It’s been a while since a build update for rFactor 2 was released. The last public release was back in May, and a few weeks after that, a release candidate went out for testing. Now nearing the end of July and just after the start of the new Formula Pro Series, the team at Studio 397 has a fairly large update for rFactor 2 members.
The July build showcases a new “Linked Sessions” addition to the list of features included now with the sim. The gist of it is that sim racers will now be able to join one server and stay there without having to leave and make a new server after a session is completed.
As it’s put in the release post, “the aim of a linked session is to allow the player to remain within the same server and engage in multiple sessions without having to leave and re-enter / re-register, as is the case at present.” Essentially, a linked session will be mainly for convenience, but it also opens the door for other possibilities, like reverse grid races, varied weather, and progressive Real Road carry over from session to session.
There are some other neat tidbits lying in the full notes below. One thing that stood out to me was the amount of updates and fixes to the UI, which is another step in the right direction. The rFactor 2 UI is notoriously more challenging than it needs to be, so even with less focus on the racing and more focus on everything around it, I’d say the build is a decent one to work with until the next.
There’s a lot in there, but the update shouldn’t take very long to install. Give it a go and let us know what you think!
rFactor 2 Build Update Notes for 22 July 2021
General
- rFactor 2 Build Bumped to 1125
- Added MetallicNoise.dds to Vehicle Common Maps so that it does not need to be packed with each car
- Updated Flag Stations so they will not assign to the Pit Path.
- Updated parsing of Flag Station Instances (cornerworkers, safetyworkers, digitalflags) so all instances are parsed and do not require any specific naming order.
- Added auto grouping of flag stations to the same point on track. Note: It is now recommended to only place Safetyworkers next to Cornerworkers or Digital flags to ensure a flag is waved or shown correctly.
- Made the distance to group flag stations together configurable (GDB: FlagStationGroupDist=30)
- Updated Yellow Flag and Blue flag logic to work correctly with flag station grouping
- Made the distance before and after an incident at which a yellow flag is waved configurable (GDB: FlagStationIncidentMinDist=20, FlagStationIncidentMaxDist=250)
- Fixed digital flags all flashing checkered the second a car finishes the race. Instead they now follow the logic of other flags and only flash progressively around the track as cars finish.
- Enabled chat command “/callvote nextsession” on a dedicated server to advance to next session.
- Removed Hide Cursor default assignment to “delete” key from controller settings. Note this does not affect existing profiles.
- Fixed cars showing up with the team name missing when using a custom team in multiplayer via the new UI
- Synced min/max ranges for options in the backend (playerbasefile) with the new UI’s default (JNIOptions)
- Added ability to specify slot using steam id for some chat commands
- Save steam id when a driver disconnects from a session
- SteamId is saved when somebody disconnects, so it appears in the result xml
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