Latest Roadmap Update - October 2018

Discussion in 'News & Notifications' started by Christopher Elliott, Oct 31, 2018.

  1. Walker8

    Walker8 Registered

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    It's great and all but what about the AI? The roadmap is just all about new content.
    What about the existing features that needs to be fixed? Not hating, just asking.
     
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  2. Gonzo

    Gonzo Member

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    I assume that there is just way too much to do. The new gui already has a solid trackmap. I doubt that it would be hard to use it as HUD element as well as soon as the new technics are ready to release.

    What features exactly that should be fixed do you mean? Maybe those are unknown to the devs? Submitted a bug report?
     
  3. Pales

    Pales Registered

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    I suspect we won't see any changes like this for some time. It's unfortunate but yeah..
     
  4. burgesjl

    burgesjl Registered

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    This probably won't be a popular post with management & devs, but I feel it needs to be posted anyway.

    To compare this Roadmap I looked up the October 2017 roadmap. It explains quite well the difficulties that exist. That roadmap said that there were 3 things the team had concentrated on: the DX11 graphics engine, the UI and competition infrastructure, and high-profile and high-quality content. In the year following, we can really see significant movement on the latter in my opinion. I'll explain why next.

    For the graphics, the big problem is that S397 have now announced they intend to completely replace the material system and do PBR. I'm pretty sure I already read somewhere that the first release was supposed to have been PBR, but it turns out it wasn't. The problem here seems to be twofold; one, the existing S397 content all needs to be reworked (tracks and cars); second, all third party mod content needs to be reworked, and worse, a whole new system needs to be adopted by devs that they current know nothing about. You can basically say all mod content is effectively placed 'on hold' until all this gets resolved, because no one knows what they are building to. You can see the impact of this anyway; the proportion of existing mod content that got reworked and re-released for DX11 is pretty small. Will any of it get reworked for PBR?

    As for the UI and competition infrastructure, we are now one year on from a post which said the UI was in 'limited beta test'. There's been pretty much crickets on where this stands, and I have no line of sight to the point at which development on this (which will anyway be a phase 1 type) is intended for release. Nevermind the competition stuff, which ought to have been made runnable from a website rather than from within the game. Frankly this is the piece that the community most needs, and we have no idea (a) what it is or (b) when any of it will arrive.

    Finally we have content. As someone else said, this seems to be all we hear about. The releases this year of a first laser-scan track is notable and it was indeed very high quality. The Endurance Pack was also very good. But at this point, I'm not sure what the future holds other than 'all Nords all the time'. In my opinion it was a huge mistake to take on something so big at this stage of laser-track rollout (i.e. 1) when there is so many other tracks needed. It's taken away any interest I had in whatever tracks might be coming, because, well, there are none. Where is Portland? I also have no line of sight into other cars. I assume we'll get the Tatuus open wheelers at some point (which I think we are a year plus waiting for following the announcement at this point) or whether these are being built by effectively partner teams? We got two sets of historic F1 cars of varying quality and a pretty weak McLaren competition.

    So the other piece that is missing is any commentary on improvements to other parts of the sim; gearbox simulation, tire models, suspension models, surface models etc. etc. that talk to the driving experience. I have to conclude there's been no progress and nothing in the pipeline for this.

    Here's hoping we get a good end-of-year "State of the Union" report and proper Roadmap for the next year plan, and that it includes something other than Nords.
     
  5. Adrianstealth

    Adrianstealth Registered

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    Can’t wait for laser Nords nice to see pics etc

    We have a lot to look forward to

    Big thanks for the update
     
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  6. mesfigas

    mesfigas Registered

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    i believe UI must have been the biggest headache ...
    as for the content we already have super good modding content
    super good really
    the physics will be progressed the next year i m sure about it
    we already talked in forum about track physics (Aquaplan)
    they also said shift gear protection is coming
    one last thing from ..i have heard developers speaking about tracks in the internet and everyone agree that tracks takes time
    have faith more super cool things are coming
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2018
  7. LokiD

    LokiD Registered

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    Hmm theres one thing rf2 fails in and thats consistency. The content almost feels mismatched to each other. Almost like various modders have created each piece.

    wont lie i dont care for nords never have Respect to the devs for taking on such a task but i agree with burg theres plenty that still needs to be done and finished. Whats happening to the formula e car? Nothing what was the point of it really.

