Automobilista 2 - Official Thread

[VELOCIPEDE]

Reiza Studios torna ad aggiornarci sullo sviluppo del suo Automobilista 2 con il nuovo Development Update del mese di Settembre. Scopriamo tutti i dettagli con il post riportato qui di seguito.

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Automobilista 2 September 2021 Development Update

Glad to be back to bring you a new Development Update following a short hiatus last month as we took some time to catch our breath. We are already into September which means this Dev Update itself has run a bit late as we had to wait a bit for greenlight on some upcoming bits, so we are taking the opportunity to change things around a bit and name the Update with the upcoming month rather than the one that just ended.
With that house-keeping out of the way, let´s get into what is important - here is an overview of what we have been working in recent weeks and what we have coming up next.
 

Latest Progress

As of the latest build, Real Weather now also include local environment temperatures - gone is the old overly generic built-in lookup tables, in is accurate for any location in the game, currently and for any date going back to January 1st 1979. The game now also packs the data from days between the original feature release in June to now. Next steps include improving the interaction between ambient temperature and solar heat with track temperatures, and add real humidity and wind data.


The latest update also addressed a Physicserror we´d made figuring out the intake manifold pressure model from SMS which led throttle response most noticeable on some of the older cars - small mistake with big consequences but properly sorted now.
Various new options have been added, such as damage scaling, enabling / disabling refueling during pitstops and whether to run an extra lap in timed races once the clock has run out.
The Championship Editor is now largely out of Beta state and working well, even if we still have plans to further develop with some additional options and features.
On the Content front, a race version the Corvette C3 has joined the party as a sparring partner to the Porsche RSR, with the regular road car adding some muscle to the vintage class, demonstrating the grid all classes have potential to expand with some fresh contenders as we progress. More to come here!
 

Coming Up Next

For our late September update we have another exciting classic car arriving in the form of the BMW 2002 Turbo - another boost to the Vintage Touring Car class.

On the AI front, the extended developments to AI personalities hinted at in the last dev update haven´t quite made it in time for our latest release but it should hopefully make it in time for the September update; we are also working on improving their blue flag behavior which should add good value to multiclass racing against the AI.

We are also working on several UIupdates, including a revamped leaderboard screen in-session, an early mockup preview of which can be seen below - more info to be added here, including a column for current tire selection.

 

Monza on the Way!

With motorsports temples such as Hockenheim, Silverstone, Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps already represented in our Premium Track Pack, the fifth track could only be one: the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, host of the Italian GP since the very first world championship in 1950 with the sole exception of 1980, and one of the only four venues from that first season still part of the F1 calendar - all of which now to feature in AMS2!

The historic value of Monza goes well beyond F1, as a regular staple on the calendar of the most prestigious international racing series through the decades. The modern track remains an unique high-speed challenge to this day, with the long straights being broken up by tight chicanes putting a premium on horsepower, braking precision and traction.


Like the previous premium tracks, the Monza DLC will feature the modern version of the circuit along with a few of historical variants representing this classic venue through the decades - the dauntingly fast 1971 layout (the last one before the introduction of chicanes), as well as the one combining with the old oval and its insane banking - which even though hasn´t been raced in anger for decades now remains mostly intact to this day as a testament to the bravery of drivers from yesteryear.


The Monza DLC will also feature the 1991 layout with the original high speed Lesmos offering almost no run-off area before their 1994 sanitization, as well as the double Retiffilo and faster Della Roggia chicanes from pre-2000 reform along with their challenging high curbs.

All versions of Monza from this pack are expected to arrive by the end of September, with the modern version possibly (but not surely) seeing a slightly earlier release at the Italian GP weekend.

While the Monza DLC release will fulfill the original five planned premium track releases, the pack will still be expanded with a sixth bonus track, with early 70s historical variants of Spa and Nürburgring also still to be added to their respective packs - all of these however now on the schedule for 2022.
 

Long Straights call for Great Power

Historical tracks belong to historical cars, and with Monza coming up this seemed good timing to expand our F-Retro line-up into a third generation to offer something with long legs to stretch over those long straights - luckily, we have another set of officially licensed, historical GP cars from the turbo era coming up with the right stuff for the job - can you tell what they are from these early 3D previews?

 

Further Down the Line

Looking a bit further into the future for some foresight into two eagerly anticipated developments - the Racin´ USA Pt2 DLC is currently in the works and expected for a late November release (some news on what you may expect content-wise in our next dev update).

