Tim over at ISI has supplied me with an evaluation code of the rFactor 2 beta. I'll track my first impressions here as I turn some laps on my ASUS laptop and G27.
Join me if you also have it!
Here are some first impressions of next chapter of rFactor.
System specs used to test:
ASUS G72GX - Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.52 GHz), Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit, Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M graphic card, with one GB GDDR3 VRAM and a 500 GB hardvive.
PART 1
OperationsSports access to Beta:<O
</O
<O</O
Earlier this week I contacted ISI (Image Space Incorporated) and requested access to the rFactor 2 Beta. To my delighted surprise, Tim Wheatley over at ISI promptly responded and supplied me with a standard version coupon code!
That same evening I headed over to the download page where ISI has setup a link to downloaded a BitTorrent copy of the rfactor2beta.exe. Let me pause here for a moment and explain to those unfamiliar with torrent downloads.
<O</O
Torrent laymen terms explanation:<O</O
(Skip if you are familiar with torrents)
Essentially a torrent download works via peer-to-peer file sharing. It is used for distributing large amounts of data over the Internet. Example: Jake, Joe and Jill all have the file that Mike needs to copy. Mike accesses the file by downloading a torrent shorcut and using a torrent program such as BitTorrent (www.bittorrent.com) Mike links to (swarm) that host the file he needs. With the torrent shortcut he is able to copy from either Mike, Joe or Sally. This method is formally called “seeding”. It elimates the need to have a centralize server to distribute large files and instead uses a group of PCs for distrubution.
<O</OInstall and Cost:<O</O
<O</O
As you can imagine, the torrent distribution method has turned out to be challenging for some and has even turned folks away from trying the rFactor 2 Beta all together. I won’t get into the cost for rFactor 2 instead here’s a link where you can check for that information for yourself. (http://rfactor.net/web/rf2/first-time-install/)
<O</OFirst impressions:
<O</OYou can then access all modes, configure your display, and controls settings via a GUI shell as seen in the picture below.
<O</O
<O</OTime to hit the track! I fired up the Spa-Francorchamps ’66 track using the ’68 F1 car.<O</O
<O</O
</O>
<O</O
You can customize the weekend settings to your liking… from race length to weather, it’s all there for you to dial in as you like.
<O</O
I very easily configured my Logitech G27 wheel/pedals and headed to the pits….
<O</OImmediately I felt the wheel firm up and my adrenaline fired on all gears! As I hit the accelerator and pulled out of pit area the weight of my car was immediately and eerily transferred to palms of my hands. In fact, accelerating, braking and steering are done in the most realistic way I have ever experienced on a sim. The graphics however, left me begging for more but more on that in a little bit.
<O</OThe ’68 F1 monster is fast, very, very, very fast! I slowly accelerated up the first turn and I punched the accelerator. The torque pulled my steering wheel to right and I knew I needed to stay on alert and not lose focus of what I was doing. I came screaming down the first turn and realized how fast all the environment (trees, houses, signs, flag men, and road rails) were zipping past me.
<O</O
<O></O>
<O</O
The sound coming out of my Logitech headset only added to the immersion I felt as a subtle swoosh sounds as I took this classic to its limit. My G27 steering wheel shifted from side to side as the wheels of my car made contact with the uneven pavement. As I continue down the track a decent pace, I realize that shoulder of the track is not very friendly. My front left tire catches a little too much of the shoulder and my wheel immediately vibrates with a violent force and I lost control of the car. My car slams into a rail, I lost a tire and my car is totaled. I’m sitting there in the cockpit out on a patch of farmland. The silence is broken by the sound of the AI cars zipping by and the mooing of a cow sitting just a few feet from where my car came to a stop.
For now, full screen and max the quality settings of this video from jam1e007 to see what I'm talking about regarding the sense of speed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPIgX...e_gdata_player
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FPIgX8T66ac" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
PART 2
Menu Navigation:
Menu navigation has been simplified and improved. Upon firing up the rFactor2.exe you will be prompted to participate in a single player, multiplayer or developer section. From here you can also modify your graphical settings before jumping into the sim itself.
Single player will launch a local race against the AI which includes Practice, Qualify and Race options. Here you will have the option to change everything from start time, weather, damage multiplier, time change speed, and a good amount of other options.
