With its enormous selection of content, Automobilista 2 is a favorite for many, particularly for historic F1 cars and tracks. Many of these cars have been updated with authentic liveries, courtesy of @IMMERSION Modding Group - we have talked to the highly talented group of modders.
With no less than 17 classes representing various Formula One seasons throughout the decades, Automobilista 2 is a great sim for fans of historic F1 cars - and others, of course. Those who have read our Ultimate F1 Season Guide for AMS2 will have noticed that livery packs for all of these seasons are available - and if you have seen those, you will likely have stumbled upon IMMERSION Modding Group's work already.
In fact, while there is a 1993 pack available for the F-Hitech Gen 2 cars by @Vuzz Voom, they state that this was created to bridge the gap until IMG's pack would release. And that tells you a lot about the quality of the group's work: In addition to the car liveries, their packs come with AI files and real driver names, helmet designs, accurate driver overalls and even menu preview graphics that match the AMS2 style to complete the experience.
Who is behind IMMERSION Modding Group, though? The list of members is not exactly short, with up to 15 modders combining their efforts for their packs.
IMMERSION Modding Group: "Hello, thank you for interviewing us! Our group is a loose collective of passionate enthusiasts who create content for AMS2 and possibly other sims in the future. Our aim is to produce content that fully immerses the player as much as possible within the limitations of the sim platform. Additionally, we attempt to add to what the developers have provided the community by bringing out the best of their platform. We strive for detail and accuracy as close as possible to the real historical cars. For example, if a specific logo cannot be found, we create it from scratch."
OT: When and why did you start?
IMG: "The group started somewhere in late 2022 with a few members collaborating on several individual projects together on Discord. The group gradually expanded to around eight members for our first major collaboration which was the CART 1995 livery package. Since then the group has gradually expanded further to allow us to create content such as the 2023 Indy Car mod and several historical F1 season livery packages. With that said, CART 1995 was really the major starting point for our group as we are all big open-wheel fans."
OT: How many people are in the group, where do they come from, how and why have you grouped?
IMG: "We currently have around 15 members hailing from Ireland, Canada, Norway, United States, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, France, Brazil, Japan, and Australia. We came together through various forums, Discord, and RaceDepartment as we recognized a shared passion for immersion and detail in the content that is produced."
OT: What is your main focus?
IMG: "While our main focus has historically and will continue to be F1, CART, and Indy Car content, we are also interested in producing sports car and tin-top content for the future. Stay tuned on that!"
OT: With regard to say the F1 1992 texture pack, your latest work, how much time does it take to create such a mod?
IMG: "The total time it takes is roughly 3-6 months, although we do not set deadlines or place pressure on finishing anything within a certain timeframe. As a result, some content can take longer or shorter than that range. Having this relaxed mindset enables us to create our best work and release it when it is ready. For example, work on the F1 1992 livery pack began when F-HiTech was still in beta."
OT: What is the most challenging part?
IMG: "There are quite a few challenges and obstacles to mention here. Probably the biggest overall challenges are finding spare time and maintaining momentum in any given project so that things keep progressing at a reasonable pace. Other challenges are searching the internet for very specific logos, working with the given templates, and AMS2 limitations such as the number of available livery slots for each car, as what was historically authentic doesn’t always correspond with what is workable in the game.
"Likewise, working on car mods gives vastly more flexibility, however, it also comes with a lot more that can go wrong with a major game update. At the very least the updates and hotfixes keep you on your toes as there could be something that needs to be updated or incorporated in the mods file base."
OT: How do you do it practically? How does one create a livery in AMS2?
IMG: "Reiza shares livery templates for all the cars in AMS2 and instructions on how to put them into the game. We each paint them using our preferred software such as GIMP, Paint.net, Illustrator and Photoshop.With that said, the tools themselves are not as important as creating a workflow that suits each creator. Before creating a livery, it’s important to have a good eye to recreate accurate details such as selecting the proper colour shading."
