Nobody: buys rfactor 2 dlc worth 200$ Me: looks at my iracing total spending... *650$* *sweats nervously*

It's not simply the price of the DLC, it's the user value. I pay more in iracing but at least I get some use out of the content. With rF2 you are left scrambling around for an online race (good luck with that) or using the content offline with the plethora of issues that have been present (and ignored) for years. Thus I stopped buying content two years ago and nothing can tempt me back. Not interested in hot laps, so no end value. In fact seeing F1 champions or Grade A simracers enjoying what I would like the opportunity to do is almost the final insult.

Desperately needs an “Ultimate Edition” and a total UI overhaul. But instead they keep pumping out overpriced DLC to keep the thing going. Someone should buy them out and re-launch as rf3.

RF2 is my favourite, but I can’t disagree.

For me, since starting Sim racing 4 years ago - rFactor 2 was the "go to", the Daddy of ultimate physics etc. But something that frustrated me so much was unless you were part of a league, it was almost impossible to enter a race against real people. The multiplayer situation is catastrophic in 2020. People want to jump on and race against real people. rFactor 2 does not allow you to do this. In the last year or so, I've moved on from it as ACC, and although its divisive, iRacing offer you this.

this is one of the most intelligent comment sections I've ever seen. thank you!

The truth is that rf2 lost its timing, the developers held on to the idea that it would take too long to be overcome, the lack of weight licenses, laser scan tracks and the endless development made the simulator unfeasible for a community that tired of expect it to be ready, not to mention that ISI seemed to be alien to the market reality in which competition was eager and intelligent. The effort of Studio 397 seems in vain, all the news that is present or is to come or everyone has experienced in other simulators, there is that feeling of déjà-vu ( who would want to buy the same content more than once ? ) , very bad for those who have a duty to renew a franchise that went bankrupt in its past, maybe it's the best time for a new project made from scratch, I honestly don't see feasibility in betting on a project or simulator that people have lost interest, the simulation market has changed, and users have also, we want to sustain and maintain the nostalgia of years ago, but the simracers are no longer as we were, and we insist on thinking that everyone should be as we once were, in my view the only way for Studio 397 to renew and take the next step would be to launch a new simulator compatible with the current times, the rf2 is dead, we need a new rFactor project.

Let's take a example: If you want to play in Iracing, in IMSA: You will need to buy: 01 Car (12 Dollars) - (Minimum Required) 12 Tracks (15 Dollars) Total: 190 USD (for one season - JUST 3 Months ) Let's take a example: If you want to play in Iracing, in VRS GT3: You will need to buy: 01 Car (12 Dollars) - (Minimum Required) 12 Tracks (15 Dollars) - ( if you already bought a track, great, otherwise, another 15 dollars per track) ACC - Ok, just 80 Dollars, but you will be limited a lot, you just have GT3 cars and some tracks....

I'm going to literally copy and paste my comment from another video on this same topic on the off chance that someone from S397 read it...It doesn't appear as though S397 understand what the issue is with the UI. Their new UI is essentially just a re-skin of the old UI, but does nothing to address the major issues with the UI that are the main problem - setting up AI races, doing driver swaps, creating custom championships, hosting multiplayer servers, etc., are still frustrating at best and non-functional at worst, and the "new UI" really does nothing to fix any of that as far as I can tell. At this point, they would probably be better off ripping the tire model and physics / FFB from RF2 and putting out a whole new game with a modern graphics engine, ui, etc. They seem unable to remake the ISI version of the game with anything like a workable budget or schedule.

Australian Dollars? I thought you guys were using Koalas and Tasmanian Devils as currency.

I agree with most of what you say to some extent and with some nuances. First, it is important to understand that S397 doesn't see themselves as making a game, with usual gamey elements (career mode and such). It's more of a software kit where you have to put in some effort to find your own fun, which is not for everyone. I think their ultimate multi-year vision is to become a competitor to iRacing. The focus on recent licensed content, high quality scanned tracks, the upcoming competition system, overlays, point to that. I do not think they target the entry-level enthusiast simracer just happy to fiddle with his favorite street and other cars in AC. I don't want to defend the current DLC practice too much, but it always amuse me when simracers can invest hundred (if not thousands) of dollars in sim hardware, yet choke at the idea of investing more than 100$ (or less) in a sim. After all, software and content is intangible thus worth nothing as it simply grows on trees, right ? Though, what's needed is more comprehensive DLC bundles as you mentioned, similar to R3E and others. Or a yearly subscription that gets you all content (at a discount). Something more understandable for consumers rather than having all the content split into zillions DLC. And then you probably have the fact the S397 is probably understaffed to realize the vision they have and the wild expectations of simracers. And not even talking about the technical debt that must represent the rF2 codebase at this point, which is probably hard to evolve, hence core improvements taking for ever (but happening eventually such as the recent lighting changes). I believe the S397 is doing the best they can do with the resource and constraint they have. I'm still optimistic for rF2. It is absolutely indispensable to sim racing, and when everything aligns provides one of the best driving experience there is. And it is important to remember that this is the last sim still maintained that can be modded. To conclude, one should not take sims for granted. It is kind of a miracle they are still being made for such a niche audience (compared to, say, Forza, NFS or GT Sports crowds) and we have so much choice. It might not always be that way, especially due to how hard they hard to make as technology and expectations advance. So we must support developers in that niche.

