AMS2 Beta Now Live | Development Roadmap

[Paul Jeffrey]

Reiza Studios have revealed the future development plans for Automobilista 2 in their latest 'Development Roadmap' posting.

As many of you will already know, the full 'version 1' build of the much anticipated Automobilista 2 is set to release this March 2020. For those of us who backed the original Reiza Simracing Bonanza crowdfunding campaign above level 5, or purchased one of the many early access packs for the simulation - this Friday 28th will mark our first opportunity to lay hands on the new racing simulation from Reiza Studios.

With plenty of hunger from the community to learn more about what's in store both short and long term for the new title, Reiza Studios have released their latest roadmap posting giving gamers plenty of ideas about what we have to look forward to in the months ahead:

....

So it´s finally there! AMS2 Beta has now been released to Backers as we enter the final month of development before Automobilista 2 is officially release on March 31st - we are very excited to be able to share what we have been working on all this time

In this final stretch we can finally begin sharing a little more not only about what the plans are for release, but also going forward - let´s get to it.

Beta Available - Proceed With Caution
So the first build of AMS2 Beta has been deployed - always a big satisfaction and relief to reach this milestone.

Although the gameplay, content and general functionality of the Beta builds should be pretty representative of what its release state will be like, the game is very evidently unfinished - there is a lot still to be a lot bolted on over the coming weeks.

With the imminent release of AMS2 Beta we´ve had a huge influx of new people through the AMS2 Early Backing Campaign over the past couple of weeks. While it´s great to see the interest in AMS2 - and the revenue boost this late in development is by no means unwelcome - we do want to stress that this is still an unfinished Game: there are bugs, compatibility issues with certain hardware, missing features and other such rough edges still to be ironed out. If you are looking for a seamless user experience we strongly recommend you hold out until March 31st when the game will be officially released.

Automobilista 2 FAQ
There's been a lot of questions posed over AMS2 development and we are finally at a point we feel we can offer reliable answers - check our AMS2 FAQ here. More will be added in the coming days.

Cars & Tracks - What's In So Far
Looking to give a bit more insight into the game and what it will feature, we have started this All Cars & Tracks topic showing all the content featuring in the current build of the game.

Please observe that the artwork illustrates cars and tracks which are present in the game now - not what there will be on release and beyond. We will continue to update it as we progress through the next BETA builds and continue on from release onwards.

Development Roadmap - To Release ad Beyond
As we´ve been regularly stressing in these dev updates, AMS2 is a long term project - the release next month will see development pick up even more pace as we enter and aggressive development plan that will see game updates along with new cars and tracks released in a monthly basis.

To give you all a glimpse of how things are going to pan out, here is what´s on store for the first 3 months following release:

Upon release we hope to be in position to expand our public roadmap to cover the initial 6 months - that´s when things get really interesting

We will continue to provide this foresight at least until the end of 2020 so users can have an idea about whats coming and when.- with the obvious caveat that roadmaps aren´t set in stone and things can always move around or change slightly.

Early Backer Campaign Wraps February 29th.

As previously announced, the AMS2 Early Backing Campaign will close tomorrow 23:59 GMT. You will still be able to buy the combo of AMS2 + AMS2 Beta + AMS2 Season Pass for US$ 119.99 through our forum store, but the discounts for old backers and other perks from the EBC will no longer be included.

Pricing for the base game on relase has been confirmed @ US$49.99, bumped vs previously suggested US$ 39.99 as considerable additional base game content has now been confirmed.

In order to keep it a bit more affordable for early buyers, we have decided to launch AMS2 with a 20% discount over the first week from release, so at least for a little while the pricing will be inside the original plan.

That´s all for this month - it´s been a thrilling (and exhausting!) ride to this point and we are happy to finally be able to share with you a little more about where we are going with AMS2 - exciting times ahead!

Original Source: Reiza Studios.

Automobilista 2 will launch March 2020, with beta access starting February 28th.

Got questions about the sim? Be sure to start up a thread in the RaceDepartment Automobilista 2 sub forum and let our awesome community be your guide!

