After reading the A.S.S. I was ready for rFactor to surpass all other
sims in every area. The reality seems to be far from this yet I can see
the potential there and can only summise the reviewers were writing with
a vision for what might come rather than the product they were reviewing.

Throw in a political desire for rFactor to succeed over future
competitors they have publicly fallen out with and it is hardly
surprising the review has a degree of bias.

That is not to say I am critical of rFactor, just that hopes were raised
that it would raise the bar in all areas - physics, graphics, sound,
control, gameplay etc. similar to the way GPL did in '98 and this
clearly has not happened yet and we will need the community to evolve
rFactor into the next generation sim it has the potential for, which is
how it would appear to be designed.

I certainly don't feel cheated, I let myself hype it partly from a
desire to have a new generation of racing sims and partly from the
A.S.S. review which I knew was from a group desperate for its success.

The cost of rFactor is the same as I have spent on LFS which still has
Alpha in its title. There are many similarities - neither feels
particularly polished as a finished product - because neither is.
RFactor will add more features (such as weather) in the future.

I am quite happy rFactor has been released in its current development as
the physics and graphics engine are essentially complete and we can
enjoy these and start to develop the mods to enjoy them. The single
player game and the interface doesn't seem very compelling other than to
practice and have a bit of fun whilst the multiplayer will need
leagues to get organised to administer the competition element (just as
happened with GPL). rFactor adds no value here but again many of us
would rather sample the physics of the trainer now rather than wait for
an automated league structure or more compelling career and championship
mode.

The F1 lookalike feels like a desire to appeal to as wide an audience as
possible rather than a serious attempt at F1 simulation. The looks,
sound and feel all pale compared to the Trainer IMHO, plus the F1 AI
seem all over the place compared with the Trainers.

I look forward (already) to the Euro F3 mod and potential for online
leagues along with some real tracks to race on.

I believe rfactor will be the basis for the best sim racing for the
immediate future but reviews placing it as the complete racing sim are
stretching the imagination somewhat.

Cheers
Tony