If they had a decent multiplayer system, this would change. Mp is completely dead outside leagues and 80% of people dont care about leagues

In january I decided to finally invest in simracing. My number one condition was to be able to race against real people. I chose Iracing. I'm now part of a league and a team. In three weeks we do the Le Mans 24h. Did Nurb 24h already and what a time we had. I feel like this kind of service doesn't exist anywhere else.

I've played both RF and RF2 since release and own all the DLC. However you vented the same frustrations as mine. They are now concentrating on DLC and not fixing the life long issues it has. Performance, UI and ease of incorporating mods and skins (Not Steam Workshop) are all what needs to be fixed. I personally think the UI should be something like AC Content Manager which allows easy installs and tweaks of everything in game. I have limited time after doing 12 hour shifts and can't be arsed messing around for 40 minutes to get my quick fix. My eldest son gave up on rF2 last year as he couldn't be arsed with it anymore and moved to AC, iRacing and ACC instead. Too much DLC and not enough working on bringing the game up to scratch (performance etc).

Not to mention Assetto Corsa Competizione has all GT3 cars from the 2018-2019 season in the vanilla game which cost a measly $40($15 from where Im from apparently on steam )

According to a Steam review, leagues require you to own every car used in the league. No wonder it didn't take off(like the review said it wouldn't). There's no way I'd buy content for a game I have no intention of using just to play the game properly.

You make valid points. I am new to sim racing and bought every sim you mentioned. I go to ACC for gt3 multiplayer. I start AMS2 for the odd car/track combo and so on. But I will always prefer coming back to rf2. I dont mind the dlc strategy, I know what I want. I actually like the UI. It is decluttered and on point. The driving experience is on another level - that is what counts for me. I give you the point for the AI behaviour. That is my no1 gripe. TLDR: I prefer rf2 even as a newbie to sim racing. But I recognize the missed potential as well.

You're definitely right on all points my friend, and that's coming from someone who bought rF2 on beta release day in early 2012. S397 should consider selling a core+DLC pack with everything at a discounted price. I'm not going to be upset that I already bought it, I'll be happy with the influx of players. I think it's also important to point out where rF2 was when S397 took over, and where it is now. Perhaps business decision could have been better, but S397 took a broken, abandoned product and made it much, much better. I think S397 needs to capitalize on the increased e-sports exposure, increased sim racing interest, and be willing to sell a full DLC pack to get customers 'through the door' and playing.

I see all your ideas and think: he's kinda right. On the other hand: People invest in iracing and pay a double fine to race. When your iracing subscription ends you cant even use the software anymore.

You make some valid points. However there two big advantages that Rfactor 2 offers to the experienced sim racer. The first is the best driving feel of all all the sims out there. The second is the vast array of mods out there that offer racing experiences totally unheard of in any other racing simulation. It is not a sim for the beginner but once you’ve gotten your feet wet and become disillusioned with the poor handling of many of the other sims out there, you will want to take a look and I bet that you will like what you feel. The new content that S397 is introducing will only enhance their reputation. I just wish that it was a little rationally organized for the average sim racer to buy.

A big selling point for RF2 has always been how good the physics and force feedback are (admittedly with some cars, but not all), however some of the other sims are now catching up fast and consequently it's no longer worth going through the pain barrier. I haven't played RF2 for a long time. My go to sims are now RaceRoom and ACC. I like the fact that they are good to drive and provide an all-inclusive package without having to deal with all the hassle you get with RF2.

"A menu out of place in a late-90's spreadsheet simulator" must be one of the most hilariously accurate descriptions of RF2 I've heard to date 🤣

Here's what i think about the game : Putting aside the things you said, and wich i agree with, i'll dive into the problems withing the game and what i've experienced. Having been in some leagues, the official paid content is often not used at all, because there's so few people in the game that if we start to make people buy things to race with us, we'll get races with no more than 10 people at the end of the season. So mods are used... Mods in this game are not as supported by the community as AC's mods, and it shows. On 3/4 of the tracks we ran, there was NO TRACKLIMITS! And not all people are as dedicated as "mr perfect" would be, people were caught cutting corners, even slightly, i was sometimes seeing the top times and telling myself "for sure they cutted on this corner", at some times, it gets incredibly frustrating. I do think that ISI relied too much on modders, and this backfired. And i'm not even talking about BOP in earlier mods for GT3 for example... (don't get me wrong, there are really good mods there, but we need to have some official content, it'll help the game being consistant in it's content.) There"s another problem, but it has more to do with the community. rFactor 2 has a small but incredibly engaged community, and the thing is that some people can't undersand that critisism isn't bad. By closing your eyes on obvious problems within the game, you just make the game less accessible (i heard some really passionate debates over HUD's in the game for example). Sometimes it gets close to plain elitism (people getting insulted because they don't know how to [insert a thing easy to do when you know the game but hard when you don't know it]). Simracing, and rFactor needs a welcoming community, and people don't need to have panic attacks the second they think about joining the race.

