Post your initial impressions here

Performance: I'm getting around 50 - 120 FPS with various AI/Car/Weather combos, on a GTX 560 and i5 CPU. Settings maxed, 9 AI, sun occlusion and shadow blur off, shadows medium.

Graphics: Good enough for me. I'm not an eye candy type of guy anyway. The first time you see it, you think "gee whiz", but after that, it just becomes the background.

Menus: Who cares... you spend 0.5% of your time in the menus.

FFB: Passable. It's not as progressive as netKar, which allows you to feel a slide developing at every stage of the loss of traction. It seems to be a case again of people thinking that because a road feels bumpy, the FFB is good. As others have said, the FFB knocking when off track is over the top.

Weather: It's great. I set a progressively cloudy day from full sun, developing into rain, and the transitions were seamless and entirely believable. I love the drying race line. In combination with time acceleration, it looks fantastic watching the shadows grow longer as it clouds over and starts to rain. Everything I expected. It would be nice to see puddles and aquaplaning in the wet like in netKar.

Cars: The Megane is fun to drive - happy.
The Formula Renault feels pretty horrible (compared to the netKar Formula 2000). It feels loose and disconnected from the road. I expected it to be tight and precise. The glowing brake disks look nice. Disappointed.
Historic 60's open-wheelers: What a blast. This is the sweet spot in the game for me.

The 60's cars at Spa is a Sim Experience. The setting, the ambience of the surrounds and the cars' sounds echoing from buildings, the untamed old cars... that felt like something special.

When I go back to the game, the first thing I'll be loading up is Historics at Spa, that's for sure.

 

completely agree

 

My Impression:
Installation: OK
Payment: problem with credit card, but with paypal mode OK
Packages: nice feature, simply for installing and updating mod, EXCELLENT 10/10
Interface: nothing trascendental, GOOD 7/10
FFB: really improved, I have to set up but EXCELLENT 9/10
Physics: really nice to drive, I feel better the car, EXCELLENT 10/10
Graphic: not at level of rF1 latest mod, I hope you improve this sector, 7/10 F1 1960, 6/10 WSR, 5/10 Megane
Sounds: nice 7/10, excellente F1 sound 9/10
Performance: with my PC (i5 750, ATI 4890, 6 GB Ram DDR3 1333, W7 x64) I absolutely haven't good performance, cause with only 1 opponent I can't go over 30/35 FPS... I will try different setting (now I'm medium/high with no AA and HDR) and I hope this sector will be improved... 5/10
Crash: only if I Alt+Tab with WSR...not bad for a Beta !!!

Good work ISI, now is time to make this sim-driving experience unbelievable !!!

 

To the guys posting about the tyre temps going down too fast please check this video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpQFKD8h7z0[/youtube]

ps:i know its a heavier car than the ones in the beta but still.

 

I jumped straight into a historic F2 at Spa.

The feel of the car is tremendous and a big difference to rF1, but I have some stuttering in the graphics to try to dial out as FPS could do with being a bit higher.

Looks like I will be planning an upgrade

 

My Fannatec CSR works fine apart from the clutch (it'll only go about 50% before blanking off which it also does in Forza 4 oddly).

Also, when i press ESC after a test drive at Monte Carlo, its goes into Monitor correctly, but when i want to drive again it seems to freeze, but i can press ESC to get back into Monitor no problem.

Am i meant to wait for something?

 

Hello ISI-Team

Now i finished my first 1,5 days of rfactor 2 and I'm really really enthusiastic!
So here is my Report:

Buying/Activation:
I had to try to buy it for about 2,5h yesterday when rf2 got released. But as we all know there was a hell of a traffic on the paymentservices so I'm happy that it only took 2,5h. Once I finally payed the activation was no problem and i could easiely start the game!

First Impression:
When I first started the game I immediatly felt at home. Looks and feels like rFactor and within some minutes I had my wheel ready to race! I tried Mills Circuit with the Megane Trophy car in full wet conditions first! It was a blast!I NEVER felt so much while racing a sim...after some time my laps to began to be constant...then the sun came out and I was totally blown away by the graphics! That lighting and all those small details! Never seen before in a sim...sometimes I just had to stop and check out the area around me...and that on Mills...I didn't even race in Monaco or Spa at that time ^^...

