This is a getting started guide I wrote for beginners. It is geared towards my friends who played ProjectCARS 2 and are looking to explore RF2. I'm new to RF2 so can remember some of the pain setting up. Here's a few tips. There is an rFactor 1, and very old versions of RF2 so be sure to look for the latest help and info when searching online . Here is a guide for the current game.. https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/rfactor-2-game-guide-and-f-a-q.119019/ To launch the game you must use the "launch rFactor.exe" in the launcher folder. If you launch from either of the "rFactor.exe" files in the 32 or 64 folders in RF2, it wont launch correctly. If, when you click the "launch rFactor.exe" shortcut, it doesnt launch..try launching steam first. You will arrive at the game launcher screen. In the settings menu, in video settings, choose your actual GPU, monitor and resolution. There is a checkbox to enable VR, which will start when a race is launched. Below the settings button there is a package button to view your inventory. There is a single helmet to start single player and a double helmet for multiplayer. Click the single helmet to launch the game the first time. Once the game is launched, go to "options" in game to setup controls and other settings. In controls, load your wheel defaults and make sure it's detected. You'll probably need to set everything manually including wheel axis'. There is a checkbox called 'vehicle set' that will set your wheel rotation the same as actual car. If you prefer a set rotation like 540 for all cars, uncheck 'vehicle set' and enter rotation below that, which should match your wheel control panel. The FFB multiplier is the wheel strength. I leave mine at 1.0 which is default and then adjust it in each car, which the game remembers. There is no easy way to set a button to adjust this strength. FFB minimum torque is how much detail you will feel. Gear and belt driven wheels have some slop in them, so they need to move the motors a little more to feel the small stuff. Belt wheels like t300 could try 5-10% and gear wheels like g29 might need more. Too much can cause wheel oscillation in pits so be careful turning it up. Direct drive may be able to get away with 0%. FFB smoothing is just that..it smooths it out. I have mine at 1% or 0%. You can adjust it all in game to test it out. Oh yea, The track can take a really long time to load the first time, then should be much quicker. Before you get out on the track there's a couple more important things in the controller setting to assign buttons to. In the 'driving ' tab, be sure to assign a button to the 'speed limiter' as you start in the pits with the limiter on in many cars..and you have to turn it off. In the display tab of controls, set the 'LCD mode' to your usual HUD button . This will allow you to flip through the many info screens , one of which is pit strategy. You need to assign 'LCD up/down/l/r' to your d-pad if you want to adjust pit strat or scroll through these hud items. The hud is kinda weak but has most of the info you need.....but doesnt have a trackmap, tho there is a mod for that. The main hud items are by default assigned to the number keys on keyboard which include mirrors, simplified track map, speedo and other info. There is a pretty good hud upgrade in the workshop, just check the comments first. Just a couple more things before we get on track. Now that the controller settings are getting in order, head over to plugins/difficulty. Here you can set 'invunerability' which is damage off. 'Spin recovery' allows you to get your car off its roof if it flips. It could be worth assigning a button in controller settings. 'Auto pit lane' should be set to 'off' otherwise you car will exit pit stall on its own while ur still adjusting the seat. ABS TC and stability can be turned on here for all cars.. but even if it's set to off, the assists will still be available in the car tuning menu if the car actually has these items. Before we head out.. To get into reverse, first pull both shifter paddles back to get into neutral, then downshift into reverse. In the replay menu of settings, you can disable saving replays so your HD doent fill up. Lets GO! exit out of options and you'll be back in the race menu. Choose a track, If you're fave isn't there, no prob, we'll get it later for free. For now I'd suggest learning Zandvoort 1.07>Zandvoort Club. It's nice and short and easy to learn. It has a mix of corners to try different cars and test settings quickly. Then for a car, I would start with the Honda Civic BTCC. It is insanely fun and really shows how good RF2 simulates high power FWD. Then I'd choose the renault megane trophy II to experience a RWD car. FFB is adjustable in car and the honda may need less of it. Have fun exploring the others as you learn that this thing drives like a real car. You can now correct the steering as you slide through corners and save it. One thing though, careful shifting into first on corner entry, you will spin out..just like a real car. A couple last tips, VR users..I have quest CV1. In order for it to work correctly, in this order, I launch steam, then launch "launch rFactor.exe". Once the launcher window comes up, I set VR option to HMD plus