rFactor 2: April-Releasekandidat testbereit, viele Verbesserungen und neue Features

Bevor im Mai die neue Version von rFactor 2 erscheint, k�nnen Simracer die kommenden �nderungen, darunter viele Aktualisierungen, unter anderem beim Safety-car, der Grafik, Benutzeroberfl�che, aber auch eine neue 3D-Sound-Engine und vieles mehr mit dem April-Releasekandidaten ausprobieren.

rFactor 2: April-Releasekandidat testbereit, viele Verbesserungen und neue Features ZoomrFactor 2Alle BilderNach dem neuen viertelj�hrlichen Ver�ffentlichungszeitplan ist das Quartal 2-Release f�r rFactor 2 im Mai geplant. Ebenfalls Bestandteil der ge�nderten Aktualisierungsstrategie ist die Bereitstellung einer Releasekandidatversion, die ungef�hr vier Wochen vor dem offiziellen Release der rF2-Community erlauben soll vorab die �nderungen zu testen und R�ckmeldung an Studio 397 zu geben, damit die Version noch weiter verbessert werden kann.

Am Mittwoch, 13. April 2022 hat das rFactor-Entwicklerteam die April-Releasekandidatversion ver�ffentlicht. Simracer die diese Version testen wollen, k�nnen durch Klick mit der rechten Maustaste auf rFactor 2 in der Steam-Bibliothek und Aufruf der Registerkarte Eigenschaften -> Betas das entsprechend bezeichnete "ReleaseCandidate"-Build ausw�hlen.

3D-Sound-Engine, Schaltschutz, Motor- und Bremsenk�hlung, Wetterupdate

Das zum Release Candidate V1.1128 ver�ffentlichte �nderungsprotokoll zeigt, dass sich neben einigen allgemeinen �berarbeitungen vor allem bei der Grafik und Benutzeroberfl�che etwas tun wird. Aber auch Bereiche wie die Physik, AI und Modding profitieren von Verbesserungen. Die gr��te Neuerung aber ist die neue 3D-Sound-Engine, die regelm��ig rF2 nutzende Gamer sofort heraush�ren sollten. Die ersten akustischen fahrzeugspezifischen Verbesserungen werden mit den neuen Inhalten die Teil des Q2-Updates 2022 sind folgen.

Schaltschutz, Motor- und Bremsenk�hlung ist als neues Feature im Bereich Physik im Releasekandidaten zu finden. Daf�r wurde in der Fahrzeugliste eine neue Kategorie namens "TEST" hinzugef�gt in der mit dem Dallara IR-18 (v0.93) und Formula Pro (V0.93) zwei Fahrzeuge ausw�hlbar sind die alle diese Funktionen enthalten.

Das Verhalten bei nassen Wetterbedingungen wurde ebenfalls erheblich �berarbeitet, von der Art und Weise, wie der Regen f�llt und auf der Strecke trocknet, bis dahin wie die KI ihre Reifen ausw�hlt und mit den nassen Bedingungen umgeht. In diesem Zusammenhang erw�hnenswert ist noch, dass sich der Grad der N�sse auf der Strecke vor der Sitzung ausw�hlen l�sst, was es erm�glicht, die Bedingungen der Streckenoberfl�che an die eigenen Vorlieben anzupassen.

rFactor 2 - April-Releasekandidat V1.1128:
General
-Updated Safety Car added to Retail and ModDev. Old Safety Car removed.
-Added a visual driving line feature, this can be toggled from settings
-Removed texture cache to simplify loading a bit
-Added an option to set the amount of water on roads at the start of a session.
-Increased the rate of RealRoad calculations by approximately x4.
-Added a server option to disable faster real road calculations, as this adds approximately an extra 4KBps per client to server overheads.
-Minor update to default weather conditions for different profiles (Rainy/Overcast/Sunny etc)
-Updated how road and rain conditions are reported. Old percentage values now snap to a set percent for each tyre of condition, masking the true absolute -condition in the game. The Default HUD has been updated to show a text description.
-Corrected Rear Flap System default wet weather disable point to work with new weather ranges.
-Fixed an issue where Cameras constrained to specific paths would not work correctly in replays.
-Extended Freelook mode to allow control via joypads as well as adjustments of exposure, aperture, sensor size and focus.

Graphics
-Decreased interval of Static Mapper updates from 5 minutes to 10 seconds. This should result in smoother lighting changes at dawn / dusk and as weather conditions change.
-Corrected Sky Colour to remove Cyan Effect
-Slight adjustments to exposure for sky colour adjustments when sun at it�s highest.
-Minor Atmospheric Corrections, including linking AirMass to AirPollution,
-Reducing Fog Brightness Slightly
-Reduced Exposure a touch when the sun is around 10 degrees of altitude.
-Improved cloud selection at different weather settings
-Minor cloud texture improvements
-Fixed an issue where Clouds would disappear at really high altitudes
-Fixed issues with lighting interpolation in sky rendering at Dusk/Sunrise, which would result in jumps in lighting values.
-Fixed puddle splashes not setting when rain drops are not used (set to off or scene viewer)
-Fixed lighting on spray during wet conditions, and tweaked particle profile
-Updated reflections on PBR Road and Curb Shaders
-Updated Rain Particle settings and fixed rendering on ultrawide screens
-Passed through particle settings refining Spray, Dust, Smoke and more.
-Fixed an issue in VR where the scene would over exposure
-Fixed an issue in VR where replay mode would not render correctly
-Driver labels now work in VR
-Sparks!
--New behaviour archetype concept in the rF2Particles.pcd file.
--New sparks archetype that brings:
--Particle movement and camera movement based motion blur that can be clamped to a target camera refresh rate (shutter speed)
--Movement behaviour based on airflow estimations around the car.
--Terrain and car underbody collisions.
--Additional light emission from particle.
-New sparks particle effect that gets activated when undertray points of the car scrapes on the ground.
-Backwards compatibility with existing cars and tracks.

