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rFactor 2 2023 Autumn Sale

Autumn Sale: Now Live!

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Attention all sim racers! Starting today, we’re fueling your racing spirit with an unmissable sale on rFactor 2 and a selection of thrilling DLCs.

With the launch of our brand new ranked multiplayer service earlier today, it’s the perfect time to jump into the driver’s seat or expand your collection at a fraction of the cost.

Unbeatable Deals:

  • rFactor 2 Base Game: Now at an astounding 75% off, there’s never been a better time to start your engines with the core rFactor 2 experience.
  • GT3 Pack: Get your adrenaline fix with a wide selection of GT3 cars at 50% off. This pack includes favourites like the Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Audi R8 LMS GT3, Bentley Continental GT3, McLaren 720S GT3, Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020, and the brand-new BMW M4 GT3, among others.
  • 2022 The Complete Pack: This comprehensive bundle is now available at 40% off and features an array of tracks and cars, including the Vanwall Vandervell LMH, a whole heap of touring cars, and the Austin Mini Cooper S MkI Group 2.
  • British Track Pack: Offering 25% off on UK’s finest, including Brands Hatch and Donington Park, each with two layouts, plus Croft and Thruxton circuits.
  • Legendary Track Pack: Race through history at 25% off on legendary circuits like Nürburgring, Le Mans, and the Circuit d’Azure.
  • Formula E Pack 2023: Electrify your racing with 50% off on Formula E circuits and cars in the simulation, including Gen.1, Gen.2, and the latest Gen.3 vehicles.
  • World Wide Technology Raceway: At 50% off, experience this unique circuit, featuring in this weekend’s special event in the new rFactor 2 online experience.
  • Mini Cooper: Take on the charm and challenge of driving the Mini Cooper with a hefty 75% off discount, also showcased in the upcoming weekend event.

Special Event Highlight:

This weekend, dive into the new rFactor 2 online experience using two of our spotlight sale items: the World Wide Technology Raceway and the iconic Mini Cooper. Don’t miss out on this special opportunity to test your skills in a competitive yet exhilarating environment.

The New Online Experience:

The rFactor 2 sale isn’t just about incredible deals; it’s a perfect gateway to our new online experience. With enhanced ranking systems, daily races, special events, and seamless server hosting, rFactor 2 offers a deeply engaging sim racing platform that’s constantly evolving.

Sale Summary:

  • rFactor 2 base game – 75% off
  • GT3 pack – 50% off
  • 2022 The Complete Pack – 40% off
  • British Track Pack – 25% off
  • Legendary Track Pack – 25% off
  • Formula E Pack 2023 – 50% off
  • World Wide Technology Raceway – 50% off
  • Mini Cooper – 75% off

Fuel your need for speed and expand your racing horizons with these incredible offers. Rev up your engines, and we’ll see you on the track!

rFactor 2 Daily Race Event Screen

New rF2 Online Experience now live in public build!

Race enthusiasts, the moment has arrived! Today, we’re shifting gears from our “release candidate” phase to the much-anticipated full release of rFactor 2’s latest features. Let’s recap what’s in store for you on the track.

Revamped Ranking System:

  • Safety Rank: Your commitment to clean racing earns you marks of distinction. Start with a bronze badge and ascend to platinum by showcasing your sportsmanship on the track. This will help you unlock new events.
  • Driver Rank: Your speed and skill could see you outpacing the competition. Kick off at bronze and chase down that platinum status as you overtake opponents and conquer the leaderboards.

Daily Races – Your Daily Dose of Adrenaline:

Fuel your racing addiction with events firing off every 1, 2, or 3 hours, tailored to suit every level of ambition, from beginner to advanced. These races are designed to be easier on your driver rank, allowing you to focus on the thrill of jumping into regular rFactor 2 races.

The beginner races will only use FREE content* so there’s no excuse not to give it a go 😉

Daily Races – regularly occurring dopamine hits!

*keep reading for info on how to claim your FREE BMW M2 CS

Special Events – The Main Attraction:

Step into the spotlight with our Special Events, scheduled extravaganzas that promise more intensity and even greater impacts on your Safety and Driver Ranks. Utilise the weekly practice leaderboards to sharpen your skills and prepare for the grand stage.

