My Blender Ambitions With rFactor

Recently, I have developed interest in making tracks for rFactor. While I don't have 3D Studio Max, I do have Blender. Sad story about me- I've always wanted to be in the field of computer animation and 3D art. Sadly, my modeling experience is extremely limited. My confidence in making anything is extremely low. So to try to give myself a vote of confidence, I am basically trying to learn on my own how to make tracks for rFactor. Let me explain more about this possible new bit of involvement and why I am choosing to go down this route.

This blog post is somewhat about Blender, but it is not meant to be a review.

--- Blender Ambitions with rFactor ---

Time to answer some questions never asked:

Why Blender?

...because I haven't the money to get 3D Studio Max (which is much better preferred despite its exorbitant price tag). Blender has been seen as a great free alternative to 3D Studio Max.

Why rFactor?

...because it is the finest and most mod-friendly racing game on the market today. With so many mods and customization options, this sim racer is great.

Why Tracks (rather than cars, etc.) for rFactor?

I am someone who believes that while having loads of cars (or other racing machines) is fun, they all mean nothing without tracks to race on. I feel I would have better luck designing tracks than I would making cars or liveries for cars.


Now, you have some background on my new ambition/challenge. Time to go into further detail.

--- The Track Creation Challenges I Face ---

I have never modeled anything in my time. Each time I've tried previously, I have ended up struggling to really make anything quality. I even thought about mostly doing 3D modeling with voxels.

Track Inspiration and Musings.

So where is the inspiration for making tracks coming from? Duke Nukem 3D. I probably know what you're thinking- why am I drawing inspiration from a first-person shooter? Well, I designed levels for Duke Nukem 3D using the Build editor. While these weren't real races, I set up Fake Multiplayer to have bots in Deathmatch (or Dukematch as its namesake). The races were basically deathmatches while I was the only one really racing around the track. I designed the courses to be realistic, so there are no arcade-style thrills. These were tracks designed as much as realistic of race tracks as possible. These tracks even include things like curbing, pit stops, and things like that.

The international clientele of tracks encompass a whole world of locations. These include tracks I've created based in places such as the United States, Mexico, Chile, Wales, Spain, France, Italy, South Africa, India, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Japan, and Australia. I didn't exactly care about realistic courses in the sense of geographically-accurate or super-realistic in designing these courses. That is one plus to doing original fictional courses- everything is limited to your imagination.

The Transition from Duke Nukem to rFactor.

Basically, I am creating these tracks from scratch based on maps from my Duke Nukem 3D race track levels. I am actually in the process of mapping out layouts based on some of my tracks. I am using these layouts as guidelines. Since I am re-creating these tracks in a new environment, it gives me a chance to model these courses to be more realistic and cleaner than I've ever done in Duke Nukem 3D. The tracks were created primarily for racing in addition to avoiding fire from deathmatch opponents. I blocked off the action from going into the grass or over barriers. So with rFactor, I obviously can allow for cars to go off-course or smash into guardrails. I also have to think about making the tracks even more like real racing venues. It means I have to properly put in things like gravel traps and tire barriers in strategic locations. I may have to completely re-work my DN3D designs to better suit rFactor. A BIG difference between my DN3D experiences and rFactor? In Duke Nukem 3D, there was a setting to set the run speed for your character. I set the run speed to a high number to obviously simulate being in a race car.

As an experiment, I took another game in my collection of PC games- Redneck Rampage Rides Again- and took some of my DN3D levels to be played in RRRA. The advantage to RRRA (both games use the Build Editor, but RRRA's version is different) is that you could ride in vehicles like a swamp boat and (more importantly) a motorcycle. You still set the run speed to determine how fast your character goes. The character goes marginally faster on a motorcycle. I used the motorcycle in RRRA to simulate being in not only a proper vehicle, but also to imagine what it would be like if I had a proper car (or some other vehicle) to go around a track. So where does rFactor play in all of this? Well, rFactor is a racing game with real driving physics. So I have to think about how a real car would perform around any of my fictional tracks as opposed to (essentially) running around a track in a virtual space. Also, I have to think about the behavior of other racing machines around a track. Every racing machine is different. What may be fun for Formula 1 cars may not be so fun with stock cars or touring cars. I have to consider this as I'm building courses and thinking about what cars will run on my courses.