 

[CrimsonEminence]

yeah you right, sorry again for being impulsive...

I'm also sooo tempted to speak more about my experiences, right now! Good and not so good! (overall, more on the good side )

 

[safi hellie]

I know the feeling Davide.. The trick I´m trying to adhere to is to leave the PC, go have an expresso and try to use the caffeine boost for more productive purposes

So you have managed to do with the madness engine what SMS failed to do then over 4 titles. Make a convincing sim with great out of the box FFB and physics...
Fair play.
Its very odd that with their own IP they couldn't make a good sim though...
And weirder still how you have manged to make it like AMS1.....hmmmm.

 

[MarkR]

Another physics explanation that people might find useful Let's hope something gets the message across!

 

[RoccoTTS]

For me AMS2 in its current state is like a very young talented racing driver (Verstappen and co) who is doing his first races in F3 coming from karting and has been spotted by several F1 bosses.
While he is very fast and very talented, he makes silly mistakes because he is inexperienced and over overexcited, but one thing is for sure : he is going to make it to F1 and he is going to compete with the best, maybe even World Champion.

 

[CrimsonEminence]

So you have managed to do with the madness engine what SMS failed to do then over 4 titles. Make a convincing sim with great out of the box FFB and physics...
Fair play.
Its very odd that with their own IP they couldn't make a good sim though...
And weirder still how you have manged to make it like AMS1.....hmmmm.

Without babbling too much out, i can tell you, the driving feel of the Beta is already more refined and comprehensible than any other madness engine title, so far. There are definetly quirks with it, what's to be expected in a WIP situation, no discussion about that, but it has more AMS DNA in it, than i would've expected it to be.^^ And yes...it also doesn't sound like pCars2
Don't panic guys, whait and decide, when reviews and experiences are coming.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Another physics explanation that people might find useful Let's hope something gets the message across!

Gosh, we are not retarded kids for this level of explanation. Geez.

 

[DaVeX↯]

@Renato Simioni I think I should skip the espresso and go for a chamomile instead...

@safi hellie and just to add last bit of salt even Ian Bell stated they rushed some content and with proper time all the cars would feel/drive better but they were ovliterated by how much content they added to the game and missed the opportunity to fine tune each car...btw nevermind..SUGAR FOR MY CHAMOMILE PLEASEEEE?!?!?!

@Andrew_WOT someone here isn't even able to read, maybe this kind of vids will help them understand a couple of things, not all but at least the basic ones....(Really no one with some sugar?)

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

Yes. I think he will be laughing. AMS2 will perhaps be no better than what Ian did years ago with PCars 2. Maybe it will on some accounts, but this is all pretty crazy when you think about it. A new game on a PCars 2 engine that looks just like PCars 2 and has all the same features that PCars 2 had already years ago. My my. What will they thing of next? I know. Delete this post also, because I'm trolling, right?

And this is news to you now? Surely since the game was announced to use pCars 2 engine, it was obvious it would graphically look fairly similar unless Reiza hired 100 new coders to rebuild the engine from the scratch. What would be the point in buying an engine if you are not going to reuse it for the most part?

Going by your logic, wasn't AMS 1 the same game as rF1 basically, with the same features more or less? Many people called it an extremely polished rF1 version, like a mod on top of rF1, which I reckon is a pretty accurate assessment.

 

[CrimsonEminence]

Gosh, we are not retarded kids for this level of explanation. Geez.

Some users here are acting like little spoiled kids.^^ Let's be a better example
Also, what's wrong about watching a bald brit talking and driving in his sim rig

 

[ermo]

Some confusing and conflicting information is flowing in on what is Madness Engine and what is not. Physics engine for sure Madness, as well as everything else mentioned before.

Spoiler: Renato's interview

RD: If you compare MADNESS to the gMotor engine of AMS and also the rF2 engine you know from the recent ‘Reiza Pack’ DLC, what advantages do you think MADNESS offers over these solutions?

