rFactor2 Guides

Here you will find various instructions on how to install and use rFactor2.

A) Install rFactor2

1. open Steam and go to the store page

2. enter “rfactor2” in the search field on the store page and click on “rFactor 2”

3. then scroll down a little on the rFactor 2 store page until you see the green “Add to cart” button and click on it.

4. via the shopping cart you can then complete your order either with the Steam credit or with another common payment method by clicking on “Buy for myself”.

5. pay and install

Now follow the instructions in the Steam store to complete your purchase. The simulation is then installed automatically and can be found in your library. You can start it from there at any time.

B) Install rFactor 2 additional content / DLCs

Additional content or so-called DLCs are additional content published by the manufacturer for software that has already been purchased. One could also speak of extensions. In our case, we will limit ourselves to the GT3 Pack and GT3 Challengers Pack with various BoP-optimized vehicles, which we use intensively.

1. open Steam and go to the store page of rFactor 2

2. scroll down until the item “Items available in the store” appears and click on it

3. in the next view, select the item “All” to get an organized view of all items

4. click through to the two GT3 packs via the page selection

5. click on the “GT3-Pack” and the following page will open. Click on “Add to shopping cart” here

6. a pop-up window opens in which you click on “Continue shopping”

7. now repeat procedure 4+5 for the GT3 Challengers Pack

Now complete your purchase by following the instructions on the screen. The purchased items are downloaded and installed automatically after payment. You can view the progress of the installation/download by clicking on “Downloads” in the middle of the bottom edge of the window.

D) rFactor 2 cloud setting in Steam

Steam has a data backup function via the so-called Steam Cloud synchronization. The Steam Cloud synchronizes various game files between the local installation and the content saved in the cloud.

This usually works quite well, but is a hindrance if you make various settings in the settings files or want to restore a settings file from an older backup you have created yourself.

In the past, there have also been problems with this in online races. We recommend switching off the function and creating a manual backup from time to time.

1. right-click on “rFactor2” in the Steam library and then on Settings

2. select the “Updates” tab in the settings menu

Now you can deactivate SteamCloud by unchecking the box next to “Activate Steam Cloud synchronization for rFactor 2”.

D) Fix rFactor 2 startup problems with Steam

There are two settings in Steam that you should be aware of. Due to your own online connection and other disruptive influences, it can happen that files downloaded from Steam are installed corrupted on your system. The simulation will then no longer start. You can find out how to repair files with Steam’s own tool here.

1. open your Steam library and click on “rFactor2” with the right mouse button

In the menu that opens, select the “Properties” item. A new window will open.

2. in the “Local files” tab, you can now select the “Check files for errors…” item

E) rFactor 2 settings files

Some specific settings can only be made in rFactor 2 via 3 configuration files. You can find out where to find these files and what they are called here.

Please note that these settings can only be made once rFactor 2 has been started completely at least once and you have been on a track.

1. open your Steam library and click on “rFactor 2” with the right mouse button

2. select the “Local files” tab and then click on “Browse local files”

A Windows Explorer window will then open in which the rFactor 2 installation folder is already open.

3. now change to the “UserData/player” directory of the installation folder

In this folder you will find the 3 settings files for rFactor2.

Controller.JSON = Settings file for controller settings/steering wheel settings

Multiplayer.JSON = settings for multiplayer online races (should be kept without changes if possible)

player.JSON = Settings for the single player mode and general settings of rFactor 2

Don’t worry, around 99% of all settings can be accessed and easily changed via the simulation’s software interface. There are 2-3 settings that every driver should know. These are described in the following points.

F) rFactor 2 *.JSON file settings

Since 90% of the options in the settings files can be changed in-game and the enormous range of settings would go beyond the scope of this article, we will explain the recommended settings by way of example.

Make a backup copy of the “unchanged” *.JSON files before you make any settings. As can be seen in the images, this can be done by simply copying and pasting them into the “player directory”.

Important! The file that contains the desired settings and is to be active must be named exactly “Controller.JSON”, “Multiplayer.JSON” and “player.JSON”!

1. open the installation folder as described under F) and navigate to the “UserData\player” directory

2. now open the Controller.JSON file with a double click.

In the Windows window that now opens, select “Select program from a list of installed programs” and confirm your selection by clicking on “OK”

3. in the next window, select “Editor” as the program to open the *.JSON files

Again, confirm the selection with “OK”.

4. search for the “Alternate Neutral Activation” item in Controller.JSON

We recommend using the word“false” (without ” ” ) instead of the word“true“. This setting prevents the simulation from selecting neutral gear when the “Upshift” and “Downshift” buttons/paddles are pressed at the same time.

