Today is a very important day for Automobilista 2 with its most significant update so far set to be a game changer in all sorts of ways, and also the surprise addition of Spa-Francorchamps just in time for this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix
With all of this coinciding with the current Steam sale which ends on Monday, if you've not tried AMS2 in a while, now is surely the time to grab the update and see just how far this sims development has come!
The Reiza forums have been ablaze with anticipation last night and today, with the announcement of what's touted to be the biggest game changing update yet for Automobilista 2, being released today!
Update V1.4 brings the long awaited oval circuits and rules to the sim with the addition of full course yellows and several oval tracks!
Advanced Mechanical Damage Modeling
It also expands on another recently introduced feature, AMDM (Advanced Mechanical Damage Modeling). There are more ways than one for a race car to fail, and with AMDM (previously covering clutch and gearbox damage modelling), engine damage is also more thoroughly simulated.Running an engine too hot may not only wear it faster but also risk a sudden failure - these can range from oil or coolant leaks to misfires to an outright blow-up in a plume of white or black smoke depending on whether it was the result of an oil or coolant leak.
You (or your AI opponent) may even get tipped into a spin by the crankshaft locking up upon seizing!
Tire Updates
Tire physics have been fully revised to bring much more of a connected feel to the road and thermal tire properties have also been revised to more realistically and accurately simulate its their behaviour within and beyond their optimum operating temperatures!New Vehicles
Several new cars have been added to existing classes such as the Mercedes AMG GT4, the 6th car to be added to the GT4 field. Ginetta G55 GT3 added to the new GT Open class, where it will share the grid with the Ultima GTR, and also a slick-shod 1965 Mini Cooper is the new competitor in Copa Classic, while the fictional Vulkan Truck will join the Copa Truck grid!(On that last note from the looks of recent promotional videos we will also be getting proper black diesel smoke from the trucks which should look great in replays!)
New Area Packages
With the game now supporting alternative configurations of the same cars to be used in different types of tracks, we have also been able to add various low aero packages for cars from F-Classic and up to the F-Ultimate Gen2 - this not only allows the cars to have more appropriate-looking wing configurations in tracks like Monza or the Old Hockenheim, but also offers a more suitable default setup for these types of tracks for player and AI cars. Like the oval configurations, these will be automatically selected by the game for the appropriate tracks in all game modes.Yes VR = Yes Buy?!
Adjustable mirrors have been a much asked for feature by VR users for quite some time now and in true Reiza style they have listened to their fanbase and these are now implemented within the sim!Balance of Performance
New BOP revisions should be very welcomed to fans of such classes as the GT3's and GT4's. Also a fixed a bug in restrictor code which caused naturally aspirated and turbocharged cars to be too wide apart in performance in some classes, which along with barometric pressure dependent turbo pressure downscaling in heavily BoPed classes like GT3 & GT4, has resulted in BoP being retained in high altitude tracks, so turbo-powered cars no longer having substantial advantages in tracks like Kyalami or Ibarra.Multiclass Grids
More customization of multiclass grids is now available with players being able to choose the exact amount of cars from each different class they wish to have on track with them!More To Come
There's more to come in the future as well with the news that the Racin' USA packs will be expanded to a part 4 further down the line!This is without doubt one hell of an update! You can read through the full list of update and content notes below and find the entire changelog on the next page of this article.
Do you think AMS2's physics have now come into maturity, and do you think we finally have a well rounded sim for both off and online oval racing?
Let us know your thoughts and experiences with the new features, content and improvement in the comments below.
- Next page: Automobilista 2 | V1.4 changelog
