Rhodium is a very small and extremely lightweight monitoring tool. It doesn’t control rFactor 2 or make any changes to any data on your computer. It doesn’t restrict rFactor 2 and it doesn’t manipulate anything inside rFactor 2 or any other data on your computer. If you are experiencing a problem with your rFactor 2 installation it is therefore 100% guaranteed, that it is not the fault of Rhodium, since Rhodium doesn’t affect rFactor 2.

The purpose of Rhodium is not only to make sure no one is cheating. It is also to make sure that everybody has the same options available and the field of competition is as level and fair as possible. The FPS in Rhodium stands for Fair Play Software.

Back to the technical details on what Rhodium does and how it works.

Rhodium is a monitoring app. It has the capability to launch rFactor 2 through a part of rFactor 2 called a direct connection. When you press connect, it is not Rhodium that launches rFactor 2 and takes control of it. When you press connect, Rhodium tells your computer to start the regular rFactor 2 launcher and provides the rFactor 2 launcher with information about which server you want to connect to. It knows the IP-address, port number and password for the server and tells rFactor 2 to start and connect directly to the server using this information. This command works exactly the same way, as when you start the launcher, pick a server from the list and join it. From this point on Rhodium doesn’t communicate, talk to, change, manipulate, touch, contact or handle rFactor 2 in any way. The only difference when using a direct connection is how mods are handled and downloaded from the server. But that is a difference inside rFactor 2 and has nothing to do with Rhodium.

By the way, you can use direct connect “+connect” command to make shortcuts on your desktop that will “quick connect” to your favourite rF2 servers. That is what the command is meant for. Here is an example:
“C:[YOUR PATH]\steamapps\common\rFactor 2\Launcher\Launch rFactor.exe” +connect [YOUR SERVER’S IP ADDRESS:HTTP PORT (default is 64297)] +password [YOUR PASSWORD]

When rFactor 2 has launched itself, Rhodium is quietly monitoring what programs and apps are running on your computer, as well as what plugins you have installed. It doesn’t send all of this information to GTR24H. It lets us know that you are in fact using the software and not trying to circumvent it. It compares the scanned information to a list of known software, apps and plugins that it knows are either specifically cheating software, or software the can be used to automate features in the game. The functionality is very much comparable to regular anti-virus software.

Rhodium is not just a tool for us to make sure no one is cheating. It’s also your protection against competitors that might accuse you of competing unfairly. The security that Rhodium provides also tells both your sponsors, partners and fans, that your results are fair and that your performance is clean and real. Everybody wins from being able to prove that the sport is clean.

So, no. Rhodium is not ruining your game. In fact, it is not even doing anything to your game. It’s monitoring your computer and it’s your safe-guard against false claims and proof that you are racing fair and clean.

Remember, cheating in rFactor 2 is extremely easy and requires minimal effort. We know of several publically available software programs designed to cheat with fuel-usage, tire-usage, grip levels etc. other applications allows you to program and automate changes to engine mixture, remove 100% damage instantly. On top of this comes the possibilities of using old school RAM-hacking applications that assist you to manipulate the physics of your car, without the server noticing. All of this is publically available for free download. All it takes is to search the correct phrase on Google. There are even further ways to manipulate the game and get advantages, which we can not disclose here. Our testing revealed there is no cheat detection in rFactor 2. Without Rhodium, anyone can cheat as much as they want. We have no way of knowing and no way of testing. We can not find the guilty and we can not help the innocent against accusations.

Rhodium is your armour and your proof.

Without Rhodium GTR24H is left completely unable to investigate any accusations because we have no tools and no proof. Any accusations about cheating will have to be handled amongst the teams themselves. And GTR24H will have to resign all responsibility for the fairness of competition since we have no tools and no way of carrying any kind of proof or evidence.