Because this is rFactor, I can afford to give tracks their own unique character by coming up with many more unique structures for each course. Each course has about the same style garages. Many of the courses I created for DN3D have garage access on pit road (like on most Formula 1 circuits and various international racing circuits). DN3D is also very limited on what kinds of structures and designs you can create. I could make more realistic pedestrian bridges, more unique buildings, covered grandstands, and more through actual 3D modeling. I could even add certain items and structures to make the experience even more fun.

My experience building levels for Duke Nukem 3D dates back at least ten years. Through this time, I have built over 30 original tracks. Some even have different variations. Making each course versatile is a plus for racing any track, and it adds replay value and diversity when racing them. It is something I hope to exploit when I can really create something to be proud of.

Other Challenges in Track Making.

Each bullet features a certain talking point.


• Car Count
When I created tracks for Duke Nukem 3D, they were all designed so that there can be eight to a track; but the courses were designed so they can fit 24 cars to a track. I always considered 20 to be a great number of opponents to feature on a track. Most racing series have about this many number of cars at least to start a race. I haven't been too successful running much more than 24 cars to a track, so any tracks I do create will mostly be capped to 24.


• Lighting
Obviously with rFactor, I have to consider night racing. Some of the courses I have created have different time versions as well as being under different weather conditions. Some tracks are run in the evening time, at twilight, and at night. I have to think realistically about where exactly to illuminate parts of a track when it gets dark. Not every track is lit up all around like on ovals or with the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore. None of my night courses are brutally dark, though.


• Weather?
Some modders make wet versions of tracks. Some tracks I've created have been under wet conditions, and I use animated sprites to simulate falling rain and even falling snow. I haven't thought this far ahead in making tracks. This would be a challenge especially if I entertained the thought of making these tracks also available for GTR. However, my only GTR experience has been with the very first title, which I've blogged about in the past.


• Endurance Racing
Here is another bit of info on the race tracks I've created. Some of these courses have endurance races. There are two main endurance events- All-Night endurances and 24-Hour endurances. An All-Night endurance runs from the evening of the first day (usually 5:00 PM or 17:00) to morning of the second day (usually 7:30 AM, but I usually have it made to go to Noon the second day). A 24-Hour race runs from Noon of the first day to Noon of the second day. The way I did it in Duke Nukem 3D is that I have a set of frames to set the sky. Each "phase" of the day has four frames, except the Night phase, which has five. The four phases are Afternoon, Evening, Night, and Morning. To help me keep track of when one phase will change to another, I have these gauges I've placed around tracks. When the gauge is full, that means the next frame or phase will come along.

Most endurances usually have one event that is the biggest of them all. For me, the greatest endurance is a venue I've created that is a temporary street course in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It plays host to a 24-hour race which could be thought of as the Le Mans of my courses.

Modding communities will likely find ways to make endurances fun. So with this, I'm sure people will find many ways to incorporate different endurance races.


• Replay Angles
At once, I had planned on making replay angles with cameras in my DN3D tracks. However, the game would crash at certain points because I set up the camera angles. So I have a chance to try different angles using rFactor.


These are among many different challenges I face making courses for rFactor. I am not releasing any details of courses I am working on because I want to keep that sort of element of surprise. Plus, I haven't really made anything yet. I also fear showing pictures of anything I don't own. Some of the textures I've used in DN3D are from other games, mostly used as placeholders. That, too is a barrier in me creating unique courses in rFactor.

--- The Most Obvious Challenge... ---

Perhaps the most obvious challenge in my track-making adventures is my poor experience with modeling anything. I am basically learning from the start on how to do 3D modeling. I have no inspiration in building courses and how to build courses. So my experience will stem from a combination of Blender tutorials and various other tutorials I find online to help me to build courses.

I have kept certain lines from my DN3D tracks to help define elevation changes and other important points of courses. I have to take into account what elevation changes are possible and what aren't. I have to consider what I could turn into things like signs and pedestrian bridges at race tracks. I also have to look into grabbing textures to make each track come alive.

In addition to no modeling experience, I also have no experience in the internals of track design. You know what I am talking about if you have made tracks for rFactor- the AIW, SCN, MAS, GMT, and other files associated with rFactor tracks. And since I am using Blender, I'd have to convert everything to 3DS and put into that to make tracks. One thing about me is that I can be very cheap. I try to make the best things possible without using anything that costs money. That even includes things like Bob's Track Builder and 3DSimEd- both of which cost money to use beyond their trial periods. So I tend to be very cheap sometimes.