Sheesh this is the second "why is rFactor2 failing" video released today... At the same time rf2 is about to host the greatest virtual race of all time in 2 weeks. Don't disagree with much of what's been said. I think it highlights why rf2 can be so frustrating. It does so much right, but yet so much wrong at the same time

Not being able to just up and host a multiplayer race at will really sets it back in my mind. Having to setup a dedicated server just to race others really is just icing on the cake for an already difficult to work UI. rFactor 2 is by far my favorite sim to drive. When it came out the very first thing I did was hop in multiplayer in a server racing the Spark F1 68 car and '66 Monaco. Learning to drive that car on day one with everyone is still one of my all time favorite sim racing memories. Now the online dedicated servers are empty unless you've set yourself up in a league.

Thanks for breaking down rFactor2. I considered getting into it lately but your points shined light on that decision. My library already consists of iRacing content, PCARS1-2, AC, ACC, and other titles that are series or offroad focused... I might as well continue to build on my iRacing content, buy the complete RRE collection, or grab more DLC modules for what the outdated looking rFactor content cost. I thought other sims got expensive... but damn, that much for non-laserscanned?!?!? "NOPE!"

love your vids, mate! keep it up! I'm one of the new guys that joined since the pandemic... at the moment playing AC on the ps4 with a logitech g29, the only wheel I could find. picked up the last one from my local jb-hifi. planning to buy a PC next, then a cockpit then better wheels and pedals. I agree with your points, we all need to get started with whatever we have at the moment and RF2 seems to make it harder for beginners. loving AC in the ps4, people say I don't get the DLC on the console but there's so much game to be played. I'm also playing Dirt Rally 2 which was free on the ps plus and all its DLC probably cost around 25 AUD... I can't see myself getting bored of those games. cheers mate

Just started on your channel. Love the content. For me rfactor2 is my favorite. Yes it has more bugs than Windows XP, has a host of reasons why it could be better. To be honest I could care less. The little content I do have in rfactor2 is sublime pure brilliance. The driving experience is simply the best in sim racing for me because I am more than happy to pound around the Nordschleife in a Porsche endlessly enjoying the changing feel of the car. Rfactor2 gives me exactly what I need. Obviously I am too easy too please?

Thanks for reminding me why there's no RF2 on my hard drive.

you know shit got real when Ermin and GM make the same critique video on the same day

On the flip side - rFactor 2 is a nieche and thats good. It is not supposed to be your most approachable racing game, it is supposed to be the most advanced physics platform first and anything else second. Big competitions picking this platform instead of anything else shows that the priority is paying off. Yes you can buy all the cars in Assetto Corsa for cheaper, but the multiplayer racing features and depth are much more lacking. rF2 also has loads of quality third party cars and tracks, allowing you to race in very well organized leagues for free. Doesnt mean S397 on a whole cannot be doing a much better job, but its far from failing as well.

This is the first video i've seen of your Ermin and i have to say you do a fantastic job. Plus your Video Editing style is pretty similar to mine so i respect that heavily haha! Keep it up mate 👍 Subbed + Liked

Very well delivered video mate. Thanks for narrowing things down to the facts we have to admit. After PC2 I bought AC when it was on discount and recently AM2, to be honest, I'm content with what I have and am not willing to accept Studio 397 intentions of making me pay for every nut & bolt.

the frustration growing thru the years and single rf2 cars or tracks continue coming out to the rf2 steam page and geting our wallets open wide , but some rf2 core stuff is wrong and it seems difficult that they will be solved. Its difficult to attract newcomers but also some old lads as me that have this sim as the number one have rejected this payware system that seems so much to the iracing one without offering the multiplayer that offers the last mentioned. Of course AMS2 or ACC offers some easier options to the general public. Great video Ermin and really nice channel content. Cheers!.

My #1 problem with rF2 is the price of the DLC, at least here in Brazil. It's ridiculous. Just so you can have an idea: - In Ermin's video we can see that the base game costs A$ 46,95, and Nords A$ 20,08 (a bit over 40% the price of the base game); - In Brazil the base game costs R$ 61,99 (which is actually cheap for a game), but Nords costs R$ 72,31, more expensive than the game itself!

