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Updating a Mod to RFE Weather Plugin – “How to” advices
The intention of this tutorial is giving practical basic advices to quickly update any
mod to the RFE Weather Plugin and it can be followed like a quick guide to
perform better results.
It is highly probable this “basic” tutorial will be updated several times in the near
future due to the variations and new features that will be available in developing
RFE Plugin Series; take in mind that RFE Plugin Series is an evolving project!
To be able to follow the changes, please review the version of this tutorial on the
document’s footer section and/or the specific session of the RFE forum.
It is also very important understanding that making the following changes
will not damage in any case the mod; it can be used with confidence running
rFactor without the RFE Weather Plugin as well as with the Plugin, enhancing
rFactor itself. But we must notice that is no longer possible to join a
multiplayer session where is running the NOT updated mod and viceversa.
Here we do not go into highly technical details but we show step by step how to
update a mod.
First important point is: we can (basic) update any mod to RFE Weather Plugin for
rFactor (version 1 – 1255f the last one) without the need to manage gmt(s) and
dds(s) files that are usually zipped into some .MAS files. This means that anyone
can update a mod (to have the authorization by the author is a legal aspect, not a
technical one and here we cannot speak about it).
First notice: remembering this is a “basic” approach for updating a mod, currently
we do not speak about the procedure to the visual update of the tread for
different compounds and tires. The topic will be discussed in another tutorial.
NOTE:
1. We are hardly working on enhancing how RFE Weather Plugin will render the
scenes, using appropriate reflection maps for rain. ACCORDLINGLY, THIS
TUTORIAL DOESN'T COVER CHANGES TO BE MADE FOR ENABLING
REFLECTIONS OF THE MOD TO THE TRACK.
2. The update of the mod, to be “easy to do”, involves the .RFM file (the file
that identify the vehicle) without duplicating/renaming other files of the
vehicles and their descriptions. This is the why is no longer possible to join
a multiplayer session where is running the NOT updated mod and viceversa.
Updating a Mod to RFE Weather Plugin
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Aug. 26th, 2012 version 1.7
Which files must we edit?
 .TBC file
 .GEN file
 .RFM file
 .TGA file (the one(s) related to the RFM file)
Step One: editing the .TBC file
This is without any doubt the most complex and fine stuff to be performed!
The file is responsible of several parameters that influence the behavior of the car,
but we'll focus our attention only on the tires' grip.
The tires' grip is influenced by coefficients in dry and wet weather for lateral and
longitudinal factors, that can be different for front and rear tires.
We must pay attention that, now on, rFactor (thought the RFE plugins) must really
manage tires' temperatures, pressures and the “GripTempPress”, that is a kind of
penalty for the grip if temperature and pressure are out of their optimal ranges!
Managing the file we must also add other compounds for any needs we like:
usually we'll add an “Intermediate Compound” and a “Wet Compound” to the slick
or dry compound already in use.
 Edit the .TBC file that usually is located into the subfolder of the main folder
of the mod (e.g. ...\rFactor\GameData\Vehicles\Predators\600\Predators_Tires_600)
 Scroll down the file to the [COMPOUND] section. Here we see the first line
that identify the name of the tire compound, usually the brand name or a
word like “dry” or “slick”. Then we can see all values related to “FRONT:” and
below to “REAR:” tires. We assume that is listed only one compound and
then the file ends.
 Copy all lines from [COMPOUND] to the end of the file.
 Paste at the end of the file (now we have duplicated the lines with same
values of the original compound). But we assume to want more than 2
compounds, like an Intermediate Compound and a Wet Compound: paste
the content again!
 Rename the line Name=”...” of the second compound into
Name=”Intermediate Compound” and the name of the third compound into
Name=”Wet Compound”. We suggest to rename also the original compound
as Name=”Slick Compound”. In any case is MANDATORY to add the word
“Compound” also into all existing compounds, otherwise the RFETire
Component cannot work properly!
 Save the file overwriting the original one.
