Automobilista 2: New Preview Video Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

Not satisfied with the last Automobilista 2 video footage? Well wrap your eyes around this one...

Reiza Studios recently revealed a new comparison video of the developing Automobilista 2 simulation, showing the game in direct comparison to its older brother AMS 1, and featuring the work-in-progress Snetterton Circuit in the UK.

Despite obviously being a significant upgrade over the original title, many fans were a little underwhelmed by how development of Automobilista 2 looked to be progressing from a visual point of view, something that Reiza Studios have acknowledged when reading the comments section of the various articles featuring the July roadmap post.

Having another shot at wowing the crowds, Reiza have recently dropped a much improved video of the Ultima GTR lapping around the Snetterton track in various time of day conditions - and it's fair to say the visual improvements are considerable...

Capture has a higher bitrate which is more accurate to the game´s actual graphical quality" said Reiza Studios Renato Simioni.

Other differences in this new video include improvements to track lighting, updated road and foliage shaders, revised textures; smoothed cockpit model edges & updated materials; adjustments to audio code, rebalancing of engine sounds and various sound effects (also replacing a few placeholders used in the original video); updated physics and increased game graphical settings.

Should be stated perhaps that this still isn´t the most exciting car / track combo or settings to promote AMS2 which wasn´t really the point of the original video - obviously we miscalculated how closely people would be looking!

This is a better representation of AMS2 in its current stage of development but it´s still a WIP - things will change as we progress to release and continue to afterwards. Such is the nature of the thing...
​

So, what do you think?

Automobilista 2 will release for PC December 2019.

For the latest Automobilista 2 news and discussions, head over to the AMS 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment and get yourself involved in the conversation today!

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[GuitarTech]

Seen a lot of posts here commenting on the grass texture quality. Thinking back to my "in real life" racing days, I can only paraphrase Mario Andretti "if you have time to look at the grass textures, you're not going fast enough"

 

[Daniel Monteiro]

I saw some people disagree with me. The specularity of grass which I am talking about is not really true specularity effect, but it acts pretty much on same angle, it is not a reflection of light or anything, but simply just specularity colour, which is result of sun light shining through leaves, which should result in yellowish color tone. And it can be achieved in track models with primitive texture carpets + 2d fins that everybody for some reason are calling 3D grass.

I'm sorry, but I just could not resist

Although the image you chose is a photoshoped picture, I understand and agree with your point

 

[GEO147]

Will it have proper triple screen support with this new engine?

 

[mantasisg]

<good stuff>

I really hope the PC2 physics engine is capable of improving on this. I believe it's not just purely core tyre model related but also something to do with mass/inertia or some sort of other combination of forces acting on the vehicle. The reason I believe it's more than just tyre model related is because RF2 and PC1 have updated or different all-together (PC1) tyre models yet the issues remain.

I've seen and played some mods that have improved on this aspect but the cars (or tyres) seem to drive more sloppy and mushy. It's like the entire car's character has to be changed in order to try and compensate. What should really be happening is the cars' physics keeping the stiff, responsive, on-edge character while also behaving much better at and over the limit. It's like one area has to be compromised in order to try and mask another area's issues.

It is awesome to me that more people are trying to get observant pick up details from RL footage to understand vehicle dynamics and so. I have also been wondering similar things.

I do think that it is mostly due to how tire works, so best possible tire understanding has to be pursued. Perhaps it could be something else, anything above the tires that sets the tires, who knows... Maybe there are some misunderstandings about forces, their systems. But most likely that is tire stuff. Aerodynamics are also complex and I suppose it is easy to miss something that just goes on naturally irl. Perhaps something is missed out in transmission chain. I have had once an idea that all cars has to have at least some amount of torque steer, not only fwd cars.

But obviously it is easier to make cars drive just right in certain circumstances by manipulating parameters, rather than staying true to data. But obviously just piecing all of the puzzle correctly can lead to absolutely true car handling. And I don't believe that there will ever be enough data for that, or it will be accurate enough.

I have watched a podcast with Dan Gurney and he compared handling of sixties F1 cars to water strider bugs, as they do quickly slide and then kinda grips up and can change direction again (21:00

). I think that also fits to the first video in your post. As the car looks like if it slides, grips up, but then Schumacher push it even more and it slides again till eventually grips up at the exit apex again. Driver is able to steer the car because front tires does only one job. Rear tires meanwhile does two jobs they are cornering and accelerating massively. I don't think it was easy to drive like that at all, but it should be possible to recreate in sim at least in many multiple attempts, you should feel it happening, but I agree that this spicy behaviour is usually missing. Cars often does feel like front end can not support even the slightest rear end step out, or as you say the opposite when front end feels like having unlimited grip comparing to rear end.

