rFactor Activation Is Simple

Having played the rFactor demo and enjoyed it, I thought I might as well go through the rFactor activation process and pay for the full game.

It's really simple to do, in fact if you've exceeded the rFactor demo's 60-minute time limit you'll be directed straight to the activation screen if you launch the game.

The procedure for activating rFactor is simple - just enter your name, email address and credit card details and the game will be unlocked immediately, allowing you to get straight back into the game again. You'll be sent an email confirming that your rFactor activation is complete, and that also includes your activation code.

You'll need that code if you ever need to re-activate the game again, and this is where I don't like the way in which the online licensing is handled. Re-installing the game isn't a problem as a license file is placed on your PC, and so long as that file stays in place you can re-install the game and not have to re-activate it.

However, if your hardware profile changes significantly you will need to reactivate the game, and you're limited to just 5 activations before you have to pay for the game again. This is to stop people installing the game on different PCs and copying the same license file in an attempt to cheat the licensing. The limit of 5 activations doesn't seem very generous to me, but as long as you're not the sort of person who likes to significantly upgrade their PC every few months then that limit shouldn't trouble you too much. You can read a bit more about the rFactor licensing in this forum post at EMACF1.com.

So how much does the rFactor activation cost? For me, a UK buyer, it was £24.99, which doesn't seem too bad at all when you consider the amount of freebies available to download. For US buyers I think the price is around $40 plus taxes, but the game will auto-detect your currency and will tell you the price before you have to give any credit card details.

So now I'm going to go and investigate some of the rFactor downloads on offer. I've seen an amazingly detailed version of the Nordschleife that should give me hours of fun. Maybe I can manage an 8-minute lap in the little Rhez hatchback.