rFactor 2 | Spa-Francorchamps Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

Studio 397 have today released their laserscanned Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps DLC for rFactor 2.

The new track is available now, and retails at around 8.99 Euros from the rFactor 2 Steam Store.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1329732042821693440

From the release post:

Studio 397 are absolutely delighted to bring to rFactor 2 one of the most revered and loved race circuits in Europe – that’s right, the mighty Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is now available to purchase for the sim!

Spa-Francorchamps | Steam Store: Click HERE.

The Belgian legend, one of the best tracks in Europe, home to the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Total Spa 24 Hours of Spa… at long last a highly accurate and incredibly detailed version of the 7.004km Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is available to purchase in rFactor 2.

The current configuration of Spa-Francorchamps first made its public debut during the 2007 racing season, having featured in previous years with several takes on the traditional lap ending Bus Stop chicane. Finally settling on a suitable configuration for a last corner that is very much at odds with the quick and challenging nature of the circuit, the venue has remained a firm favourite in the minds of both drivers and fans alike.

Consisting of some of the best sections of corners anywhere in the world, including the exceptional Eau Rouge / Radillon complex and the fearsome Pouhon (now called Double Gauche) – almost every one of the 19 turns on this historic venue are noteworthy in their own right – so let’s take a look at some key highlights as we see what we have in store for our rFactor 2 drivers:

La Source

This is one of the tightest corners on the track, and despite its relatively simple nature perhaps one of the most critical to get right for a competitive lap time – miss step on corner exit and you’ll be giving away time all the way down to perhaps the showcase corner of Spa-Francorchamps…

Eau Rouge / Radillon

Instantly recognizable throughout the world, Eau Rouge and Radillon offer up some of the most iconic tarmac in motorsport. Fast, challenging and dangerous – depending on the car and your racing line, a driver may just have to breathe off the throttle to safely navigate their way through the steeply uphill section of track, before rounding the blind crest through Radillon and powering down the Kemmel Straight and into the more technically challenging portion of the lap.

Les Combes

Here drivers have a great opportunity to line up their rivals and make a play for the overtake under braking, either down the inside into the first right-hander, or the long way round the outside and block pass for the switch back to the left-hand part of this section. A keen feeling on the brake pedal, and not too enthusiastic getting back on the gas are key ingredients to making your way through this part of the circuit in good time.

Double Gauche (Pouhon)

From top gear down to fourth, trail brake into the apex at corner entry then balance the car on the throttle for a smooth transition through the turn and early onto the power trusting the downforce and tyres to stick the car firmly into the racing surface – here you need confidence, commitment and a solid vehicle underneath you to fully unearth the speed needed to propel you through the corner and into the very fast final sector.

Les Fagnes

Another overtaking opportunity, on both the outside and inside line, Fagnes is one of those corners so very common to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit – fast, delicate and requiring the driver to dance on the pedals in order to find just that right balance between speed and keeping the car stable. A fantastic place to watch a race car in action.

Blanchimont

Pretty much flat out throughout the final sector (85% of the lap is spent at full throttle in a Grand Prix car) the drivers have to deal with the fearsome Blanchimont corner – probably full throttle, depending on setup, track condition and racing line, but very easy to make a mistake and lose lap time, or worse still, have a potentially race ending accident if you get too greedy with the curbs on corner exit.

Bus Stop

The final part of the lap is the reprofiled Bus Stop chicane. Despite its nature as a somewhat awkward corner in comparison to the rest of the lap, the Bus Stop has gained a bit of a fanbase in its own right, and offers up another really solid opportunity to overtake a slower rival. Much as with the rest of the lap at Spa-Francorchamps, get this wrong and the price of your mistake will be significant, so drivers will have to tread that fine line between caution and commitment.

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!

 

[Tiffarnio]

I did'nt know that. What is virtual desktop mode, and how do I select it. And do I need the new UI for it to work?

Yes, you need the new UI. To select the desktop:

1. Open Dash by selecting the Oculus button on your right Touch controller.
2. Select Oculus Desktop from the right section of your Dash belt to open a Desktop window.

The UI will then be on full screen, but in a smaller window in front of you, so it's easier to manage than the in game look.

 

[GuitarTech]

Yes, you need the new UI. To select the desktop:

1. Open Dash by selecting the Oculus button on your right Touch controller.
2. Select Oculus Desktop from the right section of your Dash belt to open a Desktop window.

The UI will then be on full screen, but in a smaller window in front of you, so it's easier to manage than the in game look.

Thanks for the clear explanation, that could be an alternative to be able to select things in VR, at least so long the mouse support in the new UI is broken

 

[Kenneth Jurmann]

Trees look a lot better again. Not sure why the ones around the Nürburgring look so bad. This is a lot better, more in line with Lemans. The Ring would deserve an update to these standards.

BTW, can't wait for Sebring to get the shader update!

 

[GuitarTech]

Trees look a lot better again. Not sure why the ones around the Nürburgring look so bad. This is a lot better, more in line with Lemans. The Ring would deserve an update to these standards.

