rFactor 2 – DirectX 11 Update Preview Footage

Fairplay SimRacing posted an exciting video showing us some in-game preview footage of the upcoming DirectX 11 update for the rFactor 2 racing simulator.

For the past few months, developer STUDIO 397 has been hard at work on the long-awaited DirectX 11 graphics engine and VR support for rFactor 2. The DirectX 11 graphics engine features an improved HDR tone-mapper and a post effects system, bringing the visual fidelity of their racing title up to par with other contemporary simulators.

STUDIO 397 stated: Over the last couple of months, we’ve revealed several development screenshots of the DirectX 11 engine to share 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.

 

In their recent April Roadmap update announcement, STUDIO 397 revealed that the first DX11 rFactor 2 update will be available on May 1st.