Poll: The end of car modding?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by JuanitoRPM, Mar 27, 2022.

?

Is the community of quality modders declining and an easy tool would help with that?

  1. Yes, an easy graphical tool would be a great help.

    76.5%
  2. No, we dont need that, we have enought with the content the few developers bring us.

    23.5%
  1. JuanitoRPM

    JuanitoRPM Registered

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    After a while without piloting I have returned to it and I have missed the times of rFactor 1 and its impressive mods like Historix and others. I think this is due to the great increase in complexity to create the physics of a quality car and therefore I think that there are fewer people prepared for it.

    For this I am going to launch a query.

    if you are with me and think too there would be a need to create an easy tool to be able to create physics, with a graphical interface that would help you introduce the large number of necessary parameters.

    I think this would give a new impetus to the simulator and put rFactor back at the top of users and multiplayer races.
     
  2. Mauro

    Mauro Registered

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    svictor likes this.
  3. mantasisg

    mantasisg Registered

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    Neither option in poll is good to me.

    Also make up your mind what is too hard and blocking rF2 from receiving more cars. Is it graphics ? Is it physics ? Do you just want constant stream of new mods, nevemind them beign mediocore and rips ?

    I would suggest that it is graphics. The lack of easy tool like gJed was supposed to be to adjust shading, assign stuff, properties... Second the centralisation aroung 3DsMax, which is expensive, and also to my likes not as pleasant as Blender, some people would choose other software...

    In my opinion physics is not as complicated, ttool aside, but you can avoid ttool and still make reasonable tire while skipping all that scientist NASA stuff. The talks that rF2 is difficult to make good physics is a myth, possibly propelled by both lazy pretentious modders, and also pompastic modders that imagine they are 1:1 to official dev, and also those dudes that must always have the latest iPhone the first day it is released even though they won't use it any differently. And of course by religious wars between different simulations...

    Also interesting topic regarding nostalgia, new guys needs to have huge motivation and come up with a thunder as masters, as teachers of modding. No other option if you want to break through crust of nostalgia in any established community, especially one that is old like this. Also there is another guaranteed way to become successful - to pump up new content frequantly and regularly, all it has to do is to work and don't have tragic issues, but then in this scenario you'll have lots of mediocore, low value content, possibly plenty of rips and as a bonus demotivation for any potential guy who could break through hardened crust created by legacy of old modders, which is already difficult to do, because standards went very high in simulation for those that aim to make something truly good, only to be met in way as regular fast new content baker which means you can expect months or even years of your work being tested for 20 minutes once by 40guys, and one guy giving it 30minutes of his life.

    I once had an idea to do plenty lower detail cars graphically, but go for sincere physics. But I know it won't fly in community, even if cars would have nice style, and would be fundamentally realistic with proportions, basic details... Besides that, as I said you have to make name for yourself. And if you don't, it doesn't really matter if you make anything good. Especially the topic of physics is very sensitive, people has very different perceptions, and you can easily fall out of the radar with that one, as that one is especially sensitive in making name for yourself. And no you won't develop equal or anywhere near respected name as old dinosours, boomer modders, if anythign you'll make failures while in your journey towards becoming expert, and by the time you'll become somebody, you'll already have your credit of belief drained.

    Last but not least unlike old gamers, and old modders. Nowadays people are so impatient. So if you don't eve nhave a patience to use content for long enough that is 10x more complex than content 15 years ago, then you also have new genration of people who are less patient and they have to make 10x more complex content, even low value mods today probably requires few times more effort than good quality mod back then...

    So thats why we have - less things.
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2022
  4. JuanitoRPM

    JuanitoRPM Registered

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    Thanks for your sincere opinion. Im with you in alot of themes, but I think too a more simplified process for develop a car (real of fictional, funny or serious) would by one side to attract people to develop a mod, and the other side more people to come to rFactor. I agree too that this would make to come some very low quality cars, but think more people "gaming" more options for all to enjoy.

    Sometimes I think in tune some car, for eixample giving it an insanely engine only for my fun or my friends, but I dont have a lot of time for to learn how to make that, and later make it. But I remember the first slogan of this game yeeears ago. "Customize, Control, Connect", but today, Customize, has become very complex in my humble opinion.
     
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  5. SharD

    SharD Registered

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    I think there are three issues that make modding difficult:

    1. Poor documentation of what things in the .hdv file actually do, and what effect the numbers have on the car.
    2. I have no idea how the .gen file works. It is very clumsy as well.
    3. Programs like 3DSimED are good, but limited. It is nearly impossible to simply move an object, for example. I have struggled immensely with moving a single wheel. You can't just click and drop.
     
  6. FERNANDO CABRERA

    FERNANDO CABRERA Registered

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    How I see it, many people in my country (Colombia) takes Rfactor2 as a training tool, not a game. So it serious drivers or sim racers usually use it, and the latter steers more to iRcacing, AS or ACC.
    But definitely people see Rfactor2 as a tool not as a game here, and being a tool they looking to having the tracks where they run and a car model as similar as their riding car.
    So the interest is to have a model of their respective vehicle more than a variety of vehicles, for that the go to other sims.
    So how can Rfactor2 can be "gamified" to bring more people?,
    That depends in your use of the sim. More contend is always welcome, people may find that series that they want to race or the location where they want to race
    Unfortunate there's challenge and if that's many of the pro/quality contend is behind step price pay walls (not talking dlc but custom made models), new modders will bring new models that are basically rips of a similar cars and only change the car model because technical data is hard to come by (motor swap in ac anyone?), Or simply the mechanical definitions of a car is not understood (inertia, point of gravity, suspension, engine location, with distribution) and the variety they see is actually one or two car models with different chassis and your have a truck that handle like a coupe (saw that in a formula truck for AC where the physics where from a coupe).
    What I'm seen is because the general public thinks that building a model for a simulator is easy the it should be free... Or cheap, because the creator only got to copy and paste components from a pool or database, and is basically what has been done for AC...
    The model shots not be simplified in order to bring people in, rfactor2 strength allow it to be used as a tool, and the contend in it should be done by people that knows what they're doing.

    For mass use what motor sports games are doing is good (when done correctly) and is package a whole series in to a gamified version of Rfactor2 that use the underlying physics engine with additional items that people find interesting (ue graphics, simplified physics, console ports, net code, etc) and treat rfactor2 as a full sim engine and evolving over time, so it can continue be use as a tool
     
  7. guenther

    guenther Registered

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    Proper Documentation > More Tools.
     
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