Now the mod is already able to run without any error and we suggest to try it for a
moment. We can also enter the garage and click to change tire compounds to see
if they work nice, but we have only added compounds with different names not
with different specifications and behaviors! Now starts the fine part of the stuff...
Updating a Mod to RFE Weather Plugin
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Here, once again, we have to remind it is a “basic” tutorial and we'll not go
into deep explanations that will be instead approached into other technical
tutorials and/or technical sheets in the RFE forums.
It's time to read few lines of the .TBC file also to understand how the mod has
been programmed. We can find 2 different scenarios:
• A .TBC file where the author calculated and added the values with a very
high knowledge of the real car and its telemetry, in case adding also
coefficients that rFactor without RFE Plugin Series cannot use.
• A .TBC file where the author paid attention only to the most relevant values,
leaving other coefficients nulls.
Here are the relevant lines for us, now on, extracted from the ORIGINAL
COMPOUND FRONT TIRES (usually we'll apply the same changes to the rear tires
too):
[COMPOUND]
Name="Slick Compound”
FRONT:
DryLatLong=(1.675,1.450)
WetLatLong=(1.000,1.000)
…
Temperatures=(90,20)
...
GripTempPress=(1.5, 0.60, 0.50)
The value we must change is the “WetLatLong” to this slick / dry compound,
because slicks under rain cannot keep a good grip... under monsoon (a value for
wetness on track > 80%) the grip is closed to zero!
The coefficients we can assign are between 0.400 and 0.650 and they will be
different for Lateral and Longitudinal grip.
If we like to have a more stable car through the corners we must use a coefficient
closed to the high one for Lateral... if we don't like to see the car locking tires too
much during braking, similar we have to use an high coefficient for Longitudinal...
but bear in mind that these are slick compounds so, in any case they must slip a
lot!
PLEASE NOTE FROM NOW ON changed data will be shown in bold
In conclusion, for this example the result could be:
[COMPOUND]
Name="Slick Compound”
FRONT:
DryLatLong=(1.675,1.450)
WetLatLong=(0.500,0.400) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
…
Temperatures=(90,20)
...
GripTempPress=(1.5, 0.60, 0.50)
Remember to duplicate the new “WetLatLong” coefficients for ORIGINAL
COMPOUND REAR TIRES and to save the file.
Updating a Mod to RFE Weather Plugin
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Aug. 26th, 2012 version 1.7
Now we have to work on the INTERMEDIATE COMPOUND FRONT TIRES (previously
we had pasted the same lines changing only the names...
Here we have:
[COMPOUND]
Name="Intermediate Compound” //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
FRONT:
DryLatLong=(1.675,1.450)
WetLatLong=(1.000,1.000)
…
Temperatures=(90,20)
...
GripTempPress=(1.5, 0.60, 0.50)
First of all we must add the line “WetWeather=1” IMMEDIATELY under
[COMPOUND]:
[COMPOUND]
WetWeather=1 //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
Name="Intermediate Compound” //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
FRONT:
DryLatLong=(1.675,1.450)
WetLatLong=(1.000,1.000)
…
Temperatures=(90,20)
...
GripTempPress=(1.5, 0.60, 0.50)
Now we must calculate the grip of the Intermediate driving under dry conditions
(dry asphalt) and it is obvious that the performances will be lower than a slick tire!
A presumable coefficient could be between the 13% and the 14% of loss of
grip for “DryLatLong”. Using a calculator we can easily find the result for both:
[COMPOUND]
WetWeather=1 //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
Name="Intermediate Compound” //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
FRONT:
DryLatLong=(1.455,1.260) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
WetLatLong=(1.000,1.000)
…
Temperatures=(90,20)
...
GripTempPress=(1.5, 0.60, 0.50)
The next value to be calculated is the “WetLatLong”: the Intermediate
Compounds starts here to do their job, when track gets wet.
