FiHS rFactor F1 Racing League

[Pace Racing]

We've had a few different threads started about how to improve your experience with rFactor. The purpose of this thread is to have a concise list of these helpful tid bits without having to search all the different threads. Please respect this thread for what it is. In other words, no off point posts - They will be deleted for the sake of keeping this thread as short as possible. Normally we would lock a thread, but I want everyone to be able to add anything they learn.

Here's a few tips to recap what's already been written, plus I've added some.

1. Map your Ignition in the Controller setup screen. If you do damage to your car, you can pit in to fix it, but unless you can kill and refire the engine, it will overheat and your race will be over.

2. Race until you see the checkered flag, not just 0.00 left on the clock. In many cases this means doing 1 more lap than you think you should. Make sure you don't just cross the line and hit esc, or you will dnf.

3. Engine Boost and Temp Boost are mappable and important, so assign them buttons / keys, so you can adjust them while driving.
for more see http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=268945

4. Be prepared for dynamic lighting. What that means is that rFactor models lighting very differently than F1C did. The track will look SIGNIFICANTLY different at different times of the day. There are even some tracks (Mills as an example) where there is a shade tree that covers part of the track making it very difficult to see the line, and sometimes even the track, especially late in the day before sunset. Be prepared to change your markers if you can't see them without good daylight. Also, make sure to map your Headlights to a key or button so you can use them in cars that have them.

5. Keep a copy of a fresh install. Like F1C, you can simply copy the root rFactor folder, and rename it "rFactor Fresh Install". If you run into problems, you have a quick way to get rF back up and running. You can copy any additional files you wish to this backup install, such as player files and setup files, so you will automatically be up and running in the backup install.

6. rFactor has many new and exciting add on's being created all the time. As of this post, there are a few tools that can help your racing. Telemetry is available in two formats. You can use the FTL (www.findthelimit.com) Telemetry from F1C, or you can use Motec. I personally use Motec. It's a bit complicated, but well worth learning. For more, you can read this : http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=260208.
Another useful tool is the Flash gauges utility. This will allow you to view car information on a second monitor, or networked pc in real time. For more, check this out: http://www.fihsf1.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2139

[Koolbrown]

Pace sent me the heads up when I was having performance issues with RFACTOR. These simple steps made a world of difference!!!!

[Pace Racing]

http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=185335

This thread tells you which ports to open for multiplayer in rFactor.
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[JohnW]

Well. I've read that post, and many others like it, over there. It can be hit or miss. But...I have only three open and I can host as well as join games. The trick is HOW you open the ports. Here is what I have...

TCP ...ANY -> 34447
UDP...ANY -> 34297
UDP...ANY -> 34397

I tried all SORTS of combinations and asked many questions. Nothing worked. Finally, I called Verizon, who put me on a conference call to tech support for my FIOS capable router, an ActionTec MI424WR. We cleared the router back to factory settings then set up these ports. Notice the ANY setting for the incoming port to be routed to only 3 ports on my PC. I had previously told the windows firewall to allow traffic for rFactor, by just launching the game and saying YES, to the firewalls dialog prompt. I did the same for Norton Antivirus. PLEASE NOTE: This router can NOT do a loop back and allow me to join my own host session, running under the dedicated rFactor server program. Others can join , but not me, because I am the same computer as the server. I'm not sure if I could, even if I had a second computer, because the ports would be on the same router. I believe other brands of routers may be able to do this. I just run the regular rFactor sim and be the host and participant at the same time.

Hopefully, this will help.
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[Pace Racing]

OK, after trying the correct ports, I was still not having luck. Then I read in the above post a mention of a web site that has specific instructions of how to set up rFactor (and many other games) for almost any router. I had my pc successfully hosting within 5 minutes! The problem wasn't the ports, it was the fact that I (like most people) have a dynamic IP address. The site has a walk through of how to make your ip static. Once I did that, rFactor hosting worked perfectly!

http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm
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[Hynee]

You mean a dynamic private subnet address? Because if you have a dynamic address from your ISP, there's not much you can do about it.
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[Koolbrown]

Car Selection

Since this an open series, I strongly recommend you show up the race early, and see what everyone else is driving. If more than 2 people on the server are running your car, I STRONGLY recommend you pick another car. The pit window is pretty small in a 35 minute race, and you stand a good chance of getting locked out of your pit stall when attempt to pit, losing valuable time on the track.

I alluded to this with regards to the 3 Red Bull cars last night, and nobody headed my warning, and sure enough, 1 car couldnt' pit when he wanted to, effectively ruining his race.

Obviously you are free to choose whatever car you like, but I find I have enough to worry about during a race, without adding the concern of will my pit stall be open when I try to pit.
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