its an nice game with nice grafics mods and better simulation mod than rfactor 1

Rfactor 2 is a whole lot harder than Gran Turismo 6. The learning curve is steep. Quake 3/Live was that way. The feeling of accomplishment keeps me going. When I make a mistake in Rfactor 2, I understand what it is. The physics engine feels intuitive.

3rd party content is scattered across a dozen fan sites. Fan-made tracks are decent to good quality. Some are rough around the edges. All are harder to find than they should be. I've managed to download all of the real world circuits found in Forza 6. I have several friends who run a weekly Forza racing league. We'll see if practicing in Rfactor 2 translates to better skill in Forza, or Gran Turismo for that matter. I picked Rfactor 2 because it's cheaper than buying an Xbox One, game and compatible wheel. $650 total, minimum.

In terms of fun factor, Gran Turismo/Forza wins. In terms of feelings of accomplishment, Rfactor 2 is better. I think it's easier for me to learn tracks in Gran Turismo; however, learning racing lines is easier to do in Rfactor 2...because it's a requirement to avoid spinning.

I recommend this game if you want to learn to handle a car better and are patient.

Good Game :) The best motorsport simulator :)
Try IT :)

Played rfactor 1 a lot and also Iracing. I used to love gran turismo and comemasters f1 games. Basically the majority of sim racers I've played and enjoyed. But I would say rfactor delivers on a different level. I'm not even sure if it's fair calling this a game. It's tough to express how much I support ISI and this game - you need to just play it. Great AI, car physics, graphics, sounds, mod ability, etc. rfactor 2 is my top choice for a sim racer.

PalmBeach!

1. Intro
I have to write this review because I've been searching for the perfect nextgen racesim for more than a year. I've tested Assetto Corsa and RaceRoom extensively, and I have to admit: I love them, and still spend a lot of time with them.
I just bought rF2 earlier this year because everyone said that it is a serious sim, and I'm a serious man.

2. First impressions
To be honest, it took some time to get into it. I immediately felt that physics is completely different here - the car is actually a living being, with feelings and a tendency for revenge (if you push her too hard). I love how you can feel the change in FFB when you change from medium to soft tires in the Formula ISI, to give just one specific example. AI was convincing too, I had some really good fights against them in the Civic as well as in other cars. But still, something was missing.

3. The online experience
Yes, but. The "but" part was that I really struggled to find online races to compete in. I'm part of a club but people seem to prefer the above mentioned titles there, so races were rare and then only with a few people. Eventually, I found a league, and it changed everything. How? Let me explain it with a summary of my first race ending with a win in the Honda Civic BTCC.

4. My first online league victory
I start from pole. I mess up, and lose P1 instantly. I have to be really careful with my tires, so I'm not pushing hard - fall back to P3. With the unsolicited help of lapped folks, I get back into P1 in a couple of laps. Ok, but we are not halfway through yet in a 30 mins race. Some people start pitting and change tires. I made a simulation before, I know it can last 30 mins, if I'm careful. It must. The guy in P2 seems to be on the same strategy, 4-5 secs behind me. He is closing, and I cannot really get more speed, or I will instantly kill the front left. Fortunately, there are cars to be lapped. In the last two laps, I have no grip at all, so I'm iceskating instead of driving. But he is on the same strategy, he can't have too much grip either. Carefully, but on the threshold because being chased, I tend the car in and it's P1. It was really hard work, I feel fatigue.
EDIT: I have made a short vid of the highlights, which you can find here.

5. Conclusion
Why did I tell this? Because this is precisely what was missing for me in the other sims that I tried. That in each and every sec, you have to adjust yourself to the ever changing conditions. It's not simply about putting extremely fast lap times, it is a struggle for survival, a mutual collaboration between you and your car. And in that respect, THIS is what gets closest to what you see in the telly or on a real racetrack.
So if you are not impressed by the youtube videos (I was not, for one), if you lack the eyecandy seen elsewhere - forget about them. This is really a game about the experience itself, which is, in my opinion, unmatched by any of the other sims on the market at this time.

