itself released to the public build of rFactor 2 on Steam. As can be evidenced in the included screenshots, the new build update and move to DX11 looks like it should bring a rather significant upgrade to the graphics of the game, as well as hopefully further optimizations to support greater frame rate realization for gamers looking to run the highest graphic settings possible whilst still maintaining a decent FPS result.

As well as the new DX11 build, Studio 397 have also confirmed the much anticipated VR update remains on schedule to join the feature list come May 1st, bringing rFactor 2 in line with fellow simulations Assetto Corsa, Project CARS and RaceRoom Racing Experience.

You can read the full April Dev Blog posting below:

With about a week and a half left until May 1st, it’s time for our monthly update again. We’re sure everybody is looking forward to the new build, and we’re happy to announce that both the DX11 graphics engine and VR support will be released as promised.

DX11
Over the last couple of months, we’ve revealed several development screenshots of the DirectX 11 engine to share with you our enthusiasm for the possibilities it brings. The new engine is not only the basis for our VR implementation, but it also enabled a new, improved HDR tone mapper and a bunch of post effects that greatly enhance the overall atmosphere of the simulation. We tried to strike a balance between using these effects to render the real-world imperfections of cameras while retaining the “first person view” you have when racing. At the same time we kept two very important goals in mind: we needed to ensure that, with the same graphics settings, the DX11 engine is at least as fast as the DX9 engine, and that existing content is still compatible with the new engine, so all the content out there can still be fully enjoyed.

We are quite sure we succeeded in both, and we extensively tested the new graphics engine with our community of beta testers. That said, we want to make sure that everybody is able to run this new build without a hitch, which is why we are making the initial release available as an “open beta.” Starting May 1st, anybody can switch to this new build and try it out. It is fully multiplayer compatible with the DX9 build. If for some reason you run into any problems with the new build, you can easily revert to the previous engine with just one click.

We didn’t just stop at updating the graphics engine, though. While we’re at it, we also updated some of our existing content to DX11, so you can expect the first of a series of Studio 397 updates as well. And you’ll be happy to know, these updates don’t just concern the graphics: in some cases we also made changes to and upgraded the physics. The new graphics engine really lets our content shine. It provides so much improvement that we have decided to postpone releasing any new shaders. To whet your appetite, take a look at these new screenshots showing off the new engine and some of the camera post effects in action:

Virtual Reality
If you have been following us on Facebook, you’ve already enjoyed some teaser shots of our VR implementation. We have since added some features such as support for our HUD, including virtual mirrors, as well as a way to browse the UI in VR mode. Mouse control is enabled for the UI, although we are definitely considering adding other options for controlling the VR interface.

User Interface
We know you are eagerly awaiting the new user interface, and we share your impatience. However, because we want to give you the full experience of the new UI and all its capabilities, we feel it is not quite ready for prime time just yet. Although that means we will ship the first open beta release with our existing UI, it will be upgraded to the new UI once that’s ready for release.

As we announced last month, we are now able to easily push updates, and we will use this ability to quickly release updates to the open beta in the upcoming weeks. Our goal is to ensure that we have a stable release for everybody, allowing us to begin phasing out the DX9 build altogether after a few months. In the meantime, our concern is to ensure that everybody has a fully functioning and compatible version of rFactor 2 to race with.

Content
Work on the Radical continues. With most of the graphics in place, our focus has now shifted to the physics and the sounds for this car. It’s not ready to be unveiled yet, but we can tease you with one of the other new cars that we have started working on soon! Watch our social media.

Modding
The modding community just recently gained access to an early DX11 build, and we released some guidelines for artists to work with the new rendering engine. Expect to see updates of third party content coming soon. In general, the new engine requires modders to make only minor changes. One area we are still working on concerns “plugins” that render directly to the screen. These plugins will not work properly in the first open beta. We are actively looking at improving our implementation of this functionality overall.




rFactor 2 is a racing simulation exclusive to Windows PC.

Additional third party content can be downloaded from a variety of sources, one of which is the RaceDepartment rFactor 2 modding archive. Head over and check out the latest releases for the sim, or alternatively join in the discussion and keep up to date with the latest news at our rFactor 2 sub forum right here at RD. If downloading mods or keeping up to date with the latest news items aren't your thing, you can always sign up to one of our epic Club and League events using the software. We hold regular club racing events in our schedule, however the jewel in our crown is no doubt the RaceDepartment Le Mans Series. This is our premium endurance league using rFactor 2. Head over to the RDLMS forum to find out more!