RS: To use the tired cliché, they each have their pros and cons... Obviously we can´t comment in-depth about actual differences in code, not least because we didn´t actually have access to the rF2 code beyond information that S397 would supply to us on a need-to-know basis to get our content to work in their engine.

With MADNESS, obviously the graphics engine is one of the strong points, and it generally runs smooth as butter no matter what you throw at it in terms of weather, time of day, number of cars so for us that´s a welcome change of pace!

Moreover the physics, Audio and AI fronts are for the most part an evolution of what we were already used to, so that has allowed us to continue progressing from the solid base we already had on those fronts; The SETA tyre model is a bigger departure to our old tyre model, which is always a tricky move considering how much of good racing simulation physics rely on not only an advanced tyre model but one that´s manageable to work with - luckily SETA has proved surprisingly accessible, very versatile and we´ve been achieving good results with it pretty much from the get-go.

The engine features models for a large range of drivetrain and aero systems, and a variety of rule sets, all of which suits us very well as Automobilista 2 is also due to feature many different motorports types.

Last but not least, Livetrack 3.0 is arguably the most advanced technology for dynamic track conditions in consumer level simulators, and that is a crucial feature for a truly realistic racing experience.

Naturally there are some things we´ll be adding or tweaking to our own preferences and requirements, but all in all we couldn´t ask for a better platform for the racing sim we aim to create.

The fact that they are rewriting FFB system is something completely new to me, doesn't look this way by initial feedack and FFB UI, but we never know what is underneath.
There was a big difference between the way PCars1 and PCars2 FFB was configured, yet it was the same under the hood.

Aside from Renato mentioning it a few posts ago, the fact that AMS2 uses a re-implementation of the AMS1 RealFeel-like system was mentioned in a dev update. (source)

FWIW, it is not a stretch of the imagination to imagine that Reiza re-implementing (some of?) their AMS1 FFB code concept in the MADNESS engine is simply Reiza wanting to capitalise on their existing AMS1 FFB <-> track surface optimisation knowledge, given how AMS1 is praised for exactly this aspect.

No matter how you look at it, the primary goal for a Tyre simulation is to, well, simulate the forces that are generated across the tyre contact patches by the car interacting with the track physics mesh.

And an FFB simulation primarily (but not necessarily exclusively) deals with how those tyre-contact forces are transferred to the steering wheel column via the suspension geometry -> steering arm -> tie rod -> steering rack -> pinion at the end of the steering wheel column.

It therefore stands to reason that switching out the Tyre Simulation from the rF1 engine to the MADNESS engine implementation and then re-using the AMS1 FFB approach with the AMS1 tracks would yield an AMS1 like feel.

If this indeed is what has happened, I'd put it down as "Mission Accomplished" really.

FWIW, Renato has mentioned again and again that he has a lot of respect for the qualities of the MADNESS engine in the interviews he has given. So I have hard time believing that he would slag off SMS, especially noting how he has also stressed how SMS have been nothing but generous and forthcoming during the collaboration period.

So, yeah, I think the poster you replied to is barking up the wrong tree if I'm completely honest.

 

[Miguel Batista]

I've now had a chance to drive most of the AMS2 Beta cars (all the unique ones and at least one from each group) and fully understanding and expecting them to change as they develop, and they all range from good to excellent. There isn't a single car I'd describe as poor or unplayable and that is quite something for a game at this stage. Even though I liked PCARS2 I am well aware many cars could be somewhat unusual in the handling department (but the ones that did work were ok too). Oh, and when I say driven, I mean I've driven enough laps in each car to get the tyres warm and track a little more grippy so I get a good feel for the car when it's up to temperature.

I enjoyed driving the Caterham 620R but it's actually the Caterham Supersport that is even more lifelike, really truly exceptional stuff.