OT: How do people get in contact with you, can give feedback or contribute?
IMG: "The best way to reach any of us is through OverTake, the Reiza forums, or on various Discord channels. You can also reach Jusk on X @juskrace."
OT: What are you currently working on? What are your future plans?
IMG: "We have no shortage of plans or things we would like to work on in the future. We are currently working on some additions to F1 1992, along with a brand new F1 1993 livery pack that is taking shape as we speak. We are also updating and improving some of our previously released work as well as working on a tool to help make switching between different livery sets much easier. Beyond livery packs and AI files, modding AMS2 can be a frustrating and laborious process, although we’ve shown it can be done with the IR-18 Indy Car mod.
"However, we are hoping modding cars is made more user-friendly in the future by Reiza. Although there are no guarantees at this point, we are also aware of potential future modding opportunities with other upcoming sims such as Assetto Corsa 2 that may enable us to provide immersive content that is the same or better quality than what we are currently producing. Other than all of that, we just want to take in what sim racing has to offer right now, find inspiration in that all, and take things to the next level of Immersion now and in the future."
For more of IMMERSION Modding Group's work, be sure to give the F1 1967, F1 1969, F1 1974, F1 1978, F1 1985, F1 1986, F1 1988, F1 1990, F1 1991, F1 1995, CART 1995, CART 1997, F1 1997, F1 2000, F1 2012 and IndyCar 2023 (in cooperation with KAOS Modding Team) packs a try. The latter is even an all-new car mod instead of just a livery pack, and considered to be one of the best available for AMS2.
What are your thoughts on IMMERSION Modding Group and their work? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
With no less than 17 classes representing various Formula One seasons throughout the decades, Automobilista 2 is a great sim for fans of historic F1 cars - and others, of course. Those who have read our Ultimate F1 Season Guide for AMS2 will have noticed that livery packs for all of these seasons are available - and if you have seen those, you will likely have stumbled upon IMMERSION Modding Group's work already.
In fact, while there is a 1993 pack available for the F-Hitech Gen 2 cars by @Vuzz Voom, they state that this was created to bridge the gap until IMG's pack would release. And that tells you a lot about the quality of the group's work: In addition to the car liveries, their packs come with AI files and real driver names, helmet designs, accurate driver overalls and even menu preview graphics that match the AMS2 style to complete the experience.
Who is behind IMMERSION Modding Group, though? The list of members is not exactly short, with up to 15 modders combining their efforts for their packs.
IMMERSION Modding Group Members
- Alain Fry (@AFry): Liveries, helmets, suits & gloves, assembling builds
- Brainbug (@brainner): Screenshots, logos, promo material
- @chrisi2174: Liveries, menu previews
- Harry Maybourne: Liveries
- @hossy 0saka: Helmets, suits & gloves
- Humpty (@mungopark): Liveries
- @jusk: AI files, liveries, helmets, menu previews
- @Klukkluk: Menu previews, liveries, helmets, suits
- @KRRTDustin: Liveries, helmets, suits & gloves, 3D modeling
- Léo Rock: Liveries
- Martinezlj: Mod physics, 3D modeling, liveries
- Michael Peters: Liveries, UVW mapping, renders, reference material
- Raphael Rodrigues: Helmets, suits & gloves
- Scar666: Liveries, helmets, mod physics, assembling builds
- @Steven Poirier: Liveries, helmets
IMMERSION Modding Group Interview
OverTake: What is IMMERSION Modding Group?IMMERSION Modding Group: "Hello, thank you for interviewing us! Our group is a loose collective of passionate enthusiasts who create content for AMS2 and possibly other sims in the future. Our aim is to produce content that fully immerses the player as much as possible within the limitations of the sim platform. Additionally, we attempt to add to what the developers have provided the community by bringing out the best of their platform. We strive for detail and accuracy as close as possible to the real historical cars. For example, if a specific logo cannot be found, we create it from scratch."
OT: When and why did you start?