Looking forward to DX11 and VR? Will this update help move rFactor 2 back in to the spotlight in your opinion? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Nick Hill]

The graphics improvements look great and VR will certainly re-open the sim to a segment of the user base (though I have to believe the % of sim racers who are "VR or bust" is very slim), but what rF2 really needs is more professional-quality content.

I've said this before, but I enjoy repeating myself - I believe the sun is setting on the age of the freeware sim racing modders. The combination of improved graphical fidelity, better sound quality, and increased physics complexity of the current generation of sims has greatly reduced the flow of good mods, IMO. This is why I think the Sector 397 and ISI partnership will, ultimately, be good for the sim/industry (assuming that this partnership eventually starts pumping out good content).

On the consumer side, for our part I think we're going to need to come to grips with this and be willing to spend a few bucks here and there for cars/tracks.

 

[Deleted member 130869]

I believe with a stable and accessible platform and good documentation, and possibly one or two example cars, that free, high-quality modding is still a feasible reality. With modders being able to release more consistent offerings then hopefully more donations would follow too.

 

[Will Mazeo]

The graphics improvements look great and VR will certainly re-open the sim to a segment of the user base (though I have to believe the % of sim racers who are "VR or bust" is very slim), but what rF2 really needs is more professional-quality content.

I've said this before, but I enjoy repeating myself - I believe the sun is setting on the age of the freeware sim racing modders. The combination of improved graphical fidelity, better sound quality, and increased physics complexity of the current generation of sims has greatly reduced the flow of good mods, IMO. This is why I think the Sector 397 and ISI partnership will, ultimately, be good for the sim/industry (assuming that this partnership eventually starts pumping out good content).

On the consumer side, for our part I think we're going to need to come to grips with this and be willing to spend a few bucks here and there for cars/tracks.

Agree, I love rF2 and it's my favourite sim, but I'm getting tired of depending too much on mods. I actually wish they'd go more to an Assetto route where mods are a complement.

 

[Emery]

I've said this before, but I enjoy repeating myself - I believe the sun is setting on the age of the freeware sim racing modders. The combination of improved graphical fidelity, better sound quality, and increased physics complexity of the current generation of sims has greatly reduced the flow of good mods, IMO.

I disagree. Assetto Corsa modders are having no difficulty with improved graphic fidelity, they're producing better sounds than Kunos does, and physics are still the same as they've always been with the exception of tires and the added rF2 feature of ultra chassis. rF2 modders know how to put realroad in place and deal with the colors; just because converters don't always bother doesn't mean such tasks are difficult.

Just because rF2 includes some new features for physics doesn't mean they have to be used. rF2 tires are only "different" from rF1 tires, they're not really more complex (though making test sets takes longer because ttool), just like AC tires are "different" from rF1 tires.

 

[Uff]

complaining about sim that even F1-teams uses...

Sorry to disappoint you, but... no: F1 teams don't use a 40€ software for their simulators. rF Pro is something different, even if it should share the same graphic engine as the consumer version.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

Agree, I love rF2 and it's my favourite sim, but I'm getting tired of depending too much on mods. I actually wish they'd go more to an Assetto route where mods are a complement.

If that means getting most major big car company or track licenses, then it's not going to happen with the current sales of rF2, it's dreaming. The only way Assetto got all of those licenses is from selling over a million copies and going the console route. S397 can either focus on a small (but well chosen) set of licensed content (which is what AMS already does well), or make it a more general sim with all moddability features (which is IMO what rF DNA is mostly about).

 

[David Dominguez]

If that means getting most major big car company or track licenses, then it's not going to happen with the current sales of rF2, it's dreaming. The only way Assetto got all of those licenses is from selling over a million copies and going the console route. S397 can either focus on a small (but well chosen) set of licensed content (which is what AMS already does well), or make it a more general sim with all moddability features (which is IMO what rF DNA is mostly about).

Well, AC had many Ferraris, BMWs and McLarens since the start, even before they decided to make console versions... I guess they had to take some financial risks at the beginning.

