A large selection of content is usually good for sim racers, although this tends to be achieved via the DLC route. This can make joining lobbies online difficult for those that do not own all the content a sim has to offer – this is not necessarily the case in Automobilista 2, however: Reiza Studios' title has a neat feature that many sim racers may not know about.
Most who have organized an event or a league in AMS2 likely have come across the question of whether or not DLC is necessary to participate. The good news: You do not need every piece of content to be safe – should you not own a track, you can still join a session and race at the circuit as long as the server host does own it.
This basically allows all AMS2 players access to every track if they are racing online, making it possible to participate in leagues and championships for which they do not own every single circuit on the calendar. They will have to rely on someone else to host these tracks to practice for the event, however, as they cannot be accessed in single-player modes.
A practical example: You want to join a race at Hockenheim 2001 in the Formula V10 Gen 2 cars, which emulate the 2000/2001 season (as you can find out in our AMS2 F1 Season Guide), but have not bought any of the circuit DLCs. You can then still join the session and take part as someone else is hosting the event.
Want to race a 2001 Jaguar at Hockenheim online but do not own the circuit? No problem!
On the other hand, if you want to take part in a F-USA Gen 2 race with CART cars of 1998 at Montreal, you would have to buy the Racin' USA Pt2 Pack. In this case, even though you own the track as it is stock content in AMS2, you need to own the cars as there is no stock content in the F-USA Gen 2 class.
Montreal is stock content, the F-USA Gen 2 cars are not - so this combo is out of the question if you only own the base game.
If you are on the fence about which DLC to buy, you should consider the car-based packs first as a result. This way, you will be able to participate in any online event you can find (save for the password-protected ones, of course. As a nice benefit, many of them come with some circuits included, so you can enjoy them in single-player modes as well.
Most who have organized an event or a league in AMS2 likely have come across the question of whether or not DLC is necessary to participate. The good news: You do not need every piece of content to be safe – should you not own a track, you can still join a session and race at the circuit as long as the server host does own it.
This basically allows all AMS2 players access to every track if they are racing online, making it possible to participate in leagues and championships for which they do not own every single circuit on the calendar. They will have to rely on someone else to host these tracks to practice for the event, however, as they cannot be accessed in single-player modes.
Cars Work Differently
Cars, however, are exempt from this feature. Luckily, this means that only a few vehicle classes are not accessible to anyone, as they are comprised of DLC-only content: Fans of DPI, GTE and CART/IndyCar racing need to invest into the first two Racin' USA Packs – which also come with three tracks each - to be able to drive these vehicles, and the same is true for the Supercars Pack Pt1.A practical example: You want to join a race at Hockenheim 2001 in the Formula V10 Gen 2 cars, which emulate the 2000/2001 season (as you can find out in our AMS2 F1 Season Guide), but have not bought any of the circuit DLCs. You can then still join the session and take part as someone else is hosting the event.
Want to race a 2001 Jaguar at Hockenheim online but do not own the circuit? No problem!
On the other hand, if you want to take part in a F-USA Gen 2 race with CART cars of 1998 at Montreal, you would have to buy the Racin' USA Pt2 Pack. In this case, even though you own the track as it is stock content in AMS2, you need to own the cars as there is no stock content in the F-USA Gen 2 class.
Montreal is stock content, the F-USA Gen 2 cars are not - so this combo is out of the question if you only own the base game.
If you are on the fence about which DLC to buy, you should consider the car-based packs first as a result. This way, you will be able to participate in any online event you can find (save for the password-protected ones, of course. As a nice benefit, many of them come with some circuits included, so you can enjoy them in single-player modes as well.
List of AMS2 DLC Tracks
- Bathurst 1983 - Historical Track Pack
- Cascais 1988 - Historical Track Pack
- Cleveland - Racin' USA Pt2
- Daytona (including oval version) - Racin' USA Pt1
- Fontana (Auto Club Speedway) - Racin' USA Pt3
- Gateway (World Wide Technology Raceway) - Racin' USA Pt3
- Hockenheim (including 1977, 1988 & 2001 versions) - Premium Track Pack (also available separately)
- Indianapolis - Racin' USA Pt3
- Jerez 1988 - Historical Track Pack
- Laguna Seca - Racin' USA Pt1
- Long Beach - Racin' USA Pt1
- Monza (including 1991 & 1971 versions) - Premium Track Pack (also available separately)
- Nürburgring (including Nordschleife & 1971 versions) - Premium Track Pack (also available separately)
- Road America - Racin' USA Pt2
- Spa-Francorchamps (including 2022, 2020, 1993 & 1970 versions) - Premium Track Pack (also available separately)
- Watkins Glen - Racin' USA Pt2
- Racin' USA is available as a Full Expansion Pack
- Premium Track Pack circuits are excluded from the Premium Expansion Pack, which contains all other DLC