mirror in settings and choose 1080p for the mirror as it matches my oculus CV1. ((This way, my HUD overlay from the workshop lines up correctly in VR. When I had mirror monitor at 720 resolution the HUD didn't line up. I run the mirror in windowed mode on a 1440p monitor. You can just minimize the window down to the task bar to work with other applications while in VR and it'll pick right back up when you maximize RF2 again.)) After launching RF2, I launch steamVR..which automatically launches Oculus app..which I minimize. If I open VR any other way it doesnt work, either no VR or no FFB. WMR VR guys, like users of the new reverb g2 , they might have an easier time but they need to install 'Windows Mixed reality for SteamVR' as well as 'steam VR'. If you run simvibe, you need to copy the correct simcommander dll file from simcommander folder to RF2 64bit plugins folder (assuming ur running RF2 in 64bit). cont. and a final note on racing online with a couple friends. It should be so easy, like in PCARS2 or most any other sim..right? Unfortunately not. Because RF2 is open to mods,(custom cars, tracks and other goodies) It is almost impossible to even categorize cars. If GT3 included every GT3 mod available, it would almost impossible to manage that, plus balance of power, BOP, would be all over the place. Therefore, there isn't a lobby like PCARS2 with all content available that you and your friends can choose from. Instead, the person who hosts creates a 'race event' in RF2 which is a list of the cars, tracks, rules and setting for the 'event'. Multiple tracks can be chosen and cycled through by the host during the race. This 'race event' can also be selected in single player mode which would limit single player mode to just those cars and tracks. To get back to all cars and tracks in single player mode, choose "all cars and tracks" button at top of event menu. To create this 'race event' , you'd use the MAS editor in the RF2 launcher window, second icon from bottom. There's guides for this. Once you have the race event saved, you can host this race event online using the bottom button in the RF2 launcher.....but you have to set up a server to do it :O Did we lose ya yet? Don't worry, it's not that hard and I'll give some tips. Maybe you'd prefer to just join servers your friends host..which is as easy as clicking the double helmet, making sure you have correct and matching content and click join. but if you want to host, I'll tell you how. I'm new to all this server stuff. First it helps to understand that there are a few ways to host a race event on a server. The easiest is to host it right on your gaming PC from within RF2. Then join that race on the same PC. This is called a 'host server' and is different than a 'dedicated server', at least for this conversation. A 'dedicated server' is either a secondary computer you have sitting next to your gaming PC or it could be in a remote location or even rented from a web server service, perhaps a web server geared toward sim racing. Setting up a dedicated server is complicated and beyond this guide. I can help you set up a 'host server' on your gaming machine much more easily though. There are plenty of guides for this but here's how I got it (finally) working. Important to note that most guides are written for dedicated server..which can be quite different. First you will need to open a few ports in your router firewall. 54297 TCP+UDP, 64297 TCP, 64298 and 64299 UDP. It's not that scary or hard and is relatively safe. Then you need to allow these ports through your windows firewall, local and public. You need to allow rFactor through windows firewall as well. Easiest way is to keep clicking 'allow rFactor 2' on public and private networks when windows pops up a firewall warning window. Otherwise you have to allow the program through firewall in the firewall settings , which can get confusing with 3 RF2 exe files and numerous other RF2 processes. At this point you should be able to click the bottom button in the RF2 launcher to launch the server and choose your race event and settings. A window will open where you can adjust the server settings. Your server should appear in the list of available servers in the multi player section of the launcher. If you can see your server but can't join it, you will probably need to install microsoft loopback adapter, which isn't hard to do. Here is a guide for this loopback installation. https://forum.sector3studios.com/in...if-you-cannot-join-your-own-dedi-server.4672/ If you use simvibe or simcommander and try to host a server , then join it to race, things get tricky. Simvibe thinks the server is the game to monitor, when you then join the server in multiplayer mode, windows launches a second instance of RF2 which you can see in task manager. These are both likely 64 bit and the server instance controls simvibe because it launched first. The solution is to make sure simvibe plugin is not in the 32 bit folder of RF2 and , in this order, launch RF2 launcher, choose 32 bit in settings, launch server in 32 bit. Then uncheck 32 bit box in settings and launch multiplayer in 64 bit. Simvibe should work at that point. If you see any errors in this guide, feel free to point them out. See you on the track..