All of these barriers will hinder me in my attempts to try to make a race track for rFactor. Not only to make one, but make a quality track for rFactor that will be as respected as most other courses by dedicated track makers.





Is it possible to create a track using Blender, even though the preferred modeller is 3D Studio Max? The answer is yes! One track was made using Blender while also being touched up and applied with other 3D programs. It is a fictional race track called One Way International Raceway made by a creator named Owi. I couldn't find a good enough video to preview One Way International Raceway for you in rFactor, so I found this video instead. I am only providing this just to show you a track made in Blender and designed for rFactor:



I just wanted to give you Blender modelers hope in making quality tracks for rFactor. :) Learn more about this track by going to rfactorcentral.com and by looking up One Way International Raceway on rfactorcentral.com.





I needed a proper place to discuss all of this, so I thank you for visiting John's Blog Space to read this post. Now you know what new challenge I am considering. Thank you for reading my blog post here!

Cross-Promotion

Here are some more readings for you in case you are interested...

• "rFactor" - John's Blog Space
^ This is a very old blog post where I talk about rFactor. What do I think about rFactor? Read this post and find out!

• "GTR FIA GT Game" - John's Blog Space
^ The critically-acclaimed racing game from SimBin is reviewed in this blog post. GTR uses the rFactor engine, and there is discouragement in seeing SimBin material be made for rFactor. This blog post is a review of the very first GTR. It remains the only SimBin racing title I've ever owned (I've always wanted to get RACE 07, but it has long not been sold in stores unless you go online).

• "Duke Nukem 3D" - John's Blog Space
^ I talk about Duke Nukem 3D in this very old blog post. Find out what I think about this classic first-person shooter by checking this post out. It was in using Duke Nukem 3D that I began making my various race tracks which I hope to bring into the realm of rFactor.


Thank you for reading!

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Série Internationale Du Mans (International Le Mans Series)

Big time sportscar racing comes your way in a stylish package featuring some of the most recent GT and prototype cars in the Série Internationale Du Mans (or International Le Mans Series) mod. Many different cars are featured in this mod. You can race a variety of cars in this mod. As of the date of this blog post, the latest version is Version 2.78, and only a public version of SIDM is offered. The mod was a lot reminiscent of what I had seen posted previously by a French modding team called EnduRacers. The Série Internationale Du Mans mod was made by the Carpe Noctem Design Group (CNDG). This blog post is a little look at the Série Internationale Du Mans mod.

Early Thoughts.

First of all, I had downloaded this mod previously (before I upgraded my PC's RAM). I hated that I couldn't yet race the prototypes, and the mod ran slow. So I deleted it from my computer.

Then on YouTube, one of my YouTube friends shown me two videos where he was racing two different versions of Sebring International Raceway. One was in an Acura LMP while another was in the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. That re-kindled my interest in downloading the Série Internationale Du Mans mod.
UPDATE (MAR 25 2011) The mod I'm talking about with the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP is part of a much different mod from EnduRacers called the EnduRacers Endurance Series.

This time, I actually gave this mod a second chance and a second look. Let me tell you- it is BRILLIANT! The issue of frame rate was resolved in the 2.77 update. I normally set my version of rFactor to always auto-adjust graphics settings to maintain a frame rate of 30 FPS. This doesn't seem to be too much of a problem for my PC. I can, however, put on 16 cars to a track. Normally, I try to have as many as 20 cars to a track for all mods I have. I have put on a maximum of 16 for this mod. Haven't yet tried 20.

Brief Overview.

The car you start off with is a blue Corvette C6.R. That's no problem for me because blue is my favorite color. The modifications to dress up your car are free for the most part. You can change the wheels, modify the steering wheel, add endurance racing packages, and add some Force Feedback settings.

I did some test laps in my Corvette C6.R around a few tracks and against other cars. I raced around Montreal (Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve) and clocked a lap of about 1:42 around the track. My confidence was growing that I could run better laps in this car around Montreal. Later on, I clocked a lap time in the 1:38 range around Montreal. To continue my test lap sessions, I took my Corvette around the GP Short version of the Lienz circuit. I could muster lap times of about 1:04 early on. However, I felt the urge to complete laps below one minute- and I did: I pulled a 59-second lap!