IMG: "The group started somewhere in late 2022 with a few members collaborating on several individual projects together on Discord. The group gradually expanded to around eight members for our first major collaboration which was the CART 1995 livery package. Since then the group has gradually expanded further to allow us to create content such as the 2023 Indy Car mod and several historical F1 season livery packages. With that said, CART 1995 was really the major starting point for our group as we are all big open-wheel fans."
OT: How many people are in the group, where do they come from, how and why have you grouped?
IMG: "We currently have around 15 members hailing from Ireland, Canada, Norway, United States, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, France, Brazil, Japan, and Australia. We came together through various forums, Discord, and RaceDepartment as we recognized a shared passion for immersion and detail in the content that is produced."
OT: What is your main focus?
IMG: "While our main focus has historically and will continue to be F1, CART, and Indy Car content, we are also interested in producing sports car and tin-top content for the future. Stay tuned on that!"
OT: With regard to say the F1 1992 texture pack, your latest work, how much time does it take to create such a mod?
IMG: "The total time it takes is roughly 3-6 months, although we do not set deadlines or place pressure on finishing anything within a certain timeframe. As a result, some content can take longer or shorter than that range. Having this relaxed mindset enables us to create our best work and release it when it is ready. For example, work on the F1 1992 livery pack began when F-HiTech was still in beta."
OT: What is the most challenging part?
IMG: "There are quite a few challenges and obstacles to mention here. Probably the biggest overall challenges are finding spare time and maintaining momentum in any given project so that things keep progressing at a reasonable pace. Other challenges are searching the internet for very specific logos, working with the given templates, and AMS2 limitations such as the number of available livery slots for each car, as what was historically authentic doesn’t always correspond with what is workable in the game.
"Likewise, working on car mods gives vastly more flexibility, however, it also comes with a lot more that can go wrong with a major game update. At the very least the updates and hotfixes keep you on your toes as there could be something that needs to be updated or incorporated in the mods file base."
OT: How do you do it practically? How does one create a livery in AMS2?
IMG: "Reiza shares livery templates for all the cars in AMS2 and instructions on how to put them into the game. We each paint them using our preferred software such as GIMP, Paint.net, Illustrator and Photoshop.With that said, the tools themselves are not as important as creating a workflow that suits each creator. Before creating a livery, it’s important to have a good eye to recreate accurate details such as selecting the proper colour shading."
OT: How do people get in contact with you, can give feedback or contribute?
IMG: "The best way to reach any of us is through OverTake, the Reiza forums, or on various Discord channels. You can also reach Jusk on X @juskrace."
OT: What are you currently working on? What are your future plans?
IMG: "We have no shortage of plans or things we would like to work on in the future. We are currently working on some additions to F1 1992, along with a brand new F1 1993 livery pack that is taking shape as we speak. We are also updating and improving some of our previously released work as well as working on a tool to help make switching between different livery sets much easier. Beyond livery packs and AI files, modding AMS2 can be a frustrating and laborious process, although we’ve shown it can be done with the IR-18 Indy Car mod.
"However, we are hoping modding cars is made more user-friendly in the future by Reiza. Although there are no guarantees at this point, we are also aware of potential future modding opportunities with other upcoming sims such as Assetto Corsa 2 that may enable us to provide immersive content that is the same or better quality than what we are currently producing. Other than all of that, we just want to take in what sim racing has to offer right now, find inspiration in that all, and take things to the next level of Immersion now and in the future."
For more of IMMERSION Modding Group's work, be sure to give the F1 1967, F1 1969, F1 1974, F1 1978, F1 1985, F1 1986, F1 1988, F1 1990, F1 1991, F1 1995, CART 1995, CART 1997, F1 1997, F1 2000, F1 2012 and IndyCar 2023 (in cooperation with KAOS Modding Team) packs a try. The latter is even an all-new car mod instead of just a livery pack, and considered to be one of the best available for AMS2.
What are your thoughts on IMMERSION Modding Group and their work? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