You are wrong about the Radical SR3 RSX. That was a Studio 397 release in July 2017 and it was released as a free car at that time.

You've hit the nail right on the head. I'm exactly that person you're talking about. I'd love to play rFactor 2 but when I look at how much it costs and how little I get for the money it just doesn't add up. And the fact that there's no single player option makes it even less appealing to me. It may well be the best sim out there, but I'll be sticking to Assetto Corsa.

Excellent video. On the pricing, if you haven't bought all of the content yet just wait for the steam summer sale around June 25, there should be big discounts. The thing that blows me away is how much better cars feel in this sim and how bad iracing feels imo and yet iracing has all the player base. They need a safety rating system obviously because it's even working for ACC as it seems to add that career sim element. I don't mind the cost though because I like to support the devs of any game/sim I play. I just wish they made their online play more appealing.

I loved the first one. I built an entire simulator because of my pure love for the first one. The second I finished my simulator the second one came out and all the leagues shut down. The second one was full of bugs and had a strip down mod support, I was confused, why would they do this. I was so naive, to sell mods. Now we are five years into the build and I am slowly coming back to sim racing, and we have half the mods we did at the same time for rfactor 1. Greed is causing the downfall of rfactor.

I've bought a lot of content when it was on sale for half the price, which was still a lot. The biggest issue to jump into this sim for me are the ''Multiplayer Lobbys'', you don't see which carclass or track they are driving on and everytime it starts autodownloading all kinds of mods, because actually nobody is racing with dlc/original content. It could be so much fun, because the driving experience itself is really addictive in rF2.

I agree, lots of communities dropping RF2 also. A huge shame, as I also too love this sim.

The main reason I've not got into rFactor 2 isn't covered in the video. I bought it but had to refund it on Steam, within my 2 hour window I couldn't get it to run... at first the game kept crashing, when I finally fixed the crashing I found the hideous UI incredibly unintuitive, but I did eventually get into a race... to find it looks awful and my wheel wouldn't work. Another hour in the menus and I still couldn't get my wheel to work. Fairly standard setup (i9-9900k, 2070 Super, Logitech wheel/pedals) I have tried a working game on my friends proper sim rig, and it does handle well, but it doesn't for me do anything better than the Assetto Corsas, iRacing or even AMS2 to differentiate itself. Though I guess "accessibility" is a common theme, here.

I enjoy rF2 a lot. Everytime when I try to focus on other sim and explore it more I realise how rF2 does all stuff better while you are on the track. No other sim give you that feeling of immersion, some cars are hard to master other are easier but diversity between car to car in same class is very distinctive. I play custom championship and enjoy it a lot becouse 24h races and dynamic weather are there. Studio 397 have to work harder on new UI and rebrand the game to become more easier to understand for newcomers becouse ever single part of the game is customisable. It`s really no brainer if anyone want most realistic sim racing but have to be prepared for some workarounds which in other simulations can be done with one click. I can`t speak for online becouse I never really tried. For official content I can`t find words to describe how good it is but problems with mods especially tracks come with transition from dx9 to dx11. If they could somehow give tools to modders this sim can be sky rocketing very fast becouse the idea behind it is amazing! Just look how rF1 content is somehow unified even the mods.

When it's good Rfactor2 is REEEAALLY good. But that's it's biggest flaw. It's just not consistent and takes so much work to make it work right. For practicing tracks I imagine it's a great choice as the FFB is one of the best around. But if you want to race the AI to have a bit of fun you basically need to do anything between 5 and 20 race(start)s to get the settings exactly right. Oh yeah and as you mentioned the freaking safetycar is a mess and can destroy all that hard work you've put into place, just leaving you to restart it all over again hoping the bug won't happen twice in a row. When it's good it's great but to get there just takes so much effort :/ Great video though, I agree with everything you said!

I think S397 also missed the promotional boat on a lot of the esports stuff. When you watched one of the events in iRacing, you KNEW it was iRacing - the commentators and promotional buzz around the event made absolutely sure you knew. Most of the event titles had "iRacing" in them, and iRacing put out new content to accommodate the events. With most of the rF2 events, most of it was under somebody else's branding, and unless you knew what you were looking for, you wouldn't have known it was rF2. Most of it also used years-old content. They weren't using the esports as a way to sell rF2, unlike iRacing who were clearly using their esports events to sell their game. I know iRacing's self-promotion rubs some people the wrong way, but it would have been nice to have some of that same promotion for an excellent game like rF2.

I just commented yesterday on the bad DLC practices of S397, and was met with backlash from fanboys instantly. I tried over the years to get into rf2 as is the game with the best physics and immersion, in my personal opinion, but could never do that ; due to lacking content, lacking accessibility, lacking populated servers. It seems that to get into rf2, you have to get involved seriously in a league and find the proper welcoming community, which I doubt exists in rf2.