Multiplayer mode has been changed from rFactor 1. You now have to login to race online. Since you will need to pay to play online this doesn't surprise me and it's done in a very simple way. One big positive that I've seen so far is that most online races now include real names of the human drivers vs. JoeTurbo.
Graphics:
For many, a sim or any game for that matter, can become unplayable when the graphics are either unrealistic, poor quality or suffer from low frame rates. Well, the rFactor 2 experience will drastically differ depending on the specifications of the PC you are running it on. I'm currently running it on a ASUS G72GX Laptop using a Microsoft G27 wheel.
I'll just come out and say it... My laptop runs decent (30-70fps range) at Spa using the 1960 World Class Cars with 9 AI cars in front of me. With that said I cannot run the Renault Magane Trophy series at night with a decent FPS. (It's just not going to happen on this laptop.)
That aside, the graphics range from flat out ugly looking to very nice looking as you saw in the video above. I constantly have to remind myself that this is a BETA... for that reason, I will cut ISI some slack here. The sim still needs to be improved by adding some HDR quality options that should spruce up the graphics but may push some lower end systems like mine to the limit.
The cockpits in all of the three series that I tested are decent. There really isn't anything ground breaking here.
However, one area that has drastically changed from rFactor 1 and to the BETA has been the sense of speed. When you rush down a straight you can see your cockpit shake, the electrical poles and all other environment details zip right passed you. You will find yourself asking how much more can I push it. I love this feeling.
The weather and time change is impressive but leaves area for some improvements. The weather effect options allows you to script how the conditions will change during Start, 25%, 50%, 75%, finish of any given session. I set my options to Start- Raining, 25-Overcast w/ rain, 50-Sunny, 75-Overcast, 100-Partly cloudy. It was very cool to see the weather change during my 3 lapper at Spa. The rain effects look very convincing and change very subtly. Having said that, I didn't see any puddling up on the track or splashing on my helmet visor. Again, BETA.
Sound:
The sound of the 1960's F1 engine is simply awesome! I sat there for a good while simply idling and enjoyed every minute of it. The tire screeching, gear shifting, and environment details are dialed in. As I mentioned above the 1960's race track/farmland feel at Spa is captured very well.
Multiplayer part 1:
Admittedly, I've had limited amount of time in multiplayer. I participated in a few practices but my laptop seemed to bog down whenever I jumped into the car and tried to turn laps at Monaco/Spa. I'm going to give it another try tonight but I may have hit a hardware limitation here.
Also, I wasn't able to host/participate in a race using my laptop like Bluengold34 did on rFactor1. This is a big negative for me since for the most part only 3-4 of us race on my hosted races on any given night. I can however, set up my other PC (Dell Tower) as a dedicated server and race on my laptop but this is something that I'd like to see them change.
PART 3 - Conclusion
Multiplayer part 2:
In order to run the game online I had to resort to I turning down the graphical settings on my gaming laptop. I used lower resolution to gain some performance and did so successfully. My system is now dated I guess.
Anyways, I had some more seat time with the multiplayer mode this evening. All in all, I gotta say that I'm pleased with what I saw. The collision detection is better than rFactor 1 but not equal to or better than some other sims.
Joining hosted sessions is a snap but I'd like to see the ability to see the connection latency before joining a race. I hope this is addressed in the official release. Otherwise, online races will be hit or miss when you join a session since you can't see the millisecond response times prior to joining.
Single Player and AI:
If racing offline is your preferred mode than rFactor 2 should bring a smile to your face.... The AI in the BETA is not groundbreaking or what one consider intelligent but they instead act more like human aliens or noobs. You'll see AIs drive their tail off and others simply not being able to complete a lap. For the most part, they are very race competent but don't expect them to go out their way to avoid crushing you. They also don't try to shake you off if you happen to get tangled up with them which can lead to some frustrating times. Again, I'll forewarn that the AI will not blatantly take you out but you have to realize that they are on a scripted mission.
