WRC 26: Best Config for Stage Loading and Stability

The goal for WRC 26 is to force the engine to front-load as much data as possible during the initial loading screen, rather than using the default “on-demand” streaming which causes frame-time spikes when you round a corner into a new forest tile.

File Path

The configuration files are located in the AppData folder. Ensure you show hidden files in Windows to navigate here.

%LOCALAPPDATA%\WRC\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor\Engine.ini

Technical Note: If you are using the VR version, these settings are doubly important to prevent motion sickness caused by the “loading hitch.” After saving, right-click the file and set it to Read-only to prevent the game’s auto-optimization from reverting your changes.

Optimized “Stage Stability” Configuration Block

Search for or create the [SystemSettings] block at the bottom of your Engine.ini. This setup targets the Unreal Engine Tile-Shift bottleneck.

Parameter	Recommended Value	Technical Purpose
r.CreateShadersOnLoad	1	Critical. Forces shaders to compile during loading, not during driving.
r.TextureStreaming	0	Disables dynamic streaming (if VRAM > 10GB) to prevent asset “pop-in” stutters.
r.MipMapLODBias	-1	Sharpens distant road textures without increasing resolution.
r.Streaming.PoolSize	0	Setting to 0 allows the engine to use all available VRAM dynamically.
r.ViewDistanceScale	2.0	Balanced draw distance to see the road ahead without overloading the CPU.

[SystemSettings]
r.CreateShadersOnLoad=1
niagara.CreateShadersOnLoad=1
r.TextureStreaming=0
r.Streaming.PoolSize=0
r.MipMapLODBias=-1
r.ViewDistanceScale=2.0
r.StaticMeshLODDistanceScale=1.5
r.SceneColorFringeQuality=0
r.EyeAdaptation.LensAttenuation=0.45
r.Shadow.DistanceScale=1.5

HowTo: Engineering the Ultimate WRC 26 Performance

Follow these GameEngineer.net technical steps to stabilize your 2026 rally season:

1. The “V-Sync” Toggle Hack: A known bug in the current engine initialization causes the game to lock to a lower internal refresh rate at the start of a stage. When the countdown begins, hit Escape, toggle V-Sync Off and On, and resume. This often jumps the FPS back to your monitor’s native refresh.
2. Exploit Protection Override: In Windows settings, go to Exploit Protection > Program Settings. Add WRC.exe and set Control Flow Guard (CFG) to Override System Settings: OFF. This significantly reduces micro-stutters in Unreal Engine 4/5 titles.
3. Dynamic Objects Management: Set Dynamic Objects to Medium or High in the in-game menu. Setting this to “Ultra” is currently bugged and causes aggressive object “pop-in” even with the .ini tweaks applied.
4. CPU E-Core Fix: If you are on an Intel 12th–14th Gen or newer, use Process Lasso to disable E-cores for the game. WRC 26’s physics thread can sometimes get trapped on an E-core, causing a “choppy” feeling despite a high FPS counter.
5. Shader Cache Warming: After a GPU driver update or game patch, your first run on a stage will always have stutters. Drive the stage once at low speed to “warm” the cache; the second pass will be significantly smoother.

Technical Explanation: Tile-Shifting and Shader Draw

WRC 26 uses a “Tile-Based” world loading system ($T_{tile}$). As the car crosses a trigger boundary, the engine issues a command to load the next 2km of geometry. If r.CreateShadersOnLoad is not enabled, the GPU will attempt to compile the shaders for the new tile’s unique foliage exactly when they appear on screen.

By setting r.CreateShadersOnLoad=1 and r.TextureStreaming=0, we change the behavior from Reactive to Proactive. The engine allocates a larger memory buffer ($B_{vram}$) during the stage load, holding the entire stage’s textures in a “ready” state. This eliminates the $I/O$ wait time that typically manifests as a 10–50ms frame spike, which is the difference between catching a slide or ending up in a ravine.