Rfactor 2: Installation, Settings, Faq and Other Things

rFactor 2: Installation, Settings, FAQ and
Other Things
A small document explaining how to do stuff
v2.0 Beta 1 – MAJOR REWRITE EDITION
Hello everyone! This is a long unofficial document for the rFactor 2 game by Studio 397. The document is
up to date as of 30 July 2021.
If you are reading this, it means that you probably want some explanations on what you should do.
Previously (though it feels like an old time ago) I have done only normal “txt” files, but now I will try to
enhance you with images, FAQ and other stuff I can think of.
Enjoy this guide and remember, if you have any questions or problems, feel free to let me know.
Contents
Package Contents ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Installation.......................................................................................................................................................... 5
a) Base Game.............................................................................................................................................. 5
For Legit Players ....................................................................................................................................... 11
b) Content................................................................................................................................................. 12
c) DLCs ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
Legit Steam Users ..................................................................................................................................... 14
Cracked Users ........................................................................................................................................... 15
The OLD method ...................................................................................................................................... 16
How to update “Unlock.bin” .................................................................................................................... 24
Updating ........................................................................................................................................................... 29
a) Base Game............................................................................................................................................ 29
b) Content................................................................................................................................................. 29
c) DLCs ...................................................................................................................................................... 29
Gameplay ......................................................................................................................................................... 30
Main Menu ................................................................................................................................................... 30
Race .............................................................................................................................................................. 32
Mod/Event screen .................................................................................................................................... 34
Track Selection screen.............................................................................................................................. 35
Car Selection screen ................................................................................................................................. 36
Session Settings – Sessions ...................................................................................................................... 37
Session Settings – Opponents .................................................................................................................. 37
Session Settings – Practice Options ......................................................................................................... 38
Session Settings – Qualify Options ........................................................................................................... 38
Session Settings – Warmup Options ........................................................................................................ 39
Session Settings – Race Options ............................................................................................................... 39
Loading screen ......................................................................................................................................... 40
Servers screen .......................................................................................................................................... 40
Watch ........................................................................................................................................................... 41
Community ................................................................................................................................................... 41
Content – Packages screen .......................................................................................................................... 42
Profile ........................................................................................................................................................... 42
Settings ......................................................................................................................................................... 43
Calibrate screen........................................................................................................................................ 43
Assign screen ............................................................................................................................................ 44
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Graphics screen ........................................................................................................................................ 44
Display screen .......................................................................................................................................... 45
Sound screen ............................................................................................................................................ 45
Difficulty screen........................................................................................................................................ 46
Replay screen ........................................................................................................................................... 46
Plugins screen........................................................................................................................................... 47
Network screen ........................................................................................................................................ 47
Advanced Settings ............................................................................................................................................ 48
“player.json”................................................................................................................................................. 48
“controller.json” ........................................................................................................................................... 49
“CustomPluginVariables.json” ..................................................................................................................... 50
Multiplayer ....................................................................................................................................................... 51
How to connect to servers ........................................................................................................................... 51
The Shortcut Method ............................................................................................................................... 51
Auto-Downloading ....................................................................................................................................... 55
Getting IPs .................................................................................................................................................... 55
Multiplayer Settings ..................................................................................................................................... 55
Dedicated Server .............................................................................................................................................. 56
How to host a Dedicated Server yourself..................................................................................................... 56
Settings ......................................................................................................................................................... 56
Notes ................................................................................................................................................................ 58
Controller Vibration ..................................................................................................................................... 58
Controller set-up .......................................................................................................................................... 58
Other Tools ................................................................................................................................................... 58
For uploaders/repackers .............................................................................................................................. 58
For players .................................................................................................................................................... 58
For Studio 397 .............................................................................................................................................. 58
Bonus ................................................................................................................................................................ 60
Launcher Pack .............................................................................................................................................. 60
FAQ ................................................................................................................................................................... 61
Changelog ......................................................................................................................................................... 62
Game ............................................................................................................................................................ 62
DLC/Content ................................................................................................................................................. 67
Package ........................................................................................................................................................ 74
Document ..................................................................................................................................................... 74
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Package Contents
This package includes:
1. Base Game – Base Game files zipped, in parts of 250 MB to prevent redownloading big package if it
gets corrupted. Both versions (Normal/Classic and public-beta branch) are included;
2. Crack – the Crack for the game (cracks for both versions are included, crack for Legit version is also
included);
3. DLCs – the Paid Content of the Game, found in the Steam Store as Items; this package includes:
a. GT3 Pack – including all current 11 GT3 cars;
b. Formula E Bundle – including Formula E 2018 and Gen2 2019/2020 cars and 4 tracks
(including 2 new ones: New York and Berlin);
c. KartSim Pack;
d. Endurance Bundle – including 4 GTE cars (missing Ferrari 488 GTE), LMP2 car, LMP3 car and
Senna GTR car;
e. Track Expansion Bundle – including 4 high-quality tracks: Nürburgring, Sebring, Le Mans
and Circuit d’Azur (also known as Monaco);
f. Reiza Pack;
g. KartSim Pro (hidden);
h. KartSim Pro European (hidden);
i. KartSim European Track Pack;
j. Nürburgring Endurance Bundle – including Porsche GT3 Cup, BMW M2 CS Racing and the
new Radical SR3-XX;
k. Ferrari 488 GTE Car;
4. Official Content – all the official free content for the game from old developers ISI and new
developers Studio 397;
5. Other Content – Other content you can find in the Steam Workshop or on the internet;
6. Tools – various additional Tools to improve your experience with the game, or just enjoy the game
a bit more.
All Tools, DLCs and Content are completely optional.
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Installation
a) Base Game
(If you already have the game on Steam you can scroll down to “For Legit Players” section.)
Installation of the game is straightforward:
1. Unpack the archive of the game in the “Base Game” folder to wherever you want.
You will see that there are many files there – just open the one with “.zip” ending. It’s just a multi-
part archive, split up just to make sure if your download gets corrupted for some reason there’s
less to download.
I do recommend using WinRAR to unpack the archive, since I use it myself.
Password for unlocking the archive is: the usual one.
If you don’t know it, let me give you some hints:
It is the website you got this package from.
The same password is mentioned in other game topics most likely.
Alright, alright, it’s just “cs.rin.ru”. Yes, that’s the password.  there’s a hint there, but if you
needed it, you’re probably completely new OR you got it from elsewhere.
2. Apply the Crack from the “Crack” directory.
Since you’re installing the game this way, you will need to apply the crack either from “Goldberg”
folder or “P2P” folder. The first one is a newer one and I recommend using as it is easier to
maintain in the future. The latter one, “P2P”, is the old “Normal” one – it also works and is reliable,
but crack compatibility breaks with every/any game update.
Unzip the files to the main folder of the game (which you just extracted to the place you wanted). If
asked for overwriting – do overwrite the files.
The password is the same as above.
3. Edit configuration files.
If you’re using the “Goldberg” crack:

The crack uses Goldberg Emulator (Goldberg Emu). You can find more information about it in the
specific forum in RIN, or even in Gitlab - https://gitlab.com/Mr_Goldberg/goldberg_emulator
More explanations on what does certain things do (Readme) -
https://gitlab.com/Mr_Goldberg/goldberg_emulator/-/blob/master/Readme_release.txt
Before playing the game using Goldberg Emu for the first time, you’ll need to do one more step:
Go to “[main_rFactor2_directory]/Bin64/steam_settings” and edit “force_account_name.txt” with
your name and save it. That’s it. Feel free to play the game.
If you’re using the “P2P” crack:
First of all, navigate to the main folder of the Game (basically, navigate to the folder where you just
extracted the game). Now in that folder, navigate to “Bin64” folder and find a file named
“SteamConfig.ini” and open it with, for example, Notepad:
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Now, find the line with “PlayerName” in it:
Now edit the username alongside it to whatever you want, and then save the file:
You can close the window after saving. Don’t worry, other options won’t matter.
Why are we doing this? Because we do not want everyone to be the same person in this game!
4. Launch the Game Config.

