Decent settings

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Luca Babetto, Oct 20, 2017.

  1. Luca Babetto

    Luca Babetto Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2017
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hello everyone. Would you help a brother out?

    Premise: I mainly play Assetto Corsa, I've had rFactor 2 for a long time but I never really got into it, mainly because I could never find decent settings to play on. My PC has an i5-4670 CPU + GTX770 GPU.

    With the new GT3 pack coming out, I decided to blow the dust off this game and give it another go, but I really need some help setting this game up, I found a lot of discordant information on the subject, and most of it is for old builds of the game so I don't even know if that's relevant anymore.

    1 - Graphics

    I know DX11 is still in beta and everything, but it really doesn't seem to work for me. With the same settings, I get 90-100 fps in DX9 (GT3s @ Zandvoort, so all official content) and 40 fps in DX11. What are the settings which mostly affect fps? What would you recommend as the best compromise between eye candy and fps?

    My current settings are:

    Video settings
    - sync: none
    - AA: level 5 (DX9), level 3 (DX11)
    - mode: borderless (it crashes if I alt-tab in fullscreen)
    - PP effects (DX11): medium
    In game
    - circuit detail: high
    - player detail: high
    - opponent detail: high
    - texture detail: high
    - texture filter: X16 anisotropic
    - special effects: low
    - shadows: low
    - shadow blur: off
    - soft particles: low
    - rain drops: yes
    - road reflections: low
    - environment reflections: low
    - visible vehicles: 20

    For the same performance in terms of fps, rFactor 2 in DX9 looks a lot worse than Assetto Corsa but on the latter I've tinkered and I've found some good settings. In AC there are a lot less options to change and it's easier to figure out what does what, I can't say the same for rFactor 2 and I don't know what has the most impact on performance.

    2 - FFB

    I have a Fanatec CSL Elite, the FFB feels a lot different from what I get in Assetto Corsa, on one side it feels more "raw" and solid, and I can feel what the car is doing expecially mid-corner, where it's lacking a bit in terms of feel is on the brakes, I have no idea when my tyres are about to lock up (in AC there's a rumble effect that tells you when the tyres are locking up). I installed FanaLEDs and that has an effect for rumble if the tyres lock, but it feels a bit weird and I'm not the fan of it.

    Are there some hidden settings I could tweak, or is it like this, end of story?

    My settings:

    - car-specific ffb mult: 1.00
    - ffb smoothing: 0
    - steering wheel range: vehicle set (doesn't work, I have to manually match what I get in the setup from the wheel settings)
    - ffb minimum torque: 0.0%
    - all sliders to 100% sensitivity and 0% deadzone

    3 - AI

    This is where the game should shine, the AI is one of the things I used to like the most in this game (for the little I played), but I don't really know what the sliders do.

    - AI strength: I have this set to maximum, 120%. Why does it go over 100%? Does the AI have "cheat grip" or some other advantages above 100%? I haven't found any weird behaviour with these settings, the AI has good pace on pretty much any track and it's very raceable when 1 on 1, but at the start of a race they're really slow to get off, starting last I usually get near the head of the pack even before reaching turn 1.
    - AI aggression: I have this set to 50%. They're quite lively and "human" when 1v1, they're aggressive enough to try some bold moves but they're not stupid and take unnecessary risks (Project Cars anyone?), where I have issues is at the race start. With these settings more often than not there's a big pileup somewhere during lap 1, but if I use lower settings they just get too tame when racing 1v1. Any suggestions?
    - AI limiter: I have this set to 0%. I have no idea what this does.

    Is there a way to pick how many cars of each model I have on track with me? If I race a GT3 against the "GT3" class, most cars will be McLarens as there are a lot more skins for that car from which to pick.

    4 - Real Road / weather

    This is another point where I'm lost. If I pick one of the "simple weathers" the Real Road settings defaults to the following:

    - Practice: "Preset: Testteam_medium"
    - Qualifying: "Naturally Progressing"
    - Race: "Naturally Progressing"

    If I pick "scripted" weather, I can pick among these:

    - User: AutoSave
    - Green
    - Naturally Progressing
    - Preset: Testteam_heavy
    - Preset: Testteam_light
    - Preset: Testteam_medium
    - Preset: Testteam_saturated

    What's the User: AutoSave one? Should I ever use Green over Naturally Progressing for a race track with race cars? What do the Testteam_xxx presets mean? Are they fixed grip? Do they progress as we drive?

    5 - UI

    This is where the game really looks horrid for me. I use the TrackMap plugin for a bunch of info, but I prefer to have the default info box (the one where you pick changed for the pit stops) always on sight. In the settings I can pick among these in the Onscreen Display tab:

    - Arcade style HUD
    - GTdial
    - Mini HUD
    - Multi dial
    - Stockcar

    They look just SO BAD, not even the first GTR had such appaling HUD. Am I missing something very obvious here?

    Sorry for the long post, and thank you to those who will want to help me out.
     