Our Multiplayer Rating System is also finally coming up the pipeline and expect for an end-of-year release along with some other Multiplayer developments, with a public Beta possibly arriving with that same update - all in all November should be a big month for AMS2, with some other substantial improvements due to be concluded within that same timeframe.

We still have plenty incoming before that however, including an exciting AMS2-based project we are producing alongside the Brazilian branch of one the biggest car manufacturers in the world - that however is a topic for next dev update!

That wraps the news for this cycle - see you all again next month!

 

[VELOCIPEDE]

Automobilista 2 V1.2.3.1 Now Live

This is a hotfix to address some prioritary issues that have come up since v1.2.3.0 along with some further adjustments.
 

GENERAL

• Fixed refueling option of pit strategy applying incorrectly in non-race sessions when refueling is disabled

UI & HUD

• Fixed mis-aligned help texts on Event race settings page
• Added translations for recently added options
• Fixed car HUD damage text defaulting to 100% when damage is disabled

PHYSICS & AI

• Minor tire tread adjustments to GT Classics cars
• Corvette C3 R: Small adjustment to front and rear track width; Fixed clutch slipping in some circunstances
• Minor adjustment to AI lateral movement rate
• Fixed an issue where AI would qualify with too much fuel on board when refueling is disabled
• Fixed an issue where AI would add too much fuel in the second stint of practice/qualifying

AUDIO

• Mini Vintage: Fixed chase cam view having discrete front / rear sound in live play
• BMW M1 & Group A: Corrected surface sounds
• Corvette C3 Vintage: Minor adjustment to high RPM interior mix

TRACKS

• Added or adjusted pit entry & exit cones for all tracks
• Interlagos: Further Z-fight fixes on GP temp stands

VEHICLES

• Corvette C3 & C3 R: Tweaked the damage model; Adjusted the bonnet vibration effect in cockpit view; Adjusted driver position on cockpit view
• Camaro SS: Cockpit view bonnet vibration effect adjustment
• MCR2000: Added driver animations; Detached the gear shifter in the cockpit; Added under the bonnet bits in cockpit view; Added damage models; Added dangling damaged parts.
• Lotus 23: Fixed the graphic artifacts
• Corrected Bridgstone Potenza 01 tire normal map texture

[VELOCIPEDE]

Our new Automobilista 2 update is almost ready for release! Who is ready for some Monza racing through the decades this weekend?

[Walker™]

V1.2.3.1 -> V1.2.4.1 CHANGELOG

CONTENT

• Added Monza featuring Modern GP, Junior, 1971 GP, 1971 Junior, 1971 10Km, 1971 10Km without chicane, 1991 GP layouts (all part of the Monza DLC Package)

GENERAL

• Added support for Thrustmaster SF1000
• Implemented Real Weather API for 5 days in the past and 4 days in the future from today
• Improved status messages related to real/historic weather availability
• Fixed real historic weather for circuits that lay in half-hourly timezones
• Real Weather now uses real/forecast data for wind speeds.
• Added Real Weather databases for Monza and Salvador
• Updated recent historic weather data for all other locations
• Fixed error in Curitiba Real Weather that was causing weather data to not be found by the game
• Fixed valid weather API response failing to parse in some cases
• Fixed a case where a weather API call wouldn't be made when it should
• Fixed Championship Editor not persisting mandatory stop setting correctly

UI & HUD

• Reorganized and refreshed session overview and pre-event leaderboards to increase number of rows and allow grouping by class.
• All in-game environment information (time/temp etc) is now updated live on all screens.
• Added event session information, current vehicle setup, and current pit strategy to session overview and pre-event screens.
• Fixed lobby page starting in wrong state
• Fixed Per Vehicle FFB input on setup screen not capturing mouse movement
• Fixed pedal bar overlap on telemetry HUD
• Adjusted loading screens to show real weather icon when appropriate

PHYSICS

• Further minor tire tread adjustments for GT3, GTE, StockV8, F-Ultimate F-Reiza, F-V12, F-Classic, DPi & P1 cars
• StockV8 2019: Minor aero revision
• F-Ultimate: Added custom track ERS maps optimizing boost for straights in all GP layouts
• Corrected extreme weather tire tread for F-Reiza & F-Ultimate
• Ultima GTR Race: Revised default setup
• Adjusted parked FFB forces for several cars to reduce rattling while standing still
• Increased default steering lock setting for several cars with high steering rotation