By contrast, the cars on road tyres are some of the trickiest in the game, especially with cold tyres. Take a drive in the Ultima road car and the Ultima GTR Race back to back and you get to appreciate just how well AMS 2 is shaping up.: The road car has nowhere near the grip of the race car on slicks. The braking distances in the road car are significantly longer, at first it's quite some shock to adapt. Where the race car has almost endless grip the road car is on tiptoes (especially if the tyres are less than warm). The road car has softer suspension settings that soak up the bumps, the race car is so stiff it will bounce the nose across the track on full throttle bumpy corners. Sound also has to be mentioned the road car is relatively quiet, the race car has both superb drivetrain whine and harsh squealing brakes - to my ears it's fabulously immersive. The highest praise I can give is that driving these 2 cars back to back does feel like stepping from a road car to a well-developed track car.

Yes, there are plenty of things that still need to be improved, I'll mention a couple to show I can see both sides - some snappiness and odd spins, some cars have working temps etc others don't. The also deserves praise developer and seem measured in response (thankfully no tantrums here!) and confident in what is to come and of what they can do.

I think most sim racers should be excited about this game, it has some truly different content and cars well away from the usual offerings. I look forward to seeing what the next update brings.

That tyre warming feeling is something else isn't it? I haven't played a game where you could feel the difference so well in grip. You really understand why drivers claim they have "no grip" when tyres are cold. Loved the caterhams and the F3 309 the most and with my latest ffb tweaks, the f v12 is almost there.the Super V8 and stock cars are impressive as well. Really looking forward to next build.

Edit: nd I am not as disciplined as some... when I find a car/track combo I like, I spend a lot of my limited play time racing them ^^ like today I spent one hour just racing the F V12 first around Brands and then around defo not monaco.

 

[MarkR]

That tyre warming feeling is something else isn't it? I haven't played a game where you could feel the difference so well in grip. You really understand why drivers claim they have "no grip" when tyres are cold.

Absolutely, the tyre warm-up is superbly realistic. It all feels so close to taking the real Caterham to Anglesey Circuit on a cold day, the first couple of laps need the same gentle approach (and there are often a few tiptoe moments) until I can get some heat in the brakes and tyres, then once everything is warm it's like a switch has been flicked and it's flat out fun all the way. I've taken friends with me to share the day a few times and a couple of spins in the early laps is not unusual (luckily with no damage other than pride ). This is just one of the reasons I think Reiza are on to something special.

I think the possible danger in this is that some people won't understand the need to warm the tyres and build up the confidence and will mistakenly dismiss the handling as a result.

 

[CrimsonEminence]

So PCars 2 really was crap then?
At least we now can put that one to bed.... all those fans shouting about it being the "best ever!!!111"

pCars2 AND 1 were pretty good simulation games IMO...just not at the depth and accuracy of other titles in terms of physics (and surely not sound, yikes), but other elements were amazing...

Also AMS1 will no longer be the go to game for people to benchmark as the 'best' physics/ffb.....

The go to game for people to benchmark best physics and FFB is not the same for everyone
We will see, which place AMS2 will take.

My question again is, why after 4 attempts could SMS not manage the basics of a good sim?
Did they even try?

What are you talking about? Physics, weather, content quantity/quality, performance, graphics, sound, usability, approachability, platforms to play on, immersion?
The pCars games also had their strengths and weaknesses like any other title. Not the strengths on before promised bases, yup, that's what SMS is highly guilty of and caused a lot of pC.a.r.s.gamer/funder PTSD in the years, but strengths at some other points are very much to find. So they tried, but on the wrong places, regarding hopes by a target group, that funded and got left alone after it.

 

[thepharcyde]

Pcars 2 and F355 @ Imola was good, the rest was mehm

 

[Miguel Batista]

pCars2 AND 1 were pretty good simulation games IMO...just not at the depth and accuracy of other titles in terms of physics (and surely not sound, yikes), but other elements were amazing...

The go to game for people to benchmark best physics and FFB is not the same for everyone
We will see, which place AMS2 will take.

What are you talking about? Physics, weather, content quantity/quality, performance, graphics, sound, usability, approachability, platforms to play on, immersion?
The pCars games also had their strengths and weaknesses like any other title. Not the strengths on before promised bases, yup, that's what SMS is highly guilty of and caused a lot of pC.a.r.s.gamer/funder PTSD in the years, but strengths at some other points are very much to find. So they tried, but on the wrong places, regarding hopes by a target group, that funded and got left alone after it.

