rFactor - New to the Game

[slimjim8201]

LFS doesn't have driver's aides because real cars don't have driver's aides.

LFS also has the BMW F1 car, as well as the much less powerful Formula BMW which is far more rewarding to drive.

[PNSD]

A debate can go on forever on which game people think is better, but in the end it comes down to personal opinion. Both have advantages and dis-advantages, its just how we weight the up which decides which game we prefer.

In end no game is a simulation. Real life is just too complicated for a computer to simulate.

[modbaraban]

@slimjim8201
Well, there are ABS and/or TC on some present and past race cars.

[slimjim8201]

Some cars in LFS have TC as well. I mean't unrealistic driver's aides like steering help and braking point assistance.

[modbaraban]

No no no... that ***t is there only to grab some extra money selling the game to wider audience.

[jaho101]

Well, MMG 2007's been released, amid much controversy. I can tell whether I should like that group or not. On one hand, they have some great car models and graphically they're just solid, but their track pack is completely stolen (without permission apparently) and they physics are basically lifted from the ISI BMW with slight changes. I think the hype for this mod was too great, makes you start appreciating what some mod groups give you when they keep the progress to themselves.

[modbaraban]

Well they made no secrets about the physics at least since the demo was released. No surprise. The car models are good but not perfect and the 'upgrades' don't work (tracks-specific aero). Didn't download the trackpack yet.
Oh yeah, and the sounds are... ehem... broken
The mod seems to be released in a rush under pressure of the community expectations.

[jaho101]

Well they made no secrets about the physics at least since the demo was released. No surprise. The car models are good but not perfect and the 'upgrades' don't work (tracks-specific aero). Didn't download the trackpack yet.
Oh yeah, and the sounds are... ehem... broken
The mod seems to be released in a rush under pressure of the community expectations.

They've actually somehow managed to make the physics even worse than the demo, much less natural in terms of heat management in the tyres and stuff.

[Tom Castellani]

Besides being an F1 fan I'm actually a gamer, of pretty much all genres. However I haven't touched another game since I began playing rFactor hardcore a couple months ago. Point in fact, you've touched on a subject that pretty much dominates my life at the moment .

Everything I'm going to mention here is available from http://www.rfactorcentral.com/


The Good

Honestly I think the only playable F1 mods for me are:

CTDP 2005: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=CTDP%202005
F1 1988: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... arrera%2E4
Grand Prix 1979: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... rix%201979

CTDP 2005 looks great, feels great and is just outright fun to play and learn. I can't say much more to be honest, really worth a play. I in fact made a skin for the R25 based on the R27's 30th Anniversary livery alongside the RS01: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/painters_ ... ?ID=Tombag

F1 1988 is another mod where the physics and sounds are bang on. The visuals are also fantastic and seeing as it absolutely nails one of the golden years of F1 it's always nice to be playing as Senna, Prost or Berger in some historically amazing cars.

Grand Prix 1979 has some of the same appeal as F1 1988 in that you have that real feeling of being able to 'experience' some of the best cars and tracks in history. It does come with the entire season track pack and although sometimes hard to control the cars are great fun and sounds brilliant.

A blast from the past is F1'55. A great little mod with those real old Mercedes and I admit it's not really F1 by normal standards but good for any fan who wants the full year-by-year experience. Physics-wise it's spot on, the car is slow, the brakes suck and it slides all over the place. This though all adds to the fun. I don't play it often so it doesn't gain my top mod approval.


The Bad

There are of course others but most of them just simply weren't up to scratch in my opinion.

FSONE 2006 I played for about one minute before realising that I'd rather eat a crap sandwich than continue. I can't quite remember why but I think it was a combo of sounds, engine physics, physics physics and it looking pretty bad and a low fps. You could argue that the latter is down to my PC but if I can play other mods high res with no graphical lag then I'd rather not have to change my settings for a mediocre one.

MMG 2007 was pretty much the same. The beta engine physics were diabolical since it was almost always peak revs, not sure why. Then they released the entire mod recently and I'll be honest, the models and skins look fantastic... Which again is very heavy with more than three cars loaded. The sounds I can't decide whether I like or not. They're definitely different but very distracting at the same time. It's like trying to hear what the engine is doing so you know when to shift etc but you can't because the sound is muffled by the... Well, the engine :S.

F1 XtremeRacers 2006 Might be a good mod for all I know. I haven't been able to play it because the sounds don't work, something a lot of people had a problem with but not all. There might be a fix for that now but I haven't checked recently.

There are also mini-mods for singular cars. These are the McLaren MP4-22 and the Brabham BT52 but again, I haven't played these so I can't say anything for them.


What are we waiting for?

There are plenty of F1 WIP's (Works in Progress). Here is a list of all the F1 mods to be expected:

Grand Prix 1958: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... rix%201958
1961 Formula 1: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... ula%201%20
1967 F1: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=1967%20F1
F1 1985: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=F1%201985
F1 1986: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=F1%201986
F1 1988 (different modders): http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=F1%201988
F1 1989: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=F1%201989
1989 Season: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... 9%20Season
F1 1991 MMG: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... 1991%20MMG
F1 1991: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=F1%201991
F1 1992: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=F1%201992
F1 1994 MMG: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... 1994%20MMG
CTDP 1994: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=CTDP%201994
RH2006: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=RH2006
F1 2006 MMG: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... 2006%20MMG
CTDP 2006: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=CTDP%202006
F1 XtremeRacers 2007: http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... ers%202007

(These are in chronological order and there are some duplicates in year due to various mod teams doing the same seasons.)


All in all I think it's best to install as many as possible and try them yourself. People have different tastes and if you're going to play online, see what servers are running in terms of cars and tracks. There are plenty of good non-F1 mods out as well so don't limit yourself!

[modbaraban]

you could also mention the F1 Mercedes 1955.

GP2, F-BMW, F3 are good too.

Don't wait for RH2006. The developers abandoned modding long time ago and now work for Blimey games creating Ferrari Project.

[Tom Castellani]

you could also mention the F1 Mercedes 1955.

GP2, F-BMW, F3 are good too.

I did mention the 1955 mod:

A blast from the past is F1'55.

But you're right about GP2 etc. There are a couple GP2 WIP's as well for 2006 and 2008. The existing one is 2005.

Other good mods are Megane Trophy, 288 GTO Challenge etc. Then there's the weird and wonderful which show the diversity of rFactor such as Karting, Radio Control Cars, Lawnmower Racing and Soapbox Racing. Also in WIP's, Quadbikes, Hydroplanes and Snowmobiles.

I could reference more but I really have to go to college!

[f1italia]

Well, MMG 2007's been released, amid much controversy. I can tell whether I should like that group or not. On one hand, they have some great car models and graphically they're just solid, but their track pack is completely stolen (without permission apparently) and they physics are basically lifted from the ISI BMW with slight changes. I think the hype for this mod was too great, makes you start appreciating what some mod groups give you when they keep the progress to themselves.

I just got rfactor and I loaded MMG last night. The graphics are very good and they are going to come out with an updated version soon to work out some of the bugs.