6. Further advice
To experience this, however, you really have to try rF2 in a good online environment. For pickup-like racing, I recommend race2play, where you can get a lot of miles with dedicated fellow racers. Sooner or later, however, you must find a league. And then your free time is gone, I assure you. Search the ISI forums for one, and also make sure to take a look at the available apps. Trackmap gives you not only a map, but also real-time telemetry and timing information. There is a spotter that is highly customisable and gives you all the info you ever wished. rF2 log analyser provides you with all the post-session info you need with beautiful tables and graphs, it also helps you to implement offline championships.

7. Links:

1. Radar: http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/28648-Curs-o-Radar-released
   
2. Trackmap: http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/3609-TrackMap-0-9beta-Plugin-for-rFactor2
   
3. Spotter: http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/22203-rF2-Spotter-Plugin
   
4. Leagues: http://isiforums.net/f/forumdisplay.php/131-rFactor-2-Online-Racing-Discussion
   
5. Log Analyser: http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/24421-rFactor2-Log-Analyzer-ver-2

PS: yes, I did try iRacing. And I loved it, too, but I think it is ridiculously overpriced, and I still find the experience described above in rF2 more "lively".

As what it says, "describe what you liked or disliked about this game", ill do exactly like it.
But this is all my thoughts and it might be different for other people.
Ill try to keep it as simple and short, and straight to the point.
I did this review with a g29.

Likes:

-the force feedback, I can feel the car at its max potential grip and is about to fall off! damn swag!

-graphics are good, still provides a good feel of realism

-offline racing is good

-race options are very dynamic; rubber, weather, wind, time, laps, formation lap, rolling, fast rolling, number of AIs

-wet weather simulates amazingly, dry line, wet line, water spray on wet line and so on.

-AI defends on the inside if it "detects" a driver about to attack him (one of my favourites if compared to rF1)

-AI races you well, and doesnt back out in some cases, but that depends on the track youre playing. If its a mod, it might have some flaws and sections where the AI drives weirdly. Official tracks performs optimally.

-stock content feels complete, eventhough it contains fantasy series, such as the FormulaISI, stockcars, etc.

-tyre models looks great visually, and I bet the physics are really good ( I dont know how they do it, I wont overeact over it)

-car setup is really detailed, I had to read a bunch of guides in order to fully understand them, but its worth it, at least for me.

-cool marshals waving the flags, safety car (depends on the track)

-online racing, wait, its not really good. However, you can join leagues that have various types of racing.

The ones that I pay attention the most :
FSR - F1 racing
VEC - Endurance racing based on the WEC
ISEC - Same thing as VEC but its a lower level compared to VEC (im racing in it :D )

Some organizations :
ISR
SimRacingClub
XtremeRPM

-most people say that mods keep the game alive. For me personally, I think the same, but, if ISI continues to bring in more content regularly, then that point isnt really accurate. But its ISI, i think their busy with their lives just like us.

-there are free mods and there are the paid ones
free mods are good, some are not that good, but I still appreciate their work trying to model a car with such complexity!

-paid ones, havent seen any mods that are overly expensive
my favourite payware mod is the URD PX and the EGTs.

-PX is basically a replica of the LMP1, LMP2 category, and the EGT are the replica of the GTEs.

-Ok why the hell am i talking about the mod. sorry mate.

im kinda lazy to type about my dislikes because it takes some time to find them, ohhhhh, rekt.

ok thanks for reading, hope you buy this game

oh and remember, I think its better to buy the lifetime online services, but you can choose wahtever bla bla bla.

