After more than two years, we got our first exclusive content of rFactor 2. We’ve been asking (more like begging) Gjon Camaj of Image Space Incorporated to tell us about, or let us show rF2 on our show. Today, we finally obtained some exclusive screenshots and… better yet live footage of rFactor 2. The screenshots are here for you to check out. The footage, you’ll have to wait until we go through our post production process at Inside Sim Racing to see what we have. We’ve started looking at it and have some really cool things to show you.
Speaking of footage, we also conducted our third interview with Gjon “The Dude†Camaj of ISI. You’ll see why I refer to him as “The Dude†when you watch Jessica Lopez interview him next week on Episode 61 of Inside Sim Racing.
A little history on our relationship with “The Dude†from ISI.
We first met Gjon at the Game Developers Conference in February of 2008. It was actually the first moment we realized that we were actually reaching important people in our niche industry though our show. As we were there talking to someone in the gaming industry, Gjon walked up and waited patiently to talk to us. As I talked with this person,(I don’t recall who it was) I glanced at Gjons badge and realized who it was. I quickly ended the conversation with that person to talk to Gjon. He recognized us from the show and wanted to say hi. We couldn’t believe it…
Next thing we knew, we were making arrangements to meet with Gjon near our hometown in Los Angeles for our first interview with him that you can check out here.
We met him briefly that day and man was I nervous. He told us he really had nothing to say about their future projects, nor would he acknowledge that rFactor 2 existed during the interview. He said they were “doing the same thing they have beenâ€. I do recall behind the scenes him telling us it existed, but it wasn’t actually named RF2.
Next time we met up with him, it was a little different. It was in October of 2008 and Gjon wanted to tell us about rFactor Pro, but of course, we wanted to know all about rFactor 2. Shaun tried his hand this time and he did acknowledge it’s existence and tell us about some features in our second interview.
He gave us some great information about rF2 in that interview, but..He showed us a 1967 F1 car at an historic version of Spa running on a laptop. At the time he wouldn’t let us put it on the show but promised we’d be the first when he was ready.
Fast forward to today !! He was ready. For starters, we have 6 screenshots to present to you. The first showing off what may be the new UI. I say “may be†because Gjon wanted us to make it was clear to everyone that some of the items you see in our material, may not end up in the final version of rFactor 2. Some things may be there now just for testing purposes.
Here’s a brief description of each picture that I took while Gjon advanced from screen to screen.
1) Looking over Gjon’s shoulder, you’ll notice he has his laptop connected to our monitor. On screen you’ll see the track selection screen and he’s at a point to point rally type stage called “Hillclimb Clubâ€
2) Close up of the car selection section with a 2008 open wheel racer.
3) One of my favorite new features. The ability to change weather over the course of a race. (Close up) Gjon also mentioned the ability to randomize this feature so that you have no idea whats coming at you. Also check out the ability to adjust humidity, wind direction and speed. Of course there’s also RAIN !! By the way I saw some rain that I believe we have on our live action camera.
4) A wider shot of the race setup screen.
5) This is the series selection area. Sorry for the blur, he was switching them as I clicked the shutter. Notice the Historic F1 & F2, GT World Endurance, Hillclimb, Formula Masters. Won’t it be cool if all those come with rF2 ? Remember, Gjon said some of this content may not make the final version.
6) Finally, the new showroom…
So if all this content makes the release of rF2, that’s quite a variety to start things off.
I’d like to say that Gjon is a really cool “dudeâ€. He was hesitant to show anything because it’s still in early stages..But.. We begged and pleaded and got something for you guys to check out for now. I’d like to thank him for taking the time out to come to our studio, which by the way was a first for Inside Sim Racing. We’ve never had someone from the industry at our set for an interview. It was a great day for us at the studio!
I’d also like to say that Gjon wouldn’t commit to a release date, but mentioned they are shooting for 2010. Stay tuned next week for interview and first ever live action footage of rFactor 2 on Inside Sim Racing. If you post your questions here, I’ll try to answer as best I can.
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Good for you Darin. You guys deserve the access you are getting. Looking forward to hearing and seeing the news.
Thanks traind ! Looking forward to bring it to you
Were you able to ask him about the improvements in the crucial and key areas of sim race programs and cars? You know, your ‘weighted scale’ elements that you use on your awesome show! ie. physics, FFB, graphics, modeling, damage, sound etc. (even AI? especially this). Thanks, oh and Jessica? She’s a total class act. Cheers!
@ ed AI, we didn’t discuss but there’s a ghost car feature that we have footage of. Physics = yes, graphics = oh yes !, FFB, I recall him saying it would be much improved. I also know that they work closely with the creator of Real Feel.
You’re welcome ! I’ll make sure JEssica see’s your compliment..
Darin, did you know somehing abou real and dynamic wheaTher? I mean,like GP4, when clearly you see The Track drying. Regards and Thanks by This amazing new!!
he must play tiger woods 2010
Between this and d Codemaster F1? Im a loyalist. Great effort Darin. U and the guys deserved it.
Wow, this is what I’ve been expecting for years! Darin, from your heart, you think it’ll be released this year? Also I want to congratulate you guys for the show, it’s part of my life now and my weekly basis!
Like so many, I am very much looking forward to getting behind the virtual wheen of rf2.
Has there been any mention of ISI working with the mod makers to ensure some of the quality mods we enjoy for rfactor can be ported? or new content made not long after release?