In-Game Server Hosting – Your Race, Your Rules:

  • Harness the power to host your own races with our seamless in-game server hosting, giving you the freedom to select any car and track combination.
  • For those who prefer a more hands-on approach, the traditional server hosting options remain at your disposal.

You can purchase bundles of server minutes to use. The pricing is as follows:

  • 1 hour – €1
  • 6 hours – €6
  • 12 hours – €9
  • 24 Hours – €13
You can now easily configure your own server inside the game for your friends, team or community

Exclusive Rewards & Incentives:

Choosing to register with our new online system is entirely up to you, but those who do will be welcomed with open arms and exclusive perks. Enjoy a free BMW M2 CS for your racing pleasure when you verify your email address – don’t say we don’t look after you 😉!

If you choose not to sign up, you can still access community servers as usual.

Schedule, Community and Support:

Join the conversation and get the support you need directly through our Discord channel. Raise a ticket, share your experiences, or simply chat with fellow racers. It’s all happening here: rFactor 2 Discord.

The races change weekly on a Tuesday and you’ll see the upcoming schedule every Monday on the rFactor 2 social media pages:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter X

As we wave the checkered flag on our beta phase, we’re thrilled to bring these features into the full release. It’s an exciting time to be part of rFactor 2 online racing, and we’re looking forward to seeing you on track. Strap in and prepare for an unparalleled racing journey.

Frequently Asked Questions – rFactor 2 Online

How do I create an account – Open rFactor2 and navigate to the Online button – a notification screen will appear with instructions how to create an account.

How do I change my name/email/nationality – You can do this in your profile by clicking on your name on the top navigation bar. Note: You can only do this once every 3 months otherwise you will need to open a support ticket on the rFactor 2 Discord

I signed up, now what? – You’re free to register for any of the scheduled daily races and special events. Build up your driver and safety ranking to compete in intermediate and advanced races. You can also try out hosting a server and race anytime with your friends.

Do I need to pay to use it? – Everything we’re releasing today for rFactor 2 online is free to use for everyone who owns the sim.

What if I don’t want to register for rFactor 2 Online? You can still access community servers in the online menu > servers > community servers.

What content comes with it? – By registering for rFactor 2 Online, users will be gifted the BMW M2 CS to their workshop. Users will only be able to drive content they own, but can still race others they do not own.  

Did someone say Career mode? – We are intending to develop a more in-depth league system (that we are calling “career mode”) but it does require more time and certainty of an expanded online player base for the sim and is not scheduled for release at this time.

Do I need rFactor2 to use it? – Yes, rFactor2 Online is only available for players who own rFactor 2.

Can I access any of the RaceControl information outside of the game? – Right now we don’t support this but in the future we aim to have a separate hub for this information.

How do I increase my Safety Rank? – Your Safety Rank (SR) is dynamic and changes either up or down depending on how cleanly you race. Rating increases with clean laps and will decrease with collisions and penalties in qualifying and races.   

How do I increase my Driver Rank? – Driver Rank (DR) is calculated by your recent online race results. The system uses an ELO algorithm to determine your performance versus other competitors. Your ELO score is then translated into a rank you can see and then used to calculate which split you should be racing in. Special events generally have more rank points on offer than daily races.

Can anyone race in a special event? – Different special events may have different entry requirements based on on your safety rating.

Can I race with my own custom livery? – No not currently, you can only race online with official rFactor 2 content. We may explore this feature for potential future updates. 

Can I still race on my friend’s server? – Absolutely, the primary rFactor 2 open server list is still open to access through the online menus. Simply navigate to ‘servers’ to see the open list of official and community servers online.

Can I make my own server for me and my team to practice on? – Yes, you can now host an online server through rFactor 2 Online. Time tokens can be purchased through the game or via the rFactor 2 steam store and redeemed through the ‘Host a server’ button in the server menu.

How do I delete my account? – As detailed in the privacy policy when you sign up for an account you can do this through a request here.