The most exciting aspect of sportscar racing is in doing night racing. At one point, I did a test session with GT and prototype cars on the same track at once. The night test session was around Sebring. I set the session for 9:00 PM game time. The details were impressive for night racing. As the cars go by signs hanging overhead, you note the glare from the lights shine on the signs as you zoom under them. This is just a well-done mod.

Cars and Car Comparisons.

You start off with the Corvette C6.R, but you can purchase other GT cars for free with the mod. The mod The only other car in the LM-GT1 class is the Aston Martin DBR9. The LM-GT2 class features only the Ferrari F430 GT and the Porsche 997 GT3 RSR. You need experience before you can race with the prototypes. You need about 1900 experience points to race any of the LM-P2 machines, and some of the LM-P1 machines require about 4900 experience points. And unlike the GT cars, the prototypes cost credits. So it's almost like you need to pick a prototype that you can stick with and keep racing with. You are given about 2.5M Credits to start off with. Don't worry about this money just yet because you haven't the experience poitns needed to access the prototype ranks.

Prototypes consist of newer and fairly recent cars. Cars from the likes of Audi, Dome, MG-Lola, Acura, and Pescarolo all are part of the prototype ranks. The cars are all designed very beautifully. I've recently become fond of the Dome LMP cars on just this mod.

Each car has some realistic paintschemes and teams along with many fictional paintschemes. Each car also has a basic paintscheme style that has one or so base colors to each. The base Corvette you start off with has other solid-color variations you can choose from. They would make a great base for painting.

So how do the cars compare?

* Corvette C6.R (GT1)
The Corvettes are great racing machines for a reason. These are great-handling machines with sufficient acceleration and top speed. Its handling capabilities are exceptional.

* Aston Martin DBR9 (GT1)
The Aston Martins are pretty fast, but they are very twitchy to handle at speed. This is probably the car you want if you don't like Chevys.

* Ferrari F430 (GT2)
This car is very quick and handles quite well. However (and I don't know if it is my controller setup or anything), the Ferraris in their default setup can't stay on the road in a straight line, and they get unstable when braking. Again- I don't know if it is the default setup of the Ferraris or if there are controller issues, but the Ferraris can be tough to keep on the road and in a straight line. My own thought is that it's the default setup given to the Ferraris that makes them so tough to drive.

* Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (GT2)
You know something is wrong when a Ferrari fan like myself says that Porsches are better. Well, the Porsches are better. Porsches are the Old Reliable cars of sportscar racing. That's why you see so many of them in sportscar racing. They have great handling and performance. I didn't note these Porsches being too twitchy under braking from my playing of this mod.


In the future, if I do get to race the prototypes, I may update this blog post to include some of the many prototypes in this mod.

Review.

If you are any kind of sportscar racing fan, you need to download Série Internationale Du Mans. It is a MASSIVE download, though- the file I downloaded comes in at about 470 MB in size. It is worth the download, though. I think it was a two-hour download for me on a 54 Mbps broadband connection. Version 2.78 is a public version, but work is still ongoing to try to make a bigger version of this mod featuring many more kinds of cars.

I wish everyone behind Série Internationale Du Mans much luck in releasing more cars and making this impressive mod even better. I also hope I had the fire to design skins for cars. I used to paint up a few cars for Sports Car GT as it was easier. However, I never realy made anything for any rFactor car.

Video Preview.

I found one video on YouTube to showcase this mod at play. That is, until I found this video below. This is the best possible preview I can give you of this mod in its original form. The good stuff comes in after the 0:52 mark:



To learn more about Série Internationale Du Mans, or if you would like to download it for rFactor, please visit Série Internationale Du Mans on rfactorcentral.com.




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Sports Car Challenge

Originally a mod for F1 Challenge 1999-2002 by Racing Sim Developers Group (RSGP), Sports Car Challenge (or SCC) was faithfully converted for rFactor after quite some time developing for rFactor. SCC was still in development when I bought rFactor in 2006 and later joined rfactorcentral.com some time later. SCC features sportscar racing machines from 2001. Because these were old model cars re-created for rFactor, that means you won't need a super-powerful PC to set up races with these cars.

I need to post more topics on more things. I don't want to leave this rFactor thing on its lonesome, so I will try to post a bit more with rFactor because I want my fans and readers to enjoy this great game and the many mods that make it enjoyable and fun.



