Automobilista 2 | Latest Update Adds Hot Cars Series

Paul Jeffrey

Premium
Friday has become the day of the AMS 2 update, and this week is absolutely no different as Reiza Studios deploy yet another impressive new build for their Early Access Automobilista 2 racing simulation.

As well as entering the world packed full of the usual fixes, tweaks and improvements, this latest build is also noteworthy for the inclusion of three cars from the mighty 1980's Brazilian 'Hot Cars' series - where things go crazy and sideways action is your buddy...

Content aside, Reiza continue to work wonders with the developing title, adding another pleasing pass at AI and force feedback behaviour as they build up to a V1 release. Don't worry though, plenty more has been addressed by the hard working team at Reiza HQ - the details of which you can find below:

.............

This week´s update features further housekeeping, with focus again on the FFB / physics / AI combo as these fronts begin to come full circle for v1.0 release.

Relative to last week, the FFB changes have been a slight refactoring of the way steering arm forces pass on to FFB (should provide a slightly "tighter" wheel around the center), slightly reduced the FFB filters added in previous update & added soft lock for wheels that still didn´t have it.

Further FFB changes from now will be restricted to bug fixes, track/car-specific fine tuning & those resulting from physics adjustments - these can still add up to substantial differences, and we also plan to add a couple of car-specific adjustments so users have some room to customize them to their preferences - but as far as the core system goes however we consider FFB wrapped for v1.0

IMPORTANT: "OLD DEFAULT" FFB profile has been discontinued in v0.9.3.1 - there´s only one default FFB profile (the "CUSTOM" option should only be selected if you have modified your Custom FFB file). An updated FFB guide will be posted soon.

On the physics front there´s been another round of fine tuning with most cars receiving a few updates, most substantial being big fixes for F-V10, Super V8, Copa Trucks, F-Classic G3M3 and Superkart. Brakes have also been further fine tuned, the main change being greatly reduced brake performance when cold (be careful in your first corner exiting the pits). Tyre physics on wet surface have also received attention, mostly fixing the excessive slick grip on a wet track for compounds in which that was an issue. IMPORTANT: As usual make sure to reset your setups if you had any changes from default auto-saved.

AI has received another callibration pass, and performance parameters for practice / qualifying (which before were assigned globally for every car, causing a lot of fluctuation in AI performance for those sessions relative to their race skills) now have customized values per class, offering much better balance relative to their race performance. Balance of speed in slower corners vs high have also been further callibrated to be closer to the player´s performance.

IMPORTANT: Please note that AI performance will probably be a bit faster overall so you may need to lower your AI Strength setting relative to the previous version to get the same performance from before. The AI still works better with settings around 100% Strentgh / 50% Aggression, with lower and higher values not offering the range of adjustment one would expect - revising the AI Strength logic is next up on our to-do list.

The downside in the constant flow of updates over this Early Access period is the inconvenience of having to regularly review & reset settings, so we´d like to thank you all for bearing with us through this development stage and for helping keep it pointed in the right direction - rest assured we expect things to begin settling down from now on, allowing you to stop fiddling and focus on racing!

AMS 2 Update 1.jpg


On the content side, in this build we continue to explore the 1980s Brazilian racing scene, now adding the Brazilian Hot Cars series, based on an early 80s spin-off of the popular Divisão 3 category featuring popular cars tuned up to 11 to race around the old Interlagos and Jacarepagua - those were the days!

There´s even a movie featuring the series as background titled "Os Campeões" - a Brazilian 80s rip-off of the classic "Grand Prix" movie worth checking the snippet below even if just for a glance at the glorious old layout of Interlagos!


V0.9.3.1 CHANGELOG:

CONTENT

  • Added Hot Cars (Early 80s Brazlian Touring Car Series with 3 models)

UI & HUD
  • Fixed missing Adelaide Historic loading screen
  • Fixed low-res AMS2 shortcut icon when generated by Steam
  • Show disabled text in lobby session info if practice/qual are disabled
  • Adjusted opacity of main HUD element containers
  • Fixed race over countdown
  • Added selected state to in-game chat text entry boxes
  • Fixed incorrect vehicle statistics for various touring car classics
  • Added missing F-Vee Fin statistic
  • Fixed track logos being retained from previous track selection when current doesn´t have one

FORCE FEEDBACK
  • Slightly refactored the way steering arm forces pass on to FFB (should provide a slightly "tighter" wheel around center)
  • Slightly reduced the filters that added in previous update,
  • Added soft lock for wheels that still didn´t have it (WIP).
  • Disabled Old Default FFB profil
  • FFB profiles with lockstops enabled and new exposed values in them.

