Latest Roadmap Update - February 2018!!!

Discussion in 'News & Notifications' started by Christopher Elliott, Feb 28, 2018.

  1. Comante

    Comante Registered

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    The upcoming performance boost will allow people more freedom with their hardware: more FPS for high refresh monitor and VR or more eyecandy, or whatever point between these two. I think this, plus the new UI and it's capabilities and the online racing structure will mark a turnpoint in RF2 life. If the graphic department listen to the request of more varied liveries, I think we would be set with very strong and palatable platform that could attract old and new players.
     
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  2. burgesjl

    burgesjl Registered

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    When ISI released rF1, they pretty much had to do it because they didn't have the resources to do otherwise (pay expensive licenses etc.) - the EA F1 license they'd relied on and publishing resources they had were lost to them. rF1 had about 3 fantasy open wheelers and 3-4 fantasy touring cars in the base. It pretty much had to survive on modders creations. It was a product of its time, but in my opinion, that time has been and gone. You aren't about to create a successful racing simulation now and have it thrive based on fantasy content. And you also can't rely on modders to create that content for you, at least to the same level as is done by the main studios who have created Forza, Gran Turismo, PCars etc.

    rF2 had a good base to use which needed to be 'saved'. It had good physics/tire model, day/night, weather, driver swaps. But modders had abandoned it, and most of them went to AC. Further, it wasn't picked up by any of the fledgling studios who'd picked up the gMotor 1 technology platform such as Simbin/Sector3/SMS/Reiza as their go-forward choice; they all went off in their own directions. So ISI were caught in the middle.

    People have rightly identified a pretty major gap in the current market; that is for touring cars. Sector3 had the WTCC license, but WTCC got itself into trouble and anyway wasn't that well liked by the public; so they've now merged with TCR. DTM, same problem. BTCC has done well in its own corner of the world, but has unique specifications; and the same can be said for V8 Supercars. Neither one could carry a complete franchise, though Reiza made a run at it with the Brazillian stockcars, at the end of the day that wasn't enough to carry them forward and so they've had to add a lot of fantasy content, a lot of it historical. GT racing has been over-subscribed with the same content; everyone has the same stuff though it was hampered for many years with unique licenses for Porsche and Ferrari, the two main liked brands.

    Kunos has found itself in a similar position as the other devs; a good base to build from, but lacking key capabilities. ACC is a first attempt to rectify the main deficiency, which is the homegrown graphics engine. S397 had the same challenge. ACC has had to start small with a focused offering; they had a lot of non-racing content and actually very few tracks (19 total, only really 12 of any note). But they've had to leave their modders behind in the transition. I have little doubt the long term plan is to expand into other series and back onto consoles. Its what Sector3/Simbin are also going to do, and probably Reiza as well. S397 had a chance to do the same, but decided to stick with their own engine; I don't doubt they probably have a small team looking at what it would take to use UE4 as well. Meanwhile, they are going to pick up the modders who now have been left behind by Kunos.

    S397 need to focus on getting their graphics engine to a point where its competitive enough to the competition; its a defensive move, but now they have to go all-in on that approach and the roadmap implies they are doing so. I think they have a gap/opportunity in better track/tire interaction modeling as well which is as yet unaddressed. They also need to cement some good content in critical areas; GT cars, touring cars; and then have a couple of unique ones, which they seem to be getting with FE and KartSim. They can't be wasting time creating highly diverse content that only a few niche players will use; its up to modders to create that. Stick to core content. They have a major gap in core tracks they need to close (no developer has a lock on those).

    Which leaves.... online. No-one other than iRacing has cracked that code yet. It's the big open, green field. None of the other devs have any experience building massively-multiplayer online platforms; strangely enough, S397/Luminis do with the systems they build for other business clients. Can that advantage be translated to a win? I hope so. For me, all the other stuff in the Roadmaps is nice to know, but the real critical area for them to get right to survive and then thrive is online.
     
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  3. Depco

    Depco Registered

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    Perhaps a better word or phrase could have been used. I was simply trying to say that the only downside to the DLC business model is that the content becomes a consideration when it comes to where to best spend you money. Many of us rF2 users have been spoiled with good content for the low low cost of 0 dollars. It is a departure so some will balk at it. I personally agree with the DLC model as it offers the best revenue stream for the developer while offering choices for the end user. I certainly foresee a time when S397 offers entire series as stand alone purchases for competitions and the like.
     
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  4. Emery

    Emery Registered

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    So which rF1 modders have you seen in AC? As far as I can tell, the outstanding rF1modders were hired by studios... look at the rosters for Reiza, Raceroom, & AC! Pretty much all of the current AC modders are a new generation, with the exception of the DRM guys (and DRM still hasn't been released).
     
  5. Jeremy Talbot

    Jeremy Talbot Registered

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    I also think the wet weather AI bug needs to be pushed to the top of the queue. I know it's been brought up time and again but what's the point of having these amazing rain effects if you can't really utilise them? It's basically impossible to setup a car for the wet as when you try to do laps on a fully wet track with AI half of them dnf on the first lap and the rest keep pitting for slicks every lap. And there's no point doing it by yourself as there's no dry line to simulate what you'd get in a league race online.