Why would you want to get this mod? When I first got rFactor, there was nothing that really intrigued me as far as sportscar racing was concerned. Only thing close were the ProtoRacer mods. The ProtoRacer was more like the only thing to proper sportscar racing with these GTP-like prototypes. It wasn't, however, traditional sportscar racing. This was at a premium in the rFactor community back then. So therefore, I followed the Sports Car Challenge mod in its development. When it was finally available to download from rfactorcentral.com, I was ecstatic and willing to play it.

Sports Car Challenge is traditional sportscar racing with both prototypes and GT's racing on the track at once. The first version featured cars from 2001 (and maybe even 2002 as well). A later patch would add cars from 2003. Among the additional cars from the 2003 patch, the Le Mans-winning Bentley EXP GT. Among the many cars you get in this mod in all of its versions:

* Audi R8 LMP
* Dome S101
* Cadillac Northstar LMP01
* Cadillac Northstar LMP02
* Panoz LMP Roadster
* Chevrolet Corvette C5-R
* Ferrari 360 Modena GT
* BMW M3 GTR
* And of course, you can NOT have GT or sportscar racing without Porsche, and there are PLENTY in this mod.


You also get to race cars from many real-world teams. Teams include Risi Competizione, Audi Sport North America, Corvette Racing, and many more.


To say the least, if you want traditional sportscar racing in rFactor, give Sports Car Challenge a try. The cars are all nicely detailed even if these aren't as highly-detailed as the Serie Internationale du Mans mod. You can easily set up a race of about 16 to 20 of these cars on a track to enjoy racing. I recommend you enable all classes of car so that you can properly have true traditional sportscar racing. Or, you can set races to only include GT cars or only prototypes. The sounds and interiors are all done very nicely. It's great hearing these cars roar loudly.

Speaking of the Serie Internationale du Mans mod for rFactor, you can read about that mod here: Serie International du Mans (or International Le Mans Series).

Video Preview.

This video is a preview of Sports Car Challenge (couldn't find a good one without music):



You can download this mod from rFactorcentral.com. Download this mod Sports Car Challenge on rfactorcentral.com. You can also download skins (including blanks) if you want to design your own cars for this mod.





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rFactor

When Sports Car GT was released back in 1998 or so, it was praised for its great racing, but also for its mod-friendly nature. One was able to create mods for the Sports Car GT engine. These mods came in the form of tracks and cars. But amid the fun of making mods for this game, the experience was completely limited. You can only choose day/dry, night/dry, day/wet, and night/wet. They are all determined on if the tracks will allow certain mods. Downloaded cars and car packages didn't have their own in-car views. Certain engines sounds were made available.

In a blog post dated back in December 2009, this post has been updated (rather than be replaced with a new post) substanially on April 12, 2011. Welcome to rFactor.

--- rFactor at a Glance ---

^ from: amazon.com - rFactor: Customize. Control. Connect.

Back around 2005, Image Space Incorporated, the makers of Sports Car GT (as well as other great racing game titles), made a game that is no doubt a TRUE and complete successor to Sports Car GT. Introducing... rFactor!

Considered by many to be the finest simulation-type racing game on the market today, rFactor is really a testament to both racing and the modding community. This is a racing game created with modding in mind. Later versions of rFactor only build upon what the original started off with. You get a fairly expansive number of cars and tracks for which to race in rFactor with. What other racing game offers all of the following right out of the box:

* sportscar racing
* open-wheel racing
* stock car racing
* a short oval
* a speedway-type oval
* a superspeedway-type oval
* a street course
* an off-road rally course

This game gives you a whole lot out of the box. You pay good money for an experience like this, and Image Space delivers again as they've done for at least a decade. rFactor was made with the sim racer in mind. It can be as forgiving or as unforgiving as the racer would like. You can race with your keyboard or any other gaming device compatible with rFactor. The hardcore set will lovingly play rFactor with a proper steering wheel assembly. rFactor is even used in a number of different driving and other simulations. It makes rFactor one of the most significant racing games of the past decade.

