The Latest Automobilista 2 Beta Update Is Here

[Paul Jeffrey]

Reiza Studios have deployed a new build of Automobilista 2 - and it comes with some significant reworking of the current simulation force feedback properties..

Yes, a new and fresh beta update has been deployed to the public version of Automobilista 2.. available to download the next time you restart your Steam client.

Given the designation of V0.8.4.0, the latest update to the sim introduces a welcome range of improvements and enhancements, not least of which is improvements to the brake behaviour and feel within the title - something that has proven to be a hot button subject within the community since the game released.

Also seeing further attention from Reiza developers is the force feedback within the sim, with a 'new default' profile having been added to take advantage of the changes in how ffb is represented within this latest and future builds. You can read more details about these changes in the update notes at the end of this article.

In terms of content, the new inclusions as part of V0.8.4.0 are three kart layouts for the Brazilian Interlagos venue, although physics, AI and artwork for a number of vehicles have been revised.

Update 0.8.4.0 Release Notes:

BRAKES for all cars, including optimum temp ranges, wear, fade & failure properties have all been thoroughly revised according to the brake materials and specs of each car. These will address the brake failure issues from v0.8.3.2 and should hopefully provide more realistic wear and more "feel" on some cars.

CUSTOM DATE option has been temporarily removed from session options, now sessions will always run on default date for that track - with that we have also addressed the bug that would cause a new track selection to retain the default date of the previous track, which could be particularly problematic when for example the user switched from a Brazilian track with a December Summer default date to an European track, leading the latter to load with winter weather and temperatures with fairly big impact on physics that the user wouldn´t have an obvious visual cue for. Next step will be to add a custom season option along with seasonal foliage (which besided the added visual variety will provide the visual cue for different temperatures). Option to customize date may be added at a later stage once we have more systems feeding correctly from such a specific setting.

FORCE FEEDBACK: we have included an additional "NEW DEFAULT" profile featuring several Force Feedback developments, as an option to the "OLD DEFAULT" profile in the FFB UI - those with existing game settings will remain with "OLD" until they opt to switch to "NEW" . As the Gain, Low Force Boost and FX sliders work quite differently in the "NEW" profile, we want to give people the chance to opt into the new once they have understood how the Sliders may need to be adjusted.

Main differences with "NEW DEFAULT" relate to the Low force Boost slider. and how it interacts with the Gain slider.

In AMS2 "OLD DEFAULT" profile, Gain slider was a confusing device as overall output FFB path was setup badly, with Low Force Boost applied after Gain slider - this was problematic as essentially then you have as many combinations of what happens with signal as there are settings on Gain slider, leading to big inconsistencies (this explains some of the difficulties users had finding a good all-around FFB setting that worked well with all cars, specially on more powerful wheels).

With the "NEW DEFAULT" profile, Low Force Boost is applied before Gain slider, leading to more consistent behavior - it is now factored in the same order as AMS1.

Sample of differences in LFB curve with OLD vs NEW profile:

In the next build we will be adding further functions, including an updated tyre scrub formula & a minimum force configuration. Future builds will see a custom FFB multiplier per car so that users can fine tune each car to their preference. Once these and some other minor adjustments are completed, we believe AMS2 FFB will be ready for v1.0 release and by then "old" default profile will have been completely phased out.

CONTENT

• Added Interlagos Kart track (3 layouts)

GENERAL

• Disabled custom event date setting
• Fixed bug that would cause a new track selection to retain the default date of the previous track
• Fixed multiplayer client rebroadcasting (could cause clients to be dropped from server)

UI & HUD

• Added pedal input & engine power/torque data to telemetry screen
• Fixed reported issues with VR / Triple HUD customization (needs validation, will reset any previous edit in those types of display)
• Reenabled HUD selection for Options screen in-session

FORCE FEEDBACK

Added "New Default" FFB profile, with the following changes vs "old Default:

• "Remapped" Gain slider
• Improved Low Force Boost formula
• A more detailed calculation of steering linkage ratios and how they influence force transferred over to the rack;
• Overall small change in FFB output;
• More accurate self-aligning torque and factors in residual Mz, camber inclination Mz; steer gyro Mz;