We must remember that the range of use for the Intermediate Compound is
between the 25% – 30% and 50% - 55% of wetness. In other words between “light
rain” and “heavy rain”, depending from car to car. And the loss of grip is much
more gradual, less accentuated in each condition compared to the Slick or
Intermediate tires.
All that, in numbers, means about the 25% of loss of grip under raining
conditions, in front to the same compound on a dry track.
Once again we must use a calculator to find the coefficients and then type them:
Updating a Mod to RFE Weather Plugin
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Aug. 26th, 2012 version 1.7
[COMPOUND]
WetWeather=1 //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
Name="Intermediate Compound” //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
FRONT:
DryLatLong=(1.455,1.260) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
WetLatLong=(1.100,0.950) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
…
Temperatures=(90,20)
...
GripTempPress=(1.5, 0.60, 0.50)
Let's manage the last values: Optimal Temperature of the Intermediate
Compound, that must be lower that the Slicks in any case, but higher that the Wet
Compound.
In effect the line shows 2 data: the first one is the “optimal temperature”, the
second one the “starting temperature”. We can leave this second value like the
original data (as author's choice)... on the contrary we have to change the first
one.
If we do not have a way to find the true values (we could know the brand and
model of the real tire and/or a technical sheet of the manufacturer) we can
decrease the original value of Slicks of about the 20%:
[COMPOUND]
WetWeather=1 //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
Name="Intermediate Compound” //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
FRONT:
DryLatLong=(1.455,1.260) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
WetLatLong=(1.100,0.950) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
…
Temperatures=(70,20) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
...
GripTempPress=(1.5, 0.60, 0.50)
And here we must manage the last value “GripTempPress”, that, as I explained
before is not mandatory and we can choose to follow the author's choice: leaving
same penalty he used in the original Slicks (if not null) or calculating them also for
this compound.
An easy clarification of what are these coefficients and how they works is:
• first value = grip penalty if tire is below optimal temperature
• second value = grip penalty if tire is above optimal temperature
• third value = grip penalty if tire is off optimal pressure
Higher number means faster grip drop off.
In effect, due to the nature of the compound itself, the Intermediate tire suffers
working below optimal temperature more than a Slick and we can calculate the
variation of the first value in a coefficient that increases about the 70% the
penalty itself:
[COMPOUND]
WetWeather=1 //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
Name="Intermediate Compound” //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
FRONT:
DryLatLong=(1.455,1.260) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
WetLatLong=(1.100,0.950) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
…
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Aug. 26th, 2012 version 1.7
Temperatures=(70,20) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
...
GripTempPress=(2.5, 0.60, 0.50) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
It's time to save the file: the Intermediate Compound has been set!
Now we must repeat same steps calculating the right coefficients for the Wet
Compound, taking care to adapt the “GripTempPress” in a little different way: the
Wet Compound is really soft and suffers higher temperature much more than
other tires. For that we must focus our attention on the second value (grip
penalty if tire is above optimal temperature), increasing it up to the 300%:
[COMPOUND]
WetWeather=1 //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
Name="Wet Compound” //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
...
GripTempPress=(1.5, 2.40, 0.50) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
Other values for Wet Compounds, related to the ORIGINAL DRY COMPOUND, must
be applied following this recommendations:
• % of decrease for DryLatLong = 24% - 26%
• repeat same result for WetLatLong
• % of decrease for Optimal Temperature = 40% - 45%
All that gives a result like this:
[COMPOUND]
WetWeather=1 //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
Name="Wet Compound” //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
FRONT:
DryLatLong=(1.250,1.100) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
WetLatLong=(1.250,1.100) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
…
Temperatures=(50,20) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
...
GripTempPress=(1.5, 2.40, 0.50) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
No other actions are involving the .TBC file, so we can save it for the last time.
Once again we like to remark there are much many values involved into the real
wear and grip of the tires, but once again we must remark this is only a basic
tutorial useful to start to better understand the .TBC file.
Step Two: editing the .GEN file
Here we must only add one line to the file. The .GEN file is the file that “renders”
the vehicle showing the visual aspect of any component.