As much as the game offers so much out of the box, the REAL key to rFactor's success is with the mod community. People will lovingly create mods to make an already great game even more so with their own modifications. People will create their own championships and series using mods. Many cars introduce racing game fans to a variety of different cars and racing series. Many track mods help expand the already deep track lineup and offer new opportunities to enjoy racing full speed. Different utilities and add-ons only make this game even more accessible and feature-rich. If people are making all kinds of mods for a game like this and if many people are praising it, then rFactor HAS to be totally worth it, right?



--- Why rFactor? ---
rFactor is a racing game that allows you to enjoy great simulation-type racing across various styles of racing. Everything from sportscar racing, open-wheel racing, stock car racing, rally racing, and more can be found in this game. You get a complete racing experience that's completely customizable. The addictive nature of making and installing mods makes this game like crack for the sim racer.

(DISCLAIMER: John Marine does not endorse or condone illegal drugs or using terminology like "crack for the sim racer" as a means of expressing something. In other words- it's just an expression. Pull yourself together!)

So what's changed between SCGT and rFactor? LOTS of things!

Got Time?

You are able to do proper endurance races. Would I kid you if I told you that could do a 24-hour day-to-night-to-day race in only 24 minutes? You can do a full 24-hours of gaming, but the only problem is that you have to give up about 24 hours of your life to play a game for hours and hours, even while your lover tweets you and texts you wanting you to go out on a date. You may have to tell your imaginary blow-up doll the hard truth- "I'm playing a racing game for hours on end, I need my time, baby. I'ma treat you so good when I'm done racing, alright, baby?" Once your lover (whether real or fake) understands that you're pursuing the racing experience of your life, you can note that the skies go from a sunny day to a starry night beautifully. You note lights turned on around the track and also note cars turning on their lights to prepare for nighttime battle. You can set races to be decided on time, with dynamic time changes, or just set a normal race that has time fly by. You could even set a race to be decided on laps or time

Crazy Customization!

rFactor is in no way an overnight success. This game has earned all of its awards for a reason- addictiveness of modding. You can customize elements such as various game dynamics, customizing certain cars with performance parts, class racing, type of race start (standing start, rolling start, etc.), kind of race weekend, length of the race (laps, time, laps and time), flag settings, what classes will race... I'd need a seperate blog to discuss all the different nuances of this game. Basically, you CAN create your dream race weekend.

How Do You Like Your Racing?

This game is a pure sim racer. There's nothing arcade in nature about this game. All cars handle realistically. The only restriction on how you want things like damage and tire wear depends on you and your skill level. Do you increase the aggression to make for a frenzied race? Do you turn damage all the way up to 100% to where your car is guaranteed to screw your car up for the rest of the race? It's all up to you. SCGT didn't come with various driving aids. This game allows you to tone down the experience to better suit your driving skill and your racing ability.

--- Starting Out with rFactor ---

Life with rFactor is grand, isn't it? You have one of the finest and most customizable racing games on the market. But like many things in life, you have to start small.

The Cars.

(NOTE: I bought rFactor as version 1.150)
Even Image Space Incorporated does their part to bring new tracks and cars to their own game, making it all the better. This is one of those games in which it's made better with modding. Because I'm so much of a sportscar racing fan, I'd recommend you try out the ZR Cup as it's the first championship you take part in. You race in events to make money and gain experience. Now the experience relates to being able to purchase future cars. Not all cars are available right away to purchase. On completing the ZR races, you move on to series like the Hammer cars and go all the way up to the H6 Howston cars, the best race car of the SR Class.

Prefer open-wheel? There's the OWC, Open Wheel Challenge. You start out with cars that resemble the Skip Barber Racing Series, go on to rF3 (rFactor's Formula 3 series), and to Formula IS. You even have the BMW Sauber Formula 1 race car. It's easily the fastest car in the game among cars you could race right away. If you want to start making money right away in OWC, you'll need to race with the BMW Sauber F1 cars in competition. Perhaps because of my history with this mode, I've often struggled with F1 cars. But... it's the only way to get ahead. Do you want to get those 2 million Credit Formula IS cars or what? However, you can get the rFactor-livery Formula IS cars for free without needing lots of experience points. It's a tough road ahead.

Stock car racing fans can enjoy the NSCR (National Stock Car Racing) championship where you're locked in the intense stock car racing battles that define the character of racing in the United States. You can purchase equipment sets that prepare your car for various ovals and road racing setups.