So overall I was totally blown away!GREAT ISI!

Performance:
First my system:
Intel Core2Quad Q9550 @3,2Ghz
Geforce 570GTX @Stock
4GB Kingston Hyper-X DDR2 RAM (think I'm going for another 4GB just to be on the save side for later mods)

I maxed out every single feature possible with x8AA and x16AF on 1920x1200, knowing that not all efects are included now but most of them. I was suprised then of the good performance! I get between 25fps (racestart with 20-30 cars) and 70 when I'm alone laping...If i give my CPU a bit more power fps will increse even more I think!

So good job on that ISI!

Force Feedback:
I'm using a G27 and well what can i say...never felt that much threw a wheel in a racing sim!It's just awesome how much information about the actual situation on the track and the behavior of the car you get!

The only really disturbing thing is this rumblerumblerumble when you go off into the gravel or grass...though i could decrese those effects a bit it still is way to noisy...think that is one of the mayor things that has to be solved soon...

Bugs:
I only had one weird issue...in Monaco i was racing with the Megane i cam out of the second last corner and when i accelerated onto the straight i touched just a little bit the left side of the stealwall and suddenly my car turnd right and was stuck in that stealthing (don't know the proper word i'm german )


So overall I am totally happy 10 out of 10 points!Thought you ISI guys can make it 11 or 12 our of 10 if you keep on working that good solving those small bugs and making us racers happy with small little updates until the full release is out!

So long keep it coming and have a blast racing!

 

That happened to me in rF1 with a G25. The FFB effects were applied in the wrong way. Try reversing FFB.

 

Thanks, my system is a bit better than that, but atleast I know that the game will run

 

Hi Guys,

Well Done ISI...its immersive beyond anything released recently.
I had the FFB in reverse on first load but altered the force rate in controller ini file to read -100000 and all fixed
Its like GPL o steroids and not something you can just jump in and turn laps
How do I get to do free practise with weather though..I only seem to have a race option available and can't change the weather..what did I miss?
Can't get HDR working for some reason?
ISI guys..bloody superb

Gaz

edit..my controller is T500RS and altered the default settings for same
System
E8800 at 3.6
4gb Ram
W7 64bit
GT560ti
T500RS
TMaster Shifter

 

Maximum-immersed and not ready to go sleep yet ;o) Sure will write a bigger report but simply it's all I expected from this beta stage, even more, even more...
THANKS ISI ( I mean all of you) !!!!

 

Specs
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.00 GHz
Memory: 4 GB
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5830
Video Memory: 1 GB
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit

Not the greatest specs...

Installation
Installed without hiccup.

Purchase & Activation
Used paypal and it went through without a hitch. I did buy it about 10 hours after it was initially released (was working) so probably avoided the commerce server overloading...

Packages
Brilliant, so very simple to do with a simple layout making it very easy to see what you have.

Interface
Although it doesn't look the best, it's simple and clean which makes life much easier. Almost everything is in logical a place.

Performance
x2 AA, HDR off, both reflections off, movies off, shadow blur off, shadows low, trilinear, everything else to full or high.
15 opponents, 16 sounds.
Worst 30FPS at some points of Monaco and Spa (haven't tried Mills). Most touches 60 FPS, so averaging around 40 FPS for the most part. I was expecting worse given my PC specs. Still have to tweak settings.

FFB
G27 user here.
Most impressive thing is that I could play it straight away and it felt pretty good right off the bat. A little tweaking required (speed sensitivity) but apart from that it's pretty much bang on how I like it.
However, the kerb/gravel/grass rattle is much too intense and as widely reported, I fear for the life of my wheel. Having an option to tone that done is a must purely from an equipment preservation point of view.

Sounds
60s historic in-car sound is fantastic.
Megane sounds good.
F3.5 is sub-par, especially externally.

Physics
60s historic cars are fantastic. Drove the F3 around Monaco and thought the car was tame and I could do with some more power. Jumped in the F1 and it scared me, felt like I was on a rocket; it actually felt like it was way too powerful to drive at this circuit, which is how Monaco should be. Even at Spa, the sense of speed is brilliant, the best I've felt in any sim game. The thought of self-preservation enters my brain (much-like what I experienced with GPL when it came out) where you start to drive with care and are even a little bit tentative since you know you need to concentrate on hitting every braking marker and turn-in point. The realism from this feeling makes it hit the spot! Tyre-road connection is definitely there, you can dance the car around, love it!