I think the way the cars drive and steer and feel in Automob2. I believe we will see a whole new standard in Sim racing in 2020 - 2021. Automob2 keeps make me smile when I drive on the limit of what the car can do. keep up the good work Ermin

I cant enter a server, cant dowload the tracks and cars for each server. They should have official servers.

Both you and GM talking about the same thing on the same day lol! I shouted you out on my latest video by the way mate.

I love the sim, but I agree, it really does need an over haul. I'm finding it very hard to get people into it. And as a successful business man as well, their model is going to start failing them

Well said, Ermin. I moved on from RF2 a long, long time ago and now don’t miss it at all. Conversely, I still play Grand Prix Legends, which is run by a passionate and committed community of sim racers that produce everything ... and take joy in sharing it with everyone.

Your analysis is so bang on. I’ve recently gotten into sim racing and I’ve purchased ALL the sims EXCEPT rfactor2 and iracing for exactly the reasons you’ve laid out. I won’t be purchasing it either - I bought Raceroom’s full package and it’s keeping me very happy indeed.

The game description says on steam page "rich single-player experience" but there arent any easy way to setup custom championship or premade series?

I've played racing games my whole life (over 40 years), but I don't have a ton of PC sim experience beyond the legendary Grand Prix 2. After playing the RF2 demo, and finally figuring out how to get my TMX wheel to work properly with it, I couldn't stop smiling. The feel of this game is on another level, compared to its competition, and the minute adjustments you can make mid corner are probably unrivaled. Also, it has wet weather. Something that iRacing still doesn't have. I bought the game and downloaded a bunch of mods, which were much easier through Steam than what I've heard about AC. I have grown to prefer hot lapping and racing against the AI, while I improve my driving and setup skills in the PC realm. Your argument has valid points, but the talented modding community (tracks, cars, skins) makes the purchase worthwhile for me. Plus, I'm a nostalgic racing fan. The fact that I can drive a McLaren MP4/8 around Adelaide, having witnessed Senna's last F1 win on TV, brings a much-needed level of joy to my life in this chaotic world.

I built tracks for the first rFactor. I had high hopes for rFactor2. Hopes collapsed in the first year of ISI. I argued with them for a long time about the work of graphics and the properties of RealRoad. I was banned 2 times for loud statements. This is a sad experience communicating with deaf developers who always lack money and people. Big ambitions and no result. I am a fan of rally cross, I was waiting for dirty races and loose surfaces. ISI gave up, 397 is another strategy, they cannot change the schedule and fix old mistakes. If rFactor3 is based on the old rFactor, this will be a global error.

I tried getting into RF2 after reading it was a better sim, in terms if driving dynamics, than Assetto Corsa, Automobilista and the slew of old Simbin games I have. Was sorely disappointed with how little the base game offers, of how egregious the microtransactions are, of how bad the UI is and how dead the online is. Went right back to Assetto after writing a scathing review of it on Steam and promptly getting blasted for it. I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees the game’s issues. There’s a brilliant sim underneath it all, one with the potential to be the best, but the shortcomings are too numerous and severe for me to make the jump to it. Yes, the driving dynamics may be the best, but there’s no point if damn near everything else falls flat.

Time for rFactor 3, wipe the slate clean and then release a full-featured product that isn't marred in expensive DLC, plus some of the fixes. Would do wonders for the game.

I want to love RF2 but setup loopholes, DLC, mods, etc difficulties on top of a crappy UI make it hard to love. Make an easy to use UI, content manager and store. Package pricing. Provide setups like ACC. Make HUD items easy to add in and customize. No racing lines just cones like GTS for those entering the sport. Ranking and matching would be nice but sim racing systems will suffice.

rFactor is still my favorite racing platform and I am sure I others will agree. I think we have to give credit to Studio 397 for staying committed to rFactor 2. The ABB Formula E racing from home has brought new people to rFactor 2 and I view that as a success. I have used that event and brought new people to race with. The ABB Formula E brought many new courses over the last couple of months. Finally bringing the Ferrari and the virtual 24 hour Le Mans will be using rFactor 2. We are seeing Studio 397 market their racing platform. Of course there is room for improvements but I have faith from seeing the increased level of commitment to their platform.

Can we forget the amount of 3rd party, free content?

rFactor 2 is basically charging as crazy as iRacing does, not even giving players a real chance for optmial daily racing between each other. This is a huge flaw. I feel like Kunos nailed the marketing and dlcs' distribution for the past few years and they really could bring lots of people. Additional thanks to the modding capabilities. On the other hand, ACC does an incredible job with merging players on multiplayer and placing them on one, very nicely done competetive ground where they can easily race between each other. If only Kunos decides to jump one step farther, and add more classes to their new game, I feel like they can create another long-living product, and be better than iRacing.