  2. Depco

    Depco Registered

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2014
    Messages:
    854
    Likes Received:
    523
    One thing ISI and now S397 have in common is a complete lack of documentation. It seriously is a problem for new users.

    Graphics
    Your computer is getting a bit long in the tooth but should be able to get decent frames with lowered settings.
    Turn off shadows
    Texture Filter - 8x

    FFB
    FFB in rF2 is based on what a real wheel would feel as apposed to the canned effects AC uses.
    I have a G27 so my FFB settings may be slightly different than yours.
    Check this post for more information on setting your wheel up properly. It is the best guide I have found. But the overlays don't work in DX11 so set the wheel up in DX9.
    https://forum.studio-397.com/index....actor-2-the-key-to-being-in-the-zone-d.42931/
    car-specific ffb mult: lower to about 0.85. You likely are clipping with the 1.00 setting
    ffb minimum torque: bring this up to about 4. Then get on track. If the wheel starts to oscillate while driving slowly, lower the torque number by 0.5. repeat until the Oscillating stops.

    AI
    AI limiter is how much difference there is between the fastest and slowest AI cars in the field. bringing the number up makes the field spread out more. I would bring the number up a bit to help get some space for passing and such.

    Real Road / weather
    Real Road builds rubber as you (and the AI) drive. So the rubber at the beginning of the race weekend is as light as it will ever be for the whole session. I would recommend having one of the med RR settings to start the practice. Then leave the rest of the sessions as naturally progressing.

    UI
    This is by far the weakest area for rF2. I can't give any advice here other than to say find the one that works for you best and live with it.

    Good luck.
     
  3. dadaboomda

    dadaboomda Registered

    Joined:
    May 15, 2016
    Messages:
    712
    Likes Received:
    202
    One of my post could help you perhaps

    "FOR MEDIUM (GTX 780) OR LOW COMPUTER :

    - deactivate shadows
    - deactivate real mirrors
    - deactivate post process
    - deactivate environment reflection
    - lower anti aliasing
    - max AI = 6 and AI cars detail = low

    Privilegate 3k or 4k resolution with AA off or level 1. If you have a full hd TV and a nvidia video card, use the DSR function with 3k or 4k with aa level 1 or aa off.

    Use auto detail framerate : it is not a miracle solution but itworks fine.

    For the CPU, put the "real timealgorythm" in the UI to X1.

    With aproximely these settings I have 60 FPS 99% of the time with 4K (DSR), full track details,road details, texture details, anisotropic X16, best graphics settings in the nvidia driver (high quality textures etc.)

    And I confirmed shadows is theworst setting for performance AND there is absolutely NO combination with good shadow graphics (even ultra + ultra).

    Computer :
    I5 2500K overclock = +15%
    16GO ram
    Gtx 780 gpu oveclock = +23%
    ***********pci express 162.0****************** due to bad motherboard."
     
  4. Corti

    Corti Registered

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2014
    Messages:
    1,354
    Likes Received:
    2,495
    My settings:
    Processor: Intel Core i7-4770 3.40GHz
    Ram: 32 GB
    Motherboard: ASRock Fatality H87 Performance
    Nvidia GTX 760 4GB OC
    Thrustmaster T500RS
    video setup.JPG volante.JPG display.JPG
     
  5. dadaboomda

    dadaboomda Registered

    Joined:
    May 15, 2016
    Messages:
    712
    Likes Received:
    202
    Hi Corti,

    I stongly suggest you to put "FFB smooth" at 0 for a T500RS...

    Why don't you set a FFB minimum force ? I use 2.5%. I think it is better.

    If I remember in thrustmaster profiler you have to put : overall forces 60% (standard value), periodic and constant force 100%. The other values = 0 (fake parameters)
     
  6. Emery

    Emery Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2010
    Messages:
    3,035
    Likes Received:
    1,654
    3 - AI

    Yes, if you go over 100%, then the AI have more grip & acceleration. 50% aggression is a solid choice IMHO, though backing it down for openwheelers is a good idea.

    AI limiter is all about how the AI rest & then surge forward & rest again & surge forward again. 0% eliminates the surge/rest cycle, but a very small value might be desireable (no more than 1%, which can be set by editing your player.json if you can't make that small of adjustment in the UI). With AI limiter = 0, then the AI won't make "intentional" mistakes (being late on brakes or swinging wide & offline) which is why I think a very small value can be useful.

    You can also make your own AI with their own talent files. This might be a way for you to adjust the speed of their start. Rolling starts can also get you past slow standing starts... don't bother with "fast rolling start" as the teleport does nasty things to the AI.


    4 - Real Road / weather

    User Autosave is a realroad that you might have saved from a previous session. I've always saved manually, so not sure when the Autosave happens.

    Green is no rubber on the track. Really only used on something like a street course at the start of a long session where lots of drivers will be building up the rubber. "Testteam:" are preset levels of rubber to start from instead of green... by choosing anything not green and then naturally progressing for subsequent sessions, then the rubber will build from that initial setting and totally depends on where/how much you & competitors drive. If you make each session say "Testteam:", then they'll start with that amount of rubber (if you're feeling perverse, you could start with heavy for practice, medium for qualify, and set the race to a green track). Rain during a session will wash off the rubber. Choosing the scale of realroad will let you make it static for the session or speed it up.

