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.
Cars & Conclusion
ISI have stated a major focus of the patch/update is the addition of Stock car racing. The Panoz doesn't appear to be included this time around, and less expected, the BMW F1. All good imo as it means the guys at ISI are intending to continue to grow rFactor for some time yet. It's not as though there's a shortage of great stuff available now anyway and it's all the more to look forward to in the coming months.
National Stock Car Racing
2006 includes three cars: the Edgar, Centennial and Titan, and the Jacskonville Super Speedway track.
Bumper to bumper racing over many laps, banked oval tracks, big crashes - that's about the extent of my knowledge of stock cars - sorry - so I'll pass you over to ISI re the stock car additions in the latest update:
- Added restrictor plate engine as part of the SuperSpeedway package of the NSCRS vehicles so that the track GDB entry specifying the restricted engine is no longer required (but still needed until veh packages are track forced).
- Adjusted the rear spring availability for the SuperSpeedway package of the NSCRS vehicles to comply with Stockcar rule for the restrictor plate tracks. This also negates the need for the rear spring GDB since entry. The rule is that only a 375, 400, or 425lb spring is allowed. The v1081 release only specified the minimum spring rate of 375lbs via the GDB entry.
Also included in the update is Rhez 2006 - a small FWD Sport Compact. The little Rhez 2006 is a cracker - great fun on the Lienz Hillclimb and suggests to me point to point rallycross racing is coming soon to a PC near you (but I could be completely wrong!).
Conclusion
While the new tracks are welcomed and stock cars are an important addition to rFactor when it comes to game sales and growing the community, after time with the update it's those many smaller seemingly minor items listed in the change log that are most satisfying - for me anyway. The improvements in AI behaviour, the start sounds, the replay bug fix, the increase in per mod settings etc - many tweaks and fixes indicative of hours spent by ISI working a well executed patch.
As it stands at 1.140, the rFactor update is solid and generous revision to a game already well on the way to being a race sim classic. It will be great to have the rFactor community in synch again. Let the flow of primo rFactor mods continue!
I'll continue to update this preview over the coming days.
Note: Screenshots in this review were made on a clunky old PC at max settings in DX8. |