AI

• Improved AI overtaking logic
• Improved AI behaviour when behind a slower car in Practice/Qualifying sessions.
• Adjusted AI lateral movements for smoother / more natural reactions
• Decreased AI performance in 70-100% Strength range
• Improved AI blue flag behaviour
• Adjusted AI brake power & grip
• Various adjustments to AI overtaking parameters
• AI corner & straightline callibration passes
• Adjusted AI wet launch performance for GTs & F-Ultimate
• Taruma: Adjusted AI line to keep AI from leaving the track at T7 entry
• Fixed duplicated F-Ultimate driver (Patrice Daigneau)
• Minor GT Classics AI adjustment

AUDIO

• Updated grass roll sample
• Fixed issue where skidding on grass at high speed could trigger tarmac skidding sounds
• F_Ultimate: Fixed missing exhaust sound for local reverb
• Opala (all variants): Fixed missing startup sounds.
• Passat HC: fixed low RPM sound mixing
• F-Retro: Adjusted startup sound
• F-Classic G2M1: Improved sound loops, fixed missing startup sound
• Montana: fixed missing startup sound
• Fixed recently introduced issue with interior engine sound on late 70's DFV engined formulas & polished some loops
• Porsche RSR '74: polished all engine loops
• Sauber C9 Increased backfire off throttle, polished some loops
• BMW M1 Procar: Polished all engine loops

TRACKS

• Montreal: Minor LOD adjustments
• Various 3D crowd LOD adjustments
• Hockenheim 1988 GP/Short: Moved rolling start location

VEHICLES

• F-Vintage (all models): Detached the cockpit gear shift; Adjusted the driver feet position on cockpit view; Adjusted hand animations during gear changes
• Mini JCW UK: Detached cockpit gear shifter; Adjusted hand animations during gear changes
• Iveco Truck: Added driver animations; Fixed cockpit camera; Detached cockpit gear shifter; Fixed driver outfit assignment.
• ARC Camaro: Added dirt/damage texture; Added dangling damaged parts; Changed the driver model; Detached the gear shifter on the cockpit; Adjusted the driver shifting animation; Revised collision models; Changed wiper position and Changed the bonnet model to allow the bonnet to be detached when damaged; Added the inner bonnet bits on cockpit view; Merged the boot with the rear wing; Adjusted the cockpit view to match the driver model position; Changed the cockpit interior to make room for the driver legs; fixed driver LODs; Fixed cockpit rear view camera
• Metalmoro AJR: Fixed missing gear indicator in LCD display
• Stock Cruze & Corolla 2021: Added livery overrides
• Porsche RSR 74: Fixed cockpit steering wheel´s pivot position
• F309: Fixed RPM lights
• MetalMoro AJR: New display layout; Fixed car thumbnails
• BMW M8 GTE: Corrected rpm lights
• Ginneta G40 GT5/CUP: Add gauges glow
• Corvette C3: Added gauges lights

[VELOCIPEDE]

Automobilista 2 V1.2.4.3 is now live - this complementary update introduces the famous BMW 2002 Turbo to the Vintage Touring Car class, along with further developments to Monza and the usual collection of fixes & improvements.


This slightly delayed wrapping of this development cycle means that unfortunately there won´t be an AMS2 Development Update published this month as we press on with work on an upcoming project - that in turn means our November Development Update will pack quite a collection of interesting news before what´s promising to be a very exciting month for Automobilista 2!
 

V1.2.4.3 CHANGELOG

 

CONTENT

• Added BMW 2002 to Vintage Touring Cars Tier 1 class

GENERAL

• Split Mini 1965 & Lotus 23 into a separate Vintage Touring Car tier from Corvette C3 and BMW 2002
• Fixed source of CTD when going into the pits with Copa Truck
• Updated recent Real Weather data

UI & HUD

• Fixed issue that resulted in stale status data being displayed on pre-race leaderboard.
• Fixed camera toggle incorrectly displaying on pre session leaderboard
• Fixed pre session multiplayer chat issue
• Pre-session screen now foces camera to player

PHYSICS & AI

• Minor tire tread adjustments to BMW Procar, Group A, Group C, Vintage Touring Cars, Opala 1979, Opala Old Stock, F-Vee, F-Classic Gen3, P1
• Slightly reduced slick tires tread adhesion with water
• Revised crankshaft mass of all cars for more accurate engine speed inertia
• Revised wheel bearings for street cars
• Mclaren 720S GT3: Revised aero; minor weight distribution & engine torque curve correction
• BMW Procar: Moved default brake bias slightly rearwards
• Adjused LSD differentials fos C3 & C3-R
• Revised brake torque for F-Trainers, F-Vee, Lotus 23, Mini 1965
• Adjusted steering lock range for high steering rotation cars (same default setting from before, lower minimal setting)
• F-Vintage: Adjusted default final drive for Gen 1 model 1
• Adjusted FFB Max force for Corvette C3, BMW 2002, Mini 1965
• Revised Lotus 23 chassis inertia values
• Group A: AI callibration pass
• Further decreased AI Strength in the 70-100% range
• Monza 1991: Adjusted AI performance

