Silicon Studio Proud To Power rFactor 2 With Yebis

Once upon a time, rFactor by Image Space Incorporated was the top product when it came to racing Simulator software. When released back in November 2005, rFactor aimed to be the most accurate race simulator of its time, and they succeeded in doing so using the very versatile isiMotor2 game engine. In March 2009 ISI announced the development of rFactor 2, which would include weather effects, reflections, and accurate shadows on a variety of textures. rF2 was released on March 28, 2013.

Sadly enough, things went a little downhill from there on, as the development and communication efforts by ISI were less than ideal. rFactor 2 soon got criticized for its slow development cycle. In September 2016, Image Space Incorporated (ISI) announced a strategic partnership with the Dutch software group Luminis to accelerate rFactor2’s development. The partnership was brought into a new company which we now all know as Studio397.

Today, it is safe to say that Studio397 was the best thing to ever happen, concerning the further development of rFactor 2. Studio397 communicated a Development Roadmap promising to bring a new DX11 graphics engine and VR support to rFactor 2. The last few months, we have witnessed rapid progress in all major areas of the racing title. Especially the graphics side of things has made huge leaps forward and is starting to catch up with the visual fidelity of the more recent racing simulators.

In order to help them transition to a state of the art graphics engine, Studio397 partnered with Japanese computer graphics technology company Silicon Studio to implement their powerful post-processing visual effects engine called YEBIS which enabled Studio 397 to develop a brand new, DX11 based, VR supporting, state of the art graphics engine for RFactor2 that sports day/night transitions, changing weather conditions as well as a dynamic racing surface with rubber build up and marbles.

Studio 397 Managing Director Marcel Offermans: Studio 397 developed a brand new, state of the art graphics engine that sports day/night transitions, changing weather conditions as well as a dynamic racing surface with rubber build up and marbles. YEBIS advanced optical effects greatly enhanced the quality and immersion of our graphics. The quality of their library continues to impress us and we will continue to leverage it as we improve our graphics subsystem in the upcoming years.

Although the integration of YEBIS has been completed, currently only a small number of effects such as glare, depth of field has been implemented. Other effects such as additional bokeh, motion blur, etc. are planned to be implemented in waves as various updates. The implemented effects, however, bring incredible new dynamics to the racing environment for both players and spectators.

We applaud the hard work by the entire Studio 397 team for bringing rFactor 2 back to its rightful place in the sim racing scene. There is still a lot to do, but we are pretty convinced that with the dedication of Studio 397, rFactor 2 will have a bright future as a core sim racing product.

About YEBIS

YEBIS is the advanced optical effects middleware from Silicon Studio that accurately delivers camera lenses effects such as bokeh, depth of field and glare. YEBIS simulates an actual camera lens to recreate the most realistic and accurate optical effects.

About Studio 397

Studio 397 is based in the Netherlands and has a global team of developers and artists building the rFactor 2 title. Our mission is to create the most realistic, accurate and engaging sim racing platform to date, through advanced physics, new graphics engine, and competition infrastructure. rFactor 2 was originally developed by racing game pioneers Image Space Inc. who led the way in terms of physics and features.

Studio 397 has a great reputation working with a variety of racing teams and e-sports events, such as the recent McLaren Honda World’s Fastest Gamer competition.

Official Webpage – www.studio-397.com  –  www.siliconstudio.co.jp