Will rFactor 2 Live Up to the Original’s Legacy?

Nine years ago, Image Space Incorporated released rFactor, beginnng a new era in modding in sim racing. Over nearly a decade, over 500 mods and over 1,500 tracks have been made for the sim. Almost anything could be raced, from go karts to Formula 1, even a giant toilet!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XE772onWnU[/youtube]

When ISI announced that they would be developing a sequel in 2009, I was one of the people who was eagerly waiting for the successor. Heck, I will admit to nagging Gjon Camaj on Facebook about when rF2 would be released. When the sim was finally released in 2012, it arrived with a resounding… “meh”.

Over the past two and a half years, rFactor 2 has definitely been shaping up nicely, becoming a solid sim, however, there are still many unanswered questions. I decided to take a look at the question “Will rFactor 2 live up to the legacy of its predecessor?”

PART ONE: PHYSICS/Force Feedback

rFactor featured a 15 degrees of freedom physics engine, which allowed for many different cars to be realistically recreated. However, out of box, Force Feedback wasn’t the best. RealFeel and Leo Bodnar’s FFB plugins were able to provide a better experience. In my experience, there isn’t really a great feel of the rear of the car.

rFactor 2 took the parts that made the first title great, and then expanded on it. The tire model has evolved to add features such as flat spotting and visual/physical deformation. Rubber is dynamically laid down on the track and affects grip. If you drive out onto the marbles or off track, you will have to wait for the tires to get clean. The rF2 cars also feel more “planted”, with a better rear grip feeling.

rF2 also includes advanced aero (from what I can tell). While it is still being ironed out, it has some features that set it above its predecessor. This sim has allowed me to do a Mark Webber style flip when air gets under the car. Features such as DRS also dynamically affect the car as well.

PART TWO: ORIGINAL ISI CONTENT

When rFactor was released, the majority of content developed by ISI was not licensed. Cars were based on real life, such as the rTrainer (Skip Barber) and rF3 (Formula 3). All of the circuits were either fictitious or used placeholder names. In later releases, officially licensed vehicles from BMW Sauber F1 and Panoz were included.  ISI’s original content was arguably not the strong point of the game though. ISI focused on creating a solid base for modders, which took precedence over first party content.

However, things have changed in rFactor 2. Almost all of the original ISI content in rFactor 2 has been officially licensed. There is also greater variety in rF2, including Touring, GT, and historic cars. Most of the cars are well developed, however, some have fallen behind the curve (The Williams F2 comes to mind). The Dallara DW12 was also rushed out in time for the Indianapolis 500, so it still is unfinished, with some core functionalities missing. Default setups for the majority of cars are garbage, so tinkering with the setups is a must to get the best feel.

At the same time, some of ISI’s cars are my favorites in all of sim racing. The Panoz AIV Roadster is one of my favorite road cars, with a definite feeling of rear grip. The Historic F1 cars are also some of the highlights of the sim as well, with a variety of historic tracks to race on.

PART THREE: THIRD PARTY CONTENT

In the nine years that rFactor has been around, it has become one of the largest modding platforms to date. rFactorCentral lists 492 mods and 1598 tracks at the time of this writing (quite a few mods aren’t on the site though, so the list is even higher). All kinds of disciplines are recreated, from road racing to oval to drag to rally, both on dirt and asphalt. There was an attempt at a pod racing mod, but it didn’t work out. I would say there are around 70 high quality mods, and at least double that count for circuits.

rFactor 2, on the other hand has a very limited mod supply as of now. There are likely 5 quality mods for rFactor 2, and 8 tracks. There is no dirt content, but ISI has laid the groundwork for the future. The content that is out is solid, but the question is, modders embrace rFactor 2 in the future?

PART FOUR: USER INTERFACE

The user interface is a category where both titles are regarded as falling short. However, I feel like I should give the tip of the hat to rFactor 2, because it simply allows you to customize more ingame. The original rFactor had many aspects of the sim that were only editable in the INI files (for example, graphical representation of degrees of rotation), whereas rFactor 2 allowed you to be able to tweak them without leaving the game.

However, some parts of rFactor 2 are very dated. The car and track selection will freeze the game for around ten seconds while the list builds up. The menu interface is also somewhat clunky, and seems like it would be from a early 2000’s title. One thing I like though is the fact that you can install third party user interfaces. rF1 was notorious for having little control over what UI is implemented (especially if you have multiple mods installed), so the ability to change them is a plus.

PART FIVE: GRAPHICS

rFactor (and the ISIMotor 2 engine) has been around for 9 years, but it has aged surprisingly well. The real gem, however, is what people outside out ISI has been able to pull out of it. Consider that Game Stock Car Extreme is based off the same engine as the original rFactor, but has been milked and tweaked to maximize performance.

rFactor 2, on the other hand, is already looking dated out of the door. The above shot shows ISI’s latest car at their latest track at maximum settings, but you could be forgiven for thinking it looks like a 2008 title. Some graphics glitches have been around since February (road reflections), which honestly frustrates me. rF2 definitely has its moments (drive in AC during dawn or dusk at some tracks and it’s awesome), and I know it’s not meant to be “the graphics king”, but graphics do matter.

I am not just speaking on the looks department, but I’m also speaking on the stability front too. I ran some tests back on build 660 using MSI Afterburner, and my NVIDIA GTX 650ti BOOST 2GB was almost constantly pegged at 95-98 percent usage using MEDIUM settings. On the other hand, Assetto Corsa and iRacing both run around the ballpark of 60% at nearly maxed out settings. That brings it to a level where you could be fearing for your graphics card while racing, and that’s not a fun thought to be thinking about.

However, it seems like ISI may be helping move the graphics engine forward. They recently adopted 64-bit, which does help alleviate some strain, and they look to be cutting out XP support. That makes it sound like they may move to DX10 or DX11 in the future. One can hope, right?

PART SIX: FEATURES

Realistically, rFactor was somewhat of a barebones simulator out of the box, and had some elements removed from its predecessor (F1 Challenge 99-02). Rain, animated pit crews, and advanced race rules were pulled from the original ISIMotor engine, but rain was added via the RFE Plugin.

rFactor 2 marked a significant step forward in terms of features. Rain has been fully integrated, with a dynamic drying line as the weather clears up. Another interesting feature (that I’ve actually never used) is the ability to resume a saved race via the “replay” mode. As I mentioned, rF2 features advanced tire and track models, where your driving style affects tire wear and deterioration.

One gripe I do have with rFactor 2 is the plugin support. Like rF1, plugins won’t kick in for 20 seconds, so if you’re using something like a dash or TrackIR system, it will not kick in for nearly half a minute. I do not know if ISI is planning on fixing this, but that would be a plus in my book.

CONCLUSION: COMMUNITY

To sum things up, I would say that rFactor 2 is a solid step forward, with potential to convert it into a leap. Most of the gripes I have are relatively minor, and don’t exactly detract from the driving experience. I think the bottom line, “make or break” element that will determine rF2’s success is the community.

Seven years ago, the community was booming, with dozens of mods being developed, and quite a few high quality mods were available. Fast forward to today, and it has severely dwindled. The advances in rFactor 2 also bring added difficulty to creating realistic cars for the sim. It takes more time and effort to create cars for rFactor 2 (I heard that developing the tires alone take 4 hours!), so I’d say only the truly passionate will take the time to pump out quality content. Will we see more developers embracing rFactor 2 in the future? Only time will tell.

What are your thoughts on rFactor 2’s progression from its predecessor? Let us know in the comments!