We are making “basic” update to the mod and for now we do not manage the
reflections of the car on wet track, nor the visual aspect of the tread of different
compounds.
But to better renders the scene we need to add the bold line just under the:
Instance=SLOT<ID>
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Aug. 26th, 2012 version 1.7
{
Moveable=True
ReflectPlane=(0.000, -1.000, 0.000, -0.200) //for RFE Plugin Series purpose only
and save the file... that's all!
Step Three: editing the .RFM file
This file identify the mod and it also shows the name into rFactor.
Please, remember the note at the beginning of this tutorial: The update of the
mod, to be “easy to do”, involves the .RFM file (the file that identify the vehicle)
without duplicating/renaming other files of the vehicles and their descriptions.
This is the why is no longer possible to join a multiplayer session where is running
the NOT updated mod and viceversa.
If you want to leave the original mod as it is, adding an updated version to RFE
Plugin Series you must handle many more files and speaking about the procedure
is not the purpose of this tutorial.
In any case, into the .RFM files we have to change the name of the mod editing the
very first line. E.g., from:
Mod Name = Formula Predator's Trofeo by S.RW v1.04
to
Mod Name = Formula Predator's Trofeo by S.RW v1.05 RFEWeather
Saving the file we have performed all steps that need to (basic) update a mod to
RFE Weather Plugin.
Step Four (optional): adding RFE Logo to the .TGA(s) of the .RFM file
RFE Plugin Series is a very complex job still in development that will bring rFactor
to a new level. To see many mods updated to the RFE Weather Plugin is one of our
goals.
Into the download area of SYMRacing.net forum you are free to download the logo
to be added into the “modname.tga” that come with the .RFM file using a simple
photo-editing software. It is available in .PNG format, in light and dark tones.
Here is the sample in dark tone to match a light background.
Step Five (optional): adding the link of the mod
You are invited, to add the link to the mod “updated to RFE Weather Plugin” into
Updating a Mod to RFE Weather Plugin
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Aug. 26th, 2012 version 1.7
the specific area of SYMRacing.net forum.
Final Steps are...
to enjoy the new mod driving with variable weather conditions in one of our
dedicated servers or creating your own dedicated server running RFE Weather
Server Plugin (available soon)...
And to be ready to enjoy the full optimized and enhanced features of RFE Plugin
Series in the next future in one of the new Climate dedicated server for rFactor!
USEFUL INFORMATION:
 Following the tutorial the first question that probably several times left us
confused was: “But, how can I test the mod and the job I'm doing?”. And the
answer is: using the “RFEModelersAidTool”. But probably you have already
downloaded, installed and tested it... As you have seen (or you will see
using it) we can change live the most relevant coefficients to perceive
immediately the reaction of the car. But we have to play careful with these
values to avoid unexpected or too much fictional behaviors.
What we suggest is to follow this tutorial in any case!
 We have also developed an Excel sheet that covers a more advanced
procedure to calculate and compare the behavior of the different
compounds for dry and wet coefficients, also evaluating the penalty ones.
Only this more technical and advanced approach, with a deeper and technical
explanation to allow pro modelers to get more and more precise info, can achieve
the best results. Please read the RFE forum for more info.
 There are so many variables into the development of a mod and/or in the
way it has been developed that it is really impossible to identify all potential
troubles.
One useful update could be that both front and rear tires must be changed
simultaneously in the garage but with the chance to change only front or rear tires
during the pitstop.
If we notice they are not yet set in this manner, to allow it we must edit the .HDV
file looking for these lines and set the values as below:
[PITMENU]
...
AllTires=0
FrontRearTires=(1,1)
LeftRightTires=(0,0)
IndividualTires=(0,0,0,0)
…
CompoundRestrictions=2
Updating a Mod to RFE Weather Plugin
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Aug. 26th, 2012 version 1.7
 Sometime the author of the mod add special and/or original sounds and
also here he could choose a solution that stops the sound of rain activated
by the RFE Weather Plugin.