In the “Bin32” or “Bin64” folders of the Game, create a Shortcut for “rF Config.exe” and edit the
Properties of the shortcut, removing the “Bin32” or “Bin64” part from the location in “Start in:”
field. Then use the shortcut to launch the Config. (Also, alternatively, you can put the “Run
Config.bat” batch file from the Launch Shortcuts pack added (Bonus section of the Document). It
will do the same.)
A Config Window will open with some basic Display Settings:
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Quick explanation:
a. GPU – Set your GPU Adapter here. Mostly useful for laptops to select the correct GPU to
use (as by default it breaks), but if you have issues running the game, check this option.
The option tends to reset after every PC restart, too.
b. Video – Set your primary monitor here. If you have, for example, 2 monitors, here you can
set which one will be used by default. Can be complemented by option k) too, if you have 3
monitors.
c. Mode and Resolution – Set your Window Mode and Resolution here. Resolution options
are available when you use Fullscreen or Windowed modes. Borderless will always use your
desktop resolution, so resolution change will not be available.
d. Anti-Aliasing – Set your preferred Anti-Aliasing here. Note that recently it was properly
renamed to MSAA. Directly controls option i), as when Anti-Aliasing is set to None, option i)
becomes available (might need to change options a bit for that to work).
e. Refresh Rate – Set your preferred Refresh Rate here. You probably will not want to run the
game at 60 Hz when your monitor is capable of 144 Hz…
f. Language – Unfortunately, this option currently has no effect on the game (maybe only on
Config window). The option may get removed in the future with proper replacement in the
game.
g. Sync – Set your V-Sync option here. Options are “Software” and “Video”. I wish I could
explain the difference between them, but I can’t – only that with “Software”, the game ran
at higher framerates, while “Video” kept it to 60 (probably limiting to Refresh Rate?).
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h. Post Effects – Set your PostFX here. These are various effects starting from Sun Glare to
Heat Haze, etc. Post-Processing, essentially. Do note that this can use a lot of PC resources,
so keep that in mind when trying to play.
i. FXAA – Available only when Anti-Aliasing is set to “None”. This gives a cheap Anti-Aliasing
option, which, while not great at all, is at least SOME Aliasing, and it’s not resource
demanding.
j. VR – One of more important settings if you want to play in VR. This gives the option to use
VR headsets for that full immersion of racing. Options are “HMD” (a.k.a. VR Headset only)
and “HMD + mirror” (you can see on PC screen what you see in VR Headset).
k. MultiView – Don’t know much about this option, but my guess is that it’s available when
you have a 3-monitor setup, so that you can use all three monitors to show the game
properly.
Don’t forget to press OK to Save the Settings!
5. Launch the actual game.
After setting up Video Settings, it’s time to run the game. Make a shortcut for the main game exe
file in Bin64 folder (same way you did for the Config), or use a launcher from the Launch Shortcuts
pack (Bonus section of the Document). When loaded, if everything went well, it should greet you
with this first screen:
6. Do the “First Launch Wizard”.
With the new UI, Studio 397 have been consistently working on improving user experience, so now
you can do a “First Launch Wizard” to set up some basic stuff. (Up to date as of 2021-07-27)
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a. First, the Game will ask you to set up your Name and your Nickname.
Your Name here can be your Full Name (First Name and Last Name) or whatever you want
– this will be used for Offline Sessions.
Your Nickname will be used for Online Sessions most of the time, so choose wisely.
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b. After that, the game will offer you to setup some Controls.
This will allow you to set some initial controls for your controlling device. The setup
includes steering both ways, degrees setup, throttle, brake, shifting (sequential or H-
pattern).
c. Finally, the game will offer to “download some content”.
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This doesn’t matter in cracked versions, as you need Steam connection to download it
anyway. Select any and press “Install”.
And with that, the “First Launch Wizard” should be complete! In the end, you should be
thrown to the Main Menu of the game:
If you see this screen, congratulations! You have installed and prepared the game! But
there’s nothing to race on, since there are no tracks or cars properly installed. We’ll get to
that later.
For Legit Players

If you have the Legit game, you only need to install the “LEGIT” crack, if you want to use DLCs. Refer to the
DLCs section below.
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b) Content
(This part of the Installation Tutorial implies that you have completed the “First Launch Wizard” and have
seen the Main Menu at least once.)
It’s not that difficult to get some “new” content installed for rFactor 2:
1. Get the mod “.rfcmp” file and put it in the “Packages” directory.
Basically, just put any “.rfcmp” file in the “Packages” directory. You can take, for example, files from
the “Official Content” in this package.
The “Packages” directory should be created by default in the main game folder, however, if it was
not created yet, you can create it yourself.
2. In the Main Menu of the game, click on “Content” or scroll right until you see dark “Content”
section, and click “Packages” button.
After clicking that button, you should see something like this:
3. Select the Package and Install it.
Just select the Package you want to install and press the “Install” button on the Left Side.
The game will install the content and the list will automatically refresh
If you’re not sure if you have installed the Package, just look at the “Installed” column, if the
Package is installed at the current version, you should see a green checkmark in that column.
You can also install multiple packages at once by selecting a few of them and pressing “Install” –
the game should install all of them.
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4. Play the Content you installed.
Now when you launch the game you will see that your content is now in the game (either Track or
Car), and now you can use it!
If you have installed a new HUD, you can find it in the Options menu instead.
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c) DLCs
(NOTE: This part can be quite confusing and not easy to do, however I tried my best explain how to do
things. Thankfully, this has become much easier recently. This part also applies to the Legit game owners.)
After Studio 397 claimed this game, the game started getting quite a big amount of paid DLCs – Items,
which could be purchased in Steam Store and allowed you to drive more detailed content (content which
has a lot more fine-tuned details, like bumps in tracks with laser-scan technology or more detailed cars). It
is not available to test the content out for free, and for a long time it wasn’t available to all of us. Luckily,
people discovered what you can do to have this content unlocked and play it.
In this part, I’m letting people themselves learn how to install it, just so they could learn what you need to
do if they ever want to update the DLCs themselves.
Currently, there are quite a few methods to get and install the DLCs. Most of it is now automatized since
the “new UI” simplified things quite a bit, plus there were some small internal changes which made
downloading items very easy.
The difficulty of using DLCs differ from user to user:
Legit Steam Users

This method is easiest to do, but it usually breaks after game update.
Stuff you will need:
a) SteamDB (https://steamdb.info/)
b) Patience.
What you will need to do:
1. Get the DLC item number(s).
Navigate to https://steamdb.info/app/365960/items/ and get search for “workshopid” of the item.

For example, we have this item:
Grab the “workshopid” from it:
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2. Copy the “workshopid” into the Steam Community link:
(As an example, the link would be https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=XXX,

just replace the “XXX” with the “workshopid” you find.)
3. Subscribe to the Item.
Just click the “Subscribe” button on that webpage. Keep in mind that you have to be logged in with
the same account that owns rFactor 2. Now just let Steam download the content.
4. Launch the game from Steam.
Finally, after the download is complete, just launch the game from Steam, because when launching
from Steam, it has the “workshop refresh” command, which checks for any new/updated
workshop content and installs it. DLCs will also install like that.
Success, you’re done. Unless the game updated and broke the exes. Then you need a new patched
exe.
Cracked Users
The process quite similar, however there’s no easy Workshop refresh, so manual installation is required.
Fortunately, the old “extract then replace then install then replace then yadda yadda yadda” method is not
required anymore.
Stuff you’ll need:
a) SteamDB;
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b) SteamCMD (get it from this link: http://media.steampowered.com/installer/steamcmd.zip)
c) Some more patience and time.
These are the steps you’ll need to do:
1. Get the DLC item number(s).

This step is the same as for Legit users. I won’t repeat it, but you can look at it again above.
2. Extract the SteamCMD folder anywhere.
Doesn’t matter where you want it, just extract it, however, keep in mind that the workshop stuff
here stays, so preferably use it in another disk to avoid spamming up C: drive.
3. Launch Command Line and navigate to the extracted SteamCMD folder.
You can use either classic CMD or you can use Powershell, your call.
4. Download the DLC items using SteamCMD.
Since Studio 397 made anonymous access available for the items, it became easy to get/update
DLC items for the game.
Use the following command to download, for example, the Sebring track:
“steamcmd.exe +login anonymous +workshop_download_item 365960 1453463528 +quit”
If you used Powershell, line is similar:
“.\steamcmd.exe +login anonymous +workshop_download_item 365960 1453463528 +quit”
Replace “1453463528” with another workshop ID if required.
Now, let SteamCMD update and download, so relax and take your time. Unfortunately, you can
only queue 1 download at a time, so this will probably take a while. If you encountered problems
when downloading and download failed, just launch the same command again.
The downloaded content will be available in “[main_SteamCMD_folder]\
steamapps\workshop\content\365960\[workshop_ID]”.
5. Copy the downloaded .rfcmp files to “Packages” folder of the game.
Just do a simple copy-paste into “Packages” folder of the game and you should be good.
As a reminder, for DLC items, there are two versions of the same name, differing by one (2.22 and
2.23 for example) – both are mandatory to install the DLC.
6. Install the DLC content.
Install the DLC content same as all content in the game.
Congratulations, now you have DLC content in the game.
The OLD method

The OLD method was left here for purely archival purposes, however it is still required if you’re trying to set
up a cracked Dedicated Server (purely Server, without the game).
The OLD method also explains how to update Unlock.bin for Cracked “P2P” and Cracked “Legit” users.
This part was also updated slightly.
Stuff you will need:
a) QuickBMS with rFactor 2 script (provided as a zip in the “Tools” folder in “DLC” directory)
b) SteamDB (https://steamdb.info/)
c) Hex Editor (I will be using HxD, a free Hex Editor which does the job well)
d) Calculator with Hexadecimal calculation support (or just good hexadecimal calculation knowledge)
e) Patience and Time.
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What you will need to do:
1. Navigate to the rFactor 2 page in the SteamDB page and select “Items” on the left side.
To save you some time, here’s the direct link to the Items:
https://steamdb.info/app/365960/items/
2. Extract the QuickBMS archive I provided and open the folder.