Known Issues – rFactor 2 Online

  • Having your Windows timezone set to manual instead of “auto” can result in the times for events being incorrect and not being able to join events.
  • Practice servers are becoming too full too quickly and may give a timeout error – please be patient and try again in a few minutes or practice offline 
  • Some servers (particularly practices) are sometimes experiencing extreme latency (lag) usually when many users join at once. We advise leaving these servers and rejoining.
  • Not all temporary mod files being deleted on boot – you may need to remove these manually
  • Some larger circuits (such as Nurburgring), have the server start a few minutes later than expected – you may need to wait up to 4 minutes after a server is due to be started

Changelogs (from previous main build)

General

  • Fixed crash on AMD hardware with certain drivers
  • New feature allows servers to specify that downloaded mods should be treated as temporary by the client
  • The client can opt to mark all mods downloaded from servers as temporary
  • Temporary mods are deleted on start-up
  • Added extra options to Driving line aid for “Paddock” and “Paddock & Pit Entry”. The game defaults to paddock setting for all users.
  • Added key assignment for toggling Driving line aid in the game.
  • Improved Track Limits handling of illegal passes with regards to when a passed car goes too slow to be counted, but then later becomes valid. This should no longer become valid again.
  • Reworked “Stabilize Horizon”-feature using a different method of filtering
    • Added an additional step of stabilization
    • Enabled roll stabilization for “High” and “Ultra” steps
    • Added full horizon lock option
  • Fixed an issue that could cause AI to drive towards left walls while overtaking, causing collisions
  • Added half a second grace when a penalty just becomes valid as we are about to score a violation
  • Fix for track limits issues when a starting grid spot is inside the pit entry line
  • Tweaked default parameters, to be harsher on distance and time spent off track.
  • Added retry attempts and better logging when failing to connect to a server

rFactor 2 Online Changelog

  • Added Daily Races online mode with practice servers
  • Added Special Events online mode with practice servers
  • Added Hosted Servers option with credit bundles available through the store
  • Added Driver Profiles and Statistics
  • Moved Store to the front page
  • Moved Servers to Online > Servers
BMW M2 CS rFactor 2 Atlanta Motorsport Park

Minor Updates to Content

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Gear up, rFactor 2 racers! We’re excited to announce a series of updates and refinements to our beloved conten, ensuring you have the most realistic and immersive racing experience possible.

Vanwall: Performance Meets Reality

Firstly, we’ve made some significant enhancements to the Vanwall Vandervell. The tires now bear their real-life names, adding an authentic touch to your racing setup. More importantly, based on professional feedback these tires will now behave more like you’d expect, marrying performance with the realities of physics to give you a gripping ride—literally.

Lime Rock Park, Brands Hatch & Mores : Track Limits

For those who love the challenge of Lime Rock Park, we’ve tackled the track limits at the long layout’s uphill chicane and the pit entry— (hopefully) no more unfair penalties. Similarly, at Mores, we’ve gone over the track limits with a fine-tooth comb, including a fix for the issues at the pit entry. Finally At Brands Hatch, minor adjustments have been made to track limits on GP layout T6-T7 exit.

It’s all about giving you the room to race while keeping the competition fair and fun.

Atlanta Motorsport Park & Botniaring: Fine-Tuning for a Smoother Race

The Atlanta Motor Speedway update addresses inconsistencies with track sectors, smoothing out your lap-to-lap experience. Over at Botniaring, we’ve ironed out some minor AI issues, so whether you’re racing against the computer or setting times, it’s just you and the asphalt.

Longford: Immersive Enhancements

This old favourite sees a suite of updates that not only improve performance but also enhance the sensory experience. We’ve fixed the ambient noise around Kings Bridge for more immersive audio, adjusted long LODs for some objects for better visuals, and made some changes to reduce failed pit stops. Plus, the river water now reflects with improved realism, and we’ve made the Rear Flap available at all times.

🚨 Release Candidate -> Full Release 🚨

Exciting times ahead, as our current “release candidate” branch is making the move to the main “opt-out” branch tomorrow. This means all the refinements we’ve been testing and perfecting are ready for everyone to enjoy. Get ready to welcome a few more users to our new online system!

Changelog Summary:

  • Vanwall 1.33
    • Real-life tire naming
    • Enhanced tire performance
  • Limerock Park 3.06
    • Fixed track limits at uphill chicane and pit entry
  • Mores 1.84
    • Comprehensive review and fix of track limits, including pit entry
  • Atlanta MP 1.32
    • XSector inconsistencies addressed
  • Botniaring 1.09
    • Resolved minor AI issues
  • Longford 1.12
    • Kings Bridge ambient noise fixed
    • LOD adjustments for improved visuals
    • Pit entry flow enhanced
    • River water reflection improvements
    • RearFlap availability ensured
  • Brands Hatch 1.07
    • Track limits fine-tuned on GP layout

Thank you for being a part of the rFactor 2 community, where your passion fuels our dedication to delivering the most authentic racing experience.

