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!

 

[brainner]

Don´t underestimate this community...

I really have the impression that the SMS-hate is the biggest problem here.

in fact every sim racer should praise this actuall times. You just liked the GFX from pc2? Look, here is your very good opportunity.
SMS madness engine is powerfull, and NOT just in GFX, sms did a great job with what you „can“ do with it. they give it now in other hands.
Instead of beeing thankfull and giving (even) SMS respect, all you can come up with again and again bashing SMS?
And now Reiza starts to be your target because they say that SMS tech is awesome stuff?
i do not get it.

 

[CrimsonEminence]

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?

I want this...i don't know why, but i want this!

 

[RJRacer]

I really have the impression that the SMS-hate is the biggest problem here.

in fact every sim racer should praise this actuall times. You just liked the GFX from pc2? Look, here is your very good opportunity.
SMS madness engine is powerfull, and NOT just in GFX, sms did a great job with what you „can“ do with it. they give it now in other hands.
Instead of beeing thankfull and giving (even) SMS respect, all you can come up with again and again bashing SMS?
And now Reiza starts to be your target because they say that SMS tech is awesome stuff?
i do not get it.

I think you don’t get it, because you built a straw man. That’s not the reason people are disgruntled.

Many... and I mean MANY are not happy with the price increase, the current state of the game, the missing content, the announcement that a “DLC Pack” May only be 2 cars (as stated by rieza) and that fact that th game currently is demonstrably just PCars2 with some new DLC.

That’s not actually a bad thing, it’s just that not what backers like me were led to Believe and therefore we feel hoodwinked.

No hate for SMS or their madness engine, in fact the madness engine is technically very good.

This is about trust and value. And honestly this is currently in the current beta state that I am playing) just an incredibly bare PCars2 with missing content and features.

It really should just be PCars 2 Reiza DLC pack on steam for $9.99 not over $100.

With that said, we n 2 years time this WILL be worth the $10 in the steam sale with all content and updates.

 

[mantasisg]

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.

That is not true from all parties. Grip is basically prime element of pace, if sims would lack grip they would all have too slow laptimes, however it is usually found that laptimes are faster in sims than IRL. This means that you should look deeper. I mean look at how grip is composed.

What you really mean is that there is plenty of sliding grip. Inevitably static grip has to be lower to compensate and to keep the pace correct.

So you do actually get less and more grip at the same time, just at different ends.

As a result lower static grip, and higher sliding grip makes more predictable car, that can be overdriven more easily, however it will get overdriven at wider threshold.

But no one cares. So whatever, welcome your simracing future.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

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.

Yeah, it's hard to draw the line on where physics stops and FFB begins, always thought they go hand to hand.
We'll see in April how well this works in practice.

 

[Mike Kadlcak]

I must say after few test-runs in VR with all kind of cars... I was only grinning and laughing how awesome it all feels. I am happy I invested into it and for all coming up DLCs. Reiza did an amazing job with this engine.

And it is already really fun. Beta it is...I don't care if AI ain't ready yet so what... gave me a good laugh when I tried different classes and some big cars were pushing small karts off the track

 

[PGSM]

I really have the impression that the SMS-hate is the biggest problem here.

in fact every sim racer should praise this actuall times. You just liked the GFX from pc2? Look, here is your very good opportunity.
SMS madness engine is powerfull, and NOT just in GFX, sms did a great job with what you „can“ do with it. they give it now in other hands.
Instead of beeing thankfull and giving (even) SMS respect, all you can come up with again and again bashing SMS?
And now Reiza starts to be your target because they say that SMS tech is awesome stuff?
i do not get it.

^ This.
I really think, for whatever problems PCars 2 had, it was cutting edge and delivered on so many fronts. It was THE sim at the time and in many ways, still is. I'm not a fanboy of any title or company. I say what I think as subjectively as I can. I just think it's funny and ironic that a so-called 'true/hardcore' sim is using the same engine that SMS used but we will be told how it's 'all new' and 'soooooo much better'. We'll see. If it is, it is. I just think it's very easy to run out and grab the latest 'new hotness' and go ooooohhh, aaaahhhhh. But after a few months, reality sets in and we realize that we really don't need 15 different sims. Honestly, if PCars2 was the only sim available, I'd be quite happy enough with it. All around, on many fronts, it delivers everything pretty nicely. Of course, having said that, I'm all for progress and moving forward and making something better. I think SMS' biggest mistake was abandoning the game far too soon. This was a huge mistake. On another note, the thing I think ACC has most going for it is the driving feel is very accessible and the Unreal engine is one that is only being used at about 50%. Machines 2 years from now will make that game look 10 times better than it does now and Kunos will have had to do nothing to achieve that. Further, it's very easy to port it to console. I don't care about that, but it will help Kunos which can then further fund them into the future. My biggest problem with ACC is the stupid rating system. To me, it's just awful and they would do well to come up with something entirely different. Time will tell regarding AMS 2. I wish them the best. But will it have the big names? Ferrari? Lamborghini? If not, I'm not that interested.

 

[Mike Kadlcak]

Yeah, it's hard to draw the line on where physics stops and FFB begins, always thought they go hand to hand.
We'll see in April how well this works in practice.

Its easy to try... just turn off FFB and compare physics across titles. FFB and physics are always two separate things.

 

[Tr0nic]

Wow, some interesting and constructive feedback here, thank you all!
I have mixed feelings about what i did read so far... but had no opportunity to test the "beta".