The archive is in the “Tools” folder, named “quickbms_rf2.zip”.
Extract it anywhere you want and open the folder of the tool. You should see something like this:
Also, alongside this folder open, for simplicity, I’d recommend opening up another 2 new Windows
Explorer windows – one for the main game folder, and one for the DLC folder where you have the
DLC stuff.
3. Get the DLC files.
For simplicity, I added currently newest (as of right now, which is 30 July 2021) DLC files in the
package, but if you have the Legit game, you can automatically get the updates:
a) search for the item you’d like to get, for example:
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b) find the “workshopid” of the item:
c) copy the “workshopid” into the Steam Community link:
(As an example, the link would be https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=XXX,

just replace the “XXX” with the “workshopid” you find.)
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d) Subscribe to the Item.
Files for the item will be automatically downloaded by Steam, you can find those files in Main
Steam folder/steamapps/workshop/content/365960. You will find folders of the “workshopid”
there.
As a reminder, you NEED to own the game on Steam to download the files this way.
4. Extract the “first” DLC file.
DLC files for particular item will always come in pairs, and usually with an “odd” number
(sometimes, but rarely, it will be even). You will need to get the manifest file “.mft” from the first
file (the one with the lower version number in the file name).
To do that, use QuickBMS:
a) Drag-and-drop the “rfactor2.bms” file onto “quickbms.exe” or “quickbms_4gb_files.exe” file (I’d

recommend the second one for big tracks or big packs, like the Nürburgring one) in the QuickBMS
folder you created before.
This will reduce the steps needed by one. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, you can launch
QuickBMS normally and then select the rfactor2.bms file instead.
b) Select the DLC file.

QuickBMS will open a window asking for file selection – so just navigate to the folder where you
have the DLC you want, select the file with lower version in the file name and “Open”:
c) Select where you want to extract the file.

After selecting, QuickBMS will ask where you want to save that file. You can use the same folder it
opens up to if you want (by default it will use the same DLC folder you used in previous step), or
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move to a different one.
Don’t mind the save name (it can be anything) and press “Save”:
d) Confirm the action.

Finally, in the main QuickBMS window you will see a mention of using MEMORY_FILE4 to unpack
the files. Enter “y” (yes) and confirm with Enter.
Let the program extract the file. The window will say when the task will be finished:
Close the window after extracting.
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5. Install the DLC “Packages”.
After extracting, you can take both the “.rfcmp” files for the DLC you want (DO NOT TAKE ANY
OTHER EXTRACTED FILES YET) and move them into “Packages” folder of the Base Game folder.
For this example I will use the old rFactor 2 Mod Manager (which can be found in either the
“Bin32” or “Bin64” folder, file “ModMgr.exe”; “Bin32” version may be more stable).
When using ModMgr, make sure your folders are set up correctly:
(Working Dir should always be main folder, and Packages Dir should always point at Packages)
Also, if you don’t see anything, make sure you have both Mods and Components selected at the
top of the window:
Anyway. Select the DLC content you want to install, and then press the “Install” button.
The window will refresh, and it will say that the DLC is still not installed.
That’s not true, because it’s just that the manifest file doesn’t copy since Game doesn’t detect
proper licenses.
You can fix that by doing this:
a) Go to the “Installed” folder (in main Game folder), open up Locations (if you were installing a
track) or Vehicles (if you were installing a car) and find the DLC you were installing, open the folder.
b) You will see one folder in it with the version number, open it.
When you open it, you will see that the files are all there, but if you check the files in “Details”
mode, you will see that the manifest file (“.mft”) will have a size of 0 KB:
c) Copy and Paste the good “.mft” file. Select the good one from the folder you extracted that DLC
from (it will have the size of at least 1 KB) and copy it, then paste it in the folder which had the 0 KB
file. Windows will ask for overwriting, confirm it.
It should look something like this now:
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Fix is done, now go back to the ModMgr window, select that same DLC content again and hit
“Refresh” at the top right of the window:
This will refresh the window again. You didn’t need to select the DLC, really, but if you have a lot of
content, it saves some seconds of scrolling to find your DLC again.
After refreshing, alongside your DLC line you should see phrase “Update Available” in Bold:
Now select the DLC again and click on the “Update” button and let it update:
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After another refresh, your DLC content will be shown as installed!..
Well, not quite.
You see, after you install the “update”, the “.mft” file in the original version resets back to 0 KB, so
when trying to load the track/car, the game will tell that the files are missing:
You will need to copy and paste (replace) the “.mft” file again with a good one again (and that’s
why I said COPY, not MOVE). Now when you go back from that file folder where you installed the
car/track, you should see 2 versions of the track/car – that’s how it should be:
Congratulations, you installed the DLC car/track.
6. Do the same thing for all DLC files you want to use.
This is why I said you’ll need patience and time. It’s not very easy, and you need to be careful to not
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delete anything necessary. However, that should (hopefully) eliminate any problems with DLC
content not showing up.
You should be able to enjoy the DLCs now!
You should have all the DLCs currently available working, but what if a new DLC is released?
How to update “Unlock.bin”

This is where the Hex Editor comes in. As an example, I will be using HxD Editor.
(NOTE: This only applies to the “Legit” and “P2P” crack users. For “Goldberg” users, this won’t work –
you’ll need to update “items.json” and “default_items.json” files.)
1. Go to the “Unlock.bin” file and make it write-able (remove the read-only checkmark in the file
Properties and select OK).
Back-up the file, just in case.
2. Open the file in the Hex Editor.
In this example, I just dropped the “Unlock.bin” file onto the HxD editor.
You will see a lot of gibberish, something along the lines of this:
Don’t worry, this should make sense in a bit.
3. Edit the file.
This is where SteamDB comes in again, the Items part (use the link a few pages back).
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The part which is needed by you will come as an example in this way:
To explain what these lines do – first 4 bytes (as highlighted above in Yellow) describe which item
are we unlocking (in hexadecimal number), and after that, symbols (the underlined part) are the
unlock key. After that it’s just a “marker” that one key ends (the 00). Luckily, you can find the
unlock key just in SteamDB itself:
So, what do you need to do?
a) Select the code part from the beginning with 4 bytes up to the next part where 4 bytes begin, as
shown marked in red in the picture above;
b) copy that code with Ctrl-C;
c) move the marker to a place before some 4 bytes block begins and paste the code.
In my example, HxD will inform that I will be modifying the size of the file, and I confirm the
modifying of the file size:
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You should now have something like this:
Now, what do you have to do next:
a) modify the first 4 bits and add the correct ID.

ID can be found in SteamDB:
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You will need to convert that ID to hexadecimal number. Windows 10 Calculator app does that in
Programmer mode easily, but use whatever you want to convert.
HUGE NOTE: If the converted number is bigger than 2 signs (FF, or 255 in normal), the
Hex code entered has to be split and written backwards in parts. Example: 10000
converted to Hex would be 2710, but in the file, you MUST write 10 27. Same with higher
numbers, 11 27 for 10001, 12 27 for 10002 and so on.
Always use the 4 bytes before the key. If ID is bigger and takes 2 bytes, leave 2 bytes spare instead
of 3.
b) modify the key.

You can find the key alongside the Item (I already did show where).
If you use HxD, just replace the key with the actual required key on the generated output on the
right, Windows will automatically replace the symbols with required bytes. Keys are always same
length (at least for now):
You should have something like this:
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Here, 12 means the ID of the same Sebring (18 in Decimal is 12 in Hexadecimal), and then the key
was pasted from SteamDB.
Finally, there is one more thing left to do. Now back in the beginning of the file, there are 4 bytes
which need to be edited (and most importantly, the first one, highlighted in Yellow):
This is the number of DLCs active. The current number works good with the current DLCs, but when
you add a new one, you MUST increase the byte number by 1 in hexadecimal (if you add 2, increase
by 2, and so on). Basically, if you don’t trust your math, convert the hexadecimal number (that 1
byte for now) to normal number, add 1 (or however many DLCs you added) and then convert back
to Hexadecimal, and then paste that number as that byte.
4. Save the file and make it Read-Only again.
You can finally save the file, and if you worked with HxD it automatically created a backup file for
you, if you messed up you can always check the backup to see what might went wrong.
After saving, you can close the program, and in the file Properties select “Read-Only” again and
press OK.
5. Enjoy the DLC!
Congratulations! This was probably a hard work, but you can feel like a “hackerman” – you now
have access to the new paid DLC content! But be respectful – BUY THE DAMN DLC. In my opinion,
it’s worth it, but you should rather wait for sales as normally the prices are quite steep.
IF DLC STILL DOES NOT SHOW UP IN THE GAME, CHECK FAQ.
28
Updating
a) Base Game
If you want to update Base Game, just overwrite the folder completely, BUT be aware that some stuff
might need a “clean version” to avoid potential bugs. (If you’re a Legit user, you sometimes might need to
“start fresh” too.)
b) Content
If you want to update the Content, you’ll have to put the “.rfcmp” file into Packages folder and install it
using the game.
If you are a Legit user, Launcher updates the content from Workshop for you automatically. You will still
have to update the content not found in Workshop by yourself.
c) DLCs
DLC updating differs depending on what version you use and what content you have/own.
For Legit users, it will update automatically through Workshop – just don’t forget to run the game through
Steam.
For Cracked users, you’ll have to keep track of DLC updates yourself, and also download the updates
manually and also manually install them. Well, at least you won’t need to use QuickBMS too much.
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Gameplay
Main Menu
By default, the game will greet you with a screen similar to this:
Quick explanations:
a) rFactor 2 – that’s the Main Menu option. You’re here now.

