"Sim."
Racing simulations are definitely not the most popular of videogames, being too inaccessible and downright difficult to play. The average gamer has probably had no experience with spring settings, cambering, brake disc size, and differential coast settings, and probably has no interest in learning about them, which is the main reason why simulations have not been best-sellers. This was all set to change with the arrival of rFactor.
You may ask why I am reviewing rFactor today. It is considered to be a relatively old game, released back in 2005. The reason is that rFactor has been built all along to be an extremely customizable game at the dawn of the digital distribution era. Initially released to be distributed online, this was truly a groundbreaking simulation. This step, if I may say so, was ingenious on ISI's part. If the game was distributed online, then the user would surely have acess to the internet, and thus would be able to fully make use of rFactor's customizability and its user modifications that are released on almost a daily basis, and would also be able to take part in online play, definitely one of the game's strongest points.rFactor was released with a marketing phrase of "Customize. Control. Connect." Once the game is properly fired up, and a profile is created, it is immediately apparent why ISI used this phrase: they have split the game into three parts, which are, you've guessed it, Customize, Control, and Connect. The first part, labelled Customize, is basically the part where you setup your game. You can change profiles, change the mod you're using, change video and audio settings, and setup your controller, amongst others. Before we move on to the "Control" part, I must stress how important a Steering Wheel plays to the realism and immersion that rFactor can provide. We've tested the game with a variety of control options, and found that without a Wheel, you are unlikely to be competitive in online races, and will not have the same kind of fun that you will have with a quality force feedback wheel, such as many of Logitech's offerings. If you're a hardcore simmer with no Wheel yet, I'd say you start saving up and make the investment.
On to the "Control" option. This is the single-player part of rFactor, where you will be able to partake in customizable practice and race sessions, along with a championship mode. Practice sessions can be used to learn tracks and develop specific setups for them to use in single and multi player races. Those setups are main factors in each and every race, and developing one that suits your driving style will be crucial to a good result. There are plenty of setup options that should allow you to change every aspect of your car, from typical options such as gear ratios, brake disc size and rpm limits, to class-specific changes such as rear/front wing settings for open wheelers and grill tape size for stock car racing (such as NASCAR racing). Each and every change makes a difference, and finding the ideal balance will be pretty difficult.The way that each subtle change affects your vehicle's handling indicates how well rFactor's physics were planned out and programmed. You will find out that nearly all aspects of real racing are included, with a realistic damage model, tyre wear, tyre temperatures, oil temperatures, engine heating curves, brake disc wear and brake temperatures. During a race, the driver will have to keep a close eye on every aspect in order to make sure everything is in working order. Every part of those characteristics is directly link to certain settings in your setup. If you overuse your brakes for example, you may experience excessive brake disc wear and eventually a brake failure, ruining your race. In order to counter that, one has to either decrease brake pressures or increase brake duct size. This definitely leads to drama especially in long endurance races and when fighting in online leagues.
Race weekends are well-planned out, with a possible maximum of three practice sessions, one qualifying session, one warmup session, and the race. Which sessions you play and the time allocated to each is up to you, and you may skip any session whenever you don't feel like driving it. Endurance races are also possible, with a maximum race time limit of 24 hours. ISI have worked hard to make those races a possibility, and have programmed a full day-night cycle and the accompanying change in lighting and shadows according to the sun's relative position. The only missing option is racing under rainy conditions, a variable that will surely be missed and which generally makes for very interesting racing.
We come now to the most important part in single-player racing: the AI. Even though they are customisable with many factors, such as aggressiveness and overall difficulty, I have found the AI to be generally very weak and bump-happy. I have also found that there is a big chasm between the many customisability options, and I was not able to find a good balance to suit my level, with almost all settings proving too easy or too difficult. I must say that the AI is the weakest part of rFactor.
Moving on to online code. I can honestly proclaim that rFactor must be one of the best racing games I have played online. With the numerous customizability options and the many addon modifications and tracks available for free on the world wide web, one can always find something that fits the mood. Online code is also pretty good and well written with very little lag. I have also noticed that there are many leagues that use rFactor out there, and are professionally run with weekly races and some even offer prizes. From my experience, I can say that the online simulation community has embraced rFactor very well. My only gripe is that it is sometimes difficult to find players online with the mod you want to play, due to the fact that there are hundreds and hundreds of different mods out there.
The technology used in rFactor, even if it is two years old, is still pretty impressive and formidable and runs happily on low- and medium-spec computers without much noticeable drop in framerates while playing most mods and tracks. I cannot assess sound quality very much as it varies a lot going from one mod to another, but nearly all the ones I played had immersive sound with support for surround speakers too.
Overall, I must say that rFactor now takes up a big chunk of my gaming time, and will continue to do so with the many mods being released daily. Congratulations to ISI for releasing such a customizable game and I must stress on how difficult it must have been to decide to distribute this game through an online delivery system during its first couple of years. I will now leave you with an essential link to all of your rFactor needs, along with a few recommended mods for you to try.
rFactorCentral
FSOne 2006
CTDP F1 2005
BMW Sauber F1 2007
PCC 2007
SCC (American Le Mans)
F1 1979
Champ Cars World Series 2006
By CodeName_88
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