    I love rf2 but with other sims constantly improving i think rf2 will be surpassed eventually . The sim needs polishing like how ams is. It really does.... ithink it will always feel like a sandbox sim and never really at a polished state. Which is a shame but feels like a new project is started before the old one is really complete. I love the devs here i have utter respect for them but these roadmaps dont really tell us anything new we also really need core engine and ai changes asap.

    Us rf2 users have never worried about visuals, its about the physics and ffb and for me the ai..... i mean ai still cant overtake on a straight but dont worry well have a laser scanned nords with nice looking plastics hehe grrrr
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2018
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  8. patchedupdemon

    patchedupdemon Registered

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    I’m sure i read or have seen marcel say that the ui and competition structure heading for release first quarter 2019,think it was the last sim expo they did.

    I for one am happy with how they are progressing, they are trying to rebuild rf2 from the ground up, which is no easy task for a small dev team with limited revenues and budgets.
    From the ground up pointnof view, this will inevitably put other or most things on the back burner, which is fine, you need to get the foundations right before building on top, but also just because nords is being worked on, doesn’t mean no other tracks are, case in point, they released that track the other day while the nords is in production.

    No news is good news, it means they are busy, we should worry when or if they start to say we can’t do this or this was too much work to be viable.

    Roadmaps are both a blessing and a curse, things take time so not every map will be filled with amazing news, reality is very different, it’s mostly boring and mundane hrs upon hrs of work for folks to just go meh.

    Reality is, s397s tenure of rf2 is still in it’s infancy, I’ve not been a member long but the changes I’ve seen in this short time are numerous and great,2019 will be a great year for rf2

    I respect long standing members options on this, because they have been here through the stagnant and abandoned lifespan under isi, but I’m just basing my opinion on the s397 tenure of rf2, so go easy on me lol
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2018
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  9. Will Mazeo

    Will Mazeo Registered

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    Yep, to me NOLA is a great piece, expected every track that comes after to have at least that quality, but nope, every new content looks different like the guys are moding their own shaders or something like that idk, it's weird
     
  10. mesfigas

    mesfigas Registered

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    well then question to all
    if you had NOW the new UI and 10 Laser scanned tracks wouldnt the game look 10 years ahead ?
    we have to wait for this
    just this
    also new environment light will add a polish that most ppl wait
    as for the content indeed we have very old content but we also have new content
    GT3-GTE-Kartsim-formula E (its cool and no other sim have that)
    free new cars from MClaren that drives awesome and physics 150 times better than rest games that are polish and if you drive them you are about to die from boredom or puke :)
    have faith and wait
    already game is very good i dont even need the new UI.
     
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  11. proff chaos

    proff chaos Registered

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    Unless your in the loop, you can only guess to what's going on with the politics behind RF2. I would assume they are doing a balancing act of sorts with their resources (staff, money) while trying to appease the audience. I like the communication with the roadmaps, as it gives us an idea to what their up to, but unless they have enough manpower that has direct knowledge of the engine, then I would suspect that core improvements will take more time, so adding content would be easier given the amount of modders out there willing to offer their services. However, like others have mentioned, it creates noticeable differences (consistency).

    I'm sure Marcel looks back and says "omg, what have I taken on!", but looking from the outside, I can see and imagine what needs to be done and why colabs and stretching resources are very important. All I can do, is support them by purchasing content and voice my appreciation for the title and S397. Most of us that love this genre know how special this engine is, and is why most of us are cheering for S397 to succeed. I like the fact that Reiza is becoming more involved for instance.

    Maybe more PR towards the strengths of the racing quality that RF2 provides over the other offerings in this genre? Don't know the answers, but I'm glad I'm not in charge lol.
     