b) Race – racing setup: Single Player, Multiplayer, Competitions.
c) Watch – a place to watch your previous replays. Also, you can “join” a replay at a certain time (if
the replay is Single Player one).
d) Community – everything related to community. Currently, only Forum is added.
e) Profile – click your name to access your profile page.
f) Settings – all various settings.
g) Messages – used for Multiplayer to chat with people; also planned to show alerts for upcoming
competitions in the future.
h) News tab – the Main News hub. Clicking “More” button will open the Studio 397 webpage in the
game with all other news.
i) Race tab – shows last combo selected for racing. In this example, I have no content installed, so it’s
showing this instead.
j) Race button – clicking this will instantly launch you into loading a session with the last selected
combo and settings.
k) Customize button – same as pressing Race in the top bar.
l) Exit Game button – self-explanatory. Downside – it’s only available in the Main Menu here.
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m) Competition tab – worth looking at only for Legit users. No use of it for Cracked users.
n) Watch tab – check your Replays, check current livestreams of the game.
o) Community tab – shows various activity. Currently mostly shows new content from Studio 397
forums.
p) Content tab – place to manage all your content for the game.
q) Workshop button – opens workshop in the in-game (overlay?) browser (Legit users only).
r) Item Store button – opens in-game (overlay?) browser to buy the DLCs for the game (Legit users
only).
s) Packages button – manage all your content for the game.
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Race
Navigating to “Race” screen will show you this:
Some explanations here:
a) Multiplayer tab – this tab will show the servers you “favorited”.
b) More button – clicking this will show the full server list.
c) Refresh favorites – refresh the servers on this tab to see whether things have changed or not.
d) Single Player tab – shows all information for current selection for offline driving/racing.
e) This part shows the Mod/Event. By default, it’s “All Tracks & Cars” which shows everything installed
in the game. Different Mods/Events will show different limited content available.
f) This part shows the Track selected. In this example, I have no tracks installed, so the game shows
nothing.
g) This part shows the Car selected and it’s Tuning, if available. In this example, I have no vehicles
installed yet, so the game shows default “PaceCar” (Safety Car, in other words) as my car. It is not
drivable and will get replaced as soon as you install any car mod.
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h) Competition tab – only important for Legit users who use the Competition System.
Let me show you a working example of how it may look like:
33
Mod/Event screen
Nothing fancy here, just select certain Mod/Event if there is any. If not, only “All Tracks & Cars” will be
available. Just click “Select” on the left after, and let the game work a bit.
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL SCREENS

You can change the look of various screens: Mod/Event screen, Track Selection screen, Car selection
screen, Server List screen, Packages screen. Just click the icon at the top and select one of three layouts:
34
Track Selection screen
By default, it will be empty until you install at least one track.
After that, it will look probably something like this:
Track layout (if generated correctly) can be seen on the left, while other tracks and their layouts can be
seen on the right, in the list. There are also some additional details, like Track Length or description (“Road
Course”, “Permanent Circuit”, etc.). Just don’t forget to press “Select” on the left side.
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Car Selection screen
By default, as you can see, the list on the right is empty as we don’t have anything installed. After installing
at least one car, it will look something like this instead:
I also used a different layout for this screen.
As you can see, we have various information about the car: Preview icons (if they exist), manufacturer,
engine type, configuration (“Upgrades”). You can press “Customize” to change the “Upgrades” of the car if
required, or if you would like to add a custom skin. It also acts as a showroom.
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Do not forget to click the “Select” button after you chose your vehicle.
Session Settings – Sessions
In “Session Settings”, you can customize what you would like to do – how many practice, qualifying, race
sessions to do, what’s the Time Scale, what set of Flag Rules will be used, etc.
You can also do a “Test Day” (a.k.a. Hotlapping) – just set all number of Sessions to 0. Be warned that Test
Day uses same setup from Practice 1, so it might be a good idea so set Practice sessions to 1, set up
everything there and then set it back to 0.
Session Settings – Opponents
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You can set the amount of AI you want to race against, their strength (100% should be life-like) and
aggression and even change the limiter of AI (differences between AI). You can also select which opponents
to race against, though individual one-by-one AI selection is not available currently.
Session Settings – Practice Options
Set the Weather, Time and Track options. Reminder: Test Day will use same values as set for Practice 1.
Session Settings – Qualify Options
Similar setup to Practice, however, a lap amount limiter exists here. TIP: For F1-like Knockout Qualifying,
please use the Knockout plugin and configure it as required.
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Session Settings – Warmup Options
Who uses Warmup nowadays anyway…
Session Settings – Race Options
You can set the start type (rolling, standing, etc), race finish criteria (laps, time, laps+time, percentage
based), number of laps and/or time, your start position (if no qualifying) and other things.
Feel free to mess around if you want!
39
Loading screen
After clicking the “Race” button, the game will start loading the track. If everything is correct and there are
no issues, the game should load the track and cars, and then you’ll be able to race, mess around with setup,
etc.
First launch usually takes quite some time so don’t worry. If you encounter any errors while loading, it is
likely that the track/car was not installed properly or got corrupted.
Servers screen
This screen shows all multiplayer servers available. For cracked users, only “LAN” option will be interesting.
40
Watch
This screen shows the available replays to watch. Nothing much here.
Community
This page shows some of the newest posts from Studio 397 forum. You can also the full forum here.
41
Content – Packages screen
This screen is somewhat familiar to the old “Packages” screen in the old launcher. You can select the stuff
you have in “Packages” folder to be installed; you can also uninstall content which may not be required.
You can also “Refresh” the list if you just put in some new stuff.
“LOCAL” Item Type means that it was installed from the “Packages” folder (or in the game already).
Subscribed items from workshop will have the “WORKSHOP” tag.
Profile
Here you can change your Name and Nickname if you want. (Language change may be possible later.)
42
Settings
Here you are able to set all the various settings available. Some settings are still only available in the .json
files. Reminder – this is only an overview. You can move to different screens by pressing on the squares at
the bottom, or by pressing the arrows on the side of the screens.
Calibrate screen
Here you can set up your controller – steering angles, deadzones, rotation degree limits, Force Feedback
(FFB) settings. The game will visually represent your input here too.
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Assign screen
This screen is used for setting up various buttons and axes for the game to support. If required, you can also
use one of the presets on the left (or save yours).
Graphics screen
Pretty much the same as the Config window, minus the GPU selection.
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Display screen
One of the more important screens – here, you can set various graphics details, showroom used, how many
vehicles you can see, which units to use (kph/mph, metric/imperial), which HUD will be used, default
camera used for driving and some other minor settings.
TIP: I recommend to keep Visible Vehicles option to rather low – helps with the framerates when racing
against more AI.
Sound screen
Various sound settings here. However, the player.json file still has some more advanced settings.
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Difficulty screen
This screen allows you to set up the assists (left column) and AI settings (right column). The middle column
has some options to simplify a few things, like having automatic headlights when you don’t have a button
set up for it.
TIP: I suggest having the “Repeat Shifts” option on at 100-150 MS – helps to avoid accidental multi-shifts.
Replay screen
Some replay settings can be found here.
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Plugins screen
Enable or Disable plugins here. More advanced setup still needs to be done in the
CustomPluginVariables.json file.
Network screen
Some Network settings here, purely used for multiplayer purposes. If you don’t intend to play multiplayer,
this screen does nothing for you.
This should cover most of the basic stuff you need for the game.
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Advanced Settings
“player.json”
If you navigate to “UserData” folder, then go to the “player” folder and open “player.JSON” with your
favorite text editor, you can edit a few additional settings which are not available to edit in the game:
“Repeat Shifts” – this line allows you to adjust the detection ratio for repeating shifts. These can happen
usually with older/used wheels or with controllers (as in, you press the button to upshift once, but it
changes gears up twice) – I recommend setting the option to at least option 2 (within 150ms), but if you’re
struggling still, adjust the option to your liking. This option can now also be found in the Settings in the
game.
“AI Mistakes” – this field allows you to make the AI do intentional mistakes. AI is quite smart to do
unintentional mistakes, don’t worry, so this field is not fully required, but if you want AI to do more
mistakes, you could set the field to 1.
“AI Formation by Position” – this one adjusts AI behavior behind the Safety Car. If the AI is struggling under
the SC (they do not form up well, for example), you can set this to true, but be aware that AI might not
respect your own position sometimes.
“Autocalibrate AI Mode” – if you want a bit more realistic AI and a bit more challenge, you could set this
field up. Set it to either 1 or 2.
More explanation of what it does: https://forum.studio-397.com/index.php?threads/ai-learning-step-by-
step-guide.47657/
“Show Extra Lap” – a nice thing to have. This one changes the way the Lap count is displayed. By default, it
is fractional (for example, 4.2), but you can change the option from default -1 to 0 to have it show only full
laps completed (keeping the previous example, it would show 4) or change the option to 1 to show the
current lap you’re on (F-1 style, so as in the previous examples, it would show 5).
“Lookahead Angle” – another nice immersive thing if you’re driving in Cockpit Cam. It is basically the
options of how much should your camera turn when you’re turning the wheel into the corner.
Keep in mind, that this is counted in Radians, not in Degrees (as explained, to get required Radians, take the
wanted degrees and divide them by 57, so for example 15 degrees in Radians would be 0.261, so you’d
have to enter that).
“Wind and Crowd Motion” – I guess a small detail which is nice to have, so you can keep it as “true”.
There are more options you can change around, but I’ll let you discover it yourself.
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“controller.json”
In the same “UserData/player” directory, you can also open “Controller.JSON” file – this file is all about
controls of the game. It has quite a few hidden settings:
“Alternate Neutral Activation” – if it is set to true, you can push both “Gear Up” and “Gear Down” buttons
at the same time to activate Neutral Gear.
“Alternate Rearlook Activation” – if this is set to true, you can push the “Look Left” and “Look Right”
buttons at the same time to look behind you.
“Hardware 3Digit Display” – if your wheel has a 3Digit display, you can select what you want to see in it –
either Nothing (0), Gear (1, Default) or Speed (2).
“Realtime Controller Detection” – it should allow to check if any new devices have been connected in real-
time, or the device positions have been switched (as in, different USB slots, for example).
Seems to be not working at least at the moment, but I might be wrong.
“Steering Wheel Software Rotation” – a very recently added option. Mostly aimed to improve experience
with Direct Drive wheels, IIRC. Can now also be set in the game Settings.
“Use Additional Hardware Features” – I highly recommend keeping this as True. Mostly an option for
Wheels which have LEDs.
“Use Keyboard Rates For Analog” – if you want to play the game with a gamepad, I HIGHLY recommend
settings this option to True. This option, at least for me, greatly improved the handling on a controller.
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“CustomPluginVariables.json”
In the same “UserData/player” folder there is also “CustomPluginVariables.JSON” file – this one is for the
additional plugins to set up.
Some worthy mentions would be:
“KnockoutQualifying.dll” – a plugin which enables F-1 type Qualifying:
• Enabled – enables/disables the plugin