As a guy who only drives historic cars in sims it's a shame that the developers never added a somewhat realistic gearbox and clutch model. You can basically shift every car with an manual transmission without using the clutch pedal and you won't damage the gearbox. I know that some classic racecars had dogboxes, where you don't have to clutch but that did't applied to every car especially on the downshifts.

Great video highlighting the biggest barrier to entry for the sim. The price is definitely an issue and whilst people will compare it to iracing and yes iracing is more expensive but your money goes so much further with iracing with you being able to race every day, multiple times a day against people online. You have a way to use the content you bought whenever you want whereas with RF2 i would happily buy more content for the game but i know without a league to join I'm not gonna have any way to use it because there is no easy way to jump into the multiplayer. If on a tuesday night i get home from work and want to race if I haven't already signed up for a league I can't race anyone online and that is with the major, well known series like GT racing if i wanted to do formula-e or GT500 there is nothing. Additionally, looking at S397 track record over the past couple of years with how they are updating the game it doesn't give me hope that my investment will go far whereas Iracing and AC I am. Just compare the 911RSR across every sim that has it, the cockpit in the RF2 version the place where you spend 90% of your time is unfinished and has remained that way since launch with the promise of an update soon to fix it but it never came. The UI they have been showing since 2017 but it got delayed and delayed and when it finally released it looked exactly like it did in 2017 with no sign of any progression with less functionality and less intuitave than the old one. Then you compare that with a Reiza studios who in the space of a couple months progressed their game in every aspect further than S397 did in the 4yrs they have had with RF2 and it's no wonder why RF2 is failing.

I had that feeling, a couple of years ago, but now I am really excited about the future of rfactor 2. As much as I enjoy racing in iRacing/ACC, something always pulling me back to rfactor 2 for the "last lap of the day". Now, if they manage to create a multiplayer system like iRacing, even with subscription system, rfactor2 could be the absolute king.

Great video, completely agree. I want user experience updates rather than cash grabbing dlc.

Same. I have more than 1000 hours in rf2, almost all paid dlc. But the sr3 xx release really made me upset. It's exactly the same car just with new interior/graphics. I don't mind spend on a new car like 488 gte. But charging for a car that already exist in the game? No..just no.

When iRacing started multi-class, they also made you buy all the different cars in the race. No more, just buy the one you want. Big difference.

rFactor2 is doing a great job charging for each car and track as official content. Sure modding is cool but it also comes with its downsides and a lot of it is inconsistent mods and car / track combos. One car feels good on a modded track and then it feels like crap on the next. With the main content becoming paid content created by the devs I think this closes the gap and makes for quality content and laser scanned tracks. The reason rFactor2 is failing is because literally everything but the driving itself is subpar to other offerings.

Intelligent & balanced commentary as usual. I bought AMS2 as my one and only racing sim but it's interesting to hear about what's going on elsewhere.

Can agree about the pricing and packs thing, the ui i find very easy to use, never experienced any multiplayer bugs, yes i am annoyed by the full course yellow nightmare but that can easily be turned off

I do not understand how people can complain about spending (excluding sales) around 100 euros for the most realistic simulation on the market associated with all the DLC cars and tracks, while they spend thousands of euros on hardware. I do not understand. I bought all the DLCs and the AC, PC2, Automobilista 1 and 2, ACC... games. Just to form an objective opinion and only played a few hours on these games. I am not complaining. Yet I am not a millionaire. Let iracing be criticized on the subscription system etcetera, OK. But other sims including rF2, that's rubbish. The official content of S397 (from the last 4 years), car or track, is absolutely exceptional. PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF &€#%!

Ermin, I enjoy your videos and share your love for rFactor2. However, I think you should rethink how you present the opinions in this video, starting with the title and the video image. You make some very good points and certainly S397 lacks coherence in how they market and sell their DLC. I think we all tend to forget how small this developer is and how limited its resources are, how much it has accomplished and how aggressively it has reworked rF2 since taking over from ISI. Laser scanning and licensing content is not cheap, add the time and effort, at the end of the day I find the DLC reasonable priced given the sales volume they expect to have. You failed to compare rF2 to RaceRoom and what they charge for their content, they sell their content for similar prices, in the case of cars they charge for additional skins and you are not able to create your own. Nevermind iRacing in terms of cost. Yes Assetto Corsa costs less at this point, but it is no longer being developed/refined, it's all up to 3rd party enthusiasts. Kunos was acquired by a much larger developer studio which affords it shared resources I'm sure, this has allowed them to diversify into the console market and therefore a greater audience in turn dropping their prices. rFactor has been the driving force leading the way in the virtual automobile racing world, form its day-night transition, their unequaled real road technology, weather (again with an amazing real road), best in industry physics, best tyre model, tyre wear and blistering, flat spots, etc, etc. rFactor 2 is not a game, it is much more than that, it sits in a class of its own. But yes, it is frustrating for those of us that appreciate and love it so much. I too wish it was more successful and wish it was better understood by a larger audience. I think that time may come with its new GUI and improved graphics. If this period truly has expanded the sim-racing audience, I also hope a portion will be more demanding and discriminating users that will join rFactor 2's community. I think rF2 is and may never be like other games where you hop on a server for a quick race, but there are plenty of excellent organized sites with all kinds of championships. rFactor 2 by its very nature is not for everyone or gamers in general, it is harder to learn and master but it delivers unequal realism and immersion behind the wheel. Maybe make a video where you highlight all that rFactor 2 truly represents and where it's headed and how S397 could improve, enlarge its audience? Keep up the good work mate and keep on racing!!!