However, believing in my observations, I am sure it has to be very edgy feel. As every circumstances are contracting rapidly towards the point of no return and you are moving around it. Slip angles increase up to the point where total majority of contact patch is sliding laterally, and little of it is still having good base non-sliding friction (rest has sliding/kinetic friction). Slip ratios increasing are forcing the contact patch to slip longitudinally more, making it even closer to be completely in the sliding state. Temperatures are rising fast - rubber is contracting and loosing elasticity. Tarmac at contact patch gets heated up to melting point instantaneously and can't adhere very well with tire. Inside tire is unloading and loosing grip as a result (but probably not the case with high downforce). Outside tire is overloading and because of load sensitivity it doesn't improve on grip very much anymore, it has been planted as much as it could for given load or even how much geometry of a tire allowed and how much space there was in the tarmac irregularities for rubber to key in. Tire has no other way but to let it go and slide now. Sliding still makes good friction, if you are not on grass, oil or hydroplaning If you are quick to react enough and skillful enough you quickly make the most out of front end grip and load balance (how to accelerate or decelerate in the situation), and get rear end back into optimal window and avoid point of no return. I suppose it wasn't easy, as it pretty much gets explained by this video I guess, Schumacher was very consistent with throttle, and did ton of steering.

OK OK I enjoy that, and now back to the topic lol I doubt AMS 2 will be that sim to nail these things, but we will see. I would like that personally

 

[mantasisg]

I'm sorry, but I just could not resist

View attachment 319055

Although the image you chose is a photoshoped picture, I understand and agree with your point

That is good call, I did not pay attention to that. I think it could be that something is just blocking sunlight in there. I hope Photoshop could be the last explanation Though it is little bit yellowish there, and effect should drop off at some amount by the sides, but perhaps not that close for the grass.

I had an idea to wait for nice sunny evening and try to capture pictures like that myself, I think it should be interesting thing to do.

 

[A3DR]

Everything in this game looks so flat, clean, tight. That's all I see when looking at screenshots or that latest video, makes me want to break stuff.

 

[Damage Inc]

That and other fronts of development will be topics of future dev updates - we still have a few of these until release.

I have stated a few times already the concern is unfounded though as the physics engine is derivative of the same code base AMS1 was - a lot of our physics ports over pretty seamlessly. The main difference is the tyre model, which happens to be more advanced.

The Madness physics engine indeed packs some extra models which is the result of SMS developing it for 10 years. It is in fact more advanced than what we had in many ways. In the dev update I mention for ex the atmospheric & thermodynamics models from Madness, which we also planned but didnt get around to implementing in AMS1, and its a substantial realism boost.

There is unfortunately this conflation of the merits of the engine with what some peoples perception of PCars2 is, and we know from working with ISIMotor before that these stigmas tend to linger on no matter what you do. All we can really do is make the best sim we can, making clear we chose this engine also because of the physics and not in spite of it.

Really good to hear that from someone of your calibre Renato.

 

[Richard Wilks]

I've seen and played some mods that have improved on this aspect but the cars (or tyres) seem to drive more sloppy and mushy. It's like the entire car's character has to be changed in order to try and compensate. What should really be happening is the cars' physics keeping the stiff, responsive, on-edge character while also behaving much better at and over the limit. It's like one area has to be compromised in order to try and mask another area's issues.

Here you really dropped the ball. You mix "stiffness" and "responsiveness", two things that have no bearing to each other, and are basically talking about your misconceptions.

I drove go karts whose steering feels very "mushy", and "sloppy" when you are close to the limit. This is because at the limit, slip angles are not only increasing, by varying much more rapidly, as the tire loses and regains adhesion in quick cycles as you go through a corner.

This "crisp" steering feel that many players seem to want only exist in their own minds. In reality, the steering wheel is there to dictate the direction of travel first and foremost, not to feel the road, the grip of the front tires, or to execute perfect trajectories every single time, something that really only exists in games.

Ironically, one of the games i tried that recreate better the low grip aspect of driving a F1 car is actually the codies F1 series, but according to the elitist "simracing" lot, that's "simcade" and "sloppy".

I also find it interesting that you choose to compare yourself to a driver like Schumacher, and then come up with a sloppy (altough spectacular) lap of his own to justify shortcomings in games. I would agree that this aspect is very hard to get right, but to me it seems you want the best of all the worlds, both the real, and the one that exists in your own mind.

But then if you say Live for Speed does it well, why don't you just play that game?...

 

[Miguel Batista]

I', not an expert, but I know that GTS uses Subsurface Scattering to make leaves of trees look summery healthy bright green when the sun is shining through them. Maybe they are using similar but less hardware intensive effect for grass as well?!??

I think they are using a normal Shader map. For fixed time of day, it does the same thing and you can use a workstation at the office to do all the computing and then save the results as a shader map you just paste over the results. This way you literaly just need to paste an 8 bit 2D image (probably HSI or HSV) where you just superimpose it on the track and voilá, yellow grass blades. You would need something akin to RTX to do this in real time.