• NumQualSessions – how many sessions will be needed (values are 2-4)
• TimedLapRequired – how many timed laps you need (minimum) to Qualify
o TotalXSessionYMinutes – how long will the Session be
o TotalXSessionYScored – how many do get “scores”, for example F-1 type scoring would be:
Session1Scored = 20, Session2Scored = 15, Session3Scored = 10.
o In this part X is the NumQualSession you set up and Y is the Session number.
ONLY EDIT LINES WITH YOUR X SET UP (for example, if you set NumQualSession to 3, only edit
lines which have “Total3” in them)!
“TrackIR_rF2_Plugin.dll” – this plugin is nice to have enabled when you don’t have VR, but you have
head/face tracking devices and software set up.
50
Multiplayer
Since the change to the new UI, Multiplayer is easily accessed through the game itself.
How to connect to servers

If you own the Legit game, just navigate to the server list, select server and let it connect and download the
required files. Select whether you’re Driving or only Spectating, select car and join session. It’s a pretty easy
process.
However, if you’re not a legit user, you won’t have the option to use the MP part of the game since it
shows nothing there (no servers). However, you can still connect to the servers – you just need to know
their addresses.
The only way to connect to a server with a cracked version of the game currently is using a Shortcut method.
LAN option for the server list may work, however it was not tested.
The Shortcut Method

You can connect to any server easily by creating a special Shortcut of the game.
First, navigate to “Bin64” folder and in that folder create a Shortcut for the rfactor2.exe Executable:
Now open the Properties window for that executable:
51
Now, in the Target field, after the quotes (“), add a space and write this:
“+multiplayer +connect xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:yyyyy”
52
Replace “xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:yyyyy” with the actual server IP and Port.
Before you close the window, edit the “Start in:” field and REMOVE ONLY THE “Bin64” PART.
It should look like this:
53
Now you can save the Shortcut by pressing OK, and then run the game FROM THE SHORTCUT.
Bingo – you’re now connecting to Multiplayer!
ALTERNATATVELY, you can use a Multiplayer shortcut from the Launch Shortcuts pack – just replace the IP
in it with the server IP:port you want.
54
Auto-Downloading
Some servers will allow you to download the missing Content, so you don’t have to be afraid you’re missing
Content! However, not all servers do offer that.
The only solution is to find and install the Content yourself manually.
If you encounter issues while downloading content, make sure you have “Packages” folder created. The
game does not automatically create it for now.
Getting IPs
If you need to get any IPs, you’ll have to get them yourself, unfortunately.
There are some examples though:
http://internationalsimracing.liveracers.com/Live (open the "Join" link in a new tab and check the address
bar then - you'll see the IP)
https://gamemonitoring.net/en/servers?game=365960 (actual port is "port_written - 2", so if it's written

6005 then actually it is 6003 and so on)
However, the most reliable way to get IPs would be from Steam serverlist, and I have exactly done that for
this page:
https://fun4all.lt/serverlist/rF2.php
I even have added the CMD line to use so it would be easier.
Multiplayer Settings
In the “UserData/player” folder there is also a “Multiplayer.JSON” file which has a few hidden settings, but
there isn’t much to be looking at. However, there is one important setting:
“Spectator Mode” – This enables the player to watch everything as a spectator ONLY. Set this to True only if
you want to watch and you don’t want to race (mostly used in streamed Leagues, I guess?). This option is
deprecated, kind of, in public-beta version of the game – when connecting to the server, the game asks if
you want to drive, or you want to spectate only.
Other settings are not that important, but feel free to experiment with them a bit.
55
Dedicated Server
How to host a Dedicated Server yourself
You can also host your own dedicated server! I won't be getting into the detail on how to do it, but there
are tutorials on Steam (and created by Studio 397 themselves) which explain how to do it proper:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=554544322 (Creating a Custom RaceEvent)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=553030951 (Hosting a Dedicated Server Using

RaceEvents)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=553088396 (Setting up a Dedicated Server

(completely dedicated) (slightly outdated))
https://docs.studio-397.com/users-guide/setting-up-a-dedicated-server (Slightly updated version of the

tutorial above)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=580727258 (Server Commands list)
Just don’t forget that if you want to host DLC content you also need the cracked Dedicated Server – I have
added 2 specific versions of cracks for the server. The “Goldberg” version is much easier to maintain and
update and it should work after any update, however the server will not show up in the serverlist. The
“P2P” version works as intended and the server shows up in the list, however the compatibility breaks after
any update. You’ll also need to do additional few steps so that you could host DLCs:
https://forum.studio-397.com/index.php?threads/how-to-hosting-with-steamcmd-and-paid-
content.57209/
https://forum.studio-397.com/index.php?threads/how-to-creating-a-raceevent-with-paid-content.57207/
Settings
In “Multiplayer.JSON” file there are quite a few settings for the server, here's a few important ones:
HTTP Server Port - direct connection port. Set it wisely.
Admin Password - set the admin password, if not set. Players who know the password can login in-game
and edit stuff.
Enable Autodownloads - allow autodownloading from your server.
Enforce Real Name - forces Name to be shown instead of UserNames.
Forced Driving View - forces cameras used. You can restrict to cockpit cam only if you want, or force
everyone to use a trackside cam (for jokes).
Must Be Stopped - do you allow to get back to monitor at any time, or do we have to stop completely?
Pause While Zero Players - do you pause the game when the server is empty?
Race Rejoin - if people can rejoin the race, and do they get their old car with setup, or just a new car.
SuperAdminPassword - another password, but this one is reserved for Super Admins - they have higher
priority than normal admins.
56
Test Day - if running Practice only, you can make it to be a 1 very long test day, which happens for 30 hours.
Unique Vehicle Check - either allow duplicate vehicles or not.
Good luck hosting!
57
Notes
Controller Vibration
If you're playing on Xbox 360 or Xbox One gamepad, you might not have any vibration in the game.
I have made a tutorial on Steam on what to do to get it working:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1546141020
It might also work with other gamepads.
Controller set-up
Every setting is your personal preference whatever you like using, but there's a decent profile here:
https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/xbox-360-xbox-one-controller-profile-better-1-1-wheel-to-
stick-feel.22150/
Also, if you're using a gamepad, I recommend using some deadzone for steering (5-15%, personal
preference).
I did add the profile to the Tools folder, however I’d suggest testing out the in-built profiles first.
Other Tools
Check out the Tools folder in the package! I have added a few useful tools to make your game experience at
least a bit better. You don’t have to use them, but I do recommend checking them out – maybe you’ll find
something interesting.
For uploaders/repackers
You’re free to upload this pack to somewhere – I know this is a big pack, but that’s why I split it into parts as
much as I could, so that the downloading would be easier. Also, more different options of sharing were
never a bad thing.
Sadly, I’m afraid you won’t be able to compress the files much more than they are now. The problem is that
there’s a lot of compression already (game Content files are mostly compressed into .mas files, which are
then compressed into one big .rfcmp file), and some files are locked (especially the DLC ones) so I doubt
you can compress it more.
For players
First of all, if you enjoyed this pack, say thanks. It takes time to prepare a pack this big, so that everyone
could enjoy the game.
Secondly, please do buy the game. It’s a decent game, and Studio 397 is doing a nice job with it. It might
not be worth the full price at this moment (which is 30€), but it does get a discount of half the price often in
Steam – sometimes, even more!
Thirdly, do buy the DLCs if you can. They’re not very cheap, but for what they are, I feel like they’re worth
it. And they often get various sales too.
And finally, enjoy the game!
For Studio 397