I'm that person you're describing. I'm a predominantly single-player fan of endurance racing and want interesting tracks and cars that I can combine into a grid of my choosing, but the cost (the DLC never seems to be on sale) and lack of decent documentation as to how I'd do that is very offputting. Also, the Steam Workshop Items approach, with no screenshots or proper descriptions, feels amateur and certainly not in keeping with the price's premium point. For now, I'm happy with ACC, Raceroom, AC with Content Manager and Dirt Rally 2 until S397 want to make this more accessible to me. All the cars in your video looking like ethereal ghosts at night-time isn't helping either! Nice video though, you and GamerMuscle have both put out the same thing today so hopefully some notice must be taken...

i literally tried already two times to get into rf2 and i always refunded, i just cant get over the fact how dodgy it is to get properly started. especially when you compare other simulators on the market right now. yes it may have the best physics model, but what good is it if the game around it simply is not inviting enough for new players :( i am really sad about it because i loved rfactor 1, its the game that got me into sim racing in the first place (well no, that was actually indycar racing in the 90s lol).

If there is no RF3, RF2 will share the fate of RBR. The cult platform for offline driving.

Very true about the lack of fixes for older content. Without even taking the interface into consideration...take a good look at things like smoke, dusk kick-up, driver gloves, rain drops, etc... Those things have been here since the beginning and are still in that initial state. In the mean time, new cars and tracks have been released. It has long been time to stop, re-assess what is out there already and fix it before moving on. The tire flex feature will only 'carry' a brand for so long before folks get tired and move on. I've stopped buying the content simply because I find it next to impossible to get into multiplayer races.

Not to mention AC/ACC are on sale pretty often, across multiple sites. Meanwhile since I started playing sims in December I have never seen rFactor 2 on sale at all. Apparently it went on sale in January but it wasn't pushed at all so I missed it, and now I just have to keep waiting.

A little more respect for S397 is due. They are a fairly small outfit and I don't suppose the current situation was ever their original business model. It is clearly taking a lot longer to knock RF2 into shape than ever anticipated and cash flow is king in any small company. Hence (I would guess) the dribbling out of single DLCs to keep the company ticking over while they address the new UI, online multiplayer etc. I am as frustrated as any RF2 user, and recently bought both AC and AMS2 in an effort to find a satisfactory alternative, but to me neither feels anywhere near as good so I'll put up with all the shortcomings while S397 sort it out. The quality of what they come up with (DLC and game upgrades) is very good, which bodes well, and those on a tight budget can get a ton of fun out of some good free third-party GT3, F3 and classic mods as well as some good free tracks.

i've been intersted in rfactor but as you pointed out i dont wanna spend 100-200 bucks for a game i wont even play that much (i'm not that hardcore in to racing i like doing it but casually yet as realistic as possible handling....hence assetto corsa...

I think they should just make rf3 and use all the great things that got people into the rf games and kept them there but make it more accessible so that they will keep the audience from rf2 but also be able to bring in new players at the same time. I just hope they do well because they have a very talented team.

