Matchmaker Subscription?

He's right. This is where it starts. Time will only tell though as to how much ISI wants to bleed from us.

 

sheesh now your being a diddums aswell...suck it up princess

 

It isn't how iRacing started. THey started by telling me their sim was so accurate it could be used for training. Ridiculous considering how many times the cars have changed with the updates. They said I'd have to pay a lot of money for cars and tracks I found completely dull and boring, and pay a monthly fee for the privilege to race them, before I could ever buy and race the one or two cars on tracks I was really interested in. This was done under the guise of replicating a real world career, and proving you were able to handle the cars in the higher series. It was all obvious bs, and a not too clever way to make people spend money on things they never wanted. I see NO COMPARISON whatsoever to i$acing. None. The $$$ doesn't compare, and neither does the use of the sim.

 

LOL! Win!

 

We will all see soon enough hopefully.

 

well lets see how much $$$$. and lets hope the community dosnt start charging for mods too, as this would most certainly concern ppl i think. lets hope we dont see that happen to this great game

 

I think the paranoia has gone far enough.

When I posted it was at the end of page 1, and in 9 hours the thread has grown to 5 pages....with ill informed assumptions, ranting, and agro.

From what I understand the fee, after 1 year, is only for those wanting to access matchmaker, which will list RF2 servers and include driver/safety ratings (something many seem to have wanted by the way). The fee won't be for rF2, and if people don't want to access matchmaker they don't have to pay, but still get game updates and all the content as we already get with RF1....some guys need to do their research before posting.

Someone mentioned above about servers dropping off matchmaker, but how they came up with that I have no idea. The servers will be there, but only those who pay to use matchmaker will see them (if I read correctly). If community admins are that worried about 'fly-by-night' one-off racers not finding their server then perhaps they should put more effort into getting those racers into their community, where matchmaker won't be necessary to connect as the IP will likely be available to them. Think about it guys, it's not rocket science.

 

Yep, right before they are beheading the first borns and censoring the internet for nudity. God are you blowing this small thing out of proportion.

YOU WILL NEVER PAY ISI FOR CARS... YOU WILL NEVER PAY ISI FOR TRACKS... YOU WILL NEVER PAY ISI TO USE THEIR SERVERS... YOU WILL NEVER PAY ISI A FEE TO USE rFACTOR2...

You will pay ISI a fee to have your matchmaker status tracked.

 

So why should I pay for matchmaker when I don't care about matchmaker? Our league drivers connect to our servers directly via server provider client or IP. We don't care about driver levels or experience points nor do we run in random servers for pickup races...so should we still have to pay for something I have no interest in just to use rFactor 2? I have a feeling this pay system will be required no matter what or how you plan to use rFactor 2 and that is why everyone is upset.

 

YOU DON'T HAVE TO, NOT AT ALL.. You get the first year free.. Nobody says you need to pay anything past the game purchase. If your league keeps its own records. Done.

 

So you think it's a one time fee after the first year, if we want to keep records? (I ask you this because I don't know your affiliation with ISI as you seem to be answering for them directly). Then why not make the game $59.95 instead of $39.95 (totally just an example of pricing) and the fee is completely taken care of at the time of buying the sim and there is no need to even suggest extra fees for whatever reason...which again is the reason there is an uproar. It makes more sense to get the money now, because the dollar today is much strong than the dollar will be in a year's time (but that economics, who really cares...oh the person having to pay, that's who.)

 

Well, it seems a large group of people with organized leagues won't need the matchmaker service from the get-go.. So why bundle an additional year into the initial cost for everyone if those people aren't going to use the service AT ALL. Those that do like and want to use the service.. Pay yearly to keep it running.

 

Well, I guess we'll see what it really is when it finally comes out. If the records are not being used for anything more than a novelty item, I'm not sure why they thing a pay system will thrive? I'm sure someone will pay for it anyways...

 

See iRacing.