I'll say it again, having the ability to script the weather and how fast time transitions from day-to-night is extremely cool! This feature alone should keep you coming back to race some fun filled offline races against the AI. As with rFactor 1 you can hand off the control of you car to an AI if you get tired and opt for some assistance from the AI to finish a race. I'm glad they kept this in there since sometimes I'll run a 2-3hr race and swap with the AI to finish races.
Car Setups:
Here's the section where you separate the gear heads from the Cole Trickles.... or in rare occasion combine them.
Let's head into the gaaa-rage (UK accent) LOL... Here you can just about tweak all allowable items of your car. Let these screenshots speak for themselves...
Mod Installation:
Mods will be simplified this time around... If you ever installed a mod on rFactor 1 you know that everything was done by copying folders into C:\Program Files (x86)\rfactor\. And even then folks struggled to keep the mod versions up to date. Some mod versions changed weekly and keeping everything up to date became a major pain sometimes. Major because if you didn't have a matching mod when joining a hosted session you would be kicked due to the infamous "mismatch error".
rFactor 2 promises to get rid of that with the new intuitive way to manage mods. Here's the ISI explanation...
But let me simply it for you...A created mod will now have a unique identifier for version control. A central repository will be responsible for issuing the identifier to keep track of all mod changes. Whenever you download a mod you will know exactly which version you have.
Furthermore, the installation of the mods is now simplified since it's now packaged in one file and stored in the directory of your choice.
I could go on and on but hopefully you get the point. It will be easier to install mods!
My Final thoughts:
I've enjoyed my time with the rFactor 2 Beta... I'm not necessarily blown away but it's definitely looking good so far. I should confess and admit that I haven't read any other web content (reviews, overviews or threads) because I wanted to provide you with my perspective and not have it influenced by outside comments.
I absolutely feel that the visuals will get some type of face lift for the final build. I'm 100% excited about the mod possibilities and I'm hopeful it will get some mod community love as rFactor 1 but only time will tell.
--------------
A couple off screen videos I wanted you leave you guys with...
1. It's raining but the sun is breaking through. Notice the top right hand corner and you'll see the sun coming.
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/z7u0v6j0Exw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
2. Revving up the engine of the old F1 classic.
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dTZoBfe635g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
3. Night time racing at Malaysia with Renault.
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/paawfLkw89Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Join me if you also have it!
Here are some first impressions of next chapter of rFactor.
System specs used to test:
ASUS G72GX - Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.52 GHz), Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit, Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M graphic card, with one GB GDDR3 VRAM and a 500 GB hardvive.
PART 1
OperationsSports access to Beta:<O
</O<O
</OEarlier this week I contacted ISI (Image Space Incorporated) and requested access to the rFactor 2 Beta. To my delighted surprise, Tim Wheatley over at ISI promptly responded and supplied me with a standard version coupon code!
That same evening I headed over to the download page where ISI has setup a link to downloaded a BitTorrent copy of the rfactor2beta.exe. Let me pause here for a moment and explain to those unfamiliar with torrent downloads.
<O
</OTorrent laymen terms explanation:<O
</O(Skip if you are familiar with torrents)
Essentially a torrent download works via peer-to-peer file sharing. It is used for distributing large amounts of data over the Internet. Example: Jake, Joe and Jill all have the file that Mike needs to copy. Mike accesses the file by downloading a torrent shorcut and using a torrent program such as BitTorrent (www.bittorrent.com) Mike links to (swarm) that host the file he needs. With the torrent shortcut he is able to copy from either Mike, Joe or Sally. This method is formally called “seeding”. It elimates the need to have a centralize server to distribute large files and instead uses a group of PCs for distrubution.
<O
</OInstall and Cost:<O</O<O
</OAs you can imagine, the torrent distribution method has turned out to be challenging for some and has even turned folks away from trying the rFactor 2 Beta all together. I won’t get into the cost for rFactor 2 instead here’s a link where you can check for that information for yourself. (http://rfactor.net/web/rf2/first-time-install/)
<O
</OFirst impressions:<O
</OYou can then access all modes, configure your display, and controls settings via a GUI shell as seen in the picture below.<O
</O <O
</OTime to hit the track! I fired up the Spa-Francorchamps ’66 track using the ’68 F1 car.<O</O<O
</O</O><O
</OYou can customize the weekend settings to your liking… from race length to weather, it’s all there for you to dial in as you like.
