Will rFactor 2 Live up to its Predecessor's Legacy?

I'm one of the people who have been waiting for rFactor 2 essentially since it was first announced, back when the original rFactor was also in its peak of popularity, with quality mods being all over the place. Earlier on, I was thinking about if rF2 would live up to the legacy that rFactor 1 (and also, to be more specific, ISIMotor2) is leaving. I hope you enjoy this writeup!

http://www.isrtv.com/rfactor-2/rfactor-2-legacy/

What are your thoughts? What do you think it would take to have rFactor 2 surpass rF1?

 

No, it can't and it won't for a variety of reasons.

Modding isnt what it was - more complex / time consuming creation, the payware rift.

Far more competition in the sim racing market than when rF1 was the ticket.

No "GTR2" to help the community along - with two, three, four titles on the same engine, mods often ended up in many titles on the same platform. It wasnt just the rF1 community that made rF1, and it wasnt just the GTR2 community that made GTR2. Will rF2 get to that point with say, AC? Not sure, there seems to be a bit of hatred back and forth, would certainly make me question if I would want my stuff converted to another platform.

And lastly - no piracy.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, ISI built netKar Pro 2.

 

It depends on how you will judge something as "living up".

Like EB says, in terms of mods it wont. Things get more complex as we want better simulators, the group of people who are talented or skilled enough to work with the new software gets smaller, or takes a while to upskill as most modding is self taught and done in ones own time. So I don't think we will see anywhere near the same level of mods. Perhaps more combined efforts would be needed, I dunno.

We also don't know what the longevity will be with the software, it could just keep being added to and built up for years to come. Maybe in a couple of years things will be set for engine licensing, we just can't tell. Maybe that's when it's glory days will be. Maybe not.

 

And now AC is rF2 graphics enhancer plugin.

Want it to look nais?? convert!! job done kbye

 

No it won't live up to its predecessor for all the reasons Empty Box stated. I would also add that rFactor2 is a very ambitious project, perhaps too ambitious for a small team with limited resources to deliver in a reasonable time frame.

rFactor2 will do just fine as a niche title but I think the competition offers more attractive, more accessible all-round packages that are simply easier to live with.

 

In my view, that is AMAZING

 

1ce its up at a marketable stage i think then yes it will.

 

Seeing how much of the sim racing community has shifted focus unto graphical über-niceness and console-like accessibility, then no, rF2 won't live up to the previous one.
The childlike impatience and irrational nostalgia of so many sim racers these days is what's hurting rF2 and keeping it from growing even more.
A whole lot of "casting pearls before swine" going on, imho. In my view, it's the community that doesn't live up, not the sim.

But I'm guessing that those who really know rF2's worth will probably have at least a decade of pure, exciting sim experiences with absolutely no match.
A sim this deep will no doubt get its very own legacy.

But people will have a tendency to cling unto nostalgia, instead of enjoying what they have at their disposal here and now.
Then there's a lot of mass hysteria going on too, with a lot of people jumping on the "we hate rF2"-band waggon, without really knowing why. Which is quite pathetic in its own right, imo.
Everyone knows that rF2 is a work in progress, with constant development, but many still treat it as a completely flawed useless product.

Then there's the irrational and emotional defense of aging sims filled to the brim with flaws and bugs, awful graphics etc.
But those sims are absolutely perfect... what, because you have some warm memory of making your very first overtake back in 2003..?
Right.

And here come the anti rF2 fanboy squad, with pitchforks and torches... Nice to see you still stick around in the official ISI forum.

I'd be the last guy to claim that rF2 is perfect. I'm not claiming either that rF2 will reach the same hight that rF1 did.
The community seems to have changed far too much for that to happen.
Everything needs to be accessible, easy, predictable, with instantaneous payoff.
Not it my world it doesn't. Bad cliché, I know, but patience is a virtue. One that very few people have.

But rF2 has every reason to surpass rF1 when you look at it objectively. It just won't, sadly.

 

Hey man...c'mon...when I was a kid, hardest AI at Donnington in Toca2 in the Primera...ahhhhh, the good ol days, feeling like a champ...nothing beats it

 

I totally get what you mean, and i really don't want to sound condescending at all. That's not the point.
I know these memories mean a lot. I have great memories too from early days of racing.

