SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Feature: rFactor: A Factor in Racing Sims

Shipping with fantasy tracks and fantasy cars might have resulted in a wait-and-see approach from some potential customers, even if the physics and graphics in rFactor are stunning. Although rFactor was released as recently as during summer 2005, I think it can safely be postulated that modding teams and individual modders have been — and still are — very busy.

Mods / Conversions

At the time of this writing, some additional tools are yet to be released by ISI, amongst them tools for making aiw files (unless I am mistaken). Nevertheless, the mod-scene is picking up the pace nicely and we can only expect that the pace will become more frenetic, and that mods and tracks will be pouring forth. Some highly anticipated mods are still in development, one such example is the NAGT (North American GT) mod. It is being jointly developed by The USPits and Team RSR. The USPits are also working on a Stock Car mod. Other mods or conversions are popping up like unexpected bonuses, e.g. the AeroWar88 conversion. Further mods are in development, amongst them some interesting Formula 1 seasons. One example of this is the announced 1979 F1 season mod.

I will try to give an overview of the various mods available and known to me at the time of this writing, but please forgive me if I've forgotten specific mods. This article is not intended to contain a complete or definitive list in any way. The list grows just about every day. Just to mention two mods that are highly anticipated but not really detailed in this article are the 1966 Can-Am mod and the Champ Car mod (double-yummy!). Soon as more is known about them, SimHQ will provide an updated report.

When discussing mods I find that one has to put aside any preconceptions about which mods are worthwhile downloading. For example I initially passed up on the Formula Nippon mod thinking that F1-like cars from a Japanese series was probably not for me. Upon downloading and driving the mod it has become my absolute favorite open wheel mod! This proves that there are lots of opportunities to be pleasantly surprised for those who are willing to spend a bit of time trying something new. If you haven't seen it already, I made a short video of Formula Nippons at Zandvoort. Download the "Zandvoort Close Racing" video here.

A final point is that when you're looking for the links to web sites of some of these mods, you can sometimes become slightly confused as the links are not always that easy to find. Thankfully, databases like the ones mentioned in the links section near the end of this article can usually help you get the mod you are searching for. All power to the guys who collect links and update them for the sim racer to have as a one-stop-shop so we don’t have to hunt down individual mods on the net.

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