<O
</OI very easily configured my Logitech G27 wheel/pedals and headed to the pits….
<O
</OImmediately I felt the wheel firm up and my adrenaline fired on all gears! As I hit the accelerator and pulled out of pit area the weight of my car was immediately and eerily transferred to palms of my hands. In fact, accelerating, braking and steering are done in the most realistic way I have ever experienced on a sim. The graphics however, left me begging for more but more on that in a little bit.<O
</OThe ’68 F1 monster is fast, very, very, very fast! I slowly accelerated up the first turn and I punched the accelerator. The torque pulled my steering wheel to right and I knew I needed to stay on alert and not lose focus of what I was doing. I came screaming down the first turn and realized how fast all the environment (trees, houses, signs, flag men, and road rails) were zipping past me.<O
</O<O></O><O
</OThe sound coming out of my Logitech headset only added to the immersion I felt as a subtle swoosh sounds as I took this classic to its limit. My G27 steering wheel shifted from side to side as the wheels of my car made contact with the uneven pavement. As I continue down the track a decent pace, I realize that shoulder of the track is not very friendly. My front left tire catches a little too much of the shoulder and my wheel immediately vibrates with a violent force and I lost control of the car. My car slams into a rail, I lost a tire and my car is totaled. I’m sitting there in the cockpit out on a patch of farmland. The silence is broken by the sound of the AI cars zipping by and the mooing of a cow sitting just a few feet from where my car came to a stop.
For now, full screen and max the quality settings of this video from jam1e007 to see what I'm talking about regarding the sense of speed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPIgX...e_gdata_player
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FPIgX8T66ac" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
PART 2
Menu Navigation:
Menu navigation has been simplified and improved. Upon firing up the rFactor2.exe you will be prompted to participate in a single player, multiplayer or developer section. From here you can also modify your graphical settings before jumping into the sim itself.
Single player will launch a local race against the AI which includes Practice, Qualify and Race options. Here you will have the option to change everything from start time, weather, damage multiplier, time change speed, and a good amount of other options.
Multiplayer mode has been changed from rFactor 1. You now have to login to race online. Since you will need to pay to play online this doesn't surprise me and it's done in a very simple way. One big positive that I've seen so far is that most online races now include real names of the human drivers vs. JoeTurbo.
Graphics:
For many, a sim or any game for that matter, can become unplayable when the graphics are either unrealistic, poor quality or suffer from low frame rates. Well, the rFactor 2 experience will drastically differ depending on the specifications of the PC you are running it on. I'm currently running it on a ASUS G72GX Laptop using a Microsoft G27 wheel.
I'll just come out and say it... My laptop runs decent (30-70fps range) at Spa using the 1960 World Class Cars with 9 AI cars in front of me. With that said I cannot run the Renault Magane Trophy series at night with a decent FPS. (It's just not going to happen on this laptop.)
That aside, the graphics range from flat out ugly looking to very nice looking as you saw in the video above. I constantly have to remind myself that this is a BETA... for that reason, I will cut ISI some slack here. The sim still needs to be improved by adding some HDR quality options that should spruce up the graphics but may push some lower end systems like mine to the limit.
The cockpits in all of the three series that I tested are decent. There really isn't anything ground breaking here.
However, one area that has drastically changed from rFactor 1 and to the BETA has been the sense of speed. When you rush down a straight you can see your cockpit shake, the electrical poles and all other environment details zip right passed you. You will find yourself asking how much more can I push it. I love this feeling.
The weather and time change is impressive but leaves area for some improvements. The weather effect options allows you to script how the conditions will change during Start, 25%, 50%, 75%, finish of any given session. I set my options to Start- Raining, 25-Overcast w/ rain, 50-Sunny, 75-Overcast, 100-Partly cloudy. It was very cool to see the weather change during my 3 lapper at Spa. The rain effects look very convincing and change very subtly. Having said that, I didn't see any puddling up on the track or splashing on my helmet visor. Again, BETA.
Sound:
The sound of the 1960's F1 engine is simply awesome! I sat there for a good while simply idling and enjoyed every minute of it. The tire screeching, gear shifting, and environment details are dialed in. As I mentioned above the 1960's race track/farmland feel at Spa is captured very well.
