rFactor 2 Opt-In Release Candidate Adds Multiplayer “RaceControl” Beta

First opened for internal testing back in May, rFactor 2’s RaceControl is exactly what I hoped it would be. Studio 397 appear to have done an excellent job of bringing a system with daily races, special events, driver and safety ranks, race history and stats, player protesting and hosted sessions.

A system like this has been on the radar ever since Studio 397 took over development from Image Space Incorporated, but it just never went anywhere, and despite the progress in graphics, UI, adding VR, etc, just the fact that it was confusing for newcomers to host a race, difficult to find a race, continued to hold rFactor 2 back. Really happy to see this feature release.

The same build also includes a fix for AMD video cards that would cause a crash, driving line aid enhancements, track limit fixes, “Stabilize Horizon” re-write, AI fixes and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I access in beta? – rFactor2 Online is in beta phase. To access the new experience, you need to opt-in to the release candidate branch via properties in Steam.
How do I create an account – Open rFactor2 and navigate to the Online button – a notification screen will appear with instructions how to create an account.
How do I change my name/email/nationality – You can do this in your profile by clicking on your name on the top navigation bar.
How do I Delete my account? – As detailed in the privacy policy when you sign up for an account you can do this through a request here.
I signed up, now what? – You’re free to register for any of the scheduled daily races and special events. Build up your driver and safety ranking to compete in intermediate and advanced races. You can also try out hosting a server and race anytime with your friends.
Do I need to pay to use it? – Everything we’re releasing today for rFactor 2 online is free to use for everyone who owns the sim.
What if I don’t want to register for rFactor 2 Online? You can still access community servers in the online menu > servers > community servers.
What content comes with it? – By registering for rFactor 2 Online, users will be gifted the BMW M2 CS to their workshop. Users will only be able to drive content they own, but can still race others they do not own.
Did someone say Career mode? – We are intending to develop a more in-depth league system (that we are calling “career mode”) but it does require more time and certainty of an expanded online player base for the sim.
Do I need rFactor2 to use it? – Yes, rFactor2 Online is only available for players who own rFactor 2.
Can I access any of the RaceControl information outside of the game? – Right now we don’t support this but in the future we aim to have a separate hub for this information.
How do I increase my Safety Rank? – Your Safety Rank (SR) is dynamic and changes either up or down depending on how cleanly you race. Rating increases with clean laps and will decrease with collisions and penalties in qualifying and races.
How do I increase my Driver Rank? – Driver Rank (DR) is calculated by your recent online race results. The system uses an ELO algorithm to determine your performance versus other competitors. Your ELO score is then translated into a rank you can see and then used to calculate which split you should be racing in.
Can anyone race in a special event? – Different special events may have different entry requirements based on on your safety rating.
Can I race with my own custom livery? – No not currently, you can only race online with official rFactor 2 content. We may explore this feature for potential future updates.
Can I still race on my friend’s server? – Absolutely, the primary rFactor 2 open server list is still open to access through the online menus. Simply navigate to ‘servers’ to see the open list of official and community servers online.
Can I make my own server for me and my team to practice on? – Yes, you can now host an online server through rFactor 2 Online. Time tokens can be purchased through the game or via the rFactor 2 steam store and redeemed through the ‘Host a server’ button in the server menu.