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  12. whitmore

    whitmore Registered

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    Opinion Piece
    When Reiza brings AMS cars to RF2 there will be some very interesting comparisons available. If any of the front wheel drive cars make the DLC then some issues that have tried to be brought to light about RF2 front wheel drive will be at the forefront.
    The problem for RF2 is that it might find out how good other sim vehicles are so they will have a perfect platform for comparison and improvement.
    Lazza has a before used the words that function over form can lead to a better outcome. Sometimes striving for perfection over just making things work in a logical manner does not provide the user experience benefit. User experience that mimics reality rather than replicates it can lead to greater benefits. Dirt pickup on tyres, off tarmac driving, tyres temp reaction to different surfaces, vehicle damage replication, tyre failure, clutch operation.
    Place holders for vehicles specifications that have never surfaced to showcase the degree of effort modders have gone to when building their cars such as GT3 car with shocks that are correctly constructed but bump and rebound are opposite to any other car but no way for the user to know this. Only by third party writers are we given any insight into the cars we try to tune.
    While most hard core users can tune cars many would find car tune pages that demonstrate the change being made and the effect it will have provides a whole different level of user experience for some users
    It is the low hanging fruit that fails to get any importance can actually make the most difference and take the least time to rectify or implement and uses less resources than full scale track builds.
    The amount of content available is already enormous why would we need any more content that may need modifying again after future game updates.

    To tick off the list of just what needs fixing or improving now would provide the best use of limited resources with the best outcome before introducing any more content but I get it they need money so DLC is the only way to generate the income stream they are needing.
    There are so many good things about RF2 that continually get overshadowed by the minor annoyances that detract from a positive experience.

    The wealth of knowledge that is available through this forum to 397 is simply not taken advantage of and best of all they don't have to pay for it, people give willingly of their knowledge. No not all is correct but just sort the wheat from the chaff and its their for the taking. The amount of testing and feedback provided is just insurmountable but not always taken full advantage of.

    Get the user to experience what they are looking for even with many users wanting different things, but what comes out most times is it is the simple things that the want and continue to ask for.
    End of Opinion
     
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  13. LokiD

    LokiD Registered

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    Possibly the best post of the thread. Very true about the fwd cars.
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2018
  14. mesfigas

    mesfigas Registered

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    nobody can beat real life look at the colors here

    perfection
     
  15. Louis

    Louis Registered

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    Death can
     
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  16. Pales

    Pales Registered

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    Very well put, especially the concerns regarding the materials. I also agree with your sentiment regarding the new interface as well, it has been far too long.

    This particular roadmap hasn't been very informative at all, in fact, it has been quite disappointing. I do not care for community nights, instead, I wish to have additional updates on development and where we are, and what is planned for the future.
     
  17. Stevy

    Stevy Registered

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    burgesjl is right.
    BTW we still don't have sparks in the game (just to remind you we have the year 2018)
     
  18. patchedupdemon

    patchedupdemon Registered

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    There’s a lot of simulation aspects missing from rf2, no one is denying this, I’d like to hear when the car scrapes the ground at high speeds,and see the sparks.
    I’d like more real-time info reguarding the setup changes we make, in garage,id like to make a setup change, and have to change other settings to get the ride height I had before, not let rf2 do it for me.

    I’d like to see marbles generated off line in longer races, and have them effect grip, There’s so many aspects, too many to name, but I also understand that they are trying to rebuild the basics of this game package.

    Hopefully we will see the focus shift to the sim aspects once they feel they have rebuilt the core package enough
     
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  19. mesfigas

    mesfigas Registered

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    i believe if their DLC's are successful they will improve the game further.
    they need money to keep developing plus people to work on it.
     
  20. Pales

    Pales Registered

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    There are so many inconsistencies with the DLC though. The AI for GT3 are TERRIBLE. Constantly over compensate the wheel, swerve and lose grip. The GTE is somewhat better but if you want competent AI, the only promising pack is the URD EGT. Kind of worrying that a payware mod is better than the company itself.
     

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