See you on the track!

LMP2 cars at Daytona

Release Candidate Update (17th November 2023)

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Hello rFactor 2 Community,

Our latest update is full to the brim with enhancements and refinements across the board, ensuring you have a smoother and more engaging experience on the virtual track.

General User Interface Improvements:

We’ve made some adjustments on how time displays within the UI, ensuring all results are now clearly read in as UTC and presented in your local time for absolute clarity.

Please note, we are aware of ongoing timezone issues for our Brazilian drivers and are working to rectify these.

Event Page Updates:

A new dropdown list for practice servers allows you to choose your server manually or let the system select one for you.

Should there be no practice servers available, the “Join Practice” button will be disabled. Moreover, if you find yourself viewing an event that has commenced without your registration, you will be seamlessly redirected to the list pages, ensuring you’re always in the loop for the next race.

Scheduling System Enhancements:

We’re injecting more detail into the schedule page by including track layouts. As previosuly mentioned, time slot displays have been refined to cater better to various time zones, so you’ll always know when to hit the track.

Event Results Overhaul:

We’ve resolved a bug with the up/down arrows when reviewing your race history, making your progress and changes clearer.

Each driver’s expected finishing position will now be displayed alongside their name, adding an extra layer of insight into each race’s dynamics. For example, a player with #4 next to their name was expected to finish 4th by the system.

To provide a broader perspective on the competition, the results page will now indicate the number of active splits with a simple “Split 1 of X” display at the top.

Upon submitting a report against another player, a confirmation message will now affirm that your concerns have been logged.

Finally after each race, the SR & DR progress bars will display a percentage increase or decrease, providing immediate feedback on your performance gains or areas for improvement.

Online Menu Refinements:

The next special event is now filtered to show only those events you’re eligible for, ensuring a more personalized and relevant selection. If you don’t qualify for an upcoming event, the system will inform you proactively, keeping your focus on the races that matter.

Hosted Servers Update:

We’ve implemented password functionality for hosted sessions, giving you control over your racing environment. Flexibility is further enhanced as you can now enable or disable session types, from practice rounds to warmups. We’ve also integrated notifications for configuration errors and server setups, including a gentle reminder (which we encourage everyone to read!) that servers may take up to six minutes to initiate. Plus, a new safeguard prevents double-clicking mishaps when requesting a server.

Non-Online Improvements:

Outside of the online realm, we’ve improved how track limits and illegal passes are handled. A half-second grace period now exists before penalties are scored, allowing for those hairline decisions. We’ve also addressed specific track limit issues that occur when starting grid spots intersect with pit entry lines. Lastly, our connection protocols to servers have seen an upgrade, with retry attempts and detailed logging to smooth out any connectivity concerns.

With each update, we reaffirm our commitment to delivering a racing experience that is as thrilling as it is authentic. We’re listening to your feedback, making continuous adjustments, and ensuring that rFactor 2 remains the pinnacle of racing simulation.

Drive safe, drive fast, don’t crash at turn 1.

With love,

The rFactor 2 Team

RF2 Online Changelog

General Fixes

  • Improved how we handle times in the UI so we are more specific about the format the results are read in as UTC and all outputs are in local times
    • Note: Brazil timezone may continue to experience issues

The Event Page

  • Added a dropdown of available practice servers, allowing you to pick which server you want to join
  • Selecting auto will following the existing methodology of the system picking a server for you
  • If there are no practice servers the Join Practice button will be disabled
  • If the event your viewing has started and you have not registered for the Event you will be send back to the Daily or Special Event List pages

Schedule

  •  Added the track layout to the schedule
  •  Improved the timeslots shown to for non UTC timezone