Mostly i am curious about the FFB and physics, the feeling, you know...
And of course the VR performance... which seems to be very good.

I am curious about the release and i hope we see Spielberg and Interlagos again.

HF @ all!

 

[mantasisg]

Yeah, it's hard to draw the line on where physics stops and FFB begins, always thought they go hand to hand.

I think that happens as early as the person who perceive the FFB is able to read physics and judge/accept if stuff is reasonable or not, so its all in head of simracer. FFB is just the iceberg tip of physics.

Honestly FFB ducks entire simracing, as people gets attached to a certain specific feels and then can't tolerate anything else. We could talk about FFB, and have some good discussions I believe, but that would require quite a bit of technical knowledge that only few has, I don't even talk about software code side of FFB. At the end FFB is just tip of the iceberg in terms of physics, and it is damn annoying how much can only read forces from wheel, and understand nothing further.

 

[Mike Kadlcak]

Wow, some interesting and constructive feedback here, thank you all!
I have mixed feelings about what i did read so far... but had no opportunity to test the "beta".

Mostly i am curious about the FFB and physics, the feeling, you know...
And of course the VR performance... which seems to be very good.

I am curious about the release and i hope we see Spielberg and Interlagos again.

HF @ all!

you will like the feeling.. you can catch slides naturally ... not like in other sims. VR is amazing.

btw, Spielberg and Interlagos are already in the beta.

 

[mantasisg]

What does it mean to catch slides naturally ? I would say that it is very abstract way of saying it. Might be right and wrong.

In one end - physics and FFB creates supposedly natural= whatever it is realistic outputs.
At other end - person is able to catch slides like it is natural to him/her, this would mean great anticipation to whats going to happen, and great reaction to whats happening to make great inputs with steering wheel, and lets not forget - the pedals and maybe even gears.

I think it is often too much expected from a steering wheel, and too little from hands, which perhaps is not so natural after all.

Disclaimer - I haven't played AMS2, just sharing general observations from simracing.

 

[Ledenko]

Many... and I mean MANY are not happy with the price increase, the current state of the game, the missing content, the announcement that a “DLC Pack” May only be 2 cars (as stated by rieza) and that fact that th game currently is demonstrably just PCars2 with some new DLC.

I mean, for a backer like you (and me) the price change doesn't really apply, you're already in and don't have to pay more. The 2 cars per car pack was for the free packs that are coming in monthly updates and the actual paid DLC is supposed to be BIG, game in a game type of big, whatever that means. Although since the tracks are marked as DLC there will probably also be smaller paid packs, similar to AMS1.

Anyway, if you trully believe all these cars and tracks are worth $10 at most, I think Renato still offers anyone who contacts him a full refund.

 

[RJRacer]

mod-edit: here is your much requested notification, read our ToS and board rules to see what is allowed and what not.

 

[safi hellie]

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.

So PCars 2 is better than AM2 will be?
If so what is the point in AM2?

 

[MarkR]

Edit:
Also to the mods?
I run a physical business called “VinylRimJob” and I convert, repair, dip, wrap rims for all types of vehicles, I even have a custom AC skin that we provide to racers who we sponsor so why has my profile been changed to RJ?

So in the last 8 hours mods have edited my posts, deleted my posts, changed my username and banned me from 2 subs without a single notification or conversation? Wow!

I think you are taking the mickey (or it may be a case of lost in translation) but just in case you're not you might want to look up the meaning of Rim Job in an urban dictionary

I certainly wouldn't suggest you change your User Name to TossedSaladRacer next

 

[safi hellie]

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.

It's because utterly incorrectly sim racers for years and years have made up that racing cars don't have any grip....
So grip is arcade.......
What exactly they think all that aero is for i don't know, let alone the big rubber things on each wheel...

 

[RJRacer]

I think you are taking the mickey (or it may be a case of lost in translation) but just in case you're not you might want to look up the meaning of Rim Job in an urban dictionary

I certainly wouldn't suggest you change your User Name to TossedSaladRacer next

Eh absolutely not! We do custom Rim Jobs for a myriad of users. This can be a vinyl wrap, an alloy dip (or paint dip) airbrush, a full refurb and even custom rims for bikes!

We have a contract with many vinyl companies including invisiframe as we are one of the few who can invisiframe a custom carbon bike rim!

That doesn’t excuse the fact my entire account has been edited, by a mod, my posts have been edited, my name has been changed and they never even sent me a PM or notified me of this? Surly that can’t be allowed? They can just edit any of my posts, change my name and make it look like I did/said stuff I didn’t say/do without so much as a PM? Wow?

And all the while they do this, they let paying members insult, swear, abuse and violate the rules of non paying members? Wow! That is enlightening!

 

[CrimsonEminence]

This thread has moved beyond all objectivity...

 

[RJRacer]

It's because utterly incorrectly sim racers for years and years have made up that racing cars don't have any grip....
So grip is arcade.......
What exactly they think all that aero is for i don't know, let alone the big rubber things on each wheel...

Why you are saying is entirely correct, I agree with this (and your previous post re physics) entirely. Some people can’t agree with this because they can’t be intellectually honest enough to themselves or to the world as they think it weakens their point, but it doesn’t.

Will this game be good! Yes, probably.
Is it what was promised “so far”! Absolutely not!
It’s currently new content for PCars2. But when It’s finished it will Be PCars 2 Reid’s Edition and that’s be NOT a dig, or a negative, it just is.