 

[kkdrummer]

S397 has just posted some new photos on their FB page, looking awesome: https://www.facebook.com/rFactor2/posts/1466050863445821

 

[Will Mazeo]

If that means getting most major big car company or track licenses, then it's not going to happen with the current sales of rF2, it's dreaming. The only way Assetto got all of those licenses is from selling over a million copies and going the console route. S397 can either focus on a small (but well chosen) set of licensed content (which is what AMS already does well), or make it a more general sim with all moddability features (which is IMO what rF DNA is mostly about).

I'm not sure if your comment is serious... AC sold milions because they had the licenses, not the contrary. And selling allowed them to take more risks with more licenses.
To make money you first need to spend money... well... you can also take it from someone else and close the studio if it goes wrong

 

[hitm4k3r]

If that means getting most major big car company or track licenses, then it's not going to happen with the current sales of rF2, it's dreaming. The only way Assetto got all of those licenses is from selling over a million copies and going the console route. S397 can either focus on a small (but well chosen) set of licensed content (which is what AMS already does well), or make it a more general sim with all moddability features (which is IMO what rF DNA is mostly about).

I got to agree with you to some extent. What I never really understood with rF2 though, is why they didn't stick with their Indy licenses and concentrated on alligning their content better. That's content that just makes sense in the game, with all the oval features and content aswell as the historic content in the game, official and 3rd party content. I am talking about the Reynard, the March and the Eagle especialy. Why ship a car like the GT500, when you have like two or three tracks to run it on and no opposition. The Bt44 doesn't make much sense either. Why ship a HONDA BTCC car when a 1960's Honda F1 car fits your content better? I get that they wanted to offer example cars and templates and it worked to some extent, but from the POV of a consumer some decions just didn't make much sense regarding content creation and priorities. Don't get me wrong, the GT500 is a great car, but when you look at how popular the CART Extreme mod is and how popular the mod was in rF1, it puzzles me why that kind of content never had a priority. That mod has freakin' 19000 views and over 15000 downloads here on RD. Hell, try to get the Reynard, the Penske and Lola license and sell it for 10 bucks as a CART 1995 DLC.

The wierd thing is, AC has the same issue when you don't look at GT3 or street cars stuff. Everything else doesn't fit together very well and the Maserati SUV actually makes more sense than the 250F. The sole company that managed to allign their content is Reiza. I haven't lost hope though that we will get the CART content in rF2 at one point, as Studio 397 clearly plans to allign their content better and NOLA was a good step in the right direction. The licenses are still there afaik, so it's just win-win if you release stuff that you payed fees for at one point, that's popular and that fits into the frame of your game. And yes, I am very biased there

 

[DomD]

I got to agree with you to some extent. What I never really understood with rF2 though, is why they didn't stick with their Indy licenses and concentrated on alligning their content better. That's content that just makes sense in the game, with all the oval features and content aswell as the historic content in the game, official and 3rd party content. I am talking about the Reynard, the March and the Eagle especialy. Why ship a car like the GT500, when you have like two or three tracks to run it on and no opposition. The Bt44 doesn't make much sense either. Why ship a HONDA BTCC car when a 1960's Honda F1 car fits your content better? I get that they wanted to offer example cars and templates and it worked to some extent, but from the POV of a consumer some decions just didn't make much sense regarding content creation and priorities. Don't get me wrong, the GT500 is a great car, but when you look at how popular the CART Extreme mod is and how popular the mod was in rF1, it puzzles me why that kind of content never had a priority. That mod has freakin' 19000 views and over 15000 downloads here on RD. Hell, try to get the Reynard, the Penske and Lola license and sell it for 10 bucks as a CART 1995 DLC.

The wierd thing is, AC has the same issue when you don't look at GT3 or street cars stuff. Everything else doesn't fit together very well and the Maserati SUV actually makes more sense than the 250F. The sole company that managed to allign their content is Reiza. I haven't lost hope though that we will get the CART content in rF2 at one point, as Studio 397 clearly plans to allign their content better and NOLA was a good step in the right direction. The licenses are still there afaik, so it's just win-win if you release stuff that you payed fees for at one point, that's popular and that fits into the frame of your game. And yes, I am very biased there

You are dead right, content needs to be aligned, that's one of our priorities

 

[St3fan]

I bet if we do a poll the results will show that AC audience do not care about racing series license and "aligned contents" as much as RF2 audience.

Also I won't regard NOLA as a major track for Indycar.

 

[JPL083]

Sorry to disappoint you, but... no: F1 teams don't use a 40€ software for their simulators. rF Pro is something different, even if it should share the same graphic engine as the consumer version.