Experience has shown that this setting is recommended for all steering wheels where it is possible to press both paddles simultaneously.

Now save the file using the shortcut“Ctrl+S” and close the editor.

5. open the Multiplayer.JSON file with a double click

Search for the line“Allow Chat in Car“. The default setting here is“true“. This means that you can call up and use the chat/quick chat via the “T” key with the standard key assignment. However, all other messages generated by the simulation are also displayed here. This includes, for example, drivers joining or leaving the vehicle. There are drivers who are distracted by these messages.

If you do not want to see and use the chat in the vehicle, write“false” instead of “true”. This setting is purely a matter of taste.

In general, all settings of the Multiplayer.JSON in the first section “Multiplayer General Settings” can be used by the driver. We do not recommend making any further settings here.

Also save the Multiplayer.JSON with the shortcut“Ctrl+S” and close the editor.

6. open the player.JSON file with a double click

Search for the item“Repeat Shifts“. A “0” is entered here by default. This means that the simulation also allows multiple switching operations in close succession at any time.

We recommend a setting between 1 and 4 to prevent premature downshifting due to “switch bouncing” of the steering wheel paddles.

Now save the player.JSON with the keyboard shortcut“Ctrl+S” and close the editor.

G) The rFactor 2 Launcher

The rFactor 2 launcher has been replaced by the new user interface.

1. change driver name

Click on your Steam name in the top right corner.

You can enter your first and last name in the next window.

Important: Be careful not to insert any unnecessary spaces!

2. rFactor2 Packages Manager

In this window you will see all installed “Packages”. Packages are the extension files used by rFactor2.

You can select, install, uninstall and permanently delete components from the hard disk here.

Attention: All components marked with an * (asterisk) are part of a server package and can only be deleted if the main server package has been removed first. These are files in the “Mod” category.

3. settings

The 3rd button contains the settings, several basic settings are available here. There is also an in-game prompt. We only need the “video settings”.

In the video settings you make basic graphics settings, the detail density, shadows etc. are set directly in the game. For a single-monitor setup with an nVidia GTX 1070ti, for example, the following is set.

We recommend using the “borderless” setting in the“Mode” section. However, this setting is only possible with single-monitor setups. This allows you to switch to the desktop using the “Alt-Tab” command. If you use several screens but only run the simulation on one, this setting is also possible. However, the screen used for driving should then be screen 1 in Windows and“Monitor #1” should also be selected under the“Video” section.

If you have a triple screen setup, you must do without the “borderless” setting and should use“full screen” here. However, switching to the desktop does not work in this case.

H) Multiplayer / online mode

The online / multiplayer mode of rFactor2 is available via the “two helmets” button. All available servers are displayed directly and there is a live search at the top of the launcher.

In the bar of the live search you have the button Refresh, with which you can renew the search result. The drop-down menu next to it shows the connection mode. In our case, “WAN” means “Online” and the search is for “SRC”.

Once you have found the online server you are looking for, you can mark it by simply right-clicking on the server and add it to your favorites list via “Add to Favorites”. The favorites list can be accessed via the drop-down menu next to the refresh button.

To join the server, simply click on the desired server and then on “Join Race” at the bottom right.

Depending on the configuration of the server, the required files are automatically downloaded and installed. Once this is done, we can select our desired vehicle and join the race.

I) Offline / single player mode

Of course, you can also train on your own or race with the AI. This works via the “One helmet” button. We explain the basic steps here.

1. the simulation starts directly in single-player mode

All other settings can be accessed in single-player mode. When starting for the first time, we recommend starting in single player mode.

Further settings can now be made using the “Options” button.

2. display settings

The display settings are hidden in the first tab “Display”. In addition to the usual detailed settings, other functions such as the vehicles to be displayed “Visible Vehicles”, the units “metric” or “imperial” and the standard view, in this case “Cockpitview”, can be set.

A little tip: The above settings are selected for a computer with an nVidia GeForce GTX 1070ti. If there are “jerks” – so-called “frame drops” – especially in the pit area with many vehicles, then the number of vehicles to be displayed is probably too high. If frame rates are generally low, hardware-heavy settings such as shadows, particles, raindrops and reflections should be reduced.

3. control settings/ button assignment

Under the “Controls” tab, you will find all settings relating to the steering wheel, keyboard and other controllers such as button boxes. You will find detailed instructions below.

Tip: These settings can also be called up during an event.

4. audio settings

Audio settings are not dealt with further in this manual, as they are very dependent on personal preference. You can see an example setting that has worked well for me here.