Multiplayer part 1:
Admittedly, I've had limited amount of time in multiplayer. I participated in a few practices but my laptop seemed to bog down whenever I jumped into the car and tried to turn laps at Monaco/Spa. I'm going to give it another try tonight but I may have hit a hardware limitation here.
Also, I wasn't able to host/participate in a race using my laptop like Bluengold34 did on rFactor1. This is a big negative for me since for the most part only 3-4 of us race on my hosted races on any given night. I can however, set up my other PC (Dell Tower) as a dedicated server and race on my laptop but this is something that I'd like to see them change.
PART 3 - Conclusion
Multiplayer part 2:
In order to run the game online I had to resort to I turning down the graphical settings on my gaming laptop. I used lower resolution to gain some performance and did so successfully. My system is now dated I guess.
Anyways, I had some more seat time with the multiplayer mode this evening. All in all, I gotta say that I'm pleased with what I saw. The collision detection is better than rFactor 1 but not equal to or better than some other sims.
Joining hosted sessions is a snap but I'd like to see the ability to see the connection latency before joining a race. I hope this is addressed in the official release. Otherwise, online races will be hit or miss when you join a session since you can't see the millisecond response times prior to joining.
Single Player and AI:
If racing offline is your preferred mode than rFactor 2 should bring a smile to your face.... The AI in the BETA is not groundbreaking or what one consider intelligent but they instead act more like human aliens or noobs. You'll see AIs drive their tail off and others simply not being able to complete a lap. For the most part, they are very race competent but don't expect them to go out their way to avoid crushing you. They also don't try to shake you off if you happen to get tangled up with them which can lead to some frustrating times. Again, I'll forewarn that the AI will not blatantly take you out but you have to realize that they are on a scripted mission.
I'll say it again, having the ability to script the weather and how fast time transitions from day-to-night is extremely cool! This feature alone should keep you coming back to race some fun filled offline races against the AI. As with rFactor 1 you can hand off the control of you car to an AI if you get tired and opt for some assistance from the AI to finish a race. I'm glad they kept this in there since sometimes I'll run a 2-3hr race and swap with the AI to finish races.
Car Setups:
Here's the section where you separate the gear heads from the Cole Trickles.... or in rare occasion combine them.
Let's head into the gaaa-rage (UK accent) LOL... Here you can just about tweak all allowable items of your car. Let these screenshots speak for themselves...
Mod Installation:
Mods will be simplified this time around... If you ever installed a mod on rFactor 1 you know that everything was done by copying folders into C:\Program Files (x86)\rfactor\. And even then folks struggled to keep the mod versions up to date. Some mod versions changed weekly and keeping everything up to date became a major pain sometimes. Major because if you didn't have a matching mod when joining a hosted session you would be kicked due to the infamous "mismatch error".
rFactor 2 promises to get rid of that with the new intuitive way to manage mods. Here's the ISI explanation...
Spoiler
But let me simply it for you...A created mod will now have a unique identifier for version control. A central repository will be responsible for issuing the identifier to keep track of all mod changes. Whenever you download a mod you will know exactly which version you have.
Furthermore, the installation of the mods is now simplified since it's now packaged in one file and stored in the directory of your choice.
I could go on and on but hopefully you get the point. It will be easier to install mods!
My Final thoughts:
I've enjoyed my time with the rFactor 2 Beta... I'm not necessarily blown away but it's definitely looking good so far. I should confess and admit that I haven't read any other web content (reviews, overviews or threads) because I wanted to provide you with my perspective and not have it influenced by outside comments.
I absolutely feel that the visuals will get some type of face lift for the final build. I'm 100% excited about the mod possibilities and I'm hopeful it will get some mod community love as rFactor 1 but only time will tell.
--------------
A couple off screen videos I wanted you leave you guys with...
1. It's raining but the sun is breaking through. Notice the top right hand corner and you'll see the sun coming.
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/z7u0v6j0Exw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
2. Revving up the engine of the old F1 classic.
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dTZoBfe635g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
3. Night time racing at Malaysia with Renault.
<iframe width="400" height="233" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/paawfLkw89Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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