Meganes are good, I like how I can feel what the car is doing especially at low speed. Can feel it losing grip (especially with slicks on a wet track!), can feel it sliding and take action.

FR3.5, I'm not convinced. Not sure what it is about it, but something feels strange. With the amount of downforce these cars can generate, the car doesn't seem to feel stuck to the ground and moves around more than I'd expect. Almost as if the aero is having very little effect. Not sure, jury is out on this one until I run more laps.

For all, tyre temperatures seem to change too quickly, especially cooling down after a corner.

Circuits
Circuit detail (on my settings) looks really good, the place feels alive (especially the scenery at Monaco and Spa). Having been to Sepang for F1, it pretty much feels like that in the game - not very inspiring but a good circuit layout! I think the tracks have been done very very well. Yet to try Mills.

Weather and RealRoad
Feature I was most looking forward to! What there is now is great and I'm happy with it. Perhaps due to having reflections off, I found it difficult to see the drier line when it started to rain so was basically driving to the cars in front of me. Now just need the spray to destroy visibility when driving behind other cars. The drying line is superb and you can really feel the difference. Similarly, the rubber build-up is very obvious from start of session with a green track to the end of session when it's fully rubbered-in.

Damage
Very disappointing. Seems worse than rF1 which I thought was average at best. Without a rear wing, my FR3.5 flipped when I turned through the flat-out kink turn 5 at Estoril. The car spun sideways and immediately started to barrel roll (completely unrealistic, physics issue); no tyres or suspension broke off, in fact there was no additional damage to my already missing rear wing.
The damaged sustained from objects doesn't seem to be realistic.

Bugs
- Tyre temperatures stop working (goes grey, or light blue)
- Replays show car post damage before the damage occurs
- G25/27 FFB kerb/grass/gravel rattling
- When crashing and losing a tyre, large line goes up to the sky from the missing tyre
- HUD damage indicator doesn't always work, doesn't show up yellow when there is minor damage
- Tyre temps vary too greatly, from 110C+ to 40C in a matter of a few hundred metres?

Would like to see...
- To know what tyres other cars are on (like in real life) so you can change your strategy accordingly, keep tabs on lap-times of guys on wet tyres compared to dries etc.
- Gravel/dust kicked onto the circuit after a car rejoins having gone off
- Dust/grass on tyres after having been off
- Road-side objects and the car absorbing more force instead of the car bouncing off a completely solid granite-like object
- Start-up fake throttle blipping to be removed, we should have to start our own car in the garage (even if it doesn't have a starter in it)

 

Turn off sli, it works better without. Nvidia will probably fix the sli issues in a new driver. I have the same problem with 2 480's in sli.

 

Just one question is in my head right now. Is it worth €65?

 

only you can judge that

 

hmm...tough question. Is it worth the $80 AUD I paid for the lifetime license RIGHT NOW...no. Will it be worth the $500 I SHOULD have paid in about 6-12 months time.....abosfreakinglutely.

Personally you could remove all content from BETA except the 1960's series (cars and tracks) and that would do me for quite some time.

I feel it is the more polished of the mods/content and is genuily a PLEASURE to drive, and a challenge

 

@ Woodee, not if I dont have acces to the game without buying it . I read alot of good things about it though, on the other hand, I already scare the **** out of me when my G27 nearly vibrates my door out (FFB issue, happend to me before in Euro Truck Simulator, but then it just froze while vibrating everything together).

 

i understand, but there are so many different viewpoints. some people are cursing the beta, some people are saying it's the best thing since sliced bread, so it's hard to tell.

I like it though...but then again I like to be optimistic

 

Haha, yes, indeed, it is a pleassure that the game finally got (well, sort off then) released for the public. I'll check on it lateron this weekend. Won't have any time for the rest of the week to do anything.

Anyhow.. time for bed.. 3.30 in the morning over here..

 

Hello so far im loving the sim , i have a question and i dont want to star a new thread about it, hope you guys can help me:

when i join a server and i crash if i knock out a front wing i go back to the garage but they dont replace it, is there a way to tell the crew i want a new wing?

thanks