AUDIO

• Fixed redundancy causing double entries for water splash sound

TRACKS

• Monza 2020: Performance optimization & LOD pass; Added drain material to curbs for Livetrack functionality: Increase track limits at t3 runoff of Monza Junior layout
• Monza 1991: Performance optimization pass, LOD pass, Minor fixes; Updated trackside cameras
• Monza 1971: Move 10k rolling start location to mid point oval back straight; Fixed S/F Score Tower Z-fighting
• Curitiba & Londrina: Rebuilt concrete walls to sort strange collisions

[VELOCIPEDE]

Automobilista 2 V1.2.5.0 is now live - smaller update this month for some house-keeping to the previous release along with some further fixes & improvements.

Now it´s all about the big update incoming on late November - more details on that in our Development Update to be posted next week!

full v1.2.5.0 changelog here:

https://store.steampowered.com/.../view/3083270448326894624

[Walker™]

November 2021 Development Update

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Greetings everyone - we´re in November now, and into what promises to be a very exciting month for Automobilista 2!

First things first - considering we ended up skipping the October Development Update and the fact there´s just way too much to cover this month in a single article , we´re going to do things slightly different this month by breaking down this November Update into two parts - this is part one, part two should be published on November 19th.

Let´s get on it:

Volkswagen TSI Cup by Acelerados coming to Automobilista 2! 

By now most of you will have heard the big news about a project we alluded to a couple of months ago, and we couldn´t be happier to be finally announcing our collaboration with Volkswagen Brasil alongside the good people from Acelerados to bring you the VW TSI Cup by Acelerados to Automobilista 2.

For those not familiar with the show, Acelerados is an internet-born TV show dedicated to cars and driving them fast, in a similar mould to the classic Top Gear - the essence of the show is taking a bunch of cars to the Velo Città track in Brazil where they have a pro driver (usually Rubens Barrichello who is also one of the presenters) to drive the wheels off of it and discuss its qualities (or lack thereof).

Acelerados and Volkswagen came up with the idea for a game that realistically reproduced the experience the presenters have on the show to give people the chance to perform hot laps with some of the VW models currently available in the Brazilian market and eventually use that base to promote an official E-Sports competition.

We were approached to develop the sim but since all our focus and resources currently dedicated to developing Automobilista 2, the only way we could take on that challenge was if we could somehow find a way for the VW-Acelerados project to merge and complement AMS2.

That we did, so effectively what you will be getting to begin with is a free Automobilista 2 demo including the VW Polo & its sedan variant Virtus in two specifications each (1.0 TSI & 1.4 GTS), along with Autódromo Velo Città, featuring mostly the same game modes except Championship and Multiplayer - that´s where it begins, what comes next and what it leads to is not to be spoiled in this Dev Update 

The cars naturally will also be added to the full game as free additional content, albeit there will most likely be a few days in between the release of the Acelerados demo and the main game update that will include these cars.

Both of which will certainly take place this month however and we´re very excited for it, as not only the cars will help fill the still-unexplored niche of regular road cars in the game but also for the potential it has for promoting the game and sim racing in general to a wider audience in Brazil.

Developing the cars for AMS2 with the collaboration and input from Volkswagen engineers along with the Acelerados guys has likewise being a fantastic experience, with no shortage of access to data as well as the cars themselves.

I even got to put one of them through its paces for a few laps at the Velo Città, and such direct experience is always worth some insights! The car is impressively stable on a race track for a popular road car and a peach to drive:

In fact getting some real experience jumping into some of the cars reproduced in AMS2 (including a few of the more racey ones ) and collect more such insights is certainly something I intend to do more of in 2022 as opportunities arise - watch this space, and watch out for the VW TSI Cup!

Big Update Incoming!
You´ll probably also have already heard mentions of our plans for a major Automobilista 2 update later this month - and it is indeed a big one!

