1.070 to 1.1xx - In any other piece of software it would be a minor patch you might not even install or ever hear about, let alone anticipate its release. In the land of rFactor milk and honey it's another story altogether. Thanks to Gjon, ISI and Scott_J for their assistance with this update preview which spanned 1.132 - 1.140RC2.
Please note the rFactor update is still a WIP, and this preview does not necessarily represent the final update.
Installation & Tracks
At close to 700mb, the rFactor update is no weener download. Why so large? It is a complete rFactor install. ISI recommend a fresh installation vs upgrading your existing rfactor. Not knowing any better at the time I backed up my rfactor folder and installed the updates directly over the top of 1.070, partly out of curiosity to see what would happen and partly because that is what people tend to do i.e. download and installer and run it asap!
Installation went smoothly. The new and improved rFactor opened without a problem. As you'd expect any 'native' rFactor files that had been customized e.g. ui.osc were over-written, but otherwise all good.
So - fresh install or upgrade over your existing install? Up to you. As I mentioned ISI are hoping people opt for the fresh install. It's probably not a bad idea to start over, re-assess which mods you really do use and install those. If you go the upgrade route be sure to back up your existing install beforehand.
Ch... Ch... Changes
A promo video now plays while the rFactor launches, showing stock cars and some of the new goodies in rFactor. The video is short and slick but can be dismissed by hitting the Enter key (and disabled by renaming or removing Pregame.bik in the Moviefiles folder).
The interface hasn't changed, at least not significantly. I've been using the UI tweak addon by Dangerous Beans and was hoping to see some of the improvements to the ui.osc file along the lines of those made by DBeans and PeterV. Unfortunately not this time around. Race to race specific settings e.g. start time, time accel, number AI etc are still treated as global settings which isn't user friendly at all. Existing UI mods (that I use) work with 1.140 but need to be updated to expose all new game settings.
Do existing mods work ok?
It'll be great to have the community in synch again - that is key - but one of my main concerns regarding the update has been mods breaking left, right and centre and the subsequent mayhem that would cause. I'm happy to say I haven't experienced any major problems with car and track mods I've used in 1.132-1.140 - everything has loaded and been playable. There are minor glitches here and there e.g. dashboard items, gear indicators not displaying but overall great job compatibility-wise from ISI especially considering the wide range and variations in existing mods. No doubt minor mod updates will follow to correct glitches which interestingly don't effect all mods. On your machine, at your settings, with your favorite mods YMMV.
» view Car Mod Compatibility list
New Tracks
For a 1.070 to 1.1xx 'patch' rFactor ships with a bunch of great new goodies in addition to fixes, especially in the tracks department:
- Lienz Rally Hillclimb - Rally Course
- Nuerburg - Permanent Road Course
- Northamptonshire - Permanent Road Course
- Barcelona - Permanent Road Course
- Montreal - Permanent Road Course
- Jacksonville Speedway - High Banked Superspeedway
» Lienz Rally Hillclimb - Rally Course
The initial release of Lienz was a ahead of its time imo - a world of racing within itself, and remains one of rFactor's defining mods. It's great to see the Lienz story continue in the 1.140 update with the release of the Rally Hillclimb track and other goodies. After leaving the pits the Hillclimb goes offroad, winding up through the forest then onto the race track across the mountain and down to the village. The offroad section is excellent fun providing a good workout for the gravel tires available for the Lienz cars. The offroad track generally narrow and rough - like a hardened outback track pillaged by 4WD after rain. Lots of bouncing around, lots of opposite lock power sliding, lots of potential carnage. Look out crossing the railway, and get some huge air off the jump. All up a very enjoyable addition to Lienz and destined to make for some crazy online racing. But what about the road to the left after the pits, protected by an invisible wall - could there still be more Lienz love yet to come?
» Nuerburg, Germany - Permanent Road Course
Nuerburg includes the European Grand Prix and shorter Sprint layouts. Both are very enjoyable layouts with a great mix of fast flowing sections, tight twisty bits and changes in elevation. Track surface is impressive too, as are trackside objects, structures etc. My favorite section is approaching the blind crest at the end of the back straight flat out and wondering if you'll make it through the tight pinch - expect carnage there. Nuerburg is a great playground for faster cars, and is a keeper for me.
> Northamptonshire, Great Britain - Permanent Road Course
Northamptonshire (aka Silverstone) includes three layouts: British Grand Prix, British RF3 Championship and Sports Car Challenge. Again track surface and trackside objects are well done.The Sports Car Challenge layout is ideal for tight racing in smaller/slower vehicles. Fortunately this multi layout track doesn't suffer the flat, 'I'm a maze of witch hats' feel some multi-layout tracks do.
» Barcelona, Spain - Permanent Road Course
In addition to hosting the Spanish GP, the 4.6km Circuit de Catalunya commonly referred to as Barcelona is also an important F1 testing facility. It's another solid addition to rFactor's growing list of F1 Championship tracks.
» Montreal, Canada - Permanent Road Course
Home of the Canadian Grand Prix, but do we need another version of Montreal in rFactor? I don't know the history of Montreal, the real life circuit and how the existing versions rate in comparison to it - maybe we do! Either way, Montreal is in the update and I'm not one to complain about choice when it comes to tracks. As a WIP the track looks like it requires additional love re textures, especially compared to the other tracks. may the best Montreal win :)
» Jacksonville Superspeedway - High Banked Superspeedway
Jacksonville Superspeedway is a 4.02km oval track, set in Florida, USA and is part of the National Stock Car Racing 2006 addition to rFactor. Sorry my stock car ignorance is in play again :s
After several days of driving the new tracks my overall impression is 'BIG'. These are generally 'big' track environments and require a good PC for those who enjoy eye candy with large fields. Another thing that is clear with the new tracks is the developing relationship between ISI and Intel, Petronas and BMW - drive around any of the new tracks and you'll soon see what I mean. No worries though, I'm all for product placement if it helps ISI and rFactor along the way. I even spotted billboards for community members. Now that would be cool - your advert in game.... rfactor community faces in the track crowds - maybe next time hey!
All of the new tracks are well made as you would expect and make for enjoyable racing, depending on your tastes. Something there for everyone - GP, offroad, club, oval - Europe and the USA. I wonder if we'll ever see an Australian track included in an official rfactor release?
Note: Screenshots in this review were made on a clunky old PC at max settings in DX8. |