Physics
-Implemented enhanced cooling system for oil and water with new parameters in the .hdv file The new model includes:
--Direct heat transfer between water and oil
--Oil radiator
--Switchover Thermostat
-Separated front and rear brake ducts
-Added configurable gear shift protection
-New algorithm for wet road calculations effecting how quickly surfaces get wet and dry, taking into account drainage, humidity, ambient temperature and sky weather conditions.
-Updated tyre grip calculations on rubbered in areas when surfaces are wet

AI
-Added AI Dry Tyre strategy (Random Dry Tyre in Practice, Softs in Qualifying and try to pick an appropriate tyre for race strategy in race)
-AI now check if to change Tyre Type just before the pit road entry rather than at the start of the lap
-Fixed various issues around AI Tyre Selection when session changes and weather changes � such as not switching to wet tyres when it was dry before but now is wet.
-Fixed an issue with calculating road conditions when changing session where they would not fully compute.
-Fixed an issue where cars that don�t allow pit stop refuelling would run a full tank in practice and qualifying
-Prevent AI from leaving pits in closed session
-Fixed an issue where if there was a set of valid wet tyres, intermediate tyres would default to dry tyres.

UI
-Always show official sticky servers in the server list even if filters are active.
-Enabled "Restart warmup" button also when event is in race session.
-Updated button layout in session controls and setup summary.
-Added fading out of screen when leaving event or replay.
-Added condensing of tire name when too long to fit in event standings table.
-Added help text when hovering over various settings
-Added music to showroom
-Changed breaking of long chat lines so they only break on full words
-Fixed getting stuck in assign control pop-up after assigning tab key
-Disabled user text selection everywhere except in text fields
-Added highlighting of assigned control key values when hovering over with mouse
-Improved transition between different profiles in graphics and gameplay settings menus
-Refined styling of car classes in event screen
-Refined styling of car classes in fullscreen standings ticker
-Disabled "Default max wheel angle" setting when "Max wheel angle mode" is set to automatic
-Disabled "Steering wheel range" setting when "Range set by vehicle" setting is enabled
-Hid the car selection list when the drive/spectate pop-up is showing when joining a server directly with a join link
-Changed searching for cars and tracks so that the list scroll position is kept at the top after search (clearing the search text will scroll to the selected item)
-Enabled car selection on server during a practice session
-Made it possible to add multiple custom graphics profiles
-Made it possible to add multiple custom gameplay difficulty profiles
-Always sort "All Tracks and Cars" to the top of the list in singleplayer series selection
-Added fallback image for showcase tile in case the actual image cannot be loaded
-Updated showcase, news and store tiles background image positioning and scaling
-Added option to expand server chat window to full height
-Setup notes for the highlighted setup (the one you clicked on in the setup list but not yet loaded) are now shown on the setup summary page
-Setup notes can now be typed in the setup summary page (the setup still has to be saved to save the changes)
-When saving a setup, the folder for the current track will be selected by default (instead of the folder of the loaded setup)
-Removed automatically expanding all found items in car and track selection after search
-Added highlighting of selected opponent filters
-Fixed multiplayer screen with drive/spectate pop-up showing too soon when using +connect to join a server, and if and when content install is still in progress
-You can now select car upgrades directly from the car selection screen without going to the showroom (both in singleplayer and multiplayer)
-Disabled singleplayer grid position setting if qualifying is enabled
-Added two new gearbox graphs:
--Top speed per gear
--RPM after upshift
--The existing graph, gear spacing, is kept as a third option
-Fixed occasional blank page in the first launch wizard when going to the exit screen and back
-Reordered difficulty settings and sliders
-Singleplayer RealRoad settings are now enabled only when the weather preset is set to "Scripted"
-Renamed "Steering effects strength" setting to "Force feedback direction"
-Singleplayer "Race Laps" and "Race Time" settings are now disabled/enabled based on the "Finish Criteria" setting
-A singleplayer session can now also be enabled by clicking on the disabled session button in quick event

Modding
-Added IBL Visualizer Debug tool to Scene Viewer (already present in ModDev)
-Added Texture UV Mip Debug tool to Scene Viewer (already present in ModDev)
-Added AI Vocal Strategy Player File debug option for Mod Dev (Pit Strategies, Tyre Changes and when selected what they are doing � can be expanded in future).
-Fixed overcast preview mode (note: this is not exactly the same as in game)
-Updated sample wet masks at Loch Drummond

Sound
-New 3D Sound Engine
-Increased amount of simultaneous effects to 256
-Environmental effects and filtering system
-Proper cockpit filtering
-Autodetection of open and closed cockpits for environment effects and filtering
-Sound effects such as skid, kerbs, gravel, wind, suspension and many more now work online and in replays
-Support for full surround sound setups
-HRTF support (Binaural headphone experience)
-Improved VR experience
-Backwards compatible
-Many new sound effects
-Support for trackside broadcast microphones
-Every car now causes audible ambient noise around the whole track
-Brand new, modern, customisable file format with much more freedom for audio designers
-Improved debugging tools for dev mode

Formula Pro V0.93
-Added TEST version which includes shift protection, push to pass, and engine cooling and brake duct cooling split

Dallara IR-18 V0.93
-Added TEST version which includes shift protection, engine cooling and brake duct cooling split