There is a lot we are currently working to cover in one go, and with many new features still in development or going through its final licensing hurdles the definitive list of incoming goodies for this release is still fairly fluid, to the extent we can´t get into too many specifics just yet - in fact given the dimensions of the changes and the amount of new content it´s fair to expect the big November update to get split into several updates wrapping up our 2021 progress for AMS2, to be delivered in parts through November and into the early weeks of December as we finalize these new features and finalise pending licensing arrangements.

Let´s start with some early wins already in the bag - one of which is another comprehensive physics update covering all areas that should at least match the step we made earlier this year with the v1.2 update - a progress that we have since gradually complemented by various incremental developments leading up to this new leap.

We have discussed before how even though the Madness physics models of aerodynamics, suspension and chassis used in AMS2 pretty much match 1:1 with pMotor engine of AMS1 with which it shares some common DNA, the tire and driveline models in the Madness physics engine were a complete departure from what we had been using in AMS1, substantially more complex and thus challenging to get a full grasp on - but that in turn also ultimately provides us with bigger potential for a more realistic & engaging driving experience.

These two components of the physics engine have been the focus of most of our attention on the physics side of things and also the sources of most of our headaches - and with so much to learn in these fairly intrinsic models, we have since the beginning of AMS2 development been opting to focus on the essentials elements of those models in order to deliver a satisfactory driving experience which related to what we had delivered before in AMS1.

With that goal if not yet achieved already well within reach, it was time to flex the muscles of the engine a bit more and begin delving into other substantial resources these physics models offer that hadn’t up to now been fully exploited: features ranging from a variety of tire damage components to transmission elasticity will feature to one degree or another in our November build, and thanks to the support and input of some intrepid internal testers we have not only been capable of making quick progress exploring these new resources but in the process also gain some valuable handling improvements, the most notable of which to the differential model on which is we have now pretty much eliminated the “sticky diff” syndrome some cars still suffered from to one degree or another.

Coupled with the improvements being gradually implemented to the various tires in recent updates which in turn will also be expanded on for the upcoming release, the internal feedback so far hints at something pretty sublime taking shape, and while further development and refinements will always continue to be in order, it´s fair to expect AMS2 to deliver a noticeable progress on this front by the end of this month.

All these changes do have some setup implications so in addition to that a revision of default setups is also in progress, and with that a fresh setup reset by deleting your local setup folder also be in order - hopefully a small price to pay and it will lead to some improved setup baselines in the process as well.

AI Development & AI modding support
AI continues to be a front in constant developments and we have made some furtber good progress in this department as well.

AI calibration has remained a moving target with so many car-track combos in the game and their ongoing physics development, but we expect to cover some good ground towards that target by the end of the month - thanks once again to the input of our internal testers who have gone beyond the call of duty assembling a comprehensive spreadsheet to catalogue AI performance discrepancies in pretty much every car / track combo offered in AMS2, which is proving invaluable in this calibration process, and will hopefully lead up to a much more consistent challenge vs the player requiring less fudging of the AI Strength setting going one combo to another.

Moreover, we are introducing support for users to mod AI driver performances and names to their taste so you´re not stuck with the usual native AI drivers, being able to actually customize drivers from each series with their own names, performance & personality parameters and assign them to specific car liveries.

To begin with, users looking to perform these modifications will have to rely on the good old process of editing text files, which they will then be able to add in combo with livery car sets and share them with other users.

Other new features include the option to limit the number of new tire sets players have available to use in each event (similar to the feature we had already developed in AMS1), the driver profile page and the Beta release of the much anticipated Multiplayer Rating System - all these however topics for Part 2 of this dev update!

Laser Scanned Azure

On the content front, we have a neat free development in the shape of a complete revamp to the Azure Circuit, with the mesh (the only one we re-used from Project Cars 2 with just a few modifications) now being completely redone with the aid of Laser Scan data. It´s a considerable upgrade which should feel very different from the original track!

Racin USA Pt2 is Coming!
Another eagerly expected release is the second part of our very popular Racin´ USA Pack, going further into the North American motorsports scene - this time focusing on faster flowint tracks and its single seater heritage.
As most of you familiar with our sims already will know, we do like to pay tribute to incredible race series, cars and tracks that perhaps haven´t been so much in evidence, either due to their local nature or because their hayday in this world having already come and gone a few decades ago, their awesomeness since fading from minds of many current race fans and sim racers. Sim racing offers an unique channel to bring these awesome machines and tracks back to life and to the awareness of racing fans and one of our goals in AMS2 is very much to deliver just that.
So with Pt2 we are taking the opportunity to mix some exciting & famous American road circuits with a fairly exotic choice that probably will surprise many, along with an ensemble of 1990s Champ Cars from various seasons in that great decade for American single seater racing.
For myself, this is again a trip down memory lane as I´ve worked on many of these cars in and out over the last 15 years for modding projects, becoming some of my personal favorites!
The specifics of the pack we will share with you in part 2 of this dev update, but we couldn´t leave you all hanging without a small teaser - a cookie for whoever can guess the car-track combo previewed below 