good bye

Better than iRacing?
as i have said in other reviews this is by far the best game in terms of the physics, proven by the F1, indy car and nascar teams who use rFactor pro for their simulators and CAD models. I as a guy who has driven a formula renault car can say that every feedback i got from the car was the same in the game but good physics do not make a good game. The tracks are the closest to real life they can be without laserscan. Furthermore i think this game has alongside f1 2015 the best AI in terms of pace and racecraft. Some people critize the graphics of the game but i think that this game has the best physics so i do not mind about the graphics too much at least they have unlike iRacing real road transmission, a day-night cyclus and rain.Of course the online part is almost non excistent but i can have alot of fun in singleplayer aswell although it took me some 40h to get up to some decent speed, the longest it ever took me at a rscing game P2 in that terms is iRacing where it took me just 15h. Now to the comparision between the two most advanced sims out there:
iRacing:
pros:
-good graphics
-great community ( the karting/ racing school of the next generation)
-a lot real race drivers drive it
cons:
-bad price model
-no singleplayer+ AI
-no day-night transmission, rain, dynamic road

rFactor2:
pros:
-realistic physics prooven by F1 teams ( for all of you who say:" But that is the pro version, not the customer version". I have driven a simulator using Rfactor pro i can tell you the vehicle dynamics are the same in Rfactor2 just the mechanics and aerodynamics are way more complicated/ complex e.g. the overheating issues or the set up)
- still decent graphics
- singleplayer+ AI
-day-night transmission, rain , dynamic road
-good price modell
cons:
- almost no excistent multiplayer league

My winner, favourite and trainig tool is rFactor 2 but it needs to get some big updates such as an actual F1 car, maybe a few lasescanned tracks and at least one professional league with real prices because iRacing has done/ improved the right things recently and is very close to Rfactor2, if they get the rain and day-night transmission they will overtake Rfactor 2 inn my opinion

yup!

Despite the hours played on Steam I've owned this game for a couple of years already (transferred the license to a steam key) and it has come leaps and bounds since it's initial release.

If you want the very best simulator it comes at a price. That price is time. If you can invest the time to get the most out of rFactor 2 it is an unmatched driving experience. Don't bother with this title unless you have a wheel + pedals. Until recently I was using a 10+ year old Logitech Momo and it was fine.

rFactor 2 isn't very gamey at all. No career mode. Very little hand holding. Not much in the way of fancy trinkets to appeal to the masses, but if you want the best approximation of how a car performs on a track this is it. So much so that real racing teams (including F1) use this software to train drivers and test car setups.

It should be noted that it has the best racing AI of any game. With a few exceptions on some modded tracks, they will challenge each other and you to the point where you might think they are human.

I am not a petrol-head. In the grand scheme of things I understand very little when it comes to car setups. For those that do you have a lot to work with. For those like myself that don't, this is still a hugely fun and rewarding experience.

Okay, for those getting this, there are a couple of things that will make a huge difference that you should take the time to do (20 mins?).

1. Grab the TrackMap plugin from here: http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/23056-TrackMapPlugin-V0-96-32bit-64bit
This basically adds an extra HUD with a ton of useful information. It's fully customizable in game - just press ALT + SPACE to get the menu then use arrow keys and Enter to navigate. With an object selected move your mouse to reposition it. Simple.

2. Set up your force feedback (FFB) correctly using the guide found here: http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/19034-Guide-Optimal-FFB-settings-for-rFactor-2-The-key-to-being-in-the-Zone-D
This guide is not particularly well written, in that he makes corrections at the end of the text but doesn't fix some of the main body with those corrections. Basically each step you do just check the edits at the end to make sure it's the most up to date information. For example you don't have to edit any files, the FFB torque parameter is available in game.

Those two are what I would consider pretty essential improvements to the game, particularly the second. By default there can be a lot of software clipping going on. Imagine listening to your favourite classical music with a heavily distorting pre-amp, then hearing it with correct levels in all it's dynamic glory. Note that this is set on a per car basis, and not all cars will be the same. The process is very quick after you've done it once. I found that a great track to use was Spa*, as going up the hill at full speed after you exit the pits will clip the FFB if it's going to clip. Makes tuning it very fast.

3. If you're FOV challenged, or just want the extra help in avoiding collisions, there is a great radar plug-in that will keep you aware of what's going on around you. Available here: http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/28648-Curs-o-Radar-released.

Be aware that much of the content you may end up playing will be mods. So don't think you're limited to the selection of cars and tracks ISI have developed.

* The version of Spa I used to test FFB clipping is available here: http://www.internationalsimracing.com/forum/index.php?topic=3304.0