rFactor 2 – New RC Update Lets You Race Against Unowned Content

Motorsport Games and Studio 397 have deployed the third update for its latest 2023 Release Candidate build.

This update introduces the ability to race against content that you do not own. This new feature is currently implemented into the latest ‘Release Candidate’ build but will be migrated to the full RC update for the public version of rFactor 2 scheduled for release on Tuesday, 21st February.

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Official Webpage – www.studio-397.com – The rFactor 2 Racing Simulator is available via Steam for €29,99.

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Studio 397 Quote:

Hello sim racers,

The third major update to our Release Candidate build of rFactor 2 is here, with the introduction of probably one of the most requested features in the history of rFactor 2 – the ability to race against content that you do not own.

Having long been a desire of the Studio 397 team, development of this feature has taken us quite a while, as much of the core codebase of rFactor 2 has been designed in such a way as to limit the possibilities to introduce changes such as these. However, after much investigating, tweaking, changing, testing, and general pulling out of hair, we’ve finally managed to put together a very robust and exciting set of enhancements that very much changes the way players participate in race events with rFactor 2 content.

IMPORTANT NOTE
Please note that if you switch to an older build with unowned content installed, you will not be able to use this content. Additionally, any unowned content which is downloaded whilst on an older build will be attempted to install on each game start. This is not something we can resolve on older builds, and it is recommended not to use old builds with unowned content installed.

So, let’s take a look at the new build update:

Build: 10517321
Dedi: 10524732

Release Candidate fixes:

• Fixed lack of wrap-around viewing with mouse control in Photo Mode
• Fixed settings resetting when changing the camera in Photo Mode
• Fixed graphics disappearing when switching between many cars with FreeMove enabled
• Fixed keys not working in photo mode after assigning controls
• Fixed alternative tracking cameras switching over the start-finish line on cycle mode

General

• Reworked steering configuration page to replace wheel-only settings with non-wheel relevant settings when a non-wheel device is in use
• Reintroduced adjustable steering rates
• Added selection for gamepad steering filters
• Made both steering filters adjustable independently
• Added snappiness slider to steering rates configuration – 0% is original behavior, higher % is more snappy without having to increase steering rates
• Made new steering sensitivity filter more direct

Physics

• Fixed bug with reading brake maps from HDV/engine files. It now reads definitions with less than 11 entries again.
• Fixed visual steering lock mismatch at low speeds when using non-standard steering lock in the vehicle setup

AI

• Fix for AI running into the back of other vehicles

UI

• Made the hitbox for checkboxes in the content screen table slightly bigger

Known Issues

• Motion blur sometimes activates when it should not
• Cancel updates button is unresponsive
• Content does not uninstall correctly when items are upgraded at present. Some mas files may be left behind.
• Photo Mode UI mouse control / visible UI is inverted if you have no cameras move keys assigned

Race Against Content You Don’t Own

This is likely to prove to be an important addition to the rFactor 2 experience, and one that we at Studio 397 are delighted to deploy into this new Release Candidate update, ahead of the full V1 public build on February 21st. Below you will find some key highlights from this feature set, with a fully detailed announcement article set to be published ahead of Q1 2023 update day. One thing of importance to note – this feature applies to both the online and offline experience.

Key Features

• Content you don’t own can now be installed from the content management page
• On the cars and tracks lists greyed out cars and tracks that you do not own and added a button to access the store page for that item
• You can spectate on any race even if you don’t own anything, assuming the content is installed
• You can only race in cars that you own on tracks that you own
• When joining a server, cars you do not own will be greyed out
• When passenger swapping you can only ride as a passenger in vehicles you own, you should only be able to select those vehicles you own
• Added information about required content to join the server on the join error page
• Greyed out entries with cars you do not own in the spectate popup
• Disabled “Resume” replay button for entries with the car you do not own