If you notice this unwanted behavior, take a look to the .RFM files and you will
find something like this:
ConfigOverrides
{
...
VehiclesDir=GAMEDATA\VEHICLES\nameofthemod
MusicDir=Music\nameofthemod
SoundDir=GAMEDATA\SOUNDS\nameofthemod\
}
As we can see, all sounds (not only those specifically related to the mod) are
redirected to a subfolded with the name of the mod. RFE Weather Plugin points to
the ORIGINAL location of the ambient sounds of rFactor. We must then redirect it
to have RFE sounds working again, easily adding the following line:
ConfigOverrides
{
...
VehiclesDir=GAMEDATA\VEHICLES\nameofthemod
MusicDir=Music\nameofthemod
SoundDir=GAMEDATA\SOUNDS\nameofthemod\
SoundDir=GAMEDATA\SOUNDS\nameofthemod\Ambient\
}
In addition:
• We must “copy&paste” the original “Ambient” subfolder (DO NOT MOVE IT!),
located into the ...\GameData\Sounds folder
• We must delete all files present into this new location with the exception of
those named as “RFE...”
 Also the scenario that we may encounter in .TBC files, concerning the
various original compounds, is an unknown variable: we can have a mod the
uses an “all weather” compound according to the real car. In this case, to
maintain the mod closed to the real life, we suggest to DO NOT ADD OTHER
COMPOUNDS, but to change only the coefficients of “WetLatLong”, adapting
them to match the behavior of the real car (e.g. the Formula Predator's uses
the AVON ACB10 and we changed only that line!).
 On the contrary we can discover the mod already uses more than one
compound (Qualify / SuperSoft Compound, etc.). In this case, we suggest to
leave the original compounds, adding the new ones at the end of the .TBC
file, copying&pasting the “medium” or “race” compound (it depends from
the name the author chose) and starting from this “standard” compound to
follow all the procedure written above for the .TBC file.
 Last, but not least... we can choose to add ONLY ONE WET Compound to the
vehicle... in this case the % of decrease for DryLatLong and WetLatLong
must be about = 20%
APPENDIX
Updating a Mod to RFE Weather Plugin
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Aug. 26th, 2012 version 1.7
The table below shows a quick guide for calculating the coefficients for Intermediate and
Wet Compounds as explained in the tutorial. All percentages are intended to be applied
starting from the original values with the exception of WetLatLong values for Intermediate
tires. Remember to add the sentence “WetWeather=1” IMMEDIATELY under new
[COMPOUND] for Intermediate and Wet tires.
Dry/Slick
Intermediate
Wet/Rain
DryLatLong
Original values
- 13% ÷ 14% (1)
- 24% ÷ 26%
WetLatLong
0.400 ÷ 0.650
- 25% (from 1)
- 24% ÷ 26%
Temperatures
Original values
- 20% ~
- 40% ÷ 45%
First value + 70%
Second value up to
if not present do not
300% or do not
exceed 2.0 ÷ 2.5
exceed 2.5 ÷ 3.0
GripTempPress
Original values
The table below shows a quick guide for calculating the coefficients for adding ONLY a
Wet Compounds. All percentages are intended to be applied starting from the original
values.
Dry/Slick
Wet/Rain
DryLatLong
Original values
- 20% ~
WetLatLong
0.400 ÷ 0.650
- 20% ~
Temperatures
Original values
- 30% ÷ 35%
First value + 70%
GripTempPress
Original values
if not present do not exceed 2.0 ÷ 2.5
Second value up to 300% or do not exceed
2.5 ÷ 3.0
The table below shows a quick guide for calculating the coefficients for WetLatLong in
case of All Weather original tires.
All Weather
DryLatLong
Original values
WetLatLong
- 20% ~
Temperatures
Original values
GripTempPress
Original values
Updating a Mod to RFE Weather Plugin
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Aug. 26th, 2012 version 1.7