This is a very interesting assumption. From where did you get that information? I hope you are aware that modding for most moddable and open platforms mostly takes off when the development of the base product has been finished for a long time. The modding team that I joined, released their first mod release for BF2 in 2007, two years after the initial BF2 release. BF2 got it's last patch in 2009, while I joined the mentioned modding team as a beta tester in 2010 and released my first contribution to it in 2016. The mod is still active to this day over 16 years after release, and you can't imagine how many testers and developers came and went along the journey. Granted we had a much bigger audience than some racing sims over the years, but it still shows that there is no reason for your assumption. Modding never really took off for rF2 due to it being constantly in development, while AC has been a stable platform for a couple of years now. There is zero reason why people shouldn't see it as a modding platform in the future. Atleast people won't have to fear that a certain update breakes their mod.
I meant the progress of the whole engine, sound, etc. The community won't have access to that like in AC. And with limited games like LMU, not much will happen in rF2.
The continuous development of rF2 is an obstacle for the modders. To create something that you know that will stop working in the future due to the continuous evolution of the sim can be frustrating. IF (uppercase) the development of rF2 stops in the future could be good for modding.
Maybe I didn't express myself correctly. You are right, it is necessary, that's what I meant when I said it's part of the business model. But users knowing there is further development also helps with sales. Barrier of language.
What makes you think that people have access to more stuff in AC than in rF2? Where do you see the big progress in core development in AC that you don't see in rF2? Most of this is behind a paywall and not free to access like in rF2. And alot of stuff that people think isn't possible simply hasn't been done or not used very often. You can mod the crap out of the current sound engine in rF2 if you like to. AC isn't running on a magical super sound engine, it's using FMOD wich isn't any more or less modding friendly than the engine in rF2. You can go crazy on so many fronts within rF2 that you won't have enough lifetime left. People rave about so many cool things in other sims, that are simply there in rF2 out of the box - no need to mod anything. AI modding in AMS2 is a prime example for this. Fun fact is that Reiza created a feature for the Madness engine that they could have leveraged with the rF2 engine from day 1. Core modding of AC as it is now was done due to it's limitations. And quite frankly most of the stuff added by the modding community is more or less a workaround and nothing of value for an online platform, as most of it isn't networkable. I have never entered an online race where I am forced to run the same weather conditions as the other people on the server. All this works in rF2 out of the box due to serverside settings. The only thing where AC kind of has more options is graphics and shaders modding. But if you have been around the rF2 forums long enough you might remember people sharing HDR profiles and stuff like wich made the visuals of rF2 a complete mess. And funny enough it's the same story for AC. Nothing works consistently. If you like to deal with that, then reshade is your best option. It does exactly the same stuff.
The drawbacks of announcing plans that don't happen isn't just hypothetical or shown elsewhere: it's already happened with rF2. Even if they announce their intentions with rF2, it won't guarantee anything. And that works either way. There's nothing to be gained from an official statement.
i don't get this discussion "what will happen to rf2 " or "rf2 dead" . Lets check some simple things , is rf2 receiving quarterly updates ? yes. is rf2 receiving regular content ? yes. what more do you want to make sim feel not dead ? leman game will consume S397 time for sure , but hopefully lessons learned from that title will transfer to rf2 , which most probably will happen because rf2 is still kicking and both leman game and rf2 using same engine .....so probably nothing needs to be change from ground up to transfer stuff from these 2 titles. personally sad part could be , since this leman game is most likely aiming for more mass audience , this probably won't incentivize S397 to develop physics. What rf2 currently has in terms of physics is more than good enough for such title. Thats my take.
I don't think so. I think that we could compare LMU to ACC. ACC is a sim focused in a few cars and tracks and is used by people who like simulation. LMU could be more or less the same type of sim. S397 is working on AI nowadays. You take the engine of rF2 with a good AI, the GT3 and LMPs and some tracks and you have a big part of LMU developed.
At a minimum, a communication made in a short time, certainly succinct but precise and giving a perspective for rFactor 2 and those fans who wish to see rFactor 2 evolve further, would have an immensely positive impact on the reputation of rFactor 2, the reputation also of the LMU to come fundamentally based on rFactor 2 and produced by the same studio and a better image for MSG which suffers from a strongly degraded image. And at least it will bring what I said above as positive things. Probably other things.
if it will be like ACC then all the good for us, more focused hardcore sim. I hope it pushes rf2 engine in terms of core physics, so we can have it in rf2 too.
Sorry, but I really don't agree. The MSG haters aren't going to care about an announcement regarding rF2's future. They'd probably find some negative way to spin it. People concerned about rF2, are still going to be concerned about rF2, because S397 saying "we're still going to work on rF2" is the same situation as we have right now, unless you're assuming that LMU's existence spells the end of rF2. Let me say that again: the only people who really need a statement, are the ones assuming LMU could spell the end of rF2. "I hope I'm wrong" ... well, how about just not taking such a negative viewpoint? We know LMU is being developed by S397, we know that'll take resources away from rF2, but we also know both are still being developed. Staff said so. If you want a statement to say more than that, I'd suggest you want them to promise things they may not deliver, which no one enjoys.
I think they've seen that some of their fans want even a short (but clear) statement, via the forum and other networks. So there for me, I said what I have to say, like others, and we'll see if they decide to make a statement. Maybe they will take into account (or not) the concerns (in term of communication). We will see. But there is nothing more we can do about it. In the meantime, I'm having a lot of fun on rFactor 2. It would just be a big disappointment if the improvements/developments/content were to drop sharply in intensity. But we have no control over it
The bug is in the people's mind that want to force a negative narrative unless MSG/S397 says something. On psych books that's toxic behavior.
If you read carefully the post made with the Q2 update, you'll see nothing indicating that rF2 will stop it's development, quite the contrary... https://www.studio-397.com/2023/04/2023-q2-update-and-dlc-released/
Correct, it even ends with this: "2023 is a very exciting year for rFactor 2, and we have plenty more content and multiplayer updates which we look forward to bringing to you very soon! We can’t let you in on all of the secrets just yet though…" What else of the statement you need.
Nothing was toxic, sometime its just hard to understand it correctly in the internet/forum. keep calm. =) I red a few pages and please correct me if I am wrong, but unless the name and series nothing is official confirmed. This is just one of my thoughts. rF2 is very unique game, awesome Physic-Engine and loyalty fanbase. I can't imagine that they will close this chapter of Sim-Racing history.