If you’re reading this, guys, then I guess I must apologize for doing all of this. However, I don’t have any bad
intentions with doing this – I personally want people to experience how great the driving feel in this
simulator is, and I want people to discover this game, because I understand it’s a hard competition out
58
there - Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Competizione, iRacing, Automobilista, Automobilista 2 and many other
games…
Again, I’m sorry for doing this, but I want more people to discover (and in the end, hopefully they pay
money to you guys) what is this game/simulator all about, and that with some changes it’s one of the best
driving experiences a game can offer.
Hopefully you guys will understand, and like I said, I have no malicious intentions with all this. Peace.
59
Bonus
Launcher Pack
Included in this big pack is the “Launcher” pack which will help you run the game manually using the CMD
line!
To use, you just need to Double-Click the .bat you want to run. The .bat files are as follows:
• Run Game.bat – Literally to launch the game in an easy way without making any shortcuts.
• Run Game – Trace Mode.bat – same as above, but also enables trace mode for error tracking, etc.
• Run Game – Multiplayer.bat – easy way to run Multiplayer. NEEDS TO BE EDITED. Replace the
xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:yyyyy with the actual IP:port.
• Run Game – Multiplayer (Trace Mode).bat – everything above with Multiplayer part applies, but
just enables trace mode for error tracking, etc.
• Run Dedi.bat – Literally to launch the Dedicated Server in an easy way without making any
shortcuts.
These 5 shortcuts must be placed in Bin64 folder for them to work. Only “Run Game.bat” is required,
others are optional but suggested.
There is one more .bat file:
• Run Config.bat – Runs the config utility correctly so that you can set the correct initial settings.
MANDATORY FOR FIRST LAUNCH.
Hopefully, this helps with launching the game in an easy way!
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FAQ
Question: If I had the previous pack, can I just update by overwriting?

Answer: Most likely. Just overwriting everything when asked. Keep in mind that a fresh reinstall might
avoid some bugs, just in case.
Q: Do I have to download everything?

A: Of course not! This package is “modular” – which means if you need, you can only download Base Game!
Q: I launched the game, but I can’t see the Content I have just downloaded!
A: Make sure you have it installed. You might have just put the Package into the folder and forgot to Install
it through the Launcher.
Q: I still can’t see DLCs proper in Launcher!

A: This one – I don’t know fully why that happens. As a workaround, you can use the same Multiplayer
Shortcut method, as explained in the Multiplayer section. (Just launch the game without the command
part.)
Q: Game crashes with an error message of missing file when trying to load DLC car/track!
A: There could be a few issues. Check if you didn’t forget to put the good .mft file where needed. Check if
your DLC files are not corrupted (for example, when you’re low on disk space). Try to lower the graphics a
bit, maybe your PC is struggling a bit! If everything seems correct, consult in the forums (preferably not
Studio 397 forums).
Q: Game flickers a lot and graphics look bad!

A: Are you sure you’re running the game with the correct GPU? Also, integrated Intel cards might be too
slow for this game, or just incompatible.
Q: Is there any better UI? This one is very bad.

A: The current UI in the game is a Work In Progress, however there are some “modifications” for it in Studio
397 forums. These mods are unofficial as they’re technically changing the files directly.
Q: I can’t launch the game; I get an error!

A: Make sure you have updated both DirectX and Runtimes. You can find those in the “Support” folder,
when you extract the Base Game.
Q: I still can’t find an answer, my question/problem is different!

A: Some questions might not be addressed in this FAQ. FAQ will be updated over time. For now, message
us in “THE” forum, we will try to help as best as we can.
Q: Can I play Multiplayer with others?

A: Sure, you can! As long as versions are compatible, you can play with other people, Legit players or not.
Q: When will Update X/DLC Y/File Z be uploaded?

A: Someday. Don’t ask consistently. These packs (especially the FULL ones) take time to prepare.
Q: I get white screen and nothing else!

A: There could be a few things related to this, however this usually happens when you try to launch the
game without any content installed. Installing at least 1 track and 1 car using ModMgr Tool in the
Bin32/Bin64 folder might fix your issue.
61
Changelog
Game
Previous Classic build id: 4685927
Previous public-beta build id: 4685950
Update 1
Classic build id: 4709163
public-beta build id: 4711140
Changelog:
• Enabled VR “Hidden Area Mask”.

• Fixed flickering in the VR desktop ‘mirror’ when set to “HMD only”.
• Fixed paint damage not resetting on ‘restart race’ button in single player.
• Fixed a sporadic crash that was caused by an error in inter-thread communication with the Steam
library.
Major update 1 (v1118)
Public-beta build id: 5059369
Changelog:
• Added customizable Broadcast Overlays (works best in public-beta release)

• Numerous updates to the Graphics Engine of the game
• Public-beta improvements:
o We’ve now included options to select a custom showroom and HUD.
o Tuning info for the selected car is now correctly displayed.
o Setups now allow you to view and edit notes again.
o Enabled resume from replay.
o Added options to create custom skins and teams in the showroom.
o Properly detect if we’re offline and adapt the UI to that situation.
o Disabled options in the setup screen are now more clearly marked as such.
o Notification icon changes when there are new, unread messages.
o Ensured that parc ferme settings are always respected by the UI.
• Fixed a graphics freeze that could occur on some systems after driving for roughly half an hour, at
which point it could freeze for over a second, which was sometimes causing mild framerate stutters
at other times.
• Improved the speed of real-road synchronization when a client logs into a server. As we developed
more laser scanned tracks with significantly higher polygon counts for the road surfaces, this
synchronization was taking more time. This has now been addressed, and you get a message when
joining to indicate this process is ongoing. In general, you will want to wait for it, but you don’t
have to. During the process, your frame rate might be slightly lower.
• We’ve reviewed the package management system and fixed several bugs related to packages and
their dependencies that could cause scenarios where content would not correctly install and,
62
worse, allowed you to join a server without having all content installed. The whole system is now
made much more robust, and we also managed to speed it up.
• Our real-time logging has also been improved as we keep trying to track down further issues.
• Fixed the wrong track loading sometimes when loading a saved replay.
• Fixed newly saved replays not immediately showing up.
• Made a few small improvements to controller rearrangements, making sure we detect a controller
regardless of what USB port it plugs into.
• Especially for long races, we have now implemented a way to resume a race on the same or a
different server in case of networking problems. At the end of every lap, the current standings and
order are backed up and these script files can be run on a new server to resume the race after all
drivers have rejoined. We’ll explain this system in more detail in the upcoming weeks.
Changelog:
• Improved logging to help us diagnose issues and run smoother.

• Lots of little UI fixes.
• Added the option to configure custom overlays, a guide is here: https://docs.studio-397.com/users-
guide/broadcast-overlays
• Several lighting tweaks to improve shaders and backward compatibility.
• Fixed the lighting in the showroom.
• Fixed some issues with the sky progress from dusk to night.
• Fix for Logitech controller names which now include G-HUB.
• Improved shader hashing, might make loading slightly faster.
• Fixed suspension damage transfer during driver swap.
• Fixed an issue where moving to the next session made some clients crash.
Known issues:
• Dusk and night are a bit over-exposed at the moment.
Update 2
Changelog:
• Hotfix for the ambient sounds