Not to mention the specific downgrades they did to accomodate cobsoles like the physics and ffb update frequency being locked to 60 fps and the way they built their tracks. Whenever they focused (like dlc cars) the cars came out good. Like the le man pack. Other cars were not too shaby like the formula renault 3.5 and the indycar.

The advantage of Reiza titles is that they added cars little by little so whenever you get a new car, you can be sure it was tried and tested over and over. Kind of like high end modding cars. SMS (and kunos btw) had too many cars to make sure all were consistent.

Remmember that Stock cars Brazil was the first game Reiza launched (and the first Reiza game i played). It had very limited content and the cars even to today's standards were amazing.

There is a reason I say that Reiza Formula cars are the only ones that can compete with RSS cars for instance. And that is pretty much it.

That is why I really believe in Reiza and that in this engine we will get proper car system simulations with information dislayed on the car's LCDs like changing dif or ARBs or TC. No pressure @Renato Simioni

 

[ShredatorFIN]

Just clarifying: Reiza is using the Madness engine from SMS, which is not just the graphics, but physics as well, for example tyre model etc. SMS, and Reiza, have continously improved the engine since the last patch for PC2. Reiza have praised the engines physics simulation, for example tyre model. Of course, since Reiza is free to input their own values into the engine, the end result will probably differ in a number of areas.

Yes true, but the end result is very different when Reiza is handling it instead of SMS it seems..

It doesn't feel the same engine, It feels way too much like AMS1. If I didn't know, I would never believe it is the pCars 2 engine. Actually, I doubt that anyone would know in a blind test.

 

[CrimsonEminence]

Pcars 2 and F355 @ Imola was good, the rest was mehm

Sauber C9 at Nordschleife...already amazing in pCars1, one of the most immersive experiences you can have in a simulator and i never even tried it in VR...

 

[GP20]

Hold on. What ?

I saw a few people talking about too much grip. I think for the first time it's acurate.

I find that in all sims cars miss grip.

 

[Damage Inc]

So PCars 2 really was crap then?
At least we now can put that one to bed.... all those fans shouting about it being the "best ever!!!111"

Also AMS1 will no longer be the go to game for people to benchmark as the 'best' physics/ffb.....

SMS made loads of money from false promises and got a relentless bunch of loyalists basically flogging shift 1, 3 times over.
Sold some IP to Reiza, then flogged the rest to Codemasters for, in gaming terms, a very low price....

Now they get found out...

My question again is, why after 4 attempts could SMS not manage the basics of a good sim?
Did they even try?

No, you are completely and utterly misintepreting everything and spouting complete and utter nonsense. Pure drivel makes more sense than what you're saying over and over again.

 

[ShredatorFIN]

I wish you'd stop saying that, the madness engine INCLUDES the physics and FFB, Reiza are using their considerable expereince and expertise to tweak it and fine tune what was ALREADY there in PC2.

Physics for me = how the cars feel/handle, and what values are used for the cars. Not just the engine. Renato said they rewrote FFB code, so it's not the same anyway

If AMS2 feels completely different (infinitely better) than pCars 2 (garbage), to me it's not the same physics. You can twist it anyway you want, but in the end how it handles is all that matters... and it has changed from meh to great, so calling it the "same physics" doesn't really make sense

Are rFactor 2 physics always good, even if I pull some values out of my ass to make a Mario Kart car that has the top speed of Mach 3, weighs 3500000000 kilograms, the tyres aren't round, but rectangles etc. Great rFactor 2 physics eh? .... it wouldn't be so "great physics" anymore. Even if the engine is rFactor 2

Physics = the engine + what values were fed into it.

So tell me....if the only difference is shiny graphics for kids........why bother at all and just stick with AM1??

Supports VR, for one. And dynamic weather system. Probably some other improvements too, the tyre model is more complex (and yes it's the SMS tyre model, but somehow it doesn't feel like crap anymore... maybe because of the changed FFB code)