Event Results Updates

  • Fixed a bug where the up/down arrows would sometimes be incorrect when cycling through your race history
  • Added each drivers expected finishing position after their name
    • i.e. Bob Jones (#1) shows that Bob Jones was expected to finish first in his split
  • Added a Split 1 of X to the top of the page so you can see how many splits where running
  • Added a success message when submitting a report against another player, to confirm that is has been logged
  • Added a % increase to the end of the SR & DR progress bar on the post race screen to give you an indication of the progress you made (or lost)
    •  this will only apply to new races
  • Added tipple up/down arrows for the drivers who gained or lost the most DR and SR (if anyone lost any SR)
    • this will only apply to new races

Online Menu

  • Updated the code which looks up the next special event to filter the events to the ones you have access too
  • If you do not have access to any upcoming special events this tile will be greyed out and clicking it will give you an error message

Hosted Severs

  •  Hosted session passwords now work
  •  You can enable and disable each session type, so you can just run a Practice session, or you can turn off the warmup 🙂
  •  Added some flyout messages for configuration errors when setting up a server
  •  Added a note (which no one will read) to the bottom of the screen to notify players that servers can take 6minutes or more to boot up
  •  Added a success flyout notification when your server has been requested
  •  Added some protection around double clicking the Request Server button so you can’t accidently kick off two servers

Non-online changelog

  • Fixed track limits not scoring when returning illegal passes and improved robustness around monitoring illegal passes
  • Added half a second grace when a penalty just becomes valid as we are about to score a violation
  • Fix for track limits issues when a starting grid spot is inside the pit entry line
  • Tweaked default parameters, to be harsher on distance and time spent off track.
  • Retry attempts and better logging when failed to connect to a server
Online Update (17th October) and Weekly Schedule

Online Update (17th October) and Weekly Schedule

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Dear rFactor 2 Racers,

As we continue our commitment to enhancing your online racing experience, we’re excited to share the races for the week (with some exciting new Special Events) and some system updates based on community feedback and some bug squishing.

Special Event Racing:

We’re thrilled to announce a new addition! Starting from this week, we will be hosting Special Events for BTCC and GT3 cars every Tuesday and Thursday respectively, with the more spontaneous events that you’ve already become accustomed to every Saturday.

Don’t forget – Special Events offer greater opportunities to gain both DR and SR!

This Week’s Special Races:

  • Tuesday, 9:15pm CEST: Weekly BTCC Open at Donington Park GP
  • Thursday, 9:10pm CEST: Weekly GT3 Open at Spa Francorchamps
  • Saturday, 9:30pm CEST: Back to School with the BMW M2 CS Cup at Sebring Club

Car Planning for Daily Events

We understand that some of you want to plan your content purchases with some greater visibility of what is coming next. Daily Races are designed for variation and to rotate through different content so as to experience the full breadth of content that rFactor 2 has to offer and keep the experience fresh.

You’re already aware that beginner races will always feature free content so paid tiers are planned to only include the following cars at this point:

Intermediate Cars

  • BMW Class 1 (FREE)
  • Tatuus-MSV F3-020 (FREE)
  • Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992)
  • BTCC class (only one car required to race)
  • LMP3 class (one of Ligier JS P320 or Norma M30)
  • GT3 class (only one car required to race)
  • Austin Mini Cooper MKI Group 2

Advanced Cars

  • Vanwall Vandervell LMH
  • INDYCAR Dallara IR-18
  • LMP2 (one of Oreca 07 or Ligier JS P217)
  • GTE class (only one car required to race)
  • Formula Pro
  • Formula E Gen 3

Next Week’s Daily Races (17th – 23rd October):

Beginner Races – Every Hour

  • Radical Rookies
    • Car: Radical SR3-RSX
    • Track: Botniaring Short
  • BMW M2 Cup
    • Car: BMW M2 Cup
    • Track: Portland Full
  • Open Wheel Sprint
    • Car: Tatuus FT-50
    • Track: Toban Short Reverse

Intermediate Races – Every Two Hours

  • Prototype Challenge
    • Car: LMP3 Norma or LMP3 Ligier
    • Track: Bahrain International Circuit (GP)
  • Touring Car Championship
    • Car: BTCC 2021
    • Track: Brands GP

Advanced Races – Every 3 Hours

  • Road Course Rivals
    • Car: Oreca LMP2 or Ligier P217
    • Track: Daytona Road Course

NB: Races run from 11am CEST to 3am CEST

System Updates

We’ve been hard at work fine-tuning and optimising the online system since release. And in response to community feedback, in this second update, we’ve addressed various issues ranging from username changes, email verification, fixes to leaderboards along with enhancements enhancements as well as very important server mod name modifications that should fix errors when joining and leaving practice servers.