PHYSICS
  • Globally reduced slick grip on wet tracks
  • Revised aero efficiency losses with yaw for various cars
  • Super V8: Fixed error in steer lock range; Adjusted default ARB & camber settings
  • Revised F-Classic front & rear wing for more consistent downfroce increments accross proportional changes of wing angles
  • Reduced bumpiness over grass & gravel to address collision issues while running off-track
  • Fixed rear brake cooling in various formula cars
  • Revised restitution values for crashing into walls and barriers
  • Moved default brake bias slightly to the front for FWD cars
  • Reduced brake efficiency when cold
  • Fixed missing 5th gear in Gol / Passat Classic B
  • F-V10: Fixed error in fast damper range
  • F-Classic Gen2: Disabled redundant engineboost function
  • F-Ultimate:Slightly increased carcass load stiffeness
  • Adjusted Roco Aero balance & default setup
  • Opala: Fixed rear brakes
  • MCR S2000: Fixed missing rear tyre warmers
  • Fixed Ultima gearbox RPM tolerance in manual shifts
  • Fixed F-V10 loud Traction control sound
  • Fixed V-10 AI bouncing
  • Fixed Opala 1986 redundant rear left damper setting

AI
  • AI performance multipliers for practice & qualifying sessions are now customized per car & proportional to their race performance
  • Improved AI skill when driving off the racing line & reduced range for factoring cars up ahead (improves their pace on initial laps & reduces hesitation while being passed)
  • Further boost to AI awareness when behind human players
  • Callibrated peak AI corner grip & grip multipliers resulting in better speed mid corner through slow / mid speed corners, more realistic speeds through fast corners
  • Improved AI skill when off the racing line (resulting in less 1st corner slowdowns and better pace over 1st lap)
  • Callibrated AI throttle application for all cars to better correspond with human ability
  • Reduced AI boost under braking during an overtake;
  • Reduced minimum straight lentgh for KERS / boost application
  • Improved AI ability through water puddles (less lifting off throttle)
  • Slightly bumped up AI speed under yellow & blue flags
  • Revised AI paths for Londrina (both layouts)

TRACKS
  • Updated TV cameras for Donington & Kansai
  • Kyalami: Updated curb textures
  • Jerez: Snap revised road noise; updated walls & barriers to latest standards; Add missing garage door collision; fixed garage door mapping/alignment
  • Montreal: Fixed bug causing cars to visually appear to float over track surface

VEHICLES
  • Added cockpit windscreen reflections to Super V8, Ultima GTR Race, Ultima GTR Road, Touring Car Classics
  • Adjusted visual brake glow ranges
  • Fixed F-Classic G3M3 RPM bar
  • Adjusted various Fusca textures
  • F_Ultimate 2019: Added rain light
  • F-Vee: Added rain light
  • MCR S2000 new liveries / updates / redesign #10 #13 #19 #20 #21 #23 #24 #14
  • F-Trainer: new community skins #21 #22 #23 #24
  • MRX P3 revised liveries

Original Source: Reiza Studios

AMS 2 is available now in Steam Early Access.

If you need help and support getting the most from AMS2, start a thread in our AMS2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment and let our great community help you out.

AMS 2 Update 2.jpg
 
Further FFB changes from now will be restricted to bug fixes, track/car-specific fine tuning & those resulting from physics adjustments - these can still add up to substantial differences, and we also plan to add a couple of car-specific adjustments so users have some room to customize them to their preferences - but as far as the core system goes however we consider FFB wrapped for v1.0
This is going to cause some debate in our community. Personally I really enjoy the FFB in AMS2, but it's evident in many forums and comment sections that not everyone shares that sentiment.
 
Show me a sim that is unanimously praised for its FFB and I'll show you a sim that doesn't exist.
Maybe I'm wrong but haven't heard many people say bad things about Automobilista 1 FFB. About other things yes, like graphics, weird tracks and whatnot. Could be that I've just avoided those people by chance though.

