Incoming In content drop Q2 (May 2022)...

Well this doesn't look good:

Motorsport Games CEO Dmitry Kozko's 2021 pay jumps 632% to $5.4M : https://www.execpay.org/news/motorsport-games-inc-2021-compensation-4517

Motorsport Games hits $1 on NASDAQ : https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/msgm

Yeah I know. This gossip has been going on back and forth for the passed two months now. If MSG takes S397 down with them, then yes that might be a big problem for S397 which would be a real shame for them and those who like rF2. Let´s hope S397 and there whole team can get out of this mess, all this bad rep Is not doing them any good either.

I am not defending MSG, I am just saying S397 doesn´t deserve this, or all this bad rep some are bound to spread. So far the S397 platform Is working as expected, what´s behind the scene should be beyond the users unless affected, and the only ones really affected right now are those who bought Nascar 21 Ignition which has turned a flop and doesn´t look like It´s going to be fixed any time soon.

Like I said In another post somewhere else, these things happen, see Battlefield 2042, Cyberpunk 2077 etc. Businesses don´t always go as expected, and some turn out to be crooks, scammers etc. and I think S397 Is just having bad luck with who bough them (MSG). But only S397 really knows what they signed and what deals/transactions they have with MSG, so while some are bound to speculate and just simply love to spread a bad rep that could easily be provoked as a strategy to degrade the rep and status of S397 for proposes still to be known, what´s really happening Inside S397 only they will know.

Just what I think, and what you have posted has already been brought up by others so It´s not that I am going against you or anything like that to be clear.

Let´s hope It all ends well, rF2 Is real nice and unique, It would be a bummer to lose them (S397) for the sim racing community over all. Who knows though, maybe If all ends badly we could see ISI take over again and bring us a whole new era In the form of rF2.1

Yeah I'm with you. I hope they work things out to stay healthy. We have a lot of options but rf2 is one of the top ones, so I'd hate to lose it.

It seems this Q2 content drop Is gonna be quite Interesting! S397 Is on fire!

and yet another track for Q2

I broke down and bought the base game. I thought I'd go on the net while downloading but merely 3 minutes later Steam says it's installed? I'll have to see why that is.

I had rFactor2 on the wishlist and bought it for a few reasons.

Physics, sense of driving a real car, FFB all said to be stellar. It's a bit older, 2013, and it shows, but that just means it runs better

I had a look through the track list. Still unsure what comes with the base game -- and the DLC is not inexpensive -- but what I think you get is a very long list of some really cool tracks, as well as a hell of a lot I never heard of. The one that sealed the deal though is Lime Rock Park. I've only ever driven on a few real tracks in my life, and Lime Rock is one. I lived in Connecticut for a few years and they would run track days there. $200 and drive your own car. I had a Mustang then, mildly modified and we used to go there and run around the circuit. So yeah, LRP in rF2 is nice.

If that hadn't sealed the deal, the Nordschliefe does. Now these two tracks might require DLC, or mods, but I can drive on them eventually I reckon.

It has Steam achievements. I know no one cares much about this, but I like having these targets to hit, and one of them is drive 2000km in practice and a second for same distance in races. I have one 'perfect' steam game (Subnautica) and all of these are quite achievable, so it could be the second perfect game.

And I bought it because it expands my ability to participate in any SimHQ racing events.

I don't know which cars and tracks I just bought, so I'll go check that out....

It downloaded so fast because there's nothing there. My first impressions are pretty poor, which isn't going to be a reflection how I feel later I don't think.

When I entered it asked if I wanted to do a controller setup first. Sure, why not. But once committed I found the game didn't detect my wheel, and so I had to figure out keyboard commands that weren't already assigned to something just to get out of it (or I could have just quit the game I guess). When I tried again in the game the wheel and pedals were detected and I was able to swap the controls from what I had set in that wizard.

After running through video, audio and steering settings I went to drive to find I didn't have any cars or tracks. I had suspected this from the lightning quick install, but I thought there'd at least be a few to choose from. Well I could see a pace car corvette but no track to drive it on. I searched the net and found it's all Steam workshop? Maybe down the line I'll praise the agility and customization such a flexible system affords but for now I just wanted to drive but instead I'm wading through the Steam workshop wondering where I find any of the 'official' content. No way to sort by author? I couldn't find that, although surely that's a thing. In the end I found something called the premium pack and it has LRP so that's good. Downloading that now.

So the problems I had are already solved, if I can identify the content to get, but it's an awkward introduction.