We are Hiring!
We are looking for artists to join our brilliant track team and help us produce trackside buildings & objects for some very exciting circuits we will be producing in the near future.
Key requirements include low-poly modelling in 3DS Max (squeezing out the most of the most efficient poly & texture count), texturing in Photoshop/Substance. Additionally, experience with CATrig animations, procedural texturing with Substance is welcome.
If you fit the bill and are interested in joining our team, please go ahead and send us an email with your CV and portfolio @ jobs@reizastudios.com - we´d love to hear from you!

That´s it for now - let´s catch up again in two weeks for Part 2 and even more exciting news!

 

[VELOCIPEDE]

Automobilista 2 Demo Featuring VW TSI Cup

We are thrilled to release our latest project developed in partnership with Volkswagen Brasil & Acelerados - The Volkswagen TSI Cup by Acelerados introduces the Volkswagen Polo & Virtus for Automobilista 2, and is also a standalone free demo for those who do not yet own the game.

The AMS2 Demo is now available on Steam from the Automobilista 2 Store Page.

Please note the update including these cars to the main game will be released this weekend - for the moment the cars are available only in the demo, which due to how the apps are configured on Steam cannot be installed in parallel to the full game.

The Demo currently features:
- Custom Event / Test Day / Time Trial Game modes
- Volkswagen Polo & Virtus TSI 1.0
- Autódromo Velo Città (3 layouts)

This however is not all - more to come here!

The Acelerados channel is doing a series on the making of the demo leading up to the competition that will be promoted by Volkswagen using the Automobilista 2 Demo - you can watch the first 3 episodes of the series here.

[Walker™]

Automobilista 2 November Development Update Part 2

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Greetings everyone!

Part 2 of our November Development Update has finally arrived with some fresh good news for Automobilista 2 in our final development sprint of 2021!

And what a run of weeks it has been so far - not only have we managed to hit some of the important developments we had planned for the month, we also managed to find and are in process of resolving some other significant issues along the way - in fact our plan had been to publish this article already with our first big game update of November, however spotting a rather sizeable physics issue just a few hours before the update was meant to be deployed has forced us back to the drawing board for a few more days - the new Automobilista V1.3 update is expected to arrive towards the end of this week.

On the plus side, V1.3 will now pack even further value to what is already a landmark update for AMS2 - so let´s get into some of what we have been working on these past few weeks!

AMS2 Demo With VW TSI Cup by Acelerados Now Available

Our collaboration with Volkswagen Brasil and the Acelerados Channel has come to fruition this past week with the release of the AMS2 Demo featuring the new VW TSI Cup, bringing the VW Polo & Virtus production cars to AMS2 - more details on this release here.

The delay on our new game update unfortunately has meant the addition of these cars to the main game have also been slightly held back - do look forward to their arrival later this week however with the release of V1.3!

The Big Physics Overhaul of AMS2 V1.3
As touched upon in Pt1 of the November Dev Update, physics & FFB are receiving a pretty substantial overhaul this month similarly to what happened earlier in the year in the V1.2 dev cycle, maximizing further knowledge of the Madness tire & driveline models we have gathered in recent months.

Beginning with the latest finding - the issue spotted just this weekend forcing the delay of the update is nothing more than a simple syntax error that resulted in some of the tire models in AMS2 using components that didn´t belong to them. This error - the type you hope not to spot years into the development of the sim - is nevertheless the type of thing that can happen when you are working on someone else´s technology, and part of a learning curve that sometimes can stretch longer than one would have preferred. The silver lining here of course is that spotting and correcting this error will lead to even further progress to what was already proving a very extensive revision of all tire models in AMS2, which combined with the driveline developments have already led to all cars driving substantially better than the current release to one degree or another.

On to the driveline developments: as with tires, we have been constantly learning more details about the complex driveline system in the Madness Engine - a physical model based on masses, friction coefficients, stiffnesses and pairings, which if not configured correctly for each car can easily result in various handling issues.