PHYSICS & AI

• Updated brake disc thickness, optimum temps, wear, failure, fade properties with variations depending on brake material, fixing brake failure issues from previous build & improving brake feel on some cars
• Minor adjustments to F-Classic tyre tread (all gens)
• Adjusted AI tyre rolling resistance in F-V12, F-3, Roco
• Minor AI performance update for Brands Hatch, Campo Grande, Donington, Guapore, Montreal, Oulton Park, Snetterton, Velocittá

VEHICLES

• Puma P052: Updated missing LOD levels, cockpit display, rim blur, windscreen
• Copa Truck: Added new parameter for Trucks to spawn in their pit slot rather then inside the garage, fixing bug in tracks where they wouldn´t fit the garage
• Adjusted MRX & Roco collision mesh
• Opala OldStock: Fixed bodywork mapping distortion
• Gol Copa Classic: Added missing LOD levels
• F-V12 : Updated #22 #23 community skin
• Copa Uno: Completed livery updates for all cars in the series

Original Source: Reiza Studios.

Automobilista 2 is available on Steam Early Access now.

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.

 

[pennywiseguy]

Dunno why animated suspension is such an important thing, when ACC doesn't even show body roll. So many videos I've seen of ACC make the car look like a brick compared to RF2 and AMS1 and 2.

5.10 in explains it better than I can.

 

[UMC 22]

Dunno why animated suspension is such an important thing, when ACC doesn't even show body roll.

Because animated suspension is realistic, and fixed suspension is not? Since when has ACC been the benchmark of what's important? It doesn't really matter what that sim does (or not) since this is AMS 2 we're talking about.

 

[pennywiseguy]

Because animated suspension is realistic, and fixed suspension is not? Since when has ACC been the benchmark of what's important? It doesn't really matter what that sim does (or not) since this is AMS 2 we're talking about.

Well, depends if you drive openwheelers much. Watching older f1 videos and you can see bugger all suspension travel anyway, plus a majority of AMS is closed wheel. I am not bothered in the slightest about animated suspension. There are a lot more important things that my attention is drawn to than watching minuscule suspension movements.

 

[Goes To 11]

Dunno why animated suspension is such an important thing, when ACC doesn't even show body roll. So many videos I've seen of ACC make the car look like a brick compared to RF2 and AMS1 and 2.

Aris makes a point of showing suspension travel in his videos so I don't know what this guy is going on about. The examples he shows of "tremendous" suspension travel look overdone. But really, that video was pretty weak and superficial. He doesn't even go into important aspects like track evolution and weather.

 

[BrunoBæ]

This is an issue the devs themselves told us existed when they released the sim into Early Access. It's because most of the models are not fully complete yet, and are not properly animated.

Good to hear.
Because one of the reasons the replays of as example iRacing and Raceroom (and ACC?) looks so "realistic" is among other things because the animation of the different moving parts on the cars.

CatsAreTheWorstDogs: Even the cars in the slightly less realistic Mario Kart Tour has some animation of these things - so if a socalled racing sim should not have it then its difficult to even name it a sim.

 

[hozes]

i didnot feel anything when going over curbs
while racing in rf2, my g29 rattles like i am on riding curbs, but i ams2 i didnot feel anthing, my ffb settings are old/new (doesnot matter) gain 100 lfe 80 fx 40.

 

[Tar Heel]

Hopefully opponent selection will improve. With the current system you won't even be able to simulate the endurance Brasil series since you are limited to 4 classes and that series has P1-4, GT3, and GT4 I think there might be more than those 6 classes.

Honestly I don't understand why we can't just freely select each car on the grid. It is 2020 we shouldn't have barriers in the way preventing us from having a custom grid. There is no excuse for it IMO.

 

[UMC 22]

Well, depends if you drive openwheelers much.

Not really, that's just one reason. A massive part of sim-racing now is live-streamed leagues and eSports events, and it's something which is growing year on year. You may not be interested in such things (I'm not, personally) but it's a consideration all sim developers need to keep in mind if they want their product to compete. If the cars don't look realistic when driving in a sim then it'll count against it when someone is deciding whether to use it to host their televised event.

Besides that, this is a sim. It should look and feel as realistic as is practicably possible. If ACC can't be bothered then that's up to Kunos, but thankfully Reiza are pretty good when it comes to this kind of detail.