Our updates also include clarity and user-friendly changes for the protest submissions, improved notification interactions, and an overall enhanced first-time user registration process. Our commitment is to ensure a more seamless online racing experience, and these updates reflect just that.

Full Changelog:

  • Usernames no longer support symbols.
  • Changing usernames will preserve previous race results.
  • Protest submissions have been improved:
    • Mandatory text box for providing reasons.
    • Mandatory timestamp.
    • Clarity on what types of incidents can be protested.
  • Updating email via Profile page is now possible.
  • Leaderboard improvements:
    • Track layout consideration added.
    • Gap calculation bug fixed.
    • Added row to showcase your time (if set).
  • New designs for rank badges are now displayed.
  • Error/warning messages added for practice server join failures.
  • Registration process updated for clearer instructions and validations.
  • Community server list bug fixed.
  • Notification panels have improved buttons and interactions.
  • Post-race results for Bronze Ranks are more accurate.
  • Unique server mod names for each server to address “unable to install mod” errors.
  • Players selecting the Cupra BTCC will not face disconnections.
  • Increased DR exchange in higher level races
  • Decreased SR gain potential in higher level races (this does not affect potential loss)

We’re deeply committed to creating an exceptional online experience. These changes are just the beginning, and as always, we’re all ears for feedback, suggestions, and reviews. Thank you for being an integral part of the rFactor 2 community.

Race on!

Release Candidate – Introducing the New Online Experience for rFactor 2: Powered by RaceControl

Release Candidate – Introducing the New Online Experience for rFactor 2: Powered by RaceControl

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Dear rFactor 2 community,

We’re excited to share a new chapter in your rFactor 2 racing journey! Coming today, we’re launching a public beta (with “Release Candidate”) of our revamped rFactor 2 online system, fuelled by RaceControl technology.

We hope that this evolution in how online works for rFactor 2 will give you greater access to race against others online, bring skill based matchmaking to find you better races and ensure that drivers are incentivised to play fair against their opponents.

And as part of this new program, we’re gifting the (recently updated) BMW M2 CS to all registered users of the new system 🎉

Not only that but we’re bringing some quality of life fixes to the simulation, including the much awaited fix for those of you on the latest AMD drivers.

To find out more about more, keep reading…

What is the online Beta program? And how do I join?

Importantly, this is system that has been built from the ground up over the last year and therefore we need to thoroughly test this with patient racers that understand it might not all go perfectly! There will no doubt be a few hiccups along the way.

To ensure that you’re up-to-date with development, and so that you can log issues please ensure you’re part of our Discord community and navigate to the rFactor 2 Online section.

To participate, simply right-click on rFactor 2 in your library list in Steam then click “Properties” > “Betas” and select “Release Candidate” from the list and the new version will automatically download.

rFactor 2 Online – Key Features

Ranking System:

  • Safety Rank (SR): Represents your track etiquette. Start at bronze and climb to platinum by demonstrating responsible racing behaviour.
  • Driver Rank (DR): Based on your racing prowess. Beginning at bronze, compete and beat others to rise to the platinum echelon. Your Driver Rank determines which split you are in if there are more drivers registered than can be accommodated in one race. Note – your DR cannot exceed your SR, so make sure you drive safely!

Note: for a race to count towards towards your Rank, at least 5 drivers are required to be registered for that session.

Daily Races:

These races will be refreshed every week with a variety of content to sink your teeth into. Within daily races, there are different categories to unlock based on your Safety Rank.

Daily Races are designed to be fun, easy to enter and relatively short. They also have minimal impact upon your Driver Rank so you can race without fear of losing too much DR – but make sure you drive safely!

To help you, we also run multiplayer practice sessions for the upcoming race. You can see other racers here, learn from each other and get better without fearing for your SR and DR.

There are three categories for Daily Races:

  1. Beginner – Open to everyone and currently every hour – these will always run free content
  2. Intermediate – Open to Silver Safety Rank and currently run every 2 hours
  3. Advanced – Open to Gold Safety Rank and currently run every 3 hours
A look at the Daily Race menu inside the UI

Special Events

These events will be happening weekly, they’ll normally be a bit longer and with greater Driver Rank rewards as well. Sometimes they’ll reflect real-life events but mostly they’ll be what our admin team think you guys will enjoy!