Haven't tested the latest updates for AMS2, need to get back to it. I really like the Automobilista 1 FFB, as the FFB in AMS2 has been constantly changing sometimes I've gotten the feeling with some cars, that I still enjoy them more in AMS1. But could be just WIP thing, hopefully things fall in place
 
Those Hot Cars look fun...how to race on a budget with some unique cars :).
More than happy with the progress of AMS2 at this point in time, and as a long term project I suspect there will be plenty of things to fix even after the release of version 1.0 so I am not complaining. Looking forward to what the future brings to AMS2 because I will definitely stick around for that. :D
 
I'm pretty happy with the Default FFB as its stands (with changed LFB and LFX Gain etc).

Personally, I am looking forward to some loose surface racing because I actually thought PC2 loose surface (Rally X) felt pretty darn good. Probably in the minority there, but hey, I try to do more racing than analysis..(emphasis on try!) Having said that, modern gaming has become more of a tweak forever and check forums and less about actually playing (Me included). Starting to think that's actually half the fun :D (My girlfriend thinks so and accuses me of losing interest the moment everything is working as I expect.. Old man syndrome probably)
 
I haven't tried this new update yet, but I did test out the previous one (0.9.2.1) on Kyalami with the Sigma P1...that was a lot of fun! Very communicative FFB on my CSW v2.5 that kept me churning out about 30 or so laps...way more than I had planned to.

Though I will admit that earlier on when the game first dropped, I thought the FFB was okay...until I took the same car and track (Formula V12 @ Adelaide) in AMS 1 out for a spin. It was still good, but it wasn't as lively as the original...AMS 1 has this thing where, even though some cars like the V12 wants to kill you at every turn (or even on straights lol)...you KNOW when it's gonna bite you and can react quickly enough in most cases...it's dangerous but you can feel the danger coming. On the old FFB, AMS 2 was a little more polite (car not as crazy) but also it didn't communicate as well when it would bite you.

I haven't tried the V12 at Adelaide again yet, but so far the "new default" is starting to give me more of those AMS 1 vibes...so here's hoping that trend continues.
 
Nice update, this SIM is getting better all the time.
As a vr driver I am looking forward to better driver animation in the future, that as always been a strong suit in SMS engine previous title and it adds to my immersion.
To me, AMS2 is already a must have, as it already offers unique (real) car/track combos that are a pleasure to discover and race.
Keep up the good work.
 
I'm pretty happy with the Default FFB as its stands (with changed LFB and LFX Gain etc).

Personally, I am looking forward to some loose surface racing because I actually thought PC2 loose surface (Rally X) felt pretty darn good. Probably in the minority there, but hey, I try to do more racing than analysis..(emphasis on try!) Having said that, modern gaming has become more of a tweak forever and check forums and less about actually playing (Me included). Starting to think that's actually half the fun :D (My girlfriend thinks so and accuses me of losing interest the moment everything is working as I expect.. Old man syndrome probably)
Rally on pc2 was really fun, even i liked dirt 1 ffb more i played rally on PC2 :)
 
Got to respect Brazilian's love and passion for car racing, but please I think I have enough classic Brazilian racing cars on AMS2 for the time being :p. It is time now to give Ultima GTR some "playmate" to race with.
Absolutely agree....Possibly future DLC that is coming to AMS2 with the '90's DTM' and 'GT3 / GT4 Pack' might fill that gap ;) something that I certainly will be looking forward to :inlove::thumbsup:
 
I'm pretty happy with the Default FFB as its stands (with changed LFB and LFX Gain etc).

Personally, I am looking forward to some loose surface racing because I actually thought PC2 loose surface (Rally X) felt pretty darn good. Probably in the minority there, but hey, I try to do more racing than analysis..(emphasis on try!) Having said that, modern gaming has become more of a tweak forever and check forums and less about actually playing (Me included). Starting to think that's actually half the fun :D (My girlfriend thinks so and accuses me of losing interest the moment everything is working as I expect.. Old man syndrome probably)
That’s exactly what happens to me to. Soon as I get things running good. I start searching. Lol.
 

Latest News

Online or Offline racing?

  • 100% online racing

    Votes: 87 7.4%
  • 75% online 25% offline

    Votes: 123 10.5%
  • 50% online 50% offline

    Votes: 170 14.5%
  • 25% online 75% offline

    Votes: 327 27.9%
  • 100% offline racing

    Votes: 459 39.2%
  • Something else, explain in comment

    Votes: 4 0.3%
Back
Top