 

[Dpounder420]

It blows my mind that people who have already paid for the game are on here asking about things that were made very clear before it was even released to EA.

 

[Jefferson Costa]

I have been watching endurance Brazil races on youtube and they are amazing! Highly recommend the watch. It is incredible what Brazilian teams can do with a shoestring budget and a lot of elbow grease. If in the future motorsports turns into that (due to cost considerations) I am fine with it.

Include a hammer in your chassis on it. Team boss called me after the 2017 12 Hours of Tarumã to show this, as he welded his hammer due to lack of parts to keep the MCR running, and it worked. Thankfully we don't need to do this in AMS2.

 

[kenjp]

I made a video on V0.8.4.0 review.
Hope this help you guys get an idea of the update.
Make sure to subscribe if you like the video. Thank you.

 

[vinnefreerider]

Hey Reiza,

What exactly FX does?
I passed hours testing this, and everything I noticed, what the FX does is add giant invisible rocks on asphalt (this is what you feel on wheel on straights and corners all the time) heheh

What means the a lot of hard spikes what I feel on FFB?

Where is the effect of tires loosing contact?
Even with low FX I can feel this non sense spikes over the wheel and there is no sign of tires loosing contact or something similar..

Apparently the new LFB has fixed the ffb dead zone of G29 wheel.
Thanks for this!

 

[M D Gourley]

The quick Ultima GTR Race at Adelaide

 

[Chrhun]

Great to hear the game in on track for full release! I made a decision that I will let the game wait for full release before really diving into it.

 

[M D Gourley]

My favorite car and track combo

 

[UMC 22]

It blows my mind that people who have already paid for the game are on here asking about things that were made very clear before it was even released to EA.

Welcome to Earth. 90% of people never bother to read any of the information in the big blue Early Access box on Steam. That's why every EA game forum is full of people asking questions that are already answered, crying foul because features are missing despite the EA description making that clear, and demanding to know when the game is going to be final even though the EA description usually gives a good idea of that.

And lets be honest, 90% of people don't read anything whatsoever. If I had just £1 for every time someone has asked me "how long is the race" in the R3E club, despite this information being very clearly stated in the forum thread, I'd be on a DD wheel and motion rig right now, instead of a T300 and Playseat Challenge.

 

[J93653017]

The New default is a huge leap backwards! I definitely prefer Old default. I read somewhere that Reiza will remove the old default option at some point; I beg you, don't remove Old default!!!!!


Edit: I decided to give the New default another chance tonight and I've completely changed my mind. I guess my brain struggled to interpret the new outputs and therefore I thought "this is different and I don't like it". The majority couldn't be wrong, could they, so there had to be something wrong with me

 

[Miguel Batista]

The New default is a huge leap backwards! I definitely prefer Old default. I read somewhere that Reiza will remove the old default option at some point; I beg you, don't remove Old default!!!!!

I found it slightly better. Can feel more tire scrub effects and breaking effects. Also That to change steering feel between high downforce cars and heavy cars I just adjust LFB.
More consistent overall.

 

[Steve Bird]

Am I doing something wrong as I feel I'm back in PCARS 2 again? Floaty non responsive no grip/feel kind of FFB? What happened?

 

[BP]

Decided to do a direct comparison today to AMS1 using this "new default" FFB: Formula V12 @ Adelaide, and pretty much default setup on both except little fuel and max aero. I want to say AMS2 is much easier to control (requires way less finesse on the edge) but it's more than that, everything just feels like less of a threat, both the car and the track. In AMS2 the curbs aren't as much of a deathtrap, the car doesn't want to come around as easily under throttle and it turns in better off throttle. I find the FFB more responsive in AMS1, but everything feels harder overall, and AMS2 is the oppposite in both regards. I'm not saying which one is more realistic as I have zero real life experience...but it's so much easier in AMS2 to the point where I'm 3 seconds faster than in AMS1

I did roughly 30 laps in AMS1 (5 stints, 6 laps each) and got to 1:18.7, took a 10 min break and then did AMS2, within 10 minutes I was hitting 1:15.5...I didn't check weather settings but I'm still shocked at the massive difference...anyone else experience something similar?