5. video res – settings

The “Video Res” settings again relate to basic graphics settings. Here you can select the resolution, set the refresh rate and adjust the “User Interface – UI”, i.e. the image you are currently seeing, to your screen size. This is particularly important for ultra-wide screens.

Attention ultra-wide users: Switch on the “Stretch UI” function first. Then use the arrow keys to set the screen width in pixels. This is tedious, but fortunately you only have to do it once.

6. plugins and level of difficulty

Plugins are small extensions to the simulation. These are required, for example, to display vehicle data on an external device such as a cell phone or tablet. Please refer to the instructions of the external software providers to find out how to use these settings.

The level of difficulty can be adjusted on the right-hand side of this screen. In other words, which driving aids seem suitable for you and at what “strength”. Everything is switched off for me. As a result, I generally only use the options that are enabled by the vehicle or via the server settings. These settings can also be accessed within a session.

AI settings are global and usually require the session to be restarted. It is best to select your settings for the AI right here.

7. replay functions

rFactor2 creates a replay after every race and after every fastest lap by default. The replay is recorded in your computer’s working memory during the journey and saved in a so-called VCR file when you return to the box.

Performance tip: If your computer has less than 8GB of RAM, you should switch off the replay function, otherwise you may experience stuttering or frame drops during particularly long races.

8. showroom and user UI

Showroom is the setting for the vehicle’s surroundings when displaying the vehicle preview. This can be changed. This is not explained by us.

User UI is the graphical representation of the settings and menu screens. As the new user interface is currently still under development and in BETA status, we recommend that you continue to use the “old-fashioned”, clear rFactor2 UI. We generally advise against the use of external “mod UIs”!

9. on-screen display – OSD

Similar to your TV, Onscreen Display is a display that overlays the screen and can show you various extensive vehicle data. There are also various “Mod-OSDs” available for download in the Steam Workshop. A good tool is the“SHQM-HUD“. The variant of the OSD can only be changed in this settings area.

I) Driver change

For long-distance events, it will be necessary to change drivers. Unfortunately, this is not entirely self-explanatory and requires some information and practice.

1. preparation

A button must be assigned for the driver change to work at all. It is not important whether this is on the steering wheel, the keyboard or on other input devices.

2. server access driver 1

The first driver of the vehicle logs onto the server as normal via multiplayer mode. He then selects the vehicle and clicks on Race.

Normally, this driver takes over qualifying and the start of the race and hands over the vehicle to the other driver during the rest of the race.

3. server access driver 2

The second driver, i.e. the driver who takes over the vehicle, must join the server as a “spectator / spectator”. Logging on to the server is done as usual in multiplayer mode by entering the server password, but before the driver can click on “Race”, the spectator mode must be switched on as follows.

a) Server access (vehicle selection)

b) Activate viewer mode / spectate mode

First, the second driver must click on “Back” in the bottom left corner of the vehicle selection screen.

On this page, click on Network Settings.

In the pop-up menu, use the arrow keys to switch to “On” after the last item “Watch / Spectate”.

Now click on “Back” again to close the pop-up menu.

Click on “Race” and you will be taken to the vehicle selection.

If everything went well, you will find your name at the bottom of the list of participants under “Server”.

4th driver change (from the perspective of the 2nd driver)

The driver taking over as “2nd driver” initiates the entire driver change. To do this, he selects the driver from the list from whom he wants to take over the vehicle.

Click on the driver’s name from whom you want to take over the vehicle.

Then press the button you assigned for the driver change at point 1. Select driver / Passenger Select” button.

Then click on “Race” and ride along with rider 1. The picture also automatically switches to full screen mode.

If the camera selection is enabled by the server, it is recommended to switch the view to the cockpit view.

5. request pit stop and select driver

The previous driver must now request the pit stop and make all the necessary settings in the pit menu. Buttons should also be assigned for these steps.

When rider 2 presses the “Rider change button”, rider 1 receives the message “Rider 2 is now riding with you”. In this case, the drivers should contact each other via Teamspeak and confirm that the report has been made. It is recommended to change drivers on a straight stretch of road.

The correct driver must now be selected in the Pitstop menu on the right-hand side. When entering the pit, make sure the pit limiter is switched on.

During the pit stop, driver 1 is shown when he loses control.

In turn, driver 2 is shown when he gains control of the vehicle.

After the pit stop, driver 1 only has to press the “driver change button” to get out of the car and switch to the “spectator menu” with ESC.

ATTENTION: Spectator mode is now activated for driver 1. If you want to join the multiplayer as a single driver, you are a spectator by default. To be able to join as a driver again normally, you must follow the steps from “3. Join server driver 2” and set the “Watch / Spectate” value to “Off”.