I got all that downloaded, updated and ready to roll. I chose a GT-R to drive around Lime Rock. Got in the car to find my wheel wasn't working. Car would only turn to the right. My wheel felt very heavy to the right, very light to the left and anyway the wheel didn't make the car turn. Drove straight in to the armco. Tried to calibrate it but that didn't fix it. Shut it down and I'll need to figure out my wheel issues.

Hi DBond,

I´ll get In more detail later with regards to all your doubts, I am a bit short of time now. But...

- Your wheel set-up Is detected once you see It highlighted In blue from the list on the left. It will also show on top of the two boxes tagged save and load. Speaking of these two boxes, It´s not like In other games were you see your profile loaded In a selection. Here you can save (with your own name) or load a profile which then will be highlighted In blue on the list but then those boxes will show empty every time you enter the configuration UI page. To be honest, It´s a bit confusing at first as other things In this game due to It´s complexity but once you figure It out It´s done.

- Tu calibrate your wheel and pedals, In the calibration screen you will see that each component has a ramp that fills In blue when you activate a component so let´s say you want to calibrate your wheel, you turn your wheel to the left and the left ramp fills up In blue, with the right the same thing. What you do Is turn your wheel left till the ramp Is filled In blue then hold It there and hit the "max" box below the ramp setting. You do the same with the right steering and center, as with your pedals. In other words, your setting how far you want your wheel/pedals to travel which In It´s self Is quite nice to have, although I agree that If you don´t find out how to do so, It´s quite a puzzle as other things In this sim. With the official RC update due this month, they have added Info box on all these UI pages which IMO should have been there In the first place. This Is how hardcore sims usually are, think of DCS or Prepared 3D etc. You have to dig these things out and until you do so It´s a bit of a hassle.

- Content. At the beggining of this thread, I posted link that shows what really comes with the sim, which Is basically ALL the official S397 workshop DLC content. In other words, any workshop Item that has S397 as the author, then that´s official content. Why they have It set up like this, I have no Idea! I guess one could just Install what he/she wants In his barebone sim, which Isn´t a bad Idea either. Be very selective when downloading none official workshop content, specially now that with the recent RC there has been changes done to some physics which some modders haven´t been able to update there stuff to.

- Paid DLC´s. Packs are your friend, they will save you some money. Track pack and say Endurance pack Is what I would recommended, then as Individual DLC´s for me the Formula Pro, Indycar and any of the LMP2 cars or DPi. The 2022 Q1 Pack and the Formula Pro pack would be a good choices for example. Then you will always have the single content which Is nice because you can always buy yourself a new car or track that you like when you want. Kind of like Microsoft FSX era, but not as expensive!

To the right are my FFB settings, you can change the "car specific multiplier" to car specific, which I will do next time I log in. I have also changed the Rotation Limit Range to "software".


Leave your wheel range In the TM app set to 900º or more, rFactor 2 will select what Is needed automatically depending on the car In game.

rFactor 2 Is quite unique In many ways, for the good and the bad as somethings are either broken or don´t work as expected. This Is something that happens In all complex sims, DCS, ArmA III, MSFS, etc. so one has to be aware of that and be patient and act with common sense and caution. But, like with all these sims mentioned, once you know there strong points and quirks, they will give you a level of satisfaction that no other sims do, at a cost but hey It Is what It is and as they say, good things are hard to come by (effort)

This sim will NOT handhold you as say ACC does, and It will not show you up front what´s happening with your car. In other words (again ), you will find out by driving thee car and the sensations you receive from It. The effects are not so pronounced as In ACC, here It´s just as difficult or more but without up-front warning!

Personally although I enjoy all the cars In rF2, I do most the Prototype (LMP etc.) and FPro (Formula Pro), as well as the Indycar. Le Mans here Is just awesome!

Welcome to the club! I think you will enjoy the speed

I will get Into how to set up races and all that later, but we should get online (VOIP) as there´s a lot to explain. Will do the more detail set-up when the RC update Is out this month as some things have changed for the better.

You will be doing something like this...

Thanks, that's very helpful. I spent quite a bit of time downloading and installing but never left pit lane

I found two main packs on the workshop, the premium one I got and another called anthology I think, which includes everything I already downloaded plus a lot more. I'll get that too.

Here´s a handy list with car and track updates for paid and free DLC´s (above link). It´s suggested to go for the most recent updated content as one would Imagen.

The video Is a year old, but most settings are the same, all that´s changed Is the UI.

BTW, DBond bare In mind that you have a new wheel set (T-248) which might not have been ported to the rFactor 2 data profile base yet by S397 and TM. So I hope one way or the other the sim detectes your wheel. After all, If I am not mistaken the TM drivers and app are generic (common) for all TM wheels.