• Improvements to shader compiling / loading
• Fix for mismatch upgrade detection
63
No changelogs available… (Sidenote: This build was released JUST before the Le Mans 24h Virtual happened.
There was never an official changelog as to what was changed in this…)
Changelog:
• User Interface
o Added key binding for hide cursor. This is useful when running the in-game overlays and
doing a broadcast to a capture card that insists on showing your cursor otherwise.
o All replay controls can now be custom assigned in the controller tab. By default all replay
controls are mapped to the same defaults unless re-assigned.
o Added first time start up wizard. For now only has name and nickname fields. This will be
extended.
o Added player area in the main UI. For now only has name and nickname fields.
o In showroom we now check for upgrades on page load and do not show info if there aren’t
any.
o Disabled select button in list layout for category items. When switching from grid or
thumbnail layout to the list layout, and having a “category” item selected, the select button
would be available and would glitch things when clicked.
o Clear car configuration info when viewing a “category” item.
o Updated the pop-up layout and styling.
o Renamed event screen “Drive” button to “Passenger” when in multiplayer spectator mode.
o Made transitioning to packages area page smoother:
▪ Get packages after the page has loaded to avoid blocking.
▪ Show a pop-up message while getting packages.
▪ Use a dark grey background during switching to the page.
o Enabled a chat message for single player admin commands.
o Fixed a game crash when switching sessions.
o Fix accessing garage data properties if data is not available.
o All controller profiles are updated. This fixes various issues when using ‘Detect’ on first time
hardware setup.
o We have new controller profiles for:
▪ Simucube 2 Sport;
▪ Simucube 2 Pro;
▪ Simucube 2 Ultimate;
▪ Logitech G923 PlayStation 4 and PC;
▪ Logitech G923 XBox One and PC;
▪ VRS OSW;
▪ XBOX One Controller For Windows.
o Added “PlayerFileOverrides” to various profiles to ensure proper driver aids are
enabled/disabled on first time wheel detect.
o Added use thread “true” for all profiles.
64
o Ensured that the “920 workaround” is set to “false” on all non-Logitech profiles.
o Fixed profile naming and removed redundant profiles.
o Fixed stuck ‘look left’ on TS-XW profile.
o Thrustmaster F1 wheel Integral profiles: Fixed all mapping conflicts: T-GT, TS-PC, T500 RS,
TS-XW.
o Thrustmaster Racing wheel profiles: Fixed all mapping conflicts: T-GT, TS-PC, T500 RS.
o Thrustmaster F1 wheel Integral profiles: Fixed all mapping conflicts: T-GT, TS-PC, T500 RS,
TS-XW.
o Thrustmaster Racing wheel profiles: Fixed all mapping conflicts: T-GT, TS-PC, T500 RS.
o Added correct max torque to Fanatec CSW v1, v2, V2.5 and Direct Drive profiles.
• Modding Support
o Published a ton of new information about modding for rFactor 2 on the documentation
website.
o Large update to modding documentation, will full documentation on PBR material system,
dedicated Development Tools section and more.
o First official release of 3ds Max 2021 Plugins.
o First official release of Material Editor.
o First official release of Maps Converter Tool.
o Added Loch Drummond (PBR Track) to ModDev.
o Added ability to disable auto albedo correction on pre PBR shaders.
o Added ability to choose cube Fresnel default settings on pre PBR car body shader.
o Corrected Deformable Tire shader naming in Max Plugins.
o Exposed Atmospherics section in Wet file to configure Haze and other settings.
o Updated ModDev to use main game HUD.
o Added ability to save preset positions in the Scene Viewer.
• Graphics
o Added new pit exit marshal textures, thanks to Alessandro Micali!
o Small refactor of glare settings in PostFX
o Many other minor tweaks to various shaders and settings.
• Multiplayer
o Significantly improved logging for multiplayer sessions.
o Fixed race conditions in our low-level socket node list.
o Increased the size of an internal array to accommodate all possible cars in a session.
o Fixed an issue where not just the server would send out node reordering messages.
o Changed some very “spammy” log messages.
o Fixed several crashes where some code would reference invalid data.
o Added descriptive names to all threads.
o Improved the handling of an application crash to ensure logs get flushed.
• Broadcast Overlays
o Made qualifying box sector colors correspond to best lap sectors instead of absolute best
sectors.
o Added fallback for drivers with no last name set.
o Added drop-down in control panel to select overlay configuration.
o Made replay transition follow the configured series color.
o Added an option to show more data in tower field 4 (gap to next, number of pit stops).
o Added an option to automatically enable race update box when timing box is enabled.
o Fixed pit timer getting stuck after leaving pit lane.
o Fixed displaying of gaps to leader/fastest lap time in tower and banner.
65
o Extended field 2 data with manufacturer and team logo.
o Added turning lap time green or purple in the qualifying box after the lap.
o Added option to minimize boxes in the control panel.
o Fixed starting order not working with multiple events.
o Fixed replay jumping to wrong time.
o Cleaned up the CSS to make it easier to make changes in the custom.css.
o Added a replay marker button to mark replay events.
o Updated team name and car number to use the entries from the .VEH file.
o Added mixed/overall standings option.
o Added an option to toggle between driver name, team name and description.
o Made b-roll a standalone element.
o Added option to condense tower by hiding field 2 or 3.
o Fixed schedule slide date comparing.
o Added an option to start the overlay in multi-class or single-class mode.
o Updated banner behavior based on the selected car class (or mixed/multi-class mode).
o Rearranged control panel.
o Known issue: tower animation flickers when swapping pages.
Update 3
Changelog:
• We have just released a hot-fix update to build 1121 that was released on Friday. That release
turned out to have a small memory leak when in an online session, both on the client and on the
server. After this problem was discovered on Saturday morning our developers worked non-stop to
find and fix the issue, which has resulted in us testing a new build this morning and releasing it
now. We encourage everybody to update their client and any dedicated servers they manage.
These builds are current and released as a new FULL package on RIN forums.
66
DLC/Content
Previous date of DLC/Content updates for FULL release: February 18th, 2020
February Roadmap Content Update (Update 1)
• Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans 2018

o Adjusted grass saturation.
o Adjusted specular profile on roads to make rubber build up less blue.
o Configured sky haze settings.
• Historic Challenge Spark 1968
o Fixed LOD in showroom.
o Added new icons for the new UI.
• Historic Challenge EVE 1968
o Fixed missing cockpit in the F2.
o Added new icons for the new UI.
• McLaren MP4/8
o Flipped wet texture treads so it ‘mirrors’.
o Tyre damage texture fix.
• McLaren MP4/13
o Tyre smoothing.
o Tyre damage texture fix.
Le Mans 24h – v2.05
Historic Challenge Spark 1968 – v2.05
Historic Challenge EXE 1968 – v2.04
McLaren MP4/8 – v1.30
McLaren MP4/13 – v1.30
KartSim updates also happened around the same time.
GT3 Update (Update 2)
• Added new high-resolution icons.

• Draft lift multiplier for front splitter, rear diffuser, and rear wing reduced.
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 – v1.61
Audi R8LMS GT3 2018 – v1.61
Audi R8LMS GT3 2019 – v1.31
Bentley Continental GT3 – v2.61
BMW M6 GT3 -v1.55
• Fixed wheel alignment in the showroom.
Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R – v2.61
67
McLaren 650S GT3 – v2.61
McLaren 720s GT3 – v1.51
Mercedes AMG GT3 – v2.61
Porsche 911 GT3R – v1.51
Radical RXC GT3 – v2.61
Note: This update does NOT affect BOP.
March Roadmap Content Update (Update 3)
• Added new “24H Support” layout to Nürburgring
KartSim Update (Update 4)
• All 6 consumer tracks were updated.

• KartSimPro was update around this time too…
Formula E Update (Update 5)
• Monaco Formula E
o Fully updated to PBR
o Reworked Armco, Fences, Marshal placement and more for greater accuracy
o Added many extra objects
• Formula E Gen2 2020
o Livery edits based on 2020 sponsors
Monaco Formula E – v1.51
Formula E Gen2 – v1.51
Formula E Gen2 Update (Update 6)
• Minor livery fixes
• Hong Kong Formula E 2018

o Update to PBR Materials
o Updated Advertisements for Formula E 2020
o Minor livery fixes
Hong Kong 2018 – v1.53
68
Hong Kong Formula E Update (Update 8)
• Fixed glare early morning low sun
Lester Formula E Update (Update 9)
• Renamed 'Formula E Test Track'

• Update to PBR Materials
• Updated Advertisements for Formula E 2020
Formula E Test Track – v2.10
Formula ISI Update (Update 10)
• Updated to new materials

• Added more seat vertical range
• Minor tweaks to steering lock range
• Minor body LOD updates
Formula ISI 2012 – v2.08
Zandvoort Update (Update 11)
• Zandvoort 2020 (alpha) added
Zandvoort 2020 Update (Update 12)
• Fixed an AIW error

• Fixed 3rd party plugin related crash
Zandvoort 2020 – v2.10
• Monaco Formula E
o Adjusted ads
o Added real road presets
o Minor livery fixes
Monaco Formula E – v1.53
Hong Kong Formula E Update (Update 14)
• Minor external camera fix.
Build 1118 Update (Update 15)
• Berlin Formula E released
69
• Minor helmet edit
End of May Major Updates (Update 17)
• New York Formula E released

• Ferrari 488 GTE released
• Zandvoort 2020 updated
• Radical SR3-XX released

o Minor helmet edit
• New York E-Prix
o Fixed curb collision to avoid snagging in most situations
o Improved AI lines
• Ferrari 488 GTE
o Put in a fix to avoid flipping in most situations
o Added correct gearbox ratios for the Standard package.
o Fixed fuel consumption
o Fixed rev meter in the in-car HUD
• Zandvoort 2020
o Fixed trackside cams
New York Formula E – v1.03
Ferrari 488 GTE – v1.15
Zandvoort 2020 – v2.27
• Added Kelvin van der Linde #31
• Minor helmet edits
Steam Summer Sale 2020 Update (Update 20)
• Portland International Raceway added

• Silverstone updated
• GTE/LMP2 cars updated to include real liveries used in the Le Mans Virtual 24h
70
Track Updates (Update 21)
• Le Mans 24h 2018/2020

o Added 2020 layout and advertisements
o Adjusted LODs on brake markers
o Improved grass colour
o Added some adjustments to run off road colours
• Berlin FE
o More accurate racesurface
o Added night-lighting
o Fixed various collision issues
• Silverstone
o Fixed floating pit-out lights on old pit exit
o Fixed various object popping issues
o Fixed minor road gaps
o Some Curb Adjustments for accuracy at Club & Copse
o Slight tweaks to colour balance
o Added Endurance layout with extra trackside lighting for nighttime racing
• New York FE
o Fixed minor camera activation issue
Le Mans 24h – v2.51
Berlin FE – v1.07
Silverstone – v2.10
New York FE – v1.05
Nissan GT500 Update (Update 22)
• Fixed missing texture error when creating custom team.

