Insight on the licencing and car building process???

Paying for content would be a sticky subject & would have to be handled carefully

Iracing has released the odd car & track for free in the past as well as the cars/tracks that members have the option to purchase (obviously members do have to pay a subscription though as well)

Perhaps if it was considered by ISI it could go along the lines of everything will stay pretty much as it is now with the addition of an option for prepaying for certain content -content that wouldn't happen otherwise
Enough revenue raised then it goes ahead -with an approx timeframe to release, if it dosnt go ahead then prepays would be refunded


Of course alot of 3rd party free mods will become available (as well as further free ISI content) but with ISI quality & consistency would be more guaranteed (basing on recently released lime rock / skippy / corvette )

I have nothing against paying for certain mods if their top quality & the price is reasonable (so everyone can afford)

With iracing I use to think on a Friday night "shall I go out or stay in & buy the iracings lotus 79 to try " when i stayed in overall used to save me money lol

So rfactor 2 will be :

(after purchase ) subscription free
Free content
Free updates (as & when needed)
Option of participating in community funded projects by a minimum donation (to fund any licensing & development etc)

Anyway I know some people are really against this which I have no problem with either because I can never be bothered to argue O-:

 

I don't like the idea of the community moving towards payware mods. I'd build it myself if push came to shove. IMO when money starts being passed around, the risk of being prosecuted for some sort of copyright protection increases. Any increase in the numbers of pay mods increases the risk for the entire community. For something that is hobby, it is not worth being sued over.

 

Tim are Tracks licenses cheaper? I take the cost of creating them is greater than doing a car series?

 

It seems to be the thing right now, the kickstarter for gaming industry.
Also in music industry there is a system going on where a band askes fans if they want an album, and if the answer is yes, they ask for money and when the limit is reached they record it and release it. The "donators" gets the album and rest of the world can buy if they feel like it.
Could totally work for licensed content in sim world.

I'm just gonna start giving ISI money untill they give me something in return. Passive aggressive approach

 

Thank you Tim, for the licensing insight.
Very informative reading.

 

This is one great thread! Thanks Cracheur for creating it! And also thanks Tim for replying!

I want to add my 2 cents on the pay-per-content idea. I ceratinly wouldn´t have a problem with that, but I can also see why ISI are very cautious about that matter, to put it mildly . Just have a look around on this forum. I have read some very angry posts of a few members who go nuts just because ISI did say, they wouldn´t have anything against commercial mods, which in some people´s minds ended up as them having to pay more for rFactor 2 than they already did. The statement was quite clear though: You don´t have to pay more for rFactor 2 and the official content that comes along with it. If third parties charge for their content, they are allowed to do so.

But there is a way to pay for additional official ISI content, it´s right in this thread. Create NEW sales! Spread the word or go and buy another license just for the sake of it and give it to your grandma or whoever.

Best regards,
Marcus

 

Thanks a lot tim for your detailed answer...
I'm however a bit surprised that manufacturers are so keen on money to see their car in a simulation...
Why do I think so?
I'm actually testing cars for a car magazine and can tell you that they spent a hell lots of money to promote their cars:
You get cars borrowed for free for several days... Some cooler stuff: A friend of mine has been picked up with a chopper from the airport and was flown straight to Cannes were some 500hp cars were waiting in front of the hotel ... On another trip they were doing drifting on an a glacial... again with crazy sportcar...(I won't name the brands for obvious reasons).. always all paid and all-inclusive...

If you compare this cost to some licencing income... sounds wired to me somehow. If you're willing to spent so much money on direct marketing, why not taking advantage of free marketing within games.

Maybe it's the big franchises like NFS etc... that are willing to pay or maybe even want to... to get exclusivity.

If the tendency in the industry is to charge to licencing, this might have a negative effet on the free modding community.
We'll see, I think that SIM-racing is only starting to take off... so it's gonna be interesting to see how this market evolves in futur.

 

I know David, and used him to get the Brabham-Repco BT20. We do also have the right to the name "Jack Brabham" which I might work in with some parody names to create a 1966 grid when the other 1966 cars I have licensed are added. You could race against Jim Spark, right?

 

It depends. But usually, no, tracks are more expensive than a SINGLE car.

 

They ask a fee because they can. And people pay it. The console market is what makes it difficult, most manufacturers do not understand the difference between the console and PC market, or the titles which glorify crashing, and the titles which simulate racing.

 

great thread, great info, thnx for sharing Tim.

 

I see offering a few payware extra cars later on as something that could work as an incentive to prospective buyers, especially if the cars were unique to rF2.

Certainly if I'm going to buy an add-on car or car set, I'd rather it be from ISI than some mod group.