The first major development here is fine tuning clutch LSD disc friction coefficients to eliminate the infamous "sticky" behavior of the differential on some cars, which could lead to the car balance suddenly changing mid-corner; the differential operation is much smoother now, remaining closed when it should, and opening immediately and yet gradually based on your effective locking amount from preload, ramp angles and amount of clutches.

The second important improvement was made to the clutch engagement formula itself - thus far, preload setting in LSD diffs had far too much importance and ramp angles relatively very little. Reason for this laid on a bug in the underlying mathematical formula combining forces from these two setup factors. With that legacy bug corrected, it´s been possible and in fact necessary to update all default differential setups to more sensible ones.

One neat example is the Caterham clutch LSD that could now get inspiration from a real-life Titan LSD designed for Caterhams: a 30/90 ramp configuration with preload adjusted for each driver's needs. This maintains the Caterham's trademark throttle steer character, while users will remain able to fine tune preload to suit their lift-off behavior tastes.

Furthermore on the driveline topic, we have been literally "flexing the muscles" of the engine by introducing driveline elasticity - with multiple moving parts between the engine and driven wheels (each with its own finite stiffness) the forces applied on these parts can be immense, as gearboxes multiply engine torque - one can often hear these dynamics at play on real onboard videos as engine noise and transmission whine oscillating as the whole driveline acts like a giant spring under changing loads.

We have revised stiffnesses and driveshaft weights in multiple classes, and in multiple points in their drivelines. This creates an immersive and organic effect that fully depends on what is going on in the physical simulation. If you stomp on the throttle in 1st gear, you will hear revs jump up as the driveline tenses up. Lift suddenly, and the driveline releases its tension audibly. Driving over bumps the engine and transmission noises will oscillate smoother than before as the connection between tires, gearbox and engine isn’t as direct.

This isn’t purely for immersion purposes either, as a slight delay in response between driven wheels and engine can have subtle effects on handling - it means for example that tire slip and engine RPM aren’t the only buffers for sudden forces, which can also dampen some sharp jolts in bumpy braking zones.

In the video below comparing a lap with the Mercedes AMG GT3 around Nürburgring in V1.2.5.1 vs the current AMS2 Beta overlayed with wheel speed telemetry, you can see and hear the subtle but noticeable results of the developments described above:
 

All of these substantial physics developments along with some adjustments in setup options have also led to a big revision of default setups on all cars - so further good news is default setups being as reasonably well adjusted as they can possibly be as universal baselines for all tracks and controller types.

It does also mean however it will be critical to reset all your setups one more time upon deployment of the next update - failure to do could result in some very odd setups that will most definitely spoil the cars´ handling.

A small price to pay hopefully for what is all around a really big step in the AMS2 driving experience - while physics development remains always an ongoing process for anyone serious about simulation, in V1.3 the physics will have reached a level of maturity that we are confident to represent our very best work in this area to date.

Force Feedback Developments in AMS2 V1.3
AMS2 V1.3 will also introduce developments in the game Force Feedback, with the addition of a new "Default+" profile, parallel to the existing "Default".

FFB can be a somewhat subjective matter - while generally steering FFB in-game should resemble certain traits from real world vehicles - self-centering steering wheel, resistance buildup with more steering angle & ramp up of forces with tire load - in race sims that is somewhat restrictive and often leaves us missing the actual feedback we get in our bodies on a real car through its lateral and longitudinal acceleration. Through FFB one hopes to convey some of that mixed in with the usual steering forces, and the way to do that is where things get subjective.

With the new "Default+" profile we have what we believe to be a good compromise, adding further useful information to what you get on the Default profile.

Aside from additional info provided in Default+ , we also did a lot of work on damping, which is inherent to any steering system and something we strongly advise to be used to some degree as it now doesn´t take anything away from the feedback, instead works in sync with the vehicle you drive - it depends not just on steering velocity, but vehicle velocity, lateral acceleration, tires slip, oversteer. All of that is taken into account on damping, so it is usable and helpful instead of simply providing viscous-like resistance to wheel turning.

While the Default+ is, given FFB´s subjectvity to taste the usage of custom FFB profiles will remain an option, with some interesting and popular work being developed by @Karsten Hvidberg and company you may also want to check out.

We had in fact planned to add one of these profiles as a third default option in the game, however we found out that the memory load from FFB system is raised considerably by its presence if there is another profile present in the "custom" slot, leading to glitches.

We do encourage our users who may still be looking for something beyond what our default profiles are offering to give these a try checking out the Automobilista 2 Custom Force Feedback - Overview & Recommendations thread.