See below a thread I have opened over at the rF2 forum which could help someone new to the sim. I discover things every day with this sim like today...
rF2 General forum Q&A
Folks seem real nice over at the rF2 forum for the most part, happy to help and such, but bare In mind there hardcore rF2 fans, at least most of them. A great place to learn this sim and ask questions to those veterans of the sim and sim racing In general.

I did just what you posted, even copying all your wheel settings and it worked great. Hopped back in the GT-R around Lime Rock and that was good fun. It does have a better feel than ACC, although some of this could be down to less than optimal settings as I'm still sort of new. But the GT-R is a car very much like what's in ACC (and actually is in ACC) and it felt easier to drive. I don't mean that dismissively, but like I could feel the road better, feel the grip loss, and catch slides much more easily. Honestly in ACC if I start to slide I'm pretty much done. I don't counter steer enough, and if I do it catches and I drive straight off the other side of the road. This could be party or mainly due to my wheel settings. But yeah, I like how the car felt straight off in rFactor. I felt more connected to the tarmac, and I reckon those who've driven it know what I'm saying.

I ran laps around Lime Rock, version with the uphill chicane and was clipping along at 50 seconds a lap. That's considerably faster than I managed in the Mustang back then haha.

Little touches tend to impress me and I liked the fact that I start in the paddock area, not on the pit lane. So you have to drive by the concessions, the chili hut and the spot they call The Point as you emerge in to the pit area and out on to the track, same route you take on track day

What are my mirror options? I only had a right side mirror with my view settings (right hand drive car) and it shows nothing behind the car, only what is alongside. I'll need to fiddle with this.

rFactor2 is janky, it feels stuck in the past in some ways, or more like a super mod than a retail release, mainly due to how the content is distributed and how unresponsive the menus are (like scrolling). But out on the track it feels really nice. Admittedly my sample is just thirty laps around Lime Rock, but you can tell.

I don't think the single player options are quite as expansive as I'd like, so mainly a hotlapper and MP game for me I'd think.. No championship or career modes right?

No championships or career mode I am afraid. rF2 Is more of a sandbox sim were one creates his own races or goes against In multiplayer. With that said, you can easily create a race against AI and more via the UI or tools provided In game as shown In the video I just posted above. People have created there own (reduced) Le Mans 24h races, and after all It´s all about going from one track to the other, except you don´t carry with you (or the AI) the points to the next race.

The AI races can be very challenging and you can always Increase or not the difficulty and aggression, In this sense there are no magical settings that will work well on all cars and tracks, so one has to find his sweet spot on each car and track combo depending on his level of driving.

Although I like ACC, I personally think (could be wrong) that they kind of exaggerated there car handling so It would give the Impression that It uses advance physics. While some cars/tracks feel easier to drive In rF2, I always get the sense that when the handling goes wrong It´s because of me, and not because of how the physics are Implemented. With ACC I get the Impression that if your not In a certain driving threshold (breaking/gearing), you will lose total control of the car (parameters not meet = lose of control). so It seems like It´s scripted In a way, while rF2 seems more dynamic and progressive, you have more room to push the car In certain situations which Is how a real car handles In my opinion. I also feel that rF2 Is more lively when your racing. I can literally sweat (need some gloves) while racing with AI in rF2, I find It more Immersive. Now I am not saying one Is better then the other, just saying there different and that personally one gives me sensation that the other doesn´t.

Derek, also take Into account that your driving mods, even If there official S397 free mods. The real stuff of course Is with the paid content. The latest premium (paid) cars are the Formula Pro, Dallara IR-18 IndyCar, BMW M4 GT3, Ligier JS P320 LMP3, Alpine A110 GT4 and Cup. Not sure about the Alpine as It´s a freeware but the rest all Include the newer Improved wheel physics model.

Here´s a full list:
rF2 Car updates by date and release.

The ENSO CLM P1/01 LMP1 Is a blast to drive, and It´s updated and free...
ENSO CLM P1/01 LMP1 mod

Also with regards to races, well we could also (as a group) have the future perspective to be good enough to represent SimHQ In the on going online multiplayer events. Well It´s healthy to dream right


Any how, glad your Initial thoughts are good ones with regards to rF2, yes It´s clunky but as you say, It´s on the track that matters, so even If It doesn´t have the best graphics, who cares when your focused on the road anyway.

Not so new any more but still a fun car to drive.
Free official S397 mod content. Should already be In your car list.