I'm just saying, some people really take it too far, dwelling in the nostalgia, closing their eyes to the here and now in sim racing.

 

It gets better, it's only a matter of time. It may be that it looks like the competitive products could weaken the popularity but that's just a short phase and in the long term can't displace the ISI engine. How long this will last depends on the development time of rf2 until it is fine.

Technicians and modder who are looking for the challenge will prefer the ISI engine because it is complex and detailed.

As for example, as I learned in the 90's mechanics, simple things after a time became too monotonous to me and I was looking for the challenge and boosted me more and more into complex things. The result is a larger success experience and of course general experience. This diminishes with age, when you're young you see the world differently this also happens here at this time.

In case of software this should be no different when it comes to technical detailed simulation. It may be currently that all newcomer jump on a slow train because it is easier to jump on but that will change.

What you see are certainly many newcomers around the web playing around with simple thing's and are excited by the Christmas decorations and colors in the first place, what rf2 doesn't offers.


I am almost certain rf2 is a platform for more accurate results when it's more complete.

 

i had lots of those moments in other sims and know what you mean , somewhere along the way one of those hooked me on sim racing - likely some online race in gpl or the first time i was able to keep up to jim clark without adjusting the ai- or perhaps being able to download improved cockpits - or maybe even grand prix with a joy stick , sharing sessions with my brother at christmas time - many great moments in history

well i have had rf2 since it came out - more than got my moneys worth already and still have a lifetime - and it keeps getting better - wow- i have had many great races and moments with this sim over 2 years -wow already - !! - this sim far surpasses rf1 for me - and will continue to do so - its way better btw - hope that counts ! and isi continue to release great content - which they never did for rf1 dont mean to sound like a fanboy but when rf2 came out it surpassed rf1 -

i am also happier with a limited mod selection- it used to drive me nuts wading through dozens of useless mods for rf1- yes selection is nice but it seemed anybody could pump out crap every week that nobody uses - rf1 only had a few widely used mods - saying you have over 400 mods doesnt mean crap to me if they are no good like many are/were-.....i still have rf1 but am too spoiled now by rf2 to use it - improved physics = better sim experience overall ...

 

rF2 has already surpassed rF1.

rF1 was used as a base for mods. The stock content by ISI wasn't the reason people bought rF1, it was the 4000 mods.

rF2 is different. The stock content by ISI is far and away superior to anything out there. The isn't a single mod out there that even comes close. And that's a good thing imo.

I bought rF2 for the ISI content. Period.

 

I think everyone can agree:

Project CARS - For the simcade drivers
iRacing - For the multiplayer racers
rFactor2 - For the physics over everything enthusiast
Assetto Corsa - For the simracer that wants a good balance between graphics & physics

So I dont see the problem. Everyone should be happy. Everyone works on their own thing. Customers can pick as many as they want.
That is why I think rFactor 2 still delivers. Maybe not for me, but for a lot of simracers out there.

rFactor1 vs rFactor2 is silly in my view.

 

No.

 

OH BS


rFs is rF2's bum boy.


I don't care about reasons he gives ......... so strange a things to care about. fiik

All I know is rF2 kicks rFs arse to drive. lol

You all tripping.

 

And now we've come full circle, comparing rF2 to the original rF with nothing left to compare it to! The new Corvette is calling me, I must drive!

 

Yes to all

True.

 

What does this mean? Not sure if derogatory or a complement!

 

netKar Pro was great - it was also the "shoulda coulda woulda" sim of the previous generation. By the time it was fixed and working as well as it could, the well had long run dry - due in no small part to Kunos basically abandoning it shortly after launch. ISI hasn't done the same thank goodness, but there are still many similarities to nKP as a whole outside of that - very ambitious, impressive in many areas, moddable but never really took off in any sort of numbers, several rough edges.

It's a good thing, but it's also a bad thing. Either way, AC is rF2, rF2 is nKP2. rF2 isn't going to live up to rF1, because it's not even the same thing, the better comparison is nKP.