AI Development in AMS2 V1.3
AMS2 V1.3 will bring yet another big step for the AI, with an extensive calibration pass to not only match recent player physics development, but also solving several track and car specific performance discrepancies from the current release.

Driver personalities have been extended with some initial parameters defining an AI driver´s ability in managing tire wear, racing in wet weather & cooperating with blue flags.

Furthermore, V1.3 will introduce the option to mod AI driver names, livery assignments & personalities - you can read more about this new feature on this topic moved from the beta subforum for those looking to get an early understanding of how to go about it.

Multiplayer Rating System Hitting Public Beta in V1.3
Last but not least in our big list of V1.3 features is the introduction of the driver profile page alongside the long-awaited Multiplayer Rating System - albeit in Beta stage in this initial release.

The system is heavily based on the legacy system featured in Project Cars 2 with several adjustments - more details about it to be shared in a dedicated thread shortly before release.



We are also working with third party Multiplayer services to best integrate our system with theirs, which should hopefully see the arrival or organized scheduled races in AMS2 in the not-so distant future.

Furthermore, we have also been collecting some valuable feedback from the community for further Multiplayer development, some of which we are pushing to deliver as we progress through the public beta of the MRS - not everything will arrive in a matter of weeks, but we do hope to be fulfilling at least some common requests in the near future.


Racin´ USA Pt2 Arriving Soon!

As previously announced, the second part of the Racin´ USA Expansion Pack is due to be released shortly after V1.3 and before the end of this month.

This time, we will explore what many consider to be the golden years of American single seater racing, as Racin´ USA Pt2 will feature a number of Reynards, Swifts and Lola Indycars & Champ Cars from the 1990s, along with three iconic road courses.

The cars will make up what we will call the "Formula USA" class in the game, in three generations - Gen1 will feature models from the 1995 Indycar season (the last before the series infamously split), Gen2 will have models from the 1998 season when Alex Zanardi reigned supreme, with Gen3 featuring models from 2000 - the performance peak of the Champcar era, enabling historical feats such as Gil de Ferran´s closed course record average speed.


The 3 tracks to feature in the pack will be Watkins Glen (which even though was not raced by these cars during the 1990s, is still one the greatest road courses in the USA fully warranting its place on the pack); the unique Cleveland temporary road course, set on the Burke Lake Front Airport with a fast, flowing and very bumpy layout serving as stage for some memorable wheel-to-wheel battles; and the third one remaining under wraps for a few more days as we finalize some licensing requirements.

Racin´ USA Pt2 itself will be a slightly staggered release - the Gen2 cars along with Cleveland & Watkins Glen will be released at the end of this month, with the remaining models and the third track arriving just before our Christmas wrap-up; there will be further additions to this pack later on in 2022, as the arrival of Racin´ USA Pt3 will introduce oval tracks to Automobilista 2, which will see all Formula USA models in Pt2 receiving their oval spec variants.

While Pt3 of Racin´ USA will take a bit longer than originally planned into 2022, the delay will see more tracks being added to the package than originally planned - at no extra expense for those who already bought the full Racin´ USA Expansion Pack!

Price for Racin´ USA Pt2 will be the same as Pt1 in your local currency.


New Manufacturers Joining the Party!


We are happy to confirm we´re in the final stages of licensing arrangements with Nissan, which should see several models from the brand coming to Automobilista 2 if not already on v1.3, very soon after.

There are at least two more major manufacturer deals we are looking to wrap before the end of the year, all of which leading to various existing classes in the game being expanded with new competitors over the course of 2022 - watch this space!


This covers the main topics we had to bring you on this Dev Update, even if not quite all we have in store for the remainder of the year - we will cover these remaining goodies in our final Dev Update of the year early on December, by which time you will all hopefully already be enjoying AMS2 V1.3 & Racin´ USA Pt2!

 

[VELOCIPEDE]

Automobilista 2 V1.3.0.0 is now live! The first of several updates on this dev cycle is heavily focused on physics and FFB, with extensive revisions to driveline and tires of all cars.

V1.3 also adds the beta for the long awaited Multiplayer Rating System, the TSI Cup by Acelerados featuring the VW Polo & Virtus & a laser scanned Azure!

https://forum.reizastudios.com/threads/automobilista-2-v1-3-0-0-released.21929/?fbclid=IwAR2U6_EHzkeqFcWFPYkzvCfz9Bpu-5i03BloMrdSeasvRX5dUUODRowlyuk#post-160010