It’s been a long time coming for a racing simulator originally released in 2013, but rFactor 2 has just taken an exciting new step for VR fans as the game’s latest beta not only adds DX11 support for enhanced visuals, but OpenVR support, enabling the game to be played on the Rift, Vive, and other headsets supporting OpenVR.
Rfactor 2 developer Studio 397 announced today the new open beta which is the first to introduce DX11 and VR support to the game. “We know it’s been an excruciating wait, even for us. We’ve been bursting with the type of anticipation you get when you’re waiting to give someone a really cool gift,” reads the official announcement.
The company says the beta is “the first important milestone in the continued development of rFactor 2. It is a huge update, focused on improving the visual fidelity and creating a foundation to work from. Importantly, this is an ‘open beta’, meaning we are still working on optimising and improving the fidelity of the engine.”
Instructions for opting into the beta are described in the official announcement.
Sim racer devotee Marcel Pfister has been honing his approach to capturing mixed reality racing sim gameplay which shows his in-game view with his real racing wheel, hands, and shifter. He’s already taken the Rfactor 2 beta for a spin in VR with the Rift and the results he captured look nothing short of intense; you can see him in action in the video heading this article. Seeing his real hands there working the wheel, and watching as his head tracks the incoming cars and curves, sells the immersiveness of the experience even while viewing it through a monitor.
Given that this is a beta, there’s still a number of known bugs, though developer Studio 397 says that “development is ongoing, and we will quickly move to a full release over the next few months. We will regularly provide you with updates, both in terms of code and content,” teasing everything from improved visuals to new tracks and cars, including an “innovative competition mechanic.”