• (Hotfix next day) Fixed AO mesh showing.
Nissan GT500 – v2.08
Nürburgring Update (Update 23)
• Added new layout "Support 24H" (NOTE: I thought it was added earlier… Go figure.)
• First optimization pass.
• (Hotfix next day) Added missing buildings at Döttinger Höhe
Nürburgring – v1.77
Nissan GT500 Update (Update 24)
• Fixed another edge case with custom skin loading.
Nissan GT500 – v2.20
Roadmap July 2020 Update (Update 25)
71
• Stockcar 2018 added
o Developed New Tire compounds for 24 tracks.
o Default setups for each track tweaked
o BOP tweaked per track
o Engine torque/HP tweaked per Dyno sheet information on a Stock Car Engine
o 3D bodies exported with new PBR shaders.
o Templates updated with Regions and contingencies layer
o Adjusted Aero Package to represent 2018 package
• Loch Drummond track updated
o Full PBR update
o Added score tower
o Added Big TV screen objects
o Fixed smoothing on pit trucks
o Small tweaks to terrain materials
o Small adjustment to AI at uphill chicane
o Fixed collision gaps
o Improved smoothing on outer terrain
o Fixed issues with shadow casting on tunnel
StockCar 2018 – v2.10
Lock Drummond – v1.23
Berlin FE Update (Update 26)
• Fixed parked safety car glitch
Berlin FE – v1.09
GTE Update (Update 27 – soon)
• Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTE

o Fix for wrong default differential preload
o New default setup
o Qualification fuel map as new default.
• Aston Martin Vantage GTE
o Added +5kg weight penalty
o New default setup
o Approximately 1% more fuel consumption.
o Qualification fuel map as new default
o Approximately 0.6% less engine torque and power output.
o Corrections to damper travel in both directions (mainly on rebound, but also very minor to
bump stops).
o Fix for camber adjustment step (now it's 0.1 deg) Note: this change will require corrections
for camber angles in existing setups.
o Increased drag by Approximately 3.7% and reduced downforce by Approximately 2.8%.
• BMW M8 GTE
o New default setup
o Approximately 3.2% less downforce
• Porsche 991 RSR GTE
72
o New default setup
o Approximately 1% more fuel consumption.
o Approximately 0.5% more engine torque and power and 2.3% less downforce
• Ferrari 488 GTE
o New default setup
o Fixed fuel tank (was 93L, should be 90L)
o Approximately 2.3% less fuel consumption
o Approximately 0.55% less engine torque and power output
Corvette C7.R GTE – v2.47
Aston Martin Vantage GTE – v1.57
BMW M8 GTE – v2.07
Porsche 991 RSR GTE – v2.47
Ferrari 488 GTE – v1.67
GT3 Update (in the next few days after this package releases)
• GT3 BoP tweaked

• GT3 physics updated
• Bentley Continental GT3 hopefully added
• Ferrari 488 GT3 hopefully added
This update will be added in the future release.
73
Package
11 June 2019 – First changelog. Updated some cars and tracks in the Other Content section, also updated
some Tools. Added some more Other Content. Added ALL DLCs available at the moment, but they need to
be installed.
27 June 2019 – Added new Tatuus open-wheel cars - Tatuus FT-50, Tatuus F4-T014, Tatuus MSV F3-016,
Tatuus USF-17, Tatuus PM-18 and Tatuus F.3 T318. They are free cars, available by default.
16 August 2019 – Added new DLC pack – the Two Strong Pack. It includes McLaren Senna GTR and Aston
Martin Vantage GTE.
20 August 2019 – General updates (finally) to the current content in the pack (mostly to Workshop
content).
26 September 2019 – Nürburgring Nordschleife released with 4 layouts.
27 September 2019 – Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Pack released.
5 December 2019 – BMW M2 CS (ClubSport) Racing released.
19 December 2019 – Audi R8LMS GT3 2019 released, free addition to Audi R8LMS GT3 2018 owners. Circuit
d’Azur released (also known better as Monaco Street Circuit, but legal reasons). Tatuus TRS FT-60 released,
available for free. KartSim European Track Pack released.
18 February 2020 – updated Base Game and included both current versions of the game, added and
updated DLCs and switched to “Drag-and-drop” style (except for KartSimPro content), updated Official
Content to included latest versions. Updated Other Content to have the latest versions available (where
available). Added new cars and tracks to the “Other Content” section. Updated a few tools. New FULL
release imminent.
20 September 2020 – another big update to the package. Added new version of crack (“Goldberg”), added
new official content (a few new tracks and cars), applied updates to the existing content (where
applicable). Added “Dedi” specific cracks. Also updated Tools a bit and added a bit more to it.
Document
V1.0.0 – Released to Public.
V1.0.1 – Changelog Update – added DLC section, plus updated the Changelog.
V1.0.2 – Another Changelog update.
V1.0.3 – The Two Strong Update – okay, correction, the Major Build 1114 Update. Changelog once again
updated.
V1.1 – Major Update – included mentions to public-beta and different options, corrected a few images to
reflect current versions, major changelog update. Prepared for a new FULL release.
V1.2 – September 2020 Update – added simple explanations on how to use the “Goldberg” version of
crack, also added a few more mentions to public-beta, like how to install DLC using public-beta branch of
the game easily. Added “Bonus” section which explains how to use the launcher pack. Updated the
changelogs to reflect what has happened since the last FULL release.
V2.0 – MAJOR REWRITE EDITION. Been a while since my last update, so it was time to rewrite the
document. Removed most, if not all, references to different branches, as “public-beta” became the “public”
version since December 2020 and the new UI became default one.
74
Rewrote Installation section – Base Game installation rewritten, Content installation rewritten, DLC
installation rewritten. Updated Updating section to reflect changes to UI. Major rewrite and expansion of
Gameplay section, showing menus and what they do. Changed the Multiplayer section – removed the
Launcher method as it is now obsolete. Slight updates to Dedicated Server section, Notes section, FAQ. Big
changelog updates.
75

Rfactor 2: Installation, Settings, Faq and Other Things

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Rfactor 2: Installation, Settings, Faq and Other Things

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rFactor 2: Installation, Settings, FAQ and

Installation of the game is straightforward:

2. Apply the Crack from the “Crack” directory.

3. Edit configuration files.

If you’re using the “Goldberg” crack:

4. Launch the Game Config.

Don’t forget to press OK to Save the Settings!

5. Launch the actual game.

6. Do the “First Launch Wizard”.

For Legit Players

3. Select the Package and Install it.

The difficulty of using DLCs differ from user to user:

Legit Steam Users

Stuff you will need:

What you will need to do:

1. Get the DLC item number(s).

Navigate to https://steamdb.info/app/365960/items/ and get search for “workshopid” of the item.

Grab the “workshopid” from it:

(As an example, the link would be https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=XXX,

3. Subscribe to the Item.

4. Launch the game from Steam.

Stuff you’ll need:

These are the steps you’ll need to do:

1. Get the DLC item number(s).

Congratulations, now you have DLC content in the game.

The OLD method

Stuff you will need:

2. Extract the QuickBMS archive I provided and open the folder.

3. Get the DLC files.

c) copy the “workshopid” into the Steam Community link:

(As an example, the link would be https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=XXX,

4. Extract the “first” DLC file.

To do that, use QuickBMS:

a) Drag-and-drop the “rfactor2.bms” file onto “quickbms.exe” or “quickbms_4gb_files.exe” file (I’d

b) Select the DLC file.

c) Select where you want to extract the file.

d) Confirm the action.

Close the window after extracting.

Congratulations, you installed the DLC car/track.

How to update “Unlock.bin”

Back-up the file, just in case.

2. Open the file in the Hex Editor.

Don’t worry, this should make sense in a bit.

3. Edit the file.

So, what do you need to do?

Now, what do you have to do next:

a) modify the first 4 bits and add the correct ID.

b) modify the key.

You should have something like this:

4. Save the file and make it Read-Only again.

5. Enjoy the DLC!

IF DLC STILL DOES NOT SHOW UP IN THE GAME, CHECK FAQ.

a) rFactor 2 – that’s the Main Menu option. You’re here now.

Some explanations here:

Let me show you a working example of how it may look like:

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL SCREENS

By default, it will be empty until you install at least one track.

After that, it will look probably something like this:

I also used a different layout for this screen.

Session Settings – Sessions

Session Settings – Opponents

Session Settings – Practice Options

Session Settings – Qualify Options