@Hill – I believe the weather will be Dynamic. In other words the track will dry over time after the rain stops.
@Willymaze – I really hope it will be released this year and I think they are truely shooting for it. They have a small development team and projects ongoing with rFPro and rFEvent. Also thanks
@Tickford No mention from Gjon of working with any modders specifically. I do know that some mod teams are actively working on rF2 content. There was mention of the ability to port mods over, but there will be some modifications to make it happen. This was mentioned a while abck.
I can’t wait to see more! Thanks for the update.
Did you ask him anything in regards to Nascar….I would think one of the most important aspects of rfactor2…would be to edit the rules for Nascar.
ok. this is awesome. next week then!
Are you aware on just how extensive some features might be supported? Specifically leaning towards more off road Baja style racing?
@ Covette Dave – No sorry we didn’t – But I do know they worked closely with The Sim Factory, so I would imagine technolgy from that title will be integrated into RF2.
@ Reuben – I honestly don’t – I did see some off road stuff live, so it may come as one of the default racers. Also point to point, rally style tracks will work
I run the competition side of things for our F1 league at http://www.fihsf1.net. My question is, will we see more controlling factors as to mimic current 2010 F1 rules? Such as forcing the use of both tire compounds during a race? Will there be a better way to force a “no refueling” ban during the race in a way that it will not stop and/or remove fuel during practice sessions? (As it is right now, it’s very hard to practice long race runs when the pits remove your fuel during practice.) Will there be more than 1 Q session to setup rather than use practice sessions as an alternate? (This is a combo with my second question) Will there be more controlling parameters to better govern parc freme? Such as, even though we are in prac freme, would we still be able to force the use of 2 tire compounds and will we be able to change tire pressures in this state?
Will the damage physics be more realistic and easier to manage for modders in rf2 ?
Any topless pics of jessica ?
Viva! rFactor 2 è arrivata finalmente Che sono contentissimo Moltissimo
Grazie gangi
I want to know that like will the rfactor 2 will be more standards for more graphics card and memory or will it be like rfactor 1 because were i have a nvidia 6150 se with 2.00 of ram or will the consumer have to upgrade all the graphics
@wvstandard04 are you being serious ????? i bet you are one of those guys who trys to play ps3 games on his ps2 then moans they dont work !!!!
Hopefully isi drop dx7 and dx8 and move it to dx9 dx10 and up options only, it will keep half these tards who warp about the race meetings with there pentium 3’s and 6150 se cards out of the scene
How can the graphics get any better when you have a bunch of nuggets unwilling to upgrade there pc’s
ISI make the minimum requirement something a bit more in line with todays times please (NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT/ATI X1900) at teh very least
It’s gonna be a modder’s heaven!!! I want it now!!!
We upgraded for ICR2 and then REALLY upgraded to run GPL. Full fields of Nascar races eluded most of us for the life cycle of the NAscar RAcing titles. F12k, F1C and then the Gmotor2 based sims like rFActor and GTR2 all needed more horsepower. You’ve never had it bad unless you waited 3 or 4 minutes to load the twilight Spa track and then waited more time to load the night-time textures in GTR. I expect rF2 will need a fairly serious system. In fact I would be let down if it did not.
Speriamo in una grafica migliore e una maggior semplicità di utilizzo.
Fateci sapere quando rfarctor2 sarà disponibile e come .
complimenti
Hopefully it will have physics updates, like actually being able to simulate an engine that runs boost….and a clutch + gearbox that works like one in real life. Force feedback that doesn’t vary wildly from car to car…
I am looking for to see just how the mods will “port” over. I look forward to having dynamic weather in the WCORR Reloaded Mod. As long as I can get it over to rF2. With some of the old tracks getting reloaded and some new Baja style tracks being created, this could be the “cats meow”
I know the physics will be great, if not in the primary release, then in the mods following. Its the graphics engine that I want to see some updates in. If they only give us some simple control over just a few commonly used full screen shaders, then it can look every bit as good as, if not better, Gran Turismo 5. Those shaders I’m talking about are; Depth of Field, Motion Blur, and above all else, Color Grading. Color Grading incorporated in a scriptable way like say, the cryengine/UT3engine does, would make take a lot of work out of making the lighting change colors and hues with the progression of day/night match real world lighting far more closely. We could just script the shader, per track, to do all the major color hue changing instead of trying to script each light source to match the progression of time. People would then be able to even make effects like the “dazed” effect in NFS:Shift after an accident, and lots of other cool effects that would be light on horsepower consumption. Sure, most people would think the Ambient Occlusion shader might be great, but in a racing environment, It would most likely have tons of artifacts as the camera moved through the world quickly, and real time soft shadows would do the job just fine, with baked in, or textured in, ambient shadow maps for those slightly deeper/darker areas. Plus, its a hog on GPU power. We don’t need a lot of these shaders, just the few major ones, and they are used so commonly today, that I wouldn’t understand why they couldn’t be implemented, even in a DX8/9 environment. HDR would be great too.
Ui?? Oh I was too busy getting hot for that nice piece of eye candy sitting next to Gjon.
We have had some great to see these in the past but seems to be changing now.
i only hope that rF2 doesnt end up like Duke Nukem “Never” forever … being this secretive about it isnt doing the sim. any favors, theres alot to learn from the simracers that will, in the end, be using the sim (if it does coming out …)