I think the biggest problem - no, let's say challenge - is that 397 are seemingly trying to make rFactor 2 something that it was not originally designed to be. The TL;DR version of rFactor is that it was a "core engine" born from the love and dedication that sim racing enthusiasts gave their previous project, the EA F1 series games. I still remember all of the great mods that were released for F1 2000, and subsequently F1 2001. When EA unceremoniously decided to can the series, ISI already an idea of what they wanted to do next. Man, groups like CTDP, EnduRacers, and even Reiza made their names known there. They, like SimBin, took their talents to the next level and began creating commercial product with it. This bred a whole generation of dynamic Sim Racing leagues. For those that remember far back enough, rFactor didn't even have much licensed content to speak of - again, barebones package meant for the community to run wild with it... what was available as "turnkey" was totally generic... but if you've ever driven the Kodi ZR Stage III on the Toban GP circuit at its limit, then I know you had a big grin on your face as you did it... Anyway, long story short, rFactor thrived, because the community thrived around it. Fast-forward to about 2010, and ISI was only thinking of an rFactor refresh - with the product now "mature", enthusiasts were clamoring for more. It's kind of a shame that they waited so long. Assetto Corsa came along, and high profile modders came to a crossroads. Once the dust had settled, it seems that a lot of them chose AC. You can imagine that as much time as it takes to develop a mod, developing it twice for two different platforms doesn't seem feasible - especially for groups that mostly depend on donations. You also had iRacing, which was rising to prominence rather quickly, and was becoming the defacto place if you wanted decent online competition (going all in was also a lot cheaper then). I totally agree that gMotor has "something" about it that makes it appealing - the sim to just kill some time with and enjoy a good drive, as you spoke of in your "ACC vs. rF2" video. But for a platform designed to thrive by way of its modding community, it's very difficult when there is practically no community rallying around it to speak of... and thus, 397 is in the unenviable position of trying to make rFactor 2 something it was never designed to be. It wasn't meant to be this commercial product where one studio now has to create content for it. It was meant as a "sim racing platform" for aspiring developers to build the mods of their dreams, and receive the accolades for it from the enthusiast community at large. rFactor 2 (or I wonder if there is even an underlying new consumer gMotor engine in the works to produce a long-overdue rFactor 3) doesn't need to evolve into "just another sim", it needs to evolve into a platform with enough features to draw a community back to it... The big problem in this new modern world (which I didn't even speak of above), is that licensees no longer look the other way when unauthorized content is produced... F1 mods were killed years ago when CodeMasters and F1 started going after every mod, and I'm sure that Ferrari (one of the largest brands in the world) isn't very complacent either... but THAT is another discussion for another time...

You hit right on. I have played most PS4 and several PC sims. Intrigued by the use of RF2 on recent events, I was looking into it. The problem is exactly what you outlined: I could not figure out how much I would be spending! They better change their business model for sure.

To be fair, as of today, RF3 (in the UK at least) is 13.00 GBP in the Steam sale and all the cars and tracks now appear to be half the price they are in your video.

I tried rf2 demo a few months ago and I was really pleased with the driving experience especially the ffb even with my old cheap DFGT the ffb felt really good But when you compare it to assetto corsa they have very similar physics with assetto being far more attractive when it comes to prices and content

The thing I like about Assetto Corsa is that we can partecipate and race in normal and funny mulitplayer races.. while in the other side in Rfactor 2 u can't jump on a multiplayer lobby and race against other poeple

I've not bought any rf2 doc for some time now, until they do something with multiplayer I'm not buying another thing, haven't played it in ages!

They also need an option like raceroom. I bought all of raceroom for £40

this game needs a new version completely refreshed and updated!

Dollar and Dime is the way RaceRoom works. It has been doing that for a LOOOOONG TIME. RF2 is just joining the game.

Personal opinion here: I have never liked RFactor 2. Sure the FFB, plentiful mods, and physics are nice; but for a lot of people the AI quality, online racing lobbies, user friendliness, and affordability are much more important. Then when people yell "league racing!" at you on forums it's just frustrating because with a busy career you can't establish a schedule like that. Ultimately that is my biggest issue with the game followed by it's unaffordability for many users. RFactor 2 seems to be targeting the most dedicated sim racers. I just can't recommend it for any casual sim racers.

I would hate life without RF2, but I wish they would get their S together.

I'm seeing this video 3 years later, tbh the death was deserved, but not anymore. It's kind in the shadows now but as now it's VERY good, it has it's flaws but it gives an insanely good experience

I bought Assetto Corsa and RF2 in the recent Steam Halloween sale. I've already packed out AC with loads of mods and drive it at every opportunity. Meanwhile, I've barely touched RF2.

Man I gotta be thankful for the amount of content polyphony dishes out on GT Sport for free, I literally bought the cd for $18, I wanted to experiment how different the force feedback detail and tire model compares to GT Sport but this is truly putting me off along that iRacing monthly subscription, I'm very confused.

coming from flight sims where some dlc tops 120 usd and airports average 25 usd i really dont see the problem in buying a car for 5 bucks lol

yes, you are right, its a mess everywhere, year old bugs arent fixed and it is way to expensive. But you forget to mention the free contents(e.g Zandvoort, Tatuus, 6 NZL tracks) and that it is the last mod friendly sim which is in active development. And the AI , Physics, FFB is unmatched (with heavy flaws ofc). Esp AI is a joke in newer games like PC2, ACC, AMS2. But AMS2 and ACC coming closer in driving feeling.

I own about 1/3 of the rF2 DLC, and the reasons you explored in this video are precisely why. And I love the way rF2 drives. If I wanted to get a friend into rF2, I would tell them to buy the base game, and dive into the Steam Workshop first. If they want more content, I'd probably suggest cherry picking from the store DLC as I have done to find the content they like.

Great analysis. Nail, head and hammer. Subbed!

rFactor2 is the best handling simulator by far. It's the most fun to drive, no question.

its currently AUD$920 plus the AUD$50 for the base game .. but then some of the individual items are included in packs so thats just everything that is available.