    As you can see, realroad is totally dynamic and user configurable. One of the oft-requested wishlists is for more settings slower than 1x scale. If you have a track without a "testteam:" selection, then set the time scale for 10x and let lots of mixed AI drive. Use Ctrl-X to speed up time if you don't feel like sitting 30 minutes, too!

    5 - UI

    People load the HUD they want, including <NONE> ;) There are third party HUDs, but if you want them in DX11, you'll have to wait until after DX11 is production and the coders have time to update their work.

    At the very least, know where the HUD toggle buttons are. I map mine to buttons on the wheel.
     
  7. ebeninca

    ebeninca Registered

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2016
    Messages:
    738
    Likes Received:
    525
    Go to rFactor2 steam workshop and search for "DigitalHud", subscribe, now you have a nice hud to use, far better from the others.

    http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=566312342

    Anyway, there is a lack o information, i prefer to use v-HUD instead of trackmap, because is easier to edit, cleaner and nicer. CTRL + E to edit the widgets position, add/remove.

    http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/v-hud.14069/
     
  8. Corti

    Corti Registered

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2014
    Messages:
    1,354
    Likes Received:
    2,495
    Ok, im try thx
     
  9. Luca Babetto

    Luca Babetto Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2017
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Thank you very much for your help, I'll fiddle around some more and get back to you.

    Couple of things though.

    FFB: is there some way to check if my FFB is clipping? In AC there are apps that help you on that, is there something similar for rF2? And do I really want to use anything besides 0 for minimum FFB? I was under the impression this only applied for "lower end" wheels, but it shouldn't be necessary for my CSL.

    Graphics: one of the replies suggested I turn off AA and instead use supersampling, I tried doing that in other games and it was always a bad choice. Worse performance and the game didn't look right. Is this different in rF2?

    UI: didn't know the Workshop didn't only have cars/tracks. Will check out some custom UI, thanks!
     
  10. Ari Antero

    Ari Antero Registered

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,882
    Likes Received:
    829
    Look in to this thread:
    https://forum.studio-397.com/index....actor-2-the-key-to-being-in-the-zone-d.42931/
     
  11. Luca Babetto

    Luca Babetto Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2017
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Well after fiddling a bit, I found some settings that look somewhat decent.

    All the "details" and textures at max, no shadows or soft particles, I lowered the amount of visible vehicles from 20 to 12, and I enabled FXAA. I get 70-ish stable fps on DX11. It doesn't look as pretty as AC, but it's a start.

    One thing I did notice however is the dashboard of the cars. The numbers look a bit weird and pixelated, even in the brand new GT3 cars, I hope that will improve in the future as without plugins (cuz DX11) I'm using the car's dashboard for info at the moment.

    As for the AI, adding that 1% limit improved the experience quite a bit, they do make some mistakes here and there and it's a lot of fun. I played at 100% strength for a few races but they're quite slow, I think I'll probably give them a bit of cheat grip just to keep them competitive.
     
  12. ebeninca

    ebeninca Registered

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2016
    Messages:
    738
    Likes Received:
    525
    Pedal overlay plugin has the ffb saturation bar.
     
  13. Emery

    Emery Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2010
    Messages:
    3,035
    Likes Received:
    1,654
    However, remember it can only be run in the production DX9 rather than beta DX11 at this time.
     
  14. dadaboomda

    dadaboomda Registered

    Joined:
    May 15, 2016
    Messages:
    712
    Likes Received:
    202
    With Nvidia "DSR function" you have 3 improve things :

    - reduce a lot aliasing (with 4K aliasing is perferct with game AA at level 1)
    - increase A LOT graphics details (you see every details on the road, and everywhere
    - textures do not flicker at all (real failure of the game)

    With only using antialiasing YOU ONLY IMPROVE AA, and absolutely not everywere in the picture.

    I know that it is an original approach but it is the best for my gtx 780. I know it is excessive but I really spend ~50 hours just to found a good compromise between acceptable graphics and PERFORMANCE at 60 FPS.

    As the movie it was really MISSION IMPOSSIBLE....
     
  15. Jon

    Jon Registered

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2017
    Messages:
    137
    Likes Received:
    127
    Concerning the in-game UI, look for WedgeHUD on the Steam store. It's simplistic and small and works fine in DX11. It also comes with a variety of layouts. Additionally, consider Dashmeter Pro rF2 from the Android Play Store. Works well and you can use it as a substitute HUD, eliminating any need for an onscreen HUD.

    Regarding an on-screen track map, then what I do is find a PNG of the track with a transparent background, then print it out. Has the added benefit of being able to manually add notes to it which helps you learn the circuit. When your times improve, you can reprint it and add more, detailed notes.
     

Share This Page