Do you feel good now?

 

[hitm4k3r]

I bet if we do a poll the results will show that AC audience do not care about racing series license and "aligned contents" as much as RF2 audience.

Also I won't regard NOLA as a major track for Indycar.

You need to see the bigger picture: with NOLA we got a track with tons of configurations, especialy with additional Kart tracks, a track that just by coincidence was used by Indycar in 2015. To put it simple, it fits pretty much every car in the game, the more unique ones included. If you consider that rF2 had only one Kart track with 4 configs when the Kart was released, you get an idea what I am on about. You need to hit two birds with one stone and not just one, when you create content for a game, otherwise you devalue each asset and the manhours spent on it.

@DomD: Nice to read that content allignment is high on the list.

 

[whip]

if they got the full indy car licence and done a season with official tracks it would kick start this game, i know nothing of indy car, im an f1 fan but something like that would pull the game to the masses

 

[St3fan]

NOLA is still not a track that many people care. People will still use mods of more famous and interesting track a lot more often. In the case of tracks that have a million configurations, people will still use more common configurations a lot more often. Check what new tracks Reiza has put in SCE and now AMS since they became famous for having "unique and less known tracks but with tons of fun". That is a better way of selecting new tracks to attract more people/drag people back.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Marcel Offermans]

And you do not hear us disagree at all, @St3fan

 

[St3fan]

And you do not hear us disagree at all, @St3fan

Looking forward to future news and contents. I totally understand how hard and challenging you guys' work is.

 

[hitm4k3r]

NOLA is still not a track that many people care. People will still use mods of more famous and interesting track a lot more often. In the case of tracks that have a million configurations, people will still use more common configurations a lot more often. Check what new tracks Reiza has put in SCE and now AMS since they became famous for having "unique and less known tracks but with tons of fun". That is a better way of selecting new tracks to attract more people/drag people back.

Just my 2 cents.

It's difficult to judge for me what people really use. Sure it's not the most famous Indy track but it's still a nice addition and feedback has been positive so far from what I gathered. Sure, you will propably gain more people with tracks like Long Beach, Watkins Glen or Sonoma, but NOLA was propably easier to license and still fits in the game. That the sole race in 2015 turned out to be rather broing was a bit of bad luck I guess.

That you mention the AMS tracks, shows actually exactly what I meant with alligning the content. All the tracks that they sold as DLC and that they shipped in the game, fit very well to the car selection. They have a V8 Supercar and historic F1 cars, so a track like Adelaide is not only interesting from the perspective of being a fun track, but it fits several cars. It doesn't make much sense to have historic cars but no historic tracks. If you look at their track roster, you will see that there are alot of historic tracks, propably alot more than in any other sim. It's really well packaged. I also don't know if AC users really don't care about that: GT3 and street cars (Nords Tourist servers FTW) plus their respective tracks are very well covered by default. If you look at the calender of the Blancpain Endurace series, wich is propably the most popular GT3 series in Europe, you will notice that that calender alone is allmost 3/4 covered.

 

[St3fan]

It's difficult to judge for me what people really use. Sure it's not the most famous Indy track but it's still a nice addition and feedback has been positive so far from what I gathered. Sure, you will propably gain more people with tracks like Long Beach, Watkins Glen or Sonoma, but NOLA was propably easier to license and still fits in the game. That the sole race in 2015 turned out to be rather broing was a bit of bad luck I guess.

That you mention the AMS tracks, shows actually exactly what I meant with alligning the content. All the tracks that they sold as DLC and that they shipped in the game, fit very well to the car selection. They have a V8 Supercar and historic F1 cars, so a track like Adelaide is not only interesting from the perspective of being a fun track, but it fits several cars. It doesn't make much sense to have historic cars but no historic tracks. If you look at their track roster, you will see that there are alot of historic tracks, propably alot more than in any other sim. It's really well packaged. I also don't know if AC users really don't care about that: GT3 and street cars (Nords Tourist servers FTW) plus their respective tracks are very well covered by default. If you look at the calender of the Blancpain Endurace series, wich is propably the most popular GT3 series in Europe, you will notice that that calender alone is allmost 3/4 covered.

What I mean is that IMHO it might be better for RF2 to get license of tracks that make people go "wow""yes""I want it""finally" than tracks that make people go "wait let me Google it first", considering the relatively small number of active players at the moment. But that's just my opinion.