BTW, can't wait for Sebring to get the shader update!

I have the feeling that Nürburgring has a massive memery leak: I can do one lap in VR, and then after a pitstop, the fps takes a dive down to 40fps, and never recovers. Studio397 still has a lot to do....

 

[RichardHessels]

We will look into any remaining issues with mouse positions. After the weekend.

You guys need the weekend, otherwise you could have named the company 24-7.

 

[SimRacingDriver_2010]

Trees look a lot better again. Not sure why the ones around the Nürburgring look so bad. This is a lot better, more in line with Lemans. The Ring would deserve an update to these standards.

BTW, can't wait for Sebring to get the shader update!

Trees and track side objects look amazing in this. Must have been a lot of work and dedication all those trees around the track. Spend a lot of time last night driving it in VR, so immersive. I like looking around and far distance when driving.

I hope the guys who worked on this Spa will continue to build track with same quality and ideally every month or quarter add a new track or updated track release.

 

[Terry Rock]

How does the new one compare with this one?

 

[Terry Rock]

 

[Case_]

I think it's quite obvious tha UE4 has better lighting capacities. That said, stuff like the horrendous AA, ghosting and LOD popups, especialy noticable with the trees makes ACC look like a 90s games if you have to run it on lower settings.

ACC, like many current games, is basically an average looking game, successfully hiding the fact behind special effects and great lighting. I'd say rF2 can actually look better than ACC, it just can't hide the weaker looking stuff as efficiently.

People often underestimate how much of an effect lighting has on the overall "visual impression" of a game.

 

[GuitarTech]

ACC, like many current games, is basically an average looking game, successfully hiding the fact behind special effects and great lighting. I'd say rF2 can actually look better than ACC, it just can't hide the weaker looking stuff as efficiently.

People often underestimate how much of an effect lighting has on the overall "visual impression" of a game.

For the moment I've given up on ACC: Despite having an i7 9700 @5.0Ghz,
an RTX 3080 and 32Gb RAM, if you want to drive it with full details in VR, so that it looks like it does in the promo videos, it is pretty undriveable. And the FF and driving physics don't even come close to rF2.
I revisit now and again to see if it has become any better, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe UE doesn't work well with VR?

 

[CrimsonEminence]

ACC, like many current games, is basically an average looking game, successfully hiding the fact behind special effects and great lighting. I'd say rF2 can actually look better than ACC, it just can't hide the weaker looking stuff as efficiently.

People often underestimate how much of an effect lighting has on the overall "visual impression" of a game.

In terms of actual car and off-track detail, i have to disagree. ACC has some really crazy mental details in 3D details modelling and small things, that you might not notice immediately, but "your brain does". Just speaking of a display on the filler neck on some GT3 or track drainage animations like Kyalami in the rain, tarmac join-texture thingys in pitlanes and so much more...

(These are not even full Vfx settings at all)

I'm not into tribalism...rF2 Sebring, for example, is one of the most beautiful and amazing tracks in sim racing overall for me, but in terms of overall track detail, ACC is FAR over/above the normal average level, IMO.

 

[GuitarTech]

I must take back what I said about ACC in my reply earlier in this thread. My excuse is, I've only had my RTX 3080 since Tuesday, it replaced a GTX 1080. On Wednesday or Thursday, can't remember which, I tried ACC out with the new card.
I was extremely disappointed because nothing much had changed, it didn't run any better than the last time with the 1080.
Imagine my surprise this evening when I tried it again, and suddenly had a solid 80fps in VR. I have no idea what I did wrong the first time, the drivers are the same ones, and I've not changed anything else.
It looks lovely now, but I still don't like it, for the same reason I never liked AC: compared to rF2, ACC feels like you're driving a floating car on ice, no grip, even after two or three laps. I must say though, that I only tried it with the settings out of the box, I didn't spend any time doing a setup.
But it did at least show that the upgrade to the 3080 was well worth the money, compared to the 1080 it's a quantum leap.
But for me rF2 is still the best sim forthe FF and tyre model, and just the general feel and immersion

 

[Case_]

@CrimsonEminence I won't go into more detail in an rF2 thread, but I'll just say that while I do think my original comment still applies, I'll admit it's certainly a bit more complicated topic to cover in a short generalized comment.

 

[bgil66]

Eau Rouge is a bitch sometimes in the RSR, YOU BITCH!

 

[Jason Mullin]

Love rFactor 2 more and more everyday, well done S397.

What GT3 lap times are considered quick around Spa?
I've read the real track record is 2:15, I'm running just under 2:19 in the Aston.
How some of these aliens flat out Eau Rouge in a GT car is beyond me.

 

[balamacab]

I find it interesting that when racing offline, people say they are racing against "AI". That is not AI, that is pre-programmed cars to give the user the experience of racing other cars. Users complain about "AI: behavior as if racing humans and their behavior is better.