 

[Timberwind]

I see Spinelli's opinion on the troublesome AMS physics pop-up from time to time and rightfully so. Has Reiza staff or any other developer adressed these issues in some ways?

 

[Alex72]

Sorry if i missed it but are we getting multiview/triple settings in AMS2? Im worried with sims not adding it.

 

[sPACEje]

I just feel like this is a PCars 2.5...
I was in love with the AMS1 graphics, this one looks too "videogame-ish" to me.

 

[Alex72]

I just feel like this is a PCars 2.5...
I was in love with the AMS1 graphics, this one looks too "videogame-ish" to me.

With Reiza hard work and physics/FFB im sure we will be happy. Im just a little worried with triples.

 

[David Wright]

Sorry if i missed it but are we getting multiview/triple settings in AMS2? Im worried with sims not adding it.

PC2 supports triple screens and I'm pretty sure Reiza have said this feature will carry over to AMS2.

 

[David Wright]

With Reiza hard work and physics/FFB im sure we will be happy.

But he likes AMS1 graphics so I don't think he will be happy. You can't please all the people ....

AMS1 will still exist when AMS2 comes out so perhaps you can. I still regularly drive GT Legends and GTR2.

 

[frankonia]

But he likes AMS1 graphics so I don't think he will be happy. You can't please all the people ....

AMS1 will still exist when AMS2 comes out so perhaps you can. I still regularly drive GT Legends and GTR2.

you are right,

I still enjoy GTL and GTR2 especially the Power & Glory Add-On.

 

[jem7]

lol, just make sure it doesn't break, you might get stuck in an awkward moment forever

Sounds like my life in general, should I call support?

 

[Spinelli]

Here you really dropped the ball. You mix "stiffness" and "responsiveness", two things that have no bearing to each other, and are basically talking about your misconceptions.

I drove go karts whose steering feels very "mushy", and "sloppy" when you are close to the limit. This is because at the limit, slip angles are not only increasing, by varying much more rapidly, as the tire loses and regains adhesion in quick cycles as you go through a corner.

I agree with all that. I've driven karts, open-wheelers, and road-cars that have all done the same to varying degrees. I don't disagree with anything you said besides stiffness and responsiveness because they can have a bearing on eachother it just depends what context you're talking about. A stiffer car generally results in a more responsive car...actually, that's quite basic autoracing stuff. So, no, it's not about my misconceptions. You're correct that a stiff car may still be mushy and sloppy in terms of grip/slip, I totally agree with you. I think you just interpreted what I said different to how I meant it, Honestly though, arguing semantics/language is way besides the point

This "crisp" steering feel that many players seem to want only exist in their own minds. In reality, the steering wheel is there to dictate the direction of travel first and foremost, not to feel the road, the grip of the front tires, or to execute perfect trajectories every single time, something that really only exists in games.

Although I wasn't talking about steering wheel feel, let alone "crisp" steering wheel feel, I basically agree with you here again.

Ironically, one of the games i tried that recreate better the low grip aspect of driving a F1 car is actually the codies F1 series, but according to the elitist "simracing" lot, that's "simcade" and "sloppy".

Once again, I generally agree with you here too (I've mentioned them too especially when it comes to purposely inducing oversteer while modulating and controlling the angle).

I also find it interesting that you choose to compare yourself to a driver like Schumacher, and then come up with a sloppy (although spectacular) lap of his own to justify shortcomings in games.

I'm not sure how you came up that I'm comparing myself to Michael Schumacher or any driver for that matter. I'm just talking about general physics. And, no, that wasn't a sloppy lap from Michael Schumacher. it only looked sloppy because that's sometimes what you need to do if you have a very poor car. That car was terrible and your so-called sloppy lap of Michael Schumacher's was only 0.2s slower than his best qualy lap. Both his best lap and "sloppy" lap were good for 2nd place on the grid and his "sloppy" lap was 1.4 seconds faster than his teammate (Eddie Irvine) in 10th place. That's called wringing the neck out of a car that has no business being there. And, yes, of course a "wild" lap like that is good to show shortcomings in games, that's exactly the whole point, to show real-life physics.

I would agree that this aspect is very hard to get right, but to me it seems you want the best of all the worlds, both the real, and the one that exists in your own mind.

No idea what you're talking about. I just want the best of the real world.

But then if you say Live for Speed does it well, why don't you just play that game?...

???... I do play it sometimes.


I honestly don't understand your post. I agree with just about everything you said.

 

[Neils on Wheels]

Game graphically looks clean & tidy that's definitely a plus but until i'm playing it in VR I won't know.

 

[Richard Wilks]

@Spinelli I disagreed with the premise that you have to compromise something in the ISI motor to have that desired effect that you describe, and specially that it needs to somehow make the steering "mush" for it. You have made your mission to criticize game engines for this for years now, and i am arguing the point that it's NOT the game engine per se, it's the implementation of said cars.