New rFactor 2 Release Candidate Includes Better Package Management, Cinematics And More

Studio 397 have released a new build for opt-in (if you want to help test it). The build includes a number of changes and the most notable to me is the ability to subscribe or unsubscribe from mods from within the UI, have the UI not ‘held’ on the welcome page while packages are installed and the ability to minimize the installation while it continues. Additionally the forced use of higher power GPUs on certain devices with more than one, a photo mode, improved cinematics in replays and more.

You can opt-in to download the RC by right-clicking rFactor 2 in your library list, properties, then selecting it on the betas tab.

Text from the S397 site:

Hello sim racers,

Welcome to the first new update of 2023 for rFactor 2! In this January Release Candidate build, the development team here at Studio 397 have worked hard at work over the last couple of months putting together this new build, as we deploy our latest changes ahead of the official public release this February.

For this new build, we have quite a few exciting changes to how the core rFactor 2 simulation behaves, from cinematics around broadcasting and camera usage, to a new photo mode, graphics improvements and a whole new way the package management system works in rFactor 2.

Let’s have a look at what to expect as part of this new Release Candidate build:

Client: 10369103
Dedi: 10369112

General

– Track Limits: reduced sensitivity to switching paths, such as near the pit lane entrance, and reduced strict penalty points for an invalid pit lane to main path change from Drive Through to 1 point.

Cinematics

– Added soft blend when changing selected vehicle
– Added ability to hold current camera
– Added ability to pause car tracking. Pressing the SHIFT key whilst this is enabled will reset tracking to the closest point the tracking is paused at.
– Added camera group tracking for cars traveling close together, by default in race sessions only.
– Allow the previous laps S/F line camera to remain valid when using cycle method. This allows for different cameras over the start finish line.
– Reduced strength of shake effect on cameras with this enabled.
– Allowed zooming in / out / reset on TV Cameras with out any extra modes being enabled. Optionally allowed this to persist after changing cameras.
– Added acceleration and deceleration to Freelook for smoother movement.
– Added the ability to load custom cameras from Userdata\Cameras

Photo Mode

– Split out from Freelook camera adjustments (aperture, exposure, focus) options to a separate Photo Mode.
– Photo Mode allows configuration of visual settings, in addition to the usual Freelook options. However is not available when driving.
– UI to be added

Graphics

– Improved visual progression of wet road with a more linear progression.
– Added new IBL Water Shader which uses SSR for more accurate reflections.
– Added motion blur.
– Live TV Screens: Added option to disable, Fixed aspect ratio when running non 16:9 resolutions, Improved shader visually.
– Forced use of high power GPU on devices with multiple GPUs (i.e. Laptops).

UI

– Fixed being able to set race laps to below 2 in single player session settings.
– Fixed the singleplayer quick event page layout being broken sometimes on page load.
– Added new “Cinematic cameras” tab in Settings → Assign controls
– This tab holds new cinematic settings along with previously existing assignable controls
– Renamed “Cameras & seat” tab to “Driving cameras & seat” and re-organized the assignable controls

Package Management

– New system to allow store items to be unsubscribed / resub scribed through the UI
– Packages can be download in the background without blocking the UI
– Packages in the content management are grouped by workshop or store item
– The install UI can be minimized when downloading content

Modding

– Added PBR Debug Tool for Mod Dev and Scene Viewer. This allows artists to debug the component outputs of the PBR pipeline.
– Added IBL Water Shader which uses SSR for reflections
– Fixed occasional glitchy car tracking in camera editor
– Updated ModDev to load RCD files from Vehicle folders

– AI Editor Improvements:

– Allow the removal of multiple paths in one go
– More consistent AIW path adjustments
– Fixed editing of pit paths wp positions
– Fixed updating of path positions when editing waypoint positions

Known issues

– Workshop / store item headers are named incorrectly
– Installing items from the content page requires a second request to install via the “updates” page
– Cancel updates button is unresponsive
– Motion blur does not work without SSR set to medium or higher
– If your game is stuck on checking for updates, please delete try deleting userdata/player/localstorage folder