The 1.150 package I bought features the Lienz events, a series of races based in the fictional Austrian course, Lienz. Tracks range from a simple romp through the village all the way to a super-long course ranging from the village and into the mountains (that even has a 24-hour course, if you can believe it!). This series features lots of rally-type cars. The cars are peppy and fun to race.

There are many more cars for you to explore and enjoy racing with, so I'll leave it up to you to explore all the richness rFactor has to provide! I recommend you go to rFactor Central for more cars for rFactor, including mods created by ISI. Other kinds of cars and other categories of racing can be found from mods from rFactor Central.

The Tracks.

The appeal rFactor brings can be found in its cars and tracks. Out the box, you feel like you're playing multiple games at once. Tell me what other game gives you this combination of tracks:

* multiple road courses
* three ovals of varying length
* a street course
* some real-life circuits (Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, for example)
* a dedicated rally course

There are many more you can download to enhance your racing experience. But the tracks are all there available to race however you want, whenever you want. Hell, you can set a race to be run at midnight if you want to. Your possibilities are endless. I recommend you go to rFactor Central for more tracks for rFactor, including tracks created by ISI.

This is a quick look at each of the default courses released by ISI:

* Barcelona - race on Circuit de Catalunya, home of the F1 Spanish Grand Prix.

* Brianza - the Italian Grand Prix course around Monza is available for you to race in one of six different configurations.

* Essington - a fictional British circuit with a mix of high speed and technical corners.

* Jiading - put your racing skills to the test when you challenge the Shanghai International Circuit in three different configurations, including the Chinese Grand Prix course.

* Jacksonville - a fictional superspeedway oval similar in character to Daytona International Speedway. Enjoy high-speed battle on the high banks and straights of this tri-oval.

* Joesville - get ready for short oval track racing around this fictional short oval in Montana!

* Lienz - this is a fictional course that features multiple race courses in and around the Austrian village of Lienz. There is also an off-road configuration to enjoy your off-road racing in rFactor. So there is something for everyone with this mod.

* Mills Metropark - a great amateur-type road course with two different layouts; one of which can be run in the reverse direction.

* Montreal - the F1 Grand Prix of Canada course at Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve offers high speed battle with some tricky corners.

* Northamptonshire - this is the Silverstone Circuit, with three different variations including the Grand Prix course. Considering this game was released in 2005, the configuration does NOT include the new Arena configuration.

* Nuerburg - the Nürburgring Grand Prix course is a tough one to master. This game features the Grand Prix course and its short configuration, but not the 12+ mile Nürburgring Nordschleife.

* Orchard Lake - consisting of a speedway oval and an infield road course, Orchard Lake is a great place to enjoy high-speed racing. I personally use Orchard Lake's oval as a test track.

* Sardian Heights - a fictional street course with two different configurations. Get ready for an intense street fight around the tricky confines of this street course!

* Toban - this is an amateur-style race course with challenging depths. It has a number of configurations available to test you on a number of levels.


There are many more tracks you can download to enhance and expand your racing experience. So if you want more, just download away! I'll point you towards places where you can download more content for rFactor later in this blog post.

--- As a Whole... ---

rFactor is one of the most addictive racing games of all time. It is a fantastic racing title with little or no gripes or compromises. There isn't any dynamic weather, if you want some kind of nit-pick on this game. I think if you love racing games PERIOD, you go check this game out and enjoy it. You will not be disappointed, I promise you.






See my video [from a long time ago] here: (YouTube) John Talks rFactor

If you want to get this game now, click on this below:

^ rFactor for PC.

--- rFactor Resources ---

Visit these links by clicking on the headers. They will point you in the direction towards more rFactor content.

rFactor (official site).

Visit rFactor's official website.

rFactor Central.

rFactor Central is the largest and most complete resource for downloading mods for rFactor. Sign up to rFC to download an entire host of mods while also following work-in-progress mods.

Simraceway.

If you fancy online racing, this is where you can enter and take part in a number of competitions for rFactor.

rFactor League.

Enjoy F1 racing with this rFactor League. Download packs and find many more things for which to increase your racing pleasure with rFactor.

VirtualR - Sim Racing News (rFactor Link).

Get the latest sim racing news on rFactor through VirtualR.

VirtualR - Sim Racing News (rFactor 2 Link).

If you want the latest news and notes on the upcoming rFactor 2, VirtualR has you covered with this link.



And that concludes this blog post. Thank you for reading this re-made blog post!

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