Practice sessions run throughout the week and there’s a leaderboard that your practice times will be a part of.

These races also feature real-world weather using API data to create the session so they match the part of the world that event is taking part in.

Driver Profile, Results and Statistics

All your races on the new rFactor 2 Online system are stored against your driver profile. In here, you’ll see where you finished, the impact on your ranks and statistics for your online endeavours.

To access it, click on your name in the top-left of the screen.

You can see your results, statistics, progress and change your marketing preferences on the profile screen by clicking on your name

Server Hosting

We know that hosting your own server has sometimes been a bit of a challenge in rFactor 2 and through our Hosted Server option, you can use our in-game UI and AWS infrastructure.

You can purchase bundles of server minutes to use. The pricing is as follows:

  • 1 hour – €1
  • 6 hours – €6
  • 12 hours – €9
  • 24 Hours – €13

Please do note that servers will take some time to start depending on the type of content you’ve selected. This will normally be around 6 minutes but could be around 12 minutes for circuits like the Nürburgring.

Important: issues with server hosting should be logged at our support desk, available here: rFactor 2

In the server hosting option, you can easily select cars and tracks (1st party only) that you’d like to use

Community servers still work as usual but are now found in Online > Servers > Community Servers. Due to a version bump, you will not be able to access servers on the opt-out branch.

Schedule

Throughout our beta phase, the servers will remain available between 11am CEST and 2am CEST every day.

Depending on popularity we may add more pre or post release.

Join the Beta!

When you first click the online menu item, you’ll be prompted to create an account the moment you access the online section on the beta version. Dive into a more streamlined, user-friendly, and engaging rFactor 2 online racing experience.

Remember, this is only the beginning. As we evolve and fine-tune the online experience and RaceControl, we’ll bring even more features and benefits to the rFactor 2 community. Your feedback, as always, will be the compass guiding our journey forward.

Finally, we would like to thank those of you that dedicated time to testing the program and the development team, led by Andy – this would be possible without you all!

Get ready, racers. See you on the grid!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I access in beta? – rFactor2 Online is in beta phase. To access the new experience, you need to opt-in to the release candidate branch via properties in Steam. 

How do I create an account – Open rFactor2 and navigate to the Online button – a notification screen will appear with instructions how to create an account.

How do I change my name/email/nationality – You can do this in your profile by clicking on your name on the top navigation bar.

How do I Delete my account? – As detailed in the privacy policy when you sign up for an account you can do this through a request here.

I signed up, now what? – You’re free to register for any of the scheduled daily races and special events. Build up your driver and safety ranking to compete in intermediate and advanced races. You can also try out hosting a server and race anytime with your friends.

Do I need to pay to use it? – Everything we’re releasing today for rFactor 2 online is free to use for everyone who owns the sim.

What if I don’t want to register for rFactor 2 Online? You can still access community servers in the online menu > servers > community servers.

What content comes with it? – By registering for rFactor 2 Online, users will be gifted the BMW M2 CS to their workshop. Users will only be able to drive content they own, but can still race others they do not own.  

Did someone say Career mode? – We are intending to develop a more in-depth league system (that we are calling “career mode”) but it does require more time and certainty of an expanded online player base for the sim.

Do I need rFactor2 to use it? – Yes, rFactor2 Online is only available for players who own rFactor 2.

Can I access any of the RaceControl information outside of the game? – Right now we don’t support this but in the future we aim to have a separate hub for this information.

How do I increase my Safety Rank? – Your Safety Rank (SR) is dynamic and changes either up or down depending on how cleanly you race. Rating increases with clean laps and will decrease with collisions and penalties in qualifying and races.   

How do I increase my Driver Rank? – Driver Rank (DR) is calculated by your recent online race results. The system uses an ELO algorithm to determine your performance versus other competitors. Your ELO score is then translated into a rank you can see and then used to calculate which split you should be racing in. 

Can anyone race in a special event? – Different special events may have different entry requirements based on on your safety rating.

Can I race with my own custom livery? – No not currently, you can only race online with official rFactor 2 content. We may explore this feature for potential future updates. 

