Where are all the 3rd party tracks?

It seems like there's a severe drought of tracks out there, which surprises me, because of the 2 types of modding, creating tracks as I've found is far easier than creating cars. Not easy, by no means, but by comparison, easier to do, especially with the way packaging is done in rF2 now.

I'm trying to learn how to create tracks, because I want to help fill the void that I sense out there...working on making the Belle Isle circuit in Detroit and some more IndyCar series tracks. But, where are all the other developers? Is there a problem with the track creation process that's putting modders off? I'll admit it was daunting at first, but I'm getting into it and it doesn't seem all that bad. What is going to encourage modders in rF2?

 

something ive been wondering since purchase...was shocked at how few tracks there are. FSR seems to have no trouble building pretty darn good tracks every month so idk if its a matter of modders leaving for AC or sitting on their hands or what...would love to see more though, esp when vlm & feels3 have shown the kind of fidelity possible.

 

There are a lot of tracks avaliable at Locations subforum, and even more can be found using btsync and a specific shared folder key (search the forum for it if you like)

byyyyyyyyye

 

Building tracks to a sophisticated level is by no means easy. Try it yourself if you think so and then read the critiques on here after you release something. There are very few people with the combination of the artistic and technical skills to do a decent, let alone top quality track. It will usually take a team effort. It's probably 5 to 10 times more complex/skills required/time consuming than an rF1 track.

 

ISR has a crapload. 90% of them are quick conversions.

 

There are a lot of tracks already. Search for those that are very good (in my opinion):

Croft, Putnam Park and Poznan by feels 3

Mid-Ohio, Sebring, Nazareth and Lemans by VLM

Lestrat conversions: Barcelona, Suzuka, Macau...

Simraceway conversions: Austin, Daytona, Zandvoort, Donington...

Game Stock Car conversions: Vanport, Floripa, Jerez...

Others very good: Symmons Plains, Texas, Thruxton, Longford, Nordchleife, Nurburgring, Spa, Top Gear track, Spaskis tracks...

More on Locations subforum.

Almost none of them are scratch-made but have a very high quality.

 

To be honest, there are only 3-4 tracks from that list that are really up to rF2 standards.

 

The best for me are this
Croft, Poznan, Putnam park and Top Gear. These are really a top quality tracks!
very good tracks: Mid-Ohio, Symmons plains, Sebring(needs a big update though!) and the upcoming Brno and Watkins Glen International by Monsum9(both are a very early stage of WIP).


Laguna Seca by Marios will be the first laser-scanned third party track it is coming very good!

 

You're hard to please, there's at least 7 easily up to RF2 standards for me!

 

another sad arsed thread ................

3 - tracks hahahaha

Don't encourage him ..........

 

Not really hard to please, just go and tell me how many of those tracks are really using rF2 new technology at decent levels or how many of them are using re-worked textures to make them look decent. Most of them are crap conversions with rF1 textures (aka wrong colours in rF2). Feels3 tracks, Top Gear and Symmons are the only ones really maximizing rF2 visual quality. VLM were very good in the rF1 era, but as far as I know (I haven't tried last version of Mid Ohio) they are still using rF1 textures, and a very, very ugly realroad texture, which ruins the visual representation for me. Their kerbs are also quite off in my opinion compared to the real ones.

Also it's a bit sad and worrying that basically all those tracks are ... conversions (quite a lot of them are illegal also, so I wouldn't even mention them in this sub-forum).

Edit : And I don't mean that all the other tracks are crap. But for me they are still not up to what I would expect from rF2.

 

Wrong curbs are annoying, especially with the crap load of onboard videos and photos of tracks available nowadays.


Anyway, I'm surprised people do this sort of work at all actually especially considering how much work goes into even a decent track.

 

Well, you ask for tracks.

If you ask for the best of the best, of course there are 5-6 between that list, and more to come, but all the tracks that i mentioned are good quality, not crappy conversions (although conversions).

I more than another like scratch build tracks, but today "we got what we got".

PS: I think we can speak about them here without problems, i didn't even mention a searchpath for them, anyone can find them easily. Everyone should try Austin, looks incredible.

 

Each to their own of course but to me you're hard to please, not every new track has to be Feels3 quality work to make it into RF2 standards, not everyone is as talented as him (and the others) so of course you're going to have some very good/good tracks which may fall short in one or two areas, doesn't stop you having fun racing on them though and ignoring those shortcomings but obviously rou cant.

As for "conversions" well what do you expect? every single track to be scratch made?! that was never ever gonna happen and wont ever happen in any other racing sim ever. You're expectations are simply too high I'm afraid.

 

Agree with Domi but I guess that makes me hard to please.

I don't play rF2 much at all now. As good as it is to drive, the content that appeals to me just isn't there.

 

I know that conversions will always happen. But there are very few real track modders in rF2, and that is worrying for me.

And no, not all tracks must be feels3 quality, but come on, if you are doing a conversion, minimum required thing should be to at least improve the textures... it's not that hard to get good textures from ISI tracks (and they gave permission) and make good use of the shaders to make it look better than the rF1 version. You don't need to be a track guru for that.

 

Of course I wanted every track in SCGT to rFactor to be as nice as my favorites in each.


I got my wish, then Simbin-rFactor ended up looking like 3 clones for the most part, toss in GSC, FTruck and Race you could make it 6.


Personally I am glad it has taken rF2 to break this cycle.

A lot of the conversion feel like cardboard, flat and lifeless, that is okay in GTR or rF.

For me it took rFactor2 for visual quality to become a good deal less important compared to the way different terrains could make my F3 chassis work.

I would take good bump map over pretty in rF2 any day of the week, sure I am bias as I like Historics, lots of chassis and suspension movement.


Which is what I find strange some people drive rF2 can place look over feel, no one above mentions it.

 

Then where are all your tracks? you knew that was coming

yes agreed there seems to be a lack of decent track modders for RF2 but you have to remember this is essentially a little title in a big pond, that and track creating (from scratch) for RF2 is a whole lot harder than rf1 ever was...hence more "not upto standard" conversions.

Anyway I'm happy with what we've got so far, it's a shame you're not.

 

Those that are crying out for more tracks... I suggest you try modding yourself and see how far you get. It is not easy, otherwise all of us would be doing it.

Plus... the reception that some modders get when people with such high expectations just rip it to pieces. These modders spend their spare time making something to the best of their ability just to be ripped to shreds by ungrateful morons? Hmmm... yeah I wonder where all the modder are *rollseyes*.

Treat others how you would want to be treated... I think some forget that.

 

I have made that for the tracks of my league, but don't want to make advertising because we use also illegal tracks etc. So I know what I say, it's not that hard to do, just needs a bit of time (I'm talking about track conversions, not tracks made from scratch, which is a different story). And the lack of that little extra effort is what makes most average simracers think that "rF2 looks crap". Good example of how track conversions can be greatly improved here.