    If s397 could get them to at least circulate round the track without pitting, they don't need to be fast, then I'd be happy enough.

    The rest of the game I'm really happy with (except for the damned driver swap bug) and I'm looking forward to the next release :)
     
  6. lagg

    lagg Registered

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    ¿What's the problem wih the wet weather? We are doing races in wet conditions without problems for years.
    I'm speaking about the online. I never use the offline.
     
  7. Jeremy Talbot

    Jeremy Talbot Registered

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    I'm talking about offline sorry. I don't race offline but to try and make a wet setup is difficult as you're only trundling around by yourself, and when the track is 100% wet it's an ice rink. With AI cars going round a dry line will form which can replicate an online race.

    The wet weather system is awesome and I love it, just wish the AI did too ;)
     
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  8. lagg

    lagg Registered

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    Ah ok!
    We limit the rain with the Weather plugin.
    I don't know if it's possible to use in offline
     
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  9. 2ndLastJedi

    2ndLastJedi Registered

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    That would be a great Sim too !
    How many months ,lol
     
  10. 2ndLastJedi

    2ndLastJedi Registered

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    This is about the most prudent line i've read today .
    Carpe Diem Baby !
     
  11. Will Mazeo

    Will Mazeo Registered

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    Ehh no, those modders wont come without some serious rework of shaders to give rF2 a modern look and also tools to make working on it easier/faster (especially getting a car in game), and does not look like this will happen I mean... uploading a tire sample to a file host takes 5 second and hasn't been done yet...
    Only a few enthusiasts that are curious about more advanced physics and a couple of paid content makers are doing, but then they'd do it either way.
    Kunos never said ACC isn't moddable, these guys will find a way and when they see the stuff they made looking amazing with UE4 they are moving to ACC, in the worst scenario they stay in AC.
     
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  12. Louis

    Louis Registered

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    :D
    I didn´t doubt some people would jump on that
     
  13. Louis

    Louis Registered

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    From what i read always here in the forum, rf2 is a bit annoying modding platform. Thats why most rf1 modders didnt jump right on rf2 and then start loosing modders to other platforms
     
  14. RoWo

    RoWo Member

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    Oh, this thread is about ACC and other sims.
    I thought, it is about February roadmap. :rolleyes:
     
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  15. caravan_driver

    caravan_driver Registered

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    All I pray for is more buyers who just need to get caught by the marketing.
    Pretty visuals, a mercedes and an easier default experience (more grip, slower cars).
    And clueless gaming sites reviews.
    Like in AC: "Oh my god the new Ferrari F1 is so realistic and so fun to have a close fight with the AI".
    Then you look at the timesheet and the AI is 6 seconds slower than real life. :D
    But a new buyer means a better game for the rest.
     
  16. davehenrie

    davehenrie Registered

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    I've not owned AC, but seeing the AI being 6 seconds off the pace doesn't worry me, IF they have an adjustable AI speed. 110% AI might be required. But when racing vs AI, the average user is not worried about reaching peak F1 times. They don't care as much about over-all pace vs a racing pace that provides close competition and a good helping of thrills.
     
  17. Ari Antero

    Ari Antero Registered

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    This is something I have never been able to understand how it is possible to have "close competition and a good helping of thrills" when you are racing against predictable AI`s. o_O
     
  18. patchedupdemon

    patchedupdemon Registered

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    Agreed,when you’re new to a title with good ai,the first few races are good and thrilling,but after a while it’s predictable and gets boring.

    I’ve been through this faze since I joined,I now find I only fire up rf2 to do some drifting or check out updates
     
  19. MarcG

    MarcG Registered

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    I still have great races against the RF2 AI and I've had my fair share of races as you all know, just recently I had an awesome race against the Radical SR3 AI @ Adelaide with their Aggression set to 100% (so they actually battle on the inside of turns!). Going two-wide through the whole Staircase Section (Turns 4-5-6-7) was an amazing experience and a sweaty palm moment to boot!

    Regardless, yes even the RF2 AI is predictable for me it doesn't mean I can't have a good race against them as I still enjoy it...and that says it all, if that enjoyment faded then there would be a problem. Of course the AI does need an update to the core code to make them even better, but my guess is S397 are concentrating on other areas first knowing that the AI is "good enough" for now which it clearly is with the right Mod & Track Combo, so hopefully they pay them a visit one day in the not too distant future.

    If AI racing isn't for you so be it that's fine, but many of us are still enjoying the thrills offline :)
     
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  20. Louis

    Louis Registered

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    First i need to catch the Ai to predictability becomes a problem.
    But i always thought that could be different behaviour for each AI. I mean, i thought it should be easy to give variable agressiveness, skills (lap times) to each AI. Like Senna ai file having more agressiveness than Prost. Or faster in rainy conditions, etc and that could apply to any known grid or just random
     

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