 

I was just thinking....If rFactor 2 (or 1) is/was built so modders can create with then why should we pay anything more than the initial cost of the content? Modders, such as myself, put a lot of work into this and get nothing in return but the enjoyment (which is the spirit of rFactor IMO). If we continue to build mods and some get very popular, the servers become flooded with them and ISI rakes in the money...of our work for nothing in return. Since my league connects directly, I'm not worried about this but I'm more worried about the community and thinking of the bigger picture...

 

See GameStockCar

 

As others have said, the misinformation, assumptions, and slippery-slope arguments abound within this thread.

First of all, the typical definition of matchmaking--because that seems to be where there's the most confusion:
"Online multiplayer gaming sessions can be arranged in several ways. The traditional approaches are gathering a group of friends into a lobby or server to play, or browsing a server list and joining a game in progress.

Matchmaking is a third option, which gives players the ability to get into a game with less effort. Individuals or teams search for a game, and are matched by the system with other similar players. Once an appropriate number of players is found, the match is made and the game can begin.

The main benefits of matchmaking are more competitive matches, the ability to search as a team and play another team, and variety in game configurations. The trade-offs include a long search time to find a good match, and being unable to choose the exact map or gametype to play. " from http://www.giantbomb.com/matchmaking/92-3334/

Matchmaking does not simply mean a server list. It means matching people up by similar skill-level by a tracked stat system (i.e. safety rating---something that there is a lengthy thread about the inclusion of which on these forums). ISI have provided no further information about whether independent servers will be included in the 'matchmaking' servers. They may, they may not; it's all just fear and speculation until then.

Basically, it sounds like Leagues abide by the first approach; rF1 abides by the 2nd approach; rF2 by the third (matchmaking). Is this an assumption? Yes, but it's quite a safe assumption considering the careful language ISI used in the interview, and by the typical definition of matchmaking. We won't really know until they release it; and everyone has 1 year to consider it before they are forced into plunking down additional money, anyway.

2nd post in this thread:

I hate to disagree with you, ZP, but I don't remember ISI ever saying anything to that effect, either. In fact, as expressed in the LIDAR thread, I'm kind of hoping they will do an experiment with laser-scanned tracks in the future; which I'm more than willing to pay for if I have to. I'm not saying I want to be charged for it. I'm just saying that if their only option to release it for a fee, I'm willing to pay for it.

Well, you can either pay $59 with it, or $59 without it. ISI has made no mention of the price ever being different whether or not they included the service. Plus, by including it (just like how XBOX includes 1 Month free XBL Gold service; and drug dealers give you the first hit for free) they give EVERYONE a taste of what it's like. If it wasn't included, some people may not pay for the service up-front, but after having used it for a year, find that the yearly subscription (whatever its price may be) is well worth the money. In all likelihood getting more people to use it for more years=more revenue. I'm a betting man; I'd be willing to bet that many of the people who have complained within this thread about "getting ripped off" (only slightly hyperbole in some instances) will end up renewing their subscription after the end of the first year.

Ultimately, we've kept asking ISI for more and more. It seems foolish to me that we expect that for 'free'. I'm one of the people who never really raced online in rF1; all offline practice sessions or 'season' races against the AI. By this accord, I should be one of the people who wouldn't be interested in this service. However, I think my biggest 'fear' of racing online is that it's a complete crapshoot to what server you end up on. The 'matchmaking' in rFactor was probably its greatest weakness. I'm actually quite looking forward to a proper matchmaking service. I'll definitely try it within that first year; who knows, I may not like it and not re-up my subscription, but I just might, also.

 

I hate that reply, I don't want to see iRacing, there is so much bad racing there and you have to pay for it AND they judge you with rating systems that can stop you from racing in series you want to race in...its to hard to get ahead there because bad drivers find away to wreck your race no matter how hard you try to be careful for yourself. I'm not here to talk about iRacing...or GameStockCar

 

I haven't asked for anything but only for a base rfactor 2 for me to work with, but I'm just one person. I don't care if the graphics or sounds are better, that is all trivial. So if that is all matchmaking is for, then I have no problem. I'm not scared to race against faster or slower people and don't need someone to match me up. That is what offline racing and setting AI to weaker levels are for.