Can I still race on my friend’s server? – Absolutely, the primary rFactor 2 open server list is still open to access through the online menus. Simply navigate to ‘servers’ to see the open list of official and community servers online.

Can I make my own server for me and my team to practice on? – Yes, you can now host an online server through rFactor 2 Online. Time tokens can be purchased through the game or via the rFactor 2 steam store and redeemed through the ‘Host a server’ button in the server menu.

Other Release Candidate Features

As alluded to in the preamble, we’ve got a series of updates we’ve implemented into this release candidate to improve your rFactor 2 experience:

AMD Drivers – We’ve addressed and resolved a crash issue specific to AMD hardware users with particular drivers.

Mod Management – A change in this department allows you to designate downloaded mods as ‘temporary’ on the client side. This functionality ensures these temporary mods are deleted upon startup. Additionally, clients have the option to set all mods acquired from servers as temporary, providing a more efficient way to manage space and content.

Driving Line Aid Enhancements – We’ve incorporated added options for the ‘Driving Line Aid’, including settings for “Paddock” and “Paddock & Pit Entry” and making it easier for users to find their way onto tracks with complicated paddock areas. The game will default to the ‘paddock’ setting. Additionally, users can now use a specific key assignment to toggle the ‘Driving Line Aid’ within the game.

Track Limits – The system for handling track limits, especially in cases of illegal passes, has been refined. Scenarios where a pass was previously deemed illegal and later recognized as valid have been addressed for more consistent rule enforcement.

“Stabilize Horizon” – This feature feature has undergone modifications using a newly developed filtering method. We’ve added an extra stabilization step, enabled roll stabilization for the ‘High’ and ‘Ultra’ settings, and introduced a full horizon lock option for those requiring a fixed viewpoint.

AI – we’ve fixed an issue that could cause AI drivers towards walls whilst overtaking

Your feedback and patience have been instrumental in these developments. We will continue our efforts to enhance and refine rFactor 2 based on user needs and technical advancements.

Thank you for your continued support!

Release Notes

General

  • New feature allows servers to specify that downloaded mods should be treated as temporary by the client
  • The client can opt to mark all mods downloaded from servers as temporary
  • Temporary mods are deleted on start-up
  • Fixed crash on AMD hardware with certain drivers
  • Added extra options to Driving line aid for “Paddock” and “Paddock & Pit Entry”. The game defaults to paddock setting for all users.
  • Added key assignment for toggling Driving line aid in the game.
  • Improved Track Limits handling of illegal passes with regards to when a passed car goes too slow to be counted, but then later becomes valid. This should no longer become valid again.
  • Reworked “Stabilize Horizon”-feature using a different method of filtering
    • Added an additional step of stabilization
    • Enabled roll stabilization for “High” and “Ultra” steps
    • Added full horizon lock option
  • Fixed an issue that could cause AI to drive towards left walls while overtaking, causing collisions

rFactor 2 Online

  • Added Daily Races online mode with practice servers
  • Added Special Events online mode with practice servers
  • Added Hosted Servers option with credit bundles available through the store
  • Added Driver Profiles and Statistics
  • Moved Store to the front page
  • Moved Servers to Online > Servers

rFactor 2 Online – Known Issues

  • If you register for two races, both event pages will receive the first event’s server details when that race begins
  • Some circuits, such as Nürburgring may have the server start a few minutes later than expected – you may need to wait up to 4 minutes after a server is due to be started
  • Practice servers are becoming too full too quickly and may give a timeout error (we are currently working on this) – Races are unaffected so please still register
  • Practice servers not running through the night (reminder – we pause the service at 3am CEST)
  • Bottom split has the minimum drivers to make the race official (currently 5 rather than equal size splits)
  • Some nationality flags are not showing correctly
  • The schedule page does have incorrect times for some users
  • Some users are unable to submit reports
  • Navigation bar is sometimes not showing updated ranking after a race
  • Could not get your split error – for now, please try going back to the previous menu and enter the event page again or restart
  • Leaderboard has a bug where does not consider the specific track layout
  • Not all mod files being deleted on boot
  • The join server button occasionally does not activate – please try leaving and rejoin the event page to get the join server button
  • Password on hosted server is not working
  • Qualifying results are showing incorrectly
  • Incorrect rank shown on post-race screen
  • Profile/Email update is not saving