If true "AI" was used, the game would not have "AI" levels. It would learn tendencies and eventually, the users would never win a race. That is how true "AI" works.

And yes, "Ai" does act differently per track.

Did you know that you can enable such behavior, with the down side that the ai learn to much to the point that is perfect it that simply you can not complete against it?

Given that it's something that not every one wants it's not enable by default.

Here's a guide to enable it if you wish to do so

* AI Learning - Step by Step Guide *

I have created this Guide for the JSON entry of "Autocalibrate", this basically helps the AI learn a given track and save their Learning Process for...

forum.studio-397.com

So yes, in rFactor 2 you do run against the Ai.

 

[balamacab]

For the moment I've given up on ACC: Despite having an i7 9700 @5.0Ghz,
an RTX 3080 and 32Gb RAM, if you want to drive it with full details in VR, so that it looks like it does in the promo videos, it is pretty undriveable. And the FF and driving physics don't even come close to rF2.
I revisit now and again to see if it has become any better, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe UE doesn't work well with VR?

Try this...
In ACC set the quality to the levels you want But:
Limit the fps to your target in the game options
Vr pixel density to 200
Resolution scale to 50

Test it if you have good fps then, increase resScale a bit and test again and repeat the procedure to the point the fps still good, even at 200-70 the graphic quality is nice in vr an playable... If not then you're out of luck.

 

[Peter Kerényi]

ACC, like many current games, is basically an average looking game, successfully hiding the fact behind special effects and great lighting. I'd say rF2 can actually look better than ACC, it just can't hide the weaker looking stuff as efficiently.

People often underestimate how much of an effect lighting has on the overall "visual impression" of a game.

I think ACC is the best looking simracing title and has very good details. Gets a bit blurry in 1080p but some upped resolution scale and sharpening cures it if one has the horsepower to run it. The worst aspect is probably the mirrors, where AC (CSP) and iR are the kings.

On the other hand, rFactor 2 can look very beautiful as well. Its main problems are the details of cars and tracks it has, not the lack of "special effects". Problem is, all the good looking stuff is mostly hid behind a paywall, and on top of that not all the paid content is good looking. The S397 DLC tracks and Portland are nice, some of the Reiza DLC stuff looks like from 2005 in comparison (esp. Pumas). Most of the cars, however, have ugly cockpits, let it be the non-existent dashboard details (no pages, stretched fonts) or textures, materials, shaders. Especially when compared to ACC. Then you run into silly issues like the seat position and especially the mirrors being universally set... for example if you have properly set up mirrors for a GTE then sit into the Oreca 07, you cannot see anything in the mirrors, vice versa.

 

[sbabb]

For the moment I've given up on ACC: Despite having an i7 9700 @5.0Ghz,
an RTX 3080 and 32Gb RAM, if you want to drive it with full details in VR, so that it looks like it does in the promo videos, it is pretty undriveable. And the FF and driving physics don't even come close to rF2.
I revisit now and again to see if it has become any better, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe UE doesn't work well with VR?

UE-4 was not build with VR in mind by Epic Games

Love rFactor 2 more and more everyday, well done S397.

What GT3 lap times are considered quick around Spa?
I've read the real track record is 2:15, I'm running just under 2:19 in the Aston.
How some of these aliens flat out Eau Rouge in a GT car is beyond me.

2:13 should be possible with the rF2 cars, since they run GT Open spec, aka Michelin´s instead of GT World Challenge Pirelli´s (there 2:15 is the irl record)

 

[BazzaLB]

.

The worst aspect is probably the mirrors, where AC (CSP) and iR are the kings.

What I like about AMS2 mirrors is the fact they are reactive to your head movement (in VR). You can actually move your head to get better view from the mirror.

On the other hand, rFactor 2 can look very beautiful as well. Its main problems are the details of cars and tracks it has, not the lack of "special effects". Problem is, all the good looking stuff is mostly hid behind a paywall, and on top of that not all the paid content is good looking. The S397 DLC tracks and Portland are nice, some of the Reiza DLC stuff looks like from 2005 in comparison (esp. Pumas). Most of the cars, however, have ugly cockpits, let it be the non-existent dashboard details (no pages, stretched fonts) or textures, materials, shaders. Especially when compared to ACC.

Have to agree about the cockpits in general. They have shown they can produce the proper material shaders with the Ferrari 488 whose rf2 cockpit interior looks bloody marvellous, but as you say, most of them just look very cartoony. The Aston Martin Vantage comes in a nice second in rf2 but on the whole, rf2's cockpits lag behind badly and I think the Ferrari shows that there is no technical reason for this. I wish they would put more effort into the cockpit materials and upgrade existing cars.

Then you run into silly issues like the seat position and especially the mirrors being universally set... for example if you have properly set up mirrors for a GTE then sit into the Oreca 07, you cannot see anything in the mirrors, vice versa.

This is pretty irritating isn't it? They have so many instances of just half arsing it in many areas of rf2 content.